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13uswntimagines · 4 years

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Puppy Problems (USWNT x Reader)

Request: team x reader where the reader lost her dog and the team manages to find it (maybe it was in a shelter or someone contacted them or something idk) and reunites her with her dog during a match?

Hey dudes, I changed this just slightly because it thought it flowed a little better! I hope you enjoy. Hit me up with requests, questions or if you just want to say Hi!

You loved Lindsey and Emily, you really really did, but you were going to kill them. Really, how could two grown-ass adults lose a giant black dog? A giant black lab who had been trained to be a police dog but turned out to be too kind for the job, who never strayed more than three feet from you at any given point in time.

He was more than just a puppy. Riker was your best friend. He had been the only one there for you when your grandma died. And now the two lovable idiots before you had lost him.

“Run it by me again,” You ground out, your fists clenching as you glared at Emily, who was attempting to cower behind Lindsey.

“Riker, Fergs, and Bagle were playing by the wooded area at the park-“ Emily started, avoiding eye contact with you.

“Without their leashes?” You interrupted, glaring a hole in the side of her head. You had specifically instructed them to not take him off his leash unless he was in an enclosed space. Riker was a good boy, but you didn’t like him running wild when there wasn’t a fence to stop him. Like you, he got distracted and liked to meet new people and animals. At least with a fence or a leash, he couldn’t wander too far.

Emily took a step back, almost as if she were using Lindsey as a shield. The taller blond rolled her eyes, placing both hands on Emily’s shoulders and forcing her to stand in front of her.

“Without their leashes, and we got distracted for a second-“ Sonnett tried again, doing whatever she could to placate you.

“Don’t try and put this on me Sonnett, you were the one who just had to try the swings” Lindsey interrupted her with a scoff. You loved that dog more than anything else on this planet, and she had been too busy making sure Sonnett didn’t break her neck to watch Ri too. This was all on Emily as far as she was concerned.

“We looked away for one second and Ri was gone,” Emily continued as though Lindsey hadn’t tried to throw her under the bus.

She bit her lip when you didn’t respond. You glared at the floor, your fists clenching and unclenching.

“You lost my dog, my best friend because you wanted to go on some swings?” You said through gritted teeth. Retiring your Laser eyes to the two women.

“We’re so sorry,” Emily said, raising her arms in a calm down motion. But you were way too far gone. You knew Emily could be childish, but this was above and beyond that. This was sheer negligence. Blatant disrespect for your wishes and it had resulted in your best friend being missing.

“5…” You said your voice deadly calm.

“What?” Sonnett asked, her eyebrows furrowing. Of all the things she thought you were going to say, this wasn’t one of them.

“4…” You took a step towards them, and they matched you with a step back.

“Em,” Lindsey said with fear in her voice, the wheels turning rapidly in her head.

“3…” You took another step, a sickening smirk stretching across your face. You were going to kill them.

“Em, run,” Lindsey said, eyes wide and Emily took off out of the hotel room and down the all.

“0,” You yelled, chasing after her, catching up to her with ease. It was one of the perks of being a forward you supposed.

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Emily yelped, as you hoisted her up on your shoulder.

“Was losing my fuckin-“ You growled, planning on throwing her in the hotel pool with all her stuff in her pockets. You loved towards the stairs, paying no attention to the protesting woman on your shoulders or the women who were peeking their heads out of their rooms.

“Whoa there Ms. Muscles, I think you need to take a chill pill,” Ash said, stepping into the hallway, and placing a hand on your chest.

“Don’t tell me what to do Ash, they lost Riker,” You growled at the woman, a touch of just how upset you were leaking into your tone.

You placed Emily back into the floor, bringing your hands up to scrub your eyes, your shoulders shaking from trying to suppress your tears. Ash immediately pulled you into a hug, glaring over your head at the two women who had done probably the worst thing they could have to you.

“You two did what?!” She hissed at them. She loved Riker almost as you did. He was Logan and Storms’ best buddy. Plus he was fantastic at keeping you calm.

“It was an accident,” Emily mumbled miserably, and Lindsey had the decency to at least look ashamed.

“You left him by himself. Now he’s all alone, probably out there scared out of his mind,” You sobbed into Ash’s chest. She carded her fingers through your hair, running fingers down your back.

“He’s just a dog, calm down,” Lindsey rolled her eyes, and you lunged at her. A feral scream leaving your lips. How fucking dare her. Ash’s arm wrapped around your middle, preventing you from getting to the blond.

“Ok, I think everyone here needs to take a breather,” Alex said, finally stepping in, putting in her captain voice.

“Take Y/n to my room,” she ordered, and ash nodded, lifting you and dragging you towards The room Alex was sharing with Kelley. She waited for the telltale click of the door before turning to the crowd of women before her.

“We need to find that dog,” Kelley mumbled, not used to seeing you go from adorable and sunny to ready to rip someone’s head off. Alex ran a frustrated hand through her hair.

“Tobs and Chris check the hotel, Sam and Rose check the park. Kel, you call all the shelters in the area, and Mal, you make sure that Sonnett and Horan stay away from Y/n” Alex ordered, listing off the women on her fingers.

“And what are you going to do,” Kelley asked with a raised eyebrow. So maybe Alex had a thing for you. A very small thing that the entire team, besides you, was well aware of. They had bets going on how long it was going to take you to finally ask her out or is she was going to ask you out first.

“Comfort Y/n,” She hummed, looking away.

“Of course that’s the job you assign yourself,” Kelley’s snort was accompanied by the

“Shut up, and find the dog,” Alex grumbled, a light shade of pink dusting her cheeks. The team mock saluted and headed to their station.

The sight that met Alex when she entered your room could only be described as pitiful. You were buried under the blankets, curled up next to Ash. Your eyes were red, and the tear stains were burned into your cheeks.

The sound of the door drew your attention away from the Disney movie playing on the screen, and you opened your arms when you saw Alex. You wouldn’t ever tell Ash, but Alex gave the best cuddles out of everyone on the team. She obliged your request, sliding into bed and pulling you into her chest. She placed a delicate kiss on the crown of your head. You sighed, relaxing back into her.

“We’ll find him, I promise,” She whispered, and you just nodded, too tired to form words. You trusted her with your life, and now Riker’s. She would do her best to keep her word.

————-

“How the fuck are we supposed to find one particular Black Lab in a city filled to the brim with them,” Kelley growled, tossing her phone down on the bed. That had been the 4th shelter that told her about the wide array of pups they had, just not the one she was looking for.

“Didn’t Y/n have him chipped last year?” Mal asked after a few seconds.

“Mal you’re a freaking genius,” Kelley exclaimed, placing both of her hands on Mal’s face and kissing her forehead. ”So what does that mean?” She asked after a few seconds and the rest of the room’s occupants burst into laughter.

“It means we just have to wait for a vet or a shelter to call us and tell us that they have Riker,” Emily mumbled, rolling her eyes, but her cheeks still turning upwards a little. Sure, she fucked up, but at least they had a better shot of finding Riker.

———

Alex sighed in content, running her fingers through your soft hair, and tracing your dimples as you cuddled impossibly closer to her. It had taken both the Little Mermaid and Peter Pan to calm you down after Ash had accidentally put in Lady and the Tramp instead of Aladdin, and she was released that you had finally seemed to settle.

You were so adorable with the blanket pulled up to your chin, your stuffed triceratops Roary tucked under your arm, all wrapped in her arms. Not Cathay she would ever mention that out loud.

A knock at the door pulled the both of you out of your quiet stupor, and you Groaned as the knocking got even more insistent. Alex patted your head and got up to answer the door. You heard it click and her soft voice call for you.

“Alex, I don’t want anyone else trying to cheer me up,” You huffed, rolling over and burying your face into the pillow. Your various teammates had taken turns coming to check on you and Alex, and you were just tired of them treating you like a baby.

“I think you’ll like this person,” You could hear the smirk on her voice, as a heavyweight was suddenly on top of you. Soft barking filling the air as it started to try and dig you out of your blankets. You immediately flipped over and were met with a million licks to your face.

“Ri!!!” You squeezed, petting him everywhere you could reach, as he wiggles in your arms, licking you and rubbing his head on your face as if to say that he missed you just as much as you missed him.

Alex and Kelley watched the two of you reconnect from the door, wide smiles breaking across their face. They knew that you and Riker were close, and the way the two of you interacted only proved that point. They were glad that the two of you were back together

“She’s so cute,” Alex mumbled under her breath as you moved the covers to let Riker burrow into your side, placing a very sweet kiss on his head. She wasn’t even bothered that she had been replaced by your furry friend.

“You better make a move before someone else does,” Kelley smirked, bumping her shoulder. Alex’s blush was answer enough. She loved you, and she could only hope that you would love her as much as you loved Riker.

#uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #uswnt imagines

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muertawrites · 4 years

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Two Halves - Chapter Eighteen (Zuko x Reader)

Chapter 17

Word Count: 2,200

Author’s Note: Shit’s hitting the fan y’all - not just in Two Halves but in everything else as well. I’m formatting this and ignoring all the impending doom swirling around me by drowning it out with Disney move soundtracks.

You wake before Zuko the next morning, which isn't hard considering you barely slept. Toph arrives under the cover of early dawn, the sky just becoming gray as her ship lands on the palace grounds; you meet her without your husband, as you never got the chance to tell him she was coming the night previous.

“You didn't have to rush out here,” you tell her, clutching her hands in an anxious vice. “It's not safe.”

“When have I ever cared if anything was safe?” she scoffs. “Sparky clearly needs help protecting you.”

The words are delivered with sarcastic wit, but her fingers shake in your palm.

You decide you won't tell her about Qiang’s threat - you don't want to give him reason to hurt anyone else. Instead, you tell her that the palace is under constant, heavy surveillance, and that you're still unsure who exactly is conducting the strange occurrences that have plagued you or what their motives are. Not exactly a lie, but enough that you feel she won't be put in any more danger.

“Do you think you can even trust your guards?” Toph wonders, her arm clenched tightly to your elbow.

“Suki vetted every one of them herself,” you tell her. “But… we still don't know.”

As you walk with her through the palace, nothing feels secure - the servants that pass you all seem suspicious, the guards and metal benders that flank you all looking like strangers through the gaze of your fear. Anyone could be working under Qiang; the thought of being so unsafe in your own home, even with the people you trust most beside you, makes you ill to the point you feel dizzy.

“Zuko should be up,” you blurt. “Why don't you spar with him before breakfast? I’ll meet you.”

Toph’s brow furrows with unease, her grip on your bicep becoming tighter.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

You nod, but don't bother to put on a brave face.

“I just feel a little tired,” you reply. “I didn't sleep very well last night.”

Again, not a lie.

Toph considers this for a moment, no doubt gauging your pulse, then concedes, letting you go with a firm, nervous squeeze.

“Okay,” she says. “We’ll stay close.”

When you see that she goes without incident, you sweep through the corridor, hastily making your way back to your own, personal bedroom, and locking the door behind you. For a moment, you stand staring at the threshold, considering pushing your vanity or wardrobe in front of it to barricade yourself in.

Your vanity. Your wardrobe.

It sinks in that you haven't been alone in this room since you returned from Ember Island; you moved your belongings into Zuko’s room, opting to sleep next to him and making plans to convert the room back into a sunroom. You pace the floor slowly, inspecting the bed and its thin, billowing canopy, the windows and their gorgeous views beyond lightly veiled curtains; had you stayed in this room, they'd have been switched out for heavier ones in anticipation of winter, but they remain, letting in cool air that chills the dormant space. Dust has gathered on the deep, glossy wood of your vanity, your fingers leaving streaks in their wake as they run along its edge. You pull the single drawer open as if by instinct, something catching in your chest as its only remaining contents slide out from the shadows.

A single pai sho tile - the lotus.

On its side, so minuscule you can barely make it out, is a series of addresses; you discovered the markings one night while nervously toying with the gift from Iroh, finding various locations around the world listed on the piece after inspecting it under a magnifying glass. You told no one of this, not even Zuko, knowing deep down that it was something Iroh meant only for you. Your fingers trace over the address in the Imperial City - a pub by the name of Ichigo’s.

Without a second thought, you dash to the trunk at the foot of your bed and pull a cloak from its depths - the one you and Zuko used to navigate the city unnoticed during your wedding celebrations. You strip out of your ceremonial robes, folding them neatly in the space where the cloak was and replacing them with your traveling clothes. You thank the spirits for the cold weather as you pull the cloak tightly around yourself, making sure it obscures your face before leaving the room once more.

In the corner of your bedroom, there's a hatch; it's hidden under a false floorboard, beneath a thick rug, and leads to tunnels that wind in a labyrinth below the palace. Zuko explained that they've been there for hundreds of years, known to very few select people within the palace walls as an escape for the royal family should the need ever arise.

“It's how we hid when Aang invaded the Fire Nation,” he told you. “It's where I confronted my father and left.”

You raise the hatch from its disguise, slipping into the hole it forms in the floor with a single candle, the lotus tile, and the knife with which Qiang intends for you to kill your husband. In a matter of seconds, the board and rug fall back into place, and you slip from the palace in the dark, the entire world above unknown to your disappearance.

The streets of the Imperial City are unfamiliar to you, but you make an effort to walk with sure steps. Your face is well hidden under your cloak, shadowed by the gray gloom of a silver sky, but it isn't as if anyone is curious enough to slow and peer beneath it; the air is brisk, and people rush past you in a haste to get where they need to go, back into warmth.

Ichigo’s is on the fringes of the city, resting on a small hill beside the docks amongst a cluster of other businesses; together, they form a small alley and marketplace, its shops and stalls either shuttered or lit with hanging burners to fight off the winter cold. As you approach the bar, climbing over a set of wood steps that creak and shift under your weight, rain begins to fall.

The inside of the bar proves much more welcoming than its surly exterior. In one corner, a fireplace burns with a wide, open hearth, a set of thick logs crackling cheerfully within. The paneled walls are decorated in an array of tapestries and promotional posters for other local businesses, and the tables that span the room are cozy and intimate, seated with cushions and placed atop tatami mats that buffer the rough wood floors. The bar itself is also quite quaint; only a few feet long and hosting about four seats, its shelves of liquor bordered by a twinkling string of lanterns and a small, handwritten message board announcing the day’s kitchen specials. What catches your eye, however, is the cluster of pai sho tables against one wall, the one farthest occupied by an elderly man in a white robe; you approach him tentatively, taking the seat opposite him and bowing respectfully under the guise of your hood.

“Are you interested in a game?” the man asks. His voice is kindly, his mouth spreading into a grandfatherly smile as he speaks. “I don’t often find strangers willing to play against me.”

“A game would be nice,” you reply, unsure what exactly you’re doing but knowing this man must be the reason Iroh sent you here. “Do you mind if I play with my own lotus tile?”

“Not at all,” the man accommodates. “I too have my own set of tiles.”

You reach into the pocket of your cloak, placing your lotus amongst the tiles set up on the game board; the man observes you carefully, leaning in to get a better look at the piece you’ve brought with you.

“Do you mind if I see that for a moment?” he asks. “The craftsmanship is exquisite.”

You nod, allowing him to take the piece. He turns it over in his fingers, running the pad of his thumb over the intricately carved design and holding it up to his face, inspecting it with great discretion. A nervous flicker tickles your stomach as he traces over the sides of the tile, no doubt finding the inscriptions on its surface.

“You’ve been sent by a friend of mine,” the man finally states.

“I believe so,” you respond. “I’m in need of some help.”

“Then you’re in the right place,” the man says with a grin. He stands, handing the lotus tile back to you and ushering you to follow him. “Come with me. There’s another friend I’d like you to meet.”

Wary, you follow him to the side of the bar, where he lifts a heavy curtain and slips into a back room. You clutch the knife in your pocket tightly, discreetly, hoping you haven’t just made a grave mistake and gotten yourself in more danger. He takes you through the bar’s storage room, moving aside a tower of boxes to reveal a small door, held in place by a simple, secure latch; he snaps it open, leading you through a low archway that descends into the building's basement.

On the other side of the short passage, you find a tiny, yet nicely decorated sitting room - curtains hang from the ceiling creating a tentlike atmosphere, parted in places to reveal maps of the four nations hung on the walls. The center of the room is occupied by a large desk upon which many books and scrolls are scattered, and the air is heavy with the smoke of incense. Under the single lantern that lights the space, you spot the familiar face and humble stature of an older woman.

“Advisor Yong,” you gasp.

She stands in shock, pacing quickly over to you as you lower the hood of your cloak to reveal your face. She takes your hands in her own, clutching them tightly.

“My lady,” Yong breathes with as much awe as you addressed her with. “How did you come all this way? Are you alone?”

“Iroh gave her his tile,” the man who brought you explains. “I assume he sent her for her safety.”

“There are tunnels under the palace,” you add. “I told the staff I was feeling ill and snuck out. Nobody knows I'm here.”

Yong guides you to the table, sitting you down beside her and telling the man to fetch you a cup of tea. The time-wisened lines in her skin seem deeper than usual, creased by a frown that distorts her whole face.

“They'll be discovering that you're gone soon,” she says, “so we must make this quick. Has Iroh told you about his membership with the Order before?”

You shake your head, furrowing your brow in confusion.

“The Order of the White Lotus,” Yong elaborates, “is an ancient society that operates beyond political bounds. We come together to share ancient philosophy and knowledge, but since the war… we act as a sort of lifeline organization as well. Emergency aid for those who need it.”

“Iroh gave me that lotus tile when he was here for the wedding,” you tell her. “He must have known something I didn't because we’re in much more danger than we thought - Qiang threatened me. He wants me to kill Zuko.”

“Qiang…” Yong mutters. “He can't be the one behind this. He doesn't have the manipulative tact to convince so many groups to act according to his will.”

“He made it seem as if they were huge,” you continue. “He told me they had informants all over the palace.”

“He's a good liar,” Yong dismisses, though her expression remains concerned. “Intimidating, too; that's why he was the one to threaten you. But he isn't the leader. What did he tell you? When he gave you the order?”

“He said they'd kill my family. I don't want to lose anyone, but Katara and Aang…”

Yong nods.

“Aang is too important,” she finishes for you. “His death would devastate the world and put countless lives in danger. I promise, we won't let any harm come to them or anyone else.”

She stands once more, offering a hand with which she raises you up. She continues to clutch it, gripping you as if letting go means surrendering you to the enemy.

“I’ll call a meeting of our members within the city,” she states. “We have a few members staffed at the palace who we’ll ensure are at your guard. I’ll alert internal security and have them investigate Qiang immediately.”

The man returns, and Yong instructs him to leave the tea and accompany you back to the palace - as far as he can without compromising the security of the tunnels.

“Advisor Yong,” you say as you're ushered again through the passage and out the back of the pub, “we only have a week. Is that… do we have enough time?”

Yong’s eyes sweep your face, her pupils flitting back and forth as she tries to find the right words to say.

“I won't lie to you,” she finally answers. “I don't know. All I can promise you is that we’ll do our best. We reconquered Ba Sing Se with much lesser numbers than we have now - here's hoping those odds are still in our favor.”

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lifeisbooksandcats · 4 years

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Just lil autistic things from when I was a child.

As an autistic adult (29 years old) (not professionally diagnosed, but something I’ve thought about myself for the past 12 years and just recently something I’ve spent far too much of my free time researching and I honestly do think that I am), I look back at my childhood with the thought of “WHY didn’t ANY adult in my life see any of this as ‘not normal’ and try to HELP me??”

- I was very advanced in some areas, mostly reading and writing; I was reading independently by the age of about 2 and a half/3. From the time I started kindergarten, I was always reading “far above grade level”. The first Harry Potter book came out when I was in second grade and I was just one of 3 kids between the two second grade classes at my school who had a high enough reading level for that to be independent reading. For writing, I have always always always, my entire life, been able to express my thoughts better on paper than verbally. I’ve always enjoyed writing. I would write essays upon essays about things I liked for no other reason than I just wanted to. Being alone with a book or something to write with was my happy place.

- My first real total and complete meltdown (that I can remember at least) (which my mom says was the start of my ‘very real anxiety problem’ (which she apparently noticed but literally never did anything to help me??? But that’s for another post another time.)) was when I was about 5(ish). We lived with my grandparents at the time, and my grandparents and I went to Florida to visit my aunt and uncle. My sister and mom stayed home. While we were gone, there was a fire that destroyed my grandparents’ house. My mom and sister and our dogs got out, but our cats died in the fire. So we get home from vacation, our house is gone, our cats are gone, we have to stay with a neighbor (who smoked and her house always smelled like cigarettes and I just remember the smell making me so sick to my stomach constantly) while the house is being fixed/rebuilt, our dogs are boarded at the vets office because we can’t have them in the neighbor’s apartment...we left for vacation and everything was normal, we get back and EVERYTHING is different, so obviously I’m already on edge.. we went to go visit our dogs and take them on a walk, and I kept turning around to make sure our car was still there..we went around a corner, so the next time I turned around I couldn’t see our car anymore and I had a full on MELTDOWN. I threw myself to the ground, I cried hysterically, and my family just chuckled and said I was dramatic and overreacting and the car was just around the corner. Did I overreact? I mean absolutely. Looking back, I can see how my reaction to not being able to see the car anymore was...a lot. Given the exact same circumstances, would a neurotypical child have reacted the exact same way? I don’t know. I don’t think so.

- I HATED the feel of paper. Oh my god I hated it. Even now as an adult, if I’ve had an incredibly long day or if I’m tired, I still sometimes can’t bring myself to touch it. I used to wear long sleeves constantly (or keep a sweatshirt nearby if I had short sleeves on) so I could pull my sleeves over my hand when I had to write so I wouldn’t feel the paper. I don’t know how to explain it, but the feel of paper would make my skin crawl. Even the tiniest bit of my skin touching it would send a chill down my back and I felt like I could “hear” the way it felt and the “sound” hurt my ears. In high school, I HATED going to history or science class not because I didn’t like the subject (I didn’t enjoy history, but I loved my science classes), but because the thought of having to touch the pages in the textbook made me nauseous.

- While *most* of the time I could handle listening to the car radio, there were times especially if I had had a long day, or was stressed or overwhelmed that I literally could NOT listen to the radio because I didn’t know what order the songs were going to play in. We spent a lot of time in the car listening to the same 3 cassette tapes again and again. I had a blue SanDisk MP3 player that idk if it was defective or what, but the songs ALWAYS played in the same order. If you hit shuffle, the first song to play would be a random one, but it would always play the same song after that one. I found comfort in knowing if X is playing, I know Y is next and Z is after that.

- My sister and I shared a bedroom (we had bunk beds) and she had a fan the clipped onto the rungs of the ladder of the bunk bed and the sound of the fan...the vibration of it against the wooden ladder... it HURT my ears. There would be nights I would cry and cry because I couldn’t sleep because my ears were hurting so bad because of the fan. Any time I would turn it off, my mom would get so mad at me. I remember her telling me “your sister needs the fan in order to sleep!” I would respond that I couldn’t sleep because of the sound, and she would tell me to grow up and get over it because I was the older one. And my sister would snore just a little bit, not super loudly, but loud enough that it distracted me from falling asleep. I would be so tired and frustrated, all I wanted was for her to “stop breathing so loudly”..

- I was annoying/bossy about playing games. I needed to know the rules and needed everyone to follow the rules. And if someone broke the rules, I remember sternly telling my friends “that’s NOT how you play”, if they broke the rules again, I didn’t want to play that game with them anymore. Way too often, I would tell my friends they were playing wrong. Even games we would make up, I had to know the rules and everyone HAD TO play CORRECTLY.

- I’ve always kept some sort of music player with me at basically all times - from a cassette player, to a CD player, to an MP3 player, to an iPod, to an iPod video, to my phone... and when the world was too loud (ESPECIALLY on the school bus or in the cafeteria) I could just put headphones in and listen to music and escape from the world being too much.

- My parents got my ears pierced when I was a baby; even as a toddler I remember HATING them being pierced. I hated the way they felt, I hated how they felt too tight on my ears, I hated the weight of them, even just little studs, I could FEEL them, I was constantly aware of them and I didn’t like it.. and I couldn’t take them out. I remember being told “but you’re a GIRL and the earrings are PRETTY!” I remember the relief I felt when I learned that if you played a sport at school you weren’t allowed to have earrings in. I remember signing up for soccer in third grade JUST BECAUSE I would get to take my earrings out, and just the joy/relief I felt not having to wear them. And I haven’t worn them again since third grade.

- I used to organize my and my sister’s CDs and cassettes obsessively. Alphabetical order by artist or band name, and in order by the year they came out. At least once a week I would have to check to make sure everything was still in order. I did the same with my books on my bookshelf. They had to be organized. And they had to be organized CORRECTLY.

- I HATED the feeling of my toes touching each other. Oh my god I hated it so much. Any time I had shoes on, I HAD TO wear toe socks so they wouldn’t be directly touching. It made me feel physically ill, anxious, uncomfortable. I cannot even put into words how much I absolutely hate hate HATED the feeling of my toes touching each other. Which I know is the weirdest thing to have that kind of a reaction to, but..possibly a sign that something was up in my lil childhood neurodivergent af brain.

#me #personal #actually autistic #I’m SURE there are more things #but these are what I could remember today #I may come back to this and add more things as I think about them or remember them #our systems are still down at work so I’ve just spent all morning writing this

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pastriesandpies · 4 years

Text

Tw: strong laugage

Tw: mentions of animal abuse

Magic in Cream :2

I woke up with a cat on my face. This is a nice change.

“Ahaha looks like you are enjoying your new home huh?”

Alright time to get up.

I brush my teeth as grim wanders around the dilapidated building, hissing at things I can’t see. Cat things I guess, though he’s probably hissing at some ghosts that have made this place their home, I hope they’ll stick around, no one deserves to lose their home. That means ghosts too.

I cooked the leftovers from last night. How this microwave still works, I have no idea. Microwaves will survive the apocalypse and the eventual fall of mankind. I set a bowl down for Grim, who gives a small mawr. I smile, he’s looking a lot better, but I’m going to take him to a vet.

My stomach is full, time to try and take grim to the vet. Wait, I don’t have a place to put him…

“Pspspspsp”

Grim stares at me, ah yes the classic cat face. It probably thinks I’m stupid.

He stops giving me the eye and climbs up on my shoulder. I give him a few scratches on the head and a piece of meat as a reward. This is not healthy for cats…

Grim stares at me,

“It’s okay buddy, I’m not taking you anywhere that won’t benefit you. I can’t promise that it won’t hurt at least a little bit”

Grim gave a meow of protest, but they didn’t move from my shoulder.

Time to get moving. I headed out the door, away from Maplewood and on too a little strip of road. From the map it appears that there is a small vet clinic called Leafstar Clinic. Grim digs their claws into me as I walk in the door, have the cat been here before?

A small scrawny blonde boy makes an appointment for me snickering at the cat held aloft on my shoulder.

“Well… I’m not sure what to say this cat is in very bad condition” the vet frowns at me.

“Please help them the best you can. I found this cat on the side of the road, I’m new here. I wish to give this cat a new home”

I reach up to my face, I’m crying fuck.

“I’ll do my best. I know this cat, it’s not you.”

Grim is now patched up and I made a follow up appointment for him. He seems tired so I carry him out in my arms. He gives a purr. His ears are no longer blue and his cuts have been given ointment.

I have been given full custody of the cat since they can no longer find his “owners” aka I “stole” a cat. I don’t actually care if that’s the technical words. This is my cat now.

I go into the local store to pick up some food for grim and I. And to look at paint to repaint the parlor.

I ask the owner of the mom and pop store if they’ll watch Grim while I walk around. The pet food section is so big.

“Umm, could you please help me? I don’t know how to shop for a cat, Is there a good brand you recommend?”

The person next to me looks surprised for a second

“Oh is this your first time owning a cat by yourself? Well I recomend this brand, they have no wheat in it and it tastes good, both of my cats really like it!”

“Ah! thank you so much” okay so note to self: wheat is bad for cats. Duh I should have know that.

“Well you should be careful did you know about the Card gangs in the Hearts section of town?”

“The Card gangs?”

“Yes their a gang that’s always been around in the Hearts Area of town. They have been causing more trouble lately since they got a new leader! Rummor has it that their new leader is a fairly new member and rose the ranks in a few months, and that he’s only a freshmen in high school. I feel so bad for his poor parents, they’re probably ashamed to go out in public.”

“Ah okay” why is this person telling me this, I don’t care about gangs. they sound like a bunch of kids, they probably just need something to do.

I pay for the bag of food and some other groceries. Grim climbs onto of the bag of food purring. Alright he must like the smell of the food then.

I set Grim and the food down as I get back to my place.

It never will be Grandpa’s place again will it…

That’s funny, I don’t remember the door being unlocked. I push open the door,

“AAHHHHH”

“What are you screaming for, there’s nothing for you to steal?”

A boy is standing inside, his face scared. He has a bag of the same food I got in his hands. He looks like shit.

“ImsosorryididntmeantobreakinIjustwantedtomakesurethatGrimwasokaysincehealwayslookslikeshitandIdon’tthinkhisownerstreathimniclyandyouknowIalwaysseehimhereinthisbuildingandit’sbeenabadonforsonlongIthoughtnoonewashereanymoreomgomgI’msosorryI’msosorry…”

Authors note: he’s saying ‘I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to break in. I just wanted to make sure Grim was okay since he always looks like Shit and I don’t think his owners treat him nicely. And you know I always see him here and this building has been abandoned for so long, and I thought no one was here anymore omg I’m so sorry I’m so sorry!

“Kid sit down you look like shit.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“Nah this place has been left alone for so long that I’m not surprised that you came in here. I’m not calling the cops and I need to patch you up so sit down. Grim is fine he’s my cat now so don’t you worry your small head.”

“I’m taller than you though?”

“I- shut up”

I give the kid some bad aids as Grim begs the poor kid for pets. He smiles and pets the creature.

“So kid, what’s your name, and why do you look like shit.”

“It ain’t my fault!!” He bursts out

“Hey chill I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“Are you going to call the police?”

“Nah”

“My mom?”

“Don’t have her number unless you give it to me kid, I just want to make sure you are okay right now.”

“Okay, I’m Deuce Spade.”

“Hey Deuce, I’m Yuu Tempa.”

“Mr. Tempa are you mad at me for breaking in?”

“No I’m not mad, and hey no need for titles, it’s just Yuu. Mr. Tempa was my Granfather.”

“Oh well Yuu I tried to leave the gang I was in. I was the leader of the Cards Gang for five months. Well last night I heard my mom crying to my grandmother. She just.”

“Take your time it’s okay kid.”

“She said where did I go wrong razing him. It wasn’t her it was me. I wanted to be strong for her, but all I did was make her worry and cry”

I give him my box of tissues, grim rubs him body against Deuce’s lowered head.

“Thanks, I got into an argument with them before I left. But now I’m just worried, what am I going to do now. I messed up my entrance into the good high school”

“And you need to get into a good school huh?”

“But I’ve messed up so bad I don’t know what to do..”

“Well deuce you’re in luck. I used to be a tutor. I can help you.”

“You would do that?? Why though?”

“Becuase I don’t want to see anyone fail. Not the way I did.”

“But just for free?”

“Hell no! You see this place! I want to reopen this place into its old glory. You could help out here.”

“Okay it’s a deal!”

We shake hands, he leaves, and I gain my first glimmer of hope. The magic is back. I can tell.

#twisted wonderland #deuce spade #my writting #magic in cream #multiple chapters #chapter 2 #a cake for you #ruggie bucchi

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sxciallygray · 4 years

Text

I’ll be here when you come back (Colby Brock)

A/N: Hello my dudes!!! How long it’s been? Like 4? Maybe even 5 since I posted the second part of Let Her Go.

I’ve had most of the last part written since last November, but I got busy and lost inspiration to write – which seemed to be back for now.

I hope you like this last part, I enjoyed writing the last bit because if I have to be honest I’m not sure if I like the rest of it – like I said I wrote almost 5 months ago and usually when I read things I wrote a long time ago I normally don’t like them.

But you are the important ones! If you like it then I’m happy.

I hope you are all safe and doing well in the crazy times we are living and I also hope this helps you to think about something else.

Love you!

Warnings: English is not my first language so I’m sorry in advance if I made some mistakes.

Part1: Let her go

Part2: All you had to do was stay

It had been a month since (Y/N) had come back to LA, which lead her to think one thing only, the call with the information about her new destination was closer than she liked.

She hadn’t realized how much she missed her life until she came back and could enjoy all her friends again, specially how much she had missed Colby. At that point it was hard for both of them to hide how much they wanted to spend time together, Colby would find the most random excuses to make plans with (Y/N) and she wouldn’t hesitate on saying yes to everything Colby came up with. Like that night for example, (Y/N) had suggested going to Rae’s to have dinner with the whole group, after dinner Sam suggested a chill game night at his and Kat’s place, but Colby excused himself saying he had to film a video for his channel and that he needed help. Of course (Y/N) was the first one to offer herself volunteer.

None of their friends at that diner booth were blind, they could see Colby and (Y/N)’s undeniable desire for some alone time with each other, so most of the time they would play along instead of teasing them in public and potentially make things awkward – something they both were thankful for since from the first second the fans saw (Y/N) was back ninety percent of comments were about if they were back together or not.

What they didn’t know, not even (Y/N), was that there was no video that needed to be finished. Colby’s intentions were to take (Y/N) to a place he had recently found, a quiet spot on the hills of LA where they watched the city from afar.

The later it got the better they could see the stars above them, which reminded (Y/N) of a recurrent thought she had at the beginning of their time apart. She liked to look at the sky and think that no matter what, no matter the time of the day, the weather or how far away they were from each other, both of them were looking at the same sky. For some reason thinking about that brought her peace and made her feel a little connected to Colby.

“What are you thinking about?” they’ve been quiet for a few minutes and Colby was only wondering why (Y/N) was so smiley.

“Nothing” her smile only grew wider, making Colby grin bigger.

“C’mon, tell me” he turned around so he laying on his stomach over the blanket they were sharing.

“I was thinking about that time you fell down the hill and made it to the bottom on your butt” she lied, while she laughed remembering that moment.

“My pants were so destroyed at the end” he chuckled shaking his head.

(Y/N) was about to make a comment on how his fat ass helped him to not get too hurt but their attentions were caught by the sound of movement on the bushes behind them.

“Did you hear that?” (Y/N) whispered, sitting up as fast as she could to look in the direction of the sound.

A low growl followed the noises and that was enough for Colby to get up and help (Y/N) get up too “get it the car, fast” he whispered grabbing the blanket and giving it to her while he opened the door for her.

The first thought that came into mind for Colby was that they could be attacked by an animal, so he had to put (Y/N) in a safe place, but before he could close the door they heard some high pitched whimpers coming from the same place.

That got (Y/N) out of the car and running to the bushes, followed by Colby telling her to stop.

“Oh my god”

“What? (Y/N) what is it? Be careful” when Colby approached her he could finally calm down, it was a dog and he was trapped on the bush.

“Hey buddy, I’m going to help you, okay?” (Y/N) was crazy about animals, if it was for her she would have so many, but sadly she was never in the same place for too long and having a pet wasn’t a good idea under those conditions.

When the dog kept whining and liked her hand, (Y/N) took it as a sign to proceed and help the young looking dog to get out of the mess he had got himself into.

“He has no collar and he’s so dirty it looks like he’s been around here for a while” she announced looking up at Colby as she kept caressing the dog to keep him calm.

Colby, who also happened to be an animal lover, saw his opportunity in the palm of his hand “why don’t we go back to my place and we get him clean and fed?” if there was a way to (Y/N)’s heart, it was definitely that one.

“I think that’s a great idea” she looked down at the scared dog again “we’re taking care of you my friend, don’t worry I won’t let Colby pick the food, he has no taste” she joked, picking up the dog and winking at a fake hurt looking Colby.

The car ride was smoother than expected, luckily it was the middle of the night, which meant no traffic at all. It was good thing too because Colby was paying more attention to the interactions (Y/N) was having with the dog than where he was going.

Something none of them had realized was how, as much as they have been hanging out, (Y/N) hadn’t put a foot on Colby’s apartment. Being in the outside world together gave them many private moments, but being alone in Colby’s home was different, that feeling of anything could happened was settled as soon as they both walked through the room.

“The bathroom is over there” Colby pointed to the only closed door in the open space.

(Y/N) made her way over while she looked around his apartment, taking in how empty it looked, there was no decorations at all and she was thankful for that, if she had seen any of their old decorations she would have died inside.

“I made you a sandwich” Colby announced, walking into the bathroom twenty minutes after (Y/N), who had already washed the dog and was drying him off with a towel.

“Did you make it or did you go to the store to buy it? Because it took you a while” she joked, wrapping her new little friend with the towel and snuggling him.

Truth was that Colby just needed some time by himself, gather his thoughts before walking into that bathroom. It was getting very difficult to be around (Y/N) while they were playing by the ‘only friends’ rules.

“Making sandwiches is an art, it takes time” he sat on the tiled floor, right in front of (Y/N), who was also sitting on the floor. They stayed in silent for a few minutes until Colby broke it “I always thought we would get a dog.”

Was he too tired to stop himself from saying things like those? He definitely was.

“But then I left” (Y/N) whispered, avoiding eye contact.

Was she too tired to follow that conversation? Oh you better believe she was.

“But then we broke up” he corrected her.

“Because I left” they hadn’t talked about their relationship, not even just once ever since they had started this new found friendship. So Colby couldn’t help but give (Y/N) a confused look, not understanding where she was coming from with that.

“Okay, if that is what you believe then you could say I didn’t do anything to try and stop you from leaving” he said once he understood she was, in some level, blaming herself for it “you followed your passion and there’s nothing wrong with that”

Colby’s soft tone and sweet words made (Y/N) finally look at him in the eyes, feeling less guilty. She wasn’t sorry for leaving and following her dreams, but was she coastally wondering what could’ve been if she had stayed with Colby? Of course.

“It doesn’t mean I didn’t wanna stay too” at the end of the day there was two things she was passionate about, trying to transform the world in a better place and her future with Colby Brock.

“I know, (Y/N)” he couldn’t lie, it felt good to hear that. He knew she was heartbroken for leaving and that gave away a hint of how bad she wanted to stay, but hearing it out loud felt so fucking good “but do you really think I would’ve let you give up on an opportunity like that?” she shook her head, earning a smile from Colby, who moved closer, until the only thing keeping them apart were their legs “That’s correct, I wouldn’t’ve had let you” he placed a hand on her knee “don’t ever think I blamed this on you leaving, not for a second. I’m so fucking proud of you for chasing after your dreams”

“Thank you, Colbster” she smiled, the use of the nickname she had given him shortly after meeting Colby made her slightly flush. The dog found that the perfect moment to lick her sad face away “okay, okay I’ll let you go” she chuckled letting the dog free to run around the bathroom before storming out of it to explore the rest of the apartment.

“I put some of the food we bought on a bowl in the kitchen, someone’s going to be surprised” although he was apparently focusing in something new (Y/N) couldn’t stop repeating his words in her head and how badly she wanted to kiss him right now, but she couldn’t.

Just like that she made her decision, the dog would be the sing she needed to see what the universe had to tell her.

The following morning, bright and early, Colby and (Y/N) went to the closest vet to find out if the dog had a microchip, which would lead to an owner and then to discover if the dog had run away or if it had been abandoned – a heartbreaking theory on (Y/N)’s eyes.

While the vet did her job It was visible how nervous (Y/N) was, Colby couldn’t figure out why and he was planning on asking, but the vet talked sooner, announcing the dog had a microchip and that she was going to call the number that appeared on the computer.

“You’re going to make a hole on the ground if you keep bouncing your leg like that” Colby joke, earning a smile from (Y/N).

She didn’t answer though; she was too deep in her thoughts. If that dog didn’t have an owner that wanted him that was it, she was staying in LA, she would find a place to live, a job, she would take care of her new little friend and she would work as hard as it needed to be worked to gain Colby back.

“Good news, the owner is on her way, she says she’s been looking for Oreo like crazy” Oreo, so that was the dog’s name, who the fuck names their dog after an Oreo? Okay probably (Y/N) would do it, it was a cute name and she was just too upset to recognize it.

“Great, that’s awesome to hear, right?” Colby had to take the lead and talk when there was no reaction from (Y/N), who only nodded when Colby tried to get her to respond in any way possible.

The thing is, Colby still knows (Y/N) like the palm of his hand, he can feel how upset she is when she gets slightly flushed as a reaction of how hard she is trying to hold back the tears, but what he can’t understand is the reason why she is so upset all of the sudden, was he missing something?

So the poor and confused boy does the only thing he can think of at the moment. He places his hand on her back, rubbing small circles at first and when (Y/N) doesn’t try to stop him from doing so he pulls her closer “What’s wrong?” the vet is too occupied with Oreo to hear what Colby has whispered to (Y/N), which (Y/N) is thankful for because the last thing she wants is for the vet to think she’s crazy.

“’m just tired” the lack of eye contact wasn’t helping her in the fail attempt of lying “and hungry”

“We can go to Rae’s for breakfast” although Colby knew that wasn’t the problem, he followed along “and then take a nap” and maybe too carried away, but the last thing he wanted to do was to finish their time together, even if he was just as tired as she was because they stayed up all night talking and playing with the dog they had just found in the middle of nowhere.

For some reason he felt like if he let go of her in that moment she would be gone again, just like if she had never been here in the first place. That’s why when (Y/N) nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder he felt the biggest relieved he’s felt in so long.

They were given the option of staying until Oreo’s owner came to pick him up and as much as (Y/N) would have loved to witness the encounter in other given circumstances now it wasn’t the best time for it, so they left to get Colby’s promised breakfast at Rae’s.

From the first second they put a foot outside the vet clinic Colby was dying to ask what was really the reason of (Y/N) mood swing, sadly he didn’t feel in the right position to push her that much in order to get an answer.

“Can you take me straight to Tara’s? I’m really tired, I just want to sleep” Colby felt like he had lost a battle, one that (Y/N) had no idea about, but somehow she had defeated Colby.

“Yeah, sure, I can take you there” (Y/N) hated to be the reason why things had got so awkward between them so fast. With Colby too afraid of making the wrong move and pushing her away forever and with (Y/N) too upset to even pretend she was fine.

Colby’s suspicions were correct, for the next three days he couldn’t get a hold of (Y/N), she wouldn’t answer his calls and the texts she did answer were very vague. The whole situation was equally confusing and frustrating for Colby. On one hand he was fine with giving (Y/N) her space, leaving him some time for himself too; on the other hand, he couldn’t point where did he go wrong, what did he do to make her so upset and disappear for three days, that was all he had in his mind most of the time, but it also didn’t stop him from keeping up with his busy schedule and daily life.

It wasn’t much different for (Y/N), she felt like the longer she tried to stay away from Colby the harder it would be to fall back into good terms, after all she would have to explain why she was acting so weird.

The lack of sleep and the realization of still being very much in love with Colby were the two main factors that got (Y/N) so upset. She wasn’t one to believe in signs from the universe, but in that moment at the vet she would have follow her plan of staying in LA if the universe had made that dog one without an owner, that would have been her sign. On the contrary, she took that sign as one of take your things and run before you make a mistake.

Hence why she is upset, she doesn’t believe in signs, but she made herself believe in that one, which was followed by the call she’s been afraid to receive the very next day.

“You look awfully quiet, my dear” of course the second (Y/N) got the news she went to the only place she could feel better again, Rae’s, where Carly made her the best strawberry milkshake, yet (Y/N) didn’t feel any better and Carly could see it.

“isn’t Colby joining you today?” Rog didn’t mean any harm, he was very happy when Carly told him about having the young couple reunited again after such a long time, but the reminder of Colby hurt.

“No… it’s just me today” (Y/N) couldn’t even look up to answer his question, she was too occupied moving the straw around the half full glass, as if the answer would pop out of it any second.

As Carly and Rog kept taking care of preparing meals and drinks (Y/N) watched them, this time paying more attention than ever before. How Rog would look at Carly from time to time and a smile would appear on his face, how Carly had an endless list of cute nicknames for Rog or simply the way they would crack jokes with the other every other minute.

“How did you and Carly meet?” (Y/N) asked Rog when he got closer whipping the other side of the counter.

“Way back in the day, we were neighbors” just talking about it put a smile on Rog’s face “I didn’t stop until she agreed to go on a date with me”

“Where did you take her?” (Y/N) was already hooked on the story, she loved old people and their life stories.

“To the movies, of course” Carly was a big fan of everything movie related and the decoration on the diner showed her passion, they had the walls covered with movie posters “I was scared to death of her father, but I managed to build the courage and ask for permission. Best decision I ever made”

“How did you know she was the one for you?” you could say she was trying to get advice without asking for it.

Rog stopped cleaning the glasses that had piled on the counter and looked at the lost girl sitting at the stool on the other side of the counter, he could read the look in her eyes.

“It took me some time, some mistakes were made, but without those mistakes we wouldn’t be here today” now (Y/N) was intrigued, but she felt that asking about those mistakes was way too invasive “I asked myself many times if Carly was the woman I would end up marrying, if there was someone else out there for me, because when we started dating it didn’t feel like I could have a connection with anyone else the way I had it with her” (Y/N) stayed quiet, wanting him to continue “but when she and her family moved here , the place she had always dreamt of, I had to let her go, still one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do to this day. I told myself it all happened because it was meant to be like that, I had to stay in New York and work in my father’s business and she was meant to move here” (Y/N) couldn’t help but compare their story with hers and Colby’s “It didn’t take me long to realize what really mattered to me and let me tell you it wasn’t working for my father” he laughed, probably at the memory of those golden years they lived together.

“Did Carly wait for you?” although (Y/N) loved seeing him so happy as he told his story, she couldn’t hold back the questions.

“Oh no, I would have never asked her that, we truly believed we wouldn’t see each other again, but the second I found her… things fell back into place” well, now that was true love “almost fifty years later here we are”

“It’s a beautiful story, Rog” (Y/N) smiled, already deep in thought, putting into perspective everything she knew or at least everything she thought she knew.

“You seem conflicted” Rog had caught on early when she asked the first question why did she wanted to now. After all he had witness the mess Colby had been for the first few weeks after (Y/N) left.

“I am conflicted” with a heavy sigh (Y/N) let her head fall on her crossed arms over the counter.

The action made Rog laugh, that kind of sympathetic laugh you can’t be mad at. He wasn’t stupid, in fact his age and his life experience made him a very wise human being.

“If you want my humble opinion” he started, stopping just to build some expectation, which made (Y/N) look up again “I think you already have the answer you need, you just haven’t accepted yet, so whatever it is you are conflicted about accept it already and put yourself to work”

It wasn’t admitting that Rog was right, (Y/N) already knew what she really wanted to do, but the thought of actually putting herself to work to get to her goal scared her too much.

Fuck that, it was about time she got up and made up for the time she was losing. Rog could see in her eyes how fast her demeanor was changing, leaving the old man with a proud smile on his lips.

“I’m going to do it” (Y/N) stood up from the bar stool, almost knocking it down with how fast she did it “thank you Rog” before running out of the diner, with an unfinished milkshake, she left a five-dollar bill for Rog not waiting for her change, the man deserved the big tip.

“Jake, what does it take so long to pack? Seriously dude”

Colby had been waiting for over an hour for Jake to give him a heads up whenever he had finished packing for their trip and he couldn’t stop texting Jake to hurry up. He wanted to leave as soon as possible, although it was going to be a ‘bussiness trip’ because they were visiting haunted places for the Sam and Colby channel, Colby really wanted to be a few days away from LA.

“Brother relax, don’t pay it with me if (Y/N) doesn’t answer your calls”

It wasn’t a secret for anyone how (Y/N) affected Colby even if he didn’t want it to be that way, none of them couldn’t help it. Jake didn’t mean harm with his comments, they were all in a joking tone, he felt like it was better to joke about it than to make it this taboo topic that made things weird.

“If you’re not ready in ten minutes I’m ditching your ass”

After sending that last text Colby let himself fall on the couch with a deep sigh, why couldn’t he stop thinking about her just for five minutes? A little break for his tired brain and aching heart.

Meanwhile, not so far from Colby’s complex apartment the running hadn’t stopped for (Y/N) when she left the diner, she kept running down the street, through the sea of people that couldn’t care less for the crazy looking girl trying not to trip and fall.

Two blocks into running she was feeling exhausted and the thought running through her mind was how the next thing she was doing was getting in shape.

---

The banging on his apartment door straddled Colby, he wished it was different, but it caught him off guard. Normally none of his friends even knock, they either walk in without knocking or they let him know they’re going up the stairs through a text, so it couldn’t be Jake, the only one Colby was waiting.

“(Y/N)?” it felt like he was in such an emotional rollercoaster in that moment that he couldn’t trust his eyes, but she was there, standing in front of him, breathless from all the running.

“I-“ so breathless she felt like it would take her a while to form a sentence “’m sorry” the frown in Colby’s face deepened.

“Sorry? For what?” (Y/N) quickly put a hand up to let him know she needed to talk and not be interrupted.

It was nice to know she cared enough to acknowledge the fact that she had been avoiding him and she needed to apologize for that, but it wasn’t necessary to run all the way there, she could’ve just called.

(Y/N) took a deep breath, enough to form a full sentence without being cut by her lungs’ terrible performance “I’m sorry for pushing you away when that’s not what I really want”

The possibilities were endless for Colby’s reaction, that was the most terrifying part for (Y/N), who felt her heart start beating again when a small grin appeared on Colby’s face.

He had to admit something, in all the years he had known the breathless girl in front of him, there wasn’t many times he could recall seeing her admit so clearly she was doing something wrong – which was the most beautiful form of art in his eyes.

“Okay… I forgive you” she could recognize the smug smile on his face, he was enjoying this moment in many ways and although in the past she would had told him to stop, now she just wanted to look at him smile in any way possible “Can I ask why you started acting so weird though? I think apologies usually come with explanations.”

It wasn’t a surprise for her, who in their right mind wouldn’t ask? So she invited herself into the living room, where Colby followed after closing the door.

“I… really wanted to keep the dog we found” she admitted turning around to meet his intrigued eyes, the same ones that asked her to keep going “I thought if he didn’t have an owner who wanted him it would be a signal that I should stay in LA, no more voluntary work around the world” Colby was feeling conflicted, he loved the idea of her staying in LA, having her back completely.

The constant movement in her hands was making both of them nervous, they didn’t even take a seat – Colby didn’t mainly because she seemed too anxious to keep herself in place.

“But the dog had an owner” Colby took a step closer, taking her hands in his so she would stop playing with them. It seemed like the physical contact made her focus better, nodding while she looked down at their hands before looking up at him again.

“And that meant I didn’t have a reason to stay here” the tone of her voice went down, now that he was so close to her it felt like the right choice “or so I wanted to make myself believe”

“Do you want to stay?” Colby was doing the best he could to keep himself together, it wasn’t too difficult most of the time, but (Y/N) had always been an exception to any existing rule.

She timidly nodded “I do wanna stay” if someone decided to check her heart rate in that moment she would have broken the machine, because her heart was beating so fast she could pass out at any second “but I realized that way before we found out about the dog’s owner” the confusion on Colby’s face made it clear to her that he had no idea what she meant “I knew I wanted to stay when I realized I’m still in love with you”

Exactly the words he had been dreaming to hear again, a moment he had been waiting and had made himself believe it wouldn’t happen ever again – oh how wrong he was.

If this was a dream he wasn’t risking waking up, so instead trying to learn how to breathe again he let go of her hands and moved them up to cup her face delicately before crashing his lips with hers.

That wasn’t exactly the reaction (Y/N) was expecting, but definitely the best outcome. Of course she kissed him back, this time with no doubts or regrets. It felt so new yet still like coming back home after a horrible day, so warm and welcoming.

Her hands quickly made their way to his waist, tugging on his shirt to keep him close, a small detail that made a spark run through Colby’s body, who was starting to feel breathless from the kiss and the adrenaline of his intense emotions taking over him.

Even when they pulled apart the electricity trying to keep them together was vibrant.

“That was… unexpected” she smiled, intuitively licking her lips that still tasted like him.

“I know; it was unexpected for me too” her sudden love confession was beyond anything he could’ve imagined.

They stayed in silent, looking at each other with silly smiles on their faces – those smiles you get in the so called honeymoon phase of your relationship. In this case Colby and (Y/N) had a long history behind them, but it had always been like the honeymoon phase for them no matter how long they had been together.

Her hands had made their way up to his jaw, letting her fingers dance along his soft skin “Can we get a dog?” she asked out of nowhere.

The look of adoration on Colby’s eyes only intensified after that question, how had he functioned all that time without her? Without feeling the way he was feeling in that very second?

“I thought you’d never ask” this time it was (Y/N) the one who pulled him down for another breathtaking kiss.

There was still a long road in front of them before getting a dog, of course, but the main point was that they were in the same page, the both wanted the same thing and it was as simple as having each other by their side.

Colby’s phone went off, interrupting the heated kiss. When he looked at his phone he saw the incoming called from Jake, just like that he was brought back to reality, he had to leave to the airport, he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy (Y/N) for at least a few more days.

“Fuck” he cursed under his breath, hanging up on Jake “I have a trip with the boys and I should be going to the airport by now”

“It’s okay” giving him a reassuring smile she pecked his lips one more time “have fun, find some ghosts and tell me all about it” her words made him feel automatically better about leaving “I’ll be here when you come back”

His arms wrapped around her tightly, bringing her into a warm hug, one that he needed more than any of them knew. He took in her sweet scent, while she kissed his shoulder and locked her arms behind his back to hug him tighter.

Just as she had promised when Colby came back she was there, not only in LA, but in his apartment. She had found a way to go inside, decorating the place with a bunch of lit candles and flowers she had got for him, because even if he couldn’t keep them alive Colby had always enjoyed getting flowers. She had also made a welcome back sign and since he was coming back late at night she had also made dinner for the two of them.

Colby didn’t know he needed that in his life as much as he did when he saw the whole thing, now remembering all the times he had come back to an empty apartment felt so sad.

“Oh my god” the mixture between his nervous laugh and big smile let her see how much he liked the surprise.

“Welcome home!” (Y/N) exclaimed, jumping from behind the couch – Colby’s smile only went bigger “I promise I wasn’t trying to make a séance with all these candles” she joked, making him laugh.

The shock and surprise was still very clear in his actions, his face, how he couldn’t stop looking around the place “how did you- when- ugh I have so many questions” his focus finally falling back on her.

“I told you I would be here when you came back and Sam has keys to get in here so I just had to nicely ask for them, get them from Kat and get everything inside” she explained “you like it?”

“Oh believe me, I’ve never been so happy to be back home” letting his backpack fall on the floor he shortened the distance between them and kissed her, not holding back for even a second, he was giving it all in that passionate kiss that took her breath away.

“don’t you want to have dinner?” she chuckled between kisses, for Colby there wasn’t time to waste, it was visible in how his hands traveled down her body, stopping one of his hands on her butt and giving it a squeeze while with the other he moved the hair away from her face to kiss her lips again.

“Dinner can wait, I have other priorities at the moment” he whispered, bringing his other hand to her butt too and picking her up, gaining a grin from her.

“mhmmm, I’ve always liked your way of thinking” she added leaning in to kiss down his jaw.

Just like that everything fell back in place, the same way their bodies feel in Colby’s bed. They had found their way back to each other, like (Y/N)’s lips found their way down Colby’s neck. Bodies fitting perfectly together after a long time trying to fill that space with the best new thing, not knowing there was nothing or no one who could compare to the way they worked together.

tagged: @dolanshemm

#colby brock imagine #colby brock #colby x reader #Sam and Colby #sam and colby imagine #Trap House #trap house imagine

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autistic-paul · 5 years

Text

Love is Stored in the Cat

Summary:

Charlotte loves cats. She has three. Sam doesn't like her cats.

That's alright, though. Maybe someday, someone will.

Tags: Charlotte/Ted, emotional abuse (Sam, obviously), happy ending, cats!

AO3, or under the cut! 2292 words.

Charlotte loved cats. This wasn’t a secret, she displayed that simple fact proudly. She knew she gave off the aura of ‘cat lady’, and perhaps that was intentional. What was wrong with that? Cats were wonderful.

She wished Sam agreed.

First came Orville. She’d decided to walk home one day. Nothing like a crisp breeze to clear your thoughts. She was delaying the inevitable, when she’d get home to see it empty once again.

Sam had been staying at work late a lot lately.

That was alright, he was dedicated to his job! He only wanted what was best for their little town, to defend the law.

So what if she could hear the whispers, the murmurings of the way he abused his power, did things he shouldn’t. She knew her Sam, she knew he wouldn’t do such things. Some people simply had trouble with authority figures.

Charlotte pulled her sweater tighter around her and her steps sped up. It got dark so early this time of year, and she’d already dawdled more than she’d planned. Charlotte sighed, taking the sharp, fall-scented air deep into her lungs.

She was so deep into her thoughts that she didn’t notice a faint meowing to her left. The mews got more insistent, as if chastising her for not paying attention to them.

The poor dear was so small that she could hardly see it in the fading sunlight, a tiny black and white cat tucked next to the chain-link fence of the local elementary school.

Charlotte kneeled down, not caring that she might get her skirt dirty. Her gaze was locked on the cat, it’s scrawny body shook, perhaps from the cold, or maybe from fear, but it didn’t look away from her. It clearly had been here for a while. Charlotte clenched her jaw. She’d help this cat. There was no other option.

She took off her sweater slowly, afraid of startling it, but it didn’t budge. Charlotte ignored the goosebumps and the chill that washed over her, her warmth wasn’t the priority now.

Charlotte ran through explanations in her mind as she walked home. On the off chance Sam was there when she got back, he wouldn’t be pleased. Take the cat to the vet, or a shelter, he’d say. Get it out of the house. Charlotte couldn’t think of a satisfying excuse. She simply needed to make sure the tom was okay. Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of standing her ground.

In the end, her frantic preparations didn’t matter. The lights in the house were all out, the silence weighing on her and giving her room to breathe simultaneously. She busied herself with making sure the tom - Orville, she decided, though it was too early to name him - was comfortable. She’d have to run out to get supplies, though she dreaded leaving him. Charlotte figured bringing him back outside, or god forbid, into a car, was the worse option. Orville mewed frequently but was remarkably compliant. He settled into the little nest she made him with her sweater immediately, deeming it safe. Charlotte’s heart melted. This poor little stray was the sweetest thing she’d ever seen.

Everything went smoothly from that point, Charlotte and Orville rapidly grew enamored with each other. With every mew and every chin scratch, Orville’s claws firmly dug themselves into Charlotte’s heart, and she didn’t want them to let go.

When the morning came and she heard Sam’s car finally pull into the driveway, Charlotte held Orville close. She couldn’t stand the idea of leaving him out of sight, not when things were so new, he must be so scared. He’d snuggled up under her chin all night as if he belonged there.

The quarrel ended up being just about what Charlotte had expected. Sam didn’t understand why Orville needed to stay with her. He’d scoffed at the name Charlotte chose, and Charlotte didn’t defend it. She needed to stay on his good side, no more arguing. Except for one thing.

She was keeping Orville.

Not forever, no. Of course not, Sam. Just until he’s healthy and ready. Charlotte knew he didn’t like cats, of course she didn’t forget. It was temporary.

It was not temporary.

Miss Pearlie was next. Orville was lonely, you see. Sam was out of the house so often, and he didn’t play with Orville or clean his litter box. He wasn’t expected to, that was Charlotte’s job. She’d taken the cat home, it was her duties. Just like the cooking, the cleaning, and the laundry. Sam was so tired from work, it was only expected. Charlotte had a simple office job, she could do it all, no problem. So Charlotte wore him down. Little suggestions, to appeal to his empathy. Orville wouldn’t claw things up if he had a friend. He was just bored!

Charlotte couldn’t wait for Sam’s final answer, his once firm ‘no’ became annoyed grunts, and Charlotte looked up some local breeders. A beautiful snow white kitten, curled up next to her when she sat next to the basket, and she knew right away. Charlotte couldn’t keep from stroking that lovely fur the entire ride back, cooing and baby talking so much that she nearly missed her turn. Miss Pearlie, for her fur.

She hadn’t told Sam. Charlotte had learned long ago that it was best to just get it all over with. She was sure this time he’d love her, the kitten was simply perfect, so gentle. Orville would love her just as much as Charlotte did, and Sam, well, he’d grow to love her too.

Sam’s anger was silent this time around, he could see in her eyes that she wasn’t backing down, and so he showed his disapproval without words. Single-word answers, quiet mutterings. When he closed doors just a little too loud, Charlotte had Miss Pearlie pressed close to her chest for comfort.

Thankfully, Orville and Miss Pearlie got along wonderfully. Orville showed her around the house, showed her the best places to curl up in the sun, taking her under his wing. It became a common sight to see them curled up next to each other, and Charlotte’s heart grew lighter by the day. It wasn’t long after their new addition to the household that Miss Pearlie’s gentleness was replaced by a fierce demeanor. She’d mewl loudly if she wasn’t stroked at the exact moment she asked for it, and she seemed to take great joy in destruction. Toilet paper rolls were her victim of choice, but she seemed to specifically target Sam’s possessions. A tie, a shoe, his watch, once… All to be found in a pile under the bed, with Miss Pearlie staring up at him with a not even remotely convincing innocence.

Miss Pearlie seemed to hold a grudge against Sam. She’d hiss at him for seemingly no reason sometimes, on her bad days. Charlotte tried to tell Sam this maybe if he tried to give her some attention, play with her from time to time, she’d warm up to him. Miss Pearlie was an absolute darling to Charlotte, after all. Sam refused. He wanted nothing to do with her cats. Orville wasn’t the friendliest towards Sam either, but there was an acceptance there. A simple understanding. Sam didn’t care about Orville, so Orville didn’t care about Sam.

Patches was an expected addition to their family. Charlotte couldn’t say that the other two were lonely, she knew the truth this time. She wanted more cats, more to care for, more to love her. She had so much love to give, why couldn’t she? It wasn’t as if it would matter to Sam, he pretended they didn’t exist.

The argument could have blown up further, and she knew it. She hadn’t planned on letting the truth spill out, but what else could she do? Sam was yelling about the fur all over the couch, the way Miss Pearlie looked at him, telling Charlotte that there was absolutely no chance she was bringing another home when Charlotte snapped. She needed someone to keep her company on these recurring late nights, someone to be there when he wasn’t, night after night.

They hadn’t spoken about it before, and it shut Sam right up. His jaw clenched, looking as if he would fight some more, but he didn’t. He spat a single fine and stormed out of the room. Get a thousand cats, for all I care. See if that’ll help.

Orville and Miss Pearlie were especially cuddly that night.

Along came Patches, a sleepy little calico who never wanted to leave Charlotte’s side. This one she’d picked from a shelter, her green eyes so clear, like she was trying to communicate with Charlotte. She was the brains of the operation, and had decided she was the leader of the group. She was in charge, and she wanted everyone to know it. When she was awake, at least. Charlotte’s heart was filled to the brim, three wonderful, incredible cats. She never felt so whole as when she played with them. Her confidence grew by the day. Who knew something so simple could change her whole worldview? She had love to spare for her three fluffy dears, and they gave it right back.

She was in such a good mood that when Ted started making his advances, she didn’t tell him off. Why should she? She enjoyed the attention, though she knew she shouldn’t. She’d known Ted for years, she knew what he was like. He’d try to bed anyone he thought he could, and she’d never been interested before. These days though… What was stopping her? A single night of fun, that was all. Sam wouldn’t find out. Not that it mattered much if he did.

Charlotte tried not to think about that.

On the first night with Ted, Charlotte kept her cats locked in the kitchen. It was more out of habit than anything else, Sam threw a fit if anything interrupted them. She wanted things to go smoothly with Ted.

Not because of any emotional attachment, of course. Their arrangement was clear. It was nothing, nothing at all.

On the fifth night, Ted showed up a little earlier than expected. A little eager, perhaps. Not to see her, no. He was there for one reason and one alone, Charlotte didn’t want to delude herself. His trademark smirk was on full display as he leaned against the doorframe, slicking back his hair. Charlotte ignored the fluttering in her stomach. It was excitement, nothing more. Being with Ted was… Nice. It was a distraction, and a welcome one. Ted’s gaze darted away from hers, an eyebrow raising.

“Who’s that?” He asked.

Charlotte whirled, expecting to see a looming figure, or god forbid, Sam. It took her a moment to see what Ted was referring to, she was looking for a human being. No, he meant Miss Pearlie. She was sitting there with her paws neatly tucked beneath her, eyes on Ted. Her tail swished slowly back and forth on the carpet. Charlotte swallowed. “T-that’s Miss Pearlie. I’ll put her back into the kitchen, don’t worry.” Ted walked passed her, inviting himself in, and dropped to his knees on the floor. Charlotte’s heart pounded, waiting for Miss Pearlie’s telltale hiss. “She’s not the most friendly to people other than me, oh Ted, maybe you shouldn’t-”

Miss Pearlie was… purring. Ted was stroking her little cheek, and there wasn’t a single sign that the normally aggressive cat was going to snap. Charlotte was stunned, and she didn’t speak another word.

Soon, Orville and Patches decided to see what the fuss was about, and Ted was forced to divide his attention between them. Charlotte circled around them to get a better view, and she smiled, hand to her chest. They liked him. How odd.

Ted didn’t stay for too long, getting to his feet and standing in front of her. Heat flooded Charlotte, and she grasped Ted’s hand to drag him to the bedroom. More brazen then he was used to, perhaps, and she worried for a moment that he’d be turned off, but his smirk returned and he joined her, nearly tripping over his feet in his haste.

Charlotte would never tell anyone, but Ted was surprisingly sweet. In these stolen moments with the moonlight streaming in through the window, it was as if his guard was finally down. His affections were quiet, lips pressed to her shoulder, so faint she couldn’t be sure that’s what she was feeling, the way he spoke her name, almost reverent. Little things, but little things that meant more to her than she could possibly express. They fell into a routine faster than she should have felt comfortable with. She found herself wishing that it was easier, that she could have more than the secret glances in the office, the nights that gave them both the freedom to feel what they couldn’t manage in daylight.

It wasn’t that easy, though. She couldn’t have everything.

But there Ted was, leaning over the edge of the bed to stroke Orville’s ears, speaking so softly that Charlotte couldn’t hear the words with one ear pressed against a pillow, but the tone was unmistakable. Charlotte held back a giggle. Ted, baby talking a cat. Who could have guessed?

Charlotte sighed, and her resolution grew. She knew what she had to do. She dreaded the long process. Divorce, such a nasty word. She couldn’t shake it, though she knew it was what had to be done. She couldn’t do it for herself, she’d proven that. But she listened to the quiet purring being drawn out from Ted’s affections and she made a choice. For them, then. Someone who’d treat them right.

They deserved it.

#tgwdlm #the guy who didn't like musicals #starkid #tgwdlm fic #mine #do they have a ship name??#cannot believe i'm like #writing now #fic

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god-hunter · 4 years

Text

Things Have Changed Too Much

It’s only been a month since I moved in and already so much has changed. Too much has changed! Remember how I said last time that by the end of this, we’re gonna come out in a completely different place? Well... I’m in the different place. And I hate everything about this Future/Now.

Almost everything... There are Silver Linings. And an Orange little ball of light that entered my life, 3 weeks ago. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I want to balance the good with the bad, and run you week by week as best as possible.

Forget dates, but we’re ranging from 4/12 - 5/11.

In that first week of living in my new pad, I’ve been owning the whole single bachelor lifestyle. After the pizza ran out, I had a well-stocked fridge full of frozen meat and other basic essentials, thanks to Mom. I needed to buy more pans and stuff though, so off to Target, I was.

Within those first 2 weeks, I was going to Target like, every other day. Always thinking of something new, or buying something that caught my eye. I’ll spare the details, but I will bring up furniture.

As I brought up in the last entry, I didn’t have a couch anymore... So I tried to rock that Amazon Prime, and order a quick comfy chair to get the job done, while I take my time to research and order a good couch with the correct Dimensions to get through my narrow door...

Well, ordering that fucking chair was a mistake, because it took forever to come through. So long, in fact, that I found a better thing at Target for less money and just picked that up instead.

So in week 1, in my living room, I was rocking two kitchen chairs. One served as my sitting chair and the other was a make-shift table... In week 2, I got a tufted comfy chair from Target, which was the shit. It absolutely did the job, as my back was KILLING me, once again. [This happened during my last move as well]. I’d be on the phone with my parents pretty much nightly, and my Mom told me that I’m probably doing so much without realizing it. I did do a lot within just 3 days alone. I definitely recall taking a break to recuperate.

That make-shift bed was a disaster too. My Dad pulled out the mattress from their couch and let me borrow it to give myself more back-support when I sleep. So now I had a couch and a bed to research, but I was not up for it yet.

In week 3, the original comfy chair I ordered from Amazon came, and it was.. mediocre. But paired right next to the Target chair made for an interesting make-shift Loveseat, while the other two kitchen chairs buffed around the sides to serve as end tables, almost. Soon enough, I bought an inexpensive leather ottoman from Target as well and my Living Room was starting to get a little cozy. I might have ordered my couch at that point and I was just waiting for it to come in. In another day or so, I was finally ready to look into getting a proper bed delivered. That process was a train wreck in itself, but... I found something I really liked. I took a gamble on a hybrid mattress. Half memory foam, half spring coils. Time would tell if this was a good choice, but at the very least, I was very happy with the bed frame and box spring.

That same week, something magical happened. This one merits a date. On Wednesday 4/22, I got a Kitten! It wasn’t planned, but the Ex caught word from her sister that an Orange Cat needed a home and I hit her up instantly. That day Fate intervened man. Suddenly I was a Cat Dad for real, and I couldn’t be happier in that regard. But... we’re not done...

The next day, my parents were really excited to meet my Kitty cat and see the apartment for the first time. A couch was still on its way, unfortunately. We were even half-expecting it to arrive that day, but that didn’t happen. Well... After my Mom walked up a flight of stairs to my 2nd floor apartment, she was winded and needed to sit down. This surprised us, as she didn’t look well. She was kind of gasping and didn’t even take her coat off.

After asking if she was alright, she said, “No...” and explained that she felt faint last night. She’d been having trouble breathing since the night before. This made me really worried. She didn’t think it was Covid though. Just something we’d all keep our eye on.

I got her water, and in 10 minutes she felt better. Good enough to walk around and check out my rooms. And hold the baby kitty cat. We went to his 1st Vet appointment together, which entailed a lot of sitting around and waiting in the car, since they don’t let you in. It was good to chill in the car with them while my little boy was getting taken care of.

We got back in the apartment and AGAIN, she was winded. This was bad... When they left, I felt really bad and I was really worried about Mom. Our phone calls became daily from that point on. It was definitely somewhere in this period that I was calling her and updating her about my bed purchase, which was a pain in the ass. I was definitely yelling, and upset, because my online order didn’t go through and I hadn’t figured it out yet. That next morning I was able to update her with good news that I was able to place the order on the phone and it even cost less. She was so happy for me. It was a really good conversation. She even went over all these changes I’ve been through since February, and how bit by bit I’ve been taking each of them on like a champ. She expressed how proud she was of me, which wasn’t unlike her. But... sometimes I wonder if this was precautionary... I think... I had the couch delivered, I just didn’t put it together yet. I think she knew about that. She also knew that I had a bed coming that week on Thursday that was going to be fully put together and set up for me. I remember her feeling really good about that.

Well, it was absolutely on Tuesday morning - 4/28 that I put together my couch, with minor issues, but I got it done. I was SO happy. The kitty cat was playing with the giant box and foam stuff that it came in. I filmed it for FB. It was really cute. I went to the bathroom, and I was washing my hands, I got a call from the house phone. I was really excited, because I was just about to call her!

Only... it was Dad, and he had terrible news.

That morning at 5AM, Mom had another breathing fit. [One of 3, which I had not known about!!!]. My Dad decided enough was enough. He was calling the Ambulance. She agreed. This was an Emergency and needed to be looked at.

The ambulance got there within half an hour and gave her oxygen. She immediately felt better as they took her away. My Dad was not allowed to go with her. He kissed her on the forehead and told her that he’d see her later.

My Dad received 3 phone calls that day. I think I’ll just spare the details and say that on the 3rd call, they told him that she didn’t make it...

The rest of my week was a nightmare. Nothing mattered anymore...

My Middle Brother took on the role of calling up the Hospital for as much information as possible and organizing the Funeral Arrangements for her. I was the emotional support for my Dad and Oldest Brother, who was a pain in the ass this whole time. My Middle Brother mostly had it together, but I was there for him too of course. There were a lot of Zoom phone calls late at night now. With both Family and Friends. The Cousins reached out and really made us feel better, simply by talking about it. We weren’t alone or so distant, despite our vastly different locations. We were connected.

I Zoomed a lot that week, and that’s important, but we’re not done yet.

My Mom’s Funeral Service was put on Zoom, for my friends and family to attend. The Service was limited to 10 people only. Everything sucked.

The same day we put my Mom in the Ground, the Honeymoon was officially over at the Apartment. My Landlord’s Brother took it upon himself that day to complain for a 2nd TIME that I had been zooming at night with phone calls that are so loud that its as if I’m in the same room with him.

I apologized and explained my situation. But I was more put off and upset at this. How fucking dare he!? Does he have ANY IDEA what I’ve been through!??? The short answer is no, but also... he doesn’t care. It doesn’t change the fact that I’ve kept him from sleeping for at least 3 nights in a row.

For that I apologize, but these 2 go to bed at 10PM!! I’m sorry, but even when I’m working, I go to bed at Midnight. We’re under Quarantine, dude... I get tired between 12 & 3 now...

I told my Landlord that I don’t want his brother knocking on my door to complain to me anymore. I’m standing up for myself. But the other part of that discussion was that they’re going to Soundproof the Ceiling of his room so he doesn’t have to hear me. I am taking it upon myself to do the same to the room above him, which is my studio. It was a project I was going to take on anyway, but... I never would have worked on this right after my Mother’s death...

GOD! Are you fucking KIDDING ME!!!?

These emotions are raw, folks... I’m still so perturbed by the fact that the 1st two Zoom calls were in my LIVING room. I was talking NORMALLY. I wasn’t yelling. Yes I was laughing at 2 AM. 100%. The third time was even with Headphones on!!! But again, we’re under quarantine and we’re all adults. You gotta be fucking kidding me. So that’s what I said to my Landlord in a very respectful text. We need to respect each other’s lifestyles.

That bed came in by the way... 2 days after my Mother had perished. I was numb the whole time. Here I was getting this beautiful gift and I was no longer in any mood to receive it. I couldn’t tell her about it... Same goes for the couch. Right after I set up that couch, I got the bad news, so I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Now it’s a little better. I’ve gotten over it. It’s quite comfortable actually, albeit a little small for me. I’ve definitely passed out on it a bunch already. Which is exactly what I was TRYING to do, when the Landlord’s fucking brother came at me a 2nd time about the Zoom calls. The 1st time was enough! No new information was exchanged. I already knew they were gonna do the soundproofing thing!! He was probably really trying to impress upon me that it’s disturbing and to try to not do that, but guess what. You’re not my Dad Motherfucker. In fact, you’re not even my Landlord. And then I came to find that he doesn’t even fucking pay RENT. So his Say, is NOTHING...

FUCK THIS GUY. Absolutely. Whole-heartedly.. Fuck Him.

There’s more reasons why I am saying that, which are none of my business, let alone yours. I found out a lot about him from my old Co-Worker - the very same one who hooked me up with this apartment. Which almost segues perfectly into the latest development in my life. This Co-Worker tried to set me up with a new girl that she knows. This one’s a 32 year old Single Mom, and she’s got a cute face. I don’t know the rest of her body, but I know she’s a bigger Woman. That doesn’t really bother me, but after my Ex, that kind of thing is important to me. Because if you don’t have your Health... I can’t really take care of you...

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This is truly, the newest development since about 4 or 5 days ago. My Mom has passed... I’ve been working on this Fucking Soundproofing project.. and something came over me, that... I think I’m ready to meet new people.

On paper it’s only 3 months since we broke up, but it feels like longer, because week:month ratios are funny like that.

On the Female Front, I haven’t really been trying. I had mentioned before that things have gone cold with almost all parties. When I was living alone, I fell into a pattern of playing WatchDogs2, watching Wrestling Reviews and even enjoying Manga Readings of DragonBall Super. It was becoming a reliable little routine, before the kitty came into my life. I was it’s savior, but then a week later when my Mom died... this little guy is my savior.

I never thought about it, but I really do believe that animals come into our lives for a reason now. Exactly when they’re meant to. Someone or something knew I was going to need this comfort in my life... And I’m so grateful for that. This is the sort of thing that could even get me to believe in God. But... I already believe in a higher power, so that’s enough...

::sigh::

This entire Era, really fucking sucks. Now I’m my Dad’s emotional support partner. Who counts on me and asks me to visit all the time. And... that’d be fine if he wasn’t so hard to talk to. All he wants to do is talk about himself. When she was alive, he talked about how lucky he was to have met Mom...

So now those stories are just grating, frustrating and Exhausting!

But... he needs me. And I guess I need him... The brothers need to be united too. My Oldest Brother I’m worried about. He’s always been the angriest amongst the 3 of us. And most reliant on my Mother for help.

But I was talking about Women for a second...

Like I said, most of the novelty of keeping in touch has faded. My Social Distancer, might still want to go on that catch up date when this is all over, but when we talk, I don’t feel the warmest of vibes from her. I feel like I annoy her, which is the worst thing to ever bring up to a girl you’re talking to. Almost the same goes for Canada Girl. She’s practically off my radar, we talk so infrequently. The vibe is definitely cooler, and fuck knows if she’ll ever want to really come over like she said she did. Zombie Mama is really sweet, but we barely talk. She receives my messages very warmly and has definitely still expressed interest in getting me out of the house when this is all over. So I love it. I’ll absolutely take her up on that. In the exact contrast, you won’t be hearing about Bakery Girl anymore... I decided to hit her up again for the first time since she found out about the news. I tried to have a normal conversation/re-ignite flirting, but Nope. It was a short conversation that dwindled fast. And when I brought up that I’d like to stay in better touch and text more if that’s okay, she absolutely said, “Aww that’s sweet, but I’m such a terrible texter. I’m not the one, lol.” That terminology was so weird. Did she catch my vibe? Was she politely letting me down?? I caught that vibe and didn’t make it a conflict. But I did say, “In other words don’t count on you?” And she was like, “Yup, lol.” ::shaking my head:: What the fuck ever... [I also looked it up and that’s absolutely a thing that girl’s say when they’re not interested, so... fuck it.]

I actually shared that with Original Crush Twin, who was surprised, but also reassured me that she wasn’t looking for anything and always just sort of did her own thing anyway. I’m not broken up about it. It’s just annoying. If anything it’s given me more of a direction.

I can pretty much forget about everyone else. Gamer Girl is just a friend, Green is a bad idea and way too Polyamorous... Significant Party has had their own problems with the other half and I’ve stayed out of it. I’m there, but it’s none of my business. When they found out my Mom died, they were very supportive and told me to call whenever I needed. I haven’t needed to vent at 6 AM, although the gesture was really sweet. However, one night of flirting wasn’t really received due to bad timing from their own drama and... I just can’t with that right now. That’s the type of shit that fucked up this relationship last time. But they know how I feel and we’ve been in touch a lot this week. We’ve definitely been naughty in other ways, so... I think our Open Friendship is just fine But now I have other things going on. And I need to start focussing on moving on.

Which brings me to new girl. We’ll call her Mama Girl. Its too soon to tell how much chemistry we actually have. This person has a 3 year old and Dad is out of the picture, although it’s not without its own drama apparently. I’m still learning her. As my Co-worker said, she’s definitely sweet and silly. She laughs at basically everything, so she seems easy going enough. But as she is a Mother, she’s busy for most of the day. At around 9:30 the kid goes to bed, and that’s when it’s go-time to talk. We have a window until about 11. Sometimes she’ll push to midnight to stay up, but she’s already shot by that point and is quick to excuse herself for the night. One thing that I like about her is that I know when the conversation is over... But last night, I found out that this bitch is moving in 2 years! Like Away, not to another town. So should I even bother???

Right now I’m taking it with a grain of salt. She’s a new person to talk to, is a self-proclaimed open book, has a million stories and is happy to hear mine. She knows about Mom thanks to good old Facebook... She apologized for the news and said she’d never mention it again unless I wanted to talk about it. She’s really sweet. And she sends little hearts when I say things she likes, or even when she says goodnight. Last night she used the emoticon with all the hearts around it when saying goodnight, so... I guess that's something, lol.

So not only does she like my pictures, but I guess she likes me. She definitely likes the company and talking to another adult. I can only imagine what it’s like to deal with a 3 year old all day.

But I can certainly say that waiting for 9:30 for whatever minimal conversation we can squeeze out is a fucking drag. So... I’m trying to take it in stride. It’s not like we can actually go out anyway... This Social Distancing World we live in is indefinitely prolonged until further notice.

But... Today is a new week. I’m on my 7th week of Unemployment, I’ll have had my kitten for 3 weeks this Wednesday, my Mom hasn’t been with us for 2 weeks - tomorrow, and I’ve been split from my Ex-girlfriend for 3 months. I’ve had a place of my own for 1 month, and soon I’ll have known this new girl for a week...

Who knows what the future will hold...?

I’m not excited for it. At all...

Finances are no longer a Fear... My Mom’s investments had investments... She is leaving us Well Off!

But that is hardly a silver lining at this time...

My New Normal is going to suck. The World is in peril. And I swear to God, every time I actually think about it, I swear I want to just crack. I feel fucking defeated man...

But, it’s not over. And each day, I remind myself that too. And somehow I find it in me to move on. One fucking moment at a time...

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shellbilee · 6 years

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Classic - A Henry Cavill FanFiction

This story happened because I decided to watch Mission Impossible: Fallout and found myself falling crazily in love with the man that is Henry Cavill. Chapters coming slowly but have written a few already. Let me know what you think! B x

Chapter 1

I awoke with a start, the blaring sound of my phone alarm ringing in my ears. Ugh mornings, I thought with an inward groan, reaching over and feeling around blindly for the source of the noise. I gave up after a few seconds of failed attempts, unwillingly opening my eyes and finally locating my phone. I silenced the incessant noise and dropped my phone back onto the bedside table, letting out a deep breath and dropping my face back into the pillow.

What I wouldn't give to be a morning person.

I felt a soft pressure on the mattress beside me and a cold, wet touch against my arm. I opened one eye to find Kyah’s big liquid eyes looking back at me expectantly, her white fluffy tail wagging happily. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her, her big fluffy bear head resting on the bed and her nose only inches from my face.

“And what do you want Miss?” I asked softly, knowing full well what she wanted, her tail wagging faster as she let out a soft whine.

I sighed.

“But it’s cold outside Kyah!” I whined back to her, as if she had a clue what I was saying to her.

That’s it, I’m actually becoming one of those crazies that talks to their pets.

I closed my eyes and dropped my head into my pillow with another tired groan.

Ugh.

Kyah let out a second insistent whine that trailed off into a soft bark and I rolled away from her and spread out my limbs like a starfish. It was way too early and way too cold to get up for a walk.

Sorry Kyah, not today babe.

As if she could hear my thoughts, Kyah jumped up so that her front two paws were on my bed and nudged me with her nose.

“Kyah!” I groaned again, putting a pillow over my face, “Not now”.

It was 5.30am - if I went back to sleep now I could still have a solid hour and a half sleep before I had to get up for work. I smiled at the thought of extra sleep and snuggled into my blankets, relishing the cozy warmth.

Mmmm, who needed mornings?

I jumped when Kyah let out a loud bark moments later, shaking me from my thoughts and disrupting my sleepy stupor. I let out a frustrated groan knowing that she wouldn't stop - a trait that she definitely got from her owner.

Ugh. Okay.

No longer able to fight it, I threw off my blankets and sat up on the edge of the bed.

“Alright, alright I’m up!”.

I could see my breath in the cold morning air, the smoke plumes wispy, as if I was smoking. I pulled the zip of my slim black running jacket all the way up to my chin, bouncing on the spot in an effort to warm up my frozen feet.

Jesus it was cold!

Goosebumps rose on my arms under my jacket and I shivered, sniffing loudly. I let out a heavy sigh, annoyed that my nose had started to run despite the fact that I'd only been outside for less than two minutes.

Great.

I readjusted my aqua blue beanie making sure that my ears were covered, shielding them from the cold as I looked out at the frost covered street. It was a typical March morning in London, the first rays of weak, watery sunshine peaking out through the thick grey clouds, the overnight frost just starting to melt.

Kyah sat patiently by my feet, looking up at me with bright, expectant eyes. I looked down at her as I plugged my white airpods into my ears, smiling as she wagged her tail happily.

"You ready pup?" I asked, touching the Spotify app on my phone and selecting the first playlist that popped up. I smirked to myself when I saw that I'd chosen one called 'Morning Motivation' - fitting since my motivation for the morning was basically non existent today. Kyah stood up on all fours and let out a sharp bark, a Jess Glynne song starting in my ears as I glanced down at her. I tucked my phone into my pocket and bent down to pick up my travel mug full of tea, it's warmth instantly melting my frozen hands.

Mmm.

"Alright miss, let's go".

The streets were cold, wet and empty as we walked, both mine and Kyah's breath visible in the chilly air. I took another sip of tea and closed my eyes as I swallowed, the hot liquid sending a comforting warmth spreading throughout my body. Kyah stopped to sniff a plant and I tried not to think about the fact that I could still be in bed right now, instead trying to think about how guilty I'd feel if I didn't take Kyah out in the mornings. While I loved living in London, I hated that my little townhouse only had the tiniest bit of outdoor area, with an even tinier section of grass. It meant that it was that much harder to own a dog, let alone one that was the size of Kyah. With their big bear size, double coats and high activity requirements, Alaskan Malamutes weren't exactly the best suited breed for unit living.

I pulled Kyah along and found myself thinking about work, my mind trying to remember how busy my schedule was for the day. I was a vet at a local clinic in Western London. Born in Australia, I'd moved over to the UK with my mum and older brother after finishing high school, later enrolling at the University of London's Royal Veterinary College. Five never ending years later I'd graduated with my Bachelor of Veterinary Science and had later gotten a job at the Riverside Veterinary Clinic. It was a small clinic situated in the small leafy suburb of Churchill Gardens, expansive views of the Thames river visible from almost all of the treatment rooms. I'd been a part of the Riverside team for almost six years now - the longest-serving employee second only to my boss, senior veterinarian Ben Middleton. He'd hired me straight out of university as a new graduate and was one of the most dedicated, passionate people that I'd ever met. He had an incredible natural kinship with both animals and people that was impossible not to admire, a trait that made him one of the most well known and respected vets in all of London. Over the years he'd been an incredible boss and an even better mentor, teaching me everything he knew about the practices of animal medicine and care. To say I was grateful to have Ben as a boss was an understatement to say the least.

We came to a stop as we reached the end of the street, Kyah sitting down at my feet with her body angled towards the left and her ears standing to attention. I smiled, we walked the same route almost every morning and she always knew exactly which way to go. I knew that I'd have no problem walking her off lead if I'd wanted to - and I had on several occasions, but her size did make it difficult. I'd lost count of how many people quickly crossed the street whenever they saw us walking, even when she was on the lead. How many times parents pulled their children behind them whenever we passed, as if Kyah were a vicious animal that was going to take a bite out of a toddler just because. I chuckled to myself knowing that that couldn't be further from the truth. Kyah was quite literally a one hundred pound ball of fluff, a lovable teddy bear that just wanted a cuddle. And food. She ate anything and everything.

"You know what Kyah?" I asked as I took another sip of my tea, looking down at her as she turned to look up at me, panting happily. "I think we'll change it up today" I said as I pulled her to the right, deciding to go a different way.

Normally we walked up towards Hyde Park, into the busier part of town, usually getting there just in time to watch the city wake up. Office workers hurriedly rushed to early meetings, cafe's opened up for the morning coffee rush and the wheezing sounds of the subway could always be heard as we walked past Kensington station.

Not today, I thought as we crossed the street, walking down in the direction of Thames river instead. It was time for a different route.

I could see Kyah's nose working overtime as she took in all of the new smells, pausing momentarily as she stopped to sniff a very bare looking rosebush. I took another sip of my tea and hummed along to the Sam Smith song that had just begun to play in my ears, idly wondering if there were any parks nearby where I could let Kyah off her lead for a run. I always loved watching her run off lead, her ears tall and her tail wagging as she excitedly explored her new freedom. We turned down another street that was filled with old brownstone townhouses, the antique looking buildings lining either sides of the street. Bare looking hazel trees were placed strategically down the road, their empty branches stripped of their leaves from the frigid cold. For a moment I couldn't help but imagine how this street would look in the full bloom of spring - with the trees full and green and the morning sun shining down through them, it would be picture perfect, like something out of a movie.

A chilly breeze momentarily blew past sending a frozen shiver down my body, as if the weather was listening to my thoughts and reminding me that no, it wasn't quite Spring yet. I looked down jealously at Kyah knowing that the chill would barely register to her, her thick, woolly fur stopping any sort of cold from touching her skin. We reached the end of the street and I took another grateful sip of my hot tea, trying to determine which way to go next when my eyes fell on a green, lush-looking park in the distance. Deciding it was the perfect place for Kyah's run, we started down the pavement towards the park.

As we reached the park I could see that it was about the size of a football field, the entire area covered in thick green grass. Several giant oak trees dotted the expansive area, a paved walking track snaking through and around the field. Looking around I found that the park was completely empty, not a single person was around - no one walking their dog or going for their morning run.

Perfect.

I looked down at Kyah who was looking out at the field expectantly, her ears to attention and her tail wagging furiously.

"What do you think girl? Want to have a run?".

She looked up at me with liquid eyes and barked in response, her adorable face making me smile instantly. I bent down and put my travel mug on the ground, reaching around to un-clip Kyah's lead from her harness. I ruffled the soft fur of her chest and dropped a quick kiss on her head, smiling as I folded her lead in my hand and moved to stand back up again. Just as I opened my mouth to tell her to run, Kyah let out a deep, rumbling growl - the same growl that she made whenever she felt threatened, and looked up just in time to see a huge black and white American Akita bounding towards us.

---

Chapter 2

#henry cavill #superman #cavill #cavilledits #fanfiction #henrycavillfan #clark kent #henry cavill fanfiction #smut #love #romance #kal #august walker

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redfoxwritesstuff · 6 years

Text

Of Mermaids and Fairy Tails

Tom Hiddleston x OC

Romance, fluff

This is 9k words. Sorry.

Please note, all references to actual real life children will be vague. I hope to have balanced privacy and respect with my creative works. All events are fiction, I do not know Tom, nor will I likely ever have the joy of meeting him.

Warnings: Just fluffy. Free diving can be a dangerous sport, please swim responsibly.

Summery: Tom, Chris and Chris’ children are traveling, giving mom a break. In an effort to entertain the children, they visit a Mermaid show and it’s hard to say who’s more mesmerized by the mermaid, the children or Tom.

Tom was tired. Chris was tired. You know who wasn't tired? The three kids bouncing around the rooms. Chris wanted to give his wife a break and it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Take the kids with him, tag team with Tom during individual interviews and spent some time with one of his best mates and his kids.

Tom had agreed. It sounded fun. Spending time with this niece was always pleasant. What difference could it really be, being three kids rather then one? What could go wrong? Famous last words. Surprisingly, it was a big difference, having two more children then he was used to. They seemed to feed off each other, running and bouncing and talking amazingly fast. That's not to say the three were poorly behaved, just that they were young and full of life.

You know who didn't feel young and full of life at that moment? Tom. Tom felt old, his bones ached and sleeping for a month was sounding appealing.

Chris didn't feel so young himself as he looked through entertainment listings for child friendly things to do before passing the task off to Tom and joining the ever energetic children. Vegas was not made for kids but there was still a surprising selection. In front of Tom, giggles and laughter filled the room as Chris rough housed with the kids, trying to wear them out.

“Okay, how about dinner?” Chris announced, dropping the twins in a heap on the bed and ordering all small people to wash faces and hands, gather socks and shoes and prepare to leave. Tom was thankful, it was less crazy when they were out in public where they had to behave under the ever watchful eye of possible press.

“Where to?” Tom asked, slipping his own shoes on.

“Pizza?” Chris shrugged. Tom knew he shouldn't but he didn't normally make such poor dietary choices and agreed.

The seemingly magical thing about hotels in Las Vegas was that they contained everything. Not just one or two or even three restaurants but over 20 under this roof alone. To be fair, the resorts were huge and many had shop filled halls that ran into each other, making it hard to tell where one hotel began and the other ended.

It was much faster to find a pizza joint by asking the staff then walking the massive expanse of the hotel. The waitstaff cooed over the children, singing praises to the men managing to take charge of them while looking so dignified and refined. If only they knew of the chaos when they were in private. Autographs were signed, pictures were taken and the meal eaten. The men discussed and planed, trying to come up with ways to entertain the kids for the night that didn't include jumping around a hotel room.

“I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear. It's best to ask the locals if you're wanting to find things for the littles. The internet seems to think all anyone does here is drink, gamble and well...” A black haired waitress spoke softly, a bit rushed as a blush dusted her cheeks. She was young, very young and looked so timid.

“We've noticed that problem.” Tom laughs, setting his phone done and locking it, banishing away yet another article of '100 fun things to do in Las Vegas!'

“What do you suggest?” Chris asked, doing the same with his phone.

“Do they like mermaids?” The woman chewed at her lip. She must have been just out of high school.

“Who doesn't like mermaids?” Chris laughed as the kids perked up. The waitress relaxed having the kid's attentions. They were much less intimidating then talking to Thor and Loki.

“What if I told you guys,” She leaned in, dropping her voice lower as if it was a secret. “that we have a real life mermaid princess, right here and she happens to be a friend of mine?” The two girls squealed in delight, earning more hearty laughter from Chris.

“Where can we find information on the mermaid?” Tom hadn't found anything as interesting as a mermaid show online.

“She'll be in the shark tank in about 45 minutes. Tell the staff Maggie sent you and they'll make sure you get to meet her.

“How much will it be?” Chris asked after directing the kids to eat their pizza.

“Oh no, the mermaid is free, that's why she didn't show up in your searches, why promote something that wont bring any money? I'll let you get on with your meal, I do hope you enjoy the show.” Maggie left them with a smile on her face. Oh yes, Rose was going to kill her but this was worth it. So very worth it.

Rose nearly picked up her phone, still wearing the fish muck covered gloves before she caught herself and wiggled her hand out and answered.

“Maggie, what's up Kiddo? I'm working a long night so if you need help with Bio you're on your own.” With the phone pinned between her shoulder and head, Rose slipped the glove back on and set about preparing buckets of food for the many tanks under her care. “What do you mean, a private meet and greet? For who? If it's a surprise, how do I know who to bring back? You told the kids what?! Fine, fine, no it's fine. I don't have a crown or anything. Right, of course you are. I'll see you in ten. Bring me dinner!” Maggie had disconnected the call before her last request made it completely out of her mouth. Rose's hips and legs ached. Earlier it had seemed like a good idea to skip lunch and spend extra time swimming. Not that she didn't swim enough, Rose spent most of her day swimming in tanks in three different resorts.

Rose groaned when her phone slipped from her shoulder and dropped into a bucket of slop. At least it had a soft landing. Her staff always laughed that she required they all have waterproof phones or at least cases but that was the very reason why. It took no time at all the rinse the phone and set out delegating the night's feeding. It was amazing how much time was spent feeding the animals.

They still had about 30 minutes before the curtain would open again on the shark tank when Maggie came rushing out the doors and into the sweltering summer heat, holding a bag in her hand. The poor girl was winded but excited just the same.

“So do I get to know what all the fuss is for?” When Maggie just shook her head and pulled out a silver tone tiara with faux diamond accents, Rose sighed, sitting at the edge of the pool. “All I get to know is I'm a princess now and whatever it is, it is worth you sprinting to Excalibur and back?” Maggie set the crown on Rose's head after freeing her hair from it's braid.

“It will be worth it, I promise. What tail are you wearing? Wear a nice one, not a fabric one!” Maggie set about weaving bunches of hair around the tiara and securing it in place with delicate braids before gathering half of the hair into a pony tail. Everything was secured in place with special ties that would dissolve quickly in the stomach should they be swallowed.

“The silicone Midnight Beta just came in.” While Rose stripped out of her tank top, Maggie fetched the tail out of the make sift tail closet.

“This thing weighs like 30 pounds, how do you swim in it?!” She complained, struggling not to let it drag on the ground. “Nice top, by the way.” Rose wore a simple but lacy black bikini top with a racer back. It was easier on the shoulders and comfortable with blue accents, matching the blue shine in her newest tail.

“It's only 20 pounds.” Rose helped straighten the tail after wiggling out of her jeans.

With Maggie's assistance, Rose slipped her feet into the base of the fin and began working the length of the tail up and over her hips. It always seemed to take forever but the outcome was always worth it. As silicone transitioned to a nylon mesh around her upper hips and the color faded out, giving the tail a more natural transition. Every day she swam in the tanks she maintained to check the health of the creatures in her care but for the kids, she did her job while making their dreams come true.

“Go warm up, I'll let Mark know who to snag after the show. I figure you can all chill with the pod.” Maggie was grinning like a loon, far too pleased with herself. They referred to the resident small dolphin pod just as 'the pod' often enough. Rose had known some of the dolphins since they had been born and they were like a family to her. A wet family that liked to splash.

Rose didn't bother answering, Maggie was already half way across the deck. Instead, she swam with the small pod of bottle nose dolphins, practiced their tricks and fed them treats until her muscles relaxed and she felt ready to face the crowd. With practiced grace, she swam toward the small gated port and gave the sign for it to be opened to allow her to pass. It took some convincing, but over a year ago Rose had convinced the resort that having waterways connecting all the pools would make her life easier. With the use of the water passageways creatures could be moved to a vet quarantine tank without stressing them too terribly much. It was something that likely saved lives, as stress was often fatal to aquatic life.

One gate closed behind her as she passed inside the tunnel, taking a deep breath she descended and made her way through the passage where another gate was opened for her when she surfaced in

front of it. While she was in the shark tank, she was hidden behind one of the many fake coral fixtures. The curtain was already pulled back, it was only ever closed for feeding and emergencies.

Rose took a handful of deep calming breaths, willing her heart rate to slow and relaxed her body and ran her hand along the back of a stingray that had come to greet her. The people on the ground outside the tank far below her wouldn't have seen her yet, hidden behind a coral fixture.

On a good day, without actively swimming and going about her job, rose could hold her breath for between ten and 15 minutes, depending on how much she prepped for the dive. Today, however, she would be active in the water.

With one last breath, she let go of the gate and kicked off the wall. The act propelled herself down and into view. Back and forth, she swam laps as she descended down the depths of the main tank, in front of the main viewing window allowing everyone to see her as she twisted and span. Rose kept a quick pace, not bothering yet to look at the spectators. Sometimes there were many, sometimes there were few- it didn't matter to her.

With a twist and a flip, she dove in a shallow tunnel and gathered a breath from the air supply hose. With more flips and circles, she artfully put on a show while working all 1,300,000 gallons of the tank. No carcasses, no excessive waste, no signs of damage. More twirls and flips, more secret breaths and more inspection of creatures and enclosure alike. Work first, then the real show would start.

Outside the tank, Tom, Chris and the children were captivated from the moment the mermaid came into sight. Mark, the man who greeted them and took them to what he promised was the best place to watch, right against the glass where they could see most of the tank, tucked into a corner that gave some privacy.

Tom assumed that since he himself was an actor and this was anything but a high budget performance that he would be mildly impressed but no, when she came into view he was captivated by her with nothing less then childlike wonder. It shouldn't have been surprising, he had been a part of many theater productions over the years, he knew that cinema budgets and effects were not always needed to make magic. Yet he was indeed surprised and impressed.

Blond hair danced behind her as she swam. Overhead lights danced and reflected on her hair, skin and tail. That tail, it was magnificent. It was hard to say what he expected, but this was not it. The fin trailed behind her elegantly as it seemed to be just as fluid as the water around her. It was long, paired with what appeared to be silken fabrics that seemed to dance as she moved, highlighting the graceful movements.

Tom was suddenly sure that if mermaids were real, they would dress and adorn the base of their tail because it looked so right. The tail itself was dark, the fin just showed the hint of swirls of deep purples and blues, matching the fabrics that trailed around it. The tail itself was nearly black, yet each scale seemed to shine, blues and purples as light played off of them. The underbelly of the tail was lighter, almost a purer blue.

When she swam passed them, They could see that even as the scales moved up over her hips, they became sparse and translucent until they were gone and her simple human belly was left unadorned. Light waved and illuminated the tiara on her head as she danced around corals and through tunnels, her hand petting over sharks and stingrays alike. The mermaid swam along side a massive sea turtle and paid no mind to sharks who's bodies were nearly four feet long.

“She's not scared of the sharks?” A child nearby asked in amazement.

“They know her, trust her and she them.” Mark spoke, finally beginning a small presentation. “They won't harm her unless they feel threatened. Our resident Mermaid cares for all of our aquatic creatures and with her help, we strive to provide the best environment for all our friends possible.”

“Why do you have a mermaid princess? Shouldn't she be in the ocean?” It was Chris' oldest who voiced the question.

“She loves the surface world and in exchange for helping us, she gets to learn more about life on the surface.” Mark channeled the Little Mermaid for that answer. No one really asked that one before, children typically just accepted that along with fish, dolphins, turtles and sharks, they would have a tank for a mermaid because why not?

“She's not a real mermaid, dummies.” Said a older boy just far enough away. “She's just a pretend. Like how they pretend to be Thor and Loki.” The actors had been spotted and recognized, even in their somewhat private spot.

“I think she's very clearly a real mermaid.” Tom spoke up with a smile, not letting his eyes leave the beautiful creature for more then a moment. “How long has she been in?”

“Going on ten minutes” Mark answered.

“If she was just an actress, she would have had to surface for air by now.” Tom nodded to the boy, as an actor himself, he would know. “Clearly, she is the real deal.” Tom had no idea how she did it.

After twenty minutes, the crowd began thinning and new comers started to filter in. Mark assured them that they show was best right before the end. No matter what she was doing at the moment, the kids were pressed up against the glass.

“So what is she doing?” Chris asked Mark, soft enough that the kids wouldn't hear them talk about her as a normal person.

“Being a mermaid princess.” Mark laughed before continuing, “She's checking the enclosure for damage, checking the animals for basic health and injuries and checking for any dead or excessive waste.

“A lot of responsibility for someone who does a mermaid show.” Chris knew full well that that type of work normally would belong to someone with much more schooling then he assumed being a mermaid required.

“The show came second, she's been here longer then the show. Don't underestimate her.” Mark smiled. Everyone always thought she was just a pretty face but he knew better.

“I still can't figure out how she does it. We've been here for over half a hour and she still hasn't surfaced.”

“It's because she's a mermaid.” One of the children piped up, earning laughs from the group.

“Mermaids are like dolphins and whales.” Mark began the lecture anew as the mermaid swam along the sandy bottom, ducking into a tunnel and coming out the other side. “They breath the air and do have to surface from time to time. No one knows how often a mermaid has to surface however. Typically a mermaid only seems to vocalize above water, though sometimes you can hear them under the surface.

Tom had to admit, Mark seemed to have a never ending supply of mermaid 'facts'. Mark waved them closer to the glass as they watched her approach a group not too far from them and rest her hand on the glass. It was nearing an hour into the swim now. Small children clamored to get closer and parents snapped pictures of their kids with the mermaid behind them.

Mark instructed them to wait, that they wouldn't have to fight the crowd of they stayed put. She would come to them. With a flip and a twirl, the mermaid ducked behind a coral, playing a slight game of 'peek a boo' before returning to the group at the glass and when she blew them a kiss, it exploded in a ring of bubbles against the glass much to the delight of everyone.

Slowly, Rose worked her way along the wall, looking for Mark who would be with her special guests. Smiling she flipped and twisted, peeking out from behind rocks where she stole much needed breaths. Her knees and hips were starting to ache again, this wasn't her first swim of the day but the shark tank was the most fun. Bubble kisses and bubble hearts were sent to children who's eyes showed nothing but joy. Occasionally she would blow a ring of bubbles and swim through it, before circling back around and swimming through the large 'sunken ship' fixture where she would hide for a short spell to catch her breath in a hidden air pocket. The air hoses were find and dandy but it was nice to breath normally before going to the last section of the tank where she was sure Mark would be waiting.

One last deep breath and out she swam, doing a flip she swam belly out along the glass, letting all see the tail she paid way too much for. It performed amazingly so she couldn't complain, however she would make a few slight modifications to the inner fin to make it more comfortable. Finally, she set eyes on Mark who waved at her. Glare on the glass obscured the guests from her place but she had a target to swim toward at least. One flip and circle around a coral for a quick breath and she set about swimming up to them. For dramatics sake, she swam along the bottom, feeling the soft sand shift under her wake.

Rose intended to swim, belly up the glass and do a slow flip where her face would be framed by the fabric dancing off the fin but almost froze when she saw them. It was luck that she managed to avoid hitting herself with the fin. While the smaller man could easily go unrecognized by someone only knowing him from his work with Marvel, Chris Hemsworth was unmistakable. Mark grinned, catching the falter in the flip and Rose made a mental note to splash him later.

Slowly, as she straightened from her flip, she placed her hand against the glass as she always did for the kids to reach out and match their hands to hers. Chris was ready and eager to take pictures of his three kids. All in the party grinned wide, adults and children alike. Rose smiled at the kids as she made a heart with her hands, hovering over her own heart. The older girl copied her, bringing a large smile to Rose's face.

Rose did another big loop, passing just out of sight to snag a breath before blowing an explosive bubble kiss a the kids who seemed to radiate pure joy. It was something that never got old, no matter how long she did the mermaid shows. Rather, it seemed to just get better with each new tail.

Slowly she drifted up as Chris knelt with his kids. Blonde hair floated darkly around her, dancing in the slight current as her eyes met his.

Tom Hiddleston. She had seen many of his works and knew him on sight. He was scruffy, but not bearded currently and his hair was a controlled mess of light curls cut shorter on the sides. The showy smile she wore for the kids morphed to a small smile of shock and joy.

Being a mermaid for Chris and his kids was enough of a dream but never in her life did she expect to swim for Tom. Chris had kids, it kind of made sense but Tom, never would she have guessed. He wore a look of childlike wonder just the same as any kid standing at the tank glass. When she reached out and rested her hand on the glass, he slowly did the same with a wide smile. As her mind took a short vacation, Rose wondered if what they said about him was true, if he was really just a really tall five year old boy. He didn't look like a boy even though he wore a boyish grin.

They stayed like that for a moment, not paying attention to those around them before a stingray ruined her moment. Rose wondered what barbecued stingray would taste like when the creature dumbly swam into the side of her head, demanding attention. They were like sea puppies sometimes.

Breaking her eyes away from Tom's blue, she swam after the offensive creature, tickling under it's belly as it lead her into a flip. In her annoyance, she nearly whacked herself in the head with the heavy fin for a second time but was pleased when the ray finally swam away content and she turned to her special guests again. Tom's hand still rested on the glass and Rose was ever so happy to walk her fingers up from the children and Chris before resting her palm again over Tom's. For a moment, Rose wondered what he was thinking.

The need for a fresh breath and ache in her legs however, told her she was in need of a break. All in all, she had been in the tank for a hour and a half. With the hand not on the glass, she quickly signaled to Mark that she would be leaving the tank momentarily. Rose sank down and waved at the three children as Chris stood. Again, she placed her palm against the glass, this time for Chris and he matched hers with a laugh. Even distorted through the glass and muffled, she could just hardly hear the booming sound and she almost laughed with him. Laughing under water was not a good idea. With careful flips to gather air, Rose sent small bubble kisses to the three children and their father before grabbing a lungful of air again.

Finally, she floated up to Tom again as Mark spoke to Chris. With a parting smile she backed a bit away and brought her hands to her mouth and delivered him a kiss, blown in a ring full of bubbles and meant only for him. She watched as a delighted laughed shook his body but the sound was too distorted and muffled to really hear.

As rose swam off, relaxed, twirling and spilling in the process while ignoring her body's cry for air as she had expelled most of it in the kiss, she smiled to herself. Tonight, she would spend as long in her tail with the children as they wanted, even if it dragged late into the night. Tonight, for as long as they wanted, she would be their mermaid. She would be Tom's mermaid.

With a quick hand sign, she gave the order for the first gate to be opened. Once inside, she shooed a stingray back out and it closed, allowing the other to open. Rose ignored the grumble of her stomach and swam through the tunnel as her body cried for air she was being simply to lazy to give it.

Outside the second gate, she finally surfaced with a gasping breath. It wasn't often she dove for that long on a breath, but it did her well to stay in the habit. Maybe next time she wouldn't spend so much time with nearly empty lungs however. One could never know when a air hose could fail and she could need to go farther then expected for her next breath. With nothing else to do, she turned onto her back and floated, waiting for the bell to sound that would inform her that the door had been opened.

Tom was mesmerized when the mermaid directed her attention to his group. He hardly heard the cries of delight from the kids as she swam about interacting with them. Never once, did he see her break surface. He couldn't figure out how she did it but he knew she had to be getting air somehow but she was never out of sight for what seemed to be a few seconds.

He had assumed that she would focus her attentions on the children and hadn't counted on being caught watching her so intently. When she floated up from the children, their eyes met and he couldn't help but grin. He didn't remember moving closer to the glass, but when she reached out and rested her palm on the hard surface, he did the same, just as the children did.

She had crystal blue eyes, as light as the sky outside. When he looked down, he tried to spot where the tail ended and her skin began but couldn't. They stayed like that for what felt like too long yet at the same time, not nearly long enough. Tom knew he couldn't hold his breath that long but she didn't move or show any signs of distress. Their moment was comically interrupted as a stingray swam into her head. It was magically, perfectly imperfect. To his side, Chris pocketed his phone with a laugh as the mermaid swam after the creature, agitation clear even in the graceful arching of her body as she worked through the water.

“You're having as much fun as the kids.” Chris remarked. “I got a good shot of you with her too.”

Before Tom could defend himself, she was back, waving, smiling and blowing airy kisses to the children. She would dart away and return and eventually offered her palm to Chris. The children urged him to put his palm up and he did as wished. His hand was so much larger then hers. After a few beats with Chris, she returned her attention to him and offered her palm. Tom matched it just the same with a smile as Mark spoke with Chris.

“She'll be surfacing in a minute and heading to the dolphin pools. We have life vests and spare swim gear, if the group would like to swim with them?” Chris nodded and thanked the man but Tom's attention stayed with the mermaid who drifted back, a vision of elegance as her hair floated around her.

When they locked eyes again, she dramatically drew her hands to her mouth and blew him a kiss surrounded by a ring of bubbles that washed against the glass. Tom couldn't help but laugh at the display as she swam away.

While he played magic on movie sets, she had to be magic in the flesh, Tom decided they followed Mark through the hotel. Her display for them had been no different then what she did for the other guests, yet Tom wondered if she knew who they were. She did spend longer interacting with them at the window but she would do that for anyone who was a special guest. He was left to his thoughts of the magical mermaid as the children talked their father's ear off, clearly just as captivated by her as he himself was.

Everyone was excited to meet the mermaid. Mark had took them into a room to change and recommended unless their phones were waterproof to leave them far away from the water's edge. It was a old standard warning, more and more people had waterproof phones, Tom and Chris both included.

The sound of the bell over the door woke Rose from her light doze. Getting so relaxed was a bad idea, her joints felt stiff as she turned off her back and pulled her lower half down into the water. Everyone was dressed in water gear, good. With a breath, Rose slowly sank under the water before she was spotted and signaled two dolphins to her side. Now was the time for payback, even if it had collateral damage.

In between the two Dolphins, she mimicked how they swam, rising out of the water in a wave, letting her tail catch the light as she dove back under the water just to repeat the action. Each time she surfaced, she snagged a breath and a look, lining up with the group now watching from the pool's edge. As they reached the edge, she and the two dolphins dove low and surfaced in a flip that landed Rose tail up in the water. Rather than righting herself in any graceful or elegant way, she slammed her tail down while giving the sign for the dolphins to spit water at the target.

Today, the target was Mark who after the dolphin's assault and the wave created by her fin slapping the water, was well and truly drenched. Chris and the twins fared better but still ended up a bit soggy as they laughed in delight. Rose surfaced, ignoring the pain in her ankle from her splashing stunt. There was a part of the inner fin she made a mental note to trim later.

“Rose, What was that for?!” Mark cried as he wiped water off his face before pointing at the dolphins who began backing away to escape and play. “You two, you are traitors!”

“Dear Sir, please forgive me. Tis but only how a mermaid greets their friends.” Rose chuckled as she spoke. “Now, I hear I have some special guests. Would you three be those who wished an audience with me?” Her attention was now wholly on the kids.

They chattered a bit and soon, everyone was in the water. While they were busy petting the dolphins she freed her hair from the ties, slipping them around her wrist for safe keeping and set her tiara on the edge of the pool where it glittered in the sun.

Chris, Tom and the kids all joined her in the water. Rose told stories of the ocean and the places she had swam, artfully mixing fantasy with reality as she edited her research travels into magical stories of mermaid pods and undersea kingdoms.

With tiny arms around her neck, Rose gave mermaid rides where dolphins swam at their sides. The whole area was full of laughter as the children urged their father to take a “Mermaid ride”, earning a deep blush from the adults. Rose had been so focused on the children that it was easy enough to almost forget about the two very attractive men.

“I'm too big!” Chris protested. “Too heavy. It'd be mean to make her pull me around.”

“Want to bet, big guy?” Rose knew full well that her legs would be jelly before long but how could she pass the chance to show off? It was a once in a lifetime chance. Additionally, she didn't like anyone assuming she couldn't do anything. Even if it was something as stupid as pulling around a man who was twice her size in nearly every way. She swam up and presented her back to him as large arms wrapped around her sounders. “Relax and keep your legs to the side. Hold your breath when I say and tap when you need air.”

Before Chris could question, Rose was off with strong strokes of her tail they surged through the water, not nearly as fast as she could with the kids. Occasionally, Chris' legs got in the way and he would get a powerful whack from the fin. The man grinned with his own delight at the ride and almost forgot to hold his breath when instructed. In a swift motion they surged up and forward, diving down under the surface.

Rose twisted and turned, spinning their bodies as Chris clutched to her shoulders. Rose didn't wait for him to tap for air, rather she surfaced them in front of the rock cluster Tom and the children were resting on when his hand lifted from her shoulder. The cool of the water tamed her blush, Even if Chris wasn't her type, he was still a fine looking, wet man pressed up on her.

“See, a mermaid is stronger then she looks.” Rose laughed as Chris climbed onto the rocks and tickled his tired children.

“That was fun, I'll admit that. Tom, you should take a ride too!” He nudged his friend and laughed when a flush covered his cheeks. Tom cursed double meanings while sliding off the rock. Rose dove under the water and flipped three times, allowing the cool waters to calm her heated face while she prayed that no one caught her blush.

“If you don't mind?” Tom smiled at her when she surfaced, right in front of him and she nearly cursed herself when she almost gasped in water.

“No, no, tis what a Mermaid Princess does.” Presenting her back to him, she hoped Chris and the kids wouldn't see the flush on her face as it bloomed anew. The sly smile Chris shot them however, did nothing to convince her that she had him fooled. “Arms around the shoulders, please try not to strangle me. Keep your legs off to the side unless you want some new bruises that would be hard to explain.”

“Like this?” Rose's mind went blank when Tom got into position. He was so firm against her and long. Really, both men were so similar in height but Tom felt longer. It was a trick of perception since he was so much leaner. Chris, she felt confident diving with, he was well known for his love of water but with Tom she wanted to make sure to keep him safe. If she accidentally drowned him, she wouldn't be able to enjoy any of his future works, after all. Rose realized she didn't actually answer him.

“Yeah, that's good.” God damn was it good, she could feel his muscles work as he moved his legs to help keep above water. This was a good day to be a mermaid. A very good day. “How are you with diving and holding your breath?”

“Diving is fine. I'm not sure how long I can go however, not nearly as long as you.” Strands of her hair danced around him and when it brushed against him in the water, her hair felt like liquid silk.

“Okay, so when I say to hold your breath, take a deep breath and hold it. Tap my shoulder when you need air and we'll surface. Don't wait till the last second.” As he breathed, she could feel his breath washing over her neck, shoulder and passed her ear. When he nodded his understanding, she took off.

He was much easier to pull then Chris, much lighter and being less bulky, he dragged easier through the water. When she would glace over her shoulder at him, a wide toothy grin was plastered across his face. Chris and the children were swimming their way to the edge of the pool and so Rose swam by them, raising her tail out of the water to splash them on the way by.

“Ready to go down?” She didn't so much feel his nod as she did his chest expand, filling with a large breath of air. When it didn't contract again, she dove under.

Swirling, her hair danced around them. Down, down she took them while being ever mindful of the time. Strong legs propelled them around the coral and rock formations as she brought her hands up to hold onto his forearms. As she turned, swimming on her back and letting him see the world above them as she so often saw it. When she glanced at him and their eyes met. This was truly the most amazing day of her life, to share this with a man she had respected and admired for so long, even if he wouldn't remember her name after a few days. It may not mean much to him in the grandness of his life, but she felt truly blessed as she took them to the surface and reluctantly let go of his arms.

The evening flew by and soon the sun was well set and the children rested at the pool edge. She showed them dolphin tricks and told more stories as the evening turned to night. Rose slipped her tiara off the pool edge and rested it on the eldest child's head.

“I dare say, it looks better on you!” The little girl's face was cut with a large smile.

They played and talked until after 9pm. The twins had fallen off into sleep on a beach chair and the remaining child was nearly following. Mark brought over a cart, padded and adorned with seaweed, flowers and shells, earning a groan from Rose.

“We still have that ugly thing?” Rose couldn't help but laugh as Mark smiled cheekily, knowing full well he was to trash the monstrosity when the last tunnel was finished and never did.

“You can use it to cart the kids up to your room, just leave it outside and someone will bring it back” Mark offered and before long, three sleeping children were placed luggage cart turned mermaid bench.

“Or put a sign on it that says 'burn me', that would work too.” Rose hated that thing.

“Thank you, Miss Mermaid Rose, for everything today. They will remember this for a long time. It means a lot to them and me.” Chris spoke with sincerity that made it clear that his family was the most important thing in the world to him. The children's joy was his joy.

“Rose. Just Rose for you two.” She had let them call her 'Mermaid', 'Princess' and 'Highness' as that was what she was to them.

“Thank you, Rose.” With a nod, Chis spoke again. “I should get them to bed. You coming Mate?” Tom didn't rise from the waters when he spoke.

“I'm going to rest here for a bit, I think my legs are dead. I'll see you in the morning.” With a nod, Chris left them and Tom finally felt comfortable to ask the questions he had been trying to figure out all day as he sat on the pool edge, feet and shins in the water. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” With a smile, Rose looked up at him from where she rested, arms draped over the pool edge.

“Stay under for so long. I can't figure it out.” When she laughed at him, Tom felt silly for asking. “I understand if it's a trade secrete.”

“Have you ever been scuba diving?” The look on Tom's face showed he didn't follow but he nodded just the same. “Dive with me, and I'll show you.”

“I can't believe you're not tired.” Tom himself felt spent from all the swimming. All he got in response was a smile as she slipped into the water and presented her back to him.

From his place, he could just see the blush that dusted her cheeks as she told him to take a deep breath and to trust her. So he did and down they went. Down and around to the rocks, down along the pillars before she stopped and with sure hands, motioned for him to let go of her. She looked magnificent, under the water in front of him, hair dancing around and silk fabrics billowing around her fin.

With one hand firmly on his bicep to keep him from floating up or away, she motioned to the rocks where she pulled a mesh fabric back, revealing a air hose and regulator. With the press of a button, a stream of bubbles erupted before she handed it to him and Tom took a few needy breaths. What surprised him was that she did not, rather she grabbed him and dived farther down and away from the rocks as he moved back into place, holding her around her shoulders.

When they stopped this time, she pulled a regulator from a mess of fake seaweed and handed it to him. Again, she did not breath herself and Tom was starting to wonder if she was actually human at all. A third regulator was shown in some decorative coral along the wall and again, while he breathed, she did not. Finally, they surfaced. Rose couldn't help but gasp for a large breath of air and silently remind herself that showing off like that could get her killed.

“Okay, that's how I could do it but you didn't breath.” Tom pointed the obvious out, even as he didn't let go of her and she laughed. It was a magical sound, raspy a bit with the need of air but it was free and sounded like bells.

“I can go ten to 15 minutes.” Rose admitted as she slowly pulled them to the edge of the pool. “It's a part of the training. My body is just used to it after all these years.”

“That's amazing.” Tom admitted, pulling himself out of the water. “I couldn't even begin to fathom the training just to be a mermaid.”

“You train for your roles, do you not?” Rose pointed out. “And I'm not just a mermaid. I do this for fun, this is the side job.” A laugh softened the message but it was clear to Tom that he had done what many must of done, wrote her off as just a mermaid.

“True. What is the main job?” With a splash, she pulled herself partially out of the water only to slide back in with a huff.

“Marine Biologist.” Rose admitted, trying again to get out of the pool. “All the tanks are my responsibility, here and in a few other resorts. It's more fun for the kids if I inspect them dressed like this. Scuba gear is pretty boring to look at.”

The third time she tired to pull herself from the water, she almost made it but managed to splash Tom well and good in the process. “Could I give you a hand?”

“Yes, please?” With her joints feeling like jelly, she was well and truly stuck in the water and swimming to the ramp on the other side of the pool didn't sound like fun. Nor did figuring out how to shimmy out of the tail on her own but one thing at a time.

Tom reached down and with a firm grip around her arms, drew her up and out of the water. As he pulled her up, his arms moved around her back for a better grip. In the process, he pulled her to his chest while dragging the tail out and over the edge of the pool. He didn't set her down, didn't take her to a seat. For a moment, he just stood, holding a mermaid to his chest as water slicked down their bodies and the warm night air surrounded them. Tom was supporting all of her weight, with her knees unhinged and bent behind her, she was unable to support herself without awkwardly flopping the tail around in front of her and she still wouldn't be able to walk.

“Thank you.” It was Rose who broke the silence, looking away. “Sorry to get you wet all over again.”

“It's no trouble.” With the moment broken, Tom helped her to sit on the pool edge, wide enough to double as a bench and sat next to her and motioned to the tail. “This is truly amazing. Even out of the water, I can hardly see where the tail starts.” “It better be, lord knows this sucker cost me an arm, a leg and half my soul.” While she tired to tell herself not to blush while Tom looked intently to her abdomen, telling herself that he was looking at the tail.

“Thank you, Rose.” Tom spoke softly, seriously. “ You made everyone's night, tonight. I'd have never imagined doing this, never dreamed of it but you made it happen. You, darling, are amazing. Never did I think I'd swim with a mermaid.”

Just a ghost of a feeling gave away that Tom had rested his hand on her thigh, over the tail. She tried to tell herself that he probably had no sense of where his hand was, her whole lower half was covered in silicone.

“Never did I think I would swim with the God of Thunder or Jonathan Pine.” Rose smiled up at him as his eyes widened.

“Not Loki?” Normally people always tied him to Loki. If someone knew Chris as Thor, he would be tied as Loki.

“You don't look much like Loki like this. More like Pine, for sure. Not that I can't see Loki, you're just not that pale and without the dark hair.” Oh god she was rambling. Alone with Tom fucking Hiddleston and she was rambling. “Sorry.”

“No, no! It's fine, really. I was just surprised.” It was nice to be seen as something other then Loki. For so many now, he was just Loki. “I was starting to think you didn't know who we were.” Tom admitted and she laughed at him.

“I don't live underwater, Tom. I just spend most of my days there. Occasional they roll in a TV for the resident mermaid to watch.” She admitted, half joking and looking away. Suddenly she felt so much below him, just a fan.

“Yet you look so perfectly in place, perfectly beautiful, underwater.” The words drew her eyes back to him. She could just feel his thumb rubbing along the silicone scales on her upper thigh. He had to have known where his hand was, the tail creased and folded where her legs bent at the hips, just a few short inches above his hand. She was leaning back, out of habit to prevent the tail from pinching her and so, he was twisted to face her.

“Thank you.” The words were just a breath, almost inaudible. Soon, they were sitting in silence. Rose didn't know what else to say as she started to drown in his ocean blue eyes. They were a pure blue, unlike anything she had seen. Pictures hadn't ever done them justice.

He turned to face her better, drawing his hand up her outer thigh and over the curve of her hip. The silicone was thinner there, and she could feel the warmth and pressure of his hand clearer as he softly gripped her, holding her in place. Heat radiated off him as he hovered over her, supporting his weight on his outstretched arm.

When her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest, Rose contemplated diving back into the water to escape but with how tired she was, how sore she was, she would likely drown even if she wasn't trying to have a heart attack. Additionally, whatever it was that was happening, she didn't not want it to happen. Head and heart both were overwhelmed as she took him in. Stubble dusted his face and a light tan complemented his features well, even as they stood out sharp. When her eyes returned to his, she just caught the flicker of his eyes from where they were downcast. Perhaps he took in her whole appearance again. As he moved closer to her, his eyes, dropping again she was sure he was looking at her lips.

Breath hitched in her chest as she tilted her head up to him. Painfully slowly, he descended on her as his hand finally moved from her hip to where it rested in the curve of her waist. When he was a breath away, her eyelids fell to nothing but slits and she wondered if his did the same. A heartbeat later, his lips ghosted over hers and she stopped wondering for a moment.

His lips were soft and just as sweet as the kiss. Tom's thumb rubbed softly on her skin and when she didn't pull away, Tom pressed himself firmer against her lips and breathed a sigh. When she shifted her position, he made to pull back but she followed him, not letting their lips part. Softly, Rose brought her hand around and rested it on Tom's forearm before allowing it to slowly trail up.

Tom was surprised that she didn't push him away. He supposed he shouldn't be, she was a fan. On that note, he also shouldn't be kissing her, because she was a fan. Yet the whole time, she had treated him as if he was just a man, causing him to doubt himself as any man would in her presence. Softly, her hand ran up his arm and across his back. Fingers played with the curls at the back of his neck as Tom's arm snaked around her back, pulling her to him.

The change of position caused her elbow to buckle under her weight but Tom supported her just the same and so another arm snaked up his arm to rest on his chest. She could feel the strain of muscles as he leaned her back slowly, resting her on the hard surface as he nibbled at her lower lip. When she gasped, his tongue darted inside to explore. The kiss turned hungry, passionate and Rose was left cursing her tail as it held her legs awkwardly together when she wanted nothing more then to run her leg up his, to hook an ankle around his back, to pull him as close as she could. Finally, they parted and Tom gazed down at her.

“I had never expected to kiss a mermaid.” With a smile he kissed her again, pressing himself into her for a passionate moment before pulling back. He wanted nothing more then to do it again. Rose wanted nothing more then to let him.

“Fairy tails do happen.” If she was talking about him kissing a mermaid or her kissing an actor, Tom couldn't be sure. Maybe both. Probably both. The heavy blush on her cheeks looked right at place and he found himself wanting to keep her flushed. It was a good look on her. A great look on her.

“What would a man have to do to be blessed to take a lovely sea creature to dinner?” Tom asked, motivated by the rumble of her stomach announcing its own need.

“You, kind Sir, need but only to ask. And maybe help me out of this thing.” Rose laughed as she began rolling down the mesh that hugged her lower waist, then the silicone over her hips.

“You just roll it off?” Tom asked, tugging and folding the material down as it fought to keep in place. He expected some sort of fasteners, a zipper maybe. Something?

“It's not easy on, easy off. That's why I've been trapped in it for the last four hours or so.” Rose admitted with a laugh. In truth, she badly needed to pee and wasn't wholly sure her legs could support walking right away. Plus, she missed dinner, was starving and Tom asked her to dinner. Did he mean tonight? She was assuming so, but it was so late. With a deep breath, she reminded herself to stop over thinking. Overthinking was bad.

Once her legs were free from the tail, Tom adverted his eyes after quickly taking in her legs. It felt like he was seeing a hidden part of her with the tail gone, a special part of her. It felt intimate, even as she wore a conservative bikini. She wore just a bikini and he had seen many a pair of legs but with her, it seemed so different.

Instead of allowing the awkwardness to linger, her offered her a hand and helped her to her feet. Rose's knees buckled nearly instantly and her ankles screamed in pain as she fell against him, where she was encircled by his strong arms that held her up.

“Are you okay?” Worry tinged his voice.

“Just a bit wobbly, I've been swimming too long.” Rose laughed as she looked up at him. It was a strange day to be a mermaid. Tom leaned down and kissed her before taking her legs out from under her.

“Lead the way, Dear Princess.” Today was a good day to be a mermaid. Today was a good day to visit Vegas. Today was a good day.

@kristinaraven99, It’s posted love.

#tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston x oc #tom hiddelson x reader #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston x ofc #tom hiddleston x #mermaid #las vegas #now I can stop googling mermaiding

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rhetoricandlogic · 6 years

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Ally

by NALO HOPKINSON

PUBLISHED IN MAY 2018 (ISSUE 68) | 3100 WORDS

It’d been a warm, sunny spring afternoon. The grass in the cemetery was green, the roses and lavender in the wreaths fragrant. Iqbal’s funeral had been a quiet affair, all things considered.

Our circle was getting too old for the type of soap opera drama that had marked our younger years. We’d lived for enough decades that my friends and I had settled into some kind of rhythm, had dared to allow some of our sharp edges to be burnished smooth.

So by the time of Iqbal’s funeral, Joachim had long since given up staging drunken screaming matches in parking lots with Jésus for stealing Joachim’s boyfriend Steve, lo these many years ago. After all, soon after Steve had left him, Joachim had met and bottomed to Randall at a play party, and they’d been together ever since. Randall had ceased lamenting the flawless beauty of his youth to anyone who would (or wouldn’t) listen. He’d started dating a couple of eager smooth-skinned houseboys, vetted by Joachim. The young men kept Joachim’s and Randall’s boots spit-polished. Randall had let his hair grow in grey, waxed his mustachios, and relaxed into his daddy role.

Munroe had become an actual daddy as a result of a drunken evening with his dyke friend Alice. He ended up sharing custody of the little girl with her—mostly amicably, with some glaring exceptions. “Baby” Tina was twenty-two years old now. She’d attended the service with hugs for all her uncles and me, her aunty. Almost everyone had remembered to call me Sally. After all, it’d been seven years. Pete did slip up and call me “Jack . . . er, Sal,” but I didn’t bite his head off; he was, after all, burying his husband. But it’s been seven fucking years, dude, and you’re still making that mistake?

When I transitioned, Pete’s awkwardness about it had cooled our friendship down quite a bit. So as I stood beside the grave site with the others, watching the coffin being lowered mechanically into the hole and longing to get out of the black pumps that were crushing my toes in two very stylish vises, I was surprised when my phone buzzed with a text from Pete: The bar in an hour? Just you and me?

Well. It’d been years since he and I had hung out like that, but I knew exactly which bar he meant. I texted back, Make it an hour and a half. To underline that I wasn’t going to let him “Jack” me again, I added, Momma needs to slip into something more comfortable.

I only stopped at home long enough to switch my heels for flats and give the hubby a squeeze, but Pete was already waiting when I got to the bar. He was nursing a virgin Manhattan, extra maraschino cherries. Nowadays, sugar was his drug of choice. He looked glumly up at me and kicked out the chair opposite his. The haunted look in his eyes made my heart ache. I sat. He said, “Rye and soda?” I didn’t even need to nod. He knew what I liked, and was already signalling the waitress.

Two women sitting together at the bar gave me the side-eye. They leaned their heads together to talk, scowling at me the whole time. Easy to figure what they had their panties in a twist about. “You okay?” I asked Pete. “Never mind. Stupid question.”

His eyes met mine. “Something happened the other day.”

“With Iqbal?”

He frowned. “Yes. No. I’m not sure.”

I sighed. “Tell me.”

He tried on an ill-fitting smile. “I dunno. It’s dumb. You’ll think I’m crazy.”

“‘But you must be mad,’” I quoted. “‘We’re all mad here.’”

Unlike the Cheshire Cat’s, his smile became a little more real as he quoted back: “‘There’s no use trying. One can’t believe impossible things.’” His smiled cracked. “Maybe it was just the stress. Of everything. Of Iqbal . . .”

My drink had arrived. I took a sip, let the bite and chill of it roll around on my tongue, swallowed. “Pete, I’m listening. You know I always will, no matter how crazy the thing you have to tell me.” No matter how hurt I was that we weren’t really friends any more.

His eyes were wet. “You remember Mrs. Richardson.”

It wasn’t a question. Pete and I had known each other since we were teenagers in high school. He was the first person I told outright that I wasn’t a boy. He’d laughed it off, quite gently. But I’d never mentioned it to him again.

And of course I remembered that cunt. She shouldn’t have been allowed near kids, much less allowed to foster young Pete. Meeting a foster kid had been quite the eye-opener for me. Meeting the spinning ball of hatred that was Mrs. Richardson made the skin on my arms crawl, made me almost grateful for my passive-aggressive mother and my transphobic dad.

I said, “One minute she’d be sweet as pie, the next she’d be raging.”

“She wasn’t always like that, though. At some point, she changed.”

I hadn’t known that. “Really? What turned her evil, then?”

“The other way round, Sal.”

Good. I was back to being Sally, or as close as Pete would get to it. “Wait—you mean she used to be worse?”

He nodded. “When I was first placed with her, she’d come at me night and day. She said I was a lost cause, but she would whip me into shape. Once I laid the table with the knives and forks on the wrong side of the plates. She sent me to bed without dinner.”

“Seriously?”

“She made me do all kinds of evening and weekend chores till I was so tired, I fell asleep on top of my homework. Then she punished me for getting bad grades. Took my socks away that fall and winter. Couple of my toes never recovered from the frostbite.”

It felt like the bottom had dropped out of my belly. “We were friends! Why didn’t you tell me?” The Mrs. Richardson I’d met mostly yelled a lot. Vile things, usually variants of “dumbass.” And she’d refused to give permission for Pete to go on any school trips.

“I’d only just met you. It started happening in summer, when you were away at camp. And anyway, it didn’t last long.”

“Lasted long enough for you to get frostbite that winter.”

He shrugged. “What good would telling you have done?”

“We could have told my folks, or the school! Someone would have gotten you out of there!” I was nearly shouting. People near us glanced at us then looked away.

“You’ve never been a foster kid. More likely, no one would have believed us and the investigation would just have made her hate me even more.”

All that time, he’d been suffering. And all this time, he’d kept his secret from me.

“She was careful to only hit me in places the bruises wouldn’t be seen.”

“Jesus.” I sucked back more of my drink and waited for him to continue. But he stayed silent. I prompted him: “What made her get nicer? Or at least, made her stop physically hurting you?”

“I’ve told you about my dad, right?”

Clearly he needed to change the subject. “Yeah, a bit.” Pete’s dad had raised him alone. Got hit by a car and killed when Pete was thirteen. That’s how Pete had ended up in foster care.

“Dad used to let me read Alice in Wonderland to him. He took me fishing, worked on my science fair projects with me. He never raised a hand to me.

“I saw the accident, rode with Dad in the ambulance. He was bleeding, semi-conscious, but he held my hand till he couldn’t any more. He kept saying, ‘I’ll come back to you, Petey. I have to look after you.’ And then of course he didn’t come back. He died. And I was sent to Mrs. Richardson.” Pete clamped his hands around his drink. They were trembling a little. I wondered whether he’d even told Iqbal about Mrs. Richardson.

My drink had gone right through me, and I desperately needed to pee. I knew from past experience this place had segregated washrooms. That’s why—or one of the reasons why—I’d stopped coming to this bar. I crossed my legs and leaned forward in my chair, as Pete clearly had more to say about that bloody bitch.

“One day, she was hitting me—on my legs—and I was trying to act like it wasn’t hurting. She was pissed because of some damned thing she thought I’d done, I don’t even remember what. I do remember I was trying to tell her that I hadn’t done it, and she was shouting, ‘Children should be seen and not heard!’”

I stared at Pete, my mouth open in shock.

“Suddenly she stopped mid-swing, with her hand pulled up, like someone had grabbed her by the wrist. She opened her eyes wide and said, ‘Petey.’ And . . . she stopped hitting me. She dropped to her knees to look at the bruises that were coming up on my thighs. And then she said the strangest thing.”

“What?” I was trying hard to forget my twinging bladder. One of the two TERFy dykes had just gone to the washroom. The other was watching me, her lip curled in disgust.

“She said, ‘What did she do to you?’ You know, talking about herself in the third person? Then she went to hug me! That freaked me the fuck out. I pushed her away. She stood up, looked confused. She asked me where the kitchen was.”

“In her own house? Was she having a stroke, or something?”

“Yeah, maybe. Iqbal was confused too, when he had his first stroke . . .”

“Hey,” I said, “Do you want to get out of here, just go home? Or come back to our place? We have a guest room, you could spend the night.”

But Pete was looking off into the memory distance. He continued, “I pointed to where the kitchen was. She came back with cold water and paper towel. She dabbed my bruises and said she was sorry, that it was such a long way back and she’d brought the water as quickly as she could.”

“Bitch was seriously crazy.”

Pete had the waiter bring us refills. I hoped I could hold my water. In a pinch, I could dash back home, use the toilet there, be back in twenty, thirty minutes tops, and not risk being attacked for the unforgiveable crime of peeing in a public toilet.

“After that,” said Pete, “I never knew whether I was going to get evil Mrs. Richardson or good Mrs. Richardson. It messed with my head. Sometimes she’d just sit in her armchair in front of the TV and mutter, like she was arguing with herself. And sometimes she’d just look scared out of her wits. I was so glad when I was legal to leave.”

I smiled. “I was bigtime envious of you, getting to be on your own when you were sixteen.”

“You were an idiot, then.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“That was no picnic, either.” He sipped his drink, then looked up. “I just remembered something. The day I left, I was just heading out the door when she put her hand on my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin. She said, ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t look after you the whole time. It’s such a long way round.’ Then her hand fell away, and her face just changed. She stepped back. She watched me leave, and the look on her face was the most hatred I’ve ever had directed at me. And that’s saying something. I scrambled down the driveway like the Devil was at my heels.”

I shuddered. “Did you ever see her again?”

“Not her, no. Heard she’d jumped in front of a car, or something. Didn’t care.”

“Pete,” I said gently, “You were telling me about Iqbal?”

He stared into his glass, spoke with his head still down. “We used to fight. Like, knockdown fistfights.”

“Oh, no.”

“’Fraid so. Blood was shed, there were trips to Emergency, the police were called.”

“Police? To a fight between two brown men?”

“Yeah. It’s a miracle we survived.”

When one lives in a world in which large portions of it want one dead, every minute is a triumph, every breath a defiance, and, if one’s jib is cut that way, every statement a manifesto. The everyday vagaries of life and love are just writ that much larger, because they mean that much more. The game of “he said/he said” is raised to a level of artistry rivalled only by the sport of kings. Every breakup is forever, because love may never find one ever again. Every new lover becomes one’s whole life, because one is stealing love from the jaws of hatred. What t-shirt to wear with the perfect jeans to go clubbing is almost as brutally important as what words to write on one’s placard to attend that demonstration against legalizing faith-based homophobia. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. It stopped, all the violence between us. One day, Iqbal took his hands from around my throat—”

“Pete!”

“—and he looked at his hands as though he’d never seen them before. He said, ‘No more. I’m not going to fight you anymore.’ I mean, it didn’t end right away. For one thing, I wasn’t ready to stop. Didn’t know how, really. But Iqbal really meant it. He’d changed. Eventually he got me to go to counselling with him. And bit by bit, we figured shit out. Figured out how to be good to each other.” Pete sobbed, once, so loudly that people three tables over stopped to look our way. “God, Sally, I miss him so much.”

“I know, honey.” I took his hand in mine. He jumped at my touch. I tried not to feel hurt.

“You know the last thing he said to me?”

I shook my head.

“He said, “I found my way home to you, Petey. I looked after you. I got better at it, so that I could be with you all the time.” He went unconscious after that, and was gone by the next morning.”

“He loved you very much. That wasn’t strange at all.”

He nodded absently, then pulled his hand away to pick his glass up. He had a sip. “Okay,” he said. “I suppose. But here’s the thing; only my dad ever called me Petey.”

I tried to concentrate through the yammering of my bladder. “No, that’s not right. Didn’t you say that Mrs. Richardson did?”

“Once. The day she stopped hitting me.”

“And Iqbal?”

“Once. The last time he was conscious.” Pete’s hands started shaking so badly that he had to set the glass down. He put his hands in his lap. “So what I’m really asking myself is: who was I married to all those years?”

Something squirmed in the pit of my belly. How could he even think—? “Pete . . .” I whispered.

He jumped to his feet. “I’m sorry, Sal. It’s just been so hard the last couple of days. Losing Iqbal, the funeral, all those people to be polite to while . . .” He stopped, his face pulled into the lineaments of grief. “My head’s just been full of all these weird thoughts.”

“I understand,” I murmured. But I didn’t. “You need to be gentle with yourself this next little while.”

“Let me get the check.” He put some bills on the table.

“Okay, thanks, but first I just need to . . .” I stood, clamping down hard on my aching bladder. Another reason to be thankful I’d diligently done all those post-surgery kegels.

Pete sighed, as one does when one is about to say something difficult for others to hear. “It’s just that . . . well, Mrs. Richardson, Iqbal; people around me keep turning into someone else. You used to be Jack; now you’re Sally.”

The cold burn of betrayal and erasure was just about to tsunami over me, scouring me from skin to bone, when he got a strange look in his eye. In a clear voice, he said, “But Jack is just what people called you. I finally figured it out. You were always Sally. You have always been exactly who you are right now.”

I can be an emo bitch sometimes. When I started weeping, he pulled me into his arms. “Sally, I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick.” For the first time in years, my friend and I held each other like the close companions we used to be.

And then I really, really had to go. I waited, hot-footing, till I was as sure as I could be that there was no one in the Women’s. Pete stood outside the door painted with the stick figure lady in a triangle skirt until I exited safely. He walked me home, hugged me again on the street outside my apartment building. I told him I’d check in on him tomorrow, waved goodbye as he headed off in the direction of the subway station.

Age and a track record of survival can bring poise to a life lived cheek by jowl with the possibility of danger. You might say that one’s trigger becomes less hairy. Nevertheless, one is always watchful for that slight shift, the moment when a situation turns.

That new look in Pete’s eye, the complete change of demeanour. And wasn’t that the first time, he’d called me Sally? Not Jack-er-Sal. Not Sal. Sally.

In the long elevator ride up to my twenty-first floor apartment, I tried not to ask myself whether Pete’s sudden change of heart had been all him. As I kissed my sleeping husband and got ready for bed, I tried not to feel guilty that I didn’t care who had been behind Pete’s eyes. Whoever it was, they were my friend.

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Nalo Hopkinson lives in a home filled with books, art supplies, tools, art projects at various stages of unfinished, more books, and brown-skinned mermaids. She has aches, pains, chronic fatigue, and a quirky brain. She has far too much to do, and nowhere near enough time to marathon watch annoying but addictive science fiction TV. She loves dance. She’s working on a novel about a monster carried by a girl who turns into a woman. The girl does, not the monster. She cooks great food (mostly) and mismanages her schedule. She doesn’t answer her phone or check her voice mail messages.

#Nalo Hopkinson #Ally #short story

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anotherashley · 7 years

Photo

This is the story of how I went to a hawks game, watched them get shut out, and met Jonathan Toews.

So the game last night sucked, and I don’t have much to say about it and would much rather forget it happened. But first let me you show you all of my warm up pics.

Boys wore the camo jersey’s for Veteran’s Day and there was a nice little presentation where they brought the vet’s out before the anthem and thanked them for their service. Most of the players wouldn’t stay in one place long enough for me to get good pics unfortunately. (LOOKING AT YOU JOHN HAYDEN.)

These two dweebs stayed next to each other for almost the entirety of warms up. I’m not kidding. Are you ready for a photo montage?

P.S. Sorry the quality isn’t great. I blame the camera guy that was up against the glass. THANKS A LOT CAMERA GUY. I HAVE A JOB TOO, YOU KNOW, AND IT’S DOCUMENTING 1988 BEING WEIRDOS TOGETHER OKAY.

Hey look it’s Adam Burish doing a great job and talking about how the hawks are awesome even though they lost and hurt my feelings. Keep up the good work, Adam!

So after the game I was supposed to take a tour of the locker room, a gift that had been given to me for my birthday, when I got lost trying to find the contact guy. And none of the security people seemed to know where I needed to go either so they sent me downstairs to this room - where other people were. And at first I thought it was a meet up place for everyone taking the tour, but then I started to realize that the people around me were not random people when I suddenly saw Patrick’s dad, then his mom, and girlfriend. Then I saw Corey’s girlfriend walking around and chatting with people and showing them the new baby. Seabs’ wife Dayna was also chilling in there with his kids. And it was...it was very surreal, okay.

I’d only ever seen the majority of these people in pictures and here I was sitting in this room, on this leather sofa, next to this buffet table with all of these wives and girlfriends and family members and no one cared! No one noticed! I was a fly on the wall watching them all interact in front of me.

And then Saader walked into the room and started talking to his girlfriend/fiance and she said how soft his suit felt.

And then Duncs came in and started talking to one of the kids.

And then Tootoo came in and left again and looked at Corey’s baby for a minute.

Patrick’s mom took a picture for someone.

And no one cared that I was there. It was wild as fuck.

As the room started to thin out I felt like maybe I should leave before someone noticed that maybe I shouldn’t be there, so I texted the contact guy and he said he was at the other end of the hallway. As I went to meet him I passed Shea Weber who was talking to some little boys and Brendan Gallagher who seemed like he was not in a great mood lol.

The locker room is really nice and surprisingly not smelly and I got an autograph from Hossa who happened to be there that night. He had friends or family with him also and he was speaking in his mother tongue and I enjoyed listening. Also yes, they just leave every dude’s jockstrap just hanging out there for all of us to see. Just right there in the open. FUN FACTS.

This is near the entrance of the locker room and probably my favorite part. 1988′s history right here. And the rings that are displayed are real. I wanted to steal them all.

As I was getting ready to leave the locker room, my guide asked me if I wanted to see the gym where the boys work out and I was like SURE! SHOW ME EVERYTHING. SHOW ME WHERE THEY WASH THE JERSEY’S I’LL STAY FOREVER I DON’T WANNA LEAVE.

When we were walking out, just by sheer chance or luck or fate, I don’t know, I passed by Jonny who was getting ready to leave. I barely kept it together okay, I was not prepared to see him at all, let alone run into him basically.

Our 20 seconds of time together went something like this: he looked right into my soul and said hello to me and said my name and shook my hand and was so kind and so tall and big and so overwhelming and gracious. And he said ‘here let me hold my food out of the photo’ like he didn’t want to ruin the photo with his food container that’s how much of a GOOD he is. Like Jon, Jonny, Jonathan, you can do whatever you want with your food, boo, I don’t care. You’re amazing. You’re wonderful. I love you.

And also I get why now Patrick can’t always keep eye contact with him because WOOOOO BOY it’s a lot, y’all. A LOT. He’s got such a presence.

But he also looked a little tired that night so I got my pic and basically ran away before I died and because I didn’t want to bother him further. And I walked to my car in a daze and haven’t fully recovered since.

The end.

#and that's the tale of my crazy night in chicago meeting jonathan #phew #chicago blackhawks #jonathan toews #patrick kane #hawks #1988 #tazer #kaner #mine

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utopianparadoxist · 7 years

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I can’t focus on anything enough to write about Homestuck today, so I’m gonna talk about something that matters a lot more instead. I know this isn’t like, part of My Brand, but Puerto Rico is part of who I am and why I’m here. And since I couldn’t be part of the day of action officially, this is what I’m doing instead. So here’s what it comes down to:

I can’t stop thinking about the Homestucks in Puerto Rico.

And yes, it’s myopic to focus on a people suffering who happen to be part of a fandom. Everyone is human and nobody deserves this kind of suffering. Puerto Ricans deserve help because they’re people, full stop.

But people weren’t designed for numbers to track this scale of suffering, and even having spent part of my life there, the devastation my little island is going through has been more than I can relate to, or even imagine.

So it’s this particular memory that sticks out for me, and those particular people that stand in for the unfathomable many who are suffering right now. I’m going to tell you guys a story, and try to put the place I remember into the context of the Island’s current struggle, and the sorely lacking support of the American government.

Then I’m going to talk about what we can do to help.

I can guarantee that at least one of those things is something you can do. Even if you can’t do anything but blog about fandom and talk to friends online--and trust me, I get it if that’s where you are. There’s still something important I want you to consider trying.

If you have the spoons and mental wherewithal, and you care at all about what I do here, or about Homestuck, or about the friends you’ve made and the people you’ve met through fandom, or about any story that has ever moved you to reach out and make a friend,

Then I hope you can find the time to read and signal boost this. No pressure. I know it’s hard and we’re all tired. Still, It would mean a lot to me.

(A description of PR’s Capital city, dated Oct 10th.)

Upd8 culture isn’t something that all the fans here have been exposed to. Fans have gotten flashes of it like on 10/25 last year or, of course, with Hiveswap’s release. But back during the days of Homestuck’s height in popularity, we were all wired, all the time.

An Upd8 could happen any second, and anything and everything could change with any upd8. This was the height of update culture, and it was like being on a neverending rollercoaster. It was a sense of communal excitement and thrill that made me feel connected to everyone sharing the ride.

(The Federal Emergency Management Agency fails to keep up with the Island’s food shortages.)

I went to a con with friends only once in PR, but while there, we hung nearby a Homestuck meetup. I didn’t really engage with them, but I did have MSPA Notifier on my phone, and it just so happened an update hit.

I was the first to notice.

(x) (Jason Maddy, Marine Vet’s Facebook Page)

I remember grinning and telling my (Non-Homestuck) friends to watch. That was the first and only time I got to yell the word “UPD8” to someone else in person. The result was spectacular.

The explosion of yelling and the flurry of activity was too overwhelming to follow. Suddenly, teens were yelling and scrambling to get near the closest screen. The one who sticks out in my head is a God Tier John--pretty sure the outfit was homemade--pressing his tablet up against a wall.

(Trump throws rolls of paper towels at a crowd in a Hurricane relief center.)

For a good ten minutes, we watched as what was a pretty chill meetup beforehand talked and traded screens with fervent excitement. My friends, exposed to nothing but my self-indulgent blather about the comic up until then, looked at me in bewilderment and asked: “What did you do?”

But of course, I didn’t do anything. I was just a lucky messenger. What moved me, what moved us all with the same joy and excitement, was a shared moment of love for a story. A common passion.

I didn’t make friends with any of them that day, and I wish I had now. Really, I just wish I knew if they were alright. Any of them.

I wonder if they enjoyed Hiveswap in the few days between the release and Maria, or if they got the chance to play it at all before the electricity grid collapsed. I wonder how many got off the island. How many have stayed behind.

How many are LGBT, now cut off from access to what was my only lifeline on the largely conservative island? I think about the reports of sky-high rates of depression and PTSD pouring in whenever I can bring myself to listen.

I hope all of those kids are still alive and well. I should mention: All of these tweets and news reports are verifiably true. I can confirm them myself, because I hear the same thing whenever I manage to get in contact with anyone on the island.

My family hears supplies are coming, but never seem to see them arrive. The woman who drove me to school contacted me today, saying the same thing. Wherever there’s contact on the ground, there are reports of inadequate support and desperate need. Food in grocery stores is near running out.

Everyone I know who is able making plans to leave. Everyone I know cries and hurts most for those who cannot make these plans. Those who are stuck. Those who will be left behind to survive the nightmare.

What can we do for them?

Of course, donating to verified and trustworthy charities is an option. For those of us who are able:

Donate to Puerto Rican Farmers.

The Hispanic Federation’s Disaster Relief & Recovery Fund.

Eco-Kit uses Amazon to distribute life-saving survival tools.

And More.

But maybe even more important than that is adding our voices politically:

Petition for Immediate Large-Scale Relief Package for Puerto Rico.

Use this handy Call Script to find and call your representatives.

We can also simply talk, learn, and educate. It goes without saying that this devastation is in part a product of climate change. But we can also talk about the Jones Act that slows aid to Puerto Rico.

We can reckon with Puerto Rico’s long history of colonial subjugation by the U.S. And we can increase understanding of the massive debt crisis that threatened the island even before the hurricane.

I will continue to post about this when I am able and have useful information to spread, but it may also help to follow blogs such as @tumblricans if you’re able.

But even if you can’t do any of this: Believe me, I understand. I know how hard and unbearable it all is.

Even if you can’t do anything but talk to people online, try to keep your mind off it, try to focus on fandom and friends and whatever gets you through these days,

There’s still something you can do.

Choose to be kinder. Here, in this space that you share with so many progressives, coming from so many walks of life, that have all been hurt by this world through so many cruel and unusual punishments. Even if nowhere else.

Choose to be kinder here, in this nebulous place where many of us come to forget our sorrows and share our joys and pains with others.

Try to remember that everyone has a story. That everyone has something they’re dealing with, and you have no way to know what it is. Try to choose kindness and compassion over instinctual judgment and ideological superiority.

Extend this kindness to creators as well as your fellow fans and users, because the people who make art for us are people who are struggling and trying hard just like me and you.

Extend this kindness to yourself and your friends in your moments of weakness, just...remember to extend it to your perceived “enemies” on this website, too. In the grand scheme of things, they simply don’t exist.

Fandom spaces on Tumblr and Ao3 are predominantly made up of lgbt women, and lean highly towards progressive sentiments besides. Wherever we turn to this hyper-critical behavior, we are making threats out of allies. It’s not necessary, and worse, it drives us apart.

Remember that ultimately, we are all in this together. The world is a scary place right now. There are people out there in the world who deeply and truly want to hurt us. You can even find them online, if you really want to.

But like...fellow fans invested in the progressive agenda? Creators making progressive art? They are not your enemies, and for the progressive agenda and anyone identified as basically any kind of minority, the shit is hitting and will increasingly continue to hit the whirling device.

We all need support now more than ever, and it is really only going to come if we begin to choose to support each other.

And that’s important work to do. Because the kinder we are, the closer we are, the better we can connect. The better we can organize. And the more good we can do for places like Puerto Rico or people like Rune.

Sometimes, making the world a better place is just a matter of being nice to each other. That alone could well have the power to change everything.

Thank you for reading all this. I love you. Keep rising.

#puerto rico #homestuck #fandom #hurricane maria #world news #natural disasters and extreme weather #us news #politics #purity culture #radical empathy

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fluffyllamas-23 · 7 years

Text

Another fic, featuring the babes (Mason, Sean and Lucy). It’s part two to this fic, because why the hell not XD.

Shoutout to @emeraldthread for all the character development I’ve been able to do with them, and also for letting me ramble on and on about them XD.

(also @collegeanon-sickfics because she deserves all the love always)

By the time Lucy brings Sean back to her apartment, he’s more than ready to lie down.

She walks in ahead of him, and he stands in the doorway, hands shoved in his pockets. He feels out of place - he doesn’t even know this woman, and he’s absolutely intruding. She’s been working for twelve hours, too, he should have just asked her to drop him off at home.

“Sean?”

He clears his throat with a grimace, “you know it’s not safe to invite random men to your apartment...that’s how you get murdered.”

She quirks a brow, “are you going to murder me?”

“No, but-”

“-Good. I’d hate to have to kick your ass.”

“I could take you,” he slurs, blinking heavily.

She pats his upper arm, “sure you could.”

“I could…I could do it.”

He blinks tiredly, and she smiles softly at him, “come on. You need to go lie down.”

“Thank you for letting me stay,” he croaks, following her over to her couch. “You could have dropped me off at my house.”

“Are you forgetting that you locked your keys in your car?”

He sniffles, rubbing at his nose, “oh yeah.”

“Lie down,” she instructs, “I’m gonna go grab you some blankets and tissues. Hey, you want to my kitten? She’s still pretty little so she likes to cuddle.”

“You have a cat?” He squawks, eyes lighting up.

“A kitten, yeah. Shiloh. She’s seven weeks, I found her outside.”

“Yes. One hundred percent”

When she returns with Shiloh, he’s still standing next to the couch, staring at it blankly.

“Are you alright?”

He jumps, and then turns to look at her with a sheepish look on his face.

“Sorry, I just feel-” he’s cut off by a harsh sneeze, “*snff* like I’m being a burden.”

She rolls her eyes, “you aren’t. I’m the one who offered.”

“But-”

“-You’re having a rough day. You’re not being a burden, I promise. Now, will you lie down and get some rest? Shiloh wants to be held,” she says, holding out a tiny, purring, fluffy grey-striped kitten.

He nods tiredly and collapses onto the couch with a light groan.

Lucy places the kitten on his chest, and then disappears for a few moments. She returns and drapes a blanket over him and then pats his shoulder. “Sit up, I have pillows.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles, eyelids drooping as soon as he’s settled against them.

“Don’t sleep yet. Medicine first.”

Lucy flits around her apartment, unable to sit still for long. She checks on him and Shiloh multiple times, still floored that someone so cute had agreed to a date.

Of course, she thinks, it was probably his fever and once it goes away, and he’s more clear-headed he’ll probably break the date...he probably has a girlfriend anyways. Guys who look like that aren’t just single.

Guys who are actually taller than her aren’t just single. He has a good four inches on her, which is saying something, because she’s 5’11 and that would make him 6’2 at least.

Any guy she doesn’t tower over might as well be a unicorn, she’s learned.

The height is what drew her to him in the first place, but what kept her interest was how cute he is, even though he was, and still is, completely miserable.

She sighs as she stares down at him.

“Hey, Sean,” she says softly, putting a hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. After a couple of moments, his glassy blue, fever-bright eyes open, and he looks around in confusion for a split second before he realizes where he is.

“What time is it?” He mumbles.

“Four. I know you’re tired, but I want to check your fever, and you need food.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I think you misheard,” she teases, “nowhere in that sentence did I ask if you wanted food. I said you needed it, which you do.”

He groans and drapes an arm over his eyes, “fine.”

“Does anything sound good?”

“Maybe soup or something...my throat really hurts.”

She frowns, “yeah, I’ll make some. How do you feel about canned soup?”

He gives a sleepy chuckle, nuzzling his face into the pillow and petting the kitten with one hand. “I can’t cook, all I ever eat are canned and microwavable meals.”

“Perfect,” she says, handing him the thermometer before walking into the kitchen.

Sean stares at the numbers after it beeps, and groans lightly.

This is not how he planned on spending his day off. He had stuff he needed to get done today, but instead he feels like death and is stuck on the couch with a one hundred and one degree fever and is stuffed up to his eyeballs with some awful, awful congestion. It’s making his head throb with an intensity he doesn’t think possible.

“Still have a fever?” She calls from the stove.

“One oh one.”

“Damn,” she mutters, “did you have one yesterday?”

“Yeah…but not until after work.”

“I’ll give you more medicine after you eat something...and water, are you thirsty?”

“A little.”

“I’ll get you some in a second.”

“Thank you,” he mumbles, eyelids drooping.

“Alright!” Lucy chirps, pulling into a parking spot next to his car, “triple A should be here soon, I called before we left.”

It’s three in the afternoon, forty five minutes after he finally was able to drag himself off the couch. He’s feeling much better though - his fever had broken last night, and made no indication that it was going to come back. He’s still miserably congested, which is making him a little fuzzy headed, and he’s still coughing, but it seems like the worst of it has passed.

“I honestly don’t know how to thank you,” he says, shooting her a lopsided grin. She tries not to choke on a breath, because he has the cutest smile she’s ever seen. That, coupled with the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of his nose and on his cheeks is enough to make her stare.

She tucks a curl behind her ear and smiles at him, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. “We’re still on for that drink, right?”

Please say yes, please say yes, please say ye-

“Oh, yeah,” he nods, “absolutely.”

“Good. Since we’re here-”

“-I’m going to go check on Pepper,” he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. She watches as he walks away, and then turns her attention back to her phone.

Her thoughts drift back to him, and she finds herself mentally kicking herself. Why the hell is she getting so wrapped up in this guy she’s known less than twenty four hours? It’s stupid, that’s what it is. She’s never like this over guys, but because he’s cute, and sweet, and funny…and seeing him cuddling on the couch with her kitten made her melt, she’s falling hard for him.

She hates herself.

Sean comes back out a couple of minutes later, a frown on his face.

“Everything okay?”

“She had surgery last night and I didn’t have my phone so that they could call me with updates.”

Lucy inhales sharply, “is she-”

“-She’s fine!” He cries, waving his hands in front of him. She sighs in relief and he grimaces, “God, no...if she would have...you know...I don’t know what I would have done. She’s okay, they just have to monitor her for the next twenty four hours and then I can take her home.”

“I’m glad.”

“I should probably call out of work for th-shit.”

“What?”

“I’m supposed to be at work!”

“WHAT?!”

“I have work at two! I’m going to get fired!” He cries, going into a coughing fit.

“Breathe,” she instructs, “you’re not going to get fired. I’ll drive you there and you’ll just explain to your boss what happened.”

“My car-“

“-give me a minute,” she says.

“We don’t have a minute!”

“You’re over an hour late. Two more minutes isn’t going to kill you, just chill.”

“Hurry up.”

“Oh my God, will you just relax? I’ll get you there, don’t worry.”

“SEAN!” Mason cries, launching himself at the taller man the moment he walks through the front doors of the hotel. “Are you okay?! I thought you died.”

“No, I’m okay,” Sean promises.

“What the hell?!” Mason cries, smacking Sean on the upside of his head. “You don’t answer my calls, you’re not at your apartment, you don’t show up for the start of your shift? I called the cops, you asshole.”

“it was...a day yesterday,” Sean groans. “Pepper got sick and I had to take her to the vet and then I locked my keys and phone in my car….”

Mason goes back to squeezing Sean so hard that Sean can’t breathe, and he struggles against his grip.

“Sean,” Lucy says, frowning at the two.

“Yeah?” Sean chokes out.

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

Sean scowls, shoving Mason, “he’s not my boyfriend.”

Mason grins at Lucy, “Sean would never date me, he likes women too much. I don’t really care either way, though. I’d date him, he’s hot.”

Sean shoves him, “shut up you moron.”

Mason cackles maniacally at Sean’s annoyance before he turns his attention back to Lucy. He smirks at her, “you’re hot too. What’s up? How you doin’?”

Lucy stares at him blankly, thoroughly unimpressed, “I was great until I met you.”

“Ouch,” he says, putting a hand over his heart with a chuckle, “but fair enough.”

“Mason,” Sean hisses, frustration lacing his tone.

Mason looks between the two of them before a grin spreads across his face, “oh. I’m so sorry, I’m Mason, nice to meet you.”

She chuckles, giving him a little wave. “I’m Lucy.”

Sean rolls his eyes but puts a hand on Lucy’s lower back, “I’m so sorry I have to leave you alone with him but I need to go find my boss. Feel free to ignore him, that’s what I usually do.”

Mason gasps, “I cannot believe that my best friend, my bro, my fake boyfriend, would sell me out like this. How dare you.”

Lucy frowns, “fake boyfriend?”

“It’s a long story-“

“-no it’s not,” Mason says, looking at Lucy, “my family wouldn’t stop bugging me about when I’m getting a girlfriend so I told them that Sean is my boyfriend.”

Lucy bursts out laughing, and Sean finds himself staring at her with a goofy, dreamy grin. She catches his gaze and immediately flushes and looks away shyly.

Sean clears his throat and looks over at Mason. “My head hurts too much for this. Hey, how about you stop slacking off and get to work.”

Mason flips him off, “hey, screw you. If you haven’t noticed the lobby is empty and I have nothing to do.”

As soon as Sean is out of the lobby, Mason looks at Lucy and purses his lips.

“Lucy?”

“Yeah?”

“What are your intentions with Sean?”

She’s taken aback by how serious he sounds, “my intentions? Well…a date, to start with.”

“Look, Sean tends to fall hard and fast for whoever he dates. He puts 200% into a relationship, but he doesn’t…do it often. He likes you, I can tell, and that takes a lot for him.n I’m not saying you have to marry the guy, I’m really not…but I don’t want you to start dating him if you’re just going to bail on him.”

She sighs, bringing her eyes to Mason’s. “I promise I’m not just screwing around...I like him a lot.”

“Good. That’s all I needed to hear,” Mason grins, pulling her into a hug.

Lucy sighs in relief, hugging him back before stepping away from him.

“Hey, guys,” Sean says, walking back over to them.

“Hey! What did he say?”

“He’s not as big a dick as I thought.”

“Oh?” Mason asks.

“I mean he was pissed at first but he’s letting me have the rest of the weekend off.”

“Who knew he had a heart, damn,” Mason says, and looks at Lucy and Sean, “you two crazy kids go have fun.”

Sean shoots him a weak smile, “I just want to go back to sleep.”

“Probably a good idea, you look like shit,” Mason frowns, concern etched into his features, he looks at Lucy and raises his brows, “make sure he gets to bed and doesn’t die, yeah?”

Lucy grins, “I’ll do my best.”

“Hey, how about that drink?” Sean croaks, before going into a painful sounding coughing fit.

She grimaces, “how about some tea and medicine? You’re starting to look miserable again.”

He nods, rubbing his eyes tiredly, “yeah okay...sounds like a plan.”

She ushers him out of the hotel as he waves goodbye to Mason.

“Feel better!” Mason calls after him.

“Uh, so what happened with my car?” Sean asks as he trails after Lucy.

“I asked one of the girls at the front desk to get your keys from the tow truck driver.”

“Oh,” he nods, blinking tiredly.

“How are you feeling?” She asks, shooting him a sad smile once they’re in the car.

He shrugs, coughing lightly, “not great.”

“I’m sorry, Sean,” she frowns.

“It’s okay...s’not your fault.”

“I know...I just...it sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” he mutters, “I’m really sorry if I get you sick, by the way.”

She grins, “it’s fine. I’ll just make you bring me tea.”

“It’s a date.”

“Well I hope we have a date that doesn’t involve either of us being sick.”

“Yeah, me too,” Sean says, glancing at her.

They lapse into silence, which is only punctuated by Sean sniffling and coughing.

Lucy finally pulls into the parking lot, and looks over at Sean, who’s half asleep at this point, “will you be okay to drive home?”

He nods, yawning sleepily, “yeah, I’ll be fine, but, um...could-uh...could I get your number?”

“Well, I thought you’d never ask,” she says, handing him her phone.

As soon as he puts his number in and texts himself, he leans over and kisses her cheek.

“Thank you so much, Lucy.”

Her cheeks flush, “y-yeah…o-of course…um…if you need anything, text me.”

“Will do.”

“Feel better, Sean,” she says.

He nods, clearing his throat with a grimace, “thank you. I’ll talk to you later.”

She watches as he walks into the clinic, hoping that later comes sooner than she thinks.

#OCs #lucy and sean #and mason #sickfic #sneezing #coughing #fever

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makeyourfantasydreamscometrue · 4 years

Text

Falling for Hoseok chapter 2

Staying at home was boring, but it sure was nice to sleep in some extra days and not have to worry about anything.

Well. It was quiet.

Too quiet, that in your silence your mind started to drift. Maybe you needed to get a pet cat or something. There seems to be a depressing stillness to the air and you don't remember the last time you brought company over. You think about the guy that knocked into you. He was so sweet and handsome, a passing thought made you wonder what he was doing now. The way he looked at you when your bus drove away... The feeling of being cared for... You've haven't felt someone do that for you in a long time. Not since...

Your ex boyfriend.

You shake your head. I dont want to think about him, you say to yourself, he will spoil the mood.

You must be that lonely to be reading too much into every detail of a mere stranger who simply did an act of kindness towards you. You felt silly. Still, you remember his eyes, the tone of his voice. They told you that if it they were a story book, it would be the most moving of stories, filled with depth and care and love, the most gentle of them all. Something about him was filled with honesty.

You're crazy you chuckled to yourself. Time to get ready for bed, Y/N.

~~~

Days pass in your home slowly, but it gives you time to rest and recover your back, and soon, you're well rested for the next week of work. Your coworkers were happy to have you back, especially since the work pilled up on their desks when you left, so when you return to the office, you stay very busy and skip lunch trying to catch up with everything you missed.

It starts to rain and some of the lights click off, letting you know mainly everyone is leaving home, but of course, being the workaholic that you are, you stay overtime, where its just you and the clicking sound of the keys on your computer, and the cleaning lady who occasionally came in the mop around your feet while you sip your can of soda that you got from the vending machine in the office, an extra boost of caffeine in your blood to help give you energy.

Your eyes get tired and you yawn and rub them, stretching back in your rolling chair, and you take a minute to rest them and look out the window. Cars are passing by seldomly and the orange of the streetlights get blurred by the fat droplets dragging down the pane, playing their own competitive game and racing with each other to see who gets to the end of the glass first. You suddenly remember something that makes your heart sink a little.

Flashback

The streets are filled with laughter as you and him walk hand in hand, soaked to the eyelashes without an umbrella. Thunder roars from the sky.

"This is crazy, I love it!" you scream, doing a little twirl as he spins you around and you dance foolishly, not a soul in the streets around as everyone hides from the downpour in their houses.

"Why do you like the rain so much?" He yells over the sound of puddles being formed around you.

"Don't you feel free?" You say, making him smile widely as he looks at you, throwing your hands up. "Like the stress is left from your body and you're alive again?"

He chuckles and shakes his head at you, raking a hand through his hair to look at you better. "I feel like I need to run inside and take another shower, my shoes are soaked!"

You giggle and poke fun at him, sticking out your tongue. "Party pooper! You're no fun!"

He pulls you close to him and pushes the hair out of your face as his breath warms you. "No, but I can make it fun," he says slyly.

"And hows that?" you say, raising an eyebrow.

He smiles and leans in and kisses you, your heart soaring. He pulls away and locks eyes with yours and hands on your waist.

"You're beautiful, Y/N. I've never been this happy. Stay with me forever," he breaths over your lips, making you smile.

"I promise," you whisper, receiving his kiss.

End of flashback

You swallowed in your seat. Ouch, that wasn't what you wanted to think of right now on this peaceful night. You remember how much you guys liked each other, how it felt to be in his arms, kissing him. Now hes in the arms of another, and I'm the only one left with these stupid memories.

You remember it started slowly, the phone calls. The secrecy. Not wanting to spend time with you unless it was at home. Missing dates. Hanging out with his friends. You were started to lose him more and more. Until that fatefully heartbreaking day when you saw him in the streets, his arms around another girl, kissing against his car. He kissed her like he should have kissed you. He licked her lips and pulled on her body in the most intimate of ways, and said the same words you thought were only for you.

Stay with me forever, you're so beautiful.

You started to feel sick and thought Maybe its time to leave home now. I hate the rain.

Saving your work and turning off the computer's monitor, you decided to pack up your things and head for the train ride home. ~~~

As more weeks pass by it's the same as always, and you're okay, healthy, busy and quiet. You do what you have to do to get through the day, and your coworkers are more louder and excited then usual because it's Friday. You try not to get into too much conversation, looking at the screen monitor and avoiding eye contact as much as possible. When your boss dismisses you early, you run to get your purse and jacket and the sound of your name immediately being called behind you makes you cringe as you shut your eyes.

"Y/N! Where are you going?" They start to say collectively.

You prepare your face with a tight smile and turn around. "Hmm?"

"Don't you know what day it is? Its Friday!! Remember we said we were gonna check out that new club that just opened up downtown?"

"Oh, I Uh, I have a prior arrangement, sorry."

"Aww, it'll be fun though!!"

"C'mon, what could be more exciting then clubbing?" said while throwing his arms around two female coworkers as they giggled, another sleazy guy coworker that allot of the girls were crushing on. You tried not to roll your eyes, you honestly couldn't understand what they saw in him, to you he was annoying.

Sleeping. Reading my book away from all the noise. Being left alone. Not being around pointless make out sessions in the bathrooms and drunks. Sleeping.

"Sorry guys, but my... my goldfish is sick and I have to take it to the vet."

They all raised an eyebrow and you knew you had to come up with another excuse quick. "A-And my friend is in town and I have to help her get situated with her... her new apartment. She's coming now."

"How did she know you were getting off early when the boss just announced it now?" they said suspiciously.

You bit your lip. "I just texted her! Yes shes coming now. Gotta go but have fun for me and have a good weekend!" Before they could say anything else you scurried the hell outta there and made a run for it, rounding the corner of the block and suddenly wondering where you would go next. Your stomach suddenly was craving a warm coffee in this fall wind. You walked to the nearest bakery and bought a crepe and a coconut cream latte, then headed for your favorite park.

It was a little chilly and you hugged your latte cup closer to you for warmth as you looked up to the blue sky, the time already making it evening as the sun set to sleep. You felt so much peace but at the same time you felt alone. It was really silent and no one else was in the park, but at the same time, you wished for a little bit of change. Something exciting. You saw how those girls around you had best friends and the energy they had talking about just about anything. You kind of wished you had a chill best friend to talk to and hear you out and have laid back conversations and someone to sit on the bench with and have coffee and talk about their day. You closed your eyes and smelled the sense of rain in the air. You looked up and immediately remembered that the weather forecaster this morning mentioned a shower late evening. Sigh. Why does it always rain like this your heart dropped a little bit whether you wanted it to or not.

You sipped the last bit of your coffee and decided it might be best to start heading home. The clouds were quickly stirring up together and getting darker grey in color. Getting up from your seat, you headed for the nearest trashcan and chucked in your cup, but spinning around you saw a man standing before you, making you shriek.

"Eek!" you stumbled backwards, and he reached out and caught your elbows just in time.

"Whoa, that was close. Are you alright? I'm sorry for the scare."

The moment you locked eyes realization hit you, making your mouth drop at recognizing him as the guy who took you to the hospital months ago. The look on his face told you he remembered you to, and he broke out into a warm smile.

"Hey, aren't you the girl I bumped into before? The one I spilled coffee on?"

You chuckled a little at the memory. "Yeah, and you're the guy who was nice enough to take me to the hospital. How are you?"

"I should be asking you that question. How's your health and your back?"

"Oh, I'm fine," but you could tell he wasn't looking at you, but searching your body until they found your hands. He quickly picked them up, looking around and on your palms to see if the scratches were healed. You blinked at the sudden contact.

"No scars, that's good." He smiled a toothy grin before looking back at your face, and your heart squeezed suddenly.

He's more handsome then I remembered.

He suddenly realized he was holding onto your hands and softly but quickly let go. "I... I'm sorry. Sorry for that."

"Why are you sorry?" you said, smiling at him a little.

He chuckled, looking down to the ground and rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm naturally a touchy and friendly person. I hope that didn't make you feel uncomfortable."

You shook your head immediately. "Don't worry about it."

There was a small amount of tension and awkwardness as you both looked around the park, until you spoke again. "How did you know about this park? Not many people come by here."

"I know right? It's in the middle of nowhere." He said with excited eyes. "I found it because I saw you coming in here a few moments ago."

"You... You followed me here?" you said curiously.

He quickly fidgeted and looked for the next words to correct his sentence. "I... Not. No. I mean I, you looked so familiar, and then you disappeared behind the bushes so i was curious. It was like you evaporated in thin air! I'm not a creep I promise please don't think I'm weird," he mumbled with a cringed face at himself, and you laughed out loud.

"Don't worry, I don't think you're a creep," you whispered, making him smile in return. "I um, I come here sometimes to help me unwind in the day. I like it because it's quiet. It's kind of a secret though," you said bashfully, looking down at your feet.

"Don't worry, I'll keep your secret," he whispered sweetly with a playful wink, and you felt a little lighter instantly.

He has a pretty smile you thought. It immediately makes me want to smile back.

"I never got your name by the way. I'm Hoseok," he reached out his hand hesitantly, wondering if it was okay for you to take it. You reached out and took it warmly.

"Im Y/N," you said, and though the handshake was short,something about him made you want to connect your skin with his again and got slightly disappointed the moment he let go so soon.

"I um, thank you so much for all that you did to help me at the hospital. I know you felt like it was your responsibility or duty or something, but I still really would like to thank you somehow."

He shook his head and suddenly thought of an idea. "I know how you can pay me back. Let me take you out for coffee?"

Your heart thudded.

"Wait, how is that me paying you back?" you laughed.

"Fine, you can pay for the coffee then. Deal?"

"Deal."

"So, where shall we go?"

~~~~

You didn't mind going for another coffee with Hoseok even if you just drank one. He mentioned a cafe that was opened 24 hours, where he sometimes goes to when he cant sleep at night. When you arrived, it was beautiful, vanilla colored walls and honey brown trimmings, homey booths and the smell of warm caffeine and pastries and bread, little fairy lights that lined the windows and walls, a nice transition from the chilly air outside.

He was the perfect gentleman and pulled out your chair, gave you extra napkins and cutlery first before himself, and soon you were eating red velvet cake and coffee and asking about your day and personalities and things you liked to do for fun.

"I don't know, but I'm actually a much more of a boring person then you might think," you said to him, stirring sugar in your coffee.

"Try me,"he said in confidence.

"Well, my coworkers invited me to a night of clubbing, but i turned down their offer to go home, put on soft music in my pajamas and read a book."

You were afraid to look up at him after the little moment of silence, but when you finally did you saw him looking admirably while leaning his chin on his hand. "I like that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Who wants to go meeting random strangers in the dark and drinking till you throw up? I think we're past the age of fooling around now. I'd much rather have meaningful conversations while making real relationships with people and getting to connect on an emotional level, like this."

"Me too. I guess its because I'm more quiet, but i value talk about this stuff then 'who did who last night' or what kind of Louis Vuitton bag did so-in-so get," you said, taking a sip of your coffee.

He nodded. "You're an old soul. I like it. I feel that we are more mature in our time then other kids."

You laughed at the term "old soul", but you had to agree that he was right. Maybe that's why you preferred to go to the park or the beach alone. You didn't quite find many people who "got you."

"So, what's something surprising about you that many wouldn't think by seeing at first glance?" you asked.

"That behind my tough guy persona I'm really emotional."

Your mouth dropped open and you weren't expecting him to say that.

"Really? Like how emotional?"

"Like, crying at sad movies, liking allot physical affection and comfort and feeding stray cats on the street emotional. I cant help it. I got more of my mother's side of the DNA."

You smiled. "That's actually pretty cute. I hate macho men who hide their emotions."

"My friends would all poke fun at me for it. But, I mean, why hide them? We're all human. I couldn't hide it if i tried anyways."

"I find that to be even more charming then those who wouldn't admit that! You're a real one," you giggled.

"See, this is why the universe thought we should be friends. You get it."

You must've talked for hours and it was getting late into the night now, the stars were coming out.

"Wow, we've talked for a while now. Look at the moon!" he pointed outside the window.

"It's so bright. Good thing I don't work on the weekends or I would've been dead tired."

He smiled. "I'm really glad you didn't go to that club tonight," he said honestly. "Then we wouldn't have met like this and talk like this. I feel like I've known you forever!"

You blushed. "I feel like that to, oddly."

"So," he looked at his watch. You felt sad that the day was over, but then he said:

"When are we doing this again?"

And that was when you met your best friend, Hoseok.

#hoseok #fanfic #angst #fluff #wonho fluff #monsta x #wonho x reader #lee hoseok fanfic

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