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#also yeah I’m at that point I gotta start drawing other crap so I don’t get bored of Portal😔
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WHERE. IS. KOMARU????!!!!! AND WHERE'S TOKO AND AKERU?!
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What do we do!? What do we do!? What do we do!? What do we do!? What do we do!? What do we-!?
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MAKOTO! I understand you’re worried! So are the rest of us, but stomping around ranting like a lunatic isn’t gonna solve ANY of our problems right now, so stop panicking!
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How can you expect me to stop!? THEY HAVE MY SISTER!
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What is that moron even DOING here!? She and her family go missing for ages, and THIS is when they turn up!?
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This...was NOT part of the plan...What do we do?
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Isn’t that obvious? We’ve gotta go save her! We can’t have her be trafficked as a human sacrifice or lab rat!
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That’s unwise...Going on a rescue mission would draw unnecessary attention to us from all sides, one of which would be Zetsubou.
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If we go and try to save her from this predicament, then we risk exposing ourselves to Zetsubou. Komaru, while she may be somewhat of a threat to Zetsubou, isn’t on their list of priority targets.
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That doesn’t mean they’d just ignore her! Byakuya please...!
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I understand how you feel Makoto, but for the sake of our future confrontations with Zetsubou...The best course of action...would be to sacrifice her...
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Byakuya, that’s horrible! Take it back!
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Yeah dude! Not cool! These guys are our friends!
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You can’t just abandon them to save your own neck!
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I’m not! I’m trying to save YOUR neck too! Don’t think that I WANT to give Komaru up, but losing one person is more optimal than losing 5 or 6!
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*WHEEZE!* HAHAHAHAHA!
*Kuripa suddenly bursts out laughing.
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K-Kuripa?
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Oh Byakuya...Byakuya, Byakuya, Byakuya......you absolute MORON...
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Who are you calling a moron!?
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Oh, I’m sorry, does DUMBASS work better!? Or perhaps, since you’re so high-strung, how about CLODPOLL!?
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If you WEREN’T an idiot of some semblance, then surely you would have realized that regardless of whether we act or not, Zetsubou WILL catch us all, right?
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Wh-What...? What do you mean?
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Oh come on! You’ve known these people way longer than I have! YOU should be saying this to ME!
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Komaru might not be on Zetsubou’s target list for Danganronpa Survivor, but TOKO IS. And we all no that wherever one goes, the other is not far behind.
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The good news is that I did a run through for any other listed “Naegi’s” on these files, and thankfully, Toko doesn’t seem to be on their yet. But if Komaru’s safety is at stake, then it’s only a matter of time before she is. Then, it would be a simple task for Feng to hand Toko off to Zetsubou for the killing game.
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Oh, and that’s not even mentioning the repercussive effects of Toko’s capture. Again, I don’t know why the ever-loving hell the Ultra Dickbrain Girls are HERE of all places, but if Toko is found here, then Zetsubou might even come to the assumption that the rest of us were here with her. So it’d be a hop, skip and a jump, and bing bang bosh, WE’RE ALL CAPTURED OR KILLED!
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So? Think moron is fitting now?
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!!???
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Oh crap he’s right...! W-We’re basically hot buttered toast at this point!
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In that case, we’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain by rescuing Komaru! Not only do we save her, but we get her and Toko’s help. We all know how formidable they are together.
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Alright, ALRIGHT! *sigh* I apologize, you’ve all made some excellent points...
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But ultimately, regardless of my input, the final decision is Kyoko’s. She is still technically this group’s leader, so we should wait for what she has to say.
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You’ve been pretty quiet this whole time Kyoko. Are you deliberating on it?
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No, there’s no need for that. I was simply waiting for everyone else’s input, but I’ve already made my final decision right from the start.
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We’re going to save Komaru.
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Kyoko! I knew we could count on you!
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*sigh* Very well...at least tell me you’ve taken into account the risks involved?
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Let me put it this way...Familial attachment...friendship...potential risks to our safety...Putting all of that aside, we have to do this.
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Komaru and Toko may be my friends, and sisters-in-law, but they are also Branch Chief’s of the Future Foundation. And now, Emilia Feng has kidnapped them, and intends to traffic them in an illegal deal.
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That...is a declaration of war...!
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That’s what I like to hear...! Let’s BURN those fuckers to the GROUND!
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luci-in-trenchcoats · 3 years
Text
If I Fell For You (Part 3) - A Moment
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Summary: Jensen is away from home for a few days but isn’t having the easiest time being away from the kids for the first time since the accident. When he returns home, he has a gala to attend on Saturday night but a kiss on the cheek and slip of the tongue will snowball into the reader and Jensen sharing a moment...
Masterlist
Pairing: Jensen x nanny!reader
Word Count: 6,100ish
Warnings: language, death of a spouse, death of a parent, anxiety, self-worth problems, referenced past harassment
A/N: I love this part so much for so many reasons. Please enjoy!
________
“Hi Jensen,” you asked Monday night when your phone rang. “How was your flight earlier?”
“Same old same old. I just got out of work,” he said with a yawn. “Gonna grab a bite out with a friend. Kids eat dinner okay?”
“We had honey sriracha glazed salmon with brussel sprouts and roasted red potatoes.”
“Really?”
“They had kraft mac and cheese and I had Taco Bell.”
“See this is why I like you,” he chuckled.
“I’ll try the salmon again tomorrow. I was gonna make it but they didn’t have any at the store,” you said, opening the fridge and taking out a pint of ice cream. “Hey can I have what’s left of this mint ice cream?”
“Sure. Pick some more up for me sometime before friday please,” he said. “Also, Taco Bell? You do realize we live in freaking Austin right. There are literally hundreds of places you can go that have better mexican food.”
“Yeah but fake cheese tastes good,” you said. He laughed and your stomach rumbled. “I so should have gotten more than two tacos.”
“You in the kitchen?” he asked. You hummed and you heard him let out an oof in the background.
“Yeah. You alright?”
“This bed in my hotel room is comfy,” he said. “But I was starting to say, go in the drawer at the end of the counter by the table. There’s only five hundred gajillion take out menus in there. Order a treat for yourself. It’s on me.”
“Jensen. I can get my own dinner.”
“True but you’re on call 24/7 until I get back.”
“Well in that case I bet you got a menu for a fancy steakhouse in here somewhere,” you teased as you picked up one for a tex mex looking restaurant. “Does this place really have quesadillas this big?”
“You must be looking at the menu on top. I almost ordered from there last week actually. The food’s great. They do delivery too. Just buzz the guy into the gate when they get there.”
“Any recommendations?” you asked, taking out the menu and flipping it over.
“Quesadillas are good. Loaded nachos are amazing. I’ve literally never had a bad thing from there,” he said. “To be honest I’d rather be getting that than where I’m going tonight.”
“Why’s that?” you asked, reading through your options, surprised to find such good prices.
“I have to wear a suit,” he said with a sigh. “After being poked and prodded all day I literally would rather just eat crap and watch food network.”
“How long have you known this friend of yours?” you asked.
“Twenty years, why?”
“Then you guys knew each other when you were young. It’s not too late out there. Call him, see if he’d rather get some crap food, a six pack and just catch up on his couch or in your room. I’m pretty sure he’s more looking forward to seeing an old friend again than the food,” you said.
“You make very good points. I should pay you more,” he said.
“You pay me plenty and barely let me spend a dime of my money on myself,” you said. “I don’t need more.”
“You got that fancy computer though.”
“You literally have the exact same mac in your office.”
“You moved in like three boxes and two computers,” he said.
“An ipad is not a computer,” you said.
“Debatable.”
“Well I like to draw sometimes and it’s easier on an ipad when you’re laying in bed,” you said. 
“Are you any good?” he asked.
“No.”
“I bet they’re really good,” he said as you rolled your eyes. “I see you draw with the kids sometimes and those are good.”
“It’s a hobby is all,” you said, leaning back against the counter, your stomach grumbling again. “Anything else you want me to grab at the store? I’m going to hit it tomorrow while everyone’s at school.”
“Nah. Get the usual stuff,” he said. “The kiddos in bed?”
“Yeah, got the last one down about fifteen minutes ago,” you said. He hummed and you heard the sigh in it. “I got a video of them playing earlier I’ll send you.”
“Thanks. It’s my first night away from them in a long time. Normally I’m able to come back same day. I was kinda hoping they’d still be awake to say goodnight.”
“They’re safe and sound dad. We’ll call again after school tomorrow to talk like today,” you said.
“Yeah,” he breathed out. He was quiet and you pulled the phone away, taking a deep breath. 
“You okay?” 
“I haven’t been alone like this in a really long time.”
“I know. You check out your backpack yet?”
“No. Why?”
“You didn’t bring a jacket with you so I put that yellow hoodie that’s always on the hook in there in case you got cold.”
“That was Dee’s hoodie.”
“I was pretty sure it was,” you said. You heard him shuffle around briefly before he hummed, much happier that time. “I thought you might like to have a piece of...something-”
“I really don’t pay you enough,” he said quietly. “Thanks for putting this in there. I need something from home more than I realized.”
“Well put it on, call up your buddy and have some fun tonight, Ackles. Nanny’s orders.” He laughed and you felt that twinge in your stomach again, your eyes quickly closing.
“I will. Hey you mind if I call again tomorrow night? I don’t have any plans and sitting in a hotel room by myself isn’t very fun.” You smiled and felt heat in your cheeks, quickly thinking it away. He wanted company for a few minutes was all and you were friends. It was completely normal to talk with friends on the phone everyday.
“Of course. As long as you get a dinner in at some point that’s more than fine with me,” you said. “We can talk about The Bachelor!”
“Oh God no,” he groaned, chuckling after a few seconds. “I’ll settle for Grey’s Anatomy.”
“This Is Us?” you asked.
“Supernatural?”
“I haven’t watched that yet. I’m working up to it,” you said. 
“Work faster woman. I only know legit everything about that one,” he chuckled. “But probably not a good idea to watch that one until I get back and you're not alone. First episode is kinda scary.”
“Oh well thanks for that,” you said, watching the clock tick by, knowing it had to be almost seven out there. “I’ll let you go. Have fun tonight Jensen.”
“I will Y/N. Promise.”
Friday Night
“Arrow,” you said after she’d flung her pasta bowl all over herself, covering her hair and face. She sniffled and you forced a smile. “Okay. How about a bath after dinner?”
Fifteen minutes later JJ and Zeppelin were in the movie room watching a cartoon while you had Arrow in the kids bathroom, scooping up some water over her head in the tub.
“Well hello ladies,” you heard behind you. You jumped and spun around, glaring for a moment before you recognized Jensen.
“Just me,” he said, backpack still on his shoulders. 
“Daddy I got ziti all over my head,” she said.
“You did?” he asked, dropping his bag and taking off his jacket, kneeling down next to you. You got the last bit of sauce off and squirted some shampoo in her hair, Jensen watching you with a smile. “How was your day?”
She told him all about breakfast and daycare, playing with a few toy boats with him while you rinsed out the soap. You did a bit of conditioner before getting it out as well and putting the spray nozzle back.
“I got the rest if you wanna get the dryer ready?” he asked you, reaching for the soap. You swapped spots with him, Jensen washing her up while she kept talking about her day. By the time he was all done you had the dryer out and plugged in, Jensen picking her up and wrapping her up in a big bundle of towels before he set her on the counter. You went to work drying her hair, Jensen draining the tub and finding some pajamas for her.
“Do you want your hair up or down, sweetie?” you asked. She tried gathering it up and you grabbed her soft scrunchie perfectly fine for sleeping in from the counter. You put her hair up in a soft little bun, Jensen making an adorable sound when he returned.
“Aw, you look so cute, baby. I’ll be right there alright?” he said. She hopped off the counter and got dressed, rushing off downstairs when she was all done. “Survive the day?”
“Somehow we always do,” you said, gathering up the towels. “Kids are in the movie room.”
“Thanks. I’m gonna shower but we’re all good for the night,” he said. “Thanks for watching them this week.”
“You gotta go do your job,” you said. “You working on a movie or something? You never said.”
“Uh gonna be in a show called The Boys,” he said. “I’m gonna be one of the superheroes so I gotta go out and get my suit made all special for me every so often.”
“You’re gonna be a supe! That’s so fucking cool!” you said. He grinned and you blushed, shaking your head. “I’m so sorry. That was so not appropriate.”
“I don’t see any little ears around,” he chuckled. “You like the show then?”
“Yeah. It’s great. Like no other show consistently makes me go what the fuck did I just see. That’s so cool you get to be a supe though. Are you a one off or like a main character?”
“I’ll be very present in the next season. Gonna deal with the seven, all that,” he said. “I’m gonna be Solider Boy.”
“I can see that. You have that all American boy thing about you.”
“It’s my adorable face,” he teased. 
“Well remember to not stay up too late. You have the gala tomorrow night remember?”
“Yes mom,” he said as you walked out. “Get the kids some takeout for dinner tomorrow and yourself.”
“Sounds good boss,” you said. “Night Jensen.”
“Goodnight, Y/N.”
The Next Night
You froze from where you were mixing up some brownie batter with JJ at the kitchen counter as Jensen popped downstairs. He was in a gorgeous black suit, a maroon pocket square and no tie going on, his hair scruffier looking than normal.
He started to laugh and you realized you were staring, your cheeks feeling hot as you went back to stirring.
“Mmm, you guys save me a brownie or two for when I get home?” he asked, leaning over and dipping his finger in the bowl of cream cheese frosting.
“We’ll spare one for dad,” you said, Jensen going back for seconds. “Ah, ah. No.”
He dipped his finger in and got another fingerful, kissing the top of JJ’s head and the twins at the counter.
“Be good for Y/N guys!” he called as he rushed out.
You whistled and he jogged back, catching you holding up his phone from the counter.
“Thank you,” he said, taking it and pecking a kiss on your cheek. You looked up at him and he froze. “I am so sorry. I…”
“It’s okay. Go have fun and be all charitable,” you said. He shoved his phone in his pocket and ran out, JJ scratching her head.
“Dad’s kinda weird sometimes,” she said.
“Yeah, he is. But so is everybody,” you said. “Let’s get this in the oven so you guys can pick out colors for your frosting, hm?”
“I really shouldn’t. But I really should,” you said to yourself, plopping your second brownie of the night in a bowl and sticking a scoop of ice cream on top. You carried it over to the couch and lay back, watching TV on the big screen as you heard the door open. Jensen came into view a minute later, taking his jacket off and groaning as he washed up at the sink. He went to the tray of brownies on the counter and picked one up with a big sigh. “Fun night?”
He jumped and whacked his head against the cabinet above, hissing before he spun around.
“You okay?” you asked. He nodded and left the brownie behind, pushing his sleeves up before taking a seat on the other end of the lounger.
“Y/N I’m really sorry about the kiss on the cheek. That was so inappropriate. You’ve kinda implied that there was some stuff that’s happened to you at other jobs you found over the line and I’m really truly sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I wasn’t...I forgot you’re my employee for a moment. I really am sorry.”
“Jensen if I had a problem with it or you or your behavior I would quit on the spot. I don’t let myself get pushed around anymore. You were happy and busy and you pecked a kiss on my cheek, not reach a hand down my pants. It’s really okay. You’re way too hard on yourself.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Positive. It’s barely ten which means you left as soon as you could. You’re supposed to be out having fun,” you said.
“I was kinda freaking out that you hated me,” he said.
“Dude you gotta relax,” you said. “Have a brownie and some ice cream.”
He got up and after a minute took a seat at the other end with a bowl of his own, smiling as he got a taste.
“This is fucking awesome,” he said.
“I know,” you said, Jensen smirking. “Do you feel better now silly boy? I promise that if you ever do anything I find inappropriate I will promptly kick you in the balls.”
“I can agree to that,” he said. He ate for a moment, watching the TV and laying back. “Do you ever like, want to go do things with your friends on a Saturday night? If you do that’s totally cool. These aren’t normal hours anyways.”
“Being a nanny eats up a lot of your social life,” you said. “Kinda got kicked out of my friend group after I broke up with my ex anyways.”
“Well they sound like they suck,” he said.
“Yes, they do,” you said. “I don’t mind so much. I meet plenty of new people through work. Only person you can depend on is yourself and I don’t tend to let myself down.”
“That’s a very lonely way to go through life,” he said.
“It’s not easy to make friends in your thirties,” you said. “Maybe for someone like you who travels and meets new people a lot and stuff but you have like, real friendships. You know?”
“Well we have a real friendship, don’t we? You’re friends with Jared and Rob and Ruthie and Rich,” he said. “I don’t trust just anybody with my kids. That’s real.”
“Yeah,” you said, taking a bite. “So when’s your friend free?”
“Hm?”
“Blind date guy. Maybe he could be a friend if things work out,” you said.
“Oh yeah. He uh, he actually got a gig up in Canada so you might need to wait like a month or so. But he’s excited to meet you,” said Jensen.
“Can I have his number?” you asked. “Or do you think that’d be weird?”
“No, not weird. I think he just kinda wants to do it old school if that’s okay. Meet you first and go from there.”
“This friend of yours better be like super hot,” you said.
“If it’s a problem-“
“I can respect him wanting to do things like that. But I’m gonna want a firm date soon,” you said.
“I’ll make sure to get you one,” he said. “I’ll get it down tomorrow, promise.”
“He better not mind me eating like this either. I ain’t a salad on the first date kinda girl. He’s gonna need to keep up with my eating while were at it,” you said. He snorted in his seat beside you and ran his hand over his face.
“I will keep that in mind. I have occasionally had dessert first truth be told,” he said.
“This is why I like you Ackles. You get my sweet tooth,” you laughed.
“It’s a good thing your dinners are healthy cause I swear I haven’t consumed this many baked goods in months,” he said. “The kids love it and my stomach loves it though.”
“I’m gonna need to start working out though if I keep this up. Oh hey is it okay if I do laps in the pool in the mornings? I’ll be super quiet and stuff.”
“You don’t gotta ask,” he smiled. “Like I said when you started, you got free reign to use the pool, the gym, whatever, aside from my room. You a swimmer?”
“Not really but I hate running and supposedly it’s a good workout or something,” you shrugged, eating another bite of brownie.
“Anything in the gym you’re free to use. I know you must get a little bored sometimes when I’m gone and the kids are,” he said.
“Not bored per say. Ordinarily I would do more chores but you have like a cleaner and a landscaper and you just...give me more time in the day than I’m used to is all. It’s actually great though. It gives me plenty of time to come up with ideas for the kids and stuff.”
“Well as long as you’re taking breaks and your lunch do as you please,” he said, his spoon scraping the bottom of his bowl.
“Now that’s just sad.”
“I really should get another one of these,” he said, sucking the spoon.
“It’s really the only choice you have,” you said. He laughed as he hopped up, skirting back into the kitchen and fixing up another brownie and ice cream combo.
“Hey you want more, Dee?” he asked. You popped your head up and he spun around. “I’m-“
“Don't apologize, Jensen,” you said. He tapped his fingers against the counter and took a deep breath, putting his back to you.
“That’s the second time tonight I’ve done that,” he said. 
“Jensen. There’s nothing wrong with missing your wife.”
“I’m still sorry.”
“You don’t...talk about her much.”
“It was...she wasn’t…” he trailed off. He sat down on a barstool and you got up, walking over and hopping up on the counter beside him. You set your feet in the stool next to his and paused before you put a hand on top of his head and ran your fingers through the short strands. “This shouldn’t have happened to her.”
“Death is the price for living. Pain’s the price for caring. Doesn’t mean it’s not worth it,” you said. You started to move your hand away when he turned his head. 
“Don’t…” he said, easing when you played with it gently again. “That’s always calmed me down since I was a little kid.”
“Someone should take care of you every once in a while you know. Your parents, siblings, friends. Everyone needs a break.”
“I had a lot of help at the beginning. I don’t need a whole day. Just a moment here and there,” he said quietly.
“It’ll be okay, Jensen,” you said. He nodded and you played with his hair a few moments, watching his shoulders ease. This time when you pulled away he smiled up at you. “Better?”
“Yeah. Thank you. That’s not in your job description to do that sort of thing.”
“Well I think your wife would want somebody to watch your back, even for only a minute or two,” you said.
“You don’t have any brain aneurysms I should know about, do you?” he chuckled. 
“No. That what happened?” you asked, a single nod coming from him.
“She was sleeping. Not a bad way to go I was told, you’d never even know,” he said. “Not a fun thing to wake up to in the morning though.”
“My dad had a mass at the back of his head. It was that same kind of thing where one second it’s fine and the next everything’s different deal. It was inoperable. Then he goes and dies from a car accident of all things before it got bad. My mom had a hard time with that.”
“You said she had a boyfriend later on right?” he asked.
“Yeah. I know you’ll be okay, Jensen,” you said. You ruffled his hair and he smiled, a soft look on his face. ���Pro tip too from someone who’s been there, kids with a single parent turn out just fine.”
“Do they ever wish they had another parent?” he asked.
“They wish the parent they still have around is happy again someday. They won’t understand until they’re older that it’s a different kind of love between parents. But they’ll know it’s a little different and they’ll hope dad feels better too. Your kids are tough. They’ll be okay too.”
“Thanks, Y/N,” he said. You hopped off the counter and washed up your dish, sticking it in the dishwasher before you went to leave for your room. “So I gotta ask. Who takes care of you?”
“Me?” you asked, pointing to yourself. He shrugged and smiled, your gaze going past him. “I’m all good. I don’t need somebody to take care of me.”
“Liar,” he said softly. “You know my friend tells me everybody needs to be taken care of sometimes.”
“That’s the difference between us Jensen. You’re not like me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he scoffed, his face scrunching up suddenly.
“It means you’re not on your own and even if you feel like it, it’s only been a little while. You’ll be okay. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was a kid. I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“You haven’t lived my life and I haven’t lived yours. Don’t try to tell me that I’m not capable of-”
“It’s not about what you’re capable of. You said pain is part of life, it’s the price for living. You’ve had more than your fair share-”
“Lots of people have it a lot worse.”
“Don’t compare your pain to someone else's. They haven’t lived your life,” he said. You rolled your eyes and started to walk away, Jensen out of his seat and catching up with you in the hall. “You can be taken care of too you know.”
“By who? My non-existent circle of friends? My crappy ex? My mom’s ex boyfriend who’s got his own wife and kids? I am perfectly fine managing all of this by myself. I’ve been doing it for years.”
“You’re so frustratingly annoying,” he said, running his hand over his face. “Me. I’m talking about me. You just...you took care of me tonight. The least I can do is show you the same compassion.”
“No,” you said.
“No? Why not?”
“Because taking care of me turns into you walking into my shower without my permission and you being a dick and this going away and I don’t want you to be those things so no. We’re getting too friendly. Please leave me alone tomorrow.”
You left him in the hall and went down to your area of the house, shutting the door after you. There was quickly a knock and you growled, ripping it open.
“What?” you snapped at him.
“I am not going to hurt you or be a dick to you or whatever else you think. You need to realize in the real world, not everyone is an asshole.”
“You’re the one not living in the real world then, Jensen. Everybody’s an asshole.”
“Fine. I’m an asshole. But I’m not leaving until you say I can take care of you tomorrow. Two minutes is all I’m asking for.”
“This is my part of the house.”
“And technically I am outside your door,” he said. “Why are you so resistant to somebody doing something nice for you?”
“Because I don’t wanna get used to it,” you said. He stared and you shook your head. “You’re attractive and an actor and kind and funny and it’s not a matter of if you date again but when and when that day comes, we ain’t gonna be sitting on the couch eating ice cream anymore. Please do not invite me to anymore outings as a friend. I’ll attend if required as a nanny but this between us is done.”
“For the record, the only one around here that thinks of you as just the hired help is you. My children are completely like their old selves. I feel more like my old self. You seem happier than when I met you but for some reason, that’s a big problem to you. I do not understand that.”
“Leave or I resign and move out first thing,” you said. He crossed his arms and lifted his chin. “This is my formal resignation then. The company will-”
He moved quickly and you weren’t sure what he was doing at first but soon you realized he was hugging you, your hands resting against his chest. You swallowed and he didn’t move, your forehead resting against him.
“What are you doing?” you breathed out.
“When’s the last time you got a fucking hug?” he asked.
“The kids-”
“Not the kids.”
“I don’t remember,” you said quietly. 
“Then you are overdue,” he said. You let yourself reach your arms around him and return the hug, breathing deeply, a small bubble in you rising up. You tried to push it down but it came back harder and you were fighting back tears before you knew it. 
He could feel when you lost that battle, hand rubbing up and down your back. There was a soft shushing in the air and after a few minutes you felt better. You lifted your head but didn’t look at him, Jensen squeezing you in his hug again before it eased.
“You know you’re not allowed to quit on me...like ever,” he chuckled. You let out a small laugh, Jensen smiling at you when you forced your head up. He wiped off your cheeks and you let out one last sniffle. “You’re not alone. I promise you’re not. It’s not the quantity of people you have in your life but the quality and I’m sorry but we are friends and there’s nothing you can do about that so I’d just accept it now.”
“I’m sorry I was such a bitch.”
“You were scared, not a bitch,” he said. “I wish I could make you happier is all.”
“I wish I could bring back your wife for you,” you said.
“One of those is a lot more possible than the other,” he said. A small smile crossed his lips before he ducked his head down, shoulders heaving back before his head raised. “Y/N, can I confess something to you? I hope...I hope it doesn’t bother you but if it does, you don’t have to continue working for me. I’d still like to be friends regardless.”
“What’s wrong?” you asked, Jensen looking past you.
“My single friend I was going to set you up with? He doesn’t exist.”
“Oh.”
“Cause he’s kinda me.”
“Oh,” you said, staring at him, a lot of his previous behavior starting to click into place. “That’s…”
“I know,” he said, stepping away and rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s weird and douchey and I’m sorry. I like you and I was trying to see if you would ever go for a 42 year old actor. I left out the widow and kids part but...I’m sorry.”
“When did you like me?” you asked quietly.
“The whole time?” he said, laughing nervously to himself. “It’s kinda snowballed since we met. I never in my life thought I’d like someone again. I didn’t want to like you. I hired you because you were the best candidate and I knew the kids would be in good hands but everyday it’s there, even more, and I know this is so inappropriate on so many levels and I’m really starting to ramble here but you make me think maybe your mom had a point and people are allowed to have...more than one…and sometimes the way you talk to me and treat me and look at me...” 
He swallowed as you stepped in front of him, taking a quick breath. 
“I will keep working for you and I’ll be your friend...and you can make me dinner tomorrow,” you said with a smile. “We’ll see where it goes from there?”
“You’re not...weirded out?” he asked.
“By your age, you’re my boss or the cheeky lying about a fake friend?” you said.
“All of the above.”
“Age doesn’t bother me. You have no idea how to be a boss, no offense, and the friend...I don’t blame you for wanting to test the waters first,” you said. “But I expect honesty from here on out.”
“Absolutely,” he said.
“Good,” you said.
“You do like me right?” he asked. “Like you don’t feel obligated or-”
“I like you Jensen. Why do you think I was trying to push you away before you got too close? I didn’t want to be hurt.”
“Give me a chance to not,” he said. “We can have dinner and see how it goes from there.”
“Normally the best course of action,” you said.
“But maybe with a few more hugs from now on,” he said. “For the both of us.”
“That’d be okay with me,” you said. He smiled and you returned it. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“I guess you will,” he said. He turned to go when he spun back on his heels. “Or we could go back out there, eat way too much dessert and hang out?”
“Yeah,” you said with a smile. “Give me a minute to wash up my face.”
“Take all the time you want. I’m gonna change into something more comfortable anyways.”
He left and you washed off your face in the bathroom, drying it off and taking a deep breath.
You did like him. There was something calming about him to you and you enjoyed his company, even if it was just the two of you having a quiet cup of coffee in the morning.
But he was an actor. And kinda famous. And a widow. And had three kids. 
“But your face is cute,” you said aloud, looking the mirror. “Gah, of course you have to be like...into me. Nutjob. He must be a nutjob. That’s it.”
“Y/N?” you heard him saying and you smacked yourself in the face. “Are you talking to yourself?”
“Uh, yeah,” you said, stepping out and seeing him in the hall sporting a pair of pajama pants and a t shirt. “That was fast.”
“Well I didn’t go through an eight step skin routine too,” he chuckled.
“For your information, my routine is only three steps,” you said, walking past him and waggling your fingers.
“I didn’t realize I was living with such a savage,” he said. You laughed and went back to the kitchen, making up another dish of brownie for him while he went over to where he kept his liquor. “You a bourbon kind of girl?”
“Is there any other kind?” you said.
“Touche.” He poured out two glasses and slid one over while you passed his bowl to him. “So what’s this three step routine? Do I need to up my game or what?”
“I think I need your routine, not the other way around,” you said.
“Nah. I like looking at your face more than mine. Trust me.”
“Oh. How long you been holding back those kinds of comments?” you teased.
“Longer than you’d think,” he said, sharing the bowl with you. “Feel okay now?”
“Yeah. I can’t remember the last time I cried,” you said. “Especially in front of someone.”
“A good cry session has never hurt in my experience. I’ll do it for work and stuff but normally I’m not much of one. Aside from the past six months I mean.”
“Are you ready to try this?” you asked.
“Yeah. I know I am,” he said. “I’m positive of it.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because you make me happy. You make me...want to do stuff again, believe in all the romantic...if I wasn’t ready, I’d feel guilty. But I don’t. I just know that maybe some people get more than one chance and maybe I’m one of them.”
“I know you are, whoever it ends up being,” you said.
“Are you ready to try this?”
You took a drink and bite of ice cream, pushing the bowl back.
“I miss my family,” you said. “I miss being happy. I’d like to...have someone that could take care of me for a moment every once in a while. I might mess that up sometimes but I’m willing to try.”
“Me too,” he said. “I’d expect some screw ups on this end too. I’ve been out of the dating game for a long time.”
“I’m sure it hasn’t changed all that much,” you said.
“Well I’ve never dated with kids and as a widow,” he said.
“I’m just in this for them to be honest,” you laughed. 
“I see how it is,” he said with a smirk. 
“I don’t think it’ll be as hard as you think,” you said.
“I hope not,” he said. 
“Do they know? You want to date?”
“JJ does,” he said. “She’s little but she understands that it doesn’t mean I’ll never love her mother any less. She’s been strangely okay through this whole thing aside from the first few weeks. She helps her brother and sister out more now.”
“As someone who was that kid, minus the siblings, I know they’ll be okay. She’s a great kid. I’ve met plenty of spoiled brats. Yours are not.”
“Well that might just be the second best thing I’ve heard tonight,” he said.
“Whatever was the first?” you teased, eating a spoon of ice cream.
“Oh I think you know,” he said, stealing the spoon back. You smiled and heard some feet run around upstairs before the stairs creeped and a little head ducked down into view. “Arrow. It’s bedtime sweetie.”
“I had a accident,” she said. “Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for, honey,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Want help?” you asked.
“Sure,” he said. He scooped up Arrow on the way up the stairs, setting her down in the kids bathroom. He got some clean pajamas and you found a pair of pull ups, Arrow pouting at you. 
“I don’t need ‘em,” she said.
“Your brother wears them. I wore them and your mommy and daddy wore them. Everybody wears pull ups when they’re your age,” you said.
“Just tonight,” she said, stepping into them. Jensen walked past with the mattress liner and she was dressed by the time you heard the washer going off in the distance. You walked her back to bed, Jensen slipping in past you and tucking her in. “Night daddy.”
“Night sweetie,” he said, kissing her temple. 
“Night Y/N,” she said.
“Night night kiddo,” you said, giving her a tiny wave before you left, Jensen flipping off her light and pulling the door shut. 
“Come here a second,” he said, nodding and you saw him head towards his room. The double doors were open and you stepped inside, Jensen going past the bed and over to a set of french doors. He pushed one open and waved for you to follow, showing you out to a rooftop balcony.
“Wow,” you said, a set of chairs, a table and a lounger out there along with a whole lot soft string lights. “I didn’t realize you had this up here.”
“Kinda a place to go unwind, relax,” he said. “I disappear out here sometimes. Been out here a lot at night lately.”
“Thinking about what?” you asked.
“You,” he said. “I talk to Dee about you sometimes as crazy as that sounds.”
“Doesn’t sound crazy at all,” you said.
“I just wanted to say...this area isn’t off limits anymore. Nothing is,” he said. 
“She asked you out, didn’t she,” you said with a smile. He rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. “You’re cute.”
You leaned up and kissed his cheek, heading back towards inside.
“Come on, Jensen. Before the ice cream melts on us.”
_______
A/N: Read Part 4 here!
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doooweeeeooooo · 3 years
Text
Incorrect Tensimm quotes
Store Worker: Would a Mx. Doctor please come to the front desk? Doctor, arriving at the desk: Hello, is there a problem? Store Worker: points to Master and Jack Store Worker: I believe they belong to you? Master and Jack, simultaneously: We got lost :( Doctor: I didn’t even bring you guys here with me-
Doctor: *Screams* Master: *Screams louder to assert dominance* Jack: Should we do something?! Donna, observing: No, I want to see who wins this.
*Everyone is standing around the broken coffee maker* Doctor: So. Who broke it? I'm not mad, I just wanna know. Everyone: Master: ...I did. I broke it. Doctor: No. No you didn't. Jack? Jack: Don't look at me. Look at Donna. Donna: What?! I didn't break it. Jack: Huh, that's weird. How'd you even know it was broken? Donna: Because it's sitting right in front of us and it's broken. Jack: Suspicious. Donna: No, it's not! Rose: If it matters, probably not, but Martha was the last one to use it. Martha: Liar! I don't even drink that crap! Rose: Oh really? Then what were you doing by the coffee cart earlier? Martha: I use the wooden stirrers to push back my cuticles. Everyone knows that, Rose! Master: Okay let's not fight. I broke it. Let me pay for it, Doctor. Doctor: No! Who broke it!? Everyone: Rose: Doctor... Jack's been awfully quiet. Jack: rEALLY?! *Everyone starts arguing* Doctor, being interviewed: I broke it. I burned my hand so I punched it. Doctor: I predict 10 minutes from now they'll be at each other's throats with warpaint on their faces and a pig head on a stick. Doctor: Doctor: Good. It was getting a little chummy around here.
Doctor: Time for plan G. Master: Don’t you mean plan B? Doctor: No, we tried plan B a long time ago. I had to skip over plan C due to technical difficulties Jack: What about plan D? Doctor: Plan D was that desperate disguise attempt half an hour ago. Donna: What about plan E? Doctor: I’m hoping not to use it. Rose dies in plan E. Martha: I like plan E.
Doctor: I CAN'T DO IT! Master, laughing: I CAN'T EITHER! Doctor: I CANT FUCKING DO IT ANYMORE! Jack: WELL I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, YOU CAN EITHER GIVE UP NOW, OR YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT. BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU, AND WE KNOW YOU CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT US. Doctor: Doctor: I appreciate it, Doctor: BUT LOOK WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH- Donna: Doctor- Doctor: YOU GOTTA DRAW THE LINE SOMEWHERE! Rose: Doctor we gotta- Doctor: YOU GOTTA DRAW A FUCKING LINE IN THE SAND. YOU GOTTA MAKE A STATEMENT. Doctor: YOU GOTTA LOOK INSIDE YOURSELF AND SAY 'What am I willing to put up with today?' Doctor, motioning to Martha: NOT FUCKING THIS
Doctor, walking into their house: Hello, people who do not live here. Master: Hey. Jack: Hi. Donna: Hello. Rose: Hey! Doctor: I gave you the key to my place for emergencies only! Martha: We were out of Doritos.
Doctor: You lying, cheating, piece of shit! Master: Oh yeah? You’re the idiot who thinks you can get away with everything you do. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD Doctor: I’m leaving you, and I’M TAKING JACK WITH ME Donna, picking up the monopoly board: I think we’re gonna stop playing now.
Master: For self defense reasons, I'm going to pretend to be a burglar and you guys have to act wisely. Jack, Donna, & Doctor: Okay. Master: If you don't want to die, give me all your money. Jack: Bold of you to assume I have money. Donna: Bold of you to assume I don't want to die Doctor: Bold of you to assume I can die.
Master, singing to the tune of I Kissed a Girl: I killed a guy, and I liked it- Doctor, whispering: Should we call the exorcist? Jack, also singing:The taste of his cherry chapstick. Donna, appalled: Call the exorcist.
Doctor, singing to the tune of I Kissed a Girl: I killed a guy, and I liked it- Donna, whispering: Should we call the exorcist
Master, also singing:The taste of his cherry chapstick. Jack, appalled: Call the exorcist.
Doctor: I'm bored. Jack: Wanna commit first degree murder Doctor: Sure! Donna, hearing them: No- Stop, don't do that! Put that knife down! Put Master down!!
Martha: I’ve done a lot of dumb stuff. Master: I witnessed the dumb stuff. Donna: I recorded the dumb stuff. Jack: I joined you in the dumb stuff. Doctor: I TRIED TO STOP YOU FROM DOING THE DUMB STUFF!
Donna: Are we really going to let Doctor keep Master? Martha: We kept Jack.
Donna: Good morning. Master: Good morning. Martha: Good morning. Doctor: You all sound like robots, try spicing it up a bit. Jack: MORNING MOTHERFUCKERS!
Doctor: Guys, I’ve been meaning to tell you… Master and I are dating Master, Martha, Jack, and Donna: *gasp* Doctor: Master, why are you surprised?!
Jack: ....Thou shalt not marry each other, for thy art both sinful... Doctor: I just wanna fucking marry Master!!
Jack: Is this your plan B? Doctor: Technically, this is plan P. Jack: Plan P? Is there a plan M? Doctor: Yes, but I marry Master in plan M. Master: I like plan M.
Master: Someone take me to art museums and make out with me. Doctor: But they said not to touch the masterpieces. Master: Well somebody's got to pin the artwork to the wall. Jack, on a walkie talkie: This is Jack, those idiots are fucking around in the East wing again.
Master: I didn't drink that much last night. Jack: You were flirting with Doctor. Master: So what? They're my partner. Jack: You asked if they were single. Jack: And then you cried when they said they weren't.
Master: This date is boring! Doctor: This isnt a date. I said I was going to the store. Master: Then why did you invite me? Doctor: I didnt, I specifically said "dont come with me" then you said " fuck you Doctor I'll do whatever I want!
Jack: Hey Doctor, wanna third wheel on my date with Martha tomorrow? Doctor: Sure. Jack: Master! Wanna third wheel on my date with Martha tomorrow. Jack: Great! I've always wanted to go on a double date! Doctor & Master: ... Martha: Jack...
Master: Hey Jack, wanna third wheel on my date with Doctor tomorrow? Jack: Sure. Master: Martha! Wanna third wheel on my date with Doctor tomorrow? Master: Great! I've always wanted to go on a double date! Jack & Martha: ... Doctor: Master...
Martha: Why are your tongues purple? Doctor: We had slushies. I had a blue one. Master: I had a red one. Martha: oh. Martha: Martha: OH. Jack: Jack: You drank eachothers slushies?
Jack: *about Master and Doctor* They make a cute couple, huh? Martha: They certainly are standing next to each other.?
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gogglor · 3 years
Text
Cap-Ironman RecWeek: What-If Wednesday
Time for another installment of @cap-ironman rec week! Today’s theme: AU’s.
I know AU’s in different settings are half the reason most people read fanfics, but they’re not really my thing on the whole. AU’s where different choices are made, or different events transpire? Absolutely. Coffee shops? Not my cup of... you know.
So, here’s my AU recommendations for mostly “turn left” scenarios. This time with an under-the-cut break so I don’t take over everyone’s timelines (sorry about that last post). Also with some summaries truncated for length.
Alone Like This
Author: GotTheSilver
Word Count: 7,452
Summary: Steve, post waking up, runs away from SHIELD, and Tony's the one who tracks him down.
Why You Should Read It:
First off, GotTheSilver’s been consistently and regularly putting out solid Stony since 2012 and not only are they not stopping, they’re only getting better. This writer doesn’t get nearly the fanfare I’d expect in Stony circles for someone who puts out this much good stuff, and here’s hoping this post can be a part of changing that.
While I am always a sucker for enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, there’s something to be said for stories where Steve and Tony hit it off right away. And watching these two very different people look at each other and see the same sense of being lost, then finding each other again is... excuse me, there’s something in my eye, ignore me.
Second Chance Lives
Author: raeldaza
Word Count: 43,872
Summary: Tony's gonna die of palladium poisoning anyway, why not join a pointless expedition to recover Captain America’s body? And after, well, why not dedicate his last few months to making sure an American hero settles into his new life? What else is he going to do, get drunk at parties?
Why You Should Read It:
This writer doesn’t write a lot for the MCU but when they do, dang.
“Tony is the one helping Steve acclimate to the new century before Avengers 2012″ is a whole genre of Stony fanfics that scratch an itch I didn’t even know I had before I started reading fanfiction, and this is one of the best ones out there. It’s got it all - Steve poorly coping with his PTSD, Tony poorly coping with his immanent mortality, some breathtakingly poor communication between the two most emotionally stunted men in the MCU, and a cat named Roomba. What’s not to love?
Should You Choose to Accept It
Author: elwenyere (look, you’re gonna be seeing a lot of them this week, sorry-not-sorry)
Word Count: 27,106
Summary: After a terrorist attack and a field operation gone wrong, the Avengers realize that Nick Fury's secrets are just the start of a much bigger mystery. Steve and Tony try to keep some things from each other as well, but that can't possibly affect the mission — right? Mission Fic + Getting Together (or Mission: Getting Together) that mashes up elements from Iron Man 3, CA: Winter Soldier, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season one, and Mission Impossible 3.
Why You Should Read It:
You can see my post yesterday for singing El’s praises, but what I really liked about this fic was how how damn creative it is. The CAWS/IM3/AOS mashup is everything I wished the actual MCU gave us and more, with well-developed characters and an exciting story to put them in. And because it’s El, you know the banter’s gonna be on point, the way the characters care for each other is gonna be emotionally constipated but touching, and the pacing’s gonna be exciting enough to draw you in and keep you there. Also, this fic doesn’t have nearly enough kudos so please go read it and fix that or I’m gonna have to try to hack AO3 and that’ll just be embarrassing for all parties involved.
What Happens In Vegas
Author: sabremc
Word Count: 161,951
Summary: “What the hell, Tony?” Rhodey demanded brusquely.  Tony winced and drew the phone away from his ear.  “You’ve got cops and Feds all over the hotel.  I’m watching you perp walk out of the police station on repeat on CNN.  They’re saying you tried to bribe Stern?  Fox News has you selling weapons on the black market, and God that picture they’re using is the one from Bali in ’09.   You look like shit.  They wheeled Stern out and put him in an ambulance, by the way.  Got some paparazzi swearing you decked the guy.  Now they’ve got ‘copters following it like he’s OJ.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, Sourpatch, I’ve got it covered.   Uh, though, I should probably tell you that, purely in the interests of national security and the greater good, I kind of had to fake marry that stripper-gram  you sent.  Thanks for that, by the way,” Tony added quickly.
Why You Should Read It:
If you’re deep enough into Stony to see posts like this on Tumblr, you probably know sabre’s what we in the business call a “big name author.” They’re prolific, they’re popular, and most importantly, they write words good (technical term). Seriously, sabre just keeps cranking out high quality stuff over and over again, raising the bar for the rest of us like a jerk (not really. I’m not bitter they write stuff so good I wish I’d thought of it first. Not at all.)
I never read stripper!Steve or stripper!Tony as a rule, but this came so widely recommended that I broke that rule and boy am I glad that I did. This is also the only fic on this list that’s a true-AU, with Steve being a non-powered vet from Afghanistan who left his army career to help Bucky and is stripping in Vegas to raise money for a prosthetic arm. He’s booked to do a private show for Tony, shenanigans ensue, and now they’re fake-married. This fic’s got some top-of-the-line banter and character development, but I particularly love it for its rich setting. Sabre paints a Vegas not just with strip clubs and blackjack tables, but KISS-themed minigolf, romantic dinners on the Eiffel tower, gaudy hotel lobbies, and making out on giant ferris wheels. It’s such a richly developed playground for the characters to play on, and through it, Steve manages to find a life for himself he’d given up on, and Tony finds multiple ways to show his kindness and depth of feeling for Steve. I know the word count’s long for this one but trust me, you’ve gotta read this fic.
Wait & Sea
Author: Lenalena
Word Count: 53,244
Summary: In which Tony and Steve get sent on an undercover mission aboard a cruise ship to make contact with Hydra. In this AU the military has kept the discovery and defrosting of Captain America a secret, so Steve and Tony have never met before. Yet they are to pose as newlyweds....
Why You Should Read It:
This one’s old and popular enough to be considered one of the “classic” Stony fics, and for good reason. Lenalena doesn’t write too often and not as much as they used to, but the fics they have up there are an absolute delight.
This is another fic that I skipped a bunch of times for being outside my comfort zone, but when I finally read it I saw why everyone’s so wild about it. In this story, Steve’s defrosted a bit earlier and not revealed as Captain America. He and Tony are sent undercover to sniff out Hydra shenanigans on a cruise and, because it’s fanfiction, they’ve got to pretend to be a married couple while onboard. There’s tons to love about this fic, but the things that bring me back to reading it over and over is first, Tony’s kindness and the way he’s attuned to Steve’s feelings, which... God, just inject “kind, observant Tony” straight into my veins, please and thank you. This is also another really rich setting for a story, and Lena knows how to fold the the hokeyness of the cruise into the seriousness of the mission and the depth of feelings Steve and Tony are finding for each other in a really beautiful, layered way. It’s funny, it’s heartfelt, it’s steamy, it’s gripping... why are you still reading this here? Go check it out for yourself!
Ashes to Ashes
Author: dirigibleplumbing
Word Count: 51,582
Summary: After regrouping following some surprise time travel, the world's heroes and sorcerers come up with a plan to protect the Mind and Time Stones by taking them into space in opposite directions. The result involves a lot more time loops than Steve would like, but at least they're getting a second chance to stop Thanos. (As well as a third, and a fourth...) And if Steve takes the opportunity to try to reconcile with Tony, too—well, they have the time, and Steve's going to make the most of it.
Why You Should Read It:
Dirigibleplumbing’s another name in Stony fanfics that does not get nearly as much fanfare as they deserve. They’re consistently a really creative voice in Stony fanfics and I always look forward to their stories showing me something new. Go read all their fics, I need more people to geek out with me over them.
I tend to limit myself on Steve-and-Tony-mend-things-after-Civil-War fics not because they’re not good, but because they’re so heavy, and also the Sokovia Accords have five hundred layers of crap in them that no good fic could possibly hash out well. This one, though? When you add in the Infinity War/End Game fixit? Poetry. Art. Music to my ears. DP wrote a really engaging, twisty story where it’s hard to predict what’s coming next, in spite of it literally being a pseudo-Groundhog day scenario. The characterizations are great, the story is engaging, and the feelings are big and sad and eventually happy. Go read it, you’ll love it.
I have tons of other recs for this category but this seems like a good place to stop for today. Tomorrow’s Alternative Media Thursday, and I’ve got some real gems I’ve been saving for that day (aaaaand possibly a self-rec or two ;)
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shima-draws · 3 years
Note
Your opinion on the widespread idea among anime-watchers that SAO had potential but was really bad and continues to get worse with every season?? Like I know you love SAO and its characters but I was wondering why you love it so much, since I fall into the category of “I really like this show but it’s impossible for me to ignore what’s wrong with it.”
Genuinely I thought the exact same thing, but that's just because it comes from an era of people hating on the series just to hate on it. SAO was regarded as a trash anime for so long and that had such a big influence on the anime community in general that people went "Oh, yeah, SAO, I've never seen it but I've heard it's terrible, so clearly it must be terrible".
I was really into the series when it first released and there was all that hype surrounding it, so really I've always had a soft spot for it. After all that negative crap surrounding it started to go around I unfortunately was one of those to jump on board and say oh yeah SAO is total garbage. But!! Then, in 2019, a friend told me how good season 3 was, so I decided I'd give it a try and attempt to watch it without any previous bias.
And hoooooly shit.
Season 3 completely knocked it out of the ballpark. I sat there and binged those episodes like a madman until I reached the end and was sobbing for a solid twenty minutes. I think that I'd forgotten just how good of a series it was, but season 3 took it to a whole new level, and Alicization was clearly meant to be the most important arc of the entire series. It was so good that I actually went and bought some of the light novels so I could read the source material. The previous seasons already felt sort of heavy, but s3 really took it home, and just. Everything about it. The storytelling, the character development, the overall concept of AI technology--I loved every bit of it.
Of course there are flaws to SAO, but that applies to ANY piece of media ever. There's always going to be something you dislike about it. But that's the fun part: you get to criticize those flaws and still enjoy the series with all your heart, because isn't that the point of engaging with a piece of media? To this day I still disagree heavily with Kawahara's choice to involve multiple sexual assault/rape scenes and I will continue to complain about it but in the end those scenes are such a small, tiny little part of the entire whole of SAO, and I love it to death.
At this point I'm of the opinion that season 1 (Aincrad) has been way overdone, really my heart lies with Alicization and the latter half of season 2 (looks at Klein getting to shine in the Calibur arc and Yuuki's entire arc that still makes me cry).
Anyway what I'm trying to say is!! Don't pay attention to what other people think about it. You gotta go in and form your own opinions and if you end up adoring the series like I do, don't be afraid to express that? Sure there's a whole lot of people that dislike SAO but there's also a ton that love it and when they see me praising it and making stupid memes and drawing for it that brings them a lot of joy. Don't let bias cloud your judgement. You get the final say in whether or not you enjoy the series, not the fandom.
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devildom-tyrant · 4 years
Note
hi! i absolutely adore your writing! this blog and your undertale blog are just *chef’s kiss* anyway, i was wondering if i could request some headcanons of Lucifer, Mammon, Satan, and Beel concerning the new animal event? as in, MC wants to touch their animal ears and/or tails! how would they react and how would it turn out? could MC also already be their S/O in this? thank you! ❤️
Lucifer
Before your wandering hand can reach his wolf-like ears, Lucifer grasps your wrist, a smirk curving his lips.  Even though he’s a literal predator now, he’s always had a predatory gleam in his eyes, one you can see clearly as he leans in toward you.  
“Your pulse is racing,” he murmurs, and the blunt way he points it out causes your face to flush.  It’s so difficult to not be flustered by him, even now.
“It doesn’t take wolf instincts to know that,” you shoot back, tugging your wrist from his grip.  
“True.  However, I can tell that you want something from me.  You’re excited; your blood is practically pounding in your veins, and even your eyes seem slightly dilated.  It’s easier to detect subtle changes in this form.”
“You could already read me like a book,” you insist, your face heating up even more.  There’s something about the way he’s looking at you that’s making your heart pound... It makes you feel like prey, like he could pounce on you at any moment.  Honestly, the anticipation is something you’re discovering you like. “So, tell me what I want from you.”
“The same thing I want from you.”
That smirk hasn’t left his lips.  For a non-answer, he’s spot-on; you know he wants to touch you, to put his heightened senses to the test and see what draws what reaction.  What you want right now, however, is a bit more innocent.  
“Okay then.  I’ll go first,” you return, reaching toward him again.  He quirks a brow, but doesn’t halt your hand’s progress this time, and your fingertips graze the side of his ear.   The fur is soft on the inner part, with a coarse layer on the outer portion, and they twitch beneath your touch.  They’re interesting, but what really has your attention is his tail.  
His smirk has faded slightly, but his attention is still riveted to you as you move your exploration to the fluffy wolf tail that remains still behind him.  His expression is more guarded now, but he doesn’t move to stop you as you stroke the fur gently.  It isn’t as soft as Belphie’s, but it’s still fluffier than most of the other tails, and you enjoy petting it.  
Suddenly, it jerks from your grasp, and you think for a moment that you hurt him.  One quick glance up at Lucifer, however, reveals a light blush to his features, and that he isn’t quite meeting your gaze.
His tail is still moving back and forth.  Realization dawns, and you grin.  “Are you wagging your tail, Lucifer?”
“Be quiet.”  His words lack any actual bite.  “Do you realize how hard it’s been to keep it from wagging?  It has a mind of its own.”
“I think you’re just happy, and your tail is showing that,” you claim, reaching up again to give an ear a pet.  Lucifer finally looks at you again, his hands coming up to rest at your waist.  
“You should already know that I’m always happy when you’re near me.”
Mammon
“You’re starin’.”  
There’s a blush across Mammon’s face as he side-eyes you, and you snap back to reality.  Yes, you had been staring at Mammon’s new features, but you just couldn’t help it.
“Your ears and tail keep moving,” you point out, and he crosses his arms, blushing harder.
“I-it’s not like I’m doin’ it on purpose!  They won’t stop!”
“Maybe it’s because you’re happy?” you tease, trying to get him to turn an even brighter red.  He’s always been so easy to fluster.  
“W-well, yeah... Yeah, you could say that.  But if they’re gonna move every time I’m happy, this crap’s gonna get annoyin’ fast.”
With a grin, you reach out and touch one of his tiger ears, and Mammon’s attention snaps to you.  “What’re ya-- Oh.”  His voice trails when you gently scratch behind his ear, and you quirk an eyebrow.  The thin tiger tail flicks behind him.  
“Does that feel good?” you inquire, trying to read his expression.  He’s still so flustered, torn between dismissively lying or being honest, but you’re at the point in your relationship where the latter often wins.  
“Y-yeah...”  There’s a growl to his voice that you haven’t heard since he first changed and ran off to avoid devouring you.  He clears his throat, trying to rid himself of it, even though you find it pretty hot.  “Dammit, I feel weird sayin’ that.  This whole animal thing’s weird, even for us.”
Your fingers hesitate.  “Should I stop?”
“No!”  He cuts in a little too quickly, and then closes his eyes, taking in a deep breath.  “I mean... you seem like you’re enjoyin’ yourself.  So ya don’t gotta stop.”
“Okay, then.”  You keep rubbing his ears, and your smile grows as he leans into your touch, tilting his head toward your fingers.  His tail flicks toward you, hitting against your thigh, and you reach down with your free hand to stroke it.  Mammon keeps his eyes closed to avoid the embarrassment, though his tail continues to flick away, and his ears move beneath your fingers.  
You have to admit, you like him in this form, and you’re glad it’s going to last another week.  Even if he still has trouble admitting his feelings sometimes, these new features make it difficult for him to hide them.
Plus, you really like petting him.
Satan
The cat of Wrath may just be sitting next to you on the couch, reading a book, but you can’t stop wistfully looking at his cat ears.  It’s fitting that he would change into a cat, you can’t help but think, especially considering his contact picture in your phone is a selfie of him with a cat ears and whiskers filter overlay.
“Do you want to touch them?”
Startled from your thoughts, your gaze drops to Satan’s face, but he’s still looking at his book.  “I can feel your eyes on my ears.  You can touch them if you want.”
“Really?” you blurt, scooting closer on the couch.  
“Of course.”  He sets the book down on his lap and turns toward you, a smirk suddenly crossing his lips.  “But I can’t say I won’t touch back.”
Just like that, he cups your cheek, fingers cradling your jawline to tilt your head back.  You can feel your face reddening, and you realize his expression is the very picture of the cat who caught the canary.  “We’re in the living room,” you point out, causing him to shrug.  
“Yes, and?”
“And we’re not going to play cat and mouse in the living room,” you return, reaching up to pet affectionately pet his ear.
“Cat and mouse?  Is that what you-- ah...”  His eyes flutter closed, and he leans into your touch.  “Actually... keep doing that.”  
Just like that, Satan abandons his need to tease you, fingers slowly falling from your cheek, and he instead moves to curl up on the couch next to you, his head pillowed on your thigh.  It’s a rare moment -- you don’t think he’s ever laid down with his head in your lap before -- but it’s easy to comply to his request and continue scratching behind his ears.  They flick against your hand, the short fur tickling your palm, and you notice his tail curl around his waist.  
After a moment, you can feel Satan’s chest vibrating, and his hands are moving against the couch cushion.  He’s purring, actually purring!  But that’s not all.  
“Are you making biscuits?” you blurt, unable to keep the laughter out of your voice.
“What?  For breakfast?”
“Nevermind.”
You keep petting, and the purring starts up again.
Beel
“Are you scared of me?”
Your eyes widen at Beel’s somewhat timid query, and you shake your head.  “I’d never be scared of you.”
Beel’s eyes have a sad glaze as he frowns.  “That’s not true.  You looked scared when you ran away in the dining room, and that’s okay.  I was scared of myself, honestly.”
Reaching out, you touch Beel’s arm and catch his gaze.  “Okay, that was a little scary because I didn’t know what was happening.  But, I’m not scared of you right now.  I know you would never really hurt me.”
He doesn’t look reassured, but he shakes his head, swallowing back whatever is on his mind.  “All right.  Then why do you keep staring at me?”
“Oh, that?  Because you look cute like this... and I really want to touch your ears and tail,” you admit with a sheepish smile.  “They’re cute.”
“Oh.  Is that all?”  A relieved smile washes over his features, and he leans down, giving you better access to his ears.  “Go ahead.  I don’t mind.”
Grinning excitedly, you reach up and pet his ears, feeling them twitch beneath your touch.  “That kinda tickles,” Beel says with a light chuckle, and his tail swishes closer to you.  You turn your attention to it next, your palm stroking along it to the darker, bushy end.  The fur there is fluffy and soft, and as Beel watches you pet it, all traces of his previous apprehension disappear.  
“You look like you’re having fun.  I’m glad.”
“I’m always having fun when I’m with you, Beel,” you reply, beaming up at him.  His smile is gentle as he reaches up and pats your head, petting you just as you pet him.  
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You Saved Me - Derek Hale x fem!reader part 11
 -----------------
As soon as I walked into the veterinarian office, I felt it. Like a total drain of my muscles and my head started to hurt. 
“Mountain ash.” Dr. Deaton said as he came out from around the corner, “It weakens werewolf abilities so they cannot shift their form.” 
“That would explain it.” I smiled, shoving my hands in my pockets. 
“How can I help you, (Y/N).” He knew my name.
I squinted at him, “Have we met?” 
“We have, but you wouldn’t remember. You were here with some minor injuries and your parents weren’t sure if you were going to turn and just in case…the hospital found something interesting.” He said, a small smile on his face, “But I see you have finally turned.” 
I nodded, “Yeah, but I don’t know how.” 
“I believe I may have an answer.” He pulled out a book from the front desk. It was a dark leather bound book, its pages were brown with age. 
“It was a spell used by werewolf clans that were being hunted hundreds of years ago, in France, Scotland, England. In some cases, werewolf hunters would test werewolves in their human form with Mountain ash, rendering them unconscious. Et obscuratus lupum. Wolf Eclipse.” I looked at the book, seeing a drawing of what looked like a child, half human, half wolf. 
“Parents would perform this spell to cloak their child from hunters. The Mountain ash wouldn’t affect them and they would be spared and safe until they could transform. This spell would also remove any memories of werewolf behavior from beyond that point so they couldn’t give away the rest of the clan by accident.” 
I looked down at the desk, “But why now? Why did I turn now? And why am I an alpha? I’ve never killed anyone.” 
“As for your turning now, many children are given back their power by their parents. Or if their parents were killed, they usually don’t unless something triggers the change - high stress, fear, terror, torture. But I can’t explain the alpha part, the only people who could were your parents.” 
-
“Derek? Derek!” Isaac’s voice echoed through the building. 
“What’s wrong?” Derek turned away from what he was doing. Isaac looked frantic and scared. 
“My dad… I think he’s dead…”
“What did you do?” Derek asked firmly. 
“That’s the thing…It wasn’t me.”
I woke up on the couch. Not the best place to sleep all night. 
I sat up and cracked my back, twisting from side to side. I shuffled into the kitchen, seeing Uncle Noah already there. 
“Morning, kiddo.” He said, sipping his coffee. He went with the dark roast this morning. Bitter. Something serious had happened. 
“Morning.”
“We found Lydia, I don’t know if you heard.” He said. 
I nodded, “Of course, talk of the town. Stiles is gonna get an A in economics.” 
He shook his head, a small smile on his face. He was still slightly sleepy, meaning I could probably get something out of him about what’s making him leave this early. 
“What’s going on?”
He yawned and raised his eyebrows. He looked around the corner then back to me, “Promise you won’t tell Stiles. And I’m only telling you because it involves one of your players.”
“Isaac?” I asked, “Is he okay?” Uncle Noah narrowed his eyes at me, clearly confused how I knew. 
“I had my own questions about his home life. A guess.” 
“Well we found his dad dead this morning. Mauled to death in his car in an alleyway.”
“Mauled?” Great… This is exactly what we needed with this hunter situation going around. Didn’t Derek tell Isaac that humans were off limits, especially right now? Isaac didn’t seem like the type, but if he was getting abused, maybe he couldn’t take it anymore. 
“Yeah, not pretty. Oh, by the way.” He rifled through the mail, “This came for you at the station.” It was a brown envelope. It had multiple stamps and postmarks. The text was written in old English calligraphy. 
“The Lunar Circle.” I shook my head, “Never heard of it.” I looked at the return address, “Scotland?” 
“I guess so.” He looked at his watch, “Alright, gotta go.” He kissed the top of my head, making his way out the door. 
-
I got into the locker room later than usual, but in time to watch Scott and Stiles stare at a chain that was falling out of Stiles’ locker. Coach walked between the two of them, staring at the chain as it finished pooling on the floor. 
“Part of me wants to ask… the other part says knowing will be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine. So, I’m gonna walk away.” Before I could speak to the two, Coach slipped the blind fold onto my eyes, the elastic slapping the back of my head. 
“Good looking out.” I nodded vaguely in his direction. Stiles shoved a bag in my hands, Scott and Stiles started shoving the chain into it and froze, Scott tensed up. 
Another scent. Someone like us. 
“There’s another in here.” Scott said. 
“Another what?” Stiles asked. 
“Another werewolf.” 
Once the players were on the field, Stiles pulled me aside. 
“Alright, switch Scott with Danny for goal and then you use your sniffer on the guys on the bench.” 
I raised my eyebrows at him, still not over what he said the other day. 
He stared for a minute, then closed his eyes, “The silent treatment, really?” 
I smiled slyly, nodding. 
“Oh my god.” He groaned, “Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re just trying to protect me. I get it. We can have this conversation later, please.” 
I thought about it for a minute, then nodded, “Fine. I’ll go tell Coach.” I found Finstock and told him. 
“Why would I want McCall in goal? McCall is co-captain. He needs to play offense.” 
“That’s true, but what happens when Danny gets hurt during a match. Are you gonna put in someone from second line or someone with those reflexes?” He stared for a minute, thinking about what I just said. 
“Think about it like this. Danny’s out, it’s tied and we are ten seconds from overtime. Who are you putting in? Second line or McCall.” 
He nodded and chuckled, “Good thinking.” He turned back to the other players and blew his whistle, “Let’s go! Line up!” Players made their way onto the field, “Faster! Make daddy proud.” Daddy… I hate it. I scanned the line up, there was number fourteen at the end - Isaac. 
Coach blew the whistle again, signaling the drills to start. Scott ran from the goal, tackling the player. Scott was many things. Subtle was not one of them. 
“McCall!” Coach shouted, his eyes wide and his hair seemed even wilder. 
“Yeah?”
“Usually, the goalie stays somewhere within the vicinity of the actual goal.”
“Yes, Coach.”
“Let’s try it again!”
“What the hell, man?” The player shouted. His name was…  Matt Daehler if I remembered correctly. 
Coach blew the whistle again, throwing another ball into play. Again, Scott knocked the next player down. 
“McCall!” Coach called again, “The position’s goalkeeper, not goal-abandoner!’
“Sorry, Coach…”
“Let’s go!” He blew the whistle. Again, Scott knocked the next man down. 
“Stiliniski!” Coach pulled Stiles up by his helmet. Stiles stood up from the bench on the other side of me, “What the hell is wrong with your friend?”
“Uh, he’s failing two classes, he’s a little socially awkward, and if you look close enough, his jawline is kinda uneven.” Stiles said in a rush. 
Coach and I turned heads to the side, looking at McCall. Was his jaw always crooked? Had I not noticed in all of this time?
“That’s interesting.” He said, dropping Stiles' helmet. Scott knocked over Danny next, landing on top of him. Danny was having a good year so far. 
“McCall!” Coach shouted, clearly frustrated, “You come out of that goal one more time, and you’ll be doing suicide runs ‘til you die! It’ll be the first ever suicide run that actually ends in a suicide! Got it?” 
“Yes, Coach.”
“Yeah!” Coach glared. 
Jackson looked at Scott warily, “Uh, Coach, my shoulder’s hurting… I’m gonna-I’m gonna sit this one out…” He watched out of the line and onto the bench. What’s gotten into him? Besides not the bite. Scott ran forward at Isaac. But instead of Scott taking him down, they both collided and fell to the ground. That’s when I saw Scott pause, he found his werewolf. 
“Dad?” Stiles asked. I turned around, seeing Uncle Noah and two other officers heading towards the field. They must have been coming to bring Isaac in for questioning. 
“Don’t tell them…Please don’t tell him.” I heard Isaac say. 
-
I stayed back with the rest of the team while Finstock was talking to Uncle Noah. Scott was listening in on the conversation. 
“His father’s dead. They think he was murdered.” Scott said. 
Stiles looked at me, “Is that what you and my dad were talking about this morning?”
“There may have been something Uncle Noah told me not to tell you.” I grinned innocently. 
“Come on…” Stiles sighed, “Are they saying he’s a suspect?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“Because they can lock him in a holding cell for twenty-four hours…”
“Like, overnight?”
“Those generally are the same amount of time, yes.” I said. 
“During the full moon.” The full moon. Not only would it be Isaac’s first turn, it was going to be mine. 
“Crap.” I mumbled. 
“How good are these holding cells at holding people?”
“People? Good. Werewolves? Probably not that good.” Stiles said grimly.
“Stiles, remember when I said I don’t have the urge to maim and kill?”
“Yeah…”
“He does.” How Scott could tell that, I couldn’t tell. Because I didn’t get that vibe.
-
I made my way through the hall, seeing Uncle Noah in the hall outside the principal's office. 
“What’s going on?” I asked, not seeing Isaac near. 
“We’re interviewing Jackson Whittemore. He’s Isaac’s neighbor, we’re just trying to see if he knows anything. I’m just waiting to meet the new principal.” 
“New principal?” I asked. Right after I spoke, the door opened. And there stood Gerard Argent. I tried to hide my shock when I saw him, since the last time I saw him I watched him cut someone in half. 
“Sheriff Stilinski, I’m terribly sorry to keep you waiting. Just a phone call from one of my teachers.” He said in his brogue, he turned to me, “And Miss (Y/N), assistant coach for our lacrosse team. I have been anxious to meet you.” He held out his hand. Oh, he was anxious? Yeah definitely. 
I blinked, a small smile on my face, “It’s good to meet you as well. I apologize for my shock, I was not aware that you had been hired.” I shook his hand. His hands felt cold, like the ice in his heart spread through his veins. 
“I understand. It was quite unexpected. But I am excited to get started.” He played his role well. An older man happy to help and be accommodating to his new surroundings. I knew the truth though, and it terrified me. But I needed to lay low and stay on his good side for right now. He declared war, no longer following the code and Chris couldn’t stop him like he stopped Kate. 
“Of course. I’m excited to work with you too, Mr…?”
“Argent.”
“Oh like Allison. She’s such a sweet girl, I always see her at games.” 
“She became a fan.” He nodded. In the distance, I could hear Jackson’ walking down the hall. How did I know it was Jackson? His brand new shoes squeaked.
“Well, I gotta head out. Delivery came to the front office for the team. Pearls and crosses. It was good meeting you, Principle Argent.” 
“Please, call me Gerard.” He smiled. 
I grinned and nodded, “Gerard.” I looked at Uncle Noah, “I’ll see you tonight.”  I made my way towards the front office, glad that the hunter couldn’t hear my heart beating out of my chest. 
“You okay?” Derek’s voice echoed in my head. 
I sighed, taking a deep breath, “No. They took Isaac into lock up, Gerard is the principal, and I am going to turn tonight whether I want to or not and I’m scared.”
“We’ll talk.” 
-
I sat on the front steps, looking over the envelope. The Lunar Circle. Was this something my parents were involved in? Just as I was about to open the envelope, I got a text from Scott to meet him and Derek at Isaac’s house. 
So I met them there, looking up at the sky. I had already cracked all of my knuckles so now I just was wearing a hole in my shoe from tapping. 
“Are you alright?” Scott asked. 
“I don’t know, Scott, were you okay when you turned the first time? Because I can recall you almost killing me the last time.” My eyes flashing red.
“Hey, I apologized for that.” Scott defended himself. 
“(Y/N), look at me.” Derek stood in my line of vision. The red left my eyes and I sighed. 
“Sorry, I’m just… anxious.” I clenched and unclenched my hands. 
We snuck into the Lahey household, making our way down to the basement. 
“If Isaac didn’t kill his father, who did?” Scott asked as Derek led us through the house. Derek moved slowly, keeping a flashlight beam ahead. 
“I don’t know yet.” 
“Then how do you know he’s telling the truth?”
“Because I trust my senses. And it’s a combination of them.” He looked at Scott over his shoulder, “Not just your sense of smell.” 
“You saw the lacrosse thing today?” Scott asked sheepishly. 
“So you saw him tackle and sniff everyone on the field, his big plan.” I added.
“Yeah.” Derek said plainly. 
“Did it look bad?” 
“Yeah.” Derek and I said together. Derek opened the door and we all looked down to the bottom of the basement, Scott and Derek’s eyes lit up the space a little, enough to see what was below. There were the usual things - chairs, dust bunnies, boxes.
“You wanna learn?” Derek asked, “Start now.”
“What’s down there?”
“Motive.” We started down the stairs. 
“And what are we looking for?”
“Follow your senses.” Derek said. I strayed from the group, seeing dust covered toys and games, covered with age and gray. It looked like a normal basement, but it felt like something terrible had happened here. Derek took my hand in his, pulling me back to them. 
“What happened down here?” Scott asked. 
“The kind of thing that leaves an impression.” Derek said in a low voice. It was kind of creepy, in addition to the spider web covered basement. As we went further into the basement, we saw chains hanging from the wall. My heart sank. I took Derek’s flashlight and lit up the floor, there were groove marks in the floor. Scott bent down and placed his fingers within the groove. Scratches in the cement floor. My attention was brought to a large freezer in the corner of the with a rusted padlock. The energy radiating from the cooler made my heart drop into my stomach. 
“Open it.” Derek told Scott as we stood in front of it. Scott took off the lock and lifted up the lid of the freezer. My mouth fell open in shock, tears burning at my eyes. Scratch marks, covering the entire inside of the freezer. The worst were the rust covered marks, meaning that Isaac was so desperate to fight his way to freedom that his fingers bled. I turned away from the freezer, feeling nauseous. Leaning over, my hands on my knees. 
“This is why he said yes to you?” Scott asked. 
“Everyone wants power.” 
“If I help you, you have to stop. You can’t just go around turning people into werewolves!” Scott had a point. It was dangerous to be a werewolf right now. That’s why my parents did that ritual on me. 
“I can if they’re willing.” 
“Did you tell Isaac about the Argents? About being hunted?”
“Yes, and he still asked.” 
“Then he’s an idiot!” Scott shouted. 
I stood back up and stared at Scott, “An idiot? He’s been tortured his whole life, Scott, and he’s the idiot for trying to save himself.” There was a growl in my voice as my anger rose. Derek put a hand on my arm.
“You’re the idiot dating Argent’s daughter.” Scott looked shocked at Derek’s words, “Yeah, I know your little secret. And if I know, how long do you think it’s gonna take for them to find out?”
Derek grabbed Scott by the shoulder, “You saw what happens to an omega. With me, you learn how to use all your senses. With me, you learn control.” He lifted Scott’s clawed hand, “Even on a full moon.” Seeing Scott’s hands, I lifted mine and saw the claws had grown in. I hadn’t even felt them come out. 
Scott pulled his hand away, “If I’m with you, I lose her.” 
“You’re gonna lose her anyway. You know that.” 
I shook my head, thinking about the night Peter was killed. The look in Allison’s eyes as she shot arrows into Derek and I was cold, no emotion at all. “Scott, don’t you remember what happened? She shot us down.” 
“That wasn’t her, that was Kate.” He defended her, like a love sick puppy. 
“Was it? You didn’t get to see her when Kate brought her down to that cellar and watched as Derek got electrocuted, over and over. She did nothing to stop her, she knew it was wrong but she didn’t stop her. Allison’s loyalties are never going to be with us.” My voice was calm but the shaking was starting to take over. It felt like my chest was going to burst at any moment. Even my gums ached. 
“Come on.” Derek said softly in my ear. He escorted me to the stairs, a gentle hand on the small of my back. 
“Wait!” We turned back to face Scott, “I’m not part of your pack… but I want him out. He’s my responsibility too.”
“Why? Because he’s one of us?” 
“Because he’s innocent.”
-
I sat in the parking lot of the Sheriff’s office, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel. I can’t do this. How can I help break Isaac out of jail when I can’t even keep myself in control. I shouldn’t be around people. I shouldn’t be around Stiles or anyone else in the deputy department. I jumped when I heard the knocking at my window. Derek and Stiles stood there, looking a little concerned. I opened my door and got out, sticking close to Derek. If anyone could stop me from attacking Stiles it was him. 
“Okay. Now, the keys to every cell are in a password-protected lock-box in my father’s office. The problem is getting past the front desk.” Stiles stared at me like I was from Mars, “I gotta tell ya, I don’t think I’m going to get used to the red eyes anytime soon.”
“Yeah, me either.” My voice had a growl too, quickly shutting my mouth. 
“Well, there goes plan A. Letting you distract the front desk.” I glanced inside, seeing a woman sitting there, sipping her coffee. 
“I’ll distract her.” Derek said, turning towards the building. 
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Stiles grabbed onto Derek’s jacket and pulled him back., “You? You’re going in there?” Derek eyed Stiles hand, then Stiles, telling him to get his hands off of him in his usual way - without words.
“I’m takin’ my hand off.” Stiles quickly pulled his hand away. 
“I was exonerated.”
“You’re still a person of interest.”
“An innocent person.” 
“Ah-” Stiles blew out air, “You? Yeah right.” He sighed, “What’s your plan?”
“To distract her.” Derek said impatiently. 
Stiles nodded, “Ahuh, how? By punching her in the face?” 
Derek let out a fake laugh, “By talking to her.” 
“Is he even charming?” Stiles looked at me. Derek looked at me expectantly while I thought for a minute. 
“Compared to when I first met him, he’s very charming.” I smiled awkwardly. 
Stiles rubbed his temples, “Okay. Alright. Give me a sample. What are you gonna open with?” Derek only stared. 
“Dead silence. That should work beautifully. Any other ideas?” Stiles asked sarcastically.
“I’m thinking about punching you in the face.” Derek said snidely. Once Stiles agreed, we made our way towards the station but before we went in, I pulled Derek aside. 
“I can’t do this.” I looked up at the moon, “My body feels like it's going to fall apart and I feel so angry and-” 
“Just hold out a little longer.” He placed a hand on my cheek, “As soon as we get Isaac out, I’m gonna bring you somewhere where you can let it all out and you won’t hurt anyone. But right now I need you to get inside and make sure nothing happens to Isaac. There’s a hunter in there who’s going to kill him.” 
“Okay, I’ll try.” 
Derek led the way into the station, Stiles and I stayed low to avoid the deputy. 
“Good evening, how can I help-” She paused, looking up at Derek, “you?”
Derek gave her a thousand watt smile, “Hi.”
“Hi.” The woman said with a little tremble in his voice. She leaned on the desk. 
“Um, I had a question…” he chuckled, “Um, sorry, I-I’m a little thrown. I wasn’t expecting someone…”
“Like me?” She asked. 
“Oh, I was going to say ‘so incredibly beautiful’, but yeah, I guess that’d be the same thing.” Derek said sheepishly. Stiles stared at Derek’s back in disbelief. I shoved his side. He shook his head and we crawled down the hall to uncle Noah’s office. 
Once inside, Stiles used a code on a keypad on the wall that opened a small hatch. It was empty inside. In the next room we heard the jingling of keys.
“Oh no…” Stiles and I ran towards the source of the noise, getting closer and closer to the cells. On our way there we were stopped short by a deputy. 
“Oh, sorry,” Stiles apologized, “Just lookin’ um…” I looked over the deputy, then I saw it - an arrow sticking out of his leg. I hit Stiles' side. He looked down, then back up at the deputy. 
“Ah shhh-'' We tried to run for it but he grabbed us, pressing his hands over our mouths so we couldn’t scream. I wanted to rip his hand off with my teeth but that would be putting Stiles in danger and outting myself as a werewolf to a hunter if he got away. As we were dragged back towards the cells, Stiles pulled the fire alarm. 
Once in the cells, he threw Stiles and I into one of them. I clenched my fists together tightly, desperately trying not to turn. Sharp teeth poking at my lips. Stiles grabbed my arm, bringing my attention to the other cell, the empty cell. Isaac was loose. The hunter’s shout brought us back to see him being attacked by Isaac. He pinned the hunter to an examination table, then threw him against a wall. The hunter struggled but got up, trying to stab Isaac with a syringe but Isaac grabbed his arm and broke it. Isaac slammed the hunter’s head into the wall, he fell, dropping the syringe. 
Derek came into the room shortly after, stepping on the syringe. The sound of glass breaking turned Isaac’s attention to us. His yellow eyes took us in, his fangs and claws sharp. He stalked forward towards us. I shoved Stiles behind me, baring my fangs at Isaac as he came closer. Derek’s roar broke Isaac out of his trance, making him fall to the floor and scramble to the corner. He looked up from the wall, looking more human. He was trembling in fear. 
“How did you do that?” Stiles asked, trying to catch his break. 
“I’m the alpha.” Derek smirked, his eyes red. 
Ignoring the trembling the best I could, I walked over and kneeled beside Isaac. He was breathing heavily, eyes darting around the room like he was expecting someone to show up. 
“Isaac.” his eyes focused on me, “Let’s get you home.” I smiled and held out my hand.
----------------
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steve0discusses · 3 years
Text
Yugioh S5 Ep 18: A Series of Ecological Disasters
Booting up ye old Yugioh, booting up a new aesthetic playlist to type to. (today’s playlist is webcore, which would feel like such a damn fake aesthetic, if it weren’t that every single one of these -core aesthetics are pretty damn fake and everyone knows it.)
Anyway, it’s been so long that, I’ll be honest, I thought I booted up the wrong episode:
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I usually skip the anime intro, but I try to watch it once each arc, cuz the intros change, and this arc was like “screw it, here’s all the other villains, just pretend this arc isn’t happening.” They had Pegasus, they had Marik, they have Bakura (who is kind of in this shot as well, you can see him phasing in there.) And like...I guess they’re hiding the villain of this arc or something because that was it. Alexander the Great got just nixed from this villain list and that’s a shame.
Just a real weird choice, but since apparently this arc didn’t air in Japan they probably had to outsource this anime intro and whatever studio in charge of it just cobbled together stuff from every other season and then a couple of shots of capsule stuff.
Speaking of capsule stuff: get a load of how many freakin lines the animators have to deal with every time they draw Grandpa.
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Bro saw this and was like “oh yeah, this is a Shonen Jump” and yeah. The hair does give those vibes. We got a good look at what Vegeta would look like if he really let himself go.
(read more under the cut)
Sorry, my playlist started playing a song where every single line of the song is “Adrien Brody” and it took me like a few minutes to realize I was listening to “Brodyquest” completely seriously.
Damn it, webcore, don’t betray me like this.
Anyway, this arc does something super surprising: Yugi actually hugs somebody and doesn’t look like he’s going to pass out standing up.
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It is pretty fitting that the good Yugi hug would go to Grandpa.
And, as night falls, Joey Wheeler has gotten hungry, and there is nothing to eat but his new best friend and spirit animal, baby dragon. Unfortunately he shares life points with the dragon, and I think if you eat it that just instakills you.
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And directly underneath him--since this world is like 100 feet wide and things just conveniently happen--Tea has told everyone that they needed to stop worrying about Joey. Which is a lot coming from Tea, because her worrying about Yugi/Yami getting hurt is most of what occupies her headspace in this series.
But even Tea was like, screw Joey, I guess.
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Who kinda just falls directly into them upside down, and shows us what Joey’s hair looks like when it’s sticking straight up.
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For reals, admire how long Joey Wheeler’s hair is. If Tea were upside down, she would have the same length of hair.
Also speaking of Vegeta, I am low key concerned that Joey has what appears to be a significant amount of male pattern balding going on for a teenager.
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Apparently getting set on fire many, many times did have an effect on Joey, and this massive pompadour he wears is a combover. Poor baby.
Holy crap, if this is what card stress and getting killed multiple times did to Joey Wheeler, can you imagine what’s going on under Seto’s bangs? That’s probably why his bangs ride so low, Seto likely wears a freakin toupee.
Guys, Joey’s gonna lose his hair at 25 at this rate. Those locks just aren’t long for this world. Poor baby.
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After Joey rejoins the party, he immediately eats all of their food. Not sure why they can’t just have Baby Dragon eat like...whatever Baby Dragon naturally eats...and then transform that into shared Joey Wheeler life points, but it’s not clear exactly how much of a life-connection they have with their Yugioh monsters. Not like it matters because Joey Wheeler is default starving all the time anyway.
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Tristan has decided we should start laying blame, I guess because Duke Devlin isn’t here anymore to be the local kill joy. This doesn’t seem to be important at any point, and most of the characters are just ignoring Tristan because like...once you’re in the haunted game in a haunted tomb in a random part of India--it’s kind of moot to argue about who’s fault that is, youknow?
Joey reminds us that he found this quest item in a treasure chest under a secret waterfall. No one says “that was convenient that you landed there after getting chased through a ravine by man-eating birds after you got your dragon from when you got your crotch injury from getting spliced by that tree.”
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Which is when Tea says “Wait! We haven’t had a plot thing happen in like 4 seconds! Wait!”
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Hey what degree of “I don’t trust nature” do you have to be to assume that all the flowers are trying to eat you?
Like what level of anxiety is Tea where she not only is like “pretty sure the flowers are going to destroy us?” but also...she’s correct? Like she’s not wrong.
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They set the dog flowers on fire, but unlike the Jungle Book this doesn’t solve any problems (which apparently got taken off the Disney+ kid’s menu so...yet again, I make a Disney reference in these recaps that future generations will not understand because so much of the Disney library has been banned from the vault. It’s almost like Disney should let go of that copyright they held on for like a hundred years, because what they’re holding on to is only going to get more racist with time. But nah. Gotta hold on with their greedy mickey mouse gloves.)
So instead of using fire, Tristan used his monster to electrocute the air (?) and blind the dogs. Wisely, the animators quickly jumped to this other scene so we wouldn’t have to analyze why it’s suddenly daytime or why that plan would even work.
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Joey and Tristan do a lot of buddy buddy stuff this arc. Usually we see a lot of Joey and Yugi’s bottomless friendship, but we don’t get this much Tristan/Joey love. So shippers rejoice, these two seem to have several coordinated dances and songs...and I’d say that teens don’t typically do that, but I went to summer camp, there are situational places where teens will sing the entire vacation and make coordinated dances.
Weirdly, since Joey and Tristan share so much time together, this also means Tea and Yugi actually sit next to eachother for a lot of this arc, almost as if they were a couple. Mind you, they’re chaperoned closely by Grandpa, but youknow...that’s a different energy than I’m used to seeing.
That and like, they can’t have Tea dance with them because last time she did a dance, it was like a DDR fight and she elbowed some guy like it was a fisticuffs situation. Like there was some sort of dance war going on behind the scenes of Yugioh’s card war, and it came up once and I guess Tea resolved it and the dance fights haven’t come back since.
Overall, if they did a dance with Tea, they would get kneed in the face, so that’s probably why they insist on doing cancans as a duet and not a trio.
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After Joey and Tristan freak out over having no food, Tea decides to just start eating in front of them.
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and like...didn’t Joey eat that food yesterday? Like last night? The short term memory loss on all these fools.
Immediately after this we realize something weird in the water. That’s right, it’s a massive head.
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Yugi seems to have forgotten they lit this turtle on fire and electrocuted the entire sky the night before. Not that it mattered.
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There were like...nesting birds on those trees on that island. What the hell? They just killed so MANY of those man-eating dogs that are flowers.
Seriously are land turtles allowed to just...dive underwater for long periods of time? How does that ecosystem even work? It’s like...That’s wild to think about.
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Inside the temple, they have to fight a genie or something.
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In case you were wondering, the only reason Tea and Grandpa got iced is because they were the closest to the door. The two who were actually standing out of harms way were the closest to harm the whole time.
Bro tells me this is also what will happen to you if you are in the front or the back of the party while playing Cthulu D&D
Anyway, Pharaoh decides to disclose that his big problem of feeling guilty all the time and taking all the blame, which he did all of last season...is still a huge problem he will probably never tackle.
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Straight up, don’t be fooled by my caps, everyone else has completely forgotten about Alex, who is still running around that temple up there. They haven’t even asked Grandpa “hey is this your protege? Is this your mentee you never told us about?” Nah. They already forgot. 
How wild is it that Pharaoh thinks this is all his fault when he was the only one who was like “YUGI IT’S A TRAP DON’T GO IN THE- well...OK I guess we’re doing this, fine.” Is he upset he didn’t take control from Yugi and walk back to the plane? Because that’s the only way he could even be partially responsible, He was the only guy who was like “I see the end from the beginning on this y’all, and it’s the massive pyramid in India.”
Speaking of forgetting, they came across this language Pharaoh has decided to have nothing to do with.
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This was actually a riddle and it was like...it was a riddle, sure, I guess.
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And so Joey Wheeler does not hallucinate his dead wife from a previous incarnation and get on the back of his Baby Dragon to sail away into the sunset. Instead they’re just gonna walk.
Too bad Tea’s orb covered in wings only seems to hover a bit. Every single wing on that weird orb is absolutely useless.
And then Pharaoh’s pokemon is just a fire--which is hard to sit on--and Celtic Guardian...who would allow it, sure, but probably doesn’t fly (I think. He might fly)
And then Tristan’s Pokemon kinda seems like if you sit on it, you will get electrocuted. It can probably fly though. It’s very round. Seems like an anime thing that the more round your mascot character is, the more likely it can at least bounce a good distance.
So, next time, I’m just going to assume that we are going to do even more camping. And youknow, if you told me exactly HOW MUCH CAMPING was in this card game show with super future tech, I would not have believed you. But like...a lot of this series is set in the woods right? Like a lot a lot? I have grown to appreciate the woods.
Anyway, as always, if you just got here, this is a link to read these in chrono order:
https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono
See you next time!
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razorblade180 · 3 years
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Twin snowflakes part 24: Date Night.
Part 23 here! <-
Still exhausted, Veronica flopped back onto her bed with the help of Nick. The girl let the mattress steal all tension from her body, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. “Aaahhhh! That’s the stuff. Appreciate the help.”
“Don’t mention it. Especially after what you just did. Frankly I had no plan to get Summer to cooperate.”
Veronica chuckled the best she could. “Hehe, not often Nicholas Schnee doesn’t have a plan. I guess you owe me then? Lucky for you I take words of affirmation as payment all the time.”
Nick smiled. It was nice to see Veronica joking. Encountering Shiva always put a dread over him, but she seemed to not care much. That’s Veronica alright, refusing to take crap from anybody. “I could praise you, or how about I praise you over a nice dinner?” Nick quickly responded.
All the neurons in Veronica’s brain suddenly came to a screeching halt. Her body immediately came flinging forward to sit upright to stare at the smiling boy. “What…?” She asked, still processing the question.
“Let me take you dinner.” He said again, “I have a reservation at this place in Atlas tonight. I was gonna cancel but we could just have a night out together. You still haven’t tried much food from here right? Plus I know you still have to be hungry. This works out.”
Veronica couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did Nick just ask her out on a dinner date? That didn’t sound right, even if it was a thank you gift. As quickly as her eyes lit up, they began to squint at him with skepticism. “What happened with Valerie?”
Now his eyes got big. He wasn’t expecting that response. “Uhhhh what?” His voice gave away his nervousness and Veronica could clearly tell.
“Don’t play dumb with me Nick. I’m not gonna call you a liar or anything, but I know you, and you know me; as well as my feelings.” She said that last part sheepishly. “You aren’t the kind of person to play with my emotions or offer a dinner date when you’re crushing on Val, so what’s up? Be straight with me”
It was becoming clear to Nick that he apparently could be read like a book. This is the third person within twenty four hours to look at him and automatically knew to ask about Valerie. This was ridiculous! His life had many things that made him bummed out. How are people guessing right on the first try!?”
“Uhhhhh” he scratched the back of his head and sighed. No point tip toeing around it. Not like it was a secret or anything, yet his stomach felt queasy all the same. “I ran into her yesterday. She was pretty upset that I didn’t tell her I got sick. I apologized and tried to smooth our recent bickering over with dinner. It was going okay, but then…Val immediately started to brush me off. I got upset, she started deflecting, people started staring, then she really started saying some things that really got me upset; kinda made a little scene out of it before walking off. Nor really princely, huh?” He tried smiling at the self jab, but failed. “Anyways, next time we meet per her request more a less will be at the tournament. We currently aren’t on speaking terms. Something she should be fine with since distance was what she wanted in the first place.”
Veronica could hear a little venom in those words. Val really did have Nick upset. He’s never this openly bitter. Though maybe it was being behind closed doors that allowed him to drop the facade of being consistently pleasant. Frankly, that made Veronica a little happy for him, in an odd way. However… “I see. So I assume that this dinner reservation was for you and her?” An answer wasn’t needed. Nick’s moment of sulking was replaced with a guilt ridden look on his face the moment she asked. “You know, kinda shitty you’re asking me to a dinner meant for another girl that turned you down. Not a fan of being someone’s second choice.”
Nick closed his eyes and let in a sharp breath like he had just been hit. “Oooo yeah, yeah that was pretty messed up for me.”
“Mhmm, big time. No girl wants to hear that you know?”
“I didn’t mean- I wasn’t trying to...sorry. That was tasteless and selfish of me.” He looked down, shamefully and with genuine guilt. It was only when Veronica’s hand lifted his head by his chin did he see the girl stare at him with an observing gaze and lips pouting to the side. She then crossed her arms and looked away from him, ears tucked and a tinge of red visible on her.
“You’re lucky you’re a good person and I am hungry. I…guess you could apologize with a good dinner?” Veronica knew he wasn’t trying to be insensitive. Still, she was more than a little ticked off at herself for letting him off easy. Darn his good qualities! Being mad towards him for long was never gonna happen. Not to mention having a calm outing together is a golden opportunity. No way she wasn’t gonna capitalize off of Valerie’s mistakes. Her eyes shifted towards Nick to see a relieved smile that only made staying upset harder.
“This place better be good! Also I’m gonna order every expensive thing possible!” Veronica declared, attempting to save face.
“Hehe, thank you, and go right ahead and order anything you want. It’s not until around nine so please, get some rest.”
“I should be saying that to you. Isn’t going out at night in the cold while moody only gonna give you more sniffles?”
“Pfft, I’m sick anymore. Just focus on healing and rest. Not that I have to tell you this, but you gotta dress nice for where we’re eating.”
Veronica smirked, pointing at a closet of designed outfits. “Careful. I may not be worth billions but I’ll make you look like a pocket change if you don’t wear you best.”
The boy let out a cocky chuckle before walking to the door. “For your information, I’m two billion.” He said puffing out his chest playfully, leaving on that note. He could hear her gentle laughter behind the door. At least he could lift one girl’s spirit. As for the other, Nick looked at his sister’s locked door. He couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t going to knock, but he had to at least walk to it. Come to think of it, Nick had a hard time remembering when this door remained open. Most days it kept either the warmth in, while shutting others out. Slowly he rested his hand against it. The wood, cool to the touch.
“Tell me what you need.” He thought, “I’m not a mind reader…” Nick could only sigh. He removed his hand and stepped back. As he began to walk, the door moved. As if something was pressed against it from the other side.
“I know you’re there.” Summer said from the other side. Nick quickly walked back to it. Somehow he could imagine how she was on the other side. One leg extended while the other was bent as she pressed her back to the door. Nick took a seat himself, mimicking the pose he envisioned.
“You okay?”
“Far from it, but that’s par for course…” Summer looked over her shoulder as if she was actually resting against her brother’s back. “Honestly I feel so fucked up some days that therapy feels like a joke. I think I need a break.”
“What kind of break?”
“The usual…” Summer let her words draw out lazily. The back of her head rhythmically tapped the door. “Care to join me?”
Nick tugged at the carpet fibers, mulling it over. “Mmmm sorry, I’m not in the mood for that kind of relief. Besides, I already have plans. I’ll cover for you though. I think venting could do some real good for ya. Just don’t stay out too long. Leave around… half past nine.”
“Will do, thanks Nick.” Even though a door separated them, Summer could feel the care from the other side. Veronica’s words back in the forest about Nick and how Summer treats their relationship struck an all too sensitive cord. “I promise not to worry you. Have fun with whatever you’re doing tonight. I’ll keep you updated and everything.”
“Don’t stress about it. I believe in you. Anyways, I gotta get going. I think I’ll do a bit of distressing in my own way.” Nick stands up. “Better go while there’s daylight.”
“Gonna pay respects?”
“Yep. Enjoy your outing. I’ll see ya tomorrow if I don’t see ya tonight before I leave. Love ya.” He walked away after that, not expecting a response. Didn’t need one. After all, Summer coming to the door said enough.
All in all, things felt okay. Life felt okay. By no means was it perfect, but Nick was thankful he had blessings to count. He’d feel better after the tournament. What should’ve been an exciting time was getting more troublesome. Training, performing, fighting Darren in the duos, and now a not so friendly rematch with Valerie. At least Eliza still had a sportsmanship attitude. He still needed to ask her favor as well. By the end of this she would certainly be sick of him. Nick was surprised she didn't block his number yet. That would royally suck.
His slow walk took down the stairs and back to the front of the manor. He heard dishes clanking from the door to the far left while he grabbed his dark blue winter coat off the rack. “That you dad?” The kitchen door swung open to show Jaune drying a cup and Yang waving in the background as she held a slice in her mouth while talking to Blake. How they managed to swipe pizza out of Veronica’s room was beyond Nick.
“What’s up?” Jaune said, noticing his son put his jacket on. “Heading out? Your mom and aunts should be back soon. Pretty sure they’d want-”
“Veronica and I are going on a dinner date later.” Nick interjected. As planned, his father was derailed. Stammering footsteps came plopping out of the kitchen in the form of a very wide eyed blonde, and a shocked ninja. Blake’s ears even did the little twitch Nick as seen Veronica do whenever she’s caught off guard. “Yeah I thought you all should now. I’d say don’t bug her about it and let her rest, but considering Yang’s feet are already pointed towards the stairs…”
Yang looked down. “Huh...how about that?” She said, walking up the stairs with Blake trying to stop her.”
“Let her rest Yang!”
“But I wanna say stuff~” she whined, “I guarantee you she’s listening to us right now.”
Yang was right on the money. Veronica was currently judging how much strength it would take to lock the door. Her odds were bad. “Okay I don’t care how cute he is. This was cruel!” Veronica thought loudly to herself.
Jaune watched Blake slowly get dragged up the stairs by trying to stop Yang. Without looking, he leaned forward and reached out to grab Nick’s shoulder, who was trying to slowly back up to the door. He faced forward and smiled. “Good attempt, but you’d need a better distraction than that.”
“Eh it was worth a shot…” Nick sighed. He was pulled forward and fell into a surprise hug. He stood silently for a minute before wrapping his arms around his dad. “You needed a hug?”
“Not really, but you looked like you did.” Jaune said, squeezing tired. “You know you’re growing up into a fine young man. Better than me by a long shot at your age. I hope you know your entire family is proud of you.”
“I know dad…” Nick said, his voice getting stuck in his throat a little.
“I know I can’t relate to some of the pressures you feel. Honestly being a part of a household with this much attention and expectation still gets me anxious from time to time. So don’t hesitate to vent to me. You’re a young adult yeah, but I’m still my son and sixteen. Weiss and I would much rather see you yell at an annoying cameraman or get scrappy with a bully than see you try to hold it in for the sake of family image. Remember that.”
How did he do it? It was unfair, downright cheating almost in Nick’s eyes. How could so many people easily call him out? “What’s the point of enduring if everyone I wanna reassure sees right through the act? So much for a brave face.” He muttered. Jaune finally let go of him. The compassionate father poked Nick right where his heart was.
“Enduring an ordeal for the sake of others is pretty brave in my book, but who said you couldn’t endure hardships and still be open to those who matter? Have you meant your friends and family? Besides your sister I don’t think there’s a soul close to you who isn’t an expert of seeing past masks. Val and Vee live with bleeding hearts and the rest have had to put up with me!” He chuckled, “Just like I’m sure you know when someone is upset.”
Nick had his doubts. “Mmmmm, starting to think I might not know them as well as I think. Val is...ugh, I don’t know she is. Learned about Vee’s traits recently for the first time, and Summer-”
“Okay, I see your point. But! Learning new things about them and knowing there’s things you don’t know, doesn’t erase what you did. Y’all are teens. There’s a bunch of things to sort through. At the end of the day though, you know them where it counts. Does that make sense?”
“....Yeah, I think I do.” Nick nodded, thanks dad. Seriously. It’s kinda scary how good at talking you are.”
“Comes with practice, specifically learning to listen and just watch closely. You may not realize it but you do this plenty. It’s a big reason people gravitate towards you. Well… people who are just money hungry anyways, but that’s more of a rich person policy than a Nick-ism. I digress! You better get going before your mother comes back and give you her own talk.” Jaune said. He opened up the door for Nick to leave. “From the way you’ve been acting I assume you’re heading to pay your respects?”
Nick nodded, “I’ll try not to be terribly long. Don’t tell mom unless she asks. You know how she gets?” Nick walked through the door, fist bumping his dad on the way out.
Jaune closed the door and went back to the kitchen. Somewhere above him he could hear giggles and a few squealing. “Hopefully nothing catches on fire up there.”
“You are starting a fire!” Blake yelled, trying to contain Yang’s excitement so the blonde’s hair would stop flaring up. “Use your words.” Blake laughed.
“Please…” Veronica groaned. This level of energy was higher than usual. “You’re more excited than me. It’s just a dinner date. Barely even that. More like a thank you gift I suppose.” That being said the blush coming to her face clearly sung a different tune. “Can we please talk about anything else? I mean mom, you’re here!”
Blake crossed her arms. “So I heard you got into a fight? Let’s talk about that.”
“Ummm, so this date, any suggestions on what to wear?” Veronica poorly deflected. Blake didn’t even respond and Yang was smart enough not to. There was no choice but to talk about it unfortunately. “Sigh….I know okay? Ma told me I should’ve eaten and I didn’t listen. I should’ve, or learn to walk away from-”
“I’ll stop you right there. Don’t think for a second I wasn’t okay with a person getting hit when they were clearing harassing you.” Blake took a seat on the bed. “Expecting you to balance instinct, emotions, and logic here in Atlas was never in the cards, because frankly we don’t know what that balance is. Not to say I assumed you’d fight here. All I wanted was for you to try and...take a break from the norm.”
“If that’s the case then school should’ve been removed right off the back. It doesn’t matter the location, people act the same. Different faces, same insufferability. Only difference is these bozos are rich and human.”
“You make it sound like you aren’t crushing on a rich human whose parents are allowing you to stay in their manor.” Yang deadpanned. “Not making you go to school would only leave you bored and gods know what you’ll do with too much time on your hands. Then again you managed to stir things up already by stealing a spot on the cheer team.”
Blake did a double take. That wasn’t mentioned earlier. “Cheer team? How did that happen?”
“A girl got cocky with me so I out performed her. Honestly I was more than a little surprised by it all. Holding pom-poms, doing flips on mats, and even the couch blowing the whistle, kinda forgot what those things were like until I was in the moment.”
“See? That’s a change from norm.”
“Pretty sure that counts as a return to form.” Veronica countered. “It’s whatever though. Just a temporary thing. Although I’ll admit that Eliza chick, Marigold’s kid, she’s pretty decent.”
Blake wasn’t expecting that easier. “Oh? Well that’s nice. Sounds like that could be not so temporary?”
“Eh, whatever happens, happens.” It was a nice thought. Veronica couldn’t deny that. “Any other thing you wanted to discuss with me? I’d like to lay down for a bit longer.”
“How’s it feel to discuss all this genetic stuff with Nick and Summer? Call it what you want, but telling them was no different from a therapy session if it made you feel better.” Blake stated.
Veronica frowned. “Not how I see it. I’m pretty indifferent for the most part I’d say. Haven’t thought deeply about it. Veronica plopped her head on the pillows and turned away.
Blake and Yang took their scrappy daughter’s hint to leave. Blake got off the bed and was more than fine revisiting the discussion later. Yang briefly bent over Veronica’s covered face and kissed her head.
“Muah! By the way, I’m pretty sure Nick would love to see you in his colors. No heels though. He’s a little touchy about his height.” Yang left after that, closing the door gently. Veronica could only lay there pondering the advice.
“Hmmmm that could work.”
xxxx
While the youth finally got some rest, Adults were hard at work trying to piece together all that’s happened. Ruby and Weiss scoped out the undisturbed frozen lake along with Winter, Nora, and Penny most importantly. Though there wasn’t much to go on. Just crushed rocks, claw marks from ferocious grimm, and a mix of blue and red blood that made Weiss particularly uncomfortable. Ruby sensed that uneasiness and quickly began rubbing her partner’s back.
“Your daughter’s fine.” Ruby reassured. “If what she said is accurate then she never actually lost control.”
“Yeah but the blue dyed snow before us means she just barely held on. That’s too close for comfort.” Weiss held her hands together gently. “It feels like things are getting worse.”
“Because you’re in the thick of it.” Nora spoke, projecting her voice to get their attention. The strong and prideful woman made her way over to them. “Every day you’re worried for her and wake up knowing your daughter is a few rooms away upset. A parent is only as happy as their saddest child, and seeing Summer so distant makes it difficult to see the good stuff. This situation is trying, yes, but Summer still fought back. Your daughter fought Shiva off and killed grimm to protect someone. Determination like that is a sign Summer isn’t done fighting by a long shot, so that means you shouldn’t mope. I mean she gets all that strength to defy assholes from you.”
Ruby gave a big smile. She couldn’t have said it better herself. “Yeah! Nora’s right. We’ll turn this around.”
“....Geez, you two ever stop being helpful?” Weiss said, smiling gently. She was happy to have them here. “Thank you, especially you Nora.”
“Considerate my way of apologizing if Valerie really upset Nick. I told her she needed to call him, especially after him having the decency to call me so I could keep her in the loop about this. Apparently she wasn’t very pleased that he was ill and didn’t mention it. She’s….a lot sometimes.”
“Hey, so were we. I’m sure she means well and I’m not oblivious to the fact Nick can be...a lot as well. I’m partly to blame. I enable some of his actions towards her from time to time. I think I’m projecting a bit. Maybe I should tell him to move on?” Weiss sighed. Perhaps she played matchmaker too much and misread things.
Nora could only chuckle. “Hehe, I wouldn’t. Believe me when I tell you Valerie doesn’t hate having Nick look her way. A little forwardness is the only way she’ll acknowledge problems she doesn’t want to deal with. I can’t say for certainty what those problems are but I don’t pin any of it Nick. Val has a way of wanting her cake and eating it too. She’s gotta learn hard ways that’s not how life goes. I just hope Nick finds it in himself to not hate her because of this.”
“Pfft, I don’t think hate truly exists in his vocabulary.” Weiss laughed. She could count on her hand how many times Nick truly despised a person. “He’ll be petty about it I’m sure, but that’ll go away. Space between them might be good. At the end of the day I at least want them to still be close. Val has a way of motivating him that I like. He actually has fun.”
“Yeah, my Little Thunderhead excels at moving people, that’s for sure. Her semblance would be pretty mediocre otherwise if she wasn’t.”
The three continued talking lightly until Penny eventually walked up with Winter. “Okay, so I’ve finished running some tests of the area and the deposit of Diamond Dust. I have….unique results.” Penny said, a bit baffled.
Ruby wasn’t a fan of that statement. “Ummm that doesn’t sound great coming from a person who reads books written in binary. What did you find?”
“This dust is less volatile than the samples in my lab, even though it’s been untouched for longer. By all means it should be more refined.”
“Well isn’t it a good thing that it isn’t?” Weiss asked. “We barely handle what we have.”
“True, but it’s strange. There’s a couple possibilities that may explain this. Summer may have used up some unintentionally, or maybe Shiva herself was syphoning it.”
Winter folded her arms, “Not a fan of that second option. Based on the story though, what if it wasn’t touched at all?”
“Panic attack.” Penny said immediately. “She hasn’t been here since the accident, right? It’s entirely plausible that Summer’s mind and body remembered the trauma. Repressed memories or outright fear and anxiety could be the basis for this entire event. I tried contacting Oscar if he’s noticed anything different in Summer’s behavior, but I can’t get in contact with him. The seas have been rather violent lately due to weather changes.”
“So what you're basically saying is we're as lost as usual?” Weiss said, falling backwards into the snow. “Juuuuuust great. I’m going to assume the pain attack option then. That’s something I can work on with her. If Shiva is by any chance stronger now then the only thing we can do is what we always do. Brace ourselves.”
Ruby looked down at Weiss. “And option one actually means we have less dust to deal with. That’s a plus!” She knew it was a small amount of positivity but every bit helped. Weiss smiled at her and sat up.
“Here’s hoping for option one as well I suppose. We should probably head back. This place creeps me out a bit.”
Ruby helped Weiss up and everyone began leaving. Penny kept staring at the data she collected and trying to call Oscar. Unfortunately the man wasn’t answering. Her displeased sigh was heard by Winter, who rubbed the girl’s back.
“Not to be insensitive, but your son and Qrow wouldn’t do anything too crazy out a sea would they?”
Winter laughed nervously. “Hehehe….I’m sorry.”
“That doesn’t inspire confidence!” Penny yelped. Now she was only going to think about them being stranded by the gods or in a storm. Hopefully she would hear from him soon. “I guess a deeper study will have to wait. Ruby, can I stay at your place with Whitley for a bit? I don’t wanna go home yet. Too lonely.
“Sure thing! Door is always open. Though I bet you’ll have a livelier time at the manor these days.”
Penny tried her best to act like that would be a good idea. “Tempting, but a certain blonde teenage girl wouldn’t like that much, considering her parents so desperately want my husband to be her therapist. Summer also sees me enough as is. Nick would be happy I was there.” She said in a happier tune.
“He’s not home if I know him well enough.” Weiss frowned. “Times like these, I’m sure he’ll visit the graveyards.”
Truly, her son was easy to read.
xxxx
Right now the boy in question walked through an alley of tombstones and snow, his and covered in pollen. Atlas’s central graveyard had become a place for Nick over the years. The wide space and solitude became a welcoming barrier that blocked out most strangers from approaching him. Even the paparazzi had enough tact to not disturb a person here. His feet carried him down multiple lanes towards an old tree barren of any leaves looming over a grave with no actual tombstone. Standing before it was Eliza, wearing a dark blue winter coat and deep in thought. He wasn’t expecting to see her today.
Nick kept approaching until he stood beside her silently. A cool breeze went by them as the air itself felt still. Eliza eventually shifted her gaze to him, completely aware he was there. She looked down at his dusty yellow hands before speaking. “Talking to your grandma again?”
“Yeah. She says I should eat more sandwiches. Afraid I’m a little too then.”
“Heh, always witty. Visited your gramps yet?”
Nick shook his head, “No that’s halfway across Atlas from here and further from my home. It’s the next stop. What about you? Didn’t expect you to be here today.”
“Haven’t been in awhile.” Eliza waved her hand to cause a brief gust that blew away the snow from the grave and several others. “It needed cleaning and I was in the area. So what brings you here specifically? You only visit here on anniversaries, holidays, and when you’re moody. Last time I checked this is a random day, soooo”
“Eh don’t worry about it. Everything is alright now. Just decompressing.”
“Fair enough.” Eliza put her hands in her pocket and went back to thinking, until she realized Nick was looking at her again. “Uhh can I help you?” She said a little confrontational.
Nick got a little defensive and spoke quickly. “No, just surprised you’re not pressing me to open up.”
“Why? Your business is your business unless you make it my business. Something you’ll do if your attitude negatively affects the preparation for the tournament.”
“Ouch...well if that’s the case then the favor I’m about to ask you shouldn’t refuse.”
That peaked her interest. Eliza actually turned around fully. “You’ve been asking a lot of favors of me lately.”
“I’ve asked like two favors, and you’re the one telling me to directly involve you if-”
Eliza covered his mouth, irritated by him being right. “I know what I said! Sigh… what’s up?”
Nick looked down at the hand on his mouth, getting Eliza to remove it. “You’re lucky I didn’t lick it.”
“You’re lucky I don’t beat you up on hollow ground.”
Nick smirked. “Oh, so you think you can finally take me?”
Eliza squinted at him as her face got a little red. Why the hell did he have to be like this sometimes!? “The next words you speak better be your favor, or I’m walking away.”
“Well I wouldn’t exactly call it a favor but if you’re training by the harbor tonight, I’d appreciate it if you swooped by the seventh dock. The one with the huge building they rarely put cargo in. Summer is going to be there blowing off some steam. I don’t think anything will go wrong but you know, if you got the time…?”
“Hmmm I guess that’s not unreasonable. Wait, how do you know I train by the harbor!?”
“Did you forget my cousin literally owns a ship? If I’m correct, one time he said his sail caught on fire when a random bolt of lightning came down one day.”
“......” Eliza put her hand back in her pocket and began walking. “You’re really annoying Nick.”
“I’ve done nothing! Also I’m not done talking! I actually do have a real favor I’ve been mulling over for about a day!” Eliza kept walking away from him. “Hey! Don’t just- Can you train me!?” He shouted, hoping to gain her interest again.
It worked wonderfully. Eliza stopped mid-step and pivoted around. “Excuse me?”
“Training, yeah uh there’s this thing Schnee’s do called the candle test. Helps with our glyphs. Long story short, I’m ass at it hehe. Summer has stuff going on and it’s not really clicking with my mom or aunt. Since your magic is sorta like what I have to do, I thought maybe-”
“We are in a contest against each other, Nicholas.” She said firmly. “You are my opponent! One of two people currently in my way from reaching the top. Why on Remnant would I help you?”
Nick’s eyes avoided contact with hers. He began to scratch the back of his head as if he’d been caught red handed in a lie. “Because… you value sportsmanship?” He looked at her to receive an unamused blank stare that was colder than the snow. “Uh, and also you helping me in any capacity will let you in on a proposition that you’d find very intriguing. But I’ll only tell you when we’re training.”
“Tsk, I would think a Schnee would know better how to do business negotiations. Why would I make a deal when I don’t know if I even care about it? You tell me now or not at all.”
“I can’t say it now! I gotta smooth out details.”
“Then I guess we’re done here.”
“Fine, then I guess you don’t want a shot at gold with a sure fire way of at least getting silver!” He boasted, catching Eliza off guard. Nick slicked his hair back and crossed his arms to intimate his uncle’s calm yet assertive demeanor. “Yeah that’s right. I’m saying I have an idea crazy enough to benefit you and I. Everyone wants gold of course. However, you got a little more riding on this, don’t you?”
Eliza remained silent. Nick began walking a little closer to refrain from speaking too loud. “Last year was your real debut to the public eye and it was pretty good one at that. Third place is nothing to snuff at in the singles bracket. However...trust me when I say I know third is the worst seat in the house. That’s where the pressure and stress is. One mistake and you're off the podium and that feels terrible when people finally start looking your way.”
Eliza began tapping her foot. He wasn’t wrong. Not by a long shot. Confident as she was, Eliza was aware of her only two options. Do better, or hit the same bar. Winning was the goal but no one was gonna give her shit for losing to the top two contests. Nick and Valerie have been dominating for about three years now, and here he was saying he can get her to second. “Get to the point.”
Nick unfolded his arms. Time to be gentle again. “I cannot get into specifics at this time, but if you wanna show up at the manor anytime this week to help me, we can talk. I can get you second at minimum in King of the Hill.
His eyes burned with eagerness. Eliza had so many questions but obviously he wouldn’t answer them. This plan clearly had to be in his favor to get first, which neither of them had earned before. However, Valerie was first. How did she fit into this? What was going through his head!? Eliza had to know what regardless if she’d actually be okay with it. Her eyes narrowed at him. “Tsk, I take back what I said. Guess you are a Schnee. I will see when I can come over and help. Now, any other obnoxious request before I get driven away from this conversation?”
“Well……” Nick could feel just how dangerous this situation was. “It’s quite a walk to the other cemetery from here….hehe.” Laughing was hard when someone’s nostrils were flaring at you in frustration. Getting closer might’ve been a terrible decision.
Eliza closed her eyes briefly, then turned around to walk away. She went a few steps before briefly stopping. “Knock the snow off your shoes before you step in.”
Nick lit up like a Christmas tree. “You’re the best!!!”
“Why did he get more votes than me!?” Eliza internally screamed.
xxxxx
The day seemed to drag on. It had taken some time for Weiss to return home with the company of her sister and Ruby. Nora had departed earlier to check in on her family. Penny had opted to head towards Ruby’s home before her. They would’ve gone together but Ruby did want to see her niece and Blake. Penny had yet to properly see her friends. Though she wanted to, she thought it best to hold off for now.
The trio walked into the house and were assaulted by the strong scent of what had to be Jaune’s amazing cooking. They could practically see the aroma of spices dance in the air. One spice in particular hit Ruby. It was subtle but sharp at the same time. The kind of spice that sent a zing through your nose and hit your tastebuds. A mouth watering smile spread on her face and her stomach growled.
“Mmmmmm” Ruby hummed, “Somebody brought spices with them from Menagerie.” She sang. Ruby and Weiss wasted no time heading to the kitchen. Inside was an apron-wearing knight stirring a pot of stew, and their favorite faunus in the whole wide world in an apron cutting vegetables.
Blake didn’t even need to turn around to know what giggling pair just entered the kitchen. She put the knife down all the same and turned around with her arms wide open. “Well-” she couldn’t even say her boastful introduction before her two cheecky smile teammates dove in for a hug. All three of them just became a choir of happy laughter as they embraced one another.
Weiss finally let her friend go to get a good look at her. “Look at you! Traveled all this way and you’re helping make dinner!? I don’t deserve you!”
“Well I saw Jaune breakout a pot and I figured he’d enjoy some help without fear of something burning.” Blake jabbed. Ruby immediately tucked her lips to stop herself from snickering at the diss.
Weiss’s jaw dropped. She still smiled however, crossing her arms. “Oh ha ha, I’ll have you know my cooking is leagues better than what you remember since last time you had it. I can cook amazing meals all by myself!”
“As long as it doesn’t involve a fryer.” Jaune added, walking over to kiss his wife’s cheek really quick.
Weiss’s face got a little flushed. “Grease is bothersome.” She mumbled. Blake could only chuckle at the remark while walking to the pot and dumping the vegetables inside. The smell of the stew intensified and reminded Weiss she is still very much the weakest in her friend group when cooking was involved. “How are you going to outdo me in my own home? Why’d you bring spices in the first place!?”
“Don’t question it!” Ruby shouted. Her body went on autopilot to grab the plates and cups for the dinner.
“Ruby, aren’t gonna make dinner at home?” The room said, thinking about Whitley.
Ruby then proceeded to grab one of Jaune’s tupperware containers. Apparently they were now feeding Whitley as well. Ruby knew they wouldn’t mind, so she felt no remorse when filling it. Her boldness knew no bonds.
“Ruby, how do you know they aren’t making enough food for the people in this house?”
“Because this household would crumble anytime Jaune did a mission and didn’t make enough food for weeks.”
“I can cook!!!!” Weiss yelled.
Jaune playfully rolled his eyes and patted Weiss’s back. “Ruby isn’t completely wrong. Anyways she can take as much as she wants. Nick and Veronica have a dinner date tonight so they won’t be joining us for dinner. Then I don’t if Summer-”
“Nick and Veronica have a date!?” Weiss and Ruby shouted.
“Oh yeah… that happened while you left.” Jaune tried to reach for the ladle for the stew but Weiss swatted his hand before turning his head back to her. Fortunately Blake swooped in to continue stirring. “Yeah so they’re going on a date tonight. I don’t know details.”
Weiss turned to Blake who shrugged. “I didn’t press Veronica too much about it. Yang should be upstairs with her trying on dresses.
“Behold! A beautiful sunflower in the snow!” Yang cried out from outside the kitchen unexpectedly.
“Or I guess she’s downstairs now.” Blake turned off the burner on the stove and moved the pot before following her friends out to the main hall. Outside was Yang standing proudly with her hands on her hips and staring up the stairs proudly. Jaune and Weiss’s eyes went wide while Winter seemed….impressed? As much as she could be. Her feelings towards Veronica in general were mixed. The girl was definitely beautiful though. That was just a fact.
Blake looked up to see her daughter all dressed up at the top of the steps. She wore a white, thin strapped dress that had a light blue sash around her waist. The skirt portion went down to about knee level and the flats she wore were also white. The bottom of the skirt brought more color in by being an intense light blue that faded to white half way up; lace snowflakes were intricately etched on to that portion to break the color up. Gloves that went just passed her elbows followed a similar scheme but started white at the hands before transitioning to blue. To top it all off, a pretty little light blue ribbon formed a bow on top of her head. It was that accessory that made Blake notice that not only wet her ears gone from sight, but so was her tail.
Veronica’s face was stricken with a decent shade of red. Her feet shuffling in place a little as she rubbed her left arm. “So….ummm thoughts?” She said anxiously. “This is just one of several ideas so no need to hold back.”
“Several? What, did you make these in a couple hours?” Winter asked.
“No. I’ve been working on a Fire and Ice collection recently. This dress in particular was already put together for the most part. Although the snowflakes at the bottom was a last minute decision I made half an hour ago.” Veronica swayed to make the skirt flow side to side. “Normally I’d say adding flames or snowflakes is a bit heavy handed since the colors of the outfit already speak fire and ice, but I don’t know. Felt appropriate. Especially since the white lace is on the blue. I even have them on the upper rim of the gloves. Made sleeve versions too.” Veronica inspected the stitching to make sure it was okay. “Hmm not my best work, but I kinda like it.”
“I kinda love it!” Yang proudly said. “Oh it takes me back to the Beacon dance a little. Back then another Schnee was outdone by a Xiao Long wearing white.”
“Ha, no! Your dress didn’t even look done!” Weiss shot back, refusing to take such slander. “This dress is ten times better than what you wore.”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah sis, your dress was pretty plain. Didn’t even have a bow.”
“I couldn’t find one!” Yang defended.
Judging by the banter, Veronica was getting positive vibes from the dress. She looked at Winter since the woman was there. Surprisingly, a thumbs up was given. “Well that was more positive than I expected from her.” Veronica thought. The only person who remained silent was Blake. Veronica turned to see her mother assessing what her daughter had on. The silence she gave made Veronica a little concerned. “What’s up mom? Not a fan of how thin the straps are? It’s not a low cut anywhere.”
“No, all that is fine. I just have to ask, why-” before Blake finished, the front door opened once again with Nick coming through it this time. Everyone froze in place by his sudden entrance. Including him!
“Uhhh why is everyone just standing in the front of the house?” Nick questioned. It was only when he looked up the left staircase did he get his answer. “Oh, that’s why. You look...wow.” He said, rather clumsily. “I didn’t think you’d get ready three hours ahead of schedule. I still gotta wash up from the grav- I mean my walk. Yeah, walk, around town. With no real location stopped at.” He had no idea why he kept saying things. The deadpanned look on Winter and Weiss’s face clearly showed they knew where he was.
Weiss gave a reassuring smile and poked his forehead. “No need to lie, especially so poorly. If talking to them brought you some form of clarity then by all means have at it.”
“Yeah it’s not my business either.” Winter added, ruffling his hair.
Veronica wasn’t exactly sure what they were discussing, but it looked like things were going well. Nick even looked like he was in a better mood then when he left. His eyes went back to Veronica and made her fidget a little. The gaze he gave her was focused, deliberate even.She didn’t know how to feel about it until Nick began to look a tad displeased. “I-Is something wrong?” Veronica asked hesitantly.
“Not wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cover your ears. Tail yeah, since it can get in the way a bit, but why the bow?” He asked, pointing at it from afar. Everyone looked towards her for an answer, especially Blake. Nick had beaten her to the question.
Veronica looked down at her feet for a moment before looking at her family, crush, others. She never really knew what to call Weiss or her siblings. “Well normally I wouldn’t cover them, but while you were gone I kept thinking about this date…and how I wanted it to be a simple night out.” Heat began to rush to her cheeks. “So you know, people will stare and judge less if I’m like this. Not that their opinions matter, but I’d like to keep things peaceful as much as possible tonight. That’s all.” She looked at Blake who was looking right back at her. The answer didn’t seem to upset or surprise the mother. Veronica played with her a bit. “Is...that okay?”
“Hmm? You’re asking permission? It caught me off guard seeing it. Whether it be for aesthetic or personal reasons, I won’t dictate how you wanna design your clothes as long as it’s appropriate. After all, ribbons and I have a history. Couldn’t judge you if I wanted.”
That was a relief to hear. Veronica had completely forgotten her mother wasn’t a stranger to trying to blend in. “Well if that’s settled-”
“Hold on.” Nick softly said, his calm footsteps walking up the stairs to meet her. Everyone fell speechless as they watched him. Veronica for some reason felt as if the mood had changed. The room was quieter, air completely still. The face of the boy in front of her began to look more earnest than it has ever been as it got closer, stifling her breath. Nick extended his hand out slowly till his fingers clasped a corner of the bow, then unraveled it.
The ribbon flowed slowly into his palm and then was brought down towards Veronica’s. “If a calm night means you have to hide, then is it really a calm worth having? Like you said, those people don’t matter. Besides, I like your ears.”
Burst, Veronica felt like her heart could’ve burst. The blush on her cheeks deepened greatly and her eyes went wide from the shocking words. She had barely remembered to breathe. If she paid attention to the audience below then she would’ve been embarrassed by the grins that went ear to ear but no. Veronica only noticed Nick and his gentle smile that matched his words. Her mind finally caught up with itself and Veronica grasped the ribbon ever so slowly.
“O-Okay…” she said without thinking. Anybody else may have gotten more of a debate on it. Not him though. Not after words like those. “I’ll...make a few adjustments then.” She said, flattered and flustered as she walked back to her room without any more words.
“Take your time. You still have about three hours like I said, plus I gotta wash up.” He reminded her, not realizing just how sweet his words were. He turned back around to see smug faces and contained laughter. “What?”
“Nick…” Winter said, smiling with her hands on her hips. “And you wonder why girls flock to you obsessively. You’re too much.”
“I’ll say.” Blake said, admiring the boy. “But you know what? There’s something perfect about that. Nicholas, thank you.”
He wasn’t entirely sure what he did but he got embarrassed all the same, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. At least things finally felt relaxed in this house. “Umm you’re welcome?”
With teasing done and the mood lightened, everyone went back to doing their respective things. Jaune and Blake went back to prepping food. Weiss went with Ruby to set tables and properly catch up, while Yang decided to keep Winter company since both her son and Qrow were off adventuring. The chatter filled the hallways and even reached upstairs to not only Veronica, but Summer, who finally managed to fall asleep peacefully. Even Nick found a bit of proper rest in the bath. The soothing warm water filled with epsom salt was more than enough to make him doze off. Time steadily went forward and the adults began winding down. However, the kids were just getting ready for the night.
xxxxx
Dusk finally came. Winter leaned up against the main door waiting until she saw Nick coming walking down the stairs looking dashing. His crisp white suit, ice blue tie and handkerchief were perfectly in place along with his slick back hair.
“Hey Whitley jr.”
He groaned, “Please don’t. This is why I do nothing with my hair. One minute I look like dad, then the next I’m uncle.”
“Grow it out more then.” Winter suggested.
He shook his head. “That’s a slippery slope. Too long and I’ll be compared to you, mom, and sis. I guess my face is just too great.”
“Pfft, you just know you can’t compete with all this.” Winter sassed, turning her head to sway her hair. Nick would have objected if she wasn’t right.
“Whatever hehe. Anyways, everybody still here?”
“No, Ruby eventually headed home, but everyone else is strung about. I’m heading out myself but I figured I could drop you and Veronica off for your date.”
Nick gave her aunt a huge smile. “Awww, auntie!”
“Oh hush, don’t make it a big deal. It’s convenient, that’s all.”
“Well I appreciate it nonetheless. Veronica will too.”
Winter mumbled,“She better show it by not getting you or sister into trouble.”
“I heard that.” Veronica called from up the staircase. Winter and Nick looked in that direction to see her walking down. Nick wasn’t prepared.
Veronica had switched the gloves out for detachable sleeves that still exposed her shoulders. They also followed the same white to blue pattern. What really changed was she used the ribbon to make a high ponytail and now dawning jewelry. A pearl white necklace rested around her neck and complemented the pearl earrings she wore. Slowly she approached Nick with her hands holding each other in front of her. Veronica’s face was still a healthy shade of red. This close, Nick couldn’t help but smell of peach nectar. An interesting and oddly refreshing choice for perfume.
“Well...ummm...you weren’t kidding when you said you would out dress me.” Nick said, captivated. “I’d say you’re one billion, easily.”
Veronica chuckled nervously. “Hehe,th...thanks. I wouldn’t go that far, but I appreciate it.” Looking at him was harder than usual. Men’s dress shoes had a bit of heel, so Nick actually was a bit taller then her now since she chose flats. It could only be by an inch or two but it made a hell of a difference to her. “I had a little help near the end. These are actually your sister’s pearls.”
“Really? Oh, that’s right! I think the only reason she got them was so this other rude girl couldn’t. I don’t remember the specifics.”
“Wow. You two are….extremely petty at times.” Veronica said. Yeah pettiness was nothing new to her, but she’d never bought something to spite someone else. That’s the lifestyle in Atlas she supposed. “Anyways, if you’re ready to go then I am too. I’d really like to avoid-”
Click! The sound of a camera cut her off. The two teens looked back to see their parents all taking photos. Trying to stop them would be impossible. The only thing they could do is quietly wait for the clicking to stop, which was thankfully over in seconds.
“Gee I didn’t realize I lived with paparazzi.” Nick quipped. Another flash came from up above the second floor. Summer and her bed head leaned against the railing. “Summer!? You too!?”
“I came down to eat and saw we were embarrassing you. How could I not?” She took one more photo and then made her way down to the kitchen. “Have fun. I’m gonna eat and go right back to bed.”
Nick knew she was lying of course. That was the real reason she came down now, to announce she’d be sleeping in her room so nobody would disturb her. Summer, never missing an opening, also collected everything she needed from upstairs without anyone noticing. It was scary how far she’d plan ahead sometimes.
Winter finally decided to open the front door and head out. “Let’s move people. Rich or not, it’s rude to be late for reservations.”
“So strict. Almost think that you’re about to go drill instructor on me.” Veronica jokes, walking out the door.
“Don’t think I won’t make you drop and give me twenty just because you’re in a dress.” Winter shot back, closing the door as Nick walked out.
“The sad thing is she isn’t kidding…” Weiss nervously said. “That’s gonna be a long car ride.”
Summer came out of the kitchen with a bowl of stew and an evil look in her eye. “Why are there less left overs than usual? Who had seconds?”
“Ruby took some for Whitley. As well as had seconds…”
Summer squinted as if Ruby was there to actually receive the grumpy look before putts spoonful in her mouth and walking back upstairs.
“Ma’am, the table. Not your room.” Weiss said, using her mom voice.
Summer did a heel turn to the dining room. “Who made this stew!?” She said annoyed. Jaune and Blake both raised their hands. “It’s fantastic!” Was all she said as she continued walking.
Blake and Yang looked at each other confused before looking at their friends.
“Hangry.” Was all Jaune said.
“Ah…” the couple said together.
The moment Summer was out of sight from everyone she put the bowl down and searched around the living room quickly until she found her guitar case. Quickly, she grabbed it and opened a window towards the side of the estate and tossed it on a set of glyphs that hopefully propelled it right into her open room window. She then ran back to the dining room to sit down and eat comfortably.
“Phew! That was the last thing. And now I wait.” She took another bite of the stew happily. Nothing tastes better than an escape plan coming together.
32 notes · View notes
pagingevilspawn · 3 years
Note
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I’m the one that asked about the fic recs ☺️ could you please do a fic where jolex have a cute tickle fight with all the fluff in the world?? Thank you 🙏🏼
oh, darlin’, don’t you ever grow up
this took so long to fulfill like holy crap. I’m so sorry about that. I had to improvise a bit, because jolex is so not the tickling kind of couple and much more of a ‘slap dat booty’ kinda pair you know? But hey, i don’t think that anyone is complaining about jolex babies, right? 
again, thank you all SO MUCH for 100 followers! i still can’t believe how crazy that is! this is super fluffy so yeah, i hope you enjoy it! also, tickle scenes are so much harder to write than i expected...
Alex Karev peeled his bloody surgical gloves off with a relaxed sigh, taking off his gown and tossing it into the bin while simultaneously telling a resident to finish closing up for him. When he gets back to the scrub room he leans against the sink, hands taking hold of the sturdy metal, closing his eyes for a minute because it feels like he can finally breathe. 
His surgery had gone on for seven hours. The kid on the table crashed twice and had lost so much blood at one point he didn’t think the boy was going to make it. Luckily, thanks to skilled hands, surprisingly helpful residents, and Meredith Grey, nine year old Mike Harper was going to be okay. He removes his scrub cap from his head, tucking it into his pants and running a hand through his hair before turning on the faucet and putting his hands under the water, scrubbing off with the bar. 
He shakes his hands dry, little water droplets flying here and there before exiting the room, traveling down the brightly lit halls of the surgical floors until he reaches the elevator. He clicks the button for the ground floor, where the parents are waiting. From there it was routine procedure. He tells the couple that their kid is gonna be alright, they cry tears of joy, they thank him, they ask when they can see their son, he informs them that they’re closing up right now, so he should be relocated to the PICU soon, and they thank him again before sitting back down. 
Alex makes his evening rounds on patients, goofing and joking with them until he’s done and can finally head home. He’d been on call for the past sixteen hours, and all he really wants to do is go home and see his girls.
Unfortunately, he learned from the nurses that Jo was pulled into an emergency surgery a few hours earlier, and had yet to finish, so he didn’t know how long it would be until she was done. He changes out of his scrubs and into his regular clothes, bidding a short goodbye to Meredith, who laid sprawled out on the attendings lounge couch, grumbling that she was trying to sleep and he was making too much noise to allow her to do so.
Adjusting his old, ratty jacket on his shoulders, he slips his phone, wallet, and keys into his pocket, making his way up to the daycare where the littlest Karev was waiting. The worker, Patricia gives him a warm smile, sliding the sign out sheet across the counter. 
“Hey Doctor Karev! Picking up I'm assuming?” she gestures towards his attire, making him nod in response.
“Yeah. I know Jo usually finishes first on Fridays, but she got called in at the last minute.” he says, which earns him an understanding chuckle. 
“Well, I’ll be right out. She was just taking a brief nap, but don’t worry, she’s only been down for about fifteen minutes or so.” she reassures him.  
He nods, shoving his hands in his jeans, pulling out his phone and checking the time. 7:23 pm. It was getting closer to his daughter’s bedtime, so it would make sense that she would start to be getting tired. Alex smiles at his lockscreen, a picture of him, Jo, and their little girl at her two year old birthday party a few months ago. Jo had gone all out, decorating their yard with extravagant streamers, decorative backdrops, and a huge bouncy house. In the picture that stared back at him, Jo and their freshly two year old toddler were both wearing pink, Jo’s in the form of a sheer blouse, and their daughter’s in a frilly dress that Jo spent way more money than she should’ve on. Alex matched, wearing a pink tie and white button down. He had refused immensely at first, but after much pleading from the tiny girl, he gave in. Because what kind of father could say no to puppy dog eyes?
“Daddy!” he sees the little bundle of blue run towards him, causing him to sweep down and pull her into his arms, bunching the thick fabric she was wearing. 
“KK!” he exclaims, matching her enthusiasm, taking the backpack from Patricia, giving a silent nod to her as a way to say both ‘thank you’ and ‘goodnight’.   
His daughter bounced in his arms as they made their way through the door, asking to be let down a few seconds later. Donned in a Cinderella dress up gown and purple converse, Katrina Karev started to race down the hallway in all her glory, the mini ponytail that Jo had done that morning swinging from side to side as she prompted Alex to come catch her. He lets out a small laugh, jogging to catch up to her before she can potentially get in the way of nurses coming in and out of rooms, scooping her up again, making her let out a loud squeal and turn into a fit of giggles. 
“C’mon Kitty-Kat, we gotta go home.” he places her on the ground, holding her tiny hand in his. “No running. What have Mommy and I told you?”
Katrina sighs, puffing out her lips dramatically. “No running in hossal.” she grumbles. She had trouble pronouncing words that had a sharp sound to them, like ‘p’, ‘t’, and ‘j’, but both Alex and Jo found it quite adorable.  
“That’s right. Because Mommy and Daddy’s friends are working really hard to help everyone, and we don’t want to get in their way, right Kat?” he reminds her of the rules, because as much as both he and Jo wished that they could say that their child was perfectly well behaved, she wasn’t. It was simply what having a kid was like. He’d never met a child who listened to every word their parent’s said, followed every rule, and never talked back. And despite what so many different television programs liked to show, it was completely normal for kids to be that way, no matter how crazy it drove the adults. 
Kat murmurs in response, taking on her Dad’s grumpy persona. She wanted to run! She’d been inside of daycare with Scout all day, playing with blocks and crayons, which meant that she was stuck sitting. She wasn’t allowed to play tag in the circle room, no matter how much she asked Miss Lynn.
The duo makes their way to Alex’s car, unlocking it before lifting her up and strapping Katrina into her carseat, brushing back a couple strands of hair that had fallen in her face. He slides his way into his drivers side, revving up the car when Kat speaks from the back. 
“Music Daddy, music!” she cheers, a crooked grin across her face as she bounces around in her seat. 
Alex lets out a breath. As much as he loved his daughter, listening to the same exact Disney princess songs over and over were less than enjoyable. So far this week, he’d heard Let It Go twelve times, You're Welcome ten, and Be Our Guest seven, and those were just the most popular ones. He begrudgingly picks up his phone and puts on Into the Unknown, thankful that this was only his second time hearing it in the last couple of days. He swore that if Kat asked him to listen to Dyawne Johnson singing that damn song one more he was going to hurl himself out of the car. 
Little hums come from the backseat during certain parts of the song, and when the chorus plays through the car he mentally prepares himself for the yells that were to come. Poor Kat couldn’t sing, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. What kind of monster tells his two year old daughter that she sounded like a dying cat? Katrina Karev was good at a lot of things, (math, spelling, and playing dress-up just to name a few) singing just wasn’t one of them. 
With a more than relieved sigh he pulls into the driveway, turning off the car, and therefore the music. Whatever tiredness the toddler was feeling before had gone down the drain, so he knew it would be a while before he would be able to get her to bed. Kat unbuckles herself, getting out of the car and playing hopscotch with the homemade chalk version she and Jo made on the walkway up to the house’s door. She hops from one foot to the other, and Alex had never been more grateful for the fact that she had a good sense of balance. The last thing he wanted was Jo to come home to a bloody kneed Kat and have to explain to her that she fell while doing hopscotch. Honestly, he didn’t even think kids played that game anymore, but when Jo pulled out the sidewalk chalk a few days prior and started drawing, Kat was immediately hooked, and used every opportunity she could to hop across the little squares. Jo laughed when she saw how entranced the girl was, telling Alex that she had been the same way when she was a bit older, and the only thing that got her through some of the tougher houses was when she would go down the road and create a hopscotch game of her own. It became such a comfort in fact, that the tradition continued until she was a teenager. She told him that it would only seem right to share that little bit of joy from her childhood with her daughter.  
They make their way up the steps and Alex unlocks the door, flipping on the light switch as soon as it swings open. Chilly air greets them, since the house hadn’t been in use since earlier that day, and the temperature had been in the low fifties the past week in Seattle. He lets Kat toddle up the stairs, walking over to the thermostat that sat the hallway and cranking it up, knowing that if there was one thing his wife liked coming home to more than her family, it was her family in a warm and toasty house. 
“KK, you hungry?” he calls from the kitchen, being able to faintly hear footsteps padding around upstairs. He winces when he hears something thud to the ground, but assumes it was either Kat or her backpack. 
“Yeah!” the girl cheers from upstairs, causing Alex to chuckle and pull out some box mac and cheese from the cupboard. Kat had been a particularly picky eater lately, much to her parent’s annoyance, and had acquired a taste for a very limited amount of foods. Thankfully, she still liked mac and cheese, which was one of the few things both he and Jo could cook. Alex had gotten significantly better at cooking over the past year or so, but Jo was just as helpless as she was when she was in high school. Either way, both of them preferred takeout, but that wasn’t always an option when they had a two year old they had to take care of. 
“I’m making mac and cheese, change out of your clothes, put your jammies on, clean up your room, and it should be done by the time you are.” he calls up the steps, taking Kat heard him when a groan is what he received in response. Kat was all Jo in the fact that she was incredibly sassy, and not to mention stubborn. She was fine with changing into her pajamas, but she hated cleaning up her room. The way she saw it, it was like one big painting, with all of her toys and books scattered around, but to her parents, it looked like a tornado had come and hit her bedroom. No matter how many times the two of them put everything away, a couple days later Kat’s room only seemed to have gotten messier. Maybe they could blame it on the terrible twos, except rather than having her act out behavior wise, it was a complete destruction to her room. 
He pours the water into the pot, waiting for it to boil before adding the noodles. He pulls out his phone, skimming through emails and texts while the noodles cook, noticing a text from Jo that says that she just got off and was now heading home. 
Once the noodles were done, he pours in the cheese packet, followed by the milk and butter. He felt his mouth water, hunger from the day finally catching up to him. He was grateful that the box was large and Kat was so young, so that meant he could steal some of her dinner, and thankfully still have enough left over for Jo if she wanted some too. The last thing he had to eat was a small snack before his surgery hours ago. When the food finally came together, he turns off the stove, picking out a pink plastic bowl from the cabinet for Kat and a regular glass one for him. It was kind of funny how much their cupboards changed once they had their daughter. Half of what they owned was plastic and princess themed, cheap little things bought from places like the ninety-nine cent store. They quickly realized that the printed patterned bowls and cups from dollar stores worked just as well as the ten dollar four pack they purchased. Plastic spoons littered the drawers rather than just metal, little stars and hearts on the end of them different than tiny, intricate designs that they had gotten used to, since after their honeymoon they realized that one of the gifts they were registered for was real, fancy silverware. He liked those plastic spoons much more though. After all, the smile Kat got on her face when she asked for a princess spoon or fork never failed to melt his heart. 
Just as he placed Kat’s bowl on the island counter, the little girl comes bumbling down the stairs, dressed in her favorite Cinderella nightgown and stuffed monkey clutched in her hand. She practically runs to her stool, making grabby hands so Alex knew she needed to be picked up. He does so, placing her in the seat before she digs into her food, smiling as if it was the best mac and cheese she’s ever tasted. She shovels the food into her mouth, getting it all over her face, finishing it even quicker than Alex, all while talking about her day in daycare in only a way a parent would be able to understand. 
He laughs to himself, wetting a paper towel and wiping off her face, which proves to be a struggle because Kat couldn’t stop giggling. “Go put on some TV, I’ll clean up in here and we’ll watch something ‘till Mama gets home.” he ruffles her hair, messing up her ponytail, and Kat wastes no time before scurrying off the chair and dashing into the living room, climbing up on the couch and turning on the television, an old episode rerun of Max and Ruby playing. 
Alex finishes up in the kitchen, washing the bowls before putting them in the dishwater and starting it, since it was now a full load. He walks up the stairs to his and Jo’s room, throwing on a pair of pajama pants and a shirt before settling down on the couch, pulling his daughter close to him. Kat immediately snuggles into his side, taking a tiny fist and bawling it into his shirt, something she’d been doing since she was a baby. (Katrina would always be a baby in his eyes, it didn't matter how old she got.) 
Around halfway through the episode, he feels the little hand unclench his shirt, fingers start to violently attack his neck in strokes. He lets out a laugh, looking towards Kat, “What are you doing silly girl?” he grins. 
“Tickling you Daddy!” she cheers, continuing to try to get a laugh off of him. 
He opens his mouth dramatically, eyes widening as he takes in her delighted giggles. “Oh, Kitty-Kat, you don’t know what you’ve just done,” he sighs. Kat stops, looking up at her dad, confused. 
“You’ve unleashed,” he meets her eyes, breaking out into a wide smile, “the tickle monster!” he pulls her towards his tickling her feet, sides, and neck all at once, the little girl's loud laughs filling the air. 
“No tickle monster daddy!” she squeals, squirming around, trying to stop the attack on her sides, laughs echoing off the empty house. 
At that moment, Alex makes eye contact with a grinning Jo, who was just stepping through the front door. At the sound of her daughter’s laughs she felt wide awake, and she knew that by Alex’s mischievous look she could join in on the fun. She silently heads toward the couch, plopping down and starting her own fingers assault on the little one’s sides. 
“Mommy help!” Kat squirms once she sees her mom, looking directly at her with eyes that were a mirror image of her own. 
Jo pulls the girl into her arms, planting a big kiss on her head, leaving behind remnants of her cherry chapstick. “Mommy’ll save you KK,” she grins, only to bite her lip and pull away. 
“But Mommy is a tickle monster too!” she flips Kat around with ease, bringing her little feet up to her face and blowing raspberries on them like she did when she was still a baby. 
“No no Mommy no!” the girl giggles, thrashing around in a failed attempt to wiggle out of her grasp. Just to her luck, her dad decides to join in again, giggles turning into loud laughs that came from her little belly, a grin so wide neither one of them had ever seen it before. 
“I’m gonna eat you!” Jo presses little kisses all up the girls, legs acting as if they were bites, making her laugh even more in the process. Jo gnaws at the skin, making pops with her lips and clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Mmm,” she hums face scrunching up playfully, “delicious” she grins, the sound of her daughter giggles filling her ears until it was all she could hear.  
Alex and Jo share a look. This was one of those moments, the ones where all they wanted to do was just pause time and stay in this one freeze-frame for the rest of their lives. It was moments like these they wanted Kat to stay this way forever, this perfect age and unconditional love she had for everything. 
But for now, these pure, unfiltered moments of happiness were all they would need.
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The last meet-cute I asked you for was so good and I saw this prompt on someone else’s blog so if it sparks anything: “We’re both hiding in the garden furniture section of IKEA”
do you ever see a prompt and just have a full fucking fic pop into your head? just me? ok. 
here’s some fluffy-trope-y-nonsense! also saw you just had lasik sorry if reading this unedited nonsense makes you go blind again xoxo
When it came to IKEA, Eddie was typically a messy person. Normally, he relied on one of two things if he needed to stay focused; a thorough, detailed list, or Christopher, who had absolutely no patience for Eddie wandering through a literal warehouse of crap, designing for a home he didn’t buy.
Which was rough, considering his current mission—buy some new furniture for Chris’s room for his birthday. Which meant he had no list, no sense of direction, and no Christopher to keep him on track. That would normally spell a recipe for a distracted disaster—but he was so focused, so determined to get this right, that he was confident in his shopping abilities for once. He had to be, he only had two hours until Carla brought Chris home, and two hours wasn’t enough for an IKEA visit on a normal day. So he had to be focused.
He’s so focused, in fact, that as he passes by the Poäng’s and the Fjällbo’s, he almost doesn’t notice the man in the plants.
And no, that isn’t something that he can clarify. 
There is a man. In. The plants. 
What?
He tries to walk away, but the image of a tallish, blondish, beefyish, honestly pretty cuteish if Eddie is being honest, fully grown adult hiding in the plastic bamboo is a bit too much for him to ignore.
“You know, those plants are fake. If you’re trying to check the soil, they’re definitely not gonna need water any time soon.”
He tries not to laugh as Plant Man immediately stumbles, nearly knocking over a Smycka, a Fejka, and a whole case of hanging planters as he turns around. It’s cute. Kinda sad, but cute.
“Oh! Uh, yeah, I kind of figured. I mean, they’re realistic looking, but definitely fake. No, I’m—I’m hiding.”
Hiding? This was an IKEA, a place where you could get lost without even trying. 
“You’re hiding.”
“Yeah. My ex is here.”
Oooooohh. That, Eddie could understand. 
It was easy enough to spot who he thought was the culprit, if the harrowed look on her face and half empty yellow bag was anything to go by. 
“Shorter, redhead, kind of sloppy smokey eye, looks like she would stab someone with a high heel?”
Plant Guy laughed, but the sound didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah, that’s Taylor.”
Eddie pretended to be engrossed in his phone as he looked over to the stranger again, tilting his head to the side. 
“Well, I’ll tell you what. If you agree to help me load what I buy into my truck, and get me a plate of meatballs before we leave—the full size plate, by the way, I’m not settling for less than ten meatballs—I’ll help you get rid of her for good. I’m Eddie, by the way.”
“I’m Buck.” Plant guy—Buck—looked like Eddie had just handed him a goose that laid golden eggs. “For good? No, way. You can really do that?”
“I can.” Eddie said seriously, extending a hand to Buck. “But you have to trust me. My methods may be extreme, but I can almost guarantee results.”
A bit dramatic, maybe, but he still found himself smiling as Buck easily took his hand, taking a moment to savor the warmth. A sharp tug was all he needed to pull Buck up and out of the plants, making a sort of yelping noise, stumbling over a row of Boysenbär pots as Eddie put a hand on his hip, helping him steady. 
The effect was instantaneous—while the noise wasn’t loud, it was just enough to draw the attention of anyone who happened to be searching through the warehouse already. 
Eddie could feel the redhead’s eyes laser lock onto him as he steadied Buck’s hips, his opposite hand coming to cup Buck’s cheek. 
“Sweetheart, you okay?” He plastered what he hoped was a look of concern on his face as Buck turned bright red, something that thankfully could be attributed to his stumbling, and not the fact that a near stranger was calling him ‘sweetheart’. He was mercifully quick on the uptake, at least, a smile blooming over his face as he chuckled, ducking his head, pressing into Eddie’s hand a bit more, and oh, wow, that was fucking adorable.
“Yeah, I’m good, sorry, I just… thanks, baby.”
Eddie chuckled as he dropped the hand from Buck’s face, the hand on his hip lacing with Buck’s instead, tugging him along. “C’mon, I want to look at a new lamp for the living room. We need something brighter, and as much as your smile lights up a room, I’m tired of stubbing my toe in the morning.” Eddie said, pulling that story directly out of his ass, hoping that he was selling the ‘teasing boyfriend’ aspect as he pulled Buck along.
It was purely coincidence that the route to the lighting section of the warehouse was only a row away from the redhead that was currently glaring daggers into Eddie’s back. 
Once they turned the corner, Eddie let his hand slide out of Buck’s easily, the air a little cooler than he was expecting after being so close to someone so hot something so warm. 
“Holy shit, that was amazing.” Buck blurted out, looking at Eddie like he hung the moon, and yeah, Eddie could admit, he preened a little under the admiring gaze.
“There you go. You’ve just earned yourself a harassment free shopping experience.” Eddie said proudly, winking as he took a few steps back, snatching up a yellow bag and tossing it over his shoulder easily. Buck still looked a little flustered, and honestly, it was cuter than anything Eddie could have hoped for—but the tick of his watch brought him back to his mission. “Hey, I hate to scare off an ex and run, but I gotta make some quick choices, so...”
“Oh! Oh, uh, for sure. Thanks again, Eddie.”
“No problem. Good luck, Buck.” Eddie winked for good measure as he turned around, feeling warmth pool in his stomach. He hadn’t had that much fun flirting since before he was married, and while he worried occasionally that he lost his touch, the blush on Buck’s face begged to differ.
--
Eddie was making good time. He had narrowed it down to two potential presents—it was either a Vitval bunkbed / loft, complete with a desk and a physical-therapist-approved ladder, and Eddie knew that Chris had been dying for a bunkbed for forever, but... on the other hand, there was the Phal workspace, with plenty of drawers, shelves, and surfaces for Chris to completely drown with his pictures, Legos, arts and crafts. 
He had been stuck between the two—literally, standing between both display models—when he felt a hand slide into his own, blinking in surprise, a low voice in his ear before he could turn. 
“Sorry, uh, she followed me out of textiles. I’m so sorry, this is super weird, I just can’t shake her off, and—”
“Phal or Vitval?” Eddie asked, cutting him off, raising a brow as Buck just blinked.
“Uh, gesundheit?”
“Very funny.” Eddie said, squeezing Buck’s hand, tilting his head between the two. “I’ve been stuck here for like twenty minutes, and you’ve been no help, leaving me just so you could get your...” A quick peek into Buck’s bag told him everything he needed to know. “...artwork and lightbulbs. Which should we go with? Phal or Vitval?”
Buck blanched at that and Eddie let himself chuckle, shaking his head as Buck groaned. “Come on, Eddie, you know I’m no good at making decisions. I don’t even remember which toothpaste I like, I rely on you for things like that.” he said, and Eddie had to admit, he was impressed with the little tidbits of information Buck was throwing into their faux-relationship so easily. If this Taylor chick was still in earshot, Eddie would have bet that she was just plain pissed by now.
“I know, I know. You really are hopeless, aren’t you?” Eddie said with an exaggerated sigh, bringing their linked hands up to his cheek, pressing Buck’s knuckles against the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t intimate enough to be a kiss, not really, but to the casual bystander it would have looked like a simple show of affection, kissing his boyfriends knuckles in the middle of an IKEA. 
As he pulled the hand back, he did a quick scan around them—no redheads in sight. “I think your coast is clear—is she still hanging around?”
Snapping himself out of what looked like a trance, Buck blushed again—Eddie could get really used to that—and looked around, shaking his head. “No, I think she’s gone, um. Thanks again. And sorry. Again.” he said, their hands falling free again. Buck was the one to retreat this time, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. “I should, uh, probably go back and grab the dish set I had to ditch, but If you want my opinion, you should definitely go with the Flem.”
“Buck,” Eddie started, trying and failing to keep the smile off of his face and the laughter out of his voice as Buck turned away. “That was not an option!”
“Sorry, can’t hear you! Go with the Flem!”
--
In the end, Eddie had wound up buying both—Chris was turning ten, damn it, Eddie was allowed to treat him—and finished up ahead of schedule, swinging by the restaurant to make sure he had everything before he started the trek out to the parking garage. He was double checking his receipt when a tray clunked down across from him, two plates of meatballs sliding his way as his brows rose up into his hairline. 
Buck sat down shortly after, looking incredibly too apologetic as he handed Eddie a fork. “Sorry, she kind of followed me away from the register, and I saw you here, and... I did promise you meatballs, right?” he offered, and Eddie actually laughed, resting his head in his hand as he took the fork Buck offered, raising a meatball to Buck’s lips to help keep up posterity—and immediately stealing one from Buck’s plate for himself afterward. “So, Buck. What do you do when you’re not hiding in fake bamboo?”
It was incredibly easy to talk to Buck, Eddie found, dangerously easy. They had a fair amount in common, turned out—both had older sisters, Buck with one while Eddie had three, both spent a good amount of time at the gym when they weren’t at home, and Buck had spent some time with the SEALs while Eddie was in the Army.
They even worked together, in a sense—Buck was a firefighter with the 118 while Eddie was a paramedic with Station 6.
“...though I promise, I did not come to IKEA to enlist the help of a handsome paramedic in avoiding an ex girlfriend that literally might be Satan in disguise. I just needed some art to cover a drill hole in my wall before my landlord kills me.”
Eddie almost swallowed his fork, feeling a certain thrill build up inside of him—Buck was flirting. Flirting with Eddie! Eddie hadn’t been flirted with in an age and a half, but as much as he wanted it to continue, he knew that it would be unfair for him to let it continue without addressing the childs-bunk-bed-sized elephant in the room. “Well, much as I hate to admit it, I didn’t come to IKEA today to help a firefighter run away from Satan either. I’m here today buying some furniture for my kid. It’s his birthday next week.”
Eddie squared his jaw, watching Buck process the information, ready for the easy let down. “You have a son?”
Here it comes. Oh, well it was nice meeting you. Oh, well thanks again. Oh, enjoy your day, Oh—
“Do, um. Do you have pictures of him? I love kids.”
... oh. 
Any hesitation Eddie might have felt melted way as he brought his phone back up, easily scrolling through endless pictures of Chris, paying painful attention to the way Buck’s eyes grew wider than his smile.
Oh, no. 
Buck wasn’t just hot, he was cute.
--
Eddie had to admit; after Buck helped him load the furniture into the bed of his truck, true to his word, and Eddie had scribbled his number out on Buck’s hand with a hot pink marker (the hazards of sharing a vehicle with a kid), he wasn’t sure what he should be expecting. What he definitely wasn’t expecting was a message to be waiting on his phone as soon as he started his truck.
Unknown Number, 11:01 AM: so maybe i have a confession to make
Sent, 11:03 AM: Maybe?
Eddie couldn’t deny the spike of curiosity he felt with that, taking a moment to save Buck’s number in his phone as the three dots appeared again.
Buck, 11:05 AM: yes, maybe. taylor maybe actually left when you pulled me out of the plants
i didn’t see her again for the rest of the day
i was just kind of... being self indulgent after that
wow this sounds way creepier than i thought i am so sorry
Literally laughing out loud in his car, Eddie let himself reread the message twice, a smile growing on his face as he typed out a response.
Sent, 11:09 AM: Tell you what. You help me build these monstrosities, maybe bring over a beer, maybe let me kiss you goodnight, and I promise I won’t hold your awkward flirting against you.
He felt another thrill race through his stomach as he sent the message, putting his truck in gear, not trusting himself to look down as his phone buzzed again until he was safely at a stop light.
Buck, 11:11 AM: it’s a date :) :) :) :)
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fishylife · 3 years
Text
Street Dance of China S4 Ep 3
(I’m having problems with Tumblr not saving my posts...)
- Oh no people are going to start getting eliminated! :o Well, I’m still really glad that we had two whole episodes of people just dancing and having fun and getting the opportunity to showcase who they are and how they dance.
- This question just occurred to me, but where do people look when they watch dance performances? As I watched the Go Go Brothers, I was thinking to myself, “Where do I look? If I look at one of them, I might miss what the other Brother is doing!” Just my musings lol.
- I am super shallow but people tripping makes me laugh, so yes, Nelson accidentally tripping did make me chuckle. (+ Rochka’s reaction)
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- Yibo and Yixing discussing the SDOC theme song. It made me laugh because the lyrics are kind of hype but Yibo and Yixing aren’t exactly the most facially expressive people lol.
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- After every performance Henry’d be like “let’s collaborate!!!!!!” Han Geng finally stepped in being like aight Henry you gotta take it easy on the recruitment because we’ve literally only seen three performances. I’m still not really sure of the format of the show from now on, so I’m not sure if they form new teams afterwards.
- Yixing was so guilty about not giving Bouboo a vote.
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- Rochka’s shock @ Boubou not getting four votes.
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- He’s ashamed.
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- I think if a dancer gets less than 4 votes, then other dancers are allowed to challenge them for a spot to advance, but whoever loses is eliminated out of the tournament, so you have to be super confident to challenge. And if a dancer only gets 1 or 2 votes, they are eliminated.
- Yibo asked Rochka why he wouldn’t challenge Bouboo and Rochka said he’d never go against his teacher/big brother v.v They exchanged hearts but then Rochka pretended to throw the heart away and crush it lol.
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- While I was expecting a bit more from Bouboo, I don’t think his challenger JC Jun was better than him. JC Jun was kind of wobbly, and I think his dance didn’t match the music as well as Bouboo’s did.
- Yixing had his head down when he voted for Ibuki too, so I think he just gets nervous about voting.
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- Henry wanted to say that Ibuki was like lightning but he said the word for a flashing light/disco light and Han Geng wanted to give him shit for it.
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- Yixing said that he thought AC’s waacking almost felt like krump.Yixing said that if he was to collaborate with AC, AC should do the arm swing, and Yixing would do the waacking lol. I am all for seeing Yixing doing more dance styles! Not gonna lie, I think he’d look cute doing waacking.
- Ye Yin’s performance was really nice! The music was unique and the way he danced, with the tap dance and folk-like elements really suited it.
- Rochka said he wants to know Ye Yin more and said they also have the same smile.
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- Xiao Jie said he’d never battle Ye Yin but he got peer pressured by the captains into freestyling to Ye Yin’s self-produced song lol.
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- To show face, you know? The entire time he was like “but this doesn’t count, okay?!!!!” since he wasn’t actually challenging Ye Yin, and it was just for funsies.
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- The judges were a bit troubled by Xiaoming’s performance because at the end, he was supposed to fall but his fall wasn’t coordinated with the sound effect in the music. Xiaoming was like yeah, it’s pretty difficult but I’m hoping that my challenger wouldn’t be able to get it too and Yixing was laughing his goose laugh. But Xiaoming was eliminated with zero votes in the end.
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- Kelo and Uwa had a horror mental hospital-themed dance which was interesting. Kelo said it was based on a nightmare he had as a child.
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- Yang Kai wasn’t impressed though. He said he’d performed something similar with Liangliang before. He felt that Kelo and Uwa were performing but not really dancing. I can see where he’s coming from. Kelo and Uwa got three votes.
- Xiaohai ended up challenging them. He used the wheelchair too but like...somehow his expression just makes us unable to not laugh.
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- I think he did really well considering he’d only heard the music once. And he returned to the wheelchair at the end of the performance lmfao
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- Apparently when Xiaohai was looking up at the beginning, he was asking Li Yulong (who I assume is the person in charge of the music) for music cues but Li Yulong just laughed at him lol.
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- Yibo basically said that Kelo and Uwa’s performance felt a bit abrupt in the story telling side, and that there weren’t really highs and lows to their performance.
- Rochka was talking crap about Bouboo behind his back and Yibo tattled which resulted in Rochka getting whacked in the face.
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- Zyko taught Yibo and Rochka how to do his fancy leg moves.
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- Yixing talking krump with Auju. Auju was like you’re really good for someone who’s only been learning for a year, but then Yixing was like, I practise 6 hours a day and Auju was like ?!?!
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- Zyko + Henry (with Henry’s infamous “getting down while playing violin” move)
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- Poppin’C introduced himself, saying he was from Italy and Switzerland, and Yibo and Yixing were thinking of all the things from Italy they knew. Yibo was like “...Valentino Rossi...” and Yixing was like “....pizza.....” These two spacey twinks istg.
- Anyway, Poppin’C’s performance was nice. Not only were his moves clean and impressive, but he also expressed the lyrics through his dance.
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- Rochka fanboying over Poppin’C’s dance :P At one point, the lyrics were about hearts, and Poppin’C did some moves where he made a heart and Rochka here is saying how cute it was.
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- Poppin’C said he missed his daughter and everybody’s like ?? a baby??? :3 :3 :3
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- Also, I saw Uwa in the audience, so I think that the eliminated contestants get to continue watching.
- Poppin’C said that before, he was more fierce, but now that he has a daughter, he’s a little smoother and sweeter :3 Also he was describing that the singer’s voice in the song made his skin feel like chicken and everybody was like ??? Luckily Yixing saved the day lol. In Chinese, goose bumps are called “chicken pimples” or something like that.
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- Bozi was next. In his introduction, Bozi said he was from Guangzhou, and maybe that’s why it sounded like so many people in the audience were pronouncing 波子 in Cantonese.
- Eleven said something very interesting about B-boys. He said that in their profession of dance, they don’t fear b-boys who can do tricks, but they fear b-boys who can listen to music. I think it’s a reference to the fact that b-boys are often doing their own thing and disregard the music, which makes sense. Sometimes b-boys are closer to gymnasts because they are so focused on the spins and other really athletic moves they do. But because their moves are so difficult, they sometimes don’t move to the music which is supposed to be the point of dancing.
- Bozi passed with 4 votes. And he did a bit of krump at the beginning, which Yixing admitted he fell for haha. Bozi said that Eleven helped him choreograph that part, so it’s Eleven who knows Yixing well >3
- The director asked Bozi who he thought his biggest b-boy rival on the show was. Of course, we all thought he was going to say Lil Kev, but he ended up saying Xiaoji and Xiaoji was like ?? me?? Bozi’s reasoning was that he’s more troubled by dancers with a different style from him because he doesn’t know how to beat them. From the small clips they showed, I think Xiaoji has a more animated style, whereas Bozi is more serious and reserved.
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- Acky-san cheering on MT Pop lol. (”Embarrassing dad at baseball game” mode activate)
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- MT Pop has really impressed me in the competition so far though. The way he moves is so cool and creative. I think he purposely goes for a kind of...monster vibe? Like he often has this creepy smile on his face lol. He’s not only dancing, but he’s using popping techniques to change how he moves entirely, including simple things like walking or how he turns his head. I think MT Pop is my favourite contestant.
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- He said the monster from Pan’s Labrynth inspired this dance. So I guess I was kind of right that he does draw inspiration from monsters and other creatures.
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- Low key mad at Han Geng for not giving MT Pop his vote lol. Geng-ge said he wanted to give someone a chance to challenge. Of all people, why MT Pop?? I don’t want him to goooo.
- Henry wanted to try doing the voiceover for the challenger and Han Geng indulged his overdramatic ass.
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- Baby Dolphin challenged. He had some cool moves at the beginning, but I think he fell apart a bit towards the end, based on the judges’ reactions (as we didn’t see the full performance). Plus, I think MT Pop’s approach to dancing is just too unique and interesting to eliminate at this point.
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- Kabamba had an interesting performance that had African and Latin influences, with big and energetic movements. Tianci challenged but he went with a general hip hop approach which did not suit the music at all. (I looked up Kabamba. Her name is Latrice Kabamba, but she also goes by 林珊娜 on her social media, which is why she’s sometimes called Nana on the show).
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- Acky-san was repeating everything that people were saying around him. Stuff like jiayou!! and other words of encouragement. Dianmen who was sitting next to him was just lol’ing.
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- Ma Xiaolong was performing to a song called 棋 and this word usually refers to any kind of board game. Ma Xiaolong’s first moves looked like he was putting pieces on a board and you just know that kind of stuff draws Yixing’s attention right away.
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- I think Kenken’s style of dance is the kind of dance that the general public would really enjoy. Whereas some kinds of dance don’t really appeal to people who aren’t into dance, I think Kenken’s kind of dance will attract both the dance-conscious people as well as those who aren’t. I definitely got that vibe from him in the dance that he choreographed, and also his individual performance.
- Not even gonna question this. Perfection. Rochka catboy here we go.
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- Okay, I agree with Colin’s performance not making the cut. Based on his introduction, he was supposed to be a popping expert, but his dance didn’t showcase that. His dance was more of a contemporary dance piece, but while we’ve had performances similar to that, his choreography didn’t stand out in comparison. After his performance he had a bit of a cry. Yixing mentioned that it was hard to judge because of the emotional aspect. But admittedly, this emotional stuff is usually the reason why I don’t like competition shows. It was revealed that Colin had lost his grandfather. Now, I’m going to sound cold, but I don’t like it when sob stories are brought in, because it makes us feel bad when we don’t like a piece of art that comes from very pure intentions. Yixing’s reasoning for not giving a vote was that he felt that the emotions overshadowed the dance, which is a problem because this is a show about dance. Han Geng’s reasoning was that he felt that the skill level could have been better. Yibo was quite moved by the performance, and I think that’s why he gave his vote to Colin.
- We got a preview for this week’s hotpot show.
- Yixing and his emotional support giant cup
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- Lots of laughing (including Yixing laughing) which is good for the soul
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caitlyn-winchester · 3 years
Text
Pilot (Part 2)
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Cordell Walker x daughter!Reader
word count: 1,554
warnings: dead parent, abandonment?, mentions of deportation
A.N. sorry I haven't been that active about updating this story. I had some school assignments to complete(and still do). this past week I just been very unmotivated to do anything. I'll try to post more! Thank u for your patience.
masterlist
“What are we doing out here again?” Bel asked me as we hopped over a fence that led to an open field.
“Just looking at the stars, I guess. My mom used to take me out here all the time, especially on a full moon.” I told her, sitting down on the grass
“Full moon, like tonight.” she realized.
“Yeah.” I pulled out my leather-bound sketchbook and markers. “She let me draw the starscape while she took some pictures on her camera. I've drawn every single full moon since I was ten, I've missed a couple since she passed. The first couple of months were difficult to get myself to come out here. She even made this sketchbook” I explained. Bel put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I was so lucky to have her, she is an amazing friend.
“She sounds amazing Y/N. I wish I could meet her.” She said and I just nodded. “Can I see your drawings?”
“Sure.” I handed her the book and she started to flip through the pages
“You're really good” she complimented
“Thanks.” I gave a small smile. I layed down on the grass and looked at the stars. It's been a little while and we’ve been talking, looking at the stars or I've been doodling the sky. We heard hard footsteps in the distance and looked over to see someone running in our direction. “What the hell? I breathed out and sat up. As the person got closer I recognized the person. It’s Ryan Marshall from school.
“Ryan?” Bel said when he was just about to pass us but he stopped when he heard his name.
“Hey guys!” he slurred. I rolled my eyes, great he’s drunk.
“Hey! You! Stop!” We heard from the same direction Ryan came from. Two police officers came running over and Ryan took off again. One police officer continued to chase ryan but the other stopped and looked at us.
“What are you ladies doing out here? Were y’all also at that party down the block.” he asked us pointing a flashlight at us. I put my hand out to block my eyes. Does he really gotta shine that thing directly in my face?
“No sir, we were just stargazing. We never stepped foot in that party. You can test us if you'd like.” I explained and Bel agreed with my statement.
“No, you guys don't seem drunk or anything. But you are trespassing.” he told us.
“Trespassing? I thought this was a public field.” I blurted.
“Last month this field was issued for game only during this season. You can only be on this field if you have a hunting license.” he explained “I’ll have to take you into the station for trespassing.”
“Can’t you let us off with a warning? We had no idea and you have no signs up!” I jabbed
“Sorry missy its protocol.” He read us our rights and asked us if we had any weapons and all the other police crap that's part of their ‘protocol’.
»»————- ★ ————-««
Currently we are at the police station waiting for our parents to pick us up. Bel told me about her parents and how they might get deported since she was brought in. I feel terrible, I has no idea they changed the field over for a stupid game season. Just another thing I messed up. Luckily Stan Morrison was able to drop our charges since I explained exactly what happened and he understood. Unfortunately, we were taking in so our parents must pick us up since we are minors. We were waiting for probably a good thirty minutes when I saw my dad round the corner. I’m shocked he actually showed up, that’s a new one. I do really want to jump up and hug him but something in me is just mad at him for leaving us so I can’t bring myself to. Also being picked up at a police station was not my ideal first meeting of my dad after his absence.
“And here he is to save the day” I say under my breath.
“Good to see you too.” He said and approached us.
“Dad, this is Bel. Can we take her home?” I asked him.
“No. minors have to be picked up by their parents.”
“Well i’m not just leaving her here.”
“Then you can stay in a cell here tonight.”
Bel’s parents enter the police station. Dad takes his hat off and approaches them.
“It’s good to meet ya’ll. I've been out of town for a while so I don't really know Y/N’s social life. We should spend some time together.” he says.
“Stop it.” I whisper. He can't be serious right now.
“...Seems like the girls got into some trouble tonight so maybe we could help each other out.” he explains. Bella’s parents don't say anything as another police officer calls them back.
“Epic first meeting.” Bel sighs.
“I’m sorry, this is so embarrassing.” I apologize for my dad’s actions.
“For who? Lets go.” Dad shot at me and I just rolled my eyes. I grabbed my sketchbook off the seat and gave Bel a quick hug before leaving the station with my dad.
»»————- ★ ————-««
The car ride home was an awkward one. Like what do I even say to him? ‘Nice to finally see you again after you abandoned us for almost a year’ I don't think that's the nicest thing to say. I felt sweet relief when I saw us pull up to my grandparents house. I took off my seat belt and opened the car door.
“Y/N,” dad warned. I stopped opening the door and started fidgeting with the edge of my sketchbook. “Want to tell me what the hell you were thinking?”
“I didn't know we were trespassing. There was no sign or anything to tell us pedestrians were not allowed on the field. Apparently they recently changed it or something, I don't know. Mom used to take me out to that field all the time. I didn't think anything of it.” I explained. He nodded in understanding.
“It's still dangerous. What if a hunter thought you were a deer and shot you? I don't like you out alone. I know you had Bel with you, but there's some bad people out there that can overpower you guys. I’d rather you be home for dinner with your family at night.” He told me.
“Oh like how you were home for dinner last night?” I challenged and he sighed. “Mom said you'd never be on a case too long.” I remarked.
“And I never meant to be.” dad said and I shook my head in disbelief. “This last case...it got complicated.” he explained.
“Complicated?” I scoffed. “A five minute phone call this summer, then nothing for three months! It’s bad enough we didn't have mom” I pointed out.
“We both gotta stop acting like she's going to come back.” he stated. I jumped out of the car and burst into tears. Uncle Liam was outside now and he tried to reach out to me but I ignored him. August was right in the living room when I entered the house.
“Y/N? What's wrong? What happened? Where’s dad” he asked me.
“Its nothing August. Just leave it alone.” I sniffed, trying my best to contain myself for my brother’s sake.
“Why were you at the police station? I thought you were just going to yours and mom’s spot?” he nagged on.
“I did. It's some kind of hunting ground now, you can’t go on it without a hunting license. You done with the twenty questions?” I snapped.
“Y/N, want to come have some leftovers?” my grandma asked me. Well she technically asked but she was actually telling me to get my ass over there.
“Sure Grams” I sighed and sat down by the kitchen island. She put down a plate of her famous pot roast and I dug in. While I ate she was cleaning up the kitchen.
“You’re not going to ask me what I did?” I inquired.
“No, because I know you’re a good, smart kid and you wouldn't do anything too damaging on purpose.” She offered me a kind smile. “Plus I know what tonight is with the full moon. I can put two and two together.” she laughed. Uncle Liam and dad walked in the house but I didn't hear them enter so I continued talking.
“Last month, they changed the field for ‘game hunting only’. I had no idea, so Bel and I got charged for trespassing. I can’t go out to that field anymore. Now I feel like another piece of mom is gone.” I confessed tears welling up in my eyes again.
“You can still go draw the stars, I know your mom would love for you to keep doing y'all's traditions. I'll even go out with you.” she offered.
“Thanks Grandma. I appreciate it, I really do, but it just wouldn't be the same.” I sighed.
“Not many things are going to be the same, Y/N.” she stated.
“I miss her so much.” I started sobbing. Grandma rounded the island and pulled me into a hug.
“I know you do sweetie.” she consoled, rubbing her hand in circles on my back, trying her best to comfort me.
A.N. sorry if you don't like to draw. Emily seemed like the type of parent that liked her kids to be creative, like August and photography. So I figured drawing could be what the reader and Emily did together. 
PART 3 OUT NOW
47 notes · View notes
obx-snippets · 4 years
Text
Honey & Glass ❀ Kiara Carrera
Summary: After a night of caring for baby sea turtles, y/n’s only light in her life is Kiara Carrera. But being a Thornton is a heavy crown to bear along with all the expectations.
Warning: cursing, (I think that’s it, let me know)
word count: 4.5k
Pairing: Kiara Carrera x female!reader
Masterlist
a/n: this is my first Kie one shot so hopfully you enjoy!  This fic is based off the song Little Miss Perfect. Stayed up till like 4 am writing this so I’m fried now. But leave feedback of your thoughts. 
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*^credits to owner^* ❀❀❀ The verdant hills of the country club golf course weren't as occupied this Sunday morning like it was on other days. The Camerons were scattered about, Rafe and Sarah arguing over a hole in one while Wheezie continually hit her ball until she made it into a nearby lake. Despite the distraction going on around them, the Thornton siblings were locked into their game. Standing atop a hill, Y/n was still as she lined up her wedged golf club with the small golf ball lying on the patch of grass. Topper stood just behind his sister, arms crossed over his blue polo clad chest. A smirk was playing on his lips as he watched his sister's eyes straining on the task at hand. She took the game all too seriously, and it was enjoyable to pester her whenever he had the chance.
Y/n was always known to be the perfect child out of the two. Her ponytails were always slicked back without so much as a stray hair escaping. Straight A's, straight forward, straight path, she doesn't cut corners. She made a point be on time and was even head of the student council at the Kook Academy. Unlike her sensitive turd of a brother who washes himself with girls affection and alcohol whenever he saw Sarah under John B's arm, she's never blacked out at a party. Not once. But even if she attended a party, it wouldn't be her taste considering she only ever jams to Paul McCartney.
Just when y/n was about to make the shot, Scarlet and Sarah wandered by, the blonde's friend passing her a disdainful look. That was the other thing about Y/n Thornton. She wasn't a wealthy Kook by birth. She was adopted when she was only two years old. And though they spoiled her rotten, she can't help but question what she did to get as far as she's gotten.
The scornful look didn't go unnoticed by Topper, and he spared her a glare. Scarlet mirrored his expression before she followed Sarah toward the lake to help Wheezie retrieve her golf ball.
Y/n knew they only hated her because she wasn't a true Kook, and she was blessed with a privileged family. She knew she had done nothing wrong but being little miss perfect wasn't always luxurious. Not when she was hiding a secret that would surely dishonor the family name laid upon her.
Unwinding the tension that built up in her shoulder, Y/n hit the golf ball gently and let it roll into the hole. She squealed slightly and hopped on her white tennis shoes. Topper slowly clapped from behind her, jutting his bottom lips to emphasize he was impressed. The bright smile on her face was worth seeing any day in Topper's opinion.
"Eat grass bitch," Y/n jeered in a drolled tone, bumping Topper's shoulder with her own.  
Topper scoffed at her, raising his hands as he walked to where she was standing just a few seconds ago, rolling his shoulder back to take his shot. "Watch how the real pro does it." he chucked with a smug grin, bringing his sister to roll her eyes.  
Y/n stood next to Topper, resting her weight on the golf club while the other rested on her knee. "Has anyone ever told you that you have shitty form?" she whispered tauntingly in her brother's ear.
Topper swung back, making his sister take a cautious step away before hitting the ball across the field. "I do not!" he said, pointing his gloved hand toward the ball he made into the hole." If anyone has shitty form, it's you!" he jested, hovering his club mockingly in her face before she smacked it away.  
"Whatever, Top, at least my ball never ended up in the lake." y/n sneered playfully over her shoulder as she trotted toward her ball with a skip in her step.
Topper lifted his hand and dropped his arms to his side, rolling his eyes as he followed her. "That was one time!"
The sibling played a few more rounds until Topper called it quits after y/n beat him the rest of the day, making two holes in ones. She had school the next morning anyway, and with the sky colored a deep purple, they thought it was time to turn in for the night.
With her hands swaying by her side, a yawn left y/n lips before she felt Topper bump her shoulder with his own. "So there's rumors going around at school that you've gotta crush on somebody." Topper's tone was hopeful, and the way he lifted his eyebrows suggestively brought her to scoff.
"Yeah, okay. Whatever." she shrugged, suddenly finding the velcro of her white loves quite fascinating.
"Come on! I'm your brother, you can tell me!"
Y/n laughed, letting her ponytail graze her cheek when she whipped her head up toward where Topper walked beside her. "Um, yeah, exactly, you're my brother, I don't really feel like you're the one I should go to for talking about my love life. It's kinda embarrassing."
Topper let his eyes linger on his sister for a moment before looking ahead of him where Rafe and Sarah drove by in their golf cart. The Cameron sibling tossed them a wave in greeting while the Thornton siblings nodded in response. Topper grin began to grow, and he spun on the sole of his foot to walk backward in front of his sister.
"Oh, I know, I know who it is," he said confidently.
Y/n snorted, amused to hear what Topper would pull out of his sleeve. No one would ever know who she had eyes for. She even tried to deny it herself—several times. "Do you now?" she nodded along with his game.
"Yup."
"Shoot then, wise guy."
"It's Rafe, isn't it?"
Y/n nearly choked on her saliva, and she passed her brother a bewildered look. "What- No! Absolutely not." she gasped, shoving him in the chest but to no avail as he stayed standing and laughed heartily at his sister's attempt to knock him down.
"What's wrong with Rafe?" he chuckled teasingly, prodding her on the rib, and opted to walk by her side again.
Once they arrived at his car, she kept her hand on the passenger side handle and glared at her brother through the windows as he stood on the other side. "Should I start alphabetically or chronologically?" she smiled caustically, and Topper mirrored her expression once he unlocked the car, and the two climbed inside.
She thought the discussion had dropped once they shut the doors, and the engine roared to life. But Topper pestered on with his investigation.
"Is it Kelce?"
"Nope." she sighed deeply, resting her head back, irritated he wouldn't drop it. She was saddened that he would never guess the name even if he listed off all the boys on the island.
He tapped his finger anxiously on the steering wheel. "Jeremy from your AP classes?"
"No, Topper."
"Whatever," he huffed in defeat, "I'll find out eventually! Don't you worry."
No, you won't, she thought, letting her eyes draw to the trees in passing. If Topper weren't so concentrated on the dark road ahead, he would have seen the frown that made permanent residence on his sister's face the rest of the ride home. He would have even caught a glimpse of the sole tear that rolled down her cheeks as she thought of the one person she could never have and the one person no one could know she wanted.
___
Adjusting her straightened hair in the mirror that was magnetized in the back of her locker, y/n's mind was reeling with all the duties she had ahead of her. She had a council meeting next period, and she hasn't even gotten her notes in order. Sarah Cameron was leaning against her locker that resided next to y/n, worry pooling in her eyes as she watched her run her hands through her hair for the hundredth time since they've been standing there.
"If you keep stressing your hair like that, it's gonna fall out." Sarah pointed out, leaning her head against the cold metal, and tucked a blonde strand behind her ear.
Y/n shook her head, rubbing her temple with the tip of her fingers. "Sarah, I've been up all. night." she emphases, slamming her locker shut with more force than she intended and turned to her friend, the creases on her forehead prominent. "All night, trying to accommodate everything, and even then, I doubt Trevor will be satisfied. Such a pain my ass, I swear.."
"Stop beating yourself over it, my god. Trever will just have to grow a pair and get over it. You're busy as it is, and he can't expect you to drown yourself in all this crap."
Taking a deep inhale of breath, y/n wrung her hands to rid of the nerves. "Okay, how do I look? Head of the student council worthy?" she padded down the uniform skirt that barely reached past her fings while Sarah tugged on the lapels of her navy blue blazer, her eyes scanning her golden brooch that was pinned to the side.
"You're a babe y/n. Of course, you look good! Also, I was thinking after school we could stop by Scarlet's..."
A pretty girl walks by my locker
my heart gives a flutter
but I don't dare utter a word
cause that would be absurd behavior
for little miss perfect.
Sarah's words are slowly drowned out once y/n's eyes catch sight of Kiara Carrera gracefully walking by. Everything slows, and she wasn't sure if it was time slowing down in her favor or if it was her mind, giving her the chance to catch a glimpse of the one true thing that kept y/n going. The one person who she thought about before shutting her eyes and the first thing she smiled about once she woke up.  
The way her uniform hugged around her curves—the way her tie was loosened as it draped under the collar of her blouse. Kiara's long brown curls looked especially curlier that day as they bounced past her shoulder with every step. The half updo bun she wore accentuated her oval face perfectly, and it gave more space for y/n to admire her features.  
Y/n and Kira have known each other since they both volunteered to watch over a turtle nest back in July. They were both surprised to see each other but nevertheless fell into a smooth rhythm of comfortable conversation. The whole night was spent naming all the baby sea turtles after star constellations that they thought fit their personality. They snuggled close for the majority of the night after Kiara ran to Haywards with a spare key to grab a few snacks to help them survive the night. The cool night air was becoming overwhelming, so they decided to keep up the chattering to distract themselves.
Y/n took this as two girls blossoming a newfound friendship, but it was when Kiara began to speak that really sparked her interest. But the funny thing was, it wasn't something specific. It was everything she was saying. Kiara spoke of her passion for music, her friends, the environment, her dreams, and hopes. She spoke so gracefully that it drew y/n in more and more like a siren thirsty for water. Before she fell in love with Kiara, she fell in love with her words. Her free spirit. Her aura of happiness that drew people in for more. More of the words that trickled from her plump lips light honey. Something so sweet that y/n craved more than anything.
While she was fawning over the girl as she spoke animatedly about her passion for surfing, a crack was heard from the turtle nest. Racing to look over the small hole with flashlights, radiant smiles colored both girls' features, seeing the sand cave in as little baby sea turtles began crawling from their shells.
For a brief moment, Kira gazed upward to see Y/n eyes glowing with the light and smiled. She loved how carefree she seemed away from the strict counsel of her stepmother. The Thornton name was a heavy crown to bear, and she admired y/n for carrying it so effortlessly. And at this moment, Kiara couldn't help but blush when strands of y/n's hair began to fall near her cheek, and she wanted so badly to brush them away. But she was knocked from her thoughts once she noticed the girl hustling around to clear the area for the turtles to move.
The rest of the night was spent encouraging the turtles as they made their way toward the water and protecting them from possible predators.
"Fuck off, crab!" Kiara shouted, picking up a branch from the sand and poking at a hard exterior near one of the turtles.
"Kie that a rock! Focus!' y/n whispered harshly, afraid she would scare the baby turtles as they paddled down the sand path they created for them that led to the water.
"Shit, you're right-- oh my god its Aries!" Kiara exclaimed, flashing her light down at a turtle that was speeding ahead of the rest.
Y/n quirked a brow, 'How could you possibly know? That could be Sagittarius for all we know."
Kie scoured her flashlight toward her, nearly blinding y/n from the abrupt light assault. "What? No way! That is so Aries, I mean, look at how he's showin off and struttin and being a baddie!" Kie then shined her light toward the hole where the last baby turtle flipped out from his nest and slowly moved toward the water. "That is Sagittarius. The lazy bitch."
"Hey, don't call the turtle bitches-- oh my god, Kiara, a crab!"
"Where!?"
After seeing the sea turtles to safety, Kira and y/n walked a mile to the Wreck, babbling loudly, not caring if the residents shut them up. They were just so happy to be in each other's company. The night ended with the girls eating a couple of plates stacked with truffle fries and a carton of ice cream while diving into more in-depth topics. They cried, laughed, and then cried some more before falling asleep on each other's shoulder in a booth. Mr. Carerra came in the next morning and sent them back to Kiara's house where they all but threw themselves on her bed in the comfort of her thick, warm blankets.
After that, the two would hang out every chance they got, even if there was an unspoken spark hovering between them like a magnet. It brought them closer, but as soon as they dared to think of each other as more than friends, they repelled.
Though they spoke of everything, they never mentioned how they fell asleep with their hands intertwined under the blankets.
Y/n breathed hitched once those almond eyes met hers, and the smile she passed her way was at par with the brightness of the sun. It warmed every part of her being, making her heart melt in an instant. Kiara's smile could light up a room; everyone knows that. But what they can't see is that she lights y/n up inside completely that every difficulty of loving her disappears. Every crevice of doubt. Every corner of insecurity. Ever crack of self-loathing. Kiara Carrera filled those spaces so selflessly, and all it took was a smile.  
"Crush" was such an infantile word. But if that's what Topper wanted to call it, then yes, she had a crush on Kiara Carrera.
No, I can't risk falling off my throne,
Love is something you don't even know.
Two hands swaying in front of her face made her vision dizzy once she came back to reality and looked to Sarah, who looked relieved to finally grasp her attention.
"Dude bell rang. You ready?" she asked.
Y/n faked a smile before lifting her head a bit higher once Kira passed her and disappeared from sight. "Um yeah--yeah, I'm ready. Let's go."
Sarah looped her arm with hers, and the two girls moved down the hall. Sarah felt the stiffness in her friend's arm and tilted her head with furrowed brows. "You okay?" she inquired softly with a smile.
"Just lost in thought is all," y/n, sighed, sucking on her bottom lips as she cast her eyes to her shoes.
"Must be unfamiliar territory then." Sarah laughed, giving her a playful shove, bringing y/n to bashfully shake her head at the compliment. "Now chin up, let's show Trevor, who's boss."
Once again, she let her thoughts of Kiara settle in a little corner of her brain, not to be touched until necessary, and went about her day.
Straight hair, straight A's, straight forward
Straight girl
Little miss perfect
that's me
One night my friend's stayed over
We laughed and drink and ordered
Something about her drew me in
What? It's totally platonic
"That is such a lie, Sarah, and you know it!" Y/n muffled around a bite of potato chips. She had called out her blonde friend, who rests her back against her bed's headboard while in a heated game of Kiss, Marry, Kill.
"What is so wrong about the order? It seems fine!" Sarah hiccuped after taking a swig of the large bottle of wine Kiara brought from home. She was currently sitting next to y/n; they're shoulders pressing together as they evened their weight on each other.
"Seriously. Marry Pope, kiss John B, and kill JJ? Where's the favor in that!" Kiara questioned with a shake of her head.
"Hey, Pope is superior." Y/n reminded her as she pointed toward Kiara with the loose finger that wasn't gripping the neck of the wine bottle. She tossed her head back and let the sweet, pungent taste burn her throat.
"Well, of course, he is, that answer is fine but c'mon! Kiss JJ and Kill John B! Simple." Kiara said, letting her thumb wipe off a drip of wine that rested on y/n chin. Too dazzled with a fascination with the spinning fan above her, Sarah didn't notice the lingering glances happening between Kie and Y/n.
Their eyes stayed glued, and Kiara smirked as a blush crept up y/n cheek. She brought her thumb to her lips and tasted the wine that didn't make it into y/n mouth before turning back to Sarah.
"JB is my boyfriend, Kie!" Sarah whined, lightly kicking her legs in a pout with her eyes squeezed shut, the onset of a headache beginning to rack her brain.
"You and John B are a literal walking hallmark movie!" Y/n told her with irritation lacing her tone. "I think he'll understand that you picked JJ over him in a game!"
"But...but -but I - I love jombee," Sarah slurred moments before a silent sob broke her lungs.
Kiara and Y/n both groaned in unison, disregarding how emotional Sarah got after too much drinking. "Pass me the damn bottle," Kira demanded with a roll of her eyes.
"Yes, ma'am," y/n replied.
That night was so exciting
Her smirks were so enticing
Hours speed by like seconds
Then, what happens is iconic
She takes a sip, I bite my lip
she tells a joke, I nearly choke
she braids my hair, I sit there
blacking out for the first time
With her straight hair now pulled back into a loose french braid made by the one and only Kiara, the two decided upon a game of never have I ever. After consoling Sarah for god knows what, the blonde fell asleep, leaving Kiara and y/n to sit at the end of the bed.
"Never have I ever called a turtle a bitch." Y/n narrowed her eyes, sitting on the balls of her feet, waiting for Kiara to drink from the wine bottle.
Kiara threw her head back, and a groan erupted from her chest while her loose, curly hair brushed past her shoulder. "Would you let that go? You know I love those turtles!" Kiara said, sipping the wine from the space in front of her as she sits criss-cross.  
Her eyes flickered around the bottle, meeting y/n eyes for a moment, making her bite her lip and look down at her fiddling hands that rested in her lap.
"I don't think Sagittarius appreciated being insulted. He was just taking his time." y/n said, finally looking back up to see Kie handing her the bottle.
"At least I didn't forget their names! What kind of mother are you?" Kie chuckled, her fingers lining the edge of her oversized yellow t-shirt that covered her gray shorts.
Y/n's lips parted, and shrugged her shoulders aggressively. "We named them when they haven't even hatched yet! Can you blame me for getting confused?"
Kiara's face was reddened by the second as a sudden laugh surpassed her lips. "A mother always knows." she chuckled.
With her eyes fluttered shut, y/n took this time to admire her once again. She watched her selfishly like no one else should have the honor of seeing Kiara in such a lighthearted state where only the two of them could be alone. Nothing was really funny about what she had said, but if she could hear her adorable snort, she didn't mind. She had a laugh like shattering glass, something you want to get so close to, but y/n was sure she would get cut with the shards.
"Right because you are so mother oriented." y/n mumbled, watching as Kiara calmed down and steadied her breathing; she brushed some hair from her face and settled down until her eyes caught y/n's. She could see wind stirred waves in her eyes. If one were brave enough to enter their depths, all else would blur, and you'd fall so deep in love that you'd choose to stay there no matter what.
Y/n was not sure what took over her. It must have been the ambiance of silence, but she couldn't take her eyes off Kiara's wet lips that had just consumed the wine. Uncertainty flooded Kiara's eyes as Y/n hesitantly moved forward, then gently cupped her jaw in her hands and pressed her lips against her lips. Kiara stayed frozen in place, her hands raised around y/n silhouette that was slightly hovering over her like she was afraid to touch her. Because if she touched her, then it made it real. But she wasn't pushing her away, and she didn't know why.
The kiss was innocent, new, an unknown territory that y/n was afraid to tread until now. All the expectations placed upon her to be the model daughter disappeared with Kiara Carrera. The perfect girl her mother wanted was defying everything society said was wrong. But if it was so wrong, why did she feel Kiara's hands touch her waist and kiss her back? The taste of wine was exchanged between their sweet kiss and shared breath. So sweet and savory like honey, but once Y/n pulled away and opened her eyes, her heart shattered like glass. As if what she had just done destroyed her whole being. The glass cut deep like she touched something that she shouldn't have, and now she was paying for it.
Next thing I know, I lose control
I finally kiss her, but oh no
I see a face in my window
then my brain starts to go
She saw her reflection. She saw herself. The reflection of someone she didn't recognize, and she felt an ache in her heart once she met Kiara's eyes again. At that moment, they both seemed to realize what they had done and quickly moved away from one another, standing up to face each other on either side of the bed.
No, you can't risk falling off your throne
Love
Is something you don't even know
Thunder rumbled in the sky, the clouds grayed and shifted the cold air into a moist, dewy atmosphere. Rain droplets raced down y/n umbrella, creating a curtain of water around her body as she stood barefoot at the beach. Her mind was lulled with last night's events, and she hated herself for driving Kiara away. Y/n eyes observed each raindrop like a kaleidoscope. She wondered if she could stop time just one last time, to suspend this watery gift and peek through each one. Perhaps it would be fun to sit inside one of those raindrops and take the gravity propelled ride to the earth. Maybe then, she would be able to melt away into nothingness.
She let her hands stretch out from the safety of her blue umbrella and felt the cold rain soak over her hand. Her eyes gloss over with unshed tears, thinking of the night with Kiara on the beach. Oh, how she wishes she could do it over, just to have on a normal night like that again.
The shifting of sand beside her pulled her from her thoughts, and she stiffened once she caught a glimpse of Kiara's curly hair beside her, holding her own yellow umbrella.
The sound of gentle rain upon the surface shielding their head is all that filled the air. That's what kept y/n from crying once Kiara began to speak.
"We can still be friends y/n."
The words hit her like a ton of bricks, and she didn't care when a warm tear slid down her cheek.
"Okay," she mumbles in response, not believing herself to say anymore. She would surely break down, and she couldn't hurt Kiara like that. Not when she cornered her in a difficult situation.
She could hear Kiara sniffle, and she faced her quickly. "I'm sorry, Yn. You have no idea how sorry I am, but-- I just can't do it."
Y/n chin wobbled, and she quickly bit down on her lip before a whimper could escape. "It's okay," she murmured with a crack in her voice.
That crack nearly broke Kiara in her entirely, and she nearly reached out to touch her arm but stopped.
"Y/n/n, please say something else," Kiara was now crying, her almond eyes looking darker, and the frown on her lips broke y/n's whole being. "Just say something to make me stay. And I will, but I have to hear it from you first."
Y/n let in a shaky breath and finally found the courage to look at Kiara. She tilted her head, a sad smile presenting itself on her quivering lips. "What is it worth if I can't tell everyone else that I love you, Kiara?"
Both girls stood silent, and the decision was made. Hours passed, and a lonesome blue umbrella stayed put on the beach while the yellow one was long gone. Once she was sure Kiara was gone, Y/n dropped the umbrella from her shaking hands and let the sob she held rack her body. She clapped a hand over her mouth to quiet the scream she wanted to let erupt. Holding her body, she let the rain drown out her cries and felt the memory of Kiara's lips be consumed by the raindrops to melt away into the earth.
Rewind, induce amnesia
Deny the truth it easier
You're just confused, believe her
When she says there's nothing there
It's never worth it
When you're little miss perfect.
@pogueszn @mdlyncline @cordeliascrown @acvross-the-universe
 @x-lulu @bricksatanakinswindow @ponyboys-sunsets @kaitieskidmore1 @casper17 @moonshinerbynight @illbesafeforyou @crxstalreeds
92 notes · View notes
whosemorales · 3 years
Text
Heartbeat
IMPORTANT INFO Post Civil War and Spider-Man Homecoming. Infinity War and Endgame never ever happened cause no one needs that much sadness in their life. None of these one-shots are related unless it says otherwise. And I don't know when I'm going to post but I will try and make it weekly. I don't take requests, but you are free to comment.
Peter couldn't keep the smile off his face all day. It was Friday the last day of school for the week, but that wasn't why Peter was excited, he was excited because he was spending the entire weekend at the Avengers Tower.
Ever since he stopped the Vulture from stealing Mr Starks plane, he spent more and more time with Mr Stark and had grown a lot closer to him. He had met the Avengers a few weeks ago after the accords were sorted out they were welcomed back to the tower, it had been a bit awkward at first but they all grew closer and upon meeting Peter they absolutely adored him.
Peter was currently in his last class of the day, history, the only subject he didn't have with Ned, and he was bored. Don't get him wrong he loved history but they were learning about WW2 and Peter already knew heaps about it (courtesy of Steve and Bucky). So he decided to occupy himself with designing new Web formula, one that would be stronger than anything he's had before, hopefully, strong enough to hold down the hulk.
*20 minutes later*
Peter was writing down the last few equations in his book when the bell suddenly rang through the classroom, causing him to wince due to his heightened hearing, quickly grabbing his stuff he made his way out of the classroom and into the crowded halls of the school.
He met up with Ned on the way to his locker and they both started to talk about the new lego set Ned's mum had just bought him. While Ned was talking Peter was grabbing the books he would need and shoving them into his bag.
"What up losers." Both boys turned to see MJ standing there, but she wasn't looking at them; she still had her nose in her book.
"Oh hey MJ." Peter and Ned said at the same time, laughing the two boys grabbed their stuff and the three made their way out of the school. They spoke outside for a little while until a black Audi pulled up out the front.
"That's Happy I gotta go, bye guys!" Peter yelled as he walked over to the car.
"Hey Happy." Peter greeted as he tossed his bag onto the back seat and climbed in.
"Hey, Pete."
As Happy pulled onto the main road Peter began to ramble on about his day and the amount of homework the teachers had given them.
About an hour later they pulled into the back entrance of the tower to avoid the paparazzi.
Hopping out of the car Peter called out a quick 'goodbye' to Happy before getting into the elevator. When the doors closed Friday's voice rang through the speakers.
"Hello Peter, how was school?" The AI asked.
"It was good Friday. Could you please take me to whatever floor Mr Stark is on.?" Peter questioned.
"Of course Peter, Boss is currently on the Penthouse floor with the avengers. Would you like me to inform him of your arrival?" Friday questioned.
"Yes please." With that, the elevator started to make its way to the penthouse floor.
When the elevator stopped Peter thanked Friday and made his way out, he dropped his bag on the kitchen counter and walked into the main living area. Peter saw that all the avengers were watching TV (Everyone except Thor who is in Asgard with Loki). Steve, Sam and Bucky were all sharing the couch closest to the window, Tony, Bruce, Rhodey and Nat were on the middle couch directly in front of the TV and Wanda and Vision were sharing a chair together. Mr Stark was the first to notice Peters presence.
"Oh, hey kid, how was school?" Mr Stark asked.
"It was good but boring I already knew most of the stuff they were teaching anyway, but I did get time to design a new formula for my webs," Peter announced taking a seat on one of the empty chairs.
"Well if you want we can go down to the lab and start working on them." Mr Stark offered.
"Really!! That would be awesome Mr Stark!"
The billion air sighed. "Kid how many times do I have to tell you, it's Tony, Mr Stark makes me feel old."
"I know," Peter smirked, "But I'm going to keep calling Mr Stark because you won't stop calling me kid."
"Touché."
The others laughed at the duo's interaction. They were going to turn back to the TV when Fridays voice stopped them.
"Boss Miss Potts would like me to inform you of her arrival."
"Peppers back?" Peter chimed in, a wide smile taking over his features. Pepper had recently been on a trip to Tokyo to help strengthen the company.
"How come you call her Pepper but me Mr Stark!" Tony grumbled, Peter just rolled his eyes making the others laugh. Just then the elevator dinged drawing everyone's attention. Now Peters hearing is amazing meaning that he can hear things that not even Steve or Bucky could, so when Pepper walked out of the elevator he was confused when he heard two heartbeats.
"Hey everyone." Pepper greeted, receiving numerous hi's and hello's from everyone in the room, everyone except Peter that is, who was still trying to figure out what he had just heard.
"Um, Pete you wanna so hi?" Wanda asked, looking at the boy with furrowed eyebrows.
"What? Oh yeah um hi Pepper how was Tokyo?" Peter smiled deciding to ignore what had just happened.
"Tokyo was amazing but the people well they were draining," Pepper laughed, "What have you guys been up to?" Pepper asked taking a seat next to Tony.
"Not much," Natasha replied.
"Miss Potts," Fridays voice rang through the room, " Miss Pierce would like me to inform you that she finished all the paperwork you asked for and she also needs your signature for one of the documents."
"Who the hell is Miss Pierce?" Tony wondered aloud.
Pepper rolled her eyes, "She's the new assistant I told you I was hiring her name is Freya Pierce." As soon as Peter heard her name he got a tingly feeling in the back of his neck. Something wasn't right.
"Tell her to take it to my office and I'll meet her there please Fri," Pepper answered, getting up from her seat.
"Um, Pepper could I come with you?" Peter asked quickly.
"Of course." Pepper smiled.
The two made their way over to the elevator and got in, as soon as the doors closed Peter frowned he could still hear the sound of three heartbeats and then his brain suddenly clicked, Pepper was pregnant.
"Um, Pepper? This is going to be a really weird question but are you pregnant?" Peter asked sheepishly.
Peppers eyes went wide, "H-How did you know?"
"Heightened hearing." Peter shrugged.
Pepper facepalmed, "Of course I totally forgot about that, it was supposed to be a surprise I was going to tell everyone at dinner."
"I won't tell anyone, " Peter assured, a smile slowly growing on his face, "Is it a girl or a boy?"
Pepper laughed, "It's a girl."
"Yes!" Peter triumphed.
Then the elevator dinged cutting off Peters celebrations and he remembered why he was really here, the doors opened to show the hall leading to Peppers office, standing out the front was a young girl round about Peters age, she had brown curls that descended past her shoulders, she was wearing black jeans, black boots and grey shirt with a black leather jacket, in her hands was the paperwork Peter assumed Friday was talking about.
"Thank you so much, Freya, come in here and I'll sign the documents." Pepper gestured to her office. Opening the door the three of them walked inside, as soon as the door closed Peters spider-sense went haywire.
"Just place them on the desk please Katherine." Pepper smiled, Freya nodded and walked over to the desk placing them on the edge.
Freya stood back giving Pepper room to sign the documents, Peter kept his eyes on her the whole time making himself ready for whatever she was planing. A sudden grunt from Pepper made him whip his head around, Pepper had just cut her finger on the paper, but a few seconds was all Freya needed, realising his mistake Peter quickly turned back around only to be face to face with a gun barrel.
"There, all done." Pepper smiled, oblivious to the gun being pointed at Peter.
"Um, Pepper."
"Yes, hun?" Peter would normally smile or blush slightly but now wasn't really the time.
"You might want to turn around." Turning around Pepper gasped in surprise, she slowly put her hands up.
Freya smirked. "It's been wonderful working for you Miss Potts it really has, but I'm afraid I won't be able to make it in tomorrow," she fake pouted. God Peter really hated this woman, he slowly put his hands behind his back preparing to shoot his Web shooters only to realise that they weren't on his wrists. Crap! That might be a problem.
"What are you doing?" Pepper asked.
"I'm getting my revenge," she answered.
"Revenge for what? We haven't done anything."
Freya let out a bitter laugh. "Because I used to have a family, a loving caring family and then our village was attacked with the same weapons that were made in this very tower. I watched my entire family get killed with one blast of a bomb, the only reason I survived was because my mother and father shielded me from the blast, but I didn't get away unscathed," She took off her jacket to reveal burn marks covering her skin, shrugging her jacket back on Freya then turned to Peter.
"And you, not scared? Trying to act brave by not putting your hands up?"
Peter just shrugged. "Not the first time someone's held a gun at me. And quite frankly you're just being dumb I mean seriously, you pull a gun on Miss Potts and don't think that she would have some way of contacting all the avengers with just a push of a button." Peter asked raising his eyebrows, but he was only buying time and praying to the gods that Friday had alerted the avengers.
Freya's facade faltered but she quickly replaced it with a smirk.
"It doesn't matter whether or not they get me, it's whether or not they save her on time." Freya suddenly turned the gun on Pepper and fired. Peter silently thanked the gods for his enhanced reflexes as he jumped in front of her not wanting to hurt her or the baby by pushing her out of the way.
Peter felt the bullet pierce his skin and embed its self in his flesh, he let out a cry and dropped to his knees but still stayed in front of Pepper ready to protect her again if Freya decided to fire another bullet.
Freya was shocked but decided not to dwell on it turning around she ran as fast as she could trying to make it out before the avengers got there.
"Friday call the avengers now!" Pepper yelled as she ran to help Peter, who was still on his knees trying to stop the blood flow with his hands.
"Are you ok? Is the baby ok?" Peter asked looking over at Pepper with worry.
"I'm fine Pete I'm not the one who just got shot."
"Sorry." Peter winced, as Pepper pressed a towel on the open wound.
"What are you sorry for?" Pepper asked trying to put enough pressure on at the same time.
"I'm getting blood everywhere."
Pepper sighed this kid was too good for his own good. "Pete right now that is the least of my problems."
"I'm fine, it's just a bullet wound, I've had way worse trust me." Peter laughed slightly but stopped when he saw the expression on Pepper's face.
"What-" Pepper stopped herself, "That's a question for another day right now I need to get you to the med-bay."
Pepper put Peters arm over her shoulder and hers under his and started to lift him up. Peter winced a couple of times until he was standing up fully straight, or a straight as you could be when half of your body is leaning in the other direction.
"Friday tell Bruce to set up the med-bay," Pepper called out as she helped Peter make his way to the door.
"Bruce is currently in the med bay setting up and the rest of the Avengers are on their way," Friday responded, as if on cue the elevator opened up and the avengers ran out decked in full gear. Peter would have laughed if it wasn't for the pain in his side and the fact he was starting to see two of everything.
"What the hell happened?!" Tony exclaimed as he grabbed Peters other arm to help with the weight.
"We don't Have time for that right now, we need to get him to the med-bay he's losing a lot of blood."
Clint ran over and took Peppers place and helped Tony take Peter to the med bay all the while trying to keep the young spiderling awake.
When they got to the med-bay they quickly but carefully placed Peter down on the bed that Bruce set up, Peter winced at the movement and bit his lip to keep himself from crying out. Bruce quickly ushered everyone out of the way and began to take the bullet out before his enhanced healing covered it. Unfortunately one of the downsides to having an enhanced metabolism is that it eats through the sedatives way too quickly, meaning that Peter had to be awake while Bruce took the bullet out. Bruce was halfway through taking the bullet out when Peter finally passed out. *******
The others were anxiously waiting outside the room, praying that Peter would be alright. Bucky, Steve, Wanda, Rhodey, Sam and Pepper were sitting on the chairs out the front of the med-bay Vision was floating close to Wanda and Tony was pacing back and forth running his hand through his hair over and over again.
"What happened?" Tony asked suddenly stopping and turning to Pepper.
Pepper sighed and began to tell them exactly what happened.
"-And then I heard the gunfire and I closed my eyes waiting for the bullet to hit me but instead I heard Peter cry out and when I opened my eyes he was in front of me with a bullet wound in his side, and then Freya ran so I tried to stop the bleeding and helped him up and that's when you guys came in."
"Well Freya didn't get very far, security stopped her before she could get out," Sam smirked.
"Of course the kid would try and save you, but why didn't he push you out of the way," Tony asked, "I mean if he pushed you out of the way then you both would have gotten out unscathed and Peter would have been able to catch her, so why did he stand in front of you?" Tony asked mainly to himself.
"I-I don't know." Pepper cursed herself for stuttering.
Tony frowned slightly. "Pep why did he jump in front of you?" he asked again this time to Pepper.
The others were listening in closely for her answer.
"I don't know," Pepper repeated.
"Tony just leave it and come sit down." Rhodey pipped up gesturing to the seat beside him.
"NO! No, I will not just leave it my kid is in there with a bullet wound that he wouldn't have got if he had just pushed Pepper out of the way so why didn't he?" Tony demanded.
"BECAUSE I'M PREGNANT!" Pepper finally yelled.
Everyone went silent, their eyes grew wide and small smiles started to form on their faces.
"What?" Tony asked his voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm pregnant," Pepper repeated with a soft smile. Before Pepper could even register what was happening she was being enveloped in a hug, Tony held her tight his face nuzzled into her neck and pepper could have sworn she felt something wet fall onto her shoulder. When Tony finally let go he brought Pepper in for a passionate kiss.
When they pulled away Tony frowned. "Wait how did Peter know, did you tell him before me." He gasped bring his hand up to his heart in mock hurt, making the others laugh.
"No, it's because of his enhanced hearing, when we were in the elevator he asked me, I was shocked at how he knew but then he told me it's because he could hear a second heartbeat."
"Wow, that kid really is something," Bucky said.
"Yeah, he sure is." Bruce agreed, startling everyone as he came out of the med-bay.
"Bruce, how is he?" Tony asked quickly praying to gods it didn't hit anything important and that Peter was going to be ok.
"He's fine," Bruce assured, "Actually he's better than fine, his system I-I've never seen anything like it before. I mean Steve's and Bucky's is good but Peter's is amazing the way it works is fascinating. Normally when Steve or Bucky get shot it takes a little while to heal, but Peters system is working at a phenomenal speed, meaning when he wakes up he might feel a bit sore but it will only feel like a bruise." Bruce explained.
Everyone was shocked, they knew Peters healing was good but they didn't know it was that good.
"Can we go in?" Tony question, Bruce gave him a nod and Pepper and he rushed in.
When they got to Peters bed they saw the bandage wrapped around his waist and the heart monitors finger clip attached to his finger, the monitor was beeping in a steady rhythm, indicating that Peters heart rate was normal.
They both took a seat on either side of Peter and took his hand making sure that they would be the first ones he would see when he woke up. They sat in the med-bay for half an hour before the little spider started to wake up.
"Mmhm." Peter moaned trying to open his eyes, but once they did open he regretted it because a bright light blinded him. He waited a couple of seconds before opening them again.
"What happened?" Peter mumbled, but he suddenly sat bolt upright scaring the daylights out of Pepper and Tony, "Is Pepper OK! Is the baby OK!" He asked quickly looking around still waiting for his eyes to adjust properly.
Tony and Pepper laughed softly. "She's fine kiddo, and so is the baby," Tony answered.
"Oh, hey Mr Stark," Peter waved slightly before his eyes went as wide as dinner plates, "OMG! I just told him about the baby! I promised I wouldn't tell because you were going to tell them all at dinner. I am a despicable human being." Peter gasped, putting his face in his hands.
Pepper laughed, "Pete it's fine I already told him."
"Oh thank the gods." Peter sighed.
Just then the vent swung open and Clint fell out.
"Ow." He groaned, but a smile quickly took over his face when he saw that Peter was awake.
Getting off the floor he gave Peter a hug ruffling his hair making Peter growl. Soon all the avengers were in the med-bay they all gave Peter a hug, glad that he was ok. And Peter loved it he loved them and sure they were a very dysfunctional family but they were his dysfunctional family.
"So Pepper, what are you going to name the baby?" Natasha asked.
"WAIT YOU PREGNANT!!!" Bruce yelled.
6 notes · View notes
hewwocopter · 3 years
Text
Bros. Here’s a little taste of what I write when I’m not writing fanfiction, but rather my own original works. I wrote this at the end of 2019, so my writing is bound to be different than it is now, but I think you guys will get a kick out of it!
Also, all my two brain cells are spent on writing fanfiction.
Two McFricking Idiots
Sam and Cheyenne go to the mall.
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Sam was bored.
Scratch that, he was extremely bored. Sam isn’t sure that he’s ever felt this bored before, but hey, there’s a first time for everything.
Like that one time he nailed Chicky in the face with a pie? Sure she nearly beat the crap out of him but it was totally worth her reaction. He’d pay to see her get hit in the face again.
Preferably with him ten miles away when that happens of course...
Sam groaned and flopped onto his back, staring up at the sky. He was in a park under a tree, laying in the grass. Cheyenne was sitting next to him staring into space (he could tell she was just as bored as he was). It was mostly void of people as it was too hot for anyone to spend their spare time sweating all over the grass.
Unless they were total idiots.
Which that description fit Sam and Chey perfectly.
Which was why they were here.
Actually, the main reason they were starting to form into puddles of fur and flesh was because Chicky had kicked them out of the house. Apparently, she couldn’t handle a little prank! Who cares if the house was on fire, they could just get another!
Chey looked over at him. “First time?”
“If you don’t stop making meme references I will be forced to skin you alive.”
The cat stopped and stared at him. “But you love meme references, man.”
Sam groaned. “Not if it’s a hundred degree weather and I’m too hot to care about anything right now!” He threw his arms up in the air and let them fall to the ground in defeat. “There’s gotta be something we can do about this.”
”Well, we can either take our fur off which would be incredibly painful, or we can go back to the h-e-double-hockey-sticks which is our house. Which is in flames right now.” She stopped and flicked her ear up. “I can still hear the sirens from the fire trucks, actually.”
Sam snorted. “And my mixtape.”
Chey let out a laugh. “Heyyy! There we go! You’re getting back into the meme spirit already! Although that meme has been dead for like, a year man.”
“Nyehhh. I’m too hot to care.” Sam rolled back onto his stomach, muffling his words into the grass.
There wasn’t much to say after that, so the two sat in silence. An occasional breeze blew into their sweat matted fur, which was blissful for Sam.
After a few minutes, Sam shot straight back up, startling Chey.
“We have to do something!”
“You said that five minutes ago.”
“This time it’s for real. I’m getting sick and tired of this heat,” He stood up, legs tingly from sitting down for so long. “I’m going to get some daggone AC.”
Chey hummed, as though entertaining his thoughts. “That doesn’t sound too bad, actually... where would we go, though?”
Sam smiled, looking down at her. “The store. They’ve got some ice cream and stuff there, duh.”
“That’s a fantastic idea and all, but weren’t we banned from all stores within a twenty mile radius of our house?”
“...”
“...”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about....”
A deadpan look. “You were going around the fish section at the grocery, dumping out the fish tanks yelling ‘BE FREE, MY FISH CHILDREN! BE FREE!’”
“I was releasing them from their captivity! And you’re not so innocent either! You were there with me, helping me dump out the tanks!”
“Hey! I’m not about to deny a free snack when I see one!”
“...Fair.”
Chey huffed. “Aight. Good thing we came to an agreement.”
“...Uh huh.”
More silence.
“Remember that one time at Taco Bell where we harassed the employees?”
“Wait, which time? There was that one where you pelted a jerk with Mild Sauce packets and the other where you flipped over three tables before you had to be forcibly removed from the premises.”
Sam piped in. “Hey- don’t forget about when you made their soda fountain explode!”
“Ahh, good times, good times.”
“Yyyyep.”
For what seemed like horrible pacing and a long time, they sat there reminiscing about their shenanigans.
“Wanna go to the mall?”
“Frick yeah.”
The two preteens (although they very much did not look like preteens) walked down the tile floor of the mall through the crowd of people. Some looked down and recognized them from their previous... adventures, wisely stepping out of their way.
Pff. Weenies.
There was a wide variety of smells, some varying from delicious foods to even MORE delicious foods. It made Cheyenne’s mouth water. Maybe they could go to the pretzel stand at some point...
They were walking past the generic toy shop when Sam stopped abruptly. “Here!”
Chey looked up at the store, then peered inside of it. There were children bounding around from one display to another, begging their parents to get one.
“Here?”
“I can feel it. There is something in there... it’s... it’s drawing me towards it.”
“You said that at Taco Bell when you snuck into their kitchen and ate their entire supply of nacho fries… which you remember how well that ended, but let’s go anyway.”
“Heck yeah.”
Without further ado, they stepped inside.
Some of the parents took one look at them and dropped the toy they were holding, picked up their child,, and left. One of them even hoisted their daughter over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She hadn’t even paid for the doll that the kid was holding.
Well, that was somewhat uncalled for. They hadn’t even done anything yet!
“Sam, what did you say about...?” She trailed off when she saw that the anthropomorphic boy was gone.
She looked around the store, seeing a brunette robot- lady- whatever she was, holding a nerf machine gun. When the lady turned, she was holding the item with a malicious grin as well as a glint in her eyes. Chey stepped back, opting to look for Sam.
“Oh. My. God.”
“Sam?”
“CHEY LOOK I FOUND HIM!”
“Him?” Chey frowned as she rounded the display with a yellow mouse wearing sunglasses and holding a machine gun on it. Behind it, Sam was hugging a box in his arms.
“Wassat?”
“Our child.”
“...What.”
“Hear me out, Chey.”
“You have a few seconds to explain to me why you’re hugging a water gun, before we get kicked out of the store.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Chey could see the store cashier nervously hiding behind the counter, presumably calling for security. They hadn’t. Even. Done anything yet! Give them a break!!
“This... this is no water gun, Chey. He’s special. I can feel it.”
“You’re hugging the box, so, yeah, I guess you can feel it...”
“Nonono! I can FEEL. IT. This water gun- he’s destined for greatness! And that’s with us!”
Chey could hear the footsteps of the security guards coming their way. “Sam...”
“C’mon, Chey! Pleeeease?”
One look into those puppy dog eyes- those dang eyes- had Chey caving in. “Fine, man! Let’s pay for it and get the heck outta here.”
At that moment, the guards stepped into the store. Parents and their kids were looking around confusedly, until their eyes laid on the sight that was Chey and Sam. Another mother picked up her son, hauled him over her shoulders like sandbags, and booked it out of there.
Goodness.
Sam was already on it, though. He jumped and grabbed Chey with his tail, dragging her towards the entrance. She barely had time to throw the money at the cashier, who was cowering behind the counter.
They were met with resistance of course, but Sam was prepared. Somehow the water gun had made it out of the box, and Sam whacked the guard in the face with it.
“VIBE CHECK!”
Another smack, the guard letting out curses as Sam cackled wildly. He let go of Chey and they bolted into the main area of the mall. People were scattering as soon as they saw the two hellions make their way towards the foot court.
One of the guards behind them yelled out. “Oi! Get back-! You’re not supposed to be here!”
Sam, being the entity of chaos he was, ignored the men and went straight for the tables. Chey resisted the urge to groan as he slid under them, knocking them over (while people were still eating at them no less) in an effort to... well, Chey had no idea what he was doing, actually.
Chey shook her head as she sidestepped fallen chairs and the mess of food that littered the floor. Sam was up ahead of her, crashing into more tables and chairs.
The normal noisy chatter of the food court soon became loud yelling and screaming as the customers tried to avoid the onslaught of the entity that was Sam. There was no escape, however. Chey had learned that the hard way.
“SAM!”
Somehow, somehow- Sam had spawned a sock in his hand. He held the water gun in the other, while spinning the sock in circles uncontrollably. There was something at the end of it, and oh g-
More tables went down as the sock knocked them over. It hit people too, socking some in the stomach as they fell down in defeat. The boy(?) left a trail of fallen tables and people behind him as he continued his escape.
Chicky was going to murder them...
Although, this scenario has happened many times before. Why would it be any different this time? Eh, they’d live.
...Hopefully.
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