#and i didn't even find that out until TODAY because i never saw the announcement

[knifegremliin]

wishing my professor a very get better at your fucking job

[shalotttower]

The Art of Disappearing (part 1)

Title: The Art of Disappearing Fandom: Resident Evil Village Characters: Lady Dimitrescu x Reader (female) Summary: Lady Dimitrescu enjoys wine; you enjoy living. You pray to god those don't overlap. Word count: 1800+ Notes: mentions of death, implied torture and violence, NSFWish, WINE Part 2

Hiding in plain sight is a skill honed by necessity here.

Melt seamlessly into the decor of drapes and velvet curtains until you're indistinguishable from them. Become wallpaper with eyes that stare and mouths that don't open, and arms that only pick, and pass, and scrub, and fold.

You're not the girl who was locked in the cellar last week.

You're not the girl who dropped a plate yesterday.

You're not the girl whose blood got so deep into the dining room rug that it's better off being burned.

You want to say that you won't be that girl, but you can't promise anything anymore except that dinner is at 6 o'clock every evening unless stated otherwise by Lady Dimitrescu. Your schedule revolves around hers entirely, like planets rotating around their dying sun, even if it's not your shift. There's no such thing as a day off in the castle.

But there're such things as a quiet day, or a normal day, or a bad one.

Today is a bad one.

Lady Dimitrescu's favourite lipstick is missing.

It's a very rare, expensive shade, like the red shell of a ladybug, or the last breath of a maiden. Your ears pick up the word being murmured from one maid to another — 'if anyone sees the item, return it to the Lady's vanity immediately'.

You hope that someone finds it soon. Nobody here is dumb enough to steal, so it's probably forgotten somewhere. But you don't say it of course, because Her Ladyship doesn't forget anything and you still need your tongue intact.

---

Lady Dimitrescu likes wine; you enjoy living.

You pray that the two never overlap.

So far luck has been on your side — for six months now you've been working in the castle. You've cleaned stains from carpets and floors without asking what they are (because it was clear even without questions); polished silverware until you could see yourself reflected in them and arranged flowers countless times to learn which ones Lady favors over others.

You were a mouth that didn't speak and eyes that saw nothing. A piece of furniture with legs and arms.

As long as you do your job and keep a low profile, you're safe. Humans thrive in delusion, and so do you. It keeps you sane, what an oxymoron that is.

---

At three in the afternoon, you clean the bathrooms.

Bela is the neatest among the three, and Cassandra leaves everything scattered around for maids like you to collect and place where it's supposed to be. Daniela is... unique. You're not sure how she manages to get stains and fingerprints on such random surfaces. Sometimes you wonder if she does it on purpose.

Daniela loves fun surprises.

Like sneaking up on you when you're on your knees, scrubbing the tub. She pokes your shoulder. "Hiya."

Your heart drops into your stomach.

"Lady Daniela," you greet while trying not to let your hands shake under the apron.

She's smiling sweetly today, like she didn't just scare ten years out of you. You're not fooled and know better than to trust that expression. Nothing in this castle is innocent and saccharine and nice. Especially not the daughters.

"Can I help you with anything, my lady?"

Please say "no" and leave.

Daniela rocks on her heels then leans forward, inspecting your work.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

She's bored, you realize. Great. Bored means unpredictable behavior, and unpredictable behavior means trouble for everyone else who isn't Daniela herself. You wait for whatever she wants — entertainment? food? — patiently despite the churning in your gut.

"I'm bored," she announces.

"Yes, my lady."

"Let's play a game. Hide and seek, like little ones."

Six months have yet to make the instinctive urge to flee within you die out whenever one of them wants something from you directly. You'd think that this whole time might've increased your chances of survival, but humans thrive in delusion. In reality, everything is a gamble here. An embroidery of chance and circumstances that determines if you will live another day, that's all.

"I would be honored, my lady."

The bathrooms must be finished by five, and it's almost four. You're not going to make it on time.

"Who is going to hide first?" You ask after a moment.

Daniela claps. "Well you, of course, silly!"

Of course.

---

Hiding in plain sight is a skill honed by necessity here. Melting seamlessly into the decor of drapes and velvet curtains.

But you're not a vase or a coat rack. You're just a girl who's been in the castle for a while and has gotten good at being invisible. You can't hide your heart beat. Your scent and the warmth of your skin are impossible to erase.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Daniela's sing-song voice carries from the other end of the west wing, and then fades.

She didn't count to ten. You know because you've been counting along, just to have an idea of how much time there's left until she finds you. There're no harbored hopes about the opposite happening. Hide and seek is one of Daniela's favourite games, and she dedicates herself to it thoroughly, with great interest.

It's not about winning the game — that much you realized early on when she played against other maids, plucking one out and chasing her around the castle before dissolving into flies with a cackle.

It's about the entertainment good enough to satiate her.

You're not the most agile, not the fastest. Even after six months your knowledge of the castle's layout is patchy, but you try to think logically. What places will she check last? What will Daniela expect you to choose?

Closets are off limits. So is the library, unless you want Bela on your tail as well.

Your mind wanders.

There're so many rooms in this castle that you haven't seen once during all of your shifts. You're always cleaning hallways, sometimes the daughters' parlors, and nothing more.

Down the stairs, past the servant quarters, is a place where rumors are born. Of thick barrels stacked to the ceiling like dominoes and wine in various stages of production. It smells sour-sweet down there — like fruit rotting in August.

Wine that never runs out in Dimitrescu castle as long as there're maids.

That's what others say, at least. Nobody has come back to confirm.

Would she look in the cellar? Would anyone?

It's the last place you'd search if you were looking for someone insignificant and replaceable.

You take off your shoes so that your steps don't echo in the expanse of marble and stairs.

---

There're all kinds of things down here. Broken furniture that's been tossed aside for disposal, boxes and crates of unidentified items, old paintings of people you don't recognize.

And wine.

A lot of it in barrels and bottles, some of which are labeled, some aren't. You walk past them, following the corridors of dusty brick. The air smells like mold and fermentation, damp. It reminds you of the lakeside by your grandmother's cottage in summertime and you feel strangely nostalgic.

You miss home.

The thought is dangerous and you quickly push it away, back to where it belongs — in your memories. Home doesn't exist anymore.

Time passes. Minutes go by without the sounds of buzzing swarms or doors creaking open somewhere nearby. No voices either, except for your own breathing and heartbeat that fill up every corner of silence. You find a nook between the stacked barrels and settle there with your knees pulled to your chest.

The place is colder, uncomfortably so. Cool ground sends its chill through your stockings.

You've done everything you could. Found a good hiding spot, a perfect one, and it's out of your control from here on.

The art of disappearing is simple: be nothing and wait until time decides if you're worth staying like that or not.

---

Daniela finds you after your legs start to numb from sitting.

"Found you," she grins from ear to ear.

Her flies settle as she solidifies into flesh with a giggle, girlish and mischievous. It could be cute if not the bloody smudges around her mouth and chin. She crouches down in front of you, close enough for you to see the specks of gold in her eyes.

"Congratulations, Lady Daniela."

Your fingers dig into your skirts.

Daniela tilts her head; a fly crawls on her cheek before taking off. "I win! I get my prize now."

You didn't know you were playing for a prize. But nobody tells you anything in this castle until it's too late, like that you're not supposed to open windows in winter, or that you can't touch Daniela's books because she has them organized alphabetically.

"What would you like, my lady?"

Another fly lands on your lips, a thick creature with translucent wings and little fuzzy legs. They tickle but you resist the urge to make a face lest she takes it as an insult. At your question her expression turns impish, one of those you never fail to associate with trouble.

She reaches into your apron's pocket... and pulls out a lipstick.

You stare at it — a simple elegant tube with a golden cap.

"Look what I found!" Daniela waves it in front of your face like it's a toy.

Your blood freezes over. How did it end up there? You've been working for hours today yet you don't recall ever picking it up off anywhere. Where-

"My lady, I didn't take it!" you blurt out in horror, when it dawns on you. "I swear, I wouldn't! I would never-"

Daniela blinks owlishly and then breaks into laughter, clutching her stomach. Her smile is so wide that you can see her gums stained with coagulated blood which makes your stomach turn. The flies swarm and dissipate around you both, disturbed by her unrestrained mirth.

"Silly," she interrupts your stammering. "I know! You should've seen your face!"

Oh thank god.

You're so relieved that for a second all air leaves your lungs.

"...you tricked me?" you ask quietly after a moment, a bit more composed now when the accusation of theft doesn't hang over your head.

"Mhm," Daniela nods and wipes tears from her eyes, still giggling.

You're not sure if it was funny to anyone except her.

Her smile lessens gradually and eventually vanishes from her lips altogether when the initial amusement wears off. Something coy appears in her demeanor, sheepish even, as she fiddles with the lipstick in silence.

"Can you put it back in mother's vanity?" she grabs your hand suddenly and places it into your palm.

That's when you realize that you never even once questioned where she got it from. But Daniela gives you a pout with a warning look, like she's able to tell exactly what you're thinking. All questions die instantly on your tongue; you nod.

"Yes, my lady. Of course."

"Good," she pats your knee. "Don't forget! Or I'll eat you."

Flies descend onto your skirt, buzzing around Daniela's fingers until she disappears into dozens of black insects.

You know that she meant every word.

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

Not Like You - Lando Norris

<word count - 1603>

You had just come downstairs from your final virtual meeting of the day to find Lando on the couch. All you could see of him was his head poking out of the top of the mountain of pillows and blankets he was buried under. 

"I am finally done for the day," you announced, sitting beside him and letting yourself relax for the first time today. "What do you want for dinner?" you asked, your stomach gurgling at the thought of food. 

"You can have whatever, I'm not hungry," he mumbled, turning his face away from you. That was odd, you thought. Lando may have been a bit fussy when it came to what he ate, but he loved his food and he had never turned down a meal in all the time you had known him. 

"What did you have for lunch?" you asked, resting a supportive hand on his knee as he avoided looking at you. "Can't remember," he replied, and that basically meant 'I didn't have anything'. 

In his mind, Lando was willing you to go and make yourself dinner just so he could have a bit of extra time alone. He had been really stressed for the past couple of days, and he had made a valiant effort to make sure you didn't see it. 

He knew you had your own issues to deal with, and he didn't want you to worry yourself with his problems as well. "What have you been up to today?" you asked, trying to get him to look at you by training your eyes on his face.

"Nothing much, just watching some TV," he shortly answered. Normally, Lando was talkative and would be eager to hear about what you had been up to, so that was another red flag. You didn't want to push because, if he wanted to talk about it, he would have already brought it up.

It didn't stop you from worrying any less. If anything, his lack of talking made you more concerned. You sighed, knowing you just had to ask what was wrong. It was the only way you would get through to him. 

"Hey, you OK?" you asked, scooting closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired," he huffed, pulling himself into an even tighter ball.

"You sure? You just seem a bit off, that's all," you told him wrapping an arm around his shoulders and trying to pull him into your embrace. "I'm fine, just stressed," he told you, shrugging your arm away and moving towards the other end of the couch.

"Do you want to talk about it?" you asked, your eyebrows knitted together in concern. You knew when he wanted to be left alone, and now was one of those times, but something in you wouldn't let you. 

You wanted to be able to fix all of his problems, make all of his worries go away, and make the world perfect with sunshine and rainbows for him. All of that would be impossible if he didn't let you in. 

"I'm fine," he dismissed, looking at you for a split second before turning away again. For that short moment, you saw something was unsettled in his eyes. That was the thing with Lando - there was no chance he could hide his emotions. His eyes gave himself away so easily. 

"Are you sure? You-" you started.

"I said I'm fine, Y/N," he snapped, and his side profile looked annoyed as you looked at him. Now was the time you thought it would be best to leave him alone. "OK, sorry," you quietly murmured, getting off the couch and going back upstairs. 

You would leave him to cool off for a bit, and give yourself some time to calm down. Lando had never snapped at you before, so it shocked you.  Now you were certain something was up. 

You sat on the bed and thought about what you could do. You didn't want to leave it until he came to bed, because the both of you would get in your heads over the hours and blow the situation out of proportion. 

Meanwhile, Lando felt awful. You were just trying to help, and he yelled at you and he could tell he scared you. The sound of your voice apologising for something you never needed to apologise for made his heart shatter and felt worse than he had before you had asked if he was alright. 

He wasn't feeling like himself, and that was now painfully obvious. It was as if the happy part of him had been replaced with all of the stressful things that were going on in his life right now. But, he scolded himself for taking it out on you.

You were only trying to help, and he knew that. He wanted to go and talk to you, but he couldn't trust himself to not lash out at you. He had let his emotions get the better of him, and he needed to take some time to cool down. 

After around two hours, you had finished scribing your letter to Lando. If he didn't feel like talking to you, then maybe he could read what you had to say. Padding downstairs, Lando was still sat in the exact same spot on the couch. 

You stood in front of him, then placed the folded piece of paper down on the coffee table. He watched your every move until he couldn't see you anymore as you ascended the stairs once more. 

He cursed himself for not saying anything, for not taking you into his arms and apologising for taking his frustration out on you. But, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't snap at you again, so maybe it was for the better. 

Leaning forward, he snatched the paper off the coffee table and unfolded it. 'Hey Lando, sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to press. If you don't want to talk about it, I get it. But, if you want to, I'm here for you - no matter what. I love you, Y/N x'.

Even though it wasn't your intention, you had made him feel slightly worse about himself. You were being so nice to him and you only wanted the best for him, but he had pushed you away and rejected you. He was so unbelievably lucky to have you, and he loved you more than anything else in the world. 

His emotions had barraged him all at once, and all he could do was let the tears fall down onto his cheeks. As you walked by to get a glass of water from the kitchen, you heard his muffled sobs through the door.

Despite your promise to yourself to give him time, your heart ached for him. He didn't have to tell you what was wrong, you just wanted to be with him. You couldn't stop your legs as they carried you into the living room and around the back of the couch.

From behind, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and buried your face in his hair, but you didn't say anything. You simply stood there as he leant back into your touch. "I'm sorry," he managed to choke out. "It's OK," you whispered back, trying to supress your own tears. 

"No, it's not. I shouldn't speak to you like that, whether I'm upset or not," he said, his hands latching onto your forearms and gripping for dear life. "Lando, it's OK. You don't have to explain yourself if you don't want to," 

"C'mere," was all he said in response and you walked around the couch and sat down next to you. "I've just been really stressed lately and I've not been feeling like... me, if that makes any sense," he explained, pulling you into him.

Keeping your mouth shut, you nodded to signal for him to continue. "I've just not been happy recently, and I don't know why," he mumbled, looking down at his lap as his fingers aggressively circled your arm. "You don't need to be happy all the time, it's OK not to be," you told him as he looked at you with glassy eyes.

"But I shouldn't have snapped at you like that,"

"Lando, baby, I promise it's alright. It's alright to have feelings that aren't 100% positive all the time, and it's fine to want to be alone sometimes. I get it, it's hard to talk about how we feel, but I'm always here if you need me," you said, caressing his cheek as you spoke. 

"I know you are, I know. But I want to feel like me again," he backtracked as a few more tears fell onto his rosy cheeks. "Give it some time, and I'm always here if you want to talk about anything.  In the meantime, what do you say we order in some spring rolls?" you said, and a small smile danced on his lips. 

Even if it was only a small smile, it was still a smile nonetheless. "I like that idea," he grinned, and he already felt better for talking to you. You could put a smile on his face whenever, but now he needed it the most. 

"I love you," he said affectionately, just as you picked up the phone to dial the Chinese place. 

"I love you too," you responded, leaning into his touch as his hand snuck up the side of your shirt and mindlessly traced shaped on the skin of your waist. 

Lando may not have instantly felt on top of the world again, but he was certainly making good headway on getting there, and he could feel those small fragments of his usual, happy self, falling back into place.

A/N - This is 'Not Like Me', but the other way around. Hope you enjoyed, and if you need to talk, I'm always here <3

|masterlist|

[witchthewriter]

𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!  

a/n: okay so I'm making this post because I found ... this audio on youtube (it's sfw dw) and it really made me want to write about the reader as this badass bitch who Negan absolutely adores. Otherwise, I find it really difficult to write for Negan in this timeframe. But the audio made me ... goddamn fall in love.

Warnings: at the end there's blood, and a knife - not used in violence though.

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ    

ENTP

Slytherin

Evil Neutral > Chaotic Neutral

4 of Wands Reversed

Gemini Sun, Sagittarius Moon, Scorpio Rising

𝑺𝑭𝑾🌿

・He had found you in one of the only secluded places there were at the Sanctuary

・Then this voice came out of nowhere, a voice you know well, one you had ... fantasised about for a while

・But outwardly, you pretended that you were doing this just to get by

・However, you had learned a lot from the people around you, from Negan, but mostly from Michonne when you were with her group

・It was long history. But eventually, your ideas didn't align with Rick's. And to the dismay of Michonne and yourself, you decided to leave.

・It hurt. You had friends in Rick's group, you truly did. But they followed him blindly. Just how Negan's group followed him blindly.

・But all your family had died, there was no one left you had to look out for. To love. Rick didn't even leave his kids in your presence alone. Just because of your ideologies - that maybe there is no right or wrong anymore.

・And then Negan killed Glenn, and Abraham and so many others and you felt so lost.

・But somehow, anyway, you ended up at the gates of the Sanctuary.

・It had been a month in and you were finding difficulties left and right.

・No one accepted you, no one wanted to trust one of Rick's group. They thought you were sent here to spy on Negan. But you did everything to prove yourself.

・And as time went on, you saw Negan's bravado.

・And ... you liked it. Even when it came down when two were together, you still liked his charm. The way he thought. But you could also see the hurt from his past. And how that influenced how he acted today.

・The words he spoke made you tingle, they made you blush (although you concealed it so well that Negan couldn't see it.)

・And when he was pouring his heart out to you, you tried to keep a straight face. Not let him see how you truly felt. Because if you did, then you would have nearly body slammed him to the floor and kissed him until you both couldn't breathe.

・Knowing that the leader of the Sanctuary, THE Negan, wanted you and only you - made you feel ontop of the world.

・And then he did something that you didn't expect.

・He made everyone assemble inside.

・And announced that you were his and only his and then he was only yours.

・That even though the war between Rick and them was still happening, Negan wanted someone solely to himself.

・In other words, Negan's personal life was just as important as the war ...

・When he made all his subjects kneel, and kissed you on the lips, you felt a rush of ... power. Of ... royalty, authority, control.

・It made you buzz.

・When it was just the two of you again, and Negan brought up the wedding, you nearly died.

・Had this been a joke? You thought so, but when you brought up your hesitancies, Negan looked at you with pure shock.

"Hell baby, I know you don't want to hear it, but these past few weeks, I've been giving you test after test."

"What? No you haven't, I would have notice-"

"That was the point, they weren't supposed to be noticeable baby."

"Negan, I - I honestly don't understand."

"Baby, you passed every single one of them. And I know you are the one for me. The only, one for me."

・Even before the apocolypse you never thought you would get married. You never thought someone would want you in that way.

・But apparently your strengths, the things that others saw as weaknesses - was what Negan loved.

"Okay, to make it even though, Mr Smith," you looked up at him with mischief in your eyes. The type of mischief that could breed chaos.

"Hmmm?" Negan said with a raised eyebrow, mirroring your smile.

"I want you to undergo a test." Your voice was light, airy, innocent.

"Anything for you, sugar," he nearly growled.

𝑵𝑺𝑭𝑾🔞𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒏𝒊!

"Knife." You demanded and he pulled the one from his boot. The one he had his closest confidant clean and sharpen every morning.

・He passed it over to you without hesitation.

"Hand," you flipped yours out and he put it over your own.

"Repeat after me," all your words contradicted your eager face. Firm and strong, it excited Negan. But he kept that in.

・You looked at the shiny blade for a moment and admired it. Not too big, not too short, the perfect size for this.

"With my blood, I devote to you my love," you said, and waited a moment for Negan to do the same.

・He readied his throat and looked you straight in the eyes. His were glistening, and yours, gleaming.

His voice was deep, low, "with my blood, I devote to you my love."

・Without taking his eyes from you, you sliced the blade over his palm and did the same to yours.

・It stung, and blood wept from the wound. Faster than you had inticipated.

"And as we merge our blood together, we are now forever bound."

・You saw a hint of his eyes bulging, but only for a second.

・This was it. The final test to see if his words wrung true.

But his gaze flicked back to yours and nodded, "and as we merge our blood together, we are now forever bound."

・You clasped your hands together and let the blood mix.

"Blood of my blood," you whispered. Kissing the back of his hand.

・Where once held a smile, now had a stoic face. Knowing that now you truly were his one and only wife.

・Negan's eyes met yours.

"Bloof of my blood," he growled and leaned over the table to kiss you.

・Your hands stayed linked like that for nearly thirty minutes. Neither wanting to break free.

・An hour after you both decided you could let go. Negan went and sat in his chair, slapping the chair beside you.

With a beer in hand, he said, "I can't believe my wife's got me doing witchy shit," and he gave a chuckle.

"Husband," you said while grabbing the knife and walking over to the seat beside him, this isn't just "witchy shit, it's witchcraft." And then you licked the blood from the knife.

[tookthe-405]

VBS

Chapter 2 (part 2)

Love me Anyway ~Chappell roan

DAILY CLICK🇵🇸 DONATE ON

LINKS🍉🍉 GOFUND.ME!

rebel!ellie x fem!reader

a/n: i just really wanted to show what happens after the "prank"

summary: you grew up religious without questions adn in summer you would get send to vacation bible school. The camp felt like prison to you, until a very interesting girl appeared.

The night was very stressful, for you and for Ellie. While you couldn't sleep because guilt was eating you up from the inside, Ellie couldn't sleep because because the excitement of seeing the pastor's face kept her brain up. You'd be lying if you said you didn't regret anything, because you do. Just not enough to tell anyone.

If you could have ratted out Ellie, everyone would know that it was done out of manipulation, even if that's really not the case.

Ellie isn't manipulating you, you're just under her spell. And you're pretty sure she doesn't know anything about it, so how manipulative can it be?

This morning you got up earlier than everyone else. you hardly slept at all and only listened your heartbeat getting faster and faster. Around 4 a.m. you dozed off, but it was more of an uncomfortable half-sleep. You looked at yourself in the mirror and thought about the many years before, where you would´ve been scared of Ellie, afraid of being thrown out of camp and losing the respect of the church.

That fear still exists, but you no longer felt it in your blood, because no matter what happened you would find a place, maybe even the one where you belong. It would also be nice if Ellie would be part of this place.

After the sermon in the morning, buses arrived at the youth hostel to take you to the small town that was half an hour away. Hood River was a small town in Oregon and you visit it at least twice a year to talk to people about God. In fact, there are already many believers there, but Pastor Toby is never really satisfied with this small town, as if he has a private dispute with the pretty place.

You were still outside and waiting for the bus with Ellie and the others, when you saw the many group leader loading the candied apples into a separate car. The reality of the prank hit you again.

But Ellie calmed you down and told you and the girls about the many crazy pranks that the middle school students had pulled at her school.

She seemed to be fitting into the group more and more, changing parts and information about herself to fit into the picture and it made you a little sad to know it. Having to watch it.

Ellie is great exactly the way she is, she shouldn't have to change. In no world she should ever feel out of place.

After the trip, the organization started. The town is a bit big, but you already know where Christians live and you only go to the houses where non-religious people opened the door last year, or closed it again very quickly.

"We're taking over the lover lane and we´ll just move forward to the eugene street," announces Louisa, who has completely prepared for today.

She goes ahead with a city map and lots of candied apples in her cloth bag.

"Ellie, I have such a bad feeling about this"

"It's all good, we haven't been anywhere yet."

When you arrived on the quiet street, the mid-20-year-old explained that it would be smarter if everyone answered the doors one at a time, as it would be quicker that way.

"Does everyone know their sayings and verses?" Sometimes, Hazel seems more professional than Louisa herself.

"Yes Hazel, how dare we forget it" ellie sighs

the curly haired girl almost hisses at Ellie.

"We'll meet everyone here again when you're done with your houses."

You all split up into parts and the thought of being separated from Ellie makes you incredibly nervous.

The first house is house number 10.

The house itself looks peaceful. Blue painted, with the American flag proudly hoisted and a car parked in front yard.

You go through all the steps again.

ask if they believe in the lord

if not, try to demonstrate that god can help in every situation

help through bible verses

distribute the message of the church

deliver the (poisoned) apples

Great.

Your fist hits the brown wooden door, not too quietly and not too loud. You could see Ellie grinning in front of you and talking about God whether she really meant it or not.

“Hello?”

you quickly put on a smile.

“Hello, sorry to bother you, I’m part of the community a little further south of here and wanted to ask if you’ve already found your way to jesus?"

You notice that Christians always talk in "Not yet" Terms.

As if we expect every person to find god one day, and the ones that haven´t already are just behind in life.

How annoying it must be to have a stranger to dictate your future.

"ok sweetie i have, but i still worry daily"

That suprises you, normaly the answer is just yes or no. But this lady is ready for a whole conversation on her foot step.

"What kind of worries?"

"i always did what god told me to do and i think i did a good job, but my poor son just doesn´t follow him. I swear i thaught him better! Now he has children who don´t belive and follow jesus path and i dont want them to go to hell!"

The older woman sighs sadly, at the edge of tears.

You´re not really sure what to say to her.

"well i´m positive that god will show himself to every human at some point. Maybe that just hasn´t happened to you family yet?"

The woman turns back slightly and screams a boys name into the house.

"im sorry young lady, but my grandchild is over for the summer and i really want him to hear this"

She squeals in delight, but your blood freezes. It feels as if the child's entire future is in your hands and you briefly thought about handing out the apple now so that she would just throw you out.

"Oh God, this child! Please come in, miss."

That's not on your list of things to do, but something makes your legs wander in anyway.

You can hardly say no now.

"Just sit down, sweetie, I'll get him out of the garden for a moment."

You nod to her and turn your head around the room. Everything looks very… old and religious.

Out of respect, you take off your shoes in the hallway and see that the old woman has slippers just like your grandparents. Large, heavy leather slippers.

The house was definitely old and you wonder if maybe her husband built it. The wallpaper is new, or at least in very good condition, but the old wood on the door frame shows the true age of the house.

You hesitantly sit down on an old chair at the round dining table and peek into the old woman´s kitchen.

Overall, a beautiful house, made for a child's summer, but looks can be deceiving.

You're just staring at the little cross on the wall. For a moment you feel very watched, but you shake the anxious thoughts out of your mind and concentrate again on the here and now.

"Come on! It won't take long, darling."

A young boy sits down on the opposite end of the table, probably not older than 10.

He doesn't feel like being here. Ellie would like him.

You quickly unpack your little Bible and introduce yourself to the boy. He doesn't say anything and just stares at you silently.

His grandma snorts. "unbelieveble, his name is Marcus"

You nod slowly and realize how uncomfortable this situation is.

How are you supposed to convince Marcus, who would rather play outside, to believe in God? The fuck thinks his grandma who you are.

"Well Marcus, your grandma wanted me to tell you about how much God loves you and how much he wants you to be with him at the end of your life-"

"I don't care"

"what"

"I don't want to hear it, grandma!"

His grandmother looks at you forgivingly, but you can also see a desperate pleading.

"Young man-"

"What is that?"

You follow his, finger pointing to the floor where the basket full of garnished apples lies.

"Oh that-"

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Now would actually be a good time to die, or at least to be dragged out of this house, by someone who finally realized how cursed this whole mission was from the start

"cool! can i have one"

Marcus suddenly seemed to have found his concentration and respect again. His grandmother also looks at you expectantly.

"Sure."

you slowly take out a wrapped apple, silently hoping that Ellie will breaks into the building and tells you that it's all over. You hand him the apple on a stick and just hope that he isn't hungry yet.

"What the dear lady wants to say is that you should give the lord a chance. He loves you very much and absolutely doesn't want you to end up in eternal fire for-."

You nod very slowly and stare at that damn apple. Poor Marcus. The old woman drives forward.

"What your father taught you is-"

The boy bites into the apple with a grin and it takes exactly 2 seconds until he spits it out again.

You grimace with a sigh.

"Fuck"

"excuse you!"

The Grandma stares at you in disbelief, you worry for a moment whether her old googly eyes might fall out and you imagine how she looks at her grandson like that, every day when he forgets to say amen at the end of a prayer.

Luckily for you, he also starts crying and you probably underestimated his age a bit, or he's just way too dramatic

"what's wrong honey?"

"um i need to go, have a good day"

like a reflex you get up, put your church's contact details on the table and run down the narrow, old but young hallway, put your shoes back on and run out of the house.

Summer air blows through your hair. You seem to have lost all control over your legs because you run and run and run, even when the American flag is nothing more than a small mixture of red, white and blue.

For some reason you suddenly think about a summer with oranges and ellie, another world who is so possible but yet so far away from reality, it almost makes you cry.

The many colors of the houses fly past you and you just grab your bag tighter, so that those shitty apples don't fall out and someone else has to eat them.

You don't even notice where you are until you find the roundabout who lead to the many streets.

"God.." You take a breath over and over again, resting your arms on your knees, but your lungs seem to be allergic to air because it feels like nothing is getting in.

"Hey…"

A hand on your shoulder and you jump back, a small scream leaving your lips, worried that the old lady might have followed you.

Red hair, green eyes and freckles.

Your hand is on your chest and you are breathing deeply and quickly.

Your eyes eat each other up and you are sure that you have never had such an intimate relationship with anyone else in the world.

Thank you so much for being here, for playing a role in my life and for not just being a nameless girl.

She looks at you, the sweat on your forehead and your loose shoes that you probably didn't even tie.

God, does she even know how precious she is to you?

"You scared me"

"I noticed, sorry…"

After a few moments you feel like there was enough eye contact, even though you're pushing for more, so you look away. Pay attention to anything else, the birds in the background, the lake that you can almost see from here or all those American flags.

"Sit down first, you're about to fall over"

Ellie gently grabs your hand. Your hands aren't really linked, she just grabs yours and leads you both to the side of the street, to a small bench.

"It worked, by the way. The apples taste really bad."

Ellie chuckles next to you and lets go of your hand, why does she have to do that?

"I know, a guy almost set his dog on me when he tried one. He was such a disgusting creep, who probably hasn’t showered in days and he was standing in front of me in my bathrobe."

That makes you laugh.

"Those are always the worst. They made little boy cry… he was really mean, but I still feel kinda bad. He didn’t want to listen to anything I said about god”

"Funny guy" Ellie replies and you smile shamelessly at her from the side.

Then she clears her throat and looks forward again.

"I'm sorry if I… dragged you into this. I didn't mean to force you to do anything."

You're now holding her hand, that's resting on her knee.

"You didn't force me to do anything Ellie, you gave me something I always wanted as a child"

"To make a boy cry?"

“Freedom,” you correct her, grinning.

She smiles shyly back and you watch intently as her cheeks become redder and redder. How beautiful this life is!

"Hey guys!"

as quickly as it happened, you take your hand away again and even Ellie slips a little further away from you, still red.

Kate walks down the street towards you with a weak body.

"There's something wrong with these apples"

Thanks for reading and for all the sweet comments and reposts!! Somehow I can’t comment anywhere, not even in my own posts and tumblr won’t help me fix this 😭

by the way, i realised that "tobi" (the pastors name) is fucking german and that in english its toby, so i changed that so sorry guys.

But it means "god is good" which i find pretty fitting

But a biggg thank you to anyone who reads and enjoys my story’s it means a lot to me🫶🫶

Don’t forget to interact with the links!!!!

Taglist: @elliewilliamgfooc @bready101 @a-little-bit-of-everybody @vqxen @hersuniverse @nelzooo @shiimer @bellaramseysgirlfriend @sonthingwithl @vi0lentb3rry @elliewilliamsblunt @be3flow3r @adelaide013 @abbysbraids @liasxeatt @jungkook-37

[talaok]

Hey babe, I love your writing and I wanted to request something.

I was wondering if you could right something where the reader is famous (could be a singer,actress,model, etc.) And her agent body shames her and puts her on a strict diet, that is essentially eating next to nothing, and pedro finds out the reader hasn't eaten and helps her overcome her eating disorder?

I understand that this is a kinda difficult subject for some people and if you don't want to write about it I totally get it.

Thank you for the lovely request babe💗

Warnings: PLEASE don't read this if any of these trigger you | negative talk about reader's body, body-image issues, toxic work environment (just your agent really), eating disorder, and angst bc I didn't want to romanticize this shit, and trust me when people start to question you because they care, you don't get all lovey-dovey, you get angry.

He never said you were too fat, he just implied it.

At first, it was just hints, "You sure you should be eating that?" or "One slice is enough"

hints on hints until finally, last week, he said it clearly 

"You're gaining weight" he stated "and you see... I wouldn't want someone to hire you based on a weight you've written on your resume and then find out it's not accurate anymore" he had smiled with that devious grin of his "I wouldn't want your employer to be disappointed, that's all"

and that's when he had told you about the diet.

about how "this industry is made of sacrifices, and food, especially for women, it's always the first one"

And all you had done was sit there, trying not to cry as you pinched any skin your fingers could reach.

You were angry at first, you rushed out of the building slamming any door that came in your way, but soon enough, something changed.

You caught a glimpse of your reflection in your car's rearview mirror, and that's when you saw it- how he was right.

you had gained weight.

Your cheeks were fuller, and your jawline wasn't what it used to be.

that's when you looked down at your body, your ugly thighs and ugly belly tearing through your clothes.

And then... then you cried.

Because he was right, because without realizing it, you were turning into a monster.

And you didn't want to be a monster, you wanted to be an actress.

That's when you decided you were gonna do anything in your power to change that.

He had told you to eat less. And you were gonna do exactly that.

A week had passed, a week made of "Oh no thanks, I've already eaten" or "I have a stomachache".

You were weighing yourself twice a day, once in the morning and once before going to bed, and you were already starting to see results.

You did feel dizzy and tired all day, but at least the numbers on the scale looked prettier...even if you didn't.

Pretending at work was easy, nobody really cared if you ate or not, what was hard, was pretending with your boyfriend.

He had already given you a weird look when, for the second time in a row, you had an excuse as to why you couldn't eat dinner, and you were afraid of what his reaction was gonna be today when you told him about the “big lunch” you had.

“Hey” you forced a smile, as you opened the door.

Normal things had gotten harder to do lately, even just smiling.

“Hey baby!” Pedro shouted from the kitchen.

Shit.

Not off to a good start.

He was already walking towards you as you entered the room, and without hesitation left a quick peck on your lips before murmuring “I missed you”

“I missed you too” You rolled your eyes playfully at the cheesiness.

He gave you a soft chuckle before clapping his hands together “I hope you’ve brought your appetite because I’ve gone all out today” he announced, walking to the stove "Since we haven't eaten together in a while I've decided to make all your favorites” he smiled, stirring something in a pot “here we have that pasta with the vegetable sauce you love” he said “here” he pointed to a pan “ we have a very special frittata” he grinned, “and in the oven… oh well there’s a surprise in the oven" 

all the happiness drained from his face the moment he turned to you.

Your smile was long forgotten.

“You don’t like it?” He asked, suddenly quiet.

“N-no I do it’s just…” you swallowed harshly "I'm-I'm really not that hungry" you avoided his glare as you turned to open the fridge, but even just the tiny movement made your head spin, and you stumbled backward.

"shit, are you ok?" He came to hold you by your waist, turning you towards him.

"yeah I'm fine I just got a little light-headed"

Shit. You realized your mistake the moment it left your mouth.

"Did you eat anything today?"

Fuckshitfuck

"yeah, don't worry it's just..." you tried changing the subject but he could see the way you wouldn't look at him, he could see the glint in your eyes.

He could read you better than anyone, even yourself, and it was honestly silly to think you could fool him for more than a week.

"y/n" he stopped you "tell me the truth"

You huffed, feigning annoyance as your eyes watered "I am telling you the truth Pedro, what do you want?"

"You've eaten today?"

"Yeah"

"What?"

You raised your eyebrows, baffled "Who are you, my mom?"

"If you've eaten today tell me what you ate"

"I don't have to tell you shit, this is ridiculous" you snapped, forcing his hands off of you.

"Baby I didn't mean to offend you, I just... I'm worried for you"

You chuckled drily "Why, 'cause I just got a little dizzy and I don't want to tell you what I had for lunch like I'm five years old?!"

"well yes," he said, desperately looking for your eyes to look back at his "That and because I haven't seen you eat a thing since you had that meeting with your agent," he said "And that guy is an asshole, and I know how this industry works, so I couldn't help but think that..."

"that what?"

"that he had told you something stupid like that you need to lose weight"

And at that you got quiet. Actually not just you, it felt as if the whole world went quiet for a moment.

"You think I just do anything he tells me?"

"no" he immediately responded "but I know how much you care about your job, and I know how persuasive these people can be" he explained.

"this is bullshit" you sighed, walking over to the couch as the tears in your eyes threatened to fall

"so it isn't true?" he asked "He hasn't said anything like that?" he continued, making you stop in your tracks " You're eating normally and I'm just worrying over nothing?"

"Yes!" you tried to yell, but your voice cracked.

He walked to you as you roughly wiped a tear from your cheek.

"Sweetheart, please" he begged "please tell me the truth, I wanna help you"

"there's nothing to help me with, you're just paranoid" 

"then why are you crying?"

"I just..." a sob climbed up your throat "Just leave me alone" You turned away but he grabbed your wrist

"no," he said firmly "I won't leave you alone, baby, no matter what you say to me I won't leave you alone until you tell me the truth" he promised "Until you let me help you" he continued "I love you y/n, and I don't give up easily"

You turned around, your red eyes pointed to his chest.

"Please look at me" he stroked your cheek "Please let me help you, baby"

And once you obliged, once you finally saw him, and all the worry and fear filling his eyes, you couldn't do anything but hug him, hiding your face in his chest as you stopped fighting the tears, but let them flow and soak his shirt instead.

"I'm sorry" was all you could sob

"no, hey, hey, you don't have anything to be sorry about" he promised

"It's just- he... he..." you tried explaining but you didn't even know how.

"I know" he murmured, caressing your hair"I know" he repeated "And I know you probably won't believe me, but please know that whatever he said wasn't true, because, baby, you're the most beautiful person I've ever met, inside and out, and I'm the luckiest man on earth to be with you"

[cwritesforfun]

Tashi Duncan x Fem!Reader: Coach or Girlfriend For The Day?

You’re tennis rivals until she gets injured… Tashi never really had a problem with you because you were respectful and you played a good game.

Btw, this one is a little angsty and features a controlling Tashi, oops! I promise to write sweet Tashi soon :)

Y/N = Your Name

*** I do not own the Challengers characters or plot or anything from the movie ***

Masterlist

Y/N’s POV

As you wait in the locker room to play your match, your coach tells you that Tashi Duncan is at your match. No way?! You wonder what she has been doing since her injury at Stanford last season. It’s been a while since you heard anything about her.

You throw a wink to Tashi in the audience and Tashi smirks.

You stretch and the announcements begin, “To the left is Miss Layla Rose from Kentucky! Layla Rose holds a record at Kentucky University for most single title wins!” People cheer. You watch Layla walk onto the court and you watch as she mostly leans left as she walks. You start to wonder if her right side is weaker and if so would that be the side to hit towards? Hmm… You smirk at your realization.

Next, you hear, “And to my right is the lovely Miss Y/N who needs no introduction, but I will give her one! Y/N holds a record at the University of Notre Dame and in the state of Indiana for her age group, with the most single title wins!” You listen to cheers and you blow kisses to the audience.

The match starts … You win 4 and Layla wins 1. You were right that she prefers her left swings and you scored majority of yours on her right. She was frustrated and she threw her racket at the court. She got a penalty.

At the party to celebrate the whole weekend, you see Tashi and you walk up to her. You'll admit that you find her wildly attractive. You exclaim “Tashi Duncan at the party and at my match! It must be my lucky day.” Tashi smiles and says, “I have a crazy offer for you.” You ask, “What is it?” She smirks and asks, “Can we talk somewhere quieter?” You lead her to a quiet isolated area and say, “Okay go ahead.” She says, “I would like to be your Coach.” You ask, “What makes you think I need a new Coach and that it should be you?” She smiles and answers, “I saw you today. You knew how to beat her and you did. I just know the Miami Open will be harder and I know your backhand could use a bit of work. I also can think of some other ways we can improve your day-to-day life to make you a stronger player and maybe even get some bigger sponsorships.” You reply, "First of all, rude. Second of all, true. Third of all, I can't just fire my Coach for no reason." She asks, "Why not? Your current Coach is setting you up to fail with their regimen and their choices for matches." You ask, "Who am I to say no to Tashi Duncan?" She excitedly asks, "Does this mean you'll do it?" You answer, "It does." She pulls you into a hug and says, "Ok great, when's your next match and next practice? I'm ready to start!" You answer, "My next practice is tomorrow at 10:00 am. I wanted to run through drills, some practice swings, and a short set. But, my coach said that he didn't like the sound of that. So instead I'm doing some two-hour practice that he decided on. My next match is in two days." She replies, "Your idea is what I would've suggested. Plan for that and plan for how you're going to fire your Coach. I'll be there, just send me the address."

The next day started the first of many practices and days with Tashi. Most days turned to nights and Tashi even transferred to the University of Notre Dame. She also moved into your apartment into the bedroom next to yours. She was your private Coach and she didn't want you to pay her. Except, she wanted to spend a day with you pretending to be your girlfriend for the day while you were in Miami. You agreed because you had once fantasized about her as your girlfriend. She seemed pleased.

Flashback to the day in Miami ~

You had to be ready by 10:00 am to go out with Tashi for the day. You finish putting on your shoes and you see Tashi standing in the living room. She smiles at you and exclaims, "You look gorgeous. Let's go, we have a full day out."

You take Tashi's outstretched hand and you walk out hand in hand to her car. She holds the door open and she starts driving. You both talk on the way about life besides tennis, which is different. You arrive at a botanical garden that you both walk through first then are led to a breakfast in the garden. You both have a nice time there and then you are at a quieter beach.

Tashi exclaims, "I bought you a new bikini that you can change into and I also bought you a book that I didn't see on your shelves. I also have a picnic basket and cooler in the back." You reply, "Wow this is a great day!" She smiles.

You both sit on the beach next to each other and Tashi asks, "May I kiss you?" You nod and she leans over. She cups your face gently and leans in close to you. You close the gap and kiss her back.

~ End of Flashback

You shake your head and try to focus agenda for what your upcoming matches in front of you. The day spent as Tashi's girlfriend really shook you up. You can no longer go on dates without thinking of her lips on yours. She ruined you.

You both had graduated college and you moved in together again, but in Los Angeles where you could be near a bigger airport and more people to practice with. And, so you could meet with more sponsors to make deals and make money. Tashi wasn't always there and sometimes she'd bring people back to her room. You could hear them almost every time especially if it was Tashi moaning. She always said she could keep quiet, but you knew she was only loud because she actually was enjoying herself. She enjoyed that night with you from what you remembered too.

After you shower, you pour yourself a glass of wine and sit on your couch. You turn on the TV and watch some reality show that is on right now. You just keep watching and focusing on their love drama. You also focus on keeping your wine glass half full the whole time.

Tashi comes in laughing and sits next to you on the couch gently. She taps you on the shoulder and asks, "What happened, Y/N? What's wrong?" You shrug and say, "I like this show. I'm going to keep watching. Could you fill my glass with some more wine? It looks sad and empty." She replies, "No, you're not drinking anymore tonight. You have practice tomorrow. You need to go to bed." You ask, "Why? Why should I listen to you? You're in charge of everything to do with my life. I'm tired of it. You control what I eat, when I practice, and who I partner with. You also... you ruined other people for me. I can't date anymore because I just think of you and I hate it." She gasps and says, "I ... I'm not sorry for it. I wanted to push you to be better. I know you can be the best tennis player in the world. I know it." You reply, "Just let me finish this show, that's the least you could do." She walks off and slams her door. And you finish your show.

The next morning, you don't see Tashi in the dining room making breakfast so you make it for you both. You knock on her bedroom door and the door opens to reveal a girl who looks like a shorter version of you. You exclaim, "Sorry, I was just going to see if Tashi wanted breakfast... um who are you?" The girl answers, "Connie and who are you?" Before you can answer, Connie says, "Let me guess, you are Y/N." You nod and Connie continues, "Tell Tashi that I left. I can't do this with her anymore. She fu**ing moaned your name in bed and I'm sick of hearing your name in her mouth. You're all she talks about and I need to leave. Sorry, excuse me." Connie pushes past you and leaves the apartment.

You sit eating your breakfast and Tashi walks out. You exclaim, "Tashi, I left some breakfast for you in the hot pan and a smoothie in the fridge." Tashi thanks you and you say, "Oh and Connie left. She told me to tell you that she is done." Tashi asks, "Well good riddance to her. She's always been too clingy and I always thought she was a gold digger." You reply, "That's not why she said she was leaving you." She asks, "Oh and you two are suddenly friends now, are you?" You reply, "She just said you talk about me a lot and she was tired of it. Well that and you moaned my name not hers in bed." Tashi snaps, "You would like it if I confessed my love to you, but wake up Y/N. That dream will never happen." You nod slowly and say, "Then I think it's best if I move out and we just see each other for tennis. I'll follow the regimen, but I don't think we should be around each other casually. I need to move on." You get up and Tashi says, "Y/N, please." You reply, "I'm going to get ready for practice."

You moved out within 1 month and things with Tashi became tense. Your relationship as Coach and student became nonexistent when Tashi quit 1 month after that. You hired a new Coach and moved on. You never saw Tashi again.

[definesanity]

Bite Me (Taken Literally)

'What the fuck?'

Uzi had no filter, and never had. She forgot to install that update. But thank Robo-God she did.

Because she was dumbfounded.

She was the weird kid, the one who nobody liked; heck, she's pretty sure half her class doesn't even know she exists, let alone knows her name.

Which was why she was befuddled at a letter in her locker, asking her to visit a certain location.

Uzi had common sense, despite what many say. And so she used it. And deicided to always have her flight reflexes ready, no matter what happens.

Arriving, there was... nothing. Of note. It was just a regular cabin, much smaller than the ones in camp she's been wanting to visit.

She then heard... something. A noise would describe it, given she couldn't pinpoint it. And it came from a bed. Because of course there's a bed. Why wouldn't there be a bed?

Uzi slowly walked up the bed, thinking on what she'll find; maybe a dead Drone? A human? Heck, anything will do...

Pulling it back... to nothing. Just a bed.

"Huh. Maybe I am a bit paranoid..." she muttered to herself, and turned around to face the most horrific thing she's ever seen.

"JUMPSCARE." the thing wearing the skin ('Holy shit it's a human girl fused with a Disassembley Drone?!') announced, as it tackled Uzi on to the bed, arms pinned via weird tendrils.

The girl gazed down at her, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as two golden Xs shown amid the dark void of where eyes should be. "SMUG LAUGH. SLOW REACTION TIME THERE, BUDDY."

"Screw you!" Uzi attempted to kick the girl, but her legs were pinned down. The girl crawled on to her.

And without warning, bit her neck like a vampire.

Code flew past her eyes at a speed she couldn't understand, and then, it was gone. Leaving only Uzi and the girl.

"Who the hell are you?!" the self-proclaimed angsty teen demanded, with the Disassembley Drone/Human thing looking back. Being honest, she felt braver than she should be.

"MM. I AM THE SOLVER O-O-OF THE ABSOLUTE FABRIC. THE VESSEL IS TESSA. SHE WAS A GOOD FRIEND, UNTIL. WHIMSICAL SIGH. SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE IT, BUT, WELL. HERE WE ARE."

"You killed a child?!" Uzi shook her head, looking at Tessa. "Okay, sure, yeah, but still, really?! ...Wait, you're the thing that was--hold on, what the heck did you inject me with?!"

Tessa only giggled, as the tendrils went from Uzi's arms and legs and allowed Uzi to move.

"YOU WILL SEE, SOON. EVIL, LAUGHTER."

And then, she was gone.

"What the fuck?"

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

"Sheesh, who looked at you wrong today?" V commented later on, as Uzi sat on the ship's chair looking sullen.

"Bite me." Uzi shot back, doing her hardest to sketch the thing. She also did eleven different scans of her software and hardware, and even her circuitry, but couldn't find anything amiss.

"Rude." V leaned back in her chair, looking around. "Where's N?"

"You tell me." she had started to draw the thing's ribbon, next, being done with the head.

"Hunting, then. I feel sorry for the guy, doesn't know what he's missing."

"Missing what, having to listen to you?" Uzi had started to draw the Xs.

"Chatting with you."

The Worker Drone stopped. She blinked, looking at V. "Say what."

"Exactly! For a Worker Drone, anyways, you're actually interesting. Not every day that happens. Or ever."

Uzi replied by not replying, going back to drawing.

"What are you even doing?"

"Got attacked, drawing the attacker, if the court was still here that would be wonderful."

"Really? Court?"

"Hey, before you lot came we had a civilization; never saw it myself, but some of my Dad's friends talked about how one of them tried to win a divorce case. It was really boring, the way he told it, but I was a kid who had nothing better to so than look through the Internet, so I listened for the full three hours.

"What what did I get? A headache, someone's life story, and wishing we could have court again so I could disown my dad." Uzi finished her story with a loud sigh, opening her eyes.

V was looking at her with muted surprise. "...Got any other stories?"

"Wha--You're interested?"

"Hey, anything is better than sitting on my ass doing nothing. Speaking of, did you know that--?"

"--There is a setting that makes our bodies more human? Yes, I do, and I shudder to imagine what was going through their minds while making us."

She finally finished putting the last details on the sketch. "Okay, finally done. If you see this girl, tell I don't exist."

She presented the drawing to V, who blinked at it, and an emotion flew past her face. Then, it was gone, and V nodded. "Eh, fine. Anyways, stories, please."

"Ugh, fine. What do you want."

"Ever killed someone?"

"No, but I have committed several acts of violence against my classmates."

"Kinda hot." V said it with such a straight face Uzi had to pause. Then, what she said hit her.

"...I'm gonna... get some fresh air." Uzi started to get up and move towards the hatch, but a hand grabbed her arm.

"What, sick of lil' ol' me?"

Uzi just rolled her eyes (as best as she could, anyways) and left.

None saw the code flashing by V's visor, or how V's eyes softened looking at Uzi.

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

Lunch time arrived, and Uzi sat by herself. Not solely because she was a loner (that was one half of the reason), but because she preferred it.

Unfortunately, a hand touched her shoulder, and Uzi felt her solitude ending.

"Heya, um..." of all the people, Uzi had Lizzy had the bottom of her list. "...Uzi, right?"

"...Yes...?" tread carefully, who knows what she wants...

"Oh, I was right then, good; hey, listen, could I borrow you for a sec? Cool, thanks!"

"Woah--hey, what the hell?!" Uzi was then dragged away, her not giving an answer but Lizzy answered for her.

Through the corridors the two walked and walked (or, in Uzi's case, dragged and dragged), when the two ended up in Lizzy's dorm (she thinks it is. She could have been dragged into an empty one). Her arm was let go of.

"So. Uzi. Gotta be honest, I like your style."

"...Sty...? What, my clothes?"

"Yes, your clothes!" Lizzy rolled her eyes, walking ahead of Uzi. "Love the goth look, by the way. Gives you an approachable look, and makes people wonder if you're actually a softie underneath that cold exterior."

"...Where is this going." Uzi was not annoyed, just short of patience. "Is this about prom? It's about prom, isn't it?"

"Duh! I could go the classic, popular girl look but, let's be honest, it gets stale. Soooooooo me and Doll were trying to find new ideas and, well, here you are!"

"...Okaaaaay... where is Doll, anyways?"

["Hey."]

Uzi near enough punched Doll in the face, only for the Russian Drone to catch it.

That time, Uzi did see the code flying past her visor, and was able to catch some of it:

'OVERRIDE_ACTIVE'

'CONTACT=TRUE: BYPASS DEFENSES'

"...Byyyyyyyyyeeeeeeee."

Uzi wisely sprinted away, taking her as fast as her little legs can carry her, which was into her room.

--------

She breathed a sigh of relief, and fell on to the lower end of her bed.

Then jumped further up, as the thing licked her face.

"You again?!"

"SAD LOOK. DID YOU, NOT MISS ME, UZI?" Tessa attempted to look sad, but failed due to the lack of motor functions. In better light, Uzi can see just how grafted the girl was on to the Worker Drone, and she held back on vomiting for the time being.

"Well, I can get answers! Just... first things first, what the hell is your relationship with my mom?!"

"AH, NORI. SHE WAS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE HOSTS. SHE IS DEAD NOW, UNFORTUNATELY. BUT, REALLY, WHAT CAN YOU DO?" The AbsoluteSolver shrugged, looking less than sorry.

"...You motherfucker...!" Uzi felt angry, and rightfully so, but she held back due to the thing having the advantage, given its ability to make holograms.

"OOPSIE-DAISY."

This could not get worse.

"Heya, Uzi!"

IT CAN GET WORSE IT CAN GET WORSE IT CAN GET SO MUCH WORSE--

"Sorry about that, I was just fixing up a door! Heh, you know what they sa--" Khan cut himself off, looking at the scene in front of him: Uzi on her bed, with a fleshy-looking thing on top of her. "...U-Uzi--?"

"IT'S A PUPPY!" Uzi screamed out.

"...W-What?"

"...Y-Yeah! Turns out um, humans kinda... made up what they looked like, yeah! Sure they're... kinda weird looking, but they're adorable, in their own... creepy. Fleshy. Way. Er. Yeah!"

"...I see!" Khan believed her. Somehow. "Well, take care of them, Uzi!"

She waited until the door was closed, and let out a huge sigh of relief.

She glared at the Solver. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know. Got it?"

"AFFIRMATIVE SMILE."

"ALSO, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT, ME BEING CUTE?"

"Screw off. Now, answer me. What the fuck did you inject me with?!"

"DO YOU LIKE IT? I MADE IT MYSELF."

"Can't answer that if you don't tell me what it even does!"

"AN ANTITHESIS TO YOUR SOLITUDE. AN ANSWER TO YOUR LONELINESS."

"I'm not lonely, excuse you! I have N!"

"EYE ROLL. SURE. IT OVERRIDES DRONES TO FEEL CARING TO YOU. I." Tessa looked sheepish, as weird as it sounds. "WENT EXCESSIVE BY ACCIDENT. CONSIDER IT AN APOLOGY FOR KILLING NORI."

"Pretty shit apology, not gonna lie." came the dry reply. Uzi got off the bed and stood up, looking at the corpse. "But why me?"

"..." silence only came from the thing.

"...I'm gonna leave. Come on, I'll take you for a walk or whatever it is they do."

"GET ZIP BOMBED."

As soon as Tessa said that, Uzi had a zip file open on how to care for a puppy.

...Ugh, she's in for it now, isn't she...?

[powderblueblood]

Can we please talk about the Jonathan of it all? I love that lacy had the tiniest thing for him before nancy had him all spellbound (no hate to my girl nancy. She can't help it that her pussy pop's severely or however that meme goes) lacy likes herself a weirdo and I am right there with her. I want to ask, she mentions they went out on one date and you mention it a bit but was it really a date or something she, for lack of a better word, tricked him in to? because we both know he wouldn't have asked her out and I'm completely unsure if she'd even utter the word 'date' to him because it might have spooked him or had him thinking she was trying to pull something on him. Basically I want to know how you think lacy would have gotten him to agree to even meet in the park because as stated in a later chapter, he's pretty hard to get a hold of. sorry I'm fixating on this one part. it's just, idk i really liked that lacy saw something in him and went as far as she did to pursue him, you know?

never apologize for fixating in my inbox EVER, that's what this place is for. this dynamic is so secretly special to me. i honestly think if things were different and lacy didn't need a motormouth like munson to rev her engine up and bring her to life out of sheer annoyance, there would be a strong dair energy between her and jonathan. he appealed to something very real within her; he's sweet and thoughtful and sweet and thoughtful are in short supply. the following is how lacy and jonathan ended up standing elbow-to-elbow in main street vinyl that fateful summer. written in the third person because i thought, why not, fun. part of the hellfire & ice universe

HAWKINS, INDIANA. JULY 1982-ISH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

Dear reader,

Summer makes us pliable, I think. It makes us liquid and wanting. We've hit record temperatures this July, and even the best conditioned of places feel like they're warping. I find myself spilling over into things I usually wouldn't, looking over people's shoulders to peer into how they're handling the heat. Anything to break the monotony of Carol's/gas station/Lover's Lake/Skull Rock/substitute as appropriate.

I'm not finding anything interesting. Or didn't. Until today.

TRACK ONE - MARQUEE MOON by TELEVISION.

The weather that day was too heavy for the sky to hold, and Lacy's sour mood with everyone was too heavy to gloss out. She peeled her car out of the rocky bank at Lover's Lake and may have nipped Harrington's on the way, humidity fogging over her spatial awareness.

No one bothered to poke holes in Lacy's flimsy excuse for leaving, which she kind of resented--in fact, she was kind of resenting the grand dearth in attention she was getting. Cass on Mikey, Carol on Tommy, Tina chasing Steve, Derek pouring over Nicole, but no one quite zeroing in on her. The boys would shoot a stolen glance her way when her shirt and shorts came off, a momentary and forbidden distraction from whatever they were supposed to be locked into.

She's gorgeous, sure. And she knows it, of course. But not gorgeous enough to latch onto, it seems. Nothing of substance there. Lacy was bored to distraction herself.

Once she hit the throbbing, melting concrete of Hawkins' main drag again, she parked a couple of blocks away from the record store, figuring it would do no good to hitch her car right out front. Even if no one was looking for her. Lacy was a girl made of buffers and alibis, pushing the heavy glass door open just as the lightning cracks overhead. It announced her arrival in a way she could have done without.

The clerk, Jerry, a man made up of mostly Groucho Marx facial hair with bifocals perched on top, regarded her with a half-second glance. Lacy patted her perspiring brow as delicately as possible and wound her way towards the 'T's. She had a riff caught in her head that the darkening sky inspired, with all that threatening rain and achy rumbles of thunder, and she needed to exorcise it. It wasn't something she could do in the grand privacy of her own bedroom, because this was a purchase she hadn't smuggled home yet.

Plucking the record out and looking to the listening booths with a satisifed quirk of her lips, Lacy caught Jonathan Byers' dark, serious, brow-knit stare the very second before he thought to snap back around. His headphones skewed against his dull brown hair in a way she knew should have disgusted her. Pavlovian, Lacy waited for her learned reaction to kick in; a lurch, an ew, Byers, what a weirdo! squeeze of the abdominal muscles but... nothing. Nothing happened.

Like she'd left the part of herself that knew how to perform that back at the lake with the others.

Whatever.

The listening booth beside Jonathan Byers stood free. His spine visibly stiffened as she stepped up to his right, picking up the headphones and putting the needle down. The perspex between them was stained heavily, browned blotches of nicotine from decades past, but still transparent enough to see through. And Lacy could feel Jonathan's stare again, beady and judging and zeroing in on the vinyl cover as she flipped it over in her careful hands.

Confusion teemed off him in waves, prompting her to feel something-- a kind of smug indulgence in the notion that he might be thinking, What the fuck is Lacy Doevski doing listening to Television?

Smugger still that if he were to tell anyone, no one would ever believe him.

TRACK TWO - HERE SHE COMES NOW by THE VELVET UNDERGROUND.

Jonathan doesn't spend any time thinking about people like Lacy Doevski, and he means that. Not a flitting fantasy of oh, what would it be like to have the glaring sun of someone so popular shone upon him, nothing like that. Kid's a realist, okay? He knows that people like Lacy are not even worth entertaining the thought--plus, she's mean. As kindergarten as it sounds, he about as much mean in his life as he can handle, thank you very much.

But there's something about a person encroaching on your space, especially in summertime. Was it not for the perspex, they'd be elbow-to-elbow at the listening booths of Main Street Vinyl. And due to the Byers' shot air conditioning with no fix in budget and therefore in sight, he comes here every day to avail of those big box fans. So, unfortunately, does Lacy.

Doesn't she have a state of the art unit she could be sitting in front of, blasting cold air and listening to all these records that she can definitely afford but never ends up buying in the privacy of her own plush Loch Nora home? Why does she hang around here with a soft sheen of perspiration on her forehead that she has to keep shyly dabbing at? Irritably flipping her hair as she tries to subtly spy what he's listening to?

She's not as smooth as she thinks she is.

Why did she roll her eyes and smile a little when she spotted the copy of White Light/White Heat he was listening to? Why did she swap out what she was spinning for a copy of The Velvet Underground & Nico?

Why did Jonathan kind of smile back?

TRACK THREE - FEAR IS A MAN'S BEST FRIEND by JOHN CALE.

Shutting up feels good in a place like this.

Not that Lacy doesn't thrive off the empty caloric intake of a good gossip, but a break in the buzz became more and more adored. And this wordless game of record chicken she'd taken to playing with Jonathan Byers...

Well, how does one explain that without coming across as cruel? Fact was, she was having fun with it and a huge portion of that pie was because Jonathan was so far out in the social hinterlands that it would never blow back on her. No one would ever accuse Lacy of having freak-loving tendencies because no one would ever care to notice Jonathan in the presence of someone like her. He was younger and he was quiet. He had a busted up family, of course, no one found that too interesting. He didn't parade himself around as a paragon of oddity like some people did, like that Munson kid did. He was just... nobody. And for a while, so was she, and it didn't feel entirely terrifying.

The two of them fell into this strange, silent rhythm, where it appeared to the naked eye that they were just two distant classmates standing next to one another in this stuffy record store.

But Jonathan's nose would wrinkle if she was listening to something he didn't recognize, and he'd tug at the hair behind his ear if he did. Jonathan's nose was always a little oily and a soft waft of body odor escaped under his deodorant as he passed her in the stacks-- yet, none of these imperfections triggered that habitual repulsion that they ought to. That they would have, if school was still in session. Instead, Lacy began to feel this animalic pull toward them.

It was as if she immediately started to try and sniff him out each time she entered the store.

And Lacy being Lacy, the pull made her want to push back. Threaten it. Break the unspoken covenant they had and see what Jonathan would do. Boredom with your life begets a thing like that, you see. So, she lifted her needle off John Cale, curved her fingers around the stained plastic that separated them and said, "I love Linda Thompson's voice, don't you?"

He'd never directly met her eyes before then.

"You wh-- sorry?"

TRACK FOUR - SUGAR ON MY TONGUE by THE TALKING HEADS.

Jonathan's a good judge of character. You have to be, with a father like Lonnie and a mother like Joyce. You have to know how to spot someone who's an asshole or someone on the verge of a breakdown from a few hundred miles away. You have to know the difference between good company and bad; Jonathan's skilled at that. Just, so far, seems that the only good company in Hawkins is his own.

Until. Well. Listen.

Lacy kind of made the lines blur.

He couldn figure out if she was fucking with him or not.

Instinct told him that she was; that this was some big elaborate plot to humiliate him somehow, because something like that always seems to be lurking around the corner for him. But the way she smoothed the arch out of her brow when she spoke to him--bitesized sentences, Bagel Bites of conversation--made Jonathan edge closer to that dangerous maybe not.

And they only ever talked about music.

Lacy did most of the heavy lifting, with Jonathan too struck to offer anything beyond a single-word affirmation or a strangled smile over the alarm bells that kept ringing in his head. She kept going, however, saying these incredibly clever, snipped, almost curated things that made Jonathan notice the shape of her mouth.

"...and I actually have that. I could make you a tape."

Jonathan's finger twisted into the wire of his headphones. "Oh, you don't-- I actually, I have this one too."

"Oh."

What was he talking about? That copy of Talking Heads: 77 that he's played to death but couldn't find for the life of him, not in the deepest recesses of his bedroom? The fact that it was missing brought about crazy feelings of self betrayal because that thing was one of Jonathan's prized possessions. Not least of all because it came out the same year he turned ten; same year Lonnie made him shoot a rabbit, same year he proved to Lonnie that he'd never be the man his father wanted him to be.

"Um, no, actually," Jonathan said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I lost it, actually. My copy." Say actually one more time, buddy. "But you don't have to."

Lacy gave him a look that was solid and confident, one he almost recognized from the real-her, the one that existed in the spaces outside this record store. This looked more genuine, though. Like there was light behind her eyes.

"I want to," she said, "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to."

TRACK FIVE - PABLO PICASSO by THE MODERN LOVERS.

"Meet me in the park at off Maple at like... midday?" Lacy knew how it sounded, so she gave him a shrug, one so characteristic and comforting to her. Sliding responsibility right off the curve of one shoulder. "Or don't. It's up to you. But that's where I'll be."

And if she's confessional honest, she hadn't expected him to come. To breach containment of the bubble they'd created in the listening booths, hogging them away from the other patrons of the store. It was safe there, where they didn't have to exchange pleasantries like how are you or what's new, where things were abstracted yet so incredibly personal because this, this, music was one of her secret vestiges that she didn't share with anyone.

To bring it out in the light like this, in the pollen-filled field, to a pockmarked picnic table, meant Lacy was risking it.

Most of her knew that a thing like this couldn't survive being outside it's stuffy, soundtracked bell jar. But the little flicker that thought, dangerously, maybe burned bright in her. In some long neglected place.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi."

Summer makes you pliable. Makes you want to try anything.

It had that effect on Jonathan too, because he showed. But Jonathan shies away from the light; even sitting with Lacy in the shade, the farthest he could position himself from her, he squinted and hunched and looked all apologetic about it. Lacy couldn't hack through the awkwardness with a chainsaw, one she wanted so desperately to rev and scream,

DO YOU LIKE ME OR HAVE I BEEN WASTING MY TIME? I THINK YOU'RE NICE. NO ONE'S NICE. I SHOWED YOU SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE GETS TO SEE. SHOULD WE TRY SOMETHING? DO YOU READ ME?

Everything is that serious when you're sixteen.

The pirated tape of Talking Heads: 77 sat between them on the bench, and Nancy Wheeler crested the hill with a dog on a leash, and Lacy watched as Jonathan's eyes opened. His shoulders relaxed some and his face took on a faintness of a glow she had recognized, because Steve Harrington had looked at Nancy that very same way a couple of weeks back.

Not a look of distraction. Because they were in the real world now.

Spell broken, bubble popped. The shame that she would ever be so stupid to try something like this blew through her like a harsh gust, snuffing out the hope-- because no matter what she does, what she chances to reveal to boys like Jonathan who operate with a sweetness, who need coaxing, there'll always be kinder. There'll always be better. There'll always be Wheeler.

[annachronisme]

It could be worse, right ? Part 3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

@kodaik97 @flustratedcas @didntwant2come @dreamlandforever @bidisastersworld @grtwdsmwhr

They had started to bicker right after. Apparently, his way of announcing bad news was not the best. Wayne never had any complains but for some reason Harrington didn’t seem to approve his methode.

“What do you mean locked?” spitted Gareth through gritted teeth.

They exchanged a glance. Which one was gonna sacrifice himself to the wolf. Steve sensing a lost battle here, rolled his eyes at him.

“Someone locked the door behind me.” He said, passing a hand nervously in his hair. 

“So this is your fault !" Accused Gareth, slapping his hand on the table, making Steve flinch back with a sour face. 

“Leave Steve out of this, shithead !” shouted Lucas, jumping at Steve's defense. “Steve wouldn’t do that!”

“Oh because you know him so much, right !?” Gareth shouted right back. 

“Better than you do, fucking asshole. What’s your problem!?” Shouted Mike. It was kind of endearing how much the kids were ready to defend the ex-jock like that, even little Mike Wheeler who always seemed to hold a kind of grudge against the dude he still defended the man.

He wondered what could have happened for some nerd kids to be saddled with Harrington of all people and to be so attached to him. Even weirder was that Harrington was even more than them.

While he was busy studying Steve's character like some carefully crafted characther, the other had started to fight. While no fist were flying -thanks whatever deity was ot there he really didn't want to break a fisht fight today- it had developed into a ‘who scream the loudest’ fight, creating a cacophony of shouts. Harrington still had not said a word, shoulders drawn up into his ears. Everytime someone managed to be louder than the rest, he would frown even harder, like he was in pain or something. 

“ENOUGH.” He shouted, slappin both hands on the table. He saw Steve jump from the corner of his eyes, clearly not expecting him to shout.

“All of you. Shut. The fuck. Up. I'm not above killing all of your character off for the shit you just pulled. ” He tried his best to say calm but it was realy hard. The situation was already not ideal, he didn't need a fight now.  

“But-” Wheelers started to interject.

“I said shut up, Wheelers, you’re all on thin ice as it is. Now put your ass down and listen.”

They all sat back down, slowly , still throwing glare at each other, clearly not over that argument. 

“Munson …”

“ That." He took a deep breath, no need to get snippy with Harrington he didn't do anything. "Goes for you too, Stevie.”  he said more softly, sitting back down. He will panic later -way later, once he's safe in his room- about how he called Steve fucking Harrington 'Stevie' and didn't get pounded.

“ As we were going to explain. Someone, that is not Steve,- he said glaring meaningfully at Gareth seeking down in his chair. “ locked us in the Drama room. Steve went to check the emergency exit in the back and it is also locked, clearly the assholes who did this thought really hard about it but not hard enought to think about the fucking fire hazard it meant. Anyway, Harrington, you’re the last one who came maybe you saw something ?” 

“I- I don’t think so ? I did feel like someone was following me but I thought it was just my paranoïa acting up again. ” He noticed Dustin had turned a worried look at Steve, Mike and Lucas too but it was way more subtle. Harrington smiled reassuringly at the kid who did not look convinced at all. There was something going on there he was definitely not aware of. 

“Okay. It’s fine. We’re fine,,, Uncle Wayne is not going to look for me until tomorrow night, at the very last. Gareth, Jeff ?”

Both shook their heads. No one, on their side, not tonight at least. Maybe tomorrow morning when they wouldn't find them home. Turning toward the kids, he saw that they wore a similar grimace on their faces. 

“None of their parents are going to look for them until Monday, if even that.” added Steve. “ They were supposed to sleepover at my house and it’s not unusual for them to stay more than one night, so there’s no luck on that front.” 

“Fuck. What about you Harrington ?”

“No… I have the weekend off and Robin is out with her family for the weekend.” 

Who in hell is Robin?

“Double fuck.” He mumbled into his hand. “There’s nothing left but to wait I guess.”

Time passed. Dustin and Steve seemed to have an entire conversation with their eyes. Steve huffed before turning his back to them, walking away. 

“I’m going to look around for something useful.” Steve mumbled out. He was quickly followed by the three freshmen, following him like ducklings. 

“ This is so bad.” whispered Jeff. 

“It could be worse. At least, we have food.” he awkwardly laughed. 

“We’re gonna have to sleep there. And with Harrington of all people. What a fucking nightmare.” scorned Gareth.

Soon after Steve came back, arms full of blankets he found, followed by the other three carrying pillows. Apparently the Drama club had a lot of accessories stacked somewhere in the back. He threw the blankets in a pile. He was talking in a hushed tone to the kid, they looked unconvinced at best, whatever the older boys was sayings was not taken seriously by them. They sat on the floor near the blankets, all four in a circle. Deciding he really didn’t want to stay all night on a chair, he got up and flopped down into the blankets pile, startling the kids. The blankets smelled weird, not bad pursue but it definitely needed a wash. He heard a faint laugh to his left, turning his head he saw Harrington himself hiding a smile behind his hand.  

“Dramatic much?” he smirked. Oh god. He was cute, the asshole.

“If you’re asking me this, you've never seen me in your life before, and I know it's not possible because we shared classes together at some point.” he said rolling on his back. Gareth and Jeff were moving down toward them, a bit wary in the presence of an old jock like Steve Harrington. 

“Yeah I remember Mrs.Chapman's litterature class. I always liked those lessons. Not that Chapman was any good at making her books interesting, she was suck a bore but you made it bearable so there's that.” He said, smiling softly. The kids were exchanging weird looks between them not saying a things. Eddie's brain however at went completely blank, gaping like a fish out of water.

So that happened.

Henderson, thank god, turned the discussion to DnD. They opened a few bags of chips at some point when they started to get hungry. They talked, filling silence with nonsense, mostly about the campaign they just finished and about the one they did before. Apparently baby Byers was part of the three freshmen group and he was really good, they couldn't stop praising the kid.

And in that time, he once again saw something in Harrington he had not seen before. 

Harrington. Steve 'the King' 'The Hair' Harrington was worse than a fucking Mom.

“ Do not wipe your hands on your clothes, that’s disgusting. You’re not the one who's going to do the laudry later, I am.” He fussed over Henderson who had wiped his filthy hand on his shirt. 

“ Yes, Mom… ” snarkily said Henderson. He had felt himself tense. He may not know Harrington and even though he was starting to believe what the kids said about him and could see how he cared about them, he didn't know he would react to that kind of jab. 

The kid had a death wish or something ? Easiest way to anger a jock even a retired one was to put in danger their fucking masculinity. 

And he was surprised once again, when Harrington not only sighed completely exasperated and turned to him to say ‘you see what I’m dealing with?’ while the tree shithead just laughed at him. When Steve returned his attention to the kids, he leaned into Gareth. 

“Am I still high ?” he whispered. Gareth just looked at him like he was the dumbest person he had ever seen. 

[hanquokkasgirl]

Will We Last?

Chapter 2

"Excuse me, Miss Hart. We're landing in 30 minutes." I felt a poke on my shoulder waking me up from my slumber. Whoever said that redeyes to anywhere were a good idea is lying.

I yawn. "Thanks. Could I get an iced coffee with two sugars and cream please?" I said while I adjusted my blanket and taking off my eye mask.

"For sure, in just a moment." She leaves through some curtains. I decide to go to the restroom, and do my skincare. And by skincare I mean moisturizer and cleanser because I forgot everything else. I also reapply deodorant and a bit of perfume. As I get out and walk back to my seat, the coffee was waiting for me. I chugged that motherfucker because man did I need it.

After a couple more minutes, the landing announcement came on and I started looking out the window. I still couldn't believe that I moved here, far away from everything. My anxiety was already a bit on overload but the excitement helped mask it. As I was taking in the beauty and being the cliche that films the plane landing, a million thoughts rushed into my head. What if I don't fit in? What if this whole deal was not actually legit? I mean, this whole thing sounded too good to be true, a great job straight out of college in a whole new country that pays my housing and a salary? What did I get myself into? And with that last thought, the plane landed.

I got off the plane and went to baggage claim. This airport looks amazing, so modern yet classic. Can I fall in love with an airport? I think I can. Once I was able to grab my bag and head to where I was supposed to get picked up, I saw a bunch of girls behind barriers with their phones and banners that said "Ateez", were they waiting for someone? Is that a singer's name? Well, anyway... I make my way to the door when they all start screaming and I see a bunch of camera people coming at me. Then because of the flashes and screams, I get dizzy and confused, I ended up crashing into someone and fall ass flat to the ground... great.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" said the guy helping me up... right before a security guard pushed me out of the way. "Hey hey, let me help her. It's fine"

"Thanks. I'm sorry too. I was just trying to find my exit." I look up after getting my stuff and we kept walking outside. He was tall... like really tall. Wearing sunglasses *indoors well that's a fashion choice*, black leather shirt and a black tank underneath, a spiky silver necklace, and he smelled so amazing.

"Well, good luck, and sorry again." And he left outside some doors, right then its when I see someone holding a sign that read Ms. Y/N Hart.

"Annyeonhaseyo.  Jeoneun Y/n Hart-imnida" I tried my best with my korean... truth was that it was really rusty because I never get to practice it.

"Welcome Ms. Hart. I will be your driver today." okay english, good. Not embarrasing at all. "I'll be taking you to the company and then dropping your luggage off in your apartment." My driver said while opening the door. What a service. I feel like the queen of England... rip.

I get on the car, and he closes my door. But all I keep wondering is who was that guy? Even though with sunglasses, the vibe I felt was like nothing I felt before.

Okay one thing we gotta get straight, I don't believe in love at first sight, all that "I looked into his eyes and I just knew" bullshit, no I don't believe on it. Relationships take work and if one of the parts in not willing to put in the work, then that relationship is over. That's why my parents split up, they didn't work. They always talked about love at first sight, until my dad fell in love with his secretary. They still think I don't know, but I know. My family life all went to crap about a year ago, and my parents have been trying to keep it to themselves all this time... unsuccessfully. That bimbo that works as my dad's secretary is even younger than I am... about a year younger but its still significant to the implications and consecuences this brings to all of us. I was, and still kind of am, pissed at my dad but until they decide to tell me there's nothing I can do. So that's why maybe I decided to take this job and get away from all that drama. I mean I am 23 years old, but still they are treating me like a 5 year old.

We arrived to a building that had the letter KQ posted at the entrance. New beginnings here I come. I was just about to open my door when my driver did it for me. "Thanks...uhm..."

"Mr. Kim, ma'am. I'm the one that mostly will drive you to important events with the rest of the crew."

"Thanks, Mr. Kim." I got off the car with just my purse and important stuff, meanwhile the rest left with Mr. Kim to my new apartment. I may be exhausted but it is like noon here in Korea so, gotta get some things started right away I guess.

I walk in into the building and I get greeted by the security guard at the reception. I walk up to him and he looks up from his phone. I was about to say something when he pressed somethings on the phone and called someone, something nim, that wasn't part of my vocabulary. I better get into some korean classes soon.

"Ah, Ms. Hart! Glad you arrived safe. I'm Ms. Jung, head of international relationships and your boss for the time being. Please follow me." Ms. Jung was very attractive. Like any guy could fall in love with her, I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling self concious right now. I mean, to be a stylist and make up artist, I look like a homeless person with a slight better fragrance than most. I mean I have my Air Forces Ones and wearing the sweatpants from Louis Vuitton that my dad gave me last Christmas. Airpods Max and my Iphone... not an Android person... still not the looks for the future stylist of whoever they assign me to.

"Do you know who am I being assigned to yet? I liked to be prepared for whenever my first day starts." I tell her while we were in the elevator going to the last floor.

"Sure! You are being assigned to one of our most successful groups and with your designs and innovation of ideas, we feel here in KQ that you will be a great fit." She said letting me pass once we arrived to our floor. "Now we will go to our conference room and sign the last contracts, will get your ID badge information ready... do not worry your photo will be taken tomorrow once you go and pick it up from the reception." We stopped and she opened a door to let me in. "Then I'll give you the code to your new apartment." Code? What about the keys? "Korea uses a coding system instead of keys, its just safer that way." She reads minds too, wow. "Here's your new T-card. You'll use it to move around the city, we'll give you an assistant as well who will double as your roommate, and everything else you're schedule will be all set in this contract which of course you will have a copy of." Ms. Jung handed me a pile of papers that seemed like a million miles to read, but the excitement of this new city took over me and I was signing right away.

"All done, Ms. Jung. If its not an issue I would like to go get settled at the apartment now." I said standing up and grabbing my stuff from the table.

"No issue at all, Ms. Hart. We'll let Mr. Kim know to take you there so you don't get lost. Now take the elevator all the way to floor 1 and Mr. Kim will be waiting for you." Ms. Jung grabbed the stack of papers I just signed my life away to, and walked to one of the offices on this floor. I just made my way to the elevator and put on my headphones, it was a good idea to download some music before the trip. I put on my favorite song to date Lost in Japan by Shawn Mendes. There's something about that song that always makes me wanna dance, y'know.

I noticed after a bit that I had gotten to the first floor. I was about to get out when I crush into someone...again. I really do have to start looking up, at least this time I didn't fall. I looked up to apologize to whoever this person was... it was the same guy from the airport.

"Oh my god its you" Suddenly that thought slipped my lips and said it aloud.

"And it's you... you're here"

[the-queen-and-the-king]

4-Something to say

Summary: Emily has spent the night with Aaron and wake up alone in his bed. He's not that far but has no clue of what's going on in Emily's head.

Characters: Aaron Hotchner x Emily Prentiss (+ Jack)

Contents: mostly fluff and a small part of explicit smut (oral sex, f receiving). MINORS DNI/NSFW.

This text is a part of a "What if?" self-challenge named: Seven days only. The pitch is: "What if Aaron discovered all by himself that Emily was sent to France when she was under witness protection and decided to tell her the truth about his feelings for her?" I limited myself to seven texts for this AU in a nutshell. Hope you'll like it. :)

PS : English is not my mother language so they are necessarily mistakes. Sorry about that.

___

When Emily opened her eyes the next morning, she was alone in bed. Tending her ear, she heard the sound of dishes being displaced nearby, and a high-pitched voice seemed to have a conversation with itself. Father and son had breakfast together while waiting for Sleeping Beauty to join them. She smiled, enjoying this family sweetness she'd never really known, her mother leaving home long before her alarm clock went off. Her lover and this kid who adored her were sharing a moment of complicity just a stone's throw away, and the idea that this situation could become her daily routine crossed her mind and warmed her heart.

During the night, she and Aaron had made love twice. Almost immediately after their first reunion, then they had fallen asleep for a handful of hours before getting on a ride again. Enjoyable romps that left them panting and sweaty, but that brought them all the bliss they had expected. Morpheus’ arms had then drawn them in until this moment for her. A hint of excitement rose in her when she saw herself undulating on her partner's hips, but a flash of lightning dispelled this delicious sensation. She thought about her true mission and a vise closed around her chest. Because, yes, she hadn't lied to Jessica: she really did have something to say to the agency director.

Where? When? How? These were her biggest questions. It was already not a trivial subject to broach, and even less so after what she'd learned about him during his stay in France. She'd rehearsed a list of arguments in her head hundreds and hundreds of times but wasn't sure they'd hit the mark. Aaron was a complex person, who quickly became anxious while hiding it behind a mono-expressive face. He hadn't had the easiest of lives, and for the most part he'd faced everything alone, hiding his pain and suffering under an impeccable suit or a facade smile. To top it all off, he had low self-esteem, which didn't help matters. But he was also a being gifted with excessive empathy, overflowing generosity, a tenderness to match his build and a surprising sense of humor that she found hard to resist. It was for all these reasons that she walked on eggshells to make her announcement. The idea of losing everything was crushing her insides.

She sighed and got up. Jack's little head immediately swiveled in her direction. He didn't seem surprised to see her still there, even though she'd never expressed any intention of staying. She met the owner's gaze and realized that he had warned his son of her presence. Delicate attention on his part, saving her the trouble of having to find an excuse when she jumped out of bed. She thanked him in thought, repressing her desire to grace him with a kiss under the cherub's nose. He offered her toast and jam before she was even seated, then praised his aunt's pancakes, not without scratching his sire's in the process. The couple shared an amused expression as they recalled their cooking sessions across the Atlantic, one of which had ended without any clothes, on a floured worktop that had resisted their passionate embrace. Emily diverted her attention from this erotic memory to answer the little boy and accept the glassful of coffee offered by Aaron.

“Are you staying with us today? Jack questioned, crumbs on his cheeks. We’ve got lots of great stuff planned!”

“Uh…”

“Jack, grown-ups often have a lot on their plate, you know, his father reminded him without raising his voice. Emily has just returned from a long trip, so she probably has some paperwork to catch up on.”

Disappointment flashed across the toddler's round face. In any other context, she would have given him a hug right away to comfort him, but at this hour, it was inappropriate. But she found a way around.

“Well, yes, I've got things to do, but I think it can wait until tomorrow.”

“Really?” exclaimed the child, delighted.

On the other side of the table, his father stared at the young woman with sincere confusion. She smiled, confirmed her ambition to stay with them and gasped when Jack abruptly raised his arms in the air, shouting. He repeated countless times how happy he was, waddling in his chair, before Aaron encouraged him to go brush his teeth and get dressed. Once the mini-Hotchner was out of sight, the giant copy moved on to the interrogation. She understood his circumspection, but cut short his desire to know more by counter-attacking:

“Don’t you want to spend more time with me?”

He hesitated to answer, puzzled by what she was hiding, but his desire for her won the day. She had something to tell him, but now wasn't the time. Aaron leaned over to kiss her, and she did the same, when a thunderous call from the bedroom stopped them dead in their tracks.

“What?” replied his father, maintaining his position.

“Can’t find my second sock!”

The federal agent rolled his eyes and Emily's smile widened. Vanquished, the titan joined the bottom-drawer explorer, leaving his guest alone. The latter couldn't help noticing that a human's vocal power was in no way proportional to their size.

The first activity, which occupied the whole morning and early afternoon, was a visit to a local museum where a temporary exhibition on dinosaurs had been on display for a week. Aaron quickly explained that his son had insisted on going with him and no one else. And Emily regretted for a moment that he'd granted her the favor of coming too. The building was overrun by hordes of miniature humans, who put their dirty hands everywhere, ran around and let out shrill cries for no apparent reason. Suddenly, she understood better why her companion wasn't rushing off to go on school outings. As they had to squeeze to access a display unit, he took the opportunity to whisper an apology in her ear. She reassured him by discreetly slipping a hand under his polo shirt. She only had time to feel his skin burning under her fingers before Jack turned his gaze towards them. Never has she so quickly reclaimed her property.

The boy noticed nothing and led them from one end of the theropod hall to the other, following a totally random route and returning several times to the spots he liked best. He completed his playbook with astonishing diligence, listening attentively to the words of his ascendant, whose main role had been limited to reading the signs. Emily had been asked to carry his backpack, and she regularly lost herself in the contemplation of this pair that terrible circumstances had brought together. Aaron, so untactful with the members of his team, would easily take Jack in his arms, to talk to him, and would often place kisses on his forehead when he was doing something right. She also discovered him more relaxed, more smiling, more able to ignore the lack of discipline and rigor of those studious, but oh so messy, hours. He certainly wouldn't have allowed such a mess on an investigation, even though he could sometimes be very lax with his men on certain points. And she was happy to witness it, notwithstanding the fact that she would have liked to be more a part of their little universe.

They had lunch in town, not far from their next destination, in a restaurant where most of the customers were adults. Emily almost thought she heard her eardrums say, "thank you". Aaron and Jack sat down side by side so that the former could help the latter carve his meat. She chose to sit opposite the older of the two. On the one hand, to avoid the little boy's inopportune kicks – he swung his legs all the more energetically as he enjoyed his meal – and, on the other, to renew some contact with her lover, taking advantage of the fact that the table concealed her gestures from the youngster's inquisitive gaze. The former prosecutor stiffened over his offspring's plate when he felt his neighbor's toes slip between his sock and jeans. She smiled mischievously and he let her, resuming his task as his descendant pointed out that he hadn't finished. They spent an hour with their legs intertwined, staring at each other, and pretending to listen to Jack's chirping. No doubt if someone else had been with them to keep an eye on the little one, they'd have snuck off to the bathroom to frantically merge. But it was just the two of them, so they gave up on this very pleasant project.

They then moved on to the kindergarten next door, where the youngster was spoilt for choice. Once again, the place was crowded with children galloping around, gesticulating energetically, and talking far too loudly. However, if she wanted to take things further with Aaron, she'd have to get used to this kind of noisy, hectic activity. If she wanted to keep the man, she had to take the son with him. He climbed the slide in every possible direction before setting his sights on the swings, the turnstile, and the rock-climbing wall. Then, from the cabin of the grounded boat, he spotted a nearby merry-go-round and demanded to be taken there. And the adult duo obeyed, both enjoying the look of happiness on the toddler's face. The young woman lost her smile, however, when the giant said:

“Could you look after him for a moment? Just long enough for me to get him an ice cream,” he explained.

Panic seized her.

“What… am I supposed to do?” she asked, suddenly terrified.

“Not so much. You stand in line with him, pay for his seat, then walk him to wherever he wants and help him climb on. Except if he can do it alone. And you tie him up before coming down.”

He'd told her this in a bantering tone, as if it were an ordinary activity for everyone. Yet she saw every moment when she could fail. But she also remembered who had just said those words and realized that he had surely imagined all these pitfalls a hundredfold before she did. In fact, if he spoke to her about it with such simplicity, it was proof that it was not that hard. He smiled and brushed her forearm to reassure her. Her heart leapt in her chest, but fear had nothing to do with it. He then turned to Jack to warn him of his momentary disappearance and left them as planned. The ice-cream seller was nowhere in sight from where they stood, and Emily soon felt helpless. Except that a small hand slipped into hers and big brown eyes met hers. A benevolent smile stretched from ear to ear on the boy’s face, bringing her a surprising sense of peace. And to think Aaron doubted his kinship with him…

They then did everything the agency manager had said, and the carousel set off again, taking its passengers on an enchanted ride for a few minutes. A palm suddenly came to rest on the small of her back and she flinched.

“Everything’s fine?” asked Aaron, standing next to her.

“… Yes, she said, hoping he didn't see the vein in her neck throbbing vigorously. You… Weren’t you supposed to buy an ice cream?”

His hands were empty.

“Yes, but he’s overworked. He took my order, so we'll pick them up when Jack finishes his turn.”

“Them?”

“Yes. One for him, one for me, and one for you.”

A wave of heat swept over her ribcage.

“But… I didn’t tell you what I want.”

“I took the initiative. I only hope I didn’t make a mistake.”

Her cheeks felt like they were on fire, which didn't get any better when his fingers brushed hers. She reflexively unfurled them before remembering that there were people around them. She struggled to get a reply out.

“I… I can’t wait.”

As if afraid of embarrassing her further, he stopped staring at her and turned to the merry-go-round.

“Where is he?”

“On the dragon,” she revealed, relieved by this decision.

A little more and she wasn’t sure to control herself anymore.

“Ah, yes, he likes that one a lot.”

Jack passed by just then, and the two profilers greeted him in unison.

“Excuse-me for all this, he said, serious again. It may be a little bit too much for you.”

“It's true that there were a lot fewer children in my house, she quipped, trying to defuse the situation. But don’t worry, I’ll get over it.”

“Are you sure? I… I understand if you need to isolate yourself for a few moments.”

“Everything is fine, Aaron. Besides, if I'm going to build something with you, I might as well get used to it right away.”

He watched her for a long time without saying a word. She saw a whole range of emotions pass through his eyes, from confusion to admiration, passing through surprise, and ending with a feeling powerful enough to bring tears to his eyes.

“You want to kiss me,” she guessed, a little provocatively.

“You too,” he reacted, regaining his composure.

He had hit the bull’s-eye. Like always. Yes, she wanted to taste his lips like never before, but that was impossible with Jack around. The father discreetly suggested an alternative and she gave in, banking on the fact that the security barrier would hide their entwined phalanges.

After eating their ice cream – the flavor Aaron had chosen for her was perfect – they took the little boy to other attractions before it was time to go home. As if he'd read her mind, her lover suggested to dine on pizzas ordered in the neighborhood, so as to shorten the meal and move more quickly on to the next thing. In his pajamas, teeth brushed, Jack snuggles up to his father's chest to watch his movie. Emily leered several times in their direction, somewhat jealous that she couldn't do the same. He emanated a gentle warmth from his chest that made her forget all her anxieties, and she had caught herself dozing several times at his touch when they were there, in their den. A soothing effect which, combined with all the energy expended by the kid during the day, took him to dreamland even before the half-hour mark of the cartoon had passed.

With the child in his bed, the couple returned to theirs. She still had something to say to Aaron, but felt she'd waited too long for this moment to risk it running away. Mouth to mouth, they frantically undressed, every inch of uncovered skin amplifying their excitement. He tossed her bra away and his lips left hers to roam down her neck, surfing her sternum before attacking one of her breasts. He engulfed her nipple while she caressed his shoulders, neck, and upper back. He still had the scars of the previous day's scratches, which she was proud of because it meant that her nails had grown long enough to allow her this kind of exaction. Thanks to him and the confidence he instilled in her.

Nevertheless, it was another sensation that gripped her as he ventured onto her belly, navel, and the edge of her panties. Gently, he slid it down to her toes and throw it behind him without paying attention. He was now focused on what it was protecting, and Emily flinched when his mouth landed on her brown fleece. Once, twice, then the tip of his tongue grazed her clit. She vibrated with a jolt of satisfaction. He then left her pubic area to kiss her intimate lips. They naturally moved aside to give way to the right thing, but Aaron denied them what they were hoping for, offering them the agility of a completely different appendage. With surgical precision, he strode over the contours of these erogenous zones, touching, licking, and sucking everything he could.

Overwhelmed by the waves of pleasure ravaging her body and mind, Emily grabbed the nearest pillow and placed it against her face to muffle her orgasmic wails and fevered exclamations. The two rooms adjoined each other, and the walls weren't thick enough. She didn't want to wake Jack, just as she didn't want Aaron to stop. It was way too good! In France, she gave free rein to her vocals. Here, she had no option but to scream into this mass of cotton and feathers.

Her open legs now vibrated with every lick. The little fireplace that had been crackling inside her all day was now a blazing inferno that was destroying the walls that were supposed to hold it back. One of them fell, sending a shockwave through her entire torso. It was the beginning of the end. A second one collapsed and she whimpered without discretion. A third and a fourth followed, accompanied by uncontrolled moans from her. Then, one by one, all the others collapsed at an exponential rate, and she pronounced her lover's name with each impact. Until the last one, which silenced her, trembling from head to toe.

“Come inside me,” she ordered Aaron as he reappeared in her field of vision.

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow as he caught a glimpse of his companion's shuddering ecstasy.

Her mind may have been clouded by the endorphins coursing through her veins, but she could clearly feel his erection along her thigh.

“Yes, she assured him in a breath. Please.”

He kissed her then inserted himself inside her, pushing back the walls of her mucous membranes swollen by the orgasm she'd just experienced. It only took a few back-and-forth movements to relieve himself inside her, and a second salvo of pleasure hormones pleasantly greeted her. She held him against her as long as she could, then allowed him to withdraw, even though it twisted her insides. Their shoulders were touching, but she felt he was too far away. It was when they merged that she finally felt whole. But Nature had seen to it that this was only temporary, surely to encourage them to do it again and again. Until…

“Aaron, there's something I have to tell you,” she stammered, her voice croaking more than she would have liked.

“So you actually had something to tell me,” he retorted, amused.

“Aaron, this isn't easy, so please try not to interrupt.”

“… Okay. Go on.”

She took a deep breath, exhaled deeply, replayed her entire presentation in her head and jumped in.

“I… I’m pregnant.”

He widened his eyes, smiled, and gave a brief laugh.

“You can't know that quickly, it's impossible,” he declared doubtfully.

“It's not from today or anything we did yesterday, silly. I… I’m three-month-old pregnant.”

She saw him turn pale, and his eyebrows furrowed as he understood the origin of the situation.

“I’m sorry, she went on, sincerely. I… With your arrival, I… I forgot to take my pill and… I didn't take it again right after you left.”

“No, no, do… don’t apologize. I… I’m the one who should have taken precautions.”

“How? By packing lots of boxes of condoms in your suitcase? I remind you that you didn't even know what you were going to say yet.”

At least, that's what he'd told her when she'd asked him if he'd really planned to kiss her on the spot the way he had. The truth was, he'd improvised when his brain deserted the battlefield when he saw her appear.

“We could have bought some,” he argued seriously.

“It's true, but we didn't and... the result is there.”

He bit his lip and stopped looking at her, staring at the ceiling instead. She realized he was withdrawing into himself and grabbed his shoulder to force him to listen.

“Aaron, I know you never wanted to have children because of the context in which you grew up...”

Between a flighty, manipulative, and sometimes violent father, and a passive, submissive mother who had always preferred her husband and second son to him, he felt he didn't have the keys in hand to start a family.

“… But I've seen how you act with Jack all day and I've seen how he looks at you. He loves you, he adores you, he worships you.”

“I’m never there for him.”

“Yet he has total confidence in you, which he would never have if you were as bad a father as you think.”

He didn't answer, continuing his observation of the ceiling. She noticed the way his eyes sparkled and the tears that stagnated at the edge of his eyelids. He was touched by her words, but probably didn't know what to do with them. He turned his head towards her and, in a quivering voice and still without meeting her gaze, questioned:

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, to be honest, I never thought I'd be a mother. Between my unconvincing childhood and all the disadvantages of our profession, I... I'd made up my mind that it obviously wasn't for me.”

Not to mention her lack of ease with kids, her natural impatience, and her independent spirit that craves freedom.

“But... when I understood what was happening to me and realized what it meant, I told myself it was exactly what I wanted.”

“What?”

“Aaron, I don’t want children, I want your children. I don't just want to be a mother, I want to be the mother of the children I would have made with you, and you alone. I want to carry, give birth to, and raise children who will have half your DNA.”

He now stared at her like an animal caught in the headlights of a car at night. He couldn't have been more flabbergasted if she'd slapped him. Instead, she stroked his cheek to bring him back into the real world.

“I don't want to be just a booty call, Aaron. I want to build my whole life with you. Do you get that?”

He nodded and a shy smile stretched his lips again. He placed his hand on hers and moved it between them to intertwine his fingers with hers.

“I know this is hard news to take in, but I'm sure you'll be a perfect father to them.”

As she'd expected, he flinched, surely thinking that his hearing had failed.

“Them?”

She smiled and turned to retrieve the ultrasound scan she had hidden in the nightstand drawer in anticipation of this moment. Then she resumed her seat and handed him the picture. The two clear circles, facing each other, were clearly visible and left no room for misinterpretation. Mouth ajar, he scanned the image without saying a word. Since she didn't know whether he was simply stunned – which she would obviously have understood – or distraught, frightened or dismayed, she added:

“And they're not the same age. They’re three days apart.”

“Hyper-fertility,” he said, coming back to himself.

“What?” she croaked, caught off guard.

“It's a rare phenomenon that causes a second ovulation two or three days after the first and can result in a heterozygous twin pregnancy with fetuses of different ages.”

The abundance of technical terms reminded her of the youngest member of the team, who regularly spouted off his knowledge without any prompting from them. As far as Aaron was concerned, she equated this sudden logorrhea with a way of moderating his anxiety. However, since this corresponded to what the gynecologist had explained to her, she retorted instead:

“How do you know that?”

“I saw a documentary on twins one night when I couldn't sleep. Very interesting by the way.”

Emily's mouth widened again as she heard him speak like this. He was relaxing. The idea made its way through the convolutions in his brain and, little by little, he accepted all that this black-and-white snapshot implied. He was completing the same mental journey she had taken two months earlier, and without having to worry, as she had, about the possibility of participating in this solo adventure. His brown irises once again observed these unlikely shapes and he burst out laughing. A more unusual event than the double ovulation that turned their lives upside down. Indeed, until he came to declare his love for her in France, she had never heard him laugh. Smiling, blowing through the nose, yes; but laughing, no. And just as on that day, a gentle warmth enveloped her as it rang in her ears. It was such beautiful music, made all the more magical by the fact that it was reserved for just a few initiates. Including her. And she hoped, their children soon.

She smiled with such force that her cheeks ached, and a tear rolled down her chin. Her neighbor's mirth subsided immediately, and, with his thumb, he chased away the next pearl that had begun its journey. Then he brought his face close to hers, until their foreheads touched, and said:

“I love you, Emily.”

“I love you too, Aaron.”

And they kissed for a long time, tenderly and serenely.

___

And here we go! /o/

For those who don't know me yet, I've got a thing for twins. It's a phenomenon that fascinates me a lot. So, everytime I can, I add twins to my works. XD

Next >>

[wonda-fhr]

Today is Justin's birthday.🥰🥳

Thanks for thinking of him @m3k-fhr 😘

He hasn't had a real happy moment yet. But gradually I might be able to nudge my complicated boy in that direction. At least for a little while. It's his birthday, so he's treating himself with a little gift of closeness. --- Cozy secrets

No one had announced their arrival, and he wasn't expecting any packages, so the doorbell surprised both Chen and Spoon.

A glance at the small monitor told Chen who was at his door, but it did not lessen his surprise. He opened the door and saw Justin's smiling face.

"Hey, can you spare some time for me?"

He held the crutches that still supported him on long walks in one arm, with a shopping bag hanging from it. The scars were professionally covered as usual, but the garish makeup and colorful accents in his hair were missing. Nothing to distract from his beautiful green eyes. Even his clothes were almost colorless by his standards. Chen's brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the unexpected visitor.

"Sure." He took the bag and invited him into his home with a welcoming gesture.

"Do I look so bad that you're speechless?" Justin greeted Spoon, who circled him happily.

The milk and books he could see inside didn't help Chen's perplexity as he set the bag down on a chair. Nosy probing wouldn't help him, pushing Justin was never a good idea. He stole a quick kiss before breaking his silence. "The lack of color is unusual, I love it, you look stunning. I'm not quite sure what to make of this unscheduled visit."

"I know. You said you had the afternoon off and...", he hesitated for a moment, seemingly unable to find the right words, which was almost rarer than seeing his face without any bright colors. "We've been kissing for a while, right? You've trusted me, even if I was only forced to trust you. You've seen a lot of me, you've been there for me, but you don't really know anything about me, do you? Do you think we could pretend for one afternoon that not everything around us is a mess?"

"I'm sure we could do that." Even the pleasant prospect of an afternoon together didn't make Chen relax. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more important at stake than a little time together and couldn't keep his eyes from wandering curiously through the bag once more.

"You're welcome to unpack it, it's not ... well, yeah, there are secrets in there somehow. A little peek behind the curtain."

Curious, Chen spread out the contents of the bag on the table, Justin watching him, not only at his hands for sure. In front of him were four books, classical literature and poetry, milk, a tin of tea and another tin of what looked like homemade cookies. Nothing he would have expected to find in a bag of the volatile paradise bird until today.

"You're not alone in thinking that. Nobody would expect that in my bag. I like to read, I love classic literature. I have a weakness for a good cup of tea with a little milk, and even though I'm not much of a cook, I like to bake. These secrets are even better kept than the tattoos or my armor."

Chen turned to him and tried to make sense of the new information. So many questions came to his mind that he had to filter them to find one that was important enough to ask.

"I like this secret. Why are you showing it to me?"

"Because it's lonely not to be able to share it. I've never been able to lie in someone's arms and read, or maybe even read to someone. I've never baked for someone and enjoyed the result with them over a cup of tea. I would love to experience that before my life falls apart for the next time." The unusually honest and sad expression in his eyes was more appealing than any glamorous fake smile that he had seen from Justin.

"It's a pleasure to have you trust me to be that person for you." He gently pulled Justin close, letting his hands rest in his open palms, his fingers circling the underside of his wrists. Then he kissed him lightly, pleased to see that there was no flinching or hesitation. "Then I'll make some tea and we make it cozy together?"

With a shy smile on his lips, Justin nodded, then took Chen's cheeks in his hands and looked directly at him. "And if you could manage to hold me without caging me, I might like to stay for a while."

"I think I can manage that," Chen said, smiling fondly.

Justin seemed to freeze for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Chen's neck, clinging to him more tightly than ever. Chen felt him shiver, but as he wrapped his arms around him protectively, he quickly relaxed in his embrace.

[ourvanishingghosts]

hiya! May I req a raihan x reader where reader is a actress with a primarina she acts with? <33!! Take ur time with this!, I don’t mind how long I have to wait 🫶

Of course. I didn't know if you wanted it to be fluff or not. I just made fluff. I will be using she/her pronouns for this fic. Italics= Thoughts, Y/N= Your Name, L= Leon, R= Raihan, and H= Hop for when they are speaking.

Rahain x Actress Fem! Reader

The Dragon Tamer and The Actress

Raihan's POV:

I don't know why Leon invited me out to lunch today. Maybe he felt bad for beating me in the championship. But whatever I'm just hungry and that is all I can think about.

I was waiting for Leon at our usual spot when I saw him with a beautiful woman. The woman had a Pokémon that I'd never seen before. It looks like a seal mermaid. Too late to over think that thought they’re already here.

L: Hey Raihan. This is Y/N. Y/N this is Raihan.

He gestures between myself and the woman.

Y/N: It is nice to meet you, Raihan. I’ve heard so much about you.

She smiles and reaches out her. Which I take and shake it.

R: It’s nice to meet you as well, Y/N. So, what kind of Pokémon is this?

I let go of her hand and gesture to the Pokémon beside her

Y/N: Oh they are a Primarina. They are native to the Alolan Islands. The majority of them are male, but this one here is female.

R: That’s fascinating. I’ve never seen one before. She’s beautiful.

The Primarina squeals with delight at my compliment. We sit down for lunch and talk for a bit to get to know each other. Apparently, Y/N is an actress hoping to look for some work here Galar. She’s beautiful so it will be easy for her to find something.

~One year later~

Y/N’s POV:

I was busy getting ready for an audition and I was talking to my partner Primarina.

Y/N: I like Raihan as a friend, alright? I do think he is handsome, but he might be in a relationship and I do not want to ruin that.

Primarina just shakes her head. Then there was a knock at the door.

Y/N: Who is it?!?!

R: It’s Raihan. I was sent to escort you to your audition.

I blush at the thought that the company sent Raihan. I thought that they would send Leon, but in all honesty he probably got lost on his way here which is why they probably sent Raihan.

Y/N: One moment! I’m almost done!

Fixing the last piece of hair and straightening out my clothes I was finally ready. I call my Pokémon back to her ball, grab my bag that has my keys, and I head out the door to meet Raihan. Once I turn around after locking my front door I see Raihan in a nice outfit.

Oh no he hot

R: Ready to go?

I nod and we head off to the audition. We talk about random things from what we do when we are’t working to the traditions from where we are from. All I remember is that he mentioned something about an Applin and that was about it. We reached the company building and he said that he will be waiting outside until I am finished.

~20 minutes later~

I walk outside to where I had left Raihan, but I couldn’t find him.

Does he not like me? Did I do or say something wrong? Where did he go?

All of these thoughts were running through my head at light speed that I didn’t even notice Raihan walking over to me. All I felt was a hand on my shoulder and I looked over to see his concerned expression.

R: Are you alright?

Y/N: Yes. I just thought that you left me here because you don’t like me or that I did or said something wrong.

I don’t know why I didn’t just lie to him. But I couldn’t do that.

R: I would never leave you no matter what you do or say.

We smile at each other and we go to lunch.

~One more year later~

Raihan’s POV:

I cannot wait to see if Y/N won the award for best actress. I know she will win for sure.

Award Show Announcer: Up next is Best Actress. The nominees are Clara Herth, Daphne Coleman, Clover Watters, and Y/N

I was watching the awards show with Leon, Hop, and their mom. We were impatiently waiting for the winner to be announced. They come back from the commercial break and repeat the category name and nominees names.

Show Announcer: And the winner for Best Actress is.....

I hold my breath.

Announcer: Y/N!!!!

R: Yes!!!! I knew it!!

Y/n walks onto the stage to receive her award and give her speech.

Wow. She looks stunning. I wish I was there to kiss her. Except she only likes me as friend.

Y/N: Thank you for this opportunity. I would like thank my parents, my partner Primarina who is watching at home...

Her primarina squeaks with excitement for her trainer knowing that she helped.

Y/N: I’d also like to thank Leon and Hop for being supportive of me and being like the brothers I’ve never had...

We all laugh

R: You two were just brother zoned.

L & H: Shut up!

Their mom told us to shush and we did because then we wouldn’t get a piece of the cake she made for Y/N.

Y/N: Finally, I would like to thank Raihan for always being by my side and for being my wonderful dragon tamer. Thank you so much everyone!

Did she just call me her wonderful dragon tamer? Just like that?

Leon, Hop, and their mom all look at me. I feel their stares and I look back at them.

R: What?

H: You do know that the press is now going to be asking both of you if you two are dating now, right?

R: Yeah, so what?

Their mom: Well are you two dating?

My face turns a deeper shade of red.

R: No, not yet. I just haven’t found the right time to ask.

Y/N: Ask what?

We all jump in surprise.

L: When did you get back? And how did you get back so quickly?

Y/N: I took one of the flying cabs back here because I’m starving and I want cake.

L: Ah. Okay. Mom can we have the cake now since she’s back?

She nods and we eat the cake with Y/N getting the first slice.

Y/N: This is my favorite flavor. How did you know?

Mom: Raihan told me. He remembers everything about everyone he cares about.

I am now as red as Leon Charizards flames.

Y/N: Thank you Raihan.

~15 minutes later to when everyone else is asleep except Y/N and Raihan~

Y/N and I were cuddling on the couch just talking about the award show and random things.

Y/N: Hey Raihan?

I hum in response.

Y/N: What did you mean by that you haven’t found the right time to ask?

R: Oh um... You see I umm...

We both sit up facing each other. I take out the Pokéball that contained the Applin I had caught for confessing my feelings to Y/N.

R: Y/N, remember when I told you that in Galar we give an Applin to the one we love?

Y/N: Yes, of course.

I hold out the Pokéball to her.

R: Well I caught you one and I want you to know that I am deeply in love with you.

Silence filled the air as I waited for her to reject me. I felt the Pokéball with Applin leave my hand and felt a kiss on my cheek.

Y/N: I am deeply in love with you as well, my wonderful dragon tamer.

                            ~The End~

[amarionetista]

Dawn was already reigning in the city at that point. Noelle wanted to sleep, she wanted to close her eyes and pretend that none of the things of her day had happened.

  She wanted to forget how her mother had called her worthless so many times when one of her grades was below an “A+.” She glanced at one of the walls in her room, where her mother had pasted another newspaper clipping of some Asian-American who had made millions in money. Her mother’s words echoed like the loudest scream she had ever heard in her life inside her head. “If he can do it, why can’t you?”

  Noelle just didn't want that kind of pressure, she just didn't want that kind of motivation. She didn't want even the time it took her to breathe to be criticized as a waste of time.

  A small ringing filled the room. At other times it seemed almost insignificant, but in the silence of his room the ringing of his computer announcing a new message seemed louder than anything.

  Noelle debated whether she should just ignore the message, but others started coming in and she knew there was only one person who could persist this much.

  She got out of bed and sat in the chair next to the computer, when she checked her messages her suspicions were confirmed when she read Akarsha's name in the chat.

“Hello Frenchwoman”

Noelle sighed as she saw the message. She had been dealing with Akarsha calling her 'Frenchwoman' because of her name for weeks now. She was already planning to leave the conversation without warning when another message from Akarsha arrived.

“Couldn’t sleep either?”

“Why are you awake? Did you spend the night watching memes again?”

“Calm down, Frenchwoman. Aren’t you the one who said that only an idiot answers a question with another question?”

"Oh what.."

"I never said that"

 Noelle didn't need to see Akarsha to know that she was grinning like an idiot when she saw that she almost fell for her dirty trick.

“Come on, Noelle. I didn’t sleep because I was thinking about you :p”

 Her face flushed bright red as she read the last message. Her first thought was that this was yet another prank from Akarsha, like the time she had pushed her into the pool and mocked her when she said she was soaking wet.

“I’m serious, Noelle.”

“I was worried about you. You were so bad in practice today. You played just as bad as you did when you started.”

"Thanks"

"You understood me"

“You were getting better. You were really doing well. What happened?”

"Nothing happened"

“You know you can trust me. I like you and I want you well all the time.”

  She knew Akarsha liked to joke, and out of every ten things she said, eleven were some kind of stupid joke with stupid connotations…but…she didn't feel like that was Akarsha's intention to do something like that. She would say that those words were sincere, well, as sincere as Akarsha could be.

  And maybe it was her sleep or lack thereof, but she found herself telling her friend everything she had to hear from her parents. She even had to endure them calling her spoiled just for asking for less pressure on her shoulders.

  To her surprise, Akarsha actually showed herself to be helpful, she wouldn't admit it, but she felt embraced by all the words her friend said.

“Go to sleep now, Frenchwoman”

“Tomorrow I have a surprise for you”

“What kind of surprise?”

“If I told you, there would be no reason to surprise you, right?”

 Leaving her with that thought, Akarsha stopped the chat. Noelle hoped to mull it over until dawn, but she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  In the morning, she made her way to the closet she shared with Diya. She didn’t find her there, but instead Akarsha was absentmindedly scrolling through her phone.

  When she saw her approaching, Akarsha smiled and searched for something in her backpack. When she reached out, she found herself staring at a small bouquet of white and red flowers.

— For you, Frenchwoman.

[artikgato]

10/15/2023

Well, it was raining yesterday, so I didn't go out for the jogwalk. I did today, though! It took me until like 10:30 but I did do it!

I was also up until nearly 1am last night...reading a fanfic. A Slayers fanfic. A 60+ chapter Slayers fanfic, currently unfinished, in the year of our lord twenty twenty-three. I have no excuses. I make it a policy to almost never read unfinished fanfics, for one. I also knew exactly what I was getting into when I saw the chapter count and just shrugged and went YOLO I guess?

Okay, so it all started with Anime Weekend Atlanta announced, less than a month out from their con by the way, a whole slew of new guest announcements. The schedule is out now and it's less than two weeks to the con so I think they're done doing that now, but I digress. They announced Veronica Taylor as a guest. Well, years ago I already had the honor of meeting her and getting her to sign my VHS copy of Pokémon The First movie, so I don't necessarily need her autograph on any more Pokémon stuff. But of course she's in plenty of other things, including Slayers, which is one of my absolute favorite media franchises, period. So naturally I have to get her to sign for Amelia! And Lisa Ortiz, the voice of Lina, will be a guest at a convention I'm going to in March, so I can get her to sign, too! Fantastic!

And then, because I haven't really thought about Slayers in a long time, my brain went I should cosplay from Slayers again. I've been wanting to for a while. I cosplayed Filia (from TRY) waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, maybe I could remake her? (I do still want to do that, FYI, talk about obscure characters though am I right?) Or despite being so tall, I've always liked Lina's character design, she'd be great. I can probably pull that off before Khromakon in March, but absolutely not before AWA. But do you know who I could pull off before AWA?

Yeah, so I actually cosplayed Xelloss all the way back in high school. I never wore him to a convention, and it was a very bad cosplay. Technically, my first cosplay. (Technically, because my actual first cosplay was a very, very very bad closet cosplay of emperor Hotohori from Fushigi Yuugi the year prior, my junior year of high school. Our high school banned Halloween costumes but a gaggle of my stupid friends and I decided to see if we could get away with just wearing regular clothes but clearly being in cosplay. So I was Hotohori, a friend braided her hair and was Duo Maxwell, etc. etc.)

Anyway, my aunt made the cloak for me, and I still have it all these years later. The rest of the cosplay would be easy, because of how skilled I am now. I can 100% do this cosplay in time for AWA, and it'll be fun! He's a pretty recognizable character from a classic anime, so while I'm sure The Kids won't recognize me, I'll get at least a few people excited to find someone else that remembers Slayers. And hey, I already cosplayed one evil purple-haired anime prettyboy this year (Okada Izou) so why not two?

So anyway, I made a deal with myself. I would go to no more than three thrift stores after work one day and see if I could find a yellow turtleneck. If I could, I would proceed with the costume. If I didn't, oh well, it's not like I don't have a closet full of cosplays to wear. And wouldn't you know it, I found the turtleneck at the third Goodwill. So I ordered a wig, and now I just need to do a few minor alterations and possibly make the staff.

And so, with Xelloss Metallium now fully on my brain, I remembered that, oh yeah, Xelloss/Filia was one of the OTPs for me back in the day. One of the very first ships I got really, really invested in. And I wondered if, in the fifteen or so years since the least time I probably looked, any good new Xel/Fil fics had been written. I mean, the last time I was really invested in the ship, Evolution-R and Revolution hadn't even come out yet! A03 didn't exist yet! What was the harm of taking just a little, tiny peak at A03, right?

And that's how I ended up binge reading a 60+ Slayers fanfiction, in the year of our Lord Of Nightmares 2023. I'm not even done reading, but I've got shit to do today!

Time: 21:41 Weather: 63, sunny Humidity: 60% Song of the Day: Ghost, Mystery Skulls