#and like one of my colleagues and i have agreed we both have some info processing Stuff

[diy-ke]

arts institutions are filled to the fuckin brim with secretive/ambiguous rules of engagement. it is totally uncouth in 2023 to push someone aside when they ask for clarity around processes and protocols. if it isn't written down, shut the fuck up and say you made it up.

[theflyingfeeling]

I literally explained the most unhinged fic to you, you don't get to do this. We like ridiculous and thrive in unhinged. Please do share this royal/ballet dancer au idea

as if I could actually shut up about my fic ideas on main 🤧 ping @mosvu and also @goth-automaton @sparfloxacin @cosmicfire 🖤

(still hiding it behind a readmore though lol)

Starting off with a disclaimer: I don't think there's anything revolutionary about this fic idea, it sounds very familiar to me and I swear I've read/seen something similar but I can't pinpoint it... In any case, it's not my intetion to copy anyone!

Then I'm just quickly gonna give you some pictures for aesthetic reasons / to illustrate what I'm imagining them to look like in this AU (clean-shaven and twinky for Olli, comfy-casual and twinky for Aleksi 🥰)

(pretend they're drinking tea lol)

And as I said, this is absolutely ridiculous lol, but I've been watching a lot of The Crown recently and this is not inspired by that per se, apart from the fact that Aleksi is some sort of royalty, a prince maybe but spare instead of direct heir to the throne, because I cannot imagine even a modern-day monarchy that wouldn't be sort of home-of-phobic lol. Anyway, Prince Alex is super lonely because he doesn't really go out much because he's an introvert and doesn't know how to handle all the attention, so he rather stays at home most of the time, trying to avoid any sort of public appearances if he only can help it.

The only place he goes to willingly and often is the Royal Ballet. There could be some sorta backstory to this actually 🤔 Maybe he had an aunt/uncle who he really liked as a child and would always take him to the ballet (this aunt/uncle was obviously queer and only years after their passing when Aleksi's already a grown-up he realises this).

One day Aleksi notices a new soloist, and even from the royal booth he can tell this new dancer is the most beautiful person Aleksi has ever seen 😭 He goes to watch the same ballet again literally the next day because he can't get the beautiful male dancer out of his mind and becomes so enamored with the man that he sends him flowers the next time he goes to see the show 💐

Meanwhile Olli is dumbfounded by his new admirer and can't really believe his luck after being handed the comically huge bouquet of flowers backstage after the show 😳 His fellow dancers all tease him and maybe also make fun of poor Prince Alex, who's always presented in the tabloids as this socially clumsy simpleton or something along those lines. Eventually Olli laughs along and decides it must be some sort of practical joke from his friends or whatever, because WHY would Prince Alex be sending flowers to him, of all the dancers in the Royal Ballet?

A couple of shows (and pompous flower deliveries) later, Olli is fetched by a fellow dancer again, telling him some important looking men are asking for him, and so he's taken to some kinda secluded room where Prince Alex is waiting to speak to him 😨 It's awkward more than anything else, and they're both uncomfortable because Olli doesn't know how to act around a member of the fucking royal family and poor Aleksi is desperately trying to appear casual and "normal" but he just doesn't know how 😭 He does manage to invite Olli "for tea" in the palace though, and obviously Olli agrees even though he's not entirely sure what he's agreeing to, because he can't say no to an invitation from the bloody prince now can he?! Prince Alex then leaves and Olli is freaking out and his colleagues keep asking what the prince wants with him and he doesn't know and later in the evening he rants the ears off his roommate Joonas about it 😩

At this point I need to give you some background info about Olli: he's bi and has a sort-of-girlfriend (another ballet dancer); I say 'sort of' because they're mostly just having sex instead of actually dating. Olli also occasionally hooks up with Joonas when they're both horny enough. This is relevant later on 😏

The day of Olli's "tea party" with Prince Alex comes and he's picked up from his apartment by a black car and driven straight to the palace where he's taken to the prince's personal chambers (this is already starting to sound kinky lol). They do drink tea but nothing much else happens because Aleksi is just too goddamn nervous in front of this beautiful human being to think of much to say (relatable af eh? 😭), and Olli feels sorry for him but he can't really come up with anything to talk about either because he's still not quite sure what's going on and why he's even there in the first place and what could a commoner like him even say to an actualy real-life prince? 😬

I mean, I haven't quite figured out myself what Aleksi's intentions here are lol, only that it's not as creepy as it may sound. I guess he just wanted to get to know this beautiful ballet dancer better and couldn't think of any other way to do it other than having him driven to the palace 🙈 I need you to imagine him tossing and turning in his bed unable to sleep because he just can't stop thinking about this ballet dancer, and maybe his brother the crown prince fished enough information out of him to learn his little bro is lusting after some ballet dancer and, thinking it's a female dancer, tells him to just "have them come over for 'some tea' lol, you know grandpa used to do that all the time with dancers from the Royal Ballet" (🙃), and jokes on the crown prince, Aleksi does exactly that, because it's not like he'd ever be able to hang out with this person in public 😶 And just to clarify, he did NOT invite Olli over for the same reason his grandfather may have been inviting those dancers (🙃🙃🙃), he just wanted a friend to talk to other than his brother and maybe the occasional entitled af cousin 😭

After the first meeting Olli tells all about it to Joonas who cackles all through the story as he imagines Olli and the prince just sitting in silence and sipping tea and Olli even spilling some on a very expensive-looking royal rug. Olli doesn't think it's quite as funny at first until they're both laughing about it, because he might as well, since the prince won't definitely be inviting him over for tea again, right?

Wrong! Some days later he receives a similar invitation which he simply doesn't know how to turn down (this time the invitation is delivered just from a royal security dude at the door of the backstage room at the ballet, before the show so that Olli almost trips on his own feet stressing about it on stage). The next day he's fetched from his apartment again, and this time the prince seems a tiny bit more relaxed and asks Olli all sorts of questions about his dancer career to have him relax too. It then occurs to Olli that the prince must just be incredibly lonely and in need of a conversation partner, although he still can't figure out why he was the one chosen for the purpose.

Time passes and Olli starts visiting the prince more regularly, so that he can no longer hide it from his sort-of-girlfriend, who is just as curious as Olli is to find out why the prince has taken such a liking to Olli. Olli wishes he knew, especially because the more he spends time with the prince, the more he begins to like him; his sense of humour and his kind, calm nature and, of course, his looks, both with and without glasses. He curses his horny bisexual ass for beginning to fantasize about the prince, because what chance would he ever have with someone so above him in the class hierarchy? And even if he would, he's a prince for fuck's sake, so it would be doomed before it would even begin.

He talks about prince Alex to his roommate Joonas aaaaaaall the time, enough for Joonas to get the gist eventually, although he says nothing of it, because he reckons he should let Olli have that realisation by himself 🤭

I don't think I'm ever actually going to write this (the perfectionist in me would not want to half-ass any ballet nor royalty-related details), but if I did, it would be so incredibly slow burn that Olli and Prince Alex wouldn't even kiss until chapter 12 or something lol. But when they do, it quickly escalates from there, because they're just so into each other and it just feels so nice 😭 so that eventually they start making out the second Olli enters Aleksi's chambers lol, and maybe there's also some dry humping on a very old and expensive satin sofa 🥰

And I hope you hadn't forgotten about the 'anal fingering' tag I talked about lol, because oh my oh my 😌 So Olli is still seeing that girl from his ballet company, mostly just to hook up because he doesn't really know how to say no to people (and the sex is still pretty good tbf). One day while blowing/wanking him, the girl sneaks a finger up his bum. Olli sort of freaks out, mostly because he's caught off guard but also because it felt surprisingly good, even though he asked the girl to stop (he's a top and has never been penetrated before; btw this is low-key inspired by a scene in the latest season of Sex Education lol). He becomes curious though and later asks Joonas about how it feels. Joonas, the good fuck-buddy he is, offers to finger Olli, and......... yeah. Imagine Olli arching his back in pleasure as Joonas fingers him 🥵

So the next time he visits the prince and they get all hot and bothered, he instructs Aleksi to finger him and 🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴 (now imagine Aleksi sitting on that royal sofa and Olli straddling him, sort of 'riding' his fingers until he cums 😳🫠

Aaaaaaaand that's about how far I've gotten with this as of yet, I sort of got stuck with the visual image of Olli being fingered 🙈 obviously this has a happy ending, although not without drama, but I'm yet to figure out the rest of this. I'll keep you updated? 😇 One scene that I have imagined that would take place way after Olli and Prince Alex are deep in their secret relationship is one of Olli helping Aleksi put on some black eyeliner and other cool make-up to make him unrecognizable (at least at first glance) and oh-so-hot so that they can hit the club together and make out on the dance floor without no one batting an eye 🥰 (obviously this would eventually end up on the tabloids when someone recognizes him but sshhhhh let's not talk about that 😭)

The others will be there too, of course, even though I haven't really given that much thought. I was thinking Tommi could be Joonas new-found fuck buddy since Olli is now too busy fucking the prince. I was also first thinking Joonas could be a ballet dancer as well, but I think I'd prefer him to be doing something else (or maybe he used to be a dancer and that's how he and Olli met but he had to retire because of an injury or smth). Joel could also be their more grumpy roommate, a catwalk model maybe. Niko? No clue. Any ideas? 👀

[thedreadvampy]

on the one hand, fucking shitty day, manager's back and fucking everything up even worse. asked her if we could meet up and debrief before tomorrow's shoot and make sure we have a coherent idea of what she wants to get out of the shoot and what's been agreed. which she ignored. bookending both her leaving and coming back from holiday with "please can you intuit exactly what I need from this project and convey it to a third party. no we don't need to have a conversation and you don't need any information." we have exchanged a single-figure number of sentences today somehow despite her originally expecting me to move two projects on in her absence with no guidance.

(I also sent her two documents to urgently sign off on ASAP specifically so I could get them to the filmmaker first thing. at 2pm the filmmaker, who has been talking with my manager, was like 'hey sorry to be a pain can I get those briefs' and my manager got back to her with a totally different set of partial info. I messaged her like hey sorry to be a pain did you uhhhhh see the briefs I drafted yesterday? and she was like 'oh yeah I glanced at them they look great'. I'm like COOL WILL I SEND THEM OVER THEN???? 'yeah go ahead thanks'. I am going to CHEW MY HANDS OFF)

HOWEVER this isn't a post about how shit my boss is it's an appreciation post for my friend and colleague L who like. He's kind of an enigma cause he doesn't really do emotional communication, I'm pretty sure we're pretty good friends but also all our conversations are very casual.

buuuut.

In the last 3 days since he had a brief meeting with me and saw how ill I still was, he has (without even mentioning it):

gone to my senior manager and asked to take on like half the tasks on my to do list so I don't have to worry about them

told my senior manager she needs to tell me to take breaks and work short days

told my line manager before I came in this morning that I seemed really unwell and she should make sure I wasn't taking too much on

moved a bunch of project meetings back a week to give me time to recover and catch up with myself

messaged me every day to check how I'm doing, told me he cares about and appreciates me and that nothing I'm doing is anywhere near as important as getting better

is fretting because I said I was a bit dizzy and keeps telling me not to fall and hurt myself (I think his boyfriend has some neurological issues so he's a bit sensitive to these kinds of worries)

idk I'm just really really moved by how much he's put into making sure I'm ok. he's not even in my direct team - we share a senior manager but he's fundraising and I'm comms - and he's at the same non-manager level as me so he doesn't HAVE to do ANYTHING but he's my FRIEND WE'RE FRIENDS HE CARES ABOUT MY WELLBEING 😭❤️😭❤️

every time I try to thank him he just goes 'it's literally nothing I hope you feel better'

this is like the most emotionally communicative I've ever seen him and it's the actual highlight of my week. our friends have been telling me for like a year that he talks constantly behind my back about how much he likes and appreciates me as a friend, but it's only every so often he lets the mask slip enough for me to realise how true that is. and it's really nice I'm so fond.

[allisonlol]

So, this theory may be somewhat flimsy as I’m not as informed on BSD lore as I could be (I’m a huge fan, but I feel things can get a little convoluted at times). Most of the info I have on The Great War was just from the Wiki lol. However, I kind of wonder if Fyodor was (directly or indirectly) involved in that war as a child? My foundation for this theory is quite weak, but… the TL;DR is basically: - We know Fukuchi was involved in The Great War. I think Fyodor and Fukuchi have overlapping beliefs, likely resulting from a shared involvement in the war. 

Some people have theorized that Fyodor is using Fukuchi for his own plans, which I could totally see – however, I think their motives/beliefs could be quite similar*. So, maybe Fyodor sees him as less of a pawn and more of an actual colleague. Heck, they could have a much darker version of the Fukuzawa/Ranpo bond for all we know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Anyway, Fyodor’s character is still shrouded in mystery, but from the liiittle bit we’ve seen, they seem to share similar sentiments. -> "Man is sinful and foolish.. Even if they know it is all an artifice, they cannot help but kill each other. Someone must purify them for those sins." (It’s just one statement, but I can see a slight resemblance to Fukuchi’s views here)

Seems like ability users were also heavily involved in the war.  Which, in some way or another, could be where Fyodor’s… er, let’s just say “disapproval” of ability users stems from.

Fukuchi seems to be driven entirely by his trauma – more of a nurture over nature case. I think’s it’s slightly different with Fyodor (he just seems a little fucked in the head by nature lol).

We know the way eyes are drawn in the manga are confirmed to have symbolic significance, and it seems that their eyes are drawn similarly (though Fukuchi’s eyes are still drawn brighter). That kind of “blurry” look? If that makes sense lol? I’m honestly not sure what it means, though. 

Anyway, there’s more to this theory in my notes app, but my thoughts are muddled and I need some sleep ^^; Sorry if most of this was obvious, or if it seems incomplete. I admit this is very poorly structured.

I had other theories on Fyodor’s ability, as well as his methods of communications + other random thoughts, but this is already quite lengthy lol. I apologize for the messy/underdeveloped theory/observations, but thank you for reading. It’s 4:30 AM, I should probably head to bed. I hope you have a wonderful day/night <3

*I guess that’d be obvious, considering they’re both in the DoA. But with other DoA members, it doesn’t seem like they’re striving for a shared goal?

nah you definitely got something going on here!! i would love to see them actually interacting so we could tell more from it. can we have more on the great war too like?!! i really wonder how fukuchi got the way he is (and fyodor too). yes, we got bits and pieces of his backstory and being in the war and such, but something REALLY BAD must've happened to make (both of em) as bad as they are now.

altho, it could be argued that fyodor is NOT evil and has pure intentions, which i somewhat agree with, but fukuchi?? i just don't see a motive yet. WE NEED MORE INFOOOOOO

[calicoups]

human shield

encountering strangers at a house party can be nice, while other times it can be...not what you expect. not to worry! here comes your big boyfriend to save you.

info seungcheol x reader, comfort (i lowkey don't know how to categorise this), reader is smaller than cheol, unwanted attention from strangers, 1139 words. hani's note i'm back pookies 😝 i have some more in store for you all coming soon! anyways, i hope you enjoy this and pls interact with it by liking commenting/reblogging <3

music boomed throughout the place and you watched as your friends move to the current song playing with grins on their face, belting out lyrics every now and then.

it had been a while since you all had hung out with each other, each of you being held down with work and taking up extra shifts or tasks to help colleagues. you were more than relieved when your friends realised that their free time had finally aligned with the whole groups and suggested an activity to do together which is how you all ended up at a...house party?

okay, maybe a house party wasn't something you would have liked to spend precious time with your friends. originally, you had planned to do a few rounds at go-karting but the place had turned out to be closed on the day you all agreed for the hang out. bummed out and a little annoyed, seokmin had been quick to bring up a house party that would be hosted by his friend. most of your friends had perked up and said that it would be a little refreshing to attend the party, that it'll allow you all to relax after facing all the stress from your respective work lives.

so here you are, leaning against the wall with seungcheol on your right. the two of you had been dancing with the others for a while but soon became a little exhausted and moved to the side to catch your breaths.

from the corner of your eye, you see seungcheol turn to you, "i'm a little thirsty, are you?"

"oh, yeah. i really need a drink right now, would you mind?" you tilt your head and watch as he smiles at you.

seungcheol shakes his head and pinches your cheek, "i don't mind at all, baby. stay right here, okay? i'll be back."

he disappears into the crowd and your eyes linger there for a few seconds before flitting away to look for your friends. as expected, seokmin and soonyoung are still dancing, they stop to drag wonwoo into the mix who protests at first but joins in with a smile.

however, your view becomes obstructed as two men approach you, your smile dropping. it's a little intimidating but you're sure you can handle a little chat if that's what they want.

one of them speaks up, "hey, cutie. are you alone out here?" he gestures behind him with a thumb before continuing, "we can keep you company!"

from the way he started his conversation you can tell how he definitely does not want just a little chat so you decide not to entertain him or his friend, "no, thank you. my boyfriend is here with me."

but they laugh when you say that and look at each other sceptically, "boyfriend?" one of them asks, almost in disbelief. there's a smell of cigarettes and alcohol coming from them and it makes your nose scrunch up slightly.

his friend steps forward, "where is he? don't see him here..." he pretends to look around and it begins to irk you the way they're both acting.

"we can't leave a pretty lady alone. lets go have some fun," the other man reaches towards you and tucks some hair behind your ear. you jerk backwards at the unwanted action, feeling disgusted.

“we’ll make sure you have fun, pretty." you don't answer but he persists, "let us buy you a drink, then.”

“no thanks, my boyfriend's got that.” you spit and divert your attention somewhere else with crossed arms, feeling a little suffocated from so much attention from two strangers alone. you can tell they’re getting a little annoyed but know that they won’t give up.

“why are you being so difficult? just come with us and relax,” one of them says with faint scowl. frustrated, you stare at them with fiery eyes, "i said no. you may fuck off, now."

you notice one of his hand reaching towards your face but it never touches you, a tall figure steps in front of you and blocks his way, the woody scent wafting into your nose.

seungcheol.

realising that it’s none other than seungcheol just from his scent, comforting warmth and built figure, you relax and let out the breath you were unintentionally holding.

“heard you were looking for this lovely lady’s boyfriend!” seungcheol jests, voice steady and dominating as he hands his and your drinks to vernon beside him. completely shielded by your boyfriends frame, your hand clutches onto his shirt at the waist and a finger from the other hand hooks into his belt loop as you watch him intimidate them effortlessly.

one of the men scoffs, “that’s you? move buddy, she’s no match for yo—”

seungcheol cuts him off, “and you are? that’s a good joke, maybe you should be a comedian!” he chuckles falsely and pats one of them on their shoulder before his smile vanishes, “don't ever think about laying that dirty hand on my girl or any other that clearly says no, for that matter. now, unless you don't want to keep being able to use that hand, you better fuck off like she said."

the guy sends seungcheol a dirty look and drags his friend down the hallway. seungcheol watches closely until the both of them are out of his sight.

"fucking creep," seungcheol mumbles.

"hey, you good?" vernon questions softly, earning a nod of you as a response.

a warm hand rests on your upper arm, you look up to see that it belongs to seungcheol who peers down at you with a worried look on his face. your name falls from his lips effortlessly, "are you okay? they didn't try anything, did they? I'm so sorry i took so long, i should not have left you alone like that."

"it's okay, they didn't do anything. i'm the one who sent you to get us drinks," you reassure him, "don't apologise, cheol."

"i'm still sorry, doll. i should have taken you with me," he pulls you closer, your chests meeting as he hugs you gently.

"i told you, it's okay," you kiss his jaw for extra reassurance before taking your drink from vernon, "thanks nonie."

vernon smiles and pats your head, "i got you. also, have you seen the others? i'll have to take their drunk asses home today."

seungcheol takes his own drink from vernon's hand, watching you nod and point to where the others were still dancing. wonwoo catches you pointing and taps both soonyoung and seokmin before tugged them along over to the three of you.

"hi!" soonyoung shouts with a wave. you wince at his volume and slap a hand to his mouth to which he speaks muffled words into.

seokmin, in his own drunken state, shushes soonyoung with a finger to his lips, "shh, soonie. you have to be quiet, okay?"

"see what i mean?"

WOOHOOOO!! you made it to the end! please don't hesitate to leave me feedback in my ask box or to like, comment/reblog! thank you for reading <3

[theimperialnuisance]

FFXIV Write 2022 //ffxivwrite info//prompt list//characters//master post//

Prompt twelve: Miss the boat | Idiom; to lose an opportunity to do something by being slow to act | Word count: 774 Characters: Kien's ancient, Apollo (before he took the seat of Azem), Hermes, Meteion CW: None Notes: At first I thought I'd do a Kien x G'raha story but then the intrusive ancient brain worms said "but what about Kien's ancient Apollo and his unrequited love for Hermes?" SO HERE YA GO XD I’ll probably go back and add more to this at a later date cause I wrote this pretty late last night and I really love this connection—I hope I was able to capture his story well! Endwalker spoilers!

Before I had taken my place in the Convocation, I had been a scholar on Elpis. At first, it didn’t make sense as to why I was there. I was clumsy, hardly any good at creating or overseeing anything except maybe the check in desk at the library in Amaurot. Someone out there must’ve seen potential in me. I suppose they found my journal of drawings of all the different creation ideas I had and places I had hoped to one day visit. I just hope they hadn’t learned about my accidental creation of quite possibly the most hideous and strangely affectionate creature on my first day there.

Even so, I’m glad I was assigned to Elpis. I had a chance to meet Hermes. He was the Chief overseer of Elpis and while his title made him seem intimidating, he was actually quite kind and approachable. He helped me settle in on my responsibilities the first day; he even thought my accidental creation was clever, even if my fellow scholars didn’t agree.

I’m not sure what drew me to him. He was handsome, sure, but also passionate and truly caring about life not just on Elpis but all of Etheirys. I’d often catch him by himself, just gazing at the sky with his beloved creation by his side and though he smiled often, there seemed to be a sadness deep within his heart. Even so, I found myself wanting to know what life was like through his eyes.

I threw myself into my work. Any excuse to be near him. After some time, it seemed my dedication paid off. Hermes approached me and asked me to be his assistant and how elated I was. The days I spent by his side were the best days. We spent hours talking about everything—I learned so many new things not just about Elpis but all of Etheirys. We had become even closer than before and I couldn’t help notice how much more relaxed and happy he was. I found myself falling for him.

I never worked up the courage to say something to him though. I was too afraid of what he’d say, too afraid of rejection. I kept my feelings to myself. Meteion knew though. It was hard to hide anything from her but she was happy to have someone love him just as much. We both wanted his happiness.

The day I left to take the seat of Azem was both the happiest and saddest day. It was a chance to finally go see the world like I had dreamed of but it also meant leaving him and Meteion. Hermes understood of course but Meteion didn’t want me to leave—she gave me a feather as a parting gift to help ease the sadness and made me promise to return every so often to tell her all about the things I saw. I agreed as she hugged me tightly and Hermes thanked me for my hard work and that was it. I resolved to myself I’d never see him again and that my feelings for him would be left unsaid.

I returned from a trip when I learned he had accepted the empty seat of Fandaniel and oh, how happy I was to be near him once again. But, he was different. He seemed sadder, more absorbed in his work than ever before, and worse of all, he told me Meteion became unstable and that in itself seemed to drive him closer to the choices he made as the Final Days approached.

He became enthralled by his own creation. It was too late for him. It was too late for any of us, really. I was opposed to the Convocation’s plan—I stepped down from my seat and defied my colleagues wishes. Before I left though, Venat told me everything that had happened that day on Elpis with him and Meteion.

I don’t know why she did. Mayhap she thought that in my knowing of the truth, it would help me better understand the choices he made, that it might ease the pain and confusion I had been feeling. In a way it did, but I was overwhelmed by my own foolishness of how blind I had been to just how much sadness and longing was locked inside his heart.

You were looking for the meaning of life, Hermes…and I believe I had found the answer that you had been searching for, even if it was just on my end. Life with you was all the more worthwhile.

If only I had told him that. Mayhap, it could have saved him.

–a page from Apollo’s journal

[bellasweetwriting]

Mysterious Girlfriend

Spencer Reid x Latina Reader

(not my gif)

masterlist

plot: Spencer Reid has a new girlfriend, and no matter how much evidence he has, Morgan and Hotch does not believe she exists

warnings: most fluff, kissing, criminal minds typical stuff

notes: this is s3-s4 spencer

word count: 1,8k

— • • • —

"Doctor!" Yelled Rossi arriving at where Spencer was filling his paperwork. "What are your plans tonight?"

"As if Reid has ever had plans in his life, " mocked Morgan.

"I actually do have plans tonight, Derek, " answered Reid surprising the BAU who could not believe the words that came out of Spencer’s mouth.

"Oh, really?" Questioned Morgan, putting down his paperwork. "You, Spencer Reid, have plans on a Friday night?"

"Yep... why? You don't?" That reply caught the attention of everyone, who started laughing. "I think it's the first time I have plans and you don't, isn't it?"

Morgan rolled his eyes. He didn't believe him. Reid doesn't go out, and if he does, he always goes out with the team, not on his own.

"And what plans do you have?"

"I'm going dancing tonight." That generated surprise from everyone.

"Reid, I've seen you dance, it’s embarrassing. Come up with a better lie next time, " intervened Emily sipping the last drop from her coffee.

"Oh, I'm aware of that, Emily. It's just that I got the perfect teacher." And with that, Rossi laughed.

"No way... she?" Reid nodded. "Did she finally say yes?"

"We've been dating for a month now, " announced Spencer with a big smile, confusing their other colleagues who didn't understand what was going on. "She's perfect."

"Wait, not only you have plans on a Friday night—" interrupted Hotch looking at the young Doctor—" but also you have a girlfriend?"

"And Rossi knows about her and we don't?" Asked Morgan. "Who are you?"

But at that moment, JJ interrupted the chit chat with a file on her hands, making everyone complain.

"Sorry, guys, it's urgent!" She yelled. "Cancel your plans."

"Conference room in five minutes, " announced Hotch.

"We’ll talk about this in the jet, pretty boy, " said Morgan to him before leaving towards the conference room with a coffee in his hand.

— • • • —

Morgan didn't waste a second and sat in front of Reid on the plain. The entire team was curious about Reid’s new "girlfriend" who Reid wouldn't give details about other than the fact that she could dance.

"Give me a name, " demanded Morgan and Spencer laughed.

"So that Garcia can investigate her? No thanks."

"Where does she work?" Asked Derek.

"At a college."

"She's a student or some?"

"What? No! She works at a college, not attends college."

"Don't forget to add—" interrupted Rossi— "that she's Latina." Reid nodded with a smile.

Derek was dying internally. If this girl was fake, he would never forgive Spencer for playing with his mind, but if she was real, it could be the biggest thing that has happened in the entire year.

"What does she do at this college?" Questioned Hotch who specifically said in the conference room that they were not going to interrogate more about Spencer’s mysterious girlfriend, but not even him could resist the curiosity.

"She's a professor, " answered Reid.

"You also wanna know, sir?" Asked Emily to Hotch and he nodded.

"Reid with a Latina girlfriend isn't something that happens every day, " pointed Hotch before looking at Reid again. "How old is she?"

"My age."

"That's impossible. She doesn't exist, " determined Morgan with a cocky smile. "A professor your age, Latina, interested in you? That's the perfect woman!"

Reid leaned in closer and smile. "I know... that's why I'm dating her, Morgan."

Morgan pointed at him with his index finger while Reid chuckled.

"Son of a bitch, " murmured Morgan. "I'm gonna demonstrate that this girl is fake."

"Why don't you do a bet?" Offered JJ, gaining the team's attention. "If Morgan can prove by the time we go home that Reid’s girlfriend is fake, Reid gives him something that he wants."

"I like that, " said Derek with a smile. "I have till the end of the case to prove that you are lying. If I do, you give me twenty bucks."

"Make it forty and we split, " interrupted Hotch sitting next to Morgan. "I'll help Morgan."

"Fine!" Accepted Reid. "I want to see what you guys come up with. But if you fail, between the two you have to give me forty bucks. Deal?"

"Deal, " agreed Morgan, and Hotch nodded. It was a closed deal.

— • • • —

"How are we gonna prove that Reid is lying?" Asked Morgan to Hotch.

"Reid isn't a good liar. There's gonna be something in his story that is not going to make sense, he's gonna make a mistake and that's how we are going to prove his lie. While we wait for that, get Garcia to look for a list of twenty-seven-year-old professors in colleges around the state. There shouldn't be much, she should try the whole country."

"On it." Morgan walked away, calling Garcia.

"What's up, sweetheart?" Asked Penelope on the other side of the line.

"Hey, baby girl, I need something."

"I’m all ears."

"I need a list of Latina professors around the country, twenty-seven-year-olds to be specific, works in a college."

"Nah, I'm not doing that, " said, confusing Morgan. "JJ told me about the bet with Hotch and Reid and I certainly know this is not for the case."

"Come on, girl, I need it."

"I'm sorry but Spencer prohibited me to research his girlfriend like two weeks ago. He made me promise in front of him that I wouldn't do it. And he called me when you guys got off the plane."

"He did what!?" Exclaimed Morgan, getting Hotch’s attention.

"He warned me that you and Hotch would try to get information on his girlfriend and he said that he would give me half of the forty bucks if I didn't help you. And I love you, chocolate baby, but I also love twenty bucks. Call me when involves something about the case. Bye, baby."

And with that, Garcia hung up the phone. Derek walked madly towards Hotch, who was looking at him confused.

"Reid bribed Garcia so she wouldn't give us any info."

"We could use that in our favor." Morgan looked at him confused. "Why would Reid bribe Garcia to not give us the information to prove that she's real if he isn't lying?"

"He doesn't want Garcia to look her up because she isn't real!" Hotch nodded. "These are going to be the sweetest twenty bucks I’ve ever received, baby. Let’s go!"

— • • • —

By the end of the case, Morgan and Hotch had collected all the information that they needed to win the bet. The whole team entered the jet, and both sat down in front of Reid filled with adrenaline, ready to prove that Reid’s girlfriend isn't real.

"Prepare the forty bucks, pretty boy." Spencer put down his book and looked over to his colleagues, pretty sure that they had nothing. "You bribed Garcia so she wouldn't do any research on your «girlfriend». Why would you prevent us from finding actual evidence of her existence if she isn't real?"

"What's the fun in that? For that, I would have called Garcia myself in front of you and made her look my girlfriend up and I would already have the forty bucks. That's all you have?"

"We asked you if she worked in the city and you said she worked outside the state, but that you met her with Rossi when you attended one of her classes in Virginia. How's that?"

"Well... she gives different lectures around different states. She was giving one in Virginia when I met her, but she doesn't live in Virginia"

Hotch and Morgan had so much evidence, but Reid had an answer for everything.

"You could still be lying! You aren't giving us her name, or what college she works in. You are just giving us random facts that you could’ve made up, " said Hotch. "There's no way to prove that you are telling the truth."

"And there isn't evidence to prove I'm lying, either. Why don't you guys just give up and give me my forty bucks?" Questioned Spencer.

"Or why don't you just simply agree that no one won?" Interrupted Emily. "You guys couldn't prove he is lying but no one is sure that she exists, Spencer, so you didn't win either. Just forget it."

"You believe that she exists, Prentiss?" Asked Morgan.

"Oh, no, she's fake, but Reid did you good. You can't prove it."

And with that, Morgan and Hotch gave up.

— • • • —

As soon as they arrived at the office, everyone sat down and filled his paperwork. When Spencer left to the bathroom, Morgan wasn't slow to get up and look over Reid’s desk.

"What are you doing?" Questioned Hotch as soon as he saw him, making the rest of the team look too. "Morgan—"

"I'm gonna prove this kid is lying. There’s gotta be something here that shows what really was gonna do Spencer yesterday."

"Y/N!" Rossi yelled, catching everyone’s attention.

A girl in a red dress with a leather jacket on top walked towards Rossi with a smile. She was young, beautiful with gorgeous y/e/c eyes who brightened the entire office. No one could stop looking at you.

"SSA Rossi! How are you doing? Haven't seen you for so long!" Exclaimed Y/N with a smile. "And this must be the team."

"I'm Derek." Morgan presented himself, standing up quickly from Spencer’s chair. "You are?"

"Y/N, " you repeated your name. Rossi introduced all the members and you greeted each one. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."

"How do you know Agent Rossi?" Asked Hotch and Y/N smiled.

"I met him about two months ago? Three months? He assisted one of my lectures with Spencer."

Derek turned around to look at Hotch. There was no way.

"You..." started Morgan, not believing what he was hearing. "You are the professor."

"I guess," Y/N said with a smile.

"Baby!" They heard Spencer exclaiming as he came back from the bathroom. The professor walked towards him and he kissed her softly on the lips for a few seconds before pulling away. "What are you doing here? I was going to pick you up."

"I know, just... wanted to see you. After you canceled our plans yesterday—"

"I’m so sorry about that. I had an urgent case.”

"It’s okay," she interrupted. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah just let me give quickly my paperwork to Hotch," said Reid, walking towards his desk and giving Hotch his file. "Guys, did you meet Y/N?"

"Yeah we did," whispered Derek.

"Wonderful surprise," added Hotch.

Reid laughed.

"I’ll claim my forty bucks tomorrow," said the doctor with a smile before grabbing Y/N’s hand and interlocking their fingers. "See you Monday! Do not call!"

"Adios," said Y/N with a smile.

"Have fun!" Exclaimed JJ as they both left. "I can’t believe it."

"I can’t believe I felt attracted to Reid’s girlfriend," mumbled Derek. "I need to see a doctor, I’m having a heart attack."

"Reid’s got a girlfriend," whispered Emily. "Wow..."

[assim-eu-sou]

Kally's Mashup Liveblogs: 1x1

1:1

I’m gonna be real, being a music major and having heard what pianists have to play at school… I’m not blown away. But no worries, I will suspend my disbelief for the remainder of this program. Like bruh… piano performance majors play music that makes me feel glad I can even follow along with the score and I’M a music major.

I like all the music stiff in the title sequence

NOOOO NOT THE BAD FAKE VIOLIN PLAYING

Ok I lied I’m probably gonna be insufferable in these liveblogs when it comes to music

Are her parents divorced and just good at coparenting?

Ok that’s a nice viola case, one of my colleagues has the same one

Ok I don’t blame them for hating child prodigies… I’ve been on both sides of the equation: I’m a currently child prodigy hater but as a child, I was always the youngest student and it could be very isolating so. Fair for both sides.

Some Spanish is harder to understand than others, and this is on the easier side. I can’t figure out a subs situation but it’s not necessary. Maybe it just feels easy because I’m watching a show in Portuguese right now.

This is all moving very quickly lol

However if you told 13 year old me that I could pack up and go to a conservatory I don’t think I would have hesitated

Her parents must be stronger than mine though because they would never let me lmao

Something alive is in that backpack

Ok I wasn’t expecting a dog for some reason

The dog ate his homework

Oh, she’s the daughter of the staff…. I can stop being on her side because I have definitely been on the other side of THAT equation… nepotism in music is real

Why is the dad such a trainwreck

Instant best friend… what a nice turn of events

Being adopted by extroverts is the best

I know this show will be dunking on classical music and I will just have to accept it… like I get it but there IS classical music that bops. Like what she’s playing now… Beethoven V

Kally said vegetables >

And I have to agree

I have also pretended to be asleep to avoid conversation #relatablemoment

Those boots are cute

Seems like she has a strong imagination

Someone just playing a G major scale in the background

LMAO not Beethoven V as the confrontation theme

LMAO what music school doesn’t let people listen to whatever music… I see we are adding some dramatic effect

Ok I’m TRYING not to be insufferable but I have to be allowed some insufferableness as a treat

Pls give this violist a shoulder rest I beg

At least her piano playing only looks a little fake/forced. I can accept it

I should try adding some beats to something I’ve worked on. I’m definitely not against remixing classical music; it’s a great way to adapt and add new life to something that has been around for a while.

Beethoven V… I have a lot of experience with it… I had to conduct excerpts from it in conducting class a couple times

I keep talking about Beethoven V but the main piece you keep hearing is the theme from Mozart 40

So, final thought? I’m gonna keep watching! My first impression is that it’s easier to get through than Violetta (no offense to Violetta, the pacing in S1 is just driving me bonkers.) I feel like it will lack that tragic/dramatic aspect that all DCLA novelas seem to have, and that’s ok (it just makes headcanoning the characters more engaging). The concept does have its similarities with Violetta, but it’s different enough for me not to be like hmmm. Even if the instrument playing and standards ranges from unrealistic to straight-up fake, it’s fun to see instrumentalists. So stay tuned for more! It’s a little overwhelming to have so many shows on my plate, but mark my words: one day, I will have finished Violetta AND this. Thanks for the info, @supernova-ferro !

[elldell1204]

I Always Have Your Back - Jay Halstead x Reader

Anonymous:  Drabble challenge Nr. 17 - “Good thing I didn’t ask for your opinion”? With Jay Halstead Thank you! 😊

Thank you so much for the request! 🥰 I do have to confess that this is one of the most recent requests, but I got so inspired by the prompt that I felt I just needed to write it. Don’t fret! I do have ideas for the others, it’s just finding inspiration, but they will be coming soon. I hope you enjoy this one, I’m super proud of it! ❤️

(slightly inspired by this Linstead fic on Ao3, feel free to check it out!)

Warning: Mention of drugs, implied attempted rape (not graphic), mention of sex trafficking. Don’t read if this will upset you! 💕

wc - 7,464

You’ve always hated when the criminals fall through your fingers. Just when you think you’ve got ‘em, all ready to be wrapped up with a bow and sent off to Statesville, something crops up and (wrongfully) gets them off the hook by the skin of their teeth and they walk, but not without a smug grin over the shoulder at you first.

That’s why for the past month, whilst you’ve been trying to find incriminating evidence on a suspect in a missing persons case, every little thing just pisses you off. It’s like the case is all you think about, night and day. You even dream about it in your sleep, though it’s more like a nightmare. Trying to solve this case has been like torture for every member of the Intelligence unit, making everyone more irritable than usual, resulting in arguments and eyes that shoot daggers being a daily occurrence. Something which didn’t exactly help your already rocky relationship with your partner, Jay Halstead.

It wasn’t like you didn’t get along. In fact, at work, it was the complete opposite. He was the best partner you’ve ever had, seeing as you both worked liked clockwork as a duo and even got praise from Voight after a case one day saying you were the best partnership he’s ever had in his unit. You hated to admit it (and even then you never did out loud, only in the quiet of your own heart), but you’d actually fallen for your partner, something you vowed never to let happen in your lifetime as a Chicago police officer. You wanted a successful career, not be the ‘slut’ who throws herself at every male cop she works with. You’d seen many a colleague go down the road of dating a partner, and nearly every time it ended badly, but even worse for the female half of the relationship.

But every day, the little things he did or said just made you want to throw caution to the wind, push him up against the wall and kiss him breathless. And sometimes you thought you saw the same glimmer of lust in his eye as you felt.

Only, he acted like he hated you. Well, not exactly. He was nice to you, cracking jokes with you and being friendly, but whenever the conversation steered anywhere close to flirtatious, he often caught himself and put up a wall. A cold, icy wall; the complete opposite of anything you would associate with Jay Halstead. You loved the cheeky, boyish side of him, but the iron clad exterior really broke your heart, mainly because to you it meant that your love was unrequited and the partner you cared for so much was having trouble opening up to you, shutting down before your very eyes like he would when a case hit a long-forgotten nerve. Though your spirits were dampened every time it happened, you understood, especially after Kim told you the story about Erin and Jay’s downwards spiral after she left. You wished you knew him before Erin, because according to Kim, he never used to be as angry at the world. Before, he knew he could do some good, put in his bet and that helping one person would mean something. You knew he still did, but that need for justice wasn’t quite satiated anymore. It was as if, over time, the job had dampened Jay, and he needed help seeing the sunshine again.

At least that’s what Voight had told you, not in as many words, when you’d been with the unit for a few months. According to him, you were the person that coaxed the raincloud away from over Jay’s head, bit by bit, so that he could start to enjoy the sun again. Jay didn’t notice at first, but when he did, that��s when he started reverting back to the colder version of himself when things got too close to the dangerous waters of flirtation.

Lately, neither of you had gotten within ten feet of what could be considered flirting, let alone friendly jokes and conversation, and it was all thanks to this case. The unit was tasked with finding out what happened to seven young women, all addicts, who let their addiction take over to the point where they couldn’t afford their next meal when they suddenly go missing. Like, off-the-face-of-the-earth, vanished-into-a-cloud-of-smoke, left-no-trace missing. You made huge progress within the first week, finding out that all the girls were supplied by one common dealer: Elena Perez. A forty-two-year old, divorced woman who owned her own restaurant in a pretty nice area in the south side. You found she was a ‘business in the front, party in the back’ kind of dealer, so to speak. Only, you had no way of getting to her without raising her suspicions. For weeks you did surveillance, watching two different girls approach her restaurant and walking away with a bag of white power in their hands, each on different nights to the other, until one time when they entered but didn’t leave.

Which meant you were back at square one.

Every other attempt to gain more info was met with a dead end, so walking into the precinct this morning, you didn’t feel too hopeful. You were one of the last to arrive (not that you were late, you were actually half an hour early), trudging up the stairs to the bullpen with two to-go cups of coffee in hand from your local coffeehouse around the block from your apartment. One was for you, seeing as your energy levels were pretty low, and one was for Jay, half because you wanted to cheer him up and half as a peace offering after the argument you both had last night when you were both frustrated, getting absolutely nowhere in the case after combing over all your notes from the past month or so. Let’s just say you were glad you were the only two left in the bullpen, and the door to the break room was closed to avoid any prying ears.

Yours and Jay’s desks faced each other and were the closest to Voight’s office, with Jay’s back being to it. You made it to yours without passing out from exhaustion and placed Jay’s cup in front of him with a small, sorry smile on your face. Jay eyed the coffee before looking up and mirroring your expression, and that was all that was needed to repair the very minor crack in your bond (one that seemed to be needing repair too often during this case) before getting on with your day.

It was only ten or so minutes later when Voight stormed out of his office and over to the board at the top of the stairs with a tempestuous expression, his bad mood only amplified in his body language. His exit prompted the rest of Intelligence to jump up. Well, jump was an understatement, given that you were all the definition of defeated. Jay came and propped himself on the edge of your desk, whilst you spun your chair to face your boss.

“Tell me you have a lead, any lead. I don’t care if it’s less than a shoeprint, we need something to go on.”

He glanced round at each and every one of you, showing a steely glare before moving onto the next person. No one had anything. You’d had an idea for a while now, but you knew it was immensely dangerous, and therefore you decided you would only bring it up as a last resort. Now seemed like the right time.

“I know this won’t be favourable,” You began, and you could feel all eye direct their attention to you without even breaking eye contact with Voight. “But I could go in undercover?”

“No.” Jay all but shouted. You immediately diverted your eyes to your partner, an anger bubbling deep in your chest. “Absolutely not. It’s a huge risk. We don’t even know what she does to the girls! In my opinion, that’s way too dangerous and downright stupid.”

He had his jaw set tight as he spoke, making you wonder how the words didn’t come out more strained than they already did. His arms were folded tightly over his chest, his fingers gripping his biceps so hard his knuckles had turned as white as paper. In hindsight, you realise that he had your safety at heart, and he meant well with his words, however, at the time, all you could see was red, mostly thanks to sleep deprivation.

“Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t ask for your opinion.” You seethed, and your partner looked at you like you’d just shot him in the heart. You turned to face your boss before continuing. “Sarge, you know about my work from Vice. I know what I’m doing, and I’m one of the damn best undercovers in the entire department. And what else do we have to go on? This is our only hope at finding those girls.”

Before Jay could refute, Voight agreed and told everyone to begin prepping, dishing out tasks to everyone in the unit. You were whisked away by Hailey and Vanessa to put together your cover story before you could even look at Jay, let alone discuss what the hell you had just gotten yourself into.

***

Twenty-four hours later and you’re now Riley Hensley. It was your cover from the last bust you did in Vice, which was luckily still intact, so you managed to slot right back into it, even getting your old job at the corner store back within minutes of talking to the owner. You were sat sipping one of the worst coffees ever to touch your tastebuds whilst reading over your pseudo-life. You’d arrived at your undercover apartment last night with just a scruffy duffel bag to your name, and it was then that you’d realised it was the smallest apartment you had ever set foot in, and you’d lived alone in New York straight out of college with a student’s salary. Once you got there, you set it up a little more to your taste, putting a few personal touches to make it seemed more lived in.

The rest of the team had left you to do your thing back in the district before you went under (which consisted of a lot of psyching yourself up and getting yourself in the mindset of your new character), getting busy with setting out surveillance plans and shift changes and places to put bugs. You managed to have very small and brief conversation with the team before you left last night at 7pm to spend your first night in the apartment. Most were quick goodbyes and ‘stay safe’s, but Jay’s was different. You felt a little bad about your earlier encounter, but now wasn’t the time. For all you know, that could have been the last time you ever spoke to him, so you didn’t want to waste it on possibly unnecessary apologies. He seemed repressed, like there was something he wanted to say but just couldn’t find the words or the strength to do so, but the encounter ended up being more friendly than you had interacted with each other in weeks.

He handed you a little zip up bag, telling you it was full of Narcan in case you were accidentally dosed. You had taken it, your fingertips brushing against his for less than a second, but enough for you to feel comforted. You thanked him, and he gave you a small fleeting smile before his eyes went back to his feet. “I don’t doubt that you know what you’re doing, but please, be safe.” He had said. You had to hold back tears. You didn’t want to cry in front of him, but you felt guilty for snapping at him earlier and you didn’t know how to apologise (damn your sleep-deprived brain). You also felt the urge to just tell him everything; your feelings, your favourite moments with him, how much you were going to miss seeing him every day. And although you desperately wanted to throw your arms around him and hug him so tight you might stop his lungs from working, you just nodded, and he walked away, leaving you to go back to reading your files, or at least try to.

Now, after surprisingly one of the best sleeps you’d had in the last month, you were nearly ready for your first meet with Perez this evening. You were dressed in a tattered hoodie you usually only wore to bed, some leggings that had begun to thin out from wear and a pair of canvas pumps that had a hole in the front. Your usually pristinely-kept hair was looking more like a rat’s nest than an actually rat’s nest, and you were planning on going for a run or doing some sort of workout before you went to the meet to work up a sweat and make it more believable that you were an addict in withdrawal. Also, the bags and dark circles under your eyes from the recent sleepless nights actually worked in your favour.

You were so engrossed in reading the file and going over your plan that the knock at your door startled you more than it should have. You stood from your chair at the kitchen table, pushing it back under before stepping carefully over to the front door. You peered through the spyhole, being surprised to see your partner stood outside. You assumed he had brought you something you had forgotten, but you had to let him in quick before anyone saw and suspected anything, so you opened the door and roughly pulled him in by his arm.

“Nice to see you too.” He joked as you stuck your head out of the door and looked around for anyone, but being satisfied that there was no one there, you came back in and locked it before turning around. You could tell he was surprised to see you looking so…not you. He lifted an eyebrow as he looked you up and down, and if it wasn’t for how worn down you looked and how self-conscious you were of your appearance right now, the action would have sent a heat straight to your core. “On second thoughts, maybe not.”

“Well, I am trying to sell the ‘utterly broke drug addict’ act, so you shouldn’t have expected a ball gown.” You shot back, teasingly.

“I wasn’t, it’s just so different to how good you look normally.” He said, walking over to your couch, unaware of what he just let slip out. It made your mind race ridiculously fast, just like your heart, but you realised he probably didn’t mean it in the way you hoped he did.

“As much as I am enjoying your company, what are you doing here?” You went and leant up against the wall facing him.

“I’m here to let you know it’s not too late to pull out of this.” He looked straight into your eyes as he said it, so deeply you were worried he might have seen how nervous you were under your brave facade.

“Well, I’m not going to.”

“Y/N, it’s too dangerous. We don’t know what Perez does to the girls. She could kill you.”

“I know how to handle myself, Jay.” You squinted your eyes at him, as if you thought he was speaking utter nonsense. Really, you just didn’t want to think about the possibility of him being right.

“But you won’t have back-up in there with you.”

“I’m not a damsel in distress, Halstead! You don’t need to be my knight in shining armour. I know what I’m doing, and most of the unit will be outside at all times in case I need you, anyways.”

“Don’t do this, Y/N. We can find another way in-”

“Don’t you see? I have to do this! There is no other way. I owe it to the girls and their families to find them and stop any more from getting hurt. If I don’t, I won’t be able to live with myself. So let me decide what I can and can’t do, Jay, please.”

You didn’t realise you were both shouting now, not until you noticed how out of breath you both were and that Jay was now very close to you after standing up to have the shouting match. You could smell him, that mix of eucalyptus and cedarwood you love, so close that if you were to reach out a hand, you could grab the back of his neck and pull his lips to yours. You even think you might have seen his eyes fleeting down to your own lips for a second. Only you didn’t act on your desires. Instead, you walked over to the kitchen, wrapping your arms around yourself in some sort of hug, keeping your back to him.

“I appreciate your concern,” You practically whispered, so quiet you were unsure if he could even hear you. “But I’ll be fine. Plus, you have my back. You always have my back.”

You turned slowly to see that he hadn’t moved an inch, only his eyes had followed you to where you were, excruciatingly far from where you were mere seconds earlier.

“And I always will.” He muttered in reply. He began to walk towards the door with soft steps, passing you on his way, unlatching it when he got there, but before he could open it, he turned back to you once more. “Stay safe, Y/N. I need my partner.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving you to slump down into the couch with your head spinning, in the same place he was sat before, desperate to savour the faint scent he left behind to calm your nerves.

***

The first thing you noticed when you turned onto the street was the van. It had “A. Johnson & Sons Plumbing” printed onto the side of it, the vinyl sticker peeling slightly at the edges with age. It was one of three the 21st precinct owned, each one a different company on the outside, but practically the same layout on the inside. You knew they were watching the visual and listening to the audio that the tiny camera and microphone picked up in your necklace, whilst the unmarked car that housed another two members of your unit would only be listening to the audio.

You checked your work phone before you left the apartment with just your undercover burner, being met with a message from Hailey telling you how Jay had pushed for the first shift in the van, which made you smile. You kept that close to your heart as you walked down the cold dark street, getting closer to the restaurant with each step.

“Everything okay?” You said a few feet from the restaurant after checking nobody was around you.

“All good. Do your thing, Y/N.” Hailey’s reassuring voice came through the small earpiece you had in.

You pulled open the door to the front of the restaurant, immediately aware of how out of place you looked in your scruffy clothes compared to the smartly dressed patrons dotted around at their tables. You caught one of the waitresses’ eye, who, after scrunching her nose up at you, made her way over.

“Table for one?” She asked you, her voice a little strained as she looked you up and down with a slight hint of disgust. You really were a sight; sweaty from your run, shaking and scruffy in an attempt to sell your act.

“I’m here to see Ms Perez?” You asked, your eyes frantic, unable to focus on anything. At least that’s what you wanted her to think.

“Um, I’ll go see if she’s busy. Wait here.” The waitress said before disappearing through the doors at the back of the restaurant.

You had earned some interest from some diners now, being the topic of a few hushed discussions and wary glances. You knew that it’d be caught on the camera you wore, and you could only imagine Jay’s massive eye roll at how sheltered and rude they were acting, which calmed you slightly and made you smile on the inside. You saw the waitress returning, looking uneasy at the news you were about to receive from her. You expected what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth.

“Ms Perez gives her apologies, but she’s very busy right now. She said to ask you to leave.”

You began to plead with her, quietly but not too quiet that you wouldn’t appear erratic and in need of a fix, but she didn’t budge, and so you left with a huff, your hand shaking as you reached for the door handle.

You’d expected this to happen, seeing as the same had occurred to a girl you saw when you were doing surveillance. You followed what she did that night a few weeks ago. You looked behind you to check if the waitress watched you leave, which she hadn’t, so you turned to the right and made your way to the back of the restaurant to where the deliveries went. It was even darker down there, with no streetlights to illuminate your way, only the mild moonlight. You made it to the back, seeing nobody to stop you, and so you entered through the door that you assumed led to the corridor where her office was. You were right, as the second door on the left had a plaque on the door that read “Ms Elena Perez, Owner and Manageress”, and so you knocked.

“Enter!” You heard from inside, the call muffled by the door. So you did, timidly opening the door and stepping in. She hadn’t looked up from her computer yet, so she hadn’t seen you, but you definitely saw her. She definitely wasn’t your average drug dealer, that’s for sure; dressed to the nines in her figure-hugging dress, a scarlet red that reminded you of fresh blood complemented her caramel features perfectly. The same shade was painted onto her lips and her nails, like a wolf who had just feasted. If you weren’t so confident in your skills, you would have instantly been intimidated, and so that’s the front you put on. You hugged yourself with one arm, trying to make yourself as small as possible, whilst the other was busy scratching some imaginary itch on your arm. You immediately dropped your focus from her before she got suspicious, your eyes fleeting around the room at where you could place a bug, but to her, you would just be acting like a normal addict going through withdrawal.

She probably expected you to speak first, thinking you were one of her staff, but when you stayed quiet, she raised her eyes. At first, they were imitating the kindness a good boss might show to her workers, but when she saw it was a drug addict, the one she had told to get lost, her eyes became icy with manipulation. It was like she was a lion and her prey was about to walk directly where she wanted it.

“I thought I told you to leave.” She questioned, standing as she tilted her head at you. With her heels, she was definitely taller than you, something she must have took pleasure in.

“Please, Ms Perez, I was told…I, um, I need…” You began, mumbling and stumbling over your words.

Game time.

“A fix? Anyone within fifty feet of you would be able to tell that. But why would I be able to help you with that?”

“Um, Rachel said you could help me? I was clean until I lost my job a few months ago, but then I slipped back into old habits and I’m really struggling with money right now, I thought you might be more understanding than other…you know…and let me pay you over time and in other ways than money.”

“I don’t usually.”

“Please.” You beg, meeting her eyes properly for the first time. You see her consider it, because her eyes seem to go to a dark place, and you know that you were right in going with this approach. It followed the pattern of the other girls, so it was your best bet after all.

“What’s your name?”

“Riley. Riley Hensley.”

“Okay, Riley. I hope I can take you for your word.” Perez concedes, walking over to a safe she has in the corner of the room, typing in a code to open it and then pulling out a little dime bag of a white powder. “Heroin?”

You nod, beginning to act excited. Before you can say anything, though, she reached out her empty hand, palm up.

“Give me what you have on you today, and I’ll see what you owe.”

You stuck a hand into the pocket of your hoodie, grabbing the crumpled-up bills you had brought with you. Two tens. You put them in her palm, and after inspecting them, she handed you over the bag, which you took eagerly.

“This is enough for today.” She held up the bills before walking back to sit down. “If you come back to see me, don’t go to the front again.”

“Yes, yes, of course, thank you.” You nodded before leaving quickly. Perez thought she had laid the bait, and you had snatched it right up, when really it was you who had her right where you wanted her.

***

It went on like this for a week or so; you bringing the right amount for what she gave you. But it soon became a deal of you bringing whatever cash you could scrounge with anything valuable you had to offer. For a while, the bags got bigger and bigger, fuelling your faux addiction, until the value of the items you brought decreased and you had no cash to your name.

You had gone a couple of days without seeing her, pretending that you didn’t have anything to give, and so when you turned up tonight with a measly pair of tarnished silver earrings that ‘belonged to your mother before she died’, she didn’t seem pleased.

“You realise these aren’t even worth ten bucks, right?” She laughed in your face to degrade you. You began to fumble with your fingers.

“They’re real silver-“

“I don’t give a shit. I’m not giving you anything.” She shrugged and sat back down at her desk.

You looked at her, dumbfounded and desperate. “Please, Ms Perez. I need it.”

She didn’t even acknowledge you.

“Ms Perez, please, I’ll bring you something better tomorrow, I promise.”

She seems to perk up at your words, looking up at you with what can only be described as an evil smile.

“I don’t take promises as payment, little girl.”

You sighed audibly. “You know I keep my promises, Ms Perez. I always have before.”

“If I give you something now, you promise me that you will come back here tomorrow with something worth it?”

You nod eagerly.

“Okay then.”

She stands, getting you the same size bag that she gave you the first time a few weeks ago. As you take it from her, she grips your forearm hard, making you yelp in pain.

“You better keep your promise, girly, or you’ll have to pay me back another way.”

You whimper your consent to her, and, satisfied, she releases your arm. You left quickly, rubbing at your arm. It was definitely going to bruise. Once in the fresh air, you took a deep breath, going over the encounter in your head. ‘Pay me back another way.’ You felt a smile tug at your lips. You were getting somewhere.

Walking away from the restaurant, you saw the familiar van parked at the end of the road, so you said, “Pull round the corner. I’ll meet you there.”

You saw someone get out of the back and walk round to the driver’s side before the van drove off. You carried on the same way, and when you got to the van, you opened the back doors and got in, finding Adam and Jay sat waiting for you.

It was the first time since he came to your undercover apartment that you had seen Jay, but he looked a lot rougher than he had that day. His hair was messier, his eyes more tired and he looked overwhelmingly worried. But you didn’t have the time to ask him how he was doing. You knew you were close to finding the much-needed answers, you just had to keep going.

“Wow, you look rough.” Adam teased, and you rolled your eyes at him.

“Ha ha, funny. Did you hear all that?” You asked.

“Yeah, we did.” Adam replied, serious this time.

“Another way to pay her…” Jay repeated what he heard, and you saw a sliver of hope flash across his face.

You nodded, the same smile you had earlier returning. “Yeah, I really think we’re getting somewhere.”

“Just…be careful, Y/N.” Jay met your eyes, and you could read a million more things he wanted to say to you right now, but you both didn’t have the time.

“I will. I better be going, then.” You said, slipping out of the van and walking back to your apartment, a little more bounce in your step than you had before.

***

Another week went by, and each time you met with Perez, you brought next to nothing, but she always said very little at all in protest. You knew it wasn’t enough to pay for what she was giving you, but she was being extremely lenient. Of course, you did this on purpose, wanting to see what the alternative form of payment would be, but you were beginning to give up hope after seven days. That was until you turned up tonight, at your usual time, and Perez wasn’t alone. The man in her office wasn’t one you ever saw before, and you knew that the team in the van would be running him through facial rec to put a name to the face.

“Who is this?” You said to Perez, glancing between them both. He was tall, rather muscular, good-looking, the same caramel skin and dark hair that Perez had, but they didn’t share similar features, so they definitely weren’t related. You might have been attracted to him if you didn’t know what he was probably involved in, or if your heart didn’t love someone else.

“This is Nicolas.” Perez replied, the same evil smile she wore so well was resting on her face.

“And why is Nicolas here?” You decided to go with the sassy approach.

“You owe me.” She stated simply. “Nicolas works for me, in a different branch, so to speak.”

You furrow your brows. What the hell is she on about? “And?”

“You are going to work off your debt.”

Your eyes go wide. “I can’t, I already have a job.”

“At the convenience store. I know. But it isn’t paying you nearly enough to pay your debt. Plus, we’d provide you with whatever you need.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” It was Nicolas that spoke this time. His voice was smooth, comforting even, but it still put you on edge. “You can start tonight. You’d earn a lot of money with your body.”

“Um, I don’t know…” You mumble, starting to back towards the door. Nicolas began to walk slowly towards you. You’d expected some sort of sex trafficking, but didn’t think this was how you’d be integrated into it.

“Y/N, don’t go anywhere. We don’t have GPS on you, it’s not safe for you to go mobile.” You heard Jay through your earpiece.

“I need to go quit my job at the store. I don’t want to leave on bad terms. I promise I’ll come back tomorrow, and then I’ll start working for you.” You tried to compromise, but both of them had a hungry look in their eyes.

You knew they weren’t going to budge. You had to escape. So you turned to run, pushing down hard on the door handle when you felt Nicolas grab your arm. You tried to thrash around to get him off, but when that didn’t work, you threw your head back, hearing what you assumed was his nose crunch with the force, which worked.

You swung open the door, ready to sprint, when this time you were pulled back by your necklace, which snapped off, and two arms wrapped around you from behind, stopping you from going. You began to scream, knowing the team would be starting to move in, but you had to hold your own for maybe thirty seconds. Only, you didn’t have that, as you felt the sharp jab of a needle in your thigh, and suddenly you felt an overwhelming urge to sleep, your eyes feeling heavy and every muscle growing weak. The last thing you saw was darkness as some sort of bag was pulled over your head.

***

You felt groggy when you began to stir, the feeling starting to flood back into your limbs, but still you couldn’t move. You looked around with fear-filled eyes, realising you were alone in a dingy basement. It wasn’t big enough to be that of a warehouse, more like a normal house. You listened hard for any sounds, but all you could hear was the occasional car driving past, nothing distinctive.

You tried to move, getting jolted back as you rolled over. You looked to the wall, finding a chain than lead to some sort of cuff on your wrist, and you knew then that you were stuck there until someone came to find you. You felt a chilled draught rush over your skin, and when you looked down you saw you were only in your underwear, sprawled out on a filthy mattress.

Immediately you felt violated, and you had yet to feel any pain associated with what you thought they would have already done to you. Still, you were angry. Upset. Furious. Disappointed in yourself for being in that position, the one where you couldn’t escape. But, even in hindsight, you couldn’t think of anything you could have done differently to save yourself from this situation, besides wearing a GPS tracker, which none of expected to need.

Your only hope was the team had caught the licence plate before you were driven off to wherever you were. For now, all you could do was wait. And with waiting came thinking, something you barely had enough energy to do right now, but as soon as your mind flooded with the thoughts of your friends and family, you were more than happy to use whatever power you had left on them.

First, your mind went to your family, the last holiday you spent together, all the time you spent without thinking once about work. Next, you thought of your unit, how they were like your second family, the fun you had each day with them, even when you were dealing with the worst mankind had to offer. The laughs from the after-work drinks at Molly’s in celebration as jokes were shared around the table. And then, you thought of Jay.

Why the hell hadn’t you told him before you left? You knew this was one of the most dangerous operations you had ever been on, and yet you were too cowardly to let him know your feelings. You didn’t want to think like that right now, though, so your mind just went to him. His jokes that made you laugh so hard you could barely breathe, his little chuckle that was like a music to your ears you yearned to hear every day, the way he was able to comfort you like no one else after a rough case, making you content and at peace with the world once more, a feat that wasn’t easy to achieve when the darkness hit you hard.

It was then that your little reverie was interrupted by the bolt on the door being slid across, the heavy metal clanging sound reverberating around the room, or was it in your head? You were still a little fuzzy, after all. The footsteps sounded menacing as whoever it was made their way towards you. You were trying to focus on their face, but it was proving to be more difficult than it should have been.

“You’re awake.” The voice was familiar, not overly so but you had definitely heard it before. You saw the hand coming towards your face in a blur before you felt it, but that did nothing to quell the sting when it collided with your cheek. You managed to supress the cry of pain, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. That’s when he gripped your jaw roughly, his fingers and thumb digging into opposite cheeks to give you that ridiculous pout to humiliate you. “Ah, I expected you to be stubborn. No need to worry, we’ll wear you down and fuck you so hard that by the end of the week, you’ll be begging for mercy through tears. Call it your initiation.”

You took a sharp intake of breath at the words, and he chuckled darkly. Your eyes finally focused, seeing the same caramel skin and dark chocolate hair you mistrusted earlier.

Nicolas.

“The ketamine still wearing off?” He laughed, throwing your face down with ease. That’s when you heard him start to unbuckle his belt. “That should make the next part easier then…”

It was like the adrenaline began to surge in waves through your veins at those words, and you began to thrash around, smacking away his hands and screaming bloody murder until your throat felt raw, but you didn’t stop. He grabbed each ankle in his hands, tight as vices, and still you lashed out, kicking your legs, trying to connect with his body anywhere you could. There was absolutely no way you would go down without a fight.

He'd managed to pin your legs down with his knees when his fingertips found the fabric of your panties, your arms still flailing with purpose in his direction, and before he could pull them down, the metal door swung open, crashing into the brick wall with a crack.

Nicolas got distracted, turning his once hungry eyes away from you to see the cause of the noise, which allowed you to dislodge a leg from underneath him, wrapping one and then the other tightly around his neck before squeezing them so hard you were surprised you didn’t break it.

You were still crying, still so flooded with adrenaline and the overwhelming need to survive that you jumped at the warm hand placed on your arm, beginning to lash out at it once again, when the hand turned into an arm, and then two, wrapped tightly but not overly so around your torso, prompting you to let go of the man you had now knocked out cold. You felt a hard chest meet your back, calming you and somehow you knew it was safe to let go, to just cry, to let it all out.

“Ssh, Y/N, I got you, I got you.” The voice was warm, inviting, comforting, one you loved so much, one you trusted with your life.

“Jay.” You whimpered in between cries, and his arms loosened slightly at your realisation. You turned ever so slightly so you could tuck your head into his neck, the tears still flowing. He rocked you gently in an effort to comfort you, but he knew you needed to get this out of your system.

You were still crying when you felt the blanket wrap around you, when you were practically carried out by Jay and into the back of a car, still sat in his lap with your head nuzzled into his neck, craving that familiar eucalyptus and cedarwood smell that would calm you. You had relaxed by the time the car pulled to a stop, and you were helped into the pristine building and onto a gurney, a hospital gown placed onto the bed for you to put on whilst everyone cleared out of the room with a few lingering looks your way before the curtain was pulled across.

You did just that, giving yourself a moment to reflect before opening the curtain. You were safe. You were unharmed, mostly. You were shaken up, but it wasn’t anything you couldn’t work through. You were okay.

“I’m ready.” You said as you pulled back the curtain. You were met with a warm smile from Natalie before you got situated on the bed.

***

About an hour later, after you had endured countless tests and a visit from Dr Charles, your team was given the go ahead to come in to see you. They walked in with caution, but at your bright smile, they seemed to relax.

“Did you find the other girls?” You got out before they could even ask you how you were, which earned a chuckle.

“There’s our Y/N,” Adam laughed. “Always straight down to business.”

You merely smiled and shrugged before looking around at each member, expecting an answer.

“Yeah, we found all of them upstairs in various rooms. Looked like the start of a sex trafficking ring, so we did good to catch it early, but it was all thanks to you, Y/N.” Hailey was the one to provide you with it.

“Don’t be silly, we all worked hard, and we did it together, although I do expect a couple of days off, boss. I’m exhausted.” You laughed along with the rest of the room.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Voight smiled at you genuinely.

You saw everyone’s eyes fleet towards Jay, who was yet to say anything, when Vanessa coughed lightly. “Well, we’ll give you some space to rest up. See you soon, Y/N.”

You thanked everyone for coming, exchanging goodbyes as they all walked out one by one, except for Jay.

He had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, his eyes looking anywhere but yours until everyone had left. When he finally looked up, seeing you smiling at him, he relaxed, taking a few steps towards you so he could sit on the edge of the bed.

“Hi.” He said a little sheepishly.

“Hi.” You replied. You felt a small blush creeping up your neck.

“How are you?” He asked, lightly checking you over for any visible injuries.

“I’m better. They didn’t…do anything. Like that.”

“Good. Otherwise they wouldn’t be leaving the cage for a couple of days.”

“Yeah…” You smiled weakly. There was a little bit of tension in the air. You weren’t used to being so close and open with him, but it felt…nice. “How’d you find me?”

“We saw the plate on the van as it sped off but couldn’t get back to the car in time to tail it. We put a BOLO out and started canvassing, but it was a couple hours later when we found it in the driveway of some house, so we thought we were too late. Luckily, we weren’t.”

You nodded along slowly before the silence resumed, but not for long. “Thank you.” You whispered meekly.

“Hm?” He furrowed his brows as you locked eyes.

“You know, for getting to me before…”

“Y/N, I told you I always have your back, and I meant it.” He said, and you saw something in his eyes you had never seen before.

“I know.” You hummed, and you felt an overwhelming urge to tell him. To tell him how you felt, that you had loved him for months and were too scared to say anything. “Listen, Jay, I need to tell you something.”

“I do too, Y/N, and I know, I’m the same, but not now. It wouldn’t be right.”

You didn’t feel deterred or ashamed. You completely understood him and wholeheartedly agreed. Although you weren’t sure if you were going to say the same thing, you just nodded, but you craved that comfort you knew he gave you, whilst also wanting to reassure yourself.

So you reached out your hand for his, and he met yours, interlacing your fingers together, his thumb running gently over the back of your hand. He lifted it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to your skin, letting his lips linger there longer than would be considered just friendly, before lowering them back down to the bed. He leaned forward, not to kiss you, put to place your foreheads together, an action that seemed more intimate than a kiss right now. He lifted his eyes to yours once more, and looking into them, that’s when you knew for sure.

You loved Jay Halstead, and Jay Halstead loved you.

[gurpreetsinghuk]

Boundaries in relationships | Gurpreet Singh Counselling

Healthy boundaries in relationships are highly recommended and are an essential part of effective communication in couples.

What are boundaries

We often only think of boundaries in terms of physical objects or territories. For example, boundaries are found on the football pitches or cricket grounds, or perhaps in land ownership. These are symbolised by a white line, fence, hedge, flower bed or perhaps even a “Do not enter sign” sign. We do not think of emotional boundaries with our intimate partners.

Boundaries are parameters within which the relationship exists. These boundaries can be sexual, emotional, physical, financial or any other. These are used to identify what is acceptable in the relationship with that person. For example, you may not want to discuss personal matters with work colleagues. It varies from relationship to relationship, but the parameters exist in every relationship – including the intimate ones.

Boundaries dont just apply to couples but every relationship. To parents, friends, siblings, children, business colleagues and acquaintances.

Explicit or Implicit

Sometimes these boundaries are explicitly expressed and understood. They are identified, communicated to the other person in the relationship and is accepted as a part of that relationship. At other times, it is implicit, and both partners agree to the rules of the relationship without having to say them out loud. The danger with implicit is that it carries the risk of misinterpretation. Being explicit allows you and your partner to be clear and direct.

Healthy boundaries allow a person to assert and maintain their sense of self while also engaging at an intimate level with the other. Unhealthy boundaries on the other hand can feel invasive, can be damaging to the self-esteem, can give rise to feelings like resentment and anger.

Examples of boundaries in relationships

Some examples of healthy boundaries:

Having friendships outside the relationship

Who pays what bills

Agreeing the kind of sex life you want

Some examples of unhealthy boundaries:

Inability to give space

Not being able to share your thoughts and opinions

Not taking responsibility for your needs

What roles do boundaries play

Boundaries play an important role in telling someone how you want to be treated in a relationship and prevent you from getting used. This is why communication of boundaries needs to be clear and unambiguous. Whether explicit or implicit, boundaries should be clear between partners.

Repetitive breaches of the boundaries can then help you identify an unhealthy relationship.

What can you do

For a healthier and happier relationship follow these simple steps:

Know yourself – Know where you want to set boundaries.

Take responsibility for your needs.

Communicate – Communicate your boundaries to each other.

Listen to each other – Respect their needs and boundaries and ask them to respect yours.

In my Counselling practice in London Waterloo and Hampton, I work with couples to help them communicate and establish healthy boundaries that make the relationship stronger and more able to meet their needs – both individually and as a couple.

Get in touch if you would like to build a stronger and healthier relationship... Visit for more info: https://www.gurpreetsingh.uk/boundaries-in-relationships/

[readyplayerhobi]

Flower | 01

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, future angst, future smut

; Word Count: 2.8k

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh...incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: This is going to be a drabble series. It’s not planned out, it has no planning. It will be written as and when I get the inspiration for it. The Flower app is inspired by the Bumble app in which women make the first move on it. This is just purely something to try and get me back into enjoying writing again so...please show it and me some love because I already love this Hoseok? I haven’t proof read lol

Flower Masterpost

“Okay...okay. Let’s do this...you can do this. It’s easy. Just...download the app and go. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Well you could get murdered. That would suck. But it would resolve a lot of issues I guess. On the other hand...I could meet the love of my life. I mean...is that likely?” The soft sounds of your muttering are probably barely heard over the soft playing music through the speakers connected to your television, YouTube playing mindlessly to itself on the screen.

Your focus though, is solely on the phone in your hand. Soyeon, your best friend, had been bugging you to join some online dating sites for a while and it had only gotten worse when your other friend Chungha told her that she fully agreed with her. Part of you felt cornered by them both but another part of you understood them.

They were just looking out for you. You were naturally quiet and shy, introverted and preferring to remain inside or on the sides if you were dragged to a party. An inability to engage in small talk meant that that you struggled to make conversation with people as well. That all resulted in a small circle of friends who understood you well but that was it, everyone else was merely acquaintances who would hang out with you simply because they were friends with your friends.

As such, it meant that you struggled with dating. And by that, you mean that you hadn’t been in a relationship for a long time. Nor could you do flings like some of your friends did, the very thought filled you with anxiety.

This was why they had suggested trying online dating, because you’d lamented to them about how lonely you’d started to feel. You were still relatively young, and you knew that relationships weren’t the be all and end all. But when you haven’t dated since college, it starts to feel like no one is interested in you at all. And that was a hard feeling to take in.

You wanted to be like your friends. To have someone to talk to about things without feeling embarrassed, someone who would enjoy being in your company and actively seek you out, someone to be intimate with. Someone to fall in love with. It sounded cheesy and stupid but both Soyeon and Chungha had taken your concerns to heart.

They’d asked if you wanted to be set up on blind dates but the very idea of that made you lose your breath with anxiety, the fear of failure or judgement from someone who has never met you before overwhelming. So Soyeon had suggested online dating and now here you were, curled up on your couch on a Saturday night, a glass of water on the side because you don’t like alcohol and the app store open to dating apps.

“Tinder...isn’t that just for hookups?” You murmur, frowning as you look at some of the reviews. There were probably people who had managed to get lasting relationships on Tinder, but the idea of having random people actively deciding whether or not you were worth trying simply from a photo or something was horrible. Not that you had any idea how it actually worked, but still…

A few other apps look to be the more traditional online dating route and you consider whether to download one of them. But then you see an app that attracts your attention, a small soft pink and orange logo with the outline of a white flower in it. The title is simply ‘Flower’ and you take click on it to read the description.

‘Find the perfect partner and watch love or friendship bloom like a flower! 

The Flower app asks you to set up a profile by asking you a series of questions to determine your interests and personality. We then set you up with a series of people we consider to be a good match and give you the opportunity to initiate a conversation!

Here at Flower, we want to make sure that dating is fun and most importantly, equal. As such, we allow women to be the one to initiate contact with their matches. This means that if you’re looking for a same sex relationship, then you can both reach out. The same goes if you don’t identify as female or male. If you’re looking for a heterosexual relationship, then you can reach out to your match and he can decide whether he wants to respond. 

We don’t tolerate any form of hate speech or intolerance and will respond with quick action against this. At Flower, we promote inclusivity, diversity and tolerance. We want the world to grow and bloom with love, one relationship at a time!’

The reviews for the app seemed to back up their description and you felt curious. An impulse takes over and you download it, tongue sticking out as you wait before loading it up once it’s done. The interface is clean and take a moment to chew your lip before clicking the sign up button.

Everything seems to be rudimentary at first, asking for your age and location, name and occupation. But then it starts to ask some other questions. Your favourite film genres, a list of favourite films, your favourite books, where you’d like to go on vacation, favourite music and songs and so much more. Some of it felt bizarre, like would you rather eat chicken or beef? Would you rather drive an Audi or a Ford?

You presumed it all had a reason though, and after what felt like five minutes of answering questions, you finally had a profile. Flicking through the gallery on your phone, you found a picture that you felt was flattering while still showing your personality. It’s from a few months ago and was taken with a Polaroid camera, giving it that distinctive filter that always seemed to be flattering everyone.

You were giving a small smile, eyes looking to the left of the camera while your chin was in your hand. Nose wrinkled slightly, a soft and fluffy white cream sweater covers you while a cherry blossom scarf is wrapped elegantly round your neck. And on top of all that...a bright yellow Pikachu hat sits on top of your head.

It had been your birthday and the girls had managed to coax you out for dinner before presenting you with a bunch of presents. They’d been a random assortment, as usual, but you’d loved it all. A skin care gift set, the Pikachu hat and a Pusheen stationery set. Your colleagues at your admin assistant job had given you the side eye when you’d added yet more cute and strange things to your already colourful and cluttered desk but you’d ignore them.

This picture had been one of the best taken of you recently and you smiled gently as you made it your profile picture. You didn’t like being photographed, constantly convinced that you were unattractive but your friends were convinced otherwise.

Everything looked to be set up and you wondered what you meant to do now, when a sudden notification pops up on the screen with ‘20 Matches Found’. Sudden anxiety makes you feel sick, stomach rolling with nerves as your veins practically fizz as you click on the view more button. These were people who the app had compared your own answers to and considered to be the best matches.

There’s a tiny moment of waiting as a tiny flower in orange and pink blooms and you sigh when it finally clears. The profiles are shown in descending order with those most matched to least. A tiny refresh button in the corner let’s you see that you can refresh your matches if necessary.

Each profile shows their profile image, their name, age and location. Scrolling through them, you note idly that you seem to have got a wide range of people that you had matched with. A 24-year-old swimming instructor named Kim Chaeyoung, a 31-year-old high school English teacher named Seo Jinwoo, a 29-year-old mechanic called Park Jisoo and more.

It was interesting to see the wide range of people that had come back and you perused their profiles carefully, reading the little description they’d written for themselves along with a few answers to questions similar to what you’d had to answer. The app seemed to pull a range range of questions for you read, with each person’s being slightly different.

You supposed it meant that you would need to ask for that information and you found yourself curious about one or two people, pressing the little button that indicated it would bookmark their profile for later viewing. Apparently you had a week to make the first interaction before it would vanish.

Humming lightly, you wondered if anyone would be interested in talking to you? 

Everyone looked so pretty on here and you wondered if you matched up to them. Would they consider you worth their time? Biting your lower lip, you shrug your shoulders and decided you had nothing to lose really. You didn’t know these people in real life and no one would laugh at you for simply reaching out and trying to make a connection.

You come across one profile that makes you pause though, your brow lifting in surprise as you wonder why on earth the app has matched you with this guy. The two of you don’t even look like you come from the same planet, nevermind have enough aligning interests to warrant being in your top 20 matches at the moment.

Clicking on his profile, you read through his basic info question while you purse your lips, making soft noises in your throat.

Jung Hoseok. 28 years old. IT Technician. 

He sounded pretty normal and you wouldn’t even give it a second thought normally, but his appearance did not match the casual job description he had. Maybe you were just being stereotypical here, but most of the IT people in your workplace were of the nerdy looking variety. And you only say that because every one of them wore some form of Rick and Morty or other pop culture shirts.

Which you were fine with, because you enjoyed most of the same things too. But no one looked like this guy.

The reason you were so surprised was because of his profile picture, and despite your earlier thoughts about just sending messages to everyone for the sake of it, you felt a well of anxiety rising again as you looked at him. This guy is quite possibly the most handsome man you’ve ever seen, the kind of guy that people only think exists when they’re rich and famous.

But he’s also completely unlike you. He’s evidently at some sort of event as he has a bottle of beer in his hand while his other hand is making the metal horns shape. One eye is closed to camera, winking while his tongue is poking out of his mouth on one side, white teeth visible beneath pink lips amidst gold skin. A silver ring pierced his lower lip on the right while a small ball is visible in his tongue.

His hair is jet black, gleaming in the crappy lighting in a messy state that looks slightly wet while his exposed skin has a sheen of sweat on it. A red and black shirt unbuttoned on him, rolled up to his elbows to reveal toned forearms that are completely covered in vibrant and bright colour.

The tattoos make what you presume to be full sleeves on both arms, his left arm appearing to be a swirling galaxyscape with brilliant galaxies, planets, moons and more interwoven with, bizarrely, dragons that are almost transparent. They look beautiful though, and you get an image of space dragons made of fine dust flying through the vast expanse of space as you look at them.

His other arm looks to be a mesh of things together, flames and flowers and skulls and ships. None of it makes any sense to you, but you’re positive it probably means something to him. One of the sleeves expands onto his hand, the one showing the horns and you eye the clock tattoo that takes up the space.

His tattoos look to expand beyond his arms as the black top beneath his shirt gives tantalising glimpses of the black and colour tattoos that obviously sprawl across his chest. Strands creep upwards, almost to his neck and you get the impression of something fiery, the soft wisps of red and orange looking like burning embers on his skin.

This guy...looked like he belonged in a metal band or tattoo shop. And he was...beautiful, way out of your league. 

Which was why you had to have experienced an out of body moment when your finger presses the message button, the screen popping up with an automatic message pre filled out for you.

“Hey, Flower shows that we’re good matches so I’m reaching out to you! If you would like to talk to me, please respond!”

Scowling, you deleted the message, deciding it would be bad manners to just send the template message to someone that you were attracted to. That thought gives you pause, acknowledging that you are in fact attracted to him. He looked like the kind of guy who would take one look at your profile and laugh himself home at the prospect of doing anything with you.

The man clearly thrived on social situations, enough of his profile gave that away and again you wondered why the app matched you together. Maybe he had some secret love of Pokemon or something. Looks could be deceiving, obviously.

And even if you’d never listened to a metal song in your life...you were always open to trying new things. If you were going to open yourself up to the prospect of online dating, then you may as well go fully out of comfort zone.

Swallowing, you carefully type out a short message and spend the next five minutes reading it over as anxiety and fear swirl within you. Indecision causes you to wonder whether you should just delete it all and ignore his profile, going for the safe option of someone who looks like they’d be more accepting of you on your list.

But the allure of something so unlike you pulls you in and you press send, watching the message swoosh away and changing his profile to a soft pink to indicate that you’d initiated contact. Almost immediately you feel sick, body going cold as you pant ever so slightly.

Oh god, he’s going to read that message and take one look at your profile then delete the message. He probably had hookups all the time, the kind of guy you shouldn’t get involved with. You had no interest in being a one night stand and- you shake your head, clenching your teeth and taking a deep breath.

Stereotypes are damaging to yourself and others, you tell yourself quietly. There’s no reason to paint him with a negative brush already when he’s not even had a chance to do anything. And so what if he only wanted hookups? It was the 21st century, men and women could sleep with who they wanted, as often as they wanted and they shouldn’t face the prejudice you’re showing him already.

Before you can even think anything else though, your phone sends out a soft, melodic note and you look down with wide eyes. The message icon has an orange notification on it, signifying that you have a new message on there. Hesitating, you wonder if it’s just one of those generic ‘welcome’ messages that you sometimes get when you sign up for sites.

But the name of the sender tells you very much that it’s not a generic message, and the cold fear mixes with nervous excitement and trepidation as you see Jung Hoseok’s name. He must have already been on his phone to have responded so fast, and you wonder if he’s just sent a polite ‘thank you but no’ back.

It would be awfully nice of him if he did. Embarrassing, but polite.

Opening the message, your jaw drops and eyes widen as you read what he’s responded with.

You: Hi. I don’t know how to use this properly, so I’m sorry if I do it wrong. You showed as a match and...well I guess I say I’m interested? Not as a friend, unless you want that. I mean...the other way. Feel free to say no! Y/N

Reading it back over, you cringe at how...you it sounds. Hesitant and awkward and shy. Dammit, why couldn’t you just seize the moment and sound confident for once? Say something bold that would attract his attention.

And then you read his response.

Hoseok: Hey Y/N. Thanks for reaching out. How are you tonight?

[pocket-void]

Some Stuff About Marcus Pt.1

Alright, I’m finally gonna talk about Marcus in more depth for a lil bit because honestly the more I think about him the more I want to talk about him. So I’m gonna do just that! Both for fun and to get some stuff out of my creative system. ^///^

So let’s start with the man himself, shall we?

Marcus

Marcus is my personal version of the mysterious Orange side, and he’s more of an OC than a theory and I just really enjoy talking about him sometimes. So I do! I talk more about what he represents in this post (there’s also other miscellaneous scraps of info about him in the orange side tag), this one is gonna focus more on his exact relationship with each of the other sides (I always welcome more specific asks if you ever wanna know anything else! Since I’m very rambly and believe me when I say that I have answers to basically everything >///<). These are longer than I thought so I’m splitting it up...but if you’re still here, then strap in folks! u///u

Roman

Marcus doesn’t dislike Roman, but he’s not a big fan of him either. Theoretically they could have a better relationship but it’s hindered by a perception of Marcus that someone else had set a long time ago. (We’ll get to that)

One of the bigger reasons why Marcus and Roman don’t quite get along is simply due to their completely opposite levels of self respect. Roman is insecure and often unsure about his accomplishments and how others feel about him, while Marcus is too sure��about his skills and how others perceive him. There are clear flaws to both.

In Marcus’ case, it’s made him incredibly stubborn and bitter as a result of being seen as a problem and not being able to do anything. It’s very difficult to convince him he’s wrong, and while he’s not dumb enough to think he’s right about everything, he gets more aggressive than necessary in the face of opposition at times. But more than anything Marcus is honest. He’s blunt and isn’t afraid of just stating how he feels to people, and Roman’s reluctance to do so really bugs him at times. In fact, he’s sometimes angry for him.

The fact that simple phrases can shatter Roman’s entire ego drives Marcus up walls, because if he were in his position he’d probably deck someone in the face right then and there. Being insulted? Getting what he fears most spat at him like venom? Marcus would never stand for that. Beyond that he’s also mad for the people who care about Roman. Why can’t he believe them? Can’t he see how much he’s cared about? How worried people are? Does he really? Marcus thinks that distrust and insecurity feels like an insult to them.

The thing about Marcus is that he’s been through being branded bad and evil. He’s still the bad guy in a couple of ways. He’ll play the bad guy if he has to. He’s over it, though not quite over it as he’d like to be... In a way, he’s also envious of Roman. Roman is important. The others do actually love him. And deep down, Marcus also respects the things he does and doesn’t want him to be crippled by his self doubt because what the two have in common is passion. A drive and determination to do the things they want, and to achieve the goals they aim for. It’s just a shame that their relationship is soured by their general perceptions of each other.

Marcus also just isn’t big on theatrics, but that’s because he uh, can’t see. He likes to make fun of Roman just like anybody else in casual conversation and only ever refers to him as “Red”, “Princey”, or on occasion “Ruby”. He jokingly takes Roman’s threats seriously when they quip, and while they never actually get into fights, Roman is aware that Marcus will actually throw down.

At the end of the day, Marcus wants Roman to consider himself his own hero. He doesn’t understand Roman’s need to keep up an image because he’s never had an image to live up to, let alone anyone who'd look to him for inspiration. Whether Roman likes him or not doesn’t really matter to him, he doesn’t care about people who’ve made up their minds about him and are too set in certain ways of thinking.

Which is hypocrisy at its finest, but we’re not there yet.

Janus

Right off the bat, they do not get along. Which you might find kind of odd, considering they’re both under the umbrella of “dark side”. The truth is, they’re tentative colleagues at best. Hilariously Logan probably gets along with Janus better than Marcus does, and there are a couple very fair reasons behind this.

On the one hand, they both agree on doing things for the “self” (Which in their case is c!Thomas). They both agree that the self should be the most important person in one’s life, and will do whatever it takes to protect it. However, the biggest difference between them is the methods they go about doing so. And it’s here that Marcus’ righteous anger often clashes harshly with Janus’ need for self preservation. Marcus doesn’t lie, he doesn’t see the need to. If he wants something, he’ll do it. If he believes something, he’ll say it. He does it because he knows he’s right, and that’s what matters. Obviously this would cause a lot of problems in real life if you actually are that blunt 24/7, and in those cases Janus has to reign him in quite a bit.

Marcus is fundamentally reckless, brash, and prone to getting carried away if not kept in check, which makes him kind of a danger to Thomas’ wellbeing at times. The thing is, both of them are aware of this. Which is actually why Marcus isn’t as spiteful about stepping down as he could be. He knows that he can do more harm than good if he ever steps out of bounds. This won’t stop him from feeling like his input would infinitely accelerate certain debates, and on a personal level he does still feel like he has the right to fight for that recognition, but he doesn’t because he’s not dumb enough to actively cause harm to others for the sake of himself. It’s not what he wants. What he will and often does do however, is do things that end with him getting hurt in the end. Maybe the reason he disagrees with Janus so much is because his own sense of self preservation is surprisingly poor.

A mildly exaggerated analogy I like to think about is that: If under any circumstance the two of them would have to plot revenge, Janus would focus more on personal safety and Marcus would focus more on personal vindication. Marcus has zero qualms about actually throwing hands, no matter the resulting physical consequence (If his scars were any indication) which Janus would 100% be against. Imagine the consequences of a physical confrontation! Absolutely not. Snake man would prefer more subtle and manipulative tactics, and would probably prefer to frame someone without being implicated himself if possible. They usually compromise, but always butt heads one way or another.

In casual conversation, Marcus is more snarky to Janus than anything. They trade sarcastic remarks often and tend to be a lil snippy, but they often agree on similar points? But also insist that they don’t get along, which is pretty funny. Marcus calls Janus “Yellow” or “Snake”, and sometimes a few yellow flower names like “Tansy” or “Marigold”.

Remus

Would it come as a surprise if I said these two actually get along ok? Think about it: They’re both blunt, forthcoming with their ideas (As wild as Remus’ are), and are at times prone to violence. They’re both seen as “bad” and both have experienced being forcefully repressed one way or another. They kind of just vibe on a similar plane of existence if I’m honest with you. More than that however, both are relatively accepting of themselves, Remus more so than Marcus actually. There are some things Orange unfortunately still has to come to terms with.

On a casual level, they probably can do some pretty reckless and dumb things together. Marcus respects anybody with self confidence really, and the way Remus just owns being the garbage man he is definitely gets a pass in his book. It doesn’t mean they never disagree though. In a lot of ways, Marcus is still tied to logic, and Remus’ chaotic nature isn’t always suited to how he works. They conflict the most when it’s time to put the chips down and actually get things done. Remus totally does his best to bug the hell out of him too, much to his chagrin. He makes it pretty clear how he feels about it, but the duke isn’t fazed. Tackle the blind man, he dares you.

Marcus isn’t exactly good with creative input, it’s not his function. In fact, he himself is actually locked in a very specific type of world view from his experiences over the years. It’s not intentional, he just tends to grow irrational when he gets too heated. Sometimes he forgets to take his hand out of the fires that burn him, and it inevitably comes at a detriment to himself. Remus has the capacity to make him incredibly furious under bad circumstances, and if they aren’t careful he might actually act upon dangerous suggestions that Remus just casually suggests. If Remus is the voice behind intrusive thoughts, Marcus is the impulse that actually acts upon them. He won’t, obviously, but spite and anger can push people to do rash things. They both know better than that of course, but it’s a possibility that will never go away.

Marcus calls Remus “Green”, though he also refers to him by odd green things sometimes like “moss” or “seaweed”. I like to imagine the two of them going off and smashing up random things to blow off steam/just for fun. But that’s just me. u///u

---

If you’re still reading then thank you??? This is honestly more self indulgent than anything, but I just have way too much stuff I could talk about and it needs to go somewhere akjbefkaefk.

I shall talk about the rest in Part 2 perhaps. o///o

[spooks-and-tea]

Entangled (Spencer Reid x femReader) [Ch.11] The Final Chapter.

Summary: You don’t know how it happened. One moment you were watching Criminal Minds, and the next moment you were literally in the show. Can Spencer be the key to helping you find your way back home?

Warnings: minor character death, mentions of su*cide, bad explanations of quantum mechanics, bad words, sexual situations (some non-con), the usual criminal minds-type content

A/N: Some big bad interrogation Spencer vibes. Thanks for reading. This chapter was short, so I just decided 2 chapter posts in one day. Let me know what you thought of the story~Pleeeeease no one repost on other sites without my permission.

Word Count: 2,015

Chapter 1.  Chapter 2.  Chapter 3.  Chapter 4. Chapter 5.  Chapter 6.  Chapter 7.  Chapter 8.  Chapter 9.  Chapter 10.  Chapter 11.  

************************************************************************After Spencer had disappeared, JJ was surprised, to say the least.

She held the unsub by the cuffs as he angrily spoke about Spencer's big genius brain solving an equation in 2 minutes which had taken himself a lifetime of work to figure out. She asked him where the machine had taken Spencer and he replied with all of this talk about quantum mechanics, particle waves, split dimensions, and voids. Stuff that Spencer had been info-dumping about for months, regarding the case.

All JJ cared to know about was if Spencer was safe, and to that the unsub just shrugged.

The first thing the team did when you all returned to the BAU was throw the unsub into an interrogation room.

Spencer was quick to volunteer as the only interrogator in the room, he argued this unsub would react the strongest to him.

The rest of the team were still flustered from all of this inter-dimensional information that Spencer had gone on about on the ride back. You had backed him up wholeheartedly and you were seemingly in great health after being gone for 5 months.

"Alright Reid, you seem to be the only one of us that has a good idea of what's going on. We'll watch from here, and if he gets too aggressive, we'll send someone else in," Hotch agreed.

You watched from the double sided mirror, the unsub was looking at it as if he could see you. You clenched your fists. He was the reason you'd nearly lost Spencer. He was the reason that Spencer looked sick from overworking and you had nightmares for 5 months straight.

"Hey, will you be okay in here?" Spencer lowered his voice to ask you. You had refused to stop holding his hand since you got here. He noticed your fist clenching tighter.

"I don't want him to take you away from me again," you replied.

"He's in handcuffs, and his machine is being collected for evidence. He isn't a wizard, he needs that machine like Nikola Tesla needs an inductor. He can't hurt us anymore," Spencer tried to comfort you, using the soft tone he knew you loved.

"Just don't take too long in there, and give him hell for me, alright?" You stood on your toes and kissed him.

He gave you a small smile and nodded.

You slowly slid your hand from his as he turned to walk out.

When he entered the interrogation room, he was no longer soft-Spencer.

The unsub didn't even turn to look at him, he was fixated on the double mirror. His eyes unnerved you.

You crossed your hands over your chest and leaned against the wall, deciding to keep your eyes steadily on Spencer.

"We know who you are." Spencer spoke. You smiled, recognizing that Spencer was turning the unsub's words to you against him.

Was Spencer purposefully trying to make you happy while he was in the middle of an interrogation?

"I know who you are as well, Dr. Reid," his gritty voice made your skin crawl.

"Good, then you should know that I understand the significance of the science experiments you've been conducting, Dr. Arnold Lynch. You've been labeled as a dangerous person to the entire world; a mad scientist." Spencer sat in a chair, his arms crossed.

"Now they listen." Lynch, rolled his eyes, finally looking at Spencer. His unimpressed gaze trailed up and down, sizing him up.

"I was like you once. Young, an impressive mind; maybe if I had found her sooner she would have loved me." Lynch added. He looked back to the mirror, you tasted bile at the back of your throat.

Spencer leaned forward in his chair, putting his elbows on the table.

"You're trying to change the subject." Spencer pointed out. "Tell me how all of this started. Tell me where your partner, Dr. Deborah Tryst, is hiding and how she helped you."

Lynch's eyes widened. "We were colleagues. She helped me build the machine, and I wrote the equations that made it work. We went in together, the first time."

"She tested the machine with you?" Spencer asked.

"Yes, we experimented. We tried to study the void space for years. Then, one day, a crack formed. Through that crack I saw her." The unsub looked towards you, seemingly locking eyes with you through the one-way glass.

"Y/N?" Spencer clarified.

"Correct. She was spectacular, the girl from a parallel dimension. We didn't know why the crack revealed her at first, but then we saw the string. It was barely noticeable, like a fishing line. It led from her dimensional crack to ours. All it took was a tug on that wire to know who the other end of that line connected to."

He was watching me? What a sick creep!

"Who?"

"Don't play stupid with me Doctor, I know you feel it."

Spencer swallowed, his eyes flicking to you for a moment.

"I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance. My colleague thought differently. Now that the cracks were open, she observed you both, she knew you both would feel-" he sighed, "-incomplete until you were in the same space. She decided to play matchmaker and ruin everything. I loved Y/N first. Y/N was mine and she was a beacon, a magnificent anomaly! I took her back so she could be my pet; so she would never be yours!" He angrily spat, slamming his fists onto the table. Spencer stood, seething. You felt similarly.

"You had no right!" Spencer's voice was deep and angry. You'd never heard him so angry, other than in the show.

"No, Tryst had no right bringing her to you in the first place!"

"Y/N wants to be here. This is her decision. If you're so convinced you love her, you would want what is best for her."

"What's best for her Dr. Reid, or what's best for you? Is she any better off fighting criminals for the BAU? A job she isn't trained for." He cruelly laughed. "Is putting her in danger just so you can fuck her every once in a while off-duty not selfish? You think I'm the selfish one, look at yourself. You're just expecting her to be the lawful Bonnie to your Clyde, how long until you drive her into a hail of bullets?" Lynch smirked.

Spencer's eyes widened and he gripped the table.

No Spence, don't let him get to you.

"That's it, I'm going in there." Morgan spoke up next to you.

Hotch held his hand up to block him; his eyes on Spencer. "Wait, let Spencer speak. He's getting the unsub to talk, and that's good."

Spencer quickly collected himself, his expression going blank.

"Where is Dr. Deborah Tryst?" Spencer asked.

"Ooh, did I strike a chord, Doctor?" Lynch chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

"Where is Dr. Deborah Tryst?" Spencer repeated, angrier.

"Probably playing matchmaker. There are an infinite amount of dimensions for her to play with." Lynch shrugged.

"She's still in the void?"

"Yup, she's the reason the crack sealed when you two went through. She trapped herself in there and made sure I could never go back. Whatever she's doing, we'll never know for sure because it is impossible to recreate the initial crack. You should know just how improbable it was to create one in the first place, Dr. Reid."

"So there is no further possibility of danger?"

"Not cosmically, but, for our impossible girl over there, who knows what kind of dangerous situations you will put her in." Lynch nodded to the double mirror.

"She is not yours and she will never be yours. We're putting you in a maximum security prison where you will never see her again. So you can sit in your cell for the rest of your life and remember that she's with me, not you." Spencer's eyes darkened. You wanted to end this fight and get him out of there. He was only getting angrier.

Hotch walked through the interrogation room door, holding it open. "Reid," was all he said.

That was it, Spencer had gotten a lengthy confession from the unsub. The details would come up during his trial.

Spencer stood up, not caring about the wobbling chair as he did so. He walked out of the room and you went to the hallway to meet him. You met him as he was stomping down the hall away from you. "Spencer!" You called, hurrying to follow him.

He made his way inside an empty meeting space and you quickly slipped in behind him; closing the door.

He loosened his tie and ran his hands through his hair. You let him cool off for a few moments.

"He's right. I am selfish." He sounded beyond angry, even guilty.

He leaned forward on the meeting table, clenching his fists against the wood.

"He was just trying to get the last word in. Don't pay his words any more attention." You spoke, softly; placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't work here. You're not properly trained for the high-intensity, high-risk situations."

"Then I can train. Anyways, I doubt Hotch is going to let me work here now that he knows," you said, sadly. You loved working here. You loved helping people and being with your BAU family. You loved Spencer's daily teasing.

"Being with me puts you in enough danger. I couldn't protect you. What's stopping something from happening to you again?" He looked up at you, though he was still hunched over the table.

"All the other times you protected me." You gave him a small smile. "When Chris threatened me, you confronted him. When I jumped into the lake, you stopped me from drowning. When I was stuck in my dimension, you rescued me from a life of being absolutely miserable without you. When the unsub first encountered us, you stood in front of me even though you couldn't see him. You've protected me far more times than you are choosing to acknowledge. I trust you with my life, Spence."

Spencer's shoulders fell as his breath evened out.

"I love you Y/N, I just don't want you to get hurt." Spencer whispered, his grip on the table loosening. He slowly stood up straight to look at you.

"We aren't some alternate justice-duo, Bonnie and Clyde. We're perfectly capable of protecting each other, and we aren't some crazy serial-killing, bank-robbing couple. We're Spencer and Y/N, the BAU's hottest couple." You spoke with exaggeration and winked.

Spencer gave you a small smile. His hair was a mess, his clothing was wrinkled, and his tie was undone.

"It's been a long day. Take me home?" You asked, giving him your best doe-eyes as you reached up to fix his tie.

"Oh. About that- you're apartment and all your money and assets are sorta gone now. You were presumed dead."

"I'm not talking about that place." You rolled your eyes; unaffected by the news.

You were used to being dirt poor anyways and that house was nothing but an empty shell.

"Home, with you," you explained.

"Oh."

Spencer broke out into a large grin. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you into a kiss. His coffee and woodsy-vanilla scent enveloped you like a warm hug. When he pulled away, he held his hand out to you.

"Come on then, I'll take you home."

Home, it was a strange concept. Your now-empty apartment in your dimension was once your home. You'd once almost drowned yourself to try to get back to that place.

Then you fell in love with Spencer, and living with him made you discover what a home truly was. It wasn't where you were from, it was the place you loved to be; the place you felt most comfortable, the most yourself.

Your home was in Spencer's dimension, Spencer's apartment, Spencer's arms, Spencer's everyday gestures, Spencer's smile, Spencer's late night chess games, Spencer's "I love you's," Spencer's raspy morning voice, Spencer's unruly hair, Spencer's hand kisses, Spencer's scrunched nose ticks, Spencer's info-dumps, Spencer's everything.

It was the most improbable circumstance and the one thing you were most thankful for. You got to spend your new life with Spencer.

In the end, Spencer Reid kept his promise; he did help you find your way home. Your way home to him.

[theodore-themilkman]

Doctor Sexy In The House

In which your brothers find out you don't just play nurse after their hunting trips. 

Ships: None.

Reader Age: 21 

Reader Gender: Female

Extra Info: You're a Winchester

WARNINGS: angst 

-Road So Far-

I think I first realised I wanted to be a doctor when I was 7. My dad and my big brother, Dean, had just returned from a hunt (Sammy had stayed with me) and they were pretty banged up.

I remember my father calling me over and telling me that he needed me to stitch him up on his back. Like any 7 year old I didn't know how to do that, he showed me how as he stitched up the werewolf scratches in Dean's arms as any father would.

I remember after he'd finished up Dean he'd handed me the needle and told me that he knew I could do it. Minutes later he'd snatched the thing from my hand and called me useless when I'd poked him but that didn't discourage me.

I practiced on the only doll I had. I would cut her up and sew her back together again until I could do it with my eyes closed.

I moved on from stitches and learnt how to identify and treat broken bones, then I learnt how to remove bullets and glass shards from the body without harming the patient from the inside, then I found out how to deliver a baby (while under the pressure of a vengeful spirit trying to murder myself and the woman - I give myself extra points for that one). It continued over the years to the point that I was at college level doctoring by age 14.

Dad and my brothers didn't know. They didn't know that I had graduated high school at age 15 (I assume they thought I'd dropped out). They didn't know that I was completing online courses on the laptop I'd been given for research. They didn't know that when I went on a solo hunt I was actually finishing my practical exams at a nearby university. They didn't know because I didn't tell them.

I thought of telling Sam when he left for Stanford but since he hadn't even considered online schooling I'd assumed that he wouldn't appreciate it so I kept my mouth shut. I got my degree two months after he left. I was 18.

I stayed with Dean and Dad, I was their nurse of some sorts after hunts. They knew I was good at playing doctor, they didn't know that I was actually a doctor.

When Dad went missing 2 years later Dean and Dean and I went to fetch Sam I considered it again. Telling them. But something stopped me and I kept it to myself until one hunt a year or so after we had gotten Sam.

-Line Break-

"Y/N you coming with us to see the doc or...?"

I stared at Dean for moment, contemplating whether or not I actually wanted to be apart of this hunt. "Yep," I finally decided and followed them to the Impala.

I said nothing as we drove, only listening as the boys talked. I wasn't very close to my brothers, I felt as if I couldn't connect with them. With my choosing stay at the motel over hunting with them most of the time, it wasn't all too surprising. So I didn't let it get to me and tried to get along with them as much as I could.

As we stopped in front of the university Sam looked to me. "You got your badge?" It was my first hunt in a while and I wasn't surprised that he was checking up on me before we went in.

I nodded, pulling out the fake doctoring badge I had been given to prove it and placed it back into my pocket.

"Good, now remember I'll do the talking and you and Dean just say something when absolutely necessary," Sam reminded me. Usually it was Dean that would take charge like this but this was smart stuff and obviously Sam was the smart one so he had to take the lead. I would've rolled my eyes if I wasn't afraid of exposing myself to them.

We entered the building and were stopped by one of the doctors - a real one, not a phony like us. "Can I help you?"

Sam flashed the woman a smile, the charming innocent one that he used on cases when he wanted to look less suspicious. "Yeah, I'm Dr Urie. With me are my colleagues Dr Joseph and Dr Way. We were sent to check out the Pierce Murders."

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Can I see your badges please?"

Sam's smile didn't waver. "Of course."

He handed her his fake badge, Dean and I following his lead. She looked at the three badges individually, her eyes shining with more and more belief until she came to mine. Her head snapped up and she looked at me with wide eyes. "Dr Winchester? As in Dr Y/N Winchester, the youngest doctor in our country."

I blinked then glanced to the badge in her hand. It was my actual badge. Of all the mistakes-

"Yeah, that's me," I told her, ignoring my internal freak out and my brothers' burning gazes.

"It's truly an honor," she murmured in admiration. "You guys said you were here for the Pierce Murders?" We nodded. "Okay, I can take you right now although Dr Winchester -"

I nodded that she continue. "If it isn't too much trouble could you take a look at a few of our live patients upstairs." I grinned, still ignoring my brothers and nodded.

-Line Break-

As the three of us returned to the car it was silent but I knew that wouldn't last long. And as we got into the car I was proven correct when Dean started demanding answers.

"What the hell was that?"

I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth. It looks like it was time to come clean. "I uh I'm a qualified doctor. Have been for a few years now. I graduated medical school and everything."

My brothers stared at me with wild eyes. "When did you do that?" Dean demanded.

"Well I got my medical license when I was 18," I answered tentatively.

It was Sam that spoke this time. "How the fuck did you do that? You didn't even finish high school."

My gaze hardened, and I no longer felt nervous. I was more pissed than anything. "I did a actually, when I was 15. It was a lovely ceremony, I was valedictorian oh and the only person whose family didn't show up."

Dean looked like he was feeling guilty for a moment then his jaw clenched. "You didn't tell us."

"I did actually, multiple times," I shot back.

"Dad, I've got to be at the school tomorrow night. It's graduation, you're coming, right?" I asked tentatively.

My father barely spared me a glance, instead focusing on the TV. "Yeah, yeah."

I glanced to my brothers, Sam was immersed in a book and Dean was watching the TV as well. "You're all coming?" I continued to question hopefully.

"Sure," Dean said distractedly. "Yep," Sam chimed up as if he was only agreeing because everyone else was.

I frowned at their tones but walked to bed nonetheless.

-

"Just reminding you of my graduation tonight," I said eating a spoon full of sludge that was supposedly cereal.

The boys grunted in return.

-

"Don't forget my graduation," I told Dean as he stopped the car in front of the school.

His eyes followed a pretty blonde that walked by. "Uh huh."

-

Graduation, tonight.

I sucked on my lower lip as I stared at the text I had sent on the family group. No one replied.

-

"Come on pick up," I said into the phone.

"It's Sam, leave a message."

"Uh hey Sammy, I've tried calling both Dad and Dean they didn't pick up either. Just wondering where you guys are, I'm going on in ten minutes and I haven't seen you."

-

I walked into the motel, my cheeks were stained with tears stains. I held a box with my awards in my arms.

As I looked around I noticed that my father and the boys were all fast asleep on their beds. I glanced to the fridge where I had left a sticky note. Graduation tonight, don't forget :)

My lower lip trembled and I stormed to the fridge then ripped the note off.

I stared at my brothers as I finished recounting the events, they stared at me mouth agape.

"That's not true," Dean finally said.

Fed up I reached over Sam to the glove compartment and grabbed the box with the phones. I rummaged around for a moment then pulled out my old phone.

I turned it on and went onto the old family group chat. I scrolled through the messages until I found the one I was looking for. I shoved it into Sam's hand. He stared at words displayed on the device.

"And," I reached between the seat that I had claimed as my own all those years ago and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. I shoved that into Sam's hands as well.

The car was silent.

"How'd you complete the classes? I don't remember you running off to college," Dean finally broke the silence. 

I glanced to Sam then swallowed. "Online classes and sneaking off for practicals."

Sam's lips parted and suddenly he looked really guilty. "I didn't even think -" 

"It's fine, you wanted a normal life and online schooling wouldn't have given you that freedom," I cut him off. 

It was silent again. 

"So you've been some big hotshot doctor this entire time and instead of finding some apple pie life, you stayed with us and used your medical degree or whatever to patch us up?" Dean asked as if were the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. 

I shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Why?" Sam asked this time.

"You guys are family, you don't turn your back on family."

Dean smiled at me softly and Sam looked ready to attack me in a moose attack hug. "Spoken like a true Winchester," Dean told me.

-Cue End Music-

[brain-jarred]

Chapter 2 Pear

 After the operation that ended in the two scientists parting ways for a bit, Dr. Hal finally left his room. He glanced around and saw that Dr. Param was still laying their body on the chairs outside the operating room, with a sad expression on their face. Dr. Hal sighed, and walked over to them. “Hey, Pear.” Pear was a nickname that Dr. Hal called Dr. Param sometimes. Mostly when he was being nice to them. “Sorry for snapping at you. You didn't do anything wrong.” He said, looking at his feet. Dr. Param smiled. “Thanks. I’m sorry too if I was a bit overbearing or annoying.” “You werent.” Dr. Hal sat next to his colleague. “You were just trying to be helpful.” He added, looking at a motivational poster. The poster had been there for sixteen years. It was a picture of a lake with a caption in bold white text that said “SERENITY” It was Dr. Hal’s favorite, because it was the least annoying of them all. “Yeah.” Param nodded. There was an uneasiness to their words, like they still wanted to bring up something, but did not want Dr. Hal to be mad at them again. They sighed and looked away. “Um. yeah.” They said suddenly very interested in the yellow carpet Dr. Hal took notice, and knew that Dr. Param wanted to bring up the work thing again. He didnt really know what to do about that, he really didnt want to talk about it again, because he knew he would get snappy again, but at the same time he also wanted to make Param feel comfortable, and this tension between them really sucked. “Look, pear, I’m just. I think-” Dr. Hal looked around, not sure what to say next. “I think i just need a short break. Like a vacation, and then maybe i’ll be less agitated all the time. I was wondering if you wanna take a vacation with me?” He asked. Dr. Param thought for a moment. “Sure!” They nodded. “Could be fun. Just like. Uh. A boy’s get away. Except that I'm not a boy, but you know what I mean.” “Boys can be gender neutral if you want.” Dr. Hal countered, draping his arm behind Dr. Param Dr. Param snorted. “Yeah, sure. Still not a boy.” They said, laying their hands on their lap. Or rather, hand and weird needle thing on their lap. They seemed to be more at ease with the vacation thing. This wasn't the first time the two of them had taken a vacation together. They never actually went anywhere for their vacations, that wasn't permitted. Mostly they just hung out in the green house. It was the nicest place in the campus. It was almost like being outside. Dr. Param stood up suddenly. “Let's go to the cafeteria.” They said to their colleague. They thought that Hal looked tense, maybe some nutrient solution would make him feel better? The two of them didn't exactly eat normal food, but they both needed basic vitamins and fuel for their human brains. Dr. Hal also got up “Sure.” He said. “As long as you don't repeat the yogurt incident again.” “Hey! I told you not to bring that up again!” Dr. Param playfully hit Hal. “Then don't try to put yogurt directly onto your brain, you idiot.” Hal laughed. “IT WAS A ONE TIME THING!!” Dr. Param retorted, not genuinely mad, but trying to act like it.

It was moments like this when the two scientists truly appreciated each other. Maybe things werent...ideal. Maybe being contractually obligated to remain in an underground space for the next 34 years wouldn't be great, but at least they had each other. And that was all that they needed. At least thats what Param told themself. They werent sure if He felt the same way. He did not in fact feel the same way. He was in fact very antsy to get out of this place. He just wanted to leave already, though he didn't allow himself to fully think these thoughts, always pushing them to the back of his head. But Dr. Param? He was content to just experiment on the subjects for eternity. As long as Hal was there, everything would be okay!

Everything was okay.

The two of them continued to walk down the hallways of yellow carpet and off white plaster walls. It was a familiar hallway, the two of them could probably go down it while blinded. As they walked, Hal decided to mention the vivisection, only to find out that Dr. Param had also been told about it. “Its rather short notice, dont you think?” Param remarked. “We usually have atleast 3 days of notice to prepare a strategy, and they usually give us information on how to best deal with them. When i asked Sarah who it was, she said we would be told tomorrow.”

Dr. Hal nodded. It was weird. “Well they did say it was high profile. Maybe they want to keep it under wraps. Heh. Maybe we are operating on the president or something.” The current president, Clair Vonyant, well...she was a controversial figure. A powerful psychic with the power to kill anyone just by concentrating really hard...That was pretty frightening to both of them. Not to mention her unconstitutional four terms as president. 

“I mean, she does kinda suck though.” Param rolled their eyes. “And it would be easy for me to alter her memories, since shes such a public figure and we know a lot about her. Last one we had, we didn't know a lot about. But for her? Easy. You can just make her hallucinate her dead brother and i can alter her memories so that she thinks he never died. There wouldn't be any struggle then.” They said casually, as if they were just discussing causal workplace terms. Which in their eyes, they were. Hal didn't see anything wrong with this either. Just a normal wednesday. “Agreed.” Finally they reached the cafeteria. It was a wide and large room they came upon, the yellow carpet gave way to grey linoleum, but the off white walls were the same color. It had a glass ceiling that showed the sky. Tables were placed neatly around the room. It was always strangely empty for such a big room. Like maybe it was built for more people. There were only 10 people who worked in this facility, Dr. Hal and Dr. Param included. 

There were three in the cafeteria now. Dr. Sarah was eating some lunch. She looked disinterested in the two who entered, more focused on her food. Dr. Hal was disinterested in her too, he walked around her to get to the nutrient dispenser. But Dr. Param took notice of Dr. Sarah, and they headed for her. “Greetings sarah. What are you eating?” They asked. It was some sort of soup. “Tuna soup.” She said after taking a bit to chew her food before answering. She had manners, she would have you know. Her soup looked kinda gross, but she wasn't complaining. Dr. Param nodded. “That's nice. I was wondering...well...I was wondering if there was any way that you could provide more information about the vivisection tomorrow?” Sarah looked at them with an annoyed expression. “I'm eating, Dr. Param. I would prefer not to talk about this right now.”

Dr. Param made a small noise of annoyance of their own, and sighed. “You're right, sorry.” They said as they walked away. They didn't understand what all this secrecy was about. Why would this vivisection be done on such short notice? Dr. Param didn't like it, they didn't like it one bit. This was unorderly. Something that interrupted and destroyed routine. They were soon roused from their annoyed vagaries when they saw that Dr. Hal was waiting for them. 

“Are you done being a detective?” He asked, one arm on the machine, the other sat on his hip. “It's hardly detective work to just ask a simple question.” They retorted, taking a pack of nutrient solution out of the glorified fridge. 

“You would be surprised, i’m pretty sure that's what being a detective is all about.” “So youre saying that I'm Sherlock Holmes now? That's nice of you.” Param smirked, popping the container open and inserting the needle that came with it into the back of their head. But they kept missing the hole. “Can you be like watson and help me with this darn needle?” They asked. “Sure just let me-” click, it was finally inserted into the right place. The juice poured into their brain, which was a pleasant sensation. “Thanks.” They said with a smile. “They should have made your body more streamlined for this kind of thing. Having the hole in the back of your head is a bit inefficient.” He huffed. 

“I actually like my body, thank you very much. I am the sexiest cyborg here.” They said, smirking. “Yeah sure.” Dr. Hal rolled his eyes. He didn't have a mouth, but he was smiling too, with his eyes. Sarah audibly groaned. She was so tired of having to hear those two’s banter all the time. It was so incredibly annoying! She was just trying to eat some soup, she didn't need to hear these weirdos talking about their bodies or whatever. The two scientists looked at her when she loudly groaned, before looking away. The two had an odd relationship with her. She was one of the more friendly scientists, as long as you didnt get between her and her goals. She got up and threw her plastic soup bowl in the trash and walked over to the two of them. “So the vivisection-” She began. “I can't tell you very much about it, but I will tell you that the subject has a fear of the dark.” She looked at her feet, almost shamefully. She seemed to be really hesitant to talk about this, but she was friends with the two scientists, and she wanted to make what was about to come easier on them.

“A lot of people have a fear of the dark.” Dr. Hal remarked. “But I appreciate the morsel of help. Is there anything else you can tell us?” “Hm.” Dr. Sarah thought for a moment. “She also has a fear of being perceived as weak. At least that's what the psychiatric tests told us.” So it's a female then. Dr. Param thought. “Alright. Thanks for the help.” They said brightly. Dr. Hal nodded. He figured that they wouldn't get much more info out of Sarah, and it was getting late. Might as well turn in for the night soon. He tapped Dr. Param on the shoulder and gestured towards his quarters. “I’m going to go to sleep now. See you tomorrow?” Dr. Param blinked, and looked at a clock, surprised at how late it was. It was almost 10 pm. They nodded. “See you tomorrow.” They repeated. Hal walked away as Sarah and Param continued to talk for a little bit. Eventually Dr. Param said goodbye to Sarah as well. Dr. Param’s quarters were the same size as Dr. Hal’s. But they had no bed like he did. They just had a metal table in which they laid their body on. They couldn't feel cloth, so a bed was unneeded. A small pile of junk lay in the corner of their room. Bottlecaps, paper clips and pens that they had collected. They looked at it as they initiated their body to release sleeping chemicals to lull their brain to sleep. Dr. Param was painfully human, despite being unrecognizable as one.

[meliaaizawa]

THAT TIME OF THE MONTH

Shota has to deal with Mei during that time of the month.

Mei sat in silence at the table, forcing down some ginger tea and food. It was her time of the month, so her energy and appetite were both depleted, despite only having woken up less than an hour ago. By no means did she feel like going to work and doing patrols today, but she was stubborn and was determined to go in anyways. She perked up a little bit when her husband came into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee before taking his usual spot at the table. They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, as they did many mornings, until Shota broke it with some business.

“I need you to go on a mission in my place today,” he said. “Oh, with that new agency you’ve been working with all week? What was it… Ryukyu Agency?” Mei asked, recalling what her husband had told her about his week-long mission. Shota nodded. “They still need erasure for today’s operation, but I was just informed that today is the court date for that Yakuza case we closed last month,” he explained. “Sure, just send me the coordinates and everything,” Mei said, happy to help her husband however she could. She reached over and took his hand that was resting in his lap in order to copy his quirk.

Once copied, she continued to hold his hand and kissed the top of it before letting go and slowly getting up from her seat to put her dishes in the sink. “Are you up for the mission?” Shota asked, standing up behind her and putting his coffee cup in the sink as well. He could tell by her movements and the fact that she was drinking ginger tea that it was that time of the month for her. She nodded. “I’m fine… and tomorrow is our day off, so I can just do nothing then,” she said as she prepared to wash the dishes. “I’ll take care of this. You should go ahead and go… I already sent all the info you need to your phone,” Shota said.

“Thanks, Sho… I’ll see you later,” Mei said, getting on her tippy toes as Shota kissed her. She laced up her hero converse and grabbed her goggles before heading out of their apartment. She followed the coordinates Shota sent her and arrived at a small, but nice-looking building with a sign that read “RYUKYU AGENCY” on the front. She made her way in and was immediately greeted by a young woman with short blonde hair, many piercings, and a serious, yet friendly demeanor. Mei’s first impression of her was that she was just so very cool.

“Hi, welcome to my agency… you must be Control C,” the woman said. “So you’re Ryukyu? Thank you for having me,” Control C replied, bowing politely. *All this time I thought Ryukyu was a dude… but instead she’s this beautiful woman* CC thought to herself. “Oh, no need to be so formal! We’re all casual here!” Ryukyu said, motioning toward her two sidekicks that were preparing themselves for the mission ahead. “I’m so grateful that Eraser Head had a colleague with a copy quirk. I feel like erasure is vital to us succeeding in this operation, so thank you for filling in for him,” Ryukyu said, smiling at her new companion. “Of course!” CC said, smiling back.

The pair, along with the sidekicks, went over their plan for raiding the villain hideout and extracting one specific villain with a very pesky quirk… which is where the erasure would come in handy. In the end, they were able to successfully complete their operation, all thanks to Ryukyu. Control C was terribly impressed by her strategizing, level-headedness, tact, and poise as they did their extraction. “Thank you again for helping us on this mission, CC… we couldn’t have done it without you,” Ryukyu said to Control C after all was said and done.

“Um, are you kidding me?? You were totally awesome!! You could’ve definitely done this without me. Even though you debuted more recently, I can see how competent of a hero you are already!!” CC said, truthfully. Ryukyu blushed slightly, not used to such praise. “That is very kind of you to say, though I hardly agree. Since I’m still relatively inexperienced, there’s so much room for me to grow,” she said, humbly. “I look forward to seeing that growth… let’s keep in touch! I’m sure we can be of use to each other in the future!” CC said before they swapped contact info and then said their goodbyes.

It was evening, and the sun was setting as Mei made her way home. As she did so, she found that her thoughts kept going back to her new hero companion… how cool and collected she was, how humbly she took compliments, and how her husband never seemed to mention how amazing she was. This was her time of the month to overthink things, so she began to wonder if he never talked about her because he didn’t want Mei to know how much better he thought Ryukyu was than her… as a hero and as a person. Mei’s mind continued to race, up until she got home to find her husband sprawled on the couch, still in his hero uniform and everything.

Mei slipped off her shoes and joined him the best she could, laying on top of her husband. Shota adjusted himself some in order to make the both of them comfortable and then broke the silence. “How’d it go?” he asked, shutting his eyes, but not sleeping. “It was a success… I feel like I didn’t necessarily have to be there, Ryukyu probably could’ve handled it by herself,” Mei said. Shota nodded. “She’s a rather competent hero for her age,” he commented, causing a silence to fall between them again. Mei rested her head on Shota’s chest and tangled his scarf through her fingers, playing with it.

“Do you think she’s better than me?” Mei asked, knowing she’d get an honest answer. “In some ways, I would say so… She’s very thorough in her strategizing and has an alternate strategy for any situation that may come up. You often jump into scenarios without thinking,” Shota answered. “And she’s a lot cooler than me… and prettier,” Mei commented. Shota frustratedly sighed and didn’t say anything. “So, you agree with me? Is that why you never really talked about her?” Mei asked after some time, wanting to give Shota every chance to say, “no!! you’re way cooler and prettier than her!”

“I never talked about her because I knew you would throw a tantrum like this,” he replied, plainly. “So, you do think she’s cooler and prettier than me?” Mei asked, sitting up and looking at him, causing him to get up from under her. “I couldn’t care less,” he said, now sitting on the couch next to her, with his arms crossed. “Then why didn’t you tell me about her?” she asked again, not realizing she was pretty much repeating her earlier question. “You always compare yourself to others I’ve worked with. For example, that girl on the police force I had to go undercover with a few months ago,” Shota said.

Mei recalled it instantly… how could she forget? Eraser Head got tangled into a whole drug-bust operation with the Fat Gum agency. It eventually led to him having to team up with a woman on the police force. The pair went undercover for a week or so in order to try and find some leads on the organization. At first, Mei found the ridiculous outfits her husband had to wear to be humorous, but eventually, she couldn’t help but be wary at how chummy the policewoman had become with her husband. It led to Mei “throwing a tantrum” and Shota calling her a “whiny child.”

“It’s childish and irrational, and I knew that telling you about Ryukyu would just cause you to whine about it like you are now,” he added, harshly. “Yeah… I guess you’re right,” Mei said, feeling awful about her reaction. She knew that Shota didn’t compare her to other people, or even cared about appearances, yet here she was throwing a fit because she felt jealous and insecure. “You know I’m right, so you better face this now, so we don’t have to deal with it again,” Shota said, annoyedly getting up from the couch and walking over to the door. “I need some fresh air,” he said, putting on his boots and walking out the door.

Upon seeing her husband leave, Mei’s heart sank immediately. She was no longer upset over the thought of her husband thinking Ryukyu was better than her, but now it was the thought of her stupidity and how much her husband was annoyed at that kind of childish attitude. She was annoyed at herself and wondered why Shota could even stand to be around someone as immature as her. She decided to take a hot shower, slightly relieving her swollen eyes, but continued to cry even after the shower.

*Shota probably hates me. This isn’t the first time I’ve thrown a jealous fit. There’s no way he could forgive me this time* Mei thought to herself, causing her to feel worse and worse by the minute. She put on her comfy PJs and decided to lay in bed and wallow away in her self-pity, even though it wasn’t even close to bedtime yet. She stared at the ceiling and cried, then shifted to laying on her side, looking on her nightstand to see her framed polaroid photo of her and Shota from their school days. “Meizawa summed up” was written on the bottom of the photo in Obo’s handwriting.

Mei’s eyes began to water again, this time at the thought of her deceased friend. She sat up in bed and picked up the frame, looking at the photo more closely. It was taken in the hallway of UA, right outside of their classroom. Mei was sporting two finger hearts and an excited expression to her best friend behind the camera. Beside her was Shota, who sported a deadpan expression as he faced the camera, but his eyes were pointed over to Mei. As she studied Shota in the photo, she could read his expression as one of annoyance… but also of adorning… A subtly that she could just now point out after having been married to him for quite some time.

*Lowkey I’ve always annoyed him… yet, he still had the audacity to marry me. And still has the audacity to stay with me. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is* Mei thought to herself, setting the photo back onto her nightstand, finally feeling the ability to compose herself. She heard a stirring outside the bedroom door, meaning Shota was back, so she got out of bed and checked herself out in the mirror. Her eyes were red and swollen, but not crying anymore. She took a few deep breaths and then opened the door to find a paper bag sitting on the floor.

She picked it up and inside found matcha pocky, instant ramen, honey ginger tea, and some of her other favorite snacks and comfort foods. She walked down the hall to find her husband laying on the couch, scrolling through his phone. He looked up at her as she walked over to him and sat on the floor by the couch. “I- I’m sorry, Sho…” Mei began, but couldn’t continue, as she began crying again for no reason. He sat up and faced her and sighed, taking her hands in his. He let go of one momentarily to wipe a stray tear from her eye.

“I find it completely irrational that you think I could possibly compare you to anyone else… because, despite all your faults, I didn’t marry you for no reason. But, even so, I need to learn to be more sensitive to your feelings,” he said, pulling up on her hands, causing her to get up and sit with him on the couch. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her long purple hair as he held her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nested her face into his hair, causing it to now be wet with her tears. “Stop wallowing away in self-pity,” he said, causing her to chuckle slightly in between crying.

“It’s all your fault,” she retorted, chuckling as she let go and looked at him. He smirked smally as he shook his head and wiped her swollen eyes before kissing her. He picked her up and set her comfortably on the couch, picking up the paper bag. “Would you like me to make the ramen and ginger tea for you?” he offered, reaching for the box of tissues on the other side of the couch and setting it next to Mei. She smiled smally and nodded before laying back completely and closing her eyes, relieving the swollen feeling in them. Shota sighed and went to heat up some water, wanting Mei to eat before she fully fell asleep. This time of the month always drained her.