#and ofc i didn't start out of nowhere she really wanted to know she said this is serious for us

[iftitah]

talked to school bestie 2 hours on phone god im out of breath with my chest hurting but it so worth the talk

[fadingsnow]

in order to ingratiate himself with the plinth family (for the money ofc), snow starts courting sejanus’s sister. he doesn’t expect to actually like her.

𓆙 DRESS - CORIOLANUS SNOW x f! reader (short) summary and tw: coriolanus seeks to manipulate you to gain the plinth favour, but he unfortunately realizes he actually does not mind your prescence. sorry for taking so long to finish, had a rlly long week so i'll finish requests from today to tuesday!! divider credits : @cafekitsune 𓆙

He let out a gritted response, when you wrapped your arm around his. "Yes..?"

He tolerated you at best, trying to hold in his internalized disgust at your family. They bought their way into this life, not being born into it through your own blood. He had no way to gain his wealth out of nowhere, so you became his next solution. You seemed rather easy to manipulate.

He remember when he first met you, for once he hadn't come up with some vile thought of how to use someone for this own gain. "Would you like to eat with me for lunch?" That was his first step, enticing you to believe he's someone kind. From there, he had earned the respect of your parents and you yourself.

"Coryo, you won't believe it! I saw Livia Cardew get rejected by Dennis Fling!"

He looked at you a little aggravated for a moment, Coryo? Since when did you call him that?

"I can see why." He shrugged, walking a little faster out of uncomfortableness. Why did he feel weird about you calling him that? Lately, you've been more.. noticeable to him. He wasn't particularly a fan of that. He'd only tolerate you for the money. He had a series of events he had planned. Win the hunger games, gain the prize, and marry you out of disgust.

You huffed, wanting him to slow down. "Mind if you slow down a bit?"

He was about to give an aggressive response, but quietly said, "Sure."

Coriolanus seeked you out, huffing about how you were so useless to give him a letter. He was about to head to his classes, before he saw something that made him stop in his steps. He saw you talking with Sejanus with a frown, what made you look so.. unhappy? Not that he cared, he just wanted to make sure nothing affected his plan. He walked forward, the thought of you lingering.

You sat at the table, holding a book on the small history of the Hunger Games. You were in the library. The Academy was definitely rich, sometimes you felt too small for the Capitol. You weren't an idiot, you've seen the stares the others have given you. You were too into your reading to hear the familiar footsteps behind you.

Snow was a little surprised to be honest, maybe you weren't as stupid as he thought. Well of course he thought you were.. intelligent, but he just never expected to see you. Not to mention, he was trying to ignore the beat in his heart moving a little faster when he saw you.

He don't know what moved him to do it, but he sat down at the table.

"Mother said she wanted to see you, y'know." You mumbled, ignoring him to finish your book.

He could barely hide his eyeroll, deciding to talk to you. How else could he.. manipulate you?

"What book are you reading?" He placed his attention on the cover of the book.

"Erm, history of the Hunger Games. It goes up till the ninth hunger games." You nervously said, not really expecting him to ask you about it.

For some reason, he spent the rest of the time till the library closed asking you about your specific type of books you hold interest in.

He had surprisingly gotten close to you, not seeing you as much as a nuisance as you used to he. He first chose you since you wouldn't affect him through love, but lately..

He went to wrap his arm this time around your shoulders, "for the look." You looked at him in slight surprise. You didn't know he was a fan of pda? He once told you that he was usually reluctant to show it unless needed, whatever that meant.

You hummed, not noticing the look he gave you.

You sure didn't seem to have a voice like Lucy Gray, but he supposed you weren't so bad. His eyesight flew to your lips, he never realized how scarlett they were. The opposite of a white rose, that's why he never liked anyone really. They were his opposite, but now he was deciding you weren't such of his opposite as he thought you were.

He remembered when he first met you. You were just Sejanus' little sister back then, someone he had to be near because of Sejanus deciding they were brothers. He wouldn't even see Sejanus as 3rd forgotten cousin if he was forced too. Now, you were something else he wasn't sure what to think of.

"Library again?" Somehow, he had ended up also coming to the library the same time and way as you, as if he had not totally came with you four times after the first.

You had started to get what he was doing now, was this supposed to be his way of non-chalant affection? You raised one of your eyebrows, saying, "I'd expect you to know that after you basically integrated yourself to come with me four times in a row. The least you can do is help me with my project."

He groaned playfully. You looked at him appalled so far in your relationship, he had never really acted playful with you. You slipped your hand into his, trying to ignore how his eyes burned into your face.

When you reached up to the library, he opened the door for you. "Ladies first."

You thanked him, going down to sit at your regular table. You had already grabbed your books, giving one to him as he sat down. Next to you? He always sat across from you. "Find a sentence that proves the concept, okay?"

He nodded wordlessly, his hands already flipping through the pages. For some time, there was silence between you. He was thinking to himself. Even though he did for the prize, he knew he didn't have to help you this much. He never had to.. care so much. He was sure he could keep you satisfied with a hug or too.

When he asked you out, he was simple and brought you a white rose as a symbol of his so-called crush for you. He never thought he'd be so infatuated for you. Something he thought he'd never admit for a district girl of all people.

Coriolanus Snow had come to a terrifying conclusion, he didn't dislike you or hate you. He liked you. As in, you could give him a kiss and he'd beg for more.

He unconciouslly took one of his hands away from the book, and placed it on yours.

You kept looking at your book, but a small smile formed on your face.

[koulakoukoula2003]

Hey can do yandere levi x reader pregnant please

OH MY GAWWWWDDD YEEEESSSS

Yandere!Levi x pregnant!Reader

TW: yandere behaviour, mention of pregnancy ofc, babytrapping

Levi was being so... overprotective. He had always been possessive and protective but now that he had found out you were pregnant, everything had amplified to the fullest.

At first, you didn't want to tell him, you knew he'd become like this, but when you started to puke and faint out of nowhere, he dragged you to a doctor himself without even asking you.

And here you were now, on your comfortable armchair in the home he'd bought for you both. He had married you so fast, he had arranged everything on his own. It wasn't any grand wedding, just you, him and the man carrying out the marriage.

You didn't really have anything or anyone. Your parents had abandoned you in the streets ever since you were little and the military was an easy way to make profit and live beneath a roof and sleep with your belly full.

You were around 19 years old when you joined the survey corps. The military police wasn't an option since you weren't all that skilled, and everybody joined the garrison in your graduation year, so there weren't any empty places left. You were left out and so you had no choice but to join the Survey Corps.

You didn't regret it though, no matter how terrifying it was, the people were kind and friendly, even the superiors, even the newly appointed commander.

Captain Levi had taken everybody's attention. People started to call him humanity's strongest and with every passing expedition, you were starting to realise why.

He had been looking for people to add to his still nonexistent squad, but you had no idea why you were the first he took to his side. You weren't a particularly talented soldier. There were certainly soldiers with a higher kill count than yours.

You had taken out around 15 titans solo and 23 assists. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't actually impressive either.

It all happened so fast. You fell for him, he fell for you, and here you were now.

You watched him ride on his large brown horse towards your house through the window. He was rushing. He always rushed coming to you. He always looked like a God, riding fast like this. His horse neighed loudly as he urged it to slow down suddenly. His black hair waved in the air and his silver eyes were focused and determined.

He rushed to the door and walked in, finding you there, by the window, on the armchair that he had built for you himself.

"Are you okay?! How's the baby?! I haven't been missing too long, have I?"

You giggled. "It's only been a week. I am alright."

He dropped on one knee in front of you, coming face to face with your ever growing belly. He placed a hand on bump and he held your hand with the other.

"She hasn't been giving you a hard time, has she?"

You grinned. "It can be a boy too, you know."

Levi wanted a girl, you wanted a boy. There was no middle ground.

"Then we'll have another."

You laughed. Sometimes it scared you how fast he was moving and how fast he was making decisions about both your future, but right now, you were just happy to see him.

"I missed you." It came out of your mouth without permission and his eyes widened. What was it with that newfound display of affection? He knew you loved him, but you had your difficult times.

How you said you didn't want to marry him and you wanted more in life than this. You were young. Too young to start a family yet. You wanted to fight, you wanted to live first, you wanted... many things that he had snatched away the chance of you to live them.

But now you were here, a housewife, a mother, barely 20 years old. You couldn't complain though. You were far better off than most women your age. Levi took care of you and you were no longer living in the streets.

Plus, you had almost convinced yourself you loved him.

"I missed you too, brat," he pulled himself up on his feet and he leaned to catch your lips in his own.

You hummed in the kiss. So needy and clingy, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and tugged him closer down to you. Maybe your current state was making you need him more than any other time.

He pulled from the kiss and you whined in protest, but he cupped your cheek and spoke. "I'll go get changed and I'll be right back."

You nodded at him. "There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry."

He frowned. "You shouldn't be cooking in your current state."

You chuckled "And what would I eat?"

"I'll be staying with you for a week. I'll cook."

You laughed. "You don't know how to cook!"

"Then teach me."

You sighed "Fine."

"I'll go get changed. If you need anything, just call out."

"Yeah, yeah."

Always so worried. You sighed and waited for him, letting your head roll back to your armchair. Your hands lingered on the bump on your belly. You were on the seventh month and it was getting hard to do the simplest things like lean or tend to the garden that Levi loved so much, or cook and clean.

Before you knew it, you were dozing off in sleep. Not to mention that all you did was sleep and eat like a pig.

Levi returned to meet your sleeping form. A smile tugged at his lips. You were so precious. His precious little wife. The mother of his child. You were everything to him. He'd lose his sanity without you. Even when you were still at the start of your relationship, he'd go insane if he didn't see you for an entire day.

But now you were here, safe, in this little home, in this small village. No one knew you were captain Levi's wife and you were safer like this. He'd keep you safe no matter what.

Levi picked you up. Despite your added weight, he picked you up with no effort at all. You were so beautiful like this, turning to bury your face in his chest, even in your sleep you recognised his presence.

He placed you on your bed gently and covered you beneath the sheets. Sometimes he wondered whether he was obsessed with you or whether this was love. It didn't matter though. You were his. All his.

He didn't know how many hours he stood there, staring at you while you slept. He leaned in and kissed your lips gently not to wake you. You needed rest and he needed to suppress his lust for now. If he had you now, he'd break you.

You were a fighter once upon a time. If he hadn't knocked you up, you would have never agreed to marry him and settle down so fast. You wanted to live your life. What an absurd excuse?

But it was best you never found out about that.

He kissed you all over your face and you hummed in your sleep. He smiled.

"Mine."

[sunnyie-eve]

8 | Island of idiots

Series: Odds Together

Paring: Ryan Dunn x OFC Margera!

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: None

| MASTERLIST |

~

"I'm not taking part in this." I watch the guys get things together to strand our parents on a island.

"But you are going on the boat ride because they will know if you stay home." Bam tells me as they shove food in the bag.

After the boat ride we all get off on the island to look around. Dad ends up having to pee so the guys leave. "They plan on leaving us here right?" Mom asks me.

"I'm not part of it so don't get mad at me." I put my hands up. "I will not be dragged down with his plan." I say walking away because I didn't want to be near my dad when he pees.

I join the guys and start to realize the worst thing ever leaving the three alone especially after hearing dad shout for Don Vito. "No, no, no." I rush past the guys confusing them.

"Really mom!" I shout that she left me here with the guys.

"Why do you seem upset?" Bam asks so I point out at the boat.

"You know what. I know you were gonna do it to us so we're gonna do it to you instead. Sorry Anna but you walked away before I could call you back." She shouts to us making the guys get annoyed.

"Why me?" I throw my head back whining.

"It's not that bad." Raab tells me.

"I'm stuck on a island with you asses!" I shout at him as I sit down and just watch them do whatever waiting for stuff.

"You know putting the whole can of bean on the fire is not a smart idea right." I look at Ryan who didn't care.

When he went to went to get them with a stick he hits it making the can explode shocking everyone. "I told you, you idiot!" I shout at him.

"Ryan! Why?" I complain watching him throw the cake in the fire.

"Who burned the cake?" Rake asks seeing it in the fire.

"This prick." I slap Ryan's hat off him.

"Hey!" He picks it up to put it back on.

"You're wasting food! And I would like something to eat because you guys are eating everything so quickly when you aren't wasting food." I explain running my hand through my hair.

"Have a bag of chips I called dibs on." He goes over getting it then hands it to me. "Also here. I notice your hair is bugging you." He puts his sunglasses on me and push them up so I could just them as a headband.

"Thank you." I go sit down to eat while they go watch Glomb build.

When it gets finished and all they guys skate and watch as I sit alone slowly falling asleep but keep waking up when they get too loud. More time passes and it starts to rain so we had no shelter to keep us covered.

"Glomb, why don't you use wood for shelter now? You guys had your fun with it." I walk over to him holding myself getting slightly chill away from the fire.

"Good thing there's someone smart out here with us." He pats my shoulder calling some to go help him.

Most of us just watch Glomb and Dunn try to build the hut for all of us. "Dunn, you have it in the fire." I watch him.

"Dunn, you're leaning it in the fire." Raab says next so Ryan mocks us walking off. When we see him come back with the fire extinguisher Dico, Raab, and I jump up to move. And he gets yelled at for almost putting out the fire.

We see Don Vito show up saying he was there to save us but Bam says we don't want to be saved. "I'd like to go." I say as he said whoever wants to who with him can go.

"We're accepting the challenge." Bam tells him but I shake my head.

We all get in the hut but Vito ended up taking my seat so I had nowhere to sit anymore. "Anna, just come sit here." Dico motions between him and Ryan on the long lawn chair.

I stare at it not seeming enough room so Ryan crosses his leg for me to sit down. Dico passes me a beer while they play cards drinking. As a little bit of time passes Dico and Bam switch spots and the guys start to fart around literally. I zip my jacket all the way up and pull it over my head to get away from the air.

"This is the last call the boats leaving." Vito gets up to leave and I try to get up but Ryan wraps his arms around me to keep me with them.

"You guys suck ass." I whine not fighting just leaning back on his chest.

"Are you not gonna move?" He laughs putting the cards aside and drinks.

"No. If I'm stuck here you're my fucking pillow for tonight." I say so he carefully moves me to sit sideways. Both of my legs were over his right thigh while my butt sat between his legs.

"We should get some sleep. No funny business you two." Bam says eyeing Dunn and Dico with me.

"Only thing on my mind is sleep." Dico tells him as I cuddle into Ryan falling asleep.

At a random point in the middle of the night, well according to Ryan's watch it was 3am, I wake up uncomfortable. I carefully lean out of Ryan's chest and forward to remove the can in his hand.

"Come back." He mumbles making me look at him. "You were keeping me warm." He weakly puts his arms out pulling me back into his chest.

"I was uncomfortable." I whisper to him so he helps me stretch out more without waking up Dico.

"How about now?" He asks holding me close to his chest. My left arm wraps across his chest before I just nod my head closing my eyes falling back to sleep.

The next morning I wake up before any of the guys do. I get up carefully and walk around the island to stretch my legs and find a spot to pee. "Just had to go wake me up second, huh?" Ryan shows up.

"I tried my best not to. Did you wake up any of the others? I wanted to find a spot to pee with you guys asleep." I tell him.

"I woke Bam up. Who probably woke up the rest but I'll be your look out. So go pee." He says so I rush off to pee then go back to him.

"Thank you." I yawn.

"When we get back you're taking a nap aren't you?" He laughs.

"In my nice comfy bed, yes." I yawn again as we walk back to the hut. "What are you doing?" I ask seeing them break apart the hut.

"Burning it." Bam tells us so I sit down to watch them do whatever for the next three hours.

Soon we only had a few more minutes till our 24 hours were up. "Shouldn't mom technically be here already so when it's time we can just get on the boat?" I ask Bam next to Ryan and I.

"We have five minutes left." Ryan looks at his watch so I lean back to look so he shows me.

"I hate this woman so much more now for leaving me here with you guys longer." I prop my arms up on Ryan's knees using them as a arm rest.

"I'm telling you she didn't arrange anything to come get us. She plans on leaving us here so much longer." Ryan says messing with my hair as we sit and wait.

"She wouldn't do that to me...right?" I look at Bam then back at Ryan.

"Well she left you here with us so... I would say yes." Ryan pats the top of my head making me whine.

"Ape, where are you?" Bam calls our mom since she's way late. "Who the hell is coming to get us? We're like an hour over do and we did your stupid little thing." He tells her. "You didn't arrange anything?" He looks over at Ryan and me.

"Told you." Ryan tells him so I whine laying my head back on him.

"Ha, rad. Thanks. Dude, you're so screwed. Do you expect there to be no consequences. Just wait. Wait till the six o'clock news. Watch the six o'clock news. I'm telling you watch it." He says then she hands up.

Glomb said he was going to build us a boat but I keep quiet not saying he could have used wood from the hut to help him with it.

I kinda wish they didn't burn the hurt because I would have loved to stay out of the rain. "Ah!" I see Raab's eyes as he finally gets up. "That's really bad, Raab." I walk closer to him to see his eyes puffy from the fire extinguisher.

"They're fucking burning." He brings his hands towards his eyes.

"No, don't touch them." I grab his hands stopping him. "You'll irritate them more. And I know is staying out here all night didn't help that."

"Looks who's finally awake." Bam shows up then laughs seeing Raad.

"Not, funny. Where's Dunn?" Raab asks so Bam points in the direction. "Look at my eyes you jerk off. Look what you did to me dude. The fire extinguisher. I'm not kidding look at this. Their burning like hell." Raab goes up to him and Rake.

Soon Glomb shows up with a boat and I just wanted to get home to take a shower and put in clean clothes. "Raab, stop touching your eyes." I slap his hands away.

The moment we get home I run to my room to get clean clothes and jump into the shower. After that I lay down on my bed letting out a relaxed sigh. "Hey, you wanna sit and wait for mom? Her reaction is going to be great." Bam walks into my room.

"Sure." I get up going outside with him and the guys to sit and wait.

"Ape's on her way home right now and I don't bet she's pissed, I know she's pissed." Bam tells the camera.

"She flew around that corner." I laugh as she shows up.

"I've never seen her drive so fast." Ryan adds laughing.

"What an asshole. I don't even know who I'm more mad at." She walks over to us.

"Yeah. You're mad at me?! You left us out there. You didn't even leave us anything. I had to call my own connections." He tells her and they bicker back and forth.

"How could you let them make me think the house exploded?" Our mom crosses her arms at me.

"How could you leave me with all of them?! And over 24 hours at that." I add.

"Again you walked away before I could tell you let's leave them." She says again.

"I'm gonna go take a nap in my nice comfortable bed. No one bug me." I laugh running to the house.

[maxverstepponme]

I'm buttercup2086 and I'll come clean because someone is 'trying' to expose me lol

So I've started watching f1 in 2021 and max has been my fav since then. I'll skip the story between Brazil 2021 and Japan 2022, that's for another time. Till Japan 22, although i thought kelly and max were awkward, I tried not to be bothered by it, but in Japan when she tried to kiss him even when he said there was a crowd, i just started to dislike her and wanted to tell max that she's not the one for him. But i didn't know about your blog then so there was nowhere for me to share it, and I kept silent until 2023 when I found your blog and it felt like I finally met people who notice these problematic things about kelly that i do as well.

And my first ask was about Japan 22(you can search for it), and then i sent in some theories about them..and then one day when verstappen.com started to delete negative comments about kelly under the reel from his documentary, I got really angry and frustrated. My thinking was, how else will max ever know the truth about her?? And I didn't want to insult her, so i sent in the ask to overhype the stuff she does( this was triggered by kellypiquetupdates calling kelly the 'definition' of courage and loyalty, you can check it in her highlights titled 'for kelly'), i was like my god why stop at that, just call her the queen of the world or some shit. And me and another nonnie had fun in the comments section. Calling them gods and stuff. And then sometime later I had to deactivate the buttercup2086 account. Why and what happened in between then and monaco is a story for another time.

And now, created an account with the same name(should've used a different name, but ig truth always comes out), to spread the 'truth' about max and kelly's break up, because i genuinely believed they did(ofc not so sure now) and that kelly wanted them to wait until summer break to announce it. Ig the question you may have is, why i care about their relationship, i have my reasons for that which i can't tell now.

And so, this is it, 'the adventures of buttercuppie'

I'll answer your questions if they're genuine and If i can reveal it to y'all.

Edit: This is the crazy Indian fan. Don’t pay attention to this.

[bats-in-the-snow]

Fanfic I did based off of me and a friends little aus :3

Ardo belongs to @quackcicle-real , also known as paxissleepy on ao3!

Ofc Silas is mine, and you can find me on ao3 as Big_Hosuin_Around !!

Link to the work on ao3

Link to the banner used

(PLEASE rb!! That's the only way to spread my work, as liking does nothing!)

Silas wandered through Las Nevadas, his ears pressed back hard against his head under his hood. He had somehow gotten lost trying to find where Ardo had told him to meet her, even though it was such a public spot.

He had been wandering for a good 10 minutes, when he bumped into someone's back with a quiet 'oof!'

”Oh- sorry, I didn't-“

He cut himself off when he looked up and saw Quackity, grinning nervously as they stared at each other.

”I didn't know you were here, Silas. Where are you going?“

Quackity was glaring at him, and Silas looked away as he answered to avoid his gaze.

”Uh- to that one cafe Ardo likes!"

“That's nowhere near here.”

“I uh..I got lost..”

Quackity grunted, turning his back to Silas as he waved him on, starting to walk somewhere.

”Come on.“

Silas immediately scurried to Quackitys side. It was silent for a moment, but right before Silas tried to make small talk Quackity spoke up.

”How did you meet Ardo, Silas? They've never told me.“

”Oh!! Well- she was sitting near a river in the forest i live in, and I got worried since she's an enderman. I went over, and when she told me she was fine, just curious, I offered to teach her a bunch of stuff about the area! We spent like hours talking, until they finally said that you were probably worried and she had to go home. I asked if they wanted to learn more, and so they started coming out to see me all the time! Eventually she invited me to come and see her home, and now were here!"

Silases tail was wagging as he spoke, and the look on Quackitys face had softened. He saw himself in the boy, at least who he used to be. That young love, the care that Silas obviously felt for his lover. Quackity hadn't felt that for years, and knowing that someone felt that for Ardo, his Ardo that he loved so, so much, made him smile at the boy.

Silas looked surprised when he saw Quackitys smile, and after a second of staring he asked his own question.

“..Do you hate me, Mr.Q?”

Quackity looked surprised by the question, but after a second he realized he really shouldn't be. He hadn't shown much kindness to Silas, unless Ardo was around.

”..No. At least not anymore.“

Quackity stopped in his tracks and looked at Silas, grabbing his shoulders and staring into the boy's eyes that he could just barely see inside the boys hood.

”Wh-“

”Silas, Ardo loves you. I'm not stupid, I see the way she looks at you. She cares about you more than anything, or anyone, else. And I'm not going to let you break her heart. They need you. And, I can tell that you need them. I want you to love her. I want you to treat her like she's the best person you've ever met, because she is. Do you understand me?“

Silas was surprised by Quackitys sudden aggression, but even more by his..approval, it seemed of him and Ardos relationship. Quackity never approved of him. He didn't think he was good enough for Ardo, didn't trust him not to hurt her, and he always made it very obvious.

”Yes- yes sir, I understand!!“

Quackity let go of him, seemingly satisfied with his answer. He stood up and stood straight, sighing as he continued to lead Silas to the cafe.

Ardo loved Silas, and he wasn't going to take him away from her.

[itzynabi]

eve’s glassy era was a mess

an: not even gonna lie i almost forgot about this but then i suddenly remembered whilst washing dishes. hope you enjoy!

eve’s masterlist // fanmade videos

clip one: weekly idol

the chaos started at the beginning of the interview

girly was asked to introduce herself and she okay! with confidence and then…

eve: all in… me? hi, i am eve *confused emoji*

eunhyuk: wait, what happened?

eve: i was waiting for yeji to do the introduction but she wasn't and so i thought that i should do it because whenever yeji isn't with us, i do the introduction, but then i remembered that i'm promoting as a soloist

kwanghee: she's not used to doing solo promotions yet

eve: it feels strange

fast forward to the question answering segment

eve was asked to do the ottoke song and this was her immediately: 😔😐

eve: naega neomu joha ottoke ottoke *screams and covers face* naega neomu ye- i can't do this

the hosts burst out laughing

clip two: vlive

she was in key's apartment in the living room

she's interacting with midzy's, reading comments, doing poses. yk, the usual

and then out of nowhere

key: how many people are watching your vlive?

eve: ummm, 70 000

key: oh gosh!

you hear lots of movement and then see key appear in frame with a "diary entries" album

key: everyone, you must go buy this album, okay? buy it, listen to it, support eve, okay?

eve was just laughing her ass off as key promoted her album

it was giving this moment

clip three: glassy 1st win

she wasn't all there this day

lee know announced the winner and turned to give her the trophy

but eve thought he was asking her to hold the trophy for him and so she shook her head with a smile on her face

and he kept trying to give it to her but she wasn't taking it 😭😭

and then jungwoo had had enough

jungwoo: eve, you won

eve: what?! thank you. this is so unexpected omg

eve: …👁👄👁 i don’t know what to say!

she said a speech that she thought of on the spot

and when it came time to sing ‘glassy’, she delivered vocals ofc

but she was also so in shock that she mostly stayed still the entire encore stage and her backup dancers had to interact with her so she wouldn’t just be 🧍

clip four: mmtg interview

this entire interview was a mess to be honest

like literally, they kept getting side tracked by random things every five seconds and the producer had to constantly keep them on track

funniest moment by far though

eve: i remember on this particular day, pdogg-nim and i were working in the hybe building and then i went to the restroom. you won’t believe who i saw when i came back

jaejae: who was it? 🧐🧐

eve: rm sunbaenim.

jaejae: what?

eve: yes. pdogg-nim was telling him “she worked on this entire part by herself” “she suggested we do this here” stuff like that and i was just standing like “🧍👁👄👁” because i was so starstruck. after a few seconds they noticed me and rm sunbaenim said “hi” and i ran away 😭😭

jaejae: what 😂😂

eve: i was too starstruck!!

clip five: online fancall

fan: unnie, do you have a boyfriend?

eve: no, i don't

fan: you mustn't get a boyfriend

eve: why not? 🤨 i'll get a boyfriend if i want to

fan: don't get a boyfriend so that i can be your girlfriend

eve: shut up 🤭🤭

clip six: glassy mv behind

eve: if you guys didn't know, yeji and lia do the backing vocals for 'between us'

lia: she forced us to

yeji: we didnt want to but we didnt have a choice

oohhh she wanted to beat them up so bad

eve: first of all, i gave you a choice 🙄 and second of all, you were very excited to feature

lia: no we werent 🙂

eve: should i pull up the chats 🤨

yeji: goodbye everyone!! 🏃‍♀️💨

clip seven: fansign

midzy: *gives her a plushie*

eve: 😲

eve: yeji would really like this

midzy: it's for you, noona

eve: but yeji would like this

©️ kim nabi

[elrielsdaughter]

Archeron Sisters Headcanons || Modern AU!

This idea came to me since I actually have a big ass list of headcanons of what would the acotar characters be like in a modern au, of course you guys are entitled to your own opinion as well, let me know your headcanons maybe we can relate to some of them, I'll love to go deep into my headcanons so expect post like this in the near future, ofc. ꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡

Nesta Archeron

Nesta Archeron has the aesthetic of old money, very elegant, as people would say she smells like money.

She would definitely listen to Beyoncé, Mitski, Michael Jackson and anything related to that.

She is majoring in economics/business but I can see her having a dance academy (ballet maybe) where she gives classes to other people.

She and Cassian met there, Cassian attended a class because he lost a bet with Rhysand, he didn't think he would even like the class or his teacher, but ooooh, how wrong he was. She could kill him with her bare hands and he would flirt with his last breath.

For him it was like love at first sight, of course, Nesta took her time to even acknowledge the guy who messed up the steps so she would give him special attention, since well... She didn't want to loss any time with guys, if they weren't a one night thing, she didn't want to get attached.

They started dating after a performance, even tho Cassian was obligated to only assist one class he kept on going every week, Nesta selected him as her partner since he danced quite well and for other reasons ofc, and oh boy.

Everyone saw the chemistry on stage, Nesta decided to give him a chance after all.

Needless to say they feel HARD. I see them having the on-off relationship but they love eachother very much, they would marry eachother after maybe four years because Nesta wanted to be sure, Cassian waited with a smile on his face.

Elain Archeron

Elain Archeron has the aesthetic coquette (I think later on she would change it to cottagecore) when I think about it I really think she is the kind of girl to do acts of service for anyone who asks, so she is very social and loved wherever she goes.

I am a HUGE believer that Elain would be a boyband stan, she would listen to 1D and EXO, Broadway musicals and Lana del Rey.

She is majoring in psychology, she has a part time job as a florist on a store close to her University and honestly she gives me witchy vibes, I think she would pick some flowers and do spell work with them and would do tarot readings for $1 (She's a seer come ON)

Elain saw Azriel for the first time when he arrived at the store to bought some flowers, for his mom he said. She didn't think most of it but Azriel started to pop out of nowhere to buy more flowers just to see her for a couple minutes a day, and Az became familiar to her, a regular.

Azriel arrived at the store one day, Elain was ending her shift so she was about to go. Elain definitely asked him out first because Azriel is all mainly and stuff but when it comes to Elain he's lost, maybe not like a romantic thing at first but that coffee was actually their first date.

They felt seen and heard with eachother, they moved in together SO QUICKLY YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. They adopted two cats and a hamster, married eachother after three years.

Feyre Archeron

Feyre Archeron has not the aesthetic of art hoe but definitely something comfortable she can use while painting, she is absolutely more carefree than her sisters and more chill too.

I can actually see her as a nurse, so THAT'S THAT.

Of course as a nurse she doesn't have much free time between the hospital and school, but she paints whenever she cans, as long as she doesn't feel too sleepy or tired, she paints the most beautiful things.

I can see her somehow having one of her paintings ending up on an art exhibit, she attended with her sisters and she teared up a little, because my girl is stressed, the Archeron Family is quite poor of course and she is one of the main source of income they have.

So her sisters leave her alone for a bit since she asked for some space, and there he was. Rhysand's eyes couldn't stop looking at the girl, he thought that maybe she was the art they were supposed to see.

He compliments the art to make small talk, she lets him know it's HER art, and he just feels harder because the girl is amazing, gorgeous and an artist.

I can see them start dating right away, marring each other after three years or less because they just feel THAT much love with the other. (I'm not jealous)

[missvelvetsstuff]

Little Bird

Bucky Barnes x OFC

Chapter 9

Warnings: swearing

The morning of the party Rika slept late, past 10, enjoying her plush bed and super soft bedding. It was like sleeping on a cloud and she didn't want to wake up yet.

Unfortunately her phone buzzed, it was a text from Nat reminding Rika that they were going out to lunch and pick up any accessories they needed before it was time to get ready for the party.

Rika needed shoes and found a pair of silver sandals that would go perfectly with her dress. Plus a pair dangly of silver earrings and a bangle that matched.

After making sure that all 3 of them had everything they needed for the night they stopped at a diner for a late lunch. During lunch there was plenty of small talk but Rika noticed that Nat and Wanda were really talking up the Avengers.

She looked at them confused, "Did Tony put you up to this? Lunch and the sales pitch."

Nat shook her head "While it's true that Tony has asked the entire team for help convincing you to join, we have our own agenda. We like you and always need more women on the team. The compound is a total sausage fest and it can be difficult for women to make it to this level so we really support keeping you around. Not to mention you are a total badass. You know, Barnes gets all flustered whenever that gunshot he watched you heal from comes up, I think it might have turned him on a bit. Besides, we have a bet to see how long it takes for you or Barnes to kill the other. I'm convinced a good fuck will get it out of your systems but Wanda and Steve disagree."

Rika looked surprised "Really? A pool. I'm not going to try to kill him unless he starts it. And I really can't see me fucking a guy who constantly insults me and throws out bigoted slurs. You'll have to find another sucker to fuck Barnes, it might help his mood. And honestly a hobby would be good for you, Nat."

Wanda laughed "I noticed he seemed a bit, humbled by your last mission. Maybe he's softening his opinions of you. Since you saved his ass and all."

Rika giggled "I'm pretty sure he's more pissed at me because a dirty mutant saved him. Regardless, I'm having difficulty justifying joining a team where one of the other members thinks of all the stories and myths about mutant abominations are true. He didn't have my back this time and I won't count on him to have it if there is a next time."

Nat nodded in understanding, then stood up. "I'm going to pay the check, why don't you two grab everything up. Time to get beautified." She grinned.

Sam shook his head "I'm not the one you need to apologize to. I'm appalled by your behavior this week but I'm not the one you wronged. You have to make your amends with her."

Back at the compound Steve, Sam and Bucky were chatting over lunch. Bucky has been staring at his food with nothing to say. He finally looks up at Sam. "I'm sorry for all the hateful things I've said recently. I don't know what's come over me but I want to make it right."

Bucky sighed "I know, I've been a real prick and she still saved my life. Do you think asking her to dance tonight would be ok or is it too forward?"

Steve looked thoughtful "If she is willing to dance with you then it's very appropriate. You just have to remember no means no, if she's not interested then back off."

Bucky shook his head "I know, I wouldn't dare to force my company on her. I really would like to get to know her better but I think I fucked up any chance of that happening."

Sam grinned "Don't be so sure, you never know with women but I think a dance and a sincere apology would be a nice start."

The afternoon flew by as the girls prepared for the party, laughing and joking about anything.

Out of nowhere Wanda spoke up "Rika, what's the deal with you and that kid Remy? Romance that never really ended? He seems awfully sweet on you"

Rika laughed "More like romance that never started. Remy is a huge flirt with most everyone. We trained together some, joked and flirted when it was totally inappropriate and that's all really. Flirty is just his way."

Nat laughed "He may be a flirt but I saw how he looked at you. There's more to it, at least on his end."

"Sorry, girls. It really is innocent" Rika insisted.

Nat raised an eyebrow "I guess we'll see how he reacts to you in that dress. Should be a fun party with two men vying for your hand"

Rika looked confused "Two men? Oh Nat, whatever you're smoking, I hope you brought enough to share with the class"

After a light meal that was brought to Nats room at 7pm, they figured it was about time to put on the finishing touches to their ensembles and head down to the common room and see if any of the guests needed help finding the ballroom.

Rika saw Kurt sitting on one of the couches and called him over. "You ready for a party little brother?"

Kurt looked nervous "I am ready to celebrate you saving all of us but don't know about interacting with such a large group"

Rika smiled softly "I'll be close by if you need me. You have to save me a dance."

Kurt nodded. "Of course but I'm more of an acrobat than a dancer."

Remy came out to the common area with Kitty, who walked off chatting with Kurt, and looked around.

When he saw Rika, he whistled lowly "Wow, Rika, you sure clean up nicely. Blonde looks good on you but why the cover up, chere?"

Rika blushed "Thank you, Remy. You look very handsome yourself. If it were just the team and those we saved I would go natural but there will be SHIELD agents there and probably General Ross. I don't need everyone to know I'm a mutant if I decide to stay. Especially if the Mutant Registration Act passed and it looks like it has plenty of support."

Remy nodded looking sad "I'm sorry, Rika. Many people live in fear of one thing or another for their entire lives and we are just the latest scapegoat."

Remy shook his head "Let's not think about those ignorant fools. We are all looking pretty fabulous and there's a party in honor of you. I'm prepared to spend the night worshipping you so let's get to it."

Rika didn't see Bucky watching as they walked away, with some mixture of sad and angry painted across his face. He knew that convincing her to listen to him at all would take some kind of miracle. He also knew that seeing her laughing, flirting and walking arm in arm with that kid Remy made him feel some kind of way.

When Rika, Remy, Kitty and Kurt entered the ballroom they were all overwhelmed by how grand everything was. The chandeliers, the decorations, the buffet, the bar and of course all of the attendees dressed in fancy suits and gowns of all colors.

Rika scanned the room, looking for her friends. She caught a glimpse of Charles in his wheelchair chatting with Hank and Ororo. She took Remys hand and dragged him thru the dance floor to greet them.

"Charles! It's been so long since I've seen you. You look well."

She leaned down to hug him

"Oh, Sarika, my little bird. I'm so glad you are ok and so thankful for your help saving so many innocent mutants. I knew you had it in you to do great things. We must take some time to talk this evening."

Rika nodded then turned to Hank and Ororo, giving them both crushing hugs. "Ororo, it's been years and you still look the same. The goddess has been treating you well.

Hank! It hasn't been so long but it's always good to see you."

Ororo smiles "It has been too long but I'm glad to see you are thriving after your ordeal with Hydra."

Remy comes up to Rika's side as she chats with Ororo "I'm sorry to interrupt but this young lady promised me a dance. I promise I'll bring her back in one piece."

Charles chuckled "Of course, we don't want to take up all of tonight's guest of honors time."

Remy lead Rika out to the dance floor and she didn't get to leave the dance floor or sit down for quite awhile after that. Between Remy, Kurt and Hank plus a couple of other men who identified themselves as SHIELD agents she danced to almost every song.

Once the party was in full swing Tony stood up to speak. "I won't waste much of your time but wanted to make sure that everyone knows why we are here tonite. This lovely young lady" he held his hand out for Rika to take "saved almost a hundred captives and took out a good number of Hydras goons. And she did it practically single handedly. Impressive as hell. Now, I haven't been able to convince her to join the Avengers, YET, but I'm hopeful because she would be an amazing addition. If you have the chance, try and talk her up for me. After this dance"

Tony led Rika back to the dance floor for a slower song "Really Tony? You're deputizing the entirety of SHIELD in your attempt to convince me to join the team? That's a low blow, now that's all I'll hear about for the rest of the night."

Tony smirked "I do what I have to do to ensure my team has the best of everything they could possibly need. Based on what I've seen so far you qualify as one of the best so I'll work on getting you to join. Seriously, what's the hold up? You saw that Barnes didn't hinder you and you still completed the mission and saved a number of people."

Just as Rika opened her mouth to reply she was interrupted by a voice she has learned to recognize "May I cut in?"

Bucky inquired.

Tony looked to see Rikas reaction. She looked surprised but took a deep breath and nodded at Tony.

Bucky took her left hand with his right and wrapped his left arm around her with his hand on her lower back.

They started to dance and Rika followed along, waiting for Bucky to say something. "You look beautiful tonight"

"Thank you, I know my blue skin is off putting. Like this I almost look like I belong here"

Bucky shook his head "I didn't mean it like that. I think your gorgeous no matter what."

Rika looks shocked "You feeling alright Soldat? I've never heard you talk like that. You get into Thor's liquor?"

Bucky looked uncomfortable "I know I've been a complete prick to you and have no right to ask but could you please stop calling me Soldat? I am so sorry for my behavior and I stopped using that slur" he twirled her and caught her in a low dip. His face was inches from hers and he wanted so badly to kiss her but knew it was way too soon.

Rika smirked "Alright princess, I won't call you Soldat anymore. I suppose princess is more appropriate for you right now."

Bucky snapped back "Princess? My name is Bucky."

Rika laughed "But you were a princess trapped in their tower for me to save. I'm sure you'll get used to it."

When Remy was chatting up Maria he saw Rika and Bucky dancing, he finished his drink, excused himself and hurried out to the dance floor so he could cut in.

When the song finished Remy cut in and pulled her close for the slow song that came on next. Bucky tried to argue so he could keep her close a little longer but Remy was insistent. Bucky went back to the bar for a fresh drink and watched sullenly as Remy led Rika around the dance floor while she laughed at whatever he was saying.

Sam came up to get a drink and saw Bucky sulking and staring. "You know staring at her won't accomplish anything, right?"

Buckys head snapped in Sam's direction and he replied "What? I uh, I was thinking about something. What did you say?"

Sam laughed "You've really got it bad, don't you? Did you go talk to her?"

Bucky nodded "I tried but that kid cut in and I figured I should wait till the next song to try again."

"Did you apologize?"

Bucky sighed "No, I didn't have time."

Sam rolled his eyes "This song is almost over. You should head over and see of you can cut in."

"I don't know, Sam. I feel like it's too late to fix things."

"Just go, man."

Bucky walked up to Rika and tapped Remys shoulder "May I?"

Remy looked at Rika to see if she was ok with changing partners and she nodded, if Barnes could try to be nice, so could she.

A ballad came on and Bucky pulled her close. "I want you to know how sorry I am for how I have treated you. I blamed all mutants for my bad experiences with a few and it was wrong of me. I'd like to start over, if that's possible."

He looked at her hopefully.

Rika sighed "Alright but any more of that bigoted bullshit and I'll kick your ass again. It's going to take some major sucking up on your part to get in my good graces. We can both be on probation. FYI, I love dark chocolate, daisies and my favorite color is green." She winked at him.

"Probation? What are you on probation for? Nat didn't find any criminal history."

Rika grinned "When I was dancing with Stark I told him that I would join the team on a probationary basis."

Bucky smiled "So you're staying?"

"For now. We'll see what kind of family this really is."

Rika smirked "On that note, I think I've had enough excitement for one day. I'm sure I'll see you around, princess"

Bucky gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Goodnight Rika."

On the way to her room Rika ran into Remy. "Off to bed so early, chere?"

Rika smiled at him. "It's been quite a day. I'm just drained"

Remy walked her up to her door and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. "I meant what I said about going out. I don't have to go back in the morning with the professor. I can stay a few more days. I didn't realize how much I missed you until I saw you again"

"You have always been so charming, Remy. You should go with Charles and help him and Hank get the school back to normal with so many students returning after being kidnapped and hopefully some new. I have decided to join the Avengers and see how things go. My mutation prevents me from truly living a normal life so I might as well use it for something good."

She touched his face "We aren't so far from the school that it would be difficult to get together, once things settle down."

Rika gave him a hug and went in her room. She changed into PJ's and fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Two very different men haunted her dreams.

@vicmc624 @nash-dara

[jean-kayak]

Anon Request: Hi. Can I request knb gom asking the girl they like out scenario. Thank you.

A/N: Ofc anon, here you go! I hope you like it!

He's actually liked you for a while. You were one of the first people that actually saw him. He was actually about to run into you when you stopped and apologized. Since then, his feelings for you continued to grow. Every time you were both walking in the hallways, you always made sure that no one would run into him, and it made his heart flutter so bad, he literally thought it would explode.

When Kagami finally gives him enough courage to try and ask you out, he actually becomes so nervous that you don't even see him coming up to you in the hallways. "Oh, Kuroko, you scared me, that's a first. What's up?"

He almost chickens out right there, the smile on your face making him even more nervous, and he tries to keep his heartbeat out of his ears just in case he disappears right in front of you. "Um, on Saturday there's this new movie coming out, and I was wondering if you wanted to go see it..." He trails off, hesitant to add the last part, but he swallows his words and does it anyway. "Like a date?"

Your smile widens as you nod your head quickly. "Yes, I would love to go on a date with you."

He almost doesn't hear it, but when your answer fills his ears, he's smiling so big that his face hurts, and his heart is still racing.

He wasn't even sure if you had felt the same way, and Kasamatsu was getting annoyed that Kise was distracted. He had always gotten gifts from fangirls, but he realized soon enough that he only wanted them from you, but despite his usually confident personality, he was way more than nervous to try and ask you out.

And every time he finally got enough courage to ask you, someone would come along and interrupt him, showering with gifts while you start your walk home, and he never got a chance to ask you to stay. He whines to Kasamatsu about what he should do, and he tells him that he should just ask you when no one else is around before kicking him back onto the court.

So, he asks you to stay until practice is over, which you don't mind, and he has you meet him outside the gym. In the back of his mind, he thinks that this probably wasn't the best idea because he's all sweaty, but luckily you won't see how red his face is.

He hands you a huge bouquet of flowers, maybe a little too excitedly because you almost drop them as your eyes widen. "Woah, this is huge. Your fans gave you this?" you ask in disbelief.

He rubs his hands together as he shakes his head. "They're for you."

Your eyebrows raise as you look down at the flowers and back at him. "For me? What for?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go on a date? With me?" The question's out there now, and now he waits for the answer he's been dreading.

"Really? I would love to."

"It's okay if you don't--" He stops himself as his eyes widen. "Wait, you said yes?" You nod as you chuckle softly, and he gives you a big hug in excitement, momentarily forgetting that he was a sweaty mess.

He didn't even realize that he actually had feelings for you until Takao pointed it out to him. But as soon as he did, it seemed to be the only thing he could focus on. Whenever you would talk to him, his nerves got the best of him, and he was always having trouble responding because he found himself focusing more on you than the conversation.

He starts noticing that whenever he has a lucky item every day, that you're more so interested and amazed rather than teasing him about it like the team does, and that doesn't bother him, but how you respond makes him realize how big his crush is.

He's actually reluctant to ask you out, and Takao rolls his eyes before almost pushing him into you and running away before Midorima can catch him. He pushes his glasses up on his nose before he takes out a small teddy bear and handing it to you.

"It's your lucky item for today," he says, having to clear his throat to try and conceal his nerves. You take it excitedly, your eyes running over the cute bear when you notice that there's a note wrapped around the neck.

"You don't have to say yes, and you can keep the bear." He quick to speak when he sees you read it, and his luck isn't the best today, so to say he's a little nervous is an understatement.

"So, when is this date happening?"

He raises his eyebrows slightly. "You're saying yes?" You chuckle again as you nod your head, and he visibly relaxes, a small smile appearing on his face.

You were a part-time manager for the team, and apparently, Aomine was the only one who didn't notice that he was only showing up to practice when you were there. He brushed it off every time someone commented on it, and the team was even more surprised when he started showing up even though you weren't there.

Momoi actually pushes him about it, telling him that his reasoning behind it was because he liked you, and it didn't even dawn on him until he was trying to take a nap on the roof. He still tried to deny it, but almost every conversation he had with you about practice, was you telling him that he still needed to go even if he wasn't going to practice.

Of course, when he shows a little bit of agreement, Momoi gets excited and tells him that he has to ask you out, which he denies quickly, but the more he thinks about it, the less of a bad idea it sounds. He tells her that he doesn't want her help, that he is more than capable of asking you out on his own.

But that doesn't mean he's any less nervous.

He thinks about how he could ask you, but every outcome is just him asking you out on a date awkwardly, and he almost gives up on the idea until you come up to the roof to get him to go to practice.

"Aomine, I thought we made a deal," you say, leaning over him and shielding the sun from his face.

"If you go on a date with me, then I'll go more often." His eyes shoot open. He doesn't know why his mouth started talking on its own volition, but he looks anywhere but your face, scared of your reaction.

"Is that a deal?" He slowly looks at you, seeing that you have a small smile on your face, your eyebrows raised.

"You want to go out with me?" he asks incredulously, and you huff softly as you nod.

"Yes, but I'm not going unless you go to practice." You start making your way down the ladder and back into the school, and he's right behind you, trying to convince you if there's something else he could do instead of going to practice.

Himuro was quick to notice how Atushi's behavior changed whenever you would start talking to him or if you were in the same room as him, but he didn't say anything. He was really surprised when he started offering you food, knowing how protective and passionate he is about it and decided to ask him about it.

"She was hungry," he responds, giving him a lazy excuse before busying himself with opening another bag of chips, but Himuro doesn't miss the way his face starts to turn a light shade of pink at the mention of you.

"You should say something, Atushi," he tries, but he just ignores him, telling him that he was nothing more than a friend helping out a friend.

So, when he sees you walking into the cafeteria, he calls you over, making Atushi freeze, the chips he was going to put in his mouth, hovering in front of it. "I actually need to go, but Atushi has something to ask you."

Murasakibara glares at him as he walks away, and you sit down next to him. "What do you need to ask me?" Your attention is fully on him, and he fumbles with the bag of chips in his hand before holding it towards you.

"Thank you," you say eagerly, taking a couple of chips. "I did not bring nowhere near enough food today."

"Well, you could always get more...like on a date," he responds, cringing slightly at his words, and you smile as you finish chewing, your head tilting slightly.

"Are you asking me out?" you ask, and he gives you a small shrug as he looks away, making you laugh softly. "I'd like that."

He turns his head back to you in surprise before giving you a small smile. "Well, just so you know, you're getting your own food after our first date," he adds, and you laugh as he lets you take another chip.

He knew pretty early on that he felt different about you, but he didn't think at first that it was because he liked you. He wasn't really nervous to ask you on a date, but he was nervous about whether or not you would actually yes or if you felt the same way.

So, for a while, he doesn't say anything at all, keeping his feelings a secret whenever he was talking to you, but because he sees you almost all of the time, those feelings only become stronger and harder to hide.

And he spends way too much time trying to figure out how he should ask you, or if he should be extravagant with it. But everything he comes up with, he just ends up countering with something negative about the idea, so feels defeated.

He doesn't like this feeling, and he decides to just go for it because he thinks he'll feel better that he actually asked you instead of just not trying at all. He's able to catch you after school before he goes to practice, and he takes a deep breath before he speaks.

"I just wanted to ask you something," he starts, and curiosity appears over your face.

"Sure go ahead."

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" It's blunter than he would like it to be, but right now he's pleased that he finally got it off his chest. But that feeling is slowly pulled away as he waits for your answer.

"It took you long enough," you joke, and his eyes widen in surprise before he laughs with you.

"I just wanted to ask you in the right way," he admits, a little sheepishly, and you smile softly.

"But short and straight to the point is good enough," you reply before walking up to him, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek before you start to walk away.

"You've got practice, but text me the details, okay?" And he watches you walk away, his hand brushing over his cheek.

[ndiecity]

idk ur still doing the confessions thing but anyway. it's not really wild or anything, i just needed to get it off my chest lol (you can ignore this if you want this gets pretty long and confusing i think so buckle up)

also shoutout to the 6th grade anon, i had a similar 6th grade exp. middle schoolers are the worst. i literally had little no friend AND was bullied lol.

anyway there was this one girl in my class that was like a sorta popular girl i was friends with. so during 6th grade, i had no friends except for her (i dont think she saw me as a friend tho or were even friends in the first place?? idk) and i would always crave her attention. i didn't know i had a crush on her i think.

(side note: i would rate the girls in my class based on how pretty and nice to me they are, (i think i put her on 2nd lol))

so then whenever she was absent for the day i would feel sad and all that shit. whenever she was around i always do anything to please her or make her think im cool or something (i was not cool, i was a loser). we would talk endlessly on messenger, talking abt random shit, how shitty her mom was, how shitty my mom was etc. one time during our first class for the day (which was about 5am i think) she was acting weird, i asked her about it, she said her stomach hurt. so me, being all lovesick and shit gave her my lunch ( i didn't have lunch money and only had sandwiches lol) when she thanked me for it, and said she felt better, i felt so proud. idk i just felt so happy then

fast forward to end of 6th grade, we were graduating. by that i mean transitioning from 6th grade to 7th grade. anyway. so we graduated, kept in touch, still messaged her on messenger, and then school got in the way and my phone got taken away cuz i failed sum classes in the 2nd quarter. never had it back since. so we didnt talk for about 4 years.

so back in 2020, my parents got me a laptop for school, and i made a new mess. acc. i reached out to her again. we talked, talked abt shitty moms, i found out she's bi and i told her im a lesbian. after a few days i asked her if she'd ever had a gf or bf or whatever (like the idiot i was) and said she didnt have to answer if she didnt want to obvi. she said yes she's had bf's before. i said, cool. then she asked me why i was asking i told her i was just curious.

then came out of nowhere, she said, "wanna try?" so then my brain shut off and i didnt reply for minutes then she just sent a "haha"

and she was like, "oh sorry was that weird? sorry😬"

but i said it was fine and shit. we didnt talk about it for about a day.

then we were talking again and i was like, "so this is gonna sound weird but do you ever like, like someone and would want a romantic relationship with them but wouldn't like, mind being their friend instead? like youre in the middle?"

and she said "yeah, i have" so then i was like "oh cool, cool"

then she asked, "why? have you?" and i said yes.

then she asked who. and my brain shut off again lmaoo so i was just like "you" the speech bubble appeared multiple times lmao then i followed up with like, "sorry! that was weird! please just forget about it!"

then she was like, "no no, it's fine. i feel the same way" (and i beliived it. how naive was i?)

so then i was like, "really?? cool cool cool" (im a really awkward person okay)

then after a few minutes of talking again (you know when you're like flirting as a joke but then it's not a joke anymore? lol) she was like, "so wanna be my gf?"

my brain shut off again. i didnt answer for a few minutes cuz my brain was dead. then she was like, "um was that too fast? that was too fast sorryy"

by the time i read that my hand was shaking lmaoo (from nervousness or shock i dont know) so i hastily replied with, "nah its fine. i would love too" after overthinking it and shit

does dating count when your just talking over text? what is dating????

anyway we flirt a lot, saying goodnight, i love you's and shit. she said i was her first gf, i said she was my first relationship and what not. i was genuinely happy. i had a person who understood me, and liked me, and i was happy. she even said she saved my bday on her phone

so then like about a week and a before my bday was when shits started to go down.

i messaged her, said a quick goodmorning cuz i had classes and how i wanted to kill myself and shit like that (dont worry, im not actively suicidal and she already knew this) she replied and i quote "Good morning, love. I love you."

then like after classes, i messaged her, asked how her day was, told her about my day etc. i waited about an hour. (she doesnt typically reply for about 10 - 15 minutes cuz duh she does have a more eventful life than mine) so i thought none of it. thought she was just busy. so it was nighttime and still no word from her. so i said good night and wished for her to be safe.

morning came, i checked my messages, still nothing, she didnt even see it yet. i went on with my day thinking nothing of it. told myself she might have some problems at home and all that. by the 3rd day, i was pretty anxious and i couldnt think properly. my brain conjuring up scenarios where her mom found out, and her phone got taken away. anything just to convince myself what the dreaded truth was.

it was the 5th day was when i gave up. i saw she changed her pfp, and captioned it like she would normally caption it. replied to the comments, that kind of shit. so then i was so mad by then so i commented too. ofc she didnt reply. i spent days worrying over her safety, when in reality she's just an asshole. and i really thought she really like me you know? i really thought she'd at least considered me as her friend, i guess not

my bday came, we had a party but i wasn't really feeling it ya know? by then i'd already spent the past week crying myself to sleep. no one noticed a thing.

a few months ago i saw she had a bf, and by that time i already felt like my old self again, no longer the broken pathetic shell she left. i was back to square one. so i cried again.

present day, i still see her posts, her ig stories, (i dont think she blocked me). and i cant bring myself to block her either. like idk on one hand i'm so mad that she just left me hanging, that her relationship with her new bf lasted longer than we were together and on the other i knew if she ever reached out again, i would latch on to every inch of her. (that's probably bad lol)

anyway have a nice day/afternoon/night!!!! i hope i havent troubled you too much lol sorry!

Damn that's a lot to take in, I'm sorry 😔

[sillyrabbit81]

Syverson & Vixen

Summary: Captain Syverson retires from the Army and takes an extended vacation. He wasn't planning on falling in love. Then he meets Vix, an unlucky in love tattoo artist at a party. Do they have what it takes to make it?

Pairing: Syverson x OFC

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: swearing, smoking, angst

Authors note: I hope you enjoy my version of Syverson. Thanks for reading.

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Masterlist

Part 8 Part 10

Part 9

Victoria

"I'm so sorry, Sy," I said to him as we left. "I've had such a great time." I looked at his pants and felt terrible. "I'm sorry about the blue balls too."

He winked at me. "I can take care of that. Don't you worry about it."

I nodded and half-smiled. Usually, the thought of a guy jerking off made me hot, but I couldn't think about anything but Jess.

Even though I knew shit was coming to a head with Jess and Pete, it still felt like it came out of nowhere. Since Christmas, tonight was the first night that they would have spent entirely alone together. It was probably the first time they couldn't avoid talking about whatever was going wrong between them in months.

Sy was sweet about it. He didn't complain when I said we had to go. I mean, he groaned, but he didn't give me shit or convince me that five more minutes wasn't going to hurt. He just reluctantly put his dick away and got in the driver seat, and we left. I was grateful for that.

When we pulled up outside my house, I gave Sy a quick kiss. "I'll call you, ok?" I said as I was about to jump out of the car.

I realised it sounded like a brush off as soon as I said it. Sy had put effort into tonight, and I felt awful running out on him. I mean, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. After all, Jess's eight-year relationship had just ended. I still felt terrible. It wasn't just tonight that he'd been there for me.

I turned back to him and took his face in my hands. My fingers slid into his beard, and his coarse hair felt soft against my skin. "I mean it, Noah. I really like you and had a great time. I want to see you again soon." I kissed him goodnight and jumped out of the car, and ran to the door.

Jess was in bed, still dressed. Her face was so red and tear-stained I was surprised she wasn't still crying. Maybe it was shock. I went and sat on her bed. I held her hand and waited for her to be ready to talk.

"He cheated on me," Jess said finally.

I hissed. "That fucking cunt."

"Yup, that about sums it up," Jess said. Her voice was emotionless, like she had cried so much that she had nothing left.

"Do you know who with?" I asked. Jess shook her head. "Do you know when?"

"He didn't say when, but I know when." Jess sat up. "About a year ago, he changed. He started getting cold and distant and started to shy away when I touched him. He stopped talking about getting married. He was different." She shrugged.

"Jess, honey, I'm sorry." I hugged her, and she started crying again. I rubbed her back and said all the meaningless, "it'll be all right's" and "you'll be ok's". I felt useless, but Jess had done it for me for much shorter and stupider breakups than what she was going through now.

Eventually, Jess stopped crying. "I'm sorry," Jess said.

"What on earth would you have to be sorry for?"

"I ruined your date with Sy."

"Eh, Sy's come and go. You're the real love of my life." I winked at her.

"If only either of us liked girls, then we'd never have to deal with arsehole men again."

"True, but we can be arseholes too. Just not in this case. This is all the arsehole man's fault."

"Maybe it wasn't. Maybe, I don't know. I put too much pressure on him to commit." Jess started wringing her hands. I put my hand on hers.

"Honey, no. You waited for his stupid arse for five years while he was in the army, then another six months when he did police training in the academy. No, absolutely not. If he isn't prepared to commit after what you've done for him, he can fuck off."

"Thanks, Vix."

"Anytime." I hugged her again. "Want some tea?"

"I think I'll just go to bed."

"Want me to sleepover?" Jess nodded.

She cried off and on all night. I cried too. I grieved with her quietly so she wouldn't know. I cried for what Pete had done to Jess. I cried for what Macca had done to me. I cried for what I had done to Rob. Maybe it was just because I was already crying, or maybe it wasn't, but I cried because I wished Sy was here with me.

Saturday was write off. I did nothing except try and keep Jess going. I called in sick for her at work, and we spent the day cleaning. Jess is one of those people who cleans all the time. When she's happy, she cleans. Anxious, she cleans. Sad, she cleans.

I snuck out in the arvo to get smokes and called Pete. He didn't answer the first time. I tried again ten minutes later, and he answered. He sounded drunk, and the background noise sounded like he was at the pub.

"What the fuck, Pete? You cheated on her?"

"Give it a rest Vix," Pete slurred. "I was faithful for seven fucking years, ok? I fucked up once. But you wouldn't know what that's like, wouldja Vixen," He said my name in a way I'd never heard before. He emphasised the x, and his tone was full of malice and loathing. "You've had more fucking dick than I've had hot dinners." I was horrified. He had never spoken to me like that before, ever. "Do you know how many girls I've fucked, Vix? Four, that's it. And I'm supposed to be happy with that forever?"

I was speechless. I had never heard him like that before. "Peter... what the..."

"Hey, someone wants to talk to you."

Please don't be Sy, please don't be Sy.

"Hey, Vix." It was Rob. I didn't say anything. I couldn't. It was like clown world. Pete had always been sweet, and now he's pretty much calling me a slut, and he's making me talk to Rob. Rob continues to speak, and he's as drunk as Pete. "Vix, Vix, Vix, don't be mad at Pete. He's just jealous, but it's ok. You could fuck both of us, and it'll all be fine."

I hung up in disgust. Who the fuck were these guys? What the fuck has happened to Pete. Four days ago, he was nice as pie, and now he's a fucking arsehole.

I wanted to call Sy to see if he was with them, but I couldn't. I don't think I could take it if every guy I knew suddenly became a dick.

I went back to Jess and cleaned until it was time for bed. I didn't tell Jess about the phone call.

Sunday both easier on Jess. She seemed to have accepted what Pete did, but it was still pretty raw. She just seemed more upset the relationship was over than that he had cheated on her. By Sunday night, Jess was even talking about how one time wasn't that bad. She was missing him now, and I understood that. But surely she wasn't thinking about taking him back?

My opinion of him had changed. I would never feel comfortable with him again. Pete and I hung out a lot, often staying up late together drinking after Jess had gone to bed. I had gone with him and his army mates to strip clubs when they had come back from overseas, and it had been fun. It had never been weird between us. He had never tried to touch me or say stupid shit to me, even back in high school. I had thought I was as close to him as I was to Jess.

He knew how I felt about Rob, and he allowed him to talk to me like that. Not to mention, he was going to tear our whole group apart and didn't seem to give a shit. He had introduced Sy to me, who was supposed to be a mate of his, then he goes and does that with Rob.

I hadn't spoken to Sy other than a text on Saturday morning telling him Jess was in a bad way and I'd talk to him soon. He had just written back, "OK." Then nothing. For all I knew, he had been there with Rob and Pete and had laughed about what they had said to me and bragged to them about what we had done together.

I couldn't believe how quickly shit seemed to fall apart around me. This was some Married at First Sight level of drama.

Sometime in the early hours of Monday morning, there was a banging at the door. Fuck. If that was Macca, we were in trouble. I couldn't call Pete now. I'd have to call the actual police. I went to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Peter.

"Go away, Pete, its two-thirty in the morning."

"Come on, Vix, don't be like that. I wanna talk, Jess."

"Jess doesn't want to talk to you."

"I'm sorry, Vix. I didn't mean what I said to you. I was drunk." Then he yelled, "Jess! Jessica!"

"Shut up, Pete. God, let her sleep."

"I'll let myself in if you don't open."

"Vix," it was Jess. "Let him in."

My jaw dropped. "Jess, you don't mean that."

"Yeah, I do." She sighed, "am I really going to throw away everything because he cheated once."

"Uh, yeah," I said. Did Jess have a hole in her head?

"I've got to give him a chance."

"I don't believe this shit."

Jess walked past me and opened the door. Pete starts fucking blubbering when he sees her, and she hugged him. Hugged him. As if he was the one who needed comforting.

My blood boiled. "Fuck this. I'm out," I said and went to my room. I got dressed and got in my car, and drove.

I drove around in the dark for a while. I had nowhere to go. I thought about going to Vanessa's or Yobbo's house, but it was either far too late or far too early to show up at their door. I thought about drove to my Mum's house but almost immediately dismissed that idea. She lived over two hours away, and I had a job interview after lunch. Fuck, that meant I'd have to go back to the house and change in a few hours.

I went to the beach, got a towel out of my boot and sat in the sand. I tried to read a book on my phone, but I couldn't concentrate. I put my feet in the still-warm sand, laid on my towel and listened to the waves crash on the beach.

The sun started to peek over the horizon. It was breathtaking. I went back to my car and got out my drawing pad and sharpies. I hadn't bothered unpacking the boxes because I'd need them when I found a new job. Sharpies weren't ideal for the picture, but in any case, the drawing made me forget everything that was going on for a while.

By the time I had finished, the first morning surfers were finished and going home. I packed my stuff up and walked to the shoreline, letting my feet get wet in the warm summer water. My feet sink into the sand as wave after wave buried them until I was ankle-deep. I don't know why but all I wanted right now was Sy. When his arms, as strong as chains, wrapped around my waist and his beard tickled my neck, I felt safe. He made me feel like everything would be ok.

I called Sy. My heart was pounding in my chest. I was so scared he would speak to me like Pete and Rob did or treated me like Macca had done. I didn't know what I'd do if he did.

The phone rang and rang, and I nearly hung up. He wasn't picking up. Tears pooled in my eyes. Please no, not him too.

Then I heard his voice. He sounded like he had just woken up, and his voice was deep and gravelly. His drawl was strong, "Mornin' Darlin'."

"Hi, Noah." My voice cracked a bit, and I cried. Fuck, this had been an emotional week.

"You ok, lil' kitten?"

I shook my head, then felt silly. I said, "no, things have been rough. I think Jess is going to take Pete back. I don't know." I went quiet. Sy didn't say anything either. "I miss you."

I heard Sy exhale into the phone. "Me too, Darlin'."

"Can I see you tonight?"

"Yeah. Do you want to come to my room?"

"No, uh," I didn't want to be at Pete's place, and I didn't want to be at home. "I don't want to be around Pete."

"I'm not there." That surprised me. "I went to a hotel. I'm signin' a rental agreement later this week on an apartment."

"What brought that on?"

"Softy and I had a disagreement."

"About what?"

"Guy stuff. Don't worry about it, Sweet Pea. I would have gotten my own place in a week or two anyway."

"Right."

"So, come to my room? It ain't much. We could go down the street and have dinner. You could spend the night. I'd like it if you did." His tone wasn't flirty like you'd expect from his words. Just honesty, no games. I needed that so much.

"Ok." I needed his quiet confidence now. I needed to be around someone who was sure of himself, made thoughtful decisions, didn't overreact. I needed a man now. God, I hoped Sy was that.

He said he would text me the address and said goodbye.

Part 10

[440mxs-wife]

Shore Leave - Part 3

(Photo courtesy of IMDb)

Pairing: Pairing: Leonard “Bones” McCoy x Lt. Maggie Parker (OFC). Other Characters: Lt. Ruthie Warner (OFC, mentioned),  Eleonora McCoy (Leonard’s mother), Donna (Leonard’s sister), Ryan (OMC)

Word Count: 7100-ish (sorry)

Warnings: Fluff, fluff and more fluff. Minor run-in with an ex, but sooooo much fluff.

A/N: This is a continuation of the ongoing story between Leonard and Maggie, which started with Part 1: New Recruit and Part 2: Something More. Enjoy!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At first, Lt. Maggie Parker couldn't believe her good luck. The Enterprise was back on Earth in spacedock for extensive repairs and regular maintenance. This meant a two-week shore leave for all personnel. The ship's corridors were abuzz with excitement and everyone sharing their plans on how they'll be spending shore leave.

As soon as Maggie found out, she called her brothers, excited to have time to spend with them and their families. She was heartbroken to find out that they had already made plans to go on a Caribbean cruise. Their trip started the same day her shore leave started and was supposed to last for a month. Not only that, but the tickets were non-refundable. Ruthie was nowhere near Earth, still somewhere in the galaxy, on assignment on the USS Pegasus. With no one around, Maggie was left wondering how she was going to spend her shore leave.

She knew that Leonard was going home to Georgia and would be gone from the ship for all of shore leave. Their relationship was still going well, after almost two years. However, Maggie didn't know how ready either of them were for her to meet his family. She also wasn't too keen on being without his company for those two weeks.

One morning, Maggie was sitting in the mess hall having breakfast. Well, sort of. She had breakfast food on her tray, but hadn't really touched any of it except her coffee. Maggie had requested a hot vanilla latte from the replicator, but by this time, it had gone cold.

"You know, darlin', breakfast works much better if you actually ingest the food, instead of leaving it on your tray," he teased. He took the seat next to Maggie and reached for her hand, covering it with his own. "Everything all right, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Everything's fine, Len," Maggie said softly as she gave him a small smile. "I guess I'm just not that hungry right now. You can help yourself to whatever is here, though," she offered.

McCoy slipped his arm around Maggie's waist. "Are you sure? You've been a little quiet ever since shortly after shore leave was announced. I thought you'd be excited, making big plans and all," he remarked.

"Yeah, well, that was until everyone decided to ditch me and now I have no plans," Maggie retorted in a rare flash of anger. "I'll probably end up staying onboard the ship and using the time to get caught up on my reports. In fact, reports are what I really should be working on right now. Excuse me," Maggie abruptly got up and left the table.

The captain had witnessed Maggie's hasty retreat and joined the table, taking the seat she had recently vacated. "What was that all about?" Kirk wondered.

McCoy shook his head in bewilderment. "You got me, Jim. I asked her what her plans were for shore leave, and she muttered something about everyone deciding to ditch her," he replied.

"Well, I'm going home to Iowa, you're headed home to Georgia," he remarked then snapped his fingers. "You know, you should take her home with you. I mean she is your girlfriend after all. I'll bet Momma McCoy would love to meet her," Kirk suggested.

"Hey, that's a great idea. I wasn't looking forward to spending those two weeks without Maggie anyway. And I'll bet you're right, especially after everything I've told Ma about her. She probably can't wait to meet Maggie," McCoy grinned. "I'm going to go message her right now and tell her there may be one extra for Sunday dinner."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maggie tried her best to concentrate on her reports to be turned in later to Cmdr. Spock. Unfortunately, this morning's conversation over breakfast with Dr. McCoy continued to run through her mind. I was upset, but I shouldn't have taken it out on my sweet Leonard, she thought. He was only trying to be helpful, and had no idea about my plans for shore leave falling through, Maggie inwardly groaned.

Around midday, Maggie went to the mess hall and picked out some items to take to Leonard for lunch. The MedBay was relatively quiet, not many patients for once. When Nurse Chapel saw who it was, she smiled and pointed Maggie towards Dr. McCoy's office.

Maggie nodded and tentatively knocked on the office door, hoping she wasn't disturbing her boyfriend. When she heard a soft, 'come in', she slowly opened the door and poked her head inside. Dr. McCoy was sitting in his chair, sifting through some papers on his desk.

At the sound of the door opening, he looked up and smiled broadly at seeing his girlfriend. He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his chest. "Well, hello there, darlin'. To what do I owe the pleasure? Is everything all right?" he asked.

"I come bearing gifts, or sort of a peace offering, if you will," Maggie replied, setting the food on Leonard's desk. She walked over to his chair, eyes cast downward.

McCoy unclasped his hands and held out his arms. As soon as Maggie got close enough, he reached for her and pulled her onto his lap. He draped one arm across her thighs and with his other hand, he guided her head to rest on his shoulder. Once she was settled, he brushed his thumb up and down Maggie's arm in a soothing motion. "Now, what seems to be the trouble, Love?" he questioned.

Maggie took a deep breath before answering. "I wanted to apologize for my outburst at breakfast. I was disappointed about my situation, but I had no right to take it out on anyone, least of all you. I'm so sorry, Len," she murmured.

"Oh, darlin'," McCoy whispered, then pressed his lips to Maggie's temple. "It's okay that you feel that way. You know you can always talk to me when that happens. So, wanna give it a try? Tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours?" he asked.

She nodded slowly. "I....have no plans for shore leave. My brothers and their families will be on a month-long cruise in the Caribbean with non-refundable tickets. Ruthie's nowhere close to Earth, still on board the USS Pegasus. Jim's going to Iowa, Spock and Uhura have plans and you're going home to Georgia. Once I added all of that up, I felt incredibly....lonely," Maggie explained, a few tears leaving her eyes.

"Hmm. I can see why that would make you a little unhappy. I have an idea, though. What if you came home to Georgia with me?" he suggested.

Maggie sat up in surprise to look McCoy directly in the eyes. "Are you serious? Wait, I-I don't want to intrude on your time with your family, Len," she replied hesitantly.

"Sugar, you would not be an intrusion whatsoever. Frankly, I've been trying to figure out a way for you and my ma to meet each other anyway. What do you say? Will you come home with me to Georgia and meet my family?" he grinned.

A huge smile broke out over Maggie's face as she threw her arms around McCoy's neck and kissed him soundly on the lips. "I would love to come home with you, Len. I love you so much," she replied, whispering the last part.

"I love you too, darlin'. Now, what say we have some of this delicious lunch you brought, and then we can tell Ma the great news?" he asked. Maggie nodded enthusiastically and started to dish out the food she brought with her to Leonard's office.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Soon, the day arrived for everyone to start their two-week shore leave. The shuttle took Maggie and Leonard to the station on Earth. McCoy's sister, Donna, had left his truck in the parking lot. He helped Maggie get up into the truck, then stowed their bags in the truck bed.

Leonard turned the key in the truck's ignition, bringing it roaring to life. He turned to Maggie and grinned, because he couldn't wait for his mother to meet his best girl. He knew that they would get along, with his ma fussing over her, wanting to make sure she felt welcome. Maggie would be as sweet as ever, making sure his ma didn't go to any extra trouble just for her.

Leonard stretched his arm across the back of the bench seat. Maggie slid over to the middle of the bench seat and snuggled up next to him. McCoy placed a sideways kiss to Maggie's temple and curled his arm around her, keeping her close to his side. Maggie placed her right hand on Leonard's chest and gave a contented sigh.

The more miles that ticked by, drawing them ever closer, the more nervous Maggie became. What if she doesn't like me? What if she doesn't think I'm good enough for her son? These were the biggest doubts screaming through Maggie's head as she thought of meeting Mrs. McCoy.

"You know, I can hear the wheels turning in your head, Sugar. Relax, please. Just be yourself, that sweet, loving woman I know you are. Within five minutes or less of meeting you, she's going to love you as much as I do. Hell, she'll love you so much, that she'll likely end up disowning me and adopting you," he chuckled.

His remarks seemed to reassure Maggie about meeting one of the most important women in Leonard's life. Before they knew it, they had reached the McCoy family homestead. Leonard put the truck in park and turned off the engine. He exited the vehicle and walked around to the passenger side, which was closest to the house.

Maggie also descended from the truck, but after she closed the door, she leaned up against it, choosing to hang back a little. She saw a woman of medium height with short, gray hair step out onto the porch, drying her hands on a towel. Upon sight of her son, Eleonora McCoy slung the towel over her shoulder and walked towards him, arms outstretched.

"As I live and breathe. Oh, Leonard, my son, it's so good to see you," she beamed.

"Hiya, Ma. It's good to be home to see you," he replied as he closed the distance and brought his mother into his embrace.

They clung to each other for a couple of minutes, then Mrs. McCoy stepped back to peer around Leonard. "Is that her?" she whispered excitedly, a gleeful smile across her face.

He chuckled and held out his hand for Maggie to draw her closer to his side. "Yes. Momma, this is my Maggie. Lt. Maggie Parker, I'd like you to meet my ma, Eleonora McCoy," he remarked.

Maggie held out her hand, which was shaking a little from nervousness. "It's a great honor to meet you, Mrs. McCoy. I've heard a lot about you," Maggie replied.

"Oh, you dear child, come here so I can give you a proper greeting," Eleonora gently chided, holding her arms out. "And please, call me 'Eleonora', 'Momma' or just 'Ma'," she added.

Maggie looked at Leonard, who grinned and nudged her towards his mother. Eleonora wrapped her arms around Maggie and gave her a little squeeze. Maggie could feel the warmth and welcome in the gesture and a few tears leaked from her tightly closed eyes.

The tears did not escape Eleonora's notice when she pulled back. "Leonard, I'm sorry, but I think I accidentally broke your girlfriend," she chuckled nervously. "Honey, is everything all right?" she asked with concern.

"Darlin', are you okay?" McCoy inquired, rubbing circles on Maggie's back.

"I'm fine, really. It's just that--your hug was so warm, it reminded me of the ones my mom used to give me. She and my dad have both been gone for six years now. I guess I didn't realize how much I missed them until right at this moment. Thank you for making me feel so welcome," Maggie finished.

"My precious girl, you are absolutely welcome here, we're happy to have you with us. Did Leonard happen to tell you how much I've been pestering him to meet you? I would've settled for at least a video message, but I'm much happier to have you here in person," Eleonora winked. "Now, follow me, and we'll introduce you to the rest of the family. Don't worry, dear, Leonard will get the bags," she grinned.

"Already on it, Ma," he called as he hoisted the bags from the truck bed to carry them upstairs to his old room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Once inside the kitchen, a multitude of heavenly aromas assaulted Maggie's senses. "What is that divine smell?" she asked.

"That would be my secret family recipe for Chicken and Dumplings," Eleonora answered, beaming with pride. "Now that my son is home and with his beautiful girlfriend, I have been cooking up a storm since morning," she replied.

"What can I do to help?" Maggie inquired.

"You can let Leonard take you on a tour of the house, I'll be all right in here," Eleonora tried to assure the young lieutenant.

"I'm sure we can do that later, but there has to be something I can do to help. I'm pretty good in the kitchen, always used to help my mom. Please?" Maggie practically begged.

"Well....I was going to make a peach cobbler for dessert. If you'd like, you can peel and dice the peaches, then put them in this bowl right here," Eleonora suggested. She handed Maggie a bowl, while Maggie grabbed a knife and what would be the first of many peaches.

While Maggie and Momma McCoy were busy in the kitchen, Leonard was upstairs unpacking their bags. Once he was finished, he quietly came down the back stairs that led directly to the kitchen. His curiosity was piqued when he heard Maggie and his mother mention his name. By this time, Donna had joined them, so he paused on the stairs to listen in on their conversation.

"You sure seem to know your way around a kitchen, Maggie," Eleanora remarked. "I appreciate the help."

"My pleasure, Momma," Maggie replied with a smile. Leonard grinned when he heard that. To him, it meant that Maggie was feeling more comfortable around his mother.

After a bit, Eleonora wandered over to the sink to check Maggie's progress in dicing the peaches. "Once you finish that one, I think we have enough for the cobbler," she declared.

"I can't wait to taste the 'fruits of our labor'," Maggie quipped, throwing everyone into a fit of laughter, including Leonard himself, though silently.

Eleonora then laid a hand on Maggie's arm, causing Maggie to turn and lock eyes with Momma McCoy. "You know, after Leonard's divorce from Jocelyn, he threw himself into his medical studies. After that, he just concentrated on his work on the Enterprise. I'd get messages from him where he seemed happy enough, but I wasn't convinced that it was 100%. Even though he had Jim to help him through it all, I was really worried about him." Oh, Ma, Leonard thought.

"From what he's told me, the divorce was rough on him, especially since Joanna was involved. For anyone who loves Leonard, I'm sure that it couldn't have been easy to see him go through that," Maggie murmured. How right you are, my sweet darlin', Leonard silently commented.

"But now? Since he has you in his life, I see so many changes for the better. He's relaxed, he's content and he's in love, probably for the last time in his life," Eleonora remarked. "I want to thank you for seeing past his outer armor and helping to mend his heart," she added.

"That goes double for me. Len and I may not always agree on everything, as is usually the case with brothers and sisters. But I sure am grateful that he found you, Maggie," Donna chimed in.

"I appreciate the thanks, but the truth is, we've helped each other. I had an ex named Ryan that broke my heart by cheating on me with his high school sweetheart. But then I met your extraordinary son and brother, and he showed me what real love is. So please allow me to thank YOU for raising such a kind and honorable man," Maggie concluded.

As if on cue, Momma McCoy and Donna both swooped in and captured Maggie in a group hug. Gentle tears of happiness were shed between the three women as they embraced each other. Leonard recognized this as his opportunity to come out of hiding on the stairs. "I leave Maggie alone with y'all for five minutes, and look what happens. Y'all broke her again," he smirked.

The ladies giggled and stepped apart. Leonard got a playful punch to his arm from Donna and was pulled into a one-arm side hug with Eleonora. As they returned to their previous activities, Leonard took hold of Maggie's hand, then brought her into his embrace. They closed their eyes, rocking gently back and forth, lost in the feeling of being in each other's arms.

Maggie lifted her head from where it was resting on Leonard's chest. She reached up with her right hand and cupped his face, her thumb brushing gentle strokes on his cheek. "I love you, Leonard," she whispered, her lips curved into a shy smile.

"I love you too, darlin'. So very much," he whispered back. Leonard dipped his head and captured Maggie's lips in a soft, tender kiss.

"Oh, all right now, there's enough sugar in this peach cobbler without y'all dripping honey all over everywhere," Eleonora teased. She made a shooing motion with her hands as she guided them towards the door. "Go on, Leonard, show her around the place. But don't go too far, dinner's ready in about a half hour," she warned.

"Don't mind if I do, Ma," he answered. "Shall we go for a stroll, sweetheart?" he asked, holding out his hand for her to take.

Maggie captured his hand with hers, interlacing their fingers. "Lead the way, my love," she replied.

They left the kitchen through the door that led out to the porch. As they walked, Leonard began telling Maggie about his favorite memories of growing up on the family farm. After they were a fair distance from the house, Eleonora and Donna stepped out onto the porch to observe the lovebirds.

"She's cute, I like her," Donna remarked.

Eleonora nodded. "They're good for each other, and they make each other happy," she responded.

Donna placed a hand on her mother's arm. "I'm going to go in and check the cobbler," she said.

"Thank you, hun," she replied as she watched her daughter walk back into the house. "Oh, Leonard. She's a keeper. Hold fast to this one, my son," she whispered to herself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dinner was a lively affair, with each of the McCoy women sharing quite a few childhood stories about Leonard. He was a fairly good sport about it, until at one point, Eleonora threatened to show Maggie his baby pictures. His protests were enough that she ultimately decided to wait, saying she'd save that for the next time they visit.

After dinner dishes were done, everyone retreated to the front porch for some relaxation. Maggie and Leonard were snuggled up together on the swing, lazily rocking back and forth. Off in the distance, the fireflies were out, like little glowing yellow embers floating in the air.

Maggie was wearing a worn-out Starfleet Medical sweatshirt that she'd once 'borrowed' from Leonard and 'forgotten' to return. He pretended to frown, saying he'd been looking for the shirt for some time, only to find that his girlfriend stole it. Then he softly whispered that while he loves seeing Maggie in his clothes, he much prefers her out of hers. A blush crept into Maggie's cheeks at his remarks, which caused Leonard to chuckle and press his lips to her temple.

"Well, lovebirds, don't stay up too late. Oh, by the way, there's a festival going on for the next few days at the fairgrounds just outside of town. If you're looking for something to do," Eleonora mentioned before going into the house.

"Been a while since I've been to one of those," Leonard remarked. "What do you say, darlin', should we check it out tomorrow night?" he asked.

"You're the expert on the local attractions, my love," Maggie replied. "However, I think it sounds like a wonderful idea."

"If it's the one I'm remembering, it should have music and dancing. Would love to get you out on the dance floor, sweetheart," Leonard murmured in Maggie's ear.

"Mmm, slow dancing with you is something I would definitely be in favor of doing," Maggie said softly. "I think I might have even packed a dancin' dress," she added.

"Did you now? Well, that settles it, we have to go. I'll pick you up at 8:00pm. I'll be the one in the white hat," he grinned.

"It's a date, Cowboy," Maggie giggled.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day, Eleonora had made a list of things that she needed from in town. Some from the Farmer's Market, a stop at the hardware store and a couple of things from the pharmacy. Leonard volunteered for him and Maggie to run her errands, which also gave them time alone together.

First stop was at the hardware store, where everyone seemed to know Leonard. They all said how proud they were that he was CMO of the fleet's flagship. He thanked them all, and took the opportunity to introduce Maggie as well.

Next, it was more of the same at the pharmacy, with all the warm greetings and well-wishes. When he introduced Maggie as his girlfriend, one woman in particular, Janice Rollins, didn't seem happy to hear the news. She fawned all over Leonard, completely ignoring Maggie and the fact that she had been introduced as his current girlfriend. It was all Leonard could do to extract himself and get done what he went there to do.

After their business in the pharmacy was concluded and they were outside, Leonard explained that Janice was a former girlfriend. He assured Maggie that she had nothing to worry about. "My heart belongs to you and you alone," he remarked as they walked to the Farmer's Market.

"Leonard, I know that, I trust you. My heart belongs to you and only you," Maggie countered. "So, what does your ma have on her list from here?" she asked.

"Tomatoes, Brussels sprouts and potatoes, for starters," Leonard answered. "I'd like to get some corn on the cob, if they have it," he said.

Maggie took the map from his hands to study it, so Leonard wrapped his arms around her from behind. He looked over her shoulder, plotting the best pathway to get what they needed in the shortest amount of time.

Thirty minutes later, they had purchased everything on Momma McCoy's list, plus some additional items. Leonard bought Maggie a bouquet of fresh flowers. She in turn found a vendor with some rare vinyl of Leonard's favorite music artist. For dinner, they bought some thick, juicy hamburgers to grill from the meat locker on site. With their mission accomplished, the couple climbed into the truck and drove back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Back at the house, Maggie helped Eleonora once again with dinner preparations. Leonard was in charge of grilling the burgers, while Maggie made potato salad from her mom's recipe. Eleonora also made some Bourbon Baked Beans and there was also leftover peach cobbler.

After dinner, it was time to get ready for the dance at the festival. Leonard showered first, then shaved his slightly scruffy face. He was wearing his dark wash jeans, his boots and a burgundy-colored button down shirt with a bolo tie. As he promised Maggie, he put on his white cowboy hat and waited at the bottom of the stairs.

Then it was Maggie's turn to get ready. After her shower, she towel-dried her hair and left it to cascade down her back in soft waves. She pinned it up on the sides with crystal-encrusted barrettes. Her makeup and jewelry were kept simple, with hoop earrings and the bare minimum on the cosmetics.

Her dress was black with cream-colored flowers sprinkled throughout the fabric. It was nearly strapless, with only thin spaghetti straps to hold it in place on her shoulders. The dress had a high-low hem, with the shorter hem in front that hit just above her knees. A pair of black suede ankle boots completed her outfit.

Just before heading down to meet Leonard, Maggie paused at the top of the stairs. She took a deep breath, then slowly descended. She could see Leonard with his back to the railing, so he hadn't seen her yet. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Right on time, cowboy," she remarked with a soft smile.

Leonard turned to watch his girlfriend make her way down the stairs. As soon as he saw her, his mouth ran dry and all coherent thought temporarily flew out the window. To him, she looked more beautiful than ever, if that were even possible. Her dress flowed elegantly with her as she walked and the hemline gave him just a quick, teasing peek at her shapely legs.

He removed his hat and held out his hand to guide her the rest of the way down the staircase. Still holding her hand as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Leonard brushed his lips across her knuckles. "Well, bless my soul, darlin', you look absolutely gorgeous this evening. Since I have the pleasure of your company, that makes me the luckiest cowboy 'round these here parts," he drawled.

Maggie ducked her head shyly to hide the color spreading across her cheeks. She stepped back a little to give him a quick curtsy. "You may not be the only lucky one. For me, I'd say you're also the handsomest cowboy I've seen in my life," she replied.

She placed her free hand on Leonard's chest and took a step forward so there was very little space between them. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. Leonard, however, had other ideas, leaning towards Maggie to deepen the kiss. His decision was rewarded when he heard the tiny moan of pleasure escape from her mouth, and he smiled against her lips.

"We could just stay here, you know. Continue with what we're doing now, let the night take us wherever it leads," Leonard suggested as he started to gently sway back and forth.

"Mmm, as tempting as that sounds, you promised to take me dancing, Len," Maggie pouted.

"Ah, so I did, sweetheart. Your carriage awaits, my love," he gestured towards the door with the hand still holding his hat. "Ma, we're headed out to the festival. It'll be late when we get home, so we'll see you in the morning," he called over his shoulder.

Eleonora bustled out to the living room to see the happy couple before they left for an evening of dancing. "You both look amazing! Have fun tonight. And Leonard? Stay out of trouble, hmm?" she teased.

"I make no promises, Ma, but if anyone can keep me in line, it's Maggie," he grinned and gave his mother a wink. "Goodnight, Ma," he said as he dropped a peck on her cheek before heading out the door.

"Goodnight, my son. At long last, you've found your happiness," she murmured to herself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At the dance, the music was lively, with a variety of genres represented. It was mostly the vintage country music playing, which was best for the two-step, the waltz and line dancing. Maggie and Leonard danced to a few of the more upbeat songs, but got out on the floor for every slow song.

After one of the waltzes, they decided to take a break and get something to drink. Leonard found them an empty table and pulled out Maggie's chair for her to sit down and rest. He took the seat next to her, then leaned over to press a lingering kiss to her lips. He asked her for her drink order, then headed for the bar.

On his way to the bar, Leonard thought about how perfect the past couple of days have been. He'd introduced Maggie to his mom and sister, who loved her right away without question. Earlier in the day, he took her out and showed her the town where he grew up. Tonight, he had the company of the prettiest woman at the dance. Lucky cowboy indeed, he thought to himself.

At the bar, he gave out their drink order. As he waited, he noticed another man sitting on a barstool, nursing a whiskey. The men locked eyes, nodded at each other in acknowledgment, then returned to their previous activities. Every once in a while, Leonard would see him cast longing glances in Maggie's direction, which brought his guard up.

He was wondering how to bring it up without having to break the man's face, when he felt a tapping on his arm to get his attention. "Hey, buddy, do you see that woman over there? The one in the black dress?" the man asked, pointing towards Maggie.

Leonard gritted his teeth and answered that yes, he saw the woman in question. "She's a pretty hot one, no doubt," the man remarked. "She looks a lot like my....my....hey, that's my ex-girlfriend, Maggie Parker. And she's sitting there all by her lonesome," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "I should go over there and say hello," the man grinned as he placed his empty glass on the bar's countertop. He got down from his barstool and started walking towards Maggie, but Leonard stopped his progress.

The man glanced down at Leonard's hand on his upper arm. "Uh, say listen, Pal, you wanna take your hand off my arm? I'm not gonna cause trouble, I just wanna let her know that Ryan says 'hello'," Ryan glared.

"I think you'd better leave the pretty lady alone, Ryan. She's told me about you, and besides, she's way out of your league," Leonard retorted.

Ryan gave Leonard the once-over, as if trying to size up his competition. "What, do you think she's more likely to be in your league, old man?" Ryan snorted.

"For your information, Maggie's in a class by herself. But what you don't know is that she chose me, so I'm tellin' ya, it's in your best interest to back off," Leonard threatened.

With a huff, Ryan resumed his perch on the barstool, muttering under his breath. By this time, the bartender had finished making the drinks that Leonard had ordered. He picked them up, one in each hand, and headed back to the table.

Once there, he set the drinks down on the table. Leonard took both of Maggie's hands in his and pulled her up from her chair so she was standing in front of him. He moved his hands up so they were cradling Maggie's face, then he leaned in and crashed his lips to hers. She responded by sliding her hands up his chest and locking her fingers behind his head.

When the kiss was finally broken, Maggie was left nearly breathless. She smiled as she brushed her fingertips across Leonard's forehead and into his hair. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" she asked.

"To thank you. For choosing me. You could have any man in the universe, yet you chose me," he answered softly.

"Leonard McCoy, you don't have to thank me. I will always choose you. Every day of the week, and twice on Sundays. I love you," she replied.

"And I love you, Maggie. You wanna get out of here?" he asked, holding out his hand.

She nodded, taking his hand in hers. Then she heard the opening bars of "Crazy" by Patsy Cline, a song which had always been among her mother's favorites. Maggie tugged on his hand to catch his attention. "Dance with me? Please?" she asked.

"Always and forever, darlin'," he responded as he led her to the dance floor. He put his hands on Maggie's hips and she put hers around his neck. Maggie rested her head on Leonard's shoulder and closed her eyes as they swayed in time with the music.

As the last notes of the song faded away, Maggie looked up into the face of the man she loved. "Shall we head back now?" she asked. Leonard nodded and kept hold of Maggie's hand, interweaving their fingers. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, causing her to giggle and blush.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The rest of shore leave seemed to pass by in a blur for Leonard and Maggie. They went on picnics by the lake, some horseback riding, and more trips into town on errands for Eleonora. There were even a couple of occasions where Eleonora spent time at Donna's house. She didn't mind, saying that Leonard and Maggie should have some time to themselves at the house.

Then there were the nights spent laying on a blanket in the bed of the pickup truck, gazing up at the stars. Which may sound silly, considering that's where they spent most of their time. But, as Maggie pointed out to Leonard, the stars look different from Earth than they do in space. All he knew and could focus on was how beautiful Maggie looked by the light of the moon.

One night, they were sitting in the front porch swing, Leonard wedged into the corner and Maggie sitting between his legs. Her back was leaning against his chest, with her head rested on his shoulder. The lazy swaying of the swing would usually be enough to put her to sleep, but she was wide awake tonight.

Leonard had his left arm curled around Maggie under her chin, with his right arm draped across her midsection. Her arms matched his in position, and her hands were atop his with fingers interlaced together. Every once in a while, they would give each other a gentle squeeze, in part for affection and also for reassurance.

"Len? In case I didn't tell you, I've had such a wonderful time these past two weeks. Thank you for inviting me to come with you for shore leave," Maggie remarked.

"Oh, darlin', it's been a real treat for me too. Before I asked you, I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with being without you for two whole weeks. Thank goodness I didn't have to go through that," he chuckled, then placed a kiss to Maggie's temple.

"And your mother and sister are amazing, I already love them. I only had brothers growing up, and being around your ma helps me to miss my mom a little less. They were a good influence on you. Except where did you get your grumpiness from?" she teased.

Leonard shifted in the swing so he could look Maggie in the eyes. "It's sass, isn't it? You're sassin' me right now, aren't ya, little lady. Well, I'll fix you," he grinned mischievously just before he started tickling Maggie on her sides and under her arms. That sent her into a fit of giggles and nearly gasping for air.

"Can't....breathe!" she managed to get out.

"Say I'm not grumpy, and I'll quit," he promised but was still randomly hitting her ticklish spots.

"Okay, okay," she wheezed. "You're not grumpy. You're adorable," she replied before capturing his lips with her own. Their mouths moved together in tandem, pressing and pulling in a delicate dance. "I love you, Len," Maggie whispered when they'd finally pulled apart.

"I love you too, Sugar," Leonard whispered back.

"I want you to know something else, and I'm just going to come out and say it. Leonard, you're 'it' for me. When I see my future, you're the only one I see it with. I realize that we've both been burned before, and….and I'm not asking you for more than you're ready to give. Just know that I'm here for you and that I love you with all my heart," Maggie declared.

Leonard was silent for what felt like an agonizingly long time to Maggie, before he spoke again. "You know, after what happened with Jocelyn, I'd pretty much sworn off of women. I was afraid of making the same mistakes again if I got into a relationship. And I didn't want to put anyone else through that, let alone myself."

"Oh, Len," Maggie whispered, but then Leonard put a finger to her lips. "Hey there, shh. It's my turn now, Love," he playfully scolded. Maggie nodded and gave him a small smile.

"Then I met you, my little spitfire, and all of that changed. I'm not afraid to fall in love anymore, because I already have. Maggie, you're 'it' for me, too. I know that my future isn't complete without anyone but you in it as my leading lady. If you can be patient with me on the 'more' part, I know we'll get there eventually. I love you with all my heart, Maggie," he concluded.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

All too soon, shore leave came to an end. With heavy hearts, Leonard and Maggie packed their belongings and put their bags in the trunk of Donna's vehicle. Her car was big enough so that Eleonora could accompany them to the station. She wanted to be there to see her son and his girlfriend off before they had to catch the shuttle back to the Enterprise.

At the station, everyone hesitated for a little bit before finally climbing out of the car. Leonard retrieved their bags from the trunk and set them on the curb. He turned to his mother with his arms wide open. "Bye, Momma. It was great seeing you, and I wish we could’ve stayed longer. Thank you for having us," he murmured, holding her tightly in his embrace.

Eleonora rubbed her hands in circles on his back. "You know you're welcome at home anytime, Leonard. Just don't make it so long between visits, bring your lovely girlfriend with you, and everything will be fine," she remarked.

"I'll try and visit more often, and I'll definitely bring Maggie with me. Love you, Ma," he whispered, then gave Eleonora one last squeeze. Before he let her go, she whispered in his ear about the surprise she had tucked into his bag.

Maggie had finished saying her goodbyes to Donna, then moved to hug Eleonora. "I had a wonderful time, and I loved meeting and spending time with you all. Thank you so much for having us, and I hope we can visit again soon," she said, giving Eleonora a fond embrace.

"You take care of yourself, sweet girl, and keep watch after my Leonard. He's my son, but Lord knows that man needs someone to keep him in line," she chuckled, as did Maggie. "You come visit anytime, we'd love to have you. By the way, I slipped something into your bag. Just a small gift, from me to you. A little reminder of your trip here," Eleonora mentioned.

A soft look crossed Maggie's face as tears prickled behind her eyes. "Thank you, Momma. You know, I think you and my mom would've been good friends," she remarked as she moved in to hug Eleonora once more.

Overhead, they heard the announcement for Leonard and Maggie's shuttle flight back to the Enterprise. One last round of hugs for everyone, then the couple picked up their bags and headed for the platform.

Eleonora and Donna watched as Leonard and Maggie walked away, each with an arm slung around the other's waist. Donna moved to stand beside her mother, and sighed deeply in contentment. "They're so good together. I'm glad they found each other," Donna stated.

"Yes, I am too. Wouldn't be surprised, though, if we were to hear some news from them in the near future," Eleonora replied with a mischievous grin.

Donna looked at her mother with narrowed eyes. "You know something, don't you? What is it? Tell me!" she demanded, but Eleonora refused, just kept the grin on her face. "Fine. Don't tell me," she grumbled as they climbed back into the car and headed home.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Back in their respective quarters, Leonard and Maggie set about the task of unpacking. As Maggie separated her clean clothes from ones to be laundered, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She picked it up and started reading it, her hand flying to cover her mouth. She almost didn't hear the door chime, signaling a visitor. On the second chime, she murmured 'come in' and the doors slid open to reveal her boyfriend on the other side.

"Hey, darlin', whatcha got there?" Leonard asked before wrapping his arms around Maggie from behind. He peered over her shoulder to see that she was reading a recipe in his ma's handwriting for her Chicken and Dumplings. "Whoa. Where did you get this?" he whispered.

"Your ma said she slipped something in my bag, as a reminder of our trip there. I don't understand, Len," Maggie replied, a confused look on her face.

Leonard took the piece of paper and held it up to Maggie. "This....has never left my ma's kitchen, not to my knowledge...." he trailed off. He placed the paper on Maggie's desk, then taking both of her hands in each of his.

"I still don't understand, Len," Maggie stated.

"Giving you this recipe means she loves you, sweetheart. And she knows you love me, but more than that, she trusts you. I know you were worried about meeting her, if she was going to like you. Darlin', after meeting you just this once, she already considers you part of the family," he finished with a smile. Someday, I hope that we can make that a little more permanent, he said to himself, as he thought of what his ma put in his bag.

Maggie tucked the paper into a drawer with her other valuable paperwork, then wound her arms around Leonard. Her hands clasped behind his head, she gently tugged downward until her lips met his. Just before things could get too heated, she pulled back to gaze into his perfect hazel eyes. "Shall we head to the mess hall, see who's back and do some catching up?" she asked.

Leonard pressed a lingering kiss to Maggie's forehead. "Sounds good to me, Love," he replied. With their arms curled around each other, they walked down to the mess area to catch up with their friends.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tags: @marvelouslytrekking​​ @spacedancer1701​​ @anna-phora​​

[babeyvenus]

The Wolf Among Us

Bigby x Oc

Summary: Sonya Blaze, A.K.A. Hell Rider, is a half fable, half mundy girl who comes to Fabletown to learn more about her side of the folktales. She works alongside Sheriff Bigby Wolf as his newest partner and together they strive to find out who's behind the unexpected murders in Fabletown.

TW: Mentions of death, gore/blood, alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex implications, suicide, guns and ofc language.

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Chapter 18: What a Twist

Everyone turns their head to see the mermaid running towards them, panting softly as she runs up to Sonya. “Easy. You’re not late.”, Sonya smiled, holding her arms.

“Excuse me, dear.”, Crooked Man says to Nerissa. “I….I wanted to make sure I had the chance to say something.”, Nerissa said, catching her breath.

“Why don’t you take a moment to catch your breath, little one?”, Crooked Man suggested.

“What’s she doing here?”, Bluebeard asked, crossing his arms.

“I’d like to…I–I need to say something.”, Nerissa declared.

“We’re kind of in the middle of something.”, Bluebeard said. Sonya glared at him. “Fuck off and let her speak.”

“She has something to say and we’re gonna listen.”, Bigby said. He nodded at Nerissa. “Go right ahead.” She smiles at him, and then glares at the Crooked Man. “You probably don’t remember me. I don’t know why I was afraid to come here.”, she said.

“My dear, I don’t know what it i–”

“Just shut up!”, Nerissa ordered, making him look at her in surprise. “You enslaved us for years. Let us hear stories about what you’d do….told us we would lose everything if we stepped just one toe out of line. And we couldn’t say a word about it because of these damn ribbons.”

“Wait….”

“But you know what….now it’s my turn to talk.”, Nerissa said, smirking. “How are you–?”, he asked, clasping his hands.

“I found Vivian’s body. Did you kill her?”, she asked. She turns to Sonya and Bigby. “Did he?”

“He might as well have.”, Bigby says, looking at the Crooked Man. “Vivian wanted you guys to finally be free. She explained what happened. Figured she knew she was gonna die regardless.”, Sonya said. Nerissa looks down in sadness. “I’m sorry, um….I don’t think I know your….”, Crooked Man excused himself.

“Nerissa! My name is Nerissa!”, Nerissa yells at him.

“It’s okay, my dear, it’s going to be just–”

“He ordered them dead, this fucker. Faith and Lily–"

"That’s a lie!”

“I was in the goddamned room when he did it!”, she exclaimed to the crowd. She turned to Crooked man, angrily. “Faith and Lily are dead because of you! The only two people who ever gave a damn about me… and now I can finally say, you’re an asshole. And I hope you rot at the bottom of the Witching Well for what you did."

"Then this just confirms it.”, Bigby says, grinning. Nerissa turns to the crowd. “He made Georgie do it, it was always him, Georgie would’ve never done anything without his say-so, ever.”

“You’re going to take the word of–”

“At least five other girls will back me up on this.”, Nerissa cuts him off. “We all heard you say it!”

Crooked Man glared at her. “Did you now…”

“There goes our evidence.”, Sonya grins at Bigby. “She saw it first hand….”, Beauty says in shock.

“He’s guilty!”, Bluebeard declared.

“Sounds good to me. What about you, Deputy?”, Bigby smirked at Sonya. “Sounds good to me.”, Sonya agreed, smirking at Crooked Man. “So, we’re all in agreement.”, Snow said.

“So that’s it, right?”, Beast asked.

“Throw him down the Witching Well!”, Johann ordered.

“No! That’s too fuckin’ easy for a crook like that!”, Gren disagrees. Bigby looked at him in confusion while cuffing the Crooked Man.

“What do you mean?”, Beast asked.

“He’s gotta pay for what he did!”, Gren shouted. “That’s what we’re doing!”, Sonya exclaims in confusion. “Listen to yourselves!”, Greenleaf yelled.

“You’re all rats fleeing from one sinking ship to the next. So quick to latch onto whatever will keep your miserable lives afloat. This is how you want to repay all I’ve done for you?”, Crooked Man asked, glaring at the crowd.

“What, you take two people’s lives away and now you want mercy?”, Gren asked, in disbelief.

“You know we can’t let you go free after this.”, Snow said. “Are you seriously trying to get sympathy for ordering a hit on fables?, Sonya scoffed, amused. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Well done then.”

“Now, for your sentence–”, Snow starts but is cut off by Greenleaf. “We don’t have to become murderers.”, she suggests.

Sonya turns to her. "You're still trying to excuse his actions? He killed people. He threatened you all and you want us to make it easy for him? You're not saving him."

Greenleaf frowns. "I don't need to be taking orders from a half fable.", she says, quieting everyone.

Sonya frowns. "What's that got to do with the situation here?"

"The hell is she talking about?"

"Half fable...?"

"Greenleaf, where are you going with this?", Bigby asked. She pointed at him. "Did you really think that no one was gonna figure it out? The new fable in town, the new deputy– no one's even heard of this girl!"

Greenleaf turned to the crowd. "They've practically let a mundy run amuck in our town!", she exclaims making the crowd gasp.

Snow and Bigby's eyes widened. "Now, hold on-"

She turned to glare at Snow. "You let this happen. You're worried about what the Crooked Man would've done, what about her? What if she blabbed to other mundies about us!? What safety would we have then!?"

Sonya could feel everyone's eyes on her as she glared at Greenleaf. The old woman continues. "The wolf and the princess are no better. They just do what they want. If you're so willing to let a half mundy enter Fabletown, what's to stop you from letting other mundies in!?"

The Crooked Man clapped. "Well. This is a surprise to remember."

Sonya glared at him. "Now hold on, whether or not Sonya's a half fable, it didn't stop her from trying her best to find my sister. They care about us. About this town.", Holly interjects.

"They only cared when they thought it was Sonya that bit it, though.", Gren added. Holly shook her head. "But it wasn't her fault. It took me too long to come to terms with that.", she said, looking down. "I trust them. They've gotten this far when Crane never bothered and the Crooked Man is here. That's all we wanted was for justice to come to this town and they've done it. What more do you want?", she asks Greenleaf.

Sonya smiles at Holly, giving her a nod before turning back to Greenleaf, crossing her arms. "Are you done? Can I speak now?" The old woman scoffed, keeping herself quiet.

"Alright then.", Sonya says but Bigby puts a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to explain yourself.", he says. She gives him a small smile. "As your deputy, I'd want everyone to trust me and put their faith in our jobs. What better way to do that than to be honest?"

His expression softened and he lets go of her shoulder. Sonya claps to get everyone's attention. "If you're all writing a book and you must know, I am a half fable. I don't know if you all have heard tales of the Ghost Rider. But I am the next Ghost Rider. My dad was the previous one before me. He died a couple of years ago and I swore and prayed to every god I could think of to bring him back.", she frowns.

She paces in front of the crowd as she continues. "A demon of some sorts, Mephistopheles, or Mephisto, offered me a chance to "help" those in need of saving. To help wary souls find their place in the after life. My dad did the same thing. The only reason why his soul wasn't saved is because he traded it with Mephisto. Same as I have."

She looked down. "He told me about this place. Hell, he worked with Crane outside rather than working at the office. He told me stories about how great this place was. Living fairy tales commuting amongst each other like any regular old person. I thought he was just telling stories but a few years after he died, I decided to look for Fabletown myself."

She looked at Snow. "That's when I met Snow and Crane. Crane gave Snow the rundown of my situation because he knew my dad. Which then helped me get a job as deputy.", she says, glancing at Bigby. "And now we're all here."

Sonya glared at Greenleaf. "However, me being a half fable wouldn't mean I'd rat everyone out. I'd have no good solid proof to the police anyways. I'd look like a damn loon and would probably get arrested for wasting their time. So, I dunno what your little plan was to get everyone's attention onto me and off of the task at hand, but we're still at a trial. And, last time I checked, I wasn't the guilty one."

Greenleaf looks down in shame. “He’s guilty! I know that, but we don’t have to kill anybody. Like you said before, there's another way we can go about this. We can imprison him. Lock him up forever…somewhere he can never hurt anyone again.”, Greenleaf says.

“How can we be sure he won’t escape?”, Snow asked, frowning. “I can help! We’ll use magic. I assure you–”, Greenleaf said, making Sonya look up in thought.

“That’s not good enough!”, Bluebeard shouts.

“There will be more if he isn’t stopped!”, Nerissa says. “So we get rid of him!”, Gren says.

“I don’t know…”, Beauty says, uncertain. “We can send him away!”, Beast suggests.

“Everyone! Listen up!”, Snow announces. “Clearly we’re having trouble agreeing on a suitable punishment. So I think we–”

“This is going nowhere!”, Bluebeard cuts her off. “Someone needs to make a decision!”, Snow exclaimed. “Who?”, Beauty asked.

“I hope you aren’t suggesting yourself.”, Bluebeard says, stepping up to her.

“We should have a vote. Make it democratic.”, Bigby says. “Do you really think that’s going to work?”, Bluebeard asked. “He’s right. Nobody can agree on anything.”, Snow said.

“What about Bigby and Sonya?”, Nerissa asked. “What about them?”, Snow asked, turning to her.

“They were appointed, they’re….the only official representatives, really. They should be the judges.”, Nerissa said.

“That makes sense to me.”

“I guess it does.”

“Okay.”

“Fine.”

“Are you sure? This isn’t how it’s–”, Snow says before Bluebeard interrupts her again.“It’s what the people want, Miss White.”

“Okay.”, Snow said, then turned to Sonya and Bigby. “Mr Wolf. Miss Blaze. It’s your call.”

“Snow, I–”

“Just….do what you two think is right.”, Snow said, interrupting Bigby. Sonya rolls her eyes as he pulls her aside. “What do you wanna do?” She looks at him, incredulously. “Why me? You’re the boss.” , she says.

He rolls his eyes. “Forget that. He kidnapped you.” She sighed. “Good point but he nearly got you killed.”, she argued. He clenched his jaw for a moment and looked at the crowd as they looked at them.

He nodded. “Smart.”, he let out a soft sigh. “Fine.” They walked back to the crowd.

“We could try Greenleaf’s plan. The only thing I’m worried about is whether or not he’d convince her to stop doing it. She’s so hellbent on keeping him alive even though Faith and Lily are dead. And the fact that we could’ve died….”, she says, catching his attention.

She closed her eyes, sighing again. “Let’s just see what Greenleaf has in mind. If things go south, we could always make a plan just in case it does.”

“Everyone, we’ve–”, Bigby started to say until suddenly Crooked Man charged forward and wrapped his cuffed wrists around Sonya’s neck, shocking everyone. “Not this way!”, he yells, tugging her back toward the Witching Well. She coughed and choked, struggling against his hold as Bigby ran to her.

Just before they touch the well, she grips onto the chain that connected the cuffs and melted it, making her drop to her knees. Bigby grabs Crooked Man’s shirt and punches him in the face, holding him over the Witching Well. “Aaahhh……there you are….”, Crooked Man said, creepily as Sonya catches her breath.

The crowd runs toward them, wary of the next move. “I hope you all….remember this moment…..think of me when you try to sleep.”, Crooked Man says.

“You know, we were gonna make the choice of letting you live. But you just tried to murder my deputy. That’s a problem.”, Bigby said, shaking him above the well.

“You’re going to miss me….”, Crooked Man croaked. Bigby looks at Sonya with an unsure expression, watching her rub at her neck. She frowned and nodded.

Bigby looks back at Crooked Man with a smirk. “No. I won’t.”, he says and he drops the Crooked Man down into the well, watching him disappear in the darkness.

“For Lily. And Faith.”, she hears Holly say. Sonya takes another deep breath, as she clasps her neck softly, now coming to terms that she could’ve died.

The Crooked Man was going to kill her because he wasn’t getting his way. That had to be enough proof to show everyone. Bigby looks at her and kneels down to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She snapped her out of her rampant thoughts and looked up at him with red rimmed, glassy, wide eyes.

He frowned, softly taking her hand away from her neck and lifted her chin up to examine it. His expression turned displeased as he saw a red mark on her neck. “I’m fine…”, she says, standing. He stood up with her and nodded, not saying a word and left.

Everyone else leaves the chamber, unsure, afraid, unsettled or otherwise. Sonya could only watch their retreating backs before looking into the dark well for a moment and finally leaves.

She walked out of the office, walked past Bigby’s office. She paused, turned to the door and opened it slowly. She peeked her head through and smiled at Bigby’s sleeping form as he snored softly on his desk.

She walked in, quietly moving over to him and lifted a hand to gently shake him awake. His eyes popped open as he looked around and relaxed when he saw Sonya.

“Why didn’t you head home if you were gonna sleep?”, she asked. He sat up straight, rubbing his eyes. “I was gonna get some paperwork done...hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep.”

She leaned on his desk. “You might wanna go home instead of being here. You deserve a break.”, she said, looking down at her shoes.

He looked up at her and looked at a nearby clock. “Hey…”, he says, getting her attention. “You wanna go grab something to eat?”, he asked, giving her a slight smile. She chuckled. “At this hour?”

“I don’t hear a complaint.”, he says, raising an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes playfully. “Fine. We can go find something that’s open.”

Subway Late Night

Sonya sputters a laugh, nearly choking on her drink. “So, you mean to tell me, he’s making you owe him a place to stay because you blew his house down?”, she asks, after hearing Bigby explain his roommate situation. He swallowed his bite of his meatball sub, giving a sigh and nods. “He’s a pain in the ass.”

“Well, if we’re being fair, in the stories I’ve read, the pigs boil you alive. I think that’s way more than enough.”, she says. That intrigued him. “Really?”, he asked.

She nodded, taking a bite. She looked up at the sky as they walked away from the shop. “To think I’d be living among actual fairy tale characters….”, she mutters. “I mean, I knew the sugarcoated stories had to have some type of dark history behind it but jesus…”

“Yeah… no sugarcoating with this one.”, he says, pointing at himself. “It just sounds like you were hungry.”, she says, smiling. He nodded. “I was.”, he says. “Okay, so let me get this straight. Every fairy tale character is here? Or at least nearby?” He shrugs. “More or less.”

“So...does that mean that Rapunzel is here too?”, she asked. He nodded. “I was wondering because I read a story that the guy that saved her fell from the tower and got his eyes poked out by thorns.”, she says, making him grimace. “That’s dark.”, he says.

“Is it not true?”, she asked and finished up her sandwich. “I wouldn’t know… Not a lot of fables talk to me. That or they’re at the Farm.”, he replied.

“Sounds boring. Looks like I came here just in time to spice up your life.”, she says, grinning and making him roll his eyes in amusement. He threw their trash away in a nearby trash can before they walked in the Woodlands and pulled out a Huff n’ Puff, making Sonya reel back once he lit it. “What is up with you and the cancer sticks?”, she asked, pinching her nose.

“It helps.”, he says. “With addiction??”, she asked in disbelief. He chopped her head softly, “No. It helps drown out smells from the city. My nose can’t take everyone’s scent all at once. Especially if I’m trying to pinpoint someone’s location.”, he says, leading her to the elevator.

Once the elevator stopped on their floor, it opened, allowing them to enter.

Her eyes widened in realization. “Ohhh, so its like being in a perfume store and taking in too many scents all at one time.” He nods, taking a drag.

“Does your nose get stuffy from smelling a lot of things simultaneously?”, she asked. He shook his head, letting the smoke out. “It gives me one mean migraine, though.”

She smiled, enjoying the new info. “So, you are like a pup.”, she joked. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t start.”, he says, making her snicker.

He did have to admit, he felt lighter. The Crooked Man was gone, Faith, Lily and Nerissa got their justice. All that was left was to deal with whatever came their way next. And he was fine with that.

He smiled at Sonya as they arrived on their apartment floors. She rubbed her eyes, sleepily. “I actually miss that stupid couch…”, she muttered.

“Go on home. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”, he says. She looked at him, remembering what Snow said. She gave him a faux smile. “Yeah. G’night, Bigby.”

He nodded before she walked away and entered her apartment. Locking the door, Snow’s words echoed in her mind. “When this case is over, you’ll be on leave until we need you.”

She walked over to her couch and laid into the cushions, curling up. “Damn that Snow.”, she grumbled, shutting her eyes.

The Woodlands Next morning

Bigby rubbed his eyes sleepily as he waited for the elevator doors to open. He pulls out a Huff n’ Puff, lighting it up as Flycatcher catches him. “Hey, Sheriff.”, he greets Bigby. “You gonna see the truck off? We’re leaving for the Farm in a few….I already informed the Deputy and she’s helping outside. Just thought you might wanna, I don’t know…”

“I’ll be down in a minute.”, he says. “Okay…great.”, Flycatcher smiles as the door to the elevator closes. He hears someone walk up to him and sees Sonya. “Hey.”

He greeted her back. “You’re up pretty early. Thought you would’ve slept in after everything that’s happened.”

She shook her head. “Nah, I heard that Toad was getting sent to the Farm and I didn’t want T.J. to be too upset.”, she explains as they walk up to a long line outside of the Business Office. “This fuckin’ line.”, Bigby hears Gren mumble.

As they walked past everyone, they were given smiles or uncertain looks. He lifted a hand to the door of the office until Snow White rushed out, holding some files in her arms. She stops when she sees them. “Oh….Mr. Wolf! Flycatcher left his keys.” She holds out the keys to Bigby.

He holds his hand out and she drops the keys in his hands. He looks down at the keys before looking back at Snow. “Is everything okay? You look–”

“I’m–I’m sorry, Sheriff. I have to take care of this.” , Snow said, before giving Sonya a look. “We’ll talk later, okay?”, she said before walking back into the office. Sonya frowned deeply and walked away, much to Bigby’s confusion.

She walks past Bluebeard and he gives Bigby a look as he walks to the office. “Good morning, Miss White.”

“You’re late.”, Bigby hears her say. He walks to the elevator, ready to get away. The elevator doors opened and his eyes widened at Colin, holding a six pack in his mouth. “Someone’s gonna see you, Colin.”, Bigby said. Colin smiles and winks at him before walking away. He sighed and shook his head, entering the elevator.

As he walked outside, he could hear Toad fussing at Flycatcher as Toad and T.J. climbed in the trunk. “Fly.”, Bigby calls, catching the younger one’s attention. “You forgot these.”, he says, tossing the keys to him. “Oh! Thank you. It’s, uh, been pretty busy around here.”, Flycatcher said as he caught the keys.

“Morning, Sheriff. Nice fuckin’ day.”, Toad said, angrily. “Shit.” He fussed at T.J. “Just go grab that, would you?”

“Sorry about all this. We tried to help.”, Bigby said, standing next to Sonya. “Just why the hell did she have to send me and me boy away? Huh? You two promised me I’d get another chance, but Miss White said I had to go up to the damn Farm anyway! I told her I had the money but she wouldn’t hear it!”, Toad shouts.

“That’s because she’s stuck up about it…”, Sonya mutters, crossing her arms. “Sheriff Bigby! Sonya!”, T.J. called. “I have something.”, Sonya and Bigby walk up to T.J. as he sniffles. “You know he was up cryin’ all night. Poor kid.”, Toad said, shaking his head.

“Can you give this to Miss White? Please.”, T.J. plead as he holds out a little wooden box to them. “Dad says there’s no time to say goodbye, so…if you guys could bring it to her…she was nice.”

“What is it?”, Bigby asked him, holding his hand out.

“I couldn’t take them all with me. And she said she liked that one the best.”, T.J. explained as he hands the box to Bigby. Bigby opened the box and saw a pretty blue beetle inside of it.

To: Miss White

From: TJ

“It’s a Willow Beetle. That’s a big one. They’re cool, ‘cause when they’re little they have these pouches that squirt juice at you if you touch 'em.”, T.J. informed as Bigby closed the box. “She’ll definitely love it.”, Sonya gave him a smile. “She said it was pretty.”, T.J. said.

“We’re about ready to head out.”, Flycatcher said as he walked back towards the truck. “What’s it like at the Farm? I’ve heard ogres live there. And they eat people in their sleep sometimes.”, T.J. said as Toad places a hand on his shoulder. “God, I hope not.”, Toad said. “Do we have to go?”, T.J. asked him. “I wanna stay here.”

“Well, we don’t have a choice anymore.”, Toad said. “We’re sorry, T.J.”, Bigby said. “But look on the bright side, okay? There’s plenty of space to run around, and a nice river nearby so you can swim all you want.”

“Even in daytime?”, T.J. asked, with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah.”, Bigby nodded, smiling. “You won’t have to worry about the mundies seeing you. It’ll be nice.”

T.J. sniffled some more, making Sonya rub his back. “Come on….it won’t be so bad.”, Bigby said.

“Have you been there before?”, T.J. asked, looking up at Bigby.

“No….I’m, uh—some of the animals aren’t comfortable around wolves.”, Bigby says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So you wouldn’t know, would you?”, Toad asked, making Bigby lower his head. “Hey, if they won't let Mr. Wolf be there, I doubt they'll let any ogres touch you.", Sonya grinned at T.J. He gives her a small smile.

"And hey, I think I got something for ya.", she says, walking over to her bike and dug into a small bag. She pulled out a bag of gummy worms and handed it to him.

"Thought you might like to try them. Wasn't sure whether or not you could have candy but it's a mundy snack.", she says as he takes it with wonder.

“We’re all set.”, Flycatcher says, getting in the truck. "Bye, Mr Wolf. Bye, Miss Sonya.”, T.J. said, with glassy eyes. “Goodbye, T.J.”, Bigby says. "Seeya kiddo. I'll try to see if I can visit you!", she said, giving him a grin.

Bigby pulls out a cigarette, grumbling when he gets interrupted. “Hey, Bigby! Where’s your friend, Colin? Where’s the fuckin’ pig?”, Toad asked, angrily. “I dunno. He must’ve run off.”, Bigby shrugged as he lit his smoke.

“What a crock of shit.”, Toad said, angrily as they drove away. Sonya sighed. “I hate that he cusses like that around T.J. He’s so sweet.”, she says to Bigby and looks up as it starts to rain. “Where are you headed off to?”, he asked.

“Well, I-”, Sonya starts before she gets cut off. “Saying goodbye?”, a familiar voice asks. Sonya and Bigby look across the street to see Nerissa, in a white shirt and a jacket, and jeans, smiling while holding an umbrella. They smile at her, walking across the street.

“Hi.”, they say as Sonya gave her a hug.

“Hi.”, she says, returning it. “You’re still wearing that thing.”, Bigby said, pointing at her neck. Sonya’s eyes trail to Nerissa’s neck as she sees the purple ribbon and frowns.

“Oh….yeah.”, she said, nervously. “I guess I am…it’s not easy to forget.” They walk under a shade, shielding themselves from the rain. “I know it seems like I should be able to….it’s just….”, she sighs.

“Could I…?”, Bigby asked, reaching out to her. Sonya slaps his hand, making him retract it. “What did I tell you? You’re so impatient.”, she fussed. He grumbled, rubbing his hand.

Nerissa rubs her arm. “I’m sorry... I-I know you’re just trying to help, but this is just something I need to do on my own. Okay?” He nodded, putting his hands at his sides.

“Listen, I-I came here because….I have to tell you guys something.”, Nerissa said. “What’s wrong?”, Sonya asked.

“It’s about what happened to Faith and Lily. I’m not sure where to start….”, she said, biting her lip. “Faith, Lily and I, we had this plan. We were gonna find a way out. Leave the Pudding 'n Pie for good….but then Faith decided to get some…leverage. She stole a picture of Crane and Lily together. The minute Faith stole that photo, we had dirt on one of the Crooked Man’s allies. If he found out–!”, she took a breath.

“I-I had no choice. You two have to understand. You’ve seen how they kept us quiet at that place. Can you imagine the lengths they’d go to just silence someone who had physical evidence?”

“Nerissa, what did you do?”, Bigby asked, confused and shocked.

“I freaked out. Okay? I thought if I came clean to Georgie, he’d get the Crooked Man to leave us alone! We could just forget the whole thing….maybe try again in a few years.”, Nerissa confessed.

“You…what!?”, Sonya asked, shocked.

“So I told him everything. And I begged for mercy. For all of us! I didn’t want anyone to die over a picture!”, Nerissa says, tearfully. “So you sold them out?”, Sonya asked, crossing her arms in disappointment. “No!”, she exclaimed.

Sonya looked at her with an eyebrow raised. “Yes....”, Nerissa looks down at her feet. “Georgie promised he’d smooth things over with the Crooked Man. But then….Oh God.”

Sonya sighed, reaching to rub her back but she flinched, making Sonya’s eyes widen. She gave her a weak smile, appreciative of the attempted comfort.

“I don’t know what happened, but that night, at the club….Georgie came back and told me things had changed. He had to make an example of us…we had committed treason. And while the two of us were sitting there…as he was telling me this….Faith walked in. And I had to watch while Georgie–”, she explained, sniffling.

Bigby’s eyes widened. “Wait, so Georgie told you all this? Not the Crooked Man? Back at the Well you said….”

“I know what I said.”, Nerissa said firmly. Sonya frowns. “But it wasn’t the truth, was it?”

“What does it matter? I know the Crooked Man did it. So what if it wasn’t the whole truth? It was true enough!”, Nerissa exclaimed.

“So you think that makes it okay to lie?”, he asked, frowning at her.

“I know he ordered their deaths. I wasn’t going to let him get away with it because of a stupid technicality. Especially after-” She sighed and looked at them.

“That night, after Faith….I tried to warn Lily, but she wasn’t with her scheduled appointment. So I did the only thing I could do. I-I left Faith’s head at your doorstep.”, Nerissa confessed.

“You?”, the other two asked. “So that piece of fabric I found near there….that was you?”, Bigby asked. Nerissa nodded. “Yeah…I cut my leg trying to get over the fence.”

Sonya looked at him. “Its no wonder why she was placed there with care.” She turned to Nerissa. “So you started all of this?”

“I just…. I pointed you two in the right direction. People like us get forgotten all the time. The Crooked Man was counting on that. When we suffer, we do it in silence. And the world likes it that way. We just….fade. Like we never existed. I couldn’t watch that happen to Faith. Or Lily. Nobody cares about us. Not really.”, Nerissa says, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, Nerissa.”, Bigby said. “I’m sorry that’s what it took to get us to pay attention.”

“It’ll be different now. You guys will make things right…. The two of you and Snow.”, Nerissa said, smiling. Sonya crosses her arms. “It just feels like it won’t matter.”

“It seems like no matter what we do, it’s just not enough for her or anyone.”, Bigby says, sadly. “We just can’t win with these people.”

“I know it might feel that way, but….they need you two. All three of you. You three make a good team. The way you look out for each other….and look out for us. You don’t see that a lot these days.”, Nerissa nods..

“I don’t really know where we stand anymore. Things are just...different.”, Bigby shrugged, looking at his feet.

“Things are always different. Look, after everything you two have done for us… Maybe they don’t want to admit it, but…without you two, none of this would’ve happened. You two listened when no one else would. Both of you protected your friends….no matter the cost. And you brought justice to this town….finally. Because you two brought the Crooked Man in, everyone saw who he really was. So from where I’m standing, you guys did the right thing. You guys have been given these jobs for a reason. And I left Faith at your doorstep, because I knew, if anyone stood a chance against the Crooked Man, it was you two.”, Nerissa reassures.

“That’s all we wanted was for things to be right. To be better.”, Sonya says. “You two have changed this place. For better or worse. Fabletown wouldn’t be the same with you two.”, Nerissa says, grinning and opening her umbrella as she starts to walk away from them.

She pauses and turns to Bigby. “You’re still not as bad as everyone says you are.” Bigby’s eyes slowly widened in realization. He looked at Sonya as she looked at him and back at Nerissa in confusion.

“I need to tell you something.”

“I have to tell you something.”

“I feel like we’ve met before.”

“You’re trying to place me.”

“You like my ribbon?”

“Do you like it?”

“Faith wore one too.”

“Would hide her beauty, so she could escape his kingdom.”

"They used to call me The Little Mermaid."

“Did Dr Swineheart ever get back to you about Faith?”

“He said he wanted to run more tests.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

I’ll see you two around.

“No way…”, Sonya mutters and turns to Bigby. “Should we go after her?” He looked at “Nerissa’s” retreating back and shook his head. “I think she deserves to be free.”

She sighed and walked back to her bike with him, placing her helmet on her head before climbing on.

“So...you’re headed where now?”, Bigby asked. “You’re not leaving too...are you?” She looked at him with a small smile. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”, she chuckled, tugging her bag on her back. “I’m gonna visit my mom.”

His eyes filled with curiosity. “Your mom…? How come? Did something happen?” She shook her head, “I haven’t been able to keep in touch with her since we were working so I thought a little visit would ease her mind.”

He nodded in understanding. She smirked, teasingly. “What, you gonna miss me?” He rolled his eyes. “No, I was just thinking.”

She leaned on the handle bar of her bike. “About what?” He rubbed behind his neck. “Apologizing to your mother.”

Her eyes widened a bit before she snickered. “What?”, he asked, frowning. “You sound like you’re gonna get in trouble. Relax.”, she says, smiling. She sits up. “Did you wanna come with?”

He looks at her bike. “You sure I can fit on that?” She shrugs. “I’m more worried about your poor pup ears.”, she teased, making him roll his eyes again. “I think I can handle the sound of a muffler.”, he says. She scoots up. “Get on then.”

He awkwardly gets on the bike, hesitantly wrapping his arms around here as she starts up her bike. “I don’t think I have to tell you to hold on, right?”, she asks. He narrowed his eyes, making her shrug. “Okay.”

She pulls off, the loud roar of the engine making Bigby’s ears twitch and his hold gets a little tighter.

[kabira]

02 | team project

pairing — spider-man!vernon x ofc

featuring — joshua, yeji (itzy), felix (skz), yangyang (nct)

word count — 2.6k

genres — spider-man au, marvel au, fluff, action, angst, humor

warnings — none

note — this is a little rushed, sorry ;-; i haven’t updated in two weeks despite only having posted the pilot so i was like !! ahh !! gotta update !! and here it is, your first ever (and very brief) appearance. i’ll edit it soon! as usual, send me an ask or dm if you want to be added to the taglist <3

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“Is this about me leaving Rhino on Midtown’s front porch?” Vernon demanded. “Because if it is, I’ll have you know that I left him in good hands—”

 "Calm down, Wonder Kid," Fury said. He didn't look amused like Vernon had hoped, which meant that whatever he'd come here to talk about was serious. Well, what else should he have expected from the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.? "It's not about that. Well—not entirely. It's about the good hands you mentioned."

Vernon narrowed his eyes. He'd met Fury a few times before, and never during favorable conditions. The last time he's seen the guy, Spider-Man had almost been pummeled to death by none other than the Goblin himself. "They said something about bringing him to S.H.I.E.L.D.," he muttered. "I should have guessed."

Fury didn't respond, instead reaching inside his jacket to bring out an envelope. He threw the open envelope onto the table in front of Vernon, making a few pictures half spill out from inside. "You know what that is?"

Vernon glanced at him suspiciously before slowly picking up the pictures and going through them. Each of them was a glossy shot of various locations in New York, and all of them had a major recurring theme—the places were completely trashed. Overturned cars, building walls with holes in them, bent lampposts. Wearily, he set the pictures down face-up on the table, then looked up at the man, who stared back with an unreadable expression on his face.

A beat passed. "Was that a rhetorical question?"

"Jesus, kid," Fury muttered. "All of those pictures were taken moments after a fight between you and one of your fanclub members. Now, I'm not saying I don't appreciate you taking care of a couple of minor criminals in the city—"

"Minor criminals?"

"—but I can't let you treat the place like it's your neighborhood playpen," he finished. Next to him, the pretty agent-slash-counselor sat with her legs folded, her surprisingly stern gaze fixed on Vernon. The attention made him squirm. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is a global defense organization, for god's sake. We don't have the time to clean up after kids who don't know even know their three Rs."

"Let me guess," Vernon said, "rock, roll, ramble?"

"Even your wisecracks aren't funny anymore, kid." Fury shook his head.

Ouch. "That hurt my feelings."

The man glared at him out of his one good eye. "You can't keep going like this forever," he said. "You're on your way to be one of the greats—don't look at me like that, hell if I'm gonna repeat that—but the big guys take care of their messes. They don't leave poor innocent civilians behind to get new paint jobs on their Kias. All that damage your careless fighting left behind, who's gonna take care of that?"

"Insurance?" Vernon suggested. Agent Fox cracked a smile, warming his insides. Her sitting aside in silence as Fury chewed him out was a little unnerving. He wondered if looking on silently while high-rankers lectured kids was something she had to do regularly. You gotta have a heart of ice to sit through that.

"You are," Fury said grimly, and Vernon blinked. "And you're gonna start today."

"What was it that you really wanted?" Vernon asked, crossing his arms over his chest, making his t-shirt stretch tight over his biceps. He really needed to go shopping. "You can't tell me the world's best spy came all the way to some backwater high school just to lecture a kid about cleanliness being next to godliness."

"You're a special case, Parker," Fury said, and Vernon placed a hand over his heart, mockingly going aw. "And you're right. I'm not here just to lecture you about your repeated careless mistakes, I'm here to help you fix them."

Vernon looked at him suspiciously, already wary of what was to come next. "And how do you propose I do that?"

"You've already shown me multiple times you can't do it yourself," Fury said. "Look, kid, here's the thing: you have a problem, and I have a problem. I also happen to have a joint solution to both."

Vernon slumped in his chair. Here it comes. "What problem could you possibly have? Nuclear warheads threatening to destroy civilians' Kias in Manhattan?"

"You really gotta work on those one-liners." Fury sighed. "There's a group of kids in the Helicarrier like you—up-and-coming superheroes in need of some real-world experience. They've got the training you need to handle jobs with efficiency, and you have the practical experience. They've got the goods—just like you—but nowhere real to practice them."

"You mean those guys," Vernon said, sitting up and recalling the three who had helped him in the fight against Rhino. "You mean—you want me to teach them?"

"I want you to work with them," Fury said. "Train with them, fight with them, lead what could be the next greatest team of post-humans."

"So basically, your solution is to sic a bunch of newbies on me as some kind of damage control," Vernon said angrily. "And what if I refuse?"

"Nothing," the spy answered simply. "You're not under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s official jurisdiction yet, so I can't do anything to you even if I want to—unless, of course, I absolutely have to. You're allowed to walk out of here right now, but I can't guarantee that that's gonna work out for you."

Vernon considered this. He knew a threat when he heard one, even when it wasn't a yell of SPIDER-MAN, I'M GONNA KILL YOU, but he also knew that Nick Fury's threats weren't always real threats. However, he did not like his chances.

"As long as they stay out of my business," he muttered, knowing that was the one thing they were least likely to do. He knew how closely teams operated, and it didn't take his spider sense to figure out that this team was going to be much nosier than that. He recalled the annoyed scowl on that Nova guy's face, and internally shuddered.

"It's a deal," Fury said pleasantly, as if Vernon had any choice but to accept the so-called 'deal'. "I'll be checking in regularly, so bear in mind that I'll know if you ever kill one of your teammates and throw their body into the East River."

"I would never go to that much trouble," he replied equally pleasantly, getting up. Then he glanced at the clock, and scowled. "I can't believe you made me skip my biology quiz for five minutes of parental guidance."

"Oh, I'd never lie to a teacher, kid," Fury said, patting his shoulder as he passed him. "A counseling session I promised, and a counseling session you will get."

Vernon glanced at the other agent in dismay, but she only smiled—whether in amusement or reassurance, he couldn't tell. She clicked her pen, picking up the pad, her eyes twinkling. "Settle down, Spider-Man," she said. "This will only take forty minutes."

Vernon almost considered opting out of eating in the cafeteria, but changed his mind at the last moment, knowing it was the only time other than first period biology he got to see Joshua on Mondays. He desperately needed to vent, and his bespectacled friend was the only one who even came close to understanding to the layers of his identity, one of which was a deep-rooted hatred for the universal authority on superheroes.

So he stalked right into lunch, barely noticing the gunk of whatever-it-was thwacking into his plastic tray, and headed for their usual table in the corner of the cafeteria. He didn't need to go that far to get to Joshua, however, as the blue-haired boy almost walked smack into him as he made his way there.

"Woah, woah, steady," Joshua said, grabbing his bicep to prevent them from colliding. "Why are you making like a steamroller towards that innocent little table? And what the hell were you during biology? What was that about?"

Vernon cast a careful glance around the cafeteria, at the crowd of people, one of which could easily overhear them in the close range. "I'll give you the details later," he murmured. "The cusp of the matter is: Fury blackmailed me into signing up for a team activity."

"Wait, wait, wait, Nick Fury?" Joshua asked in awe as they walked over to the table, gripping his tray tightly and hunching his shoulders, leaning slightly towards Vernon in interest. "You mean he was here, in this school?"

"Not even the first time, Josh."

"Not the—" Joshua shook his head, as if shooing away the thoughts. "Okay. Filing that information away for further perusal later. So you're telling me Nick Fury, super-spy, came to this place—" he spread his arms, indicating the school— "to talk to you. Man, sometimes I forget Spider-Man's supposed to be a household name."

"Shut up," Vernon hissed, casting a furtive glance at a heavily tattooed blonde who passed them by closely. "But yeah. And he asked me to team up with these noobs from the S.H.I.E.L.D. future program or something."

Joshua frowned. "But that's kind of cool, though, right?"

"Not if they're gonna slow me down," he replied. "Spider-Man's always operated alone, and—wait, what the hell?"

He stopped in his tracks right before the table, a stunned expression on his face. Joshua raised his eyebrows, following his gaze to the table, which was, surprisingly enough, already occupied.

She was there, of course, at her usual seat, the third from the left, except she was not alone. There was another girl, with dark hair and piercing eyes, picking at a soggy fry with her lips pursed. Next to her was a brooding blond with freckles that stood out against his shockingly pale skin. Last, but not the least, was the boy with the tanned skin who was making Vernon's best friend laugh so hard she was doubled over, a familiar cocky edge to his smile.

"Ah," Joshua said.

Lucy Langdon was one of Vernon's, and therefore Spider-Man's, biggest pressure points. She was also one of the only ones who had been left virtually untouched by all his superhero shenanigans, and he wanted to keep it that way. Though she was smart enough keep up with a few new trainees, as far as Vernon was concerned, she was strictly off-limits. Even to superheroes who could fly and called themselves Nova.

Vernon stalked over to the table and slammed his tray on the surface so hard he made everyone jump. Then he glared at the boy sitting next to her, the one with the bronzed skin, as Joshua stood by awkwardly. "You're in my seat," he said pointedly.

The boy cocked a lazy eyebrow, gesturing to the unoccupied seats opposite him. "I don't see your name on it."

Vernon ground his teeth, raising his hand (no doubt to petulantly slam it down on the table next to his tray) but Joshua grabbed his wrist, giving him a meaningful look. "Don't start anything that can be easily avoided," he muttered to the boy, and Vernon relented, albeit grudgingly.

"You're late," Lucy said conversationally, though your voice was higher than usual, probably because of the sudden tension that had descended upon the table. Vernon sat down slowly, still glaring at the boy, and she glanced at Joshua, who only shrugged. "These are, uhm, they're new."

"I figured," Vernon muttered.

"Three in one day? And this late into the year?" Joshua wondered aloud, raising his eyebrows. "Now I'm curious."

"Nothing worth your curiosity, I'm afraid," the new girl replied. Her eyes, when they swept over Vernon, were watchful and aware. "Just a coincidence. I was supposed to join earlier but there was a family emergency. As for these two, I can only guess." Her smile was small but sharp. "I'm Yeji."

"Felix," said the blond. He looked gloomy, but maybe it was just because of the unhealthy-looking pallor of his skin.

"And I'm Yangyang," the last boy said, with an impish grin that rubbed Vernon the wrong way. He already knew who these three were supposed to be—actually, everyone was supposed to know Felix, since Iceman was already a pretty famous member of the X-Men. Surely dyed hair couldn't be the only change needed to disguise that face? "Me and Felix are cousins, actually."

"Felix and I," Vernon mumbled under his breath, and Lucy gave him a look which he ignored. "Since when did you start taking people in for charity?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Be nice," she said. "They were in my Home Economics class, and if it hadn't been for Yeji here, I might have blown up the marble cake I was supposed to be making."

Joshua frowned. "How?"

"A story for another day." She smiled an unreadable smile, dark eyes sparkling. "Now—"

"No," Vernon said.

She glanced at him. "Excuse me?"

"No," he repeated. Then, as jerkily as he had sat down, he got up, and jabbed a finger at the new arrivals in turn, before pointing over his shoulder. "You three," he said venomously, "to the corridor. Now."

"Aw, man, I can't believe you're being so sensitive about this," Yangyang—Nova—complained loudly, though there was a shit-eating grin on his face as he followed Vernon into the hallway. "So Fury transferred us into your school without checking with you first. Big deal. What are you supposed to be, the queen of England?"

Vernon gave him a spiteful look, but otherwise ignored his remark. Instead, he focused on Yeji, who was watching him patiently, because she looked like the most sensible member of the group. He stared at her for a long moment, struggling to find the words that would convey the exact measure of his indignance. "Why?" he asked finally, giving up.

She shrugged helplessly. "Look, we didn't ask for this, either," she answered. "We're under orders, so it's not like we can just up and leave. Huddling in the hallway isn't a smart decision, either—we already have all eyes on us because of being the three new kids who randomly joined on the same day, and this is only making us look even more suspicious."

Vernon glared at her, trying to think of a good argument, then gave up. He turned on Felix, who was standing off to the side with folded arms, still looking uninterested in the conversation. "You," he said, narrowing his eyes, "you're Iceman."

Felix looked at him neutrally. "Yes."

"You're not under S.H.I.E.L.D.," Vernon said, pointing an accusatory finger. "And you have enough real-world experience, so there's no reason for you to be here instead of with the X-Men—"

"Dude," Felix said frostily; no pun intended. "Drop it."

Yeji nodded, giving Vernon a meaningful look he could not decipher.

"Aw, come on, web-head," Yangyang interjected. "We saved your life and you didn't even thank us, but I'll let that go since your manners aren't exactly polished. But this is just boring."

"It is not," Vernon seethed. "I'll talk to Fury—"

Yangyang snorted. "Good luck with that."

"—or the principal—"

"The new principal," Yeji muttered. "Agent Coulson."

Vernon made an exasperated noise. "The only reason I even agreed to Fury's stupid offer was because I thought it would get him off my case!" he yelled. "School is the only part of my life that's separate from all the wacky crap I have to deal with otherwise, and now even that—" He clenched his teeth. "If I'd known it meant having you people barge into my life like this—"

"Then you couldn't have done anything about it, even knowing," Yeji said, gently cutting him off. "Face it, hero. You're stuck with us as much as we're stuck with you—whether any of us like it or not."

[nashibirne]

Safe Haven - 11

I haven't updated this in forever and nobody reads it anyway 😆 but why let the already written parts rot in my WIPs, so here we go.

Previous parts: Masterlist

Pairing: Thomas / female OFC

Setting: After the end of ‘TMR - Death Cure’

Summary: Thomas is dealing with the aftermath of the events since the glade and learns that falling in love can be painful.

In part 11 Kasey goes on her date with Parker, meets Anne and Thomas starts fighting

Warnings:  smut/sex/porn (in some chapters), swearing, mentioning of death, traumatic experiences, violence, sexual frustration, promiscuity, homosexuality, 18+ readers only

Credits: TMR-Characters don’t belong to me / are based on the books by James Dashner and the movies. All pictures I used for the moodboards are from pinterest. Face claims: Blake Lively, Parker Hurley, Henry Cavill, Michael B. Jordan. If I violate any copyright please let me know and I’m going to remove the pictures.

Unbeta'ed!

~~~~~

"Kay, why are you sitting here with me?" Parker cocked his head, looking at her with a frown. They were sitting on a pile of mattresses in the corner of the room that functioned as a substitute for a couch, enjoying a hot chocolate as kind of a dessert.

Kasey was a little confused about his question, that was coming out of nowhere in the middle of a rather easy-going chat. The whole dinner had been very nice, relaxed and natural, the conversation flowing without awkward moments of silence. In the beginning Parker had been pretty flirtatious but to Kaseys relief he'd started getting more casual, switching from flirt-mode to friends-mode during the evening. They talked about everything under the sun just like they used to do when they were nothing more than good friends and Kasey was beginning to hope that it wouldn't be necessary to talk about their relationship explicitly. That Parker's feelings had changed too over the last months and that they both silently agreed to staying just good friends. No more flirting, no dating. So his strange question caught her off-guard, making her feel unsure.

"Umm...because you invited me over? For dinner?"

"Right, and we decided to call it a date, didn't we?"

"Yes, I guess so."

"So, let me ask you again, Kay, but with another accentuation this time...why are you sitting here on a date with me?" he asked, overly stressing the last word now, increasing Kasey's confusion.

"Is that a trick question, Parks?" she grinned, trying to laugh it off because it was dawning on her what he was getting at.

"No, it's not a trick question." He didn't join in laughing and Kasey was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"I don't know what you want to hear from me." her voice was sharper than intended.

Parker turned to her, taking her hand, his voice soothing now.

"What I want to hear from you is that you wanted this date as much as I did. That you've missed me as much as I've missed you. I want to hear my name slip from your lips again and again, because all you can think about is me. But unfortunately all I keep hearing is Thomas, Kay. Thomas did this, Thomas did that, Thomas is so funny, so brave, so nice, so smart. Thomas, Thomas, Thomas…that's why I'm asking why you're sitting here with me and not somewhere on a date with him." 

Kasey stared at him, shocked and embarrassed.

"Oh my god, Parker. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I really didn't realize I talked about Tommy that much." She buried her burning face in her hands, unable to look at him now.

"Well, you do. Almost non-stop."

"Okay, okay...I get it. I guess it's because I spend so much time with him. And he's a good friend...so…" She didn't need Parker to tell her how lame this excuse was but he told her anyway.

"You haven't mentioned Quince or Joe or Marjorie or any of your other friends just once, Kay. So I don't think that's the reason."

She didn't know how to respond, just shrugging her shoulders instead she gave him a sheepish smile.

"Just tell me, and please be honest, you and him...is there something going on? Something physical?"

"No." she replied truthfully.

"But?" Parker looked her in the eyes and she knew the moment of truth was there. She needed to be honest with him and with herself. Taking a deep breath she started to talk.

"But...there is something going on emotionally. I'm in love with him, Parker." she blurted out and to her own surprise she burst into tears. "I'm so sorry" she sobbed. "I don't know how it happened, at first I just liked him but then he was so...so...perfect. It suddenly hit me somehow... like lightning. I swear I was missing you, Parks...the months on sea, separated from you, I was so looking forward to this.." she said pointing at him and her and the remains of their dinner "but then Thomas came stumbling into my life and I fell for him. It just happened. Accidentally. I don't know..."

"Hey, hey, hey...princess. Calm down, okay? No need to cry." He took her in his arms, cradling her gently till her crying fit was over.

"I'm sorry." she said again, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"Would you please stop apologizing, Kay?"

She nodded, staring at her feet.

"You should have told me right away. I mean...if I hadn't mentioned it...would you have said anything at all? What was your plan? To date me, secretly yearning for him?"

"No! Of course not. I was planning on telling you how my feelings have changed but then you stopped flirting and I thought maybe your feelings have changed too and there is no need to talk about it at all…" Kasey still didn't dare to look him in the eyes.

"I stopped flirting because you wouldn't stop talking about him…" His voice was hoarse and the smile he gave her didn't reach his eyes. When Kasey finally looked at him, it didn't take much to tell how hurt he was.

"To be honest, Kay, I already had a notion earlier at the beach. I saw your little exchange during the lunch break and I had the strange feeling that you and the guy are already closer than we have ever been. And when you got angry because I called him a greenhorn, I knew he was special to you. But I hoped it was just feelings of friendship."

"I wish it was." she sighed. "I'm sorry. I really don't know what else to say, Parker."

"It's all right. It was me who wanted us to wait in the first place. We separated as friends and I don't deny it, I expected us to become more than this after our return, but you didn't make any promises and neither did I. So there's no need to justify yourself or to apologize."

"You're not mad at me?"

"No, I'm not. I know you didn't do it on purpose or to hurt me. We don't choose who we love, do we?" he sighed.

"And please don't be mad at Thomas, okay? It's not his fault."

Parker raised an eyebrow. "Are you scared I'm gonna kick his little ass?" 

"You wouldn't!"

"We'll see." Parker grinned, causing Kasey to slap him on his leg. 

"Promise!" 

"Okay, okay, I promise. I'm not gonna touch a hair on his head."

"Good." Kasey smiled, stifling a yawn. She was so tired. The lack of sleep, the hard work all day, this conversation, the crying…

"So you love the guy. What about him? Does he feel the same?"

"No, I don't think so."

"How's that?"

"Let's just say he's not looking for love, okay?" Kasey was way too exhausted to tell Parker the whole story. She slowly sank down on Parker's lap, stretching out on the mattress, yawning.

"But he looks at you with a lot of love, Kay."

"No he doesn't…" was all Kasey managed to mumble before falling asleep, missing Parker's answer.

"I think you're wrong, princess."

The next morning she found herself on the mattresses, wrapped up in a blanket, blended by the sun, shining through the window right into her face. She raised her head, looking for Parker who was lying in his bed, smiling at her.

"Good Morning."

"Morning…"

"I didn't have the heart to wake you up, so I thought you could just as well spend the night here with me."

"Thanks." she smiled at him gratefully. "I really appreciate that. Not only that you let me sleep here. Everything. Your understanding, your reaction. The way you handle this situation. I know I hurt you and I hope you know that's the last thing I wanted to do."

"Of course. I just want us to stay friends, Kasey." He got up and put on a shirt before he went to the stove, putting the kettle on.

"What about breakfast?"

'No, thanks, Parks." Kasey got up, straightening her clothes. "I don't want to abuse your hospitality. And I need some time to think." 

"Sure," he nodded. "And Kay?" Parker turned around to look at her. "I want you to be happy, okay? And if he's the one for you...then I'll be fine. I just want you to know…"

Kasey smiled and walked over to him, hugging him tightly. "Thanks. This means a lot to me."

***

When Kasey left Parker's hut, she unfortunately ran right into Anne, who was on her way to the laundry shack. 

"Uh-huh...you really don't waste any time, do you." Anne greeted her, a smug smile on her face.

"Excuse me?" Kasey decided to play dumb, hoping to avoid a longer conversation. But Anne wasn't willing to do her the favor.

"You and Parker I mean. There were rumours going round that you and him are a thing and obviously it's true. I'm dying to see Tommy's face when he finds out. He's gonna be so pissed and disappointed."

"What?" Kasey didn't even try to hide her annoyance.

"You don't have to act stupid." Anne snapped, her eyes cold. "Our little Casanova is in love with you and I'm not denying it...it's gonna be lots of fun to see him die from jealousy. The big player losing the most important game."

"Wait...what are you talking about, Anne? " Kasey couldn't believe her ears.

"Ooohhhh....you didn't know. He hasn't told you. What a fucking coward." Anne let out a contemptuous snort.

"Anne, I'm really not in the mood for some stupid games, okay? Thomas doesn't do love, just sex and you know that."

"Yeah, that's what I thought until the day before yesterday, when he called me by your name."

"He confused your name with mine...that doesn't mean anything." Kasey crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"He called me Kasey, cuming in my mouth, screaming your name when he orgasmed." Anne said, her voice sharp. "And when I confronted him about it, telling him he loves you right in his face, he didn't even try to deny it. So you better believe me."

Kasey stared at her speechless, unable to think clearly.  "It's gonna be a little awkward to work with him from now on, don't you think?" Anne gave her a triumphant and malicious smile before turning around and walking away without another word, leaving Kasey dazed and confused. It took her a few minutes to think straight again but when she'd finally managed to compose herself she knew there was only one place she could go now. There was only one person who was gonna help her, listen to her, and talk to her with unabashed openness. The only person who really knew her, maybe better than she knew herself. 

*****

When Thomas woke up refreshed and with new strength, his mood was as bright and sunny as the morning. After a night of brooding over the fact that Kasey was on a dinner with Mr Perfect he felt ready for battle now. He was not going to give up that easily.

"Morning, Tommy" Minho greeted, entering their hut with a little basket filled with eggs from their hens.

"Good morning my friend." Thomas was all smiles.

"Wow… you're in a good mood." Minho raised an eyebrow.

"Yep, I am. Tonight's the night. The big party. And I'm finally gonna win Kasey's heart. To hell with Parker Higgins."

Today was the anniversary of the island's discovery and the camp members celebrated it with a big beach party every year. 

"Yeah, man! That's the spirit." Minho gave his friend a high five. He was happy to see Thomas in high spirits, ready to fight for the woman he obviously really loved. Just 12 hours ago Thomas had been a picture of misery, moping and full of jealousy and lovesickness. But now he seemed to be optimistic and eager for action again, which was much more like him.

"So, what's the plan?" Minho wanted to know. He handed the eggs over to Thomas who started to make scrambled eggs for breakfast.

"I'm going to tell her that I love her. No matter what. Even if she's with him now."

"I doubt that. As I said yesterday...the fact that they had dinner together doesn't mean anything."

"Yeah, we'll see. But I better expect the worst so I won't be disappointed… I just want her to know how I feel."

"That's good, Tommy. You belong together, if you find love you gotta grab it." Minho said, setting the table.

"Wise words from a wise man, but what about you?" Thomas turned around, the pan with the eggs in his hand, serving each of them a portion, before sitting down.

"Me? What do you mean?" Minho was visibly confused.

"Are you gonna grab love tonight?"

Minho stared at him, chewing on a piece of bread.

"I don't know what you're talking about, shuck-face."

"I'm talking about Quincy."

Minho dropped his fork, his body stiffening.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Yeah, I heard you, but I don't know what you're getting at." Minho leaned back in his chair with a frown.

"It's just...I think you like Quincy. A lot."

"Oh yeah? How's that?" 

"I don't know,  just a feeling?"

"A feeling?" 

"Yes. The way you look at him. I've never seen you look at someone like this. And you spent a lot of time with him. And…." Thomas hesitated.

"And what?" Minho gave him a challenging look.

"And there are so many girls hitting on you and you don't seem to care a bit. You don't even look at them. You don't have dates and...well...no sex life. You live like a monk, man."

"Well, not everyone feels the need to fuck around, Thomas." Minho snapped, crossing his arms in front of his wide chest.

Thomas leaned forward, looking at his friend.

"I know and I don't want to pry, Minho. It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry."

Minho took his time before answering.

"No, it's okay." He sighed. "I just tried so hard to hide it but it seems I was pretty obvious."

"To me it was obvious but I know you very well. Why would you want to hide it in the first place? You know you could have talked to me."

"Like you talked to me about Kasey?" Minho raised his eyebrows. "It took kind of a nervous breakdown to make you open up to me about her."

"Okay, okay." Thomas grinned. "Maybe we both suck at talking about feelings and stuff."

"Yeah." Minho laughed and the tension between them vanished.

"So you're into men?"

"Yes, shank. You got it." Minho threw a piece of egg at him. "In the glade I fell in love with Ben…"

"You and him were…?"

"No!" Minho interrupted Thomas. "No. He had no idea how I felt."

"Must have been hard for you."

"It was, especially when he was banished. But I never considered myself gay, you know. I thought I fell in love with a boy due to the lack of girls. That once I would meet girls I would eventually fall in love like it's supposed to be." Minho shrugged.

"But you didn't." 

"No. I wanted to. I tried to. But it didn't work. I didn't feel anything more than friendship for any of the girls. And then Quincy came along and somehow I slowly fell for him."

"That's great, Minho."

"Great? Are you kidding me? I don't even know if he's gay too."

"He is." Thomas said grinning.

"Says who?" Minho asked with a sceptical frown.

"Marge. I asked her if Kay and Quince were more than friends and she told me Quincy's not interested in women."

"Oh."

"Yeah...there goes your excuse…"

"It's not only that. I don't know if he likes me at all."

"Then you better find out, man. Tonight."

"In front of everyone? I don't think so." Minho shook his head.

"I'm not saying you should make out with him or something. But you could try to get a little closer to him? Flirt a little?" Thomas suggested.

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Minho grinned.

"Of course you can. And then he flirts back and you get really really close and you leave the party and go to his place…." Thomas smirked. 

"Shut up." Minho said laughing. "Let me take  one step after another, okay?"

****

Kasey arrived at Joe's just a few minutes after her confrontation with Anne. After knocking for the second time without a reaction she started to wonder if he might still be asleep which would be quite unusual for him. He had always been an early-bird, quite the opposite of his twin sister who was a late riser.

She was about to knock again, when Joe opened the door, surprised to see her.

"Sis...what are you doing here?"

Kasey sighed, giving him a sheepish smile.

"I need your advice, Joe. And a coffee."

"Who says I have coffee?" he grinned.

"I can smell it." 

"Got me, come in, Kay." Joe laughed, stepping aside to let her enter his hut.

"Sit down." He offered her a chair and Kasey took a seat. From the corner of her eyes she noticed a movement in Joe's bed, followed by a rustling noise. To her big surprise it was Marjorie that appeared from underneath the bedsheets, stretching and yawning.

"Morning, Kay." she gave her a wink before getting up, standing there completely naked, scanning the room for her clothes. 

Kasey gave Joe a surprised look followed by a big grin. Her brother just bit his lip, shrugging his shoulders, blushing like she'd never seen him blush before.

"I'll leave you to it, guys." Marjorie said while getting dressed. "See you later, Joe." She kissed him tenderly, looking him deep in the eyes. "Yeah, Babe." he mumbled, pressing a sweet kiss on her neck. "Can't wait."

"So you and Marge, huh?" Kasey asked when Marjorie was gone, sipping on her coffee.

"Yeah…" Joe grinned "Me and Marge."

"How long has this been going on?"

"A few weeks." The smile on her brother's face told Kasey how much he was in love without further words. He wasn't much of a talker, especially not regarding his feelings. It was his way of self-protection to keep things to himself. But their bond was strong, and so there was no need to talk, looking at her twin was all it took for Kasey to tell how he was feeling. 

"I have to admit, I didn't see that coming…"

"Neither did I." Joe took a big sip of his coffee, smiling happily. "It simply happened but it's perfect. Marjorie is...perfect."

"That's great, Joe. I'm so happy for you." 

Kasey took her brother's hand, squeezing it.

"Thanks, Kay." He returned the squeeze. "But I don't think you're here to talk about my love life, right? What makes you knock on my door unannounced so early in the morning?"

"It's complicated." she answered with a long deep sigh.

"Is it about Thomas?"

Kasey looked at him, surprised about his guess.

"Yeah. How do you know?"

"To be honest….Marjorie mentioned that she thinks there might be something going on between you. And so I started watching you closely and I totally agree. I don't know exactly what's going on but it's as clear as day that there is a certain tension between you and Tommy."

Kasey got up from her chair walking over to the window, staring out into the bright blue sky.

"Yeah...what's going on between us. That is the question, I guess…"

~~~~~