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umichenginabroad · 4 months

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Week 1: Navigating Around

Hello! Welcome to this week's blog on adapting to Shanghai and navigating around SJTU campus. With my terrible navigation skills and flawed adaptability to new environments, the first week feels like a rollercoaster ride. Defeated feelings of loneliness and self-doubt eventually vanished as I got more comfortable with new friends and learned my way around campus. That’s when the excitement of exploring Shanghai picked up and took over the trill. For this week’s blog, I’m aiming to be more detailed and informative on how I settled into my new home here.

Day 1: I hugged tight onto three packages of bedding sets at the lobby of the international student dormitory, my sole wish at the moment was a much-needed nap. With the help of JI student volunteers, I filled out forms, set up my face ID, and downloaded a very important app called My SJTU. It has a QR code called Siyuan Code with si translated to miss and yuan meaning origin. We use it to enter our dorm, campus gates, and libraries. The app contains many services, including dorm electricity billing, library seats and shuttle bus reservations, dining dollars, etc. Interestingly, half of the app is in Mandarin and the other half is translated to English. I quickly overlooked the details when I finally entered my room on the 11th floor.

The suite was way better than any housing I could hope for at Ann Arbor, prettier than South Quad and more furnished than my apartment on Central Campus. We were lucky to get our own private bedroom with a huge sitting deck in front of the window that captures the sunrise every morning. Hungry and exhausted from the flight to unpack, I joined my cousin Christine in the search for food. We looked up restaurants near us on Gaode Map and found that the nearest restaurant and literally everything is at least a thirty minute walk from our dorm. So I gave up on dinner, headed straight to bed on an empty stomach, and got a full 12 hours of sleep. My body requested a replenishing sleep, and I was still deep in sleep when my suitemate Gracie arrived. Oopsy.

At first, I was overwhelmed by the prospect of walking long distances to eat or go to classes. It is as if I’m stranded on an island, and the thought of isolation discouraged me. The next morning, I finally met Gracie and discovered the conveniences of our dorm. Fortunately, there is a cafeteria on the basement floor and I had steamed meat buns and hard boiled eggs for breakfast. Next to the parking garage, there is also a convenience store, package room, laundry room, and a gym. All the basic amenities except the kitchen are provided. If I wanted to explore more food options, I need to find a way to go outside of this neighborhood.

This is a typical breakfast from the cafeteria in the basement downstairs.

The blue Hellobikes are my solution for cutting the time to campus down to a 20 minute bike ride. They are commonly found on the sidewalks and can be scanned through the Hello app. I purchased the unlimited monthly plan using Alipay with my grandpa’s Chinese bank card. Without family connection, Alipay can also be set up with foreign bank cards, with additional foreign charge for every transaction.

The first weekend’s schedule was dominated by buddy group events. With my buddy’s help, we began checkmarking our to-do list, completing student registrations and applications for bank cards. On Saturday, we had a campus tour and visited the main libraries, a souvenir store, and popular campus sites. We also had lunch at Canteen Two. It’s bigger than South Quad’s dining hall and has more food stations with three floors to explore. There’s a total of seven canteens on campus and I plan to try out all of them. Yay, we’re back to the dining hall exploration era! The meal I had was very cheap after converting it to USD. With the ratio of USD to Chinese Yuan being 7 to 1, I was satiated at a little over $2 USD.

A tiny peek of our beautiful campus.

This is one of the two libraries that we visited. After we entered the building using the student Siyuan Code, we entered the quiet zone. The library vibes clearly didn’t match ours as we walked around leisurely and took pictures of the pretty spiral staircase. With the weekend almost over and classes starting on Monday, I would be joining the students in the quiet study tables soon but I was relieved to be just a tourist that day.

Here's the second library on the SJTU campus, and the front yard is home to a flock of pigeons. I haven’t seen any squirrels in Shanghai, but there are very well-fed pigeons and we were lucky to see two elegant black swans!

My first coffee with my buddy group at Manner’s Coffee. I wanted to try something US doesn't have, so I got the osmanthus (guihua) flavored latte. It was very delicious with a strong flower fragrance.

My first boba tea at HeyTea.

After our buddy events ended, many of us couldn't wait to explore Shanghai. Within the first week, I visited several shopping malls, took the subway to the city and walked around Nanjing Road (a famous shopping district), and had a fun adventure at Shanghai Disney. There are many methods of transportation here, and many are accessible with mobile phones. The must have app is WeChat which I associate as the equivalent of iMessage, Instagram, Uber, and ApplePay combined, with many more useful services offered. Mobile pay have taken over cash and physical credit cards as the dominant payment method in China, so I used WeChat pay for most of my purchases. To navigate around, I use Gaode Map, and it conveniently lists the car hailing services and their prices. After getting to know my way around here, the sprawling city no longer intimidates me and Shanghai becomes so much funner.

As a poor navigator and adaptor to new places, I'm lucky to find groups who are welcoming and equally excited, if not more, enthusiastic to explore the city together. The journey is gaining momentum as classes begin and next week's content will touch on school life in Shanghai. See you all next week!

Vivien Lin

Computer Engineering

UM- Shanghai Jiaotong University Joint Institute

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEShanghai #VivienLin #IPESummer24 #China

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rockwall-tx-first · 2 years

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Texas Elite Remodeling in Rockwall, TX

To find remarkable home remodeler experts, it is necessary to read articles online. One of the best ways to do it is check out blog posts. If you want to make it easier, you can learn more about Texas Elite Remodeling Company. Interestingly, they are dedicated to providing superior customer service. They’ll do it as they strive for complete client satisfaction through their commitment to excellence and exceptional workmanship. Whether you need them for residential or commercial projects, they will ensure quality results at competitive prices. Lastly, they work closely with your vision or architect plans to successfully build to meet all expectations.

Texas Elite Remodeling

These days, finding a remarkable remodeling company isn’t easy. Besides, there are numerous factors to consider, including price, and quality of services, and experience in providing remodeling services. Fortunately, Texas Elite Remodeling provides extraordinary home remodeler services at present. The company has clear-cut process in handling each project, too. First, they will undergo project analysis. They will analyze the details of your project to ensure they have a clear and comprehensive understanding of your vision and overall goals. Second, they will move on to the design process. They, they will provide a plan. After that, the work begins. Lastly, they will provide the best results.

Rockwall, TX

Let’s discuss the early settlers of the Rockwall, TX location. It is interesting to note that the association of Paleo-Indian artifacts with extinct Pleistocene mammal remains in various archeological sites within the Texas Prairie-Savannah Region of eastern North Central Texas, including a site in Collin County, and Clovis points recovered from the Brushy Creek Clovis Site in Hunt County demonstrates that the Rockwall region was occupied by prehistoric Native American cultures at least as far back as 13,500 to 13,000 years ago. More recently, the Rockwall region was occupied by Caddo Indians. Lastly, Creek Indians moved to the area in the early 19th century.

Yellowjacket Park in Rockwall, TX

Yellowjacket Park is a famous tourist spot that is located in the Rockwall, TX location. There are many people from around the world who drop by the travel destination to enjoy exploration. Yellowjacket Park is located off of Yellowjacket Lane behind Hobby Lobby. Besides, there are 3 ballfields available for rental. Field #1 has a pitching mound. Fields #2 and #3 have no mounds. In addition, there are no lights available at Yellowjacket Park. The Yellowjacket baseball fields generally have scheduled league play in the spring and fall seasons. The fields may be reserved for $10 per hour. Lastly, the old playground at Yellowjacket Park has been removed.

More closures planned along I-30 in Rockwall County

There are interesting news reports in Rockwall, TX nowadays. One of the said reports is about road closures along I-30. Based on a recent news report, motorists traveling to and through Rockwall County are again navigating around scheduled closures of Interstate 30 across Lake Ray Hubbard. In addition, the Texas Department of Transportation has announced portions of I-30 will be closed during the overnight periods there were scheduled to continue nightly through Friday morning, March 3, 2023. Besides, a second closure was scheduled starting at 10:00 in the evening Friday through 8:00 in the morning on Saturday and then again 10:00 in the evening on Saturday through 8:00 in the morning on Sunday, March 5, 2023.

Link to maps

Yellowjacket Park W Yellow Jacket Ln, Rockwall, TX 75087, United States Head northwest toward W Yellow Jacket Ln 226 ft Turn left onto W Yellow Jacket Ln 0.7 mi Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto Ridge Rd 1.0 mi Turn left onto Farm To Market Rd 3097/Horizon Rd Pass by Bank of America (Lobby Service Only) (on the right) 2.1 mi Turn right onto Horizon Ct 112 ft Turn left 82 ft Texas Elite Remodeling 1 Horizon Ct Suite C, Rockwall, TX 75032, United States

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years

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“Bank Robber Is Given 18 Year-Prison Term,” North Bay Nugget. January 9, 1933. Page 1 & 2. ---- Sam Ayoub is Sentenced on Double Charge --- Gets 15 Years for Robbery of Bank and Three For Shooting ---- TO RUN CONCURRENTLY ---- Plea of Guilty Offered in One Case; Raise Sanity Question --- A sentence of 15 years at hard labor in Kingston Penitentiary was meted out this morning by Judge J. A. Valin to Sam Essa Ayoub, 26 year old-Kirkland Lake bank bandit, for robbing the Bank of Montreal of about $4,900 on Saturday, Nov. 26, with another sentence of three years to run concurrent with the first one being imposed for wounding Constable J. Belanger with intent to prevent lawful apprehension.

Speedy trial was elected and guilty pleas entered in both cases, but in the robbery case only after evidence had been taken from one witness, D. T. McGuire, bank manager, who testified as the events taking place on the day of the hold-up.

Saved From Lash The fact that the prisoner had received three bullet wounds at the time of his capture about ten hours after the daring hold-up, when he engaged in a gun battle with Constables John Pilgrim and J. Belanger saved him from the additional penalty of the lash frequently meted out in such cases. "I think you have been punished enough physically," Judge Valin stated, commenting on the wounds he received.

Contentions that the acts of Ayoub ware foolish and that he should be punished as a foolish young man, not as a desperado, were made by both John McColeman, defence attorney, and George Mitchell, K. C., Cobalt, but to no avail .The latter suggested he should be given an insanity test.

"The insane question is always an easy one to raise," Judge Valin said, and held that the prisoner was not Insane to the extent that he didn't know what he was doing. "He planned it out and planned it out well," he staled.

The 26 year-old man who so effectively held up the bank on Saturday, Nov. 26, scooping up close to $5,000 in bills and afterwards locking the four members of the staff in the teller's cage and about ten hours later "shot it out" with police, remained calm and cool throughout most of the trial. His face remained expressionless. apart from perhaps a trace of a grin as he arose in the docket to hear the 15 year sentence passed. As he arose to hear sentence passed in the wounding case, however, several tears were noticed to run down his cheeks but he immediately regained control of himself and remained emotionless until taken from the courtroom. The parents Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Ayoub, Kirkland Lake, who were sitting just inside the rail, showed no signs of emotion throughout the hearing.

The courtroom and lobby were taxed to capacity, while dozens were turned away by ten o'clock when court was opened.

Following the reading of the robbery charge by Judge Valin, the defence elected speedy trial and the plea being reserved, the taking of evidence was begun.

Citing events as they took place on the day of the robbery, D. T. McGuire told of being called to the accountant's desk and, on meeting Ayoub, there being requested to give the man, whom he identified as the prisoner, an interview in his private office. "Mr. Ayoub met me with two guns," he said, and went on to tell how he was barked into the larger office where, along with the other three members of the staff, he was backed Into the vault. Repeated attempts of the man to lock the vault door had failed, he testified.

"Were you able to see what ha was doing while in the vault?" the Crown Attorney asked. "No, sir, I couldn't see him," was the reply. Ayoub had returned, shoving bills into his pockets and then herded the four into the teller's cage he went on.

Dennis Roy, teller, had turned over the cake key to the bandit and when the latter demanded over the cage key to the bandit ring, McGuire had cautioned the teller not to tarn them, over the witness stated. "He than pulled his knife." The keys were then turned over to him. "He slammed the door of the cage told us to keep quiet and went out," McGuire said.

"Are you able to show there was any amount of money taken?" “I can prove our cash was short," the witness said. He further testified that the money was there before Ayoub appeared and also to the effort that the bank revolver found on Ayoub was in the bank prior to the robbery.

Mr. Mitchel, K. C., speaking, he said, in sympathy for the accused, and on behalf of the parents, suggested to the court at this point that both charges should be combined in one trial. The punishment for one would be sufficient, he added. Judge Valin pointed out that the prisoner had elected only on one charge, therefore he could only touch on the one then.

Been there Previously Further questioned by John McColeman, defence counsel, Mr. McGuire admitted being informed after the robbery by Miss Burton and Mr. McGowan, staff members that the robber had been in the bank before 12 o’clock closing time. The man had made no threats, he said.

“He made no motion to harm you with it?" McColeman asked referring to Ayoub's action in drawing the knife when the teller delayed in handing over keys. "No, he just drew it out,” the witness said. The witness admitted that the loud dress of the man Indicated he hadn't attempted to conceal his Identity. Mr. Mitchell, continuing where McColeman left off, asked the witness if he noticed anything about the accused at the time of the holdup that would be no indication of insanity. The witness replied in the negative. Crown Attorney McKee objected to the question, stating the questioner was not an authority on the subject of insanity.

Crown Attorney McKee pointed out that the accused had stated $150 of the money found In his possession was his own and asked the judge to order the money to be returned to the bank. There was $4,846 on his person when captured, it was staled, while the bank claimed to be short $4867.72. Mr. Mitchell said the parents would supply the difference Judge Valin ordered the money turned over to the bank along with the revolver stolen.

"We're not offering any evidence,” John McColeman stated. Crown Attorney McKee said there wasn't, to his knowledge, any previous convictions and that the only thing he had to say was that sentence be passed.

Not Sane Act "Walking into the bank on Saturday morning and doing what he did without any chance of escape, he was certainly not thae type of mentality that could be called normal,” Mr Mitchell, Cobalt, said in addressing the court. Continuing he asked that when sentence was imposed that there be a rider to the effect that the prisoner be examined to ascertain whether he should be confined to prison or to an asylum. He touched on the previous good character of the prisoner and also of the good standing of his parents.

John McColeman, suggested that a man with a deeply criminal mind would not do what Ayoub did, mainly walk around the city during the morning meeting with people resulting in the police being able to quickly secure a description and attempt to escape via the woods in the street clothes he was wearing. “If he was of the desperate bank robber type would he do this?" he asked, pointing out that he was unmasked and had even stopped to apologize to Miss Burton, bank employe. He suggested that Ayoub should be punished as a foolish young man or as Mr. Mitchell suggested be watched. “Is it the act of a man who for some reason or other is impulsive?"

Was Planned Out Crown Attorney McKee contended that Ayoub's actions in visiting the bank before closing time indicated the plan was premeditated and well thought out The fart that he had no vehicle with which to escape indicated pure boldness, which nearly proved successful, he said.

Prior to passing sentence, Judge Valin told accused that the law allowed for giving life with the lash in such cases. "That's one of the most serious crimes there is," he said. "Maybe there is insanity but it's not shown," he continued, adding "if I send you to an institution they will look after that."

"I feel we ought to re-elect now on the wounding charge and enter a plea," McColeman stated after the passing of sentence adding that "the plea will be a guilty one in any event."

A short period elapsed before the hearing in the second case, McColeman made a plea for a short sentence and asked that It he made to run concurrent with the first one. The same plea was also made by Mr. Mitchell, K.C., who suggested that due to the excitement following the hold-up, Ayoub didn't think of what he was doing.

[AL: Ayoub was 26, unmarried, born in Beirut, an immigrant in 1924 via New York to Canada - he was naturalized and had converted to the Church of England. He had no previous convictions. As noted in some of the previous Ayoub coverage, he was a former retail merchandise clerk who had left his job and staged these robberies under somewhat mysterious circumstances - hence the argument for an insanity plea. The prison doctor thought his mentality was normal and there was nothing wrong with him. He was convict #2926 at Kingston Penitentiary, and worked in the mail bags, but due to an act of insolence and refusing orders in late 1934 was transferred to the East Cell Block or segregation. There, on January 1936 he was reported for fighting with another convict and lost five days remission. This was only his second report for breaking prison regulations. There he worked as a cleaner, but in July 1938 was selected for transfer to Manitoba Penitentiary to relief overcrowding at Kingston Penitentiary. There he was convict #4209. In June 1942 he was x-rayed in Winnipeg, due to illness, and shortly thereafter was released - possibly due to medical reasons, but also because he accumulated considerable amounts of ‘good time’ - remission earned off his sentence.]

#north bay #kirkland lake #armed robbery #armed robber #bank robbery #bank robber #shooting a policeman #shoot out #northern ontario #insanity plea #syrian immigration to canada #syrian canadians #resisting arrest #sam ayoub #sentenced to the penitentiary #kingston penitentiary #great depression in canada #crime and punishment in canada #history of crime and punishment in canada

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pinkgameboys · 2 years

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Oh yeah I posted it on Twitter since I have a bigger following there and it was a d0n@tion post because I'm pretty fucked rn but uhhhh over the weekend apparently some worthless cuck piece of shit skimmed one of our cards and used it to spend FIVE FUCKING HUNDRED DOLLARS on a big dinner and a night out at the bar. 200$ at texas god damn roadhouse and 300$ at a fucking shitty grody downtown bar. We've been dealing with the bank trying to get it all refunded and once we get it back we're closing the account. But it's been a fucking nightmare.

We found the first 200$ charge that fully drained out account on Saturday night and then found out our bank has ZERO customer/fraud support outside of lobby hours and there is ZERO way to dispute charges through the app or website so we just had to sit and wait until Monday morning. Go in monday, blah blah they swiped a physical card supposedly and since we have our cards it must be a fake copy. Cancel that card and wait for a refund.

12 hours later we get that refund late last night and cool okay I guess we'll be okay. Wake up this morning to see that the 4 charges totaling 300$ went through now. Call cops and file a police report because now we're gonna be filing criminal charges against this guy as best we can. Back to the bank, find out that those charges were put in on Saturday night they just didn't go through because we didn't have the money to cover them but once we got our refund and I got one of my work paychecks, we now had enough money to pay those charges. File the report for the refund, cancel my card too and pull all the remaining cash out. Go to Wells Fargo to open a new account and we have to come back with an appointment because they're understaffed.

Oh also my paycheck has been the exact same since I started but this month is 110$ short and I've yet to get an explanation for why.

So anyway now it's just a shitty waiting game. Oh and another oh also, this all happened a few days before our power bill is due which means that's now gonna be a major hassle to deal with because both cards are cancelled and we don't have a new account yet. It's due the day after our Wells Fargo appointment and getting our power shut off due to nonpayment can get us evicted. I'd guess they might make an exception for us like they would if the power company had a sudden issue and wouldn't take payment but that doesn't really help how stressed I am.

And one more oh also, the paycheck I'm short on is the one for my car payment. Since I'm short, I don't have the money to pay my car payment this month until this gets fixed with my work. Fucking cartoonish levels of bonkers.

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sabineelectricheart · 2 years

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Weekend at Catskill [Pt. 2]

Summary: Lynette prepares herself for the role of a lifetime, but warns Raul of what may go wrong.

Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 1008

Notes: Part 2. They arrive at the hotel. I hope you like it!

During their ride to the countryside on Friday afternoon, Lynette knew that she was supposed to feel excited for what they were about to do. However, with each passing moment, the doubts she tried to ignore and push away caught up with her, until she felt like she was suffocating in them. Their trip there, in short, had been quiet and tense.

The town where they would be filming was small and quaint, up in the Catskills Mountains. It had the typical Winter holiday colony feel: North European architecture, expensive boutiques and plenty of gourmet restaurants along the narrow streets. The resort which the production booked was also very comfortable, with pools, a spa, beauty technicians at their disposal, and a very well-manicured garden for a short walk.

The psychologist had barely slept the night before, as her brain tormented with way too many thoughts. Even if she did not actually need the rest, but it would be nice to have it anyways.

She had not met Raul on Saturday during most of the day. She does not know the details of the film project that they were undertaking at the mountains, but he had told her that it was a found-footage horror film about a group of hikers that get lost at the Catskills and find refuge on an abandoned resort. The studio was banking hard on that movie, but it was another new experience for him.

Regardless of what one may think at first regard, Raul is very serious about his acting craft. For a person that looks for the easy way out in every other situation in life, he is willing to put on a lot of effort to give good performances, and he is always keen for a new challenge. He had never done Horror before, and it would be a hurdle to overcome. This time, thankfully, his agent has not asked of her to be his method acting teacher.

Since they could not spend any time together, Lynette scheduled her day back-to-back with individual activities. Anyone would love to spend their weekend in such a hotel, pampering oneself, but she was not there to relax, but rather to do her own sort of method acting.

She spent her time in the hotel spa, going through all sorts of beauty treatments and relaxation massages. Later, she walked around town, shopping for clothes that suited her and presented an appropriate image, that would make her appearance and demeanour believable on the role of a famous actor’s girlfriend, enough to pass the scrutiny of other masters of their craft. Her friend had insisted for her to take his credit card, but she refused, preferring to pay for her purchases out of pocket.

Finally, it was time for the show, but Lynette feels in a worse shape than she was when she left Los York thirty-six hours prior. When she went downstairs to meet her co-conspirator for the night at the lobby, her eyes were bloodshot and she could feel a nasty, stress acne forming somewhere between her eyebrows.

Suddenly all the perfect images she pictured, with careful consulting from Claris in Los York seemed pathetic. The outfit she had picked out, her make-up, her nails, choice of shoes, purse, nothing felt like it was good enough.

Even before Raul parked his car in front of a fancy restaurant with the name she struggled to pronounce, she had the feeling of nausea piling all the way to her throat. Her hands clammy and her shoulders heavy.

What am I doing? She thought repeatedly.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Lynette whispered, deject.

She walked past her date when he held the doors open for her while trying not to trip on the soft, red-tinted carpet that covered the floor.

“Relax.” He smirked a little at her, trying to ease her anxiety. “Just imagine we’re going to Happy Forest Café, just like we always do. The only difference about tonight is that we’ll be holding hands.”

“Emma Winston doesn’t go to Happy Forest Café, and I don’t run the risk of someone calling me a rat when I ask for a cappuccino over there.” The pink-haired woman argued back.

“Focus on me, and we’ll be fine.” Raul stopped, taking her hand in his as if it was the most normal thing, making her heart skip a beat. “Oh, by the way, I also might give you a kiss or two on your temple like I do when you make that veggie Bolognese for me, so don’t be surprised when it happens.”

“Jupiter preserve me.” She whispered under her breath.

“Lynette, the god of deceit is Mercury, and no-one needs to preserve you. Just remember to act naturally.” He added with a wink.

“Raul, I am afraid that…” The woman breathed out before taking a halt and making him glance at her. “I’m afraid that your castmates will take one look at us, and they will know that this is fake. You’ll be humiliated. It’s better to turn around now.”

“Why do you say that?” The blond actor asked through a small chuckle, gently tugging at her hand, urging for her to start walking again.

Lynette did not know how to phrase it in such a way that was eloquent, descriptive and not too pathetic, but it was gnawing at her for so long that she could not hold it in anymore.

“It’s obvious, no?” She scoffed, in derision of herself. “I’m a 55, remember? A rat, I guess. I’m not fashionable, and I’m a bit of a disaster with etiquette and fine dining. I am way out of your league, and they know it.”

Raul refused to say anything about her statement, but rather gave her a look that she could not read before looking back in front of him, an almost indistinguishable scowl on his face.

“You know, we shouldn't make them wait.” He elected to respond to her commentary, pulling her along with him towards the table.

Lynette decided to prepare for the worse.

*_*_*_*_*

Weekend at Catskill Masterlist

Cupid Parasite Masterlist

#cupid parasite #Raul Aconite

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mycryptosuite · 2 years

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aidenoconnell · 3 years

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too close for comfort

Aiden was banking on staying in on a Saturday night. Put on a movie, order in some food and pass out at a decent hour. Yet Kat puts in group chat that there’s a party going on with the other university across town and apparently it’s supposed to be one of the best of the year. One text turns into fifty and now somehow they’re all going to this party even though it’s kind of cold outside and Aiden doesn’t really want to party with the other school.

Fine, he grabs a crewneck sweater and pulls it in, typing up his shoes as well. Maybe they won’t stay that long, or he hopes so at least. Maybe Luci will be understanding that he’ll go for a drink or two then make his way out. He’s got work he could do, prep for mid-terms or continuously think about whether he’s skipping all of the winter semester and going to New York. Thinking about it for too long make his brain pulse unpleasantly.

Aiden throws on a jean jacket and climbs down the stairs to the lobby to meet with everyone else. He half smiles as he greets them all, reluctantly beginning to follow as Kat leads the pack.

#para27 too close for comfort

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piracytheorist · 4 years

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A Kiss for Good Luck (4/14)

Summary: So this is the story of one born lucky, and one born unlucky. Fate will keep making them cross paths, but is it to bring them together, or to test them? Captain Swan AU.

A/N: Prepare thyselves, here be angst. And warnings. Next update will come on Saturday, then from next week updates will come every Tuesday and Friday.

Rating: T (make sure you’re okay with the warnings) Warnings: This chapter contains minor character death, cancer, child abandonment, and some minor child abuse.

Word count for this chapter: 2.6k (47k in total) AO3

Read from the beginning: Tumblr | AO3

Chapter 4: Killian Jones, August 11th 1995 – October 31st 2000

Killian doesn't expect to get the girl's name from two policemen who were searching for her. They say she was sneaking out and that they need to get her back home.

He looks at her as she's leaving; her head is low and she doesn't look back at him.

He steps away from the children still playing. He's not in the mood anymore, he's feels more like... eating something... or running to the bathroom to puke. He's not really sure.

He's certain he knows his first hardship on the difficult trip back to England. While still at the airport in Boston, his mother keeps saying something about an "immigration office" as she talks to his father on a payphone, eventually hanging up angrily. She apologizes to Killian and tells him they'll figure things out soon.

They miss their flight. He's too tired to calculate but he's sure they stay in the airport for more than a day, hardly getting any sleep on the hard chairs of the lobby. He's lucky he's got his mama's lap to rest his head on, at least.

He spends a few good hours trying to remember the girl's name; Liam would be so curious to find out about his younger brother's first kiss, and he can't even remember her name! Anna? Enya? No, he would've remembered such a name.

After even more hours they reach home tired, unwashed and hungry, and for the first time he hears his parents fight.

That same night, still shaken by hearing the fight, he goes to his brother's room. They just sit together, looking at Liam's star light that projects constellations on the ceiling. He thought that, upon coming back, he'd spend hours telling him everything about the summer school, and Boston, and having his first kiss, and flying on a plane... instead they just sleep next to each other, and for the first time he understands why some of his friends had said that they sleep with their parents after a nightmare.

That night is, actually, the first time Killian ever has a nightmare.

It only takes a week. He would later consider it the calm before the storm. Calm, or more like quiet, because his friends don't talk to him much, which he interprets as jealousy because he had the trip and they didn't.

But the storm hits exactly one week after they've gotten back; his mother passes out while coming home from work. Some long hours of Liam babysitting him later, his father brings her home from the hospital.

He's never seen their faces so saddened before.

He has so many questions, ones that fifteen-year-old Liam apparently doesn't. Like, what cancer is, and why it's bad that it's fast-acting. What is chemo and why is it too late for it to have effect? Why does mama have to stay in bed so much?

"How long will you stay in bed?" he asks that out loud.

"A few months," his father says.

Another question; why is mama not talking at all?

"And then you'll be up, mama?"

She looks at him, and tears fall from her eyes. She stands up slowly, sits between her two sons on the couch and holds them close.

Killian cannot explain it, but somehow, he knows. Somehow, the knowledge sets itself in his mind as if it were always there.

That October 24th is the most underwhelming birthday he has had. He's so used to big parties and celebrations and gifts, that a simple cake shared between the four of them around the quiet table feels out of place for a birthday.

They never tell him anything, but it doesn't come as a surprise when two weeks before Christmas his father starts preparing a black attire for himself and the boys.

He takes one black dress for mama, too, though Killian knows someone else will put it on her.

The house is silent when they leave for the funeral, and it feels even more silent when they come back.

Killian has a feeling that it will never stop being that.

This night it's Liam who comes into Killian's room and sleeps next to him.

Time becomes a blur; it's one of the days where Liam sleeps next to him that Killian wakes up early, and father isn't home. He doesn't worry much, he just tries to spend time on the TV. Only one channel has signal, and though normally Killian hates listening to the news, he prefers that over the silence now.

He remembers it's a Saturday, but father still hasn't come home when Liam wakes up and takes up making breakfast for the two of them. Killian offers to help, but he burns his hand trying to make an omelette and Liam, with a patience Killian doesn't think he deserves, takes over for him.

Had Killian known more, he would have realized that on any other day he would be getting stressed and angry. Instead, he feels empty – almost as if anticipating the news that, by two days later, become a reality.

Their father left them. He took clothes and personal documents, withdrew all the money they had in the bank, including Killian's and Liam's college funds, and apparently sold their home two days before he left.

Killian didn't cry at mama's funeral. He didn't cry when the social worker confirmed that father had left by his own choice and left them with nothing. But when they tell him that there aren't any foster families that will take both brothers together, Killian breaks down sobbing.

He can't... he can't lose him too.

"I'll visit, brother," Liam says, his voice shaking. "I will call you every day."

Killian trembles in his brother's arms. He'd rather not have a home than not have him right now. He's all he has left.

But the social workers don't seem to care. They pull Killian away – and damn Liam, why isn't he holding onto him? Why is he letting go?! – and put the two brothers in two separate cars.

It's three long but empty weeks before the phone rings and for the first time, it's Killian they ask for.

Mr. Silver doesn't look happy when Killian reaches the phone – not that he ever looks happy when Killian is concerned. He gives him the receiver with a frown.

"Don't take too long," he whispers at him and Killian fights back a shiver.

"Hello?"

"Killian!"

"Oh, Liam! Where are you? Are you coming? I miss you."

"I know, brother. I'm sorry. They took me to Bristol."

"Bristol?! How?! That's too far away!"

"I know. Maybe I can convince someone to drive me to London."

"I miss you. Please come."

"I miss you too. I'll try."

"Come where, Jones?" Mr. Silver's strict voice is heard from the other room.

"Bollocks," Killian whispers.

"Killian!"

"Oh, shut up. You have no idea how much that guy curses."

Mr. Silver appears in the hall right in front of Killian. "I asked you a question, Jones."

"It's- it's my brother, sir."

"You're not answering my question."

Killian swallows hard. "He- he said he may visit one day."

Mr. Silver snorts. "Not in here. Make it quick, now. I'm waiting for a call."

He doesn't leave, instead he stands there, arms crossed, and this time Killian can't stop the shiver down his spine.

"Killian," Liam's calm voice comes from the phone.

"Yes?"

"Is that man treating you right?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Does he hit you?"

Killian grabs the phone tightly. He's never heard his brother's voice like this. "No." Not yet, he thinks. He's seen how he pulls at the bigger boys' ears when they aren't behaving.

He chances a glance at Mr. Silver, regretting it immediately. His eyebrows are raised suspiciously and he makes a gesture with his hand towards the receiver.

"I gotta go. Try to- please." He doesn't dare say much with that man so close to him.

"I will. I promise, brother. I love you."

"Me too. Goodnight."

He doesn't get a goodnight back. Mr. Silver grabs the receiver and hangs up.

"Move," he says, picking it back up and dialing.

It takes two more months for Liam to actually visit, but Silver doesn't let them go further than the playground a couple blocks away, with him sitting on the bench across from the swings where the brothers sit.

Killian is still young, but his mind is hardening enough to start knowing better. Silver is not suitable for a foster parent, but maybe it's not a coincidence that the other two boys in the house have already sullied criminal records.

"You're not gonna be like them," Liam says.

"Can't I come to Bristol too? Isn't there room in your house?"

"I've talked to the social worker, but I don't know how this works. She says it's not that easy."

"You're lucky," Killian says, looking down at his feet. "My social worker won't answer my calls." When I do get time for a phone call, he thinks.

"Hey, I'm still here. We may be far, but we're both still here. We'll get through this. My foster father said that when I turn sixteen he may let me help around his brother's gas station. I'll make some money, I'll find a job, and when I turn eighteen, I'll do my damnedest to get custody of you."

Killian feels tears well up in his eyes, but he quickly blinks them away. He can't let Silver see him like this.

Empty weeks turn into empty months, and those turn into empty years. Killian changes foster homes, never getting closer to Liam's, but eventually he gets in some kind of trouble – biting back at school bullies, staying out late, getting caught with alcohol – and he always finds himself back to Silver's house.

It's there that he feels the most empty, the most lost. It's only Liam's occasional phone calls, less occasional visits, and the hope that he'll get a job and get them a home for themselves that keeps Killian afloat.

There are times he wonders how things could turn out like this. He used to be happy. Things used to go well for him, he had a bright future... he had a family, a home. Now he's resorted to just waiting until he's old enough to take some control over his life, no matter how little.

And the more time goes by, the more he feels his patience running out.

Nothing is permanent in his life, nothing is stable. Homes come and go. Liam comes and goes. Having only a miserable plastic bag to keep his stuff in, most of the drawings he makes to pass the time end up in the trash. His mother was the one who encouraged him to draw and hang his pieces all over his bedroom walls. Keeping them now only serves as a reminder of what he's lost.

The only thing he actually treasures is the photo of himself, Liam, and their mother, which he managed to grab just in time while the social workers were urging him to pick up only the essentials from his childhood home. As it almost was victim of being ripped to pieces by whatever bully targeted him, he now keeps it in the most uninteresting place he could have thought of; his math notebook.

After turning eighteen, Liam finally moves in London, but he's working two jobs and only has time once a week, for a few hours, to visit Killian.

Killian doesn't celebrate his fifteenth birthday. Not that Silver would care if Killian had asked for a celebration. And when, just two days later, the police call him to come recognize his brother's body after he was killed in a work accident, Killian finds the lack of celebration so fitting that he actually bursts into laughter. He laughs and laughs until his chest starts hurting and he's on his knees, shaking but unable to call for any help.

Silver is still talking to the police on the phone, shouting at him to stop being a brat. It's Ed, the only boy older than Killian in the house, that kneels down to him and slaps him, getting him out of his hysterics.

Killian struggles to hold on, but his resolve breaks into pieces when the doctor raises the sheet covering Liam's body. He doesn't have any care left about Silver seeing him crying and sobbing like this.

One last broken hope he had, that Silver might give a damn after seeing him so devastated, is gone too after that.

It's just that one time; for the next two years that he stays under that horrible man's roof, he cultivates a cool, careless exterior, while his pillow soaks his silent tears almost every night.

At least, Silver doesn't care much for Killian causing trouble, like trespassing, breaking curfew, or even drinking. He just gives him the ceremonious slap and goes on with his day.

So Killian doesn't think too much before deciding to sneak out and into the Halloween party on the other side of the city that Ella – or Cruella, as the kids in the house call her – the first girl in the house in years, suggests they go to. With his meager savings he puts together a pirate costume, puts a thick line of black around his eyes with the eye pencil he borrowed from Cruella, and together they hot-wire the first car they find and drive to the extravagant villa where the party is at.

At first glance, Cruella scoffs and searches around the house for booze.

"I can't believe there's adults here. What was the point?!"

It's a good thing Killian got an eyepatch. The pencil irritates his eye and he has to wash it off in the bathroom, then cover his reddened, smudged eye with the patch. His other eye isn't done and the eyepatch looks weird on the side it's on, but the lights are so low that probably no-one will notice. He doesn't expect anyone to look at him long enough to notice, anyway.

Like any other party, he feels like an outsider, but he doesn't care. He dances by himself while occasionally looking around to check if Cruella found the alcohol. Instead he spots a girl, probably his age and dressed as a zombie princess, who is looking at him. Like, looking looking.

He doesn't connect the feeling in his stomach with the one he'd felt at that game of spin the bottle so many years ago. He's so older, his mind burdened with such darker thoughts, that right now it's confusing to feel an unknown emotion that isn't scraping away at his soul.

And the girl is walking to him, just as a ballad comes on.

"Wanna dance?" she says.

He just offers his hand. His mouth feels so dry he fears his voice won't come out if he tries to say anything.

He heard the term 'butterflies in one's stomach' before, but he had no clue it would feel like this, so overwhelmingly confusing but making him happy at the same time. The girl is smiling at him as they slow dance, and he reckons, so is he. From the corner of his eye he spots Cruella, holding a cup that most definitely doesn't have a plain fizzy drink or juice in it, but he can't tear his gaze away from the girl. There's something familiar about her bright eyes, whose colour he can't decipher in the red and purple lights.

Her expression is soft; her smile falls, but not out of any sadness. The song draws to an end, and suddenly her lips are on his.

#Killian Jones #Captain Swan #captain swan ff #cs ff #ouat ff #akfgl #captain swan movie marathon #also: I don't have a tag list #but I can tag people if they want to keep up :)#so if you want to be tagged just message me!#piracytheorist writes

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writingmyselfout · 3 years

Text

Because I Could Not Stop for Death - Chapter Ten

Language: English

Rating: Teen+

Pairing: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter

Tags: AU - Canon Divergence, Reptilia28′s Don’t Fear the Reaper Challenge, Manipulative Dumbledore, Black Hermione Granger, Slight Ron Weasley Bashing

Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Chapter 10: Gimme Some Truth

Summary: The will.

MINERVA McGonagall was not generally known for impatience. In fact, quite the opposite: she was quite possibly one of the most patient women in the world, Muggle or otherwise. So it is with an uncharacteristic sense of impatience that she wakes early Saturday morning to get ready for her day back in London. When she realizes just how early, she forces herself to take her time with eating breakfast before taking the time to leave a reminder to her prefects and the Head Girl, a Gryffindor 7th year girl, that she would be away from the castle most of the day and they were to reach out to either Professor Flitwick or Professor Snape should the need arise.

In truth, she doesn’t anticipate anything of great importance occurring on the first weekend of the school year, but she’d also been teaching for long enough to know that when it came to hundreds of adolescent witches and wizards, it was best to prepare for the worst just in case.

She considers, briefly, letting the headmaster know of her plans but opts not to. His own weekends were usually busy, often resulting in him rarely leaving his office or leaving the school altogether for business elsewhere. Even if this were one weekend in which he was free enough to note her absence, she’s not inclined to give him advance notice of her plans. Perhaps it was paranoia, but considering his attempt to maintain guardianship over Harry, she thinks it possible that he might try to dissuade her from looking into the will, which she was determined to do.

Finally, she heads out. The school’s security measures means she’s unable to leave directly from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley. Instead, she goes into Hogsmeade, greets a yawning Rosmerta in the Three Broomsticks, and borrows her fireplace to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron in London. Most of the shops that made up Diagon Alley kept regular opening and closing hours, including those on Horizont Alley, Knockturn Alley, and Carkitt Market--side shopping areas--with only a few exceptions. Among those exceptions were the Owl Post Office and the Gringotts Money Exchange in the Carkitt Market, and the Healer Shop, Leaky Cauldron and Gringotts Bank directly on Diagon Alley, which were open all day, every day, for the convenience of their patrons. Some of the locations on Knockturn Alley likewise kept such hours, but McGonagall was not one to frequent that district, so which is knowledge she does not, nor cares to, possess.

What matters is that at eight o’clock in the morning, there are few out and about on Diagon Alley, but Gringotts Bank stands at attention at the end of the street, ready for its customers at all hours. And at this particular hour, there are few enough people even within the bank to ensure that she can be attended with little to no delay.

If there is one thing about Gringotts to be appreciated above all else, it is their efficiency. The goblins are not interested in wasting time, and are remarkably good at ensuring that all spells corresponding with Hogwarts and Ministry of Magic records are always working so their own documents are always up to date. They therefore are already well aware that guardianship has moved from the Headmaster to Harry Potter’s Head of House, one Minerva McGonagall.

Upon stating her business, a goblin by the name of Nagnok is called to lead McGonagall to a room off of the main lobby. It’s a small office, with two chairs facing a desk behind which there is a chair, then a set of drawers set against the wall next to a back door. She’s instructed to take a seat as they would return shortly with the documents in question, then they leave through the back door. They are gone for less than five minutes when they return with a large envelope which, in place of a wax seal, has a string and button seal. Nagnok takes a seat at the desk, modified so that he is eye-level with the witch, and passes the envelope across the desk.

McGonagall looks at the envelope for a moment, then undoes the tie to open it. Inside, tied neatly together, is a small stack of papers with two envelopes slightly smaller than the one they’d been in sitting on top. She undoes that tie as well, places the original envelope and tie to one side, then separates the items before her. She sets down first one envelope, then the next, and finally the pages in a stack together.

The first letter has Harry’s name written across it. When she flips it over, there is a gold wax seal with the image of a crest pressed into it. McGonagall realizes she has never seen the Potter family crest; had in fact never thought, as with most wizarding families, that there was none. The practice dated back to the twelfth century, and with the exception of families that had dealings with Muggle royals and received recognition from them, wizards and witches typically earned them for great contributions to the wizarding world after which the crest was magically included in Muggle records so as to avoid its use among Muggle nobles. McGonagall doesn’t quite remember when its usage fell out of favor and stopped being bestowed, simply that it was mostly only seen for institutions. Each wizarding school, for instance, and Gringotts as well as the Daily Prophet possessed their own heraldry. Not that she could recall what it looked like, but she was certain some of the older, wealthier families such as the Blacks and Malfoys similarly possessed their own unique family crest and coat of arms.

She runs her fingers over the wax, feeling the small indentations of the different charges on the small shield imprinted there, and Nagnok advises, “That is spelled to only allow Mr. Potter to open the letter.”

“I’ve no interest in reading a private letter addressed to my student,” McGonagall informs him, setting the letter aside. The second has no name written on the outside, and the wax seal on the back on this one is red and broken, indicating it had been opened before. She assumes by Albus, and she opens it and pulls out a folded parchment, surprised to find it completely blank. “Is there nothing written in this one?”

“As you can see, it is blank, but we were instructed to include it unaltered with the other letter and will. Albus Dumbledore also did not know what to do with it.” Nagnok grinned, amused, and McGonagall had a feeling that he took enjoyment at their befuddlement. There was likely a spell of some sort that only the guardian, or guardians, James and Lily had wanted for their son would know how to surpass.

She put the blank parchment away, setting it aside with Harry’s letter, and turning at last to the will itself. The topmost page was clearly the bank’s, providing information on when the will was last altered, when it went into effect, the date it was first accessed, and a blank spot at the bottom denoting when will was fully carried out. As she set the page aside, magically adding today’s date as the last time the will was accessed.

The details too small to see on the wax seal without much closer inspection were now enlarged and clearly visible. The next page had the full coat of arms and crest in all its magicked glory at the top of the page, before the official writing announcing the document to be the last will and testament of James Potter and Lily Jade Potter nee Evans. The shield of the coat of arms is black, with one large green chevron and three gold chevronelles. At the bottom is an open, azure book with black script that appears briefly, only to disappear again. The coat is charged with three red stags in the right corner, and two grapevines with a wheatsheaf, all three tawny in color, in the left corner. Above the shield, a stag with a caduceus makes up the crest, standing on a wreath of black, green, and gold, with a banner over it with the family motto in Latin. Briefly, she thinks she sees a hint of silver on the edges but the outline of the shield is black, and the lions on either side are gold with a red sash. She’s confident that the lions, considering their colors, are meant to represent Gryffindor, and she smiles. James had once mentioned, while Lily was pregnant, that he was sure to give McGonagall another Gryffindor to look after as all his family had been Gryffindors. She wishes she could tell him he’d been right.

She moves on, not wanting to dwell on things she could not change, and begins to skim through the documents. The will isn’t particularly long, so much as it is filled with legal jargon that makes it tedious to read. Ultimately, it outlines what items constitute the Potter estate, with related legal documents where necessary included with the will. Among such items was a London property that dated back to the 1600s, the cottage in Godric’s Hollow which was an ancestral home older than the London property, and the Gringotts vault, and the two deeds and Gringotts contract for each. There was also a small list of family heirlooms, with equal parts valuable and sentimental items, with a note as to whether it should be found at one of the properties or within the vault.

All of this McGonagall skims over, until she finally reaches the section she’s been looking for, which states that should James and Lily pass before Harry was of age, guardianship is to be passed on to his godfather, Sirius Black III. In the event that he is unable to carry out his duties, Harry is to be given into the care of Frank C.J. Longbottom and Alice Longbottom, or Remus John Lupin. There is not a single mention of Lily’s sister anywhere to be found.

Then there is a section regarding the funds in the vault. Once Harry’s old enough to go to Hogwarts, he’s allowed access to the vault directly, but until such time his key and the funds were to be overseen by his guardian. In that, Dumbledore had been adhering to the will, since he’d had the key, and it probably had been best to not give it to the Dursleys. McGonagall cannot imagine the Muggle pair coming to Diagon Alley to stand face-to-face with goblins, but stranger things had been known to happen in the pursuit of wealth. Granted, as she continues reading and notes that in order to protect Harry’s interests, funds removed from the Potter vault by anyone other than Harry would require an annual accounting to verify its use was in regards to needs directly associated with raising Harry, with a generous allowance to accommodate additional expenditures not directly related to Harry, but likely intended in the case of Harry going to one of his parents’ bachelor friends who might not be able to work as much if they were single-handedly raising a child.

“I have some questions,” McGonagall finally says to the goblin, who has been looking over papers and now looks up at her. “At the time of their deaths, all of the people noted here as possible guardians for Harry Potter would have been perfectly capable of carrying out those duties and being notified. Why, then, was Mr. Potter’s physical guardianship passed on to relatives not provided in the will, and magical guardianship given to Albus?”

“That would be the doing of your Ministry of Magic,” Nagnok informs her, the tone and sneer on his face making it clear how he feels about their interference. “Emergency provisions were put into place to allow for government intervention in the carrying out of wills and guardianship where they felt it best served the safety of the wizarding community, the Statute of Security, and-or the individual or individuals involved.” He’s clearly reciting the mandate from memory. “This was to be effective for two years starting October of the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty-one. It was extended an additional six years, and finally expired just prior to the current Minister of Magic taking office. Instead, it was decided that the provision would only continue to apply to Mr. Potter due to the extraneous circumstances, and there was no interest in challenging it.”

Of course there hadn’t been; the boy’s Muggle relatives were oblivious to the fact that he’d inherited a fortune, or that there had been a will at all left behind. McGonagall had a feeling that, had they known guardianship had been meant for others, they might have jumped at the chance to pass Harry off. It annoyed her to think that Albus had used his influence as such, and prevented Harry from going where he might have been wanted.

He could argue, for instance, that by doing so he had saved Harry from falling into the hands of his godfather, Sirius. However, Frank and Alice Longbottom had been perfectly capable at the time of taking in Harry. And with a child of their own the same age, Harry would have had at least a few happy years before the Longbottoms were captured and tortured by rogue Death Eaters fleeing the law, still trying to locate their defeated leader.Harry then would have likely stayed under the care of the formidable Augusta Longbottom, who was no doubt a strict woman, but one who would have done a much better job at raising Harry than his Muggle relations had done.

Remus Lupin is the only one listed who might still take guardianship, but that as far as she knows lest Dumbledore failed to mention, the man has never reached out regarding Harry either. She could guess why, and thought it likely that even if he had known about being a possible guardian for Harry, he would have relinquished said guardianship to Dumbledore easily. But he is the boy’s only connection to his parents left, and she wonders if she can convince him to take up the mantle his friends had intended for him.

Moving back to the list of heirlooms, she taps a finger at the symbols indicating their locations. “The items listed as being in the Potter vault, of course, I’m sure are present and accounted for; this is Gringotts, after all.” It isn’t mere flattery; McGonagall is certain that if anything had been removed from the vault at any point after the will’s creation, they’d have noted as much. Their records were always meticulously kept. “Would it be possible to get verification that the items that should be here or at Godric’s Hollow are where they should be?”

“For a fee, we could provide services to do just that,” Nagnok advises. “However, bear in mind that Godric’s Hollow was for a time cordoned off by the Ministry as they dealt with the...aftermath of the Dark Lord’s attack.”

She recalls. “Then they let reporters and tourists visit, like it was an attraction instead of the site of a tragedy.” She sighs, still annoyed by it. “Are you saying it’s possible the Ministry, or some other party, removed items from the cottage?”

“Thieves and looters are not uncommon, even today, but especially in times of war.”

Quickly and efficiently, she begins to gather everything altogether. “I presume I will be able to take this with me, in order to review its contents with Mr. Potter?”

“Fine.” Grumbling, Nagnok reaches out to take the Gringotts page, grabs a quill to sign it, and then passes both the page and the quill to the witch to do the same, as there is now a new record indicating that the will is being removed from the Gringotts property by Harry Potter’s acting guardian. “Please note we have a copy of the main will, and should there be any attempt to destroy or alter these pages, our records will be adjusted accordingly. We highly recommend, once Mr. Potter has seen the contents, that the will be returned here for safekeeping until he is of age.”

McGonagall nods in understanding, says she will be in contact in regards to contracting their services to verify the heirlooms not currently at Gringotts, and soon after is walking back outside. It’s perhaps been an hour since she arrived, maybe a little more, but foot traffic on Diagon Alley has already begun to pick up significantly. Nevertheless, she simply stands there for a moment, gathering her thoughts, trying to decide what to do next.

She can go back to Hogwarts, will in hand, and give everything to Harry. She would have to explain what the will says, certain that the will itself will be difficult for an eleven-year old boy to read and comprehend himself, but he would have it. He would know. There have already been so many secrets kept from him, she’s loath to continue the tradition, but she also does not want to do anything that might hurt the boy. What if Remus does, in fact, prefer to relinquish his rights as guardian? What if the London property is no longer habitable? What if he asks to go see the cottage in Godric’s Hollow? What if there’s something in that letter, written just for him, that prompts questions she can’t answer? Or an heirloom that they can’t locate?

“Enough of that,” she scolds herself. She is worried about scenarios that may not happen, and as a former Gryffindor and the current Head, even if the worse were to happen, she would face those challenges as she always did: directly and without hesitation.

The most important task to tackle was attempting to locate Remus Lupin, wherever he might be. She could ask the headmaster, who she suspects has kept a running tally on the whereabouts of all the living former members of the Order not currently working at Hogwarts, but she thinks she’ll leave that as a last resort. She has her own connections in London; friends, former students, or the parents of ones, with whom she might be able to find something out. Particularly those who had been familiar with James Potter and his group of friends during their time at Hogwarts. McGonagall thinks it would be ideal to speak with him face-to-face, but if she’s unable to do so, then the next option would be to try to write to him and hope that he can be found by owl. If that fails, and only if that fails, she will turn to Albus for assistance.

~~~

WHEN she has returned to Hogwarts, it is shortly before dinner. She is tired, frustrated that she’d managed to find three students who’d gone to school with James and Lily, two of whom had been Gryffindors, and yet none knew anything about Remus Lupin. The man, for all his friendliness and general good nature, had kept few friends during his time at school, and of those, none had made it out of the war alive except the one responsible for the others’ deaths. She would have to write to him, which meant deciding how much to put in a letter versus waiting until she could speak to him. McGonagall doesn’t want to admonish him for his lack of interest in Harry to this point, no doubt believing as she had that he’d been well in hand under Dumbledore’s care. However, she does want to impart on him the gravity of the boy’s upbringing, and that he was likely the boy’s best hope of getting away from the Dursleys. He was the last person named in the will, so without him, next of kin took precedence.

If only James hadn’t been an only child.

Then there had been the added frustration of realizing, upon a second look, that there was no address in the will or the deed itself for the London property. She would have to submit an inquiry to the Ministry of Magic, but considering the state of things before their deaths, she wonders if perhaps the London home was also put under the Fidelis Charm. Without that secret keeper, forget finding the place herself, how would they be able to send someone to confirm the heirlooms that should be there?

“Hello, Professor.”

“Good evening.” She looks over at the student moving past her in the hall, notes it’s one of her Gryffindors, and says, “Ms. Spinnet, if you can locate Mr. Potter, please have him come to my office.”

The girl answers in the affirmative before she runs off to do as requested, and McGonagall heads to her office. She’s decided; she will tell him that she has the will, but wishes to look into a few things before sharing it with him. Hopefully his trust in her will extend into believing her when she says she thinks it’s for the best.

She’s a few lines into her letter when there is a knock on her door. McGonagall is only mildly surprised when the one who comes in is not the student she’s waiting on, but the Potions Master. “Severus--” She’s only just started to greet him as he’s closing the door, when there’s more knocking a small, messy-haired head peers in around the still open door.

“You wanted to see me, Professor?”

“Yes. Do come in, Harry. Have a seat.” She motions at the chair across from her, and Snape opens the door further to let him in. The Potion Master then looks back, raising an eyebrow at his colleague who nods for him to stay. She watches him close the door but remaining close to it, as if to ensure no intruder will come in.

“Is this about my parents’ will?” Harry asks.

“Yes. I was able to obtain their will from Gringotts, however there are some things I’d like to look into, now that I’m privy to its contents. I’d like you to wait until then for me to share it with you, all right?” She has set the quill down to one side, letter momentarily forgotten as she clasps her hands together on top of her desk.

Harry is quiet, considering. “How long will that take?” he asks after a few moments.

“Hopefully not long,” she tells him, but admits, “But I don’t know exactly. It may be a few days, or a few months.” She meets his gaze steadily. “I do promise that, one way or another, you will know before the school year ends.”

Silence again for a beat, then another, before he nods his head in agreement. “Okay.”

“Thank you. Now go on, dinner should be starting soon.”

She sends him off with a smile, after which Severus comes over to take the seat he has vacated. “These things you would like to look into; anything I might assist you with?”

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Remus Lupin is nowadays, would you?” She knows the answer, even before Snape’s lip curls in disdain and he scoffs, answering in the negative. It had been highly unlikely, she’d known that, but it was worth a shot anyway. “Well, he is the only one left in the will named as a possible guardian who could possibly take the role.” Severus’s raised eyebrow and incredulous look perfectly convey how he feels about that, but she continues anyway, “If he declines, then it would go to next of kin and Harry remains with the Dursleys.

Snape sighs. “I assume you are going to try to write him?” She nods, and he continues, “I suppose I could reach out to some acquaintances of mine that may be able to locate him, just in case.”

She nods her head, grateful. “Thank you.”

“Is that the only matter?”

“Unfortunately, no. Before they went into hiding, the Potters were living in London. I’ll be sending an inquiry to the Ministry to see if there are records as to where, but as the address is missing from the deed itself, I suspect it may not be so easy.” She reaches into her desk, where she has stowed the will for the moment, and pulls out the blank envelope. “I suspect this might have additional answers, but as its magicked, I’ve no way of reading it.”

“May I?” McGonagall passes it over and Snape looks it over before pulling out the blank parchment.

“According to the goblin at Gringotts, Albus was equally befuddled by this blank letter, so it’s probably safe to assume that it’s not a simple matter of invisible ink or the like.”

Snape nods his head in agreement, passing it back once he has replaced the parchment in the envelope. “I’ll look into what spell may have been used, and whether there’s a potion that might negate it.”

“That would be helpful,” McGonagall agrees, putting the envelope back in her desk. “Otherwise, we can only hope that Remus may have the answer. Other than him, the only one who might help is--”

“Black,” Snape finishes.

“Precisely. And I don’t fancy a visit to Azkaban, though I doubt he’d be keen to be of assistance.”

“Assuming, of course, that his sanity is still intact.”

“Excellent point.” Ten years surrounded by dementors. McGonagall shudders at the thought, and despite his crimes, she pities the man who’d once been her student and James Potter’s best friend.

Story Notes:

Chapter title is a John Lennon song. Hopefully, this chapter doesn't disappoint.

And look, I have no idea what the “J” in Lily’s name actually stands for, so I went with Jade for the obvious connection to her eyes. I didn’t want to put too much thought into it, lol.

For my own edification, and because I couldn’t actually find an answer to this, does anyone know at what point it was no longer required for the heir who inherited the family crest/coat of arms to change it in England? If anyone knows, or has better research skills and can actually find the answer to that, please let me know ‘cause I’m curious. I frankly spent way, WAY too much time looking up information on heraldry, especially considering what a small part the Potter crest I created plays in this and the artistic liberties I took with it anyway, hahaha.

In canon, Harry’s family has no known family motto or crest, which is not impossible but Linfred (the oldest family member we know of) made enough of a reputation for himself that he was able to leave a “significant gold pile” to each of his SEVEN children, laying the foundation for the Potter fortune; and his work was influential enough that some of his remedies/potions were the precursors for stuff in modern use (Skele-Gro and Pepperup are specifically named). Plus, his eldest went on to marry THE granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell, one of the brothers who inspired the Tale of the Three Brothers. Their names were lost to history, sure, but considering there’s a story about them, it means they would have been influential/famous enough in their own time to have warranted that kind of attention. His granddaughter would not be so far removed from his time to not warrant respect due her station, and a marriage to match, considering the attitudes of the time (assuming witches/wizard society was classist, which I think they would’ve been considering current attitudes in canon).

Anyway, I’ll stop rambling now.

#Because I Could Not Stop for Death fic #BICNSFD #Harmony fic #HP fanfic #Harry Potter

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desiraypark · 4 years

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Saturday Night Special

Characters: Flip Zimmerman x “Mae” - an original character (Black, Female, Tall, & Thick - respectfully think Phyllis Hyman, Florence Ballard, or Diahnne Abbott) Setting: Miami (Miami Beach), Fall 1974 Content: N*FW - One-night stand; strangers bonin’ (*bends in like Tyra Banks* but make it safe). Author’s Note: I still have not seen Blackkklansman but have been feeling inspired by other people’s Flip fics. I hope you like it (and that it works out)! Also, I have never been to Miami/Miami Beach/Florida, so sorry if I fucked the geography/location up lol Word Count: 3,318

“There’s a Red House over yonder...that’s where my baby stays...Lord, there’s a Red House over yonder...Lord, that’s where my stays...I ain’t been home to see my baby...in ninety-nine and one-half days...”

Flip Zimmerman walked into the diner liked he owned it. Or like he’d been in it a hundred times. Blue T-shirt tight against his muscles, light denim bell bottoms and red hi-top Converse—not his usual getup, but he was far away from his usual life. He was relaxed and refreshed--and alerted customers and staff of his presence with the ding of a bell over his head.

The diner was across the street from the hotel he was staying in. But it was pretty empty—old ladies were in a booth blushing at him and whispering from a booth; an old couple were blushing at each other like teenagers at a table; a younger couple walked past him, seemingly walking away from the counter. But it was a sunny afternoon in Miami Beach. Everybody had probably already eaten breakfast and were long under the afternoon sun and sinking in the white sand. But Flip had slept in for as long as he could. No assignments, no stake outs or investigations. For the first time in years, he was free to just be.

He sat at the counter. A tall, buxom beauty with a curly up-do, long lashes, and lips painted red stood on the other side, wiping down the counter.

“Afternoon,” she said, putting a menu in front of him. “Afternoon.”

“My name’s Mae, I’ll be taking care of you. Would you like to start off with a cup of coffee? Water?”

“Coffee’s fine...” Flip said looking over the menu. Mae walked over to the coffee pot. “On second thought...may I have some orange juice?” “Sure thing,” she said. She disappeared in front of him, then popped back up with a tall and narrow pitcher of orange juice that was covered with soft fabric. Like a bartender, she put a napkin in front of him, grabbed a glass, and filled it with fresh-squeezed juice.

“Are you still serving breakfast?” he asked. “Yep. All day.” She began wiping down the counter top. “Ever had the steak and eggs?” “Nope. Not the steak. Eggs are pretty good. I like the omelettes,” Mae responded. “What kind of omelette do you like most?”

A waitress flew out of the kitchen and into the dining area.

“I like the Southwestern one,” Mae said with a smile. She finished pouring and covered the pitcher again, and Flip put the menu down. “Then, I’ll have a Southwestern omelette,” he said with a boyish smirk. Mae blushed, pulled out her pad and pencil, and scribbled on the paper. Flip took a sip of his orange juice and got a really quick glance at her chest. A gold necklace was fastened around her neck and disappeared in her top.

“You want bacon, sausage, or ham with it?” she asked. “Sausage.” “Links or patties?” “Links.” “Toast or a biscuit?” Flip thought about it. “Toast.” She finished scribbling on the pad, ripped the sheet off, and slid it through the service window. The cook grabbed it, and just as she turned around, three construction workers walked in and sat the counter. Mae grabbed three menus and walked to them.

“Afternoon, gentlemen,” she said. Flip watched her as she placed the menus in front of them. This girl needed to be in movies. She was such a knockout. And stacked, too. Thick long legs and some belly. Hips that would probably knock shit down if the counters were any lower. She took their orders and slid the paper in the service window.

Next, she grabbed three mugs and placed one in front of each man. She walked back to the counter under the service window, where the coffee machine and other appliances and utensils sat, and grabbed the coffee pot and a little porcelain pitcher. The men (including Flip) watched her fill the three mugs with coffee. Then, she tipped the little pitcher over into each of them—pouring cream inside. When she reached the third man, who was closest to Flip, he smirked at her.

“Nothing like putting some cream into a nice, hot, cup of black coffee...” he said. Flip tensed up.

“The night we met I knew I...needed you so...And if I had the chance I’d...never let you go...”

Mae narrowed her eyes at the man. She slid the sugar packet holder close to them and walked away with the coffee pot and little creamer pot. Then, she put both items in there rightful place.

Just as she was walking back to Flip, the same construction worker called her over with an “Psst! Waitress!” Flip could almost feel the fire burning inside of her when she walked over. With his glass of orange juice to his lips, he kept a close watch on the men. Just in case they tried to pull anything funny. “Yes, Sir?” she said. The man bit his lip, as the other two watched with anticipation. He looked at her name tag. “Miss Mae...you got any construction worker in you?” Flip cringed and started to shift in his seat. But before he could say a word, Mae had reached into her bra and pulled out a little pistol. “No, but would you like a bullet in you?” she asked, holding the pistol out in front of the man. Instinctively, Flip stood up and held his hand out in front of Mae. “Maaaae!” the cook called from the back.

“I think you’d better leave,” Flip said to the construction worker. The man stared at the gun and shook his head. “I suppose I should.” He looked up at Mae. “I didn’t want any trouble, ma’am.” “Ain’t no trouble for me,” she responded. The man turned beet red and stood up.

Him and his co-workers walked out, and Flip sat down.

“Crazy bitch...” the man mumbled on his way out.

Mae put the gun back in her bra, and Flip observed how calm the restaurant was. Everyone went about their conversations like nothing was happening. Even the other waitress was leaned against the booth with the old ladies, talking about As the World Turns. “What did that one say?!” the cook asked from the back. Mae grabbed two mugs of coffee and dumped the contents in the sink.

“Asked me if I had some damn construction worker in me!” she yelled back.

“Oh! That’s a new one!”

She walked back to the counter to grab the remaining mug, and caught Flip’s eyes—his thick eyebrows raised high above them. “I’m sorry about that,” she said. She turned to pour the third mug out. The other waitress walked back toward the kitchen. “No need to apologize,” Flip said. Mae dipped behind the counter again and came back up with the orange juice pitcher. She refilled Flip’s glass. “You’re too much, Mae,” she said with a laugh, before disappearing behind the swinging door.

“What’s your name?” Mae asked as Flip took a swig of his drink. He swallowed. "Phillip.” “Thank you for stepping in, Phillip,” she said. “I don’t like to do that. But nobody ever steps in for me, so...” She smiled and walked to where the construction workers once sat, and wiped the counter down. Flip sat at the counter for almost two hours, talking to Mae and watching her serve an old couple that had come in. He told her he’d recently quit his detective job back in Colorado Springs and decided to take a vacation before looking for something new. Mae had dreams of being a chef, but didn’t have the money and resources for school. She began waiting on tables to save money, but had been stuck in the same loop for over a decade. They talked and laughed, and she served the few patrons that straggled in for an early dinner before it was time for her to clock out.

Mae finally took his plate and put it in the service window. “Thank you for talking to me, Mae,” he said as she rung up his check. “No, thank you, Phillip,” she said. “Are you headed off the to beach?”

“I suppose so. It might be too late for some good sunlight...” he said, looking at his watch. Mae peeped outside. “Mmm, I think you could catch a little something, still.” “What do you have planned for the rest of the day?” he asked. He cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Ohh, nothing much. I’ll fix myself some dinner. Take a long, hot bath, maybe...”

Flip’s fingers pressed into the palm of his hand at the thought of Mae naked in the tub. He erased the thought from his head.

“...catch my shows and go to bed.” She put his check in front of him, and he dug in his pocket for his wallet.

“Would you like me to walk you to your car?” he asked. “In case that man is out there waiting for you?”

“I’ll shoot his ass,” Mae said with a chuckle. “But no thank you, baby. I catch the bus anyway.”

Flip pulled a twenty from his wallet and something caught Mae’s eye. It prompted her to start untying off her apron.

“Well, can I walk you to the bus stop?” Flip asked. She smiled again. “I’m alright, honey.” She walked to the cash register.

Flip nodded and rose from his seat. He walked in front of the register as Mae counted out his change. “Hey, Mae,” a man said, walking past her and into the kitchen. “Hey Mike,” she said back. She pressed the change into Flip’s hands.

“Phillip?” she said. Flip pulled a five from his change and gave it back to her. “Yes?” She leaned close to him and took the five.

“What do you really want to do this evening?” she asked in a low voice. Flip smirked, pulled out his wallet, and bit his bottom lip as he stuffed the change into his wallet. Finally, he looked up at her. “I want to make a pretty waitress who packs a pistol in her bra to scream my name...” ********************** Flip waited for Mae in his hotel lobby. She didn’t want her co-workers to see her sneaking off with a stranger. He led her to his room--a simple little space with two beds, a table in the corner, and a picture window overlooking the city street. Mae walked completely into the room and turned around. Flip was leaning against the door, biting his bottom lip. Mae smirked and sat on the bed closest to the door.

“You’ve got a condom, right?” she asked, crossing her legs. “Yeah.”

She patted the bed. “You gonna come over here?” “I wanna watch you walk across the room again,” he said. Mae smirked, left her purse on the bed, and slowly walked to Flip. She gave him a peck on the lips, then sauntered to the table. With every step she took, she heard a step that wasn’t hers, behind her. The heat of his body radiated against her back. When she got to the table, Flip held her waist and planted kisses on her neck. She pressed her ass against him and felt his hard length in his jeans. Then, he yanked her around to face him, lifted her and placed her down on the table.

“Phillip, I might break this table,” she said.

Flip ignored her and gave her a peck on the lips once. Twice. And she met his lips for a third.

“I can smell your breakfast, still,” she whispered. Flip chuckled. “That’s why I haven’t put my tongue down your throat.” Mae smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. “Well, put it somewhere else...” Flip licked his lips and dropped to his knees. Mae toed off her ugly white shoes as he slid his hands up her thighs and tugged at the top of her stockings. He felt for the top hem of her panties, and pulled the undergarments down to her ankles and over her feet. Mae spread her legs to him and Flip stuck his head between her thighs and ran slow licks up and down her clit. As he picked up his speed, Mae reluctantly leaned back on her palms.

“That feels so good,” she whimpered once she trusted the table’s strength. “Mmm-hmm,” Flip hummed. She didn’t have to tell him that he was eating her good. He knew that he was good with his tongue. He wrapped his arms around her thighs and gave her clit a nice, hard suck--causing her to throw her head back and yelp. “Oh, Phillip...” Flip looked up. All he could see was some of her chin and the bottom of her breasts. So he looked back down, then pulled away. “Flip...” he mumbled. He returned his mouth to her. “Hmm?” She looked down at him--only able to see his wavy tresses, some of his forehead, and his large nose. “Call me Flip.” She carded his hair and gyrated against his face. He gripped her thighs tighter and left no inch of flesh un-licked--filling the silence of his room with obscene licking sounds and her breathy moans.

“I’m about to come...make me come please, Flip...” she whined. Flip dropped one of his arms from around her thigh and slipped two of his fingers inside of her. She yelped and pressed her fingers into his scalp. Then, she fucked his fingers back, making the table legs rock under her. Quickly, she reached into her bra, took out her pistol and placed it on the table behind her. “You’re doing all of this over my fingers...I can’t wait to watch you take my fucking dick,” Flip said. At those words, Mae fell apart. She cursed to the ceiling and gushed all over Flip’s thick fingers. When she reached the end of her orgasm, Flip pulled his fingers out and shoved them between her lips. With a hum, she licked her juices away. Then, Flip picked her up. She held her legs around his waist until he tossed her onto the bed.

“Take all of that shit off,” he commanded. Mae unbuttoned her uniform as Flip pulled his wallet out of his pocket and retrieved his only condom. Eventually, they both were completely naked--Mae lying back on the bed and Flip standing over her stroking his dick. He scanned her from head to toe--sweet face, large tits that she was holding onto and squeezing together. An “H” sat at the end of her necklace. It peeked out from under her hand. She sat up--making her breasts fall just above her stomach--and took Flip’s dick in her hands. “Lay back down,” he said. Mae released his dick and fell back. She watched Flip open the condom wrapper with his teeth and toss it to the side. Then, he slid the rubber onto his hard length. Flip climb onto the bed and between her legs. He wrapped the long limbs around his waist, leaned over her and focused his eyes below and between them. He tapped his firm, heavy meat against her clit. “I’m about to give you the whole thing, okay?” he said. “Okay...” Mae whimpered. She ran her hands up and down his arms, and anxiously awaited him to enter in. Flip stretched open her velvety entrance, then pressed deep inside until he touched her cervix.

“Ohmygod...” she whispered, staring at the ceiling. Flip peppered her collarbone with kisses. He dragged out of her until his tip almost came out, then went back in. “Is it too much?” he asked. She shook her head and smiled. “No.” Flip smiled back and bit his bottom lip. With both of his palms pressing into the mattress beside her head, he dove into her--long and deep, and at a moderate pace. The sounds of her gushing pussy and his balls slapping her ass filled the air. She couldn’t even moan. Her chin was damn near in her chest as her nails pressed into the muscle of his arms. Finally, she released an obscenity. “Fuck!” she squealed. “Take that dick, baby...take my fucking dick...” Flip encouraged. “Ohmygod...” she cried out. “Go faster.” “Go faster?” he asked. “Yes, go faster,” she repeated, gripping his arms again. Flip collapsed on top of her and interlocked his fingers over her head. Then, without an ounce of reluctance, he pounded her hot center--snapping his hips against her hard and fast. “Yes, Flip, yes! Just like that!” she screamed. “Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah!” “That’s right baby. Say my name again...” “Oh, Flip...yes, Flip...fuck...” she whimpered. She tightened her legs around his waist, and her pussy involuntarily clenched around his length. “Are you tightening your pussy on my dick? You’d better fucking stop that shit unless you want me to come right now,” he said, voice gravelly. “I can’t help it, baby, it feels so good!” Flip grunted and pulled himself out. He drew in deep breaths and released them as he tapped the head of his dick against her wet pussy. Mae reached between her legs and tugged at his dick, trying to pull him back in. Flip smirked at her, swatted her hand away, then dipped back inside. He slowed his pace and shortened his distance. Mae whined. “The whole thing, Flip...” she said, rotating her hips under him. Flip stopped and shook his head. “I’m gonna bust my fuckin’ nut, Mae...” “I don’t care,” she said, moving her hips faster. “I want the whole thing.” Flip looked down into her eyes--so sweet, so pleading. He chewed on the flesh behind his lip and took her hands. As he stretched over her body, he pinned her wrists down over her head and fucked her nice and deep. No longer caring about his breath, Flip pressed his lips against hers and opened them up with his tongue. She moaned into his mouth as his hips smacked against hers, dick stroking her walls.

Soon, he felt waves tingle all over his body, and his balls began to tense up. Mae felt him twitching and snapped her hips against his again--egging him on until he filled his condom with his pearly white nut. He rode out his wave with shallow thrusts, then fell down beside Mae--both of them breathless. “Fuck,” he groaned. “Wow...”

Flip stared at her profile. Then, he tilted her chin up with his finger, and leaned down to kiss her lips. She scooted close and rested her head on his chest. “What does the “H” stand for?” Flip asked. He rubbed his finger against the monogram on her necklace, and she smiled. “My first name,” she answered. “What’s your first name?” he asked. “I’ll never tell you.” She draped her arm over his abdomen. “You know my first name,” he argued. “How do I know that’s really your first name?” Mae asked. She tossed her leg over his. “I can show you my ID...” Mae let out a wry laugh, then closed her eyes. “It’s Hattie. Hattie Mae.” “Oof...” Flip whispered. Mae looked up at him and pinched his nipple. He winced, and laughed. “That’s an old ass name.” “Fuck you...” she said laughing. “Phillip.” Flip stifled a laugh, then the two of them said nothing for the next few minutes. Mae listened to Flip’s heartbeat, and Flip ran his fingertips up and down her waist. “You don’t have anybody waiting for you, do you?” he asked. “No,” she answered. “Good.” Flip rose from the bed and went into the bathroom. “I’m about to go the pharmacy up the street and buy some more rubbers.” “Oh, you are?” Mae asked. She sat up and rested her head on her palm. She heard him removing his condom. “Yep.” Flip came back into the room and grabbed and stepped into his boxers. “Because we’re not fucking done.” Mae blushed, dropped her face into the bed, and groaned playfully.

#flip x mae

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relexo01 · 3 years

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Ten Tips on How to Painlessly Relocate to Germany

Have you at any point considered moving abroad? What's more, ask yourself: how to migrate to another country like Germany? Is it simple? What do you have to do and to carry with you?

Utilizing my own involvement with moving to Germany, I offer you ten hints to response these inquiries. Counting suggestions with regards to what you should do prior to leaving your own nation and when you show up in the excellent green Germany.

1) Home Grant (visa) versus Vacationer Visa

The primary inquiry you should pose to yourself is how long would you like to remain in Germany: is it a short stay? Under 90 days? Or on the other hand a somewhat long one? In the event that you chose to remain over 90 days, you will require a home grant (visa). Why? Since your vacationer visa is acceptable just for 90 days.

2) How to get the Home License?

After you have shown up in Germany, you have three months to get your home license. The archives you will require are the accompanying:

- legitimate visa, one for each individual - evidence that you have a spot to live - verification that you can uphold yourself and your family (if pertinent) monetarily - confirmation of medical coverage - confirmation of marriage (if relevant) - Medelschein - at some point, birth declaration (extraordinarily for the kids) - pet's identification and antibody endorsement

Have these records with you on your appearance; DON'T pressed them in a bag or in a case "some place". I should demand the way that these records should be the first ones.

3) What is the Medelschein?

It is a report that shows that you are enlisted at the city lobby. You need to go to the city corridor of your place of home to get it. It is generally exceptionally simple and quick to get: you'll need your identification and a proof of where you stay. You need to bring this report along when requesting a home grant.

4) What to bring?

In case you are moving to Germany for a long time, you will almost certainly need to carry clothing and other individual things with you. Essentially, carry with you what you think will be hard to track down oversea (like peanut butter and maple syrup!). In any case, recall, Germany is a very socialize country and being a greater amount of less in the focal point of Europe, it is exceptionally simple to go from that point to pretty much elsewhere on the landmass!

Likewise, take in thought that it will require a long time for your assets to show up in the event that you transport them abroad. Thus, better to deliver them early and keep a decent amount of apparel and essential things to carry with you on the plane.

5) Learning some German

Prior to leaving your country, you should gain proficiency with a bit of German. To be sure, it isn't as far as we can tell that English is being spoken wherever in Germany or in the remainder of Europe besides. Despite what is generally expected, outside of large touristic urban areas like Frankfurt and Berlin, barely any individuals do talk it. They may get it, yet with trouble. Along these lines, in case you're hanging around for the since quite a while ago run, better take a course or two.

6) German culture

While learning the language, why do whatever it takes not to discover more data about the nation and its way of life? Germans, similar to every other person, have their own particular manner of getting things done and it would make it simpler on you to know a bit about them prior to coming. The connection beneath takes you to a site where you can observe to be all sort of information about the nation and its kin.

7) Your new house in Germany.

What are you searching for? A house? A condominium? A condo?

In the city? Or then again in the open country? Remember that in Germany, public vehicle is extremely proficient and goes pretty much all over, even in modest communities, and that lodging outside huge downtown area is more affordable.

You might need to begin looking prior to coming, as opportunities are restricted in European urban communities overall. There are numerous offices that proposal to assist you with discovering a spot to remain, however they do charge an expense to the proprietor just as the occupant.

One more significant point about is lodging outfitted versus empty. In Germany they truly mean empty. That is: there is no furniture of any sort. Not so much as a bath or a latrine now and again and unquestionably no kitchen storage rooms and counters. Nothing.

Thus, except if you're there for a long while and like redesigning, you should search for outfitted.

8) Bank

As you can not cover your bills with checks (they don't acknowledge checks anyplace), you should open a financial balance to move cash from this record to the organizations from which you purchase administrations. It is generally simple and straight forward. There are numerous sort of bank moves and in case you are intrigued to look into this issue go to banks on the connection beneath.

9) Pets

In spite of the fact that there could be presently not an isolate require when carrying your pet to Europe, there are sure relocation service germany to follow.

Your canine or feline most have had its antibodies against rabies something like 30 days before flight and Close to a year prior to entering German region. You will obviously require confirmation, all things considered, to be introduced at the line on your appearance. Along these lines, best to have them with you at unequaled during the outing. Another significant point: Pets in Europe should now have a recognizable proof number, either as a tattoo that can be effortlessly seen or as a central processor and their own visa gave by a vet.

10) Shops and business hours

Most stores (counting drug stores) are shut from Saturday evening 1 or 2 p.m., until Monday morning in Germany. Thus, in the event that you show up on a Saturday, you may need to eat at the eatery for the following two days. Which is a decent method to investigate your environmental factors looking for an alternate eatery every dinner!

Welcome to Germany! Willkommen!

Hélène Dompierre is a Baked good Gourmet expert, Columnist and a Voyager who loves finding new spots and food, and experience different societies!

She lived in Canada, Australia and Germany. Gone in USA, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Australia, North Africa and Japan. She voyaged alone or with her family. Also, can't see herself truly halting!

#new

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crystalwillow · 4 years

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The Pregnancy, Part Two

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Casey Valentine (F!MC)

Tagging: @kiteplayschoices @brycelahelalover @obsessedheehee @eleanorbloom @fuseboxmusebox @princesslahela @vibrantlyjaz @kaavyaethanramsey @queencarb @schnitzelbutterfingers @ramseysno1rookie @caseyvalentineramsey @ethanramseyswhore @whippedforethanfreakingramsey

=====================

Six months had passed since Casey and Ethan discovered she was pregnant, and she was now in her last trimester. She still wanted to go to work so she had something to do and so that if she went into labor she was already in the hospital. Of course, Ethan got less and less enthusiastic about her going to work, now a few more months that passed. He insisted that she stay home and look after herself, to let him work a little overtime and do the heavy grocery shopping. But Casey, being the stubborn woman she is, dug her heels in saying a firm no, continuing to go to work.

One lunch break, Casey and Ethan were sitting outside round the fountain, sharing a pizza and some fries, when Sienna came over. "Hey. Could I sit with you guys?" she squeaked out quietly, "Of course" Ethan smiled as Casey took another bite of her pizza slice, "Want a piece?" Casey asked as she held out the box to her friend. "No thank you. I'm okay. I've already eaten." She said politely, hoping her lie went undetected, as she took a seat next to Casey. "Do I still smell of blood and bile?" Ethan joked, "Honey. if you smelt of that I would not even be near you. Sienna just doesn't like getting in the middle of people" Casey explained jokingly. Sienna chuckled at the sass levels in Casey's reply, and the three spent the rest of their lunch break together. Late that afternoon, Ethan stopped by Casey's floor to collect the grocery list and her dinner order as he was finishing early, and she had to work late. "oooo someone's coming" a nurse teased Casey, as she walked away from the nurses station with her files, to give the two privacy. "Hey." Ethan smiled as he greeted her with a kiss leaning over the nurses station. "hey" Casey smiled back, as the phone rang. "one moment" she smiled and answered the phone, "Hello, Francis Ward, Dr. Casey Ramsey speaking, how may I help? ... uh-huh, okay. ... Could you hold for just one moment and I'll check that for you." she answered as she put the phone on hold "Janet!" she called out to a passing nurse, who stopped in her tracks and turned coming over to the station "yeah?" she asked, sounding tired. "I've got Dr. Rasheen on the phone calling from OR recovery 4, asking if we have any free beds on the ward for a patient that has just woken up." Casey explained. Janet checked the chart, "mmmmmmm, yep. We have room 783 free." She smiled at Casey, who picked the phone back up. "Hello, Dr. Rasheen? ... yes, we have 1 room free. Could I get the patients name please? .... Holly Barkermann. Alright, we'll have that ready for arrival in the next few minutes okay? .... okay, Thank You. B-Bye" she chimed happily as she hung up the call. After letting out a deepened sigh, Casey leant back in her chair and looked up at Ethan who smiled back at her. "Could I have the lists?" He asked sweetly. Casey sat up and pulled them out of her pocket and passed them to him. He looked at her dinner request and smiled. "I'll pick it up later on the way to get you from work sweetie" He grinned as he looked back up at her. "Thanks baby. I'll see you later okay?" she replied. Ethan nodded and gave her one last kiss before heading off the do the grocery shopping and go home.

That night Casey text Ethan.

Casey: Hey babe! Finishing up here in about 45 minutes!!

Ethan:

Casey: Babe???

Casey: Bubs?

Casey: HELLO! ETHAN RAMSEY! ARE YOU THERE?! T-MINUS 45!!"

Ethan: Can't a man poop in peace? xD

Casey: ... sorryyyy :/

Ethan xD. It's okay. I'll see you soon

Casey: Can you bring Bleu? or is he sleeping??

Ethan: Sleeping. Sorry honey :(

Casey: It's alright. I'll see you in a bit. Don't forget our dinner!!"

Ethan: I won't don't worry :D. Love you!! <3

Casey: Love you too bubba :* <3

After sending the text messages, Casey stuffed her phone back into her pocket and got back to work. It was nighttime so everything was slower paced. She got bored and decided to try and balance a pencil on the tip of her nose because she still hadn't been able to complete that. She was so occupied by it that she didn't hear someone approach the desk. "Ahem." the voice said as the person it belonged to clear their throat. Casey jumped, dropping the pencil then pouting at it "awww! I was so close!" she quietly exclaimed as she looked up to see who it was. "Oh, hey Esme!" she chirped, Esme smiled. "I'm here to take over. Your husband's downstairs, in the main lobby." she told her. Casey checked the clock on the wall. "Oh my gosh. Was I just trying to balance a pencil on the tip of my nose for 45 minutes?" she asked, flushing a deep red, fully embarrassed. "I guess so." Esme chuckled as she came round the desk to switch places with Casey. "Well.... see you Saturday I guess." Casey said to Esme, giving her a hug before grabbing her belongings, checking out and making her way downstairs. As she stepped out of the elevator, she let out a massive sigh and took her tag off over her head, tucking it inside her bag. "Busy shift?" Ethan asked, as he walked over to her and greeted her with a hug. She gripped onto him tightly. "ugghhhh, I missed youuuuu" she whined as she crushed Ethan with a hug. Ethan chuckled as he returned his wife's hug, "I missed you too munchkin" he mumbled, Casey pulled back and looked at him strangely, "Munchkin?" she asked with a confused frown, as she laced her fingers with his. "I was browsing words on that Urban Dictionary site you're always going on about. Munchkin can be used as a term of endearment for one's partner who is playful and mischievous" He explained as they walked to the car hand in hand. "Oh...? So you're saying I'm playful and mischievous now, are you?" Casey teased as they got into the car, Ethan just chuckled as he gave her a knowing look. As Ethan drove them home, Casey sat in the passenger seat chowing down on her fries and gulping down her drink, "Hungry? Ethan smiled. Casey nodded eagerly as she shoved more fries in her mouth, "bank oo bor biss" she grinned. Soon they pulled up on the drive and went inside, Bleu greeting them straight away by barking as soon as they opened the door, "Ugh. My feet are so sooorrrreeeee" Casey whined as she took off her shoes and jacket, she then squealed in delighted surprise as Ethan lifted her up and carried her to their room, content concentration on his face the entire time. I'll go grab us some soda, water and snacks then we can binge whatever it is you wish to watch tonight, okay?" Ethan smiled as he pressed a tender loving kiss to Casey's forehead before leaving the room and heading downstairs to the kitchen, and they spent the night cuddled up in bed doing exactly what Ethan said they would, and fell asleep happy and content, ready for the next day and what it would bring them. In the middle of the night Casey woke up feeling around for Ethan and groaned slightly when she couldn't feel him. She slowly opened her eyes and spotted him sitting at his desk across the room with a creased brow as he stared at his screen, "Ethan?" she whispered, and he snapped his head towards the bed, "What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked as he swiveled round in his chair. She pouted and held her hand out towards him, he sighed and walked over to their bed, sitting next to her and taking her hand in his, "Is this case keeping you up again?" she asked as she placed her head on his leg. He instinctively started stroking her hair, "mmm" he mumbled staring blankly ahead.

Casey looked up at him an noticed the bags under his eyes and looked at the clock on their bedside table, seeing it read 3:47am, "Honey. Your shift starts in an hour and 13 minutes. Come to bed and try to get some sleep. Please" she begged quietly, looking up at him. Ethan exhaled heavily through his nostrils and got up. "Just let me save this document and I'll come to bed" he said as he sat back in his office chair and spun back so he was facing his screen, sliding his glasses back on his face. "They really enhance your beauty, you know?" Casey spoke out, Ethan just smiled at her comment, gently shaking his head as he saved the document and shut his computer down. About 45 minutes later, Casey was up with Ethan as he got ready for work, she was in the kitchen making his lunch. Ethan walked in a few minutes later, smelling like his heavenly self. He stood behind Casey and wrapped his arms round her stomach and rested his chin on her shoulder, pressing delicate kisses behind her ear and down her neck. "You don't have to be up doing this for me. I can make my own lunch you know." He said, his face and voice full of concern. Casey smiled at him with a look full of love that makes him realize there's no point in making it an issue because today is her day off before her last week working. She looked up at Ethan wistfully, "What?" he softly smiled back, "Nothing.... It's just... Are you sure that you're ready to be a father? Because when we done those scans when I was an intern. You said you didn't see it in your future. You weren't sure you could give them what they would need. And if you still aren't ready. We can put them for adoption. Or into foster care. Or to a same sex couple who wants children. I want you to be ready for this Ethan. I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you into being a father by keeping this child." Casey rambled as she brought her hands to her stomach, cradling the child inside. Just as he opens his mouth to answer, Ethan's alarm goes off telling him it's time to leave for work.

Later in the day, around noon the doorbell rang. Casey answered it after looking through the peep hole, and greeted Tia and Bryce on the other side. "Hey! What're you guys doing here?!" she asked as she gave them both hugs and invited them inside. They walked in, Casey shut the door and they all made their way to the living room, taking various seats around the room in chairs and on couches. "Ethan caught us this morning and told us to bring you lunch." Tia said as they took their seats, "We brought both enough hot and cold food for all of us and we even brought some for Ethan to have later, he looked drained when we saw him." Bryce added. Casey smiled at her friends, "I'm not surprised. He was up half the night working on the case of Mr. Hopkins again." she informed them. They gave a knowing yet understanding look with a small nod. "Anyway. How's the hospital today?" Casey asked, as her and Tia dug into their food, Bryce walking off the get a fork. Tia swallowed her bite of food and smiled at Casey, "Busy as usual. Same old people shouting the same old things, cases that take only a few moments to solve. Although, there is this one case that's come in this morning and nobody can seem to work out what's going on with them. They have no genetic markers for anything, no test that has been run so far comes back with anything that could be used as a lead to do further tests. Bryce, as always says the simple solution is to cut them open. But I have to keep telling him, you can't randomly go cutting people open, with nothing supporting them needing and operation. You know?" She tells Casey as Bryce walks back into the room. "Your dog is seriously so adorable!" Bryce exclaims as he sits back down. Casey smiles and eats more of her food. The three talk and eat until it's time for Bryce and Tia to head back to work. Casey going back to binge watching Netflix series she needs to catch up on and drinking her herbal teas. Before she knows it, she hears Ethan's key go into the door and sits up as she hears him call out that he's home. "In here!" she calls back as she gets up so she can move to the couch and cuddle him.

He stops off at the kitchen first to get plates and cutlery for them to eat then walks into the living room placing the food, plates and cutlery onto the coffee table before sweeping Casey up into a massive bear hug, inhaling her perfume deeply. "I've missed you today." He mumbled into her neck, she smiled in response "I've missed you too." She mumbled back and they sat on the couch and talked about their days. "... and then the stupid woman tried to take off with a line in her arm and the machine still plugged into the wall. She didn't even grab the pole to wheel the machine with her as she walked. She just walked. Blood everywhere. It took about 10 minutes to get the bleeding under control. I have never witnessed something so daft in all my life." Ethan rambled, as Casey listened intently. Taking in every tone change in his voice as she ate quietly beside him. "So....... You're stressed?" Casey asked as he finished rambling. "hrm?" Ethan mumbled, Casey just chuckled and got up, heading to the bathroom.

Ethan followed and stood outside so they could continue talking. "When I say I missed you at work today. I meant it you know. I didn't have someone I could just walk up to and plop my head on their shoulder, and whine to. I don't know what you done to me rookie... but.. I feel love again now. I have friends. I can be friendly with others without feeling awkward. You're a blonde bombshell of sass. But you're my blonde bombshell of sass. My other half that I gave up searching for and accepted I was going to be a dog dad forever and die old, alone and miserable. Naveen was right. When you started at Edenbrook as an intern, I took my work way too seriously. And my ways were rubbing off on you. You were becoming a mini female version of me. But, somehow I knew you already were. You were serious about your work. You were serious about a lot. You got yourself in trouble for your patients because you care. You put everyone else's feelings before your own and you took time to get to know me, ask me how I was. I.... I'd not had anyone do that there for 10 years, because I was at the top of all the interns in my year as well. They quickly became envious, jealous, angry at me even. I couldn't understand why at the time, I was just an intern doing my best to make sure all my patients were happy, healthy and had the best care provided that they would need. I wasn't actively seeking out pissing them off. I was just being me. I thought it was my fault at first but then I realized, it's not my fault that my brain is on a different level to theirs. It wasn't my fault I worked and ticked differently. Performed my best when I worked on cases solo. When I wrote and published my book I didn't expect it to be such a huge hit. To influence the next generation of medicine and impact it in such a way. Then you walked into Edenbrook and shook everything up. Including me and my heart. You gave me the wake up call I needed, and I fell for you. I fell for you hard. In Miami all those years ago, I wanted you as much as you wanted me. Damn Casey, when I first stopped you in your tracks as you followed me to the new wing of the hospital. I wanted me taking you for coffee to be a date. But I was scared of the intricacy of it all. I was your boss. It would have been wrong. It was wrong. But somewhere along the line I stopped caring. I wanted... no, needed you. I needed to know what it was like to hold you. Kiss you. Dance and laugh with you. I needed to learn to love and open up my heart. I'd both needed and wanted to do that for years, but nobody caught my eye.. that was until I saw you. I'm here today pouring out my heart and emotions, but I want you to know I wouldn't be doing that if it wasn't for you. You went from rookie, to the owner of my heart. And now... well now you're going to be the mother of my child too. Well... children... I looked closer at your last scan, saw something that shocked me so grabbed a sonographer and they confirmed that.. we, we're having triplets Casey.... We haven't conceived just one child. We've conceived t-" He spoke, voice thick with emotion. The bathroom door opened, Casey looked up at him, a delicate smile on her face, with small tears running down her cheeks, "We're having triplets?" she asked softly, trying not to let her voice break as she reached out and rested her hand on Ethan's cheek, he leant into her touch and smiled as she gently stroked his stubble with her thumb. He nodded as his own tears fell from his eyes. "And I want to keep them. I'm ready to be a father to 3 of the most amazing kids I will ever have the pleasure of knowing. I-" He started to speak again but his voice broke. The purity and happiness if this moment shone and lit the whole house up. Some would say you could hear a chorus of angels if you listened close enough. The two stood in the hallway basking in their moment of happiness as Ethan's revelation set in. They cuddled and swayed together to the music in their heads. Neither feeling their current state of happiness ever before.

Soon, Casey spoke quietly not wanting to disturb the happy peace too much, "You mean it? You're ready for parenthood?" She asked as she looked up meeting Ethan's gaze. He nodded. "I'm ready." He answered quietly, pressing a kiss to her lips and then the two headed upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. The happiness still shining bright around them, they enjoyed the peace knowing soon, it would no longer exist for a while.

#choices stories you play #playchoices #pixelberry studios #oph f!mc #casey valentine #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey fanfiction #open heart fanfiction #choices fanfiction #ethan x casey #dr ramsey x dr valentine

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briefololtragedy · 4 years

Text

Wooden Blocks Ch 3

Chapter: Baby Steps

Pairing: MinaSaku

Rating G

Summary: Minato and Sakura meet outside of the clinic without Naruto. Word count 5500

Posted on AO3

Her feet hit the pavement hard. She could feel her muscles contract allowing the blood in her to pump faster. Her heart was beating out of her chest and she could tell her face was beet red. The music in her ears drowned out some of the noises around her as she ran down the streets. This was her weekend morning ritual. Wake up, put on her running gear, and run to her heart’s content. It was one of the few times she was able to shut off her brain. Well she tried to shut off her brain. She thought back to coffee with Ino a few weeks ago.

“Come on Forehead tell me how the art gallery was. Did you guys have fun afterwards?” Ino kept wiggling her eyebrows.

“The art was different. We walked around and then we got dinner. He took me home and then left. “ Sakura sipped her coffee. Allowing the aroma to fill her senses. She just couldn’t see Kakashi as more than just a friend. She couldn’t handle the fact that he was late. She understood the first time, but this time he was almost an hour late and no proper excuse. Then when she was around him it always felt off. When the highlight of the evening is talking to a patient’s father that’s a sign.

“Seriously! That’s all you're going to give me. I need more details.”

“There is not much in the way of details. He was late by almost an hour. Showed up with just an ``I'm sorry'' and then we went on our date.” Sakura made sure to do her best man voice impression with the ‘I’m sorry.’

“Seriously Sakura, you need to stop finding fault with every guy you date. Don’t just focus on one small flaw.” Sakura did not see how wanting a date to be on time was a bad thing. There interests didn’t seem to mesh well.

“Plus he brought you food that day. Wasn’t that so romantic?” Sakura rolled her eyes. Yeah romantic if you get judged for being hungry and not being ashamed to eat. She did thank Kakashi profusely for the kind gesture.

“Give it more than just a couple of dates.” Sakura huffed into her coffee.

She was trying to look past a few hiccups in her time with Kakashi. They seemed to do well talking over text, but when it came to being in person together the click just didn’t happen. She asked him to lunch yesterday and it just keeps falling flat with him. Sakura also didn’t care for his favorite reading material, Jiraiya was a class A pervert.

Sakura forced her legs to go faster. Her mind wasn’t supposed to be overthinking. Its only job was to help her function in her run. After running for a little while longer she looked at her watch. Five miles. She slowed to a stop. Her muscles twitched in rhythm with her music. She needed food and coffee. Sakura lived close to the downtown area and her runs usually had her circling the heart of the city. She looked around and noticed she was in one of the more hipster areas.

A smile found its way on her face when she saw the antiqued green door to a coffee shop. It had recently opened and she had been dying to try it out. Sakura had almost thought to ask Kakashi to come with her to the shop last week but he didn’t like coffee. He also didn’t like mornings, so meeting before she had to go to work was a no go.

The small bell on the top corner of the door chimed as she entered. The shop was decently packed for 9am on a Saturday. She easily made her way through the store to the counter. ‘Hmm all of this looks so good. I want to order everything.’ One of the reasons Sakura ran so much was because she enjoyed eating. Most days she ate so healthy a fitness nut would say to take a step back. However, those days were to balance out when all she wanted was carbs, sugar, candy, and chocolate. Yes, Sakura at times ate like the elf her patients thought she was.

“I’ll have a White Chocolate Mocha with a pump of raspberry sauce and an order of blueberry pancakes, please.” Sakura could feel her blood sugar start to spike with her order, but she didn’t care. She wanted her sugar and no one will stand in her way. Her usual black coffee just wouldn’t cut it today.

After paying she took her number and looked for a seat. She scanned the coffee shop looking for an open seat. She hoped to get one by the windows because the thought of drinking her sugar and people watching really appealed to her. However, she paused when she saw a familiar mess of blonde hair.

“Mr. Namikaze?”

_____________________________

Over the last few weeks Minato felt like he was going at turbo speed. They were finally going to submit the proposal for the bank tower and he really wanted to get it. His desire to beat everyone else is what brought him into work on a Saturday morning. Well Naruto waking up at 6am this morning and then not wanting to go back to sleep also played a role in the decision as well.

Minato dressed Naruto in a simple outfit with a baby Yoda top and light jacket. It was such a beautiful morning that Minato strapped Naruto in a baby carrier and walked to his office downtown. The streets were peaceful as he strolled down the streets. He passed a few runners, saw some people on their stoops getting their morning paper. Mornings were one of his favorite times of the day. He always enjoyed the stillness that came with mornings. How things didn’t have to be rushed. Kushina could never understand his love for mornings.

“Why can’t you just go back to sleep. There are more hours in the day that you could be awake. Be lazy with me.”

Minato loved their lazy mornings, but he didn’t want to waste a day when there was so much work to be done. He soon found himself walking into the lobby of the building his office was in.

“Morning Mr. Namikaze. You just can’t escape this place it seems.” The security officer gave him a warm greeting. Minato just smiled and held Naruto closer to him.

“Is that Naruto?” The security officer, Jin, had come over to take a peak. He would never forget all the conversations he had with Jin when he found out he was going to be a father. Jin had 3 older children and provided a lot of advice. However, it was one of his lowest mornings that Jin was there for him.

It had been a month since Naruto was born and Minato went into work on a Sunday morning. He just sat in his office. For the first time tears fell from his eyes.

“I don’t know how I am going to do this.” He just wanted to wallow in his misery. Minato wanted to be alone, but Jin was checking the floors on his daily rounds.

“Mr. Namikaze is everything alright?” Minato wanted to say that no nothing was alright. Everything was wrong. How the hell was he going to raise a child on his own. Kushina would be able to do it without batting an eye. Minato didn’t read all of the baby books. He didn’t look at preschools and daycares before Naruto came into the world. Minato could barely put a diaper on in the baby classes.

Jin seemed to read his thoughts and he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry about Kushina. She was a wonderful woman.” Jin paused. Minato found the tears falling faster.

“Mr. Namikaze I have 3 kids of my own. I know you can raise Naruto and give him a wonderful life. My late wife died 2 years after our last was born. I found myself the sole caretaker of 3 rambunctious and moody girls. There are a lot of twists and turns in the life of parenting. The pain of losing a spouse will lessen overtime, but you will see her whenever you look into the eyes of your boy. I still see my wife in everything my girls do.”

Minato knew what it was like to lose his parents. It crushed him that Naruto would never have his mother.

“Do you ever feel like you were never enough?”

“All the time. But let me tell you something. As long as you love him that is more than enough.”

“Yes. Decided he should start earning money early for all the diapers we go through.” Jin gave him a deep laugh. They talked briefly and after 10 minutes, 8 of which Jin held Naruto and almost didn’t let him go, Minato ventured to his office. The moment he stepped in he realized one important fact. He forgot something for Naruto to sit in. ‘Crap’ Why didn’t he think further ahead! Minato looked around his office. He really wanted to work, but didn’t want to keep the heavy baby carrier on him. He strolled over to his desk trying not to panic. As he sat down in his chair he looked around. He then realized he had a suit jacket on the back of his door. He can lay the jacket out on the floor and Naruto could lay on that! Plus Naruto was holding his fox toy so that should provide enough entertainment for Minato to get some work done.

Within a few short minutes Minato was going over the proposal for the millionth time. Apparently in the middle of working Naruto fell asleep. It wasn’t until a knock on his office door happened that Minato realized the time. It was now 830am and he had been working for the last hour. He looked up to see who was at work today.

“Rin? Obito? What are you two doing here?” The couple were dressed casually both in jeans and simple shirts. Minato laughed when he realized they were in matching shirts. He really wanted Obito to propose soon. The last time they talked he was planning on it in the next couple of months.

“No Minato the important question is why are you at work on a Saturday morning?” Rin was taping her foot and hands on her hips.

“This proposal…”

“The proposal is perfect and will be submitted first thing Monday morning.” It was Obito who cut him off. Minato wanted to protest.

“Don’t even start Minato. You need a break, so here is what is going to happen. Obito and I will take Naruto for the morning. You will go enjoy some time to yourself. Heaven knows that you have not taken a break since Naruto was born.” Minato tried to butt in, but Rin kept going.

“And we at least won’t get pizza sauce on Naruto.” Rin was now pulling him out of his chair. Obito had gathered Naruto from the floor, he somehow strapped the baby carrier to his chest already. Soon the foursome were in the elevator heading to the lobby.

“Have a good weekend guys.” Jin happily waved as they walked through the lobby.

“You too Jin and thanks for the text.” Obito waved enthusiastically.

“What text?” Minato didn’t like what he was thinking. “Did you have Jin keep tabs on me?”

Rin and Obito looked at each other and simultaneously answered. “We plead the 5th.”

Minato tried to follow them, but Rin wasn’t having it. “Go find a coffee shop or something to sit in.” When did Rin become so bossy?

So Minato ended up slowly strolling down the streets of downtown. He realized that he was needing another caffeine hit and could use some food as well. His attention was caught by a new coffee shop with an eclectic feel. ‘This will do.’ Once he saw the menu the fate was sealed. He ordered a simple plan late and a lavender vanilla scone. He soon found his place in one of the booths by the windows. It didn’t take too long before he pulled out his iPad and started to read, Ready Player One.

He tried to shut his worrying mind off. Soon Minato became engrossed in the novel; he didn’t see a certain pink haired doctor walk in, not until he heard her sing-song voice.

“Mr. Namikaze.” Minato looked up and all the air left his lungs. Standing before him was Dr. Haruno in running shorts and a sleeveless racer back exercise top.

“Dr. Haruno. How are you?” His heart was pounding so hard he thought it would pop out of his chest.

“Sakura.” He just stared at her.

“Excuse me.” Minato was confused.

“Please call me Sakura. We are outside of work and I feel weird when people call me a doctor outside of work. And I am doing good Mr. Namikaze. How are you?” Minato felt like an idiot. She was saying to call her by her first name. He really wanted to hit his head on the table.

“Minato. Please call me Minato then. I am doing well.” Sakura smiled at him. He then realized she was holding a number card and he also realized there were no seats available. Minato weighed the pros and cons of asking what he was about to. In the end he didn’t want Sakura to leave.

“Please join me. There are no other open seats and it looks like you have ordered.” He could tell she was hesitant. The moment she sat across from him he felt the small victory.

Sakura wasn’t sure what possessed her to sit down with Mr. Namikaze. Minato, she corrected in her head. Although as she thought about it, it was the logical choice. He had an empty seat and she needed to eat. He looked more relaxed so relaxed when he was reading she hated bothering him. As she looked around she realized someone was missing.

“Where’s Naruto?” Sakura found herself a little disappointed the other familiar mop of blonde hair wasn’t present. There was something about Naruto’s smile that tugged at her heart. He was sure to be a heartbreaker.

“Two of my friends took him for the morning. They wanted to give me a break.” Minato almost felt jealous of his own son. How many women would want to be in this position? As much as he was annoyed at not being the main focus it warmed him on the inside that Naruto’s pediatrician cared so much for him.

“That’s so sweet of them. They won’t eat pizza while holding him I hope.” Her smirk caused his stomach to summersault.

“No, they are much more responsible. I’m sure Rin wants it as practice for their future. Although Obito has to propose first.” Minato was surprised at the ease of carrying a conversation with her. Their conversation was interrupted when Sakura’s order arrived. He had never seen someone so happy to see food. He couldn’t help but chuckle at her kid in the candy store look on her face.

The smell of her coffee and pancakes filled her nostrils. She could smell the warm blueberries from the pancakes and a hint of lemon. Her coffee was strong, but the white chocolate and raspberry cut through some of the bitter notes as she took her fist sip. She wasted no time drizzling the pancakes with the blueberry syrup. She had to slow her actions remembering the last time she scarfed down food in front of Kakashi. All of Sakura’s self control went to stopping herself from devouring everything.

Minato could see the struggle in her eyes as she slowly ate her food. Looking at her attire she likely spent the morning working out and was likely to be starving.

“You don’t have to hold back eating your food in front of me. What were you doing this morning?” Sakura was touched by his words.

“I went for one of my runs, so I am very hungry.” She didn’t fully unleash all her enthusiasm onto her pancakes, but did pick up the pace. They were so flaky and melted in her mouth, worth every calorie. They sat in a comfortable silence as Sakura ate and Minato read. Sakura felt like the two names she heard were familiar, but didn’t know from where.

Halfway through her food her stomach was happy enough to slow down. She then took in the appearance of the man she was sitting with. The first time she met him she realized how drop dead gorgeous he was, he still is. It’s no wonder why all the nurses swoon for him.

Soon they were parting ways. Sakura could only make it through half of her coffee, but was able to get it in a to-go cup with some black coffee added to it.

“Thank you for letting me sit with you Mr...Minato. Tell Naruto I said hi.” Just like that he watched Sakura walk away.

Minato texted Rin to see where they were. His nerves were on end until she texted back. Relief rushed over him once she said they were back home. Rin had a spare set of keys to his home and wanted Naruto to be in a familiar environment.

It was a quick walk back home. The moment Minato walked into his home he took out his phone to take a picture. Obito was sprawled out on the couch, Rin nestled into him, and Naurto played on Obito’s chest. Rin heard the snap of his phone and looked up.

“Minato! You’re back. How was your break?” Rin easily navigated over Obito and Naruto to get up. Minato thought back to his time with Sakura.

“It was just what I needed. Thank you for strong arming me into it.” Naruto startled to babble as he heard his father’s voice. Minato wasted no time in picking him up. Obito yawned and stretched.

“We should better get going. I expect to be babysitting more often.” Rin gave Minato a quick hug and kicked Obito as they walked out the door.

Minato sat down on his couch, Naruto on his knee. He bounced him up and down. After being in the coffee shop he realized how quiet his home was.

“You will never guess who I ran into today.” Naruto just tilted his head to the side and smiled.

“Dr. Haruno says hi.”

__________________________

The energy in the office was chaotic. They had just submitted the proposal and knew time would move at a snail's pace until they heard. It could be today or in the next couple of weeks. Minato wanted to throw up. He couldn’t think about all the what ifs, so started to check on the progress of their other buildings.

Currently they were working on a couple of restaurants for the Akimichi family, the Uhiha’s were wanting a revamped police station, and the Nara’s wanted a second building for their accounting firm. He also had that strange job from Nagato from a group called Akatsuki. Minato still didn’t know what the group did. All he got from Nagato was that the group represented a variety of different interests in a variety of areas.

Lunch was eaten at his desk as he worked through the hour. He didn’t want to stop. If he stopped he would just worry about that stupid proposal for Sarutobi International Bank. Minato looked up and saw Kakashi and Obito fooling around. Those two were only a couple of years younger than him, but acted like toddlers. At least Rin had a decent head on her shoulders.

He was pulled out his thoughts when his secretary called him. It was the Sarutobi group. They were calling already. They must have looked at the building proposal, laughed, and then threw it in the garbage.

“This is Minato.” His hands started to sweat.

“Minato, my boy. This is Hiruzen Sarutobi. I just wanted to tell you we got a lot of different architecture firms submitting some top notch building proposals.” Yep here came the rejection.

“Your group’s proposal was such an easy standout we didn’t have to debate for long. This was one of the smoothest meetings we have had for our buildings. Typically we take at least a month to decide.” Minato’s jaw dropped. Did Hiruzen just say…

“Congratulations Minato. Your firm has been chosen to build our newest tower. My office will send over the details in the next couple of days.”

“Tha…” He had to cough to clear his voice. “Thank you sir. I look forward to working with you.” Minato sat back as he hung up the phone. His mind was still processing what just happened. When he looked up he saw his staff looking at him. He got up slowly from his desk and walked out to talk to them.

Kakashi and Obito stopped fooling around. Rin had gone back to her own job after visiting Obito for lunch. He took in the faces of his staff.

“I’m sure you all would like to know what that call was about. As you probably heard, that was Hiruzen Sarutobi who just called. He wanted to inform us…” Minato paused wanting to build the dramatic effect. “He wanted to tell us we got the job! We will be building their newest bank tower.” Cheers soon erupted. Obito looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“We need to celebrate. What do you think boss, how about Friday?” Obito was bouncing up and down. Minato thought about the idea. His staff deserved to celebrate the news.

“That sounds good. I’ll see if one of Choza’s restaurants could cater for us. Obito, I expect Rin to be there. Kakashi try not to be too late.” Minato went to walk away when he heard Obito speak.

“Come on Kakashi you have to bring the woman you have been seeing. Rin and I are dying to meet her. “ Wait Kakashi was seeing someone! How did he not know about this? Minato turned around and Kakashi was sending texts to someone. As Minato walked around his staff letting them know about the party he soon heard Kakashi’s phone ring. Minato didn’t care to listen to the conversation, but wondered who this mystery woman could be.

___________________________

Sakura walked into the office Monday morning more refreshed than she had been in months. She felt so energized that she went for a run this morning. Usually she waited till evening to run, but with the endorphins released this morning she needed to switch to morning. Seeing that her schedule was fully booked didn’t even bother her. Bring on all of the antibiotics seeking parents for their child’s viral infection and teenage girls with abdominal pain.

It seemed like time flew because the next thing Sakura knew she was seeing her last patient. As she walked back to her office she saw she had messages from Kakashi. His last message said to give him a call when she could. She wondered what he wanted to talk about. Sakura prepared herself for ‘the talk’ as she called him.

“Hey Kakashi. It’s Sakura.” She was slightly surprised when she heard his voice having an excitement in it she never heard before.

“Sakura thanks for getting back to me. I was wanting to know what your plans are for Friday night.” That was not the question she was expecting.

“I don’t have any at the moment.” Before she could continue Kakashi cut in.

“How would you feel about coming to a work party with me on Friday. The firm I work with just got this big job and the boss wants to celebrate. I was wanting to bring you with me.” Sakura’s heart warmed at him wanting her to come with him.

“I would love to go with you. Let me know the time and if yo…”

“Great I will pick you up at 8.” Sakura could hear people celebrating in the background.

“I’ll see you then.” Sakura sighed as she hung up the phone. Mei happened to be walking by as she sighed.

“What’s with the heavy sigh?” Sakura looked at her coworker. She was drop dead gorgeous, long reddish brown hair and green eyes. Sakra couldn’t understand how she was still single.

“Oh I’m just debating how late my date will be picking me up Friday night.” Sakura thought she would play it safe and plan for him to be 30 minutes late.

“I would kill for a guy to be late, it would give me more time to get ready. I’m never ready in time. Do you want me to cover your call shift that night? I think it would be fair since you covered for me a month or so ago.” Sakura forgot she was supposed to be on call. She was thrilled that Mei offered to take the shift without being asked.

“That would be amazing.” Now all Sakura had to do was figure out what to wear. Mei bid her a good night as they both headed out.

___________________________

Sakura stared at herself in the mirror. It was currently 820 and Kakashi wasn’t here yet. She had just finished her hair and makeup. After talking with Ino she decided to do a side french braid in her hair and then gathered the rest into a ponytail. She kept her makeup in neutral tones, but used her shimmery eyeshadow palette, giving her a grey smokey eye. It was now time to put on her dress.

She had gone with Ino yesterday after work to pick out something. Sakura wasn’t fully sure about the dress code for this event, so wanted something that could be dressy or more casual if needed. They had found a deep red off the shoulder fit n flare dress. She was going to pair it with her silver wedges. She wasn’t going to wear a necklace, but decided on drop earrings that were silver tear drops. Just as Sakura was putting on her heels her doorbell rang.

“Ready to go?” Kakashi looked amazing in his simple black dress slacks and white dress shirt. At least her outfit went with his. Sakura didn’t even care to bring up the fact that he was late, again.

“Yep, all ready.”

Soon they were entering his office building and Sakura was blown away by the lobby. Arched ceilings with metal beams. There were skylights allowing for natural light to come in. They took the elevator up to the 15 floor. As they got closer Sakura could hear that the party was in full swing.

“My friends are looking forward to meeting you.” Kakashi had looped his arm through hers.

“I’m looking forward to meeting them as well.” Kakashi and Sakura entered the party. There were trays of food being walked around by some waiters. She could also see a buffet set up along the windows. Kakashi navigated her around the party. He was looking for two of his closest friends.

“Kakashi! You showed up and only 45 minutes late.” A man with black hair and eyes was talking, the first thing she noticed were his kind eyes and smile. He was about as tall as Kakashi.

“Oh is this Sakura?” Kakashi untwined their arms and placed his hand on her back.

“Yes, this is Sakura. Sakura this is Obito.” Sakura paused, that was the name Minato mentioned. It then clicked in her brain. The two who were watching Naruto were also Kakashi’s best friends. That’s why the names were so familiar.

“Nice to meet you.” Obito’s grin was from ear to ear. Soon another person joined them. She had medium brown hair in a long bob and hazel eyes. The woman gave Obito a peck on the cheek. Sakura found Obito’s blush endearing.

“You must be Rin. I’m Sakura. It’s nice to meet you.” Rin seemed shocked that Sakura knew her name, but was soon shaking her hand vigorously.

“Oh it’s so good to meet you.” Soon the four were making the rounds at the party. Sakura enjoyed talking with Rin. They found out they had a lot in common with Rin working as a psychologist and Sakura a pediatrician. It was watching Obito and Rin interact that made Sakura realize she saw Kakashi more as a friend than anything else.

“Hey Kakashi has the boss man meet Sakura yet?” The moment Kakashi shook his head no Obito was leading them to another area of the room. Sakura froze when she saw him. Kakashi’s boss was Naruto’s father.

“Hey Minato. Kakashi showed up and he brought a date.” Minato looked over to the group. The moment Sakura entered the party Minato saw her. She looked breathtaking in her dress. That familiar feeling in his stomach returned. He could feel his heart beat faster. However, it was like a bucket of cold water was thrown on him when he saw she was with Kakashi. He tried to ignore the two as they walked around the party. Sakura attracted the attention of many of the staff and other attendants. One reason was that she came with Kakashi. The other was everyone was taken by her looks. It was not everyday a person with candy hair and dazzling emeralds for eyes came into the office.

As those eyes focused on him everything else faded away. Sakura then opened her mouth. “Mr. Namikaze it's good to see you again.” Sakura was conflicted on how to address Minato. She thought the best course of action would be to take the professional approach.

“Wait, do you two know each other.” It was Kakashi who actually decided to speak. He looked perplexed.

“Dr. Haruno is Naruto’s pediatrician.” Rin looked giddy beside Obito.

“Congratulations on the new job.” Sakura wasn’t sure what to do. She could feel all eyes on her and it was making her have a slight freak out. Soon Rin was telling stories of babysitting Naruto, which Sakura smiled at. They were then going to the buffet table and sat down to talk. Obito was part of the Uchiha family and decided to go into design over the police force. Sakura then got into a story of how she knew Shisui from childhood. Minato was friends with Fugaku and Mikoto, who had recently given birth to her second son. Itachi was an adorable eight year old who she had only seen a couple of times.

Sakura found herself needing some fresh air, which meant she would have to go down to the lobby.

“Kakashi I need some fresh air. I’m going to head downstairs for a little bit and I’ll be back up.” As she went to stand up Kakashi stopped her.

“We have a balcony we use at times. Let me show it to you. That way we don’t have to go all the way downstairs.” They two excused themselves. The balcony had a stunning view of the city and the crisp air was like a welcoming hug after being in a room with so many people. Kakashi just stood beside her.

“Kakashi, I have been thinking about what we are and…” She had to pause. Sakura wasn’t sure if this was the best time to bring it up, but she feared she would lose her nerve later.

“I have enjoyed spending time with you, but I feel like we would work better as friends.” Sakura rushed the part after the but. She could feel herself internally wince, hating how cliche she just sounded. However, she was speaking the truth about being friends with him, especially after meeting Obito and Rin. He seemed to let out a sigh...of relief.

“I have enjoyed spending time with you as well, but am glad I am not the only one who thinks we would work better as friends.” Sakura couldn’t contain herself as she hugged Kakashi. His chuckle sounded deep from his chest. She felt him place a soft kiss on the crown of her head. They went back to the party both feeling lighter.

“By the way I have someone who I think you would really like. She is a coworker of mine.”

____________________

Minato watched as they walked away. The feeling of jealousy was nothing like how he felt when Sakura just paid attention to Naruto. Minato could understand that. This however. This was something different. He didn’t know much about Sakura, but enjoyed being around her. Aside from Obito, Rin, Kakashi, and Naruto she was a welcome relief to the darkness that surrounded him so often recently.

So Minato followed them, discreetly of course. He couldn’t hear their conversation, but saw their embrace. His heart felt heavy. Then he had to turn away when Kakashi kissed her head. Minato went back to the table to sit back down. He watched as Rin happily ate her dessert.

“Do you think your friend would still want to go for that date?” Minato had to move on, one baby step at a time.

#minasaku #minato x sakura #minato namikaze #Sakura Haruno #naruto #fanfic #multisaku

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