#but I got super cranky at the end of the day cause my feet hurts and I got v little sleep too

[asmallcafethatslove]

Walked at least 20k these past 3 days and my legs are dead 😭

[master-sass-blast]

T.L.C.

Summary: A study on Piotr's character as he cares for the Reader through her pregnancy and medication withdrawal symptoms.

Set after "The Long Awaited Arrival."

Pairing(s): Piotr Rasputin x Reader.

Rating: T for panic attacks, vomiting, medication withdrawal symptoms, and other features of hurt/comfort.

Word Count: 3.8k.

Update Time: So! After three months, the first place I was referred to for physical therapy did not contact me! Hooray!

But, fortunately, I got a new referral to a new place, and they contacted me within two days. I finally have an appointment scheduled for the end of the month.

Thank you all for being patient with the delays in updating the series. My pain makes it difficult to sleep and write; suffice to say, I've been exhausted the past few months. I'm hoping that with physical therapy, I'll finally get my pain managed and get back to having a life.

I hope you're all doing well. Thank you so much for reading and for sticking with the series!

Taglist: @marvel-is-perfection, @chromecutie, @girl-obsessed-with-things, @super-darkcloudstudent, @leo-writer, @dandyqueen, @sadstone-s

There’s a lot of ups and downs to pregnancy.

Not that Piotr knows from being pregnant; obviously, he’s not quite –ahem–outfitted with the proper “parts” for carrying and delivering a baby. But he remembers his mother being pregnant with Illyana. Granted, she’d always kept a pretty straight face through it all, but he could remember her not eating certain foods because they’d make her feel sick, or having to adjust how she worked on the family farm as her belly grew –not to mention the cranky period she went through while cold turkey-ing off coffee. (Alexandra was right to fuss over her husband for smoking, but her caffeine addiction was just as bad –if not worse.)

He could remember his father allocating extra time to care for his mother, too. There’d been several days where Piotr came home from school to find Nikolai making a fresh batch of chicken dumpling soup for his wife because it was the only thing Alex could keep down during the first trimester. Countless evenings of witnessing his father massage his mother’s shoulders, back, legs, and feet. Late night runs to the kitchen to whip up craving snacks. All done as Nikolai did nearly everything his family asked of him –with a loving smile and nod.

So, when Piotr comes home after prepping his classroom for school the following week and finds you perched on the couch, curled over a mop bucket, heaving up your lunch, his response comes naturally.

He’s had a good teacher his whole life, after all.

***

His first order of business is holding your hair and soothing you while you puke.

He’s grateful, at times like this, that he has a strong stomach. Granted, even if he didn’t, he’d still tough it out for you. But not having to fight down his own queasiness makes it easier to focus on caring for you.

“It’s –it’s just the medication withdrawals,” you pant once you catch your breath. “I’m fine, it’s just the meds–”

Piotr winces, chest aching with sympathy when you gag and retch into the bucket again. “It is okay, myshka. Let your body do what is natural.”

You cough, then groan. Your cheeks are wet from tears caused by your gagging. “Fuck.” You dry heave, then sigh. “I’m fine. You –you don’t have to–”

He shushes you gently. “I am staying right here. Just focus on what your body is doing.”

***

Once your stomach’s done, he ushers you upstairs to rest in bed and cleans the vomit bucket.

He’s glad to have had some foresight for all this. Aside from the well-known symptoms of pregnancy –hello, morning sickness–he’d expected another round of illness when your specialist had advised you to reduce the dose of your anxiety medication. He’s seen you go through withdrawals before; aside from the mental symptoms, they always made you sick. So, after that appointment, he’d stocked up –chicken soup, ginger ale, saltines, applesauce, some of your favorite chocolates just to help sweeten (pun intended) the whole ordeal.

He sprays some Lysol into the –now empty–mop bucket and sets it aside to dry, then frowns when he hears you groan. “Are you okay?”

“Just chills,” you reply from the bedroom. “Fucking withdrawals.”

Piotr grimaces. Your back’s been hurting, too; he’s felt you tossing and turning next to him in bed for a few weeks now. He pads back into the bedroom, then kneels down on your side of the bed so he’s at eye level with you. “Do you need medicine? Or your heating pad?”

You shake your head, expression one of resigned misery. “No. It is what it is.” You crack one eye open and manage a small smile, then reach out and stroke his cheek. “But thank you, love.”

He frowns. Another trait he inherited from his father: he doesn’t like not being able to help. Piotr watches you for a moment, mulling over in his mind what might bring you some comfort and relaxation –then puts a gentle hand on your shoulder when an idea pops into his head. “Would you like to take hot bath?”

You’re quiet for a moment. Then, you stretch and nod. “Actually, yeah. That sounds good.”

He kisses your temple before standing. “Alright. I will draw hot bath for you, myshka.”

You grab the hem of his shirt before he can walk away. “Will you soak with me?”

“Konechno –if you want.”

“Yeah. You holding me sounds really good right now.”

Piotr smiles softly, then bends over and kisses your cheek before heading to the bathroom to get the tub ready.

Mostly, he just has to wait for the water to heat up and for the basin to fill –the latter, of course, takes the longest. There aren’t many tubs that fit him; the one in the master bathroom was a custom job. As such, filling it is a drawn-out process requiring a great deal of patience. For that reason –and the water usage–neither of you use the tub often.

It’s still nice to have, though. It makes for a nice treat, every now and then, to enjoy a luxurious soak instead of a more practical shower. And, in situations like these, Piotr’s glad to have a tub that fits him (even if the monthly utility bill is nowhere near as grateful).

He sets fresh towels next to the tub, makes sure the bath mat is in place (your sense of balance keeps changing as your belly keeps growing, and he doesn’t want you slipping on the tile floor), then grabs a change of clothes for him and fresh pajamas for you:  a pair of leggings and one of his shirts. That’s what you’ve been comfortable wearing lately; he’s certainly not about to deny you anything that makes you comfortable. He opts against any scented oils or bath bombs; both your skin and nose have been sensitive lately. Once the tub basin is –finally–full enough for a soak, he goes back to the bedroom and collects you.

He helps you undress first, then quickly strips down before –carefully–climbing into the tub. He slowly settles in the steaming water –he doesn’t want to slosh water all over the bathroom floor–then holds one arm out to you once he’s situated.

You let out a soft, pleased groan when you climb into the tub and quickly settle in his lap, making little waves lap against the tub’s porcelain walls. You pillow your head against his shoulder and sigh. “Thanks, baby. This is nice.”

“Konechno.” He kisses the top of your head and wraps one arm around your back to help support your weight. “We can stay here as long as you want.”

You giggle, quiet. Barely there. “Until we’re all pruney and gross.”

Piotr chuckles and kisses your forehead. “Da –until we are shriveled raisins.”

“You’re gonna be one big raisin, buster,” you quip, tone warming with amusement. “I don’t even want to see the grape vine that grew you.”

He considers for a moment, then laughs again. “You have met my mother.”

You go quiet for a moment. Then, you bust out laughing –hard, hearty, joyous laughs that make your shoulders shake against him. “Shit, you’re right! I didn’t even think of that.”

He grins and holds you closer. One hand slips beneath the water to support your stomach, so he can feel it quiver as you laugh.

He’s missed hearing you laugh like this.

***

Your panic attacks don’t scare him.

He’s served as an X-Man and mentor at Xavier’s for years. He’s seen all manner of mutations and side effects –including how emotional distress can lessen a mutant’s control of their abilities. What’s more, he’s seen how your emotional distress affects your powers; he knows the kind of carnage you’re capable of unleashing.

So, when he comes home from running errands on a Sunday morning and gets greeted to a rush of wind and you balled up on the floor, sobbing while the curtains flap wildly, he drops his things on the table inside the front door and runs over to you.

“No!” You try to shove him away when he pulls you into his arms. “No, no –just leave–”

“It’s okay,” he assures you, drawing you into his lap anyway. His throat constricts with grief when you let out a broken sob. “It’s okay, myshka. Everything will be okay. Just breathe and let wave pass.”

Eventually, the anxiety does pass. The curtains settle back into their normal hanging positions. Your breathing settles, and your body slowly relaxes against his.

Once he’s checked that you’re okay and that you don’t have any immediate needs, Piotr leans back against the base of the couch and just holds you. He stays quiet so you can focus on processing. Occasionally, he checks in to make sure you’re still doing okay. Kisses your forehead, your temples, the top of your head, your cheeks –whatever he can reach, really.

After a while, you sniff. Then, in a scratchy voice, you murmur, “Maybe… maybe I should move back into Xavier’s while I’m pregnant.”

His brows furrow together in alarm and confusion. “Why? Why would you need to do that?”

“If –if I’m going to have more –more panic attacks and episodes again–”

Piotr shakes his head automatically. “Nyet. Absolutely not. This is your home, dorogoy.” He strokes your cheek when you tip your head back and look up at him. “You have every right to be here.”

“Piotr, be reasonable,” you sigh. “I could blow out the fucking windows with a breath.”

“Then we will get new windows.”

Your jaw tightens. Your chin quivers, and you avert your gaze. “I could kill you.”

His heart aches in his chest at how defeated, how certain your voice sounds. He says your name –softly, tenderly–and gently presses his fingers under your chin until you look up at him. “I could kill you, also.”

“It’s not the same,” you mutter, looking away again.

“I break dishes without meaning to,” he reasons as he strokes your hair. “I could crush other’s feet if I am not careful about where I step. If I do not pay attention to how much force I use, I leave bruises. Breaking bones, crushing organs with a hug –it is not out of the question.”

You shake your head. “If you have a panic attack, you won’t break someone’s bones just by being in the same room with them.”

“I know.” He kisses the top of your head. “But I do not want you being unduly unkind to yourself.” When you hum in assent, he hugs you close and kisses your forehead. “What triggered this one?”

You let out a shaky breath. “Saw my mom standing on the stairs. Thought she was real.”

Piotr frowns. It’s been a while since you’ve hallucinated. Between your meds and psychic therapy with Professor Xavier to heal the scarring on your brain, your condition’s been managed. Perhaps elevated anxiety from going off meds exacerbated injuries from scarring. “Let’s talk to Professor. You may need more sessions since you are not taking medication.”

You nod, slowly. Tiredly. “Yeah. Maybe.”

He cradles you closer against his chest and kisses your forehead again. “And… if moving back to main house is necessary, we go together. Khorosho?”

“Khorosho.” You sniff, then bury your face against his chest. “Ya tebya lyublyu.”

“Ya tozhe tebya lyublyu.”

No, your panic attacks don’t scare him.

They just break his heart.

***

School starts for the year. The first week passes in a blur; it’s a whirlwind of learning names and faces of new students, getting everyone settled back into the school year routine, getting his art and Russian language students oriented with this year’s lesson plan (no small task for the latter, since he’s teaching three classes this year to accommodate the different experience levels), and trying to keep the mansion in some semblance of order now that it’s packed to the gills, Monday through Friday.

And you… seem to be doing okay. The worst of the withdrawal symptoms have settled, and you’re doing two sessions a week with Alyssa and the Professor. You’re eating more regularly, getting back outside for walks, and have started working with new high school students on essay writing on Fridays.

He’s relieved –if only because he doesn’t like to see you suffer. He wants you to have a happy, as-stress-free-as-possible life.

But he’s also been with you –from boyfriend, to fiance, to husband–for a long time. He’s been by your side for many a breakdown. He knows firsthand that when the first storm passes, there’s usually another wall of clouds close behind.

So, when he wakes up on the second Monday of the school year and sees the light of your phone on, Piotr’s saddened, but not necessarily surprised. He blinks a few times to clear his eyes, then reaches across the bed and touches your back. “Privet.”

“Hey,” you murmur, voice heavy with exhaustion. You pause the video you’re watching, then roll over so you can look at him. “Good morning.”

Piotr frowns sadly. Your face is pinched with fatigue and stress. He brushes some hair away from your face, then cups your cheek with his hand. “Did you sleep?”

You shake your head. “Couldn’t wind down. Brain wouldn’t shut up.”

He watches as you turn your head into your pillow to hide your miserable frown. He studies you for a moment, then shifts his hand lower to rub the back of your neck. “Do you want me to stay with you today?”

“You can’t,” you reply, shaking your head automatically. “It’s a school day.”

“Is only second week of school year,” he reminds you. “It will not be end of world if I miss today.”

“I don’t want to take you away from your kids.”

Piotr shifts forward so he’s closer to you, then fishes one hand under the blankets so he can caress your faintly rounded stomach. “I have kid right here, too.” He smiles when you let out a soft –if tired–laugh, then kisses your forehead. “Do you want me to stay?”

You’re quiet for a moment. Then, you let out a shuddering breath and nod. “Yeah.”

Piotr’s heart aches at your tense, wavering tone –it sounds suspiciously like you’re about to start crying–and tugs you into a gentle hug. “Alright, myshka. I will stay with you today.”

***

You do indeed cry. He holds you until you calm down again, then gets out of bed to call Logan.

“S’too bad,” Logan gravels out –and then there’s a pause as he shouts at some of the live-in students that they get one cup of coffee each morning, no extras. “Sorry she’s hurting.”

“Ne volnuytes'. I can call my mother to sub for Russian language classes.”

“That’d be good, since none of us speak it.”

He says good-bye to Logan, then calls his mother.

Alex tuts when he gives her the news. “Poor girl. Pregnancy is hard.”

“It seems to be, yes,” Piotr agrees in Russian. “Sorry to ask last minute, but I need substitute for Russian language classes.”

“I think I can manage,” his mother replies, voice tinged with amusement. “I did run a legitimate curriculum translation business, after all. And I raised you three hooligans.”

Piotr scoffs, albeit good-naturedly. “If you stop by our house, I can walk you through where each class is at before day starts.”

“Good. I will be there shortly.”

***

His brother teleports his mother over twenty minutes after the phone call. Mikhail nods in greeting, ambles over to the fridge, and pulls out a can of lemonade before waving good-bye and winking out of view.

Piotr rolls his eyes, shakes his head, then turns to greet his mother. “Thank you, again, for helping on such short notice.”

“Of course.” She accepts his hug, then nods towards the stairs. “How is she?”

“Tired,” he answers, frowning sadly. “She did not sleep. And her anxiety has been bad.”

Alexandra tsks, sympathetic. “Poor girl.” She eyes Piotr, then smiles and squeezes his shoulder. “Good thing she has you to support her.”

Piotr smiles and ducks his head, pleased by the praise. “It goes both ways. Let me get you class schedules.” He grabs the shoulder bag he uses to transport his laptop and other school materials to and from the mansion and sets it on the kitchen counter. “I have three language classes. Entry level is at nine, intermediate is after lunch, and advanced is at two…”

By the time he’s nearly done catching his mother up, you come padding downstairs. “Hey.”

Piotr and his mother look up in unison. He leaves his mother’s side, heading over to the stairs so he can hold out a hand and steady you the rest of the way down. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just wanted to come say hi.” You wave at Alex. “Dobroye utro.”

“Dobroye utro,” she returns before switching to English. “How are you feeling?”

“Eh.” You shrug, then cover your mouth with the back of your hand as you yawn. “Is what it is.”

Alex hums, nodding, then holds out one arm in offering. She hugs you when you accept and step closer to her, gently rubbing your back. “You are doing good job. Taking care of yourself is part of the process.”

“Thank you.” You sniff, then step back and fan your face with your hands. You let out a laugh. “Ugh, I’m all emotional.”

Alexandra chuckles. “All part of the deal.” She pats your arm. “It’ll be okay.”

“Yeah.” You blink a few times to clear your eyes, then look her over. “You look sharp!”

Alex preens a little, adjusting the lapel of her navy blue suit. “Spasibo. Nicky’s choice.”

“He’s got good taste.” You share a grin with her, then turn and hug him. “I’m gonna head back to bed.”

Piotr kisses the top of your head. “Khorosho. What would you like for breakfast?” He fixes you with a fond, yet determined look when you grimace. “Myshka, you need to eat.”

“Wow, which option will taste best when I’m throwing it up?” you mutter, dejected. “What a fabulous contemplation.”

“What about something like toast?” Alexandra suggests, slightly bemused, after watching the two of you for a moment. “Something not too heavy, can be eaten slowly. It may help.”

Piotr smiles when you relent with a grunt, then kisses the top of your head once more. “What kind of toast?”

“One piece, Mr. Giant,” you grumble –although your voice is tinged with humor. “And apricot jelly. That one’s smelled the best lately.”

“One piece of toast with apricot jelly,” Piotr parrots back, rubbing circles over your back and shoulders. “I can do that.”

“With butter,” you add, voice slightly muffled as you rest your head against his chest. “And make sure it melts all the way before you add the jelly. The texture turns weird otherwise.”

“Konechno.” Piotr leans down to kiss you, then ushers you towards the stairs. “Go rest. I will be up shortly.” When he turns back around, after you’ve made it to the second floor and he can hear your footsteps heading towards the master bedroom, he finds his mother watching him with a fond smile on her face. He frowns faintly, confused. “What?”

“You’re sweet with her,” she explains, switching back to Russian. “It’s lovely to watch.”

Piotr ducks his head, somewhat flustered by the attention from his mother, but nonetheless pleased. “It’s easy. I love her.”

Alex chuckles, then sighs. “You take after your father. Sappy.”

“I think I take after you, too,” he retorts with a soft shrug. He smiles when Alex scoffs –though the tips of his mother’s ears turn red, which is a dead giveaway that his compliment landed how he wanted–then returns to the papers laid out on the kitchen island counter. “So–”

“You’ve done a good job explaining.” She stacks the papers together, taps them against the counter to get them aligned, then tucks them back into his shoulder bag. She slings the strap over her shoulder, then pats his shoulder. “Go take care of your girl. I’ll manage.”

“Thank you, mama.” He hugs her, then watches as she strides down the hall and out the front door. He starts to follow her, then catches himself when the door shuts and latches on it’s own behind her. Right. Of course. He laughs to himself, then turns back to the kitchen. Toast time.

***

“I’m sorry.”

Piotr blinks rapidly, then angles his head down so he can look at you. His brows pinch together as he tries to puzzle out what you could possibly be apologizing for this time (you’ve fallen back into the habit of over-apologizing since reducing the dose of your medication, which isn’t all that surprising, but it concerns him). “For what?”

“For being so picky about my toast,” you murmur, tone sheepish. You tuck your head against your shoulder, thus hiding your face. “I didn’t mean to make you do all that extra work.”

“It –it was not ‘extra work,’” Piotr assures you, laughing slightly at the sheer absurdity of the notion. “You are not feeling well. You are my wife. And you are carrying my child. Taking extra fifteen seconds to make sure butter melts completely is not ‘extra work.’”

“Well… still,” you mumble before you resume nibbling at your toast. “Thank you.”

“No ‘still,’” he insists as he leans over to kiss your temple. “And you are very welcome.” He smiles when you relax a little, then settles back in to watch the video you’d pulled up on your phone–

And then his phone chirps. Once. Twice. Three times.

Piotr frowns when the fourth and fifth notifications roll in. Chto za chert…

The messages are from his students, each with pictures attached.

Pictures of his mother.

Kitty: [image attached] DUDE, YOU NEVER SAID YOUR MOM COULD PULL DAPPER BUTCH.

Ellie: [image attached] Tell ur dad he needs to pick ur mom’s outfits more often

Yukio: [image attached] Your mom looks nice!

Evan: [image attached] u never mentioned ur mom was hot dude

Evan: [image attached] is she seeing anyone lol?

You peer over his shoulder, then start laughing. “Uh oh. I think your kids may have a new favorite teacher.”

“All she did was wear a suit,” he mutters –even as he screenshots the texts to send to his parents; he knows they’ll get a kick out of them. He makes a mental note to have Logan talk to Evan about appropriate boundaries, then squints when a new text rolls in.

Ororo: I think your students have started a Snap group dedicated to your mom wearing that suit.

He sighs and rolls his eyes skywards –then smirks and looks down when he feels you start shaking next to him. “Are you alright?”

You tip your head back and let out a bright cackle. “Yeah,” you manage once you catch your breath, “I think it’s official. Your students are going to replace you after today.”

He shakes his head, still bemused, then turns off his phone and sets it back down. “Very funny, myshka.”

[kimistorm]

Nathaniel x Reader || Art, an Evil Villain, and an Erased Window

“Nathaniel!” you winced as Ms. Mendeleev scolded him for drawing again.

“I’m going to get him the notes!” you tried to defend him.

“He should be writing his notes by himself, go to the principal’s office!”

“It helps him focus!” you stood up to continue to defend your red haired best friend.

“(y/n) sit back down!” she scowled, “you’re causing a disruption! Nathaniel! Go to the principal’s office now!”

“It’s alright (y/n),” Nathaniel sighed and picked up his papers to listen to what Ms. Mendeleev commanded.

You frowned but sat back down anyway, until Chloe tripped him. Then you jumped back onto your feet so fast that the chair you were sitting in fell backwards with a clatter.

“Ooh look at this,” Chloe mocked as she held up one of the papers that fell out of his hand.

“What gives you the right to look through his stuff!” you shouted from the back of the room.

“(y/n) sit down!” Ms. Mendeleev snapped.

Chloe continued to talk as if you hadn’t said anything, “it’s Nathaniel as a superhero!” she then gasped, “and he’s saving Marinette!” You felt your heart throb. Marinette? Of course he would like her, she’s sweet, kind, and the perfect friend. But you couldn’t deny that you had feelings for the red haired tomato, and it hurt to know that those feelings weren’t reciprocated. Nathaniel hurriedly grabbed his papers from Chloe and ran out of the room.

“Ms. Mendeleev! You’re being too harsh!” you argued while still standing up.

“That’s it (y/n). Go to the principal’s office now!” she ordered.

For a moment you were shocked, you had never been sent to the principal’s office before, but you quickly got over that shock when you realized that that was where Nathaniel was. You could defend him, “okay!” you replied and quickly gathered your items before running out the door. You were making your way to the principal’s office but was stopped by a rather peculiar person roaming around. You ran over to see what he was doing. You couldn’t believe your eyes when you saw him, “Nathaniel?” you asked in shock. He couldn’t be. Nathaniel? The sweetest person whom you’ve ever met being a supervillain? It made sense though, the red hair, the artist vibe, and the fact that Nathaniel was just sent outside.

“It’s not Nathaniel, it’s Evillustrator!” he shouted.

“No, this isn’t like you.” All of your stuff clattered to the ground as you looked at your best friend. “What have you done to Nathaniel!”

“You’re being too loud,” he snarled as he walked towards you. You stumbled backwards. This wasn’t your friend. “I don’t want Ladybug and Chat Noir to come just yet. I have some revenge I need to place on Chloe.”

“I get what she did was mean, but you don’t need to become a supervillain because of her!”

“Be quiet.” He drew something on his pad and tape was stuck over your mouth, immediately your hands flew up to your face to try and rip it off but your hands flew back as you got stuck to the wall with more tape. If looks could kill you would’ve killed Evillustrator right then and there, but he left the room without another word.

You struggled against the tape that held you back. Either you were weak, or this was some super strong tape. Definitely stronger than one strip of duct tape. You sighed. Here you were, stuck against a wall because of some tape with nobody around. You stood there dejectedly until an idea came into your mind. You remember reading somewhere on the internet that licking the tape that covered your face would cause it to come off. So that’s what you set yourself on doing until someone came by.

Screaming came from somewhere in the school, and you wished you could see what was happening. “Wait, (y/n)?” you nearly cried in relief when you heard Nino’s voice. You vigorously nodded. “Dude, what are you doing here?” You glared at him, if you could explain, you would. “Let’s get you freed.” He first set on picking at the tape on your face, “okay this will probably hurt. One, two, three!” with a yank the tape was off your face.

“Oww!” you groaned as your face started to sting.

“Sorry dude.” He answered and went on tackling your hands, “what is this, super tape?” he asked as he too struggled against the tape.

“I don’t know, but if it was just duct tape, I would’ve freed myself ages ago.” You struggled against the tape to try and help Nino get it off. Suddenly the tape was loose and your arm flew forwards, accidentally punching Nino in the chest. “Oh my gosh Nino I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine.” He laughed and started on the other hand, except a bit more to the side. This process repeated for the last three pieces of tape until you were free.

“I’m free!” you shouted excitedly and raised your arms in victory.

Nino laughed, “come on, let’s get back to class.”

                                                      ...

You were at home working on your homework. Ladybug and Chat Noir still hadn’t captured the Evillustrator. You sighed and sent the image of your notes to Nathaniel. Ms. Mendeleev was just too tough on him. Actually, she was just overall a really angry and cranky teacher.

“So, (y/n).” You screamed and fell out of your chair as a voice came from your window. It was the Evillustrator, and with a few flicks of his pen your window disappeared and he walked into your room. You couldn’t do anything but stare at him dumbfounded. “You’re my best friend right?”

“What? I mean, of course.” You shakily got back onto your chair, “what’s with this sudden question?”

“What should I do for a date.”

“Huh?” you almost shouted, “a date?”

He winced at how loud you were, “with Marinette.”

“Oh,” you visibly deflated, “of course. A moonlit stroll is kind of cliche.” You thought out loud, “but I think the moon is out tonight. So that would actually be kind of cute.”

“I was thinking, riding down the Seine on a boat?” he asked uncertainly.

You gaped, “yep. That’ll definitely do it. Add candles and dinner and you’re practically golden. Fairy lights would definitely add to the theme, and if you want to be cheesy. Flowers.”

He nodded as you listed off ideas, “that’s great! Thanks (y/n)!” he hugged you before jumping out of the window.

“Yeah.” You quietly agreed wistfully. You snapped back into reality as you realized you still had a gaping hole for a window, “at least fix the window!” You groaned and laid back onto your bed. Your heart hurt as the entire weight of the situation settled. Nathaniel, the boy you were hopelessly in love with, was hopelessly in love with Marinette. You were already being rejected and you hadn’t even confessed yet.

You ended up going to sleep early that night. With your homework unfinished, your window a gaping hole, and your heart hurting.

                                                     ...

“So, how’d that date go?” you asked as you roughly sat down next to Nathaniel the next day.

“Date? What date?” he questioned in confusion. He turned to you with blue eyes wide in confusion.

“I uh, I mean nothing.” You blushed and turned away from him. You rested your face on your hand and spaced out as you looked at the floor. He didn’t remember anything from being the Evillustrator. Not the date, not the fact that he left you taped to a wall.

“What’s wrong (y/n)?” Nathaniel placed a hand on your shoulder and tried to get you to look at him.

“It’s nothing,” you sighed.

“Please,” he begged, “we’re best friends. I thought we told each other everything?”

“Except the fact that you’re obviously hopelessly in love with Marinette.” You snapped back bitterly. Your eyes widened and you clapped your hands over your mouth. He looked to be just as shocked. “I’m sorry I need to go!” you nearly screamed as you ran out of the classroom.

“(y/n)! Wait!” he called as he ran after you. He caught up to you and grabbed your hand, “please (y/n). Wait.” He panted

“I’m sorry Nathaniel.” You whimpered and tore yourself out of his grasp.

“Please, tell me what’s wrong.” He called down the hall.

You stopped running and turned around, but made sure to keep quite a bit of space between you two. “I’m sorry Nathaniel. It just hurts that you’re hopelessly in love with another girl.”

“I’m not hopelessly in love with Marinette.” He told you eagerly, “she’s just a very good model. I like to draw her.”

“Oh,” you weren’t entirely convinced. You didn’t want to sound like a brat, but what about you?

He seemed to notice your hesitation, “I didn’t draw you because there was no way any of my drawings could come close to portraying how pretty you are.” Your jaw dropped and you froze. Your mind couldn’t think of anything to say. “Sorry. I don’t think that really helped. I really like you (y/n), but it doesn’t seem like that feeling is reciprocated.” He turned around sadly and started to walk back to the room.

You snapped out of your daze and ran back to him before launching yourself to hug him, “silly.” You whispered to him, “I love you too.”

“Really?” he asked in shock and turned back around to face you.

You placed your forehead on his forehead, “of course. Why would I ever lie to you?” Both of you smiled at each and let your lips melt together in a kiss.

Masterlist (Originally posted in 2018)

[nerdzzone]

Light After Dark: Chapter Eight

Summary: Brooke Harris was trying her best to be grateful. As the world tackled the COVID-19 pandemic, she was healthy and safe and so was the rest of her family, but her dreams had very quickly been crushed by the economic fallout. Trapped on the quaint island of Jersey with nothing, but free time to wallow in her mistakes, Brooke’s mental health was taking a hit, but when she collides with a handsome stranger she starts to realize that the future might not be so bleak and there might still be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC

______________

May. 27. 2020

Henry: Any plans for this lovely warm day?

Warm felt like an understatement. It was hot. The temperature had shot up out of no where making it feel even warmer than it actually was, but at twenty-four degrees it felt like the height of summer for England.

Me: I'm way ahead of you

Me:

The picture was more revealing than things I'd sent him before, but I was at the beach so it would have been weird to cover up for a selfie. At least that’s what I told myself as I waited eagerly for a response.

Henry: Wow, it looks like I'm missing out

Henry: Do you want some company or are you enjoying the alone time?

Me: I'm always happy to have your company if you want to join!

Henry: Excellent, what beach are you at?

Me: Beauport

Henry: Great, I'll see you soon

I put my phone back under my bag and out of the sun before resting my head down on my arms. The feel of the sun on my back was lovely, just warm enough to feel like I was laying under a nice hot blanket, but not hot enough that it felt like my skin was literally burning. Days like this were my absolute favourite. Anything between twenty-three and thirty degrees was just right for me and I tried to appreciate that this was a moment I wouldn't have had if my plan for the year had worked out.

I was in my own world, still basking in the warmth when a bark and a wet nose pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Kal!" A sharp voice shouted as I lifted my head to see the massive dog above me. "Leave her alone!"

I giggled as he licked my face frantically and reached up to ruffle his fluffy coat.

"It's okay," I assured Henry as he jogged over. "He's alright."

"He knows better than to run off like that," Henry frowned. "But he saw you and bolted."

"Well I appreciate that enthusiasm, but you should listen to your boss, Kal."

He boofed at the sound of his name before darting a few feet towards the sea then running back to Henry. He did it twice more before letting out a bark towards his owner.

"Alright," Henry chuckled. "You can go, Kal. Go!"

Kal didn't even hesitate before shooting off and jumping into the waves. I laughed as I looked over my shoulder at the sight while Henry spread out the blanket that was tucked under his arm and sat down next to me. I rolled over, leaning back on my elbows so it was easier for us to talk.

"He must be so hot in this weather."

"He is," Henry nodded. "But he does well. He's been to some places that are a lot hotter than this."

"Well then he's a trooper," I smiled. "Because much hotter than this and even I get cranky and I don't have a built in fur coat."

"He is," Henry chuckled, but paused as Kal started trying to bite the waves. He whistled sharply, catching his dogs attention. "Kal! Come here!"

The dog happily charged back towards us before flopping down in the sand, panting.

"He's so obedient!"

"I worked hard at that," Henry admitted. "I knew that if I wanted to take him everywhere I go then he had to be well-behaved, but he's still a dog so sometimes he does things that he shouldn't like drinking salt water until it makes him sick."

"Sometimes it's the things we love the most that hurt us," I smiled. "Like humans with alcohol."

"Fair point," Henry laughed. "But at least there's some fun to be had with alcohol, can't say the same with salt water."

"I wouldn't know," I shrugged. "It's not something I've tried."

"Me neither," Henry smiled before leaning back and tilting his head up to the sky, sighing contentedly. "Wow, it's such a nice day today."

"I know, it's perfect. It's hot, but not overwhelmingly so."

Henry looked down at me, a smirk on his face.

"I would imagine that it's hard to be overwhelmingly warm when you're wearing as little clothing as you are."

"It's a bikini," I defended myself, matching his smirk. "We're at the beach, what else would I wear?"

"Oh no, I'm not complaining," Henry assured me. "You look great."

My face heated up at that, but I quietly thanked him and turned my face towards the sun, hoping that it would account for my red cheeks. However, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Henry pulling his shirt over his head and I couldn't help, but take a peek. It was quite a sight to say the least. I'd seen him shirtless in the Witcher of course, but seeing it up close made him seem even more unreal.

The smirk was still firmly planted on Henry's face as he caught my eye and I shook myself out of it.

"Do you have sunscreen on, Mr. Cavill?"

"No," He admitted. "I didn't even think of that before I left the house, but I don't burn too easily so I think I'll be okay."

I frowned at that and reached over to my bag, pulled out my sunscreen and tossed it onto his blanket.

"It doesn't matter if you don't burn easily, it's still bad for your skin to be in sun this strong with no protection," I warned him. "Besides, isn't Geralt supposed to be super pale? Don't give your make-up artists more work."

He laughed, shaking his head at my scolding, but did as I asked after mumbling something about how bossy I was being. I ignored him though. I loved laying in the sun, but was paranoid about the potential damage it could cause so I was very used to friends and family making fun of me for my strict sunscreen rules.

I watched while he applied it to his face, arms and his chest until he turned to me with a problem.

"That's all the places I can reach," He sighed, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "What if my back burns?"

"I guess you'll just have to keep it against your blanket and out of the sun."

"Or you could do it for me?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but it had suddenly gone dry at the thought of running my hands over the broad, muscled back of the man I was looking at. I quickly took a sip from my water bottle to remedy that problem as he watched me closely waiting for my reaction.

"We're supposed to stay two metres apart," I reminded him, but all I got was a pout in return. The giant, manly, thirty-seven year old man actually genuinely pouted at me. And I was powerless to resist. "Alright, fine. But keep your head forward and away from me the whole time, okay?"

He grinned and nodded as he sat up and leaned forward. I shifted onto my knees before crawling over and settling behind him. I squirted some sunscreen onto my palm and gently placed it against his back. I felt nervous which made me feel silly, but this would be the most physical contact we'd had so far and it felt shockingly intimate as I carefully rubbed my hand across his skin.

His muscles were rock solid and my breath caught in my throat as they quivered under my touch. Tiny little goosebumps rose up on his skin as I took my time, exploring every curve of his shoulder blade and ridge of his spine. We were closer than we'd been since he carried me to the car on the day that we met and it suddenly hit me how much things had changed between us in that short time. A temptation washed over me to press my lips against the soft hairs on the back of his neck, but I pushed the thought out of my head as I rubbed in the last of the sunscreen, knowing it would be inappropriate.

I cleared my throat as I moved back to my blanket, feeling a new kind of heaviness in the air between us. There were a million thoughts running through my brain as we sat in silence until I managed to speak.

"It's really such a shame that you've let yourself go so much these last few months."

Henry stared at me for a moment before laughing and the thick tension between us faded slightly, at least to a point where it wasn't quite so hard to breathe.

"I know, it's embarrassing," He playfully hung his head, sarcasm dripping from his words. "It's going to take me ages to get back into shape before filming starts again."

"Do you have any idea when that will be yet?"

I felt an anxious pang in my stomach as I asked the question. I almost didn't want to know the answer because I knew how disappointed I'd be if it was anytime soon.

"No, not yet," He sighed and despite feeling sympathy for him, I was relieved. "The best guess they can give right now is maybe September, but they don't want to commit to anything because things change so fast these days."

"That's very true," I nodded. "Did you hear about them easing the restrictions here soon?"

"I did," Henry smiled. "Is it on June 10th?"

"The twelfth," I corrected. "Apparently we'll be allowed to have parties with a maximum of twenty people. My mum's already working on a guest list for a barbecue."

I rolled my eyes and Henry laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure my mum will be doing the same. You'd think having a house full would satisfy her, but I think she misses seeing people that she isn't related to."

"I can relate to that," I laughed. "That's why it's been so nice having you to spend some time with."

I thought that might be a bit cheesy, but Henry nodded.

"It has been nice for that," He agreed. "And it doesn't hurt that you flounce around in skimpy pajamas and barely there bikinis to get my attention."

My jaw dropped as he shot me a smug look.

"I am not doing anything for your attention," I protested as he laughed, tossing his head back.

"Oh, sure," He grinned. "All I did was ask what you were doing and you sent me a picture of you half-naked on the beach."

My cheeks were burning, but I laughed as I shook my head in disbelief.

"Okay, but how fast did you get here? It took you less than ten minutes and I know it's at least a fifteen minute drive from your place."

"Maybe if you follow the speed limit," He chuckled. "But the roads were empty so perhaps I went a bit fast."

"Perhaps? Sounds like you were speeding desperately to ogle me in person," I teased. "And then you make me rub sunscreen all over you? I don't think I'm the one desperate for attention here."

"You're the one who was so concerned about my sun protection," He pointed out. "But anyway, my point was that I enjoy spending time with you as well."

I laughed, letting my head fall back so the sun hit my neck and chest.

"I'm not sure I stand by that statement anymore," I mused. "I might need to find someone else to hang out with who doesn't try to wind me up all the time."

"Oh, c'mon, where's the fun in that?"

"The fun is that I keep my sanity," I joked as I pulled my sunglasses off my head and tossed them towards my bag. It was nearing two o'clock and I realized how hot the sun was starting to get. "I think I'm going to go for a swim, do you want to come with?"

Kal leapt up as I pulled myself to my feet, barking happily at me.

"She wasn't talking to you," Henry laughed, ruffling his dog's fur as he stood up as well. "But a swim sounds lovely. That sun is getting intense."

"It is," I nodded as we headed off towards the water. "It feels way hotter than I thought it was supposed to be, but it's refreshing after such a rainy spring."

"Absolutely," Henry agreed as we got to the rocky part of the beach. Closer to the water was more soft sand, but there was a middle stretch of rocks that was proving to be rather inconvenient. "Are you a good swim-"

Half-way through Henry's sentence I went down. The rocks were slippery and I lost my footing, falling on my bum with an embarrassing shriek. Kal bounded over, barking frantically from the commotion as I could barely stand myself up through my laughter.

"Oh my god," I choked out. "I can't believe that just happened."

Henry had his hand on Kal's collar to give me space and there was a smile on his face despite the look of concern.

"Are you okay?"

I got my laughter under control and nodded as I got to my feet.

"Other than my bruised ego, I'm fine."

Henry chuckled and shook his head.

"I can't believe how clumsy you are!"

"I'm really not," I insisted. "Maybe if someone didn't shatter my ankle a few weeks ago, I'd have better balance."

"Oh, sure, blame me! Last I heard, you were insisting that incident was mostly your own fault as well!" He had a valid point, but I just stuck out my tongue as I subtly tried to adjust my bikini bottoms. "You're really okay though? You didn't hurt your ankle again?"

"No, no, I'm fine," I assured him. "Just embarrassed."

He let go of Kal and we resumed our walk, making sure to be extra careful where we stepped.

"So, what I was going to ask was: Are you a good swimmer?"

"I am," I nodded. "We used to spend a lot of time at the seaside when I was a child so I love being in the water."

"That's good," Henry's smirk returned. "Hopefully you're better at sea than on land."

I cringed slightly as another wave of embarrassment at what just happened washed over me, but I couldn't help but laugh at the situation.

"Oh, please," I rolled my eyes. "Don't act like you wouldn't love an opportunity to give me mouth to mouth."

Henry laughed at that, shaking his head in amusement.

"Cheeky girl," He tutted. "But I'll admit, it wouldn't be too much of an imposition if my services were needed."

He shot me a wink and for a brief moment I was actually considering letting myself drown just to give him the chance to save me.

****

We stayed at the beach for the next few hours. We swam for a bit with Kal paddling around us as we splashed each other, teased each other and had a very competitive race back to shore that I obviously let Henry win. Once we were back on on our blankets, we lounged in the sun to dry off, but since it still wasn't quite summer it did start to cool off as it got closer to dinner time.

“I should probably head home," I reluctantly said as I checked the time. "I've been here all day, my family probably think I've drowned."

"I don't know about that," Henry smirked. "You are a strong swimmer, they're probably more worried that you've fallen and broken something."

"Piss off," I laughed. "You're so rude."

Henry grinned proudly at getting under my skin once again as I slipped a sundress over my now dry bikini. Henry followed suit, putting his shirt on as I folded my blanket and checked to make sure all my things were tucked safely in my bag.

"How did you get here?" Henry asked as he folded up his own blanket as well. "Did you drive?"

"No, I walked."

"You walked?" He raised his eyebrows. "That's a long way to walk."

"It was a nice morning," I shrugged. "I just popped on an audio book and it didn't feel like such a long trek."

"Fair enough," Henry nodded as we headed towards the parking lot with Kal hot on our heels. "But how are you planning to get home?"

"I hadn't really thought of that," I admitted. "I'll probably call my dad and see if he can pick me up. Otherwise, I guess I'll be walking back too."

"I can give you a ride," Henry offered immediately. "Seems silly for your dad to drive all the way here when we're going to almost the same place."

It was a tempting offer and it did make sense, but I bit my lip nervously. We really were supposed to be staying two metres apart and we'd already been closer than we probably should have been throughout the day. Sensing my hesitation, Henry rushed to assure me.

"We can keep the windows open if it makes you feel more comfortable and I really haven't seen anyone other than you and my family for weeks now."

"We're so bad at this two metres apart thing," I laughed with a shake of my head. "But okay, thank you. I would love a ride home."

"Perfect," He smiled. "I wasn't really going to take no for an answer anyway."

I smiled at that knowing it was probably true. I hadn't known Henry all that long, but I'd already discovered that his dog wasn't the only stubborn one in their little duo. It was nice though. I might not have dated much in the last couple of years, but I knew that chivalry was hard to find and it was becoming more and more clear that Henry really was a true gentleman and I was very grateful to have someone like him around to brighten up the dark lockdown days.

_________

I’m starting a tag list for this story now so let me know if you would like to be added!

Tag List: @heartfelt-pen​

[blissfulparker]

12 days of Christmas Day.2–T.H

Summary → tom plans on proposing to you on Christmas, although when toms been gone for months and left you with Harrison who started to let his feelings for you come back, 12 days of Christmas quickly becomes 12 days of tension

Warnings→smut

A/n→so this is a series, I guess I didn’t make that super clear. There is a plot and it’s leading up to the engagement and stuff like that! Thank you so much for the feedback and support, it means a lot and I love you guys so much💓💗🥺also once again sorry for the no read more link, I can’t find my charger for my laptop and I don’t know how to do it on mobile 🤧

It was early, the sun only starting to come up and melt the snow and start the day. It was always pretty in the morning. That’s what you told tom. The snow melting against the sunrise and melting at the sunset was gorgeous. The way it glistened and was just a little bit harder because it was trying to stick together so it wouldn’t melt. It was beautiful.

Although you had woken up to the sound of the T.V. And sink running in the living room. Haz was up, he was up and you weren’t exactly ready to see him after the encounter yesterday. Some people would call it dramatic but you...it was hard for you to not feel guilty for being so Oblivious someone else’s feelings. The strange part was, part of November he had a girlfriend, well...a hookup. More like a girl he took on dates and she took him home. You thought they were both lonely, looking for maybe a fuck and maybe something serious. Although she met you, Tom, Harry, tuwaine, then things ended. It was strange and you never questioned it.

You pulled out extra socks and a thicker hoodie. One that made you feel a lot warmer and one that made you feel closer to tom.

You turn off the lights to your mini Christmas tree you had in your room and look down at the presents already stocked there. Two big boxes and three little ones. You could tell whose was whose. Toms were the neat wrapped ones in snowflake Christmas paper. You loved wrapping presents so you could always make them look just like the movies. Toms were somewhat messy, same paper but very bumpy. It was always the actual gift that matter though not the skills of wrapping.

Your feet dragged you out into the living room. You see haz sitting on the couch watching some lousy Christmas movies and eating cereal. Netflix Christmas movies were always the ones to be made fun of, laugh at the story and how gross the love story was.

“Good morning.” You say in a sing song voice. You did it every morning and you thought maybe the best way to handle the situation was to ignore it. Ignore and move on because maybe he wanted to deal with his feelings without you there, maybe you trying to help would make it worse. The last thing you wanted to do was loose Harrison as a friend, the last thing you wanted was for Tom and Harrison to split up.

“Morning.” His voice was no different than it was any other morning so it was good, everything was okay.

“What time you go to bed last night?” You tried to keep a normal conversation as you pulled out some oatmeal for breakfast.

“Usual, around 12am? Played on the Xbox and then headed to sleep.” He told you as you nodded. “How about you?”

“Oh around eleven. Talked to tom, took a shower, read a bit of my book. It was nothing much.” You gave him the usual rundown.

“I took Tess for a walk so you don’t have to worry about her.” He told you and you nodded.

“Thanks.” You see the dog at your feet and give her a piece of bacon you found from the counter. It probably was quickly heated in the microwave from haz because he didn’t really cook. Neither did tom but you taught him over the years, over both years.

“Hey, so...the party tonight…” he trailed on as he got up from his spot on the couch. “Mind if I invite Amanda?” He asks. The girl from November. The girl that acted a little strange but then stopped seeing haz. She was strange, although if he needed her to get over you, then yes, it was terrible but yes.

“Oh, the girl from November? From the coffee shop?” You asked as that was how they met.

“Yeah, black hair, green eyes, olive skin?” He describes her. Were you a little jealous of Amanda? Yes. Every boy was all over her. Even tom admitted for thinking she was hot but then said she was off and wouldn’t be worth it for him if he wasn’t with you. And he had you and loved you more than anything.

“Of course.” You tell him as you go to grab a mug for coffee. “You two...a thing?” You point with your fingers and he nods.

“Well...kinda. It’s off and on.” He lies. He texted her last night when he was horny and they sexted for the whole night. He wasn’t playing Xbox, he was talking to Amanda and she was coming to fuck.

One thing about Amanda was that she didn’t like Harrison, or you. She liked tom. She liked him a lot. She thought he was infatuating and wanted him. But then she saw him with you and realized to back off. She didn’t feel so bad for liking tom though because haz had his eyes on you. It was no secret with Amanda. They liked people they couldn’t get. Typical, sad, but true.

“She’s pretty.” You told him. You were being honest and if Harrison had a new girlfriend coming in, good for him.

“Thanks.” He says and you go back into adding the strawberries into your oatmeal. “Toms pretty too.” He teases and you laugh.

“I’ll tell him that. He’ll need the validation especially from you.” You tease and he laughs.

“So uhh…” he starts and you start to get nervous. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I was being dumb and blind. I’m sorry if I offended you, that wasn’t my intention at all.” He says and you shake your head.

“I’m over it. It’s fine.” You take a sip of your coffee. “Do you...did you...are you…” you start and he nods.

“I do. I do. but you’re happy with tom. Toms happy with you. I can’t do that to myself or any of you. I was being selfish in the moment and I’m sorry. Don’t worry about me, there’s someone out there that’s perfect for me the way tom is perfect for you, and Vice versa.”

“I hope you find that girl.” You pat his shoulder In a friendship way and he smiles. A soft smile that still hurts but is something new.

“Thanks.” He gets caught in your eyes. For a second he thinks about Amanda, calling her off, but then he thinks he shouldn’t be in love with you. Tom is proposing in 11 days(counting today) he can’t be in love with his best friends fiancé.

“What’s going on here?” Toms voice makes you jump. You set your coffee mug on the counter and run over to tom. You jump on his body and pepper his face in kisses.

“Mmh, I’ve missed you, I’ve missed you, I’ve missed you!” Your cheery personality makes harrison swallow hard and toms heart spin. The red head mess of curls cover in snow comes in behind him shutting the door. Harry holds another suitcase of Toms and comes in to take Harrison away so you and tom can have some time alone.

“I’ve missed you more than you could imagine princess.” He kisses your neck before setting you down.

“You must be starving! How did you get home so early? I thought it wasn’t until two—“ you started and he smiled and pulled you into a kiss.

“I booked an earlier flight.” He kisses your cheek and you two almost eye fuck in the middle of the living room before you look over and see Harry standing akwardly there.

“I’ve missed you too Harry.” You let go of Tom and go over to hug him tightly. Your hug throws him off but he sinks into it feeling like you were the older sister that protects him from Tom. Especially when Tom was cranky.

“Excited to see the human embodiment of holiday cheer.” He teases and you pinch his shoulder.

“touché.” You go back over to tom and he wraps his arms around you.

“Well Harrison, it’s your lucky day. I’m here to save you while these two fuck like rabbits.” Harry says straight up and tom punches him. Harry grips into his shoulder and Harrison lets out a soft chuckle.

“I guess it really is my lucky day isn’t it.” He says and then looks at the two of you who can’t get enough of each other. “I’ll be out in a second, let me go get changed.” Haz leaves the room and it leaves you, Harry, and tom. Harry looks off at his phone and you are back to being in love with tom. Your one true love.

“Mmh, while you were gone I got you more presents.” You told him as you played with the hair that was coming back.

“I’m about to give you a present when they leave.” He lets his hands grip your ass and you squeal and Harry groans.

“Harrison hurry up!” He yells and tom gives him a look. You could tell when Tom and Harry spent too much time together, they got annoyed with each other pretty fast. But they still loved each other at the end of the day and were the playful brothers they always were.

“I can’t wait to do this every fucking day.” He grumbled into your ear so Harry couldn’t hear just how horny he was. You laugh and let him kiss your neck as you enjoy his kisses.

“You do get this everyday. You’ve just had to wait because of filming.” You scratch at his back and Harry looks at the both of you shocked.

“Harrison—!” He starts but Haz jogs out of the room with his phone and wallet to be with Harry for the day.

Harrison catches a glimpse at the two of you practically begging them to leave to fuck. He feels a pang but moves on. Hes got Amanda, some sweet, pretty girl he found a month ago. Sweet pretty girl that can suck his dick really good.

“Bye guys, we don’t wanna be uncles yet by the way!” Harry calls, Tom chuckles and press more kisses on your neck. He pushes you back into the couch causing you to fall and tumble over. You giggle at his neediness and he keeps pressing kisses.

“Missed you more than you know.” He mumbles into your skin. You play with his hair and tilt your head back to give him access.

“I think I might’ve missed you more.” You let your hands roam to lift his shirt and he gladly takes it off. He shivers a little but will soon be warmed up by your body against his.

“Impossible.” He let his hands slip under your shirt and cup your breast. You arch your back as you swore his hands got bigger and they were much colder.

“Let me take care of you?” You ask pulling at his trousers. He smirks and as much as he’d want your lips on him sucking him until he sees stars, he wants to take care of you first.

“My turn first darling.”

-

You lay back in your own bed completely fucked out. Your legs sore and you don’t even think you’re in the mood to make an appearance at your own holiday party. Tom went to go clean himself up and brought the rag into the room to clean you up.

“Do you know what’s up with Haz?” He asks. He takes the cold rag and cleans you up. He mumbles a ‘sorry’ and kisses your bruises and hickies he’s left by accident.

“I don’t wanna talk about our best mate when we’re naked.” You whine as you stretch your hands over your head. He chuckles as he comes back up and presses a kiss to your cheek.

“Sorry,” he throws the rag on the ground and you reach for your hoodie since you’re cold. “But he seemed weird the other day when I called him. Mostly to check up on you but it was like he was ignoring you.”

Tom wasn’t gonna lie, he was a little standoffish about leaving you and him alone. He trusted you, he trusted him, but three years ago Harrison said how beautiful you were and how much he wanted a girl like you. It was over a couple of drinks and you and Tom were only about 6 months into dating so he didn’t really worry about it considering it’s been a few years. He assumed he got over his little crush on you since there’s been several girls since.

Although haz having a crush on you now wouldn’t surprise him. He’s noticed how Harrison will get a little flirty with you in the room and how your naturally chippy personality does not help him. He knows you’re loyal, he’s known you’ve been in cheating relationships and how it broke your heart. He knows you wouldn’t cheat on him and how much you love him. And in eleven days he’d call you his fiancé. Then you’d probably have a summer or fall wedding next year and everything would be absolutely perfect. You'd be his wife and probably have a kid in three years. He couldn’t wait, he absolutely couldn’t wait.

“That’s strange, when were you talking to him?” You asked turning to your side. His arm was loosely wrapped around you and he couldn’t unlock his eyes from yours.

“Like two nights ago.” He shrugged and you tried to think and you couldn’t. You couldn’t really think of anything that could make him irritated other than maybe his feelings.

“Who knows.” You shrug and your eyes go over to the tree and the presents.

There were a few big ones, you knew what you got tom and you’d only hoped he’d love it. You knew he’d love the matching necklaces you got for each other and the shoes that he’s been wanting for months. You also knew he’d like the Apple Watch and regular watch you got him. You loved spoiling Tom on Christmas and he knew it.

“What’s that itty bitty box?” You have been fascinated with the small box that was poorly wrapped.

“That’s a Christmas surprise darling.” He poked your nose and you scrunched it.

“But what if we played the ‘open one present’ game?” You pout and he shakes his head.

“Then I’d tell you to pick something else.” He kisses your jaw and you threw your head back. You could go another round and not prepare for tonight, or you could start cooking now.

“Tom,” you moan and he rolls over to be on top of you. “I’ve missed you, but I need to get started for tonight.” You start new scratches on his back. He kisses your cheek and pouts.

“Mmh, we’ve got a couple of hours.” He looks over at the alarm clock that reads “2:15” he ignores it thinking the party doesn’t start until six so he has time.

“Yeah, but I need to prepare for the amount of boys in my house tonight.” You tell him and he lifts his head from your neck.

“Your house? I live here too!” He furrows his brows and you push him off.

“If we get done by 5:00 I’ll let you have me of the whole hour. And I’m all yours tomorrow.” You wink and he rolls to slip on his joggers and sweatshirt.

“You know what? Cooking sounds really good right now.” He says in a serious voice. You chuckle as he gets up real excited.

“I love you.” You get up out of bed and wrap your arms around his waist.

“Love you too sweetheart.” He kisses your forehead and you rest your head against his chest. “So...we making treats or what?” He is trying to move as fast as possible to get back into bed.

“Calm down, I know you’re excited.” You say and he pulls your lips onto his, his one last chance to try and get you into bed. He leaves a long sweet kiss and he can already feel himself getting hard. It’s not his fault he missed you for so long and he made a bet with Harrison for no nut November, he won but still he was beyond horny.

“Please one more round babe I’m begging you.” He whimpers and you feel his hard on poking your legs.

“I’m actually all fucked out and will be surprised if I can walk tonight but I can take care of you.” You slowly go down to your knees and he looks over to the clock seeing how it’s now “2:21”.

“Ten minutes tops?” He looks down at you with already blushed red face, he needs this, really needs this.

“Ten minuets or you wait the rest of the night.” You tease and he twitches in his pants.

“Deal.”

Please leave feedback it helps me out and let’s me know how you feel!

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[bugaboowritings]

Manon And Her Babysitter (A Masc!Marinette Fic)

Manon being a Mood for 2393 words straight.

I have like 30 wip’s (not all Masc! Mari fics, I’m working on a new au and maybe even in a zine-fingers crossed) and school is starting for me so heads up if I don’t post much. Or post less than I did before. Writing is a stress reliever for me so you may notice a pattern when I post. 

This Masc! Mari (aka Marin Dupain Cheng) AU based off the lovely @daloochsdoodles and their art. Please check them out. 

Marin didn’t think that a girl with eyes the size of dinner plates would take such a liking to him. Asking him about his day or take her to parks when she visited.

Manon didn’t think that a headstrong teen would have so much patience with her. Even at her worst and crankiest moments in the day.  ——

Alya once told Marin that he intimated her when she first entered the school gates on her first day. His height and dark clothes just added to the anxiousness of the new school, new town, new people growing in her stomach. Alya felt smaller than the head on the tiniest pin needle or a mouse in a garden of starving foxes. Of course, Alya would never let anyone push her around but ideas like that just bubbled over in her mind. Yet the growing worry disappeared the moment Marin looked at her -and flashed a sunny smile.

However, to be fair, Alya later confessed that Marin could never be scary even if he tried. His warm aura, his soft pastel Jagged Stone sweatshirt, with his charming features was the total package of a fluffy boyfriend that anybody, whether their sexuality, would want to wrap their arms around. He’s a soft man. Even with his tall and strong build.

So at this instant, in his family’s living room, he didn’t know if his face looked like the soft friend Alya knew and loved or the intimating teenager that could cut diamond with a stare. His question was answered when the girl that hid behind her mother’s legs gave him a toothy smile. As toothy as she could make it with two of her front teeth missing.

Marin gave a gentle smile back, waving to her before he went back to his tablet. Annotating an article about the American Revolution for history class. Saving the key details in his head to use in the upcoming class debate while relating it back to the French Revolution. Clicking the screen with his stylus some more before his mom called him over.

“Honey, I want you to meet my friend, Nadja.” Sabine introduced, motioning him to show his good manners. Marin reluctantly slips out of his comfy position on the couch. Shaking Nadja’s hand while his mother continued.

“She used to come to the house all the time when you were little! It’s been years since I could remember you guys standing in the same room.”

“Your mother talks a lot about you-”

“Marin, but some people call me Mari.”

“AND I’M MANON CHAMACK!” The little girl yelled excitedly. Sniggering to herself when she got Marin’s attention. Proudly standing in front of her mother while her body rocked back and forth on the balls of her heels. Marin couldn’t help but share her infectious smile. Reminiscing when he was around Manon’s age. How he would try to get noticed by the older kids at school or in family reunions. Making himself seem like the coolest kid ever or just hovering over big kids before they bothered to include him in their games.

Nadja and Sabine smiled at each other, fighting the urge to laugh at Manon’s sudden introduction. Sabine quickly invited them in and out of the doorway. Nadja instinctively followed Sabine when her eyes lingered on her daughter. Praying that she wouldn’t cause too much of a ruckus for Marin.

Marin squatted down to meet Manon’s height.

“So what brings you here, Manon? Have any plans for the day?” He asked. Letting this kid be a healthy distraction from his report.

Manon swang her body side to side, taking in a breath before rambling. “Mom says that she plans to take me to the park if I’m SUPER good when she’s here with your mommy! Maybe even get a cookie from the bakery too!” Skipping her way in and passing Marin. Jumping a little higher as the thought of having a baked good made Manon’s mouth water.

“MAYBE I should even get a brownie! With sprinkles! Or maybe just a WHOLE cake with blue frosting!” Giggling to herself some more before her loud voice went over the list of treats she likes.

“Aren’t you rambunctious,” Marin sighed. Following Manon into the house (while she asked what rambunctious meant) before shutting the front door closed.

—-

“I have a friend with your name. At least it sounds like it.” Manon explained between her bites on her brownie. Still warm from his mother’s kitchen with hints of pinks and blues from the sprinkles Manon added. Crunching them under her tongue. Unintentionally making her mouth a light shade of purple.

“Yeah,” Marin answered. Holding Manon’s hand as he held the other with the animal balloon that he bought (*cough* with no influence from the baby doll eyes *cough*). “What’s their name?” He asked. Looking back and forth for any cars as they crossed the street.

“Maribelle. She’s pretty cool and foreign. Gave me half of her cookie so we’re friends now.” Manon nonchalantly said. Unaware that her friendship was bought, but from the looks of it, she didn’t mind too much about it. “Now that I think about it, Mari sounds like a girl name. Right?” The little girl said innocently.

“Yeah, it was in a way,” Marin replied easily, checking for incoming traffic until they reached the sidewalk. “But things change.” Giving Manon a smile which she returned after wiping the chocolate off the edges of her lips.

“You wanna go on the swings?”

“Last one there is a rotten egg!” Manon snickered. Running as fast as her legs could take her to the empty swing set. Leaving Marin in her dust.

——–

“PLEASSSEEE MARI!” Manon cried. Collapsing onto the ground and kicking her feet in the air. All as Marin stood firm on his promise with Nadja.

Don’t let her eat sweets after 7 pm.

“No.”

Earning him another anger huff from the little girl.

Nadja was off handling another story that needed to be scripted and filmed on the same day. Extremely unrealistic for someone to do, but Nadja was up for the challenge if it meant that she could have a full week off with her daughter. The exhausted, workaholic mother promised Marin that she would be back before 11 pm. However, he pushed back his tutoring session from tomorrow morning to tomorrow in the afternoon just in case she came in later than that.

Till Nadja arrived, Marin was ready to handle a cranky six-year-old for the next three+ hours.

Manon, now a cranky and sleepy six-year-old, stopped tossing and turning on the ground. Stretching out her arms and legs like a starfish in defeat. Closing her eyes and slowly opening them again.

“Tired?” Marin asked, placing his hands on his hips.

Manon nodded, lifting herself off the ground. “Can I have Unicorn Puffs for a snack now?”

“I’ll make you a fruit bowl with fresh strawberries and melon.” Marin reasoned. Recalling that Unicorn Puff Cereal was also a “no” in Nadja’s list.

“I can put that one chocolate drizzle you like on them though.” He sighed, lowering himself to Manon’s level.

The little girl shot up from the floor, her twin-tails bouncing with her quick nod. Gaining back her energy and beaming her toothy smile. Now complete thanks to her new front teeth.

“Deal.”

——–

“Look, Marin! It’s that one person from your magazines!” Manon wooed. Amazed that the model’s hair was as shiny in real life like it was in the glossy pages of Vogue. Wanting to feel it as she stepped towards them before getting pulled back.

“Oh my gosh, Manon! Look the merry-go-around is empty. You should totally go there!” Marin hissed, ignoring his friend/unicorn’s laughs. Pushing Manon towards the carousel. Away from the shiny person taking pictures from the fountain.

////

Manon choked on the sobs that threaten to come up her mouth. Her face felt hot like the time she threw up all the sugary goods that turned bitter in her stomach. However, this type of sick didn’t make Manon’s belly flip in pain, but her tiny heart beat faster and her palms lost their grip on Alya’s hand. She wanted her mommy to smoothen her nerves or Marin to pull her in one for his hugs. Wishing she could smell the fabric softer his mother buys on his sweater or hear her mom tell her that it would be okay in the end.

-But no matter how much Alya distracted her, Manon could only watch the ice around her grow thicker and thicker. Looking towards the outside was harder as the ice grew mistier. The firefighters outside tried to explain how they would get them out as if to calm them down but Manon couldn’t hear them and the ice made them look all distorted and ‘wriggly’.

“Lady Beetle and Chat Noir will save us. Right?”

Manon remembering back to the dolls Marin sewed of the heroes. How they sat on his shelves with a smile. Wondering if they would look that friendly when they pull people out of danger. Or if they really win every time when an Akuma comes and hurts Paris.

“Of course! They’re superheroes."Alya smiled. Pulling her face towards her. Grinning like everything was okay, even when it felt like it wasn’t. Rubbing circles on her back to keep her warm.

"They always save the day. We just have to trust them.”

////

Lady Beetle jumped from building to building before landing on the ice dome that shielded the merry-go-round from the summer heat. Showing no usual signs of melting.  Making him less surprised when he felt the toughness and chill of the temperature drop from the ice through his suit.

Lady Beetle doubted it would make a dent, but he still whipped his yo-yo around the ice capsule. In an attempt to crack it or even split the whole thing. The yo-yo didn’t do much like the firefighter’s axes. Huffing in frustration before seeing a little girl clapped her hands against the ice.

“Manon-”

“LADY BEETLE!” She cried out. Getting the woman behind her to do the same.

“Alya,” Lady Beetle whispered. Rushing over to them.

“LADY BEETLE!” Manon yelled again, softer than the last as LB got her level. He resisted the urge to tell Manon everything. That he’s sorry for leaving her for even a moment when he promised her to protect her. Sorry about ignoring her the whole day and pushing her aside for one of his complex plans on getting a date. Sorry for not stopping Stormy Weather from trapping them in a chilly container. Even apologizing that he didn’t buy the ice cream she wanted.

However, then would blow his identity.

Lady Beetle rolled his words in his mouth, having to settle for the “You will be okay, I’ll get you out” line. Swallowing his uncertainty as he heard Stormy Weather crackled her umbrella to form a hurricane in Chat Noir’s direction. Who tried their best to push Stormy away from the citizens.

Lady Beetle looped his yo-yo in his fingers. Ready to throw it before Manon called out to him.

“I trust you.”  

—

Marin hurried before the reporters could mog him for an interview or bumble questions about the Akuma attack today.  Chat Noir left before their miraculous give out and Marin just needs to see if Manon and Alya were okay. The Miraculous cure would have healed them if anything happened yet that didn’t make Marin feel any better though when he reached the park and they weren’t there.

“MANON! ALYA!”

He called, running around for a bit. Knocking into someone, promptly saying sorry before spinning his head around to find his friends. His lungs drew sharps breaths the more he ran. Stopping when he heard a small shout calling his name.

“MARI!”

“Manon! Alya!”

Rushing into Manon’s hug. Glad to see her again and even better to feel that being trapped in a chilly ice dome for an hour didn’t give her a fever.   Manon’s little hands pulled on Marin’s face, making him face her big, goofy grin. Alya behind her having the same one plastered on her face, only to punch Marin’s arm and scold him for scaring them shitless when he disappeared when the Akuma nearly froze all of Paris.

“YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE WHO WE SAW TODAY!”

“Wh-”

“LADY BEETLE!” Manon screamed. Almost making Marin drop her from the shock of her roar. From there Manon continued to gush about the red hero. How they tried to get them out and then promised to beat the Akuma to save them.  How high they could jump, making it seem that they could fly over buildings. How Chat Noir and Lady Beetle worked together to save the day. Plus how cool Chat Noir looked when saying “Cataclysm”.  How the magic ladybugs fixed everything for good and how-

“I’m just glad you’re okay, Manon.” Marin sighed. Chuckling as Manon tried to mimicking Lady Beetle calling on their Lucky Charm.  Alya stole Marin’s attention while she happily flipped through the photos of the Akuma to post on the Ladyblog. Mentioning how some filters were needed to make the picture clearer. Even catching a video of the magical ladybug effortlessly fixing buildings and basically 'curing’ all the victims that got swept up in Stormy Weather’s scheme.

Marin was just relieved that everyone was fine and well as people gawked at the aftermath of Lady Beetle’s damage-control or how the girl with the once cursed umbrella now happily smiles on TV announcing that the weather channel will now have two hosts.

——— All as a certain black cat sprang down to an alley. Dropping the magical transformation and swiftly returning to their life. Slipping their way back into the park where a restless and provocative photographer sat and a large gorilla- uh, I mean bodyguard searched for him. Leaving the small piece of freedom they have behind to return to their civilian life. Not before knocking into someone that looked too familiar to just be a stranger.

[spirit-of-the-void]

Ebony and Ivory (V x Reader Fanfic) Chapter 11

Author’s notes: Thank you all for your long and support, im so sorry for the delay ive been having problems with my internet all night...its the worst, but im chugging on... Do you guys hear music? <3

Chapter 11

Upon waking, you were a cacophony of emotions.

One? Regret. Drinking had left you feeling a bit miserable when you started blinking awake. You put a hand to your head, grunting softly at a pretty gnarly headache that rose to meet you. Well, that was one lesson learned--drinking was definitely not the best idea you ever had, but that was beside the point. Onto the second emotion, which was definitely connected to the slow realization that arms were wrapped around you. Breath in your hair, legs half resting on yours, body to body. Spooning. Your face flushed, entire being immediately recognizing the lanky form lightly hugging yours. V. He was sharing the bed with you, holding you in what could only equate to a tender embrace.

Suddenly that headache bothered you a thousand times less.

You were so torn. On one hand, you were loving the close contact. He was so warm, so welcome. The sound of his gentle breathing and his soft skin touching yours was making your head spin a bit. On the other hand, it made you wonder just how out of hand the drinking had got last night--you hoped to god you hadn’t done anything super uncomfortable to the poet to cause this. Your memories were vague, fuzzy. You remembered a lot of giggling, a lot of crying, V’s hands touching your face. Christ, you hoped Griffon kept you from forcing a kiss on him.

Speaking of the bird, he was curled up by your heads again, snoring lightly. Shadow was lounging by your feet, cracking one eye open to lazily stare at you. This bed was queen sized, definitely big enough to fit you, V, and all the familiars. Minus nightmare, who was still in V’s hair. You took a deep breath, relaxing in the poet’s arms a bit as you thought over how to get up without waking him. It looked like no one else was up yet, luckily. You were sure you wouldn’t hear the end of it from Nico and Lady if they saw you spooning with the sandal-wearing goth. Not that you minded--you would happily do this with him again, at a later date.

You closed your eyes again, counting his breaths. Your power was definitely back, so you snuck him some energy before he woke up and scolded you. You wanted him to get up feeling refreshed and healthy, despite the hangover you were rocking. Still, you had to admit waking up like this was pretty distracting for you in the pain department. And you had worse pain the previous day, a little headache was nothing. As for Lady, or worse Nico...They wouldn’t be having a good morning, not at all. You would do your best for them too.

As you mused, you felt the poet behind you stir a bit, letting out a light sigh. You slowed your breathing, not wanting to get up yet. Mind you, there was a lot to do and time to recover from the missed day, but...The peace felt nice. Being with him felt nice--Griffon was right, you had it bad. It was the fourth day, and you already felt comfortable enough sharing a bed with the man, craved it. You didn’t want to know what sleeping  alone felt like again, and that was definitely a sign that you were absolutely in over your head.

Regardless, you felt V disentangle himself from you, much to your heavy disappointment. You fought a sigh, ready to bring yourself out of your own resting position when something the poet did stopped you. You felt him sit up and pause, letting out a slow sigh into the quiet air. Then, his hand was there, stroking your wavy locks. Softly, tenderly. Delight and surprise filled you, body resisting the urge to jolt the instant he touched you. This morning was just full of surprises it would seem, full of peaceful things that you once took for granted. Never again.

You let him continue for a few seconds, waiting for the right moment to slowly blink open your eyes. He paused for a moment when you did, but still rested his hand on your head as you yawned and rubbed your aching face. Christ, reality was so strange at that moment.

“Well well,” V said in that low purr, wearing his familiar half- smirk when you turned to look at him, “Look who’s finally awake.”

You gave a small smile back, pulling yourself up and hating how your ears rang. You put your hands to your head, letting out a low groan of, “Oww..”

“Ahh, and there it is,” V chuckled, stroking a hand over your aching head, “The culmination of last night’s activities.”

You winced, lifting your gaze again to meet his bemused one. Damn him for waking up looking perfect and wonderful, despite the fact that you definitely helped with that.

“Laugh it up,” You huffed, eyes narrowing on him as you lowered your hands, “But you’re the one who gets to travel with my cranky ass.”

He let out a low chuckle, the way his eyes sparkled with mirth making your heart speed up. He stroked your head once more, making your eyes close a bit before he slid out of the bed. Shadow was blinking awake at your feet, yawning in a great display of mighty jaws and teeth. Absolutely adorable. Griffon was pulling himself up to, letting out a low, bird-like trill as he shook out his feathers. You smiled, pleased that no one seemed worse for wear after the fuzzy night of drinking. You, too, felt like yourself. No lingering bad feelings, no nightmares today.

“Don’t you fuckers know how to sleep in?” Griffon muttered, gold eyes meeting yours. He squinted, probably noticing your good mood, all things considered. He let out a low, evil chortle, hopping closer as he hissed, “Well now, don’t you look cheerful, girlie. How did being little spoon feel? Bet you loved being held in the Poet’s big, strong arms.”

You shrugged, a bemused look in your eyes as you contemplated arguing his words. But there wasn’t really any point.

“Yep,” You replied, picking him up to deposit him on your shoulders while you slid out of bed, “Though my head is killing me.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Griffon said sarcastically, eyeing the empty bottles still on the table as you stood, “Though I gotta say, I admire your honesty, toots.”

You chuckled, giving Shadow a pat on the head as the mighty cat hopped down from the mattress, extending in a luxurious stretch of their front paws. You did the same, only pulling your arms over your head once Griffon flew over to V, dressing himself in the dining room. It occurred to you that you had slept in the arms of a shirtless man all night, which was definitely a plus. One you weren’t going to think about. But you did think about how you felt considerably closer to the poet now. And that pleased you, absolutely tickled pink.

You settled on sitting on the dining room table, summoning a banana to eat while V situated himself. Only once he was done getting dressed did you toss one at him too, enjoying the face he made when the fruit registered in his palm.

“Back to the food I see,” He hummed, eyeing you with a bit of concern, “Are you...sure you’re alright?”

The question made your chest squeeze. It finally occurred to you the events of the previous night, of everything that had happened. You realized that you had no idea how V reacted to it all. What had happened after you passed out? You assumed it was the poet who found you on the bathroom floor, who sent Griffon to find the others. There was a hint of tired worry in his eyes, that concern definitely rooted in something terrible. You felt...awful. You hated the idea that your actions had caused him to be hurt, hated that you put him through a bad experience. Somehow the sensation of his ache was worse than the pain you went through.

You smiled softly, cheerful despite the squeezing of your heart.

“I’m okay,” You promised, crossing your legs on the table, “Promise. No lies this time.”

He let out a slow breath, tapping his cane on the ground and eyeing you with that smoldering look of his.

“I believe you,” He murmured, eyeing the banana you gave him with a wry smirk, “If only you were so honest with your fetishes.”

You snorted a laugh, grinning as you  finished off your own food, “You can’t handle my fetishes, pretty boy. Don’t ask about what you don’t want the answers to.”

“Ahh,” V slid his gaze over you, half sitting on the table and crossing his long legs, “Curiosity did kill the cat, but satisfaction will bring me back.”

The way he said “satisfaction” kind of made your toes curl.

“Satisfaction is a luxury,” Your voice was steadier than your felt, heart pounding away with that stupid excitement as you let out a light hum, “So I have to make you work for it, don’t I?”

He smiled again, and that smile had implications. The whole conversation felt...different. Charged with energy, border-lining on sexy and playful. Flirting. You were flirting with him. As he tasked himself with carefully eating the banana you gave him, your mind raced. Something was definitely different between the two of you, as if the previous night’s events had left you both stepping over a line at the same time. You knew you had made up your mind to be more honest with your feelings. But V...seemed to be a little riskier too, which was both a relief and a curse. A relief, because you wanted to be closer to him. A curse, because it was making you as giddy as a teenage girl with your first crush.

Griffon was not immune to the sensation. He landed on your shoulder, letting out a low, pleased chortle as his beak snapped near your ear. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes held every unsaid jibe.

The distinct sound of Lady rising from the couch followed, both you and Griffon turning to see the lovely woman slowly sitting up. Her hair was a bit tussled, a groan leaving her as soon as she was no longer horizontal. You could sympathize--you weren’t feeling your best after the alcoholic frenzy. Though you knew you had it easier, you could recover with some food and fresh air. The normal humans would not. The woman in question turned to blink at you and the poet blearily, hand rubbing her temple as she registered back with reality.

You smiled, giving a small wave of your hand, “Good morning, Lady.”

She grunted, rising to her feet and stretching.

“‘Morning,” She murmured in reply, face scrunched up in obvious discomfort as she took a few steps closer to you, “Not so good. Christ, my head.”

“I’m so sorry,” You replied in sympathy, smiling as you extended some tendrils over to her to wrap around her wrist. She blinked in surprise when you did so, eyeing them with a mixture of wariness and curiosity. It occurred to you that she still hadn’t seen them yet, only knowing you for a day now, “Here, let me help a bit. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.”

You whispered that familiar line, sending a small jolt of energy into the woman and enjoying how her expression shifted to awe. You didn’t give too much, not wanting to risk wasting much needed energy very early in the day. Still, it would relieve some of the throbbing headache the woman was surely feeling, and that was better than nothing. You could feel V watching you, finishing off his food much to your contentment. He had learned that arguing with you on the food issue was definitely pointless, you would not be swayed. He was a bean pole, and you were determined to help him in any way you could.

“Wow,” Lady said simply, drawing your attention back to her, “That felt...wild. I do feel better.”

You smiled, “I’m glad. Still, try to take it easy today, if you can.”

“That goes double for you, toots!” Griffon squawked at your words, snapping his beak by your ear and making you wince, “Practice what you preach…! No exerting today, no fancy invocations…!”

You sighed, not wanting to argue, especially not when V looked like he was in complete agreement with the bird.

“Yes sir.”

Clanging followed from the garage, followed by the door opening and Nero sticking his head inside. All turned to face him, you smiling when you saw his squeaky clean face and damp hair. It looked like he had taken a shower, probably having to scrub at that pen writing on his face to get it off. He was lucky you hadn’t sat in there for a half hour the other night like you wanted to. He was one of the only group members not hung over, but luckily his leg was no longer bandaged, now completely healed and ready to go.

“Which one of you douchebags,” He growled, eyes traveling over you and Lady, “Wrote ‘dead weight’ on my forehead?”

You rose a brow, not wanting to be a snitch.

Lady seemed to have similar thoughts, letting out a low yawn and turning her gaze away. An unspoken agreement passed between you two, obviously annoying the white-haired demon hunter. You liked Nero, you really did, but you couldn’t throw the obvious culprit under the bus. Hell, you didn’t even know why the whole ‘dead weight’ joke was a thing, but guessing by Nero’s obvious annoyance and that twitching muscle under his eye, it was a sore subject for him. Probably why he got so mad when Griffon said it days earlier.

“I’m so disappointed in you both,” Nero clicked his tongue, crossing his arms as he entered the room, “You both know damn well who did it, but you won’t just confirm it.”

“Did you see who did it, Y/N?” Lady said, examining her cuticles in a lazy display of disdain, “I didn’t, don’t remember a thing.”

You shrugged, playing with a lock of your hair as you replied, “Cannot recall, Must be the booze.”

Nero groaned, rolling his eyes as he turned away, “You guys are the worse. Can’t even believe this shit.”

You smiled, hopping off the table and hearing V follow you as you approached the disgruntled boy.

“Sorry, Nero,” You replied, patting him on the shoulder, “I’ll make it up to you somehow. How is Nico doing this morning?”

Nero made a face, inclining his head toward the door he came through. You heard a distant groan, and the sound of a clanging--Nico was definitely awake, and definitely not happy this morning. You smiled ruefully, hearing her trail of carnage as she made her way through the van, then shoved open the door from the garage. V took a step back, probably not wanting to get involved with the chaos the hungover woman was bringing--smart of him. Nico definitely looked frazzled, hair a mess and bags under her eyes. She took that alcohol well, but the following morning seemed less than stellar. You felt bad for her.

“What are y’all lookin’ at?” She scowled once every eye in the room was on her disheveled form, “What time is it?”

Nero checked a clock on the wall, letting out a low hum. As if Nico’s suffering pleased him.

“Ten in the morning,” He replied, crossing his arms again as he regarded the woman, “We should probably head out, lots to do today.”

Nico groaned, scrubbing a hand down her face, “Shit, that late already?” She looked over the room, scowling a bit as everyone started to gear themselves up. You rushed over to put everything you needed in your bag, absorbing it back into yourself. You then tasked yourself with quickly changing into your normal clothes, not caring who saw you in your panties. V and Nero quickly turned their backs, like gentlemen, while Lady covered Griffon and Shadow’s eyes. Nico openly watched, you could tell. But when you turned your bare back toward them, it occurred to you that neither of the woman had seen it yet.

You heard Lady suck in a breath, and you blinked, quickly pulling on your blouse to hide the jagged scaring all over your back. Yikes, you never explained that.

“Holy shit,” Nico said in a hushed voice, “Y/N, what the hell happened to your god damn back?”

You saw V’s shoulders twitch like he wanted to turn and look, but the precious boy managed to keep himself composed. You smiled softly, vaguely thinking that you wouldn’t have minded if he snuck a peak, which was a dangerous thought. Although, it now became apparent to you that you definitely spilled a lot to the girls last night that V hadn’t heard. You fought a groan, realizing just how many facts you had let loose--both knew your secret now, but the poet didn’t. You held the scars of every time you died, but you couldn’t say that. Not now, not in front of V and Nero. You weren’t exactly comfortable with telling those secrets to them yet, not without the use of alcohol.

Hell, had you not been drunk you wouldn’t have even told the girls. But you were glad you did. You just needed time.

“That’s a story for another time,” You replied, tugging on your combat boots and lacing them, “It’s safe to turn around boys.”

Both immediately turned, relieved to see you now clothed. V’s expression, at the very least, was slightly relieved. And slightly…

Was that disappointment? He looked a bit concerned too, as if he knew there were things that the girls knew and he didn’t. You felt bad, but you couldn’t bring yourself to share everything...not now.

“Warn a guy next time before you start stripping,” Nero huffed, scratching the side of his head, “Some of us are committed men.”

“One of us,” V replied, giving a wry smile, “In fact you’re the only committed man in the room, Nero.”

You chuckled, “Sorry sorry. Was just in a hurry,” You walked by, completely ready now and patted his cheek, “I’ll make sure to tell Kyrie your chastity is preserved.”

“Wow, thanks,” Nero said in heavy sarcasm, rolling his eyes and turning to follow you. He spared the mechanic a passing glance, tone stern as he replied, “Please do not start drinking again. We’re gonna head out, you and Lady be ready to respond if needed.”

“Yeah yeah,” Nico replied with a huff, scratching the side of her face and wincing, “Don’t get your panties in a twist. You know my number.”

You smiled, wrapping your tendrils around her waist as you passed toward the door. A small jolt of energy made her eyes fly open, gaze whipping around to stare at you as you relieved some of her fatigue and pain. This was her first time feeling it, which had to be exciting for the mechanic. You smiled, blowing her a light kiss as your group made its way out the door, tendrils retracting back into you. You were sad you were leaving Lady and Nico behind, but there was work to do. You were glad to be on the move again, but the girl time you were allowed was both wanted and needed. Just...maybe with less booze next time, if there was a next time.

Lady gave you a little finger wave, an adorable smile on her face as you returned it. Upon entering the garage, you were delighted to see the sun shining beyond the garage door. Nero lifted it with his metal arm effortlessly, allowing you and your group to pass through. Less stellar now that you were facing the bright light head on. You lifted a hand to shield the sun, wincing when it sent a twinge through your skull. Bright, much too bright. And worse so, the black crystal you produced the other day was still there, now glinting and gleaming in the morning glow. A reminder, of sorts. Griffon landed on your shoulders as you stared at it, letting out a low whistle as you both took in the sheer size of the structure--he had been there when it was made, but you got the impression he hadn’t really absorbed how big it was.

“Still can’t believe you made that,” Griffon squawked, his blue feathers glinting in the sun, “That shit was sure somethin’, toots. A real doozy.”

V came up on your right, Nero on your left.

Nero let out a light hum, eyeing the structure with a mix of awe and envy, “Damn, wish I could have been around to see you blow some demons away.”

You smiled, “Maybe another--”

“No!”

All three of them exclaimed at the same time, pinning your startled form in place with varying looks of exasperation. You blinked, holding up your hands defensively but getting the message pretty damn fast--no one liked what the invocation did to you, it would seem. V looked very firm on the issue, jade eyes locking with yours and not moving. There were severally emotions in that gaze, ones that you would not argue with. If anything...it made you feel good.

“N...noted…” You sighed, rubbing the toe of your boot into the ground, “It won’t happen again.”

Nero pat you on the back, a light smirk on his face as he replied, “Don’t sweat it, kid. Bet it was pretty cool, but the results were less than satisfactory.”

“I agree.” V said simply, gripping the head on his cane.

You smiled lightly, rocking back on your heels as Nero started forward, heading to where you remembered Nico telling you to meet them the previous day. Morning four of traveling, one day lost. No one seemed to mind the lost time, which you were grateful for. Nero seemed in pretty high spirits as he led the group to what looked to be an abandoned subway station, rubble and debris lining the platform and tunnel entrance. You fought a groan at the idea of going back underground, but it was at least better than sewers. Cleaner, at least you hoped so. Better lit at the very least.

V walked step by step with you, Shadow on your right and he on your left. Griffon was still perched on your shoulders, and you swore you saw Nero eyeing your group with a bit of curiosity in his expression. You imagined he was intrigued by the strange companionship you had with the demons. V as well, since the poet seemed to be a very mysterious, closed off individual. Little did Nero know, V was occasionally brushing you as you walked, always wearing that smug little smirk when you looked up at him. He never met your gaze, but you know damn well the bastard was doing that shit on purpose. His hand touched your lower back at some point and you thought your heart was going to pound out of your chest.

Oh yes. Things were definitely different.

“I think splitting up would be a good idea,” Nero announced as the subway tunnel branched down into two sides, “Cover more ground that way.”

You frowned before V could agree, eyeing the tunnel with a hesitant look.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” You asked, frowning at the white haired boy, “Why do you guys always wanna split up? Literally that’s the worst idea, haven’t you guys ever watched a horror movie in your life?”

V shook his head, “I don’t believe I have.”

Both you and Nero stared at him for that revelation, a mixture of shock and realization coursing through you. Half of your mind expected that answer, yet you were still startled by it. How the hell had this boy never watched a horror movie? He must have been pretty sheltered...or the opposite, lived a life shitty enough that he never found the time or means. Both sounded awful to you, and probably to the outraged demon hunter next to you.

“Not one?” Nero demanded, “Shit, we need to change that.”

V let out a light sigh, eyeing you both like you were lunatics as he replied, “At a time not now. We need to make haste,” His gaze landed on you, softening considerably as that smirk came back, “I will agree that Y/N raises a point. If we are both traveling in the same direction, I see no reason why we couldn’t share the same path.”

It felt nice when V agreed with you. You were such a simple bitch, his words made you beam in delight. Not only did he decide your plan of action was correct, now you could spend some time with Nero as well. Girls night before, now it was daytime with the lads. You could admit there was a lot of testosterone in the group now, but that was fine in your opinion. You wanted the chance to fight alongside the demon hunter, you were willing to bet there was a lot his fighting style could teach you. Only downside to this was less alone time with the poet, but judging by the weird, magnetic way you two were hovering around each other...it wouldn’t be an issue.

“Fine by me,” Nero shrugged, rolling his shoulders a bit as he pointed his pistol at the two tunnels, “Which one should we pick…?”

You rolled your eyes at his theatrics, giving him a light shove to the right side, “Nico is right, you are such a dork. Just go.”

Nero huffed a bit, putting his pistol back as he started making his way down the tracks, “You’re no fun.”

“I’m an appropriate amount of fun,” You replied in an amused tone, stepping back by V’s side to keep in step with the poet, “I’m just impatient.”

V let out a low hum, pulling out his poems as he walked beside you. You caught a glimpse of the pages, surprised when you noticed what looked to be hand drawn artwork and writing. It didn’t look like this book was printed, but instead was hand made lovingly by someone. You didn’t get to glimpse much, looking away before you were caught peeking. Besides, the peace and quiet wasn’t going to last long anyway. Your foresight began to flare, signaling upcoming demons, making you stop in place to whistle between your fingers and alert the others.

“Get ready,” You warned when Nero and V looked at you, pulling out your daggers, “We’ve got company.”

Somehow, the train tunnels were worse than the sewers.

Hours. You were stuck in there for hours fighting demons. New ones this time, stronger ones. Lizard-like creatures, bigger things with bigger attacks. On one hand, you got to see Nero’s fighting style a bit more, and him being there eased your need to use your own abilities. On the other hand...so much fighting. The subway was crawling with enemies and roots, so much so that your foresight barely stopped flaring. It was pretty annoying, so you just stopped announcing when battles would occur. Because they were always occurring. You were hating it a lot more than the sewers, only difference was there were actually safe places to sit and relax here.

You stopped once or twice, forcing the two boys and the demons to eat. Nero seemed perplexed with your attachment to food, but otherwise didn’t complain and shoved whatever it was you provided down his throat like a gremlin. V still ate his slowly, carefully, like he was savoring it. The brief moments for resting and chowing down were always short lived, interrupted by demons whenever they could slip their gross little noses in. You were a fairly patient person, but you were beginning to associate the underground with just terrible things. Only this time you were being smart about your energy, and keeping close to V and letting Nero do his thing. Which Nero didn’t mind, the kid loved to fight and be brash.

You reached what appeared to be a boarding area for trains, wide open and filled with benches. Nero let out a whoop of delight, setting on the demons with all the energy in the world, certainly more energy that you had for that late in the day. It must have been four in the afternoon by then. You exchanged a glance with V, opting on sitting down on a nearby bench to watch Nero’s  fighting style while you sipped water. V opened his book again to read that poetry, letting his summons do all the work. You and he were similar, he wasn’t enjoying it either. Just out of necessity, a bit of a tired look in his eyes as he murmured those familiar words, stepping to the side to avoid enemy attacks. He did, however, seem to have fun in some instances of battle, like Nero’s high energy was feeding into his own level of extra. He was taunting more now than ever before, and getting more ridiculous.

You wrapped your tendrils around him gingerly, ready to move him away at a moments notice. Nero seemed fine, whatever arm he was using making him a hoppity son of a bitch. He was zipping all over the place.

“How do you have so much energy?” You complained to him, crossing your legs and letting out a light huff as he shot a demon in the head over and over, “It’s ridiculous.”

He let out a light laugh, kicking the demon away and taunting lightly before he replied to you, “Only thing I’m good at is kicking demon ass!”

You smiled ruefully, highly doubting he had zero other skills. At least he was having fun. They were certainly widdling the demons down fast, loud explosions and crackling filling the room with their attacks. A demon went whizzing past you, disintegrating as you winced and leaned to the side. The only problem when fighting with Nero’s aid is that a lot of his attacks sent the demons flying away or knocked back. You partnered well with V’s fighting style, but Nero seemed used to doing shit on his own.

“Pin them to a wall.” V growled to Shadow, the cat immediately responding and sending a dozen spikes into an enemy.  Sensations of honest to god arousal traveled through you, ones you tried to shake as you quietly sipped water. You were thirsty for something alright. Every time he said something like that you were sent into a tailspin of bullshit, craving, and misbehaving thoughts. You just couldn’t behave it would seem--you had never felt such a chemistry with someone before, nor such a high amount of attraction. There was just something about the poet that was drawing you in.

Way too fast. But that only excited your dumb, idiotic brain.

When the last demon was finally dead, you let out a sigh of relief, hopping up from the bench and stretching your back with a soft groan. Finally, some peace, even if it would probably be short lived.

Nero flicked some blood off his metal hand, cracking his neck before turning to smirk at you.

“I’m gonna go scout ahead a bit,” He said, glancing between you and V for a moment, “You two chill for a bit, I’m gonna clear the way.”

“You sure?” You asked, leaning a hand on your hip, “Promise you’ll shout if things get too rough.”

He laughed, flexing his metal fingers as he replied, “Shit gets narrow up the escalator. I’ll scream like a banshee if I need some help, that good for you?”

You smirked, “I’m down. Have fun, be back before dark.”

“Yes, mom.” Nero mocked.

He gave you a single finger salute, hopping up onto the escalator and sprinting up and out of view. V let out a low hum of relief, leaning against a nearby pillar and closing his book with a low thud. He didn’t look too bad yet, thank god. Griffon was shaking out his feathers and huffing, landing on your shoulders so he could watch the demon-hunter disappear up into the subway.

“Brat sure has a lot of energy,” He grunted, closing his eyes a bit and preening his feathers, “Can’t relate. Sick of dealing with these fucking lackeys. Lower level bastards.”

You smiled sympathetically, patting his feathered head, “You’re doing great, sweetie.”

He grunted, settling down and closing his eyes to rest a bit. V seemed to sense he was tired, so he lifted his cane, summoning the bird back along with shadow in an instant. You blinked in surprise, not used to Griffon returning as well. The instant he did, his tattoos went from slightly faded to flat back, writhing a bit before settling on his smooth, pale skin. You stared in awe for a moment before blinking, trying to shake the sensation from your mind. You were positive V saw you looking.

He walked over to you, cane tapping on the floor with each step as you sat back down on the bench. You wanted to look up at him, but this new energy between the two of you was making you a little nervous, a little hot around the collar. V tapped you under the chin with the silver-handle, tilting your head up a bit to meet his gaze and examine your face. His expression delighted you, making your stomach roll a bit with that nervous excitement you just couldn’t shake.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, giving you that smoldering look from under his lashes, “You haven’t exerted yet.”

You smiled lightly, tapping the end of his cane with your index finger.

“I’m fine,” You assured, eyeing him with a concerned look of your own, “How about you? How is that shoulder feeling?”

He made a big show of rotating it, flexing his arm a bit as he replied, “No worse for wear.”

That made you smile in relief, but it occurred to you that something was...more noticeable now that the fighting was done. You paused, tilting your head and holding up a finger to stop whatever the poet was going to say next. You were positive now, more focused and alert--light music was playing from somewhere.

Now that the area wasn’t filled with the sound of fighting, grunting, and screaming demons--you could hear the sound of faint violin music playing from the subway speakers. Light and gentle, strangely out of place in the broken, grimy setting. You blinked, meeting V’s gaze and putting a finger to you ear. You knew he noticed right away, those full lips parting a bit as he inclined his head. He looked absolutely entranced, that mischievous look appearing in his eyes as he looked up toward the ceiling. Looking for speakers, probably. You liked the expression he had, almost like childish wonder--the same look he got before doing his taunts.

You closed your eyes a bit, listening to the ringing chords of a violin and trying to find some peace in the moment. You could hear Nero lightly fighting up ahead, his echoing shouts and laughter still reaching the main subway platform. Other than that, you could hear just...the music. And V’s slow breaths. That closeness between the two of you seemed even more pronounced now that you and V were alone, truly alone for once in the entire time you had been together. You didn’t quite know what to say, but you wanted to say something--because you were sure he felt it too, this strange energy that had been blooming since day one. The aching, desperate need to be closer, better.

Before you could open your mouth, V’s fingers curled under your chin, making your eyes pop open to look at him.

He had a wry smile on his lips, half tilted upward as he held that same hand out to you.

“Shall I have this dance?” He purred, jade eyes shadowed in the dim light of the subway.

Your heart went racing in your chest, pounding like fists on steel doors. You felt that dumb, eager ache blooming in your chest again.

You smiled ruefully, taking his hand again and letting out a light laugh as he tugged you to your feet. The absurdity of the whole moment was making you giddy, hand entwined with his as he pulled you further into the clearing where just before those demon’s had been killed. God, his skin was so warm. Energized, squeezing your fingers with a gentle encouragement. His face was so very enticing, head tilted down to look at you as he gave you that crooked smile you so enjoyed. He did have a flare for the extra, only this was his first time openly involving you in it, inviting you to join. It felt very...personal.

Oh lord, you were in over your head. You were in wayyy over your head.

He tugged you against his lanky form, twirling you around to the sound of the music, humming lightly to the tune. Whatever the song was, he seemed to know what it was. You tried to follow his steps, smiling like a complete idiot as he took you step by step around the room. You felt...so many things. Embarrassed, elated, excited, giddy. You hoped your face wasn’t red from all of it, but your cheeks were already pretty warm. Once the tempo of the song picked up, he gave a light chuckle, wrapping an arm around your waist and lifting you briefly, spinning you around with a light squeak on your part. He seemed to be having a good time, hair waving about his face each time he moved you.

He looked...entrancing. And in that moment you knew just how deep in you were.

You had known him for four days if you were pushing it. Four days to become this smitten with the poet. In all your years of serving the Deity, you had never gotten close enough with anyone to feel romantically attracted to them. And even those you did get close to, none appealed to you on a physical attraction level. Never. You never thought of being touched by any of them, being held by any of them. But this...was new, different. Even as a human, had you ever felt this kind of chemistry before? You highly doubted it, there was something very special about V. Approachable, charming. Mysterious. Maybe you had been doing this too long, maybe all those years of serving with no regard for yourself had left you too lonely.

You didn’t care.

Dancing with V felt both too short and too long. The music came to a slow end, the final chords of a violin ringing out as V bowed to you, hair falling in front of his face as he bent his head over your hand. If you weren’t mistaken, you felt his lips brush your skin, ever so slightly. Your pulse was racing, you knew he could feel it. Instinctively, you took a few steps back toward him, his hand sliding down your wrist as you did so. His fingers felt so precise, gentle. Probing, even. Like he was tracing the very veins under your skin. You met his gaze, letting him pull you back against his chest while still gently griping your arm. A silent, unspoken thing passed between you, the building energy that had started blooming now turning to flower petals.

His hand ghosted along your jaw, an interesting expression on his face as he regarded your warm cheeks, soft lips, and gentle eyes. You could see yourself reflected in his, and that made your heart pound even faster. His thumb brushed your lips, gently tracing the lower one with a tenderness you had never experienced. It made you knees so very weak. You thought you saw his tattoos writhe a bit out of the corner of your eye, his companions sensing their master’s racing heartbeat but not aware of the reason why.

You wanted to kiss him. So badly.

And from the look on his face, he wanted to do the same to you.

But before you could bridge the gap, Nero’s loud voice rang out, echoing from his place further along the subway. You saw V close his eyes, a light sigh being drawn from his lips as the moment you shared came to a halt. You loved Nero dearly, but in that moment you had never been so disappointment in him.

“I found the exit!” Nero’s voice caroled, coming closer as he probably made his way back, “Ready when you guys are!”

You let out a slow breath, closing your eyes and mourning the lost opportunity. But much to your surprise, V didn’t pull away instantly like you expected. He lingered, stroking those fingers over the back of your neck, sending chills down your spine. His lips brushed your ear--you could have easily fainted, knees very weak from the whole experience. Not to mention unbelievably turned on--were you really that starved for attention, that needy? Felt like you were. You could have moaned at the feeling, christ his breath was so hot. Wanting, breathy.

“We will continue this,” V murmured, tone filled with heavy promise, “At a later date.”

With that, he turned away, fingers trailing through your hair and body brushing past yours just as Nero appeared right at the top of the escalator. You kept your back turned, hands pressed to your cheeks as you desperately tried to gain a molecule of composure. Your emotions were written on your face, you couldn’t imagine what kind of expression you were wearing. You wanted to bite your lip, and you wanted...so many things. Fuck, you were in so much trouble.

An unbelievable amount of trouble.

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136193/chapters/43222517

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Tagged: @just-call-me-no-name @silentwhispofhope @nightshadow4713 @slightlylunatic @efiicitia @raven-huntress

[shastelly]

Cozy - March Klance Prompts from MonthlyKlance - Day 17

Anyone order farmboy Lance?

Day 17 – Cozy

 Keith and Cosmo were driving down the long lane that lead back to the McClain family farm. Sure, Cosmo could have teleported them in, but sometimes Keith actually liked to drive.  He'd picked up an old motorcycle and had a special side car made for Cosmo.  He wasn't sure how much longer the space wolf was going to fit in it, so they had to use it while they could.  Pidge had already asked if she could buy it off of him when Cosmo outgrew it.

 The bike sped along the dirt road kicking up a trail of dust behind them.  Keith grinned as he stepped on the gas, it was going to be fun sliding a bit around the curves, not too much though.  The last time he'd slid at too steep of an angle for Cosmo the wolf had blinked them both out and the bike had wrecked.

 The summer sun was beating down and it must have been ninety degrees outside, but with the wind whipping around him, he didn't even feel it.  He'd taken off the helmet when they reached the lane and his hair was whipping around in the wind.  It all felt so good and relaxing.  He needed this vacation.  His work with the Blades was great and he really felt that he was doing good, but it was stressful at times and he still saw a lot of the bad out in the universe. He needed some time to recharge.

 One either side of the lane rows and rows of plants stretched out bright green.  Just past those fields, at the end of the lane was the big two-story white farm house, complete with picket fence around the front yard.  There were flowers blooming in beds and a huge garden at the side of the house. Beyond the house was an old wooden barn and two metal sheds.  A hay elevator was set up into the hayloft of the wooden barn, an empty wagon sat next to it. Behind the wooden barn stretched pasture and Kaltendecker and her cow buddies were out in the field.  It looked like there were several calves as well. Keith didn't know thing one about baby cows, but they looked cute.  Beside the pasture were the hayfields.  Keith could see two tractors out in the field.  One tractor had a large contraption behind it and as he watched it dropped a huge stack of hay out onto the ground behind it.  The other tractor had a smaller contraption and small rectangular bales of hay were spitting out of it and back to a wagon that was hooked behind it.  Two people were on the wagon picking up and stacking the bales.  Even from this distance Keith was sure one of them was Lance. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved blue t-shirt and a straw hat of some kind.  

 Keith smiled and watched them for a little while before parking the bike next to a silver van by the house.  There was a red sports car, a beat-up old truck, and a sedan parked nearby as well. As he was getting off the bike, he heard a voice from the house.

 "Keith!"  Veronica waved from the house.  "Hey, glad you could make it!"  She stepped out of the house wearing a t-shirt that said, "My girlfriend can kick your boyfriend’s ass".  

 "Axca get you that?"  He asked laughing.

 "Maybe." she grinned.  

 "Why aren't you out in the field?" Keith wondered.  She looked dusty and her hair was pulled back and sweaty.

 "Oh, Luis, Papi, Nadia and I just finished unloading a wagon.  We just needed a lemonade break and some air conditioning."  She waved toward the house.   "Lisa is inside with the new baby, or rather she's getting a nap and Mami has little Laura.  Rachel is making stacks, Slyvio is driving the baler and Lance and Marco are on the wagon. They'll be back in a bit with another load.  You might as well come in and get some lemonade."

 "Slyvio is driving?"  Keith turned and shaded his eyes to look at the tractor in question.  "He's gotten tall."

 "Yeah, and he's not doing too bad with the driving either.  I think he's only knocked Lance off the wagon twice." She laughed as Keith frowned. "Don't worry, Keith, a little fall from a hay wagon isn't going to stop Lance."

 "Yeah. I guess not."  Keith shrugged and pretended he hadn't been concerned, but Veronica had spotted the quick frown and tension.  The idea of Lance getting hurt still freaked him out, a lot.

 He went inside and was greeted warmly by the family waiting.  

 "It's nice to see you."  Lance's dad smiled.

 "Keith."  Luis nodded.

 "Keith, hold Laura for a moment, would you dear?"  

 And Keith found himself with his arms full of baby, while Lance's mom got him a glass of lemonade.  He smiled down at the sleeping little face, her skin was as dark as her father, but her hair was a little lighter, more like her mom's.  She looked so sweet that he was completely shocked when she opened her eyes and screeched at him.

 "Um…help?"  Keith looked up with slightly panicked eyes and Luis rescued him, by sweeping the baby into his arms and swinging around with her.

 "It's okay Keith.  She's a little cranky and doesn't like to be still."  Luis explained laughter dancing in his eyes.

 "Pick me up, Tio Keith, I won't scream."  Nadia tugged at his sleeve and he smiled as he lifted her up onto his shoulder and she squealed happily.

 "I thought you said you wouldn't scream?" He teased.

 "Happy screams don't count."  She explained.

 About an hour later he heard the tractor pulling into the barnyard.  He and everyone but Lance's mom, Lisa and Laura made their way outside, and Cosmo, the big traitor laid in the living room and refused to go back into the heat.  Lance was sitting on top of a wagonload of hay that was at least twelve feet from the wagon bed up in the air.  Marco had taken over the tractor and Slyvio was sitting on the big wheel-well next to him.

 "Keith!"  Lance waved from his perch.

 Keith waved back.  

 Marco stopped and Lance shimmied down the front of the bales and hopped down from the wagon.  He disappeared for a moment and the popped back up waving at Marco, who pulled the tractor and baler away leaving the wagon behind.

 "Come help me push?"  Lance asked and Keith walked over to the empty wagon.  Lance had picked up the wagon tongue and was using it to steer as he tried to push it and get it moving.

 "Where?"  Keith asked unsure what he was doing.

 "Just step up to the wagon and push till it gets rolling, then help if it slows or anything.  It's just hard to get them started, then it will roll pretty good, just don't go too fast, it's been years since I ran one of these into the barn, but I don't want to repeat."  Lance laughed.  Keith nodded and pushed.  It did take some effort to get it started, but it was easy after that.  Lance parked it next to the barn, letting the tongue down to stop it from moving.

 "Lance, your turn in the hay-mow!"  Veronica yelled.  She was already unhooking the full wagon from a four-wheeler she'd used to pull it up next to the elevator.  Nadia had scampered up to the top of the hay bales like a little monkey and sat there smiling.  Marco had climbed down from the tractor.

 "I gotta go!  I have class tonight!"  He waved to everyone and Lance groaned.

 Luis laughed as he climbed onto the tractor.  "You haven't had a turn yet, take Keith."

 "Sure, take Keith."  Lance grumbled.  "Hey Keith, did you want to get super sweaty and exhausted on your vacation?"

 Keith laughed and possibly blushed, it was hard to tell in the sun, "Tell me what to do and I can help."

 "Well first, do you like that shirt?  Cause it make get a hole or something."  Lance raised an eyebrow and pointed to a couple of holes in his own t-shirt.  "Second, never mind, I'm not letting you do this in short sleeves.  I'll get you a shirt and gloves to wear."  

 "Okay."  Keith shrugged.  "Why long sleeves?  It's hot."  He wondered.

 Lance chuckled darkly, "You think this is hot, just wait until we get up in the hay-mow, it's downright cozy.  The long sleeves are so your arms don't get too scratched up."  He pulled his sleeves up to reveal several red marks on his wrists and a few up his arm.  "They aren't armor, but they help."

 Lance returned shortly with a long-sleeved red shirt and a pair of soft leather gloves.

 "I have gloves."  Keith objected.

 "And if you want to have pieces of hay shoved under your nails until they bleed, please feel free to wear them."  Lance snarked.

 "Fine."  Keith muttered changing gloves and following Lance up the wooden stairs of the old barn. The metal roof let some light in around the edges and old light fixtures dimly lit the interior.  

 Lance flipped a switch and a rattling sound came from above them as a conveyer began spinning.  Lance climbed up a stack of bales against a wall and stuck his head out the window where the elevator came in.  He waved and then climbed back down.  

 "Okay, they're starting.  We just need to stack the bales here.  They'll drop down off the conveyor here, see where it kicks them off?"  Keith nodded there was some sort of metal thing up where Lance pointed.  "Make sure it doesn't fall on your head."  Lance smirked and then watched as the first bale dropped from the elevator onto the conveyor and then plopped with a heavy thunk onto the floor.  He grabbed it and lifted it by the strings and carried it over to the stack, slotting it neatly into place.  

 Keith watched as the next one fell.  He quickly moved to pick it up and was a little shocked by the weight.  It was well over a hundred pounds.  Still he could lift that without issue.  He moved over to the stack and place the bale.

 "Oops, sorry, need to change direction on each layer or it will just fall over." Lance corrected.  

 Keith adjusted his bale as Lance brought another over and he heard his next bale fall. He hurried over to grab it and just was out of the way as the next one fell.  He huffed as Lance laughed and managed to get this one in the right place.

 Some hundred or so bales later, Keith was panting.  It was like a furnace up there, the heat collected under the metal roof and it had to have been over a hundred and ten degrees.  His hair was soaked, sweat dripped in his eyes, his shirt was soaked, even his pants were soaked with sweat.  On top of that the dust from the dried grass stuck to him everywhere. He felt like he was coated in it. It was in a word gross.

 "This is cozy?"  Keith huffed.

 Lance grinned at him.  His face darkened from the dirt and just as sweat soaked and filthy as Keith.  He climbed down and grabbed a water jug, pushing it at Keith.

 "Drink. I'll see where we are at with the next load."  Lance laughed at Keith's groan as he made his way down the steps.

 Keith swigged the water.  He was sure it wasn't completely clean, the jug had been sitting up here after all, but the ice-cold water tasted divine in his dry throat and he drank almost all of it. Only stopping when a guilty thought that Lance might want some too passed through his brain.

 "Okay, good news and bad."  Lance shouted as he pounded up the stairs.  

 "Good first."  Keith requested.

 "Only one more load."  Lance gave him the finger guns.

 "Bad news." Keith sighed.

 "It's already here."  Lance took a quick swig from the jug as the first bale appeared and Keith groaned.

 The second load went faster, and Keith was glad to see he seemed to be getting the hang of it.  When Lance turned off the conveyor, Keith was shocked by the stillness.

 "Mom says be sure to get cleaned up before dinner!"  Veronica yelled.  "It'll probably be awhile for the shower!"  She laughed.  "There are like six people in front of you in line."

 Lance sighed and sat back on a bale, drinking some of the water.

 "Isn't that gone?"  Keith frowned, worried he'd drank too much earlier.

 "Nah, more of it melted."  Lance passed him the jug as he peeled off his shirt.  

 Keith found himself missing his mouth as Lance's defined abs appeared in front of his face, glistening with sweat.

 "In your mouth is better,” Lance chuckled.

 "Yeah, guess I'm tired."  Keith managed to get the next mouthful down as Lance used his shirt to wipe his face.

 "You okay?"  Lance questioned.

 "Sure. Fine."  Keith managed to squeak.

 Lance sat next to him so that his bare shoulder touched Keith.  He turned and smiled slowly.  The Altean marks on his face were nearly glowing in the dim barn.

 "Thanks for helping."  Lance smiled as his eyes met Keith's.

 "No problem."  Keith found he couldn't look away.  "You okay?"

 "Sure."  Lance answered easily.

 "You okay if I kiss you?"  Keith asked breathlessly.

 "I'm like gross and sweaty,” Lance frowned.

 "Sweaty yes, gross no."  Keith murmured a hand reaching to brush Lance's sweaty bangs from his face.

 "Oh."  Lance's face got even redder than it had been from the heat.

 "So, okay?" Keith asked again.

 "Um, yeah, okay."  Lance blinked as Keith pressed their lips together, his hand gently cupping Lance's chin.

 Keith leaned into the kiss, his other arm reaching around Lance and pulling him closer. Their bodies were sticky with sweat and heat and the contact almost burned.  Lance leaned into Keith and they overbalanced falling backwards onto the hay bale.  Keith rolled slightly propped up on an elbow and pressed Lance into the hay deepening the kiss.  Eventually Keith had to stop to breath.

 "So cozy?"  Keith smiled.

  "Yeah, cozy."  Lance reached up and pulled Keith back down into another kiss. 

[theoddcatlady]

Sweepstakes

10/14/15

Guess who’s going on a cruise in December? This bitch right here! :D

Finally, all these years of entering contests and putting my name into prize draws has paid off! I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise guys. A whole two weeks out on the beautiful blue sea. Away from stupid work, away from all my responsibilities, and more importantly- away from freaking winter.

I’ll make a special tag for my cruise album so you all can keep up on it. Hearts!

11/13/15

The more I read about the features this cruise is having, the more I’m getting hyped for it. I’ve been going to tanning booths to make sure I have a bod that isn’t pasty white. My mom’s super jealous, but I only got the one ticket, and I’m the one going on that boat!

Seriously though. Dream come true. Twenty four hour buffets and room service. Fancy dinners every night with waiters that dance on the tables. A stop on a vacant island in the Bahamas to spend a day chilling on the beach, sipping drinks and swimming with dolphins. Spa. Hot tub. Shows every night. I will never be bored.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and come home with a hot babe too ;)

12/18/15

12:41 PM

Gonna be boarding soon! And get this- it’s the maiden voyage!

The ship’s called the Maenad, which is such a weird name, I know. But it’s sooooo pretty! So white and clean! I just hung out with this super sweet couple. The girl’s name is Adrienne, she’s a blogger too, I’ll try to link you to hers later, and her fiance’s name is Emery, and he’s. A. Hunk. He’s got the bod of a god (hehe it rhymes!). He’s got a super sexy voice, so low and smooth. And his smile, holy shit, his smile! I’m in love.

Sucks he’s taken, but I’ll just BFF it up with Adrienne.

1:16 PM

Well, boarding happened late, and hooooly crap you guys will not believe it.

Two guys got into a fist fight like, right as we began boarding. I don’t even know what caused it! Maybe they got their bags switched or maybe they just got cranky, I dunno. But the big guy just turned around and started whaling on the other dude. The other guy started squealing before he went for the cheap hits, like kidney punches and groin shots. By the time security managed to pull them away, the big guy’s face was purple because the little dude managed to get him in a headlock. Little dude was apparently tougher than I thought, even though his nose was smashed in and bloody.

I doubt they got let on the boat with that attitude. :P

The room’s… almost perfect. I thought I was getting a room with a balcony, buuuut guess not. Oh well, it’s still a cruise, and I still got internet! Paid out the ass for it, but can’t seem to upload any pics. Ugh. You’ll have to wait till I’m home. I’m gonna chill until dinner.

6:39 PM

Disappointed again. Dinner was cold. I just wanted to enjoy the buffet dammit! If I wanted cold, chewy nuggets I’d go to McDonald’s.

Ugh. I guess first day was always damned to go bad. I’ll just watch TV, if I can get a connection. Although good news, I found out Adrienne and Emery are right down the hall from me! We’re totally going to hang out tomorrow.

12/19/15

2:21 PM

So glad I have Adrienne around. Because otherwise today would be laaame.

Spa’s closed. Which was my plan for the first day! Adrienne is super bummed too. Lunch isn’t as bad today, at least it’s not cold. Poor Adrienne though, she went for the Chinese noodle things and ended up biting down on a chicken bone. She ended up just having some soft serve ice cream while crying about how her teeth hurt.

Tonight’s the first dinner though. Fingers crossed we get them dancing to What Does the Fox Say!

8:07 PM

No dancing. And my soup had a really bad aftertaste, super bitter. Dessert made up for it though, brownies! I ended up sitting with Adrienne and Emery. Emery’s a pilot! Like actually licensed and everything, he even owns his own plane. I asked if he could take me up sometime and he laughed and said it was only a two seater, but maybe!

Ugh, I think the couple across the hall are having a fight. I think their names are Evan and Corine. They’re about my age too but they’re always at each other’s throats! Even before boarding they were bickering with each other. So dumb. Why am I the only one single on this stupid boat?

12/20/15

3:21 AM

Had a supersuper bad nightmare oh my god I almost want to jump off the boat and start swimming home.

There was all this screaming, and these poor kitties, oh those poor kitties, people kept grabbing them by the legs and pulling, just pulling, while they cried and tried to get away. Their bones popped and snapped and then they just tore apart like paper and sparkly lil bits flew out of them, confetti. It was glittery confetti like the stuff at my twelfth birthday party.

I wanna go back to bed and never wake up.

12:31 PM

Ugh. Slept something awful last night. I just couldn’t get comfy.

Turns out I had a nightmare too, judging by my post? I don’t remember it. So. WEIRD. I’m gonna spend today in my room. Just order in lunch and dinner. I need some me time. Meditate. Think of nice, happy thoughts.

Like Emery’s smokin hot body on top of mine. Yum.

12/21/15

10:23 AM

The spa’s open! I’m gonna hit that up with Adrienne today. She invited me to go with her, gossip about the super cute but so gay guys giving us massages and doing our nails. Ugh. I cannot wait. It’s going to be AMAZING.

3:21 PM

It was not amazing. It was not even subpar.

I’m gonna be honest and say it as it is: it was fucking awful.

First off, waaaayy overcrowded. There were a bunch of these really old wrinkly bitches with their saggy boobs practically hanging out of their bathrobes, yelling and teasing the poor masseuses and manicure people :(

The one doing my foot massage, I can’t remember his name, but I’ll call him Blue Hair because he has this really screwed up blue hair. You know the kind of hair where someone’s bleached and dyed it too many times? So ugly. He. Was too damn rough with my poor feet! I’m not even gonna go to dinner I’m so sore. He was so bitchy too, called me a whiner and that my feet smelled like cheese. My feet do not smell like cheese!

I was about to kick his stupid face when a really fat old woman started yelling at him about why she wasn’t being helped at this very second and how her feet were killing her and that she was going to complain to the people in charge when he like snapped? He got up and started yelling back at her, and it escalated so fast all Adrienne and I could do was watch.

Finally the old lady had enough of his sass and punched him across the jaw. Blue Hair was super twiggy so he hit the floor with a really loud thump. I didn’t see if he got up, I think the old lady was about to stomp on his head when someone finally pulled her away and out of the spa. I got the hell out of there, ditching Adrienne and just going to hell with this.

It was for the best though, Adrienne wasn’t mad or anything. She said she went in for the mud bath and oh my gosh was it bad. It smelled like actual feces and then someone started screaming about how there was blood in their mud. Like. A lot of blood.

Adrienne says someone probably was on the rag when they got in and just didn’t care, but ew! I was looking forward to it and now you can’t pay me to get near that spa ever again.

12/22/15

5:31 PM

Going to dinner again with Adrienne and Emery. Apparently tonight’s gonna be a dancing night! So excited. This is one of the main reasons I wanted to come, dancing waiters on the tables sounds like so much fun! I’m wearing my cute dress, I would be showing you guys pics but one, impossible to upload, takes too long, and I haven’t taken a good selfie all day! Ugh. Bad selfie days are the wooorst.

Oh, there they are now! Better go!

9:50 PM

That couldn’t have gone any worse.

First off, dinner was like, nearly optionless? The first night there was like a million choices, from exotic to elegant, but tonight I literally sat down and got handed an appetizer without so much as being handed a menu. I don’t even want to know what it was. It was some piece of dried out meat. Tasted a bit like pork, but maybe it was fish? Emery said maybe it was shark and that made me laugh, which helped.

Main course was burnt black steak. Not even Emery could joke about that, I swear his perfectly tanned complexion went gray when he realized the hunk of charcoal on his plate was meant to be steak. He flagged over a waitress and asked what the big deal was.

“Chef’s choice, fuck off and hit up the buffet if you’re going to be a bitch about it.”

I was floored. I heard wait staffs were so nice on cruises! I don’t think even Emery knew how to react.

The dancing though. I really, really hope the accident wasn’t as bad as it looked.

Our stupid waitress got up on Evan’s and Corine’s table, taking off her apron and swinging it above her head as some old tune crooned out of the speakers. Evan was super into it, making crude comments about the waitress’ panties while Corine fumed.

I’m not sure if it was the feedback from the speakers that made the waitress stumble or if Corine finally snapped and sucker punched her, but the waitress tumbled from the table with a scream. She slammed into the floor with a painfully loud crack and I saw blood pooling around her head.

We all got shooed out, the host apologizing and saying we’d all get a special dinner sent up to our rooms as an apology and that the woman would be fine.

BTW- still waiting on that special dinner. I’m so hungry I’d eat that excuse for a steak.

… Okay maybe not that hungry. My stomach’s still churning from the meat that may have been shark.

12/23/15

6:32 AM

Dinner was delivered ten minutes ago. It was the same damn steak from last night. It was so cold now though that it was practically rock solid, and I swear it started to smell a bit. It went into the garbage. I’m nauseated and super tired. I can’t get the sound of the waitress’ head hitting the floor out of my head. I really, really hope she’s okay.

Corine and Evan are having the LOUDEST SEX EVER in the room across the hall. I’m pretty sure the mainland can hear her orgasming, oh my god, SHUT UP.

12:13 PM

I think I saw someone get divorced at the buffet.

I was loading up on lukewarm french fries and half cooked chow mein noodles when the quiet argument turned up a few notches. I turned to see this middle aged couple screaming at each other while their little kids stood to the side, eyes like a deer’s in headlights.

No one even bothered to get in between them, I think she was mad about him letting their kids eat nothing but garbage all week, and he was mad she had a stick up her ass. It ended with her ripping off her ring and pitching it into the ocean. His face went purple with how pissed he got, screaming about how that was a family heirloom and all that shit. I got the hell out of there, they can get this damn plate back later.

12:31 PM

Holy shit the angry guy threw his wife overboard.

Emery ran in my room looking sick. He was tanning with Adrienne on the top deck when the woman, apparently her name was Delia, ran up there and she looked terrified. Angry husband Donald ran up after her and grabbed her by the hair. Emery tried to get up to break it up but he wasn’t even finished crossing halfway when Donald dragged her to the edge and threw her over his head into the ocean, telling her to ‘go find the fucking ring!’

I am. So glad I didn’t see that. I don’t know if she’s even okay, can you fall from the top deck to the ocean without, ya know, breaking every goddamn bone in your body?!

Emery’s hiding in here for now, he wants some comfort. Adrienne needed to be alone.

His hair’s so soft, I wanna pet it all day.

12/24/15

Christmas Eve and I’m so homesick.

I don’t want to go to the special ‘dinner’. Knowing what luck we’ve had so far, someone’s probably going to get frikken impaled on a dropped knife or something. So just buffet. Which has gone dramatically down in quality for how little we’ve been out here. It’s cold, it’s undercooked, it’s overcooked, it has a horrible aftertaste. I’m going a little crazy.

I just wanna be home.

At least tomorrow we’re on the island. Won’t blog until I’m back on the boat. Don’t think I’ll have signal.

12/25/15

10:19 PM

This was the WORST CHRISTMAS OF MY LIFE!!!

Okay, so the island was kinda nice at first. I saw no sign of Donald or his kids. Or Corine and Evan. But Adrienne and Emery were there! Emery helped me apply suntan lotion, and his hands were like a god’s. Adrienne got a bit pouty but she was happy after we went swimming together. She’s such a good friend. <3

So much was a lie though. There was no wait staff to bring us drinks. The dolphin meet up had to be booked ahead of time, which none of us knew, and by the time it was noon people were getting a lil testy. I mean, we were promised a beach haven and all we got was basically the same crap you get at home, except it’s salt water.

I heard yelling about half way through the afternoon and went to check it out. I thought it was just two guys rough housing in the water until I realized what the teenage girl next to them was screaming.

“Help! He’s gonna kill him! Oh my god, someone help!”

I ran into the water, Emery hot on my heels. The one guy was holding the other underwater, and I nearly puked when I realized the other guy had stopped struggling. I tried to shove the guy’s attacker but it was impossible, he was so much bigger than me and I just couldn’t move him. Emery tackled him so hard he sent them both down into the water, and I dragged the drowning guy up, trying to smack his chest to help push the water out of his lungs.

He wasn’t breathing.

I think the attacker was put in custody. The girl said they were just horsing around to get her attention when the victim accidentally hit the other guy in the dick. Apparently that was worth murder.

I want to go home.

I think I just heard Emery at the door, so I’ll end this post here.

12/26/15

I slept with Emery last night.

It didn’t mean to happen, it just did! He came to me for comfort because apparently Adrienne was being all cold, we were close, I set a hand on his thigh, our eyes met and just… fell into each other’s arms.

He told me this morning he’ll break off the engagement with Adrienne after we get back home. I’ve apparently showed him what it’s like to be with someone who cares. I feel so bad for Adrienne but… Emery’s so nice guys. He’s the perfect man. He listens, we have sooo much in common, and I’m sure Adrienne will understand that maybe he and I have something that we never thought we’d find with another person.

I still had awful nightmares though. Maybe it’s the guilt.

I shouldn’t feel guilty though. I shouldn’t.

12/27/15

12:58 PM

I’m suing this cruise line when I get home I swear to god THERE WAS BUGS IN THE FOOD

I was eating with Emery, having a good time, he took a forkful of noodles and was about to put it in my mouth when I saw the carrot start to twitch. And then it exploded and squirmed and buzzed IT WAS A FLY. There was. A fucking fly. IN THE FOOD.

I puked all over Emery and I’m so embarrassed, but just seeing it writhe while impaled on a fork was too much. I’m not eating another damn thing on this cruise. No way. I’ll starve myself until we get back home. We’re docking on the first. I’ll make it that long.

6:00 PM

I’m starving but oh my god I can’t stop thinking of that fucking fly. I almost caved and ordered room service twice but just. Flies. I can’t stand flies. They make me itch. Emery hasn’t been in to see me all day and I’m super depressed. Today’s the worst. I’m hungry, I might’ve just lost my new boyfriend, and I just want to be home.

11:23 PM

I think I heard someone die.

Corine and Evan were arguing, and then they were sexing, and then I heard Corine laughing while someone was choking and gasping. There was a thump and something dragging, and I’m too scared to get out of bed.

This is the worst fucking cruise.

12/28/15

9:42 AM

Adrienne knows.

She’s been at my door for half an hour, knocking and saying she has to talk to me. No way. No how. Am I opening that door. She sounds like she’s been crying, but I swear to god she’s going to kill me. I don’t know if I was imagining Corine murdering Evan last night but I’m paranoid as hell. I just keep closing my eyes and hearing that choking or seeing that poor kid get drowned by his friend.

Everyone on this ship is crazy.

10:30 AM

She’s left for now. Oh my god my stomach hurts. I’m so hungry. But if I leave I’m gonna get tossed overboard like Delia.

3:02 PM

She’s brought reinforcements. I hear Corine out there too. I’m so scared.

3:30 PM

They’ve gone for now or they’re just being really quiet. They probably think I have to leave sooner or later or have food ordered in. The only time I’m having that door open is when I’m all packed and disembarking this stupid fucking ship. This is a nightmare.

10:45 PM

I don’t hear anything. I’m scared to go to sleep. I’m scared to die. I’m praying. I’m praying so hard right now.

12/29/15

They broke into my room last night. But they didn’t kill me.

Adrienne and Corine just wanted to talk. And all we did was talk. And I feel so bad for thinking they wanted me to get hurt. I’m so selfish and stupid, I only cared about what I felt to not see what was going on right in front of me.

Corine is Emery’s ex. They were engaged too. She showed me pics on her phone of her wedding dress, and she’s so pretty. But he left her for another woman. She had no idea he was going on this cruise too until she saw him while they boarded. It’s why she was fighting with Evan in the first place.

Adrienne was tricked too. Emery left Corine for her, saying that he found out how to love again.

What a sack of shit.

I’m still refusing to eat, but the alcohol on board is better than nothing. We’re just drinking and bitching about men. We all got tricked by a sweet smile and nice words. What a cunt.

Corine’s suggested we confront him all together. I’m all onboard. I’ll take the wine bottle with me, it might be mostly empty but it’ll mean business.

12/30/15

It took a lot of talking. A lot of arguing. A little bit of force. But we all decided it wasn’t fair only one of us get Emery. So we’re going to share him.

Corine gets his chest. The chest she used to rest her head on as he promised to fly her to the moon.

Adrienne gets his arms. The arms that used to hold her tight and make her feel safe.

And I get his head. The head which has such beautiful lips that spilled nothing but poison and such soft hair that I love to pet. They’re better now that they’re silent. We’re all in Adrienne’s king sized bed, with our favorite parts of Emery. It took some tugging… but the pop of his bones coming loose was the most satisfying of sounds.

12/31/15

We’ll never lose Emery again. He’ll always be a part of me.

[promisedangel]

King’s Island Haunt Review

I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO MAKE ONE FOR LAST WEEKEND’S TRIP, at least not until the friend who went with me reminded me during the MLP season 7 finale.

Travel to there was long, took longer cuz we got stuck in two bad choke points in Columbus traffic. We already made the mental note to leave earlier if we are returning to the Haunt next year. We ended up getting to the park little over an hour after it opened and the lines for rides/haunted houses didn’t exceed 45 minutes that night.

General Notes -The Haunt’s scenery was well done. The fog, the eyes on the Effiel Tower clone were awesome, and there was creepy music around the park to boot. One thing I am kinda disappointed about was the lack of actors outside of the haunted houses. There were only 3 sections of the park in which actors were on the prowl, and only one of them were really effective (I’ll tell that story on the second night). -We stayed at a Super 8, and it was actually pretty good. We just needed a place to sleep, and it worked. It was also near a good amount of food places to choose for breakfast! -The park offered these necklaces for $12 that pretty much said you don’t want to be scared. WHY COME TO A HALLOWEEN THING AND NOT WANT TO GET SCARED? I saw adults with these things on, too! The only way I could see these necklaces worth it, was if no area of the park was safe. If there were actors all over, maybe even in lines for rides and stuff. Then, it’d be worth it. But with only 3 scare zones, it’s not worth it.

Friday - The first thing my friend insisted we do was ride The Beast, as it was getting dark when we arrived and the ride was famous for its night ride since there are no lights around the track. When my friend was young, he and his dad swore they saw red lights, which they have since titled “The killer cows from hell”. Pretty cool ride, not the best, but it was fun riding in the front. -We hit two haunts next. First was The Slaughterhouse... which was kinda meh. Pacing felt too fast and the actors just weren’t trying that hard. - Madam Fatale’s Cavern of Terror was fun! They even got my friend pretty hard. He was lightly taunting some guy actor when this girl actor came from behind and scared him. I swear he jumped 2 feet and fell on the ground. -MYSTIC TIMBERS. AWESOME. The lore, the ride, no wonder it’s got an award already! If Halloween wasn’t so close, I would SO do oneshot based on the ride, but it’s too close and I got a request/gift to do T.T -Diamondback is now in my top five coasters EVER. Riding in the back at night was amazing, you get so much airtime!!! -Vortex is an Oldie but Goldie ride. It was pretty much a walk-on, but an awesome ride. I heard some people want it torn down, but it’s good! -Urgent Scare definitely needs an upgrade on its animatronics. In the ONE place it needs to look it’s most real, they look the fakest. Disappointed. -Drop Tower was fun, loved how it twisted on the way up. -Finished the night on the Banshee. it was cool, equal to The Raptor in Cedar Point.

Saturday -Had a nice breakfast before getting to the park as it opened. We rode Diamondback twice more as our start (In hindsight, this was a bad idea, but we still enjoyed it). -We accidentally went all the way around Backlot Stunt Coaster before we found the entrance, BUT, it led to us meeting a fellow Brony in line for it. Turned out he was at the park by his lonesome and we offered for him to hang out with us. Best decision of the day. The coaster was cool, good family ride. -Rode Vortex again with our new addition and got to know him pretty well. Also headed down to Racers, which was okay. He led us down to The Bat, which was MUCH more fun than Iron Dragon at Cedar Point. -Had to wait a half hour for Invertigo, kinda found out the park was starting to get crowded with people. While in line, we all bonded and I learned out this super intense horror experience called McKamey Manor. While our new friend seems gung-ho for it, I, on the other hand, will NEVER enter that place. Don’t hate the idea, nor the people who go through it. Invertigo was fun, but dunno if it was worth the wait. -Adventure Express was a good beginner coaster, used to be an Indiana Jones coaster before the park was bought by Cedar Fair. -Took a break to get food out of the park and relax a bit, and get sweatshirts for the night ahead. Getting pack in was a pain because we had to park so far away from the park. Made it a half hour before the 7:00 cut off point for getting back in the park. -Our goal for the night was to focus on the Haunts. We started with CarnEvil. Pretty decent, and someone gave me their 3D glasses, so it was trippy for me. Our new addition began to playfully taunt actors and was a joy to see. -Kill-Mart was fun, but mostly fun cause all of us work retail. We ended up making jokes on how it was ‘normal’ for us. Our new guy pointed out a scare and I still fell for it, so he heckled me a bit for it. -Field of Screams had a long line. Think it was a little over an hour. We ended up talking with the two girls in front of us most of the time about various horror topics and watched as one guy in the Fast Pass line scared a few people by hiding in bushes. Two other girls also fell off a fence in the line, but they weren’t hurt. Field of Screams was fun despite the wait but needed just a few more people to really bring out the best of it. There was this wide hay bale area with one actor, but two more would have really made it. One woman followed us out and scared a couple of us. This one girl behind us latched onto my friend, but she made it through with his encouragement. -We quickly went to Board to Death, which was more of a cool visual haunted house than a scary one. My friend and our new friend heckled the actors a bit, and we noticed by now that a lot of the actors over the night tried to get me rather than them. I remember this one actor woman asked if I wanted to play Twister with her and I said no. She then booked it to behind our group and got a scare out of the group of girls behind us, it was funny to just see her book it and immediately hear the screams. - We wanted to go to Blackout, cuz we had heard of various people throughout the night that it was really good, but the line was long and our new friend said he had to leave before midnight since he had to drive himself home. We made a choice and rode Banshee with him. I was, unfortunately starting to get cranky around this time cuz my feet hurt but giving him one last hurrah was worth the hour wait on Banshee. Fun fact: Banshee doesn’t allow fanny packs, BUT, if you stuff them in a hoodie pocket, they’re no problem! Just something I found funny. -We cut through the scare zone of Wasteland so we could quickly drop our new friend off at the gate. The actors in this zone were plentiful and really worked to get scares. They were really good. Sadly, we found this mom with this little girl, probably about 6-7, crying on her mom’s shoulder after going through the zone scared. Felt kinda bad for them. -We said our goodbyes to our new friend and got his contact information in hopes to meet up with him again sometime, even if it was just to come to the Haunt with him again. Did a quick picture together and then my friend and I went at it alone at about midnightish. -I REALLY wanted to hit as many things as possible before the night ended. We cut through the scare zone under the tower called Dance of the Macabre, pretty cool area. -Went straight to Backwoods Bayou. Decent place, good number of actors. The ones in swamp monster suits got us the most cuz we could barely see them coming. Saw people go into the bonus area and we mused about getting the pass for the rooms next year. -We saw that we didn’t have much time left before the park closed. We planned our route and headed straight for Blackout, and the line was less than 15 minutes!!! Was probably one of the most effective haunts in the entire park. You hold a rope with your right hand, while you navigate with your left in a dark maze that occasionally flashes with non-seizure inducing lights. Loved it. -We saw Wolf Pack had no line and quickly ran to it. The actors really tried in there and got my friend a good number of times. Really good visuals and jumpscares. -To close out our trip, we made our way across the park to ride The Beast one last time. We went slowly because my feet were screaming at me by this point. We got in line 15 minutes before the park closed and were probably the 6-7 car before the last ride. We saw The Slaughterhouse close up shop at 2 while still in line. The Beast is a pain in the back, too rough for my tastes. I tried to wedge my arm between the edge of my seat and me to lessen it, but it barely worked. -The walk back through the park to the car was sad, and a bit tough with my hurt feet after doing more than 50k steps that weekend. But we made it and I fell asleep very soon after we returned to our room.

Sunday -Another good breakfast before we relaxed a little before an easy checkout. The ride back was tough on me, felt a bit sleepy until my friend dug out some cookies and chocolate milk from the cooler to keep me awake. Once I put on Critical Role, it became much easier for me to stay awake. -Noticed some grinding when I had to brake during traffic. Turns out my brake pads were in pretty bad shape. Got them fixed this week, but it still cost a LOT. Considering I’ve had that car since 2009, they held up pretty well. -Took a nap as soon as I got home. Had plans with my boyfriend, but we ended up doing something different, but still had a good time with another friend.

Good trip overall. We hope to return next year with more of our coaster-loving friends. We also hope to see our new friend sometime before then! I’d say my first trip to Kings Island was a lot of fun, and a great contrast to Cedar Point, my home amusement park. Sad to say the only things we didn’t hit were Flight of Fear and Firehawk, and we could have done so at the start of Saturday or just after Board to Death, but we all decided against it. Top of the list for next time!

[cosmosogler]

hi guys!!! i am writing in at 10:34 instead of 10 because... i don’t know.

my dream stuck with me all day. i tried talking to real people to sort my head out but it wasn’t as helpful as i’d hoped.

i wasted a LOT of time just... doing nothing, i guess. i skipped lunch, but i knew the more meals i skip the worse i’ll feel, so i forced down like a single serving of trail mix. then i poked around for a little bit longer (didn’t even clean my apartment). 

oh, i did pick up my package. and i found out that the apartment complex is charging me 96 extra dollars over my full rent every month. i started getting that sorted out but i won’t hear back from the administrator until she gets in on monday, and even then they can be kinda slow to respond. 

like how i had to notify maintenance that there was a giant hole in my wall and they did nothing about it for a month so i told them again and they still did nothing so i had to fix it myself and then they came in and did nothing but leave a little flyer on my door. and also the mold in the hole had been making me sick for the whole month before that.

my toilet also seems like it’s got something in the refill pipes that gunks everything up every two weeks but i’m reluctant to put in a maintenance order. i’d rather just keep cleaning it and/or fix it myself when i get time.

eventually i dragged myself out to my bike and got on and biked over to gamestop. it was a lovely day. i experimented with using different gears but i think my bike chain doesn’t like that very much because 2nd gear is different depending on if i was in 1st or 3rd last.

i went to the grocery store and got too much again... i spent less than usual i think? i dunno the vegetarian stuff can get kinda pricey... and the cat litter is a huge hassle to get around. it makes my bike so heavy i don’t have a lot of control over it at all.

which is how i ended up getting hit by a motorcycle on my way home. 

it was not going very fast. it had pulled out of a side road/driveway thing? and was blocking the sidewalk. i expected it to either not block the sidewalk or to go out into the traffic since the road was clear. i did not expect it to do neither of those things. i also could not stop the bike even though i had grabbed the brake.

he decided to pull forward when i was right in front of him and he knocked me over and then he fell over. my bike handlebar fell directly on my bag of popcorn (i’d gotten it in the hope of having something a little more filling as a snack for my lunchbox) and it exploded and it made the scariest noise i’ve ever heard while hitting the ground. 

we’d fallen into the road so he and i scrambled to our feet pretty quick and i yanked my bike upright even though it was way too heavy for me to do that normally without a lot of care, especially with the 20-pound cat litter. adrenaline is a strange thing.

it’s actually really surprising i wasn’t hurt more badly than i was? my grocery bags had been wrapped uncomfortably and tightly around my shoulders since i’d had trouble getting them on my back. i was WAY HEAVIER than i normally am because of that. i fell directly on my arm and/or hand (i don’t remember the moment just before and just after the fall well at all) and i did bruise my fingers but not my arm. and i didn’t scrape my side or hip or leg. wearing jeans probably helped.

i mean like... my purse got a faceful of road. my ankle and foot hurt and my fingers on my left hand aren’t working that well if i grab anything. but i didn’t even get winded or trapped under my bulky grocery bags or the bike, which did fall on me. my muscles have become Powerful. and also the bike must have been saved by its soft landing directly on my popcorn and my bread.

a few pedestrians came by to check on us. one guy either offered me his number or asked for mine to “check up on” me. i said that wouldn’t be necessary. when i told asher about it he thought that was super weird. i wasn’t thinking very hard about it at the time but i did pretend to be less hurt than i actually was.

i took a minute to stop having a heart attack and i made sure the guy’s motorcycle didn’t break. it was actually damaged more than my bike was because i am an Unstoppable Force.

then i walked by bike to the stoplight half a block away and got on it and rode home on my injured ankle and with the bags even heavier because i’d gotten tired.

i told my classmates about it on our group chat and then i sat and avoided doing anything for like a whole hour. i got my shiny silvally and trained it. i finished up my laundry. i made a very small, very early dinner because i knew i had to eat something even though i still didn’t want anything.

then i biked to campus and got there arouuund 4:40-ish. i coasted most of the way because i really was tired. i graded! for three hours!! i finished one section!!!!!!!!!

bad. it’s maybe 10% of the work i have to finish this weekend. sorting out depression AND finances AND getting hit by motor vehicles AND adult chores like laundry AND doing my school work is too hard...

when i got to the office jennica gave me some of her candy. i revealed that i had also bought halloween candy and gave it to her and suzanne and taylor. wasn’t no one else there. i stayed in suzanne’s office even after she left for a little bit for two reasons. i didn’t feel like moving and also jennica was watching a football game and screaming at her screen. but then it got really hot in that office and taylor was tapping the floor so hard i could feel the vibrations through my shoes and hear it over my music. so i moved to my office, which also belongs to jennica.

the third time she screamed so hard my ears rang, i turned around to address her. i tried to be as polite as i could and ask her to at least keep down the screaming because it was hurting my ears. i was mostly tired of flinching every time she did it though.

so like... there were things making it hard to do work. i hope that the extra 90% of my work goes faster tomorrow. i’m gonna try to get into the office early, if i can... it’s my goal. i don’t always reach my goals. obviously.

so i biked home and had a small snack (even though i STILL didn’t want to eat anything, i could tell i was very hungry) and then it was 9:30 and i watched a 45-minute video. and then i watched another video i guess. i only have one video left in my bookmarks but it’s also 45 minutes long so it’ll have to wait for next weekend i guess.

now it’s 11. it is hard to want to go to sleep again. 

it’s... rare that i remember conversations in my dreams. and i don’t remember word for word what i was talking about with those guys. thinking about learning a piano piece, wondering if he could help me, talking about siblings. i’m a lot more direct and honest in my dreams which is kind of nice as much as it is worrying. i don’t like swearing (just in general, i mean, in practice it’s usually really funny) but it seems to slip out a lot when i’m dreaming and i wonder what that says about me.

it’s kind of nice to be that... blunt, i guess, isn’t the right word. not obtuse, even if sometimes the conversations take place entirely in strange phrases that only read as metaphors or, in retrospect, really hilarious and face-slapping puns that took four hours to set up.

guess there’s not much point in lying to myself. i assume here that the dream people i encounter are, in fact, all in my head, and not anywhere else. it’s, kind of, comforting, that i don’t seem to be hiding that much from myself, if dream revelations sound more like “oh yeah that sounds right” than “wow i didn’t know i felt that way.” i love to keep my secrets but at least i know what they are, i guess? 

sometimes it’s hard to discern my motivations when i talk to people, just because, it’s complicated and i feel super suspicious all the time even when i’m being really honest with my stories and goofy about jokey jokes. but i barely ever approach dream people with the intention of actually lying to them even if i keep a lot of things to myself. and that’s how i feel when i’m awake too. 

i share a lot but it’s always stuff that doesn’t really matter to me. and it’s funny if i complain about it instead of really sad. other people don’t always think it’s funny too though. and i guess they pick up on the stuff i would rather keep secret even if i try to hide it.

i let my moods affect me a lot even though i don’t always want to. being in a bad mood can make something feel right that doesn’t normally feel right. like deciding to share stuff from my childhood in a way that is not even a little bit of a joke. i don’t WANT people to know i’m in a bad mood, but i want to act in a different way than usual and that tips people off maybe? because different things seem like good ideas and different things seem like bad ideas depending on how bad i feel?

i guess i can get pretty reckless when i don’t feel good. reckless socially, maybe. being unhappy or angry and NOT blowing it off as a joke or absolutely downplaying it? that’s normally terrifying!!!

like i said in our group chat i was cranky but otherwise fine. cranky was kind of a vague way of not-saying i spent an hour refusing to leave my desk or eat or do anything that might help me make use of the daylight i had left because even though i didn’t FEEL scared (i don’t feel anything really) i knew my body was scared. does that make sense?

i feel like that a lot. where i’ll recognize a situation where i would normally have this sort of response, so i’ll kinda go through the motions of responding the way i remember how to, but i don’t feel the emotion that would normally cause me to respond that way. i can’t tell if i’m just acting out of habit, or an attempt to be “normal,” or i am actually feeling things and my brain is telling me i’m not for some reason, or what. maybe all of those, and maybe other things too.

the only emotion i really recognize when i feel it is anger. i know when i’m angry. but that’s about it. 

i can’t tell if i’m lying or not. like of COURSE, i MUST feel happy sometimes. but thinking about memories that are supposed to be happy i don’t... have a word for how i feel. i know it’s not happy, but it must be something, and happy seems to be the only option there. but i keep having the need to say “i don’t feel anything.” it’s disorienting, knowing that something should be there and finding that it’s not, but it must be, because where else would it be? where did my emotions go? did they leak out of my ear or something? are there holes in my pockets?

like i have panic attacks, i KNOW i’m having a panic attack, i’m experiencing all the symptoms... except for the actual thought “i’m feeling panicked.” the panic isn’t there. just the headache and the trouble breathing and the shaky hands and the restlessness. so it must be panic. but where is the panic??? 

am i overthinking it? is it normal to overthink it? 

trying to categorize and intellectualize all my emotions is probably what’s making them so hard to feel. you don’t think about all the individual muscles you have to stimulate in order to grab a pencil. you just want to grab the pencil and then it is grabbed. if you think about HOW to grab the pencil it’s easy to get caught up in the “wait. what?” part of it. you just gotta do it naturally.

maybe that’s why meditation helps so much with some people. lets you stop thinking about the “how” and the “why” and just kinda, “do” it.

wikipedia has some interesting things to say about it. “ speculating about one's own problems rather than experiencing them and attempting to change. “ 

“ Alternatively the therapist may unwittingly deflect the patient away from feeling to mere talking of feelings, producing not emotional but merely intellectual insight[23] an obsessional attempt to control through thinking the lost feelings parts of the self. “ 

heh. a long time ago i was talking about how badly i wanted to stop feeling things. guess i got what i wanted. but i didn’t really stop feeling things so much as only sometimes feel bad things and stop feeling good things altogether.

maybe that’s an answer then. stop thinking about it so dang hard. things will happen. i don’t have to think about how to make them happen in order to actually make them happen. emotional things, moreso than adult outside life things. i have to consider my approach toward getting my rent payments back if i want to actually get them back. it’s not advice for every situation...

but instead of thinking so hard about how to move my arm that i hurt my brain, i should probably just move my arm.

that requires dealing with a lot of emotions that i don’t really want to deal with because it’s not useful to me right now. it won’t be helpful for me right now to be furious and miserable all the time for a few weeks. there’s never really a good time for it... when i had time, i was at home, so i didn’t have the right space for it. now i got the space, sort of, but absolutely no time at all.

i guess i was, after all, happy at the restaurant last night, hanging out with my friends, not thinking about whether i was happy or not. it wasn’t pure happy, but it was there. contentment. i don’t remember it now, very well, but i wasn’t thinking about it that way at the time. moods can do a lot toward changing your perception of what things felt like and what seems like a good or bad idea.

i guess, the thing here is, i don’t feel safe enough to feel all my emotions. i mentioned it to keegan yesterday, when we were talking about drugs, just because that’s where the conversation went. i said i never really wanted to alter my state of mind like that because i hate the idea of not being in control of what i say. he said “interesting” but wouldn’t elaborate.

loosening up would make it harder to pay attention to everything and run with (more or less) one behavior strategy. i know how it is to be drunk, let alone connected to the universe. even then i have to be really careful, especially around my family. if something happened and i didn’t have all my faculties... it’s not safe. 

and now, snoopy pooped directly next to my desk. so i cleaned that up. it’s after 11:30. i should sleep.

one thought. i think that’s why my moods feel so... horrible. it feels horrible to be in a different mood than usual and i hate myself when i feel differently from “nothing” because i feel like that makes me act differently. and i feel like i can’t afford that. being angry makes me feel like i’m going to slip up and say something i don’t actually want to say. being happy feels like it makes me less careful. because who cares! things are good!! these people are good too!!!

and being angry is like, “everyone should know how much my life sucks because i’m so miserable and i want someone to acknowledge me.” 

i crave that sweet validation. i shouldn’t need it. my life is real whether people believe it or not. even *i* don’t want to acknowledge most of this stuff normally.

i was a little mean today, at the office. meaner than i intended. well, i intend to be 0 mean, so like, 2 mean is too much for me. some things that were supposed to be jokes were said with just the wrong amount of edge. i hope they know it’s because i was knocked over by a motor vehicle today and not because i am angry with them.

and like... being angry isn’t an excuse to be snippy. i shouldn’t take it out on them. i just didn’t really have any patience for screaming in a small enclosed echoey space today.

i feel like i’m a bad person because i don’t have a better handle on my temper and who i need to not direct it at.

anyway, a good thing today. i had a lot of fun at gamestop and i had a great bike ride out there and most of the way back. i’m glad that i wasn’t badly hurt and that my bike wasn’t visibly damaged. we’ll see how the gear shift holds up. it was already acting kinda weird today before the crash. i’ll take it in next weekend after this grading problem is taken care of and maybe my class schedule is adjusted.

i’m glad that i started riding the bike everywhere though. it opens up a huge range of options for me as far as traveling goes. i can basically make it across town on my own within 45 minutes. and it’s helping me get some sunlight and exercise where i couldn’t before. i’ve been on it literally every day since i started riding once my helmet came in. and my hands are starting to get calloused and i don’t feel totally wiped if i have to hustle for more than 30 seconds on foot.

i’m going to bed an hour late now but i feel like... it was worth it. i’m feeling a little better now. i’m still gonna do introspection because i like it and it’s helpful to me sometimes and it’s nice to have a record of how i’ve been feeling long term, but i will also try to not panic about not feeling emotions. they are slippery creatures and tend to disappear if you spend too much time looking for them. but they are there if you don’t, like, break out the magnifying glass and the sherlock.

[fyeahjamesandlily]

on the seventh day of christmas

an: this fic is for @chelseaapproved. hi, chelsea! merry christmas!! sorry i broke some of the rules in your prompt. i hope you like it anyway! it’s been a while since i wrote any pre-dating!hogwarts!jily, and getting back in that stage of their relationship made me feel super nostalgic. i hope you have as happy a christmas as james had in the last part of this fic. and may 2017 be kind and generous to you as well! ♡

1971. The box of chocolate frogs hits her in the back of the head. In James’s defense, he’s in a hurry. He has to strategically sort and un-tag his pile of presents, because he got up at godawful o'clock to Sirius Black’s really pathetic pile (just one gift, if you’d believe it, a badly wrapped lump from some bloke named “Reg”), and he has to make the piles look more or less innocently even before his favourite dorm mate (so far) wakes up.

He’s pretty sure it’s going to work. The chocolate frogs, that is. Never mind that he hit her and everything. He’s seen her try to trade her Merlin card for a Bowman Wright with a Hufflepuff fourth year (like anyone’s going to trade Wright for Merlin), and the cards in the box are, like, really limited edition.

Surely that’d stop her crying, right?

Who cries on Christmas Day anyway?

The culprit is already dashing back up to the boys’ dorms in a flurry of baggy pajamas, but there is no mistaking that hair. Lily scowls. But that’s it. She takes three deep breaths to recompose herself, which isn’t easy, ‘cause there wasn’t much composure around before to begin with. Still, she’s long decided that that boy isn’t worth anything from her.

She returns her eyes to her sister’s letter, but gets distracted.

On the floor is a six-box pack of chocolate frog cards. In spite of herself, she picks it up, and her eleven-year old heart skips at the list of cards included in the pack.

Bowman Wright.

She stares at the spot where she last saw him—him, James Potter—and lets herself willingly name him in her head for once.

1972. Sirius is pretty sure James is pissed about something. With a dramatic sigh he rotates the plate between them, the bigger slice of the treacle tart moving in turn back to James’s side. “Fine, you can have it.”

James looks up. He tries to smooth his face out, but it’s like trying to fix a badly crumpled essay without a wand. “Huh?”

“What’s wrong?” He feels weird asking, of course. But if he doesn’t say anything, then James is going to stay cranky, which will make him, Sirius, also cranky. And no one’s supposed to be cranky on Christmas. Not even Sirius Black.

James takes his fork and digs in without preamble. Sirius would feel offended at this lack of hesitation, but it’s the least of his concerns at the moment.

“So what is it?” he prods.

“Nothing,” says James with food in his mouth.

Sirius starts tugging at the edge of the plate.

“Hey,” protests James.

“Just tell me.”

“It’s weird.”

“You’re weirder.”

James drops his gaze, pulls the plate gruffly back to him, and stabs at another spoonful. “Promise me you won’t laugh.”

There’s a ninety per cent chance he would, just based on how James is acting, but Sirius perseveres to keep a straight face and nods all the same.

“It’s weird…”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned,” mutters Sirius.

“—and embarrassing, and completely unreasonable.”

“Got it.” Sirius tentatively scrapes a piece of the tart with his own fork, and it’s a testament to James’s level of vexation that he doesn’t even comment on this.

“But I just… thought…” (Sirius could have eaten the whole thing in the time James took to finish this sentence.) “…She’d be staying.”

Sirius blinks. “What?”

“I saw her name on the list.”

“You what whose what on the what?”

James rolls his eyes. Seemingly roused from whatever bizarre mood he was in, he bats Sirius’s fork away with his. “Pay attention, will you?”

“I am paying attention, and I’m not understanding anything.”

James leans in. Dropping his voice, he says, “Evans, of course.”

Sirius stares at him. After some time, he inclines his head, incredulous. “As in Lily Evans?”

“Keep it down!”

“James, we’re the only ones here.”

“Someone could be listening!”

“I barely understand what you’re saying, and I’m… me. I doubt this information would be of any importance to anyone.” He pauses. “And that counts me, by the way. This isn’t—this doesn’t make sense to me.”

“I just thought it would be fun, s'all.”

Sirius frowns. “She barely talks to you.”

“She did last week!”

“Yeah, to tell you your hair sucked.”

“It didn’t suck.”

Sirius nods loyally. “I know, mate, I know.”

“I don’t know…” His face is half-red now. “I just kind of…”

Sirius doesn’t want to say it. Ask it. He keeps quiet.

To his relief, James starts shaking his head. He returns to his treacle tart more resolutely. “I’m taking it back. I don’t want her around.”

Sirius holds on to that for dear life. “Okay.”

“I don’t know what got to me.”

“It’s okay. It’s fine.”

“Hmm.”

Sirius lets the conversation properly die out by saying nothing for a whole minute, and then he digs in on James’s treacle tart. The other grumbles, Sirius persists, and they end up fork-sparring over the dessert.

Later, while they’re hiding behind the statue of the humpback witch while Filch ran the other way screaming miscreants, miscreants, Christmas MISCREAAAANNNTTSSS!—Sirius remembers the ninety per cent chance of laughter from earlier, and wonders where all of it went.

1973. He’s so sure he’s going to get caught. Not that that’s a big deal. He’s had detentions before. Countless. He just didn’t want to spend Christmas Day scrubbing trophies in Filch’s stinky office for something he did. Not. Do. Solemnly swear.

He stumbles as he tries to halt at the last minute to turn around the corner, trainers skidding over the floor in an echoing screech—and then straight up slams against someone. They topple to the floor in a heap of groans, and Lily says (for that’s who it is, and this is how lucky he is), “What the hell, Potter.”

She’s the first to stand. Before she can take the first step away, Filch roars from a nearby corridor: “I’ll get you this time, you—”

Lily’s gaze drops on James. She arches one eyebrow.

“What?” asks James, getting to his feet as well. He dusts off his robes. “That wasn’t me.”

Filch again: “I can hear you—”

“Oh, hell,” mutters James. He starts backing away from her. His hands also start that weird gesture-dance thing that they do when she’s around. “Well, I gotta go, nice running into you—well, not nice, I mean—oh.” He stills his hands. “Are you hurt?”

Lily rolls her eyes.

And then she steps forward and takes his wrist, and James is like what, and then they’re running.

“Evans—”

“Shush.”

“It was you?”

She practically shoves him inside a broom cupboard that James is so sure should not be on this floor. Tonight is indeed full of magic. Thank you, God. Thank you, Hogwarts. Happy Christmas, universe.

The small, dusty door thuds close. Lily fishes out her wand and Lumoses the scant room. Outside, Filch is still yelling, but his growls are muffled and getting more distant by the second.

James starts laughing.

“Stop,” groans Lily, sitting down on a nearby crate.

“You turned Mrs. Norris into a gecko?”

Pause. And then, quietly, “A chameleon, idiot.”

He laughs again. When he’s exhausted his mirth, he considers sitting on the crate next to her, but decides against it. He’s been lucky, yes, but he can’t push it. He slumps on the floor.

“Thanks for saving my life,” he says, grinning at her.

“Don’t be dramatic.”

“It’s true. He’d have flayed me alive.”

“And you’d have deserved it.”

He holds a hand to his chest, scandalized. “No one deserves to be flayed, Evans.”

She narrows her eyes at his theatrics, but ultimately bends. “You’re right. Sorry.”

“Some just deserve to be turned into geckos.”

He might be imagining it, but he thinks her lips upturn a bit. “Chameleon.”

“Whatever.” He’s still grinning. “See, you do have a soft spot for me.”

Lily looks straight at him. “Last week Filch gave Sev a week of detentions for something he clearly did not do.”

James’s grin basically keels over and dies. “So?”

“So I turned his cat into a chameleon.”

“Charming.” He examines his nails, but there are too many shadows in the cramped room. “I suppose it was something we did.”

“What?”

“The thing he got in trouble with.”

“I thought so, yeah.”

It wasn’t, whatever it was, honest to god. But she wouldn’t believe that, would she? “Why’re we here then?”

She crosses her arms, the light from her wand shifting. “Why’re you mad?”

He shrugs. “Not mad.”

“Okay.”

“It wasn’t me.” He can’t help it. “It wasn’t any of us.”

She bites her lip. “I know that now.”

Oh. Oh. “You feel guilty? You’re making it up to me?”

“I’m avenging my best friend.”

“And saying sorry to me.”

“Don’t be delusional. No one’s saying sorry.”

But she is. And he’s grinning again, in spite of himself. “It’s fine, by the way.”

“Shut up.” Even in the dim lighting, he can see her cheeks flush.

Filch has stopped trailing them now, or else he’s so far they can’t hear him anymore. She doesn’t seem to have plans to leave yet. James stays put. Hell, he can stay put here forever.

“I can’t believe you turned Mrs. Norris into a gecko,” he says, and he dips the last words in bubbling laughter once more.

This time, after a few seconds of futile mouth-pursing, Lily finally indulges him a chuckle.

1974. "Come to visit me, Evans?“

She passes by with her chin up and properly haughty.

“Come on, it’s Christmas,” he says before she vanishes from view. Totally in jest on the outside, but… right, he just wants a Happy Christmas from her, maybe. That’s a damn fair wish after getting whacked with two bludgers, isn’t it?

“Not quite yet,” she counters.

“We’re both going home this year.”

“I just returned some potion practice sets to Madame Pomfrey,” she says, stopping at the foot of his bed.

“Ahuh,” he says. He has that stupid, cocky grin that she hates.

“Still haven’t learned your lesson then?”

“Slytherins are filthy cheaters? Etched in my heart forever.”

“Showing off gets you two bludgers,” she says, gesturing at the bandages around his head, his arm.

That doesn’t deter him in the slightest. “We won, didn’t we?”

“You’re here injured, aren’t you?”

“Worth it.”

She frowns at him. She takes two steps forward, grips the metal frame at the foot of his bed. “I’m so glad I talked to you,” she says. He knows better now than to expect something good from introductions like that. Besides, she looks more bewildered than glad. “I was worried. Like, this much—” She holds up a comically minuscule distance between her thumb and index finger, “—but now I’m okay.”

(Third bludger. This.) “Glad to help.”

“Well, I’m going now,” she says. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Fourth.

She’s gone.

Fifth.

Sixth, seventh, eighth…

He sinks further down his bed, thoroughly put out. With effort, he takes the two-way mirror out from under his pillow. How long does it take to nick stuff from the kitchens?

“Pad—”

“Are you talking to yourself?”

It’s Lily. She’s back.

He lowers the mirror down slowly. “Yes.”

She seems to deem that unworthy of any comment. She just comes closer, fingers around the frame again. “It was a good game,” she says, everything about her softer now. “You’re a fantastic player, everyone knows it. But—but never do that again.”

He stares. “Oh… ‘kay…?”

“You nearly gave Professor McGonagall a heart attack, that’s all.”

“Gotcha.”

She nods. She starts backing away. “And—er, well—get well soon. Happy Christmas.”

She’s already gone when he gets his bearings back. “Happy Christmas!” he yells after her, but he’s not sure if she’s still there to hear.

All the bludgers have long gone by the time Sirius, Remus, and Peter get back from the kitchens.

1975. There’s not much to say about this one. Just that her lips are so unbelievably soft, and that it does kind of feel like flying. When she guides his hands to, um, places, his heart skips to his throat, and maybe he flinches, because she leans back just enough to smile at him.

He’s fifteen, mistletoe is a muggle miracle, and the light from the grate makes her monochromatic. Her eyes could be green. Her hair could be red. She could be fifteen like him, she could be Gryffindor like him. She could be anyone.

(Anyone. Who’s he kidding?)

“All right?” Jeanne asks him. Her voice sounds wrong.

He nods. She smiles and kisses him again.

1976. The general mood these days is that he doesn’t feel like talking to anyone. Not Dumbledore, not McGonagall, not even Sirius. Lily’s out of the question, of course; it’s not like she’d ever talk to him anyway after the whole post-OWL fiasco last summer.

So when she approaches him after a Quidditch win that he thought would finally cheer him up (it didn’t), his brain doesn’t know what to do with itself.

He watches as she slumps down the cold floor beside him. The corridor is long, dark, and deserted. Her shoulder is touching his.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, keeping absolutely still.

She takes her time to answer. “I honestly don’t know.”

So they sit there for what feels like hours. Later, neither of them would know just for exactly how long did they stay like that there. Doesn’t matter.

“Talk, James,” she says after a time. She didn’t say it like an order—it was quiet, a bit exasperated even—but she seems determined as hell. “Not even to me. To your dad. To Sirius. The house elves. Madam Rosmerta. Peeves.”

“What’s the point?”

“You gotta give the universe a chance to patch you up.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“Why do you care?”

He expected her to bristle, but she just sighs. She shifts to get something from her pocket. When she holds it up, it takes him a few seconds to realize what it is.

“Take it,” she says, offering him the chocolate frog card.

He does. One of the edges has a slight fold-mark, but other than that it’s good as new.

“I don’t know if… we’re okay,” she says, staring at the card. “I don’t know if I’m not mad anymore because I simply am not anymore, or just because I’ve stopped thinking about it altogether.”

“Evans, I’m really sorry about—”

“I know,” she says. It’s not I forgive you, or It’s okay, but this is the first time she’s talked to him like this, and about it, and he’s going to bloody take what he can get. “It’s not even about that. It’s about… you. Now. I owe you a happy Christmas.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

She reaches out to flick the card in his hand. “Bowman Wright. Don’t you remember?”

He only does now.

“It’s the same one,” she points out when he doesn’t say anything. "It’s stupid but that card did wonders for me back then. I mean, it would probably not have the same effect, but I just want to remind you that sometimes… sometimes the world can surprise you, James. You just have to be out there. Let it.“ She nudges him. "Yeah?”

He nods. There’s a lump in his throat and a sting in his eyes and if he speaks he’s going to lose to all of them.

Lily senses this, and gets to her feet. “No one deserves to be flayed.”

“No one was flayed,” he says really quietly, staring at the card. “People lose people all the time.”

“You’d take getting flayed over losing your mum.”

He doesn’t answer.

“No one deserves both,” she says. A slight contemplative pause, and then, a little sheepishly, “Some just deserve to be turned into geckos.”

He looks up. God, this girl… “Chameleon,” he corrects  her.

The smirk she throws his way is accompanied by a relieved sigh.

When even the echoes of her footsteps have gone and the torches are less flagrant, he finds himself smiling (for the first time in a while) at Bowman Wright.

1977.

Potter,

I tried. Really. Dear Potter, Dear James, James, You Bloody Universal Git. Everything sounded awkward as all hell.

I don’t know how to write the body of this either. Or why I just said “body of this letter”. Merlin, are you crumpling this up now? Wouldn’t blame you.

A couple of things:

1. Actually, I don’t know 2. Have I confused you enough yet? 3. This is probably the hardest letter I ever had to write 4. And the weirdest you ever had to read 5. The thing is 6. That’s not even a whole sentence, so I don’t know why that counts as a whole number 7. Or whatever I just said in number 6 8. …And 7 9. And 8 10. This is not going to end 11. Do you hate me? 12. I don’t hate you 13. I think I 14. Might 15. MIGHT 16. Like you 17. And this is an invitation??? 18. No, a question 19. And I need an answer 20. Meet me at the Heads’ office, midnight 21. I’m here and I have your Christmas gift

The clock says 11:57, and he stumbles twice in his haste to get to the portrait hole. Five times more on his way to the office.

He runs like the wind. The Hogwarts fairy lights are a blur of memories; of mistletoe and chocolate frog cards and piles of presents and blazing red hair. Somewhere, someone is bellowing what sounds like Jingle Bells, except it’s hardly recognizable with its terrible off-keyness and the lewd lyrics.

Still. He laughs like he’s got everyone’s happiest Christmases swirling inside of him.

- fin -

[100wordsandcounting-blog1]

No matter the weather

A/N: Hi everyone, I’m kind of new to the whole writing part of tumblr but I thought why not give it a try? I might explore this story further in future writing stuff, but you can expect more random short stories up here. First story please be kind to me, but don’t hold back on feedback please. This is a super short one but I just wanted to post something on this blog!  For now I hope you like it :)

Some people let their entire mood depend on the weather. They say that the wind is blowing to hard. Be cranky or upset when it’s raining. Complain that it is too hot when the sun is shining, or not hot enough when the sun is gone. For some people the weather is just never perfect.

But not for Lizzy. She sees the beauty in every type of weather. The cloudless, blue sky on a warm summer day. The morning dew sticking to the grass. Or the street light being dimmed by fog in autumn.

Today, it’s no different. When Lizzy woke up she could hear the rain ticking against her bedroom window. The most calming sound ever. She listened to it for a while. When she finally got up and opened her curtains, she could see the puddles forming in the streets.

Lizzy checked her phone. One message from her best friend Alice. ‘Yuck. Why is it raining?’ Alice was one of the people who could complain about the weather all day every day. The message made her chuckle. Why don’t people just enjoy the weather they get instead of complaining about it? ‘Love it!’ Lizzy replied before she made her way over to the kitchen.

Banana or apple for breakfast? Banana? Apple? Apple it was. Lizzy sat down on the sofa and covered herself with a fluffy blanket. While munching on her apple, she watched some youtube videos.

When there was nothing of her apple left except for the core, Lizzy got up and put some clothes on. It was 8:50 am, almost time to leave. Quickly remembering that it was raining she put her favourite rain jacket on. It was navy blue and covered with little white stars. No bother in carrying around an umbrella. The wind would destroy it. A rain jacket was much more convenient. Plus she loved the feeling of rain drops falling on her shoulders and her head.

Lizzy walked towards the building she worked in every day. No matter the weather she would walk. Colleagues often offered to pick her up, but no one could change her mind. It was just the normal English weather. Nothing serious and nothing too bad.

Humming to her favourite song, Lizzy closed her front door and started her 20 minute walk. There was hardly anyone on the streets as expected in this weather. Some people were running, thinking it would help them to stay dry. Others were struggling with their umbrellas.

The rain drops were falling down on her shoulders. She could feel every single one of them. It made Lizzy relax. Was she really the only person on this earth who actually enjoyed rain?

Something bumped into Lizzy’s back. She didn’t anticipate on it so she fell on her knees. Thankfully she could catch herself with her hands or she would have fallen face down on the street. That would not have ended well. Someone grabbed her left upper arm and dragged her to her feet. “Watch where you’re going!” The other person snapped at her. Was this really happening? Lizzy looked down at her knees. Two big gaping holes in her jeans and to top it off her right knee was bleeding. “Excuse me, but you bumped into me.”

The stranger lifted his umbrella. If looks could kill Lizzy would not be standing here anymore. She looked down at her knees again, they were hurting. She was not going to let some stranger blame her. “You bumped into me.” She repeated, “It’s not my fault.”

The stranger looked surprised, he clearly wasn’t expecting this girl to say anything back. His eyes softened, “okay, look. I’m sorry, it’s just this weather.” Lizzy rolled her eyes. Of course it was all the weather’s fault. Jerk.

Lizzy started to walk away, which was harder than expected with her hurting knees. She just hoped she looked at least a little confident. “Wait.” The stranger walked over to her, “are you alright?” He looked down at her knees. “You’re bleeding!”

“Thank you, mister obvious. I hadn’t noticed.” Lizzy continued walking away from him. “Let me at least help you. It was my fault, so let me help.” She turned around and raised an eyebrow, “so it wasn’t my fault?” The stranger shook his head, “no, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Lizzy couldn’t say anything before the stranger threw his umbrella on the ground and lifted her into his arms. “What are you doing? Put me down!”

“Where do you have to go to?” Lizzy looked him in the eye, which was way closer than she wanted it to be. “I’m not telling a stranger that, nor do I want a stranger to carry me!” She put the emphasis on the word stranger.

He wasn’t letting go of her, “I’m Jack, nice to meet you. Now that I’m not a stranger anymore, where do you have to go to?”

Lizzy was still looking him in the eye, not that she had another choice. She sighed, “Okay fine, to the town hall.”

“Okay, that’s 15 minutes away. Should be fine.” Lizzy nodded her head. “Are you going to leave your umbrella behind?” The stranger, Jack, turned around to give his umbrella one final look. “Yes, I am. The thing caused me nothing but bad things.”

Once they arrived at the town hall, Jack helped her to clean her knees. “Hey, you didn’t tell me your name.” She looked up to meet his eyes. “Lizzy.”

“Nice to meet you, Lizzy” Jack smiled at her. He had gorgeous brown eyes. Lizzy smiled as well.

“At what time are you done working?” Jack asked. “5:00 pm. Why?”

“I’ll be here at 5 to bring you home.”

Lizzy gave him a confused look, “I should be able to walk back myself. You don’t have to come back.” Jack shook his head, “It’s the least I could do, after what happened.”

He checked his watch, “I have to go now Lizzy. I’ll see you at 5:00 pm.” All Lizzy could do was smile, even long after Jack was gone.

[ultimate-pathfinder]

Lost Coast Trail

In June 2017, I backpacked the Lost Coast Trail over 4 days and 3 nights. Our itinerary worked well and I have much advice to give, so read on...

Getting There

I didn’t read in any of my research just how bad the road from Shelter Cove to Mattole Beach was, and after surviving it, I highly recommend a large clearance vehicle (does not need 4 wheel drive) or that you take a shuttle such as the one offered by Lost Coast Adventures. Our original plan of driving my Prius to return my friend to her car post-trip did not work out but fortunately, we met Blu at Lost Coast Adventures on trail and were able to have my friend hitch a shuttle ride back to her truck. Also of note, on the drive to Mattole, you will see yaks! How freaking cool is that? On your right hand side, you’ll also pass a pickup truck strung up, which we found amusing.

Footwear and Mandatory Gear

The terrain is ROUGH on the bottom of your feet so you want shoes that will protect your feet and feel supportive. On trail, nearly everyone wore hiking boots with ankle support (except for the two guys hiking in sandals like crazy people). I was super jealous of my friend’s waterproof boots as this wet year, yielded numerous stream crossings and I needed to change shoes quite a bit on the later part of the trip. Gaiters were another must-have. My gaiters malfunctioned so I didn’t have them and little rocks and sand got into my shoes on day 3 causing me to have tons of hot spots on day 4.

I also highly recommend you bring hiking poles, even if you’re not a “pole person.” The trail has you walking on eroded surfaces, a few steep sections, and large boulder rocks and the poles were a requirement for me during these sections. The last MUST piece of gear is trash compactor bags and a rain coat. On the eve before we left town, I picked up a Frogg Toggs jacket from Walmart and was SO grateful to have this on trail during the rainy times. The trash compactor bags also helped me keep my gear dry.

Itinerary

We had originally planned to camp at Sea Lion Gulch, Spanish Creek, and  Big Flat Creek but decided we wanted fewer miles on our last day and this decision proved to be a good one....trust me!

The itinerary we ended up doing was the following:

Day 1

We left the bay area (Newark) at 6 a.m. on a Thursday and stopped to pick up a girl we met online through the “Ladies of the JMT” Facebook page at a Bart station on the way. We arrived at the Black Sands parking area around 11:15 a.m. and transferred our gear into one vehicle. We then drove out to Mattole on a very yucky road that I really don’t recommend you attempt with a low riding vehicle. On the drive, when your not busy looking for huge potholes, keep an eye out for yaks on the left and a hanging truck on your right. We arrived to Mattole and ate lunch and were on trail at 3:00. This first day, we did about 4.5 miles to Lion Gulch.

During this section, you’ll see the Punta Gorda lighthouse and hopefully many elephant seals and other wildlife. Beware that there are a lot of DEAD ANIMALS. I didn’t expect to see so many carcasses.....it was a shock to realize we saw more dead animals than live ones during the trip. Through the course of our trip, we saw dead sea lions, starfish, crabs, lobsters, clams fish, birds, and a whale (which stunk very badly). We also saw a weird “sea brain” that was squishy and odd.

Mystery “sea brain”

Punta Gorda Lighthouse

Punta Gorda Lighthouse (from the top)

I don’t recommend Sea Lion Gulch as a campground if you can avoid it. This campground is very small and there were 28 people the night we stayed here. At best, this campground holds 6-8 tents semi-comfortably. My tent was on a big slope. There are; however, sea lions on the rocks down below in the ocean (hence the campground’s name), and you can hear them from your tent.

Day 2

In the morning, we were on trail by 6:30 to pass the next 4 miles at low tide. We reached the end of this zone (Randall Creek) a little after 10 a.m. and the waves were already getting closer than we would have liked. In retrospect, I wish we had started the day before the lowest tide time to give us more worry-free time. Randall Creek makes a great lunch spot and the hike from Randall Creek to Oat Creek was my favorite time on trail. We stopped at Oat Creek and found a great napping spot with views of the beach and near the creek. While it was beautiful, we decided to continue on and ultimately camped at Big Creek. 

Big Creek meets the beach

Big Creek Camp

We pitched our tents and went to bed early. One of my trailmates received a inReach message from her husband saying that there was rain expected in the morning so we decided we’d sleep in, which in reality never really happens on trail for me, but we figured we’d at least try and wait out the rain.

Day 3

We started day three by breaking camp at 9:30ish and decided our nap spot would be after Big Flat Creek while we waited for the tide to get lower. We pitched our tents on the bluffs right along Miller Ridge before the impassible section and received some more light rain. By 3:00pm. we decided to try out the impassible section, and except for one quick section, had no difficulties. My feet started hurting during the 4 mile impassible section and by Buck Creek, I was pretty cranky. My two trailmates encouraged me to keep going for another 1.5 miles to Glitchell Creek and while I was super grumpy at the time, I’m glad we did.

Big Flat Creek

Big Flat Creek

Glitchell Creek

Day 4

On day 4, we began our day at 8:30 and were super excited to only have 4 miles to go as our feet were feeling yesterday’s miles. The two large rocks are the halfway mark and we stopped for a brief snack/leukotape-my-feet break. This day was fun because the people before us left messages in the sand. I misread my favorite message, thinking it said “Others wonder, you do” but it actually read “Otters watched you poop,” which was also likely true :)

“Otters watched you poop” --Anonymous

This trip was a lot of fun and I personally think it’s a great training hike for the John Muir Trail (due to the rocky terrain) and having to time your days (by tide on the LCT and by passes on the JMT). I highly recommend this trail!