#girl this is earth 2 how’d you forget

[desperatecheesecubes]

He just picks him up and throws him 😭

[lovelyirony]

Moony-Eyed

@bironfam i hope this is okay! 

Tony didn’t think that their new astronaut was going to be anything special. 

Well. 

That’s a lie. 

You kind of have to be special if you’re going to be an astronaut for NASA. You have to keep your cool, have good eyesight, and be okay with the possibility of dying. Maybe. Maybe you have to be cool with that. 

Tony is rather good at his job. From revolutionizing how space suits are made to making the functions of the ship easier to manage, Tony is NASA’s secret weapon, the handyman of all handymen. 

He’s usually squirreled away in his workshop, at his apartment that he honestly needs to clean far more than he does, or arguing with Potts about why he needs eight different coffee mugs. 

They know him as a guy who doesn’t exactly give a rat’s ass about the chain of command, or dress code. 

“You can’t fire me,” he had told Happy, after he had tried once again to stop Tony from entering areas containing sensitive information in sweatpants and a sweatshirt that proclaimed him the “MIT class of 1992.” 

Tony is good at his job, nearly too good. He likes it that way. 

But back to the astronaut. 

Danvers had taken leave to take care of her family, and honestly? Space usually isn’t a lifetime event for astronauts. You see too much of it, you need time away. A lot of time away. 

Pepper is giddy. She loved Carol, but Carol was happily married with a baby girl, and this one? This one wasn’t. 

Not that Pepper was looking for anyone. No, she and her partner Nat had standing date nights every Saturday evening, and she loved them too much to even think about anything else. 

But Tony? Tony needed someone. He never really dated anybody, at least not anybody that he genuinely liked. 

Stark was a powerful name, and it got tossed around a little bit, but Tony mostly kept to himself and only responded to it when he was at a party or Happy was mad at him for forgetting his ID badge yet again. 

James Rhodes was a nicely built man with a strong, confident aura, and single. 

(Pepper had checked.) 

She thought that he and Tony would get along quite well, if anything. 

James is shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He’d rather just get to work on what he needs to do. Getting into the air is one of the best feelings, and the sooner he can experience it, the sooner he’ll be fine. 

He always pushed the limits, and space is just the last limit he gets to push. He’s excited. He’s always wanted to work for NASA, be on their roster of astronauts. He wants little kids who identify with him to know that they can do it too. 

So he’s ready to work with the best and brightest of their era. 

“Where the fuck are my nachos?!” 

His head whips around to a man who is wearing an ill-fitting cardigan (that is most likely not his), old jeans that have what look to be equations written on one thigh, and glasses that are most definitely broken sitting at an angle. 

“Your nachos were too close to the computers,” one woman says without looking up. “Stop bringing nachos here or I’m going to fucking kill you.” 

“You can’t kill me,” the man retorts. 

“Tony,” comes another voice. James turns and sees who must be Pepper Potts. “Go to your office. Now. Change your pants, you wrote on them again.” 

“I did?” 

He looks down and swears. 

“Son of a bitch!” He then looks at Jim. “Wait, who are you? Are you the new astronaut?” 

“Uh, yes? I’m James.” 

He sticks out his hand. 

Who seems to be Tony stares at his hand. 

“Your name is seriously James?” 

“Do you think I’m bad at jokes?” he asks, eyebrows raised. 

Tony grins. 

“No, I think you’re gonna be a riot. But I’m not calling you James.”��

“Jim, then.” 

“No,” Tony says. “You’re not an old man, you’re still attractive.” 

His eyebrows raise. 

Tony’s face pales. 

“I’m going to. Go. I have math on my pants.” 

Pepper snorts, readjusting her grip on her clipboard. 

“Welcome to NASA, Colonel Rhodes. I can promise you that we don’t usually yell about our lunch location or write on articles of clothing.” 

- 

Surprisingly, James doesn’t see Tony for two weeks. Apparently, he’s been working outside with a couple of the interns to calculate some stuff, rework some of the older ships for experience, and stay out of the way of Pepper, who says that he’s attempting to murder her via headaches to deal with. 

He seems interesting, however. There are sticky notes and papers all over the offices and breakrooms reminding people of what Tony had for breakfast/lunch/dinner, or where the extra coffee supplies are. 

“You provide for him?” he asks Pepper one time. 

“He gets too much into his own head sometimes,” Pepper says. “He focuses too much on a program or an improvement and forgets that he works around other people. You wouldn’t believe how many times we had miniature science experiments based off of lunches that he would leave in the fridge.” 

Rhodes nods. “Well. I’ll look forward to working with him.” 

- 

Tony has been working outside of the office for two reasons: 

1.) To legitimately help the interns. (Ned and Peter are making improvements!) 

2.) James Rhodes is the hottest guy on earth. Maybe in the universe. For real. Seriously. 

He hates Pepper for this. Didn’t even tell Tony what the new astronaut looked like, and then shows up with a god of a man. Rude and unfair. 

And he had to be the dumbass with the equation on his pants. 

He didn’t even have spare pants! He had to stay in his office for the whole day because the equation was actually really important and he needed it. 

“Why didn’t you just transfer it over on paper?” Bruce asks over the phone. Bruce is his friend who works in a technically classified, off-the-books, not-exactly-government-issued building. He’s cool. He also points out the obvious. 

“I’m the biggest idiot on the planet,” Tony groans. “There was just a new guy at work, and he threw me off balance, so-” 

“What’s he look like?” 

“Why, you not crushing on that hot Nordic space dude?” 

“No, still am. But I still remember when Barton came to work for you guys and you didn’t know that his name wasn’t George until about six months into him working there.” 

“In my defense, he works mostly with physical therapy and prep for no gravity,” Tony says. “I work with math and shit.” 

“Still,” Bruce says. “You wouldn’t have pointed him out if you didn’t think he was cute. What’s he like?” 

“I...don’t exactly know.” 

“Oh my god, you’ve been avoiding him?” 

“Oh what, like you didn’t jump out of a window when Thor almost saw you in a tank top?” 

“I have a farmer’s tan! Totally different circumstance!” 

“Is it?” 

“I hate you.” 

“Get to dating Thor and then we’ll talk again. Have fun re-revolutionizing green energy, Dr. Banner.” 

“Look to the stars, Tony.” 

- 

James has to get fitted for his suit. 

He faces Tony, who looks quite different from when he first saw him. His hair is somewhat less messy, he has one of those geeky NASA-logo shirts that they sell at Target, and is wearing khaki pants with about a million different pockets. 

(Something in his mind is whispering that he definitely shouldn’t find him attractive. But he will anyways.) 

“Alright space-cowboy, let’s get your measurements,” Tony says. “You feeling okay today?” 

“Right as rain.” 

“Rain is never good, sunshine,” Tony quips. “Now, about your nickname from me...hm. Rhodey.” 

“How’d you figure that out?” 

“Substituted the ‘s’ for a ‘y’, just simple stuff,” he says with a shrug. “You approve?” 

“I...guess.” 

“Good. Now Rhodey, how are you feeling?” 

“Like sunshine and gumdrops,” he responds sarcastically. 

Tony smiles, and damn if it makes his heart thump a bit. 

“Better answer, soldier. Extend those arms, please.” 

Tony smells really nice. Subtle cologne and clean laundry. Rhodey finds that he likes it. 

“How’ve you been doing, Tony?” 

“Like a gentle breeze on a day that’s seventy-two degrees,” Tony answers. “Work’s been good today. Helen made tacos.” 

“I had some of those, they were pretty good.” 

“Mm,” Tony answers. “Legs a bit more apart, thank you.” 

Rhodey shifts his stance a little bit, carefully not watching Tony bend down just a tad to get the bottom of his foot. 

(But oof, that was hard.) 

Tony comes back up again, looking into Rhodey’s eyes. For a moment, for a brief moment, his breath is taken away. 

“I need to wrap my measuring tape around your waist. You okay with that?” 

“More than.” 

“Don’t get saucy,” Tony winks. “No one likes more than one floozy at the office, and that’s what got me this job anyways.” 

Rhodey lets out a laugh, and Tony grins. 

He likes making him laugh. Likes it more than he should. 

- 

They spend more and more time together. Tony always makes adjustments, Rhodey realizes that Tony doesn’t exactly keep track of when he eats, so they have lunch together. 

They like it a lot. 

On good-weather days, they eat outside on a bench. Tony leans against one said, foot brushing Rhodey’s calf, and Rhodey doesn’t really mind because he’ll lean over occasionally and steal whatever Tony’s eating. 

“This is theft, you know.” 

“You eat like a bird, what do you know about food theft?” 

Tony almost always stays later than anyone else except for nights with Rhodey. 

Once a month, they have dinner together. Rhodey’s new to the area and Tony’s almost never social with anyone, so they’ve been working through a list of the three-star-rated restaurants and seeing which ones they like. 

“It’s kind of like a date,” Pepper says, on her monthly hangout with Tony (and also kind of a clean-up party for his house). 

“Not dates,” Tony says. “Just friends. I’m sure he has his eye on someone in or out of the office.” 

“Like you?” 

“His first impression of me was me writing an equation on my pair of jeans, and then I haven’t exactly upgraded my style since,” Tony deadpans. “He’s seen me in neon orange sweatpants, Pep. You don’t exactly come back from that.” 

“Maybe he likes you for who you are!” 

“God that’s such a bullshit answer,” Tony whines. “You sound like a straight-to-video movie that came out in 1997!” 

“That’s too specific.” 

“And? You still get the point!” 

Pepper flings a pillow his way. 

“Where is your wine?” 

“In the same cabinet you always leave it.” 

“Goody.” 

While Pepper sways to bed, Tony thinks about what she said. 

It could be possible. Tony had never exactly asked him about himself in that capacity, but Rhodey never had an odd reaction to a statement that involved talking about a partner of the same-sex or a one-liner about it. 

Maybe? 

...no. 

Guys like Rhodey deserved someone better than someone who forgot to eat lunch four out of the seven days of the week. (And maybe four was being generous.) 

- 

On the flipside, Rhodey was currently telling his woes to Carol, who was laughing at him. 

“You nerd!” she says. “You like Tony, and you’ve done nothing about it? Have you even told him that you also like guys? Cuffed your pants?” 

“No,” Rhodey says. “I just...why would he like someone like me? I’m...boring.” 

“You’re not boring,” Carol says. 

“Yeah you are!” Maria calls from the kitchen. “You’re very boring, Mr. ‘Only-Drinks-Black-Coffee’!” 

Carol giggles. 

“Maybe Maria has a point. Maybe.” 

Rhodey groans, leaning against the couch. 

“I’m so fucked.” 

“On the contrary-” 

“Oh shut up.” 

- 

Pepper is tired of people’s problems. They’re getting closer and closer to launch, and Clint’s out sick and Helen is being weird again, and Jane is off somewhere to a secret government-but-not-government launch to discuss things with two potential boyfriends. (Maybe boyfriends. Maybe.) 

Tony is getting stressed. 

Usually, he’s the only one who’s fine during a launch. He’s still cracking jokes, making fun events, and calming down people who are a bit too nervous. 

But usually, he’s not as close to the astronaut as this. 

He’s been thinking about the accidents they’ve had over the years. He doesn’t want a repeat. He’s been pulling all-nighters, avoiding sleep, and checking in on Rhodey consistently, to the point where Rhodey has to drag him outside and tell him that things will be fine. 

(In Pepper’s professional opinion, they’d be fine if they just did a goodbye kiss or whatever, but okay.) 

Tony’s getting into his own head. 

So is Rhodey. 

He’s going to be gone for a long time. He’s going to miss the holidays. And Tony won’t be able to talk to him everyday. 

“You should tell him,” Pepper murmurs. “I think you both would benefit from it.” 

“I’m not going to play that unfair card,” Rhodey murmurs back. “I either confess my love and go to a dangerous mission knowing that he loves me back and I said it when I can’t return, or he doesn’t and I just played a guilt-trip card.” 

“It’s not like that.” 

“Isn’t it?” 

Rhodey shakes his head. 

“I...I can’t do that to him. Wouldn’t be right. After the mission.” 

“After, then,” Pepper says. “When you come home.” 

Rhodey grins. 

- 

The day of launch happens far quicker than anyone wants it to, most of all Tony. 

Pepper actually kicked him out of his office, told him to shower, and wear something nice for once. 

“Make sure he knows he has someone to come home to,” Pepper says. “Wear your turtleneck!” 

“It’s only September,” Tony scowls. “And he’s his own person who’s about to launch himself into space.” 

“He will be fine,” Pepper says. “With your research and work, we’ve cut down overlooked mistakes by about forty percent.” 

“Still not half.” 

“Because we’re NASA,” Pepper sniffs. “Our mistakes matter more, so we make less of them.” 

Tony nods. 

-

He ends up almost being late to the launch because of Pepper’s stupid wardrobe advice. 

He’s wearing his nicest pair of pants, a button-up that’s been at the back of his closet for quite some time, and he’s feeling stupid because he had to play AC/DC in the car so he would actually focus on what was going on. 

Now he’s waiting for Rhodey to exit wearing the space suit that he made and to tell everyone that it was an honor and a privilege to be going to space where things happen and Tony can’t be there to help. 

Life sucks. 

But it goes on, and there’s Rhodey in the brilliantly-designed suit, and Tony’s never been more proud and more sad, but he sucks up his tears and walks up anyways. 

“Hey space-cowboy. Ready to explore the frontier?” 

“As ever,” Rhodey says. “You ready to forget to eat your lunch all over again?” 

Tony smiles. 

“You’ll have to check in with me soon, then,” Tony says. “Cut the mission short?” 

Rhodey laughs. 

“Wish I could. But I’ll send you pictures,” he says. “I promise.” 

Tony stops for a moment, smile dropping from his face. 

“Promise me one more thing.” 

“Anything,” Rhodey says. “Anything you want.”  

“Come back safe. Swear to me that you will.” 

Rhodey grins. 

“Safe and sound, honey. Safe and sound.” 

Tony watches him board the ship, wave to the cameras, and wink at him. 

He rolls his eyes, but blows a kiss anyways. 

-

Tony’s a nervous wreck. 

Pepper has decided that Rhodey needs to not go on missions anymore, or at least take Tony with him because he’s annoying. 

“Can you stop crying on the second floor bathroom? It’s getting annoying,” Pepper says. “Clint says he can hear you and feels bad.” 

“Well how are we supposed to know that Rhodey’s okay?!” Tony says. “For all I know, he could be dead!” 

“I really hope you don’t mean that,” comes a voice from behind. 

Tony whips around, seeing Rhodey’s grainy face from the big screen. 

“You bitch!” 

He laughs, and it doesn’t sound real, but he can see him. 

“Hey Tony. You been making sure no one is pissed at you for forgetting your dinner in the fridge?” 

“Well, now I will,” he admits. “I’ve missed you.” 

“I missed you too,” Rhodey smiles. “How’s everything been down there?” 

“Boring,” Tony says. “When are you coming back?” 

“I got about two more months,” Rhodey says. “And then I’ll be back.” 

“Quit hogging all the screen time,” Natasha teases. “You lovebirds can have your moment on earth.” 

Tony blinks. 

“What.” 

But by that time, Natasha and Sam have already been asking a million questions, and Pepper is filling Rhodey in on what he’s missed. 

Tony is still stuck on the whole ‘lovebirds’ thing that Natasha suggested. 

...that couldn’t be possible. And yet if other people saw it that way...

“Tony? Tony?” 

He blinks again, looking back up at the screen. 

Rhodey is smiling at him, that smile that means that he’s happy to see someone. 

“I’ll see you soon, honey.” 

“Right back at you, space-cowboy.” 

The screen goes to black, and Tony smiles a bit. 

“Aw, you nerd,” Clint teases. “So, you gonna ask him out on a date?” 

“Clint, I will cut off your leg,” Tony says cheerily. “I have to go finish some paperwork!” 

Tony’s done all of his paperwork, it’s one of the few times that Pepper’s had it done on time. 

He has to keep doing things to stop thinking about Rhodey. 

-

He writes him letters. He knows that he won’t ever read them, but writing letters helps and sometimes it makes his hands less jittery. 

He’s not ever going to send them. Ever. Letters are cheesy and they feel...personal. 

Pepper tells him that he’s being lame. 

“I’m not being lame!” Tony cries. “I am just. Protecting myself!” 

“You have the reasoning of a Jane Austen love interest,” she says flatly. “I swear if you don’t tell him, then I’ll meddle. And you know how bad I am when I meddle.” 

“You literally have made things so much worse for so many people,” Tony responds. 

“Not worse, per se.” 

“Oh right, how could I forget?” Tony exclaims sarcastically. “You made things the worst.” 

“If we weren’t such good friends, you’d be dead,” Pepper says. 

“Then let’s be worst enemies,” Tony mutters. “You still ready for pizza night?” 

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Pepper says. “Meet at your place at seven, right?” 

“Right.” 

-

Here is what Tony does not know: Rhodey’s coming back down earlier than expected, and Pepper knows this. 

So she’s been busying Tony with work while she’s acclimating Rhodey to life on earth again. 

“Has he really missed me?” Rhodey asks for about the twentieth time in about two hours. 

“Yes,” Pepper says. “I hope these aren’t your talking points for your interviews. If people know you’re this much of a love-struck idiot in real life, they won’t take you seriously.” 

“I just missed him!” 

“Oh sure,” she responds, rolling her eyes. “And I’m sure you’ll tell the news reporters that you missed me with as many stars in your eyes as now. You like him, you absolute geek.” 

“Well, maybe a little,” Rhodey mutters. “But you’re sure he’ll like the surprise?” 

“One hundred percent.” 

-

Tony is having, perhaps, the worst day in his life. Maybe in history, if he’s being quite honest. 

His car, for one thing, won’t start for more than is done-away-with concern, so he has to call Pepper and say that he’s going to be late since he has to fix his own car. 

“Will you get coffee on the way here?” Pepper asks. 

“Your usual order?” 

“Yeah, you know the drill.” 

Then the line is long because some stupid person wanted to complain, and Tony was this close to just threatening to buy the entire store to make it stop, and he cried on his way to work because he saw a duck cross the road and it reminded him of how Rhodey crashed his first car avoiding a duck that was crossing the road. 

Yeah. It’s rough. 

Then he parks in the wrong parking spot because some asshole with a stupid rental car took his usual spot, and then he stepped in a puddle. 

He hates today. 

“Pepper!” he declares as he enters the building. “I wore jeans today, I got your coffee, and I’m already done with the day. I swear to god if one more unexpected thing happens, I’ll just say ‘fuck it’ and go work for the Soviets!” 

“The Soviets aren’t a thing, Tones.” 

He knows that voice. 

He fucking knows that voice. He isn’t supposed to be back from that mission for another month. 

Tony doesn’t turn around. 

“I’m hallucinating. Oh my god, I’m hallucinating.” 

Hands wrap around his neck, hugging him. 

“This feel like a hallucination?” 

(Okay so Tony drops the coffee.) 

Rhodey’s smile is blinding, and he’s...he’s here. Right in front of him with those not-supposed-to-be-that-hot polo shirts, those eyes that he could get lost in, and just...

Well. 

He hugs him and he hugs him tightly. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back so soon?!” 

“Pepper organized it,” Rhodey says, giddy. “Decided it would be a nice surprise for you.” 

Tony looks over at Pepper, who’s trying to hide a grin behind her hands. 

“Pepper if I wasn’t so over-the-moon right now, your heels would be snapped.” 

She shrugs. 

“Worth it. You requested today off, by the way.” She winks as she turns back to her office. 

“Well, what do you say?” Rhodey asked. “Help me get used to having my feet back on the ground?” 

Tony grins. 

“Dinner sounds like a good start. Gotta get you some good earth food, none of that dehydrated crap.” 

“Do you know how long it’s been since I had a decent slice of pizza?” 

Tony grins. 

“I can fix that.” 

[luvlyrv]

Second Place (Joy x Fem!Reader)

Genre: Enemies to lovers, fluff

Summary: As a passionate swimmer, everything was going amazing for you until she came into your life. Since then things haven’t been the same and you can’t help but to feel frustrated and defeated. What will happen to this unresolved tension?

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: My first proper post, I truly hope you like it. I tried hard to make it a believable enemies to lovers dynamic and for it to be high quality. My draft ended up being 4 pages on google docs on size 11 tnr font haha. Please get back to me with any feedback you can and I apologize if there are any grammatical issues. Dedicated to my friend Kat :)

Date: 6/25/2020

You ready yourself at the edge of the pool as you turn to look at her. Your face began to heat with anger and your chest was pounding. How could she be so perfect? She was seemingly always a step ahead of you. It felt like she took everything away from you. She took your friends, your teammates, she swam like a goddess, all while being so gorgeous and... 

Oh god? What were you thinking? You shook your head and turned away to focus on the water gently swaying in front of you. You steady your breathing and dive into the water. The familiar and welcoming cool feeling enveloped your body. It was usually in the water that you felt at peace, yet this time the only thing you could think about was her. Your only thoughts were about your recent built-up frustration. Sooner than you expected, you felt the wall of the pool and lifted yourself up. Your breathing was heavy as you looked at your coach with a stopwatch in her hand. “Good work Y/N! You managed to shave off a couple seconds on your PR. Keep working hard and you might beat Joy over there!”, you only managed to chuckle a bit in response.

That seriously pissed you off.

Ever since that girl transferred, you’ve been in second place. Knocked off the pedestal you’ve kept for so long. When you used to be the best on the team, she stomped on you. All of a sudden nearly all your ‘friends’ paid no mind to you. Instead favoring to focus on the new girl, who’s infectious smile garnered her the nickname Joy.

What hurt the most is that you understood why people were dying for her attention. While you excelled in your studies and sports, she somehow did even better. The very little free-time Sooyoung seemed to have was fought over by everyone.

Ever since then, you silently declared her as your rival.

You make your way towards the locker room when you feel a smack on your shoulder. Sooyoung passes by and you see her annoying little smile as she says, “Maybe you’ll beat me next time”.

Since the moment she walked into your life it felt like she had her eyes on you, that she was out to get you. You try to shake off your anger and continue making your way. Inside, you hear the murmurs and giggles of some of the girls joking around, as well as the praises your teammates would give Sooyoung. You ignore it and mind your own business. As practice is wrapping up and everyone says their goodbyes, your coach pulls you and Sooyoung aside. 

“Now girls, I’m sure it’s quite obvious that the both of you are the top swimmers we have on this team,” your coach begins to quietly speak to the both of you. “The other girls on the team have made their opinions of you quite clear. When the season officially starts I need you guys to help unify the team and do even better than last year,” you start grinning. You already knew where this conversation was going, having heard iterations of the same speech before. You were glad to know that your coach still viewed you highly.

“Sooyoung, the team needs you to be their captain. Y/N, you need to work to help co-captain this team into victory.”

Your smile seemed to slowly fade.

“Ah, thank you so much! I’m so honored to be in this position. You know I’ll do my best for the team.”, Sooyoung said with her iconic smile, bowing to show her appreciation. You try not to show the disappointment on your face. You thought that even though Sooyoung was a better swimmer than you, you’d still the get the position of captain. After all, you’re the one who’s been on the team longest, who’s worked with your teammates for longer than Sooyoung has. Even though in a sense the position of co-captain was the same, you couldn’t help but to feel upset with the #2 label being stuck on you. All you could do was put on a small smile as you say in a meek voice, “Thank you coach. I accept this responsibility and will work hard.”

Your coach smiled at the both of you and patted your backs. “I’m so incredibily proud of what you’ve both accomplished. Now, I’m asking that the both of you try to be friendlier with each other. I see the kinds of looks you give. Just lighten up, okay? We need strong pillars for the team this year. Maybe try practicing with each other more and learn from each other.”

Coach sends the both of you out as she get’s caught up doing her own work. You quietly walk out of the building and to the parking lot together. Even though you were walking next to a person you felt like you despised, you couldn’t help but also feel amazed. Sooyoung was certainly one of the most hardworking and talented people you’ve ever met. You snap out of those thoughts though when all of a sudden you hear her voice.

“Hey, about what coach said... “

“Yeah?”

“Let’s swim together. For practice, I guess. Coach would like that.”

You weigh the matter in your head for a few seconds. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer, they say. Perhaps this was a wonderful opportunity being presented right in front of you. If you two swam together you would get to observe her technique. Maybe you could impress or intimidate her. Really, you wanted to keep tabs on her, and if she’s by your side all the time, if she’s the one you’re competing against day by day... what else would be a better motivator to improve? You sigh before talking.

“Sure.”

⁑

Weeks pass by and you spend nearly everyday with Sooyoung. Although you originally thought that it would be a good idea, it ended up being hell on Earth. When you thought that you could motivate yourself, which was true to some extent, you ended up being more frustrated. Every time you practiced together Sooyoung couldn’t help but to make snide remarks.

“Slipping up? Ah geez, and I thought you were finally beginning to improve.”

“God, You’re like a fish out of water. Flapping your arms like that.”

“How’d you even make it this far?”

Every time she made one of her comments you would ball up your firsts and count to ten. What made it worse was that you felt horrible seeing her improve so much. It made you feel like you could never catch up.

One night when practicing late together your feelings had boiled over. Both of you were in the locker room and had just finished changing clothes. You look at her as she has that stupid smirk on her face and she begins opening her mouth. Before you could spew another hurtful comment you slam your fist next to her, a loud banging noise erupting as your hand came in contact with the metal of the locker. You’re face to face with her as your eyes begin to water.

“God! Why are you so insufferable? You’re everything I want, you know. You have absolutely everything and you have the audacity to rub it in my face. Do you know how much that hurts? Ever since you transferred here my life has been so different. You make me feel so isolated and useless, how can I ever catch up to someone like you? Tell me, how? Are you happy now?”

You knew your face was reed as wet tears streamed down your face. 

“Are you...? Now can you stop... stop saying such hurtful things to me. Please.” 

Your voice cracked during your last few sentences.

You feel like a fool as you stand there, looking at Sooyoung’s lost face. You turn around and head for the exit. “Forget it.” you say. Before you make it far you feel a soft tug on your hand and you turn back around.

Sooyoung gives you the biggest puppy dog eyes you’ve ever seen. As much as you hate her your heart broke when you saw the pain on what was usually a radiant and happy face. Her mouth opens up a little bit.

“I’m sorry.”

“Is that all?” you ask and begin turning around again. Once again you feel that soft tug. You felt grateful for it, because as soon as you dismissed her apology like that your heart broke again. You face her another time and let her speak.

“That was out of hand. I’m so sorry. I’ve been so rude to you... I should’ve known better. Look, Y/N, why do you think I transferred here in the first place?”

“I-I don’t know... I mean we’re known for our academics I guess.” you felt dumbfounded and startled from the strange question.

“There’s that, but there’s also you.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you.” Sooyoung gives a soft smile to you. “I guess you never noticed me since we did different events at the time, but I saw you and noticed you before I ever came here. I’ve always loved swimming, but when I got to see you swim, you were on a completely different level. I saw a passion I never saw or felt before. You inspired me a lot, Y/N. To be a better person, to be a better swimmer. I saw that charming smile on your face, I saw your affect on your teammates, and I wanted to be like you.”

You stand there as the tears going down your face were appearing for a different reason. Sooyoung takes a step closer to you.

“I trained so hard. Hours and hours of swimming daily, every part of me being sore. I wanted to be here with you because I thought if I was right next to a star, I’d shine brightly too. I just wanted your attention so bad I didn’t think hard enough about how all my actions would affect you, and that’s my shortcoming.”

“Sooyoung, I-”

“What I’m trying to say is I’ve admired you for a long time.”

You don’t know how to feel. You couldn’t tell if the warm budding feeling in your chest was from surprise or something else. How could she of all people admire you? The perfect Sooyoung who brings joy to all of those around her. How could she ever view someone like you so highly? Every ounce of anger you had felt since she arrived began to melt away.

You hug her tightly and feel her arms warp around your waist in a way that fit perfectly. You softly whisper into her ear.

“I think I admire you too.”

Suddenly she pulls away from the hug and before you could react she placed a chaste kiss on your lips.

“I can give you one for every mean thing I’ve said.”

[minhothebunny]

Cupid’s Tears | NCT Dream #2

Genre: Cupid au, angst, fluff (happy ending)

K-pop Group: NCT Dream

Safeword: Star⭐

Requested by: none _______________________________ TRIGGER WARNING: CUSSING, NUDITY, MENTIONS OF DEATH, VULGAR LANGUAGE, DIRTY THOUGHTS.

THIRD POV.

Y/N sighed for the nth time, cheek resting on her palm as she stared at the couples across the street.

"Dude shut the fuck up."

Y/N blinked, "Well, excuse me- sorry for breathing," she sarcastically said, hand on her chest.

"Apology accepted. Now, stop sighing every time you see a happy couple and let them live their life. You live your own."

"But, Donghyuckkkk. It's not fair that they get to be happy, and I don't," she whined, pouting.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes and flicked Y/N on the forehead. "Of course, your whiny ass is still single at 19; you won't shut up."

"I'll have you know that is not the reason I'm still single."

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you still single?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Because my whiny ass won't shut up."

Donghyuck smiled, "At least you still have a brain. God forbid you to be both whiny and dumb."

"Hey! Take that back!"

Donghyuck stuck his tongue out, running out of the ice cream shop.

"Come back here, you little shit!

Time skip. THIRD POV.

Y/N was currently wrapped in a burrito blanket, watching a particularly romantic show.

All of a sudden, she burst into tears, "Why can't I have a relationship like that? I want somebody to love me that way. And to brush my hair. And to pick my outfit of the day. And-and," another wave of tears took over her as she shook.

In the sky.

Jaemin was intently watching the girl. Each cupid was assigned a person to matchmake. They started at the age of 21, so this was Jaemin's first "client".

"Why does my heart ache for her? I hate seeing her so broken."

An idea popped into his head, and he went looking for Donghyuck's cupid.

"Hey, Johnny."

"'Sup, dude. How's your first client going?"

"That's what I'm here to talk about. Your client is Donghyuck, right?"

"Mhm, why?"

"How about we shoot them? They do say dating your best friend is better than dating a stranger."

"I can't do that."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, man, but I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't like her, and he's as stubborn as a rock. Even if I shoot him, he won't accept falling in love with his best friend. Besides, he's already got his eyes on someone else, and I think they'd be pretty cute together."

Jaemin slumped. He bid goodbye to Johnny and went back to watching Y/N.

Another idea popped into his head. "This probably isn't that smart, but I'm out of ideas."

He planned to shoot his arrow on Y/N and see where it goes from there. He only has one shot, though, for each person only has one arrow. If that arrow doesn't reach them, they'll lose their ability to fall in love forever.

Jaemin took a breath, aiming his bow.

"3..."

"2.."

"...1..."

He shot the arrow.

He shot the arrow and missed.

He missed.

Y/N stood up last minute before the arrow could hit her. The arrow ended up disintegrating after missing its target.

Jaemin dropped his bow.

"I just killed the arrow... and I missed..." (A/N: in this oneshot, cupid's arrows are living and, once hitting their target, become those butterflies in your stomach that you feel. If the arrow misses its target, it disintegrates and dies. There's only one arrow per person on Earth. Missing your target results in a punishment decided by the queen.)

Jaemin was teleported to the throne hall where the queen stays.

"Na Jaemin," her loud voice echoed along the walls of the vast castle.

"Y-your majesty," Jaemin kneeled.

"You have failed."

"Yes, your majesty, I am aware."

"Mistakes are not tolerated. You have missed the target."

Jaemin gulped, "Yes, your majesty. I apologize."

"Don't apologize to me: apologize to the poor girl whom you ruined the life of."

"H-how...?"

The queen hummed, shifting in her throne, "Because your arrow missed, she now has lost her ability to love. Your punishment will be to go down to Earth and figure out a way to make Y/N feel once again."

Jaemin's eyes widened, "Your majesty, that's impossible!"

"Figure it out. You've got five months. After that, depending on if you succeed or not, you will be killed or sent back up here and work in labor."

"What about being a cupid?"

"You have lost that role and are no longer a cupid. You will go down to Earth as a human and will come back as a mere citizen of this city if your punishment is successful."

Jaemin felt a lump in his throat, "Understood, your majesty."

"You have disappointed me, Jaemin."

"I have disappointed myself, too. When will my punishment take place?"

"Right now," the queen stood up, walking towards Jaemin, who was still kneeling on the floor. Bending down to his ear level, she whispered, "Before you go, do not tell anyone of your punishment. If you do, death awaits you."

Jaemin's heart quickened, "Understood, your majesty."

Rising from the floor, the queen sat back on her throne.

"Goodbye, Na Jaemin."

Everything went black

Y/N'S POV.

I was done watching my show and was getting ready for bed when a man appeared in front of me.

I jumped, "Ah! Who are you? How'd you get in my house? And why are you naked?!"

The man's eyes widened, and he looked down, immediately covering his dick.

"Woah... it's big."

My face heated up as I slapped myself, "Wake up, Y/N. You can't say stuff like that."

"U-um, excuse me."

"Oh, right! The naked but hot man. Wait, what- no no no!"

"How'd you get in here? Why are you here?"

"Um, my name's Na Jaemin."

"Jaemin's a pretty name."

"I didn't ask for your name; I asked you why and how you got here."

He blinked, "Oh, um, I, uh, can I get some clothes, first?"

My eyes widened, "Right! He's still naked..."

I went into the guest room where some of Donghyuck's clothes are. "He wouldn't mind a stranger wearing his clothes, right?... He'll definitely mind, but I'll deal with that later."

"Here," I threw the clothes at him, Jaemin uncovering his dick to catch the clothes. I turned around to give him some privacy and waited while he changed.

"I'm, um, done."

I turned around. "Okay, now, why are you here?"

"I... don't know. But please don't kick me out! I have nowhere to go!"

I was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Nonetheless, I'm not a heartless bitch, so I agreed to let him stay even though the whole situation was very suspicious.

Time skip: 3 months. THIRD POV.

Y/N and Jaemin have gotten close over these three months. Y/N has been feeling weird whenever she thought about Jaemin. She just couldn't put her finger on what she was feeling. She talked to Donghyuck about it, and he explained that she was possibly falling for Jaemin. She didn't know what that meant but didn't want to ask, wary of the judgmental look Donghyuck gave her.

She, instead, resorted to the internet as any 19 year old would. The results were a bit hard to understand, but she eventually grasped the main themes. She realized that Jaemin has been teaching her about love this entire time. Butterflies in your stomach, blushing, feeling nervous around the individual. He explained it all, but she didn't understand until after she figured out her feelings.

Using her newfound knowledge, she began getting even closer to Jaemin, occasionally flirting when she was confident.

Time skip: the day of Jaemin's deadline (Valentine's Day). THIRD POV.

"Y/N, do you feel anything new?"

Taken aback by the sudden question, Y/N blinked, "What? What do you mean?"

"Love. Do you know what love is? Do you feel it?"

Her eyes widened comically, "Um, yes, I know what it is."

"Do you feel it?"

To say Y/N was embarrassed would be an understatement. Nonetheless, she meekly answered, "Yes, I feel love for someone."

Jaemin was shocked, "Confess! You have to confess! Please, you have to confess right now! Call him!"

Y/N looked at him confused, failing to sense to urgency in Jaemin's voice.

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Y/N closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, "Jaemin, I love you."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Y/N slowly opened her eyes, looking into Jaemin's tear-filled eyes.

"...What?"

"I said I love you."

"You-you can't love me."

Y/N's eyes widened, "Why not?"

"You-you can't love me. We can't be together. If only you loved somebody else..." Jaemin's voice cracked, tears pouring out his bloodshot eyes.

"Why can't I love you?"

"I... I can't tell you. But, I have to go; I completed my punishment. Thank you for falling in love."

Before Y/N could protest and yell, Jaemin disappeared into thin air.

Y/N started shaking, tears welling up in her eyes.

"No... he wouldn't leave me. He wouldn't use me."

She looked through the whole house, not finding a trace of him. His clothes, his uneaten breakfast, his scent. All gone, as if he never existed.

All of a sudden, she heard the doorbell ring. Y/N rushed to the door, opening it so fast the screws almost came loose. She was expecting Jaemin to show up and tell her that it's all a joke, but she came face-to-face with the last person she expected, Lee Donghyuck.

"I- what... what are you doing here?"

"Ouch, can I not be here?"

"N-no, but is there a reason for you to come?"

"Um, yeah? It's Valentine's Day; we always celebrate together because we're lonely potatoes. Y/N, are you okay? You never forget Valentine's Day," Donghyuck said, concerned for his best friend.

Y/N forgot it was Valentine's Day. She was so caught up with Jaemin and figuring out her feelings that she completely forgot.

"Jaemin...!"

"Donghyuck!" Said male flinched, not expecting the sudden outburst.

"Uh... yeah?"

"Did you see Jaemin? Did he show up anywhere on the street or something?"

Donghyuck's eyebrows furrowed, "Jaemin? Who's that?"

"Jaemin! Na Jaemin! The guy you said I'm falling for when I came to you for advice on how I'm feeling."

"Uh, no, you never came to me for advice. And I've never heard the name Na Jaemin. Y/N, are you sure you're okay?"

Y/N's heart quickened, her sight getting blurry. Before she could say anything, she collapsed.

"Y/N!"

Donghyuck caught Y/N, shaking her, "Y/N! Oh my god, are you okay? What's going on?"

Y/N was mumbling incoherent words, blabbering about how she was used. Donghyuck had no idea what she was talking about but didn't like it. He felt angry hearing that this Jaemin guy stole her heart.

Donghyuck wanted her to forget Jaemin, and the only way to do that was to smash his lips onto hers.

Y/N's eyes widened, her breath taken away by the soft lips on hers.

Closing her eyes, Y/N slowly kissed back, forgetting about everything else.

Donghyuck broke the kiss, hooded eyes and heavy breath inviting Y/N to kiss him once more. Before she could place her lips on his, he spoke, "You still like Jaemin?"

"Who?"

Donghyuck smirked, "That's what I thought," and they molded their lips together, only stopping for air before continuing their make-out session.

Two cupids failed, but two hearts still became one. ________________________________ Sheesh, I don't know how this went. Do you guys prefer the sad version or this one?

The last line is supposed to say that both Jaemin and Johnny failed to shoot their arrows at Y/N and Donghyuck. Johnny said that Donghyuck had eyes for someone else (it was supposed to be Mark), but Mark went back home to Canada, leaving Donghyuck lonely and in need of love. Donghyuck could hear the altercation between Jaemin and Y/N and decided to ring the bell because he knew Y/N would go into hysteria if he didn't distract her. Seeing Y/N talking about another man (Jaemin) made him realize that he wanted her all to himself and that he wasn't happy hearing that Y/N liked someone else.

I hope this makes sense! Don't forget to like and comment!

Thank you for reading! -Nina<3

[let-it-show]

And Their Hearts Began to Glow

WHEW HERE WE ARE. It’s like, 2 am, but I have a little fic for Anna’s birthday. I wish I could write this lovely little spitfire something incredible, but alas I’ll have to settle for something loaded with fluff and sap. Anna asks Elsa a question, prompted by this line from the graphic novel.

"How did you KNOW?"

Anna rolled on her side and looked at Elsa, eyes full of questions. She was happy, comfy on the thick blanket laid over the grass, and drunk off of delicious wine. The sky above them was clear and full of stars. All that could be heard around them was the crackling sound of the little campfire. Anna was cozily wrapped in a thin pair of black pants and a little light green nightgown. Elsa had decorated it with little icy hearts all along the bottom and a light blue ribbon tied around her waist.

Elsa stared back at her, clad in a simple light blue gown with white, snowy flowers on the chest and in her hair. She smiled as Anna reached for her hand. "What do you mean?"

"Every year you've told me when you first saw me, you loved me. How did you know though!?" Anna repeated, studying her. Elsa was three, how on earth did she know that? When Anna was three, aside from loving her sister she also loved flowers, chocolate, funny hats and sheep. While the love she had for Elsa was different than the other things, she never knew the depth of it. Apparently Elsa sensed differently.

"Oh Anna." Elsa laughed and squeezed her hand, propping herself up on one elbow. "I can't explain I just...knew. I walked into that room with some idea I was meeting someone special. Mother showed you to me and I looked at your face with you sleepy eyes, your cute little nose, I looked at your hands grabbing the blanket and your tiny, tiny feet...." She nudged Anna's foot with her own, bare against feet in little pink slippers.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Everyone loves BABIES. How did you know, how did you know how MUCH you loved me? I wanna hear it from your lips," she said, knocking her own feet against Elsa's.

"Where else would you hear it from?"

"I don't know..." Anna thought hard about that question. She started to say Elsa's tongue or her hips, but she knew where that would go but she was too drunk and giggly to focus on where she might want to kiss or be kissed. "Ummm...your...uh..."

"It-it wasn't that serious a question," Elsa answered with a laugh. She released Anna's hand to poke her nose. "You really want details, huh? Can't you just be content knowing you've always been loved?" she teased. A little breeze cruised through and Anna shivered only slightly in the otherwise warm air. "No! I want to know-I want to know stuff!" she demanded, smacking the blanket for emphasis. "Everything! How'd you still know when we couldn't see each other? When you said hi to me at your coronation party, was it because you knew? Story story story!"

"...." Elsa shook her head and then pulled herself up to a sitting position. She pointed her finger over her own shoulder and made herself a sturdy little ice column to prop her back up against.

"Woah," Anna gasped, lifitng her head from the blanket. "Sometimes I forget you can do that."

Elsa stopped suddenly and gave her an incredulous look. "How!?"

"I dunno. Sometimes I just think about how pretty you are and forget," Anna blurted. That was not at all how she meant to explain herself but she had immediately forgotten what she initially would have said. That have been some strong wine...

Elsa's braided hair did glisten under the moonlight, her features highlighted and her beauty more striking than ever. Anna not only couldn't believe she was in love with someone so beautiful, but that she even KNEW someone so beautiful. Her curves, from her lips to her legs, made Anna melt. A minute ago she had felt silly and then she wanted to run her palms over all that skin.

"-what I'll do with you. Besides, I'll tell you again and again how gorgeous you are," Elsa had been saying.

"Wait, what?" Anna snapped to attention. She's been lost in her thoughts.

"You weren't paying attention at all." Elsa shrugged and laughed, patting her thighs. "Come here."

With a big smile Anna crawled over and flopped down on her back with her head on Elsa's legs. She looked right up at Elsa's flawless face, blue eyes connecting with her own. Anna couldn't think of what to say for a minute and simply hummed when Elsa took her hand and held it on her stomach. Her other hand played in Anna's loose hair. It felt amazing.

"How did I know...how did I know," Elsa mused, watching her for a minute before taking a breath and looking to the stars. "I entered that room and laid eyes on you. Something seemed to take a hold of my heart, but not in a bad way. I remember feeling such warmth inside of me. I remember my fingers tingling, little sprinkles of snow falling from them. I was incredibly happy. That was the main part. I felt like...like some space in me I didn't know existed had been filled with exactly what it needed. This feeling surrounded me and welcomed me, and I welcomed it. All I knew was love."

Anna had been gazing at the sky above them as well when she noticed little fuzzy white flakes forming in the sky below the stars. They sparkled blue, pink and green as they formed little Elsa and baby Anna. "Wow!" Anna whispered. In little Elsa's chest an icy blue diamond began to shine, beating like a heart. So did a light purple one in Anna. Pink sparkly snow sprouted from the light purple diamond and flowed across the small space between the girls before touching Elsa and bursting into a glimmering cloud that surrounded her. Elsa hurried toward baby Anna and when they met...

Elsa pulled her hand from Anna's hair and raised it, palm up. She suddenly made a fist. The sky exploded with multicolored snow above them, falling down around them on their blanket. Behind the snow stars continued to glow brightly against the deep blue sky. Anna wore a big grin as the cool flakes kissed her face. "That feeling has always been there," Elsa continued softly. "Every day spent with you, and even those long years behind the door. I would know you were there even when you were quiet as a mouse," she said.

"Mouses-mice...aren't quiet. They squeak an-ooh. Sorry," Anna sheepishly smiled when Elsa stared at her and lowered her hand back down to her hair.

"Don't be. I love hearing you talk. Those days in my room, it brought me such joy to hear you ramble through the door. Sometimes you got tongue-tied in what you were saying or went off on tangents, or forgot what your point was entirely. I didn't dare laugh but I'd be covering my mouth and trying to control little spirals of ice flowing around the room and glowing pink and purple. I'm sure if my heart could literally glow I'd have blinded by the light you gave it." Elsa continued to look down at her with adoration. "I may not have actually realized what it all meant, but I did know I loved you deeply then."

Anna blinked up at her. "You...I wish I had broken down the door! I would have loved the ice and I would have hugged you so so tight!" Elsa constantly blew her mind with the wonderful things she said and Anna could hardly take it. After speaking she turned her head and tried to hide it in Elsa's stomach. Her face was burning red from a blush and the wine and her head swam with hearts of all the soft icy colors she could think of.

And to think some years ago she had dared think she would always feel lonely, think she was some spare that even her sister wasn't particularly interested in. She was just a princess who existed within the confines of a castle, her only escape the books that filled the library. Even knowing there would be a day when she could meet people, Anna had wondered if anyone would want her company. She had felt so isolated...

"Oh Anna." Elsa's stomach vibrated wonderfully as she giggled down at her and Anna tried to press her face closer to it. She loved hearing her laugh. "When I saw you at my coronation I didn't just want to hug you, I wanted to take you across the dance floor. I wanted to tell you thank you for never giving up on me, wanted to tell you I only loved you more each day. I wanted to tell you everything, but I was so scared."

"Powerful ice spirit, scared of what I might think," Anna murmured against her. It still surprised her.

"Scared too, of hurting you again." Elsa squeezed her hand. "But none of that now. I've answered what you asked me, and I don't want to revisit the fear and pain of being ripped away from you. Just let me spoil you, let me give you this moon and this sky and soon, the sun."

Anna slowly turned her head to look up at Elsa again. "You know you don't have to give me anything. Maybe more wine? But nothing else. Ummm...your presence I mean. So you and wine, but nothing else!" she rambled out, and then stopped and laughed at herself. What the heck was she even saying?

"I give you more wine and I'll soon be carrying you to the tent," Elsa pointed out. "If that's what you'd like however? Anything you ask Anna, anything you ask and I'll give it to you."

That, Anna knew, was the truth. It was the complete truth. Anna could ask for treasure from a far away land and Elsa would prepare herself to track it down for her. Anna could ask for the ocean, and Elsa would summon Nokk to help her wrangle it.

Anna didn't want any of that, though. It all sounded like too much effort and time away from Elsa. She was content playing tag with her through the castle hallways and tickling her when she did catch her. "Anything I ask..." Anna found herself repeating.

"Anything."

"Is there any ice cream cake left?" Anna asked eagerly.

Elsa laughed gently as she brought Anna's hand to her lips for a gentle kiss. "Of course there is. Ice cream cake, wine, and cuddles?" she asked hopefully. "Or you know, whatever you want."

Anna smirked and wiggled her hand free from Elsa's so she could pinch her cheek. "You are so, so cute, I love your cute everything," she told her. It wasn't terribly eloquent. She didn't care. "I'm so lucky that you are so cute." Who would have ever known that the icy queen of Arendelle was such a cuddlemonster? Anna was grateful for it every day.

She was rewarded by a blush from Elsa. "I'm...Anna you..." she faltered and just sighed. "I love your everything too," she finally managed.

Anna giggled then and pet the cheek she had pinched before. Another thought occurred to her. "Before anymore wine, will you make us in the sky again? Can we burst into color again? I want to see it over and over," she said shyly.

She saw Elsa's eyes light up at the request and immediately the snow began to form again. Above them there were two women with diamonds for hearts, and Elsa began to raise her hand once again. "As you wish, my love."

[foreverwayward]

“Lost in You” Part 2

Jensen Ackles x Reader

Word Count: 2335

Warnings: none? Possible fluff. Language.

SideBar: A/U where Jensen is single.

Summary: You and your best friend (Y/BF/N) go to a Supernatural convention. It was supposed to just be a fun day; nothing too crazy. That is…until he saw you.

Part 1

You looked in the mirror as you zipped up your fitted hoodie. Underneath was a v-neck t-shirt that just hinted at your full chest. The fitted jeans you wore were met with your favorite Converse sneakers and you ran your hands through your wavy curled hair.

Y/BF/N came out from the bathroom and smiled. “That took you all of five minutes and you look fucking adorable. We don’t really need the extras, do we?”

“I don’t know. I was going to get more dressed up, but...it just doesn’t feel like me, ya know?” You continued to fluff your hair to its appropriate state and then smacked your lips spreading your lip balm.

“You’re right.” Handing you the room key, your friend grinned. “Be yourself.”

“Well,” you sighed heavily. “If I come back in the next ten minutes, you’ll know how well ‘being me’ went.”

Y/BF/N gave you a loving tap to your ass pushing you toward the door. “Go! Have fun! Don’t keep him waiting.”

------

Your stomach did more than somersaults as you rode the elevator to the roof. It felt like you had been in that small box for an eternity as your anxiety built with every floor.

As you shifted on your feet, the doors opened to the rooftop of the hotel. It was a clear and beautiful night with more stars than you usually would see in that part of the city. The full moon gave a soft glow to everything along with the strings of lights hung for ambiance. It was quiet except for the soft music that played through the rooftops speakers.

You walked around the corner with your heart racing a mile a minute. “What if he doesn’t like me? What if he doesn’t even show? Or worse, what if he sees you and leaves?”

Across the rooftop, with no one else around, stood a tall familiar figure. Still, in the red flannel and jeans you saw him in at the convention, Jensen leaned on the railing as he enjoyed the view. You took a deep breath and headed in his direction.

With only a few feet separating you, your steps alerted him of your presence and Jensen turned toward you. Immediately, a genuine grin slowly grew on his face as he looked back at you. “Was wondering if you were gonna stand me up,” he said playfully.

You shrugged with a flirty look. “Eh, didn’t really have anything better to do.” He laughed and you joined him at the railing. Jensen studied you briefly and his tongue shot out over his lip. If only he knew what that did to you. “Well, at least now I’m not worried I’m too underdressed.”

“Nah,” he replied with a smile. When a stray hair fell in your face from the breeze, Jensen reached a soft hand toward you and brushed it back behind your ear. “You’re perfect.”

Butterflies; no...butterflies don’t make you lightheaded and forget your name.

Jensen nodded toward the bar. “Wanna grab a drink?”

“That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?” you asked coyly.

He nodded with a chuckle and a look that almost seemed like he was impressed with you. When you reached the bar, he leaned onto the countertop and glanced down at you. “Alright, got a preference?”

“Whiskey, neat.” You didn’t even think about your order before it came out like word vomit. It was your go-to drink of choice.“Oh, god,” you thought. “I’m gonna look like some fucking drunk. Always go for the fruity drinks, Y/N!”

Again, with that look of surprise, Jensen told the bartender, “actually, make that two.” When the man left to start your drinks, Jensen scoffed. “Wouldn’t have taken you for a whiskey girl.”

The drinks were ready and slid in front of you, so you picked yours up and smiled. “I’m full of surprises,” you told him as you sipped your drink with a smile on the glass. Your tone and confidence lit something in Jensen and he grew more intoxicated with you with every passing moment.

Making your way toward the quiet firepit, you found a comfortable spot and Jensen joined you. It was the perfect scene with no one else around. The two of you talked and laughed, enjoying every second of each other’s company.

Both of you told the other about your families and where you’re from; the standard small talk. You talked about work and how you hated your job; that it was never what you wanted for yourself.

“You’re not what I thought you would be,” Jensen added with a smirk as he sipped his drink again.

Nervously, you asked, “how so?”

“Well,” he leaned over to place his glass on the edge of the stoned firepit and turned to you. “For one, I think you’re the most down-to-earth woman I’ve met in a long time. Most people meet me and it feels...fake, ya know? But, you,” Jensen chuckled. “You’re the real deal aren’t you?”

How did this man make you feel like you were flying and falling at the exact same time? “Real as you, I guess.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment then.” The two of you scoffed through laughs and it grew quiet. Jensen’s unbelievable green eyes met yours and either your heart fluttered or completely stopped, but you felt the air leave your chest. He was actually lost in your eyes just as you were in his.

With no words spoken, the perfect moment went on as “Wild Horses” played through the speakers. Jensen smiled and stood up before reaching his hand out for yours. “Wanna be cheesy with me?” he asked.

You couldn’t help the smile that went from ear to ear. “I can do cheesy.” Taking his hand, you felt him softly squeeze yours to help you stand. He walked ahead, slowly keeping you in tow. Once you were in front of the fire, he turned to you. He took the hand he already had and guided it to go onto the back of his neck. Jensen locked into your eyes again as he gently took your waist and you brought your free hand to your other. The soft song had you swaying together under the twinkling strings of lights.

The way his large hands held your hips and the small of your back made your eyes shut briefly as you caught your breath.

“You good?” Jensen smirked.

You nodded and tried to steady your still shaky breath and smiled ridiculously. “Mm-hm. I’m good.” Absently, your fingers ran through the short hairs at the top of his neck and Jensen melted into it.

That Rolling Stones’ song was the last of the night as the bar shut down and went quiet. Though it didn’t seem to matter in the least as you and Jensen still danced in the silence of the night.

“I don’t think an hour was enough time,” he admitted gruffly.

Shaking your head, you agreed. “Definitely not.”

Leaning into you, Jensen’s forehead touched yours and you both were lost in the other. He smelt of the perfect mix of cologne, whiskey, and mint from the gum he had been chewing earlier. The feeling of his large shoulders under your small hands made knots in your stomach.

With eyes still closed and taking in everything you were, Jensen uttered, “I don’t wanna say goodnight.”

“Hmm,” you hummed almost laughing. “Me neither.”

Slowly, the two of you pulled apart, once again eye to eye. The lights twinkled in his eyes and mesmerized you. Whatever Jensen was selling, you were about to buy out the whole store.

He cleared his throat softly. “Can I walk you back to your room?”

“I don’t want this to be over,” you thought sadly. But you just nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”

With his hand on the small of your back still, he guided you toward the elevator. You stepped in and he joined you. “What floor?”

“Uh--six.”

Jensen’s finger pushed the appropriate button and your floor lit up. As you both leaned against the back of the elevator, your hands on a metal bar, you felt one of his large fingers brush against yours. Without looking down, you shared the gentle sentiment just barely touching his. The tension between you was building and in that small elevator, you both could practically drown in it.

The elevator dinged as the doors opened. Jensen made sure to walk as slowly as possible, trying to get every moment with you that he could.

“Thanks for the drink,” you said.

Jensen smiled. “I’d be happy to join you for one anytime.”

As you neared your room, you stopped and your heart sank. You wished the night would never end. “So...this is me…”

He looked at you so tenderly and spoke with a low voice. “I’m really glad I met you, Y/N.” That same strand of hair fell from your face and he chuckled under his breath as he fixed it once more.

Butterflies again. No...elephants. “Me too, Jensen.” When neither of you said anything else, you took it as a sign and pulled out your room key.

As you went to open the door, he stole back your attention. “Hey, uh--” Jensen ran a nervous palm down his face. “I’m heading back to Vancouver tomorrow…”

“Oh…” you replied, trying not to sound too heartbroken.

“Can I see you before I go?”

You could feel the girlish squeal that wanted to crawl up your throat. But you stuffed it down as hard as you could and just smirked. “Sure. What time?”

“Well, I usually sneak out of these places after conventions to avoid all the crazy...so, meet me by the back door of the lobby? Say, 12:00?”

Without thinking, you bit your lip and Jensen’s jaw clenched at the sight of it. “I’ll be there.”

“Promise?” he asked sweetly.

There was no controlling the smile on your face. “Promise.”

“Okay, then.” Jensen shared your expression; both of you looking like your faces would hurt tomorrow with how much you grinned that night. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Jensen.” And with that, you turned to leave and closed the door slowly so you could see him intently watching your every move. With the door finally shut, your back leaned against the one thing standing between you and the man of your dreams and you sighed.

Y/BF/N was on the edge of her bed and hopped up when she saw you; her eyes twice their size. “Well?! How’d it go?”

At that moment, your phone chimed and you pulled it from your pocket to see Jensen had texted you. When you opened it, it read: “I’ll see you tomorrow. ‘Wild Horses couldn’t drag me away.’ :)”

You chuckled with pure joy as you held the phone tightly in your hands. There was no saving you at that point; you were already falling for him. Jensen was like a dream, and it was one you never wanted to wake from.

------

At 11:58, as punctual as you could be without seeming desperate, you hurried to the back door of the hotel lobby. You hadn’t slept a wink since you had last seen Jensen, but with the high you were riding, it didn’t seem like you needed it.

When you reared the corner, there he stood with his bodyguard, Clif, at his side. The large man with tattoos, a bald head and salt and pepper goatee flexed at your presence ready to tell you to leave. 

Reacting to Clif, Jensen turned to see you and practically beamed. “Hey!”

“Hi!” You hoped that didn’t sound to pathetically eager and excited.

“I’m glad you made it.”

“I promised, didn’t I?” you smiled to one side.

“Jensen...we gotta go,” Clif told him in a deep husky voice.

Never breaking eye contact with you, Jensen replied, “I’ll--gimme a minute, I’ll be right out.” Clif wasn’t going to go far. He stepped outside the glass door and folded his arms as he waited. “I’m sorry. I thought I’d have more time.”

With sad eyes that you couldn’t help, you gently frowned. “You gotta go, huh?”

“Yeah.” 

“I understand.”

The thought of saying goodbye to you wasn’t one that Jensen was about to be okay with. So, without thinking it through, he took your hands and blurted out, “come with me.”

You almost had to do a doubletake with how taken aback you were. “What?”

“Come with me. You can visit the set for the week while we shoot. I can introduce you to everyone, show you around...your friend can come too, of course.”

“Oh, I dunno, Jensen...” your voice soft and disappointed. “I just don’t have the money to do that right now.

“Don’t worry about it. All you have to do is come.” His eager eyes waited for an answer as you bit your lip in thought. “Say you’ll come...”

Just then, your phone chimed with a message. You apologized to Jensen before peering down at it and seeing a text from your best friend: 

“I’m around the corner and I’ve been listening. You can call me a stalker later. If you don’t say yes to this man I’m gonna kick your ass!”

You chuckled to yourself before tucking your phone into your back pocket and smiling at Jensen. “Alright.”

“Alright? Alright, as in ‘alright you’re coming’?”

“Yes,” you laughed.

Jensen lit up like a kid on Christmas at your response and licked his lip again. “I’ll text you everything you need. Just let me know when you wanna head out.” He pulled you in for a tight hug and kissed the top of your head. When he pulled away, Jensen looked down at you. “I’ll see you soon.” As soon as Clif opened the door, Jensen ran toward the car waiting for him. 

You stepped outside and called out for him to hear you. “Promise?” you asked referencing him from the night before.

Before he got to the car, he spun to see you and smiled. “Promise!”

------

Part 3

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[mystery-star]

Threshold of Space - Chapter 13 Put to the Test

Pairing: Spock x OC

Warnings: slight sexual innuendos mentions of violence, swearing

Words: 6806

All Parts: 

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |  Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16

If you want to be added to the taglist let me know!

Please do not repost my work on other sites or platforms!

-

Much to her dismay, the Academy had replaced Moore with someone else only a month later. Although the new professor was great, she was still sad that Spock didn’t teach them anymore. The rest of her class, however, seemed relieved that he was gone. Especially the boys, who seemed to be pining for the female professor.

At that time, they also had to start with their final projects but right now, Carissa had other stuff in her mind; Spock had asked her out on their anniversary at the end of February. Nialaxe helped her getting ready and they were joined by Lucie too. Somehow she wasn’t sure if she liked all the attention she got but she was glad about their opinions. (At least Nia’s because Lucie always assured her that she looked great whereas Nia as a Betazoid was awfully honest)

“Girls, it’s only our anniversary”

“Yes but you didn’t have one before, did you?” Nialaxe asked

“Well we broke up after nine months and got together a year later. So we actually were together a year some months ago. But we didn’t celebrate that or whatever”

“See? Who knows what’s gonna happen? Maybe he’ll propose”

“I don’t know…” Carissa said, cracking her knuckles                                                        

“Oh okay, I can understand you’re not ready for that yet” she pinned back some of her hair with her flower-shaped hairclip “Yes, I think that’s it” she said, nodding as she stepped away. Carissa had a look in the mirror and smiled.

“Yeah, it looks good”

“Really does” Lucie agreed. Since it still was a little early for her to go outside, the three girls sat down on the bed and talked until Carissa had to leave. Lucie squeezed her hand

“Have fun”

“Oh God, was that imagination really necessary?” Nia moaned

“Well looks like being a telepath has its disadvantages”

“Can’t you just… switch it off?”

“There might be a way but I don’t know. I’ve only got the abilities like five years ago” Carissa made a mental note to ask Spock if he maybe knew something she could to do control it a little “Hey, that’s a great idea. Vulcan’s are touch telepaths and they’re very private. Maybe they know something… oh God, Lucie, you’re a genius!”

“What did she think?” Carissa asked

“You could make your final project on that matter. You know, telepathy, its limits and ways to control or steer it”

“That really doesn’t sound too bad” she said “But would you even want to be my guinea pig?”

“I’m still learning to use it and it would be cool to see what things I can do” Carissa shrugged.

“I’ll think about it. Thanks for the idea, Lucie. If you want you can have the topic yourself though, after all it was your idea.”

“Nah. I’ve already got my topic with the question which non-human species is best integrated into the Federation”

“And I’ve got no idea what I’ll do” Nia said with a grin

“Well, you’ve still got two years to think about it”

“True”

“Okay, I gotta leave. Vulcans always come on time”

“Sure… Lucie keep that perverted thoughts private!” although she hurried downstairs, her boyfriend was already waiting for her.

“Sorry” she breathed, “the girls held me back”

“There is no reason to apologize, you are still two minutes and thirty-four seconds early” she gave a quick nod as she pecked his cheek.

“Shall we?” he only offered her his arm which she took, almost feeling like a lady from the Middle Ages. “Where are we going?” she asked when he led her off the school grounds

“You asked me to surprise you. If I told you now, I would ruin it”

“Good point” she giggled. They walked in silence for almost half an hour before he led her into a cozy looking restaurant and where showed their table. “It’s nice here” she said, her fingers toying with the flowers on the table.

“It is good to hear that the location is according to your liking”

“So, how are the reparations of the ship going?”

“We are approximately 2.26 days behind to the schedule since the re-installment of the gravity stabilizer has taken longer than I have anticipated as I was not aware that a third year cadet would be allowed to help during his traineeship”

“Oh you still have trainees onboard?”

“Only engineers as everyone else would not be able to work“

“That makes sense. What about you? Do you miss your work?”

“I am working”

“Sure, you do, but I mean don’t you miss working as Science Officer?”

“Science is needed for the reparations, which makes your question redundant”

“Okay, I didn’t consider that. But wouldn’t you prefer if the ship was already repaired and you could do what you usually do?”

“I cannot understand why I should wish for something that is impossible”

“Okay, let’s forget this” she said opening her menu. Again they were silent until they had ordered dinner. Then Spock asked how her studies were going. “Good, as always. Professor Moore’s replacement is much better than him. Not as good as you though” she chuckled and took a sip from her drink.

“Were you referring to my expertise, my way of teaching or the fact that I am your partner when you mentioned that you preferred me?”

“Uh… you being my boyfriend and of course your intelligence.”

“Alright. Have you been informed about the final projects yet?”

“Yes. We need to find a topic and evaluator until the end of next month”

“Have you already decided on either of those points?”

“No. I’ve got some ideas and just today Nia gave me a new one. Well actually it was Lucie’s idea but they said I could write about it if I want”

“That subject being?”

“Telepathy” she looked at him to see his reaction and wasn’t disappointed when he raised an eyebrow

“I take it that Cadet Uvestri has volunteered as test person for your project?”

“Yeah she did. I’d try to find out what the limits of her telepathy are and if there are ways to stop it”

“Maybe you would want to consider making a comparison between telepathy of different species?”

“Is that an offer to help me as in participate in the experiment?”

“Since I am your boyfriend I would consider it appropriate to do so, yes” she smiled.

“Thanks. I’ll think about it”

“May I ask what your other suggestions for your project were?” after she told him of her other ideas, she asked what he had written about

“I bet I won’t even understand the title. So maybe just tell me the area”

“Astronomical spectroscopy” she frowned

“And there it already starts… I don’t even remember what that is. What score did you receive on it?”

“97% although it should have been 97.2 but decimal places were not allowed”

“I see. That’s very good. I just want an overall score of 75% or more at the end. I mean as my graduation mark, not from the project. Then I’m happy”

“Do you think you can achieve this?”

“I guess so. Up to now I have 81% which means I have a slight cushion” he nodded. Their food came and for a while they were silent before she asked him what he would like to do on the five year mission. Once they had finished their plates, they continued talking for a while before they left the restaurant. Spock accompanied her back to her dorm and decided to say goodbye outside because no one was here at this time.

“I have heard that it is human custom for the male to gift his partner something on their anniversary” she instantly started to feel bad because she had nothing for him

“Oh. You shouldn’t have gotten me anything. And I uh… don’t have anything for you”

“There was no reason for you to give me something in return. Besides, I did not have to obtain this” he said as he pulled out a small casket and opened it to reveal a necklace.

“It’s beautiful” she said, tracing her finger over it “Thank you”

“You are welcome” he took it out “May I?”

“Sure” he put it over her head and she took the pendant between her fingers to have a look at it.

“Where did you get it?”

“It has belonged to my mother” she stared at him

“Spock I-I don’t think I can accept it. I mean… maybe you should keep it if it was hers” he took hold of her hand, gently squeezing it.

“I want you to have it. I am certain that my mother would have been very fond of you had she met you”

“Are you sure?”

“Affirmative” she nodded and let go of the pendant, hugging him instead

“Thank you. It really means a lot to me. Especially considering what the necklace means to you.”

“It is good to hear that it pleases you” he placed his hands on her back and leaned his chin onto her head.

“And thanks for the evening. I really enjoyed it”

“So did I”

-oO0Oo-

It was time for the fourth years to find themselves a job for when they finished the Academy in summer. So she applied for jobs as biologist on every ship that offered this position. She was quite certain that she would get a position on a ship, if not she still could apply as a biologist on earth. Somehow she found this wouldn’t be all too bad in the beginning because a part of her wasn’t so sure she’d be able to constantly go onto missions. What if they were attacked something dangerous happened? A part of her even regretted joining Starfleet and she was almost surprised to have made it that far into her education.

Somehow she was surprised that she already had a reply two days later. But once she saw who it was, she only grinned. Of course Jim Kirk would be the first one to reply and invite her for an interview. So she agreed to his suggestion to meet him three days later and was a little disappointed when she saw that he was alone today.

“Hello there” he said with a grin

“Hello”

“How’d you start at the Academy?”

“I haven’t seen you since the end of term party, respectively the trial later on, so which start did you mean? In summer or now after the winter holiday?”

“Both. I don’t even know what fourth year is like”

“As always” she shrugged. “Just the final project coming up”

“Oh I’ve heard about those” he smirked “Well anyway… I’ll make this short. I wanted you on my ship last time but that didn’t work out. But now I’d really like you to take you onto that five year mission”

“R-really?” she choked out “Are you sure?”

“Do you think I’d have called you here if I wasn’t serious? Starfleet has ordered me to take some new graduates with us… from all departments so I’ll need freshly graduated scientists anyway. And I must admit I really want to have you. You’re one of the best cadets and I know how you work”

“And this decision isn’t just because… I don’t know… because you know me and of my relationship with Spock?”

“Nope. Well, I want you because I know you and know that you’re a great scientist and a quick learner and a good person”

“Really?”

“I read your report. You told Admiral Marcus to go fuck himself and I want people like you on my ship” she grinned

“You want me to tell you to go fuck yourself?”

“No, of course not… but you know what I mean. I’ve only got two people who put my orders into question, one being Bones who’s my best friend and Spock who questions anything that’s not from him anyway”

“So you want me to doubt you too?”

“I sometimes need someone telling me off when I’m an idiot. And I know you’ve got the balls to do so” she snorted with laughter, not too sure about his words. “But if you’d rather start on another ship, where you don’t go onto such a big mission at the beginning I understand. Or if you have enough of me and my crew”

“No, of course not. I mean… thank you for your offer, I feel honored”

“But?” he asked

“Well you’re right, I’m not sure I actually am ready for such a mission now”

“If I can be honest. I bet if anyone can do it it’s you. Besides, you won’t be alone. You already know a couple of people on board”

“Yeah but only bridge crew. And I doubt that this will be where I’ll be working”

“Okay, let me put it that way. I can really see you climbing up that career ladder. We need to report to Starbases at least once a year anyway, so each time we do that, you can complete a new test there and get promoted. So once you’re Lieutenant, which you could be by the end of next year, I could assign you to the bridge. Besides, the Enterprise doesn’t have a Junior Science Officer during Alpha shifts because we got Spock but we may change that…”

“You really don’t need to do this. I mean, I probably am just as happy if I can be working somewhere else on the ship. Maybe even better because then I won’t have responsibility. It’s just… I’d love to go on away-missions too but I know there will be many other scientist who have better qualification for that” he clicked his tongue

“Well, usually an away-team needs the best people. So it would be, speaking like Spock, logical to take people with different talents. And you are a great scientist and are skilled at diplomacy. We can always use someone like you if there are other cultures involved.

“I doubt I could speak their language”

“We’ve got translators for a reason… or Uhura comes.”

“Right”

“So what do you say? Are in interested in a tryout?”

“A tryout?”

“Yeah. We want to see how you’re doing before we can decide. And it’s what Starfleet requires at least for all the cadets. So there will be a big tryout day for all of you, all departments.”

“But how is that possible? I mean, the reparations on the Enterprise aren’t finished yet, so how are you supposed to see us in action?”

“That’s easy. Starfleet Academy has given us permission to use the Kobayashi Maru rooms for the cadets that study Command. As for you scientists, we will find you a ‘mission’. It’ll just take place on earth but we’ll pretend it’s a foreign planet. The procedure’s the same, anyways. Maybe we can still use one of the labs on the Enterprise in the end. It’s not all sorted out yet.”

“Oh okay. When will this be?”

“I’ll need to interview other cadet first and when I’ve made the first decision, we will let you take this ‘missions’ on a weekend. Maybe you’ll have a part in the Kobayashi Maru simulation too. But don’t worry, you won’t need to save another ship or so. We merely need the environment to let you investigate the destination”

“That makes sense” she smiled.

“Oh. One last thing. Did you tell Spock about your application for the Enterprise yet?”

“You mean if he knows that I want to join you on the mission maybe? No, he doesn’t”

“Right. I’d like to keep it that way until the tryout. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees you”

“Does that mean he’ll be there too? I mean… sure he will since he’s your First Officer and Chief Science Officer at the same time”

“Exactly. He’ll be the one to help you with this task for the tryout” he got up and shook her hand “You’ll hear from me as soon as I know more.”

“Sure” she smiled and he opened her the door

“Oh and Carissa?”

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to apologize for having been an idiot when we first met” she smiled when she thought back of the Kobayashi Maru simulation oh so long ago where she had first met him.

“Forgiven and forgotten. I kinda think it’s funny now. Except for the fact that you cheated on the test”

“Glad to hear that”

“You’re welcome. Thank you for scaring off Andrew last year at the party when…. you know”

“Sure thing” he nodded at her and they parted ways.

-oO0Oo-

In the three weeks before she heard from Jim again, she had been to two other interviews and had been invited to yet another tryout. She also started with her final project and had the first talk with her evaluator. But once she heard more details about her tryout for the Enterprise, this was everything she could focus on. A part of her hated herself because she feared that Spock was the only reason she wanted to be on that ship but she had to admit that this wasn’t true. There were many other reasons and yet she still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to directly go onto a five year mission. Her parents definitely wouldn’t like that but she didn’t care. In fact, she believed that she’d try even harder to get onto the Enterprise if they tried to prohibit her from doing it.

All too soon another month had passed and the day of the tryout had come. By now all they knew was that they would need to gather data about their atmosphere in the bridge of the Kobayashi Maru simulation, pretending it was a foreign planet, before they would be split into two groups and fly to Europe with a shuttlecraft where they had to fulfill the next part of their ‘mission’. When she entered the classroom they were told to meet, she realized that she knew almost every other science cadet there since they were in at least one of her courses. She took a seat next to Evans and nodded at him, pulling out her PADD to make some notes.

“You applied here too?”

“Of course I did” she said

“Oh okay. I just thought you weren’t the type to be that long into space”

“I admit it is a bit much for the start but I’m sure it’ll be fine”

“Yeah. I really hope I’ll manage to do this”

“Good luck then”

“Thanks. Same to you”

“How’s your project doing?”

“Fine” as he started to explain what he was doing, Jim entered and greeted them.

“Good morning, Cadets. Thank you for coming on that Saturday morning, I know you’ve probably got better stuff to do than participating in an ‘improvised’ tryout. Anyways, Mr Scott, my Chief Engineer, has already taken the engineering cadets with him because they’ve got heaps of work to do on the Enterprise. Doctor McCoy and my First Officer Mr Spock should be arriving any moment. And I will take care of those who want to pursuit a career in command but they’ll only arrive in a few hours. Now, to your assignments. As you have been already informed, everything is a bit improvised and we’ve agreed on the following program: We will make three groups, medicals and other sciences mixed, and you all will spend some time on the bridge of the USS Trainor, where the scientists will investigate a fictive planned we called AlphaBetaGamma. However, the medics among you will pursuit other task on the bridge at that time because we won’t always need you in Sickbay and then you might be working on the bridge one day. Then, we will make new groups and the medics follow McCoy to the Academy’s sickbay to learn something about viruses and bacteria and complete a little workshop on hypos and whatever. Meanwhile, the scientists will be divided in two groups of four and each group gets an instructor who will fly them to Europe in a shuttlecraft, where you’re supposed to pretend you’re on AlphaBetaGamma and collect rocks, bugs, plants and whatever and do some experiments on them before you decide to take them back to the ship, which will be the science lab of the Enterprise because that’s like the only thing that’s working on this ship. There you will finish your tasks and if everything works well, you’ll be finished by tomorrow afternoon. And yes, you will spend a night in Europe. The people from the command division will just stay in the Kobayashi Maru rooms with me and fulfill a couple of tasks once they arrive. Any questions so far?”

“What exactly are we supposed to do with these elements we collect?”

“Mr Spock will explain it to you once you’ve determined everything about our little planet. He’ll also give you more details about what you need to collect.” Jim said “Oh and speaking of him, he’ll accompany you to Europe but he’ll go to Geneva because they asked him to have a look at their particle accelerator because they seem to have a little issue” he shrugged and Carissa remember that Spock had told her about that when she asked him what he was doing on the weekend (because she wanted to find out if he guessed that she would be coming to the tryout). “So he’ll stay there and one group will pick him up on their way back” they nodded and Jim had a look at the time “I bet Spock’s been taking my instruction to give me five minutes a bit too literally…” he said “And Bones’ late anyways” he walked to the door and opened it. “Oh there you are. Come in, I’m done” he said and his First Officer as well as the medical officer entered the room. Their eyes wandered through the room and she could see Spock freezing when he must have seen her and his eyebrow cocked up. She grinned at him, waving a tiny hello with her hand. “And?” Jim asked, standing beside the Vulcan and glancing at him as if he expected a reaction “What do you think of them?” he looked at the Captain

“I trust your judgement that they will be distinguished”

“That’s the spirit” he patted his back before he went to introduce McCoy, then his other friend.

-oO0Oo-

After everyone had a detailed assignment, they left for the Kobayashi Maru simulator. Since they needed a Captain and an evaluator for this task, Spock sat down in the Captain’s chair and told everyone what they had to do. Since they couldn’t all be at the science desk, they took other roles and would all determine one thing about the fictional planet, just that the instruments would take the data from the devices that had been installed on the roof of the Academy. She suggested it had been Spock who made sure the data was visible in on the instruments of the USS Trainor Finally, it was Carissa’s turn and she had to determine what kind of life that could be found on the planet.

“Definitely humanoid lifeforms but different species. The vegetation is almost similar to the one on planet Earth but sparse in that area and I get indicators of vertebrates and also other animal phylums, such as mollusks and arthropods. Most of them also belong to different classes. So I guess it’s safe to say it’s very biodiverse. Wow, even the water has many living things inside it” she decided and had to pull herself together not to get off the point too much. Plus, she was also surprised by how good and detailed the measuring devices on the roof were working “Funnily all lifeforms have already been identified, so there probably won’t be much that is unknown. At least not in that area. And there’s a civilization that’s using advanced technology. But I think we’d better land somewhere else where there isn’t that much populated so that we don’t go noticed. Shall I make out coordinates that we could land?”

“Thank you, Cadet Wiley. Cadet George, please take over and determine convenient landing-coordinates”

“Do I need to find them in Europe?”

“Have I mentioned the continent?”

“Err no?”

“May I hear from you what task I gave you?”

“To find coordinates to land?”

“Exactly”

“Oh I see, I just need to find a good spot and then we pretend that the place in Europe are those coordinates…” he got to work and for a couple of minutes not much happened until he said two coordinates. Spock asked another cadet at the helm to check them out.

“It looks like a shuttle landing place from an airport, Sir”

“Cadet George, I do understand why you think such a place would make a good area to land but the point of our mission is to not get into contact with the natives if possible”

“But Wiley said they’re a known species. So they won’t cause us trouble. Besides, we could land in the night…”

“Yeah sure” Carissa muttered “Because no one will be there then because of course no shuttles land at night. And just because we know a species doesn’t mean they don’t mean trouble” her classmate sighed and tried again, naming two other coordinates.

“That’s a corn field” the helmsman reported after checking

“Yeah, then we could hide the shuttle in there” Spock shifted in the Captain’s chair and she was sure had he been human, he would have buried his face in his hands.

“What if someone is there? And do you really want to destroy their food when we land? That surely won’t cause trouble at all” Carissa asked

“Your classmate is right” Spock said “Please, try one last time”

“What do you expect me to do? Shall we land in the Antarctica or what? You’ve got no one there” Carissa muttered to herself that there still were some science outposts.

“Can you repeat your mission?”

“We’ve got to find three different samples, like rocks, plants or insects”

“Do you expect to find the latter two at the place you just mentioned?”

“Err no?” Spock raised an eyebrow “Yes?” now Carissa buried her face in her hands. “No anyway? I’m confused. You make me nervous”

“I have made that observation as well, yes. Cadet Wiley, please take over” although she felt pride the he wanted her to do it, she felt sorry for her fellow cadet, knowing he had forfeited his chance for a place on the Enterprise.

Once everything was sorted out, they left the simulation room and gathered in the classroom from the beginning again. When the second group was finished, Spock sent the medics away with Leonard before they made two groups of four with the rest of the scientists. Again they were told what they had to do and then left for the ship hangar where they would meet their instructors, the ones who would also evaluate them.

-oO0Oo-

Somehow Carissa felt strange knowing that she had been to space and another planet before but never to another continent on Earth. They landed somewhere in France for all she knew and had to take the samples and do some experimenting there.

“Almost a pity we can’t stay here longer. I’d love to spend a day here before we return” a classmate said as they tried to collect some bugs they had found.

“Yeah. How did your part in the simulation go?” Carissa asked

“Quite well. Though Evan didn’t even ‘scan’ the planet and just told us about Earth’s atmosphere what he knew himself and I guess he made at least one mistake.”

“Oh. Ryan wanted us to land on an airport, then a cornfield and then went for Antarctica” her partner looked at her and grinned

“Okay, I think that’s worse. So where are we now, according to him?”

“Oh Spock was fed up with him and told me to take over. No idea where exactly I brought us but there’s a like some miles away from San Francisco. At least if we had landed at the place I wanted us to go….”

“I still don’t know why they couldn’t just let us stay in America”

“Well maybe that would have been to close. Here it’s a bit different already…Besides, like this we needed to be in that shuttlecraft a bit longer… or maybe because the Commanded needed to go to Geneva anyways”

“Okay, that makes sense” they fell silent again and tried to get the bugs into the jars.

“That somehow reminds me of elementary school”

“Yeah” he chuckled “Wouldn’t have thought back then that I would be collecting bugs in space one day. Well not in space itself, on foreign planets I mean.”

“If there even are bugs on those planet”

“Well, AlphaBetaGamma has bugs” he said, holding up his jar with two bugs in it

“Yes it does. Agile ones” she chuckled. “Hey do you have any idea what the time is?”

“Uhh… I know our American time but I have no idea what time zone we are in right now. Why did you ask?”

“Just because. We need to plan our night and it looks like it’s getting dark soon. Besides, you remember that Commander Spock said he would contact us at 2000 hours local time. Not that we miss his call”

“I still don’t get why he has to call us? We’ve got our instructor”

“He’s our captain in this exercise, don’t forget that. We need to report to him as we would on a mission. Besides, he is responsible for us. What if we got attacked by wolves?”

“I bet the instructor has a phaser. But hey, imagine we would take a wolf with us to examine it. We’d definitely get that place on the ship”

“Still. What if it’s a pack and he’s killed? Then we’re screwed” she shrugged “But I doubt there are wolves here anyways. Maybe he just wants to make sure no one got lost or left or whatever” she shrugged.

“Okay, we can go back to meet the others again” her partner said and got up, wiping the dirt off his trousers. “I think five bugs should be enough for now. We’ve still got to make the experiments” she nodded and took a handful of soil which she put in the container as well. “Do we need to take soil?”

“Nah, but it’ll help to calm down the bugs. Besides more samples are better than too few…” she gave a shrug and they returned to the shuttle. Their teammates were already back and did the tests on their rocks and plants. Also Carissa and Theodore took out the supplies they needed to perform their examinations. The instructor walked over to them and asked them to explain what they were doing as they did it.

-oO0Oo-

Suddenly Carissa saw that the sun had sunk and frowned. This probably meant that it had been 8 PM and she wondered why her boyfriend hadn’t gotten into contact with them yet. She asked the instructor what time it was

“2024 hours” he replied.

“Commander Spock hasn’t contacted us yet” she said

“He must have forgotten it” Theodore suggested

“Definitely not” Carissa said

“The CERN has closed now, hasn’t it?” an alien cadet called Syl asked.

“Yes. So he can’t have been distracted” Carissa said “Which is rare anyways. Vulcans never forget things”

“Maybe he forgot his PADD somewhere?”

“Or the other group has taken longer with their report”

“I guess we should contact them to ask”

“What for? I bet he’ll get in touch any moment now”

“Don’t Vulcans meditate?”

“Ah sure that must be the reason. It probably took longer than usual” the instructor said, obviously relieved

“He probably wouldn’t do it before he contacted us. I mean there’s always a chance it takes longer” Carissa corrected. She entered the shuttle and contacted the other group. They seemed surprised but they hadn’t heard anything from Spock either. “Well,” she said and gave a shrug “Then we contact him” she decided as she tried to reach him on his PADD, ignoring the frowns and protests from some of her teammates. Right now she didn’t even care if she disrupted his mediation, she was worried because she knew it was very, very much unlike him to not contact her at the time he promised. She saw that the connection was built, all Spock needed to do was to answer her call. Which he didn’t. In contrary, he dismissed her “He dismissed the call” she gasped and instantly tried to reach him again but the signal was lost “And his signal’s gone”

“Oh come on, it maybe just was the connection that broke. Must be a mistake in the network. We’re out in nowhere here.”

“That connection is supposed to work without an external network” she said “We can’t expect other planets to have this. I’m telling you one thing. There is something wrong. It makes no sense that he dismissed the call”

“Someone could have stolen his PADD”

“He probably has a communicator with him. He would have contacted us with that”

“Maybe he didn’t realize his PADD is gone and forgot to call us?”

“That sounds unlikely” Syl said “What should we do?” Carissa looked to the instructor

“I guess we should inform Starfleet and see if they can reach him. I’ve got no idea how to contact him on his communicator. Or do you know?”

“I know” he said as he took out his own communicator and switched it on, trying to reach the Commander “Nothing” he said

“Maybe someone stole his PADD and his communicator”

“He’s probably more intelligent than the five of us put together. He would have found a way to contact us if he is in a state to do so”

“He was robbed and knocked out”

“That would have needed to be a huge group who did this. Vulcans are much stronger than most other species that life on earth”

“Well then it was a large group that robbed and knocked him out”

“So we all agree that something is not alright?”

“What are we supposed to do?”

“We contact Starfleet and ask them if we can go and investigate”

“I bet this is just a test… they want us to worry and as soon as we arrive in Geneva, he’ll await us and tell us that we all failed because we ignored our task”

“Come on, if this was a test it we would act correct by go and having a look. Who cares about rocks when someone of our crew could be in danger?”

“Well he isn’t our crew. Besides, it aren’t just rocks, there are plants and bugs too”

“I bet you won’t pass this tryout with that attitude. And I’m going to contact Starfleet now and ask for their permission to go and have a look” before anyone protested she just did that, not even caring if their instructor was okay with it. Starfleet allowed them to go to Geneva to see if they could find the Vulcan, which didn’t really make everyone all too happy. On their way there, Carissa didn’t care about the other cadet’s looks since she could only think about her boyfriend and what could have happened to him. She even demanded the last coordinates of his PADD, what made her frown even more “He’s somewhere in France now. I mean at least he’s been there at the time before his PADD was switched off”

“Doesn’t mean he was there. Maybe that’s where the thieves went” Syl said.

“True. That’s why we’ll go to Geneva first anyway” Carissa said, not even noticing that she had kind of taken the lead of the mission “Someone should go to his hotel to ask if he has been there”

“How are we supposed to know which hotel he is in?”

“Good question” Carissa said, looking at their instructor “Do you know something?”

“I can’t recall the name”

“Then we’ll just look up which hotels are near the CERN” Carissa decided as she switched on the PADD again. Luckily, she knew him well enough to exclude three fancy ones and a hostel. She then handed the PADD to the instructor, who quickly retrieved the address of the right hotel. “Good. That’s where we head first”

“And what do we tell them?”

“The truth” Carissa said

-oO0Oo-

Somehow she was surprised that they were even allowed to have a look at Spock’s room. The other cadets didn’t even dare to enter and if she was honest, she wouldn’t have done it either if Spock hadn’t been her boyfriend. But after all she had lived with him for a year, so this didn’t feel wrong. After all she wouldn’t rummage his things and just have a look if she saw anything suspicious, like traces of a fight. It seemed like he only had been here to deposit his bag and change from his uniform shirt into something else, informal. She figured that he only reason he’d leave his room again was to get food. This was what she told the other cadets and the instructor after she left the room.

“Excuse me, have you seen him leaving maybe?” she asked the receptionist who shook his head. His colleague, however, seemed to have seen him. “Could you see what he had with him? I mean is it possible he had a PADD like this?” she asked, holding up the one from the shuttle.

“Probably…” she answered.

“Do you know what kind of restaurants are nearby? Like approximately ten minutes of walking? Nothing too fancy, crowded or loud. Nothing that mostly sells meat and probably not international kitchen. Maybe something typical from here?” she turned to her colleague and they talked in French before Carissa was told names of certain restaurants

“Oh wait. ‘The Space’”

“It’s international” Carissa was already getting information about it and a small gasp left her lips

“Not international. Intergalactic is more like it” she said

“You mean he went there?” Theodore asked

“I am quite sure they serve Vulcan meals, so yes”

“Alright, let’s go there”

“No, we should try to find out which way he took and take this one too… maybe we find traces of a fight there”

“Or he got involved in a bar fight”

“Definitely” she grumbled, asking the PADD for directions to said restaurant

“He could have just provoked someone without knowing. He just has a manner that makes you want to beat him senseless at times”

“Okay that’s true” she admitted. “We’ll just take different ways and meet at the restaurant in… 15 minutes”

“What kind of traces of a fight do you mean?”

“I don’t know, anything that could have been used as a weapon or blood”

“Isn’t Vulcan blood blue?”

“Green” she mumbled before she told everyone where they should walk through. On the way to the restaurant she didn’t know if she wanted to find traces of a fight. A part of her hoped she would because at least she would have an idea what happened, on the other hand she didn’t want something to have happened to him. But something told her that if he was alright he would have long gotten in touch with them somehow. She swallowed and walked faster. Her classmates were already awaiting her at the restaurant

“Nothing. We even were inside. He wasn’t here. So he either got attacked on the way here, without traces, he didn’t come here or nothing happened at all” she nodded and once again tried to contact him, just out of foolish hope. At least she saw that his PADD was on again. This time she cancelled the call, hoping there would be a way to locate it.

“I’ve got the signal of his PADD again. I’ll ask Starfleet to locate it”

“Good. Then they can come here and investigate themselves. This is not our job”

“We can at least go to have a look. Maybe it’s just the thieves that are there. But then they could tell us something about his whereabouts.” Syl said, offering Carissa some comfort

“Yes. We can get an overview of the situation” she contacted Starfleet and shortly after had the coordinates she asked for. “They said we could go there to have a look. They’re coming too” she informed her friends.

“Good. Let’s return to our actual task…”

“Look, it takes Starfleet over four hours to get here… we’d better go and have look because we’ll need about half an hour with the shuttle. If he was abducted, every minute could count”

“And what do you suggest? That we’d go and rescue him?” although she would have never admitted it out loud, she did somehow like the thought of rescuing him.

-

Next Chapter

[way-down-meme-town]

Hadestown Act II Sentence Meme

Under the cut you will find 179 lyrics from the musical Hadestown to use for your roleplaying purposes! Have fun!

Our Lady of the Underground 1. “I don’t know about you, boys, but if you’re like me then hanging around this manhole is bringing you down.”

2. “Cabin fever is a-settin’ in. You’re stir crazy.”

3. “I can give you what it is you crave, a little something from the good old days.”

4. “I got the wind right here in a jar.”

5. “I got the rain on tap at the bar.”

6. “I got sunshine up on the shelf.”

7. “Our lady of the underground!”

8. “Wanna know my name? I’ll tell you my name.”

9. “Let me guess, it’s the little things you miss.”

10. “Maybe you’re looking for some stronger stuff.”

11. “I got a sight for the sorest eye. When was the last time you saw the sky?”

12. “Wipe away your tears. I know how you feel. I can see you’re blinded by the sadness of it all.”

13. “Look a little closer and there’s a crack in the wall.”

14. “You want the moon? Yeah, I got her too.”

15. “A little moonshine ain’t no sin.”

16. “Tell my husband to take his time!”

17. “What the boss don’t know, the boss don’t mind.”

  Way Down Hadestown (Reprise) 18. “The deal is signed?”

19. “I did what I had to do.”

20. “They cane hear, but they don’t care.”

21. “No one has a name down here.”

22. “They can look but they don’t see.”

23. “Your eyes will look that way someday.”

24. “You kissed your little life goodbye.”

25. “Hades laid his hands on you and gave you everlasting life.”

26. “Your place on the assembly line replaces all your memories.”

27. “What do you mean I’ll look like that?”

28. “That’s what it looks like to forget.”

29. “You see, it’s like I said before. A lot can happen behind closed doors.”

30. “A lot of souls have gotta die.”

31. “A lot of spirits gotta break, to make the underworld go round.”

  Flowers 32. “What I wanted was to fall asleep, close my eyes, and disappear like a petal on a stream, a feather on the air.”

33. “I trembled when he laid me out. You won’t feel a thing he said, when you go down.”

34. “Nothing gonna wake you now.”

35. “Dreams are sweet, until they’re not.”

36. “Men are kind, until they aren’t.”

37. “Flowers bloom until they rot and fall apart.”

38. “Is anybody listening? I open my mouth and nothing comes out.”

39. “Flowers. I remember fields of flowers.”

40. “I remember someone by my side, turned his face to mine, and then I turned away into the shade.”

41. “You, the one I left behind, if you ever walk this way, come and find me lying in the bed I made.”

  Come Home With Me (Reprise) 42. “I called your name before.”

43. “Whatever happened, I’m to blame.”

44. “How’d you get beyond the wall?”

45. “I sang a song so beautiful stones wept and they let me in. I can sing us home again.”

  Papers (Intro) 46. “I don’t’ think we’ve met before. You’re not from around here, son.”

47. “Don’t know who the hell you are, but I can tell you don’t belong.”

48. “Go back to where you came from. You’re on the wrong side of the fence.”

49. “This poor boy raised up his voice with his heart out on his sleeve.”

50. “I’m not goin’ back alone. I came to take her home!”

51. “Who the hell do you think you are? Who the hell you think you’re talkin’ to?”

52. “She couldn’t go anywhere even if she wanted to.”

53. “You’re not from around here, son. If you were, then you would know that everything and everyone in Hadestown I own.”

54. “I only buy what others choose to sell.”

55. “You didn’t know? She signed the deal herself and now she belongs to me.”

56. “Everybody gather round! Everybody look and see what becomes of trespassers with no respect for property.”

  Nothing Changes 57. “Why the struggle? Why the strain?”

58. “Why make trouble? Why make scenes?”

59. “Why go against the grain, why swim upstream?”

60. “It ain’t no use. You’re bound to lose.”

61. “What’s the purpose of a man? Just to turn his eyes away?”

62. “What’s the use of his backbone if he never stands upright?”

63. “Who are they to say what the truth is anyway?”

64. “The ones who tell the lies are the solemnest to swear.”

65. “The ones who load the dice always say the toss is fair.”

66. “The ones who deal the cards are the ones who take the tricks with their hands over their hearts while we play the game they fix.”

67. “The ones who speak the words always say it is the last.”

68. “No answer will be heard to the question no one asks.”

69. “I believe our answer matters more than anything they say.”

70. “I believe if there is still a will, then there is still a way.”

71. “I believe in us together more than anyone alone.”

72. “I believe that with each other, we are stronger than we know.”

73. “I believe that we are many. I believe that they are few, and it isn’t for the few to tell the many what is true.”

74. “Is it true? Is it true what they say?”

  How Long 75. “What are you afraid of? He’s just a boy in love.”

76. “Have a drink, why don’t you?”

77. “I’ve had enough. He loves that girl!”

78. “He has the kind of love for her that you and I once had.”

79. “The girl means nothing ot me.”

80. “All of the sorrow won’t fit in his chest. It just burns like a fire in the pit of his chest.”

81. “Nothing comes of wishing on stars.”

82. “Nothing comes of the songs people sing, however sorry they are.”

83. “Give them a piece, they’ll take it all.”

84. “Show them a crack, they’ll tear down the wall.”

85. “Lend them an ear and the kingdom will fall.”

86. “The kingdom will fall for a song.”

87. “What does he care for the logic of kings? The laws of your underworld?”

88. “It is only for love that he sings.”

89. “He sings for the love of a girl.”

90. “You and your pity don’t fit in my bed.”

91. “How long? Just as long as I am your wife.”

92. “It’s true the earth must die, but then the earth comes back to life and the sun must go on rising.”

  Chant (Reprise) 93. “Why do we turn away when our brother is bleeding?”

94. “Why do we build the wall and then call it freedom?”

95. “If we’re free, tell me why I can’t look in my brothers eye?”

96. “Young man, got to hand it to you. Guess you don’t scare easy, do ya?”

97. “It seems your song made quite a strong impression on my wife.”

98. “It takes more than singin’ songs to keep a woman in your arms.”

99. “Take it from a man no longer young if you want to hold a woman, hang a chain around her throat made of many carat gold.”

100. “If I raise my head, could I change my fate?”

101. “If I raise my voice, could I change the way it is?”

102. “Why do we turn away instead of standing with him?”

103. “Why are we digging our own graves for a living?”

104. “If we’re free, tell me why we can’t even stand upright?”

105. “If we’re free, tell me when we can stand with our fellow man?”

106. “Young man, I was young once too. Sang a song of love like you.”

107. “I too was left behind, turned on one too many times. Now I sing a different song.”

108. “You hear that heavy metal sound? The symphony of Hadestown.”

109. “Young man you can sing your ditty. I conduct the electric city.”

110. “Give me one more song before I send you to the great beyond where nobody can hear you singing.”

111. “Sing a song for me.”

112. “Make the king feel young again. Sing for an old man.”

  Epic III 113. “I know how it was because he was like me, a man in love with a woman.”

114. “You didn’t know how and you didn’t know why, but you know what you wanted to take her home.”

115. “You saw her alone there, against the sky. It was like she was someone you’d always known.”

116. “It was like you were holding the world when you held her, like yours were the arms that the whole world was in.”

117. “There were no words for the way that you felt so you opened your mouth and you started to sing.”

118. “What has become of the heart of that man now that the man is king?”

119. “What has become of the heart of that man now that he has everything?”

120. “The more he has, the more he holds. The greater the weight of the world on his shoulders.”

121. “See how he labors beneath the load? Afraid to look up and afraid to let go.”

122. “He’s grown so afraid that he’ll lose what he owns, but what he doesn’t know is that what he’s defending is already gone.”

123. “Where is the treasure inside of your chest?”

124. “Where is the man with his arms outstretched to the woman he loves with nothing to lose?”

  Epic III 125. “This poor boy brought the world back into tune is what he did.”

  Promises 126. “You take me home with you! Let’s go! Let’s go right now!”

127. “It’s a long road. It’s a long walk back into the cold and dark. Are you sure you wanna go?”

128. “I have no ring for your finger.”

129. “I have no bouquet table to lay.”

130. “I have no bed of feathers.”

131. “I can’t promise you fair sky above, can’t promise you kind road below, but I’ll walk beside you, love.”

132. “Don’t need no ring for my finger, just need a steady hand to hold.”

133. “Don’t promise me fair sky above. Don’t promise me kind road below. Just walk beside me, love.”

134. “He’ll let us go. Look at him, he can’t say no.”

135. “I don’t know where this road will end, but I’ll walk it with you hand in hand.”

  Word to the Wise 136. “Damned if you don’t, damned if you do. Whole damn nation’s watching you.”

137. “Men are fools, men are frail. Give them the rope and they’ll hang themselves.”

  His Kiss, The Riot 138. “With his kiss, the riot starts.”

139. “All my children came here poor, clamoring for bed and board. Now what do they clamor for? Freedom.”

140. “Have I made myself their lord just to fall upon the sword of some paupers minor chord?”

141. “Who will lead them? Who lays all our best-laid plans?”

142. “Who makes work for idle hands?”

143. “Only one thing to be done, let them go but let there be some term to be agreed upon, some condition.”

144. “Every coward seems courageous in the safety of a crowd.”

145. “Bravery can be contagious when the band is playing loud.”

146. “Nothing makes a man so bold as a woman’s smile and a hand to hold.”

  Wait For Me (Reprise, Intro) 147. “Well, the good news is he said that you can go.”

148. “You can walk, but it won’t be like you planned.”

149. “It’s a trial. Do you trust each other? Do you trust yourselves?”

150. “If you want to walk out of hell, you’re gonna have to prove it before gods and men.”

  Wait For Me (Reprise) 151. “The dog you really got to dread is the one that howl inside your head. It’s him whose howling drives men mad and a mind to its undoing.”

152. “Show the way so we can see.”

153. “Show the way the world could be.”

154. “If you can do it, so can she. If she can do it, so can we.”

155. “How about you and I? Are we gonna try again?”

156. “Who are you to lead her? Who are you to lead them?”

157. “Who are you to think that you can hold your head up higher than your fellow man?”

158. “Between your ears, behind your eyes, that is the path to Paradise. Likewise, the road to ruin.”

  Doubt Comes In 159. “Doubt comes in. The wind is changing.”

160. “Who am I? Where do I think I’m going?”

161. “Doubt comes in.”

162. “Who am I to think that she would follow me into the cold and dark again?”

163. “Are you listening? I am right here and I will be to the end.”

164. “The coldest night of the coldest year comes right before the spring.”

165. “Who am I against him?”

166. “Why would he let me win?”

167. “Who am I to think that he wouldn’t deceive me just to make me leave alone?”

168. “Is this a trap that’s being laid for me?”

169. “Is this a trick that’s being played on me?”

170. “I used to see the way the world could be, but now the way it is is all I see.”

171. “You are not alone. I am right behind you and I have been all along.”

  Road to Hell (Reprise) 172. “It’s an old song and this is how it ends.”

173. “Here’s the thing. To know how it ends and still begin to sing it again, as if it might turn out this time, I learned that from a friend of mine.”

174. “It’s a sad song, but we keep singing even so.”

  We Raise Our Cup 175. “Pour the wine and raise a cup.”

176. “Some birds sing when the sun shines bright, our praise is not for them, but the ones who sing in the dead of night. We raise our cups to them.”

177. “Wherever he is wandering alone upon the earth, let all our singing follow him and bring him comfort.”

178. “Some flowers bloom where the green grass grows, our praise is not for them, but the ones who bloom in the bitter snow.”

179. “We raise ‘em high and drink ‘em dry.”

[fanficimagery]

Imagine Enzo always being there to listen to anything you have to say, whenever you need him (Part 1 of 2).

Prompt courtesy of @obscure-imagines 

Enzo X Reader

Sitting at a park bench and staring up at the clock tower in town square, you can't help but contemplate life. Your left knee bounces rather rapidly for no apparent reason and you find yourself feeling rather downhearted.

"Well hello, Gorgeous." Glancing to your right, you see Enzo sauntering up. You smile and stand to briefly hug him, the both of you then sitting back on the bench as you shove your hands back into the pockets of your jacket. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I'm not sure a vampire such as yourself is equipped for my lowly human problems, Handsome."

"I do love the pet name, darling." Enzo smirks and you chuckle. "But what are you doing out here all alone? Shouldn't you be with the scooby gang?"

You shrug. "I'm having a bit of an existential crisis."

"Really?" He drawls.

"Yeah." Heaving a sigh, you ask, "Do you really want to hear this? Or am I keeping you from scouring for dinner?"

"For you, Y/N, I've got all the time in the world."

"You really are trouble, Enzo St. John. I don't know how the ladies handle all that," you say while gesturing to his entire being. He merely laughs in return and settles in for the impending conversation. "So a while back, when we were at war with the Mikaelsons, I got trapped in a room with Caroline and Klaus. Skipping passed all the threats and violence, I ended up having a unique heart to heart with the Original Big Bad."

Enzo's right eyebrow quirks. "Truly?"

"Yep. We talked about my human status in a group of supernaturals. In a moment of weakness, I confessed how unhappy I was with my friends at the time." You pause to take a deep breath and then let it out in one harsh exhale. "Them being supernatural didn't bother me, but what did was how easily they could push aside people- pushed around Bonnie- when they needed their needs met. They didn't care who got hurt and in the long run, it was always me, Bonnie, Jeremy, or Matt."

"And what did the scary Original have to say about that?"

"He told me if I couldn't keep up, then maybe I needed an upgrade. He offered to turn me that night."

"You obviously refused."

"Barely," you quietly admit. "But that was a long time ago, so.."

Enzo shifts in his seat, turning towards you and you turn to face him. "So what brought this on tonight of all nights?"

Rolling your eyes, you glance back up the clock tower that's about to read 8:24P in just a few seconds. "I'm about to turn twenty right.. about.. now."

And without missing a beat, Enzo says, "Happy birthday, love."

You huff a brief laugh. "Thank you. But anyway, I got a package this morning from none other than Klaus Mikaelson himself. Apparently our heart-to-heart stuck with him after all these years."

"Oh? And what did the most dangerous man on Earth get you?" Pulling out one of your hands from your jacket pocket's warmth, you open your fist to show him what's sitting in the palm of your hand. "Is that a vial of blood?"

"Yep. Original blood. In a note, Klaus told me that should I ever change my mind he'd be proud to sire me even if he's not present for it." Enzo remains quiet and you quickly put the vial back in your pocket as you seek out his gaze. "Am I stupid for wanting this? For wanting to leave my meek human existence behind in favor of near immortality?"

Enzo takes a moment to ponder, his lips briefly pursing as he reaches in to move your hair behind your ear. "Y/N, this town is toxic. There is nothing wrong with wanting to become a little bit more sturdier, so if that means becoming a vampire then I am behind you one hundred percent."

"Really? You're not going to attempt to dissuade me? Especially since it's Original blood."

"It's your life, sweetheart. If it means using Original blood to reach your goal, then do it. Or if you want mine, I'll tap a vein for you right now." You snort and Enzo grins at you. "And once you become a creature of the night, we'll flee this ridiculous little town and the petty drama the Salvatore's keep finding. And that Gilbert girl. Ugh."

"Hey," you laugh. "Don't be harsh on Elena. She's a good person, she's just- she's.. Elena."

"And I'm just Enzo. So whatever you decide, I'm on your side. Lead a normal human life in Mystic Falls or join me on the dark side and travel the world?"

"Can you please not encourage her to go dark?" Someone suddenly muses. Glancing up, you bark a laugh when you see Bonnie standing there with a lone cupcake in hand and a single lit candle stuck in it. "Being a normal vampire is fine, just don't let her go out of control." Enzo huffs and Bonnie smirks at you. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you." You accept the cupcake, licking a bit of the frosting from the side. "How'd you know where to find me?"

"I might have performed a locator spell." Bonnie shrugs as if it were no big deal. "And I also got the most surprising phone call this afternoon from Klaus. He.. spilled the tea on a lot of things."

"Spilled the tea?"

Enzo's confused expression has you and Bonnie grinning. But instead of explaining, your friend goes on. "He told me what you thought about a long time ago and what you might have been contemplating tonight after he explained what he sent as a gift."

You groan. "He didn't."

"He did. He also asked me for a favor- a favor which I found myself accepting given it was for you."

"For me?" At Bonnie's nod, you then glance down when she reaches into her pocket and opens her fist to produce a very pretty lapis lazuli ring. Your eyes immediately tear up and your gaze darts up to your friend's face. "But you.. dislike vampires. After all they've put you and your family through-"

Bonnie gulps. "You are not them, Y/N. You won't be. At least you won't be with Enzo's guidance. Hopefully."

You shakily accept the ring from Bonnie before jumping up and hugging her, all without the lit candle going out on your cupcake. "I don't know how to thank you."

"You can thank me by never shutting off your emotions. No matter how much you're hurting, you feel it. You feel everything. Don't take the easy way out without having a fail safe in place that will bring your shining personality back."

"I'll do my best."

Enzo clears his throat. "We'll do our best, sweetheart. I'll be with you every step of the way."

As you and Bonnie pull apart, Bonnie grins at him. "I was hoping to hear you say that." She reaches back into her pocket, this time producing a masculine looking lapis lazuli ring. "Please don't make me regret this. If you're going to show a daywalker the ropes of being a vampire, then it only makes sense you're a daywalker too. And I totally give you permission to steal her ring if you think she's going off the deep end."

"Hey!"

Enzo blinks in surprise, he taking the ring as if it were something precious and delicate. "You're serious?"

"Yep."

A full smile blooms. "Bonnie Bennett, have I ever told you what a wonderful witch you are?"

"Sure, Enzo." Bonnie rolls her eyes, still smiling herself as she looks to you. "Whatever you decide, I am still your friend. But if you decide to turn, I suggest you leave Mystic Falls behind."

Your brow furrows. "What? But you just said-"

"I know what I said. But I also know our friends, Y/N. You're only still alive because you're human, but the second you become a vampire and more durable.. you become a capable fighter and expendable if it means protecting Elena."

You gape and Enzo sighs. "Well she's not wrong."

Taking a moment to collect your thoughts, you remember your cupcake in hand quickly blow out the candle before any more wax melts on your treat. Then, you ask, "What about you? I don't feel comfortable leaving you with all of them."

"I'm capable of looking after myself."

"I know you are, but still.."

"Go," Bonnie urges. "Live the life you truly want and send me a postcard at every new destination."

Your eyes tear up again as you throw yourself at Bonnie, she laughing as you squeeze her as tightly as you can. "You are the most amazing friend anyone can have, Bon. I won't forget this."

"Yeah, yeah. Now go with your vampire boy toy before everyone else finds you and makes you attend an impromptu birthday party." You pull back, eyes wide. "What?" She laughs.

"Vampire boy toy?"

"You and Enzo. You're totally a thing."

"We totally are not."

"You totally are. See? Not even Enzo is denying it."

You glance at Enzo and he shrugs before grinning. "She's not wro-"

"Just shut up." Letting go of Bonnie, you pocket your new ring before working on halving your birthday cupcake. Then offering her one piece, you jokingly cheers with them. "To a new beginning."

"To a happier life," she replies.

Once the cupcake is eaten you then reach into your pocket for the vial of blood. Uncorking it, you down it without second guessing yourself and walk back towards Enzo to loop your arm through his. "Ready to help me start this new life of mine?"

He grins. "Are you telling me I get the honor of snapping your neck?"

"Duh. Who else would I ask?"

Bonnie snorts, but her words, "You guys are weird. You deserve each other," go unheard.

"Sweetheart, it would be my genuine pleasure."

Glancing around to make sure no one is looking, Enzo only moves into action once Bonnie gives him the go ahead. Then between one blink and what was supposed to be the next, Enzo's hands grasp you around your chin and the back of your head. With a quick jerk of his hands, your world goes black.

[minhothebunny]

Cupid’s Tears | NCT Dream #1

Genre: Cupid au, angst, heartbreak (sad ending)

K-pop Group: NCT Dream

Safeword: Cloud☁️

Requested by: none _______________________________ TRIGGER WARNING: CUSSING, NUDITY, MENTIONS OF DEATH, VULGAR LANGUAGE, DIRTY THOUGHTS.

THIRD POV.

Y/N sighed for the nth time, cheek resting on her palm as she stared at the couples across the street.

"Dude shut the fuck up."

Y/N blinked, "Well, excuse me- sorry for breathing," she sarcastically said, hand on her chest.

"Apology accepted. Now, stop sighing every time you see a happy couple and let them live their life. You live your own."

"But, Donghyuckkkk. It's not fair that they get to be happy, and I don't," she whined, pouting.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes and flicked Y/N on the forehead. "Of course, your whiny ass is still single at 19; you won't shut up."

"I'll have you know that is not the reason I'm still single."

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you still single?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Because my whiny ass won't shut up."

Donghyuck smiled, "At least you still have a brain. God forbid you to be both whiny and dumb."

"Hey! Take that back!"

Donghyuck stuck his tongue out, running out of the ice cream shop.

"Come back here, you little shit!

Time skip. THIRD POV.

Y/N was currently wrapped in a burrito blanket, watching a particularly romantic show.

All of a sudden, she burst into tears, "Why can't I have a relationship like that? I want somebody to love me that way. And to brush my hair. And to pick my outfit of the day. And-and," another wave of tears took over her as she shook.

In the sky.

Jaemin was intently watching the girl. Each cupid was assigned a person to matchmake. They started at the age of 21, so this was Jaemin's first "client".

"Why does my heart ache for her? I hate seeing her so broken."

An idea popped into his head, and he went looking for Donghyuck's cupid.

"Hey, Johnny."

"'Sup, dude. How's your first client going?"

"That's what I'm here to talk about. Your client is Donghyuck, right?"

"Mhm, why?"

"How about we shoot them? They do say dating your best friend is better than dating a stranger."

"I can't do that."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, man, but I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't like her, and he's as stubborn as a rock. Even if I shoot him, he won't accept falling in love with his best friend. Besides, he's already got his eyes on someone else, and I think they'd be pretty cute together."

Jaemin slumped. He bid goodbye to Johnny and went back to watching Y/N.

Another idea popped into his head. "This probably isn't that smart, but I'm out of ideas."

He planned to shoot his arrow on Y/N and see where it goes from there. He only has one shot, though, for each person only has one arrow. If that arrow doesn't reach them, they'll lose their ability to fall in love forever.

Jaemin took a breath, aiming his bow.

"3..."

"2.."

"...1..."

He shot the arrow.

He shot the arrow and missed.

He missed.

Y/N stood up last minute before the arrow could hit her. The arrow ended up disintegrating after missing its target.

Jaemin dropped his bow.

"I just killed the arrow... and I missed..." (A/N: in this oneshot, cupid's arrows are living and, once hitting their target, become those butterflies in your stomach that you feel. If the arrow misses its target, it disintegrates and dies. There's only one arrow per person on Earth. Missing your target results in a punishment decided by the queen.)

Jaemin was teleported to the throne hall where the queen stays.

"Na Jaemin," her loud voice echoed along the walls of the vast castle.

"Y-your majesty," Jaemin kneeled.

"You have failed."

"Yes, your majesty, I am aware."

"Mistakes are not tolerated. You have missed the target."

Jaemin gulped, "Yes, your majesty. I apologize."

"Don't apologize to me: apologize to the poor girl whom you ruined the life of."

"H-how...?"

The queen hummed, shifting in her throne, "Because your arrow missed, she now has lost her ability to love. Your punishment will be to go down to Earth and figure out a way to make Y/N feel once again."

Jaemin's eyes widened, "Your majesty, that's impossible!"

"Figure it out. You've got five months. After that, depending on if you succeed or not, you will be killed or sent back up here and work in labor."

"What about being a cupid?"

"You have lost that role and are no longer a cupid. You will go down to Earth as a human and will come back as a mere citizen of this city if your punishment is successful."

Jaemin felt a lump in his throat, "Understood, your majesty."

"You have disappointed me, Jaemin."

"I have disappointed myself, too. When will my punishment take place?"

"Right now," the queen stood up, walking towards Jaemin, who was still kneeling on the floor. Bending down to his ear level, she whispered, "Before you go, do not tell anyone of your punishment. If you do, death awaits you."

Jaemin's heart quickened, "Understood, your majesty."

Rising from the floor, the queen sat back on her throne.

"Goodbye, Na Jaemin."

Everything went black

Y/N'S POV.

I was done watching my show and was getting ready for bed when a man appeared in front of me.

I jumped, "Ah! Who are you? How'd you get in my house? And why are you naked?!"

The man's eyes widened, and he looked down, immediately covering his dick.

"Woah... it's big."

My face heated up as I slapped myself, "wake up, Y/N. You can't say stuff like that."

"U-um, excuse me."

"Oh, right! The naked but hot man. Wait, what- no no no!"

"How'd you get in here? Why are you here?"

"Um, my name's Na Jaemin."

"Jaemin's a pretty name."

"I didn't ask for your name; I asked you why and how you got here."

He blinked, "Oh, um, I, uh, can I get some clothes, first?"

My eyes widened, "Right! He's still naked..."

I went into the guest room where some of Donghyuck's clothes are. "He wouldn't mind a stranger wearing his clothes, right?... He'll definitely mind, but I'll deal with that later."

"Here," I threw the clothes at him, Jaemin uncovering his dick to catch the clothes. I turned around to give him some privacy and waited while he changed.

"I'm, um, done."

I turned around. "Okay, now, why are you here?"

"I... don't know. But please don't kick me out! I have nowhere to go!"

I was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Nonetheless, I'm not a heartless bitch, so I agreed to let him stay even though the whole situation was very suspicious.

Time skip: 3 months. THIRD POV.

Y/N and Jaemin have gotten close over these three months. Y/N has been feeling weird whenever she thought about Jaemin. She just couldn't put her finger on what she was feeling. She talked to Donghyuck about it, and he explained that she was possibly falling for Jaemin. She didn't know what that meant but didn't want to ask, wary of the judgemental look Donghyuck gave her.

She, instead, resorted to the internet as any 19 year old would. The results were a bit hard to understand, but she eventually grasped the main themes. She realized that Jaemin has been teaching her about love this entire time. Butterflies in your stomach, blushing, feeling nervous around the individual. He explained it all, but she didn't understand until after she figured out her feelings.

Using her newfound knowledge, she began getting even closer to Jaemin, occasionally flirting when she was confident.

Time skip: the day of Jaemin's deadline (Valentine's Day). THIRD POV.

"Y/N, do you feel anything new?"

Taken aback by the sudden question, Y/N blinked, "What? What do you mean?"

"Love. Do you know what love is? Do you feel it?"

Her eyes widened comically, "Um, yes, I know what it is."

"Do you feel it?"

To say Y/N was embarrassed would be an understatement. Nonetheless, she meekly answered, "Yes, I feel love for someone."

Jaemin was shocked, "Confess! You have to confess! Please, you have to confess right now! Call him!"

Y/N looked at him confused, failing to sense to urgency in Jaemin's voice.

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Y/N closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, "Jaemin, I love you."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Y/N slowly opened her eyes, looking into Jaemin's tear-filled eyes.

"...What?"

"I said I love you."

"You-you can't love me."

Y/N's eyes widened, "Why not?"

"You-you can't love me. We can't be together. If only you loved somebody else..." Jaemin's voice cracked, tears pouring out his bloodshot eyes.

"Why can't I love you?"

"I... I can't tell you. But, I have to go; I completed my punishment. Thank you for falling in love."

Before Y/N could protest and yell, Jaemin disappeared into thin air.

Y/N started shaking, tears welling up in her eyes.

"No... he wouldn't leave me. He wouldn't use me."

She looked through the whole house, not finding a trace of him. His clothes, his uneaten breakfast, his scent. All gone, as if he never existed.

Y/N dropped to the floor and screamed. Tear after tear falling onto her cheeks, Y/N pulled at her hair, screaming. She screamed so loud her throat went dry.

She screamed so loud the man standing by the front door swore he'd never forget the sound, forever etched in his brain. He dropped the rose he got for his best friend, frozen in place after watching the entire altercation.

One cupid failed, and two hearts broke. ________________________________ I don't know where I was going with this. I had major writer's block for this oneshot; I had no idea what the plot should be. This was kind of rushed, but also kind of not at the same time so please give me your feedback!

I will publish the happy version shortly. Please don't forget to like and comment!

The happy version will not continue from where this oneshot left off but will be a oneshot with the same plot with an alternative ending.

Thank you for reading! -Nina<3

[istheresomebodywhocanimagine]

Late Nights, Early Mornings (PT. 1)

anonymous said: Anything w/ Bri cause he’s the cutest please xxx

(a/n: I actually wrote this a while ago and figured no one on here would like it but since it’s a multi-part brian piece and we luv brian, I might as well post it. buckle in, girls and gays. I have part 2 mostly fleshed out, its just a matter of finishing it. should be up in a few days hehe)

“What kind of all-nighter is this if Brian isn’t fucking here?” Roger asked irritably, sitting behind his drumset in his room off of the main recording area. “Wah wah, boo hoo, I’m tired! So am I! What makes him special?”

You sighed, trying not to laugh at how Roger looked when he was angry. Despite the rage, he still looked like a small animal on the defensive.

“I suppose I can swing by his flat and see if he’s still awake?” you offered, wanting desperately to get away from Roger anyways. Also, going to see Brian would brighten up your day a bit. He was quickly becoming your favorite of the group, Roger being a lot to handle on the daily while Brian was relatively low maintenance and very sweet when you got him alone. 

Giving you a nod, Roger continued to look sour as he returned his focus to the drumset, and when you turned around, John was giving you a look that said ‘Why do you put up with him?’

“I’ll go along with Y/N,” Freddie offered, but someone pointed out that he still had to do some testing before they started recording. Giving you a sad look, Freddie apologized and sent you out on your own to retrieve Brian. You didn’t mind, anyways. You needed some fresh air, and Brian’s flat wasn’t too far from the studio, so you opted to walk.

Along the way, you stopped for some coffee, and when you showed up to Brian’s door, you found it unlocked. Carefully balancing the coffee in one arm and hand, you knocked on the door before letting yourself in, at least giving him some semblance of a warning.

“Bri?” you called out, shutting the door behind you and sitting the coffees on the counter before wandering through his lounge to get to the hallway. You heard something in the bedroom, so you went up to the door and knocked softly.

“One moment,” was Brian’s soft reply from the other side of the door, so you returned to the lounge and plopped down on the couch, laying your head back and closing your eyes to get a tiny bit of rest. After a minute, he walked out into the lounge, and you opened your eyes to see his tall, lanky figure, his hands working on buttoning his shirt. He was still in his jeans from today, but he looked like he’d just started getting ready for bed.

“Christ, now I almost feel bad,” you blurted out, looking at him guiltily. Your heart clenched a bit, partly because you felt terrible for him and partly because he admittedly looked kind of cute like this. Very homey. “Forget I was here, I’ll just tell Roger to suck it up for a night and record without the guitar.”

“Roger throwing a fit?” Brian asked, giving a half-hearted smile as he looked over to the counter, rubbing the deep five-o’clock shadow that was forming on his jaw. “And you brought coffee – I assume I’m being summoned?”

You nodded, smiling a bit sheepishly and scooting over as he grabbed his shoes and came over to sit down so he could pull them on. He moved a bit slower than usual as he tied them, quite sleep-deprived from last night’s session with just him and Freddie recording. You’d come along with Roger tonight for moral support, seeing as you were usually just their tour audio engineer and you were on break for a while since they wanted you fresh for their tour coming up. He’d convinced you to come so you could give your famous shoulder rubs if he got sore, and he promised to buy you drinks as payment.

“Since I feel like I could pass out right here, can you grab my little black journal from my bed in my room? It’s got my notes for the recordings in it.” You nodded, getting up and heading to his bedroom to grab it really quick as he grabbed a coat and Red Special.

When you got to his room, you found it a mess, but decided against chastising him for it and instead made your way over to his bed. The problem you encountered when you got there was that there were two little black journals, so you grabbed both and decided to ask questions later. Joining him in the lounge again as you put the journals in your pocket, you grabbed the coffees before both of you made the short trek back to the studio. Upon entering, Roger make an exaggerated noise of surprise.

“I thought you were too tired!” he sneered, earning a smack on the back of the head from you in response. You handed Brian his coffee as Roger pouted, and produced the first of the two journals, which he seemed to recognize as his notes, so you left the other in your pocket.

“Good evening to you too, Rog,” Brian replied, his voice softer but still salty.

“Brian, darling, come here for a second. I want to get your opinion on this,” Freddie interjected, not letting any more bickering start tonight. John gave you another one of his looks, then kept fiddling with his bass.

You perched on the back of the couch, sipping your coffee as you watched everyone do their thing, Brian hovering over whatever Freddie was looking at near the tapes. Roger came over and placed himself between your legs, sitting back against you before looking up at you.

“How’d you convince him to come?” Roger asked, just loud enough for you to hear. “Did you use your magic lady powers?” he teased, making weird sparkly finger hand gestures.

“Coffee,” you replied simply, raising your cup before taking another sip. “You do know that if Freddie and him are here tonight, they won’t be tomorrow night?”

Roger groaned, looking forward towards the recording booth and resting his head against your left thigh. “We’re never going to get this record done,” he lamented.

“You will, these things just take time, drama queen.” Roger grumbled incoherently at your little name for him, and you sat your coffee to the side as you began to braid a small section of the back of his hair. He closed his eyes and let you do it, Brian soon finishing whatever Freddie was needing and joining you both on the couch so he could get Red Special ready.

“Am I next?” Freddie chuckled, referring to Roger’s braid that you were wrapping in rubber band you had around your wrist. You smiled softly, finishing up the braid before looking up at Freddie and scrutinizing his hair.

“I suppose I could give you all a braid, though I’m not sure Deacon would enjoy it.” John chuckled a bit at that, shaking his head as he sat his bass to the side. You then looked at Brian, and pursed your lips as you rested a hand on the top of his head. “And I’m not sure how I could even navigate this.”

Brian hummed with amusement, looking up at you and giving you a small smile before continuing his work on Red Special. “Good luck,” was all he said, scooting forward to give you room to sit behind him. You moved over so that he was now resting between your legs instead of Roger. Chewing your lip in concentration, you starting trying to figure out what hair was even the same length.

As you figured this out, they were finally ready to record, so you pouted as you had to give up on Brian’s hair for now. “Promise you’ll come back so I can actually braid it,” you stated, holding out your pinky. Brian smiled lopsidedly, his eyes crinkling up a bit and making him look not so exhausted as he pinky-promised you.

You slid down to sit on the regular part of the couch, pulling what you recognized as Freddie’s coat over you and laying down. They began recording sections of a song Freddie and Brian had partially constructed the night before, and you didn’t realize how tired you truly were until you woke up to the sound of the door opening, only Freddie walking in. You sat up for a moment and let him sit down where your head was, then you rested your head on his thigh and got comfortable again.

“What’d I miss?” you asked drowsily, yawning a bit. Freddie shook his head, also yawning and stretching a bit.

“Not much. I’m just resting my pipes a bit. Go back to sleep, lovie,” he said, starting to attempt to braid your hair in an effort to keep himself awake.

“Bollocks, I know it was in here,” you could hear Brian over the intercom, and you could just see him rifling through his notebook for something he missed in the last run through. Remembering the notebook in your pocket, you pulled it out and you were about to get up to offer it to him over the intercom when Freddie made you stop in your tracks.

“Why on Earth have you got Brian’s journal?” he asked, looking at the little black book in your hands like it was a precious crown jewel. “He wouldn’t even let me peek at that on tour and he just gives it to you?”

You shook your head, suddenly afraid of the journal, so you handed it to Freddie. “I grabbed it off his bed, it looked like his other journal and I didn’t know which was which. Am I in deep shit, Fred?”

Freddie started rifling through the pages, apparently unbothered by the fact that he was intruding on Brian’s personal thoughts. Your question went unanswered as he started mumbling words to himself, reading a passage halfway out loud.

“This is from last night, my God,” Freddie stopped to observe, pointing to the date. “This man updates his journal religiously, I haven’t even looked at mine in weeks because of this damned record.” You tried to subdue your curiosity about what he had to say about last night, seeing as you’d thought it was mostly an uneventful night. Freddie started reading some of it out loud, though, which only piqued your interest. “Had a late night recording with Fred, Y/N, and some others. We got a few of the songs started and knocked one out, but the one took forever because Fred kept being a tart.”

You burst out laughing at Freddie’s face when he read that, a look of pure insult spreading across his features. Quickly throwing a hand over your mouth, you apologized quickly. “Keep reading though,” you urged, wanting to hear what Brian had to say about Freddie’s little fits he had last night.

“He wanted to redo the same part over and over, and we were all getting tired of it. I asked him what was wrong with it and he went on and on about not being able to feel out that part of the song because of my guitar playing. Y/N thought it was quite a hoot, she looked quite…” Freddie trailed off, suddenly snapping the journal closed and shoving it down his shirt so you couldn’t get it. “That’s enough of that,” he said quietly, avoiding eye contact and crossing his arms.

“What the fuck, Freddie?” you asked, trying not to be too loud as the sound tech at the board talked to Brian through the mic. “What did it say?”

“It said Brian thinks I’m a tart, that’s it,” Freddie replied, evading the subject and refusing to look at you. You scowled, then started tickling Freddie, who yelled out in surprise and then started writhing and laughing, trying to keep you from getting the journal but failing miserably. You had your hand up his shirt, just getting ahold of the book when you heard John’s voice come over the speaker.

“You alright, you two?” he asked, both him and Brian standing at the window that was between you and them. Oh shit.

PT. 2 PT. 3

[nikkigrand]

While You Were Mine

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] 

CHAPTER 3: USO

She was dancing the jitterbug with her friends: a tall, beautiful blonde and a stunning busty brunette. But I, for some reason, only had eyes for her. I had never been so captivated by a woman before and something thudded in my chest so loudly for I could not tear my eyes away.

The blonde woman twirled her once, twice, and she spun with a squeal as the third time lifted her flowing skirt almost to the point of indecency. The blonde laughed, the brunette covering her own chuckles with a dainty hand, and grabbed her again. This time, she spun and spun and spun her until I was afraid I might have to catch her when she let go. Her coiffed hair—so strawberry blonde it was almost the pink of cherry blossoms—flowed around her shoulders and bounced as she came to a stop directly in front of me with a breathless laugh.

This is when it happens.

With wide eyes, I could not help but be struck as she opened her eyes from where she must have unknowingly closed them. They were the greenest eyes I had ever seen and were dancing with such joy I’d swear she defined it. They glittered like gems in the low light of the dance floor and my eyes were riveted as they brightened impossibly at the sight of me. She opened her mouth to speak and my heart was pounding so loudly in my chest I was worried I would not hear her words.

But then the song ended and the blonde quickly grabbed her by the hand to pull her back to the other side of the dance floor and I must have cursed every god in existence at that moment. She gave me an apologetic look from over her shoulder, as if saying, ‘what can you do?’ and I sighed.

I turned back to look at Naruto but he was enraptured by the brunette who was walking past after a trip to what I assumed was the rest room. Her perfume was sweet and lovely, but not to my tastes. Though, Naruto looked like he might start salivating at any moment.

In a way I hoped was unassuming and not too eager, I turned back to see if I could catch a glimpse of the woman who had unknowingly unraveled me with only her eyes, and there she was.

Staring at me, unabashed and bold—yet the quirk of her lips was shy and the curl of her fingers uncertain—with those green, green eyes that bleached every blade of grass and every leaf in the world.

Feeling brave, I waved back at her and was rewarded with a toothy grin.  My blood roared in my ears and I quickly spun around, unbelieving of the fact that I was a man of thirty-five years who was behaving like a teenage boy who’d never spoken to a woman before.

The band began to play a song meant for swinging and Naruto and the other men hoot and hollered as liquid courage made them approach the giggling women. Naruto made a beeline for the brunette he had his eye on earlier and, after draining the rest of my whiskey, I made my way over to the girl this whole tale is about.

The closer I came to her, the lovelier she became. Her blonde friend—who was just as beautiful up close—smiled at me encouragingly even as a pale black-haired man named Sai (another Japanese-American who I’d been on a few fire missions with) pulled her away by the hand to dance. The girl looked up at me and it was only then that I realized how small and petite she was.

Still, I saw no fault in her.

“May I have this dance, Ma’am?” I asked as I offered her my hand, politely because I may be a grunt, but I was a grunt with manners.

She giggled and I’d like to say the sound was that of tinkling bells, but it was not and yet I was still entranced. She placed her gloved hand in mine, the fabric catching on callouses, and then I swung her onto the dance floor.

Every time I dipped, spun, twirled, and sometimes even lifted her, I caught hints of large smiles and silent laughs and I want to say that they were meaningless little things—but they were the beginning of everything.

We must have danced for what felt like hours, but were really only minutes, and the band smoothly transitioned into a soft, slow song. We were breathless, carefree and smiling at each other and the war was the farthest thing from my mind in that moment.

If not for the uniform, I could have almost forgotten that there was a war happening at all. I could almost forget that out of all of us in this room, in 7 days, only 8 of us might come out alive.

Swaying to the music, I remained silent as she caught her breath.

“Thank you for the dance, Sergeant…?” She started imploringly, looking up at me from beneath her lashes and the light hit her just so that I was able to see a faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose.

“Hatake,” I said, voice smooth as water even though nerves were turning my stomach to gravel. “You can call me Kakashi if you’d like.”

Her brow furrowed and for a moment I was afraid she’d look at me with disgust and pull away, but then she giggled and said, “Scarecrow?!”

Shock made me breathless when I asked, “How’d you know?!”

Her smile was secretive as she pressed herself closer. Not too close to be inappropriate, but enough to show what she thought of me.

I hoped I wasn’t taking it the wrong way.

“My parents are obsessed with Japan,” she said, as if imparting some great secret. “My name is Sakura.”

“Sakura?” I repeated, incredulous, and she nodded.

“I know! When I was in school my teachers would call me Sarah!” She said, shaking her head. “It used to make me so angry because that’s not my name!”

I could sympathize. All throughout my educational career as a child I’d been called many different names. The one they settled on was Karl and I hated it because it wasn’t my name. I am Kakashi and despite the strife my name and heritage have caused me, I would never change it.

Soon, our topic of conversation turned to that of our childhood, then our favorite foods, pets, siblings, what have you. She seemed to me, at that moment, a song on the radio I would never tire of hearing. She was so open with her thoughts and her feelings, so unwilling to hide her true self—even from a virtual stranger such as myself—that it was all incredibly endearing.

Somehow, without us noticing, we had danced to song after song and only registered the passing of time when the band announced that they’d be playing their last for the night. I glanced around me for the first time in what seemed like forever and noticed that most of the men were in the company of women. If they were not, they were passed out at their tables. I saw Naruto in the corner speaking softly to the woman from before, her hand in his and she listening attentively.

My own hand was clammy from holding Sakura’s for so long, and I distantly worried that she was uncomfortable; but as soon as the first note rang from the strings on stage, she turned to me with such an excited grin my worries were blown away.

“Oh, I love this song!” She exclaimed, shuffling closer as she began to hum along.

I couldn’t help but smile down at her. I’d heard the song before as it was quite popular and it was a shame the band had not had a singer to accompany them. I was brought out of my thoughts by a weight pressing against me and on impulse my arms wrapped around Sakura’s tiny waist as she lay her head on my chest.

I could not speak, would not even dare to breathe, as she wrapped her arms around my frame to hold me close. I felt, more than heard, the vibrations of her sweet voice against my chest as she began to sing softly.

“We’ll meet again,

Don’t know where.

Don’t know when.

But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.”

I could have lived in that moment—where it was just us two, alone in space, gently swaying to a song she sang as the world and all its wars faded away—forever.

At that moment, she became more than just a girl with whom to spend the night. Sakura became my salvation, someone to keep me alive. And I know you’ll just say, that’s the war speaking, but there was something about her I wanted to come home to—would always want to come home to.  

It hit me with a desperation, the desire to make her mine, and I knew that—in some way—it was the war urging me to make the best of what could very well be my last days on this god given Earth. But, for the first time in years, I was suddenly afraid to die. For the first time, I didn’t want to follow orders with the blind sort of loyalty and obligation I’ve felt all my life. For the first time, I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to fight anymore.

I wanted to stay there—with her.

I was suddenly afraid of this weakness, for I was never weak, and I will admit that it would take me many days to realize that this budding love was a strength I’d foster until my last breath.

The song ended all too soon and I was reluctant to let her go, my hand lingering on her waist as she stepped away with a soft smile.

“Well, I suppose this is it,” Sakura said, hands smoothing down the fabric of her skirt. “I had a wonderful evening, Kakashi. I wish you luck and safety overseas.”

She began to turn away and, at once, I knew that if I let her go, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I would think of her every night—imagining the smell of her perfume, remembering the weight of her palm pressing against mine—and grieve all of the memories I would never have or make with her.

I had lived with too many regrets, I could not—would not—let her become another.

And so I reached out, caught her gently by the hand, and asked, “Can I see you again?”

And, oh, I could write poetry about her answering smile. It awoke something dormant in me, stole my breath and breathed life into me all at once.

She, without trying or knowing, had looped a red string around my thudding heart and tied it around her little finger.

And all of the reasons why wars were fought in the name of love made sense when she said: “Yes.”

But we only had 6 days before D-Day, I only had six days to make the most of my life with her. In that moment as she and I made arrangements to see each other I could not help but curse time and fate and the war. It all seemed so cruel that the moment I’d find something to live for, I would be at the brink of losing it all.

I watched her leave with her friends, her address clutched tightly in my hand, with a certain type of anxiousness. There was so much to do—there was so much to learn about each other. However, distantly, I knew that it would be cruel to have her love me and then leave her. After all, every man in that room on that night was a dead man walking.

None of us knew if we’d see June 7th, or any other day after that. It would be inherently cruel to make someone love you, worry for you, and then possibly grieve you.

But I will admit that I was selfish. I had no one to do those things for me and I desperately needed a reason to not recklessly lay down my life. In my mind, I thought I could see Sakura and foster a type of vapid affection for her that would keep me going. You know the type: the one where the soldier marries the girl so that it gives him a reason to live and come home.

So, I’ll tell you that I had no intention of loving her.

Even when Naruto walked out the facility with me and asked about Sakura, I had no intentions of loving her when I jokingly said: “I think I just met my wife.”

But, listen.

[writersdreamermind]

Miss Thursday

And the next chapter is up! 

Thank you to anyone who has read and reviewed it so far - it’s great to see, as always. 

Pairing(s): Endeavour Morse / Joan Thursday 

Word Count: 5739

Chapters: 2 / ? 

Read on AO3 / FF.net 

CHAPTER ONE LINK: AO3 / FF.net 

Read under the cut!! 

The following months were the ones where Joan’s self-professed ‘curiosity’ about Morse soon fell apart, when she realized that in reality, she’d fallen for him the moment he’d sent that awkwardly endearing smile her way.

Of course, she’d spent a lot of time trying to ignore it – that was usually what she did, anyway. She’d decided ages ago that it hadn’t been practical.

Falling in love with a policeman just wasn’t on.

Of course, turning up on the doorstep nearly every morning hadn’t helped matters – his bright blue eyes, and shy smile, ever the polite one, often made it difficult to forget him, even when she had become so used to seeing him in tow with her Dad. Apparently the association with her father didn’t mar the attraction as much as she would’ve liked.

Opening the door that Saturday, and she couldn’t help teasing him again.

“Saturday afternoon; someone’s keen,” she’d said appraisingly, arm on the doorframe, able to hear the football on in the next room, her Dad begrudgingly muttering something along the lines of ‘No, Sam, left a bit! Yes! There!’, while Sam grunted in a sound not unlike that of annoyance.

Morse had glanced at her, the slightest smile twitching at the corner of his lips, but holding back, as if wondering aloud whether he ought to risk such a thing.

Lord, she’d never met anyone as shy as him.

“Miss Thursday,” The same greeting as usual, then. It never failed to make her smile, although perhaps that was because it was generally a hard thing not to when he was around.

He had glanced at the ground, only to look past her at the sound of the television, just about audible from the front door.

“I was looking for your father,”

Christ, as if he could have been more formal.

“I thought you were a bit early for a date,”

He had looked at her curiously, eyes widening like an innocent child – perhaps because, in some ways, he was one. Some innocent bystander who, by some miracle (or perhaps nightmare) often found himself the brunt of the joke without ever realizing it.

And to think – he had no idea how she felt about him. It was silly, really – expecting a policeman to be paying attention to her – but Morse was different. He had been since the moment he’d arrived. All quiet charm and endearing awkwardness and formal address and pale features. He’d been nothing like the rest of them – a tenderness not often seen in men, especially young ones. Brash, he was not; cocky, he absolutely wasn’t.

A quiet genius, though?

Well, just about anyone had been able to vouch for that at this point.

Of course, she had let him through the door. And, as always, he had slipped past without a word, bar a nod of thanks that always made him look humbled to be accepted.

Lord, she had to stop fantasizing about him.

~                    ~                    ~

As time had went on, Morse had become such a frequenter at their house that Joan became an almost nonsensical idiot when he was in the room – no matter the occasion, she seemed to find it necessary that he was always near her somehow, even when she partnered their interactions with a coy smirk and offhand teases that made it seem all too nonchalant and carefree.

And it wasn’t.

Like any infatuation she’d ever had, Morse had become the sun to which she necessitating orbiting – because it suited her that way. Every precious moment that he came into the house – still bleary eyed from waking up too early (or staying up too late) – hair still a little wild despite his no-doubt worldly efforts to tame it, she’d been there. Just shying away from him a little. Doing her lipstick and catching his eye. Swishing past him and finding their shoulders brush. Flashing him a smile as she ran up the stairs for the bag that she knew was on the kitchen table.

For everything in the world, Joan was head over heels for him.

And for everything else, he remained oblivious to it.

She felt she should have known, of course. Whenever it had come to the ones that mattered, they’d never looked twice. She was his boss’ daughter – whatever circumstances could come of that, romance was not one of them. And Joan had known it from the start.

Morse was Morse. He was everything she might have wanted to have, had she paid attention when she’d first seen him. Of course, chastising her past self from two days ago, every time she came in contact with him, had proved relentlessly frustrating, but it served to remind her of how frustratingly oblivious he could be. Of course, he had his moments – where, for some inexplicable reason, he returned her quick smile or pardoned himself when she rushed by.

And he was ever the gentleman.

It had all come to a head, of course, when she’d looked across the pub and saw him in the corner booth, Constable Strange by his side, by way of an interesting barrier he might have if something went amiss. He’d looked positively struck – like he was pondering the aftermath of a well-aimed slap across the face; there was every chance, Joan had thought, that he’d receive one if he wasn’t careful one of these days.

They’d chatted. Albeit stoically.

“How’d you know her?” He’d asked.

“At the bank.” She’d turned to look over her shoulder at him, refusing to acknowledge the errant wave of hair that had swept down out of place over his forehead.

“Nobody there really knows what Dad does,” she’d said, staring out into the pub with a look akin to that of disdain, if Morse had been reading her expression correctly. Although Joan had always held the opinion that pubs never really worked out for her – often too many people crowded round her, and she hated the idea of not being able to move for bodies – she loved the atmosphere. The warm and communal feel to the place always helped put her at ease. But then, of course, she’d had to look over to the window, only to see Morse muttering something to Strange with a worried frown crossing his features.

‘Course, that had turned into an expression of blind shock when he’d seen her across the room, coat not even off of her shoulders.

“I had no idea,” he’d said, and she’d believed him, even when she’d told him to drop the ‘Miss Thursday’’s for a bit.

Watching Strange and his date, Joan had swirled her drink tepidly, having allowed herself to feel only slightly miffed at the idea that this entire thing had been a complete mess from start to finish. Meeting Morse hadn’t really been the intention, and it had been a nice surprise – but he hadn’t wanted to see her. That much she could tell.

She’d seen the whole thing. How the dark-skinned girl – no older than 25 – had walked in, her friends around her like a comfortable entourage, and turned just enough to see Morse sitting right at the back with someone that wasn’t her. The hurt had been evident in her open features, dark eyes more than a little disappointed by the scene in front of her. Joan had stubbornly stared at the grooves in the wooden table as she’d felt Morse’s frame brush up against hers as he stood, watching her leave with a hurried step. She’d glanced up only once, only to feel her chest tighten in bitter remorse at his expression.

He’d looked positively distraught.

All wide eyes and parted lips, the dim, bronzed light of the pub casting him like a figure of the so famed Knights of the Round Table. There was that Galahad figure again – innocence and youth distraught at the cruelty and injustice of the world he was faced with. She could tell he was wearing a particularly pressed shirt and he’d taken great care to brush down his suit. He’d looked like he always did – careful and constructed, but nonetheless intriguing in his own quiet, simple way. And yet, the put together appearance hadn't made up for the wrecked expression.

They’d walked out of the pub about an hour later, Joan having held the conversation about as far away as she could from the subject of the girl that Morse had seemed so upset over. It hadn’t been selfishness, she didn’t think – but perhaps she’d been too generous to herself in that respect. She’d been hanging onto the idea of him for such a long time, that being hit with the reality of his separate situation and the people in it made for a difficult time. She’d known that Morse lead a very different life from her, and had done for nearly all his life; she’d been a brash and fierce child who was too mischievous for her own good; he seemed like the type to sit quietly in the corner and observe, but be the first to put himself in danger if it helped someone else. So, consequently, they were different people, and radically so - and so, perhaps, that also extended to the fact that friendship was about all she could hope to aspire to with him - and quite possibly, only ever aspire to.

She’d heard about the case by that point. The missing girl, and the case that seemed unable to rest in the earth like it should have done; some haunted house nonsense that she'd since stopped believing in about 10 years passed.

As they had walked down the pavement, the streetlamps casting hazy, orange shadows on the road, the air had been crisp but cool, an almost nice compliment to the somewhat chilly feeling Joan had had for weeks now, residing deep in her chest like an infection that refused to budge and go and annoy someone else.

She was outwardly cheerful, but secretly lamenting the idea that a certain Detective Constable had his sights set elsewhere.

She’d known it was silly – unrequited attraction hadn’t been a new concept then, and it certainly wasn’t one before even that.

“So… anything interesting to report your side of the wall?” Joan had asked casually, watching with a feigned interest at the cars passing by as they had strolled side by side. She caught glimpses of his current appearance every time they passed under the glowing light of the lamps, the orange picking out the auburn in his strawberry blond hair and the freckles across his face, his expression, once again, guarded by some uncertain look of regret.

She’d supposed it was that girl from before.

She’d had nothing against her. In fact, she’d felt rather sorry for her, whoever she’d been, and whatever it was she meant to him. She’d been temporarily bitter about the fact that her supposed date with him had all been a total, unforeseen fluke, and that Morse had put off some date with date with the other girl just to back up Strange. She couldn't quite decide whether he'd been chivalric or badly timed, but she supposed it was a mix of both.

He’d done something stupid, but ever the gentleman, he was beating himself up for it to the point that he was black and blue, that same polite smile on his face, like he felt it against the rules to be honest with people about how he felt.

All about the façade, and nothing more.

“Nothing much – work,” he’d muttered, pulling at his earlobe in a habit that she’d kept to herself, watching as his hair curled around his ears with his constant messing about with it.

The whir of a car had passed by, Joan pulling her coat around herself, and they’d continued on in silence. They’d always had the most short-lived conversations.

“God, Morse – if there was ever someone who was more tight-lipped in their life,” she’d laughed into the night, puffing out breath as she’d smiled to herself, glancing down at the pavement, making note of how her toes hit the ground in her shoes.

“I prefer taciturn,” he’d replied amiably, and there had been a glimmer of a smirk on his lips as they’d passed by another streetlamp, the world still falling into darkness and quiet as it let them have this one walk together, without any repercussions.

“Of course you do,” she’d muttered under her breath, almost tempted to kick the pavement in distraction.

It took her a moment to look back up at him again, keeping her teasing smile in place on her face, glad that her eyes had their kohl rimmed look – otherwise, he’d probably realize how tired she looked.

“And you, Miss Thursday?” he’d asked that tentatively, as if he was already aware of how she was feeling. Although about him, she was entirely sure he hadn’t a clue about that.

“Alright. Work,” she’d mimicked his response, and he’d laughed in kind.

The silence continued.

“Are you alright? You don’t seem yourself tonight,”

He’d taken that moment to look round at her, almost in surprise, his coat strangely absent from his shoulders. Perhaps the cool, spring air was what he had needed. She could make out just how slender he was now - almost bony had it not been for his naturally slim features. She supposed she'd been right - maybe he hadn't been eating well lately.

“Sorry. Um, work,”

“You said that,” she’d remarked, and he barely glanced in her direction, seemingly lost in the vast emptiness of the sky above them, stars barely visible if not entirely gone altogether.

“This runaway – from the school?” He’d nodded, raising his eyebrows to the ground in admittance, head bowed from thought. He’d always looked like those contemplative statues of the scholars - that she’d been dragged to see by command of school trips - as they were forever intrigued by the smallest of natures in the world, endlessly enticed by the marble page in their hand. She hadn't loved statues, but looking at Morse, and she was maybe beginning to see why the sculptors had spent so long trying to perfect the look. It was worth it when you could see the reality.

It was a look that fitted him well, she’d thought.

Although, maybe it had been his look all along, completely unintentionally.

“You’ll find her,” she’d said that almost like a promise to him. A promise that was about more than a runaway girl.

A promise about love, and acceptance, and a job well done.

He’d find her, she’d hoped. She really hoped he did – even if, in the end, it wasn’t her. Even if the mystery girl of the future, to whom Morse would spend no doubt the rest of his life adoring, wasn't her. Things like this never had turned out the way she wanted, so she hadn't really expected this to come to anything. That had just been her indulging a fantasy.

“Well, I think this is the part where I say ‘Thanks for a lovely evening’, and you say ‘How about a coffee?’. And I say, ‘I can’t’, so we have a long kiss under the porch light until my Dad taps on the window - and I go in and you go home,”

That entire sentence had felt like a rush, too – maybe it had been the thrill of seeing him right in front of her; her Dad’s young apprentice – his Leonardo – and finally seeing him without the paintbrushes in hand. He was merely a man, and like everything else, a vulnerable one.

He’d smiled thinly, but somehow softly, like he almost believed her for what she said. Like he could actually envision – for just a moment – how that kiss might play out.

She’d glanced at his lips for too long, she knew. He’d looked so guarded at that point, and yet very open, and probably never noticed. She’d discovered as of late that he thought he was better at disguising his emotions than he actually was.

In actuality, this whole scene had been reminiscent of that time that had started the whole affair.

“Thought I’d be alright with a copper,”

“Well, there are coppers, and there are coppers,”

“And what sort are you?”

His smile had been teasing and shy and honest and genuine all at once, Joan thought. Every time, and he still managed to be an absolute gentleman, so unlike all the others before him.

“I’m the sort that sees young ladies safely home. Go on – I’ll wait til you’re in,”

Back then, she’d been such an innocent compared to now. Every time she looked back, Joan always felt she was so stupid in the past. Maybe she’d be constantly stupid for the rest of her life.

“I don’t care for coffee,”

Joan had nearly laughed at that – so obliviously stupid in his own way. Really, if she could have been any more obvious, she would’ve had to tackle him in a kiss until he got the message.

Maybe she had consented herself to the idea – he was still too caught up with that other girl.

She’d just leave him to it.

“At the pub – that girl,”

“I shouldn’t have lied,” His words had been so characteristically blunt that she’d shook her head in disbelief, sighing good-heartedly. Morse, however he was, seemed incapable of being anything but selfless. He had never made light of what happened in the world – if it was his failing, then by heck he would make sure God himself knew.

“Buy her some flowers,” she’d said, smiling as brightly as she could manage amidst the darkness and misfortune that seemed to prevail upon her life no matter what she’d do. Perhaps being a copper’s daughter meant that she’d forever be loomed over by her Dad, no matter how much she loved him and his tough, honest love that never wavered in her. Fred Thursday had a way with him that had always been hard to ignore, and apparently Morse felt the same way.

“It’s not like that.” He’d paused in thought, sighing heavily as his shoulders had slumped and he’d curled his hands in his trouser pockets. He had been the picture of regret that night, Joan thought; perfectly at odds with himself because he’d refused to be upfront one time out of thousand when he’d been exactly that all along.

“And anyway… I don’t think she’s the ‘flowers’ type,”

Joan had nearly had to stop herself from raising an eyebrow sardonically in response.

“For God’s sake, Morse. We’re all the ‘flowers’ type.”

He’d laughed quietly at that statement. She’d said nothing more.

Perhaps the kiss she’d brushed across his cheek - entranced momentarily by the coolness of his skin against her own flushed face – had maybe been a little too much. Maybe it had needed to happen. Whatever the case, she hadn’t regretted it.

What she’d always regretted was that she hadn’t told him then, and she still hadn’t told him now.

[joan-frias]

Blackmail

A Gohan x Videl Fanfiction

.

CITY HALL, SATAN CITY

Continuation of last chapter's last scene

VIDEL: Or, do you want me to tell him instead?

GREAT SAIYAMAN: No! Don't tell him.

VIDEL: (shocked) So, you really are Gohan!

GREAT SAIYAMAN: What?

VIDEL: I just thought to give it a shot... You blew it up yourself.

GREAT SAIYAMAN: You were just bluffing?

VIDEL: (nods) Uh-uh.

GREAT SAIYAMAN: But... how did you get the idea?

VIDEL: Because of your voice.

GREAT SAIYAMAN: I tried to change it a little.

VIDEL: Oh come on, Gohan! It's not that different.

GREAT SAIYAMAN: Oh... I guess you're right...

VIDE: And the way you fought with the zombies, back in the baseball field. I'm pretty sure you're not just the awkward guy you portray in school. You're someone else. Also, I remember these Saiyaman thing started when you also started going to our school... But, you're not really the Golden Fighter?

GREAT SAIYAMAN: I told you. It's not me.

VIDEL: Whatever... let's talk some more, but not here.

Videl goes out of the room.

GREAT SAIYAMAN: Oh man! What had just happened?

.

ORANGE STAR HIGH SCHOOL, SATAN CITY

ROOFTOP

The Great Saiyaman returns to Orange Star High School, and after landing at the rooftop he sees Videl who has been waiting for his arrival.

VIDEL: I figured this is where you land.

GREAT SAIYAMAN: Well... you figured that out... (nervous laugh)

VIDEL: It's okay. You can transform now. No one is here.

The Great Saiyaman transforms back.

GOHAN: Shouldn't we head back to the class first?

VIDEL: Let's talk first.

GOHAN: But the teacher might get mad at me-

VIDEL: I said let's talk first!

Gohan is startled. Videl looks at him angrily as she tries to impose her determination on him.

GOHAN: O-kay… Whatever you say.

VIDEL: So... why do you do this?

GOHAN: Well... it might sound funny, but it's fun to be a superhero.

VIDEL: You like 'fun' too much, huh?

GOHAN: Not... not really... (blushes)

VIDEL: I agree. Being a superhero is fun. But, why do you have to put on that costume?

GOHAN: I don't want anyone to know it was me. So I asked Bulma to make me this costume that I can use if I need to be a superhero.

VIDEL: Wait! Bulma as in Capsule Corporation?

GOHAN: Yes...

VIDEL: So that explains it!

GOHAN: What do you mean?

VIDEL: The blasts you used during the zombie fight! It's embedded on your costume. Gosh! It pays to have rich friends.

GOHAN: It was actually my father who is her friend.

VIDEL: Son Goku?

GOHAN: (shocked) How'd you know that?

VIDEL: I did some research... you are the son of Son Goku, right? The previous World Martial Arts Champion?

GOHAN: Yeah... I didn't know you were able to search that information.

VIDEL: It was in the World Martial Arts archive... But, what happened to your father? Why did he retire that early?

GOHAN: He's dead.

Videl was a little bit taken aback.

VIDEL: I'm sorry to hear that... but...

GOHAN: But?

VIDEL: It gave me an idea.

GOHAN: What idea?

VIDEL: Let's fight at the World Martial Arts Tournament. Surely, it would be a sight for the children of two world champions, the past and the present, to fight with each other.

GOHAN: Ah... I don't think I could do that.

VIDEL: If you don't then I will tell everyone that you are the Great Saiyaman.

GOHAN: No! Please don't do that!

VIDEL: Then, join in. You won't go home empty handed anyway. The winner will go home with ten million zenies. But of course, you won't be able to do that since for sure, my dad will be the winner again this year.

GOHAN: (to himself) And you're sure about that, eh?

VIDEL: Probably the best you can get is the third prize, which is three million zenies.

GOHAN: How about the second place?

VIDEL: It's five million zenies, but do you think I will allow you to win over me?

Gohan just grimaced.

VIDEL: So, are you gonna join, or you'll let me tell everyone you are the Great Saiyaman?

Gohan does not answer.

VIDEL: I'm going down now.

GOHAN: Wait!

VIDEL: Hmn?

GOHAN: Okay... I'll join the tournament with you.

VIDEL: Good! Oh, and by the way. How do you fly?

GOHAN: It's a technique that I learned since I was young.

VIDEL: It's not because of your costume?

GOHAN: No… Why did you ask?

VIDEL: You have to teach me how to fly.

GOHAN: Okay...

Videl turns around, ready to go back to the class.

GOHAN: Wait!

VIDEL: (turns back at him)What?

GOHAN: (embarrassed) Can you… help me make an excuse?

VIDEL: (smiles mischievously) Can't you just tell them you have a bad stomachache?

GOHAN: (grimaces) Do you have a less embarrassing reason?

Videl laughs at him. Gohan just looks at him, getting more embarrassed with each passing moment.

VIDEL: Okay… let's just tell them you were stuck at the restroom and you can't get out.

GOHAN: Oh I know! I got stuck because of the earthquake.

VIDEL: Earthquake? There was an earthquake?

GOHAN: (looks away) Ahm… a slight one… probably because the school building is kind of old.

VIDEL: Okay, then let's just say that you got scared of this 'slight earthquake' and you scrambled out of the room. Then you hid in the restroom and got stuck. Then, I heard you screaming and saved you, that is why you are with me.

GOHAN: Heh?

VIDEL: (laughs) Why? You don't want the others to know that you're not the goofy weakling you want to portray in school, right?

Still laughing, Videl turns his back on Gohan. This time, she goes ahead leaving Gohan at the rooftop.

GOHAN: I think the bad stomachache is better.

Gohan follows Videl.

.

EAST DISTRICT SKY

The Great Saiyaman recalls what happened earlier as he flies back home to Mount Paozu.

GREAT SAIYAMAN: What shall I do? What if Mom does not allow me to join the tournament? Should I make another disguise instead? Hmn... Maybe I'll ask Bulma about it.

He turns around and flies to West City instead.

.

CAPSULE CORPORATION, WEST CITY

Gohan goes to Capsule Corporation and meets up with Bulma. He is still wearing his Great Saiyaman suit, though his helmet is now off. Trunks is also around to join them.

BULMA: So you've been blackmailed.

GOHAN: I guess that's how you put it.

BULMA: This girl... she's so tenacious. I might even think she likes you for snooping around like that.

GOHAN: (blushes) I don't think that's the case...

BULMA: But what are you planning to do? Follow her order and join in the tournament?

GOHAN: I don't know... My mother might not approve of it.

TRUNKS: How about you become another superhero? You know, someone with a different costume.

GOHAN: I don't know. (to Bulma) What do you think?

BULMA: I don't know. Everyone already saw the Great Saiyaman. He has gained some following after what happened in the zombie incident. I'm not sure they will forget about him that easily.

GOHAN: Then I guess, I have to go join in, right?

Vegeta goes in and joins them.

VEGETA: Then I'll join too.

GOHAN: Huh?

VEGETA: This tournament you said, whatever it is. I'll join, too. Before, you've proven to be stronger than me. Now that I've trained hard and you slacked, it's time to test who is the better fighter.

TRUNKS: Yay! Dad and Gohan are going to fight!

GOKU: (voice over) Then I'll join, too!

GOHAN: Huh? Dad!

At King Kai's planet, Goku is standing behind King Kai, his hand on the kai's shoulder making him able to communicate with those on earth.

GOKU: Hi guys! It's been so long, hasn't it?

GOHAN: Dad, it's you! How have you been doing?

GOKU: I'm good!

GOHAN: So, is it true that you can join the tournament?

GOKU: Yes. Fortune teller Baba can make me come back. It's a reward for me for helping during the fiasco here in the check-in station.

VEGETA: Kakarot, you better not be fooling us around.

GOKU: I'm not, Vegeta. Expect me to be there.

TRUNKS: Uh... Who's that?

VEGETA: It's Gohan's father. We'll finally settle things between us.

BULMA: This is great! Gohan, I'm sure your mom will be happy to know that your father is coming back.

GOHAN: Yeah! I guess I have more chance to join now.

BULMA: But I remember, you can't join wearing that helmet. It's prohibited in the rules... Hmn... How about we do a little revision on your costume?

TRUNKS: Or maybe just eliminate everything?

BULMA: Oh, don't be silly! It's nice... Wait! I have an idea.

Bulma goes out of the room but comes back not soon enough.

BULMA : Here!

Bulma hands Gohan a white bandana and dark shades.

GOHAN: Alright! (puts on the bandana and shades) This is perfect, Bulma!

TRUNKS: (to himself) Now it's become worse.

BULMA: I think Krillin will be happy to know that Goku is coming back. He might as well want to join the tournament.

GOHAN: Oh, right! I will go tell him. Bye guys!

BULMA: See you at the tournament!

Gohan leaves.

.

KAME HOUSE, MASTER ROSHI'S ISLAND

Gohan flies to the Kame house to see Krillin.

During the last seven years, Krillin has let his hair grow, diverting from the bald monk image he always had before. Also, he's now married with Android 18 and they have a daughter named Marron. They live with Master Roshi since after the wedding.

KRILLIN: Really? Goku will come back for the tournament?

MASTER ROSHI: So Goku is coming back? It's been a while since we last saw him.

KRILLIN: Should I go, too?

GOHAN: Yeah! Why don't you join?

KRILLIN: But with Goku and you and Vegeta, I don't even stand a chance.

GOHAN: Oh, come on! There would be prizes for the top five.

ANROID 18: How much are the prizes?

GOHAN: I think it's 10 million zenies for the first, 5 million for the second, 3 for the third, then 2 and 1 for the fourth and fifth.

ANROID 18: Go for it, Krillin! I'll join, too.

KRILLIN: Should I?

MARRON: Yes, Papa! Beat them and win!

KRILLIN: Okay... Hey Gohan, don't tell Piccolo, okay?

GOHAN: Why did you say that?

KRILLIN: So that I'll have a better chance to be at the top 5.

GOHAN: I don't think that would be fair.

KRILLIN: By the way, what's with the costume?

GOHAN: Isn't it nice? (does his Great Saiyaman poses)

KRILLIN: I don't know...

GOHAN: I'll go now. See you at the tournament!

Gohan flies away.

.

LOOKOUT

Gohan informs Piccolo and the others about the tournament, and that Goku is coming back for the day.

PICCOLO: Then, I'll join, too.

GOHAN: Great! How about you, Dende?

DENDE: Oh, I'm not born as a fighter.

GOHAN: Okay, then. Train very well, Piccolo.

PICCOLO: You, too.

Gohan flies away.

.

EAST DISTRICT SKY

Gohan is flying as the sun is about to set in the western sky.

GOHAN: Who else should I go to? Hmn... I don't know where Tien is... Yamcha... I guess Bulma will just call him.

He decides to head back home.

GOHAN: I'm sure mom will be very happy to know that Dad is coming back. And Goten! He'll finally see dad for the first time. That will be awesome... But, will mom allow me to join the tournament? How would I convince her to let me join, too?

.

SON RESIDENCE, MOUNT PAOZU

Gohan's family is having dinner when he tell Chi-Chi that Goku is coming back for the tournament.

CHI-CHI: What! Your dad is coming back for a day? Did you hear that, Goten? Your dad is coming back! You'll finally meet him at last!

Goten stares at her mother unperturbed.

CHI-CHI: Oh my! Goku is coming back after seven years. Surely, he hasn't aged a bit. That's how it is in the afterlife, right? I sure look old compared to him... I need to go to the salon and have some treatment.

GOHAN: Uhm... Mom, can I enter the tournament as well?

CHI-CHI: Gohan, you have to go to school, remember?

GOHAN: But... the prize money is 10 million zenies...

CHI-CHI: Ten million zenies? Gohan, you have to join! Imagine how much money you and your dad can win. We could get any scholarship for you and Goten.

GOHAN: But, I'm not sure, Mom. I haven't trained for a while.

CHI-CHI: Then take a leave at school and train. This is more important. You can go back to school after.

Gohan is overjoyed.

CHI-CHI: Oh my! Goku is coming back and you two will win the first and second prize. After all these years, something great is happening in our lives again.

Later that night as Gohan and Goten are lying down on the bed, they talk about the upcoming tournament and Goku's one-day visit.

GOHAN: Goten, do you want to help me train tomorrow?

GOTEN: Sure!

GOHAN: Okay, so you have to wake up early.

GOTEN: I will... uh... Gohan...

GOHAN: Hmn?

GOTEN: Is Dad really coming home?

GOHAN: Yeah... you'll finally meet him.

GOTEN: I know...

GOHAN: Are you excited?

GOTEN: Yes...

GOHAN: I'm pretty sure he'll be surprised to meet you. I'm not sure he knows about you already.

GOTEN: Mom said I look a lot like him when he was young.

GOHAN: You know what? I do think you kind of look like him a lot. Your hair, especially.

GOTEN: Do you think... he'll like me?

GOHAN: Of course, he will! Dad will surely be overjoyed.

GOTEN: Is he really that strong?

GOHAN: He is... He is the strongest, but he knows how to appreciate stronger fighters. He's kind and he treats his opponent as his equal even though most of the times he's obviously stronger... I missed fighting with him...

Gohan looks at his brother who is soundly sleeping already. He smiles.

GOHAN: Goodnight, sleepy head.

He goes to sleep as well.

.

EAST DISTRICT , MOUNT PAOZU 

Gohan and Goten are up early to start Gohan's training for the World Martial Arts Tournament. They are both on their training gi – Gohan with his blue gi and Goten on his orange gi, which is similar to Goku's except for the blue long-sleeved undershirt he's wearing.

GOHAN: Okay. First, I'll turn into Super Saiyan.

Gohan focuses all his energy and turns into Super Saiyan. Then he does some shadow boxing to warm up. Goten is watching him on the sideline. Gohan stops after he feels like he's already warmed up.

GOHAN: I guess I'll start the real training now.

GOTEN: You mean you haven't started yet?

GOHAN: That was just for warm up. Now, can you help me?

GOTEN: Okay.

GOHAN: But first, help me pick up some stones.

The two brothers pick up stones and piled them together on the ground.

GOHAN: Now Goten, stand right here.

Gohan makes a mark on the ground beside the pile of rocks. Then he positions himself a few feet away from Goten.

GOHAN: Then throw the stones at me.

GOTEN: Are you sure?

GOHAN: Yes. Just throw it as hard as you can.

GOTEN: Okay.

Goten throws the rock as hard as he can. Gohan is surprised at how strong the throw is. He was almost caught off guard that he merely dodged the stone. It hit the rock formation behind him, and it exploded with the impact.

GOTEN: You dodged it! You're really good, Gohan!

GOHAN: (nervous laugh) A-hehe...

GOTEN: Next one!

GOHAN: Wait, Goten!

GOTEN: Huh?

Gohan moves a little farther from where he is standing, then draws a line just like where Goten is standing.

GOHAN: Throw it here next time.

GOTEN: Okay... but can we transfer the stones there, too?

GOHAN: Yes, of course.

Gohan and Goten transfer the stones.

GOHAN: (on his mind) Goten is strong! If I wasn't able to dodge that stone earlier I would have been finished!

The two brothers settled on their position. Gohan is now a few meters away from Goten.

GOTEN: Here I come!

Goten throws the stones one after the other. It was a fast pace he followed, and Gohan had a hard time at first. Along the way, he was able to follow the pace which was a great training for his reflexes.

GOHAN: Good job, Goten!

GOTEN: Can I also do what you do?

GOHAN: What do you mean?

GOTEN: Like that... (points at Gohan) Can I change into Super Saiyan, too?

GOHAN: Of course, you can. But you see, it takes a lot of time and training to be able to transform into-

Gohan is not able to finish his statement as Goten suddenly turns into Super Saiyan.

GOHAN: WHA-!

GOTEN: Now we're both Super Saiyan.

GOHAN: G-Goten... H-How... did you become... a Super Saiyan?

GOTEN: I don't know... I just turned like this when Mom and I are training together.

GOHAN: Mom? You're training together?

GOTEN: Yes. Once, we were training and then, I turned like this. She got mad and said I should not turn like this because it's bad.

GOHAN: (on his mind) So Mom has been training Goten for a while now? It seems like Dad's passing has changed her a lot.

GOTEN: Now I can throw the stones faster.

GOHAN: Ah, Goten. Do you want to spar? You know what's that, right?

GOTEN: Yes! Trunks and I do that sometimes when I go to their house to play.

GOHAN: You and Trunks? Wait... can Trunks also turn into Super Saiyan?

GOTEN: (nods) Uh-uh...

GOHAN: (on his mind) Wow! To think that it took years for me and Dad to turn into the legendary Super Saiyan... If I don't train hard then these kids will easily surpass me.

He looks at Goten with awe. The younger Saiyan just looks at him, waiting for his next instruction.

GOHAN: Come on, Goten! Let's spar!

The two of them started sparring.

.

ORANGE STAR HIGH SCHOOL, SATAN CITY

CLASSROOM

Videl's class is already ongoing when she noticed that Gohan is still not around.

VIDEL: Gohan seems to be very late today.

ERASA: Maybe he's not going to school.

SHARPNER: Maybe he's sick or something.

But Videl has other ideas.

VIDEL: (to the teacher) Ma'am, is Gohan not going to school today?

TEACHER: Oh yes! Gohan asked for a leave from school starting today.

VIDEL: May we know the reason?

TEACHER: He said he's taking care of some important matters.

ERASA: Oh… So Gohan will be out for a while? That is so sad...

VIDEL: (on her mind) That goof! Did he think he can escape from me just like that? Well, you're wrong, Mister! I'm going to get to you no matter what!

.

REGISTRAR'S OFFICE

Videl goes to the school registrar to ask for Gohan's address.

VIDEL: Hi Ma'am... Well, I was wondering if you can help me.

REGISTRAR: What is it?

VIDEL: You see, my classmate Gohan, we have a school project together. But he suddenly went on leave from school. Now I need to get to him to get our project, but I don't know his address. Can you give me his exact address so that I could go to their house?

REGISTRAR: Sure. Wait here. I'll look at his records.

After a while the registrar gave the address to Videl.

VIDEL: Thank you so much, Ma'am.

REGISTRAR: You're welcome, Ms. Videl... oh, can you say hi to your father for me? I'm a big fan.

VIDEL: He-he... okay, sure.

.

EAST DISTRICT , MOUNT PAOZU

Gohan and Goten are still sparring while on Super Saiyan mode. Goten proves to be strong enough to be a challenge to Gohan. At one point, Goten seems to be overpowering him. There's no other move left for Gohan but to fly.

GOTEN: Hey! That's not fair!

GOHAN: Huh?

GOTEN: You can't fly!

GOHAN: But... Wait a minute. Don't tell me you can't fly?

GOTEN: I can't. So don't do it. It's not fair.

Gohan goes down.

GOHAN: But... how can you not fly? You already turned into Super Saiyan.

GOTEN: Is that bad?

GOHAN: Not really, just unusual. It's like you learned how to run before you learned how to crawl... Okay. I guess I need to teach you how to fly.

A hellijet suddenly arrives in the vicinity.

GOTEN: Who is that?

GOHAN: I don't know...

GOTEN: That's not Grandpa's.

Gohan suddenly remembers something.

GOHAN: Oh no!

GOTEN: What is the matter?

GOHAN: Goten, one of my classmates ask me to teach her how to fly. I guess I'll have to teach you together.

GOTEN: Oh... okay.

GOHAN: But... you can't show her how strong you really are. Especially, you can't turn Super Saiyan when she's around.

GOTEN: But why? Because it's bad?

GOHAN: Let's just say she's not used to that thing.

Gohan transforms back to his usual form. Goten follows suit.

GOHAN: Let's go meet her.

At the Son Residence, Videl knocks on the door. Chi-Chi answers and talks to her.

VIDEL: I'm looking for Gohan. Is this his house?

CHI-CHI: It depends on what your intentions are.

VIDEL: What?

CHI-CHI: Look, Miss. You seem to be a decent girl and not just someone who goes around following boys. So I don't know what you're doing here looking for my son who is obviously very busy.

VIDEL: Are you thinking I'm after your son?

CHI-CHI: Well, then why are you here?

VIDEL: That's... that's not how it is!

CHI-CHI: Oh really? You're not here to date my son?

VIDEL: (blushing) NO I DON'T WANNA DATE YOUR SON!

CHI-CHI: You impolite chick! How dare you talk to an older woman like that!

Gohan and Goten arrive.

GOHAN: Videl!

CHI-CHI: You know this girl, Gohan?

GOHAN: Yes, Mom. She's my classmate. She's the one who told me about the World Martial Arts Tournament.

CHI-CHI: Oh, I thought she's here to ask you out on a date.

VIDEL: I TOLD YOU THAT'S NOT HAPPENING!

Gohan grimaced.

GOHAN: So Videl... how did you find my address?

VIDEL: I asked the school registrar... kind of a long story... I found out you're taking a leave from school. You told me you'll teach me how to fly.

GOHAN: Yeah... I will teach you with my brother.

Videl looks at Goten.

GOTEN: Hi! I'm Goten.

VIDEL: Hello! I'm Videl.

GOHAN: So, is it okay for you to skip school?

VIDEL: Don't fuss over my studies, Gohan! Let's just go and teach me how to fly.

GOHAN: O-kay... I'm just asking. Let's go to where we were training earlier.

Videl nods.

GOHAN: We'll go ahead, Mom!

CHI-CHI: Okay! Lunch will be ready in a bit.

The three leave for training.

CHI-CHI: Gosh! That girl has some attitude. I hope she doesn't give my son a hard time... And do I have to cook lunch for her? Oh, whatever!

Chi-Chi goes back inside their house.

.

https://joan-frias.tumblr.com/AWonderfulKindOfDifferent

[j-wonwootrash]

Joshua || It’s the Same Pt.2

Word count: 3.3k Genre: Prince!au, Romance, Slice of Life, Fluff, Drama, Classical!au A/N: Recently I watched Princess and the Frog and I got so inspired, so I decided to share this series with you. It’s a lil’ different but I hope you like it. Enjoy! 2nd part of the series.

“I was stating the fact.” ———

You felt Joshua’s grip tightened on the basket. You probably thought he’s just tired and hurrying to reach the castle. Without a response from the man in front of you, you decided to cut the silence. 

“Is something the matter, Prince Joshua?” You asked with concern. “If there are some more pastries you would like to have, I am honored to-” 

He gently touched your wrist with his hand, one carrying the basket. “It is a-alright. This basket is enough for the 4 of us.” He let out a heavy sigh before speaking again. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He forced a smile.

Ah so princes do have this side of them? I thought they were all brats and cocky. Fairytales. 

You thought to yourself maybe he’s different. Maybe the books you’ve read as a child were not you think they were.

“Miss Y/N, I must take leave my leave. Goodnight.” He nodded with his aides and you responded with a bow. 

“Hey y/n! Why did you give the pastries that was supposed to be served tomorrow?” Yerin whined as she lightly slapped your shoulders. 

You never moved from the doorstep since the prince left. How is it easy to resist the charm of the prince? Gentleman smile, sparkling eyes that shone like stars and heck, his pearly whites. All his perfections sent you to wonderland. 

Yerin hit you with more pressure this time, and the pain shattered your 5-second dream world in an instant. “Ow.”

“Earth to Y/N? Gosh. Being all dreamy aren’t we?” She scoffed.

“Hm? They were for tomorrow?” You tried to sort things in your mind. Has the prince cast a spell on you that made you forget restaurant for a few seconds? 

“Huh? Ah we still have extras.” You washed your hands and wiped them with a towel.

“Those.. were the ones, y/n. The one you gave to His Highness.” Umji scratched her neck, trying not to whine like Yerin.

“No, I’m pretty sure I brought the extras from home. It’s in a basket.” Literally, your home is the restaurant itself, just two floors above you.

Yerin and Umji looked at each other and sighed at your response. “You gave the basket to His Highness.”

Upon realizing this, you try not to give any reactions. Crap, I should’ve brought one more basket. “Ah well, look who’s joining me for an all-nighter.” you joked as you pulled the girls’ arms upstairs.

“Y/N!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Joshua fiddled his papers that were stacked on the side of his desk. He lifted his pen and started to write reports from all over the country. Each and every time he blinked, images of the girl enters his mind. It’s been 2 weeks, Josh.

Taking a sip from his tea, he took a deep breath, later looking at the rose gold necklace displayed in a frame. He didn’t know why he still thinks of her. She’s just a girl he met in a restaurant downtown. He ruffled his hair as he grunted, throwing his papers to the floor.

Seungcheol, Wonwoo and Jun were walking in the corridor where the prince’s room resides. They were teasing each other when they heard him, as well as flickers of papers. “Aghhh!” Joshua again grunted. The boys quickly rushed to the room. “Your Highness??”

“This’ll take a long time to sort out.” Wonwoo bent down to collect the papers that are scattered every where in the room.

Joshua had his head in his palms, breathing a bit heavily. Seungcheol ran to his side with much concern, rubbing his shoulders. “What is the matter, Josh?”

“I.. I don’t know.” Joshua whispered, only to be hit by Seungcheol on the nape of his neck.

“Stupid. Stop whining like it’s a big deal when there’s not even a reason to it anyway.” He hit Joshua again before helping Wonwoo with the papers.

Jun went to the prince’s side and gave a smirk to him. “There’s got to be a reason for it, Your Highness. Everything has a reason to happen.”

The prince lifted his head, fixing his desk. “I’m not even sure if the reason is reasonable.”

“Nonsense. C’mon, tell me.” Jun sat on the desk with his arm folded.

“It’s her.”

Jun chuckled as he heard the prince. “Her? The girl from the restaurant?”

“How’d you know the girl is her?”

“Because she’s only the girl you met of your age.” Jun got off the desk, walking around it as if he were to give a lecture.

He lifted a finger in the air. “Correction, the girl you had your eyes on. You see, us boys, when we have someone we like, we’re like predators eyeing on their prey. We’d follow their every step and-”

“Jun, please make your elaboration short before I ignore your babbling.” Joshua stood up and wore his coat.

“What I’m saying is..” Jun gestured the prince to lean closer, by which the prince did as he was told. “You’re lovesick.”

“Eyy. His Highness is in love.” Seungcheol teased, placing the papers on the desk. “Who’s the lady?”

“The girl from the restaurant downtown.” Jun smirked. “She’s so pretty he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Better take her before I steal her away from you.”

“She’s not mine so don’t make up stories.” Joshua rolled his eyes.

“Not yet.” Jun laughed.

“Shut it Wen.”

Wonwoo tapped the prince on the shoulder. “Your Highness. There’s a letter from Sir Hwijae.”

Joshua took the letter and unrolled it.

Prince Joshua, it is the time of the year again. Please schedule the event mentioned below and provide its details and preparations. We look forward to your efforts and hard work. His Majesty and the Queen will be present for the event. Ensure everything will be ready a day prior.

Joshua sighed, slumping back to his seat frowning. “The event is sooner than I thought. Usually it’s a month notice but this is absurd.” 

Wonwoo raised his eyebrows, anticipating the next word the prince may say. “When is the event, Your Highness?” 

The prince stood up again and smiled like he always do. “It’s next week.” He looked at his aides in front, grinning as if he were to plan something the boys could never back out. 

Seungcheol and Jun avoided his gaze, looking elsewhere in the room. Wonwoo remained stoic and emotionless as usual. “Your Highness. What are you thinking right now?” 

“I’ll be needing your help big time.” Joshua smiled.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“The breeze is more chilly than yesterday.” Yerin stood by the balcony of your bedroom. 

“You say that each time you come here.” You flicked your pen 360° several times as you update the restaurant’s finances. “And that is every day.”

“I wish my room is as cute as yours.” Umji twirled. “It’s so cute and very pastel.”

“Ah well, when you find cute stuff you gotta get them before they sold out.” You closed the book and handed two envelops to the girls. “Your salary came in early.” You winked at them. 

You were never good at math but holding a restaurant requires you to, and you had no choice. “By the way, Mr. Lee told us to open the shop 30 minutes before usual opening hour.”

“Why? Is there something going on?” Yerin entered the room as she closed the balcony glass door. 

“Not sure. We can ask him.” You fixed your bed and checked the clock on your desk. “Shucks, we better go down.”

The girls followed you from behind and went down the stairs. Once you reached cafe, immediately you wear the apron hanged on the sides of the counter.

Today seems different. Everyone’s hyped up this morning.

“Ah yes, they’re here.” Mr. Lee gestured you and the girls in front of counter. “Girls. Great news!” You looked at everyone, whose smiles are more visible and cheerful than any other day. 

“Will we get a week’s off??” Yerin butted in, only to be nudged by Umji. 

“Actually, you’ll get 2 months off.” Mr. Lee smiled. 

“Yes! Finally! I needed a break after five months!” Yerin flung her arms up high.

You weren’t really catching up. Mr. Lee’s sudden call, the staff’s hyped behavior, day offs, plus it’s two months? “Hold up, what’s going on? Something’s weird.”

“It’s not weird when we get to have two months off! C’mon y/n, we need this.”

“I know we do but I have to know why.” You walked pass the staff and called Mr. Lee. “Uncle, what are you doing? Two months off? We’re in the middle of spring season and you know we have a lot of customers during this time.” you hissed.

“Ah y/n.” he chuckled. “I signed your names down for an annual assessment for potential chefs who wants to continue pursuing culinary arts.” 

“Continue culinary arts? Haven’t I achieved that already, Uncle?” Raising your voice a little when the girls heard you.

“You may have succeeded in establishing a restaurant, but have you ever thought of expanding your horizon?” he smiled, offering you and girls to sit down. “The event is organized by the Royal Palace. Assessment will have rounds, though I’m not quite sure how many there will be. Anyone can join. So I decided to sign y'all up.“

“Without our consent?” you blurted out to your Uncle.

“Well it’s not really a problem for me and Umji so-” Yerin started.

“Without my consent??” you got up. “Uncle, the restaurant needs me.”

Not even a minute Yerin and Umji saw their bags already brought out by staff and ready to go. They pulled you out of the restaurant with giggles. “C'mon y/n!“ 

With so much in mind and trying to sort everything that had just happened, how late have you realized you’re in the carriage, leaving.

"Absolutely understand your worries but you’re still young and still learning! Have fun and enjoy youth! Leave the responsibility to me and trust your ol’ Uncle!” He shouted, laughed, waving at you.

You heard his voice and troubles started to haunt you, making your stomach churn that you couldn’t even handle the stress inflammation. Management, customers, sales, finance sorting, all those responsibilities are out of your hands for two months. What’s more the restaurant is out of your sight for two months.

“Two months." you mumbled as you sat down. The girls stared at each other before they decided to say something. But they were too late.

"Two! That’s two months I tell ya! 61 days, 1464 hours.. and, w-what if I don’t make enough money? What if I can’t give the staff their salary and they start resigning? Then there won’t be produce and sales and customers. The restaurant will probably be in debt and I won’t be able to pay it and end up homeless and and..”

“Sheesh calm down momma’. We’re just trying something new and here you are with so much worries.” Yerin threw a coin pouch at you.

“It’s the restaurant we’re talking about.” You shot back.

“Restaurant, money, customers blah blah. That’s all you think of. Could you like stop being like a matured middle-aged adult and start living like a normal adolescent woman? Can’t you just be like us for once?" 

"Expect me to be like you? I’ve got a restaurant to handle! I have no time to spend on something I don’t want to be!” you raised your tone, feeling your lungs grasping for air. 

“But we’re not in the restaurant now!” Yerin wiggled your shoulders. Her eyes so close to tearing up. Opposite you there sat Umji who has her hands up her face. You felt the atmosphere heavily changed after you yelled. “We.. we just want you to have fun with us y/n.” Yerin mumbled. 

Guilt heated your body from head to toe. Out of anger and worry, you threw your energy to the two girls who had nothing to do with your problems. You thought you acted like child. 

“I’m so sorry guys. I’m an empty pale.” You started, fiddling with your fingers. They looked at you as if you had more to say.

“What do you mean?” Umji asked. 

You chuckled, “It’s noisy when dropped, isn’t it? I complained and panicked without thinking straight."

Definitely like a child, you thought. Obviously you didn’t mean it. Yet when stress attacks you, you were gone gone. Never once you thought of giving time to yourself, let alone for Yerin and Umji. You were a busy person after all. You had no idea why you behaved like a child just now. They were right, you try so hard to grow up fast that you lose track of your age.

“And you both are pales filled with water.” You sighed.

Umji looked at Yerin. “I don’t understand her.”

“It means we are quiet and wise.” She whispered.

You looked out the carriage window, feeling the winds of cool morning air. Enjoy youth huh.. 

It takes at least a day to reach the palace. You wonder how this little adventure of yours will start, or how it’ll end. It’s an assessment by the Royal Palace, definitely there will be young people from all over the country joining this. Probably people who are even better than you.

Royal Palace..

You flinched as you remembered a memory that made your heart tingle. “We’re heading to the Palace aren’t we?”

“Oh look who’s back from the grave, you’ve been awfully silent.” Yerin rolled her eyes.

“It’s only been 5 minutes.” You threw her coin pouch. 

“Yeah, 5 minutes for you to realize your childish behavior,” Yerin scoffed. “We are heading to the Palace in case you didn’t hear your Uncle.”

You smiled so wide that you searched your bag for your diary. “I’ll probably see him again.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“We are pleased to announce the next heir to the throne will be hosting the assessment. His Majesty, Her Majesty, and His Highness himself will be the judges for your talents and skills for creative culinary arts.” Sir Hwijae stated. 

In the audience you and the girls stood in the heat, glancing up to the royal family and aides as you listened to the next part of the speech.

“Please do keep in mind that you all are in the grounds of the Palace, and that your performance and behavior will be closely monitored. The Palace will have two courtyards of dorms, where males and females are separated. In those dorms you will be again separated into groups of your age. The Royal guards will now escort you to your respective rooms. We will make further announcement of the assessment.”

The introduction ended fast and all participants were taken to their rooms. “Do you think she’s here?” Jun whispered, fixing his headband.

“Didn’t see her, even if there are only 100 people.” Seungcheol put down his mini binoculars.

“A hundred people.. She could probably be here.” Wonwoo looked up from his book. “It’s not that many.”

“Stop it guys. You make this seem like I’m so desperate to find her.” Joshua stood up from his throne. 

“But you are, aren’t you?” Seungcheol chuckled. He nudged Jun to join forces with him so to tease the Prince. “We clearly all know you like her. Oh what’s her name?” The boys giggled as they stood up and ran quickly to the room to get away from the prince.

Joshua couldn’t take all the pressure and teasing put against him. He himself is confused with this new feeling he has been dealing with since he laid his eyes on the girl he met downtown. 

“If you say you don’t like her, why are you reacting so much? Only people with hearted-eyes will react that way.” Jun laughed.

“No, I would be reacting because I’m sick of your false assumptions!” Joshua hit the guy.

“You know I happen to know some people who has the list of names of participants.” Wonwoo blurted out, making the prince turn to the boy with spectacles. 

“You do??” Joshua asked, Wonwoo raised his brows. The prince coughed. “I- I mean.. Not you too! I thought you’re with me on this one.”

“I didn’t say I was taking sides. I was stating the fact.”

“What fact?” Joshua took the boy’s book.

“The fact you even forgot her name.”

Joshua stood still, flabbergasted. “Uh..” He gulped. I'm a busy person so I tend to forgets things. He excused. “I- I may have forgotten her name but not her beauty.” He shot back without thinking.

“Jackpot.” Jun smirked. “Honesty is the best! A man never forgets a woman’s beauty.” He ran around happily around the room.

“Y’all set me up. Get out my room before I even pull out my sword and kill you all.” Joshua raised his tone. 

“You’ll be thanking us soon enough, Your Highness!” Seungcheol yelled as they left the room. Joshua closed the door behind him and flopped to his bed. He wiped his face and felt his cheeks rushed with heat. Standing up from his bed, he went to the reflective glass so big it could picture his entire room. 

He knew it was a tease and it did not bother him too much, maybe a little, who knows? He tugged his outfit from the creases the boys did earlier. From the mirror he saw a scrolled paper tied with a paper attached. Joshua tilted his head as untied the string.

━━━ Thought you might be needing this, Your Highness. In case you forgot, I’m the person who has the list of names of participants. I separated the females’ names. Good luck finding her Josh. 

~ Wonwoo  ━━━

The prince scoffed in amusement. A lot thoughts entered his mind. Was he too transparent that his aides could see his feelings? Or do the boys really have so much experience of love that they throw every possible sign Joshua innocently act? He knew his heart was right. He’s not ready to court a girl. Not until he understands the needs of his people.

He looked at the list of names, hoping he’d find yours. Each time he try a faded cloud just appears in his eyes. He continued his work and reviewing the schedule for tomorrow’s assessment. Even during work he’d remember your beauty. He knew he’ll just have to wait until you appear before his eyes.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You stood at the grand hall of the palace. All emotions you could think of entered your body. Sweat have built up your palms, the nape of your neck, the temples. You’ve never been this scared for something you completely love to do. A second you received a letter.The honey voice you’ve heard long ago rings to your ears. You thought you’d never hear him again. 

“The letter in your hands is what you will be doing for the next 2 months. I know this sounds crazy, being in the Palace for that long. But don’t you worry. You’re all in good hands.” Joshua read the script as he touched the mic. “The practice round will be at noon. It’s a qualification for the 3 rounds. I encourage you all to do your best.”

The grand hall quickly emptied. You went to your room and unfolded the letter.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Read the following to have an idea of the assessment.

There will be a total of 3 rounds, (excluding the practice round).

Appetizer Main course Dessert Please think carefully what you will showcase to us. There will be elimination rounds, however, the name of participants will not be disclosed until the day of the finals’ results. Please do keep in mind that it is prohibited to use dishes from the Royal Kitchen. When discovered the dishes are of exact or similarity to the Royal Kitchen, you will be forced to withdraw from the assessment. I look forward to your performance.  ~Prince Joshua ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━     

Immediately your heart beat so fast you felt like it wants to come out. Seeing his name makes you want to see him again, although you have seen him earlier. Yet seeing him was already enough to brighten up your day. He’ll be the source of your encouragement. You sat by the window of your room, scribbling ideas and possible dishes the Royal Palace has yet to taste. Here you’ll find chance. Here you’ll find learning. Here you’ll experience anew.

Here you know you will have fun and enjoy youth. 

━━━

i.t.s masterlist

>> new beginnings, new encounters and new discoveries in a completely new world. you were suddenly signed up for a cuisine assessment for the royal family of the country. how will you do?

< prev. || part two || next >

[mousedetective]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Rose Hathaway & James T. Kirk Characters: Rose Hathaway, James T. Kirk Additional Tags: Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Pre-Relationship, Water, Water Fight, Washing Dishes, Conversations, Rose Thinking, Laughter, Victorious Rose, injured kirk, Dinner Series: Part 2 of The Start Of Improbable Legends Summary:

Things take a different turn on one of their routine "dinner and a movie" nights when Rose wants the last of Jim's pudding and he decides to fight her for it in a rather messy way.

And this fic was written for @posterofamyth part as cheer-up fic, part to feed her ever growing Kirkrose lust, and partly because Rose is having dreams of this time in one of the RP games so I figured I’d offer up more fodder. There may be more fics from this era in this series this month so sorry if I spam.

She had grown to really like going up to his apartment for dinner. Never in the elevator, of course; that thing was a deathtrap and everyone who lived in building three knew it. How the newest building in the complex could have the shittiest elevator she’d never know, but it didn’t matter because nothing on the face of the earth could get her to go in it. No way whatsoever. Not even the promise of a good make-out session, good booze, and the softest leather jacket and matching leather pants with strategic places to hold knives.

No. That elevator was a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Good thing Jim Kirk was loaded.

She’d never really asked him about it. She'd heard vague rumors that prior to the big apocalypse he was a bouncer at Jo’s bar, then he went away for a few months and came back richer than Midas. So he didn’t get it the same way most people did through wishes. However he got it, he earned it. Had to give him props for that. But she wondered just how you became a multimillionaire – sorry, billionaire – in three months without selling your soul. Because she knew if there was one thing Jim would never do, it’d be to make a bargain that stupid. He’d met Lucifer up close and personal. He was on speaking terms with Crowley at one point, she’d heard.

He knew better.

“So how’d you make all that money?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink. It wasn’t anything alcoholic, but she knew he had a good bar and a mean way with making decent mixed drinks without alcohol. This was something not too fruity, but kind of sour but still a little sweet. He said back home, it would taste a little different, but it would be mixed with Romulan brandy. She kind of wished she could try that. “Don’t tell me you did high-end Italian porn or something.”

He choked on his beer as he tried not to laugh. “Is that seriously what people think these days? I told people what I did. I never hid it,” he said, shaking his head as he got up to take his empty bottle and his plate to the kitchen. They never bothered to eat at the table. They always ate in front of the TV, usually with one of the cheesy movies Jim liked so much playing on the screen. She would laugh at his collection, which ranged from action movies to Disney films to silent movies from the 20s and 30s to foreign films in languages she was honestly surprised he knew to comedies that were right up her alley, but he always managed to get her attention fixated more on the endless amount of trivia he knew more than the movies itself. One day she was going to make him play Trivial Pursuit with her and kick serious ass against everyone.

“So what did you do?” she asked, picking up her own plate and following him into the kitchen.

“Corporate spy,” he said with a slight shrug. “It’s part of the reason I’m a brunette now. Looked more like my facetwin that way, less like me.” He set his plate in the sink. “I was told I was more debonair as a brunette.”

“I don’t know,” she said, tilting her head slightly and pursing her lips together. “You’d look kind of hot as a blonde. I mean, not totally my type, but still cute.”

He shook his head, giving her a mock-pained look. “Cute. I am wounded, Hathaway.”

“I said as a blonde you’d be cute. You’re pretty sexy like this.” She gave him a flirtatious look, mostly teasing. Sometimes she wasn’t. Not often. They were good friends and she didn’t want to screw it up like everything else seemed to get screwed up. Jim understood her, sometimes better than Lissa did, and Lissa had shared head space with her. He just...got her, she guessed.

“Alright,” he said, shaking his head and turning on the water, adding soap to the side of the sink closest to her so the dishes used to cook the meal could soak a bit. No matter how many times she told him that he’d gotten really really good dishwashers for the building, he still insisted on washing everything by hand. She kind of wondered about that but never asked. There was a lot she wondered about Jim but she figured she had time to find out. She didn’t open up to everyone full on anyway herself. He was patient with her; she could be patient with him. “Enough flirting. Time to clean.”

“Now wait. I kicked your ass sparring. I think I should help myself to some of that really good chocolate pudding you always have when I come over and you should do the dishes,” she said, tilting her head and giving him a look.

“Yeah, but I only have enough pudding left for one of us and I had my ass kicked plus I had a meeting with the mayor’s assistant about funding for the Center because Rose had class and he was an ass because he couldn’t hit on Rose,” Kirk said, reaching for the spray hose by the faucet so he could rinse off the plates. “And I got hit in the balls with a soccer ball. So I deserve the pudding.”

“You’re James Tiberius Kirk,” she said, scoffing slightly. “You’re supposed to have balls of steel.”

“Tell that to a ten-year-old girl kicking a ball with all the fury of every woman who has ever been wronged in all of existence,” he said. “From five feet away.”

Rose howled with laughter. “You got kicked in the junk with a ball kicked by a ten-year-old girl? And you’re bitching about it to get the pudding?” Her laughter stopped suddenly when she got a face full of water. Sputtering, she wiped the water from her eyes to see Jim standing there, water hose in hand, grinning at her. “Bastard.”

“Who’s bitching now?” he said. She reached over for the small pot that was in the sink full of soapy water, lifted it out, making sure there was water in it, and tossed it in Jim’s direction. He tried to move out of the way but most of it landed on his pants leg. “This means war.”

Soon he was shooting the water hose at her and she kept taking potfuls of soapy water and slinging it in his general direction, and as the floor became wetter and wetter they bean slipping and sliding until Jim’s legs slipped out from under him and he reached for Rose’s waist, pulling her down with him as he landed butt first on the tile with her on his stomach. She was almost completely soaked, and there happened to be a large dry patch on his shirt and she just so happened to have some water left in the pot she was still holding. She poured it on the dry patch and then smirked down at him. “Victory is mine,” she said triumphantly.

“I think I hit my head,” he said, sitting up slightly and rubbing the back of his head.

The smirk disappeared as concern took over. She edged more towards his legs as he sat up and then pulled at him so he was bent over at the waist, examining the back of his head. “Well, you didn’t crack it open like an egg, so no need for stitches,” she said. She thought for a moment, then quickly pressed a kiss to where she guessed his head had impacted the floor. “Do you have ice cream?”

“Triple chocolate,” he said.

“You get the pudding and an ice pack, I’ll eat you out of your supply of ice cream, and as soon as you find me something dry that kind of fits we’ll curl up and watch a movie while my clothes dry, okay? The kitchen can just stay a mess tonight.” He nodded slowly and gave her a grin before she carefully bounced off his legs. She forget that roughhousing with her usually led to injuries. But that made it more fun sometimes, too.

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