#gonna go back n tag any previous posts that have my turtles

[turtle-trash]

Woe mondomikey be upon ye. 2012 and my own version of them + my mondo design and Mikey’s brothers

[laws-hat-headcanons]

10 + 10

I realised after I had posted this that I did it on a reblog that was already pretty long... so I have now done a separate post to try and make it smaller! Sorry! 

I was tagged twice to do this and was writing out my answers when Coop tagged me AGAIN!! So I am sorry to all of you, this is long and you're going to learn more about me than you probably wanted to!!

Answer 10 questions then add 10 of your own: 

@lucynnamonroll thank you for the first Tag flower!

1. A dream that you still remember?

I dreamt once that someone was chasing me and my dog and they bit me, took a big chunk out of my arm. And then my dog gave me this big blue fruit and my arm grew back. My dreams are always very strange.

2. What job did you want to do when you were younger?

I wanted to be a vet but I am way too emotional around poorly animals and also not smart enough to learn how to treat them haha!

3. And now? Did it has changed?

Yeah, I don't think I was ever cut out to be a vet. I'd like to work with animals though, maybe kennels or something? Zoo Keeper would be cool.

4. A favorite game?

I'm gonna take this as video game... There are a lot. I love Mass Effect and Dragon age, Gears of War... but Horizon Zero Dawn was amazing. I loved every single thing about it. Beautiful game, great story – just.. chefs kiss

5. Where did you have traveled? (Either it’s in your country or not)

I've been a few places- France, Spain, Somewhere else hot but I can't recall where... Ireland, Scotland. I was supposed to have gone to Bulgaria at the beginning of May but Coronavirus done fucked me over.

6. Did you have a totem animal/a favorite animal?

Ever since I was about 6 wolves have been my favourite animals. I originally started drawing so I could create a wolf fursona …. siiigghhh

7. Did you/Do you have a teddy bear to help you to sleep? How it was looking?

Yes, a little dog called Custard. He is a beige colour with brown ears but is still in pretty good condition. He sits on my desk chair when I'm not using it.

8. THE animated (or not) serie of your childhood/teenage years?

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES – heroes in a half shell, turtle power!! I was also hella into Dragon Ball Z on Toonami when I was a kid. I remember we went to see some family up north and they didn't have Toonami and I cried because it was mid way through the Buu arc and I was gonna miss it.

9. Do you have anime/series/movie/whatever things merch?

I have a few bits. A Hatake Kakashi figure, one for Katakuri and Zoro. A heart Pirates hoodie. I think I have Kid's wanted poster somewhere...

10. How was your day?

Oh. It was a day. I slept through most of it. My energy/motivation levels are pretty low at the moment. But it was sunny, so that was nice.

@luffytarhoe thank you for my second tag!! 💙

1- What’s your favorite show/anime of the moment ?

I don't watch a huge amount of anime despite the focus of this blog. So probably One piece on that front. Otherwise I am watching Outlander atm, which is pretty good but there is sooooo much sex. An ungodly amount of sex.

2- What type of music are you into?

My music tastes are quite varied. I like stuff that you can listen to and put into a situation, so usually sad stuff where I can imagine I am the main character weeping over the bodies of my fallen comrades. Also Goo Goo Dolls!

3- If you could have one superpower , what would it be ?

Probability, or luck. Like Domino in Deadpool. That's always been such a cool concept to me.

4- What’s your favorite color ?

Blue and all it's hues. Maybe teal if I had to get specific.

5- Do you prefer animated or live action shows/series ?

I am happy with both. Though some animated shows should stay animated – looking at you ATLA...

6- Do you believe in ghosts ?

I believe that energy never disappears, only changes forms and I don't think that's any different for whatever happens to people energy once we die. I'm a big wimp though so it's easier for me not to believe in them!

7- Do you speak any foreign language(s) ? if yes which ones ?

No, sadly I never had a talent for languages. I'd love to speak Gaelic though.

8- Your n°1 fictional character ?

Probably Stone from the Raksura book series. He's just a fun grumpy old shapeshifting man.

9- Would you say you’re more of an extrovert or an introvert?

Definitely an introvert. I like me time. And all my hobbies are single person hobbies so that doesn't help haha.

10- What was the best vacation you ever took and why?

I haven't been on holiday in over 10 years but we went to a zoo in Spain once and a Monkey sat on my head. That was pretty rad.

@doctorgerth and finally, thank you for my 3rd tag!!

1. What are your zodiac signs (sun, moon, rising, if you know them) and do you think they fit you pretty well?

I am an Aries and that is pretty much the extent of my knowledge on the subject. Aries are meant to be pretty hot headed and outgoing and I can only really claim to be one of those thing and only when I need to be. So no, I'm not sure it fits me.

2. What is your favorite clothing item and/or accessory?

I don't reallllly care a lot about clothes and or stuff. So I guess either my glasses because I need them to see long distances (and to drive) or my phone if that counts as an accessory because that has all my crap on it.

3. Any future children or pet names?

Noooooooooooooo and no

4. If you could meet anyone (can be past, present, future, real, or fictional) who would it be?

I would have liked to have met Steve Irwin I think. He seemed pretty chill and I grew up watching Crocodile Hunter on TV so he was a big hero of mine for a long time. Also the Rock or Jason Mamoa because of reasons....

5. Brag on yourself! What’s something you love about yourself?

I am passably amusing and guess I write okay too haha

6. What is a movie or show that you could rewatch a million times and never get tired of?

The film Evolution is endlessly funny to me and it makes me laugh every time I watch it. I used to have it on VHS and I kept a video player in the house to watch it until my cousin got it for me on DVD (Yes I am old.)

7. What is your favorite album of all time?

I haven't listened to it in a long time but I really loved Maroon 5 – Songs about Jane.

8. Do you believe in ghosts and/or aliens? If you have stories to back up, plz share.

I want to belllieeveeeeee! Ghosts, yes, hesitantly but I think I answered that in a previous one. Aliens 100% because I refuse to believe that we are the only sentient life the universe. It's just... statistically impossible.

9. What do you do/who do you look to for inspiration?

I guess human being wise my mum is my inspiration for a lot of things? She's just a lovely person and she's very kind and sweet. I am very aware that we are not much alike, but I look to her as the sort of example of a good person. Creativity wise it's just a clusterfuck of books and badly organised pinterest boards.

10. What is your happiest memory?

Practically anything that has my nephews in it I guess. They're just... hilariously weird little dudes and I love them so much. They always make me laugh.

And here are my questions!!

1. What is your favourite book?

2. What is you most loved item and why?

3. If you got the chance to travel to another planet (knowing you would never see your friends or family again) would you do it?

4. One song that makes you cry?

5. Do you believe in supernatural stuff? Ghosts and Monsters and Fairies? Any experiences with it?

6. What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever witnessed or had happen to you?

7. What one thing would you buy if you had the money?

8. What is your worst habit/personality trait?

9. If you could alter your body with one cool feature, what would it be? (camera eyes, monkey tail, etc)

10. Do you have the patience to play a full game of Monopoly with no breaks?

I'll tag @pinkhatlizzy @nakunakunomi @lirulee @one-piece-dumpster-fire and anyone else who wants to answer my dumb questions!! Tag me because if you decide to do it so I can see your answers 💙

[dormousse]

Long-Sleeves ; chap. 4 — Loki x Reader

Hi darlings!

I know, this chapter should have been posted a few weeks ago. But to be honest I didn’t felt like posting my writing or writing anymore. No one left feedback on my previous chapter (and other fics) and that made me sad because I didn’t know if you liked my work or anything. Guys, I’m asking you, please leave feedback, it’s so disappointing when you don’t know if people like what you write, and liking a post isn’t just enough. (Also, I wanted to thank @buckisthatyou because they tagged me in their fanfic appreciation post and that really made me want to write and post this part. Go check them out, their writing is soooo good!!)

Anyways. I hope you’ll like this chapter! It’s probably not the best thing I’ve ever wrote but I like it! If you see any spelling/grammar error please tell me, english is not my first language so I still make mistakes! ❣️

Warning: drinking, mention of underage drinking, reader is not the soberest person in this chapter

Long Sleeves Taglist: @lazy-shark-bouquet @markusstraya @laeticafe03 @twentychemicaldays @namelesslosers @birdgirl90

Forever Taglist: @panicatttckiss @sivaas 

Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 —  Chapter 3

Friday night. It was the usual avengers night, where you would be all comfy with the others, playing games or watching movies. You were all in the common room, on the couch or on the floor, playing truth or dare. But since Tony wanted to spice things up a little he added alcohol to the game.

You were sitting on the floor, Peter’s head resting on your lap. He was beyond drunk, you insisted to Tony that he could at least drink a little, what you didn’t know is that Peter didn’t need a lot to be drunk. You were now making sure he was drinking water and eating before going to bed so his hangover would be less horrible. Next to you Wanda was giggling like a school girl. Right in front of you was Loki. He looked like he didn’t really wanted to be there, Thor probably told him to go to socialize a little. He didn’t really played with the rest of the group, he was scoffing at how stupid and embarrassing people could be when they’re drunk. You could feel his eyes on you, but each times you looked over to him he was looking elsewhere, that annoyed you, but you didn’t say anything.

You were playing with Peter’s hair, scratching his scalp. You weren’t really paying attention until Steve asked you the terrible question. Not feeling too cheeky you took truth, hoping your drunk self would not reveal something too personal. « Okay so Y/N.. Do you have a crush on someone right now ? » pretty basic you laughed to yourself. Before your brain could register anything you were telling them that yes, you had a crush on someone. You were mentally slapping yourself. Why do you have to be so awkward while drunk ?

Peter suddenly looked up at you « No way ? Y/N why didn’t you said anything ? » you bit your lips, shrugging. « Wait, who is it ? » you heard Sam almost scream for his spot. Almost everyone started to ask you who it was, even your uncle. The only one to remain silent was Loki who stared at you. Everyone seemed too startled by what you said that they didn’t saw the look you gave the god of mischief.

« I’m not answering any of you because it’s my turn. » you said « So.. Steve ! Truth or dare ? » you picked Steve, hoping he would not ask you about your crush afterwards. « I pick dare. »

You dared him to put mjollnir on his back and do some push ups, to see if his back was worthy. You couldn’t help but giggle at what you said, I mean, it’s kinda funny though. When Thor put his hammer on the soldier’s back, he fell flat on the floor and you started laughing. He tried to push on his arms but didn���t move; he kinda looked like a turtle like this. You were laughing so hard you couldn’t breathe. Wanda had a hard time containing her giggle, tears were prickling at the corner of her eyes.

Thor finally took back his hammer and Steve got up. You laughed and sipped at your drink while he mouthed something to you along the line of « I’m going to ruin you » and you stuck your tongue out to him. You smiled and the game restarted. You had a large grin on your face that made your cheeks hurt but you couldn’t care less, you were having a good time after all, what could you want more ?

« So Y/N. » You raised your head as you heard your name. Sam. Outch. « Since no one here took the initiative to do it I think I have to do it myself. Y/N, truth or truth ? » You chuckled. « Well.. I think I have to stick with truth »

« Who is you crush ? »

The room was silent, everyone was waiting for your answer. You could feel the tension filling the place. You sighed, shrugged and brought your drink to your lips, the liquor burning your throat. You were not going to answer. Everyone in the room groaned in frustration and you smiled. « Come on Y/N please. » Sam pleaded. You smiled mouthing a « nope » to him. « She choose not to say who it was. That could only mean that the person in question is in the room, or that we know them very well » Bucky said with a shit eating grin on his face. Shit. Everyone seamed happy with what Bucky said and looked at you with cocked eyebrows.

« I’m not going to tell you guys, please go on. » They sighed in unisson and Sam decided to ask Nat. You didn’t really listened to what they said, just that she gave a lap dance to a really embarrassed Steve. You were slowly sipping the rest of your drink, feeling the whiskey going down your throat and through your blood, making you a little bit buzzed. You glanced to Loki who was looking at you and you smiled, biting your lips. Under you Peter gasped loudly enough for everyone to hear and draw their attention to you. « No way Y/N, oh my god. I can’t believe you. Well I can, he is very handsome but oh my g- » you suddenly put your hand on Peter’s mouth, Everyone was smirking. Peter couldn’t keep his mouth shut, you were internally hoping he would forget about this during the night so he wouldn’t tell anyone. « Peter, you better shut the fuck up or I’m gonna murder you with a spoon and throw half of your limbs in a trash can and the other to starving animals. » he gasped under your hand and nodded. « Let’s put you to bed spidey. » You smiled, satisfied with yourself.

« We’re not done yet, Y/N. » you hear Sam tease while leaving the room. You answer him with a fuck before heading towards Peter’s room. You were both pretty drunk to be honest, when you got up your drunk self thought you could walk straight but clearly you couldn’t. Peter’s room was only a few meter away when you felt something, someone, on the other side of the kid. Loki. You smiled. Loki ? « Why are you here ? You should stay with the others. Maybe take care of Thor and that asgardian booze. I’m sure you could get a good time with that kind of stuff. » You said with a slurred voice. Loki chuckled a little and looked over to you.

« I couldn’t let you alone, you can’t even walk straight. » Well that’s true. But he could have stayed with the others anyway. You can help but smile with the thought that Loki wanted to help you. You even giggled like a school girl.

After putting Peter to bed, not without difficulties, you where headed toward your room, Loki by your side. He was making sure you didn’t fell on the way, his arm on your waist to help you stand straight. You felt your heart beating in your chest, so loud that Loki probably heard it too. That’s normal he has such an effect on you, Y/N, he’s nice and handsome and oh shit I’m drunk. You heard him laugh a little by your side and turn your head toward him with a questioning look on your face. « You know darling, you probably should stop thinking so loud that you speak your thoughts aloud. » You immediately felt yourself blush in embarrassment. Well done drunk Y/N. You shook your head. « Sorry. I.. I didn’t mean to say that. Well, kind of, but not really. God I should just shut up. »

You were now in front of your room. You smiled, you could take care of yourself by now, or so you thought. You looked over to the god. « Thank you Loki, I don’t know of I could have done without you. You really are a savior. » You kissed him on the cheek and went inside the room, closing the door behind you. You giggled a little, you were so happy. Maybe he was finally starting to notice you. You walked slowly toward the bed, leaving your shoes next to the door when you finally took in your surroundings.

Wait a minute.

This isn’t your room.

[puns-and-fics-has-moved]

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Hamilton

Part 3/6

<<Previous  Next>>

Pairing: jamilton (hamilton x jefferson)

Premise: modern law school au – Thomas works at the law library where Alex spends all his time.

Tags: @overrealityy @empyrealsakaki @gum-and-chips

Word Count: 1640

Warnings: cussing (if i missed anything, let me know)

a/n: thank you for all the people that have read this <3 - if you want to be tagged, hmu - there’ll probably be 3 more parts after this if all goes according to plan

p.s. i finally got an ask box up and working, so if you have requests, please send them!!! 

“How was your class?” John asked into his phone.

“Meh, boring as always. I’m gonna stay at the library for a bit,” was Alexander’s reply.

“By ‘for a bit’ do you mean until midnight?”

“Probably… sorry babe.”

“S’okay,” John shrugged, feeling a little hurt.

“Okay… I’ll see you tonight?” Alex said. John guessed he was probably anxious to get off the phone and do some work.

John laughed, picturing his boyfriend’s no doubt impatient expression. “Yeah, see you tonight. I love you.”

“You too,” Alex said quickly and hung up.

“Bye,” John said too late. He pocketed the phone and flopped down on the couch, opening his laptop.  

He quickly scanned over his article before submitting it to his boss, then he leaned back. That was all he had to do for the day. He sighed and started looking through the classifieds online. Literally nobody was hiring. John closed his laptop in frustration.

He started making himself a cup of tea, but was interrupted by his phone buzzing angrily against his thigh. He pulled it out and answered the call – it was his dad.

“H-hi dad,” John said, always nervous when it came to his father.

“How are you, son?”

“Oh, you know. I’m okay. Wh-what’s up? Why are you calling?”

“Well, I have some exciting news!”

Exciting news? John’s heart rate picked up. That could mean so many things, but what was good news for his father was often bad news for John. He would never forget the time that “exciting news” had meant his father found him a girlfriend, leading to John’s awkward coming out…

“What is it?” John asked.

“There’s a job for you at The Post and Courier! It’s full-time, it pays well, and you can come back to Charleston.”

John’s breath caught in his throat.

“What do you say, John?”

“I- I don’t know, I’ll – I guess I’ll have to talk to Alex, but – thank you!” John stuttered out.

“I don’t see why you have to talk to Alexander, John. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

“Dad, we live together, I can’t just… never mind. Can I call you back tonight?”

“…Yes, John. But really think about this. It’s your dream job!”

“…Yeah, I know. But I gotta go,” John lied.

“Love you, kid.”

“You too,” John mumbled, hanging up.

“You too,” Alex said, quickly hanging up on John and running back to Thomas’ cart. Alexander had been following Thomas around for almost half an hour, occasionally yanking himself up onto Thomas’ book cart and being pulled around the stacks.

“Have you ever seen 500 Days of Summer?” Alex asked Thomas.

“Oh yeah! I love that movie!”

“Yeah, it’s good, I guess.”

“What do you mean, ‘I guess’? It’s the best rom-com of the decade!” Thomas protested in a whisper, placing a book on the highest shelf.

“It’s still about straight white people falling in love,” Alex countered, pushing himself up so that he was sitting on the top shelf of the cart.

“Fair enough,” Thomas conceded, laughing a little, “but at least it’s somewhat original, you know? And I like Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.”

“Yeah, they’re cute,” Alexander agreed grudgingly. “But still.”

“But still,” Thomas concurred. “Hey, don’t you have schoolwork to do?”

Alex sighed dramatically and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s beneath me.”

“Hey, move your ass,” Thomas demanded, trying to reach a book that Alex was all but sitting on. Alex sighed again and hopped off the cart, landing on his ankle sideways and stumbling forward. Thomas caught him smoothly as Alex’s head crashed into the taller man’s chest.

A little too late, Alexander pulled away, bright red. Thomas’ rock hard abs had not gone unnoticed by the shorter man. Thomas was flushed as well, and he turned away to shelve more books.

“See Alex, if you just moved a little slower, you could maybe stay upright,” Thomas said once he’d regained his composure, turning to laugh at his friend.

“Are you suggesting that I go your pace? Because falling down is better than being outpaced by turtles.”

“You’ve used turtles before, Alex, you’ve gotta come up with something more original.”

“My boyfriend likes turtles, they come to mind easily.”

Thomas froze up. Boyfriend. Right. “It’s John, right? Your boyfriend, I mean?”

Alex looked down. “Uh, yeah. John Laurens.”

“Oh! He writes for The Gargoyle, right?”

“Yeah. Wow, you actually read it? I thought no one did.”

“From time to time, yeah. He’s a good writer…” Thomas looked away awkwardly.

“Yeah…” Alex shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to discuss John with Thomas, of all people.

An awkward silence fell between them. Thomas continued to shelve books, Alex kicked himself for bringing up John. His own feelings aside, maybe Thomas wasn’t comfortable with him being bi? They’d never talked about it before. Alex kind of thought that Thomas was gay, but he couldn’t be sure.

“What about you?” Alex asked, trying to gauge the situation.

“What about me?” Thomas returned, sighing as he found a whole stack of books some law student had shoved on the wrong shelf.

“Do you have a girlfriend? Boyfriend? Significant other?”

Thomas’ face coloured. “Um… no. There’s no one. Some people say me and my roommate are like an old married couple, but no.”

Goddammit, Alex thought. That still didn’t answer his question.

Thomas had an idea of what Alex was getting at, and so elaborated. “I dated this guy for a while a few months back, but it never really turned into anything. He just wanted someone to hook up with.”

Alex smiled a little (confirming Thomas’ suspicions), but then said, “I’ve been there. It sucks. I’m sure… someone’ll come along.”

“Yeah. Someone,” Thomas agreed, cheeks flushing.

“You know what –” Alexander began, but was cut off by his phone vibrating. “Oh, one second.”

As soon as he answered the call, his boyfriend’s frantic voice spilled through the speaker, “Babe, I need you to come home right now.”

“Are you okay? What’s wrong? What happened?” Alex anxiously demanded, his heartrate picking up.

“No, I’m fine, don’t panic. I just – I need your help with a decision. It’s a big one.”

Alexander sighed in relief. “Okay. I’ll be home in 20 minutes.”

“Thank you so much. I love you.”

“See you soon. Bye.” Alex hung up.

“Everything okay?” Thomas asked to be polite, though he’d overheard the majority of their conversation.

“Yeah, I think so. I just have to go home,” Alexander sighed. He was pretty reluctant to leave.

“I hope John’s okay.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine,” Alex said somewhat callously. “You’ll be here tomorrow?”

“No, I don’t work weekends. I’ll be here on Monday, though. Eight to close.”

“I’ll see you then,” Alex said with a big smile. He began to walk away, at a slower pace than usual, glancing back over his shoulder once or twice to see Thomas busily shelving books.

When he was only about five feet away, guilt flooding him, he asked, “But maybe I can call you?”

Thomas smiled. “Yeah, sure.” He grabbed Alex’s phone and entered his phone number.

“Thanks. Bye.” Alex ran away, leaving Thomas amused but wary. He had to get over this guy.

“I’m home!” Alex called as soon as he closed the door behind him.

John came running out of the living room and attacked his boyfriend with a hug. Alex wrapped his arms reassuringly around the man, kissing his temple.

“What’s going on?” he asked as John stepped away, still holding onto Alex’s hips.

“My dad called.”

“Oh.” Alex walked into the kitchen, grabbed himself a beer, and sat down at the kitchen table with a humph. “Okay, continue.”

John sat down at the table as well and began rambling. “He called just out of the blue you know and he told me he had exciting news, which kind of worried me, because, you know, that could mean anything. But then, like, he said there’s a job for me at a newspaper! And, like, not just any newspaper, but The Post and Courier! Like, that’s unbelievable! But, you know, I’d have to move back to Charleston, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that, and so I told my dad that I’d have to ask you and he was like ‘why?’ and I was like, ‘cause we live together, and I told him I would call him back tonight with my answer, and then I called you and now you’re here.”

John took a gasping breath as he finished his long-winded story. Alexander was till trying to process all that had been said. He bided his time by taking a large gulp of beer.

“So…” John said, still flushed from his speech. “What do I do, babe?”

Alex’s eyes flashed up at the helpless note in his boyfriend’s voice. He took John’s freckled hand in his own. John smiled gratefully at the comforting contact.

“I need a second,” Alex said. “Still processing.”

“Sorry.”

Alexander considered all the information. In the past little while, Alex knew he hadn’t paid enough attention to John. He felt guilty about it, but at the same time, he just wasn’t feeling as excited by their relationship as he used to be. He didn’t look forward to going home, and he’d been finding it hard to say “I love you.” His mind went to Thomas as it had so often done in the past week. Maybe, if he and John were broken up – if John went to South Carolina – then he could ask Thomas out. The idea released butterflies in his stomach, and he knew what he had to do.

With a pang of sadness, Alex said, “Okay.”

“You’ve processed?” John asked, scooting forward to the edge of his seat.

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“And… I think you should take it. You should go to South Carolina.”

[guns-and-squips]

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Hamilton

Part 3/6

<<Previous  Next>>

Pairing: jamilton (hamilton x jefferson)

Premise: modern law school au – Thomas works at the law library where Alex spends all his time.

Tags: @overrealityy @empyrealsakaki @gum-and-chips

Word Count: 1640

Warnings: cussing (if i missed anything, let me know)

a/n: thank you for all the people that have read this <3 - if you want to be tagged, hmu - there’ll probably be 3 more parts after this if all goes according to plan

p.s. i finally got an ask box up and working, so if you have requests, please send them!!! 

“How was your class?” John asked into his phone.

“Meh, boring as always. I’m gonna stay at the library for a bit,” was Alexander’s reply.

“By ‘for a bit’ do you mean until midnight?”

“Probably… sorry babe.”

“S’okay,” John shrugged, feeling a little hurt.

“Okay… I’ll see you tonight?” Alex said. John guessed he was probably anxious to get off the phone and do some work.

John laughed, picturing his boyfriend’s no doubt impatient expression. “Yeah, see you tonight. I love you.”

“You too,” Alex said quickly and hung up.

“Bye,” John said too late. He pocketed the phone and flopped down on the couch, opening his laptop.  

He quickly scanned over his article before submitting it to his boss, then he leaned back. That was all he had to do for the day. He sighed and started looking through the classifieds online. Literally nobody was hiring. John closed his laptop in frustration.

He started making himself a cup of tea, but was interrupted by his phone buzzing angrily against his thigh. He pulled it out and answered the call – it was his dad.

“H-hi dad,” John said, always nervous when it came to his father.

“How are you, son?”

“Oh, you know. I’m okay. Wh-what’s up? Why are you calling?”

“Well, I have some exciting news!”

Exciting news? John’s heart rate picked up. That could mean so many things, but what was good news for his father was often bad news for John. He would never forget the time that “exciting news” had meant his father found him a girlfriend, leading to John’s awkward coming out…

“What is it?” John asked.

“There’s a job for you at The Post and Courier! It’s full-time, it pays well, and you can come back to Charleston.”

John’s breath caught in his throat.

“What do you say, John?”

“I- I don’t know, I’ll – I guess I’ll have to talk to Alex, but – thank you!” John stuttered out.

“I don’t see why you have to talk to Alexander, John. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

“Dad, we live together, I can’t just… never mind. Can I call you back tonight?”

“…Yes, John. But really think about this. It’s your dream job!”

“…Yeah, I know. But I gotta go,” John lied.

“Love you, kid.”

“You too,” John mumbled, hanging up.

“You too,” Alex said, quickly hanging up on John and running back to Thomas’ cart. Alexander had been following Thomas around for almost half an hour, occasionally yanking himself up onto Thomas’ book cart and being pulled around the stacks.

“Have you ever seen 500 Days of Summer?” Alex asked Thomas.

“Oh yeah! I love that movie!”

“Yeah, it’s good, I guess.”

“What do you mean, ‘I guess’? It’s the best rom-com of the decade!” Thomas protested in a whisper, placing a book on the highest shelf.

“It’s still about straight white people falling in love,” Alex countered, pushing himself up so that he was sitting on the top shelf of the cart.

“Fair enough,” Thomas conceded, laughing a little, “but at least it’s somewhat original, you know? And I like Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.”

“Yeah, they’re cute,” Alexander agreed grudgingly. “But still.”

“But still,” Thomas concurred. “Hey, don’t you have schoolwork to do?”

Alex sighed dramatically and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s beneath me.”

“Hey, move your ass,” Thomas demanded, trying to reach a book that Alex was all but sitting on. Alex sighed again and hopped off the cart, landing on his ankle sideways and stumbling forward. Thomas caught him smoothly as Alex’s head crashed into the taller man’s chest.

A little too late, Alexander pulled away, bright red. Thomas’ rock hard abs had not gone unnoticed by the shorter man. Thomas was flushed as well, and he turned away to shelve more books.

“See Alex, if you just moved a little slower, you could maybe stay upright,” Thomas said once he’d regained his composure, turning to laugh at his friend.

“Are you suggesting that I go your pace? Because falling down is better than being outpaced by turtles.”

“You’ve used turtles before, Alex, you’ve gotta come up with something more original.”

“My boyfriend likes turtles, they come to mind easily.”

Thomas froze up. Boyfriend. Right. “It’s John, right? Your boyfriend, I mean?”

Alex looked down. “Uh, yeah. John Laurens.”

“Oh! He writes for The Gargoyle, right?”

“Yeah. Wow, you actually read it? I thought no one did.”

“From time to time, yeah. He’s a good writer…” Thomas looked away awkwardly.

“Yeah…” Alex shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to discuss John with Thomas, of all people.

An awkward silence fell between them. Thomas continued to shelve books, Alex kicked himself for bringing up John. His own feelings aside, maybe Thomas wasn’t comfortable with him being bi? They’d never talked about it before. Alex kind of thought that Thomas was gay, but he couldn’t be sure.

“What about you?” Alex asked, trying to gauge the situation.

“What about me?” Thomas returned, sighing as he found a whole stack of books some law student had shoved on the wrong shelf.

“Do you have a girlfriend? Boyfriend? Significant other?”

Thomas’ face coloured. “Um… no. There’s no one. Some people say me and my roommate are like an old married couple, but no.”

Goddammit, Alex thought. That still didn’t answer his question.

Thomas had an idea of what Alex was getting at, and so elaborated. “I dated this guy for a while a few months back, but it never really turned into anything. He just wanted someone to hook up with.”

Alex smiled a little (confirming Thomas’ suspicions), but then said, “I’ve been there. It sucks. I’m sure… someone’ll come along.”

“Yeah. Someone,” Thomas agreed, cheeks flushing.

“You know what –” Alexander began, but was cut off by his phone vibrating. “Oh, one second.”

As soon as he answered the call, his boyfriend’s frantic voice spilled through the speaker, “Babe, I need you to come home right now.”

“Are you okay? What’s wrong? What happened?” Alex anxiously demanded, his heartrate picking up.

“No, I’m fine, don’t panic. I just – I need your help with a decision. It’s a big one.”

Alexander sighed in relief. “Okay. I’ll be home in 20 minutes.”

“Thank you so much. I love you.”

“See you soon. Bye.” Alex hung up.

“Everything okay?” Thomas asked to be polite, though he’d overheard the majority of their conversation.

“Yeah, I think so. I just have to go home,” Alexander sighed. He was pretty reluctant to leave.

“I hope John’s okay.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine,” Alex said somewhat callously. “You’ll be here tomorrow?”

“No, I don’t work weekends. I’ll be here on Monday, though. Eight to close.”

“I’ll see you then,” Alex said with a big smile. He began to walk away, at a slower pace than usual, glancing back over his shoulder once or twice to see Thomas busily shelving books.

When he was only about five feet away, guilt flooding him, he asked, “But maybe I can call you?”

Thomas smiled. “Yeah, sure.” He grabbed Alex’s phone and entered his phone number.

“Thanks. Bye.” Alex ran away, leaving Thomas amused but wary. He had to get over this guy.

“I’m home!” Alex called as soon as he closed the door behind him.

John came running out of the living room and attacked his boyfriend with a hug. Alex wrapped his arms reassuringly around the man, kissing his temple.

“What’s going on?” he asked as John stepped away, still holding onto Alex’s hips.

“My dad called.”

“Oh.” Alex walked into the kitchen, grabbed himself a beer, and sat down at the kitchen table with a humph. “Okay, continue.”

John sat down at the table as well and began rambling. “He called just out of the blue you know and he told me he had exciting news, which kind of worried me, because, you know, that could mean anything. But then, like, he said there’s a job for me at a newspaper! And, like, not just any newspaper, but The Post and Courier! Like, that’s unbelievable! But, you know, I’d have to move back to Charleston, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that, and so I told my dad that I’d have to ask you and he was like ‘why?’ and I was like, ‘cause we live together, and I told him I would call him back tonight with my answer, and then I called you and now you’re here.”

John took a gasping breath as he finished his long-winded story. Alexander was till trying to process all that had been said. He bided his time by taking a large gulp of beer.

“So…” John said, still flushed from his speech. “What do I do, babe?”

Alex’s eyes flashed up at the helpless note in his boyfriend’s voice. He took John’s freckled hand in his own. John smiled gratefully at the comforting contact.

“I need a second,” Alex said. “Still processing.”

“Sorry.”

Alexander considered all the information. In the past little while, Alex knew he hadn’t paid enough attention to John. He felt guilty about it, but at the same time, he just wasn’t feeling as excited by their relationship as he used to be. He didn’t look forward to going home, and he’d been finding it hard to say “I love you.” His mind went to Thomas as it had so often done in the past week. Maybe, if he and John were broken up – if John went to South Carolina – then he could ask Thomas out. The idea released butterflies in his stomach, and he knew what he had to do.

With a pang of sadness, Alex said, “Okay.”

“You’ve processed?” John asked, scooting forward to the edge of his seat.

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“And… I think you should take it. You should go to South Carolina.”