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min-yunki-agustd · 2 years

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Day: 6

sick ono partner

request: sickfic with jhope? Any pairing! Maybe he gets a sick from overwork or like catches a bug bc he is overworking him self? I hope thats enough info for u! It has never done this stuff before! I

writer(jam): You did good! thanks for requesting

sickie: Hoba

caretaker: yoons

tw: emeto mentions, sickness, nausea fluff, and ( I forgot what its called intimacy or something idk) romantic relationship

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Hoseok has been working nonstop, in the studio adding lyrics to the beat yoongi gave him, in the dance studio freestyling making choreo for his album, and for nearing future collaborations. He's been every all at once for several weeks. It's no surprise when he works himself into a bug. Yoongi was the first to notice Hoseok's declining health. He happened to be in Hybe one of the many days hoseok was there. It was nearing the end of the week, and Hosoek was gathering a few notes and songs from his office so that he could play the music in the studio and review the notes he made on the choreo. Yoongi happened to be walking passed. He noticed hoseok left the door wide open. yoongi peeped inside to find hoseok gathering papers. "hey," yoongi says announcing his presents in the door frame. "hey hyung," hoseok says back. Once hosok actually looked up from his papers yoongi noticed how sickly and tired hoseok's face looked. "you alright? you seem.. tired" yoongi asks concerned about the member. yoongi's question made hoseok stop and think. He was pretty tired. " yeah I'm kinda tired I've been here all morning" hoseok explains shuffling through papers until he found the one he was looking for. " you should definitely get some rest sometime," yoongi says standing up straight, previously leaning on the door. yoongi walks away. yoongi never held a conversation for very long especially if it was small talk. Hoseok began taking notice of just how tired he actually was. he tied thinking back to when he slept last. It didn't take him long to realize that he hadn't been here just all morning but all night since yesterday. He checked his watch. he'd worked all through the night into the next day.

Hyung was definitely right I need some sleep, hoseok thought to himself. He would finish his work and leave earlier than usual. That was his initial plan until taehyung asked him to take a look at his album which was about an hour and thirty minutes, taehyung simply couldn't decide how to go about one of his songs. Then jungkook really wanted hoseok to see some trick he'd taught himself and it wouldn't had take very long if it weren't for Jimin distracting him. It was amusing so hoseok let it slide. Despite being busy He always made time for the members. For some reason the longer he went on the more tired and achy his body felt. He tired that this is what he gets for not taking the proper time to rest his body. Once he is distraction-free he finally heads back to the dance studio. Right as he's about to start working he gets a text message from his phone. It's Suga hyung. He asks hoseok if he was to grab lunch together. Hoseok looks at the time he hadn't even noticed it was around lunchtime. He's not sure when he had a proper meal last. He decides to text his hyung back letting him know that he's coming. Hosoek puts his stuff neatly away and prepares to walk to yoongi's studio. Once he arrived he knocked on yoongi's door.

yoongi yelled out that he was coming before he opened it up. Once their eyes met yoongi noticed how worse hoseok looked. yoongi took him by the hand and pulled him inside. yoongi gestured for hoseok to sit on the couch. "lemme save this real quick hobi" yoongi bent over his desk and type In a few short key commands into his computer before heading back over to hoseok. hoseok sat still on the couch. his body aching all over. Yoongi still standing took a hand to hoseok hair, combing through it lightly, pushing it out of hoseok's face. yoongi took that same hand and rested the back of it on hoseok's forehead. he checked the sickly man's temperature. He was warm. " your warm" yoongi says looking down into hoseok's eyes. Hoseok didn't say a word he was melting into his boyfriend's touch. Hoseo wishes the tension in his shoulders would break. As if yoongi read his mind yoongi sat down gently on the other's lap and began massaging his long pale fingers into hoseok's shoulders. Slowly pushing his body into a hug. Hoseok kept the other steady in his lap, holding with one hand yoongi's waist and the other on the back of yoongi's neck coming through his long thick hair. Hosoek could fall asleep in this position, but he knew yoongi wasn't going to let him. Yoongi moved out of the hug, moving dangerously close to hoseok's lips. "What do you want for lunch?" yoongi asked lowly. "I don't know I'm not hungry hyung" yoongi rose from hoseok lap. " I know a place." yoongi stood and began heading for the door. Hoseok followed. Yoongi locked up and they headed out of the building.

hoseok rested his head on his hyung's shoulder as yoongi called for a car to pick them up. Once the car arrived they hopped in car. Usually, the conversation in the car would be so long that it would make the car ride feel short. Hoseok was abnormally quiet. He knew he was he couldn't bring himself to start up a conversation. His head was getting to him. Along with the tiredness and achiness, he felt like his body was crashing from working so hard and for so long. He typically took care of himself but he hadn't been doing such a great job lately. He's glad he's especially glad he has yoongi at times like this. Somehow the car ride was a bit nauseating. He shook it off and joined his lover's hand while exiting the care of entire the restaurant. The restaurant smelt of sweat and was like home cooking. typically he'd love that smell but currently, it's messing with his head and now his stomach. Once they were seated yoongi noticed hoseok looking a little down. Yoogni asked him again if he was still feeling right. Hoseok answered truthfully, he knew yoongi would figure it out eventually so there was no point in lying. He explained that he felt sick after the ride. " maybe it was the driver.... when was the last time you ate?" yoongi asked. hosoek thought back to his last meal but he couldn't remember his head was too fuzzy in the restaurant. He was starting to grow warm, the entire place felt like a sauna. he takes off his jacket in a tempt to cool down a bit. yoongi was still waiting for an answer. He noticed hoseok start sweating and began taking off his jacket. He was growing more and more worried for the other.

When the waiter came by and asked what drinks they'll be having yoongi ordered water, and hoseok looked like he needed it. Once the water came yoongi took hoseok's and put his straw in the cup for him. " here take a few sips to cool down." The moment the ice-cold drink hit his tongue it was refreshing, he can't say the same for when it hit his stomach. hoseok felt too full and he only had a few sips of water. "maybe you just need to eat something?" he says. When the food came soon after yoongi watched hosoek thoroughly as he took small bites of his meal. barely enough to chew, watching him swallow down hard as if he was swallowing a ton of bricks. They both finished their meals. Usually, when they went out for lunch together they'd both rush back to their work. But yoongi could tell by how sluggish hoseok got after eating that hoseok would be working for much longer today if at all. yoongi decide he'd stick with him to keep an eye on him. He clearly wasn't doing so hot. Hoseok explains how sick and tired he felt while they wait for their showfer to confirm yoongi's theory.

Timeskip

The car back was hellish, and hoseok felt awful. He felt as if he could just lose his lunch at any moment. He figured he'd gather his things from the building and head out. yoongi followed close behind. He had made it all the way till he hit the hall. Hoseok stopped and leaned against the wall. His legs were very tired." Come on let's keep going I'll grab your things and we can go home" yoongi help on to hoseok trying to get him to move but hoseok was barely budging. Yoongi managed to put Hosek's things in his bag and take him out to his car. They started driving. Helda tight grip on his stomach, he really wish he had;t eat so much but he and yoongi thought it would help. Though he was in a sitting position his legs were killing him and so was his head. He knows if traffic doesn't get any better they'll have to pull over somewhere. The food in his stomach just won't settle. He tried to wait it out hoping nausea would subside but the ended up pulling off to the side and waiting for the inevitable. Yoongi stood close by rubbing his back a little too close, but hoseok really wanted the comfort. Hoseok rests most of his body weight on yoongi. Yoongi had a feeling that hoseok wasn't going to upchuck his lunch. He figured he had to wait out a bad wave of nausea, and that his anxiety about puking was getting the best of him.

He was proven wrong when hoseok coughed being on an onslaught of weight stick vomit onto his lap. It happened so fast that neither of them had time to act against it. Hoseooko got up swiftly after, far too swift for his stomach to bring on a harsher round of vomit onto the pavement. If yoongi's stomach wasn't in the right place he'd be gagging too when he saw the ray of multi-color sick on his pants. Yoongi tried getting up and shaking the sick off his pants. He was not successful it only end up lading on his shoes. Hosoek on the other hand had a hard time staying upright. He felt dizzy as he bent over. lightheaded from the rush of blood to his head. His stomach was in a not. He smelt an awful smell and felt a warm hand on his back. His boyfriend must have seen how wobbling he was on his feet. Hoseok felt yoongi's hand leave for a moment taking all hoseok's comfort with him. he eventually came back with napkins. First to whipe at hoseok's face and then himself. Hoseok felt weak trying to get back to the car. yoongi assisted him throwing hoseok's arm over his shoulder and guiding him most of the way. hoseok's stomach was still awful and everything hurt. It was going to be a long night.

#bts sickfic drabble #sick bts #bts sickfic #bts emeto #btssickfic request #tw nausea #tw vomit #tw emeto ment #caretaker!yoongi #sick!hobi #sick!hosoek #sicktober

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hospitalterrorizer · 6 months

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diary205

4/7-8/2024

sunday -monday

gotta work early tomorrow..

but it's not too bad. today i read something interesting about political ecology and that is in truth a way of managing people/ideas/meaning so as to keep capital/its methods, a redirection of capital, rather than a negation of it. by this nature, or i suppose, by approaching nature as a system, at least bringing tiqqun in here, the cybernetic models of nature as systems, a multiplicity of systems to either manage and enable, to live 'with' and use, rather than to exploit, to maintain a smooth process of accumulation over what could end. the essay at a point brings up that capital can no longer be understood as the dominion of death over life, but a living domination of life. i am quite taken by this, not as a positive but it i suppose makes us point our gaze towards ends, time, slow down and what could end accumulation. in many ways the essay also brought to mind foucault, when it at points brings up the constant evaluation of all, evaluation of us, us in nature, our cooperation/failure, evaluation of technique and so on, this is very much an extension of the disciplinary.

here it is:

i am quite taken with it overall, i like that there is some attack on current trends within the academy that one may notice, and that these perspective are carried out and enabled by institutions in talks and things, reproduced, evaluated as useful and shown around, guiding ideas/methods. methods is maybe the best word here, the author at a point notes that these experts who guide us now appear first in laboratories, or this is where they discover the possibilities.

anyway, i am tired which is why this is so short.

there is an article preceding this one mentioned in the notes section that i want to read tomorrow, as well as some other things.

anyway, today feels sort of big for the music thing, coming down to the wire more, did another listen thru while waiting for my skin to cool so i could wax my face (hair was too short, got nothing, just tweezed a lot instead (lolllll (like usual (like everyday usual)))), and the record's issues aren't very bad, mostly just on a sound basis what has to change is more present snares i'm noticing, and a bit of a shoring up of the sound, standardizing certain things a touch, you know. so yeah, as far as big changes go, or big efforts that are gonna have to be made, about 4 songs need decently sized vocal parts added, one needs to be redone, one needs parts other than choruses written and recorded, one needs half the song recorded and verses written (choruses done), and one short song needs the back half written. there's 2 songs here that need little pieces added and i have the new lyrics for those parts, and there's one that needs me to do one thing. that is where the vocal stuff is at, pretty good, imo.

currently trying to get thru the first page of master related notes, as in crossing stuff off my checklist, tonight i'll be 8 songs in, tomorrow should be as easy, and then i listen again and check where things are/how they sound.

everything is sounding better now w/ these notes in place. siccck!!

so first 8 songs of 33 looking much better, unfortunately in that 8, 3 still need vocal work, so they're kinda distant from being done, but that is okay... i'll get there.

funny thing about yesterday, going into work dressed how i normally do, they didn't really recognize me immediately.

anyway i am sleepy now, and i have to be at work by 11:15, so

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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pockou · 4 years

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skin ⤻ chpt. one

— pairings: jean kirschtein x fem bodied nb!reader

— warnings: none for now

— summary: after reuniting with your childhood bestfriend, jean and a long heated night together you establish a friends with benefits relationship. what could go wrong?

— modern au

— wc: 2.6k

— a/n: sorry nothing really happened, this is really just me setting things up !

⤺ skin masterlist

After a long and stressful day with work, you finally arrived home. The first thing that crossed your mind was letting your mother know you’d be skipping out on brunch with her and some old friends the next afternoon so you could catch up on some much needed sleep. You removed your shoes and wiped the small bit of sweat which was accumulating on your forehead, outside felt like a heatwave being it was nearing the peak of summer, work has been pretty busy lately with all the moms coming in and demanding for you to restock the pool noodles — which obviously you had no control over just being a mere cashier. You never knew how stressful it could be just standing behind a counter all day, which you didn’t take into account is the long and blistering walk home. Maybe a summer job wasn’t the best choice?

“Oh hey Mom!” Your mom was just passing by with a laundry basket in hand, probably heading to clean clothes for tomorrow.

“Hi Y/N, how was work?”

“Long.” You filled a cup of cold apple juice up before turning back over to her, “By the way, I can’t go with you and dad to brunch tomorrow. I’m pooped and need some extra sleep.”

“Y/N, you can’t skip out, I understand you’re tired but an old friend who you’ll probably be happy to see is going to be there, and i’ll make sure you don’t miss him, he’s rarely in town anymore.”

“He?” You tried to think of all the guys who’ve came into your life which your parents took a liking to, there were a few but not any you really would want to see.

“Yes, he. Now get showered you smell like clorax and sweat!”

“Jeez Mom way to put it lightly!” You both laughed together, these moments definitely made you glad you decided to move back for the summer and stay off of campus. You picked up your phone after it buzzed and saw an incoming follow request from “Jean Kirschtein” the name rang a bell but ultimately you chose to ignore it and decline. You decided to fix the obvious awful scent which was coming from you and headed to shower.

You looked at the array of bath soaps, body scrubs and shampoos you and your mom shared, you picked up the ‘vanilla mint’ scent which always brought comfort to you for some odd reason, it just has for as long as you could remember. After massaging your head with shampoo and conditioner you shaved your legs until you were satisfied with the outcome and jumped out of the shower. Noticing the time after you went to pause your music you realized just how long you took, it was already past seven pm and your dad should be home, hopefully with dinner. Before leaving, you moisturized your legs and added an acne serum to your face, gently patting it into your cheeks and forehead. You just threw on some boxer-like shorts and one of your dads old band tees and peeked into the kitchen.

“Hey darling.”

“Hey Dad, did you pick up dinner?” You leaned over the counter giggling at your mothers antics, being she was behind your father mocking him.

“Yes I did, burritos good? There’s this new joint by the office.”

“Sick, thanks dad! I’ll set the table, love you.” You pecked his cheek before grabbing plates and cups for the three of you, you hadn’t remembered the last time you ate, it probably was around eleven when you had your lunch breaks. Which you believed to be a bit too early for lunch. You smiled widely at both of your parents as they sat down at the table.

“What do you guys want to drink? I’ll go get somethin’ for us all.”

“I’ll just have a water pumpkin.” You took your dads cup and gave him a thumbs up then looked to your mother.

“I still have my protein shake i’ll be fine!”

“Mkay!” You took yours and your dads cups and filled them about halfway with water, adding a bit of lemon and ice to yours, “Dad do ya want ice?”

“Sure, thank you. Now hurry up your foods getting cold!” You shuffled back over to the table handing your dad his iced water and flashing him a shiny smile.

“Thanks again!” After that you dug into your dinner and the whole meal was filled with your dad telling you and your mom about people calling in asking for help with computers and you telling them about annoying people you had to deal with and, of course your mom complaining about Amy from her yoga class.

By the time you all died down and your mom mentioned you should all get some sleep so you’d all be in good moods for brunch in the morning, inevitably you gave up in trying to skip out due to your moms persistence to join them. You walked into your room to be greeted by the warmth and comfort it always gave off to you, you grabbed your phone and plopped onto your bed ready to finally wind down and relax after such a long day. Your eyes got heavy and you felts drowsy before you gave in and fell into a deep sleep. You dreamed of the same boy you had been for a while, he was cute, really cute and he always brought comfort to you. This dream always took place in a pre-k classroom, playing will blocks and legos and the smell of popcorn and juice in the air. He always came up with a smile on his face which was missing one of his front teeth already, some spaghetti sauce around his mouth and asking if you wanted to play tag. But everytime before you said yes, you always woke up and you were no longer in a carefree mindset like a child and that boy was never there all that was there was a loud ‘beep beep beep’ sound ringing in your ears which never failed to wake you up right at ten thirty am.

This time your mom was also in your room, rummaging throughout your dresser drawers. She was humming the same song she used to sing you to sleep with which always made you smile. You whined as you sat up stretching.

“Morning honey, can you wear this today?” She had just a white tee and a jean shorts pretty simple and nice to wear in the summer.

“Sure that’s fine, how much time do I have?”

“Around an hour or so, make sure you hurry please I don’t wanna be late.”

“Mkay, by the way when do I getta know who this wonderboy is?”

“When you see him you’ll know, trust me. Now get ready!”

She walked out of your room to let you get dressed, after putting on the outfit she chose you just found some random sandals to wear and fixed your hair a bit, you still had some time to spare so you just chilled on the couch playing a random cooking game. Your mom came out to show herself off and she did her cheesy little jazz hands.

“You look beautiful Momma.”

“Thank you, Y/N, you look great aswell.” You both looked in the kitchen to see your dad eating something, “We are literally going to brunch why in the world are you eating?” She obviously wasn’t mad but she shook her hand at your dad which made you both chuckle. They both had been together since they were in highschool and seemed to have an unbreakable bond. That was something you’ve always wanted with another person, just to be able to find comfort in another so easily, and trust them no matter what. And just the very way they looked at eachother and the loving gaze they shared, it was everything, they were soulmates and all you wanted was to find something like that. Your special person.

“Well, we should get going, the car drive is a bit long id say.” You lifted yourself up from the couch and followed them, still looking down at your game. You plopped into the car once again, and just gazed out the window.

“Where are we goin’ again?”

“Just a pancake house, nothing too special y’know?”

“Mkay, thanks Mom.” You looked back down at your phone to see that ‘Jean’ guy requesting you again, you found it kinda weird but you decided to look at his account. He was attractive. No he was fucking hot, he had a shiny ash blonde mullet, which some of it was a darker shade, somewhat brown. His hair had a slight wave at the ends adding just a bit of volume to it. You scrolled a little bit more to find out he had a chihuahua and a shitzu. He was also doing good in school and — you double tapped. You mentally cursed at yourself, you just liked a post from not too long ago but still he’d now know you’re looking at his account. Out of guilt you let him follow you, you had to now atleast. You just turned off your phone and flipped it over, ignoring what just happened.

“You alright? You look sick.” You looked up to your mom who was looking at you from the front seat, “If its about ‘wonderboy’ don’t be too scared you two used to be so close, you’ll click instantly!”

“Mkay Mom, and I’m fine.” You acted as if you totally didn’t just stalk a hot guy on Instagram, gawk over him then like one of his posts from a few weeks back. You were totally fine, what else could happen. You were incredibly tempted to go look at his page again, his arms always seemed to fill his sleeves from what you saw and, he had a stubble which was just a shade darker than his hair. He dressed incredibly well and looked like he smelled like fancy cologne. You checked your phone and it already had been thirty minutes.

“Mom when’ll we get there?”

“It’s just done the road, relax honey.” You sighed in relief, your stomach had been churning the past few minutes and you needed out of that humid car. Once you parked and looked at the time, it was half past eleven, the exact time of your reservation.

“Alright, we’re at a patio table so you two walk their i’ll go talk with the bouncer to see if the others are here.” Your dad patted your head before walking off to check in, you followed behind your mom. With your hands in your pocket you guys turned the corner and a certain someone caught your eye, the guy from instagram, Jean was it? He was sitting in the patio, her hair was thrown into a ponytail and a chocolate brown like some of Jeans hair, she was cute and obviously his mother.

“Oh my goodness, Kirschtein is that you?!” Your eyes widened, these were the people you were joining for brunch. “Jean! You’ve grown so much, you look very handsome now.”

“Thank you ma’am, Y/N is that you?” He smiled widely before stepping closer to you and embracing you in a bear hug, you let out a small defeated laugh before hugging him back, “How’ve you been? How long has it been?”

“Since preschool.” Your gazes went to his mom who stole you from Jean and hugged you even tighter. You felt the life being squeezed out of your ribs, even though you barely remembered these hugs. And the scent you’ve always loved, both Jean and his mom smelled like vanilla and mint, it was pretty ironic. You all took a seat waiting for your dad to come back before you ordered anything. Jean was seated across from you, his legs were a bit on your end of the table but you just ignored it, everything seemed so awkward yet comfortable all at the same time. Jeans presence was just comforting and made you feel warm and whenever he talked to you and kept eye contact? That made you wanna scream, you two hadn’t seen eachother for years but instantly clicked.

Once your Dad came back, he had five menus in hand and gave them all out. You all talked amongst yourselves about what you’ll get to eat, and what you’ll be getting to drink, ultimately you settled on a coffee, so did your Dad. While Jeans mom and your Mom giggled about some drink they used to always share before ordering two of them, Jean got a decaf. It seemed plain but you weren’t one to talk. You had been engulfed in whatever it was you were doing on your phone until Jean kicked you lightly and gestured to his own phone. You clicked on instagram and saw he had messaged you there.

“Hey, so are we gonna talk abt you stalking me orr?”

“No, we’re not Jean, please just forget abt it.”

After that your drinks had finally came, now you all had to order you got just some pancakes, nothing special. Jean got an omelette while his and your Mom shared french toast and your Dad got waffles. The conversation over brunch went well, Jean shared about what he was studying in during the last school year, as did you. Your familys just caught up with what had been going on, Jean had adopted two dogs over the past year — which you already knew, he was doing good in school and his studies. You just sat there kind of awkwardly being just an hour or two before you were stalking him and thinking about how hot he was, you were snapped back into reality when his Mom asked you something.

“Have you been with anybody recently?”

“Mom! You can’t just ask her that, we haven’t seen her in years..” Jean whipped his head to the side looking at his Mom.

“No Jean it’s fine, but I haven’t.”

“Oh really? You’re so pretty? I find that hard to believe!” You smiled at her, she was obviously trying to be nice. You all continued eating, Jean paying close attention to his phone.

“Well Jean, have you seen anyone recently?”

“Mom!! Seriously?” You were confused about what your moms were trying to pull off, asking random questions back to back on the same subject.

“Y/N it’s fine. And No Mrs. L/N, I actually haven’t.” Jean stretched backwards, his arm muscles slightly flexing while he did so.

“Hmmm, interesting.. Well, finish up everyone.” You had already finished eating so all you had to do was wait for everyone else to finish. You played that same dumb cooking game for what felt like an eternity your Mom finally tapped your shoulder to get your attention.

“We should be heading out, by the way you two are invited for dinner tomorrow, feel free to come by anytime!” You got up with your mom, waving a goodbye to Jean and his mother. Now you had to endure a car ride most likely of your mother blabbing on about how you should get with Jean, that was something you didn’t wanna think or talk about.

You napped in the car for most of the ride until your phone started to buzz in your pocket, which woke you up from your dazed state. You checked the notification to see Jean had sent you a message.

“Y’know you got pretty hot right?”

“What? Jean thats random.”

“Fuck I mean that in the most respectful way possible.”

“Mkay.” You rolled your eyes, although you could say the same about him you were fond of his boldness but that was definitely a worry for another day. All you were worried about was what you’ll be doing now with him coming over again. Were you going to make a move in the same way he did or ignore his antics completely? And that was the last thought you had before falling asleep again.

#jean kirschtein x reader #jean kirschtein #jean kirstein #jean kirsten x reader #aot x reader #aot #snk x reader #snk #skin. ➷

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ravs6709 · 3 years

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Our Very Own Story- Queerplatonic Fedex

Alternate title: I project so much onto Fitz that he's probably ooc

Woo, I'm finally done! I've had this idea for so many months, but I never had the chance to actually finish it, but finally, it's here (in all its 7.3k words glory)

This story takes place in the same au as Our Very Own Melody, which is the (romantic) Kam side. OVOM isn't necessary to read to read this one, but it's still my fave work, so read it anyways

But here's a refresher. Soulmates au in high school. Soulmate bond is having a strong bond similar to telepathy and empathy combined, and can only be revealed once the soulmates are close with each other.

Ve/vem Dex and she/ae Biana because yes.

And also, Fitz, Keefe, Tam and Linh are in the same grade, and are all one year older than Sophie, Biana and Dex.

Warnings: censored swearing, and mentions of (a character from a play's) death

Hope you enjoy!

•~•~•~•~•~•

Fitz remembered the days that he played the piano. He still played it in the present, but not to the extent that he had in the past. He used to constantly play it, something that he was partially forced to do.

It wasn't like he didn't enjoy it, because he did. He'd started at a young age, and as he grew older, he found himself creating parts to songs. Just a few notes, maybe long enough for a verse, he didn't have the same passion to create music like Keefe would using his violin.

If anything, he preferred to write lyrics. He liked being able to tell stories with words. It was at the end of elementary school where he'd realized that it wasn't writing music that interested, but writing in general. He had so many ideas flowing inside of him, and a powerful imagination.

When middle school came, he started to explore some of the possibilities. He tried poetry, but while it was fun, it wasn't his thing. He particularly enjoyed writing short stories for English class. He didn't spend that much time focusing on writing though, he spent most of his free time hanging out with Keefe, Biana, Sophie, and rarely, Dex.

It was in eighth grade when Biana practically forced him to watch the school play with her and Sophie. (Keefe, for some reason, had been allowed to decline the invitation. That alone made Biana's intentions suspicious).

From start to finish, he was amazed by what he saw. The play was one that he'd heard of, but didn't know the plot to. Each movement of the actor was a sentence in his head, he could see the words written down on paper, ready to be acted out. He knew that script writing wasn't as simple as that, the formatting was different, but still he was curious.

After the play was over, the three of them started walking to take Sophie home. "So, did you like it?" Biana asked.

"It was good," Fitz replied. "The lighting was really great."

That was another thing that made script writing different compared to writing a short story. When writing something to be acted out, you had to be able to imagine the scene, know what kind of lighting would be needed and what special effects were needed in order to emphasize something, or in order to make something happen.

"It was great!" Sophie agreed. "Dex did a really good job behind the scenes!"

"Wait, Dex was involved with the play?" Fitz asked.

He'd met Dex back in elementary school, but they never actually spoke to each other until a few months ago, when Sophie befriended them. But even now, even though they'd hang out at his house, he hadn't really interacted with Dex that often. (It did explain why Dex wasn't with them either).

"You didn't know?" Biana asked. "I mean, ve hasn't talked about it much, but surely you should've known. Vis knowledge of technology is really good."

Fitz hadn't actually witnessed it for himself, but had heard about it. But the stories couldn't do it justice.

•~•~•~•~•~•

After Sophie had gone home, the two siblings started to walk to their home.

"So, what about playwriting?" Biana asked.

"I know you brought me to see it for a reason," he told her.

She crossed her arms. "Do I have to have a reason?"

"Knowing you, yeah."

Ae huffed. "Rude. What would I even have to gain from introducing you to a form of writing that you might enjoy?"

"Oh, I don't know, like asking for a favour such as doing half of a project?" He was still a little bit bitter for having to do that.

"That was one time!"

"One time too many!"

•~•~•~•~•~•

Fitz was glad that his high school had a talented drama club. Every year, his school participated in the city-wide festival. The thought alone was exciting, and he knew that unlike in middle school, it was the students who wrote the plays. He wanted to be part of it.

It also sounded a little stressful, because it was no longer just a school play, but a piece of art meant to represent the school. Actual professionals would be there to judge the play. And this was going to be his first time doing this. He knew though, that it was going to be fine. He wasn't alone, there was going to be a whole playwriting team to create the play.

Unfortunately, luck decided not to favour him. While there were multiple teachers in the drama department, it was the head who would deal with everything. Except the head of the drama department had gone on maternity leave, meaning that the school wasn't going to participate in the festival for that year. While it would be rude to be annoyed at the teacher, he was still a little upset, because he'd been looking forward to it.

The year itself wasn't bad, he enjoyed it a lot. He'd managed to get most of his classes with Keefe, the only differing one being their art course, where Keefe went with music, and he chose drama. His classes were entertaining. Sophie and Biana had started dating, and the hangouts at his house only grew more frequent.

There were also the Song twins. He wasn't necessarily friends with Linh, but they shared a few classes, and she was fun to be around. Sometimes they ate lunches together when Keefe wasn't around. Tam, on the other hand, he knew nearly nothing about, other than the fact that he usually kept to himself. Or at least, until Keefe had managed to start a rivalry with him, and then they started serenading each other with their violins. Their rivalry was a big source of entertainment, and he and Linh would often discuss the fact that they clearly liked each other.

All of those things definitely made his first year of high school a good one.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Even without the fact that the head of the drama teacher had returned from maternity leave, his second year of high school was eventful. Biana, Sophie and Dex had joined them, meaning that he got to see them more often.

He walked into the drama club room to get his form to join the drama club. He was surprised to see that Dex was also in the room.

"Hey Dex," he greeted. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I normally do backstage stuff, did you forget, Wonderboy?" ve asked.

"Oh yeah, that's right."

He was reminded of when Sophie had told him that Dex was part of the backstage crew during middle school. He made a mental reminder to not forget, because while he hadn't intentionally been rude, he had been rude to vem in the past. He wanted to be a better friend than that.

"But actually," ve continued. "I wasn't actually going to be a part of backstage this year, I was thinking of being an actor."

"You like acting?"

Fitz was pretty sure that Dex had never mentioned being an actual actor before, but if he had to be honest, he wouldn't have been surprised if ve had. He'd already forgotten about vis involvement with the drama club.

But to his surprise, Dex flushed red, one of vis hands moving to scratch the back of vis neck. "It's not something I've brought up. I kinda have stage fright, so I'm trying to face that fear and do something that I want. Even if I get a minor role, I'll be happy."

"You should go for it!" Fitz told vem. "I'm sure you'll do good on the stage!"

Ve smiled sheepishly. "Thank you."

•~•~•~•~•~•

Along with him, there were four other people who signed up to be a playwright. He'd only recognized one of them, since they'd been in the same class the previous year, but he wasn't friends with any of them. They were nice people though, they were quite calm, compared to his friends. (Keefe, Biana and Sophie made a dangerous combination).

Playwriting was interesting, because it was different compared to what he was used to. He was aware that it wouldn't be the same, but he wasn't expecting how different they would feel. There was little focus on description, and there was no flowery prose at all. The descriptions that were there were short and simple, just enough for the actor and backstage crew to know what was going on.

It was a little hard getting used to the formatting, because he had to remember to capitalize the names, and there were a lot of small details that he needed to remember. But it was okay, because he had the other writers with him.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"So," Dex said. "How's the play going?"

"We're mostly done with the script, but we've been told the script is too short, so we're just adding on to it." This was one of the few times that ve had been the one to approach him, and he had a feeling that he'd be interacting with vem more often. "We've decided on a subversion of the classic high school story, you know what I'm talking about, right?"

Ve scrunched vis nose. "New girl goes to high school, befriends two popular guys- but sometimes one of them is a childhood friend- and gets into a love triangle with said guys? Plus, there's probably a mean girl? How could I not know? What changes have you made?"

"The mean one isn't actually that mean, and fae gets together with the main character."

"Ooh, do the two popular guys get together?" ve asked.

"One of them is enby, but yeah. The writers have been having so much fun making everything queer."

"Holy sh*t, that does sound like fun! Last year me would have killed to see something like that, when I was questioning myself."

Fitz had been starting to come to terms with the fact that he was aromantic, but he could definitely see where ve was coming from. Even if there weren't any confirmed characters on the aspec spectrum, he was always happy to have characters who were queer.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Crapcrapcrap," Dex muttered under vis breath, pacing back and forth as ve waited for Fitz to get his lunch out of his locker.

Fitz took out his lunch, then closed the locker. He turned towards vem. "Try to breathe," he suggested. "If you get too panicked now, that's when the mistakes are going to happen. Do you want to take a minute to sit down and breathe?"

Ve glanced back and forth between him and the staircase they'd need to climb to head to the club room. Reluctantly, they sat down.

"It's not like they won't start without you there, right?" Ve asked.

"It's not like you'll be late. What do you normally do to calm yourself? Do you want me to hold your hand? I know Keefe likes that."

For a moment, he wondered if he was overstepping some kind of boundary- because they still weren't that close- but ve smiled sheepishly, and looked down at the floor. "Maybe… that would be nice. We can try that."

Ve gently held his hand, and Fitz noticed that his hand was warm, compared to his own cold one. They sat like that for a few moments, until vis shaky hand became more stable.

"Okay," ve said, but it came out as a breathy whisper. "I think we should get going."

Ve let go of his hand, the warmth slowly fading away. He liked the feeling of holding vis hand.

They went to the club room, where the auditions were being held. Dozens of students were trying out for the various roles, and he felt a little proud, knowing that people wanted to act for a play that he helped to write.

He watched the students try out, and they were all so impressive. He was glad that he wasn't actually part of the group that decided who was casted and who wasn't. He may have been a writer, but the writers weren't in charge of the auditions.

Soon it was Dex's turn- ve was auditioning for one of the teachers in the story. The teacher that ve was auditioning for was someone lenient, a good friend to the other students. The teacher would often jokingly tease the students in the class.

Seeing Dex on the stage, it was almost as ve had become a new person. He knew that obviously, being able to act in a variety of roles was what an actor was supposed to do, but it was like seeing a side to vem that he'd never seen before.

Everything, from the tone of vis voice, to the grin on vis face, to the very slight change in posture was better than he could have ever imagined.

Fitz was sure that if ve had gone for a lead role, ve would be able to steal the show.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Dex, that was amazing!" He told vem, after ve had finished the audition.

"You… you think so?" Ve murmured, looking a little flustered. (Wait, flustered?)

"Yeah! You were great up there!" He replied, choosing to ignore what vem being flustered could mean.

"It- it was only the audition."

"You'll be getting more practice, it's like…" he paused, trying to find the words. "A preview. If the preview is good, the full thing will also be great."

"If you say so."

"I know you'll do great."

•~•~•~•~•~•

Dex had managed to be casted in the role, and both Fitz and Dex were happy. Dex had to practice vis lines, so Fitz offered to be there to listen. At first, ve seemed hesitant, out of the fear of looking bad, but eventually they accepted the offer.

At first, it was a little awkward. Dex seemed to have difficulties making eye contact with him, and when ve did, ve would seem to lose concentration on what ve was saying. It wasn't just a lesser version of stage fright, because it started to extend to their normal conversations too.

(He was starting to have suspicions, but he hoped it wasn't the case. He didn't want to have to think about that.)

But slowly, ve became more comfortable talking to him. The confidence that had been evident during the audition started to return. Once again, Fitz was in awe.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"These plays are so good," Dex murmured.

Fitz nodded in agreement. At the festival, various schools presented their plays. Each of them were different- one was fantasy, with kingdoms and people trying to survive, another depicted a local issue, and another about what it means to be a family. They were all about different topics, but each of them were spectacular.

"What if ours isn't as good?" Ve whispered.

"We've worked hard on it," he answered. "We'll make sure it's good."

He offered his hand to vem, something that he started doing often after the first time. Ve took it, and they sat on the seats holding hands until it was time for their school to set up everything.

"I have faith in you, okay?" Fitz whispered as ve stood up.

"Thank you." Ve smiled, then left with the other actors.

Fitz looked back towards the stage so he could enjoy the show. Since he wasn't an actor, he didn't have to get up. The play began, and even though he'd seen it multiple times, it still looked impressive. The jokes didn't fail to make him smile.

After it was all over, ve sat back down next to him.

"You did great up there," he told vem.

Ve smiled at him, vis face shining with joy. (Part of him wanted to just smile back, the other part wanted to back away, because of all of these feelings. Instead, he shoved the conflicting feelings away, he could think about them another day.)

•~•~•~•~•~•

It turned out that he didn't get the chance to think about his feelings another day. The two of them lived nearby, so after they were brought back to the school, they decided to walk together.

"Hey Fitz, can I tell you something?" Ve asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

Ve stopped walking, then turned to face him. "I have a crush on you. I've had one since last year."

Despite the fact that he suspected this, he was still shocked. "What?"

"I don't expect you to return my feelings, but I thought… after the play, I finally have the confidence to tell you."

"Since…" he murmured. "Since how long?"

"Since last year," ve replied. "In the beginning, I honestly hated you. I thought you were a spoiled jerk, but I learned that you aren't that, and then my crush happened."

"Oh," he breathed, feeling a little overwhelmed. "I'm sorry, I don't feel the same way."

"It's okay, I just wanted to get it out," ve said, but he could see vis disappointment. "Oh, my house is that way, bye. Good night."

Fitz watched as ve walked down a different path, and he knew that they didn't have to part ways until another few minutes. He felt something like dread build up within him, and he couldn't help but think that he messed up.

•~•~•~•~•~•

After the confession, Dex started to keep vis distance, and Fitz hated it. He liked hanging out with vem, it was nice and comforting. It was like how they were in the beginning of the year, before they finally interacted with each other.

Whenever they had their group hangouts, Sophie, Keefe, Biana and Linh would sit in between them. The distance between them wasn't that huge, but he felt like it was just going to grow more.

It also didn't help that he didn't know how he was feeling. He thought that he had it figured out, he didn't have any romantic feelings towards vem. But every once in a while, he caught himself staring. Dex had seen him do it more than one time, and ve would be the first to look away, looking a little upset.

It would hurt, wouldn't it. I rejected you, and now I'm staring at you. I wish I had an answer for you.

However, he didn't, so he kept quiet and continued to stare longingly.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Okay, what's going on?" Biana asked, slamming his bedroom door open before slamming it shut again.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, hoping that ae wasn't referring to what he thought ae was about to say. "And careful with the door," he added, hoping to get aer off topic.

"Hah, nice try with that, but I'm referring to you and Dex," She replied.

He flinched. Damn it, she's too perceptive. And now she'll definitely know! Well, guess I've got no choice but to tell her.

"We haven't been dating," he explained. "I'm just… ve confessed to me and I'm so confused. I thought… I thought I was aromantic, but all of a sudden I just can't help but look at vem." He sighed, then ran a hand through his hair. "Ve's avoiding me because I rejected vem, except I don't know what my feelings for vem are anymore."

Ae sat down on the bed next to him. "Okay, first off, if you're aromantic, that's great. If you're not, then that's fine too. I can't tell you what you feel, but I can sympathize. Do you remember at the end of elementary and during the beginning of middle school, I kept clinging onto Keefe?"

He nodded.

"Well, I thought I had a crush on him."

"Wait, really?" That was something he didn't know.

"I know better now, I was just admiring someone who I thought was cool and was also pretty. That sounds like a crush to you, doesn't it?"

He nodded slowly.

"Well, it wasn't," she stated. "There's more to a crush than just thinking someone is pretty, otherwise, I'd be crushing on half the school. There's this… feeling inside of you, you feel warm and fuzzy. You find yourself wanting to be with them often, you want to go outside and explore the world with them. You might want to be closer with them than anyone else. That's how I've felt."

He considered that, then tried to compare it to what he'd been feeling.

"It's… similar, I think," he explained. "I like being with vem, and I regret choosing to ignore vem at first. I wish that we could've grown closer before." He closed his eyes, and pictured vem, sitting next to him, their hands linked.

He felt warmth, before it faded into confusion. Biana's explanation seemed right, but he felt like there was something that he was missing.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Since it was summer vacation, it meant that Fitz didn't have to go to school every day and see Dex. While they had hangouts often, Dex often had to babysit vis younger siblings, so he didn't see vem too often.

It was probably a good thing, it meant that he could try and figure out his feelings, without the source of said feelings being around to make everything complicated. (Though, it wasn't really working). At least though, he could figure out how to make things less awkward, because the others were starting to notice something was going on, and he didn't want to be the reason that the atmosphere wasn't pleasant.

He spent a lot of his free time playing the piano. He'd been doing less of it lately, but once he'd started playing not as an obligation, but because he wanted to, he found that playing it was a good stress reliever. He could immerse himself in the light sounds of the piano, distract himself from all the confusion he felt.

Sometimes though, when he played the piano, he thought of the songs that he often heard- whether from school or just Biana- and murmured the lyrics. He tried playing the songs that he knew were about romance, because maybe he could figure out how he felt about the experiences that other people had.

He was still conflicted though. Some songs it seemed like the person was oddly possessive over the one that they loved, the feeling of love so strong and intense and suffocating. Whatever he felt towards Dex was strong, but not like that. Other songs were a lot more casual, talking about how the warmth that came from being with the one you loved.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He really hoped he could find an answer, and soon.

•~•~•~•~•~•

While he had no answer, interactions with Dex did become easier. He wasn't sure if it was because he was getting used to what he was feeling, was coming closer to figuring it out, or he was just getting better at suppressing his feelings.

The next year of school had started, and it meant a new play for the drama club. Both him and Dex joined the club, just like the previous year.

Most of the other playwrights were people he was familiar with from the previous year, but there was a new face. This year, they agreed on something less realistic- superheroes. It was interesting to see how the story evolved, from a joke about the main character "Grey" being morally grey, to adding two antagonists with strong superpowers, which then ended up focusing less on the main character, but more between the relationship between two siblings. It was absolutely incredible to see what they were able to come up with.

Coming up with a plot was only the beginning though, but this time, he had more experience writing, so he was able to contribute even more to the story.

Writing the dialogue could be difficult sometimes, as some of the lines felt too dramatic, or not emotional enough. He tried saying them out loud, but he wasn't that good at voice acting, so he sounded too robotic for his liking.

"It sounds like you're writing something for the play," Dex said during one lunch. "Do you want me to say it out loud for you?"

Fitz was surprised by the offer. Whole they were talking more, it was usually in a group. So for Dex to be coming to him, it meant that their friendship could be better.

"That would be nice, thank you. I'm trying to write a monologue about the mayor, addressing the people about how his sister betrayed him and has been working for the rebels. But right before that, it's his reaction to the betrayal."

"Is he angry, or more sad?"

"Bit of both, and then when he makes his speech to the audience he reveals an invention that'd be used to stop the rebels, so while he's calm, he should also sound vaguely menacing."

"Is the mayor the villain?"

"It's complicated. The mayor's sibling has superpowers, while he doesn't. He fears that the powers are going to cause him to lose his status, so he creates laws that impact people with powers. Those people then rebel so they can have proper rights, sometimes violently, which to the mayor, proves that people with powers are a threat. The mayor also has been looking into an invention that can get rid of powers, because he wants to "cure" his sibling."

"He does awful things for the sake of love," Dex guessed.

"Exactly. Oh, here"--he turned his phone screen so ve could see the screen--"the script is here for you to read."

Ve started off murmuring, trying to get a feel for the scene. As ve re-read the scene over and over again, ve spoke louder, emotion seeping into vis tone.

"Thank you Dex," he said, after it was over. "That helped a lot.

"No problem. It was fun."

The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period.

"I've got to head to class now, see you later!" Without thinking, Fitz leaned towards vem, before he realized what he was doing.

Was I about to kiss vem on the cheek?

He couldn't tell if it was just instinct- he always kissed his mom on the cheek if either of them had to go somewhere- or if he genuinely wanted to show affection like that.

He abruptly turned away and quickly left, not daring to look back and see if ve had noticed or not.

•~•~•~•~•~•

It turned out that Dex hadn't noticed the almost-cheek-kiss, and Fitz was relieved. But it did get him thinking. If he and Dex were to date, would he be comfortable with kissing vem on the lips? He knew that for the most part, kissing was common in romantic relationships. After a few moments of thinking, he decided that he didn't want that.

It wasn't like a switch had been flipped (he knew that kissing wasn't required in romantic relationships), he did finally begin to have his answer.

His hangouts with Dex slowly began to go back to normal, as they fell back into the dynamic from before the confession. Except this time, there was less blushing and being embarrassed, because this time, there wasn't a crush to hide.

Sometimes Dex acted out the scenes he helped write. They didn't do that too often though, since Dex was going to audition, and ve didn't want to have any sort of advantage.

It felt nice to be with Dex, it was comforting and fun. When he tried imagining Dex dating someone, he found that he didn't mind that too much, as long as they'd be able to hang out together (he was annoyed by the fact that he hadn't tried to imagine that earlier).

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Hey, Dex," Fitz called out. "About the confession…" Despite having his answer, he was a little nervous, because neither of them had actually ever discussed the confession or the aftermath.

Dex blinked, then pursed vis lips. "What about it?"

"I know I did already reject you, but well, you know about the stuff after… I was confused. Because I like being with you, and I'll admit, you look beautiful, but I'd been unable to actually figure out if it was romantic attraction or not. It wasn't, so here's my official rejection. Hope it doesn't change anything between us again."

There was a pause, then ve snorted. "You do know that you already rejected me, right? I mean, I get what you're saying, but I've been working to get over you. Hasn't quite worked yet, but I'm not devastated or anything."

"That's good, I feel better about this."

"Your explanation also makes sense, I mean, it took me forever to realize that I don't like girls. Attraction is confusing."

Fitz laughed. "You can say that again. I'm aromantic, but I think part of the confusion is that I like the idea of romance."

"So when you have someone confess to you," ve continued. "You're wondering if you should have accepted the confession."

He nodded. "Exactly."

"And we'll continue to stay as friends, right?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan."

He could always figure out more of the details later.

•~•~•~•~•~•

With everything settled, Fitz and Dex grew closer. Auditions for the play drew near, and the actors were instructed to think about who they were going to be playing.

"I kinda want to play the mayor?" Dex said. "I mean, I've seen very small bits of the dialogue from other characters, but I did have fun doing that monologue the first time."

"You should do it then," Fitz told vem.

"Yeah but… it's a more major role, and I'm scared of messing it up. I haven't really had much experience in the main cast, let alone as an antagonist."

"I'm sure you could do it," Fitz said, putting his hands on vis shoulders. "Your acting helped me, and I'm proud of how far you've come. Worst case scenario, you don't get the role, but you know how nice our teacher is."

"She is nice," ve agreed.

"So you know she won't be harsh."

"I guess, yeah."

•~•~•~•~•~•

The scene that had been used for the audition wasn't one that Dex had read, which made Fitz feel a little bit better, because the last thing that he wanted was for vem to make it because of an unfair advantage. He knew that ve'd feel guilty about it.

The scene was when the mayor's sister left to secretly join one of the rebel meetings, and then he talked to himself about how much he hated the rebels and how he was going to make sure that his citizens would be protected from those who had superpowers.

The edge in Dex's tone was similar to how Fitz had imagined the mayor to sound like- sweet, but it was clear that the mayor was menacing. The reasoning was somewhat noble, to protect the citizens, but what wasn't considered was that people with superpowers were human too. The mayor was the one who ended up causing damage, while trying to stop the damage from happening.

He thought about the ending, and wondered how it would look like for Dex (or another actor) to perform during the end, when everything that the mayor had done led to the deaths of his sister and his friend (well technically, the friend actually lived, but at the time, he didn't know that). The mayor would go through a revelation that everything he was doing was wrong, and he needed to fix everything.

The actors who were auditioning all seemed capable of performing the role well, and Fitz wondered who would make it.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Dex managed to get the role of the mayor, and just like the previous year, Dex often practiced in front of him. Without the fear of crushes, it meant that ve was significantly more comfortable, and ve was able to do a better job.

There were points when ve got nervous, but Fitz was there to help encourage them. And despite the fact that he'd done this before, he watched vem practice in awe, because he still couldn't believe that he was able to watch this, watch someone put so much passion into acting out something he helped to write.

It felt like all of these emotions were contagious, because sometimes, it almost felt like he could feel Dex's own emotions. When ve did the monologue about being betrayed, he could feel that heartbreak and anger.

Or if Fitz was in a good mood, it spread to Dex, vis voice would sound just a little bit lighter, and during their group hangouts, ve'd talk a little bit more than usual.

The opposite applied too- sometimes Dex came to school, angry at vis siblings. While Fitz wouldn't feel irritated, necessarily, but he did find himself needing a little more quiet.

Fitz wondered if that was just them being in tune with each other, or if it was the work of something more. (In his first year, he'd joined the strings ensemble to play the piano part, and had witnessed Keefe and Tam's rivalry, but nobody could deny that when it was time to be serious, they played really well. While neither of them had found their soulmate, he wouldn't be surprised if they were.)

No matter what it was though, he knew that he was glad that he made the decision to befriend Dex.

•~•~•~•~•~•

During some of their free time, Fitz and Dex would hang out in his room and watch tv. Ever since all of this, he found himself focusing more on the writing when it came to the shows.

Sometimes what they watched was simple, others weren't. Some were cartoons, and some were play adaptations to some of the shows he'd watched before.

"Do you ever think about what you'll be doing in the future?" Fitz asked.

Dex nodded. "Yeah. It's hard to imagine it, though. Is there anything you want to do in the future?"

Fitz laid down against the bed they were sitting on. "I don't know, really. I mean, I think writing would be fun. If I got to write a play adaptation to a TV show I liked, I'd be really happy with that."

Ve hummed, laying down next to him. "You can try going for it. I think you'd do well. I know you didn't write the entirety of the plays, but they were fun to act out."

"Maybe. I guess we'll see. What about you?"

"I think voice acting would be fun. I could do stuff for animation, it seems less stressful than doing something live action. Then again, I don't really know yet."

"I think you'd do a good job," he said, before he linked their fingers together.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"I feel so weird," Dex said.

"Can you describe it?"

"I feel anxious, we're presenting the play in just a few hours, but part of me doesn't feel that scared, and that just makes me more worried."

"The dress rehearsal and the one we presented at school were great," he assured. "Don't you remember the applause?"

"That's different. I know we've done this before, but like, we only won one award last year when there were a crap ton of them. I don't want to be the reason why we don't advance in the competition this year either."

"We'll do our best, okay? You can do that much, right?" He asked, gently grabbing one of vis hands.

Ve nodded, determination flashing in vis eyes. "Okay, we'll do our best."

•~•~•~•~•~•

Their play began, and it was going incredibly well- it felt like everyone was performing even better than usual. While he really liked the comedic play from the previous year, the lighting, special effects, and the emotional speeches made the play feel better in terms of quality.

It neared the end- when the mayor was about to learn that his friend was alive. But as Dex spoke, Fitz noticed that something was off. Ve performed fine, but one of vis lines was slightly wrong. Ve must have noticed, because as ve crouched down, ve froze, vis eyes darting side to side. Ve picked up the hand of the "dead body", vis breaths visible.

From far away, it could have been interpreted as disbelief, that maybe the character was noticing something. But Fitz knew that wasn't the case, and even he began to feel nervous.

Ve had started to panic a lot less with all the practice, but that didn't mean that vis stage fright didn't disappear.

Dex, I know you can do it. I believe in you. Just get through this ending, and it'll be over. You can do it.

That nervous feeling that he'd felt disappeared in an instant. For a few moments, he felt nothing. Then there was shock, so overwhelming that for a moment, he couldn't breathe.

Dex spoke, vis lines delivered without any stutter, and there was so much happiness in vis tone, more than Fitz had heard in a while. There was that breathless sort of relief, which mainly came from receiving good news after a long time. There was no way that it could be faked so easily. Especially not when ve had been panicking just moments ago.

Fitz smiled at vem, those same emotions that Dex was feeling could be felt by him too. He had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, Fitz was glad that it had happened.

When ve walked off stage after the last few scenes were over, he heard a voice in his mind.

Wonderboy, did you know that we're soulmates?

It was Dex's voice, but ve was nowhere near hi-

He caught on to that last word. Soulmates. Soulmates. That word repeated in his brain.

Yeah, soulmates. It shocked me, but not so much the soulmates part but more the "your voice is in my brain" part. How do you feel about all of this?

Despite being a writer, he had no words to explain how he felt. He was elated, happy, but none of those words felt like it did justice.

Okay, I think I can tell. Just know that I'm happy you're my soulmate too. Also, you might wanna get up on stage to bow, we can talk later.

Fitz stood up quickly, not realizing that the others were getting up. Yeah, we'll do that.

The festival itself wasn't that long, and their school was one of the later schools to present, but still, it felt like such a long time away. He had to actively concentrate on the other plays, otherwise he was going to get lost in thought, or end up spending the entire time mentally communicating with Dex.

Finally though, it ended, and once they were dropped back at school, they started their walk home together.

"Are you shocked that we're soulmates?" Dex asked.

"Not really. You and I have gotten really close over these two years, I don't think I can imagine my soulmate being anyone else," he replied. "Though I do still think that part of me is processing."

Ve snorted. "That reveal literally snapped me out of my spiraling. If you think you had no time to process it, imagine being on stage and there's just a voice. I'm lucky I didn't jump in shock, and managed to get through the rest of that."

"Oh, yeah, that would be something that would scare me. But I think we should talk about what comes next."

"We already decided that we aren't gonna date," Dex told him.

He nodded. "And I've thought about this for a while, but I do want to stay close with you. With the knowledge that you're my soulmate, that makes me want it more. I don't know what exactly either of our stories will be like in the future, but I want you to be one of the main characters in my story."

Dex looked down, vis face flushing red. "You- you're such a dork, you know that? How do you say something so cheesy? But… I can agree too."

Fitz felt his own face heating up a little bit, and was glad that his skin was dark enough for it to not show. It did sound a little cheesy.

"At least we have that much settled. Our stories are still in progress, so we can always wait before adding more plot points."

Ve laughed. "You make it sound so dramatic."

"I'm a writer!"

•~•~•~•~•~•

"So you look happy," Biana remarked as he entered the living room that same night. "I think you somehow look happier than you did last year."

He could still feel the smile on his face. "Dex is my soulmate."

"Wait, really? That's so cool! What happened?"

Fitz recounted the events, then began to describe how it felt. He was sort of able to feel those emotions before he realized, but once the bond was truly established, he was conscious of Dex's emotions, and the other way around. Every once in a while, he could hear Dex's voice in his mind.

"That's amazing!" Ae squealed. "Do you think that either Sophie or Linh could end up as my soulmate? That would be so cool! Even if neither of them aren't, I could see if my soulmate would join the polycule. Even if they don't, I'd be fine with that."

"Both of them could be your soulmates," he said.

"They could," she agreed. "But you know that multiple soulmates are super rare. I'd be so happy if they were both my soulmates though."

"I guess you'd just have to wait and see," he said. "Just like I did."

•~•~•~•~•~•

"I hope our school advances this time!" Dex whispered to him, as they sat down to watch the award ceremony for the plays.

It turned out that the play didn't manage to make it past the district showcase, but it wasn't too saddening. They could definitely understand why some of the other schools had managed to make it.

But just because they didn't make it past the round didn't mean that there weren't awards to be given. The director of their play won an award- and Fitz agreed with that decision. They had done a really good job with everything, including the choreographing of the superpowers.

The other award that their school received was one that Fitz was not surprised about. The award was for an actor and their talents, and he was proud as Dex walked onto the stage to receive the certificate.

I can't believe this is happening! Dex said.

I can, he replied. You did such a good job.

For the rest of that evening, neither of them stopped smiling.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Hey Dex, can you come act out this part?" Fitz called out.

When there was no reply, he called out for vem mentally. Dex, can you act out a part I'm writing please?

The door to the other bedroom opened, and ve walked into his room. "Sorry, was listening to music."

"That's fine."

"Which part do you want me to act out?"

He turned the laptop screen around so ve could read.

"Broken Harmony, right?" Ve asked.

He nodded. Then he watched as vis posture changed, vis face wearing a cocky grin that resembled Keefe's. When he'd first seen the look, he'd thought that it looked odd on vem, but over the years, he learned more and more about vem. Plus, ve had become a voice actor, and had taken on various roles.

Ve recited the dialogue, and from there, Fitz was able to continue the conversation.

"Thank you," he said out of habit, even though at this point, it was something ve would do everything ve was asked.

Ve smiled. "I'll be back in my room if you need me, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

•~•~•~•~•~•

I don't leave many notes in the end but that scene where Fitz almost kisses vem on the cheek instinctively is actually something that's happened to me when I was questioning whether I was crushing on my friend or not (it was so embarrassing when I realized. I was in front of multiple people too, so I'm relieved that nobody noticed). Idk why I've decided to share this now, but as I said, I projected a lot onto Fitz this time

Kotlc taglist: @keefeinnit @impostertamsong @my-swan-song @subrosasteath

Want to be added/removed from the kotlc masterlist? Just let me know!

#fitz vacker #dex dizznee #biana vacker #queerplatonic fedex #fedex #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc fanfiction #ravi writes a thing

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raitrolling · 3 years

Text

Calm, After the Storm

[Easy Reading Version on Toyhou.se]

The clean-up for Vernrot Harbour had been slower going than Lusien expected. There was no structural damage to the town, no residents had been harmed as far as he was aware of, and the organisation that’d moved in to defeat the ‘threat’ were able to manage the situation quite cleanly. He had numerous encounters with members of Gaia since the incident: first on the night of the event when he was prevented from getting anywhere close to the shoreline, no matter how many times he insisted he knew the person causing all the trouble; again the night after when a member of the hospital wing knocked on his door to check him for signs of eldritch mental corruption, due to his close contact with a horrorterror (supposedly the results were normal… For this town’s standards); and then at least once a night after that as more people were brought in for clean-up duty.

The clean-up duty, of course, being restoring the balance between the numerous other entities inhabiting the town.

Lusien has always been familiar with the supernatural, and this familiarity has made him attuned to the state of the town. Those Who Slumber In The Deep are placid for a collective of horrorterrors living in the depths of Vernrot Harbour’s, well, harbour. Their influence is subtle, altering the weather patterns to their liking, and infecting the minds of the residents as the eldritch are wont to do. Some are more susceptible to their influence, typically those who live closer to their abode or spend much longer in the ocean than the average troll. But only he, gifted with the power to see the unseen and comprehend the incomprehensible, are aware of just what they’re doing to the residents. The scientist who lives by the shoreline doesn’t know why he feels lonely when he is unable to hear the whispers in the back of his mind, the author further towards the centre of town doesn’t think about why they’re always so drawn to the ocean whenever they feel troubled. And Lusien cannot tell them, the horrorterrors don’t allow them to believe him.

It is the other entities that are of most concern. The shadow beings were more restless than usual, and their home invasions became more frequent. The spirits residing in the lighthouse required more favours to pacify, feeling extra capricious out of spite for their ‘territory’ being infringed upon. Mostly they just required food or a small sacrifice, and while Lusien didn’t enjoy whenever they sought out something more from him, he was still compelled to carry out their wishes. Every other supernatural being that made their home in the town had their own sets of rules to follow, an invisible checklist of tasks and favours that once completed will make them consider not acting out again for an unspecified amount of time. No one else in the town was aware of their existence, and thus it became Lusien’s duty to tend to each and every one of their needs for the sake of the livelihoods of others. No one but him would notice if a resident was spirited away to another realm or possessed by a cranky entity who was rudely awoken by the songs of The Choir, and no one would be grateful for his efforts, but he still felt it was important to help them.

The staff at Gaia had been more than helpful. The trolls they sent were all well-equipped to handle the supernatural in a non-violent manner, although Lusien would often be called over to guide them through the more unpredictable whims of the entities. “Look for the blueblood with the starry eye” became a phrase often spoken by members of the organisation, and it was not uncommon for someone to come running over to the lighthouse to seek him out for an emergency. He would ask about what happened to Thri- The horrorterror they captured that caused all of this, but no one had an answer for him. They probably wouldn’t have an answer if he used his actual name either, given their tendency for codenames and classifications. The best he’d heard is that ‘the creature’ had returned to its troll form, and was currently detained. Lusien didn’t particularly enjoy the way they spoke of his friend, but he’d given up on correcting every single person he asked.

He was at the pier again, fishing up some more flounders to harvest their skeletons for a ritual as his nightly routine had been for the past couple of nights, when he heard the sound of heeled boots stomping on the wooden boardwalk approaching him.

“Ugh… No one told me there were gonna be some fucked up toads here.”

Lusien turned to face the Gaia employee whining about the wildlife they must have come across, a tall indigblood wearing a white, slightly-translucent coat. They had a company umbrella in their hand that was most likely issued to them as part of their excursion to the rainy town, and they’d pulled up the hood of their coat over their head for extra protection against the wet weather. Through their scrunched-up expression of disgust, Lusien had noticed their eyes were rather striking: He’d never seen heterochromia as intense as their pale purple and reddish-pink eyes. Before he can make a comment about how the ‘toad’ they mentioned was most likely a mutated variation of the juvenile fishmen that plague the waters of the harbour, they’re quick to continue.

“You’re Lusien, right? The guy everyone’s been going on about?” There’s a nice, casual tone to their voice, which contrasts greatly against the horrendous vibes Lusien can see latching onto them. They’ve been deeply tainted by something he cannot quite figure out, but just like all the other residents of this town they seem completely unbothered by it.

He nods in response to their question, and cannot help but wonder if they’re genuinely unaware of whatever magical influence has poisoned their mind or if they’re simply choosing to ignore it. They smile, in a way that makes Lusien’s hypothesis favour towards the latter.

“Pog. Yeah so I’m guessing you’re used to us coming up to you to give progress reports on the state of the town, but I got nothing. The reports I’ve been getting seem to suggest it’s getting better, so we’ll be outta here in a couple nights once we’re certain it’s all back to your usual level of fucked up.” They shrug. “If it was still out of control, I wouldn’t be here. I’m like a canary in a mineshaft, I’m not assigning myself to check out certain towns if there’s a risk of Shitbrains Syndrome. I already got enough of that.”

Yep, definitely aware of it but choosing to ignore it. Somehow even more off-putting than if they were just as clueless as the residents of the town. Despite feeling disconcerted, Lusien nods again. He’s always polite, no matter how disturbing his conversational partner may be.

“Okay. Thank you for the update.” It wasn’t his place to pry into anything else they had implied, and they probably appreciate that. It’s hard to get a read on what they’re thinking.

“Oh yeah, also. Update from the Starfish himself. I’m not a messenger but he’d probs appreciate it if I told you this-”

Lusien’s ears twitch at the mention of the ‘starfish’. He thinks he recalls Thrixe once mentioning his lusus, in a conversation a long time ago about stargazing.

“He’s like, legit crushed about the whole horrorterror thing. He asked a couple times if you were alright, but psychological records are confidential and all that so I just told him yeah. Don’t really blame him that much about being kinda emo about the whole ordeal. And no one really wanted to give him any updates cuz, y’know, that’s a wholeass horrorterror we got locked up, but I knew the guy already so it kinda became my job to deliver the goods. I didn’t even get a bonus added to my pay for that...” They mutter that last part as they look away, glancing down towards the shoreline where Thrixe turned. “Anyway. I’m sure he’d probs wanna tell you to your face if the town’s ever gonna want him back here, but. Just thought you should know.”

For the first time in nights, Lusien felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. That feeling of relief with almost as much intensity to that of whenever he sees Anirus’ ship float into the harbour. He was okay. Thrixe was okay.

“I’m glad to hear that.” The blueblood smiles. “And thank you for being so kind to him.”

The indigoblood was right. It probably won’t be likely that Thrixe would be able to return here for a long time given the whims of the entities, but Lusien would look forward to that night, whenever it may be.

#drabble #lusien avalon #glasya elliss #with brief mentions of #vallis reyleh #celise shoket #had this idea floating in my head for a while now and decided Fuck It. lets write it out

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vanchlo · 4 years

Text

Love Story / Green Eyes 5

Read all previous parts here!

Genre: Teacher Harry, soooooo much fluff, and lots of romance.

Warnings: Mention of blood and accidentally cutting oneself with a knife at the beginning.

Word Count: 7.8k words

Pairing: Harry x Reader

Browse the Inspo Tag here!

Music Inspo: Love Story by Taylor Swift (click to listen to this absolute throwback)

The rolling bubbling of the pot of water fills your ears as you rhythmically chop up the small head of broccoli into bite-size pieces later that night. They make a crunching noise underneath the heavy knife as the heat from the boiling pot spreads throughout the kitchen.

“Harry, the pasta water is ready!” you call to him, looking down at the last few pieces of broccoli you have left to cut up.

“Alright, ‘mma use tha loo quick first, and then ‘ll be there t’ help,” he answers and you reply with an ‘okay’, moving the cut-up pieces aside.

*Warning: Mention of blood begins here*

Humming along to the Pink Floyd song trickling from Harry’s record player in the living room, you glance over at the boiling water, hoping it won’t splash everywhere. Unfortunately, you had continued to cut up the broccoli to have with the pasta, and felt a hot sting on your finger. Turning around, you immediately drop the knife onto the counter and notice the blood oozing from the side of your finger in shock.

“H-Harry!” you shout frantically, dashing over to the sink and turning on the tap.

“Hold on, bird!” he calls back, the sound of the toilet flushing following his words.

“Harry!” you almost yell, your breaths starting to quicken as the water whisks away the blood from your finger that burns from the invisible cut.

“What ‘s it, are ya okay?” he responds gently yet hurriedly, his voice no longer muffled from the bathroom door in between the two of you.

“I-I cut myself with the knife,” you sigh, embarrassment beginning to coat your body as you watch the scarlet run down the sink.

“‘ll be right there! I know ya don’t like blood, so jus’ breathe in and out, and don’ look if ya don’ want. Are ya runnin’ it unda cold water?” Harry says, urgency in his voice now as you hear the creaking of the floor under his footsteps.

“Y-yeah, is that what you’re supposed to do?”

“Ya, tha cold helps t’ constrict yer blood vessels t’ help stop tha bleedin’,” he assures you, placing a hand at the small of your back when he arrives in the kitchen. “‘s okay, ‘m here. Yer doin’ a good job, does it hurt?”

“Mmmhmm,” you almost whine, leaning into him briefly when he pecks your cheek.

“Good girl. ‘m gonna find a rag t’ help stop tha bleedin’, okay? Take some deep breaths, ‘s okay, birdy.”

“Okay,” you manage with a nod, glancing over to the cutting board and knife. “We should probably throw away the broccoli, I’m sorry.”

“We’ll worry ‘bout that afta we get yer finga cleaned up. There’s more broccoli in tha fridge, ‘m mo’ worried ‘bout yer finga. We can replace tha broccoli, but not yer finga, love,” he coos, rubbing his hand against your back like the motion of waving to somebody. Luckily one of you remembers the boiling water and soon you hear the click of the knob twisting to turn the burner off.

“It hurts,” you whimper, getting the dumb idea to pull it away from the water. Your eyes go wide at the sight of the crimson river flowing from your skin, hitting the silver basin of the sink.

“Birdy, don’ look at it. Put it back unda tha water, I almost gott’a rag,” Harry insists, but your eyes are only growing bigger and the bottom of the sink is growing darker with the color. “Bird, look at me. Look at me.” You listen to him and glance over to see his large eyes, watching him as he crosses the room from the other side, a tattered gray washcloth in his hand.

“Keep lookin’ at me- no, don’t look at it. I know ya don’ like blood, so don’t,” he tells you, arriving in front of you. “I want ya t’ gi’mme yer hand and ‘m gonna apply pressure t’ stop tha bleedin’, okay? I want ya t’ look at me tha whole time, not tha blood. Okay?” You nod and turn off the tap with your right hand, but you make the mistake of looking at your hands, just as you would on any other day.

“H-Harry, that’s a lot of blood. Harry,” you exclaim, words shaking as they spill from your quivering lips. He says your name but you can’t get yourself to stop looking, suddenly feeling a heaviness in your stomach arrive.

“Baby, look at me,” he murmurs, lifting your chin to look him in the eyes through the tears you didn’t know were there. “‘s okay, ‘m applyin’ pressure now. ‘m sorry if it hurts, but ‘m gonna hafta do it fer a few minutes ‘til ‘s done. Look at me, talk t’ me.”

“I-I’m sorry, I’m so dumb. I can’t believe I cut myself,” you blurt out, wincing at the pressure he applies and he mumbles a ‘sorry’ before alleviating some of it.

“Yer not dumb, birdy. ‘ve done it befo’, it happens t’ all o’ us. Even tha good chefs like you and me,” he replies with a small smile, pecking your nose sweetly.

“Thank you, Harry, and thanks for coming to my rescue. How bad does it look? It’s okay, I won’t look.” He breaks your eye contact and his head falls, unwrapping the cloth from your finger for only a second.

“It doesn’t look too bad, love, jus’ tha blood makes it look loads worse than it ‘s. You’ll be okay, ya won’t need any stitches I don’ think,” he responds, bringing his eyes back to yours and his other hand trails to your elbow. “C’mon le’ss go sit down, I know blood makes ya queasy.”

You nod and follow him to the small wooden table on the other side of the room where you sit down. He places your joined hands on his thigh and drags the hair away from your face with his other.

“Deep breaths, no hospital fer you t’day,” he grins, pressing a kiss to your trembling lips.

“This is why I’m not a doctor or a nurse.”

“Ya, yer a teacher, and a mighty good one at that. Keep talkin’ t’ me - what’re we doin’ t’morrow hmm, or how d’ya make homemade pasta?” he continues, making the thoughts buzz around in your head as they blossom anew. A smile graces your lips at the funny way he pronounces pasta, something you had been giving him a hard time about earlier today.

“Well tomorrow is the first day of finals, so I have Creative Writing, and a section each of World Lit and American Lit,” you explain, him nodding in front of you, dislodging the curls tucked behind his ear. “And the way you make homemade pasta is you mix together eggs, flour an-.”

“Don’t look,” he warns, lifting your chin again to bring you back to him. The heaviness in your stomach returns when you see the dots of the dark blood on the piece of cloth hiding your finger, Harry’s large ones surrounding your hand. “So what else d’ya add t’ tha eggs and flour, hmm?”

“Um, you add salt and some people add some olive oil. You can add garlic or herbs if you want to be fancy, I guess,” you continue, blowing out a long shaky breath. He nods and his cool fingers feel good against your clammy face when they tuck that rebellious strand of hair behind your ear again. “F-First, you mix the flour and salt together. I like to do it in a bowl, and you make a well in the middle where you crack the eggs. They say they should be room temperature, but sometimes I use them right out of the fridge.”

“Ya, good. Keep talkin’, honey, yer doin’ great. ‘m excited fer yer pasta, ‘m glad we have it made already, we’ll eat soon. ‘s gonna be so good in yer homemade Alfredo sauce. Keep breathin’, I know it hurts but ‘s okay, baby,” he coos, his fingers stilling on your cheek to cup it, relaxing with you a soft kiss. “Then, what d’ya do? I missed it all coz Gatsby was tryna eat me shoe.”

Amidst a laugh remembering Harry’s nervousness at the sight, your lips part again, “You take a fork and mix the eggs together in the center, and as you do it you mix in some flour. Slowly, you mix in more and more until you can’t anymore. Then you can use a spatula to combine it all together before you scoop it out onto the floured countertop. You knead it with added flour for maybe five to ten minutes until it’s come together into a ball and is smooth and no longer sticky. After that you should let it rest for fifteen to thirty minutes before you roll it out and cut it, or use one of those pasta machines.”

“Ah, I see what my birdy was doin’ in here now, lottsa hard work,” he grins, running his thumb back and forth over your warm cheek, the coolness of his rings feeling good. “Yer doin’ so good fer me. Are ya still queasy, or not so much?”

“Not so much,” you answer, continuing to stare into his eyes, which may be the only good part of this. You get to adore him and admire his handsome face all you want and without any teasing from him.

“That’s good,” he mumbles, happiness curling up his lips. Quickly, you hear the little tip-taps of Gatsby’s paws on the floor and Harry turns his head to watch him. “Hiya, pup. We’re over here. Mummy jus’ got a li’l owie, but ‘m takin’ care o’ her and she’ll be right as rain here soon.”

A smile finds its way onto your face, despite the tens of other emotions battling to have their way. Harry and you pet him a little bit while he still holds your hand firmly, pressing his thumb against your finger where the cut is. Gatsby walks off with a cloth pizza toy he found forgotten somewhere in the kitchen, despite it already being ripped in half from his monster teeth.

“Okay, ‘mma take a look and see if we’re ready fer a bandaid. Ya can stay lookin’ at me or look at tha ceilin’, bird,” Harry announces and you nod, but your eyes remain on him. They dance along his expressive eyebrows, the dimples forever there in his cheeks as he bites at his lip, and those lips that could make anything better. “Ya ‘s not so bad, and ‘s already done bleedin’. You jus’ hang tight and imma go grab a bandaid, okay?”

“Okay,” you answer, eyes following his figure as he stands up and walks over to the stove, reaching into a drawer where he pulls out the first-aid kit. “S-Should I look? Is it okay to?”

“I dunno, ‘s kinda gnarly, bird. But ya can if ya want, jus’ don’t want ya t’ get queasy on me again,” he comments, meeting your eyes with warmth tucked into the edges of his smiling lips. Sometimes you feel like you could cry with how lucky you got, watching the muscles flex in his arms as he pries open the box, and how his attention is one hundred percent devoted to you right now.

“I’m curious,” you reply and sneak a look, realizing it isn’t as bad, just as Harry said. Ugly and a little overwhelming that your body isn’t intact there, but he was right. “Maybe you should’ve been a doctor, you have a good bedside manner.”

“Erm, I dunno,” he giggles, waving you over to come and wash your hands. “It won’t hurt too much, we’re just gonna wash tha dried blood off,” he explains, turning on the tap as you glide over to him. You follow his instructions and watch the remnants of your little accident escape down the sink drain. “‘ve neva hadd’a interest in medicine or all that. I mean, I don’t mind blood, but I couldn’t see meself doin’ that. Tha bedside manner comes in handy sometimes with parents and tha like at school, tho.’”

“Yeah, you’re so good with the students. I bet that’s why they like you so much, Harry, you’re always so kind to them, you give them your undivided attention, and I’ve never heard you raise your voice.”

“Thanks, bird, that’s real kind o’ you t’ say. I hope that’s why they like me, and not coz I let ‘em eat in class or hand in late work,” he says, gently picking up your hand to lie in his. “‘m just gonna put tha bandaid on next and then we’ll be all done, and ‘ll finish tha rest o’ dinna.”

“Harry, no. I can help,” you insist, but he shakes his head in response.

“‘s okay, love, I want t’. Ya did everythin’ else, made tha pasta and sauce already. I jus’ hafta boil it and make tha broccoli, and cut up tha fruit. It shouldn’t take too long,” he explains, the sounds of unwrapping the bandage joining his words. Soon his eyes meet yours as he holds your hand up and presses a kiss to your bandaged finger. “All done, ya did so good, birdy. Now go play with Gatsby and relax, ‘ll finish dinna.”

As soon as he turns back after throwing away the trash, your arms go around his middle and your face falls against his chest. ‘Thank yous’ fly from your lips, his soft laugh joining you while his rough beard irritates your forehead.

“Welcome, birdy, nobody else ‘d ratha take care of than you,” he whispers against your ear, pulling away to look in your eyes. “Feelin’ betta, are we?”

You reply with a silent nod, using your tiptoes a little bit to give him a grateful kiss that you both smile into. ‘Grateful’ could never begin to cover how you feel about getting to call him yours.

*Warning: Mention of blood is over*

With heavy, bleary eyes you twist the handle with a yawn, soon blanketing the room in light. Apparently, today is full of firsts, because this morning you’re here before Harry and he’s left his note where you find it right away. You think that the arrangement of roses on your desk gives that away, though, along with the 12-pack box of Coke and tub of Twix candy bars. Your dread for today is washed away at the mere sight of it all, and when you read his long note, it easily knocks you off your feet. You’re grateful that you’re sitting down when you pluck it from the vase of flowers to read.

Birdy,

Good morning! If I planned everything correctly, you’ll probably have gotten to the school before me, or so you think ;) Happy 5 months, my love. I can’t believe it’s already been that long, and yet it feels longer, because of how long we’ve known the other. You claim that our anniversary is in September or October, but nah-ah it’s in August when I first kissed you, and that’s that. I won’t get too sappy in this note, because I will see you in a few minutes and also there’s a lot of room for sappy tonight when we celebrate. I just sometimes can’t believe how lucky I got with you. You subbed in my classroom for nine bloody months before we even met, and then you got the job and we teach across the hall from each other now! It couldn’t be more perfect, but Gatsby is the real icing on the cake, as is you moving in with me in just two days! Gats says that he’s more excited than I am, but I don’t believe him, because I’m far more excited. I’m also looking forward to our shared field trip today to see the Shakespeare play with both of our classes. That should be a real hoot listening to our students trying to convince us to date each other, already. It gets to me sometimes having to fake it, and I know it does for you too, so when should we tell them? Or would you rather wait? You had a good point that we’ve hid it for one semester already, so maybe we could do one more. I don’t know, I really want to see the look on their faces when we tell them before we have new students next year and the seniors graduate. Anyways, I’m running out of room here, but I just wanted to tell you how happy I am to have you as my girlfriend for the last 5 months (yes 5, because August is our anniversary, don’t even question me on this). I can’t wait to celebrate with you and Gatsby tonight, we’ll have to tell him the story of how we first met. I know I’ve been thinking about those important stories lately, like when you told me you had gotten the job, remember that one, birdy? It’s my mission to get you to like canoeing one day, or maybe kayaking. I’ll take what I can get :)

I’ll see you soon for our shared field trip day! I love you more than words could ever say.

Love,

Harry xoxoxo

With watering eyes, you laugh softly at the note with a smile adorning your lips. Slowly the memory comes back to you as the sun rises outside your window.

Although you had been to the beach a few times now with Harry during summer vacation, you still grew nervous every time. You weren’t sure if it was the intimacy of being alone with him, the warmth that came over your entire body when he took his shirt off, the looks you got from other women at the beach when they saw him with you, or the change of events for today. As you waited in your car in the parking lot, the sun baking down on you, the nerves only grew worse as you looked for his black car to pull in. Your anxiousness intensifies along with excitement at getting to see him for the first time in two weeks, seeing as summer has been busy for the both of you. You were especially looking forward to telling him some good news that the both of you had been waiting on for quite some time.

Out of nowhere, you hear loud music coming from a car that pulls into the space across from you, and sure enough it’s him. Within seconds, he turns off his car and gets out, the song a thing of the past.

“You’re always late, you know that?” you quip, leaning against your warm car.

“‘m not late,” he insists, keys jangling in his hands as he twirls them around on his finger.

“Yes, you are, Harry,” you laugh, turning your wrist so he can see your watch that he doesn’t bother to look at. “You’re always so fashionably late.”

“Oh, quiet,” he smiles, slinging a small black backpack over his shoulder clad in a cream Led Zeppelin shirt. He begins to walk ahead of you and you follow him through the parking lot, his sandals making a clapping nose against the hot tarmac.

“Do you know where you’re going?”

“‘Course I do, bird. Now, c’mon,” Harry answers, waving an arm towards the beach in front of him.

Soon, you pass the building for bathrooms and where outside showers hang on the walls, little kids already under the cold spray. More cars than you expected sit in the parking lot at ten am, and so you’re surprised to find dozens of bodies laying on towels on the sand. Your focus is whisked away when Harry avoids the long expanse of warm sand, pulling you over in another direction. Quickly, the puzzle pieces come together when you find another small building and a long dock surrounded with canoes and kayaks. The walk is a little awkward as the tarmac slopes down to the water through stretches of trees and grass on this side of the development.

Not even ten minutes later, you’re both standing in front of a long red canoe with two wooden paddles laid down in the bottom. The attendee had helped you with everything else including payment, getting paddles, lifejackets, and a safety kit. Now, the last thing you have to do is get into the vessel, and luckily the man is already helping somebody else so he isn’t watching.

“C’mon, bird, what’re you waitin’ fer?” Harry giggles from beside you, tossing his backpack in to land on the dry metal floor of the canoe. You hear clicking as he fastens the buckles of his yellow life jacket, tightening the straps of it and now you’re not sure about all of this. You’d much rather be relaxing on the beach, laying beside him on your towels watching how the sun plays on his freckled back.

“W-We still have to do sunscreen,” you say quickly, masking the real reason you’re afraid to get in, although now that you’re here it may be more than one.

“Oh thanks, I forgot,” he answers, reaching forward to grab his backpack which he pulls a tube of sunscreen out of. “Here, ‘ll do ya first. Can ya move yer hair outta tha way, please?”

You nod and with a gulp, pull your hair into a makeshift bun that you hold there. Your skin already buzzes as you hear him squirt it into his hands, and then he begins to rub it along your exposed shoulders and neck. A breath hitches in your throat at the feeling of his fingers gentle along your skin, and then too soon the feeling is fleeting.

“There ya go, I got yer neck and shoulders. Will ya do mine now?” he hums and you mumble a confirmation, turning around to face him. “Here, take tha rest,” he titters, holding out his hands covered in the white goo. You laugh and slide both hands against his until he’s transferred most of the sunscreen to your hands, then turning around.

A bare tan hand swipes across his neck to hold up his short curls, exposing his sunkissed neck. Slowly, you approach him and rub circles onto the back of his neck, and then across his freckled shoulders. The lifejacket covers the rest of his back, and again you wish you were on the beach so you could get to rub the rest into his long warm back. Later, you hope silently as you finish covering the last few patches of his skin.

“There,” you announce, already rubbing the rest of the sunscreen onto your arms.

“Bloody hell, bird. Ya neva tan, d’ya?” he smirks, turning around with the bottle of sunscreen in his hands.

“No, I burn.”

“I know, I rememba tha first day we came here this summa. Poor girl, I had t’ rub aloe all ova you when we got back t’ my place,” he giggles nostalgically, and you groan at the memory. Your back and shoulders peeled for days, and it just hurt to sleep, but Harry was so sweet. He stopped at a shop just to buy aloe vera, then stuck it in the fridge because he said that’s a good trick to make it work even better. Then he bought you a little aloe vera plant that has since become a running joke between the both of you.

“Don’t remind me,” you sigh, holding out your cupped hands when he nears you, squirting a big dollop of the cream into your hands.

“Where d’ya wanna go fer lunch later?”

“Hmmm, I don’t know,” you muse aloud, bending over to spread the white cream all over your legs until you reach the hem of your denim shorts.

“How ‘bout Hewie’s Pizza? ‘s only a few minutes away, and we haven’t been there in a while.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe I forgot about that place!” you exclaim, covering the rest of your arms.

“I know, but ‘m not eatin’ yer bloody Hawaiian pizza, ‘s gross.”

You giggle at his comment, plucking the tube of sunscreen from between his chest and bicep where he holds it.

“That’s fine, more for me then.”

“Sure, whateva ya say, bird,” he replies, standing back up now with slightly ghostly looking hairy legs. “Here, will ya do my face fer me? Y’know I hate that part.”

“Of course,” you answer, rubbing the tips of your fingers together with the cream as you stop in front of him. He lifts his chocolate brown Ray Bans and pulls them back to rest on his head, taking his curls with it.

So far, this may be your favorite part, because for some reason he hates putting sunscreen on his face. He chalks it up to getting it in his eye once, and how it feels suffocating or something. You’re not sure how it’s any better that you’re doing it, but nonetheless, him placing his trust in you makes you feel better than you’d like to admit.

He pulls his lips in between his teeth and closes his eyes as you begin to smear the

cream over his forehead. You struggle a little when you get to his beard, and the both of you laugh, but luckily he’s kept it rather thin these days. You attribute that to the hot summer you’ve both been enjoying. He’s had to have been clean shaven some days, you guess, but unfortunately you’ve yet to have had the chance to enjoy that sight.

“Why don’t you just shave it all off? It’s summer, Harry,” you pose, swiping carefully under his eyes and rubbing it in until it disappears. “Doesn’t it get too warm with it?”

“No, ‘s not that bad if I keep it trimmed all thin. ‘s a pain t’ shave all off cuz ‘s hard t’ grow back, ‘specially tha patchy parts,” he groans, grimacing when you smear it above his eyes.

“I like the patchy parts, it’s normal.”

“Ya, but they’re embarrassin’ as a guy, bird.”

“Oh,” you hum, finally returning to the difficult part of rubbing it into his scratchy beard that reaches to the edge of his jaw and even across his upper lip.

He thanks you once you’ve rubbed sunscreen into every inch of his face, and then you tackle your own after tossing him the sunscreen.

“Ready now?” he asks, zipping his backpack up, and when you open your eyes you swear he couldn’t look cuter. “What?”

“Nice hat,” you answer with a smile, watching him pull a very ‘Dad’ looking Hard Rock Cafe gray cap over his curls. Although it’s cute and dorky at the same time, you miss the curls that now only remain by his ears and at the nape of his neck. “You know, you should just shave it all off and keep the mustache.”

“Ya, no thanks. I already know ‘d look weird.”

“No, you wouldn’t!” you protest, pulling on the straps to tighten your blue life jacket. You can’t help yourself and admire his outfit today as he rummages around in his backpack for something.

“Like me outfit, birdy?” he asks, sensing your eyes on him. After returning the backpack to the bed of the canoe, he holds out his arms with a proud smile.

“Yeah, you look like a proper outdoorsy boy.”

“Good, that’s what I was goin’ fer. Jus’ not a boy, y’know a man,” he comments with a proud nod as your eyes dance along his body.

Sometimes you wonder why he does this to you, wearing such things as these short yellow swim trunks that leave very little to the imagination. On the other hand, why he can’t keep a shirt on when he’s at the beach, whether it was that day where it was raining or it was hot as the pits of hell. You wish sometimes that you could be as confident as him when you’re in his presence. From your few visits to the beach this summer, when you stripped down to just your swimsuit, he was always very kind and sometimes you sensed his eyes on you.

Pulling you from your memories, Harry’s voice comes back to you, waving you over to the canoe. “C’mon, love, let’s get a goin’,” he insists. “Ya wanna gett’in first?”

“I guess, but it’s kind of scary how much it moves.”

“‘s okay, you’ll be alright. Here, I’ll put my foot in t’ steady it. Gimme yer hand and you gett’in tha front and sit down. ‘ll be in tha back steerin’,” he tells you. He doesn’t have to ask twice for you to hold his hand, you think wistfully, stepping forward to do just that. Without a hitch, you take a seat in the front of the canoe, albeit the canoe rocking back and forth a few times from your weight and then Harry’s.

“Alright, grab yer paddle and I want ya t’ paddle once on each side. So, ya need t’ switch it up e’rytime. ‘ll take care o’ steerin’ but jus’ listen t’ what I say and we’ll be good. Alright, bird?”

“Okay,” you answer, the wood of the paddle smooth under your palms. You dip it into the water and paddle once on each side, soon pulling away from the dock with Harry’s voice in your ears.

“‘m neva goin’ canoein’ with you again,” Harry tuts with a sigh, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder.

“Neither am I, all you do is get me wet,” you reply, pulling at the hem of your t-shirt, airing it out as wet patches dot the fabric.

“Yer shit at paddlin’, that’s why.”

“Yeah, I totally did it to myself,” you scoff, trekking up the inclined tarmac and away from the canoeing dock. A few seconds later, Harry’s phone rings and he steps away to answer it. Sighing, you walk away with crossed arms, remembering how he bitched about having to do all of the paddling. At times, he was joking and although you did your best, sometimes he was serious. Then, he thought it would be funny to splash water all over you with his paddle. The both of you laughed it off, but the end of the canoe trip was tense and you knew that the both of you were disappointed. Him, especially.

With his voice escaping you the further you walk away, you soon come upon the boat landing where a long dock sits. Your eyes light up at the sight of a pair of geese swimming around the reeds hugging the shoreline. Your feet quicken when you spot the fuzzy yellow bodies of their few babies following them, and you take a seat on the end of the wooden dock to watch them. The disappointment and embarrassment from Harry’s planned canoe outing is fleeting as you admire the parent geese and their quacking babies swimming around looking for food. They had strayed away from you once you had sat down, but you remain quiet as you watch them.

“‘s ‘bout time I found you. Ah, I see why ya wandered ova here. Aren’t they jus’ gorgeous?” Harry coos as his loud footsteps shake the dock at first, then they soften when he sees the geese who back away from him.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize gently, sliding off your other sandal to set on the dock, until all that’s left on your body are your clothes and your suit underneath. The water is warm when you dip your feet in, kicking them back and forth.

“‘s okay, I think I had my hopes too high.”

“Hey!” you argue, swatting his arm playfully when he takes a seat beside you.

“I gotta realize not e’rybody can be as good at canoein’ as me,” he teases, slinging an arm around you to pull you against his chest. You scoff at him, pitching your shoulder into his chest, but his arm stays around you as his delightful giggle surrounds you. “They take such good care o’ their babies, don’ they?” he muses, eyes flitting to the geese who have begun to swim away, one of their heads underwater searching for food.

You mumble a confirmation, flitting your eyes to Harry whose hat hair makes you smile. Thoughts about how good he always has taken care of you trickle into your mind as you now admire him. He runs a hand through his crazy curls, but his attempt to tame them is pointless. It’s even adorable how he squints at the geese, the sun shining off the water and into his bare eyes after the both of you had stuffed everything into his backpack before leaving the canoe.

“Have they called you yet?” he questions casually, eyes following the geese who quack at their young.

“Who?”

“Y’know who,” he replies, turning his head to look at you, the freckles standing out on his golden skin. His eyebrows fall as he looks back at you and then rise in a question. “Tha principal ‘bout yer interview.”

“Oh, that who,” you answer, and he nods as he waits for you to continue. For some reason, you get to your feet and reach for your sandals, the geese swimming away in the distance now. “Yeah, they called this morning.”

“And what’d they say, bird?” Harry inquires, the dock squeaking as he too gets to his feet. You can hear it in his voice, the anxiousness and also excitement for your answer.

You shrug your shoulders nonchalantly, sure that by now he’s thinking that your answer will be ‘no.’ He confirms that when he places a hand on your shoulder, his nickname for you falling from his lips. The second you turn around, you find his sad eyes imploring yours for the answer, but no longer can you hide your smile.

“I got the job,” you announce softly in between grinning lips. Your smile only grows at the appearance of his that paints his entire face with a declaring ‘yes!’ escaping his lips. Your surprise and elation deepen when he picks you up and swings you around in a circle.

“Ya get t’ work across tha hall from me, birdy! We get t’ be colleagues! Yes, ’m so excited,” he exclaims as you giggle into his chest, securing your arms around his neck as his sit around your waist.

“Me too, you have no idea.”

“Bet ‘m mo’ excited than you are,” he argues, finally setting you down after you complained of getting dizzy. He giggles above you, his arms still around your waist.

“I bet you aren’t.”

“Bet I am,” he disagrees, a hearty chuckle leaving his grinning lips. “I can’t wait, bird,” he muses happily, pulling you in for a hug.

“Does this mean I’m forgiven for the crappy canoe ride then?”

“Ya, I can’t be mad at you right now,” Harry answers, his straight white teeth sparkling as he looks down at you happily.

“Good. Let’s just hope we don’t get sick of each other too quickly.”

“Oh ‘m sure we will, bein’ across tha hall from eachotha. But that’s okay, cuz once we make up we’re only a few steps away from tha otha,” he decides and you nod as a finger twirls one of the curls falling against the back of his neck. “Me favourite coworker.”

“Mine too.”

“C’mon, let’s go ova t’ tha beach. I have those li’l bottles o’ wine in me bag I packed jus’ fer this. ‘ll even give ya a piggyback ride ova, bird,” he smiles, brushing his thumb across your flushed cheek.

“You’ll regret it.”

“Nah, ‘m strong,” he teases in a deep voice that makes you laugh. He pecks you on the cheek surprisingly before walking away. “But you hafta carry me bag.”

You hum an ‘okay’ as you thread your arms through it and slide your sandals on, soon walking up to where he crouches at the end of the dock. Your giggles fill the air as he carries you across the hot tarmac on his back with his arms under your knees and your arms around his neck.

The rest of your afternoon consisted of a nap or two on your towels beside the other, and one of them is interrupted when he scoops you into his arms to take you down to the water he throws you into. At one point, swimming out in the deep water by the tall buoys, Harry swims under you and sticks you on his shoulders amidst your protests. Although warm, the personal sized bottles of wine were a nice treat after your good news that kept the both of you glowing for the rest of the day. You got your wish and slathered sunscreen on him a few hours later, even down the slope of his tan back and across his multitudes of tattoos you somehow had missed. Your day was finished with a pizza and beers at Hewie’s before goodbye hugs, and you were sure this might be the best summer ever. You can’t even believe that soon you’ll have the best job ever, right across the hall from your favorite person in the world, and your new best friend.

The memory fleeting, a nervous huff leaves your lips as you rifle through your plain backpack that you had pulled from your closet for this occasion. You shove a few more things from your desk into it, trying to blink back the exhaustion that tugs at your eyes. The zipping of the backpack is the only sound you hear as you stand at your desk, the chirping of birds an absence now in the winter.

“Hiya, bird,” a voice murmurs from right behind you, causing you to jump out of your shoes. Harry’s giggle tickles your ears as his arms come around your waist. “I always love scarin’ you.”

“I can tell,” you mumble, adjusting the list of names on the clipboard. His nose brushes against your cheek as you pluck a pen from the cup on your desk, clipping it to the sheet of paper.

“Mmmm, how are ya this mornin’, bird? Only two more days ‘til I get t’ wake up t’ ya e’ryday, ‘m so excited.”

“So am I, and I’m good, just tired. How are you, babe?” you reply, closing your eyes and letting yourself relax in his strong arms.

“‘m great, cuz I get t’ spend tha entire day with me birdy, and ‘s our five month anniversary.”

“Happy five months, and do we really get to spend the entire day together?” you reply, feeling his warm lips against your cheek where he plants kisses along your skin.

“I think so. ‘s our field trip day t’day.”

“You better get all of those kisses out of your system before the students get here soon, or else it’s going to be an especially long day of faking it,” you announce, turning around in his arms and opening your eyes to find his sleepy ones.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he smirks, dipping to press a long kiss to your lips. You giggle into it at first before savoring the way your lips move together effortlessly.

“Yeah, get it all out before having to be around me all day without any touching,” you mumble against his plump lips.

“Shhh, yer wastin’ precious time, bird, our students will be here soon,” he whines before pressing on the back of your head, returning your lips to his.

He drags his teeth along your bottom lip as he pulls away with a smug giggle, smashing his lips against yours once more. Your hands roam across his chest and down the front of his army green quarter-zip, and then to his bum hugged by khakis. The second you saw him, you think this may be your new favorite outfit of his, and that he must do this to tease you.

“I don’t know how I’ll keep my hands off you today in that outfit,” you tease him, sliding your hands into the back pockets of his pants as he giggles.

“Yer not very innocent yerself, miss,” he concurs, dragging a finger down your spine covered in your maroon Columbia zip up. “Yer bum looks amazin’ in these pants, y’know. Jus’ beggin’ t’ be touched, love,” Harry finishes as his fingers follow his words to your ass that he squeezes firmly.

You end his words with your lips atop his, the clean citrus scent always covering him returning to you. His giggles tickle your lips when he continues to trap your bottom lip between his teeth mischievously, leaving a sting on your skin after it leaves the confines. Soon, you’re the one giggling when your hands slide under the thick yet soft fabric of his sweater, finding the smooth feeling of his cream button-up underneath that you swiftly untuck.

“Bird,” he mumbles in between hasty kisses, grabbing your attention with a quick pinch of your bottom.

“What?” you snicker nonchalantly, sneaking a hand under the freed fabric, hearing him inhale when your fingernails drag down his warm chest.

“Ya drive me crazy, y’know that?”

“It’s mutual,” you answer with a hiccup when his hand slaps your ass softly, followed by his giggling.

When you both hear the beginnings of voices trailing from down the hall, sad sighs leave your lips before he whisks them away with a deep kiss.

“Love you,” he murmurs with another peck.

“I love you too,” you answer behind loving eyes, watching him swiftly tuck his button up back into his firm fitting khakis with a shake of his head. Unsurprisingly, you even find him doing that as handsome. It must be the attraction of domesticity, or something like that. “Happy five months.”

“Yay, ya finally got it right. Happy five months, birdy,” he giggles. “How’re ya gonna hide tha flowers, hmm?”

“I don’t know, I’ll just say they were from somebody else.”

“Nah, ya should say they’re from a guy and see how yer students squirm,” Harry suggests playfully, adjusting his quarter zip as he leaves your classroom. “Thanks for the help, Y/N, I’ll see ya on tha bus soon!” he calls to you from the hallway, soon greeting a student he meets in the hallway.

The next half hour you find taking attendance and waiting to leave hard, and your impatience shines through. Many of your students are also feeling the same way, you find, and they’re showing signs of tiredness too. You only wish that you could get away with taking a little nap on the bus like you’re sure that they plan to, but alas you can’t as their teacher.

Soon, you’re stepping onto the large coach bus that both of your classes have filled. Luckily, not all of your students had gone on the field trip, and so both classes fit on the bus, but you aren’t sure where to sit. You really didn’t want to spend two hours both ways sitting by a student, and you hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“Y/N, ova here!” a voice calls to you amidst the loud conversations filling the bus. You couldn’t be happier to find who said it, and how they pat the seat next to them at the front of the bus. “Come sit by me, already.”

“I want the inside, Harry,” you respond with a grin, watching him stand up and try not to hit his head on the ceiling, letting you in.

“Oooooo, Ms. Y/N and Mr. Styles are sitting together up front!” Sabrina exclaims, and several other students echo her comment. Rolling your eyes, you plop down onto the seat against the window, listening to Harry shushing them before the driver pulls away.

“Ready fer Romeo and Juliet, love?” he mumbles to you, a smile climbing its way up his cheeks as his knee bumps into yours. You wish it could stay there, but already with the prying eyes of your many students, you know you can’t. Sometimes, this hide and seek game isn’t so much fun, you muse silently, knowing that it shows in your eyes and in his too. Surprisingly, you feel a hand on top of yours, and there’s a firm squeeze before it’s gone. “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”

“Shut up, you dork,” you giggle, winking at him before you turn to look out the window, watching the high school slowly shrink behind you.

“Mr. Styles is reciting Romeo and Juliet to Ms. Y/N! Ask her on a date already! Come on!”

“Would ya lot quiet down? Bloody hell, go and watch Netflix on yer phones and leave us alone,” Harry calls teasingly to the bus full of teenagers as you shake your head, nudging your foot against his. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.”

“My Juliet,” he mouths to you, giving you a nod and your cheeks drown in a warm blush.

“Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” you whisper in response, raising your eyebrows at him, giggling when he points at his chest.

“God, would you two date already?!”

37 notes · View notes

lailaliquorice · 5 years

Text

the world has no right to my heart

Oooh boy here’s some angst. And some long angst, coming in at just over 4k words.

This one was the brainchild of @qualquercoisa945, because I said to come up with a prompt for this lyric and maria suggest jane figuring out that henry never really loved her and that she was abused too. so this isn’t entirely just me coming up with ideas to hurt you all!! but this was a weighty prompt that I hope I’ve done justice because coming to terms with something like this is very difficult, I can testify to that myself, so I wanted to write this well.

tw for mentions of emotional abuse, and semi-graphic blood

It was hard for Jane not to feel like the odd one out amongst the rest of the queens with her first solo line declaring her ‘only one he truly loved’.

She knew that Anna sometimes struggled with feeling unworthy of her place in the lineup due to being the true one to survive and was already ready to convince her that she’d suffered at his hands too, but could never quite apply that thought to herself. Jane had been the lucky one to avoid it; maybe she wouldn’t have been so lucky if she’d had a daughter but she hadn’t, Edward had put her in his good graces and he’d loved her for that, so she’d been treated right. She’d kept herself quiet, she’d done everything he asked, she’d given him a son. So she’d been treated right.

But for a reason she couldn’t figure out, no one else seemed to be able to accept that.

The first person who Jane noticed routinely keeping an eye on her was Anne. Which wasn’t what she expected seeing as Anne had a reputation of being so careless. Hindsight would make Jane realise that of course it was Anne to notice first, since she had taken the brunt of his temper so often and paid for it with her life, but in the moment she just thought it a little odd how Anne watched her frowning after she startled at a door slamming upstairs.

“You alright?” she asked, no hint of a joke in her question.

Jane nodded, trying to ignore the way her heart was hammering at the sound. “I’m fine. It just make me jump, nothing more than that,” she said with a reassuring smile, holding Anne’s gaze until she nodded before heading over to the kitchen cupboard to see what she could make for lunch. They’d done the weekly food shop earlier so nothing had been opened yet, holding out a packet of crackers and asking Anne “Can I open these?”

The concerned look that had only just left Anne’s face returned in full force, making Jane wonder immediately if she’d done something wrong by asking in the first place. But then Anne shrugged and replied “Course you can, all the stuff in here is yours as much as the next person. You don’t have to ask.”

“Oh. I just thought I should ask, that’s all.”

She quickly busied herself with making her lunch, keeping her gaze low so that she didn’t have to acknowledge the worried eyes she could feel following her the entire time.

It continued on with little things like that. Cathy gently rebuking Jane for apologising over a mishap at the theatre that wasn’t her fault only for her to just say sorry again, Anna jumping a foot into the air when Jane’s silent footsteps meant she caught her off guard for the hundredth time, Aragon telling her over and over again that she didn’t need to ask to sit down when she came into the other dressing room. How she would always follow everyone else’s suggestions for everything and back down fast whenever she was asked what she wanted to do. Little things here and there, nothing frequent or linked enough that Jane ever really connected the dots but enough that she noticed them as singular events.

But one singular event that forced her to connect those dots at last started out with an argument that Jane wasn’t even involved with. While Anne and Aragon’s fights were nowhere near as common as they had been during the start of their time together they still happened every now and then – never serious and never lasting long, but still as loud as ever.

Normally Jane would focus more on making sure Kat was ok during those arguments since they could sometimes make her upset, the two of them hiding in one of their bedrooms or sometimes Cathy’s study until amends had been made. Today, however, Kat was actually out of the house when it happened. So Jane was on her own.

As the sounds of shouting floated in from where the two of them had set up their theoretical battleground in the kitchen, Jane tried to focus on the embroidery she was attempting to do. Cathy had already shut the living room door and Anna was playing music to try and mute the fighting a little but she could still hear every word, even her own thoughts inaudible as they were all she could focus on.

Anne’s particularly loud shriek made Jane jump and accidentally jab the needle into her finger instead, letting out an involuntary squeak. She set her material down on her lap as she sucked on where it was bleeding slightly, nervousness rising in her chest as the stinging pain added to the unpleasant sensations in her brain and she was no longer keeping herself distracted.

“Catch yourself there?” came Anna’s wry remark, and Jane just gave a half-hearted laugh in the hope that neither she or Cathy noticed anything out of the ordinary with her.

There was no such luck though, since before she could pick up the embroidery again her hand was grabbed by Cathy from where she was sat next to her. “What’s the matter?” Cathy asked, a concerned frown on her face.

Jane shrugged. “N-nothing, I’m fine,” she lied, almost wincing as how she stumbled over two simple words. She was sure that Cathy would be able to feel the tremble in her clammy hand but she was still desperate to keep quiet the anxiety making her heart hammer and head spin.

Cathy looked entirely unconvinced but didn’t press for more information, letting Jane continue with her work as she picked her book up. The kitchen had fallen quiet by then, and Jane felt her shoulders seize up with tension at the sound of footsteps approaching the living room door. She had no idea why but the only coherent thought in her mind was to run, to hide from whatever retribution was coming.

But then the door swung open to reveal Anne and Aragon together and actually smiling at each other.

“What in God’s name was that all about?” Anna asked the question on Jane’s mind, while she could only sit and watch wide-eyed like a cornered deer.

Anne groaned, giving Aragon a knowing look who returned it with a slightly exasperated smile. “You know that journalist who interviewed us about our overlapping years a little while back?” Anne asked, pausing long enough for Jane to just about nod before she continued. “Well he emailed us the sample article today, and it was absolute bollocks. Turned us against each other completely when we’d been aiming for an article on how Henry played us both.”

“So we had a… marginally uncivilised phone call with him,” Aragon added, a satisfied smirk on her face as she turned to look at Anne again.

Cathy and Anna both laughed, but Jane was still left feeling too unsettled to share in their amusement. “So you’re not fighting each other?” she clarified quietly, too quietly.

Scrunching her face in disapproval as she shook her head, Anne said “Nah, not this time. All’s good.”

“Good,” Jane repeated.

Anne hummed in agreement, though there was something slightly off in her demeanour as she watched Jane through concerned eyes. “Yeah, we’re good. Are you though?” she asked.

Jane just blinked in surprise as Anne moved round to squat on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. “I’m fine, really,” she said quietly.

“You sure? Because it looked like the shouting’s made you kinda nervous,” Anne pointed out in that same gentle voice she always used when she pointed out oddities in Jane’s behaviour.

She shifted nervously beneath Anne’s kind eyes, still not wanting to admit it but worried that she would be called out for denying Anne’s suggestion. The entire room seemed to be holding its breath as she felt herself being acutely watched from all angles.

Aragon’s voice from across the room saved her from her miserable purgatory. “Give her some space, Anne,” she said, prompting Anne to turn her gaze away from Jane’s face and Jane to practically sag in relief when she was no longer the centre of attention. “Nevermind all that now, we’ve given that man a piece of our mind and I should hope he goes what’s good for him now. For the time being, ladies, we should really be getting ready to go.”

The show gave Jane a great mask to hide behind for the rest of the evening; it was easy to pretend she was no less than ok when she was wearing her armour of sequins and had her smile painted on in dusky rose lipstick. But she could hear her own voice shaking as she recited the end of her monologue and began her song, performing on autopilot as certain phrases refused to leave her head after they left her lips.

“I stood firm, no matter his flaws or tempers. No matter my fears or doubts I stayed there by his side. And that’s not because I was scared…”

Or was it?

Tears streamed down her face by the end of her solo, barely choking out her final line before Anne came to rescue her from standing alone in that spotlight. But when Anne grabbed her hand during the pre-Haus of Holbein costume change and fixed her with a questioning glance, she could only rub away the dampness on her cheeks and shake her head while hoping she would be able to keep herself together for the rest of the show.

The second they were back home Jane was practically running straight up to her bedroom, ignoring even Kat’s worried voices as she shut her door and just breathed for the first time that evening. Normally she would find something to occupy herself as she wound down for a couple of hours after getting home, but she felt so worn down in that moment that it was a struggle to just take her makeup off and get changed before she fell asleep. She vaguely registered someone who she thought was possibly Aragon crack open her door and check on her as she was falling asleep fast, just about mustering the energy to tell her she’d be fine by the morning before wakefulness slipped away.

But in her haste to get the wearisome day over and done with, she gave no thought to the prospect that it wasn’t over at all.

She recognised the place she opened her eyes in far too quickly, and purely by the floor she was looking at. She was on her knees at the foot of a throne; his throne, of course. At his feet where he had made sure she never moved from.

“Please, sire,” she asked without intending to, her lips moving of their own accord, though she had replayed this scene in her dreams so many times already that no word was a surprise. “Have mercy on them. This is all I ask of you. I plead for your forgiveness on behalf of these people, for I know they have spoken against you but may their judgement be passed by God and not your executioner’s sword.”

It had been so long that she hardly remembered the people who’s lives she was begging for. Participants in some sort of uprising, she recalled, but the details were unimportant beneath what the scene meant for her.

A finger beneath her chin tilted her head up none too gently, forcing her to look into the eyes of the man she was supposed to love. His face was inches from hers, his breath hot on her face, though she was too frozen in fear to move away even if she had tried to.

His voice rumbled low like thunder as he spoke, echoing around the room as if she was surrounded from all angles by his presence.

“Oh Jane. Didn’t I already teach you a lesson in what happens to those who meddle in my affairs? I’m sure you don’t want to end up the same way that the witch who came before you did.”

“No,” Jane breathed out, unsure even herself if it was intended to be a response to him or a quiet cry of protest at whatever would come next.

He seized her face by tightening the grip on her jaw, fingernails digging into her cheeks, and when he wrenched her head around to one side it was all Jane could do not to shriek.

It was Anne. Or rather, she could just about recognise the woman slumped against the wall as the Anne she knew now, if she looked past the blood and bruises that marred her face. This had never happened in her dream before, and she could only continue watching in horror as the nightmare refused to end.

“Jane,” she rasped out, her voice dry and painful as if she’d shouted herself hoarse. She crawled sluggishly closer as she spoke, forcing her to see with horrible clarity the damage that had been done to her face and neck. “Jane, don’t do it. Don’t make my mistakes. Run, run and hide before he has the chance to do this to you. Before he hurts you like I did and you can never be yourself ever again.”

She was so focused on Anne’s broken pleas that she registered nothing else until there was a hand on her own neck. “Too late, witch,” he murmured, the faintest hint of laughter in his voice.

Anne had reached her by then, a look of unimaginable sorrow in her bruised eyes as she cupped Jane’s cheek with a bloodstained hand and whispered “I’m sorry.”

Movement in the corner of her eye made her look back at him. Anne’s body crumpled to the floor as he raised a sword in his other hand. Jane closed her eyes and screamed.

“Jane!!”

She shot up in bed, still screaming as she looked around in panic and tried to work out where she was. With the darkness suffocating her she still had no idea if she was still in the throne room or anywhere else, and with no clue to who’s voice had called her name she instinctively backed up in fear until she collided with the head of the bed and hid her face in the crook of her arm.

“Woah, Jane, it’s just us. You had a nightmare, you’re safe in the house and we’re all here. It’s ok.”

The light was flicked on then, and Jane dared to open her eyes just a little. True to their words the rest of the queens were all there; Anna stood by the light switch with a deeply unsettled expression on her face and Kat held in her embrace, Aragon perched on the edge of the bed, Anne sat on her knees just in front of Jane and Cathy right next to her. They were all in their pyjamas and looked as though they’d all bolted out of their rooms and into hers when her screams shattered the silent night.

“Jane, talk to us, please,” Anne said, making Jane realise it was her who had spoken before.

Cathy nodded, tugging on Anne’s arm to make her sit back a little when Jane refused to uncurl herself from her protective stance. “I promise you’re safe, love. We’re all here for you if you want to talk to us,” she added more gently, though there was still a serious note in her voice and look of fear in her eyes.

As Jane’s racing mind calmed down she began to realise why. She was always the one to comfort them after their nightmares and reassure them while they cried, so to see her on the other end of that role reversal had to be more than a little frightening for them all.

“I was at the palace with him,” she started in a trembling voice, swallowing hard when her dry throat made it hard to squeeze words out. Suddenly as more of her dream came flooding back she snapped her gaze up to Anne from where she’d been studying the pattern on her duvet cover, just taking in the sight of her unmarred face without the marks of his fury there anymore. “He hurt you,” she could only whisper, covering her mouth with one hand to stifle her uneven breaths.

“Hey, I’m here now though,” Anne said, placing a hand on Jane’s arm to see if she’d react badly before she risked moving closer.

Jane needed no further invitation to practically launch herself at Anne, wrapping her arms tightly around her and clinging to her desperately. “He’d hurt you and you tried to warn me. And he- he said that if I didn’t keep quiet then he’d teach me a lesson by doing what he did to you,” she sobbed out, every memory of Anne’s horribly broken form coming back as she just shook in her arms.

Anne seemed to freeze for a minute before she moved to comfort Jane, and in the back of Jane’s mind she could tell that she was a little unsettled by the tale she’d just told. A gentle touch on her shoulder made her look up to see Aragon sat close with a hand on each of their backs, the soothing note in her voice clearly meant for both of them as she said “Breathe, love, please. We’re in the present day and we’re all safe now.”

“But-“

“Shh, I promise we’re safe,” Cathy added, rubbing Jane’s arm gently as she sat back from Anne’s embrace.

Jane nodded, pulling in a hiccupping breath as she forced herself to calm down. She snuck a glance up at Anne when she realised she hadn’t spoken for a minute, almost quivering at the faraway expression on her face and jumping when she turned to look down at her. “Jane,” she asked, her voice quietly serious, “did that ever happen to you outside your dream?”

She nodded again, and Anne’s face crumpled.

“It was only once though,” Jane said, not sure why she was defending him but feeling somehow obliged to. “He only told me that once. And he was right, it was my fault for getting involved in something I shouldn’t have done. But he was never hurt me. He wasn’t the same with me.”

Anne shaking her head sorrowfully interrupted Jane’s tirade, the look in her eyes so similar to the look she’d held in Jane’s dream that she fell quiet immediately. “He didn’t have to hit you for him to hurt you,” she said, glancing at Aragon who gave a supporting nod. “Jane, ah, I’ve noticed a few things. And I think I know what it adds up to but I didn’t want to say but I think I kinda have to now.” Her words came out all in a rush as she spoke, seeming almost hesitant as she looked back at Jane.

Hardly daring to think, Jane asked “Like what?”

“Like how you feel you should ask before doing things as if we’ll tell you off for anything, and you’re always keeping quiet so we don’t notice you moving around, and feeling the need to apologise all the time and never want to make any choices in case we get mad. And then today, when us yelling made you seem so scared,” Anne listed, and even though her voice was so soft Jane still felt like she was being read out a list of her crimes.

Cathy’s quiet hum made Jane look over to see her nod solemnly. “Things like this are what Kat and I have been covering in our research,” she said, holding out her hand for Kat to take as she and Anna walked over to join them on the bed. “I don’t want to make any assumptions, because I wasn’t there and the only person who can truly know is you. But they’re all signs of emotional abuse.”

“He didn’t,” Jane whispered, still unwilling to believe that. “He loved me. He can’t have done that, he said he loved me.”

The sympathetic looks of her fellow queens as she looked around at them all was almost too much to bear.

“I know this can’t be easy to hear,” Aragon said, reaching over to take Jane’s hand in hers. “But think for me, love. If Edward had been a girl, then what?”

Jane stopped.

Her mind started spinning with the hints he’d made. The anger that had been in his eyes so often while she’d been forced to just batten down the hatches and endure it. The deeper meaning of that one threat which had haunted her nightmares; it wasn’t only meddling in his affairs that Anne had done wrong, it was having a daughter. Maybe she could have done everything possible to keep herself quiet, to keep herself what she wanted her to be, but that one innocent fatal mistake could have sent her to the scaffold regardless.

Kat’s quiet voice interrupted her thoughts, the first time she had spoken that evening. “My counsellor said it’s like being in a box,” she spoke quietly, though there was conviction in her voice that told Jane even though she was nervous she was also confident in her words. “Every time you touch the walls it hurts so you try and be smaller so you don’t get hurt. But then the walls get smaller and smaller and you’ll never be small enough to be what they want. Does that… does that sound familiar?”

She could only stare at her friend-turned-daughter for a moment, wondering how she could have been so blinded with everything that Kat had gone through. “Oh god,” she burst out, covering her hands over her mouth and hunching forwards as she shook with terrified sobs.

Immediately she felt two people’s hands on her back, anchoring her to the present while she sobbed about the past. “You’re alright, Jane. It’s ok,” Anne whispered , “It’s scary to think about and it’s a lot to process but you’re ok now. I promise you’re ok.”

Those words were what Jane clung onto as she poured her emotions out, not caring that she was crying in front of them because she trusted them with this empty shell of herself she had become.

It was a few minutes before she had her breathing under control enough to talk again, sat leaning against Aragon with Cathy and Anne holding a hand each and Anna and Kat with her nearby. “I’m sorry,” she croaked, taking her hand back from Anne for a moment to rub at the tears streaming down her face.

“Don’t be,” Aragon whispered from above Jane’s head, squeezing her opposite shoulder gently with the arm around her back. “We can think about this in the morning. For now, though, we should really all be getting some more sleep.”

Kat’s yawn emphasised Aragon’s point exactly, and Jane cracked a tiny smile as she nodded. But then the thought of being alone for the rest of the night came flooding back, fear in her voice as she begged “Please, don’t leave me tonight.”

“Course we won’t,” said Anne with a smile.

And that was how a few minutes later found Jane tucked back up in her bed, with Kat curled into her on one side and Anne’s reassuring presence on the other. Cathy was latched onto Aragon like a koala a little way down the bed with Anna sprawled out and taking up the space by their feet. The night was still scary and she was still reluctant to sleep in case her nightmares made a return but Anne’s soft snoring next to her was a constant reminder that she was ok and that they’d both survived the past.

There was a lot she would need to deal with after that realisation she’d finally come to terms with. But, for now, she could rest with her family all around her and the knowledge that they would never let her get hurt again.

#six the musical #six the musical fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #jane seymour #anne boleyn #catherine of aragon #anna of cleves #catherine parr #katherine howard #laila's writing

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prism-sakura-s · 5 years

Text

Saltwater Brew

A/N: So um... @sliceofmaggpie idk if you remember but I said I wanted to write a fic inspired by one of your mermay drawings and I know it’s been seven months but I finally finished it so. here it is.

Warnings: murdering/drowning/eating people mention (the cannibalism is more brief though), mentions of loved ones going missing, pain (?)

Word count: 7k (yeah I... kinda went crazy w this)

Pairing: Paulkins

Emma blew a stray lock from her face, growing bored out of her mind. Honestly, curse the gods with making her the way she is. They made a siren who hates sitting and singing all day long. Who does that?

A sadist, probably, thought Emma. Which is, accurately, what most of the gods are. That's what she's learned anyway.

Sure, she would admit, when you first start out as a siren you have fun watching the male sailors plummet to their deaths, or drowning anyone who managed to survive. But after a few hundred years or so it becomes boring. At least, to Emma it does. The other sirens don't seem to tire of it at all. She wonders why.

Oh, and there's the fact that killing people isn't exactly the best hobby to do in taste. In Emma's opinion, the sailors should be grateful they're being spared from living any longer, but she recognizes the fact that, strangely, people would prefer to live a little longer in this cruel world.

"Emma!" a cheery voice called.

The siren in question groaned. Gods, not another one, she pleaded uselessly.

"Emma!!!" The voice was louder and much more urgent, though somehow, it still kept its chipper tone.

"I'm coming!" Emma called back, exasperated. She promptly turned her tail into legs before standing up. She took her time making her way to the strangely smooth cliff.

Upon arriving she saw the rest of the sirens looking and grinning in the direction of a ginormous wooden ship sailing towards the direction of the rock. Emma sighed and walked towards the crowd before plopping down and stretching her legs. She still didn't understand why they had to show them off instead of just keeping their tails. Not that she didn't like the legs, she really saw them as a convenience, but seeing as the songs did the trick anyway, there seemed to be no need.

"Men are most likely to jump if we show them off," Zooey had explained with a big, dumb grin that Emma wanted to punch.

"But men will jump if we sing anyway," Emma had argued.

"So? They will still be more likely to jump if we have legs," Zooey insisted. Emma had left the conversation at that, worried that she would lose more brain cells if she kept it up.

The ship wasn't too far now, and the chattering around Emma grew more frantic and excited. She saw Nora and Zooey climb on the highest rock.

"Alright everyone!" Zooey called in her high, joyful tone that Emma oh so despised. "Let's go get this one!”

Everyone except Emma cheered. Emma, in turn, groaned, grateful that it was drowned out in the noise. If anybody heard her, they would surely her ask if there was something wrong, then continue to talk for a long while Emma slowly dissociated.

"Okay everybody!" Nora called. "Ready?”

"READY!" the crowd yelled.

"ready," Emma slurred.

"Let's sing!" Zooey yelled.

Emma took a deep breath and sung.

Their voices immediately blended together, creating a single tune that flowed seamlessly through the air. The harmonies wove together and made their way to the unassuming sailors. The melody captured the men as a net would catch helpless fish.

Emma saw the men jumping off and cringed inwardly, but didn't stop singing. If she did, the song would break, and she would get in trouble. So she had to wait.

Suddenly, Emma saw something. A man had walked off the mast and fallen, but he had plummeted straight down. Her eyes lit up; that meant that sailor was still alive.

Please end soon, Emma thought.

Thankfully, the gods had mercy on her, the first in a long time. The ship seemed to have a small amount of sailors, so the song ended about a minute after the man Emma saw jumped.

“Okay girls!" Zooey said, her legs morphing back into a tail, "Have fun!”

Emma took a running start and dove right off the cliff. She heard a chuckle from Nora as Zooey exclaimed, "Looks like Emma's excited!”

You absolute buffoons, Emma thought, snorting as her tail returned. She plunged head-first into the water.

It didn't take Emma too long to find him. He was about 20 feet away from the cliff's face, thrashing and flailing around in intense panic. Emma caught him just as he was trying to swim back to the ship.

"Hey!" Emma said, trying to catch his attention. The sailor whipped his head towards her with wide eyes. There was a beat of silence before the man spotted Emma's tail. His eyes grew impossibly wider as he screamed and tried to swim away.

"Wait, hey hey he- oh." Emma stopped as she saw the man was gasping and coughing. "I think you swallowed some water.”

The man's movements became more sluggish, and Emma realized that she needed to act soon. And that she needed to sing.

Emma wasn't concerned with making him too entranced, she knew that without the others the song wouldn't do much. She just needed to make him drowsy or knock the guy out so she can easily drag him to her cave.

Emma sighed and took a breath. "Hey Mister Business, how do you do?”

She continued singing, watching the sailor's eyes droop. She quickly made her way to the foot of the rock, careful as to not stop singing or let go of the man.

As soon as she saw the hole on the side of the island, Emma moved ever faster. She only slowed the once she reached the mouth. She crawled onto the small patch of land in front of it and through the small entrance and turned her tail back into legs once she reached the dry part.

Emma laid the man down onto the cloth bed on the floor of the cave. She found the flint and lanterns she had salvaged from dead sailors and shipwrecks and quickly lit all of them. Emma then scrambled back to the sailor. He didn't seem to be breathing.

"Oh come oooonn," Emma said under her breath.

She pressed her hands to his chest and started to pump it. Water came spurting out of his mouth and the man began to cough and sputter. Emma quickly withdrew her hands and sighed in relief.

"Hey," Emma said, a relieved smile on her face.

The guy sat up and looked at her for a few seconds, trying to register what he was seeing. In this time Emma noticed his bluish-grey eyes, filled with wonder and fear.

Pretty, Emma thought, barely noticing it.

The sailor suddenly realized what was happening and yelled again. He scrambled to the wall and shrunk, hugging it desperately. He stared at Emma with more panic in his eyes than the actual personification of Panic.

"Hey, hey, don't scream!" Emma whispered desperately. "They'll hear you!”

"Are you gonna eat me?” he asked, his voice meek.

Emma blinked and laughed at the assumption. She failed to notice the blush that suddenly appeared on the sailor's face. "No, I'm not going to eat you," she said. "Really, you are already funnier than most humans I find. 'Eat you,' that's cute. No, I won't eat you, I promise." Emma stood up. "The others might if they hear you though, so I suggest you keep quiet." She walked over to a tarp covering something sitting on a high rock. She pulled it off to reveal a large chest. Emma opened it. "What can I getcha?”

"...so you're a nice siren?" the man asked, calming down considerably. He straightened his back and muttered, "That's new.”

"Yeah, well this doesn't happen a lot," Emma said, rummaging through the chest. "I've only saved about... well, more than ten sailors over the course of a decade... or so." She made a face. "I wouldn't really know, I kinda lost track of time over the centuries.”

"How did you know I was alive?”

"Experience, buddy," Emma replied. "The sailors who fall straight down survive the most.”

"Uh huh," the sailor glanced around, then looked back at Emma since there wasn't much to look at. "So, the other sirens are going to eat me?" He made an uncomfortable face. "I don't want that to happen.”

"Well, maybe." Emma took out a pot and dry firewood. "Soup?”

The man was surprised. "Yeah, sure.”

Emma took out more utensils and ingredients. "You see, we sirens choose what we want to do," Emma explained. "All of us lure sailors to their deaths. Although I-" She turned and tapped a ladle to her chest. "-am sick of doing so." She turned back to the food. "But some choose what to do with the bodies, just as they choose whether to live under or above water." Emma walked over to the water trickling in and filled the pot with it before walking back to the chest. "Some just take the sailors' stuff, either from their bodies or the shipwreck, or both." She put some firewood on the floor. "And sometimes... they eat the bodies.”

"Oh," the sailor scrunched up his nose, which Emma thought was adorable. "Well, at least I was saved by you." He looked up at Emma. "Thanks, I guess.”

Emma smiled. She turned back to the fire she started and started to cook the soup.

"No problem." She chopped up some onions and dropped them into the pot. "What's your name?”

"Paûlos," he said, "but I met a guy on my travels who called me Paul, so I've been going by that since.”

"Paul. That's a nice name."

"Thanks," Paul said, and smiled a little. "What- what's your name?"

"Emma," she replied. She then turned back to the soup. "I'll be working for a while, so...hm.”

Emma got up and took a stone bowl and a cup from the chest. She went out of the cave and returned shortly after, the bowl now filled with water. She then heated it and added some black grains. Paul tilted his head.

"What is that... Emma?" he asked.

Emma shrugged. "There was an Ethiopian guy who gave me this, said I should put these in hot water. I haven't tried it until now, so…"

"Wait. How long have you had that?" Paul asked, concerned.

Emma frowned at the bowl as she poured it into the cup. She was silent as she stared at it, trying to remember, then gave up and handed the cup to Paul. "A while," was all she said.

Paul looked into the cup, then back at Emma.

"Don't worry, I don't think you'll die from that," Emma said, adding more ingredients to the soup. "Those grains still seem to smell the same as when I first got them.”

Paul nodded and glanced back at the mug. Taking a leap of fate, he sipped the black concoction and savored it before it disappeared down his throat.

"This... is actually pretty good, Emma," he said, surprised.

Emma looked back at him, seemingly pleased. "Well, that's good then." She turned back to the fire. "Soup's done."

Emma poured the soup into a different bowl and put a silver spoon in it. She handed it to Paul.

“Thank you," Paul said, putting down the mug. He downed a spoonful and hummed in delight. "This is delicious!”

"Thanks, I learned it from this Spanish sailor I saved once.”

Paul nodded again as he ate a bit more. "Say, what made you want to start saving people? It's not a trait I've ever heard of from a siren.”

"Well, Paul," Emma said, "I got bored.”

"Bored of...?" Paul pressed.

"Sitting and singing all day.”

"...that's all?" Paul was confused.

"Oh, and killing people is, I've heard, not exactly tasteful for your species.”

"You say that as if killing people is a minor setback to you." Paul noted, concerned. He momentarily glanced at the entrance.

Emma sniffed. "Don't judge me, we were trained from birth to kill, we're much less skittish with it than you human folk.”

"That's understandable." He went back to eating the soup. "But you won't kill me... right?”

Emma looked at Paul and softened. "No, I won't.”

Paul nodded, still slightly on edge. He continued eating, taking a sip from his drink every now and then.

"What gave you the impression I was going to eat you in the first place?" Emma asked.

"Your teeth," Paul answered, his mouth full. He quickly swallowed. "They're very sharp."

"Oh, yeah they are. We're all born with them for some reason.”

After saying this, Emma realized that Paul was still quite wary of her, though why she failed to see this until now was unclear.

"Hey, look," she said, "I swear, if I wanted you dead, you would be dead by now. Normal sirens are barbaric in their own right. But I'm not normal. Hell, everything about me indicates that. I hate singing, and I hate causing other people's deaths against their will." She paused, and sighed inwardly. "Look, I'm trying to help, okay? And for me to do that, I need you to trust me. You're a smart human, you can do that, right? Wait-" she snorted, "-that sounded threatening. Sorry. Just... just know that, if I wanted to, I could just knock you out and kill you whenever I want, so resistance is futile, alright? But please assume-" she closed her eyes and held up her hands, "-I'm perfectly safe.”

Paul nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," he said softly. He paused before handing the now empty bowl to Emma. "Can I just... have more please?" he implored sheepishly.

Emma smiled in relief and nodded before taking the bowl and refilling it.

She gave back the bowl. “Anyways, you’ll be staying here a few days, so get comfy.”

“Wait what?” Paul suddenly stood up, nearly spilling the soup and knocking over his mug on the floor.

“Careful with that stuff, they’re about a hundred years old,” Emma said, removing the pot and adding more wood to the fire.

“I can’t stay here a few days, I have to go back!” Paul exclaimed, panicking.

“If you go back now, the others will see you.” Emma stood up and faced him. Her face was serious. “Then they’ll kill you. The safest thing to do is to stay here while I build a raft for you.”

“But I-“

“No buts, buddy.” Emma grabbed his arms. “Listen Paul, think about the implications if you go out there. Think about them.”

Paul stared at her, afraid. Emma wasn’t sure what he was afraid of.

“Paul, I’m perfectly safe, remember?” Emma reassured. “They’re not."

Paul finally sighed and nodded. “Okay Emma,” he said. “But I need to get out as soon as possible.”

“Agreed,” Emma said. She let go of Paul’s arms. “Now, stay here, I’m going to get supplies from your ship.”

“I don’t suppose I can take the ship, can I?” Paul said, sitting back down.

“Nope,” Emma said simply, standing at the entrance. She crouched down and took one last glance at Paul. She smiled. “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

Her legs morphed back into a tail and Emma crawled through the opening, leaving an open-mouthed Paul.

☆

A few days passed as Emma built the raft. Over time she and Paul had time to bond. Strangely, Emma felt endeared to his personality. He was a shy guy, very polite. He seemed to be afraid of offending Emma, though there was really no need. Paul, on the other hand, soon became aware of the fact that, just as Emma said, she would have killed him in at least the first few days if she really wanted to. So he grew more relaxed around her, growing to appreciate her company. Paul even told bits and pieces of his life. He had hailed from Athens and was interested in theatre as a kid.

"Theater? Like, the thing Zooey organized one time?" Emma said.

"What thing?”

"It was like storytelling, but everyone randomly sang and made weird movements sometimes," Emma explained.

Paul made a face. "That sounds weird. And terrible.”

"It was," Emma agreed.

"Well no, I just like storytelling in general," Paul digressed. "I loved watching the plays in the Temple of Dionysus and the festivals. I wanted to become an actor one day. But my dad said no.”

"Why not?”

"He wanted me to become a sailor. Said it made more money, or whatever. So I honored his wishes. I got a job shipping different supplies abroad. There was just one thing I overlooked." He chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I was not sea compatible.”

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, eating some grilled steak.

"I got seasick easily," Paul said. "And I'm not the adventurous type, really. I'm not even that willing to move from Athens. I'd be content staying in my hometown.”

"But does it make you happy?" Emma inquired, taking a large bite out of the beef.

She chewed for a while before she realized Paul hadn't answered. She looked at Paul, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

"Does it make me happy?" he asked. After a while he shrugged and settled with, "Well, I don't really know, Emma, I guess I never questioned it. I had a home, a dad, an interest, although I never really acted on it... well, I had a life. I never asked for anything else.”

"Did you have anyone else?" Emma implored. "A girlfriend, a boyfriend...?”

"Definitely not,” Paul said, laughing at the idea. "I liked people but... I'm not exactly the ideal male.”

"Well, you seem like a nice guy, Paul,” Emma said. “You probably deserve to follow your own passions.”

“Well thank you Emma,” Paul said, smiling a little. He continued to eat his own slice of cow.

Conveniently, Paul had decided to help Emma with the raft as he had some experience with woodworking. Emphasis on the “some.”

“I tried it out once,” Paul said, tying together two planks. “Got several splinters and they hurt a lot, so I ended up quitting.”

“Seems like you’re not exactly the type of guy to do anything dangerous,” Emma teased.

Paul chuckled. That was another thing Emma liked about him for some reason. It was probably unrelated to the fuzzy feeling in her chest.

Oh Tartarus, she’s not stupid. She knows it’s probably directly related to the fuzzy feeling in her chest.

“No,” he said, finished tying together the planks, “I guess not.” He aligned it to the rest of the tied wood. “The only reason I’m doing this is to speed up the process.”

Oh great, there was a pang in Emma’s chest. As if this could get any better.

☆

On the night they finally finished the raft, the two sat side-by-side on the tarp Paul had been sleeping on for the last few days. They stared at the raft and the oar sitting on top of it. The raft honestly wasn’t that impressive. It was a bunch of wood tied together securely in the shape of a rectangle. But there was a sense of accomplishment nonetheless, and the two appreciated it in silence.

“It’s… bad.”

They both nodded in mutual agreement.

“Well,” Paul noted. “If this kills me then you’ll have accomplished your actual purpose.”

Emma snorted. “Well, if this breaks it will probably break early on, so I might be able to save you.”

“Let's hope for the best,” Paul said.

Emma nodded. “So, you want to go now, or…?”

“You know,” Paul yawned, “I think I need some proper rest before I go. Don't want to collapse while in view of the island.”

“True.” Emma stretched. “Well Paul...” She stood up and smiled down at him, though there was an underlying emotion behind her eyes. Paul couldn't quite identify what it was though. Emma, on the other hand, knew exactly what it was, and hated it so, so much.

“Let’s get ready for tomorrow.”

Paul settled down as Emma blew out all of the lanterns. As she reached the last one, she glanced back at Paul, who was lying down on his tarp, a folded piece of cloth under his head. He glanced back at Emma.

“Goodnight,” she said, smiling at him.

Paul smiled back and closed his eyes.

As Emma lay down on her own cloth, she had the desire to rip that weird feeling out of her chest and beat it up. It was unnatural. She had never felt this before, and if she did, it was a long time ago and she didn't remember.

Emma sighed and lay silently in the dark for a few hours, unable to sleep. Tiring of the effort, she got up, deciding that maybe a late night swim would not be unfavorable.

She exited the cave and regained her tail. Emma plunged into the sea. She recalled a man who told her once that water was cleansing. Perhaps he was right. Emma felt some weight lifted as she swam freely through the warm water. She ran her hand along the seafloor, disturbing some fish along the way.

“Sorry,” Emma mumbled. She lifted her hand and ascended a bit.

Emma circled the island, growing a little weary. But still, the exercise was freeing in a way. She wondered why she didn’t do this more.

Emma closed her eyes, letting the feel of the water flow around her. She twisted her body through the sea, marveling at how easy it felt.

Someone abruptly grabbed ahold of Emma’s shoulders. Her eyes shot open to see a face grinning widely, hair like tentacles swimming around wildly as if it had a mind of its own. Emma yelped, startled, and swam off as fast as she can.

“Emma! Wait!”

Emma halted. She knew that voice, despite having not heard it in a century. Could it be…?

Emma turned slowly. She saw a figure of a woman with… normal brown hair with black highlights. Similar to hers, though longer. She seemed taller than Emma. Her eyes were a deep dark brown.

Emma couldn’t believe it. It was her.

“Jane?”

Jane smiled and swam towards Emma, who was trying not to cry.

“Hey Emma,” she said.

☆

“I see your little crib hasn’t changed much,” Jane joked, looking around the cave. “Except of course, a raft and a guy. Who is not dead.”

“Yeah,” Emma replied, plopping down on her makeshift mattress. Jane followed her. “What happened to you anyway? You’ve been gone for a century!”

“Ah.” Jane plopped down beside Emma. “About that.”

“You didn’t tell anyone. You disappeared without a trace. We all thought the worst.” Emma couldn’t contain herself any longer. “Why did you leave? I was afraid! Afraid I’d never see you again! I-“ Tears spilled out and she started sobbing.

Jane enveloped her in a hug, rubbing her back. “Hey,” she whispered. “I’m here.”

“I missed you so much,” Emma sobbed into Jane’s chiton.

Jane only sighed and nodded. Guilt was starting to weigh on her shoulders.

After Emma had calmed down a bit, Jane had offered to make something for her. Emma had asked for tea and guided Jane through the steeping process.

“So, I’m going to explain why I disappeared, but to be honest? I don’t think you’re going to like it,” Jane confessed, leaning on the platform where the chest was.

“That sounds promising,” Emma said sarcastically. Now that her sadness was taken care of, all that remained in Emma was light bitterness.

Jane sighed and chewed her cheek. “So, truthfully…” She inhaled and looked Emma in the eye. “I… met someone.”

Emma raised a hand. “Stop, stop. I want you to stop right there.” She looked at Jane with an unimpressed raised eyebrow. “You left because you met someone?”

“He washed up in my cave!” Jane protested. “He caught me by surprise. And besides-“ She walked over to Paul, freaking out Emma a little, and gestured toward him. “-I don’t think you have the right to question it.”

Emma’s face reddened madly. Jane smirked, a little amused and feeling victorious.

“Oh shut up,” Emma snapped. “He’s not the first one I’ve saved.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jane said, checking the water in the pot.

“Yeah, well- wait. You know?”

“Yeah. Sometimes I’d see you zoom underneath the water carrying some guy in your arms. Then I’d hear some grunts and you talking to a deeper voice several nights later. My cave’s not far from yours, you know. And I had nighttime swims too. Or walks, depends on what I felt like. Oh look.” Jane crouched down next to the pot, where the water was boiling. “The water’s ready.”

Jane grabbed a ladle and poured the water into two mugs with tea leaves. She handed one to Emma, who fumed silently. Jane sat back down and blew on her own tea.

“But from what I’ve gathered, this guy right here-“ She looked at Paul, then glanced back at Emma with a smile on her face. “-is very different.”

“Why did you come back anyway?” Emma said, trying to steer the conversation away from the present topic.

Jane’s smile disappeared immediately, and Emma almost felt bad.

Jane looked into her cup. “Mortals don’t last very long,” she muttered. “I should’ve known, but… I don’t know, I thought they’d live for at least two hundred years? But they don’t. Xanthos, he became… old and wrinkly at a much faster pace than I was expecting.” Jane shivered. “But I still loved him in a way. So I stayed by his side until he… died.”

“Oh,” Emma mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

Jane chuckled sadly and shook her head. “Don’t be,” she said. “It happens to all humans, I just wasn’t knowledgeable enough. Not…prepared.”

Emma took a sip out of her mug and patted Jane on the back, unable to recall any other types of comfort.

“Thank you sister,” Jane said dryly.

“Don’t thank me,” Emma snarked back.

Jane giggled and smiled at Emma. She took another sip of her tea and glanced back at Paul. “So,” she began. “What’s the deal with him, huh? He seems pretty cute.”

Emma nearly choked on her tea. She ended up spitting some of it back out. “I-I guess? I mean,” Emma cleared her throat, trying to ignore Jane’s grin. “He’s like a… calf. Fragile.Sweet and shy. Polite.”

“You seemed pretty endeared by him,” Jane said, still grinning.

“You had a lucky guess!” Emma exclaimed.

Jane chuckled. “True, you got me there.” She drank her tea. “I just wanted to get back at you.”

Emma sighed and tried to finish the rest of her tea in peace.

“You probably want to go with him, don’t you?”

“What makes you think that?” Emma said.

“Well, have you ever felt like this with any other poor sailor you’ve rescued?” Jane asked.

“…no,” Emma admitted.

“I imagine it must be disconcerting for you.”

“It’s terrifying. And unnatural. I’ve encountered so many other people before, why did this-” she stabbed herself repeatedly with her finger, “-only come out now?!”

“You become attached… sometimes,” Jane stated, drinking more tea.

Emma took in the sentence, moving it around her head and getting the feel of it. “Yeah… yeah I guess you could say that.”

“Trust me, I know what you’ve been through,” Jane assured. “When I met Xanthos, the feeling I had… well, I actually had a similar reaction to you.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Emma asked.

“I… didn’t want to risk anyone knowing.”

Emma felt hurt from that. “You didn’t trust me enough to tell me?”

“Look Em, I’m sorry-”

“No, don’t bother,” Emma interrupted. “I’m too tired to get mad at you. So I forgive you, though that was a jerk move.”

“Thank you Emma,” Jane sighed. She went back to drinking tea.

“Okay, well, maybe I do want to go with him,” Emma admitted quickly, “but what if the same thing that happened to you happens to me?”

Jane shook her head. “It won’t happen to you, Em.”

“What do you mean?”

“You hate the island.”

“Undoubtedly,” Emma agreed.

Jane snorted and continued, “All of the siren’s lifelines are connected to it, tied to it. Like… there are strings on us that are also attached to the island. As long as we stay here, that string won’t break, we won’t grow old. I never hated my life, so my string never broke, just became longer. But your string…” She gently took Emma’s wrist and traced an invisible thread from it. “It’s already frayed.” Jane made an exploding motion with her hand. She put Emma’s wrist down. “If you leave, you become mortal. So you’ll just be dying slowly with your fella over there. Hardly any emotional pain.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to handle that,” Emma said, uncomfortable.

“I think you have a while to get used to it.”

Emma huffed and set down her mug, folding her arms. “How do I know you’re not just getting rid of me?”

Jane chuckled. “I’m telling you this so you can do what you want. I’m not telling you to leave, that’s up to you. But I do know that you want to leave this life, you just needed a reason.”

Emma glanced back at Paul and sighed inwardly.

Jane noticed this. “See? You agree.”

Emma glanced back at Jane. Technically, all of the sirens were sisters, but Jane was the only person Emma really regarded as a sister. They were very close, and when Jane left, Emma felt like she had lost something important to her.

“What about you?” Emma asked softly. “I mean, I could visit you from time to time, but… if I go, I’ll be gone for a long time.”

“I realize that, and I’m not entirely happy with it,” Jane said. “But I know you, Em, you want to be free. You started saving sailors just to defy what you were created for. You hate being a siren, and nothing would make you happier than simply not being one. And then you meet this guy that you may really like and want to spend more time with him, so maybe, you think, you want to go with him. And you’ve found your chance Em! This guy-” She gestured wildly to Paul, “-is your chance! To be truly happy!” She took Emma’s hands in hers. “And you should be happy! Honestly… that is something everyone should have.”

“True happiness, huh?” Emma said, bowing her head.

Jane nodded, smiling. “Well, if he turns out to actually be a jerk or becomes too boring, you can always come back.”

Emma chuckled, then nodded back slowly. “I… do want to go.”

“Then you go with him tomorrow. You fulfill your dream.”

“But… you just came back.” Emma looked at Jane with sad eyes.

“If you get homesick, you can always visit,” Jane assured. “Your little sailor friend can help you. But you definitely won’t regret leaving, I know it.”

Emma smiled, relieved. She chuckled and lightly punched her sister’s shoulder. “You better miss me.”

“Oh trust me, I will,” Jane promised.

The two sisters embraced each other.

☆

Paul opened his eyes blearily. He yawned and sat up, trying to process the sight. To his surprise, Emma was still asleep, and seemed well-rested. And even more surprising was the presence of another woman hugging Emma in her sleep.

Well, in Paul’s case, surprising, yes, but also terrifying.

Paul screeched.

Emma immediately woke up and stood facing Paul. “What is it?” she screeched back, panicked.

Paul pointed at Jane. “Who is she?” he whispered desperately.

Emma relaxed and looked at where Paul was pointing. “Oh, Jane?” she asked.

Paul nodded fiercely.

“Oh, she’s my sister. She went missing a long time ago. Apparently-” Emma shot a stink eye at the sleeping figure, “-she ran off with a cute sailor who washed up in her cave,” she said in a mocking voice.

Paul snickered, and Emma smiled again. You know, she mused, Jane could be right.

“I might follow in her footsteps in a while,” she said. “Coffee?”

“Yes please,” Paul said, sitting down again. “Wait- what?”

“What?”

“‘Follow in her footsteps?’ You’re gonna run off with someone? Who?”

Emma processed his words for a second as she collected water before bursting out in laughter. “Who else do you think?” she said.

Paul reddened. “Wait, you want to go with me? Why?”

“Well Paul,” Emma said, starting a fire, “I don’t think it’s gone unnoticed by you, but I hate being a siren very much.”

“So much so that you’re willing to run away?” Paul inquired, surprised. “I didn’t think you hated it that much.”

“Well I do, and I…” Emma thought of what to say. “...decided to leave for once, with you.”

“Can’t you go on your own? You don’t exactly need a boat to leave.”

Emma didn’t reply. She only sat by the heating water, desperately trying to think of an excuse.

“Weeeell… I guess… some things are worth it,” she said, turning to smile softly at Paul. “And, I mean, I kinda had a job rescuing sailors, but Jane has graciously offered to take over for me,” she quickly added. “I’m free. So I guess a little adventure won’t hurt.”

“You know I’m not fond of adventure, Emma,” Paul pointed out, a little amused.

“If you go anywhere in this great expanse of water, you are asking for adventure,” Emma said, sprinkling in the black grains.

“I… guess that’s true,” Paul muttered.

“So, I believe-” Emma poured the drink into a mug and walked over to Paul, “-I’m going with you.”

Paul couldn’t help his smile as he took the mug. Emma saw this and felt the return of the fuzzy feeling.

Goddammit, she thought, but didn’t make any other internal comment.

Emma heard a grunt from the other side of the cave. Jane was awake.

Emma looked back to see Jane sitting up and yawning. She looked over at Paul and Emma watching her curiously. Jane grinned.

“Well good morning, you two,” she said, standing up. “What’s this you got here Emma?” She stared at the brew in the pot.

“It’s a concoction… of sorts,” Emma explained. “Paul, this is Emma.”

“Hi,” Paul greeted quietly.

“Hello there, human.” Jane greeted back. “Emma has told me quite a lot about you.”

Emma blushed. “Jane!” she hissed.

“Sorry,” Jane said teasingly. “Mind if I have some of this drink?”

Emma huffed, the heat retreating from her face. “Sure.”

The day went on normally, Emma collecting fruit and vegetables for them to eat. Paul took some and placed them in an old purse from a shipwreck for the travel. Jane hung out in Emma’s cave, striking up small conversations with Paul while Emma salvaged for supplies just in case. She cooked stew and found bread from the most recent ship.

The sun settled below the horizon and turned the sky dark, allowing the stars to come out. Emma peeked out of the cave, hoisting the raft behind her. Paul held the other end back in the cave as Jane carried their supplies behind him.

Emma glanced towards the top of the island. She heard the chattering of the sirens die down and the lamps going out. She saw a few of the others diving down into their own caves underwater. Soon everything had quieted down and the moon was in the sky.

“Alright, everyone else is gone,” Emma whispered. “Push!”

Paul grunted as he heaved the raft out of the hole. Jane followed after them, watching the environment waringly.

“Everyone’s asleep?” Paul asked. “No one will hear us?”

“Well,” Emma grunted, pulling the raft fully out of the hole, “if we’re quiet enough. Some of them could still be awake, but they’re pretty far from us so… no. Hopefully.”

The raft plopped into the water with a quiet sploosh. It bobbed up and down as the waves pushed it around. Paul turned slightly green. Emma caught his expression.

“Paul?” she asked, seemingly concerned.

“Yeah?” Paul squeaked, turning to look at her.

Emma smirked and jumped into the middle of the raft, wobbling slightly.

Sploosh, sploosh.

The raft bobbed more frantically. Paul gulped.

“Come on,” Emma said, walking to the edge. “Or would you rather stay here with the murder maidens?”

“Of course, I can take care of you if you choose to stay,” Jane offered, shrugging. Emma shot her a dirty look and she chuckled. “Seriously though Paul, it’s not so bad. Try to suck it up. Or if you can’t, just puke into the ocean.”

“Don’t, you’ll inconvenience the fish.” Emma held out her hand to Paul and smiled comfortingly. “Let’s go.”

Paul nodded. “Okay,” he muttered, still slightly unsure. He took a deep breath and took her outstretched hand. Paul stepped onto the raft.

Emma smiled wider. “Alright, and the other foot…”

Paul did as he was told and put his other foot on the raft. Immediately the vessel was put off-balance, making Paul yelp and flail his arms, staggering backwards, threatening to fall.

Emma panicked, grabbing both of Paul’s arms and pulling him to the middle of the vessel, determined to keep balance. She gasped and tried to calm her breath. Emma looked up at Paul.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked.

Pau’s eyes were wide and he was breathing hard. He was panic-stricken. Paul looked down at Emma’s concerned face.

“Y-yeah,” Paul said. He was starting to calm down. His mental stability was that of the raft, slowly going down to gentle bobs on the sea. Paul realized he was clenching Emma’s arms too tightly and relaxed them.

“Oh sorry,” he apologized.

“Oh no, no it’s okay,” Emma assured.

After saying that sentence, Emma realized their exact position. They were grasping each other’s arms and staring at each other blank in the face.

Emma blushed and awkwardly detached her arms from Paul’s. “Um, alright then,” she said. She took another glance at Paul before walking over to Jane, who was watching them amusingly.

Jane, thank god for the small sliver of mercy in her, merely held out the bag of supplies and smirked, but otherwise said nothing. Emma very graciously snatched the package from Jane.

“Thank you,” Emma said.

Jane’s smirk morphed into a genuine smile. “You know, Emma, I’m actually really proud of you.”

“And that’s a surprise, now is it?” Emma joked.

Jane chuckled and sighed. She looked at Emma and smiled, a little sad. “I hope you have a good journey. And a good life.”

Emma smiled a little. “Thank you, Jane.”

Jane spread her arms, inviting Emma. The latter accepted and hugged her sister tightly.

Once they separated, Emma put down the bag of food and picked up the oar. She smiled, then grinned at Paul, feeling a little confidence build up within her. She grasped the oar tightly and lowered the paddle into the water. Slowly, but surely, she pushed it through the water.

The raft bumped against the land.

“Uh…” Jane said, “you’re supposed to row the other way.”

Paul, who turned a little nauseous again, nodded weakly.

“Right,” Emma quickly corrected, a little flushed.

She quickly pushed the oar behind her, and the raft started moving away from the island.

Emma truly smiled this time, and pushed it again.

And again.

Emma whooped happily as the few inches between her and the island became a few feet, then a few meters. She looked back at Jane, who was grinning too.

“Goodbye, Jane!” she called, waving happily.

Jane whooped too and waved back.

Emma grinned wider and glanced at Paul, ignoring the sudden yank in her gut. He seemed calmer now, and happier now that he was leaving the island and going back to his home. Emma was happy too. She felt it throughout her, leaving a warm feeling in her face, her chest.

Yank.

Emma grinned at the moon, feeling the wind brush her face. They were leaving.

Yank.

Emma was rowing a raft away from the island she hated with a man she felt some sort of strong connection with.

Yank.

It felt great. Emma was invigorated.

YANK.

In a rush of joy, Emma suddenly turned towards Paul and took a step towards him.

SNAP!

Emma screamed as pain overtook her body. It flooded her mind. Some part of her - she wasn’t sure what - was being pulled from her body.

“Emma?” she could faintly hear Paul say. “Emma!” he yelled.

The siren screamed as the pain throbbed, spreading throughout her body. Emma’s vision dimmed and Paul’s panicked face started fading until all she could see was black.

☆

Emma’s eyes opened to a dark night sky. The stars twinkled overhead, greeting Emma and her headache.

Emma sat up and groaned. Most of the pain was gone, but some had apparently remained. She clutched her head and shut her eyes, hoping that it would help dull the migraine.

“Oh my gosh Emma!” Paul exclaimed, dropping the oar he had been holding and rushing over. The raft wobbled, and Paul immediately halted to steady himself.

“Sorry,” he apologized, now walking slowly towards Emma, “I’m still not used to how unsteady this is. An actual ship is much more stable.”

Paul gently kneeled down beside Emma’s propped-up figure and gently smiled at her. He clasped his hands. “Are… you okay?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, my head hurts like Hades, but otherwise I’m alright.”

Paul frowned and turned towards the supply bag. “Just lie down, alright? I’ll get you something to eat.”

Emma nodded again and lay down. She felt the bobbing of the raft as Paul moved towards the pouch and observed the speckles of light dotted across the sky.

“How long was I asleep for?” she suddenly asked.

“Oh, um…” Paul, tight-lipped, tapped the rim of the bowl he held in his hand. “I think it was… two days.”

“What?!” Emma shot up and immediately yelped at the sudden sting in her skull.

Paul turned to look at her, eyes wide. “Emma, don’t do that!” he squeaked. “Just lay down, please?”

“Mmhm,” Emma responded meekly, eyes closed. She lowered herself again, feeling the ache swirl around.

Emma sniffed, then asked again, “Was it really two days?”

“Well, it might have been three,” she heard Paul reply.

Emma sighed. “Zeus damn it. And we’re not near land?”

“There’s only two of us rowing this raft- well, one of me in the last few days,” Paul said. Emma heard a delicate trickle into a bowl coming from his direction. “And this is a very small vessel, so it’s no surprise we’re moving slowly. Here.”

Emma felt a nudge on her shoulder and opened her eyes. Paul was handing her a stone bowl filled with soup.

“Get up slowly,” Paul implored.

Emma did as he asked, propping herself up. She gratefully took the bowl from Paul’s hands and began drinking it. It was cold, but she wasn’t to complain - they had been in the middle of the sea for a few days, after all.

“So… what happened to you?” Paul asked, his voice tinged with worry. “I was… really afraid you were dying. As if a god had smitten you.”

Emma lifted her head, licking some of the soup around her mouth. “No, I think…” She furrowed her brow. “Jane said that once I would leave, the connection between the island and I would sever.”

“Connection?” Paul inquired.

“She described it like a thread, tying me to the life force of the island. It was already loose since I hated it there, but it wouldn’t fully cut off until I left for good.” Emma winced. “Which means… I’m not immortal anymore.”

“Wait, you’re not?” Paul blurted. Emma detected disbelief as well as guilt in his voice. “I- are you going to be okay?”

Emma shrugged. “I suppose so. Being a mortal can’t be that bad. I mean, you’ve turned out okay.”

“Barely,” Paul mumbled, worry lines still etched into his face.

Emma noticed this, and quickly tried to reassure: “Hey, don’t feel bad about it. It’s certainly not your fault. I asked for this, and it’s honestly better than my crappy life as a siren.”

Paul nodded, a relieved smile making its way onto his face.

“Well, get some rest,” he said, carefully standing up. “I have to man the raft and see if anything wants to, uh, eat us.”

Emma smiled up at Paul. “Sounds good to me.”

Paul lingered for a bit before walking over to the oars at the other end of the raft.

Emma finished her soup and put the bowl back into the bag. She gradually laid back down, hearing the gentle splish, splish of the oars as Paul began to row. She took a deep breath and took in the sight of the stars twinkling down at her. She processed the fact she was now free.

Emma was free.

Slowly, as the boat rocked her like a baby in a cradle, with the comfort the stars provided and the calming sounds of the ocean clouding her mind, Emma soon drifted to sleep.

Maybe, just maybe, the gods were kind sometimes.

#tgwdlm #the guy who didn't like musicals #starkid #team starkid #paulkins #paul matthews #emma perkins #paul tgwdlm #emma tgwdlm #the guy who didnt like musicals #tgwdlm fanfic #tgwdlm fanfiction #tgwdlm fic #starkid fanfiction

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gracie-p8-officialblog · 5 years

Text

Spilling Tea On Phantom of the Opera 2004

DISCLAIMER: I just want to say from the start that it is not my intention to offendanyone, you're entitled to your opinions and I'm allowed to have mine...

Ok, so, I just watched this movie a few days ago on my laptop and it was pretty much my first time sitting through the movie. I watched a few clips of the movie on YouTube but... Then, I decided to watch the whole movie. And this was my reaction.

Don't get me wrong! There WERE parts I liked but... That was just half of the movie... But overall... Um... It was meh. Ahem. Down to business!

My opinion on Gerard Butler as the Phantom? Um, wow. And not in a good way. I feel like this was a case of a talented performer being grossly miscast as the Phantom. I think this Tumblr post best describes on what I thought of his singing.

"He's supposed to have the voice of an angel, but it sounds like he's been gargling vinegar" ~Quoted by @faded-florals

Don't get me wrong. His voice is quite good for an untrained singer but... The Phantom is one of the biggest musical theatre roles of all time! It's right up there with Jean Valjean. It's really not a role that could go a competent singer, someone who's never sang professionally before but could be good once they've been trained up a bit. The role demands a truly great singer... And he wasn't right for the part.

His voice felt too strainy, growly and rock-ish for the Phantom. I didn't like how Joel Schumacher bought into the whole "sexy Phantom" thing and cast a hunky heart-throb, who was nowhere near disfigured enough. It's meant to be a gothic thriller novel with a small romantic subplot, not a B-grade vampire romance movie!

As for Emmy Rossum as Miss Christine Daae... it's true, her voice is good. She should know though, should she wish to excel, she has MUCH still to learn (Heeeeehee. Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

Emmy's Christine had little-to-no character growth and personality but I don't think it reflects her as an actress, but reflects more on the director and casting director because of how young she was (but more on that later)

Not only that, her Christine was SIGNIFICANTLY dumbed down and oversexualized. I mean, the entire point of the story is that Christine grows strong enough to overcome the trauma of an abusive relationship and make sure that her abuser never hurts anyone ever again but still shows the Phantom compassion and sympathy. I mean, her story arc is her becoming strong-willed enough to overcome the Phantom's pull/spell/enchantment/hypnosis or whatever you percieve it as on her! And don't get me started on her costumes because of the SEVERE lack of modesty.

The chemistry was a little flat because she was underage and her two male love interests were both in their 30s (which totally isn't HER fault, of course, but the directors could easily have cast someone else older)

Her voice, too, strikes me as being much too young and undeveloped. She has a very pretty, sweet-sounding quality to her singing but she doesn't sound rich and operatic enough to be a convincing Christine. Rebecca Caine and Amy Manford do the best job of singing the way I think Christine ought to sound- a maturing opera voice! Though POTO is NOT an opera (you wouldn't believe how many people actually think it is...), it does revolve around opera, and Christine is an opera singer, not a pop star.

And now onto... Everyone's favourite vicomte!!!!!!

C'mon people, put your bottles down. It is a truth universally acknowledged (or at least in the wee Raoul Defense Squad Circle) that Raoul is one of the greatest and most underrated boyfriends to ever exist in musical theatre and it's almost impossible to hate him because of how relatable he is.

Ladies, puh-leeze. He's much more relatable than you admit and face it, we all have a little bit of Raoul in us. Failure to see things staring us in the face, saying or doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, having a 'see it to believe it' attitude when we have little-to-no evidence on something... yeah, don't pretend you don't see a trend. Raoul is relatable whether we want him to be or not.

My thoughts on Patrick Wilson as Raoul, he was one of the few redeeming qualities of this not so great movie. Yeah, the swordfight and Tarzan leaps were a little too much but can you blame him?! And though I feel like that foppish wig made him look more like a magic elf prince than a vicomte, he couldn't control that!

His Raoul was so gentle and caring! Yeah, his acting was a bit stiff but at least his voice wasn't a chore to listen to, it has this warm, tender, comforting quality to it which suits Raoul. I really loved the way he sang "Don't throw away your life for my sake" and "I fought so hard to free you" in the Final Lair (😭😭😭) It feels like Raoul is genuinely apologising to Christine.

I know, I know... The Hadley Fraser fans are approaching with menacing expressions as we speak but let me clarify. I still think Hadley is amazing but... His Raoul kinda felt a little too shouty for me and his Raoul was closer to the LND-canon than POTO-canon (not his fault though).

Miranda Richardson (aka. Rita Skeeter) as Madame Giry is kind of weird. I mean, I know Madame Giry's supposed to be a little Strange and Mysterious. But this Mme. wasn't really Strange or Mysterious at all, or even slightly Spooky at all. She was just kind of an oddball. Popping up in random places to give warnings about the Phantom and looking at people as if she were questioning their life choices or something. As for her daughter... well, Jennifer Ellison's Meg was so-so. She's got a sweet-sounding voice and that added scene where she looked for Christine in the lair was a nice touch... But... Her Meg was kinda forgettable and uninteresting. Meg is supposed to prance around shrieking that the Phantom of the Opera is here, not whisper it in a blase manner that you half expect to be followed up with, "by the way, what's for lunch?" Not to mention, she rivaled Christine as far as low-necked costumes went.

Minnie Driver as Carlotta was spot on! Yes, I know she didn't sing the score but her acting was alright. She was very over-the-top and self-centered, which is great for Carlotta, but I felt her portrayal was a little too childish to be accurate. Carlotta is a successful middle-aged diva who's willing to scream and storm when she doesn't get her way, but she isn't a two-year-old pouting and throwing tantrums. (Yes, there's a difference.)

Ciaran Hinds and Simon Callow played Firmin and Andre, respectively. Their managers kinda felt like twits and nothing more. Also, Firmin's masquerade costume was ridiculous. The stupid kind, not the funny kind. ...Well, okay, it was a little funny.

I'm not going to touch on every song here, but I will say that "Hannibal" was beyond awful (if you thought the costumes in the stage version were a bit risque, you should see the movie ones- no, actually you shouldn't) and that "Think of Me," while very nice, was not particularly memorable. Christine's dress, however (despite its less-than-ideal neckline) was GORGEOUS, even though it looks completely out of place in a musical that supposedly takes place in ancient Alexandria.

"Little Lotte" kinda lost its charm by being spoken instead of sung. And Gerard Butler's voice in "The Mirror" was too rough and raspy for my ears and made me cringe in sympathetic shame. The title song was like a cheesy, campy B-grade horror movie tbh, trying way too hard to be spooky and chilling ("ooh, look, Phantom's Lair! It's DARK and SCARY down here!") and succeeding only in being cringeworthy. Not that I've actually ever seen a bad horror movie- or any horror movie at all, for that matter. Unless you count this one.

Christine's costume, too, annoyed me no end. She was basically wearing a corset and drawers under the dressing gown. *facepalm* The dressing gown is supposed to go OVER your COSTUME to keep it CLEAN, peeps. It's not a BATHROBE. And the amount of eye makeup she had on would terrify a raccoon. Yikes.

Though I liked the random horse because of its nod to the Leroux novel.

"Music of the Night" was so blah-slash-touchy-feely that it made me summarily uncomfortable.

I'd like to be able to say something nice about "I remember/Stranger than you dreamt it" but I have none. One thing that bugged me to no end was how Christine is no longer wearing stockings, like dude, that gives some GROSS implications. Anyways, let's skip to Il Muto!

Oh, but first I should say that "Notes" was rather a flop and that "Prima Donna" is unmemorable and indeed should probably be fast-forwarded as there's a rather unsavory bit involving a crew member showing the audience what he thinks of Carlotta's behaviour.

"Il Muto," I must say, was pretty doggone funny. Carlotta's "Your part is silent. Leetle toad," cracked me up into a bunch of giggling little pieces, and the little vignette of the Phantom tinkering with Carlotta's throat spray made her croaking later on a lot more believable.

Now for "All I Ask Of You", SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! I honestly can't understand how anyone could listen to this song and still maintain that Christine and Raoul don't belong together. He represents everything she needs- stability, protection, a guiding hand and affirmed affection. She represents everything he needs, in turn- someone to show affection to and his childhood friend.

One thing I definitely think could have been left out was the scene in which Erik kills Buquet- we totally did not need to see him being chased, terrified, through the rafters and finally strangled. Gross.

And the Phantom and his rose crouching behind that statue... I think this was supposed to be sad, but there was too much snot mixed with tears for it to be sad. It was, again, gross. So was Gerard Butler's pathetic attempt at the "all that the Phantom asked of you" line. And the lack of a chandelier crash in that scene made the song anticlimactic.

And "Masquerade" was so-so but... The Phantom's entrance is anticlimactic somehow, and his Red Death costume (if indeed it's supposed to even BE the Red Death) is unimpressive. I don't like how Raoul just runs off to desert Christine as soon as things start looking ugly (yes, I realize he was going to get his sword, but still... something could have happened to her while he was gone. Duh, did this guy learn anything from "Little Lotte/The Mirror"? Just sayin)

As for Madame Giry's flashback immediately following, I like how it gives us some of the Phantom's backstory, but it seems really abrupt. You don't even realize until she's done that she was talking to Raoul the whole time- it sounds like she's just randomly reminiscing about Stuff, and if you didn't know the story you might be sitting there thinking, "who is this strange woman again?"

Also, Christine leaving wherever-it-is at, like, five in the morning to go to who-knows-where, completely oblivious to the fact that the Phantom is driving her. Whaaaaaaaaa? How'd he know she was planning to go for a graveyard stroll? Was he watching her through the mirror again? THAT'S JUST CREEPY.

"Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" was rather mediocre and dulled down the fact that it is a Christine Empowerment™ song. Why, exactly, does Christine's father have the biggest monument in the cemetery? If he were a rich and famous violinist as his crypt seems to suggest, why on earth was his daughter struggling along as a chorus girl taking free music lessons?

The swordfight... Well... I had mixed feelings about it. Sword fights are all well and good, but... The swordfight takes away the element of mysterious danger to the Phantom. Okay, fine, Christine getting Raoul to spare the Phantom's life is a nice touch, I guess, but did it strike no one else that his "now let it be war upon you BOTH" makes absolutely NO sense after that? If she just saved his life, why would he suddenly be all, "thanks, but no thanks, I'M GOING TO MURDER YOUUUUUUUUUU"?

And "Twisted Every Way" was after "Wishing" which made ZERO sense. Plus, I didn't like how they cut most of it because in the musical, it gave Christine a spine!

"Point of No Return"? Hooooooo boy....... There are so many things wrong with this number. Let's just a list a few.

*HOW did no one recognise the Phantom through his "disguise"?! At least in the stage play, it made more sense because of how he was wearing a cloak that obscured most of his body.

*Christine's sleeves falling down over and over again were REALLY annoying.

*It was just too touchy-feely for my taste.

*The fact that Emmy Rossum was a teenager during filming made this scene gross because of the way they oversexualized Christine in this scene.

*Gerard Butler's voice in that scene made me cringe and shake my head in sympathetic shame.

*In the stage play, Christine ran from him, showing her own agenda and resistance to his pull! While in the movie, she didn't resist him!

*Now for the one that took the cake... The disfigurement! Or it would be a disfigurement if it actually made him look, y'know, deformed. Instead, as several people have put it, he looks like he got a bad sunburn or something. It's really rather pathetic. It makes him look more like a drama queen than he already is! Yeah.... I really don't like this movie.

On to... Final Lair!!!!!!!! It was a flop. From Raoul's whining and flailing around and his stringy hair flopping about (shallow complaint, I know, but it's so ugly) to Christine's sappy melodramatic "don't make me choooooooose" faces to the Phantom's prancing around with his ropes and maniacal laughter that somehow wasn't really scary at all... yeah, it was a flop. A major, major flop. And though The Kiss wasn't all that bad, all I could think of was, "She's SIXTEEN! SIX! TEEN! THIS IS CREEPY, DISTURBING AND GROSS!"

Which is why it's so difficult for me to admit that, um, I... cried at the end.

I COULDN'T HELP IT GUYS HE WAS ALL ALONE THERE IN HIS LAKE WITH HIS MONKEY AND HIS SMASHED MIRRORS AND HE WAS CRYING AND IT WAS SAD.

And then that rose on the gravestone? That single red rose? And the look on Old Raoul's face (still Patrick Wilson, by the way, under all that makeup) when he saw it and realized he wasn't the only one visiting Christine's grave? Yup, I lost it again there, too. And I really didn't want to. Because I tend to cry over movies I love, y'know? And I didn't love this movie. At all

Yet I still cried at the end. I'm not really sure why. I think perhaps it had something to do with the way the story still "got" me, deep down inside, despite the lousy casting and less-than-perfect singing and ridiculously unnecessary elements that totally didn't need to be there. It's still a tragically beautiful romance, and even a bad film can't kill that.

In conclusion, I think Mary Poppins can best express what I thought of POTO 2004.

In conclusion, I rate it a 2.7/5

#Grace spills tea #grace speaks #poto 2004 #phantom of the opera musical #phantom of the opera #the phantom of the opera #Phantom of the opera 2004 #movie review #my reviews

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awkbo0b · 4 years

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Two of a Kind:5

A/N Sorry this took a minute, I’m trying to build depth so there is more than just Mae and JJ. This chapter might seem a little slower than the last one but you get to know Mae a little more! plus a great story isnt going to just give you what you want right? I want the slow burn for you guys, I want the tension to grow. anyways there will be songs mentioned in this chapter and there will be links so you can listen to the song! Thank you for your patience, here you go!

warnings: underage drinking, swearing

Two of a Kind:1, Two of a Kind:2, Two of a Kind:3, Two of a Kind:4

I open the door to Tony’s room. The door creaks as it swings open.

“Oh god.” I hear Tony moan.

“Still that bad?” I question. I close the door behind me then make my way to Tony’s bed and sit on the end.

“I’m no longer sick, my head ache has gotten worse.”

“When was the last time you had some water?”

“Our parents have been gone all day so not since you left.

“Seriously?” I jump from the bed and run to Tony’s bathroom, instantly filling up a cup with water. “Sit up,” I say with a stern voice, not giving Tony any room to argue. She does as she is told and takes the water and starts to sip. “You are probably so dehydrated.” I shake my head, wondering how she is even still alive to be honest.

“Shh, stop nagging. It doesn’t help anything.” Tony finishes her cup and hands the glass back to me, “Looks like you got some sun today.” Tony says glancing at my face and shoulders. “Did you really just sit out all day and draw?”

“Actually no, I hung out with a local.” I cross a leg over the other and interlock my fingers to cup the knee on top, causing my shoulders to hunch inwards. I can’t help the goofy smile that grows on my face. “Maybe even a guy from the party last night.” I add.

Tony shoots up with a disbelief look on her face. “Who? Was it the guy you were slightly rude to when he said you didn’t look rich?”

“What the fuck? Ew no, I would never try to hangout with him.” I pull both legs up to my chest, feeling disgusted even the thought of hanging out with that guy. “The one who I smoked with.” I say, Tony’s disbelief turns into confusion. “The one we ran into at the coolers? His name is JJ.” I can almost see the wheels turning in Tony’s head, then the light bulb goes off.

“No,” Tony’s tone takes me by surprise, it’s almost angry.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” I feel my defensive walls start to come up.

“Mae, he’s a pogue and-”

“What the fuck Tony? Who are you judging someone for their social class?” I cut her off, the air between us instantly thickens. Tony’s face turns red. “I know both of our parents have always taught us to be humble, and it has never been an issue in Chicago. What the hell has gotten into your head?” I don’t mean to be harsh, but this isn’t like her. Tony looks down at her hands then back up to me, I notice that tears have started to form.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. This isn’t me.” I tear escapes and Tony is quick to wipe it away. “I’ve been struggling to make friends here, you know this.” I nod remembering all the phone calls of Tony just wishing to come back to Chicago. “And I’ve just been starting to get close to some people, and they all look down on the pogues. So I guess,” Tony lets out a deep breath. I pull her into a hug.

“I get it.” I assure her. And I do, I know how rough these past two years have been on her. Moving at the beginning of your sophomore year has to be hard, everyone almost already has their friend groups for the rest of high school.I hear Tony sniffle, “You know that emotions are super gross right?” I ask trying to lighten the mood. Tony’s laughs and hugs me tighter. “But honestly you should be a little more grateful for the pogues. It was them who helped me get you home last night.” Tony pulls away quick.

“What?”

“Yeah, Pope even had to carry you up the stairs.” I state. Tony’s face flushes with red again and throws herself onto her back.

“Fuck me.” Tony says under her breath, I begin laughing uncontrollably.

A week has past since I hung out with JJ on the boat. I’ve had to fight the urge to text him, Tony has noticed and has been teasing me.

“If you’re into him just go for it.” Tony would always tell me when she would see me almost throw my phone down after looking at it. I kept telling her that I wasn’t and that she has the whole thing mistaken. I enjoyed his company, wasn’t into him. That’s what I kept telling myself and Tony anyways.

I was sitting on the porch swing with my notebook in my lap. My fire drawing was almost finished and ready for color to be added. I placed more details and shading around the arch trying to portray a glowing halo even though there are some flames that are higher than it. Although it wasn’t my intention, the taller flames are my favorite part of the picture. I hear the front door open, I look up to see my mom.

“Hey sweetie, how’s your work coming along?” Mom’s voice is always soft and comforting. A trick I think she learned to help me open up about my art to her. Mom makes herself comfortable on the swing next to me.

“Just need to finish the shading here,” I point to my arch, “Then it will be ready for some color.” I say then hand my mom the notebook. As my mom looks over it Tony comes out the front door.

“Hey, you left your phone in the kitchen and you got a text.” Tony says extending my phone to me. She then glances over my mom’s shoulder to see my notebook. I retrieve my phone as Tony’s eyes widen. “Mae is this what you’ve been working on?” I begin to feel overwhelmed with two people now looking at my art work. It’s not that I don’t trust Tony, she is one of the handful of people I would gladly show my work to, but I was only mentally prepared for one set of eyes.

“Um, yeah. It’s the one you started for me earlier this week.” I comment. Both my mom and Tony look up from the notebook to see my uncomfortable expression and Tony begins to step back. “Tony, its okay, I’m okay.” I assure. Tony smiles and then looks back down and the page.

“I love the details of the logs.” Tony compliments. I count to ten in my head reminding myself that this is my mom and Tony, they already know everything about me.

My mom hums in agreement, “I think the idea of the flames going above the halo gives it such a strong statement.” Mom says, I smile.

“It was a mistake at first but I actually really liked how it came out.” My mom looks up with nothing but proud written all over her face. “It tells me that sometimes you have to break the rules to be better. Like how these flames are in a way breaking the rules by going above the halo and are much bigger than the others, but because they are bigger,” I scoot closer to my mom and point at the tallest flame that JJ actually inspired. “They have so much more detail and your eyes are drawn to it first.” After I finish i glance up to Tony. She is still looking at the page, taking in all the details.

“Thank you for sharing that with us, I hope to see it once the colors are added.” Mom’s tone is full of warmth. She closes the book and hands it back to me. “You’re parents and I are going out tonight to talk to our clients,” Mom addresses to Tony. she then looks to me, “Our tools just got here so your dad will be out back working all night and has asked to no be disturbed. I transferred you some money so you can go out to eat tonight.” Mom leans down to give me a hug then makes her way down the stairs of the porch.

Tony takes her spot on the swing, “I think your text was from Kie?” Tony mentions bringing my attention to my phone. I type in my passcode and open messages.

‘Hey long time no see, was wondering if you were wanting to hangout with the pogues again?’ the message was from Kie. I look over to Tony, she was reading something on her own phone.

‘i’d be down, do i have a plus one? would feel kinda bad ditching my cousin.’ I close out of messages and open up twitter for a second. Not too long afterwards Kie text back.

‘that would be prefect, Pope hasn’t stopped talking about her since the party! you guys want to meet at my dad’s restaurant?’

‘that would be perfect, just send the address’ I send the last message then look up to Tony.

“Hey I found a place I want to eat at” Tony’s eyes don’t pull away from the screen.

“Cool, where we are going?”

It took about 30 minutes to convince Tony to hangout with the pogues. She caved when I told her this would be a great time for her to thank Pope for helping her after the party.

Tony placed the car in park and looks over to me as I undo my seat belt.

“Okay so they don’t like hate me right?” Tony’s question takes me by surprise.

“Why the hell would they hate you, T?” I ask in disbelief. Tony shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

“Because I’m technically a kook.” Tony mutters as she starts to fidget with the ends of her hair.

“Look,” Tony looks back at me,”If they start being rude, I’ll cuss them out and then we won’t see them for the rest of the summer okay?” I grab her hand and give it a tight squeeze. “But these guys are chill, I got a long with them much better than the people you were introducing me to at the party.”

Tony nods, “Yeah, they guys were tools,” We both laugh. Once Tony’s nerves were under control we got out of the car and walked up to the restaurant. We open the door and immediately see the group of pogues. Kie notices us first and waves us over. Tony takes a seat next to John B who is sitting next to a Blonde who I assumes is Sarah, and I take the open seat next to Kie.

“Hey guys, This is Tony.” I say. Everyone then goes around to introduce themselves to Tony.

“I’m Kie.”

“John B.”

“Sarah, I don’t think we’ve met yet either. It’s Mae right?” I hear JJ begin to laugh but then cough to try and cover it.

“Yeah,” I reply trying to hold a neutral face, but letting out a giggle when I look at JJ, who is totally thinking about the loud sex we heard.

“JJ” manages to say without breaking down into complete laughter. John B smacks JJ on the back on the head and JJ flips John B off.

“And I’m Pope.” Pope says pulling the attention towards him.

“You were the one who helped me get home!” Tony exclaims.

“We all did, I just was the one who carried you.” Pope says. Tony places one of her hands over his on the table.

“Well thank you.” Tony’s tone is flirty, but Pope doesn’t seem to mind.

After eating John B and JJ suggested we got for a boat ride before it gets dark. We all agreed that it was too early to end the night. It was a tight squeeze for all seven of us plus a cooler, but Sarah agreed to sit on John B’s lap and Tony being flirty was all over Pope. JJ sat behind the wheel, and me and Kie agreed to sit on the floor of the boat.

“How long are you in town for?” Kie ask once JJ finds a good place to stop the boat. I watch JJ as he throws the anchor overboard.

“Um, just for the summer. I’ll be leaving the second Monday in August to be back in time for school in Chicago.” I say while still looking at JJ as he makes his way around the boat. As he bends down to get a beer out of the cooler he catches me.

“Take a picture, it will last longer sweet cheeks.” JJ boasted.

“Sorry, photography isn’t my media.” I give him a quick wink. JJ smirks as he pops open his beer. “Anyways,” I draw my attention back to Kie. “me and my parents are only here to work on a project with my Aunt Sadie and Uncle Porter.”

“Do you know what they are working on?” Kie asks in excitement, “Sorry, it's just,” Kie pauses, I can tell shes trying really hard not to fan girl, “My family and I are really big fans of your family’s work.”

“You know just as much as us.” I answer placing my hand on her shoulder.

“Ew, could you two get a room? You’re being more touchy than John B and Sarah.” JJ makes his way in between me and Kie, then hands us both our own beer. “Before you get annoyed, I brought a truce.” JJ says towards me clinking the tip of our bottles together. I smile at the fact he is quoting me from the party.

“Let’s get some music up in here!” Sarah calls out as she pulls out her phone. Off She Goes by Bad Suns starts playing over a speaker and she hops to her feet, She pulls John B up and starts to dance in the little area that they have. Kie soon joins, encouraging Tony to let loose a little. Not long after does Pope begin dancing, but then takes Tony from Kie.

“Come on Mae, I need a partner now!” Kie calls out to me, I smile as I raise to my feet. Kie takes one of my hands to help assist me. JJ moves from the floor to the bench so there is more room for the people who are dancing.

A few songs pass, JJ is still sitting on the bench, watching all of us dance. I take a seat next to him to take a break, “Are you not a dancer?” I ask him.

“No I am, and I dance better than all you combined. I’m just letting you guys have some fun before I embarrass you all.” JJ states with his famous smirk.

“I find it hard to believe that you dance better that Kie.” My eyes move from JJ’s to look over at Kie who is still dancing.

“You want to bet?” JJ challenges.

“What’s the prize?” I ask intrigued, bumping shoulders with JJ.

“If I’m the better dancer then I have to tell you something about my family. If I am not, then you have to show me some of your art work.” JJ says leaning in closer so no one can hear, then leaves his hand out for a shake to close the deal.

“When?” I ask, hesitant on agreeing.

“How about over breakfast? Loser also has to buy.”

“I think Tony had something planned for us tomorrow.”

“You really think Tony isn’t going to spend the night with Pope?” JJ does have a point, I look at Tony and Pope. They are dancing really close and have almost be joined at the hip since we have left the restaurant. JJ nudges my knee with his hand, still waiting for a shake. “Well?”

I take JJ’s hand in mine, trying to ignore how much I liked the contact. “Deal, now show me you’re moves.”

JJ stands up with confidence “Alright everyone, me and Kie need to have a dance off.”

“Mae, what did he bet you on?” Pope groans. I shrug my shoulders, beginning to realize that I was set up. Everyone sits but Kie and JJ.

“Play a song, Sarah!” JJ announces. Sarah laughs as she rolls her eyes. Painkiller by Ruel starts to play. “You start Kie.” JJ commands.

Kie begins to move to the beat gracefully. Kie moves her hips just right, blowing us away when the beat drops.

“JJ it’s you’re turn!” John B calls out. JJ act as if he is clearing the area, then places one hand on the back of his head and starts to do the sprinkler. I feel my jaw drop. Everyone around me breaks into a roar of laughter. This boy played me. JJ continues with his cheesy ass moves, moving to the lawn mower, the shopping cart, and then just attempting to twerk. Once the song finally ends JJ falls on the floor next to my feet.

“Whew, that was a lot of work. Who do you think won?” JJ ask looking up at me out of breath. I shake my head at him.

“You asshole.” I joke then smacking his forehead.

“You’re the one who fell for it.” JJ shrugs.”Don’t worry, I wont break your wallet for the food. I know some nice cheap places.” JJ adds with a wink.

A/N you guys have been amazing, sorry this took a minute to get up. I was at a writers block! I know how i want to end this and I knew how i was going to start it but adding all the in between so it didnt seem so cheesy and so you guys could fall in love with Mae is the hard part! But i think after this chapter I got it going in my head and im excite to present it to you guys! Thank you so much for all the love on part 4! I was blown away!

Talk to you soon!

UPDATE: I HAVE MOVED THIS FANFIC TO WATTPAD, HERE IS THIS LINK! LOVE YOU ALL THANK YOU FOR THE NOTES!

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sailor-freak · 4 years

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Halestorm: The Strange Case Of... - Album Review

(image source)

As I have uploaded a ranking of this album to my YouTube channel I think it’s finally time for me to review it! This is my first time reviewing an album that’s not new haha also btw for anyone expecting poetic brilliance that’s not here it’s legit just me giving my opinions of the songs 😂. But this is my favourite Halestorm album (so far) and the only one I own (again, so far, I ordered self-titled with a gift card my uncle got me for my birthday haha) so why not review it 😂.

Love Bites (So Do I) - BOP. That’s it 😂. My full post on this song is linked in the song titles (as will all songs on here I’ve already posted about) but for an opener to the record man it’s SOLID. I love how it was inspired by their Slave to the Grind cover, and the tempo is so similar but it’s also really different sounding? Like, they didn’t just copy that song they took the tempo and made something of their own. Love it 😂.

Mz. Hyde - Ahh this song is so dark and creepy and HEAVY I love it 😂. The way it starts off so dark, then the verses are lighter as she sings about the nice side of herself, then the chorus gets dark again, ICONIC. I think I’ve also said this before but the “it’s me Lzzy I swear” is the most iconic line in Halestorm history and you can fight me on that. I also love the way it transitions SO neatly into the next banger...

I Miss The Misery - THIS TRANSITION KILLED ME ON FIRST LISTEN a lot of albums do neat transitions like this but I don’t think I’ve heard one more beautiful than this 😂. I think you should know by now this is not only my favourite Halestorm song but my favourite song just... ever? Like my post gives a proper discussion of the song (although it was one of my earlier posts so maybe I need to amend that lol) but this was the first Halestorm song I listened to, and I was HOOKED immediately. It’s so rock and roll but it has its own elements that just make it stand out, and no Halestorm song since has topped that. AND I’VE LISTENED TO A LOT OF HALESTORM 😂. So yeah, best song on the album, there you go.

Freak Like Me - Ahh my first post on here 😂. So I didn’t talk about the song like at all in this post so I best do that oops 😂. What I love about the song is the anthem quality it has, not just in the lyrics but musically the chorus really makes it stand out just among the freak community, possibly due to the guys’ backing vocals on the “freak like me” line itself, it just makes it a group effort and celebrates the unity of Halestorm and their fans. Another thing I LOVED was Lzzy’s scream before the riff, you know, the one that goes on for longer than the last note of So Much Better? The first time I heard that I was SHOOK, it just demonstrates Lzzy’s vocals so well 😂.

Beautiful With You - Oo, the start of the “ballad section” of the album. I think it’s pretty solid 😂. I’ll admit, when I first listened to this album I came looking for bops, so this section was kinda disappointing on first listen. Not because they were bad at all, I just was looking for songs similar to I Miss The Misery and Love Bites, so they sort of didn’t sit well with my brain? Too many ballads 😂. But having listened to the album and these songs more, and sort of understanding that this section is important to the record, I’ve grown to love them? And this one I did like on first listen, maybe it was the guitar but there was parts of the lyrics that really stood out to me, maybe not on a personal level but they were just nice, so I thought why not and I added it to my playlist 😂. I definitely prefer the heavier songs both on this album and in general usually, but this one has some really strong parts.

In Your Room - I think this was the first song I was really disappointed with on first listen? And it’s still not one of my favourites. The meaning behind this is really great, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong musically. I actually like the subtlety of the first chorus, it blends in nicely with the verses, then when the second one comes round it’s like a pleasant surprise 😂. I think it was the lyrics that bugged me, however, I don’t know if this is just my sadistic mind but I thought an interesting take on it would be a sort of creepy turn? Saying stuff like “I’m right outside your door” and stuff, if you take away the sentiment of the song it has the potential to be like a stalker song 😂. Maybe if it was on their first album it would have taken that direction? I just think that would have been interesting 😂.

Break In - (let’s just ignore the fact I’m buzzing about the studio version with Amy Lee that’s coming out this summer) This one I really have grown to love, again with stepping away from my need for heavy bangers I really appreciate this for what it is. There’s nothing complicated about it, it’s a simple piano ballad with some harmonies thrown in. I don’t think there’s been a song like this since? I mean, Dear Daughter was piano till the band came in, and Heart of Novocaine was acoustic guitar, but this being purely piano really makes it stand out, not just in this record but out of their discography. Idk, it’s simple, it’s heartfelt, I love it 😂.

Rock Show - Oooo... surprisingly this is my least favourite song off the album. I thought I’d love it, the concept and meaning behind it is amazing. I think it’s just something with me personally? Lyrically there’s not a lot to dislike, I love the descriptions of the experience at a rock gig as an audience member, it taps into that deeper feeling than just going to enjoy music, it is an experience on a higher level. However, because of the inspiration behind this song it uses “little girl” to address it... I don’t like that shit 😂. Idk if you know me but I hate being patronised, don’t call me little I’ll step on you 😂. So, I think this is a great song for that girl it was written for, but as an older person listening to this song it just doesn’t get to me.

Daughters of Darkness - Okay, this is where I feel addressed 😂. While Rock Show was dedicated to one young girl who enjoys rock gigs, this one is for ALL the ladies who love them. Similar to Freak Like Me it has an anthem feel to it, with the “na na na na na” bit (felt like I was quoting MCR there lol), but it’s like... specifically for the girls 😂. I think I mentioned this but I love the symphonic / orchestral additions to it? Reminds me of Nightwish (who are actually the only band I’ve seen live so far in my 19 years of existence), so that really adds a whole element of enjoyment for me personally. It’s one of the darker and heavier songs on the record (I mean the title does suggest that), and is one of my absolute favourites, was from the start. When I came to this album looking for bangers THIS ONE REALLY PROVIDED 😂.

You Call Me A Bitch Like It’s A Bad Thing - I relate to this one too much omg 😂. Lyrically, this is absolutely SCANDALOUS, but we love that and that’s the point of the song 😂. Little thing, I love the little chord progression in the intro and instrumentals of the song, just really cool idk what it adds I just love how it sounds 😂. Although I love that I think the lyrics is what makes me love this song, “see you next Tuesday” absolutely iconic 😂. I also love when she says “you call me a freak” and I’m like... WE ARE 😂. Just a little bit I noticed haha, but the concept of let’s sing the most outrageous shit and revel in being called a bitch is absolute class we love 😂.

American Boys - This one is also lower down on my list but it’s not bad at all 😂. It has a real classic rock and roll feel to it, and it is very American sounding which links nicely with the lyrics 😂. I think for most people this song wouldn’t really have a deeper meaning (idk if it does for you then let me know haha), but it’s more of just a casual celebration of the male species in the United States 😂. As I said in that post it does stand out in this album, as it’s not a strong anthem song, a deep personal ballad or embracing being sadistic and scandalous, but that sort of makes it stand out 😂.

Here’s To Us - Oh this song is so wholesome I love it 😂. Aside from this song probably being the only reason I can get through life at the moment (I legit listen to it whenever I get anxiety about anything, my parents, work, general shit I can’t deal with lol), the meaning behind this song is so simple yet so powerful? Just... celebrating Halestorm for who they are, what they’ve achieved, and embracing the bad times and recognising what they are capable of... you really have to know Halestorm to fully appreciate this song. When I first listened to it I had NO IDEA what it was about, I think I legit knew Lzzy’s name and that was it... so hearing this for the first time had no power behind it and I feel so bad, cos your first experience with this song should be the absolute power behind the meaning. Anyway when all the guys sing with Lzzy at the end my weave was snatched and it’s so adorable I love it this song just displays the absolute unit they are, and it really shows how unique of a band they are. Stan 😂.

Don’t Know How To Stop - Bonus tracks time! Honestly... this song is too perfect for the start of the bonus tracks I like... it’s iconic 😂. Since The Pretty Reckless’ Death by Rock and Roll came out today I’ve been listening to a lot of them and I see similarities lyrically between their stuff and this song, like the whole embracing going full force and going too far, like enjoying the rush of it? This song uses a lot of car and road imagery actually (imagery, oo, haven’t used that word since my exams), with “red lights” and “brakes are shot” (I should probably look in my booklet to see if that’s the correct lyric but I can’t be arsed so if it’s wrong soz), as if she’s saying living this extreme crazy rock and roll life is like a car speeding carelessly, and not having the brakes comes into not being able to stop this lifestyle? Idk there’s probably something else there but I’m not getting marked for this am I 😂.

Private Parts (ft. James Michael of Sixx:A.M.) - Okay... can I just start by saying this is a good song. It’s great 😂. Musically there’s nothing wrong with it, the chorus actually bops quite hard considering it’s a deeper song, so there’s nothing wrong there. Lyrically it’s good, I love how the verses are like the argument between these two people, but the first verse is almost like their thoughts aloud? Cos they’re not responding directly to each other, it’s like their own thoughts and feelings coming out, it works really well. But... I cannot listen to this song... I just laugh 😂. I’M SORRY I KNOW IT’S A BOP BUT WHEN SHE KEEPS GOING “SHOW ME YOUR PRIVATE PARTS” I FUCKING PISS MYSELF OKAY IT’S HILARIOUS I’M SORRY I'M SO IMMATURE BUT ALL SENTIMENT IS LOST IN IT 😂.

Hate It When You See Me Cry - Oof I feel this one too much, ngl I’m a little pissed it’s only a bonus track cos it’s the best deep ballad sort of song on the whole album just saying 😂. When they said Lzzy gave into the cheese for this record PRIME EXAMPLE RIGHT HERE PEOPLE fuck I love it 😂. I love how it starts soft, then the band just KICKS IN and while it remains soulful and softer it still SHREDS 😂. But man it was the lyrics that got me, and you know me, I’m not cheesy. I hate cheese both the food and the concept 😂. But for some reason here it doesn’t bother me at all?? Like in fact I LOVE it, the chorus is where it’s most cheesy but I think it fucking works 😂. I’ll inevitably do an individual post on this so I won’t analyse loads but fuck I feel this one 😂.

Overall man this album is a journey 😂. It starts off with the solid bangers, whiplashes into the deep ballads, then brings itself back up before slowing down a little and bringing it to a neat end 😂. I find it weird though that although on first listen I was disappointed with the amount of ballads and how not many songs slapped as hard as Love Bites and I Miss The Misery (fuck those two are the best 😂), but it was still what got me obsessed with Halestorm? Like how could I be “so disappointed” with it yet constantly listen to it and actually fucking BUY the album 😂. I think I was salty cos I came looking for bangers but now I just embrace it all 😂.

#halestorm #halestorm the strange case of #review

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quietlysatan · 5 years

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A Land Not Mine - theprosefool, AO3

Link: Here!!

Rating: Explicit

Favorite Quote(s): I just, love this part so much???

Kaidan didn’t take his hand, but he smiled a relieved, worn sort of smile that added a crinkle to his eyes. “I’m glad to hear that, Shepard. I was....” He trailed off, cleared his throat.

“What?”

“I was worried you might feel like you... owe them. For bringing you back.” He looked down as he said it but his voice was firm.

"No," Shepard said easily. "I'm glad to be alive, I am--especially right now--but I didn't ask for this. Any of this. I don't owe them a damn thing."

This is how adults work children, they figure out “Oh, this person won’t back down on this subject that I also won’t back down on” and figure out a compromise or they move on until a later date. Some of y’all don’t know this and it shows.

And that was that. Shepard could tell he hadn’t entirely won Kaidan over to the idea of working with Cerberus, but Kaidan didn’t seem to have anything else to argue with. Neither of them was going to get what they wanted, so they put it away and moved on, finding no lack for conversation.

Gods how this must feel, the energy this must carry for two people to experience

Kaidan moaned against his mouth and thrust upward just a bit, but then he put his hands on Shepard’s hips to steady them both and tilted his head back to sever the kiss and look at him, eyes following the lines of scars once again. No words, just a look, his brow furrowed and his mouth a tight line despite the flush of arousal coloring his cheeks. He released his hold on one hip to touch the glow at his jaw with trembling fingers, and Shepard couldn't bare that look, not directed at him, so he closed his eyes and focussed on his touch instead. Kaidan traced that scar before moving on to another, and the trembling didn’t stop so Shepard made to distract them both, pressing forward and capturing Kaidan's lips again.

It’s almost painful in the best way possible

And that was another lie, really; as desperate as he was to stay at Kaidan’s side, he was headed back in the morning, back to his ship and his fight and his responsibilities. But it was the truth, too, somehow. Some part of him--every part of him that wasn’t Commander Shepard, Spectre, the parts that were just John, those parts would stay with Kaidan.

Smiles during sex are always a win, always, smiling and laughing is just, the best part of being With somebody else.

Kaidan must have felt his smile because now Shepard could feel his, and it left him light-headed and more than a little hard.

To know someone loves you as much as you love them, must truly be the greatest treasure in all the worlds

And maybe Kaidan wanted it just as bad as he did, for as long as he had. It felt like it, the way he touched him, greedy hands rolling hard over the muscles in Shepard’s back from the hem of his pants to the nape of his neck, the way he kept their bodies pressed close, never allowing Shepard more than an inch of distance. Not that he wanted even that.

CONSENT IS SEXY AND IT IS EASY. PERIOD. END OF STORY. NO ARGUMENTS ALOUD. (Except for the BDSM people in the back, cause y’all are better at consent even when it’s r*** play and honestly, it shows.)

He was desperate for more friction, but he wasn’t going to make the next push. He would eagerly receive and return with enthusiasm anything Kaidan offered him, but he would stop the second Kaidan hesitated. Tonight, it was Kaidan’s call.

I wonder if you can sense my gay longing the more I type

But before he could get a taste Kaidan leant down, capturing his mouth, and now all he could see was brown eyes, and that was good too, maybe better, because Kaidan was straddling his hips as they kissed,

Humor during any form of intimacy (fun fact, intimacy is My English Word that I cannot spell even though it’s my first language, we all have one, that, language and farenhehe) is important, and so is hoping for the absolute best (whatever that may be)

“I don’t, uh....” Kaidan lifted his head to look at him, a nervous smile creasing the skin around his eyes in a way that had Shepard’s heart in a clinch. “I don’t have....”

It took him a moment to grasp what Kaidan was talking about, distracted as he was by everything he could see and feel, but when comprehension dawned he had a nervous smile of his own. “M--my bag.”

Kaidan arched an eyebrow, that devilish smirk Shepard had seen so little of, and somehow it worked to calm his nerves--though not as much as the light kiss that followed. “High expectations, huh, John?” he chuckled when he pulled back.

“No. Just hopeful.”

DO YOU FEEL THE FUCKING LOVE RIGHT HERE???? BECAUSE I DO, AND NOW i’M SUFFERING FROM GAY LONGING 2.0

Shepard would never know, because Kaidan opted for taking his mouth rather than finishing the thought, but it was slow and sweet and so Kaidan that maybe Shepard knew exactly what he meant, because kissing like this felt a little like dying and a little like starting anew.

SAFE SEX IS IMPORTANT AND EASY FFS IT’S 2020

It took him longer than it should have but he found what he was looking for, a pack of condoms and a bottle of lube.

Words & Chapter(s): 30,443 words and 8 chapters

Pairing(s): Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard (Whose name is John btw)

Summary: After being dead for two years, there’s only one person Shepard wants to see. So he writes a letter.

My summary: If I could tell you what this fic is about I’d say it is about Kaiden Alenko and John Sheppard falling so completely and irreversibly in love that it’s nearly painful to watch, or in this case, I suppose, to read

Score: 13 (I read it twice guys, me) ((Three times cause I lost half of this in an edit)) You have already left kudos here. :)

Warning(s): Shepard, and thus Kaiden, aren’t 100% sure Shep is Shep, which is fair.

Also, ME2 settings.

Mentions of Shepard dying, or rather, “dying”.

Really good lemon, you can tell when it’s going to start, basically a little after they start full-on making out. Also, I don’t mean really good as in “This got me really hot” but like “This made me Feel Emotions but In A Good Way”

Also, hope you don’t mind mid-coitus interruptions ;)

The collectors still arrive there

And so does the angst but not too much, like, Just the Right amount of angst

Minor OC character that you probably liked death

Mentions of painful injuries not gruesomely described though

Also, mentions of PTSD and Sheppard has a nightmare

Pros: This is actually my second read through, so obviously it’s good. Honestly, even if you don’t like this ship I’d still recommend it just for the story of it all.

I think my favorite part of this fic is that while there’s angst and “how do I know you’re you?” moments, it’s not needlessly dragged out to create a painful heaping pile of woeful angst. It’s a very realistic and accurate both to the characters themselves and real-life response, it’s very organic and every moment between them has this feeling of like, “Of course that happened next what else could you possibly have done there?” realism, like is Shep and Kaiden were actually real live people what else could you expect to happen but what you’re reading, if that makes any sense.

Also, I love how in love with each other they feel, how magnetic they are, how inevitable it seems, ya’know?

I just love this story and its author so freaking much, honestly, it’s just too sweet and calm and honest, even during the angsty moments it still feels good, ya’know?

But seriously, I love how close to the edge they are throughout this whole fic, how close to just, tipping over at the beginning there, it’s so, satisfying to watch and experience, and it’s amazing and filling and fulfilling and just. So. Fucking. Good.

I don’t know man, I just, really love the little ways that theprosefool gets across them being in love, or being close to it, or falling into it, like, the way this is written is just so perfectly good that I don’t even want to skip the lemon scene which is, kinda rare for me normally just for overall various reasons.

Cut from the part of the favorite lines because it grew too long to go there imo

“Smiles during sex are always a win, always, smiling and laughing is just, the best part of being With somebody else, even if it’s not sex, it’s so nice to have an intimate moment with someone and to see or feel or hear their smile, their laughs, and giggles, and chuckles, and snorts, and to just, feel how in love you are with them and in return how in love they are with you. Because, much like the song (and unlike the story, I promise they don’t break up no worries) even if you break up permanently and forever, it’s important to remember the good if at all possible. It’s important to remember that, even if y’all ain’t now, you were.

And that means something. “

Gods I’m so glad op didn’t use warmth or heat or something like that, it always jars me from the story, however they do use shaft

But they also say dick instead of throbbing erection, member, manhood, etc. so it’s okay!

Aesthetic: But in all seriousness, the realism and humanity flowing like a gentle river through your hand in the form of words is just, so fucking refreshing. It’s like drinking lemonade in a Vegas summer, like playing with your friends the first day of fourth-grade recess, like holding hands with your girlfriend, like remembering your first kiss as a preteen, like being hugged by your friend during a panic attack, like laughing so hard you snort AND cry and lose your breath, it feels like looking at him and just, falling, it feels like jumping into the pool and making the biggest splash, like playing in the neighborhood streets, like being a kid, like remembering that homework you swore was the hardest and thinking back and realizing that just wasn't true, but also how proud you were to finish it.

Food Aesthetic: Vanilla ice cream cones during the summer, French hot chocolate during the winter, cheesy fries during fall, and fresh sweet plums during spring all while still holding their hand, and kissing their cheeks and nose and lips, and making a mess and laughing about it. Just, silly food moments that make you fall in love a little bit more.

Word Aesthetic because I can: Longing. (Obviously.)

Song Aesthetic: Wolf Alice - Don't Delete the Kisses (And the video and possibly the whole fucking playlist too) but the ending feels like this one Alanis Morissette - Hand In My Pocket oddly enough and maybe also, the innocent unwavering love of this song, and it’s music video Heartless Bastards - Only For You

Gif Aesthetic: Their relationship feel like this (disclaimer, they’re not girls, sadly... I should look for that👀)

And this

And this too

But also, meanwhile, Sheppard and Kaiden @ Cerberus immediately and without hesitation at all times 25/∞

#kaidan alenko x male shepard #kaiden alenko x shepard #Mass Effect #mass effect fanfiction #mass effect fic #Satan has great taste in: Shlenko #shlenko

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toasttz · 5 years

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From the Tabletop #5

So, we arrived in Hell. With an opener like that, you know it's gonna be good. Or it would've been, had Hell not become the most boring place still technically within creation due to the last campaign. So Scarlet's personal mission (Admittedly fueled by some metaknowledge on my part and having like 3 new Solar ideas in line at this point) was to get in, get the clue for the One Piece, and then get the hell out of Hell. Magpie and Volkenstein kinda went along with my lead, but only because they literally knew no other way to exist by this point. Which kind of lead to their own downfalls over the next few sessions, courtesy of my willingness to just give PCs overly-generous trades in my haste. But let's slow it down a little. Our first mission was to head to the Veridian Plaza and the Pool of Drowned Poisons (our GM and Valentinian's player know way, way more about Exalted's frankly overly-dense lore than I, so I accepted this as part and parcel of being in Hell). Unfortunately, this got complicated fast by, of all people, Alabaster Albatross, back for her petty comeuppance against Scarlet and co. In a pretty big damn hurry to get on with it, Scarlet bartered Volkenstein away for a day's time in return for passage, which A.A. happily accepted, due to liking his muscles to a, frankly creepy, degree. So, enter we did, only to be told he were required to be in a bathing suit despite the fact that no one in their right mind would actually attempt to swim in the Pool of Drowned Poisons. The name alone should be dissuasion sufficient. Scarlet, of course, had a bikini on under her clothes and Magpie decided to stop by the gift shop which, also of course, they had. It is Hell after all. Inside, she met... well, Inferno Cop. Don't know who that is? Look it up on Youtube, you owe it to yourself. But, no, it was not Inferno Cop who then proceeded to just incinerate a demon, but Valentinian! In a rather badass sudden reappearance. Magpie, no doubt channeling aspects of Maxwell, asked Valley to become her mentor. Valley said "No" pretty damn quick. Scarlet had a rather amusing exchange when she followed in to see what was taking Maggie so long. Scarlet: Oh, hey, Valley. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first? Valentinian: The bad, I guess? Scarlet: Maxwell's dead. I might have sort-of decapitated him. Valentinian: (100% monotone) Oh no. How sad. Scarlet: The good news is you get to be the Maid of Honor at my wedding! Valentinian: Wait... WHAT?! With Valley back in tow, we began shaking down anyone we could find for intel. This ultimately pointed us towards Master of the Eternal Golden Paradise's theme park - Super Happy Fun Land. So off we went! Unfortunately, it was guarded by a demon who, so long as he was in the light of the Green Sun, was unkillable. This posed a pretty significant problem on account, uh, the Green Sun doesn't... ever set. So we were initially repelled until Valentinian suggested we needed to make a dark deal to handle this. So we went to speak to the Ebon Dragon. A nasty piece of work, Scarlet initially offered herself for a "good time", but was quickly shot down, as the Ebon Dragon explained he preferred them "young". Pausing not for a moment, Scarlet offered him Magpie - 24 hours with him for 24 hours of darkness over the guard. Which he accepted with sadistic glee. The circle quickly changed the tune of the joke to "He's forcing her to play Super Smash Bros. Melee with tournament rules." Before long, the gate guard was dead (and we then joked Scarlet took an impromptu biology lesson after bisecting the poor bastard). For the next session, Valentinian's player was unable to join, so we agreed that he and the Oath Warriors went on to enjoy the theme park and take a load off for a time. Magpie and Volkenstein (who had returned from their respective times being sold off by Scarlet) basically scoured the park, but Scarlet ultimately found the clue (a statue of Master, pointing towards a particular star in the sky) which sent the trio into the Endless Desert. There, they found a bank, of all things. Just because the desert is ENDLESS doesn't mean there's not landmarks, apparently. Inside, we ask a random worker there to see the boss of the location. After revealing Master's journal, she was taken in to see the boss-man himself: Master's own son, Aladdin, the Dragon of the Desert Wind! It's important to note that if an Exalt procreates with a demon, the result typically ends up in a monsterous creature. In this case, a dragon, with his father's in-built desire to accumulate wealth. Which was apparent, as the room we met him in was flooded with gold and riches of all sorts. When Scarlet pettioned him for the next key, he explained that he couldn't give it to her, but she was free to take it... with the asterisk that if we chose the wrong thing, he would transform into his dragon form and devour us all. The only clue he offered us was "The thing most valuable to my father is the key". Magpie offered to take Aladdin, but he laughed her suggestion off and told us flat-out it wasn't him. I, with benefit of metaknowledge but still within the believable scope of Scarlet's ability, parse that it was money, but not just cold hard cash. Something that represented the full sum of his wealth. There, I found the first penny that Master ever made, on prominent display. Scarlet chose it and it was confirmed we chose the correct key. Upon returning and regrouping with the others, we learned the location of an Oath Warrior was actually nearby, in the castle of Zen. We met Ascendant Sword and Heavenly Sky, who also had a grudge against Zen, but the latter also had a bit of a grudge from an incident 2000 years prior, with Valley. This resulted in them having a few minutes of bickering before Scarlet stopped the problem by giving Valentinian a great big hug. I'll leave you to parse how that stopped the problem for yourselves. This resulted in Scarlet needing to return to the Black Turtle and sail it down to their current level. Hell is separated into different layers, which are dynamic and ever-shifting, adding to the omnipresent dangers of living or being in... well, Hell. TL;DR version, she got down in good time with the ship and its cargo of war mecha with little trouble. As the raid on the castle started, I PM'd the GM with a particular idea I had in mind and he signed off on it. So the battle opened with Scarlet, riding in her mech which was riding atop Gwyn's mech (almost forgot: Gwyn had left to escort an NPC back to her hometown, as his player resumed role as GM), belting out JPop songs from Macross 7 - Totsugeki Love Heart, in case you were wondering - as she rolled crazy well for her performance to draw all eyes up to her as she sailed in, smashing against the first wave and wall of the keep. This was all to allow Valley and Maggie the chance to infiltrate the castle with all the main defenses distracted. It worked beautifully, being one of my favorite moments in the entire campaign. Once inside, Valley found Orlando, one of his Oath Warrior fellows, under a berserk mind control curse - likely brought on due to the previously-mentioned "DO NOT TOUCH, THIS MEANS YOU, ZEN" sign. He was no slouch and Valentinian had to fight fiercely to down his raging friend. It even ended with me punctuating the battle by putting my blade tip-down through the cockpit of the rival mech, and Maggie... weirdly trying to engage in skinship with an unconcious Oath Warrior, no longer able to resist either his assaulters or the mind control he was under. It was uncomfortable for all of us. Afterward, we departed Hell and sailed for the South, towards Gem, where Master's first coin had been minted. This ultimately resulted in a complete and total clusterfuck. For context, Valentinian's player wasn't able to join this session, and Volkenstein and Magpie were just DETERMINED to drag the game to an absolute crawl. As we were barely heading through the pass to head into the desert proper (the non-endless desert this time), this conversation actually happened: GM: Okay, you guys need any last-minute things? Magpie: Yes! I want to get some snacks. GM: Um. Alright, you find the vendor. Magpie: I want caramel popcorn. GM (As vendor): Why are you asking about such high-fallutin' fancy goods there, girl? Me, OOC: They aren't going to have it, dude. It's the bronze age. Magpie: But it's my favorite type. GM: How would you have ever had it? Magpie: Well, Arilack... Me, OOC: NO! They wouldn't have it! That's a luxury good in this age, dude! Sugar is a luxury and they wouldn't have it here, let alone waste it making caramel of all things! The only viable alternative they MIGHT have is honey and they absolutely would not waste that on popcorn either. Hell, they probably wouldn't waste the corn either! Magpie: W-well, what about cheddar popcorn? Me, OOC: STOP! GM: Uh. Right. Let's get on the road. That more or less set the tone for the rest of the trek south. So, on that frustrated note, I'm going to pause here. Join us next time as the Seven Deadly One Piece campaign comes to a close and a new game full of crazies began. See you there!

#Tabletop RPG #Exalted #Third Edition #That Guy Story

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sadlancetrash · 6 years

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Abraham’s Daughter

Y’all can listen to this before, during, or after reading but I really like the song.

Lance didn’t trust Shiro. There’s been something off about him since he got back. Taking away leadership from Keith when he was the one who wanted Keith to be a leader in the first place seemed cruel, especially since Keith had come such a long way too. Not only accepting that Shiro wanted him to be the leader, but also accepting that the black lion wanted that as well. Now he was yelling at Allura for not agreeing with him on everything and wanting to think through everything and Lance for insubordination which, objectively was true, but they were a team. Shiro had said so himself when they all had initially launched into space on Blue all that time ago.

Now whenever Lance saw Shiro, he was wary and constantly alert.

It had been a few months since Allura and Lotor had found the secrets of Oriande and Shiro had admitted he didn’t feel like himself. They were working with the Blade to gather all the intelligence they could on the rift on Daibazaal. They wanted to know as much as possible and plan for any dimensional shifts that may be the result of the rift being open for so long. For the time being everyone was on Lotor’s ship. It was easier to access all the previous and current information stored on the database than trying to have Pidge transfer all of it.

Keith had come back to the team in that time. He had reconnected with his mother, kind of. He found her, and while she wanted to reconnect, or rather connect since neither of them knew each other, Keith needed time and space to think things through. Lance only knew this because Keith had told him.

Lance had long gotten over his stupid rivalry idea. Keith and Lance were a really good team once Lance stopped actively trying to make Keith mess up and subsequently messing himself up in the process.

The final debrief with video calls to Kolivan telling him what all information had been gathered. Lotor, Shiro, and Allura were leading the conversation, mostly Shiro though at this point. Keith was training, Pidge was working on improving her cloaking, wanting to make it so that not only was she undetectable on radars, but also on radio frequencies. Lance and Hunk were currently sitting in on the meeting at the back of the room passing notes back and forth between the two.

Lance: That’s not gonna work, he forgot about the excess gravitational pull around the planet.

Hunk: Don’t forget the screwy magnetism. That’s gonna throw off the radars

Lance: Pidge is gonna adjust them before we leave.

Hunk: Who’s telling her?

Lance: Me.

Lance: WHY DID HE JUST IGNORE ALLURA?? HER POINT WAS VALID.

Hunk: Yeah, I’ll work with Pidge on the bearing of our suits and make sure that they’re up to that level of radiation.

Lance: I’ll talk to Keith about going easy on the actual physical contact on the suits and what they can and can’t withstand.

Hunk: Uh oh

Lance: Oh Allura’s not happy about that

Hunk: #

They played tic tac toe while Allura and Shiro argued over where they should enter the planet’s remaining atmosphere, at the lowest polar anomaly or at the lowest radiation zone. Kolivan ended his side of the call after ten minutes of the fight, and Lotor was forced to play mediator between the two.

“We’re gonna go.” Lance called, just loud enough for his voice to travel to Lotor. He waved them off and started to scold Allura for using such language, even if it was outdated and not used anymore.

Lance and Hunk walked towards Pidge’s little tech hub that she had set up in one of the unused rooms. They walked in just as Pidge was throwing something at the door.

“Jeez Pidge,” Lance started. “I know I’m annoying sometimes but I don’t think throwing things at me is gonna work for you. It definitely didn’t work for Marco.”

“Sorry Lance I’m just,” She paused, took a deep breath, and let out a loud scream.

“Feel better?” Hunk asked.

“No.” Pidge said, turning back to her mechanics.

Hunk picked up whatever it was that was thrown at them and started to fiddle with it. “So, we just came from the meeting and we have some notes on what Shiro and Allura had planned for the mission.”

“Great.” Pidge muttered under her breath. “Should I start on the modifications now or should I wait for Shiro to talk to me about them?”

“If I were you I’d wanna start now, unless you want another Klasicoan incident.” Lance replied, following Hunk towards the table.

“Yeah, bad move on all of us for only mentioning in the pre-mission debrief that things would need to be done before we could do anything. Shiro was not happy about the delay.” Hunk say, putting the thing that Pidge threw back on the table.

“Okay, Hunk can you help me?” Pidge asked.

“Already planned on it. Lance said he was gonna go talk to Keith about being careful in the suits until you’re done.” Hunk replied.

“Oh yeah, I should probably do that. Hey Do you want me to bring you the suits?” Lance asked. He got a sound of affirmation from Pidge as his only response.

He stopped by the training room to inform Keith on what was happening.

“Do you really think Shiro won’t mention the polarity or containment security in time for Pidge to make sure everything’s good?” Keith asked, pausing his simulator.

“He didn’t last time, and he wasn’t happy with the amount of time she said it would take either.”

“That really doesn’t sound like Shiro.”

“I know.” Lance responded. “Somethings been off with him lately.”

“It could be stress.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. Especially since he’s been all touchy about what he wants done and not listening to others. Excessive over protection to try to not repeat Kerberos?” Lance guessed. Keith thought on that.

“Maybe.”

“Well, I’m gonna go grab his suit, then yours, then get back to Pidge and Hunk.” Lance waved as he left the room. He heard Keith start up the simulations again as the door closed.

If Shiro and Allura are still arguing I could probably grab his without getting caught.” Lance says. Shiro kept his suit in the chest next to the door, and if he did get caught, it would be easy to throw it back in the chest. Or that Pidge needed to do some upgrades. That usually worked when Shiro asked what Lance was doing.

That would have worked if Shiro was not already in the room. Lance thanked every kind of deity he could think of that he always knocks before entering. He can only imagine what would have happened if he had just walked in and Shiro was in there.

“Lance, what is it?” Shiro asked. His didn’t sound annoyed, he didn’t even sound upset.

“Pidge was gonna do some upgrades on the suits. Hers took some calibration damage or something and she just wants to make sure everyone else’s is all good.” Lance lied. He knew if he told the truth he’d be stirring up some unwanted trouble, and Shiro seemed to be in a good enough mood that this shouldn’t do any damage to anyone.

“Yeah, let me just,” He trailed off, grabbing his suit from the chest. “Here.” He said, pushing the suit into Lance’s hand.

Lance turned to leave, but paused. “Hey, Shiro? Are you okay? You seem kind of,” Lance had to think of the right word. “Tired.”

Lance turned back, and saw Shiro’s shoulder slump a little bit.

“I don’t know Lance. Maybe I’m tired, maybe I’m stressed, I-” He sighs. Lance had never heard Shiro sound so defeated.

“You know, you could pass on some responsibility to your team. Allura knows how to get the best deal out of any situation and Keith was a pretty good leader when you were gone. He could be useful in your strategy meetings with the blade.”

“He said that he wanted space-”

“From his mother.” Lance reminded. “Besides, I think he’s big enough to not walk out of the room if its a professional setting.”

Shiro gave out a small hm in agreement. “I’ll think about it. Do you know where Keith is though? I’d like to talk to him.”

“Yeah he’s probably still in the training room.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Lance said. He went to go grab his armor and headed back to Pidge’s tech room to find her messing with Hunk’s armor.

“Lance, hey, I’m almost done with Hunk’s, do you have the rest of them?” Pidge asked, looking up.

“Yep, got ‘em right here.” Lance lifted his arms a little.

“Great, they should be done by tomorrow.” Pidge said. She almost sounded a little too excited. “Hunk’s been working on figuring out how to recalibrate the Lions’ sensors so that they’re not thrown off. The information we’ve got from our little research missions and the database on this castle has been a huge help.”

“Yeah, especially since we have no way to calibrate newtons into fracthm units.” Hunk added.

“Are they measured in different ways? I know newtons is used to measure the pull of gravity, but I kinda slept through fracthms in physics class.” Lance said. He mostly dodged a balled up piece of paper Pidge threw at him.

“Very funny. But yeah the Galra and Alteans apparently either didn’t think that was an accurate way of measuring gravity or didn’t think of using the pull. They measure it by the speed of the rotation and the density of the object rotating. I mean gravity is gravity but this is just a different way of thinking about it. Its basically the same but there’s more math involved for conversions and-”

“Hunk, buddy, I love you. But I’m dozing in and out of what you’re saying. What I heard was fascinating though. Maybe when you’re not busy you can give me the run down?” Lance said. He got a nod from Hunk. “I’m gonna go train in the mean time.” He grabbed his bayard.

Keith and Shiro should be talking still, Keith denying Shiro’s attempt to give him more responsibility. The training room should be long empty. Lance was surprised to see that Shiro and Keith were only just walking out of the room. He thought nothing of it until Shiro faced front, and for a split second, Lance could have sworn he saw his eyes glowing a pale yellow.

Lance froze. He was debating ignoring what he may or may not have seen, or following them. It could only have been for a few seconds, but it felt much longer than that before he made his decision. He awakened his bayard, and began to follow them.

Shiro lead Keith down a series of hallways that could be seen as simple meandering, but it didn’t feel like it. Lance felt on edge the entire time he was watching them, and he didn’t like the thoughts of why that may be. When they paused they were in a hallway that was a ways away from any other hallway that had regular foot traffic. Keith seemed to be deep in thought, not paying attention to Shiro. Of course that made sense. Keith always had his guard down when Shiro was around and they weren’t in battle mode.

Keith didn’t notice Shiro’s Galra arm had started glowing purple. Lance raised his bayard. His aim was near one hundred per cent accurate, and he knew how to incapacitate.

Shiro stiffened, almost unnoticeable to the naked eye, but Lance was trained to see minute movements.

“Shiro, don’t do it.” Lance said loud enough to be heard.

Both Shiro and Keith looked immediately at Lance.

“Lance, what are you-”

“Keith.” Lance cut him off. “Shiro,” Lance pleaded. “Think about what you’re doing. This isn’t you.”

Shiro looked taken aback. His face dimming just a bit. “How sure of that can you be Lance. You don’t know anything.”

Lance began to slowly walk towards him. “True. But I know that you would never do anything that would hurt your team. Annoying individuals be damned you have an annoying self-sacrificing habit for your team that’s worse than mine.”

Shiro stood there for a moment. Then his eyes started glowing again. So did his arm. Lance checked his aim to make sure it was still steady.

Shiro started towards Lance. “Why do you have to question everything I do? Every single time.” Shiro was almost shouting by the end of it.

Shiro’s arm clashed with Lance’s bayard, but not cutting through it. Lance locked eyes with him.

“Shiro!” Keith yelled. Shiro didn’t even break contact. Not a flinch or a twitch. “Shiro stop. Think about this. Please.” Keith pleaded. “Let him go.”

#totally ooc shiro #but like go with it #langst #shangst #shiro #lance #hunk #pidge #allura #lotor #keith #clone shiro #not my shiro #fic

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