#i hardly get sick so i’ve always been pretty careless with how i dress and act

[the-travelling-witch]

My friend has strep and my brother has the flu and NOW IMMM feeling something oooo oHhh I’ll get my revenge

(Stay safe everyone! Don’t get sick)

stay safe, nonnie!! i hope it’s only your mind playing tricks on you since people around you are sick (i know i got that a lot when a certain pandemic was all the rage)

otherwise, make sure to dress warm enough and drink plenty of tea and other hot beverages!! also consider bringing back the masks (i thought about it too for public transport)

[tsipasce]

Same Difference, ch.04

A/N: Thanks for the kind comments, this is my first fanfic so let me know what y'all think– hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it

Chapters: 01  |  02 |  03

AO3 | Fanfic

Walking home, Nanami was on a bit of a high. Work had been boring recently and her prayers were answered in the way everyone who wants a bit of excitement expects—working with a yakuza boss on a series of human experiments. Makes sense to me~ she thought. She was kind of done with everything at this point, having little in the way of plans today unless they involved relaxing in her apartment and binging some old sitcoms. After the amount of crazy she’d dealt with this weekend, escapism seemed like the right thing to do.

Just as she was about to turn onto her street, that same car from yesterday pulled up to the sidewalk. Sighing inwardly, she hoped it was just a coincidence. Please don’t talk to me… I barely made it through this morning. Haven’t I been through enough today? Then the car window rolled down. Crap.  

“If we’re going to work together, you can’t be so careless.”  He was annoyed.  

Rolling her eyes, she began, “You know what…”

 but as she was about to respond in a way she was sure to be unbefitting of most professional relationships, he handed her her purse from the day before. Nanami’s face lit up, realizing she could trash the list she’d made of annoying errands and phone calls she’d have to make in order to replace everything. Forgetting the reason she had lost it in the first place, she beamed, holding it closely, genuinely just happy to have it back, “Thank you!”  

A look of surprise flashed across Overhaul’s face, then quickly reverted to his stick-in-the-mud composure as he faced forward. It wasn’t the reaction he was expecting, but he found he didn’t dislike seeing her smile. Considering many of the faces he encountered day to day only expressed either anger or apathy, it was nice to see something so different directed at him. He continued monotoned, “Don’t let it happen again.”  

Driving off without another word, Nanami watched as the car disappeared into the distance, If nothing else, this’ll be interesting.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Having gotten little to no rest over the weekend, Nanami dragged herself into work. Walking to her office, she continued texting her friends whose calls she’d missed over the weekend, assuring them nothing catastrophic had happened.

A.K.A. lying. She thought to herself.

Still mentally buried in her phone, she heard someone calling her name.

“Dr. Watanabe!” called the nurse.

“Oh, good morning, Mrs. Ito. What’s the matter?” Mrs. Ito was a sweet older woman who’d been with the hospital for years. When Nanami first came to work, she was the first person to greet her with open arms, so seeing her was always a treat.

“Well, you have a visitor in your office. A handsome one,” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh really? Pray tell…” Nanami replied in an equally mischievous tone. As unprofessional as it was to ogle patients, seeing a pretty face was just the pick-me-up she needed after her hellish weekend.

“Ooh, well he’s tall..” she began.

“Mmhm,”

“Well-dressed”

“Uh huh,”

“Cute, short brown hair”

“Oh my..”

“and these very intense golden eyes”

“Oh yea—Wait, come again?” She quickly snapped out of her daydream.

“Oh and he’s also very courteous and conscientious. He even had a matching mask on.”

“…I’m taking a sick day.” Nanami said resolutely, turning on her heels.

“Wait why?” Mrs. Ito asked but Nanami was already halfway down the hallway.

I cannot deal with this today. My nerves hardly recovered from yesterday…

Mrs. Ito caught up with her, dragging her back by the scruff of her jacket towards Nanami’s office.

“I know you young doctors can get nervous around patients sometimes, but this is a growing experience for you, Nanami. You’re one of the most competent physicians I know, so don’t be afraid—go get ‘em, tiger!” Mrs. Ito herded her towards her office and watched for Nanami to open it and head inside.

Realizing she couldn’t escape, she shakily put her had on the knob and turned. Mrs. Ito landed a final encouraging hand on her back, playfully pushing her inside. The door promptly closed behind her and she could see Overhaul sitting in one of the guest chairs across from her desk. She stood there for what felt like an eternity until he broke the silence.

“You’re awfully quiet considering how excited you sounded in the hallway.”

Yup. Time to find a rock to crawl under.  

She slowly made her way to her desk and set down her bag, too embarrassed to make eye contact just yet. Sighing, she recomposed herself and replied not even attempting to acknowledge his jab,  

“What are you doing here?”

“We need to finalize the details of our arrangement.”

“Fine. Which details?”

“Firstly, you’ll be using this to communicate with me,” he explained, sliding her a phone terribly similar to her own. “This will be a secure line. Do not use anything else when we speak.”

“Ok.” Eyeing the phone she realized it would be hard to tell the difference, so she took an old pen and overhauled it into a cute keychain in the shape of a crow. Nanami grinned at how cute she thought it looked hanging from a phone meant for ~espionage~.

“Are you a child? Don’t use my quirk so flippantly.” He chastised.

“Oh please, I’ve seen the articles and autopsy reports. If you can blow people up, I can at least make cute keychains,” she retorted. “Besides, it’s my quirk too and I hardly ever get to… never mind.” There was a pained look in Nanami’s eyes but it went as quickly as it came.

He stared at her a beat, questioningly, until he continued, “We also need to establish our method and procedure for this experiment. There is an address in that phone. Be there tonight at 7pm.”

“How do I know there won’t be an ambush?”

“I need you alive and we’ve made an agreement. I will honor my word.” He replied plainly as he got up and turned to leave.

“Ah yes, the word of an antisocial sociopath. My mind’s completely at ease now.”

He paused, “So that’s how they describe me?” Nanami could’ve sworn she heard a ghost of a chuckle before he opened the door, “Don’t be late.”

The second the door closed she let out the breath she’d been holding… If anything went awry, that would be the end of her, and no one would know. The risks were becoming more and more apparent, but an agreement had been made and there were too many questions.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Deep breaths, Nanami. Take deeeeep breaths. She’d been repeating this mantra to herself the entire drive over, trying to calm her nerves but to no avail. In her anticipation and he’d come straight from work, not bothering to change. She was wearing her white coat with a simple, but professional outfit underneath. It was fitting considering she was just going form one workplace to another, just slightly-less-legal workplace.

The address in her new burner phone hadn’t looked nearly as suspicious as she’d expected. It pointed to a traditional home in a quiet neighborhood that was picturesque and pleasant except for the fact that it was the heart of Shie Hassakai territory. She wondered how many of the “neighbors” were in on this elaborate setup. Nanami parked her car a couple blocks away from the destination and proceeded to walk the rest of the way just to be safe. Having to answer police on why her car was parked right out font of a suspected yakuza hideout was a possibility she’d like to avoid.  

Even after taking a more careful look around on foot, most passerbys would see little out of the ordinary, but Nanami could tell she was in the right place. There were signs of a specific kind of disturbance in the areas surrounding the neighborhood. It was immaculate, careful work, but there was no mistaking what created it.  

Most of this place has been “overhauled” in one way or another… What was he building around here?

After walking for what felt like an eternity, she cleared her throat, raising her fist to knock. Before her knuckles made contact with the tall wooden gates, they were opened. A man stood at the door in a long, hooded white coat with a plague mask covering his face.  

They sure do have a flare for the dramatic here… Nanami noted, taking in the full ‘fit.

“Hello, Dr. Watanabe. Please follow me.” The man calmly replied to her quizzical look.

Walking in, the gates closed softly behind her and she was able to fully take in the front courtyard of the house. From movies she’d expected to see something akin to a fancy drug den, but this was serene. The pathways had been meticulously manicured, but were still lush with trees and tasteful moss. On the wrap-around porch cushions were placed perfect for a leisurely evening drink, and leading up to the entrance, soft lanterns illuminated the path and—

“Ahem. This way, please” The man politely chided, snapping Nanami out of her daydream.

She hurriedly followed him inside, hoping her gawking wasn’t too obvious.  Once inside, the house was warm and inviting, but before getting too far down the hallway, the man stopped in front of a vase.  

Turning to her he said, “Your phone, doctor.”  

Nanami hesitated, weighing her options. Objecting now would just seem suspicious and I’m sure there are cell phone jammers. Might as well play it safe and play ball. Worse comes to worse I can make way to escape…hopefully. After some rustling in her bag and a heavy sigh, she forfeited her device.

“Thank you.” The man said, taking the phone and turning again towards the vase. Pushing it forward, a passageway opened that looked much less inviting. “This way”.

This is possibly the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, but here we go~ Nanami thought as she took the first shaky step down the stairs. It was deafeningly silent, the walls themselves feeling as though they had eyes This is definitely someone’s quirk. Continuing further into the depths of the base, they took a series of dizzying turns until they arrived at the first door she’d seen, in what felt like miles of these underground corridors. He knocked solidly and a familiar, muffled voice responded, “You may enter”.

The masked man opened the door, the light from the room shocking her eyes as they adjusted from the dark passageways. Overhaul was sitting in typical villain fashion on the couch of what she presumed to be his office, waiting.  

“Welcome.”

“Good evening.” Nanami stiffly replied as he motioned for her to sit across from him. As it stood, she was outnumbered and still trying to remember the way back to the exit. A poker face and practiced caution were going to be her best tools to ensure she left tonight without incident.

The door closed behind them and the masked man who led her stood in the corner by the door. They sat in silence, Overhaul looking a bit too relaxed for her liking while he studied her. Usually Nanami would shift nervously, but she knew better than to be anything but firm, returning his stare. After a beat, he finally spoke, “I trust you had an amicable reunion with Kurono on your way here. He will be assisting with our research.”

Her brow cocked in confusion and he gestured to the man who had led her, Kurono now removing his mask. As she turned to look at him, Nanami couldn’t help the look of annoyance that took over her face. She saved his life and he sold her out.

“Don’t they have a thing against snitches in your line of work?” she spoke without thinking, but honestly didn’t regret it.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Overhaul put a hand up to his mouth, letting out a minuscule cough.  

Did he just do his version of a chuckle?

“That only counts if it’s against your comrades. I was simply reporting pertinent information.”  

“One, sounds like something a snitch would say. And two, thank you for confirming that we are in fact not comrades. I was beginning to get mixed signals, what with the random attack and cold stares.”

Overhaul simply replied, “You can relax. If we meant you harm, you’d have known it by now.”

“‘Relax’,” Nanami scoffed.  

“Have I not kept my word? Since our negotiations, nothing untoward has happened to you, correct?”  he asked pointedly. Nanami was still thoroughly annoyed but couldn’t refute that he’d at least followed the bare minimum requirements of their deal. She just refused to give him the satisfaction or brownie points for it. The fact of the matter was she didn’t trust him, but they had a job to do.

She forfeited their little staring contest, letting out an audible sigh before responding, “Let’s just get started, we have quite the bit of work to do,” she replied, exasperated.

“I couldn’t agree more, follow me.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

They exited the office, leaving Kurono behind to take care of some “business” as they called it, leaving Nanami and Overhaul to head for the lab alone, her following a safe distance behind him. She’d relaxed slightly after realizing it would be more logical for him to keep her alive and if she’d learned anything from the reports, as gruesome as they were, it’s that his actions were always logical in some twisted-void-of-humanity sort of way.  

The hallways were relatively dark but, in the distance, she saw a rather large set of doors. The lights became more intense and sterile as they drew closer and she noticed Overhaul visibly relax his shoulders. I guess everyone has their own version of a “happy place” …  

Using his body to block her view, Overhaul entered a code into the keypad and the doors slowly creaked open. He began, “This is—”

“Beautiful.” Nanami managed to get out as she stared in awe of the facility and equipment, she had only dreamed of using. Back in her research days she’d used mostly hand-me-downs, and the hospital she worked for now had some newer machines thanks to some generous funding, but nothing like this. It was immaculate without a blemish in sight. More impressively, she saw no signs of her quirk. Whatever had been damaged, he’d fixed it the old-fashioned way.  

Just as he was about to arrogantly confirm her assessment, he turned and saw her face. There was a twinkle in her eye he’d only seen once before in the mirror. Most of the other members only saw it as a means to monetary ends, besides Kurono, but he knew it was mostly just to placate him. To them, it was just another room in the building, but to him it was a sanctuary. Seeing someone else recognize this caused an odd ache in his chest he hadn’t felt before.  

“… Thank you.” It came out much more earnest than he intended and he turned away from her, clearing his throat. “Now,  let’s discuss procedures.”

Realizing she had once again spoken without thinking, Nanami facepalmed inwardly before hurriedly responding, “Y-Yes, of course, I’ve brought some ideas and hypotheses we can work from.” She stammered, patting her briefcase. As nervous as she was, she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been excitedly hypothesizing the second she got home from their meeting at the tea shop.  

They continued to walk through the lab, all the while Nanami inwardly “oohed” and “aahed”, fantasizing about how she’d get to use the equipment. It was a decent-sized laboratory with a rather open layout. There were two work benches in the middle like islands, each bookended by tables with subterfuges and water purifiers, and the walls were neatly lined with the larger machinery. Arriving at the end of the lab, she saw another set of workbenches facing a large whiteboard. Overhaul reached into his jacket, pulling out a file folder and laid it on the desk before removing his jacket and plague mask, revealing his smaller black one underneath. He then replaced his gloves and put on his own white coat motioning for her to sit at the work bench. Folding his hands he looked at her searchingly before initiating.

“Let’s begin by exchanging notes,” he said sliding the file towards her. She opened her briefcase, pulling out a file that was noticeably larger, sliding it towards him. He stared at it suspiciously for a beat before picking it up and taking his file back from her hand, holding them sideways so the difference in thickness could be easily observed. “This is part of the imbalance that needs to be rectified. If we’re going to consider this a partnership, I expect for these to be of equal size by the end of the night.” He said with an air of authority that had Nanami a bit miffed.

“So you want me to spill my guts?” her brow raised.  

“Yes. If you’re cooperative, it will only be in the metaphorical sense.” He said matter-of-factly.

“I thought we were done with threats.”

“And I thought with the beginning of this partnership we were done being so adversarial, yet here we are. Where’s the sense in coming this far just to resist me?” He motioned to the situation.

Nanami knew she was being a roadblock to her own progress, but she had realized something in her preliminary research that gave her pause: they had the same quirk, but utilized it in completely different ways. He was already a danger using the quirk as he knew it now, and she was afraid of what might happen if he gained any further mastery of it. On the other hand, there was so much to be gained in researching the discovery of their shared quirk and what he could teach her about it. It was an impossible decision, but considering she was already in the belly of the beast, sharing notes with Overhaul himself, she realized she had already made it.

Rolling her eyes, she relented “Fine.”  

“I knew you’d see it my way,” he almost purred, “Now, show me what you’ve got.” He motioned over to a door in the corner next to a larger window. She raised a brow questioningly before he elaborated, “There is a chamber past that door where we can use our abilities without damaging the rest of the laboratory. You used my quirk in a way I haven’t seen before, in order to begin this experiment, we need to both know our limits and abilities.”

Taking a deep breath, Nanami marched towards the chamber with him, knowing whatever happened, it would at the very least be interesting.

[eene-fangirl]

Titanic: Never Let Me Ed Chapter 9

NOTE: 107 years ago Titanic struck an iceberg on this very night. Take a moment to pray for all the lost lives from that night. Here is @nintendogal55 and I’s most recent chapter of our Ed, Edd n Eddy crossover of the Titanic. Enjoy!

Link to the Masterpost

As the steam roared throughout the engine room nobody was able to hear the passionate intense screams of delight.

Collapsing into a heap of sweat, Edd’s hand grasped the glass of the small window on the carriage, leaving behind a print. Eddy’s head lied against Edd’s beating chest listing to his glorious heartbeat. That was the greatest noise he could ever listen to. Then he picked his head up to meet Edd’s swimming emerald green eyes. They were so beautiful. Kissing, the lover's tongues mixed together in pleasurable delight, exploring every frontier.

The accommodations of the carriage didn’t give them enough space for cuddling nor being able to relax. Still, the lovers were content. They only needed each other and nothing more.

Eddy kissed his cheek. “To think we only met a couple of days ago.”

Edd chuckled, holding his lovers sweaty back. “Perhaps we did take things a little fast.”

Taking another moment to stare into each other's eyes, Eddy placed his head back down against Edd’s heart. Edd cuddled him, smoothing his blue hair.

That was the most glorious moment of Edd’s life. He never felt so content. That time with that other young man never went beyond touching. It was going to if Edd gave him permission to take things further. And if his parents hadn’t returned home.

But that was all in the past. Edd was more than happy to cuddle with Eddy, someone who actually cared about his own person knowing there was more. Edd never felt so good about himself until now. There were times he felt immense self hate about himself that he felt he did not belong to the world.

This was against society entirely being romantically involved with someone of his own gender. Who knew that he would ever disregard his parents and run away with a man!

Love was love.

“Say sockhead?” Eddy asked, whispering into his ear. The sensual tone of Eddy’s voice just sent chills up Edd’s spine.

“Yes?” A content Edd asked enjoying the embrace against soft flesh.

“What say we go up top? It’s a volcano in here!”

As much as Edd didn’t want to ruin the moment Eddy did have a point. It was so hot that sweat was dripping off his body in the heat. It was a boiler room after all.

When was the next time they’d share a romantic moment like this together? If this was going to go on the entire journey then they were going to have to avoid being seen at all costs. That may mean they’d have to stay inside the ship. Or in Eddy’s room. Anything to avoid the risk of being caught by his parents, or the officers on the ship. Even worse, Victoria.

It surprised Edd how little he cared about his ruthless actions. Then again, his parents never offered him a life he wanted. Or even a life. As Eddy put it he was going to suffer further if he did go through with marrying Victoria. It was sheer luck that Eddy was there to talk him out from jumping to his death.

Once they were dressed, Eddy was first to step out of the carriage. Edd didn’t even bother to make his tie. It was warm enough as it was.

Right when he was going to step out, Eddy’s hand appeared in his view. He was offering to help him down the one little step. All this generous camaraderie was a little overwhelming to Edd having been alone and the iron chains that trapped him.

“Eddy, I may have said this to you already so excuse me for reiterating, but you have a bigger heart then you let on.”

Eddy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” he pushed through the doorway hoping it was the right direction to take them in. At least it was lighter than the dim storage area of the ship.

“Finally! Never liked the dark much,” Eddy commented. His face instantly brightened.

“Is that so?” A surprised Edd asked.

“Oh, uh, yeah...” Eddy answered dipping his head in embarrassment.

“Eddy, you don’t have to be ashamed. I don't think any less of you,” Edd assured giving his love’s hand a tight squeeze. It was then that both of them realized they were still holding hands despite being so sweaty.

They were in the midst of climbing a set of stairs when a door appeared in front of them. Luckily the door lead outside to the bow of the ship. Taking in a needed breath of fresh air, the men immediately cooled off. It was much chillier than expected that night.

The couple felt light on the feet. They were a couple of rebels for sure. Dancing and laughing about in the excitement Edd and Eddy twirled around in circles like a similar fashion from last night at that party in third class. They were just like kids.

A few third-class passengers were out on the deck, mingling around They weren’t paying much attention to Edd and Eddy. It was pretty late, however. It must have been close to midnight. Most of the ship must have retired to bed for the night.

Joining together, Edd and Eddy hugged tightly, briefly kissing.

To think they’d just met two days ago. So much happened in such a short amount of time. It was almost too good to be true. Edd was so afraid that he was going to wake up in bed next to Victoria smelling her strong perfume.

Edd took in Eddy’s glorious scent even though he was still sweaty. “I’m getting off with you and Ed once the ship docks,” Edd stated matter-of-factly into Eddy’s ear.

Eddy giggled in pleasure, parting from the hug to look into Edd’s hypnotizing green eyes. “You’re crazy, ya know that?”

“Not as crazy as you,” Edd teased poking him in the nose.

The couple walked over to the edge of the railing looking out at the ship swimming through the calm Atlantic Ocean. It was a moonless night. A ray of stars covered the night sky. You could hardly see anything for miles.

“Not to be a bearer of bad news, sockhead,” Eddy spoke after a moment of silence. “Ed and I have no clue where we’re goin’ next. For all I know we could be sleepin’ under bridges.”

Edd smiled. “Eddy, are you forgetting?” He patted the coat pocket indicating the money he stole from the safe.

“Yeah, that’s a start. But what do we do after? My dad said to always have a plan in life. ‘Cept I’ve never had a plan,” Eddy stated the irony with a laugh.

“We’re pretty good at the unexpected,” Edd commented. “You and Ed could continue on with your art and I could get myself employed. There are some schools that have assistant teaching positions.”

Eddy stared at him, not sure what to think. Though he was more than thankful to have Edd’s trust. “You’re really willing to give up all that you have just for a nobody like me?”

Edd’s heart cracked, frowning. “Eddy, how could you think that about yourself?”

“Well, I got nothin’! My bro pretty much took everything I had-” Eddy stopped himself short, his heart starting to race. That’s not what he wanted to remember right now.

“Your brother?” Edd questioned curiously.

“Yeah... uh, wasn’t the greatest guy. Abused me in ways I can’t even begin to describe!”

“Oh, Eddy! I’m sorry, I didn’t know!” Edd covered a hand over his mouth, regretful of even asking.

“Course you didn’t, I never told ya!” Eddy said trying to make it sound as if it weren’t a big deal. It wasn’t working. Shaking his head, he at least had to tell Edd.

“Well, my parents had my brother before even getting married. Somehow managed to survive on their own with of their parents kickin’ ‘em out. Ma, she always had this heart condition. Hard to believe seein’ how she was the nicest person ever. Dad thought it would be best to move to England thinking it was less busy there. That was the biggest mistake he ever made.”

Edd pet his hand in comfort, encouraging him to go on.  “Long story short Ma didn’t get better, dad was killed in some kind of accident - so my bro said - then after three of the worst years with my brother... he drowned in an icy lake...”

Edd gulped. “Oh, Eddy... did you-”

“Before you ask he was trying to kill me!” Eddy defended. He took a deep breath before speaking again. It hurt him to talk to Edd that way. “Lucky for me. but bad on his part, he taught me defense skills and how to scam.”

“How old were you when all this happened?” Edd asked.

Eddy shrugged. “Fifteen.”

“Oh, you poor thing.”

“No, don’t do that!” Eddy warned. “It happened! Least now everything has been goin’ my way! I just... don’t want you to think of me as a criminal.”

Edd stared at Eddy, his heart dropping. He felt sick to his stomach. “Eddy, I have something to confess to you.”

“Oh?”

No turning back now. He never told anybody about the incident. Not even... that young man. He wouldn’t have understood. He was careless.

“In my youth, when I was still attending school, I was constantly belittled. You see, all the kids thought it was funny to make me the target in this game dodgeball. And one day I absolutely had it. I built this machine that would have gotten my point across to them. Only it malfunctioned...” Edd’s voice trembled. “Each dodgeball shot out at such a fast pace that the impact either knocked someone unconscious or badly injured them! Including me...”

Slowly, Edd reached up. His eyes locked with Eddy’s immense blue eyes in an attempt to ask the man to forgive him. Closing his eyes Edd’s hand sat on the lining of his hat, struggling to remove it. He couldn’t bear to witness Eddy’s disappointed reaction. He was going to leave him, he knew it!

Edd felt a hand fall on his shoulder.  “I know,” Eddy said to him.

“What do you mean?” Edd asked opening his eyes back open in shock.

“Your hat slipped off at one point,” Eddy state nonchalantly. He looked into his eyes with all the more love. No trace of hatred or disappointment. “You don’t have to show if you don’t want to.”

Edd smiled in pure gratitude, his heart calming down from how nervous he was. His stomach calmed, too. Oh, good.

“Anyway, Mother and Father were so disappointed in me that I was homeschooled, banned from inventing, and my parents were so disappointed that they only communicated with me through sticky notes! ... oh, it was so awful, Eddy! I am a monster! I can’t forgive myself for my cruel act!”

Edd began to cry from all the built-up frustration he held in for years of the unfair mistreatment. It was all his fault.

“Here,” Eddy held out a tissue for him.

“Thank you!” Edd wiped his eyes.

Then, once Edd had calmed down, Eddy placed a hand on his shoulder. “Okay, uh, what you did was bad but your parents shunning you like that, I should have come to help you escape a long time ago!”

“What? You mean you don’t think I’m a monster?” An astounded Edd asked, a tear crawling down his cheek.

“Do you think I’m a monster?” Eddy asked.

Edd shook his head. “No! You were only defending yourself.”

“And so were you.”

Each man felt an incredible weight lift off their shoulders. Their hearts were warm as they glimmered into one another's eyes. They kissed again, holding one another tenderly.

“Oh Eddy, I love you!” Edd announced, kissing him again.

Eddy raised his eyebrows. His insides squirmed. He never felt this way with anybody. Was that how love felt? The morning after that night with the man he only felt sad and angry. Never love.

Smiling, Eddy grasped Edd’s face. “I lo-”

Right then, as noise from above alerted the men. Someone in the crow nest was ringing the warning bell and shouting. What could have been the matter?

Edd looked out into the dark sea. He just barely made out the outline of an immense iceberg sitting in the dark. The ship was sailing in their direct path of the berg!

“Oh, Jeez!” Eddy announced his voice on edge.

Flinging his head from the iceberg to the bridge of the ship, Edd’s heart pounded. Were they even going to slow the ship down? He could see officers running around feverishly. Titanic was such a big ship. They were only still trying to get acquainted with the ship’s maintenance.

Ever so slowly, Edd and Eddy felt the ship turn under their feet. Titanic steered toward the right narrowly missing the berg. The mound of ice was so tall that it towered over the ship like a monster.

The ground shook. Clasping Eddy’s arm, the men just stared into one another’s questionable eyes. They could hear a faint scratching noise from under the water. Not a good sign.

Just as the ship passed the berg hit against the Titanic’s bridge crashing pieces of ice onto the boat deck.

“Look out!” Eddy cried shielding himself in front of Edd. The ice just narrowly missed them and a couple of other third-class passengers.

As soon as the iceberg was gone, Edd raced to the side of the ship looking far over the edge of the railing. The iceberg continued to pass dangerously close to the ship.

And then everything was back to silence as if nothing happened.

The ship stopped in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after failing some ways.

“Holy cow, that was something!” Eddy commented shaking his head. He never thought he’d see anything like that. “D’you think we’re okay?” Eddy went on to ask a dumbfounded Edd.

Edd was silent, staring at the ocean. It looked much darker, less promising then from nights before. He felt the rumbling and even heard that unsettling scratching noise. Thomas Andrews said the Titanic would stay afloat no matter what if the watertight compartments closed in time. Edd just hoped the incident wouldn’t deter them from their schedule to New York.

“I hope we are, Eddy,” Edd finally answered. He tried to sound as positive as he could. “A quick inspection and everything should be underway shortly.”

Eddy glanced over the deck of the ship once more. The iceberg was too far away to be seen. Wow, Titanic struck an iceberg. And on its maiden voyage! Won’t that be something for the papers?

Feeling a cold sensation run down his back, Eddy let out an audible gasp trying to remove a chunk of ice from his shirt. Edd meanwhile was laughing.

“Ah, a smart guy, huh?”

“Only when you’re around, Eddy!”

“Come here, you’re goin’ overboard!”

“Don’t you dare!”

Eddy grabbed Edd around his waist and pretended as if he were going to throw him over the side of the ship.

“No, don’t! Release me!” Edd screeched in laughter. He did mean it, though. Before he could alert Eddy of his inability to swim Eddy stopped. Laughing more, the men realized that Eddy was still holding Edd in his arms. Bridal style.

“Hey, guys!” Ed called out.

Eddy immediately placed Edd back on his feet and acted casual. Ed and May were together, holding hands, with Lee and Marie Kanker close behind. They were keeping a close watch on Ed but then were distracted by the pieces of ice out on the deck.

“What happened?” May asked.

“The ship hit an iceberg!” Edd announced.

“Really? That’s what was shaking our bed?” Ed pointed out to May.

May blushed slightly. She even glanced towards her sister's direction. Luckily, they didn’t hear. “Uh, yeah...”

Eddy raised an eyebrow. “Ed, you sly dog!”

Edd giggled slightly. They weren’t one to talk either.

Soon other third-class passengers trickled out onto the deck to see what was going on. They started up a game where they kicked the ice around reminiscent of a soccer match. Ed and May joined in and Eddy did too.

“Come on, Double Dee! This is fun!” Eddy hollered to Edd who was standing at the side.

Edd was too distracted by the berg to join in on the fun. “Um... I’m not much of an athlete.”

“Says the guy who can invent, dance and run like lighting!”

Edd blushed, thankful for the kind remarks. He joined in for a little bit, kicking a piece of ice. It was fun. Passengers from the upper decks, mostly first class, were watching over them in amusement. The needed disruption seemed like just the event they needed to distract them from their boring continuous daily routines of pointing their noses in the air because of how rich they were.

Couldn’t they all just be one?

Then Edd’s whole body stiffened. The piece of ice was kicked in Edd’s direction, hitting his feet.

“What’s a matter?” Eddy asked placing a hand on Edd’s shoulder.

“Do you feel that?” Edd asked putting his hand out.

“Feel what?”

Hearing a familiar voice, Edd and Eddy turned around to catch Thomas Andrews, Captain Smith, and some other officers walking down onto the deck. Worry wreaked their eyes as they were flooded in discussion regarding the ship.

“I think this may be more serious than we thought, Eddy,” Edd stated.

“Ugh, please don’t take us back to England!” Eddy grumbled.

Edd took Eddy’s hand. “I don’t want to go back, Eddy.”

First glancing around to make sure nobody was looking at them, Eddy cuddled his hand closely. “I would never let anything happen to you, sockhead.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“I jump, you jump, remember?”

Edd wanted so badly to kiss Eddy right there on the deck in front of all the passengers. What would everyone say?

“Excuse me?” It was an officer. He was one of the officers present from a couple of nights ago when Edd nearly slipped off the ship. “Are you Eddward Vincent-Blake?”

Edd nodded, but he immediately regretted doing so.

“Your parents are looking for you,” he said to him in a stern tone, taking him by the arm.

The shackles weighed down Edd once more.

“He’s not going!” Eddy defended him.

“They would like a word with you, too,” The man said taking hold on his arm, too.

Without another word, the officer escorted them back to first class.

[3one3]

The Sequel - 772

Persistent Problem

André Schürrle, Juan Mata, other Chelsea and BVB players, and random awesome OC’s

(okay they’re less random now but they’re still pretty awesome)

original epic tale

all chapters of The Sequel

“What are you doing, pretty girl?” André asked sleepily in the bathroom doorway around 3 in the morning. He heard Christina smash her leg or foot into something in the dressing room, fell back asleep, work up again, wondered why she still wasn’t in bed, and then went to find her.

“Brushing my hair,” she told him, standing behind her stool at the vanity. He walked in with a more tired and careless version of his usual duck-footed gait, and hugged her waist from behind. He was definitely in the way of her brushing.

“Come to bed, Prinzessin.” He bent in half to land a loving kiss on her neck. She smells like cologne that isn’t mine. That sucks.

“I have to go be Santa.” His wife covered his arms with her smaller ones and leaned back against him. She didn’t feel guilty about what went on in the city, and she didn’t feel spite or resignation or anything like that about being in the clutches of the guy who wasn’t treating her the way the one in city was- the way she wanted to be treated, and loved- nor trapped by her situation caught between them. All she actually experienced in that moment in the bathroom was relief. Being with Juan, and contemplating a lifetime with him, was like taking steps out onto a tightrope. To leave her husband and Lukas’ father would be to tread a narrow rope high above the ground with no safety net at all and no way to turn back. Her balance in the saddle was exceptional but her balance on two legs was notoriously bad. So it was a relief to be back in the German’s arms, where it was safe and familiar and there was nowhere to fall.

“Be Santa in the morning. You’re going to wake up before everyone else anyway. Come to bed,” he yawned, chin on her shoulder. Christina put her brush down, and let him take her to bed. Ironically, he held her hand on the way. Then he held the rest of her too once they got under the satiny black duvet. It was pre-warmed from his body. They spooned and the footballer enveloped his girl in limbs, arms around her upper body, left leg on top of the lower. “Did Juan give you a Christmas present?” he inquired once they were completely settled, and still.

“Uhhuh.”

“With his mouth?”

“What?”

“Just kidding.”

Holy tiny panic attack, Christina thought after explaining the Dirk picture and the wine. Her heart stopped for a few seconds when she thought André knew about the kind of things she’d been up to with Juan, and that did make her feel guilty. If she was telling herself all along that he wouldn’t care if she swallowed the other guy’s cum and let him lick hers out of her body, then she figured she shouldn’t be so worried that he might have found or figured out about it. If her gut reaction was to totally freak out, then at least part of her thought what she did was quite wrong, and would hurt, anger, or offend him.

“I’m so tired, and I’m so sleepy, but I feel like talking,” the German said into her smoothed hair. He had a perfect pillow stacking system that allowed him to keep most of his head on his own pillow just above his girl, and then his face actually on the side of her head, mostly just his nose, mouth, and chin, since those all stuck out. It felt familiar and reassuring to be in that arrangement again. He hadn’t worked it out yet with the pillows available in Dortmund, and there was no spooning like that since he got back for vacation. It very much felt like home to him, even if the woman in the equation felt a bit stiff in his embrace. “We don’t have good talks anymore. All we talk about is what’s wrong, and Lukas.”

“What do you want to talk about?” Christina asked. If I can’t go do the presents then I would like to go to sleep, she groaned in silence. I’m tired and my brain has been asked to sort through enough crap tonight. My internal processor is not powerful enough for this level of computing.

“Something good.”

“Like what?”

“You could think of something good that happened that you could-“

“Ha. Not likely.”

“So not one good thing happened, say, in the last week? Me and Mausi coming home wasn’t good? You didn’t like your cookies? Or doing the decorating? Or going on the trail ride?”

“What was to like about the trail ride?” she grunted, unable to temper her authentic reaction. “I had to beg you to go, and you spent half of it telling me how hard it is to be with me, and how difficult my problems are for you.”

“Here we go,” André snapped, unclamping himself from around her body and already reaching for the bridge of his nose.

“Is that necessary? You think saying that is productive?”

“I don’t know what you want from me. You want me to lie? To pretend everything is fine and I want to go through a nice long period of my partner hating everything, not listening to anybody, complaining about everyone, and suffering by her own doing?”

“My own doing?” The rider sat bolt upright and practically shouted. “You fuck off to Germany on 5 minutes notice and it’s my fault we have a shitty long distance relationship?”

“I don’t think you want to do this,” her spouse warned, a wry, smug smirk plastered across his face. “I don’t think you want to have this fight.”

“I don’t want to have any fights! But you’re deluded if you think everything wrong for the last 6 months is my fault.”

“Why do you always have to take the most extreme interpretation of everything I say?” André shook his head and closed his eyes. It was pitch black in the room and he could barely see the intensely angry creature next to him, and he didn’t need to. He didn’t need to see her face to see the betrayed and indignant glare. Don’t take her bait and let this escalate into a huge fight that ruins Christmas and means one of us sleeps on the couch. “You have this unquenchable thirst to paint me as a villain who is out to get you, doesn’t like you, and wants to hurt you. All I can sense from that is that you’re stockpiling evidence so that you can feel justified when you tell me you want to separate. It feels like you’re just waiting for the last thing that puts it over the edge so you don’t have to feel you’re throwing away a good thing when you leave me. That’s the truth. That’s how I feel. That’s what I get from you all this time, and that’s what influences what I say to you.”

“I don’t want a separation. You make me think we need one though.” Christina buried her face in her hands. It didn’t matter that he could hardly see it anyway. She wanted the protection of her improvised hiding place. “How is living together supposed to undo everything that’s happened and been said? How is that going to take back how you’ve made me feel and how I’ve made you feel? You think I want to leave you. That’s going to stay with you forever. You’ll never forget that. It’s going to be like a cancer inside that you never know if it’s gonna grow back And I have it too. I will never be able to forget how it feels when you yell at me for something that isn’t my fault, and how it feels when you tell me you hate having to go through bad shit with me. I’ll never forget that you suggested a separation.”

“I don’t believe that. If I can let go of you cheating on me, I can forget these things too.”

Ouch. Juan’s ex-girlfriend outwardly flinched, and hope her husband didn’t notice.

“I don’t know what to do, babe.” She shook her head and stared at the black sheet inside her folded legs. “I need my life to change. I can’t keep going this way. I couldn’t even get dressed last weekend because I was like paralyzed with anxiety. I couldn’t put my clothes on. If I can’t even get out the door to go ride, how am I supposed to-“

“When did this happen? Are you being literal?” André turned on his side and his voice was full of concern. That was unexpected. She thought he’d turn her honesty into another reason to ship her to a shrink, and issue a grandiose lecture about it too.

“Yes. Last Saturday. I had like a serious panic attack when I went to get dressed for the horse show. I was sitting on the bench in there and I couldn’t move. I felt so sick. I had a migraine get to full strength in like 60 seconds. I thought I was having a stroke or something at one point. It was horrible- the worst. I was trapped.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, baby? Why didn’t you call me? What did you do?” The player felt his eyes get warm and watery. He couldn’t stand to hear his girl talk that way, for starters, because she sounded like the most wounded, innocent, dear little person in the world. It was like watching Dobby die again, only she didn’t even have the satisfaction of being a free elf. Secondly, it physically upset him when he thought about her in the condition she described. It sounded awful, and he didn’t want her to go through anything even in the same ballpark as a debilitating panic attack. Thirdly, keeping it from him cut him deep. What has happened here, he asked himself rhetorically. What happened to when I would be the only thing that could make that better? This sounds like how you get yourself to wanting to...end yourself. Why wouldn’t she tell me?

“I called Daniel. He’s the only person I could think of who might understand and wouldn’t do something or tell someone that would be bad for me. He is the male version of me in a lot of ways.”

“What...what was wrong? You were scared of not riding well, or? You didn’t want to ride? You were depressed?” André moved closer and tried to get a hold of her hands, but she wasn’t forthcoming with them.  

“I don’t know. I had inescapable anxiety. It wasn’t really even about anything in particular. I just felt so anxious, and full of dread, and full of the about-to-barf feeling. I guess if I had to narrow it down, I would say I was scared of never feeling right again. And I still feel that way.” Christina unfolded and lay down again, facing him on her pillow, and with the comforter pulled up high. She wanted Lukas the baby zebra too but didn’t know where in the bed to find him. “I have to change something or I’ll never feel normal, or happy. But the only changes I can think of that are meaningful enough to make a difference are ones with major life consequences and how can I pick one and follow through with it if I don’t know that it’ll work? How can I risk it? I’m trapped in this horrible cycle.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? And let me hold you, damn it. You can’t tell me belatedly about this horrible thing you went through and then not let me hold you,” the footballer grumbled incredulously while reaching for her. His indignant expression threatened to make his wife crack a smile. Instead, she let him put one arm over her and hold her hand between them. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you’ve demonstrated less than zero ability to empathize with me over any of this, and I didn’t want to hear how I should be seeing a therapist, or how I need to take time off, or anything else you could possibly come up with as someone who doesn’t understand.” The rider talked like she was making a shameful admission, and she closed her eyes because it was just easier that way. It was easier than looking into the very hurt, very handsome face fixed keenly on hers. “And because it’s embarrassing. And why would you leave your precious son alone in the care of somebody who gets stuck in her closet?”

“No, baby. No, no, no. Never. You are the best mom to him and I would never worry about that. And since when do you hide embarrassing things from me?” André got even closer, trying to eliminate any and all space between their bodies. He wished he could take the inner Christina out of hers and bring it into his own until he was sure it was alright. This is what she doesn’t get when I say it’s hard to be with her when she goes through this, he thought. I can’t stand this. It’s not that it’s an inconvenience. Okay, it is sometimes, but that’s not the point, he assured himself. The main point is that I can’t stand watching her suffer. Of course it’s bad for me too and it can get tiresome and annoying, but that’s not the main reason I hate it. I hurt with her. And I knew something was screwy last weekend with the bizarre results.

“I just didn’t tell anybody. Well...I told Daniel obviously, because I thought he could help. And he did, kind of.” His emotionally drained wife gave in and put her cheek on his right bicep, and flattened a hand on his chest. “Then I had to tell Tom because Daniel and I did everything together- I mean he even escorted me from my car into the arena because otherwise I might have just stayed in the car- and he got the wrong idea, and then I had to tell Marcus because he got a different wrong idea, and since it was a riding thing I figured they were the people to tell. You know what I mean? It was a riding thing but not a riding thing. I couldn’t get dressed to go ride. That was the stressor. But it’s other stuff that is making the riding such a daunting and withering experience.” And I can’t tell him about the other two panic attacks either, she reminded herself. They’re Juan things. He doesn’t need to hear about the two halves of Chris being in love with different people for different reasons and apparently hating one another. Not right this second. Nor does he need to know seeing Juanin kiss his girlfriend is panic attack material. Or that Juanin’s dick was in my hand a couple of hours ago. Nein.

“I want to be the person you tell, Prinzessin. This is my job. This is what I’m here for.”

“No you don’t,” Christina whispered, saddened again by the contradiction in André’s insistent assertion. “You keep telling me that you don’t want to be the person when you say things like “It’s hard to get through everything with you”, and when you get angry when I tell you about what upsets me, or you get defensive, or suggest I talk to a therapist. All of that tells me you don’t actually want to hear about my panic attack. You always say you’re better at showing people things and that you’re bad with words. You’ve been showing me for months that you don’t want to be that person, or at the very least that you don’t want there to be a need for a person who hears the bad things.”

“I’m sorry. That’s not my intention. I don’t have all the answers and I don’t do the right thing every time,” the German reflected aloud, though it was more his stream of conscious coming out through a downtrodden filter than it was a direct rebuttal. “No matter how much I want to, in real life I don’t always know what the best thing is, and it’s very hard for me to understand and relate from far away. The distance messes with my perception, I guess. That’s why I believe things will really get better when the stable is finished and we can be together. I swear to you though, no matter what it looks like, I don’t want you to feel alone. I’m sorry if I lose my temper and make you feel that way, or I don’t explain things right and it makes you think I don’t want to be there for you. It’s true I don’t want you to have reasons to need me there for you, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing.”  

“I love and appreciate that you apologize for things sometimes,” his girl testified quietly, her eyes finally making timid contact with his more jewel toned set above.

“I can admit when I get it wrong, unlike some other Prinzessins.”

“Are you implying you are also a Prinzessin?”

“Maybe.”

“I’m sorry you wanted to talk about good things and we talked about all this instead.”

“I’m not. We have to talk, period. And I don’t think you should worry too much about making a big change to get back on track. The big change is already coming. Things will get better when you move.”

“I don’t think that’s true, and I think your belief in it is one of the core problems, babe. I don’t- I don’t know how to make that any more clear. This is bigger than where I live. How is living together going to erase the last 6 months?”

“It won’t, but it’s going to take away a lot of the stress and travel, and we’re always better together. You don’t need to erase what has happened. You just need to be set up with the conditions to be able to move past it.” André combed out her hair from around her right ear, and willed her to have some faith in what he believed. I don’t always get it right but I know I’m right about this, he assured himself. We need each other. Being together every day should reduce her problems by half straight away, and then time will cure the rest. This whole process has been like trying to pull a sticky bandage off one little bit at a time. It’s still going to sting once it’s off, but it will fade and eventually not hurt anymore.

Christina didn’t want to tell him that the longstanding issue of her love for Juan wasn’t going to go away with a change of venue. If, as the Spaniard asserted, it was that conflict within her that was driving her unhappiness, being in Dortmund wouldn’t help. It could reduce the opportunities for André to behave in a way that highlighted the difference between him and Juan, but it wouldn’t eliminate the connection she shared with the other player. She recognized to herself that at some point she drifted from her conviction that the German was the one she wanted to be with no matter what. At some point in that half of the year, she changed course on that. It was no longer an absolute. She was no longer committed to ignoring her other feelings. Her attitude was no longer, “I’m in love with Schü, and it’s great that Juan is love with me too, and maybe we’ll be together someday and that’ll be wonderful, but right now I want to be with Schü forever”. The rider didn’t feel that way anymore. On the basis of all that unfolded- all the fighting, all the heartache, all the perceived rejection, and the persistent depression- and she was coming around to accepting that term- it was real depression that she was experiencing, not just “unhappiness”- she was willing to consider that maybe she did want to be with the Chelsea player, in which case her husband was right- she sort of was collecting evidence against him to justify the change in position.

“We’ll feel closer again when we sleep this close every night,” André commented somewhat pensively. He was still combing her hair down by his chest. “I don’t mean that in the obvious way it sounds,” he chuckled. “I mean closer feeling-wise. Even when we’re practically all touching, it feels like there is a gap between you and me now. You don’t seem as comfortable with me anymore. Being with me isn’t your favorite place, I can tell. I want that back. That’s important to me.”

“Me too. I need to get some sleep though, babe,” Christina told him while trying to turn over. It was the opposite of the reaction he was looking for. “I have to get up early, and cook a big meal and everything tomorrow, and...yeah.”