#i wanted to do a fun valentines one n this other sketch done before then

[royal-harpy]

what do you MEAN February is *looks at calendar* IN THREE DAYS?!?!?

[anemo-writes]

hello travelers! again, thank you for putting up with my inactivity, it’s been hard to write lately haha. anyways, i thought this would be something fun to post and for everyone to enjoy, whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or not :) (note: this will probably be more fanon than canon so please bear with me, i’ll make it as canon as it can be :’) i also kept this pretty short, so hopefully that’s okay too,, and sorry for this being late haha—i wrote this very late at night so don’t mind any typos you find please)

much love,

~ anemo-chan <3

(The Playable) Genshin Impact Characters on Valentine’s Day (Romantically)

super romantic; gifts you a bouquet of flowers and takes you out to eat at a fancy restaurant/cooks for you.

Diluc

He is nervous. He’s never paid close attention to the countless amount of people who have lined outside the tavern to ask him to be their Valentine, only to be rejected. There was absolutely no way that he would turn to Kaeya for advice, so unfortunately this was something he would have to figure out for himself. He figures that it wouldn’t hurt to go traditional, so that’s what he does; he buys a large bouquet of roses (which he had to get from Donna, seeing that at the hours that he ended work were very late and Flora’s shop was not open at the time—yeah, that was not fun) and presents himself outside your doorway, to which he invites you to join him for a late dinner—which he makes!

Lisa

She leaves a letter on top of your nightstand, paired along with a singular rose. The letter states for you to meet her outside of Good Hunter, where you find her sitting at a table with a candle dimly-lighting up the surroundings. She greets you with a warm smile, gesturing for you to sit down—the two of you enjoy a candle-lit dinner as well as bolognese she specially requested for Sara to make for the two of you to enjoy together why does this remind me so much of Lady and the Tramp,,

Tartaglia

Oh boy. It’s always a fun time spending a holiday with him, seeing that it could go two ways; one, he would be too busy to celebrate it with you on the day of, and he would take you out the day after, or two—have a store’s entire line of merchandise presented to you outside your doorstep, in which a very, very smiley Tartaglia hidden within the pile (after all, he was the best present!) After you’re done moving all of the gifts into your house (it took up the space of your entire living room), he tells you to cover your eyes and follow him. He takes you to one of the most well-known restaurants in Liyue (which currently doesn’t have a name because it is very late here!), and insists that you order whatever you want, and however much you want.

Zhongli

Over the years, he’s witnessed many, many couples celebrate this holiday and every year he’s wished to do the same. He finds the perfect opportunity to do so when Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and boy does he plan it out for the two of you. He’s even made sure to have his wallet on him at all times—it would be extremely rude for you to have to pay if he happened to forget his wallet. He makes sure to stop by to pick up a bouquet of flowers, as well as a bottle of perfume (not in a bad way, just to clarify) from Ying’er’s shop that he recalled you liked. He makes sure to pick you up early from your work place to make sure you made it to your appointment on time; after all, being late to an appointment was similar to breaking a contract, no?

surprises you with homemade sweets.

Fischl

Oh, she is so nervous—of course, she doesn’t show this. The entire week, she spent researching recipes to create a special batch of chocolate-dipped strawberries just for you—she even sent Oz to the nearby farms to “borrow” the freshest strawberries for the treat (the farmers were too scared to confront the talking bird who “borrowed” their strawberries, so luckily they got away with it). She dips them in a purple-colored chocolate (because what other color would she use, really?) and drizzles on a dark-chocolate syrup to top it off. She’s too shy to actually give it to you herself though, so she has Oz drop it off for her.

Ganyu

Even though she’s quite busy, she’s somehow found time to whip up a special batch of chocolate just for you! She shapes them into Glaze Lilies (which she found quite hard, which is why there are so few of them) and presents them to you in a neatly-sealed box. She’s quite modest when your eyes widen and tell her it’s the best chocolate you have ever eaten, claiming that she only followed a recipe, when she really made it from scratch.

Keqing

Like Ganyu, you have no idea how she finds time to create a perfect array of chocolates, which she made herself! However, with her tightly-packed schedule, she has to drop it off at your house in advance, to which you accept happily. She tried to decorate them with designs of cartoon-versions of your faces, but they’re a bit...messy. Nonetheless, they’re tasty, and to her relief, you enjoy them.

Mona

Somehow, she’s managed to scrape up enough mora to buy you a necklace; yes, a necklace, and a real one at that—none of that fake, costume jewelry stuff! She even added a pendant shaped like star, just so you could be reminded of her whenever you fiddled with it or even glanced at it. She’s quite flustered when she gives it to you, ignoring the way you ask how she managed to save this much mora to be able to buy something like this, changing the subject on how you should never-ever take it off (because it looks great on you.)

Noelle

One word: pancakes. (Have you seen the ones she makes for her special dishes? They’re frigging amazing) As a dutiful maid should, she wakes up especially early to prepare a homemade breakfast just for you, to which she serves to you just as your wake up in bed. The fluffy stack of pancakes are decorated with fruits cut up in heart-shapes, as well the words, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Y/N”, written neatly with chocolate syrup—it’s quite a sight to see, to be honest, and utterly delicious. Lucky you!

Xiangling

The day before, she tells you to meet her at the restaurant around noon. When you arrive, the restaurant is adorned with Valentine decorations, as well as a terrifying amount of food; she insists that she only made it for you, so you better eat up! Before she can show you the other dishes, the restaurant is suddenly filled with a strong, bitter smell—something burning. With a yelp, she runs into the kitchen, coming out a few minutes later with a tray of half-scorched cupcakes, their Gouba-shapes adorned with...a lot of burn marks. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, doesn’t it?

buys/makes a present for you.

Albedo

Without your knowledge, Albedo has been creating a collection of artworks throughout all the time you had spent together. The pieces include portraits of you, portraits of you and him (sucrose helped with this), as well as just random sketches of the little things that remind him of you, such as the bare, snowy-white terrain where the two of you first met, as well as its flora and fauna. If you request it, he’ll even make the painting come alive (literally), and the two of you run to Sucrose’s dwelling, who is very shocked to see the pair of you running from a Frosted Lawachurl when she peered out her window to see if she could pinpoint the sounds of distant screaming.

Amber

Is there anything better than a matching set of wind gliders? Not only that—they were homemade! She spent the last couple of weeks putting together a pair of gliders for the two of you, customizing them to your tastes (which she nailed!) She quite literally drags you to the nearest hill to test them out, and the two of you end up challenging each other on who can get back to the Knights of Farvonius Headquarters the fastest—spoiler alert: she did.

Barbara

Oh, she would make the cutest card for you—the envelope is decorated with cute stickers (some of them even had her face on it; there’s nothing like promoting merchandise, am i right? jkjks) She also pairs it off with a box of chocolates that she bought from Sara—however, what she didn’t know was that in the box was a special-edition spicy chocolate truffle. With your luck, that was the first one you chose—and boy, were you met a surprise (it was so bad that you were begging Barbara to use her Vision on you, which she refused of course). Fun times.

Chongyun

He’s real sweet. After his expeditions and commissions, he opens the freezer (yes he keeps them in there, don’t judge him) to an array of ice sculptures, shapes varying from flowers, hearts, and such—although it’s quite the simple gift, he’s put a lot of effort into them, even putting in the extra effort to cast a spell to make sure they would not melt; it’s all worth though, when he sees the absolutely giddy expression on your face, and the look of pure awe as you pick one up and study it closely, admiring all of the details and work that’s he put in.

Ningguang

She sends out informants to find out what you like, whether it be something that your gaze settled on for too long or something you’ve mentioned while talking to her—on the day of, you open your door to a mountain of gifts, with Ningguang herself peering out from behind it with a calm smile and a wave (which was the opposite of your reaction, because who has that much mora to purchase all of these gifts?!?)

Razor

He doesn’t have a clue on what the holiday until Lisa asks him if he’s planned something for the two of you during one of his lessons. When he shakes his head no, Lisa suggests that he make you something, to which he sets out on an adventure to do, looking for flowers and flower stems to weave into a pair of matching bracelets—they’re not the prettiest, but he is pretty proud of it; after all, it was his first time making something like that. He’s quite nervous to present it to you, afraid that you might not like it, but all feelings of worry melt away when you slide it on with a huge smile on your face, insisting that he wears his too.

Sucrose

At first, she considers gifting you a present that she created herself; of course, with her work being alchemy, she isn’t sure if that would be the safest option, despite being talented herself. And so, she resorts to buying a present for you—she is very picky with the present though, insisting that it should be perfect since she could not make one herself. She even consults Albedo when selecting some of the presents (he doesn’t help her unfortunately; he believes that she should figure it out herself haha). Like Razor, she’s quite nervous to give it to you, but lets out a huge sigh of relief as you thank her happily for the gift, wiping a bead of sweat from across her forehead (sucrose bby anything you give us would be perfect,,)

whisks you away somewhere sentimental, where the two of you can enjoy a special date.

Beidou

It’s ungodly early in the morning when Beidou presents herself in front of your doorstep, announcing that you’ll be joining her and the crew on a special ride. She tugs you along beside her until you reach the harbor, where you are met with the sight of her ship adorned with streamers and banners, varying between shades of pink and red. Onboard, there is a table filled with goodies the crew collected and made, and boy do they look delicious. The group sets out to sea, and you take your place next to the captain, who even lets you steer the boat (momentarily, at least.)

Bennett

He takes you to meet his dads; yes, yes—he knows that it’s not the most romantic thing to do on a day dedicated to lovers, but he figures it’s just as important. Besides, they’ve been asking about you for quite a while—they even set up a small party within the Adventurer’s Guild, with the help of Bennett, of course. You spend the day listening to their old adventuring stories, as well as bits from Bennett’s childhood (poor boy is flustered from all the information his dads are spilling, but he’s still happy either way; after all, he’s with the most important people to him.)

Kaeya

He quite literally kidnaps you; one second you’re walking in the streets of Mondstadt on your way to work when suddenly someone grabs you by the waist and pulls you into an alley way (that sounds so creepy but i swear he means it in a good way). He only chuckles and shields himself with his arms as you punch him lightly, retorting that he scared you. He doesn’t care that the two of you have an overwhelming amount of work to do—after all, Valentine’s Day only comes once a year, right? Surprisingly, he doesn’t take you the tavern, but instead...Dawn Winery! Diluc received quite the surprise when he is met with the two of you standing outside his gates, with Kaeya requesting a wine/grape juice taste-testing. Yeah...you guys didn’t get any of that, but you did manage to snag a couple of grapes on your way out! Good for you!

Venti

You wake up in your bed, opening your eyes to see a very-smiley Venti laying beside you, chin propped up against his hand as he watches you yawn sleepily as you force yourself out of bed. You’re then presented with a handpicked-bouquet of Ceceilias, the freshest of the bunch, if he may add. You barely have time to thank him before he hoists you up in his arms and out of your dwelling, gliding over the city of Mondstadt as he whisks you away to Starsnatch Cliff, where he’s prepared a special performance just for you (and no, you don’t need to pay.)

Xingqiu

While he’s not the most romantic, he does have a clue on what people look for on Valentine’s Day; after all, that’s what cheesy-romance novels were for, right? Unbeknownst to you, he takes you on a date very similar to the one the main characters in his favorite novels partook in—and you don’t find out until you catch him peeking into the pages while you weren’t (you were) looking. Again, it’s the thought that counts—

doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Jean

Sadly, she probably forgets about the holiday. She’s too busy holed-up in her office to notice the couples gathered up in the courtyard, sharing moments with their lover. It’s not until she walks out to take a breather that she notices the commotion—she immediately calls you over, apologizing frantically. Of course, to this you respond that’s it’s okay, but that you would much rather her take the rest of the day off to spend time together, to which she reluctantly agrees.

Xiao

“I do not have time to celebrate silly human traditions like that.” He would say as you bound up to him, exclaiming that it’s Valentine’s Day, the day where you can give sweets to your loved ones, and asking if he had someone special in mind to spend it with. He’s irked when your gaze falters and the grip on the object you’re hiding behind your back tightens—he only grows more irked as you mutter to yourself how you’ll give the chocolates you made to someone else. He scoffs loudly, avoiding your gaze as he lays out his hand in front of you to accept the chocolates (just because he doesn’t celebrate the holiday doesn’t mean he can’t get jealous!)

[a-singleboat]

Locked In

Word Count: 4.1k

Request: great! you’re a really good writer! could I get a Shayne Topp x Reader where they end up doing a bunch of romantic scenes together in a sketch, like slow dancing and a nice dinner and the cuddles, and you guys have been flirting constantly for months and after the shoot Damien, Court, Ian and everyone lock you two in a room because they’re TIRED of it not going anywhere - @mrtopphaasmyheart​

A/N: this actually turned out a lot longer than i thought it would... sorry not sorry!

It was Saturday night when they emailed out the filming schedules for the upcoming month. You were sitting at home, reading a book and being “insanely boring” as your friends had so eloquently put it. 

But as much as you had wanted to go out with your old college friends, that week of filming had really taken a toll on you and your body. Now, as a YouTube personality, you weren’t required to do your own stunts due to the fact that stuffed dolls could easily take your place for comedic effect. However, being a former stuntwoman for a few months during college, you loved the adrenaline crashing through a window or two gave you. 

As Smosh’s stunt coordinator, that meant you weren’t on screen as often as your coworkers. Which is why the upcoming month’s filming schedule shocked you. Aside from a Try Not to Laugh and a few Smosh Gaming videos, you were also scheduled in an Every Blank Ever. Namely, the Every Valentine's Day Ever video. 

Considering Valentine’s Day was a little less than a month out, it wasn’t weird that they wanted to get this video recorded and on its way to editing. What was weird was the fact that most of your filming blocks aligned with Shayne Topp’s. 

It wasn’t a secret that you were the group flirt. Next to Courtney, you were both the most notorious for flirting with your coworkers on screen and, in your case, off. 

But with Shayne… It started five months ago. Five months ago, your harmless flirting turned into something a little more than for-good-fun. 

Five months ago, the flirty little winks you sent in his direction meant more than something friendly and the words exchanged turned into something more than just words. But you were sure that was all you. 

There was no way Shayne felt the same for you. After all, he was an extremely friendly guy and he acted that way to everyone. That was your best defense. That he was just really nice. 

You shook your head as if the motion would shake the thoughts from your mind. You closed your book and laptop, shoving both items off to the side. You reached over and clicked your bedside lamp off, settling in for the night. 

You’d figure it out in the morning, you decided, closing your eyes and letting sleep take you off to another world.

The next morning, you met up with Courtney and Olivia for your weekly Sunday brunches. You had settled on a new place, rather than your regular brunch spot. The only difference was this place offered outdoor seating, which was nice despite the fact that it was still January and it was sixty degrees Fahrenheit. 

You guessed you could blame the warmer-than-average weather on global warming. 

“What’d you do yesterday, Olivia?” you asked as Courtney wrapped up her recount on the movie night she had with one of her many siblings. They had gone out to watch The Turning, much to her sister’s amusement and to Courtney’s torture. 

“I just hung out with Sam,” Olivia revealed, shrugging. “Wrote in my filming schedule in my planner.”

You took a sip of your mimosa, nodding along. “Yeah, I had a mellow weekend too.” 

Courtney kicked your foot under the table. “But did you see who you were paired with for, like, eighty percent of the scenes, Y/n?”

You shrugged, setting your drink down. “Shayne? Yeah, I saw it.”

Courtney poked you this time. “For the Valentine’s scenes. You know, the romantic stuff!”

She wiggled her eyebrows as you fought to keep the smile off your face. “We won’t even be shooting those until Wednesday.”

You and Shayne had about three or four romantic scenes in the Every Blank Ever, marked ‘Breakfast in Bed,’ ‘Dinner,’ ‘Proposal’ (which was a continuation of ‘Dinner’), and one unspecified scene. You figured they’d tell you what the unspecified scene was when it came time to film it. 

“So that means you have until Wednesday to fantasize all about it,” Olivia said, wiggling her fingers like she was a wizard spreading magic. 

You laughed slightly, shaking your head. You held up a hand and asked your waiter for your check. You thanked them when they brought over the little black book, shooing off your two friends as they tried to poke fun of you. 

As the baby of the group, you figured a little teasing was warranted. It came with the territory. 

But by the time Wednesday rolled around, you figured your status of the baby of the group wouldn’t help you much. 

Sarah Whittle, one of your bosses, stood near you as you did up your own makeup. She was waiting patiently for the curler to heat up so she could do up your hair, making you feel much like she was your mom helping you get ready for Prom night. 

“You ready for today's scenes, Y/l?” she asked in a teasing manner. 

You rolled your eyes and took a break from applying your mascara to stick your tongue out at the older woman like the child you were. 

“It’s the breakfast in bed scene first,” you complained as you nearly poked your eye out with the wand. “Why do I need to have my hair curled if I just woke up?”

Sarah picked up the curler after sliding on the black cloth glove that was designed so that she couldn’t burn herself too badly with the heated stick of metal. 

“Well, you’re going to be wearing a hair covering for this scene so your curls can set for the dinner scene,” Sarah explained before winking. “Plus, it’d be less work for me later.”

Since Sarah had already sectioned off your hair, it made it easier for her to curl the pieces and then pin them up with bobby pins to keep them secure. Once she finished, she reached over and grabbed a patterned shower cap and slid it on over the little bundles of curled hair. 

She explained that the residue heat would essentially act like one of those giant hair dryers that you would sit under at a hair salon, but with less health risks. 

After you were finished with hair and makeup, you were ushered off to costume where you were given a nightgown and a robe.

You thanked whatever deity was up there that you had been provided a robe before making your way to set, passing a dressed up Courtney, who waved enthusiastically at you. You resisted the urge to jokingly throw up the middle finger at your friend, instead choosing to wave back and give a tight smile that showed off your discomfort. 

Thankfully, Ian was the scene’s director, which immediately put you at ease. It wasn’t that you had anything against the others. In fact, you loved being able to work with Ryan. It was just the fact that since coining Ian as your Smosh dad, you found it easier to perform better in scenes like these if someone you had already been emotionally vulnerable with was the one behind the steering wheel.

“Okay,” Ian said, clapping his hands together. “Y/n, you’re going to wake up and maybe yawn a little, and then Shayne is going to come in with a tray of food. I want you to take a bite, and chew through it while pretending you like it. You got that?”

You shucked your robe, handing it off to one of the assistants that were on hand. You gave him a thumbs up before settling into the bed, moving down so it looked like you were sleeping. 

You waited, counted three breaths, before you heard Ian call, “Action.”

You waited two more breaths before ‘waking up,’ yawning and groggily rubbing your eyes. You sat up in bed, moving yourself so that your back was flush to the headboard. 

“Good morning, Sweetie,” Shayne said, pretending to have come through a door. He made his way over to the bed and set the tray over your lap. You smiled at him, imagining what domestic life with Shayne would actually be like.

“Good morning,” you replied, remembering that this was a scripted moment. “What’d you make for me?”

Shayne settled into the bed next to you, pointing at each item as he listed them off. “I made the pancakes I made you on our first morning together, as well as the scrambled eggs that I know you love so much, and I got you some orange juice in a mug with a heart on it that I found from our local flea market.”

You acted like it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for you. Putting on a face that would read to the audience that you two were madly in love. “Oh, honey. I love it, thank you!”

You kissed his cheek, thinking nothing of it as you moved onto the next part of Ian’s directions to you. You put a spoonful of eggs into your mouth, making a face at the ‘taste.’

“Do you like it?” Shayne asked, still in character. 

You made a face that was halfway between joy and disgust, acting like it was the worst thing you’ve ever eaten. “It’s great, Steve.”

Ian called for a cut and you reached out beside you as the assistant from earlier rushed to hand you a bucket. You spat out the food, scraping your teeth along your tongue to get the residue egg out of your mouth. 

She handed your your robe next, to which you replied, “Thank you, Julia,” before pulling the article of clothing on. 

Shayne threw an arm around your shoulders as you got out of bed, pulling you back and wrapping his arms around you. You laughed, feeling your cheeks burn with half embarrassment and half oh-my-God-what-is-he-doing. 

“They got us up this early, they can give us a few minutes to nap,” he declared, settling his head atop yours the best he could in the awkward position he had put you in. It was nothing new, Shayne being touchy with you, but this time was different. You couldn’t exactly pinpoint what, but you knew something had changed. 

Maybe it was the fact that you had just filmed a scene in which you both were a couple. The fake engagement ring that sat on your finger reminded you of that. The fact that this was fake. 

“Come on,” Ian scolded, a laugh also written across his face. “The sooner you both get through the next three scenes, the sooner you can go home.” 

You wriggled out of Shayne’s grasp, laughing as he tried to tickle your sides. It wasn’t the fact that you were insanely ticklish, no. It was the fact that his hands on you felt so undeniably right, that your brain had thought of no other reaction but to laugh. 

“Alright,” you surrendered, “I’ll go. I’ll see you at dinner, Mr. Topp.” 

He kneeled on the bed, raising up from his sitting position. He bent at the waist jokingly, a goofy grin on his face. 

“Until then, Ms. Y/l.” 

You gave him a two-finger salute in farewell before disappearing from set, making your way back to hair and makeup. There, Sarah awaited you, anxious to take out the pins and reveal her ‘masterpiece.’

Once your hair was revealed, which did look insanely good, you set to work on applying a modest amount of makeup, knowing that the amount of lights on the set would even out your complexion. 

From years in show business, you’d learned that a healthy medium between your normal everyday makeup and stage makeup was the way to go when filming in a closed set. As far as you knew, you wouldn’t be filming outside or in any dark or enclosed spaces. 

When you were carted off to costume, you were glad to trade out your nightgown and robe with a red dress that really did flatter your figure in the best ways. You gave Lindsay a spin when she asked you to before being carted off to set for the second time that day. 

Luckily, you’d be in the same outfit for the next three scenes you had to film that day, which meant no more back and forth between departments. 

You thanked whatever deity was up there because ten minutes in and the heels Lindsay had put you in were already cutting off circulation to your toes. 

“Okay,” Ian said, and clapped again. It was a habit of his that didn’t look like it was going anywhere soon. “For this scene, we’re going to film the dinner and proposal all in one and splice it in editing and whatever. I’ll stop you if I want to give a little more direction, but you know what you’re doing and so does Shayne.”

You smiled at Ian’s attempt at easing up your nerves. No matter how fake, getting proposed to was always a nerve-wracking experience. 

Shayne walked up to set next, dressed up and looking a little extra fancy. 

You bumped his hip as they set up the scene, threading your arms through his. “You clean up nice.”

He smirked. “I could say the same for you, Y/n.”

You felt the heat rise into your cheeks, hating that Shayne could get any kind of reaction from you. 

You heard Ian call action and immediately started walking. The two of you gossiped about the “hot new Italian restaurant” your boss recommended before arriving at the entrance. 

“Hello,” Damien greeted them, an Italian accent gracing his lips. “Do you have a reservation with us tonight?”

Shayne stepped forward a little. “Yes, Copper. That’s C-O-P-P-E-R.”

“Copper,” Damien repeated, though his accent botched the pronunciation a little for comedic effect. “Ah, yes. C-O-P-P-E-R. Right this way.”

Damien ‘led’ you to your table, though in all reality, the cameras cut as the set changed slightly, the restaurant tables coming in and some of your coworkers coming in to fill the seats around you. 

Damien asked for your order in proper waiter fashion before dashing off to ‘fetch your drinks.’

You leaned in, tucking some hair behind your ear as to not obscure your face from the cameras. “Babe, this place is really fancy. Are you sure you can afford this?”

Shayne scoffed and brushed you off. “Of course, I can afford this!”

He made a joke loudly, and you laughed nervously, looking around and apologizing to the other patrons of the bar as scripted. 

“Babe,” you hissed. “Quiet down, people are staring!”

He scoffed again, doing his little bit before returning to the script. 

“Let them stare!” he announced, climbing onto the table. Your eyes widened as you held onto the table, even though you fully well knew that it was bolted down to the set. 

“Ramona, I am in love with you and have been since I first swiped right,” he declared, putting his hand to his heart. He jumped off the table and leaned over to another table, taking the engagement ring right off an extra’s finger. 

You watched as she acted offended, storming off with her fiance. 

You returned your attention to Shayne, who was down on one knee in front of you. “Ramona, will you marry me?” 

You looked around, acting shocked and repulsed by what had just taken place. You gave it a few moments, waiting for the comedic timing to line up, before bursting out into fake tears and saying yes. 

The crowd around you burst into cheers, you could hear your coworkers clapping and calling out congratulations as Shayne held you in his arms. 

Ian called cut but Shayne didn’t let you go, holding you around the waist with one arm instead of two. 

You saw Ian and Courtney exchanged glances with Damien, but thought nothing of it, enjoying the feeling of Shayne’s arms around you. You looked up at him, staring into his bright baby blues. 

“What do you think the next scene is?” you asked him, leaning into his side. His arm tightened around you.

“I don’t know but I hope it's something to do with dessert,” you said excitedly. 

Shayne cocked an eyebrow at you, causing you to realize the secondary meaning to your words. You slapped his pec, unsurprisingly meeting the hard muscle there, before slapping yourself in the face for not realizing it sooner.

“That’s not what I meant,” you insisted, separating yourself from him. You crossed your arms over your chest as he laughed at what you had said. You ended up laughing a little as well, walking away from the set and kicking off the heels. 

While they were absolutely beautiful, they also made your feet hurt like hell. The assistant, Julia, offered you your casual shoes and you took them, making a mental note to get the woman a gift basket or something sometime in the future. 

Ian came up to you as you were sliding on your Crocs, clicking the toes together happily as your feet were enveloped in the surprisingly comfy croslite. 

“You ready for this next scene?” Ian asked, taking a sip out of his mug. It was nearing lunchtime now, meaning they had less than an hour to film this next bit. 

“Does that mean you’re going to finally let me know what the scene is?” you asked, quirking an eyebrow. He chuckled and patted your back. 

“You’ll figure it out,” he said, clapping your shoulder. “It’s all improv but you’re both extremely great at that!”

You winced at his tone of voice, not believing him at all yet you allowed him to lead you and Shayne into one of the prop closets, already decked out with studio lights and everything.

The presence of the lights put your mind at ease and considering you were wearing a red dress paired with your bright yellow crocs, you crossed your fingers in hopes that they weren’t about to record anything past waist level. 

Ian pushed Shayne into the closet slightly, causing the man to tumble into you. He caught you around the waist while reflexively grabbing hold of a shelf fixed to one of the walls. You felt the heat rush to your cheeks once more, glad that his attention was more focused on making sure the two of you weren’t about to collapse onto the floor right then and there. 

Once he got the two of you back on your own two feet, you wheeled around, ready to confront Ian but was met with a closed prop door. 

You approached the door knob and twisted it, to find that it was locked. You shook it in hopes that this was one of the closets that would just slide open to no avail. You and Shayne were stuck in the closet with one of the hottest stage lights the company owned. 

“We’ll be back in thirty minutes,” you heard Ian call out, the sounds of Courtney and Damien snickering coming from beyond the door. 

“You’re dead, Hecox!” you shouted before resigning. “They’re not gonna let us out in thirty, minutes, are they?”

Shayne chuckled, trying to make the best of the situation. He had already made himself comfy on one of the wooden chests. 

Then, the stage light shut off and that’s when the panic set in. 

“Oh, my God,” you freaked, eyes going wide. The only light was now the half-dead emergency bulb in the ceiling of the prop closet, leaving the both of you in what was essentially the dark. You turned around and started to pound on the door, calling for your boss, Courtney, anybody. At one point, you found yourself calling for the assistant that had followed you around all day. 

“We’re going to die in here,” you lamented, leaning up against a wall. 

Shayne hopped off the chest and came over to you, grabbing your arm and pulling you into his chest. 

“We’ll be fine,” he comforted. “It was probably just a blackout. We’ve been getting them around the studios pretty often recently. They’ll probably come back for us in a few minutes when they realize that the building’s powerless.

You nodded, calming yourself down in his arms. He was right. The crew wouldn’t leave you in here during a blackout… would they?

You started to think about how much of a safety and fire hazard leaving the two of you in here would be and started to panic again. 

“Shayne,” you whimpered. “What if they can’t get back to us? If the building is on lock down then they wouldn’t be able to use their key cards to get us out and I don’t even think Ian remembers where he put the backup keys and--”

You were cut off by a pair of lips covering yours. You let out a muffled noise of surprise, before closing your eyes and leaning into the kiss. Your hands flew to his hair as he pulled you even closer, if humanly possible. 

Now, when someone tells you that the fireworks aren’t real, they probably weren’t doing it right because here, with Shayne, it was like the Fourth of July. You felt the lust, the passion, the absolute adoration for the man that held you in his arms well up inside you until you had to pull away for air. 

You pulled back, struggling to regain control over your breathing. You looked up into his brilliant baby blues and searched for a reason behind what he had just done. 

“Uh,” he licked his lips, “you were panicking and I had to do something so that you wouldn’t pass out or--”

You cut him off that time, standing up on your toes to meet him with another kiss, just as passionate as the last. 

“What was that for?” he asked, when you finally pulled back. 

You bit your lip. “I’ve liked you for a long time,” you finally admitted. “And it sucks that it took our coworkers locking us in a room together that I finally grew up and did something about it.”

Shayne glanced at the still-closed doors. “Yeah, those assholes. Forcing me to get kissed twice by the woman that I am deeply infatuated with.”

He kissed you again, laughing as your lips met. You pulled back and kissed his cheek and then down his jaw, settling one last kiss over his lips for good measure. 

“You know, we should totally fuck with them,” you proposed, a hint of playfulness behind your eyes. “And then go home and figure this out on our own terms.”

Shayne’s eyes met yours with the same intentions behind his eyes as yours. “Are you thinking that I’m thinking?”

You nodded before kissing him again, and again, and again…

It was forty-five minutes later until your coworkers came to your rescue. 

Putting your plan into action, you crossed your arms and turned your head away from him. You were sure there were still black tear marks down your face from when you had started crying earlier, after realizing the power in the building had gone out. 

Ian was the first to apologize upon seeing your disheveled state. Thankfully, he had taken the state of your hair and makeup as a sign you were actually distraught. He apologized, along with the others, for locking you in the prop closet in the first place. 

You told them it was okay and that you just wanted to go home after the ordeal you had been through. 

Surprisingly, you had managed to escape the building an hour later. You met Shayne by your car, giggling as he grabbed you around the waist. He peppered your face with kisses before setting you down, allowing you to unlock your car. 

He entered from the other side as you thanked whatever deity was up there for making today one of the days he had decided to carpool with Damien. His excuse was that he was just going to Uber back to his place, seeing as it wasn’t that far from the studio.

Although that was a load of bull, the two of you were heading back to your apartment to work things out. 

“Those idiots,” Shayne joked as you pulled out of the lot. “They were none the wiser.”

You laughed as you drove away from the building. “I’m sure they’ll figure it out by tomorrow. After all, I’m your ride in tomorrow.”

Shayne shrugged, reaching over the console to grab your hand. “I’m fine with that. As long as I get you all to myself for tonight.” 

“I’m fine with that,” you said, a grin on your face. You would spend an eternity with him if it meant you got moments like these in the future. And you were fine with that.

[el-im]

im putting all the things ive been meaning to write posts about into one single item because i am feeling Very Observed lately and i figure with it being as early as it is that hopefully this wont show up on some peoples dashes by the time they get around to pulling up tumblr today. 

first of all heres a photo dump and some captions

from when i texted charlie my images of the sisko card, which i was really hoping he’d like

a smiley face on my coffee 

i was gonna make a gender joke here bc the longer i looked at these before n after pinning back my hair pictures the more i was like ‘oh we just flipped gender presentation like a lightswitch huh’ but that was not funny and i am not funny and I wish i were but im not and its kind of a >:( fact thats been bugging me lately. 

from mom, yesterday, who dropped off one for me, one for nick, one for mia, and one for abe. i was expecting this to be the only thing i got/heads up/message on valentines day but i woke up this morning to find that aub had sent me a playlist that i looked at but havent listened to yet (because im trying to order my responses to things in increasing complexity and time--i responded to the tik toks elanor sent me first, them had a look at the star trek document that joe sent me and commented on the questions he asked without giving away spoilers, and am now making this post, which ive been meaning to make, and will then maybe try to listen to the playlist and then respond to michelle’s email) 

these are joes thoughts from some ds9 episodes. initially, i’d sent him a list of ‘best’  episodes (my favorites AND the eps i thought were most emblematic of ds9′s issues--bajor’s relationship with cardassia, trill relationships, etc) hoping that he’d be able to see the merit of the show, but he insisted on re-watching the first episode before he started working on the list because he’d only seen it once a long time ago, and then, after watching ep 1 and captive pursuit (with tosk) decided that he’d try to watch the full first season, especially after i expressed my dismay at realizing he wouldn’t get the chronological introduction to garak bc ep 3 wasnt on my list of best episodes. anyway. he showed me this list of written reactions after watching ep 1 and captive pursuit and it made me so happy he decided he’d keep doing it, which i insisted wasn’t necessary because it seems to me like a lot of work (and which i still feel guilty about) but he was like told me that he’d only seldom seen me as happy as i was upon reading that and it was something little he could do to foster that joy which.. makes my heart crack in two). 

anyway. the real reason i started this post was because ive been up in arms for the past few days about mia and covid. 

speaking of which. 

baby ‘passed’ first covid test. that arrow on the side is the minimized player where im watching nemesis. hah. 

anyway. 

to make a longer story short, my (pregnant!!!) sister decided, stupidly, to go with her boyfriend abe, a sound engineer, to a broadcast stage he was setting up in california, because she has a liver condition that appeared during her pregnancy which makes giving birth difficult (which is emotionally challenging for her because she had always wanted to do an at-home birth without drugs) and in fact, is a condition which typically leads to the birth having to be induced early, which means, at this point in development, that she could potentially need to have the child at any time. she went with him because she didn’t want to be without him if the baby needed to come. she was there for a week, with the both of them feeling sick all the while, and then came home early without abe because she felt bad and wasnt having fun, eventually getting a ride from my mother (who lives with my grandmother and great aunt, 93 and 86 respectively) back home from the airport (she took a PLANE!?). anyway. at our insistence, she was tested the same day she got home. she was reluctant to do it because she ‘didn’t think she had it’ and figured that it was ‘just the flu, honestly’ as if she had any way of knowing that???? in the day she was waiting for her test results, she came out of her room multiple times without a mask on, walking around the kitchen or playing with the dogs, even though we told her to stay in her room (and had brought her food/hot tea/whatever else she needed). she had no reason to come out when she was 1. sick and 2. not quite sure if she had covid or not

anyway. her test came back positive so she was trying to ‘stay in her room’, which lasted for.. not even a day. nick and i, who hadn’t seen either of them in a week, but had been around each other, got tests. we (as pictured) both got negative results, so mia must have gotten it in california rather than from someone we’d all seen (like nick and mia’s dad or stepmother earlier in the month) 

abe came home soon after and had taken two rapid tests when he landed, but then, when coming home, immediately was sitting in the same room as my sister, without a mask on. he slept outside in our ‘arizona room’--a screened in patio with a futon in it for the first night. when his results came back (as negative), he decided that he was fine to be in the house, so wouldn’t wear a mask in the kitchen or in the living room, (something nick and i both did) AND would also be in the same room as my sister for long periods of time. i’d like to think he was wearing a mask in there, but i can’t be sure. he was playing video games in their shared room where mia was watching tv, as long as he (AND I QUOTE) ‘stayed in his corner’. it’s a ten by ten room at most. there’s no way that staying in there, even with a mask on, for as long as he did was a smart option. so... to reiterate. abe was in a room with my sister, who has covid, for a long period of time, and then wouldn’t wear a mask when in the common areas that everyone uses. which is... great right

and the thing thats been annoying me for these last couple of days in particular, ASIDE from all the dumb shit they’ve done up to this point, is that mia says abe needs to bring her food (valid) and YET mia is always in the kitchen (which doesn’t make sense). i was in the kitchen preparing a meal the other day and she came out to refill her water. which, if abe was functioning SOLELY to bring her things, as she was insisting, would not have warranted her coming out of her room. it was the middle of the day. she could have said she needed water and left her cup by the door and i could have refilled it and brought it back.... but she didn’t. i was wearing two masks (a cloth one over a medial grade one) but was still wary about her being there--because I was making food. i told her to get out of the kitchen because she’d finished getting her water, but she said ‘just a minute!!’ and continued, not three feet away from me, trying to pick up one of the dogs and playing with her. i kept telling her to go back to her room but she was acting as though i was being rude and being completely unreasonable??? she takes every request we make for her to stay away from us as a personal attack, like we don’t want to see her or be around her, instead of us trying to protect ourselves from covid?? 

THEN the fun part is after all this, abe sets up an inflatable mattress in the office (which is :) right :) next :) to my room) because he decides he doesn’t want to sleep in the same room as mia (reasonable) despite having been occupying the same room as mia for hours (STUPID). so now abe is using the hall bathroom, which nick and i use/shower in/brush our teeth in. before, abe had been using mia’s bathroom off the bedroom, and, again, had been sleeping in there. so now, if abe DID catch it from mia, which is likely, at this point, he’d going to give it to nick and i.

nick and i were upset about this, and told mia last night that she needed to stay in her room. that was how people quarantined. that is how you quarantine. you do not leave your room for ANY reason, especially if you have 1. MULTIPLE PEOPLE CAPABLE AND WILLING TO BRING YOU FOOD AT ANY TIME OF DAY and 2. A BATHROOM THAT CONNECTS TO YOUR ROOM. she came out and started yelling at us about abe, though neither of us wanted to fight with her (and there was no reason to fight about something we were CLEARLY right about). she said ‘YOU CANT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS’ which meant that abe can’t not use the livingroom and the hall bathroom (which we were saying he shouldnt do) and that he can’t be in quarantine with mia (stay with her in her room) but the thing is.... BECAUSE he has spent so much time with her, and because they weren't wearing masks when they were outside and BECAUSE he spent hours playing video games in the room that my sister has been quarantined in for a whopping two days--he now shouldnt ALSO be using our bathroom, because now we can get sick. (and probably fucking will!!!!) she is having him now stay in the office and use our bathroom (GREAT) instead of just biting the bullet and staying with her because he ALREADY HAD BEEN staying with her 

and now they are both in the kitchen :)! i can hear them from my room. great. 

anyway here r some sketches that i never uploaded before cause theyre hideous but im putting here because i hope to fuck no one actually reads this/scrolls down this far

[sesamestreep]

stack the deck with wild cards (chapter 6)

(read on AO3)

(start from the beginning)

SUMMARY: One year later... 

A/N: Here is the epilogue for my Obvious Child AU, which might be dorky but I really wanted to write some fluff to cap the whole thing off. Still mild content warnings for abortion and pregnancy here, so please check the AO3 link if you need more info on that. I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for the response this fic has gotten, everyone has been so lovely, and I want y’all to know how much it means to me. It may be September but you’re all my Valentines.

Jyn wakes up alone, which is surprising. It’s Saturday, so Cassian doesn’t have to work and he normally sleeps in like a teenager on the weekends, a habit she’d found hilarious at first. She would have figured him for an early riser, always up at the crack of dawn to work on some project or other, but more often than not, she’s up before him, sketching in bed until he finally wakes up. It was endearing, really, especially after she’d spent so much time thinking he was this perfectly responsible adult, to realize he had quirks just like anyone else, and not just the saintly or admirable kind, like how he can never leave his job at the office or how invested he gets in local elections no one else has even heard of. Being alone in bed on the weekend is unusual for her now that she's adjusted to his habits, though, and when she checks the clock on the bedside table, it’s only just past nine, which elevates this situation from weird to concerning. Even if he’s awake at this hour, he’s never out of bed by now. She throws off the covers and immediately regrets it when the cold air hits her all at once. Cassian better have a good reason for making her get out of bed to look for him, because she’d much rather stay under the cocoon of blankets all day.

For all Jyn’s concern, the mystery of his whereabouts is easily solved. She can hear him tinkering around in the kitchen before she turns the corner and sees him standing there, measuring flour into a mixing bowl. There’s ingredients scattered in front of him, and a container of strawberries sitting open on the part of the counter Jyn leans her hip against to watch him. She can smell coffee brewing too.

“Good morning,” she says, smiling at him.

He must be truly distracted, because he actually jumps at the sound of her voice. Normally, he’s pretty difficult to startle. “Jyn,” he says, like he’s somehow surprised to find her in his apartment. “You’re up early.”

“Not as early as you,” she replies. “What’s all this?”

“Uh, it’s…nothing.”

“Try again.”

Cassian sighs, defeated. “It’s for you. Well, it’s for us. For our anniversary.”

“What?”

“I was going to make you breakfast for our anniversary. It was going to be a surprise, but you woke up earlier than I expected.”

“It’s not our anniversary,” Jyn says, flatly.

He looks at her with concern. “Yes, it is,” he says, carefully. “We started dating a year ago.”

“That can’t be true. It can’t be a year already.”

“Well, it’s pretty easy to remember, since our anniversary is Valentine’s Day.”

Jyn groans and buries her face in her hands. “I’m the worst girlfriend in the history of the world.”

“That’s not true.”

“I forgot our anniversary and Valentine’s Day, Cassian! That’s awful!”

“I should have reminded you,” he says, like this is his fault somehow. “I just got caught up with the idea of surprising you with breakfast and I didn’t want to spoil it.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He waves her apology away stiffly. “It’s okay. Really. You told me you weren’t into Valentine’s Day when we started dating. I didn’t expect anything.”

“I didn’t even know you counted today as our anniversary!”

“When else would it be?”

Jyn gestures emphatically at nothing in particular. “I don’t know, maybe not the day I got an abortion?”

“But that was our first date.”

“Most people wouldn’t find that romantic.”

“Most people would be wrong, then,” he says with a shrug, as he continues measuring out flour. “I thought it was very romantic.”

Jyn thinks back to that day, which was somehow a year ago. It feels simultaneously like it just happened and like it’s been an eternity since then. She thinks about Cassian bringing her flowers and holding her hand in the cab on the way to her appointment, about him keeping her calm in the waiting room by attempting a crossword in People Magazine that he clearly knew none of the answers to and asking for her help with all of them, and about him telling her later that he’d passed the time during her procedure by answering emails on his phone until his supervisor called and yelled at him for working when he’d called out for the day. She remembers him getting them a cab back to her place, even though she was still a little out of it from the anesthesia at the time, and that he made them tea in her tiny kitchen before convincing her to watch ‘The Sound of Music’ for the first time because it was his go-to sick day movie ever since he was a kid.

(She found out later that it’s actually his grandmother’s favorite movie because apparently Captain Von Trapp reminds her of her late husband, or so she told Cassian when he was a kid. She was always the one who stayed with him if he was home sick from school, because both his parents still had to go to work, which is how her favorite movie became his sick day movie, but it took him having a nasty head cold three months into them dating before he admitted any of this to Jyn. Until then, she just thought he really liked musicals).

She also remembers falling asleep after maybe thirty minutes of the movie, even though she really wanted to stay awake because Cassian had seemed so excited for her to see it. She drifted off to the feeling of him brushing his fingers gently through her hair and, when she woke up, it was the next morning and she was in her bed, which meant he’d carried her there from the couch and she’d been asleep the whole time, which was just unfair. He did have the good sense not to try to be chivalrous with her by sleeping on the floor or, worse, on the couch, so at least she’d gotten to wake up next to him, a pleasure she’d missed out on the first time they’d hooked up, when she’d fled immediately afterwards to avoid the very intimacy she found herself enjoying that day.

“You’re right,” she says, now, wrapping her arms around his middle. “It was romantic.”

Cassian lifts his arm to make room for her and then drapes it around her shoulders to pull her in closer. “But if you’d rather use a different day for our anniversary, we can. These can just be Valentine’s Day waffles.”

“You’re making me waffles?!”

“Yes?” He replies, sounding wary, like he’s afraid he’s done something wrong. She shouldn’t have yelled. That was probably confusing for him.

“God, I love you,” she says, pulling him down for a kiss that’s meant to be quick but then she gets distracted because kissing him is still so much fun, even though she can do it whenever she wants now.

“They’re not—that hard—to make,” he says, or tries to, between kisses. He seems like he might try to argue the point further, which Jyn absolutely doesn’t want to happen, so she slips her tongue into his mouth and deepens their kiss, making him groan in a way she recognizes as a sound of defeat. A moment later, he throws his arms around her waist and lifts her up onto the counter, narrowly avoiding knocking over the mixing bowl in the process.

She parts her legs so he can step in between them and smiles when he kisses her again. This is the thing they’ve always been good at, even before they were dating. She had worried (clearly unnecessarily) that putting a label on it, being serious and exclusive, would ruin this, but if anything, it’s only gotten better with time. The efforts she’d made to keep him at a distance during their first time together only seemed more and more foolish as she got to know him better and saw the lengths he went to in order to satisfy her and make her happy.

Her initial proposal, when they finally got their shit together and started dating, was for them to take things slow—at least, emotionally. When it came to their physical relationship, the doctor had told her she could have sex again as soon as she felt ready, which only took about a week after the abortion. Cassian was, of course, trying to be careful about it, not wanting to rush her when she’d been so clear about needing to ease her way back into dating. His gentlemanly willpower held out a little longer than she expected, leading Jyn to unapologetically sabotage their second attempt at a movie night together by making out with him the whole time and they’d ended up having sex right there on the couch. She can’t even remember what movie they were trying to watch that night.

Then again, sex had always been the easy part for them; it was everything else that was tricky. Jyn’s rules—don’t put a label on it, don’t call it a relationship, just take things slow—had worked wonders in the beginning, but the longer they dated, the more it was clear they needed to call this something . Jyn was surprised to find the idea didn’t terrify her as much as it once had and it only took one long weekend where Cassian was laid out by an awful cold and she made him (store bought and microwaved) soup while finally seeing ‘The Sound of Music’ all the way through (several times, in fact) before she realized that, whether she admitted it to herself or not, she was in a serious relationship. When Cassian finally recovered, he thanked her a little too profusely for taking care of him, and Jyn had been so flustered by his praise that she’d blurted out that she loved him before she could talk herself out of it. She would have been much more embarrassed if his face hadn’t lit up with the most beautiful smile as soon as she said it, and if he hadn’t kissed her senseless a moment later, saying he loved her too whenever they came up for air.

She doesn’t tell him now that, if she had to pick a date for their anniversary, it would be then, the day she finally got over herself and told him she loved him. Because that would be sappy and embarrassing and also his idea seems much easier to remember for next year, anyway.

“I’m going to make this up to you,” she says, against his mouth, as his hands are creeping up under her t-shirt.

Cassian laughs. “Are you going to get me one of those giant stuffed bears from Duane Reade with the hearts that say ‘I Love You Bear-y Much’ on them?”

“If that’s what you want,” Jyn says, pulling back to look at him quizzically. “I was just going to let you fuck me on the kitchen counter, but it’s up to you.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but…”

“Oh my god, you’d rather have the bear, wouldn’t you?”

“No,” he says, burying his face in her shoulder. “I already know you love me bear-y much. I don’t need anything to remind me.”

Jyn swats at him half-heartedly. “Then what’s the problem?”

“It’s just…this is where we prepare our food. It doesn’t feel sanitary to, well, you know…”

“Are you telling me that—on our anniversary of all days—you’d rather have boring, normal sex instead of weird, potentially unsanitary sex in the kitchen that you share with a roommate and where you’re currently preparing a meal?”

Cassian nods, looking like he’s putting on a contrite expression just for her sake. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, yes. Although, I don’t know if concern for Bodhi should even merit a mention. We both know he barely lives here anymore.”

Jyn does her best not to react to that, even though she knows Cassian is right. Bodhi is away for the weekend with Taidu and she’s fairly sure one or both of them are going to broach the topic of moving in together finally, since Bodhi spends most nights at Taidu’s studio apartment anyway, because it grants him access to a dog while also allowing him to spend more time alone with his boyfriend that he loves. If they move in together, though, that leaves Cassian without a roommate, which means he and Jyn will probably have to have a conversation about where their relationship is going.

It’s sooner than she’d normally consider even the possibility of moving in with someone, but she barely tolerates her current roommate as it is and, more importantly, she could see herself living with Cassian. It’s almost too easy to picture. Before, with Reece, they’d hit the two-year mark and she’d told herself that living together was the next logical step but it hadn’t been because she’d truly wanted it. It was just something people in relationships were supposed to do when they’d been together that long. Now, though, their circumstances might necessitate the conversation, but her excitement outweighs her feeling of obligation. It doesn’t stop her from being terrified that Cassian will think it’s too soon and she’ll scare him off, though, but they can burn that bridge when they get to it. There’s nothing to worry about until Bodhi comes home with news.

“And besides,” Cassian continues, interrupting her thoughts, “I wouldn’t call it boring to have sex with my beautiful girlfriend in our soft bed on our anniversary. That’s basically the dream.”

“Sap,” Jyn says, poking his cheek with her index finger and ignoring the way her heart races at how he thinks of the bed as theirs . “Can we at least bring the strawberries with us? Or is that too wild for you?”

“What are they gonna do, watch?”

“No, dumbass, we’re going to eat them. You know… sensually .”

“You can just admit you’re hungry,” he says, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“That too,” she says, smiling. He hands her the carton before he unceremoniously lifts her off the counter. She thinks he’s going to put her down at first, but he seems content to carry her all the way back to the bedroom. She makes an inelegant noise of surprise when he tosses her on the bed, which just makes him laugh in response.

“What? I thought you were worried our sex life was getting boring,” he says, unapologetically proud of himself.

She tosses the strawberries onto the side table, so her hands are free to grab him by the front of his shirt and pull him in for a kiss. “I promise I’m going to remember our anniversary next year,” she says, as he settles on top of her. “You’re not going to be able to move for Duane Reade bears.”

She expects him to smile at that, to laugh it off and kiss her again, but instead he stills. His eyes search her face as his hand comes to cup her cheek. “Next year?” He asks, his tone careful.

Jyn feels her heartbeat stutter in her chest—the old nerves and worries haven’t abandoned her completely, after all—but she still manages a smile before she leans in and kisses him again. “Next year,” she says, firmly. She can’t be sure, of course, but she has faith they’ll make it.

[believingispowerfulmagic]

“The Christmas Cottage” Chapter 1: Time

A/N: Happy Advent everyone! Here is my gift for the OQ Advent story, which was the one chosen to kick off the calendar! It’s a long one so I’m dividing it up in chapters. I hope you all enjoy this story based on the Hallmark movie “The Christmas Cottage.”

           Regina thanked her driver as she opened the car door. She shivered as the December cold filled the car. Stepping out into it, she closed the door behind her and quickly hurried toward the front door of the building in front of her. Reaching out, she wrapped her gloved hand around the golden handle and pulled the door toward her. The scent of pine wafted past her, coming off the festive wreath hanging on the door. It sent a pang through her heart but she pushed it aside as she strode into the warm building.

           She stopped at her mailbox, opening it and finding it empty. Figuring her fiancé already checked it, she closed the door and continued into the main part of the lobby. It was decorated for the season with wreaths hung on the walls and in between the elevators. An evergreen bough entwined with colored lights lined the desk where security sat and a tall artificial tree sat in one corner, its lights twinkling and fake presents resting underneath it. To complete the festive atmosphere, holiday music played over the speakers and in the elevators.

           It all seemed such a stark contrast to how her day had been. She was still trying to process everything that had happened as she passed their night security guard, Thomas. He tipped his hat to her as she headed straight for the elevator bank, in no mood to talk to anyone but her fiancé. Maybe then it would all feel real.

           As she rode up in the elevator, her mind was a jumble of thoughts and she got lost in trying to sort them out. She jumped as the elevator arrived at her floor and the doors opened. Taking a deep breath, she exited the elevator and headed down the hallway to her apartment. Regina pulled out her keys and opened the door, stepping inside. “Daniel? I’m home.”

           He didn’t respond but that wasn’t unusual. Daniel often continued working after he left the office and he liked to listen to music when he did so, meaning he likely hadn’t heard her. She knew he was home because the mail sat on the table where they kept it. Regina looked through the items and determined nothing needed her immediate attention.

           After hanging up her coat and scarf, she headed down the hallway and entered the bedroom they had converted into Daniel’s office. It was painted white with wood floors and decorated with framed black and white photographs of famous buildings. His drawing table was located by the large window in the room, giving him a gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline as he worked.

           Daniel sat there, earbuds in his ear as his head bopped along to whatever song he was listening to. His pencil flew across the paper in front of him, sketching out a building Regina knew was going to be magnificent once it was built. She hated to interrupt him when he was in a groove but she needed to talk to him, so she gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

           He jumped and twisted his body to look at who had disturbed him, relaxing when he saw it was her. Daniel took out the earbuds and smiled at her. “Hey, babe. You just get home?”

           “Yes,” she replied, kissing him. She studied the building he was drawing, noting that it didn’t look familiar. “Is this new?”

           “It is,” he confirmed. “With luck, this is going to win the bid and become the new centerpiece for the Belfrey Center in Seattle.”

           Excitement and pride filled her, pushing her other feelings to the side. She knew his firm was going to submit a bid to Midas Industries but there hadn’t been a decision about which architect would be the one to design it. Daniel had been talking about it for almost two months and she knew he had been campaigning hard to be the one they chose. His hard work had paid off.

           “Congratulations!” she said, rubbing his back. “This is a big deal!”

           “Well, we haven’t secured the contract yet,” he said. “This is just for the bid.”

           “You were still chosen out of all the architects in your firm to create the bid. That means that they respect and value your work. Even you don’t get the bid, this is the start of big things from you. I just know it,” she told him.

           He grinned. “Thanks. How was your day?”

           The question brought her crazy and confusing day back to the forefront of her mind. Her good mood disappeared as she grew somber. “It was bad.”

           “Bad? How?” he asked, frowning.

           “Albert Spencer died,” she replied. “He had a heart attack last night. Or at least that’s the assumption since the janitor found him stiff and cold at his desk this morning.”

           Daniel’s eyes widened a bit. “How awful! What happens now?”

           She sighed, leaning against the wall as she felt fatigue take over. “I think they’re still working that out. We spent the day contacting all his clients. They are thankfully understanding and were expecting our work for them to pause for the holidays anyway. So now I guess it’s just the funeral and then figuring out who will be working with his clients after the New Year.”

“Are they going to replace him? Make someone else partner in his stead?” Daniel asked. She could see the wheels turning in his head and it made the knot in her stomach tighten even more, not loosen.

           “I don’t know,” she replied. “Everyone was talking about it but I think the other partners aren’t going to focus on that until after the New Year.”

           He nodded, rubbing her arm with a smile. “You’re a shoo-in for it, you know. You’re one of their best lawyers. Spencer had to know that or he wouldn’t have kept you on his team.”

           She knew he had a point but still shook her head. “I think Spencer was grooming Arthur King to take his place and he’s probably going to get it. Aside from Mal Draco, it’s pretty much a good old boys club.”

           “That’s not fair,” Daniel replied, crossing his arms as he frowned.

           “I know,” she replied. “But think about it. How many women are in top level positions at your firm?”

           He was silent before shrugging. “No company is perfect. I hope ours changes soon. But I can’t focus on that. I need to focus on this.”

           Daniel tapped the paper on his desk and she nodded. “Right. Just like I can’t focus on what the firm will do. I need to focus on Mary Margaret’s wedding. Which reminds me—did you ask Thomas downstairs to put a hold on our mail and newspaper?”

           “Oh.” Daniel paused but the sheepish grin he gave her when he forgot about something and was embarrassed by it did not appear. Instead, he stayed somber as he said: “We need to talk about that.”

           “You’re not coming,” she said, backing away from him. She didn’t pose it as a question—she just knew. Disappointment flooded through her as she pressed her hand to her stomach. “We’ve been planning this for months. I was really excited to go away with you.”

           “I know,” he replied soothingly, rubbing her arms. “We can plan another getaway, one where there’s no one else. Maybe we can spend Valentine’s Day on a tropical beach.”

           “It wasn’t just about us going away together,” she replied softly. “I was looking forward to going to the wedding with you. For us to hang out with my family and friends in my hometown. You’ve hardly spent any time with them.”

           He sighed. “I know and I understand it’s important to you.”

           “But,” she prompted, hearing it in his voice. It made her feel even angrier.

           “That’s all your past,” he said. “I’m more interested in our future.”

           Daniel slid his hand down her left arm until he could raise her hand up. She glanced down at the large square cut diamond sitting on a platinum band studded with smaller diamonds on her ring finger. Her heart melted a bit and she smiled softly. “Our future,” she repeated.

           “A future that will be even brighter if I nail this design,” he said, letting go of her hand as he motioned to his drawing. He gave her an earnest look as he continued: “And that’s why I need to stay here so I can work on it. I can’t afford to be distracted right now.”

           Her ire rose again and she pulled her hand from his grasp. “My friends would just be distractions?”

           “You know what I mean,” he said.

           “No,” she replied, crossing her arms as she glared at him. “I don’t. Please enlighten me.”

           Daniel sighed, carefully reaching out to rest his hands on her arms. “I meant that I would have way too much fun with you and your friends that I wouldn’t want to ever go back to our room to work. And I have some tight deadlines I need to hit, so I would either not hit them or have to lock myself in our room and not spend any time with anyone.”

           “Oh,” she said, her anger dissipating a bit. She should’ve known he had a good reason for what he said. Lowering her arms, she leaned closer to him as she said: “You should’ve started with that.”

           “Yeah,” he replied. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t want to spend time with your friends or that I didn’t care about them. I do. It’s just now isn’t a very good time.”

           She nodded, disappointed but more understanding. “I get it. I’m going to miss you.”

           “I’m going to miss you too,” he said, hugging her. “This will be our first Christmas apart.”

           The lump returned to Regina’s throat as she realized he was right. She tried to swallow past it. “Do you think you could sneak up to Maine for Christmas?”

           “I’m afraid not,” he said, shaking his head. “I wish I could but it just wouldn’t be feasible. Not for what would just be a night. Maybe two—but that would be pushing it. I pretty much need to be in the office on the twenty-sixth.”

           “Then what are you going to do on Christmas?” she asked, her heart hurting at the thought that he would be alone.

           He shrugged. “Honestly? Probably working. I’ll probably order Chinese or something.”

           “That sounds sad,” she told him. “It’s Christmas. You shouldn’t be alone. Why don’t I call Kathryn and tell her there’s been a change of plans so you’ll be coming to dinner?”

           “I guess,” he said hesitantly. “But I really need to get this done. It’ll probably be best if I just stayed home and worked.”

           Regina pressed her lips together, knowing that he was not big on celebrating Christmas and that he had described his ideal way to spend the day. Still, she pressed on as she rubbed his arm. “Look, if we can’t be together on Christmas, I will feel better if I know you’re with friends just like I will be.”

           He relaxed a bit and she knew his resolve was melting when he gave her a small smile. “Okay. If it will make you feel better, you can call Kathryn and tell her I can come.”

           “Thank you,” she said, kissing his cheek. “I’ll call her in the morning.”

           She stepped back, crossing her arms as she gave him a stern look. “Have you eaten? Or did you come straight home and start working?”

           His sheepish grin finally emerged. “I wanted to wait for you and figured I’d get some work done while doing that.”

           “Of course,” she said, rolling her eyes. “What do you want?”

           “I figured we could just order from the sushi place down the street. They’re usually quick,” he replied, taking her hand as they left his office.

           She frowned. “Are you sure? I could try to cook something quick. Maybe try one of Glinda Goode’s twenty-minute meals? It would take less time than delivery.”

           Daniel paused where their foyer exited out into their living room, gently rubbing her arms. “You’ve had a stressful, emotional day at work. Do you really want to cook?”

           His tone implied that it was a rhetorical question. That of course she didn’t want to do that—that no one would want to do that. Rather, they would want to lay on the couch and put up their feet until it came time to answer the door for the delivery person. She had to admit it did sound nice. And she would be able to get some work done in that twenty minutes.

           “You’re right,” she admitted.

           “I’ll place the order,” he told her, pulling out his phone. “You want your usual?”

           Regina nodded. “Yes, please. I’m going to go change.”

           “Okay, darling,” he replied, kissing her cheek. “I’m going to get a little bit more drawn on my building.”

           He moved back toward his office, head bent over his phone as he placed their usual orders. Regina sighed as she headed into their spacious living room. She navigated around the glass coffee table that sat between two black armchairs and in front of the matching black couch. Two tall lamps rested in corners, lighting up the room. As she headed toward the door that led to the master bedroom, she passed the small artificial Christmas tree she and Daniel had set up earlier that week. It came already decorated with white lights and matching white and black ornaments, looking very sleek and chic. They also had two stockings over the fake fireplace against the wall separating the living room from their kitchen. Both were black and white rather than red and white.  There were no other decorations and everything fit well with their décor.

           Regina, though, always wanted to do more. She longed to really decorate their apartment for the holiday—especially given how tall and wide their windows were. Lights would look amazing around the edges on them and she knew she could create little scenes in each window, even if no one else could really see them. It would be enough that she could and each year, she stood in the decoration aisle of the local story to admire the decorations. Yet she never purchased any, knowing that in the end, there would be no time to properly decorate as she and Daniel were often too busy. The only reason the tree went up at all was because they just had to take it out of the box and plug it in—just five minutes of set up, if that. And the stockings just hung on hooks they never took down from the fireplace, so it took them even less time.

           She missed having a real tree, though, and she missed spending a good chunk of time decorating it with ornaments that held lots of memories and special meaning attached to them. While she got to play Christmas music on Christmas morning, she wished she could play it all the time and dance around the apartment while either decorating or wrapping presents. Or while making every type of Christmas cookie known to man, the apartment smelling like gingerbread or peppermint. Instead, she usually listened to it through her headphones while working as already wrapped presents and factory-made goodies were delivered to their door.

           It was another reason why she was looking forward to spending Christmas in Storybrooke—the whole town loved the holiday and pulled out all the stops to celebrate it. There would be real Christmas trees that were properly decorated and music everywhere. And she knew Granny would keep them all well-stocked with cookies, pies, hot chocolate and eggnog—while Ruby would be stocked with all types of spirits to add to the latter two. She had wanted Daniel to experience that kind of Christmas at least once—even if she knew it wouldn’t change his feelings about the holidays, they would at least have the memories.

           Most of all, they would have time. It was a precious commodity here in New York. So she was looking forward to just being able to spend time with him without work interrupting them. Maybe they could finally start planning their own wedding…

           “Regina? Dinner’s here,” Daniel called out.

           She felt as if she was just jolted from a dream. Blinking a few times, she realized she had just been standing in her bedroom and hadn’t moved. She had stopped to think but hadn’t really had the time to do so. One day, she would reach the point in her life where she would have all the time in the world to do whatever she wanted.

           Regina realized she couldn’t afford to dawdle much longer. Clearing her throat, she called out: “I’ll be right there.”

           Quickly changing, she headed out to their dining room. Daniel set the table and pulled their food out of the bag it had been delivered in. She continued to the kitchen, pulling the stopper from the bottle of wine they had opened the other day. Pouring two glasses, she returned to the table and handed him one. He thanked her and they sat down together to eat.

           They discussed their new vacation plans as they ate and sipped their wine. Regina hoped her disappointment didn’t show. Daniel’s excitement over landing the Belfrey deal didn’t seemed dimmed so she guessed he didn’t pick up on it. He told her that they would have all the time in the world after her won that and got promoted to partner at his firm. Regina listened and nodded, hoping it would all come to pass as he said and they would finally have that most precious commodity.

           Time.

Continue reading on FFN, AO3 or Wattpad

[katymacsupernatural]

Second Thoughts Part 2

Jensen Ackles x Reader

1700 Words

Story Summary: Planning your wedding, you’re not sure you’re marrying the right man. 

Catch Up Here: Part 1

“Listen, I don't have another appointment until this evening. How about I treat you to a cup of coffee,” Jensen suggested. “No judgement, just an ear of you need one.”

“Why?” You asked, not believing that this handsome, successful photographer could be willing to help you out. At least not without a price in return.

“I like you Y/N. And I hate to see you settling with an ass like Hunter. And I really think you could use a friend right now. Someone that's unbiased.”

“And you can be unbiased about this?”

Running his hand through his hair, he finally shook his head no, just as you suspected. “I'll try. But Y/N, I've been around guys like that before, and he's not right for you. But I will keep my mouth shut and listen. Because that's what you need right now.”

“I'd like that,” you spoke softly.

“We can leave your car here if you want, or you can meet me.”

“I'll drive,” you told him, wanting the chance to be alone and get your thoughts together.

“Okay. I'll follow you down, meet at Grams?” He asked.

“I love Grams. They have the best cinnamon rolls,” you exclaimed, beaming up at him.

“You should smile more often, it really suits you,” he told you. “And you definitely deserve a cinnamon roll.”

Climbing into your car, you let Jensen go on ahead, wondering if you were doing the right thing. The more time you spent with Jensen, the more you found yourself liking the man. Wishing that Hunter could be even half as considerate.

Sure, you had known Hunter for a long time. It had been pretty much decided while you were in high school that the two of you would marry and raise a family together. Your parents were friends, they ran in the same circles, and it had always been set in stone. Hunter had gone with it every step of the way. The dutiful boyfriend who took you to the prom, proposed to you on Valentine’s Day with the flashy diamond ring. Never extremely affectionate, he had always kissed you on the cheek, taken you out to fancy dinners. Lovemaking with him had been calculated, often leaving you wanting more.

Before you realized it, you were pulling into a parking spot in front of Grams. It was the local pastry shop, a place you didn’t visit as often as you wished. Appearance had been very important to Hunter as well as your families, meaning you had to eat at the fancier restaurants. But you didn’t like that. You loved homestyle, relaxed with people who cared more about your personality than what was in your wallet.

Ready to climb out, you grabbed your phone, checking it as you went to lock your car. It was a text from Hunter, and you were amazed that such simple words could turn your life upside down. “Hey baby, it worked. The photos are postponed, and I’m all yours for the rest of the day.”

Dropping your hand down, you closed your eyes, leaning against your car. You should have known, or realized. Sure, your relationship had never been steamy or perfect, but it had been consistent. But you should have seen the way he slowly continued to pull away. The fact that he hadn’t touched you for almost a month should have been a giveaway. But you had been so busy planning your wedding that you hadn’t even thought.

“Y/N, you ready for the best cinnamon...what’s wrong?” Jensen asked, his firm grip on your shoulder breaking you from your downward spiral.

Without a word you handed him your phone with that text still on the screen. You waited for the I told you so, knowing he had every right to say it. Knowing there was no reason to be around him anymore. After all, you wouldn’t need a wedding photographer anymore.

“That bastard. Y/N, I’m so sorry,” Jensen spoke up, pulling you into his embrace. It was warm, and inviting, and smelled like woodsy aftershave. “I know I kept saying you were better off without him, but I hate that it’s like this.”

“I just wonder how long,” you whispered, snuggling deeper into his embrace, his arms tightening around you.

“Listen, let’s head inside. We’ll get you that coffee, and a cinnamon roll and…”

“Jensen, I don’t want to go inside,” you argued. “People will notice and talk, and I really just want to be somewhere private.”

He had already pulled back, and you could see the look of disappointment on his face. “If that’s what you want.”

“With you?”

He nodded then, seeming a little relieved at your words. “Why don’t you climb into my car. I’ll get our food, and then I know of a place we could go.”

Doing as he suggested, you watched as he went into the restaurant, before you pulled out your phone. Dialing Hunter’s phone number, you weren’t surprised when it went straight to voicemail. “Hunter, I just wanted to tell you that you sent that message to the wrong person. Me. So I guess that means our wedding is over. Have fun with whoever she is, and I’ll move my stuff out as soon as I can. But Hunter, how could you?”

Hanging up the phone, you let the tears fall, but they weren’t for mourning your relationship. If anything you were relieved. But it was a let down. A reminder that you had wasted so many years of your life with a man who had never been the one.

The door open and Jensen landed in his car with a thud. “We were in luck. They had four cinnamon rolls left.”

“Four?” You asked, hastily wiping away your tears.

“Yeah, I figured one wasn’t going to be enough,” he told you, pulling away from the restaurant. “So, I hope you don’t mind, but I thought we could head back to my place. Let my dog out, you can relax there for as long as you want.”

“Okay,” you agreed, leaning your head against the window as he drove.

His house was on the outskirts of town, the creek running behind it. It was a simple, one story ranch style house. Pulling into the garage, he grabbed the drinks and rolls, holding the door open for you. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”

The inside was done in neutral colors, with pictures covering most of the walls. Toeing your shoes off, you peered at each picture, amazed with how beautiful they were. “Are these yours?” You asked as he handed you your coffee.

“I wasn’t sure how you took it, so I got you vanilla. I hope that’s okay. And yes, these are mine.”

“They’re beautiful,” you spoke softly, a lake picture catching your eye. “Why don’t you stick with these and not the wedding ones?”

“Wedding photos pay more,” he explained. “These are my true passion, but taking marriage photos pays the bills.”

Settling down the couch, you watched as he sat down next to you. “How are you doing?”

“I’m a little numb,” you admitted. “I should be devastated, but I just can’t help but feel relieved.”

“Then you know that no matter how this happened, the relationship was a sham.”

“I did call him, and called off the marriage,” you told him. “But I guess what gets me the most is how much time I wasted with him. I could have been out there, finding someone who really loved me. Instead I was stuck with a man who couldn’t wait to find someone else to warm his bed. And what if she wasn’t the first?”

“You’re better off without him, just like I said in the beginning. It doesn’t matter how many other women there was. That guy is an ass, and you deserve better. At least you realized it before you actually went through the marriage.”

“I just don’t know what I’m going to tell everyone,” you muttered, just as your phone buzzed. Hunter’s name was on the screen, and you just tossed your phone to the far side of the couch, not in the mood to deal with him.

Jensen handed you the cinnamon roll on a plate, and you dug in, trying to figure out what was going to happen with your life. You’d have to find a new place to live, and fast. You’d probably stay away from your family for a while, knowing how upset they would be.

“I don’t think you should have to worry about that. If they’re your family, they’ll be there whatever decision you make.”

“I wish my family was like that,” you sighed. “But they’ve been planning this for a long time, and they won’t take this news well. But I need to go get my stuff, find a new place to stay.”

“Listen, this might sound weird, but it feels like I’ve known you for a while now. And I have a spare bedroom that I was thinking of renting out. Seems like the perfect opportunity,” Jensen told you before stuffing his mouth full of cinnamon roll.

“Are you seriously too good to be true?” You asked, reaching over and pinching him. “You came into my life when I needed a friend, and you’ve been nothing but kind to me.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” He whispered, and you nodded. “Well, when you came walking into my office, I immediately felt connected to you. I knew you weren’t with the right guy, and I wanted the right guy to be me. I knew it was wrong, wanting someone who was engaged. But seeing how crappy Hunter treated you? That made me realize that maybe my feelings weren’t that wrong after all.”

“Jensen..,” you started, but he wasn’t finished.

“Now listen. I know we haven’t known each other very long. And you’re just getting out of a really long relationship. But I want to be at your side, and hopefully we can move from friends into something more.”

Read Part 3

Second Thoughts Tags:  @beltzboys2015-blog

Dean/Jensen Tags: @acreativelydifferentlove @a-girl-who-loves-disney @akshi8278 @anokhi07 @aubreystilinski @bebravekeeponfighting @brindz30 @colette2537 @crusadedean @darthshreydar @deanwinchesters-impala67-deacti @haelyn @horsegirly99 @ikeneasul11 @its-not-a-tulpa @just-another-winchester @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @librarygeekery @msimpala67 @love-charmer-sketch @pisces-cutie @ria132love @ruprecht0420 @shadowhunter7 @sizzlingbearpolice @sleep-silent-angel @sortaathief @superseejay721517 @torn-and-frayed @wonderfulworldofwinchester

Forever Tags(CLOSED); 

@16wiishes @4401lnc @algud @amanda-teaches @andreaaalove @angelsandwinchesters @anspgene @artisticpoet @atc74 @be-amaziing @bemyqueenofdarkness @bohowitch @buckysmetalgoddamnarm @bumber-car-s @brooke-supernatural16  @brunettechick @camelotandastronauts @captainradicalpassion @chelsea072498 @clairese1980 @captainemwinchester @darthdeziewok @destiels-new-girl @donnaintx @dont-you-dare-say-misha @dslocum89 @duckieburns @docharleythegeekqueen @emmazach @emilicious-7 @emoryhemsworth @ericaprice2008  @esoltis280 @essie1876 @generalgoldfishldrm @goldenolaf25 @growningupgeek @herbologystudent252 @heyitscam99 @highfunctioning-soiciopath @hms-fangirl @hobby27 @ichooseeternalplaces @imboredsueme @internationalmusicteacher @ithinkimadorable-67 @iwriteaboutdean  @jayankles @jensen-gal @just-another-busy-fangirl @karlee-fay-my-wayward-son @keelzy2 @leanbeankeane @lifelovelaughangell123 @li-ssu @littleblue5mcdork  @lowlyapprentice @luciferslucille @maui137 @mellowlandrunaway @mogaruke @nanie5 @natashacamillaus @newtospnfandom @offbeatsilhouette @percussiongirl2017 @pilaxia @pizzarollpatrol @plaid-lover-bay25 @ronja-uebrick @rosegoldquintis @roxyspearing @samanddeanmyheroes @sandlee44 @shamelesslydean @sillesworldofwriting @sgarrett49 @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @smoothdogsgirl @spnbaby-67 @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester @spnwoman @sunskittlex @starry-chaos @superbadassnatural @thebikiniinspector @theflameontheinside @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @tina8009 @totallovelesson @tunadean @vvinch3st3r @walkslikesummeractslikerain @whimsicalrobots @wildlandfox @winchesterbrothers-inc @winchesterxtwo @winchester-writes @worldwidehansum @zombiewerewolfqueen

[chalantness]

Let It Snow - day twenty-one

(for my “season of shipping” giveaway)

Rating: M Word Count: ~1,700 Characters: Steve/Natasha Prompt: best friends admitting their feelings for the first time on Christmas + first time on Christmas

For: an anon

A/N: Ironically, I got caught up in the story part and not the smut, so I owe you that!

Read on: [ ao3 ]

“You’re avoiding me.”

No, I’m not, she almost retorts, but she bites on her lower lip instead, curling her fingers a little tighter around the doorknob. She’s spending Christmas alone in her apartment rather than with him and his family in Brooklyn, even though he’d invited her more than once this week, and called her this morning, which she hadn’t answered.

Sometimes Steve lets her get away with not talking about things. She has a feeling that’s not the case right now.

“Sorry,” she mumbles, glancing away from his face, and then back, watching as his expression softens. She knows he can hear it in her voice that something is off with her, and it’s something that she would’ve told him by now. They only met a year ago, but they became close ridiculously fast, because things have always just been natural between them. Even their flirtation had been comfortable, and fun, and something she’s never really had before. She’d only dated a few times, and the fact that she seemed to connect more with Steve over one weekend than any of her boyfriends that she’d dated for months was a topic she tried to avoid. She’s terrible at relationships and she’s not dragging Steve through that, too.

Which is why she’s pissed at herself for wanting him the way that she does. For the way every muscle in her body feels like they’re itching to touch him, every inch of skin itching to be touched by him. For the way her heart does that stupid little flutter when she’s with him, and the way everything feels warm and bright and so fucking perfect when he’s around.

Oh, she’s so screwed.

“You’re lucky it’s a holiday,” he starts, stepping his way past her and into the apartment, “because I’d give you more shit about not answering my calls.”

“Steve—”

But he ignores her and walks over to the coffee table, setting down the stack of presents he’d been balancing in his arm and the large Tupperware of Christmas dinner she knows his mother, Sarah, must’ve set aside for her when he showed up alone. He’s mad at her. Not enough to ignore her, too, but Steve still wouldn’t do that. He’s a much better person than she is, and no matter how annoyed he might be with her, there’s no way he’d actually leave her alone if he thought there might be something to worry about. It’s not as if they spend every single second together, but they talk at least once a day, and most nights, she spends more time at his place than hers. The fact that they’ve talked maybe twice over the last is enough for Steve to tell that something is wrong. And the fact that she hasn’t seen him in person for five days tells him that whatever’s bothering her, it has something to do with him.

“Mom made steak, just the way you like it,” he says after a moment, glancing over his shoulder at her.

She blinks. “Your mom’s never even met me.” Well, other than all of the calls they’ve had over FaceTime, because Steve always leaves his phone lying around. But Sarah had been charmed by her the first time, and now it’s kind of become their thing.

“She remembers when you told her about that steakhouse we went to.” On Valentine’s Day, he doesn’t add, but she can practically feel it weighing the air between them. They’d gone as friends, because everyone else they knew had a significant other to celebrate with. That didn’t stop her heart from flipping when he’d showed up at her door in a suit and a bouquet of yellow roses, just like it isn’t stopping her heart from flipping right now at the memory. “She was really excited to meet you, Nat,” he says, voice soft, as he finally turns to face her.

“I’m sorry,” she says, meaning it, and, fuck. If he keeps looking at her with that gentle, almost apologetic expression, like it’s somehow his fault, she’s going to fucking scream.

“Will you stop apologizing and tell me what’s going on?” He gives her a crooked smile. “Because I miss my best friend, and I’d like her back, please.”

God, he’s such a sap. “It’s nothing. I just – didn’t want to interrupt your Christmas with your family.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I mean, they don’t even know me.”

“Nat, they know all about you, because I talk about you all the time.” He laughs a little, shaking his head. “Our pictures are all over my phone, and I’ve sketched you more times than I could count. You probably talk with my mom once a week. And my dad’s got a trip to Russia half-planned because he wants you to come with us and give us a proper tour.” Smiling a little wider, he takes a step toward her. Not cautious, exactly, but slow enough to give her the chance to step back. But she doesn’t, so he keeps walking until they’re standing right in front of each other, and he grasps her arms above her elbows, giving them a squeeze. She exhales, long and shaky. He furrows his eyebrows. “Is that what this is about? My parents?”

“No,” she says quickly, meeting his eyes. “Not like that, anyway.” She winces. She doesn’t know what she’s saying and it’s pissing her off. “You don’t think it’s too much? That it’ll send the wrong message if you brought me home for Christmas?”

Something flickers in his eyes. Something a little bit like hope. Maybe she’s imagining it. “And what message is that?” he asks.

“That we’re—” She blinks, holding his gaze. It’s soft yet steady and sure, and something in her clicks into place. Her lips part, and his mouth quirks at the corners. “Are we?”

He grasps her face with both of his hands, his fingertips still calloused from all of that sketching he does, and cold from the crisp air outside, but it feels fucking perfect against her flushed skin. He strokes his thumbs over the apples of her cheeks, his smile growing softer and sweeter. “I was kind of hoping we’d be,” he says, his breath warm against her face.

“You never said anything,” she argues weakly, even as a burst of warmth unfurls in her stomach, spreading through her veins. “Not a damn thing, Rogers.”

His laugh ghosts across her skin. She can’t help but smile. “I know you like to shut down when you’re freaked out.” He inches closer, grazing his lips along her jaw, pressing a soft kiss against her skin. “I wanted it to be your call, happen at your pace. So I know you were absolutely sure.”

Despite the hesitance in his voice, his hands are firm as he guides her to the couch, gently guiding her to lay down on the chaise. She sucks in a breath when he lowers himself above her, kissing the shell of her ear. She’s not quite sure how they’d gone from almost arguing to this within seconds, but, like with everything else about Steve Rogers, it feels natural. He fits above her as if they’ve done it for years, teases his lips against her skin like he’s done it a thousand times. Avoiding her lips like he knows just how much she needs him to kiss her.

“You’re the only thing I’m sure about these days,” she says, and it’s a miracle her voice comes out firm, almost casual, even though every other part of her is quickly unraveling at his touch.

He smiles at her – bright and brilliant and so fucking beautiful – and tucks his hand under the hem of her sweater, making her skin tingle.

“Is this going too fast?”

He’s smirking. He’s fucking smirking. Of course he is. Because he still wants her to kiss him first, but instead of it being a question, it’s a challenge.

“It’s not fast enough,” she snaps, smiling way too widely for him to think that she’s actually upset. She hooks her legs around his hips and tugs him by the coat he still hasn’t taken off. If he wants to play this game, then fine. She can play. “You have no idea what I’ve imagined you doing to me on this couch,” she whispers into his ear. He groans out a laugh and dips his head, sucking a kiss into her neck. She’s smiling like an idiot, but she doesn’t care. “Though most of the time, I’m bent over the back of it, or I’ve got you trapped underneath me.”

“Fuck,” he murmurs into her neck, nipping at her pulse. She sucks in a breath, her stomach coiling, tightening. “Maybe you can tell me while I eat you out.”

She stills, feeling him smirk against her skin. “W-What?”

He lifts his head, holding her gaze as he slides lower down her body, hooking his fingers under the waistband of her leggings and tugging them down her hips. She feels a little bit like she can’t breathe as he leans down and kisses the bared skin of the inside of her thigh, peeling away her leggings.

“You can tell me while I eat you out,” he repeats, almost punctuating every word. He’s got that crooked, boyish smile on his face, pulling her leggings off and tossing them onto the carpet. “Because you have no idea how many times I’ve imagined you, just like this, with your legs wrapped around my head, demanding that I make you come.”

Her heart almost stops. It almost literally stops. And, after one, long pause, she manages to ask, “What happened to going too fast, Rogers?”

He chuckles, leans down and presses an open-mouthed kiss to the front of her panties, and she bites her lower lip to stifle her moan. She grips onto the cushions of the couch, digs her nails in and lifts her hips, and of course Steve knows what she wants. He breathes out another chuckle, tugging her panties down her legs and off, tossing them aside. Her legs fall open, and Steve wraps a hand over one of her knees, giving it a squeeze as he spreads her legs a little more. He flicks his eyes up her body to meet her gaze, and he fucking smiles.

God, she loves that smile.

“Don’t forget to use your words, love,” he says, and her heart skips at the endearment like she’s some kind of schoolgirl, but she doesn’t care. Not when he licks a wide stripe up her center.

(When he finally, finally kisses her, she whimpers at the taste of herself on his tongue, and he asks what fantasy she wants to play out next.)

[roommateofmyimagination-blog]

Chapter 14: UGH, Midterms

❤Valentine❤

Laying on my bed with my legs propping up the book that I’m reading. Glancing away from the page when I hear the door to the room open I smile a little as Adrian walks into the room. His hair is pulled up into one of his messy buns as he's wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. My heart skips as I trace the muscles in his torso with my eyes. Looking up I see him smirking at me. I quickly look away from him and go back to my book. “I can’t believe I was just staring like an idiot at him. And right as he was looking at me too. What am I a creep? I can’t just stare at my roommate like that, even though he’s hot,” I mumble into my book as I burry my face into it. “I’m such a loser.” I feel his weight on the bed by my feet.

“What’s running through that head of yours, cupcake?” I jump when I feel both his hands run up my legs and squeeze my thighs in unison.

“N-Nothing, nothing at all,” I stutter feeling my face heat up as I see the snicker in his eyes. I wonder how good his hearing actually is. Could he have actually heard, me?

"Mmmmm, that's not what your face is saying,’ I quickly duck back down into my book. Feeling his right hand leave my thigh a moment later I feel a weight on top of my book and then it’s ripped out of my grasp.

“H-hey, give it back,” I try to snatch it but he quickly pulls it away from me.

"Oh really? Do you want this back? By the looks of it, you seemed distracted by something else, so I figured you were done with it," The smirk on his lips get's ever wider as he continues to keep the book away from me.

“Give it back so I can smack you with it,” I lunge for the book and end up tackling him to the bed. I still can’t reach it, he has it just out of my reach.

“My my, look what decided to jump right into my lap,” I stop trying to get the book when his voice whispers in my ear. My heart begins to pound as I process exactly where I’m laying. Before I can get up off him he wraps his left arm around my back and pins me to him. I lock eyes with him, “Don’t fight it, cupcake,” He whispers his hot breath brushing against my lips. “Just give in and let me take you already.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I laugh a little.

“I promise I don’t bite too hard. But it’ll be worth the ride,” He lowered his voice and tightened his grip on my back pressing my hips harder into his torso. I stare at him in utter shock and he seizes the moment and presses his thick lips against mine. Taking a sharp breath in my heart skips a beat, all I can smell is the sweet mint smell of his body wash. His red eyes are closed. Finally giving in I close my eyes and kiss him back and sink into his deep kiss.

I break away when I hear my book hit the ground, “Cupcake, it’s time to wake up.”

I look down at Adri and he’s fading away from under me. So it was all just a dream. Everything around me shatters.

“Come on cupcake, I’ve gotta piss,” Adri’s voice echo’s in my mind and I groan as I feel his nails running up and down my thighs.

I open my eyes and sit up popping Adri’s hand off my thigh at the same time. I lock eyes with him for a moment before looking down at his leg, "S-sorry for falling asleep on you. You could have just pushed me off."

“Na, you’re good. I don’t care,” He pulled his arm away from me and standing up. Stretching and cracking his back he then heads off to the bathroom.

I flop back down on the couch face down and stretch out then let my body go limp, “I don’t want mid-terms to start tomorrow,” I mumble into the couch cushion that was still warm from where Adri was sitting.

I hear the toilet flush and I stay put, “Ya wanna go out to eat this mornin’ cupcake? Or are ya just gonna eat in?”

I pick my head and look at him, “I’ll go with you if you go for a run around campus with me.” He gave me a very long groan and grunt as he pondered my question, “Can we skip the running portion and just walk?” He asks.

I laugh a little and sit up, “I guess we can walk. But it’s around campus if we’re walking,” he whines and lets his shoulders drop.

I pat his shoulder as I walk past him, “Get dressed in walking clothes big boy, we’re going for a walk. I’ll buy you breakfast after how does that sound?” I chuckle and go into the bedroom to change out of my clothes from yesterday.

I get dressed into so cargo shorts and a t-shirt. Putting on my socks I glance over at Adri getting dressed into ripped up pants and a baggy white t-shirt. When we were both ready we went for a walk. It was a warm morning which was nice. We kept talking about random things throughout our walk. Instead of going right back to the dorm we go to one of the café’s in town and get breakfast. It was a lot of fun and a good change from having to cook.

“So, when are your mid-terms?” I ask as we head back up to the apartment.

“Thankfully mostly at the beginning of the week. I think I’m done by Wednesday,” He answers, “You?”

“I have one tomorrow, and then three on Thursday,” I groan.

“That’s gross.”

“Agreed.”

“Mine are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.”

“Lucky.”

“Hey, you get a couple days between to prepare for your other ones, though.”

“I know but still.”

“You’ll be fine. Let’s just both stay inside and study today.”

“For most of the day. I don’t know about you but I require a movie break, bathroom breaks, and food.”

“I’m down for that,” He smirks down at me as he swings his keys out of his pocket. He unlocks the door and we head into the apartment. Right away we see Aero pinning Demmy down on the couch and purring away as her head rests on top of him, protesting and squeaking away.

“Princess, no, Demmy doesn't want to cuddle," I run over to them and lift Aero up off of Demmy. He flaps his wings wildly and Adri picks him up and puts him on his shoulder.

Aero gives me a sleepy meow as I hold her, “What is with her and wanting Demmy?”

"She was sleeping on him, do you know if he was hurt in any way?"

He checks Demmy over but he doesn’t find anything, “Maybe she’s just going through a phase or something,” He sighs and then takes Demmy back to the bedroom.

I place her gently on the couch and go to the spare room to work on my project for my fashion design class. Luckily that was one of my midterms on Thursday, so it was a bit of a break. That day because it’s just a how far have we gotten on our line of clothing for our fashion show that’s at the end of the semester. I get to work on the sketches for the next group of clothing. I know that Aero is going to walk the runway for me, but I need at least three others. “ADRI,” I yell to the other room.

"SUP CUPCAKE?" He hollers back.

“WILL YOU BE A MODEL FOR MY FASHION SHOW AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER?”

I hear him get up and walk around the room looking at the door he appears into my line of vision and leans on the door frame, "What do I get out of it?"

"Um…I'll help you with whatever class you need help with. Like if you need a drawing model, or someone for your photo shoots, or something," I offer to him.

He walked the rest of the way into the room, grabbed the other desk chair, spun it around and sat down propping his arms on the back of the chair, "Alright, hit me, if its underwear I say you need AJ. Anything else, I’ll do it" I blink at him a few times shocked. That was quick.

“I haven’t gotten that day yet, but there has to be a theme to each of our shows and they can’t be the same,” I explain to him.

"Hmmm, then what do you want for me? You're the boss man here, and I don't have much 'theme' to me aside from....well...kinda a heathen,” He air quotes at me and stares at me.

“Okay, well the overall theme for my show is enchanting. So, I’m trying to go for things that are shocking in themselves but can also captivate people. And you’re not a heathen, you’re more of a rock/ punk type of style person. I want to take your style that you’re comfortable with and exploit it and make it enchanting. Is there a favorite outfit that you've always liked or wanted to wear? Of course, I’ll make tweaks and my own flare to it.”

He explained to me one of his favorite outfits and I wrote down the details. I thank him again so much and pull out the contract that my professor printed out for all of us to get our models to sign. When we see our professor next, we have to drop it off so that way the other designers know that this specific person is taken.

Adri then goes back into the bedroom and I continue to work on a few of the designs. The rest of the day flies by and before I know it, it’s Monday and I’m going into my first exam. With it being statistics it wasn’t so bad, I went right back to the apartment after it and started studying for my accounting mid-term which was my first test on Thursday. Adri got back to the apartment a little later and looked drained from his test.

I get up from the table and he flops down on the couch. Without saying a word to him I go over to the fridge and pull out a Mike’s for him and walk it over to him. "Week's just started, but up and to the table to study for tomorrow, I'll make cookies to help with studying."

“Only if I get to fuckin’ spread the cookie dough over your thighs,” He snickers and takes the drink from me.

“Haha, come on up, up,” I pat his foot as I walk back to the kitchen and start getting things out to make chocolate chip cookies.

“You’re a slave driver cupcake.”

“It’ll be worth it in the end.”

“Only if I get to eat the dough raw off your legs will this be worth it.”

You and my legs,” I laugh and make the cookies.

He settled for the normal cookies this time. And the two of us studied as we much on the cookies. One day started to fade into another as I work on cleaning the apartment and studying with my two days between my exams. I keep Adri encouraged when he comes up reminding him that he only has one more to go through and he’s done for a long weekend. Thursday was a really long day for me and when I got home at three I sunk into the couch. Finally, I can relax. I sigh and then my phone buzzes in my pocket. Digging it out I read the text.

You ready for training in an hour? It was Karim and I groaned loudly.

Yep, I’ll be there! I toss my phone on the cushion next to me and look up at the ceiling.

Adri wasn’t in the apartment, so I figured it was probably practicing with his band or something. I sit there for a few more minutes before standing up and stretching, “Okay, time to go before I fall asleep sitting there.” I mumble and make sure I have my keys, grab my phone again and then head out, locking to door behind me. I walk up to the normal spot. Karim and Gabe are already there and the two of them are talking when I walk up. Yori comes running up behind me not even a minute later.  

The four of us change into our magic forms and get to work. I go against Gabe and Yori goes against Karim. Yori and I were having a very hard time keeping up with those two, come to find out that Gabe is also a level two and that's why it was a battle and a half against him.

“Five minutes,” I groan lying flat on my back.

“Come on I didn’t kick your ass that bad,” Gabe chuckled, “You just need to think about your movements faster and not leave such wide openings for a counter.”

“I’m trying,” I whine looking at him and watching him snicker. Suddenly there was a loud bang and I quickly sit up and look around. There’s a second explosion.

“We have to go,” Karim said and then instantly spread his wings and took off into the sky.

“This is bad,” I mumble standing up and then launch myself at the woods and start sprinting through the trees to get back to the school. Just what’s going down at the school? Why was there an explosion? What happened?

“Val,” I turn to see Aero flying next to me and she held out her hand. I take her hand and she teleports us back down to the school. I drop down just a few feet in front of someone who was running.

“What the fuck?” He says and slams into me as I stand up. We fall to the ground and he’s on top of me. I stare up at his deep red eyes as his brown hair draped over his shoulders and the end just lightly brushed my cheeks.

“S-sorry about that.” I laugh a little, “But what are you doing out in the open like this?”

“I can be fucking out in public if I fucking want kitty,” Adrian glared down at me.

“You’re in danger if you stay out,” My ears twitch on top of my head and I pull him into me and roll us over and off the trail. This time I end up on top of him and I sit up and look at where we were just lying. A huge creator was now there. In the dust from the rubble, someone stands up. Cat ears with three piercings in both ears are the first that I can clearly see. When the rest of the dust clears, a man wearing a primal like outfit with long messy hair that trailed down to the middle of his back. He looked like he was built to be on a football team and that nothing could penetrate his strong torso. He looked down at me with fierce eyes and a chuckle escaped his lips.

“I thought I smelled a pathetic kitten,” He purred and took a step towards me.

"Who are you?" I asked picking up one of my legs so I had a foot under me and I put my hands on both sides of Adrian as he laid under me.

“Someone who’s going to fuck up your day,” He suddenly lunged at me. I felt his nails dig into my arms and then I lost my breath from a sudden impact of his fist colliding into my stomach. I was launched up into the air off Adrian and then he jumped and kicked my side in midair and sent me flying into the building. I slam into the building and start coughing trying to get oxygen back into my lungs. I land on my feet and notice that Adrian is propped up on his elbows now. Getting down on my hands and knees I take a couple of deep breaths and then launch myself at the other cat. He goes to grab me and I dodge out of the way and keep going towards Adrian. Slipping my hands under his arms I lift him up with my momentum and get him over my shoulder as I take off as fast as I can back towards our dorm.

"WHY-...WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT?! HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOU CARRYING ME?! YOU'RE A MIDGET DAMN IT" Adrian screamed as I jumped up to our dorm where we left the window to the living room open. I landed on the ledge and took us both in.

“You’ll be safe here. Just stay put,” I set him down and smile and then head back to the window to have him grab my hand.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going? I’m not done with you yet,” He seems pissed.

“Look, I don’t have time for this,” I pick him up again and dump him in the coat closet that we have, “No stay. I don’t want you getting hurt by any magic attacks.” I shut the door on him and propped the chair against the handle.

"YOU FUCKING P-....GET BACK HERE AND LET ME OUT OF THIS CLOSEST, I CAME OUT OF THIS YEARS AGO AND SO HELP ME IM NOT BEING PUT BACK!!" His voice muffled by the door as he pounds on it and kicks it.

“I’m sorry, just stay there and stay safe for me Adri,” I mumble and then run back to the window and jump out.

Landing three stories down I roll a few times to lessen the blow and then run back towards where the I heard explosions coming from. I jump up into a tree and then up onto the roof of one of the buildings next to Yori. "Sorry about being late. Had to take care of a pedestrian and get them out of harm's way."  

“You look like you already took some damage,” He commented, “Karim’s got the savage cat under control and Gabe is working on the bunny. He’s doing a pretty good job at keeping her in his illusions.”

“So, what do we have to do?” I asked.

“I’m looking for the original cause of this mess. But, I can’t seem to find it. My ears flick and Yori and I separate from each other. A man wearing a black leather suite gently lands where we were standing. His hair is raven black and his bright red eyes stand out against his black mask that’s around his eyes.

“There ya are ya fucking kitten,” an evil grin spread across his lips, “I’ve been lookin’ for your ass.” He started walking towards me slowly. I see the smallest bit of air swirl in front of the new enemy but then he blinks as the pillar that Yori created launches up. “Where are ya lookin’?” I turn and duck just in time to miss getting punched in the face. Doing a quick foot sweep I take out his feet.

“Snow,” Yori calls out to me.

“I’ve got this,” I stand back up and jump to the end of the building, “You want me, come and get me,” I backflip off the building. Spinning around I land and roll once again like I did back at the apartment. The new guy was right behind me. Why is he after me anyways?

Spinning around I come to a skidding stop and block a punch from him. grabbing his wrist and countering him I swing him up and over my shoulder and slam him down onto his back. I then let go of his wrist and jump over him high enough to where he couldn't reach me and then start running once more to create some distance between me and anyone who could possibly get hurt. I hear the crack of a whip and then something catches me foot causing me to fall flat on my face. I turn around to see the guy that was after me holding onto the other end of the whip.

“Looks like I caught a kitten now didn’t I?” He snickered and wrapped up his whip as he walked towards me.

“What’s your name anyways?” I ask him sitting up and waiting for him to get closer.

“Dracual,” He answered and was practically on top of me now.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, mines Snowfang,” I say and then surround us with a layer of ice under us. Bringing my foot up I go to kick him in the stomach, but he catches my ankle. Pushing myself up I spin and throw him off balance slipping my ankle out of his grasp I put my hands on the ice under me and kick him with my other leg making him fall and hit the ice. Pulling out my staff, I make it extend and then slam it down next to his head. “I don’t want to fight you. Why are you coming after me? What’s with all this commotion?”

“Don’t know why you’re asking all this when you should have been told this already by your magicae socius.” He snickered, “If you didn’t know that then this should be easy to find your charm and destroy it.” He knocks my staff out from under me and I slip and fall on top of him. My lips connect with his on accident and my eyes widen. We both stare at each other in shock. We broke apart and he licks his lips before he smirks up at me, "Or we can do that, get naked and I can find your charm easier that way and we both can have a little fun too."

I feel my face heat up like a burning inferno, "T-that's not, I-I didn't mean…" I stuttered trying to form a sentence. Scrambling so I'm sitting up I panic and wave my hands frantically in front of me as I sit on my legs next to his hip on his right side.

Dracual started chuckling and he sat up on his knees as well and leaned in really close to me causing me to lean back as he leaned forward, "You are really new to this, and nervous because of that. But that’s okay, just makes my life easier." He got his hands on my shoulders and started pushing me further down. I slip my legs out from under me and get them between the two of us so he can’t get any closer as my back is pressed against the ice below us. “What’s wrong you don’t want me to taste you a little more?” He raises and eyebrow and chuckles bringing his face closer to mine and putting all his weight on me.

“Question, can you fly?” I ask him and he looks at me confused.

I kick my legs as hard as I can and launch him into the air. Rolling out of the way and getting back up onto my feet. I watch him fly up in the air and then suddenly disappear out of nowhere. He reappears a little ways away from me his feet on the ice, stumbling but he manages to catch his balance and stand straight up with his arms still out in a T pose, "And he fucking nails the landing!"

I can’t help but chuckle a little, “good, I’m glad you landed,” I smile sweetly and then got back into a fighting stance, “I may be new to this, but I’m not the only rookie, now am I? Someone who’s seasoned should have been able to land that without stumbling.”

He looked offended when I said that, “We’ll see which one of us is more seasoned kitten,” He snickered getting down at well. I blink though and there’s a black flash between us and then the next second Dracual is gone.

“Where did he go?” I mumble, looking around nothing and no one is around me.

“Snow,” I head Karim’s voice and I look up. He comes down and gently lands on the ice with grace.

“Did your opponent suddenly disappear on you too?” I ask him and he nods.

“I don’t know why it seems like they all just pulled back,” He shook his head, “They did a lot of damage though.

“How are we going to fix this?” I ask looking around. I don’t have magic that can do that.”

"Don't worry, that's where we come in," I jump when Hadi suddenly appears next to Karim.

"what do you mean?" Karim asks her.

"One of mine and Warin's main magic abilities are restoring things back to how they were and keeping normal humans from questioning things and then coming after you." She chirped and rubbed Karim’s hair, “Now you two head home. Aali and Aero will be healing those who can’t heal themselves.”

I nod and Karim smiles at me, “Go back to the apartment and get washed up. You look exhausted for your first fight. And taking a couple hits from “Tsuyoi,”

“How do you know his name?” I ask shocked.

“He’s been around just as long as I have. We’ve gotten in a couple fights before. I think even before you were a magic boy you almost got hurt by him,” I blink a few times at Karim.

“I don’t remember that,” I mumble.

“That’s Warin’s handy work for you,” Hadi smiled at me and slapped my back, “Now both of you go home. We’ll take it from here and Aero will be home to help heal you after.”

“Alright,” I sigh and then start back towards the apartments.”

“I’ll see you later Val,” He waves at me then flies off towards his house.

I walk all the way back to the apartment. Stopping in some bushes so I can DE transform before I make it all the way home. First three mid-terms in a row and then my first fight with villain magic people. I’m so happy that tomorrow starts the small break. I make my way up the stairs and get into the apartment. I look at the coat closet and the chair has been moved out of the way. How was the chair moved? Did one of Adri’s friends stop by and let him out? I quickly open the door to the closet and no ones in there. Someone must have done that. I pull my phone out of my pocket and unlock my phone. Finding Adri’s number and shoot him a text. Are you okay? I heard some big explosions.

A few moments later my phone buzzes. Yeah, I’m fine cupcake, don’t worry about me.

As long as you're okay, that's what matters. I just got back to the apartment myself. I'm going to hop in the shower if you get here and you can't find me.

I go into the bedroom and grab a baggy t-shirt and a pair of my shorts then head into the bathroom. My phone buzzes again and I look at the message. Oh, then I’ll be right home to help out >:3c I chuckle at his response.

I’ll be fine taking a shower on my own, I promise I won’t slip. I then place my phone down on the sink and put my clothes on the toilet. Taking off my shirt I look down at my side. There's a huge bruise that stretches across my entire right side where Tsuyoi kicked me. "Ow," I mumbled trying to stretch and getting a sharp pain run through my side and making it hard to breathe. The cuts on my arms have crusted over with blood and they look kinda deep. "Guess I'll be able to figure out how deep when I clean them out," I mumble to myself and then get in the shower.  

It was a very long and slow shower. Everything hurt the longer I stand in the shower the harder it is to breathe and tears form in my eyes. I guess the adrenaline is finally wearing off. I turn off the water and carefully get out of the tub and dry off. Once I have my shorts on I dig through the cupboard that we have in the bathroom and find the first aid kit. Making sure that the cuts on my arms were disinfected and then I wrapped them up with gauze.

“Cupcake, I’m home,” I hear Adri’s call from the living room.

“I’m still in the bathroom,” I yell back putting the first aid kit away.

I put the kit away and I heard the door be pushed open, "Fuck cupcake, what happened?"

I look over at Adri and he’s looking at me shocked. Mainly staring at my right side that was exposed to him, “Well…um…I kinda got caught up in one of those explosions,” I lied to him.

He locked eyes with me then looked back to my bruise and did the same process a few more times before squinting, "Hmmmmm, where’s the alien reactive cat body heater?"

As if on cue, Aero meows. Adri quickly picks Aero up and shoves her against me, "Now go sit down and fucking love on your cat."

"But what if she doesn't want to be loved?" I ask holding onto Aero as she tries to get a better position in my arms eventually making it up to the top of my head with her hind legs still on my shoulder.

“I don’t give a fuck; would you rather go to the hospital then?” I quickly shake my head. The last thing I need is my parents asking me why I have a hospital bill coming to the house. “Then bed now. I’ll make an ice towel to put on your side.”

“Y-Yes sir,” I scamper past Adri flinching from the quick movements I was making and go to the bedroom. Aero jumps off my head and lands safely on the bed. Did he end up getting caught in any of the explosions? I hope not. Ugh, I totally forgot I could have used more of my ice against Dracual, it's not like he's a friend of anything. He was someone who was threatening my life. I don't have to try to hold back if I don’t want to. He was right, though I was acting like a total newbie during the fight.

"I told you to get in bed," I turn around to see Adri standing in the door way of the bedroom and looking at me.

"I was getting there. Everything hurts Ya know," I comment slowly getting into bed.

“Not everything,” He states and snickers, “I can make other things hurt if you really want everything to hurt.”

I feel my face go beet red and Adri starts cackling, "You're fuckin' mind just went right to the damn gutter, didn't it?"

“N-N-NO it didn’t,” I stutter as he leaves the room again.

“YES, IT DID,” He yells back.

“IT DID NOT!” I flinch he comes back into the room with a towel. He comes over and sits down on the bed.

“This is going to be really cold,” He said and gently presses it against my side. I take a sharp breath in from his touch and the cold. “If you don’t stop flinching I’ll bite you.”

“You wouldn’t,” I look up at him flinching again because he moved his hand. He leaned down and bite down on the swoop of my neck and shoulder, “Ow.” He bit my harder than I thought he would, “Jerk, that hurt.”

He didn’t pull away and I felt him sucking on my neck. After about thirty seconds he pulled away with a loud pop, “Your cat will make it go away, but it was worth it.” He snickers.

“You just gave me a hickie didn’t you?” I puff my cheeks out at him.

“Good one too, nice and bruised,” He sounded quite satisfied with his results, “It made you stop flinching, didn’t it?”

“I guess,” I mumble, “Thank you.”

“Not a problem cupcake.” It fell silent between the two of us other than Aero’s purring from her sleeping on my stomach.

Eventually, I end up closing my eyes and falling asleep. I didn’t wake up until the next morning. I wake up to Aero still on top of me sleeping. I had my blanket over my legs, so Adri must have covered my legs up before leaving me alone for the night. My ribs didn’t hurt anymore and either did my arms. I’m still sore, but that’s to be expected. Sliding Aero off me I sit up and look around the room. Adri’s back is to me on his bed. I might as well go and get a run in since I’m up. See how far I can handle. I look at Aero and she’s sleeping soundly still. Gently rubbing her ear, I get out of bed and get into some running clothes. I creep out of the room and see Demmy sleeping on the back of the couch. Carefully picking him up I move him to his favorite drawer in the bedroom and then get my shoes on and walk out of the apartment. I take a deep breath in and exhale, “Okay Val, you can do this,” Ignore the soreness and pain that you still have, you’ve got this! I speed up a little bit down the stairs. “Ow,” I mumble and take a few breaths clutching my ribs. I guess I got hit harder than I thought I did from that man. I can power through this. I take a breath and then get to jogging. I have to keep stopping and holding onto my ribs, but I eventually make it around the campus and slowly make it back up the three flights of stairs. I’m breathing heavy and holding my ribs. I lock eyes with Aero who’s looking at me with a very displeased expression. She points her paw at the couch and take my shoes off and drag my feet over to the couch.

She jumps onto my lap and sits down. Pressing a paw into my cheek she glares at me, “I was not done, as you can clearly see, you broke ribs, bones take much longer to heal.”

“I’m sorry princess, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” I ask.

“Take me shopping and for a walk. I also want another outfit,” She took her paw off my cheek and poked my nose.

“Anything in particular that you want for the outfit?” I ask.

“Something that’s stunning yet casual,” I giggle at her response.

“But princess, I’ve already made that for you. The jean caprices and crop top, with the matching jean jacket.”

"I'm wearing that today when we go out shopping!" She exclaimed and nuzzled down on my lap, "Now be still, I must nap to make this faster."

I chuckle and stroke her fur, “Yes ma’am. I promise I won’t let anything harm you while you sleep.”

“I know,” She purrs. I sit there and pet her softly as she sleeps. Soon Adri drags himself out of the bedroom and into the living room.

“Morning,” I greet with a smile and he yawns and waves at me.

He goes to the bathroom and closes the door. I wait for him to come out of the bathroom and he actually has his eyes open.  His hair is a mess and he looks like he just wants to go back to bed, “Morning cupcake. How are you feeling?”

“I’m still sore, but that’s what happens when you have broken ribs,” I laugh lightly.

“What, princess couldn’t heal it for you?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I think it just takes longer. I got home from trying to run and got a very displeased look from her.”

Adri laughed and comes over to me and strokes Aero’s fur, “I’m going to go out with one of my friends in a little bit. I just wanted to let you know in case you want to do anything later just let me know.

"If something comes up I'll let yah know cupcake. You just get yourself healed by your weird cat and then go have fun. Imma fuck goes lay back down."

He wanders back into the bedroom and I hear his bed squeak. I sit there for about another half an hour before Aero wakes up and yawns.

“Do you want me to get dressed and you wear the outfit I told you about earlier and we’ll go out?” I offer. She nods and hops off my lap and wanders her way to the spare bedroom and almost closes the door. I walk into the bedroom and Adri is writing something and has his headphones in. I don’t bother him and just get changed into a pair of pants and a simple long sleeve shirt. I pin my hair up like I normally do. Once I made sure that I had everything I left the apartment and met Aero who was standing in the outfit I talked to her about earlier was standing there with her hair loose and in black flats that help with the outfit. “You ready for a day of fun my princess?” I hold out my arm to her and she happily accepts it. With her small 5'4" frame to anyone, we would look like a cute couple. I normally just tell people that she's my older sister and she's visiting me. It gets people to stop asking us questions and lets us enjoy our day. I get her a couple of really cute outfits that she picked out on her own.  

“Aero,” I said as I play with my straw.

“Hm?” She hums and looks at me.

“Karim told me that last year before we met him and Gabe were in a fight with a couple of villain’s and I almost got hurt from it. Hadi said that Warin erased my memories of the day. I can tell I can’t bring them up because my head feels fuzzy whenever I try to go back to that day in my mind.”

“You’ll have to talk to Warin or Hadi about getting them back. But I do remember that day. I had just arrived here on earth that day and you noticed me and were trying to get me to come out of my hiding spot. When I did and you started petting me there was a huge explosion and you grabbed me and got out of the way of and flying derby. Out of a panic, I scrambled out of your arms and took off. That's all I know."

“So, we met before I found you under that dumpster that rainy night?!” I perked up and she nodded.

“Who would have thought that we would be here today,” She smiled at me happily.

“Do you want to go for a walk? I have a really cool place that I want to show you. It’s about a mile walk if you’re up for it,” I offer.

“Oh!! What’s the place?” She asks finishing off her smoothie.

“You’ll like it I promise. I haven’t taken you there yet, but it’s a spot where I went for a class in my first semester here and I didn’t realize it was so close, “I explain as I stand up and then hold out a hand to help her up out of her seat.

“What are we waiting for then? I’m up for an adventure!” She chirps and tosses her now empty cup.

“Then let’s go!” She takes my arm and we head out. Sharing my Italian soda along the way I take her to a pond that’s surrounded by woods. It’s a very beautiful place. Seeing her smile makes me so happy and the feeling to protect her and keep her smiling just keeps getting stronger.

❤*♥*❤*♥*❤*❤*♥*❤*♥*❤

♥Aero♥ "Oh wow, this place is beautiful Val," I gasp as I look around the opening. We just walked up a small hill after walking a mile down the road. This place is a small lake with woods surrounding it. It's so peaceful and quiets up here.

“I thought you might like it,” I look up at him and he smiles sweetly down at me and places his hands behind his back. “I wanted to thank you in some way for putting up with me through mid-terms.”

“You weren’t a bother, I don’t know how many times do I have to tell you that you weren’t a bother at all,” I slap his hip with the back of my hand, “I can take care of myself and you know that.”

"But you're a princess and I don't want you to have to lift more than you already do when I'm not paying attention," He protests as we walk in the direction of a small playground that was up here at this lake.

"I'm also your partner and I'm telling you it's okay,” I look up at the blue sky.

“You look like you have something on your mind. Do you want to tell me?” Val is spot on as always it seems and I can’t help but giggle.

“Of course, kitten. I was just thinking of the last time I saw Demyan,” I sigh with a soft smile on my lips.

“Who’s Demyan?” I take my eyes off the sky and look at my sweet red velvet ginger that was now sitting down on one of the swings. I do the same and gently rock myself back and forth.

“You could say that he was my boyfriend that I was forced to break up with,” I sigh.

“Oh no, why were you forced to break up with him? Val looks genuinely concerned, “Are you okay? When did this happen? Do I need to hurt someone for you?”

I giggle, “No, no, sadly this was long before we met love,” I brush my hair behind my ear, “Maybe a hundred years ago now, I met this beautiful black haired and golden eyed man, it was under a sky just like this one. I had snuck out of the castle to be with my friends Hadi and Aali. They didn't want to see me so miserable with the day in and out lecturing I was getting from my parents about proper education and learning the ways of the kingdom. Well, I ended up becoming separated from them and as I was looking for them I ran into Demyan.”

“You mean Aali and Hadi that are Yori and Karim’s partners?” Val asked interrupting my story.

I smile and nod, “Yes sir, that’s the Hadi and Aali you know,” I purr and lean over and put a finger to his lips, “I don’t know what came over me. He was just so dark and mysterious looking that I feel deep into the gaze he was giving me and I ended up tripping. He was able to move so fast he caught me before I could fall. Naturally, after seeing me fall he stayed with me all day. He thought I had a dizzy spell because I look so fragile to him. He was so interesting and I loved his sudden spontaneous moments. He made me truly smile and laugh. It was something that I hadn’t done in a long time. Naturally, we continued to see each other. I would sneak out almost every day. He would take my breath away with every new site that I never thought I would be able to see in my life. Along with every kiss that he would steal from my lips. It was almost like it was the thrill of the chase with him. My cousin, Hadi, and Aali were the only one who knew about the relationship that I had with him. He asked me out on a day where the sun was shining but the rain was falling all the same.

Something happened and my parents found out. While we were out together royal guards literally ripped us apart from each other. I was scolded and sent off to the magicae socius Academy, where my mother and father thought it would straighten me out and learn a sense of responsibility. Aali and Hadi joined with me. Without my family’s permission, I took up an opportunity to come here to earth and find someone that I felt was worthy enough and could pass my test, and that’s why I’m here now with you now.”

“You took matters into your own hand and you want to make your own life,” Val smiled softly at me, “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me a little bit about your life before you met me.”

I smile back at him, “How about we go for a walk,” I offer.

“We can do that,” He nods happily and stands up off his swing then comes over to me and holds out a hand. I gladly take it and stand up gently holding his hand as he did the same with mine. He’s becoming such a prince himself. He is so kind and generous. He wants to help me with whatever I need and wants me to be happy. I don’t need him to say anything to me to realize that is what he wants. Even with being an actual princess I’m a huge part of his world and he’s changed so much just for me. “Shall we go?” I tip my head and smile happily. And he did so well in the fight against the villains. He did get injured yes, but with his friends, he was able to push them back and protect others. I'll upgrade him to level two so he can be more of my white night and ever closer to being my kitten that I'll never let go.

[winstonhcomedy]

“Dope A-F”- 2/12-2/17- “Love and Bombing in the Air Tonight”

Time to get caught up again my sweet laydees and baybees! We had some fun ones this week so far, but we’ve also had some real stinkers. 

2/12

Let’s start at Tuesday. Monday I took the night off since there was no open mic at The Southern. Only thing I did on Monday was pick up my rental car. That’s right folks I am driving a minivan for the time being and I love it. So much room.

  The good news is there was two open mics on this glorious Tuesday night. We had Mojo’s and Fallout. I made sure to hit up Buhse early in the day and ask to go first, and then Kate Carroll so I could get at a spot at Fallout. 

After work I headed over to Brandon Beswick’s place to get some new stuff setup on my website and hang out. We got that done, got to chat about comedy, he told me some exciting news, we talked about his wedding next year, and ended up watching a lot of nba highlight reels. It was super dope. After hanging for a while we headed to Mojos.

Mojo’s actually had a decent little crowd. This can be one of the toughest rooms in the city. This is quitting fuel. There are nights where you do Mojos and you wonder if you were ever funny. Then there are nights where you feel like you have conquered the beast and know what you are doing.

Buhse tells me I am up first and Brandon is up third. Paige showed up and hung out as well. Keaton Ray from Charlottesville rode with Paige. It was cool because none of the cville guys ever really come out to RVA and get the mic time in. So This was a special night. 

It was fun hanging with people a bit before the show. I got to talk to Sarah Ahmed who I have not seen in what feels like ages. Talked about her job/wedding/comedy stuff that she has going on. She was going to go up second so I was excited to see her perform for the first time in a while. 

The show starts and the crowd actually seems into the idea of comedy. This was gong to be a pretty fun show. Buhse does a good show hosting and gets the show rolling. 

When I get on stage I just go into my new stuff I need to work out. It all actually goes pretty well. For the second half of my set I bring back a bit I worked on a while ago, but never got finished. I was able to riff some new stuff with it, and finally figured out he order to do it in. I had a super fun set. I’d give it a B. I felt like the laughs carried, and they didn’t hate me. 

Sarah went up next and worked out some new material. She had a thing about Target I enjoyed. It is always good to see her out. I miss when she was less busy and could hit more mics. She was one of the first people I met in comedy. 

Next came Brandon. He did his bit about birds. It has legs to it he is just searching for the order and delivery for it. Then he closed with his joke about his dad being upset about him doing theatre instead of football in high school. He closed super strong. We then both headed over to Fallout. 

We get to Fallout and it looks like it has just started. Kate lets me know I am 9th and Brandon is like 10th. We are all hanging out and having a good time. There is actually a crowd here too. They are all there to see their friend do standup for the first time. So naturally he is later in the show. You almost never you get two good Tuesday shows in the same night so this is a real treat. 

Everybody is actually doing ok. I get to see Ben Braman do a set which is dope. He had a pretty hot one which was super fun to watch. Beau Troxclair was there as well. He went up and had a dope set. I coined the term “Let’s Get BOlitical” since he is definitely the best political comic in the scene. I usually hate this type of comedy, but he does a dope job of it and I always look forward to his sets. 

After this I get to go up. I have a pretty hot set. I get some really big pops and have fun working out a few new things. This feels dope. To have two hot sets in one night on a Tuesday is so rare but totally worth it. I watch the rest of the show, eat some hot wings, and just kind of relax before heading home.

2/13

This is a day full of comedy. I get off work and head over to Alex’s house. He cooks me a delicious cheeseburger and I destroy it. We then decide to head to Short Pump for Clash of The Comics at The Richmond Funny Bone. We get there early so we grab a bit to eat at this cheesesteak place that was pretty good. We then head over to the Vans store for me to do a little shopping, and then to H&M before walking to the club. 

We get to the club and we are the first comics there. We hang out, and Alex gets ready. He is competing and I am going to be one of the judges. I usually am hesitant to judge. Earlier in my career when they asked me to judge since I was newer to comedy people would shit on me for being a judge (what does this guy know?, who does he think he is?, etc.) I am now at a point in my career where I am confident enough to be like yeah I am perfectly qualified to judge this little contest. The rest of the judges are Jaron, Antoine Scott, and James Lawson.  The headliner for the night is Adrian Cosby (funny dude based out of Columbus)

So Clash of the Comics is a bringer contest at the FunnyBone chain of comedy clubs. The twelve people who bring the most guests get to do 5 minutes of comedy. They can’t say f****t, c**t, or the n-word. If they go over 5 minutes they cut the lights out on them and their set ends. We have score cards that we judge on 6 different things on a 1 to 5 scale. At these show you usually see a lot of comics who don’t perform anywhere else. They don't know or care to hit open mics. They aren’t working on their craft. They just see show at a comedy club and think this is how it happens.

I know this because I didn’t know about open mics when I started. My first set was at Clash of the Comics almost four years ago. I won the contest, and then started to hit mics afterward. I took the advice to go to mics and try to get better. Unfortunately a lot of comics that come out to Clash don’t do this or just don’t care. 

They ended up with 13 comics so they put everybody up. The crowd wasn’t a bad size for one of these shows. The host/producer Liz Carr gets on stage and explains the rules and introduces the show. She does like five minutes of material and the microphone keeps cutting out so I get the feel this might be a weird show. 

Honestly I don’t remember much about this show. I know that some people had some ok sets, some people bombed ridiculously hard and only like three people had good sets. The two that stuck out the most to me were Mu Cuzzo ( who got the crowd really engaged, did some light crowd work, and kept the energy high) and Alex Castagne (who had to follow some crazy bombs, did a good job of winning the crowd over even though they didn’t want to like him at first, and addressed being white to an all black crowd). I gave both of them the same score. The rest of them weren’t that close in my opinion. 

After the contest we all went in the back to check the scorecards and tally them up. After this we saw that Alex won, Mu was in second, and Tank came in third. We gave the info to Liz and we waited for Adrian to get off stage. 

I got Alex so good. I told him that he was going to have to get on stage and find out he lost. So he is nervous because he hates being on stage at the end of shows like that. Then the look on his face when they announced he won was priceless. It was super dope to see him and Mu up there getting 1st and 2nd though. These two dudes hustle, and work their asses off and are some of my absolute favorites to watch. 

Chris Alan had come down to hang with Adrian (they’ve known each other forever). So we talk both of them into going to McCormacks Irish pub for the open mic after the show. We all head over there and see that Katherine Malone is hosting in Jesse Jarvis’ stead (he is swamped with Valentine’s Day cake orders). We also get there and link up with Paige. He came down to hit the two open mics. We are all up in the first 10. We asked to go early so we could head over to Nuevo Mexico and get some extra stage time. 

This is definitely one of the mics where the hang in the back of the room is better than the show. People are just bombing and eating a dong on stage. I get to chat and hang with Chris, Paige, Alex, Adrian, Alan Vann, Kate Carroll amongst others. The hang is good and I await my execution on stage. 

Chris was the only one of the group who had the semblance of a good set. He did new shit, and got some response, but this crowd was dead. Adrian went up and bombed working out new shit, but I know it’s going to end up great. Then it was my turn. I went up and just bombeedddddddd like a maniac. It felt good to work out the new stuff, and try this make-a-wish joke on I wrote. I’d give this set a D. It was productive but didn’t feel dope at all. The worst part is I get off stage and Chris is like , “your opening make-a-wish joke is similar to a Chappelle sketch”. So I trash it and save the parts that weren’t similar. 

We head over to Nuevo Mexico. It is a 25 minute drive so Chris and Adrian bail. Paige, Alex, and I go though. It is a total shit show as always. This is the most fun shit show in the city. It is usually the same drunks there. They’re talkative, but having fun. You can screw around with them and they’re cool with it. It’s a great room to work on crowd work, and some of the weirder darker stuff. 

We all have super fun sets here. I did about 20 and felt good about the crowd work and the new jokes. I tried riffing the Make a wish thing, and get some good ideas, but afterwards Alex tells me the stuff I riffed is similar to stuff he’s heard before. So needless to say I drop the entire bit except for one joke about make-a-wish being in other countries. I’d give it a C overall. It was a fun way to end the night before heading home to pass out. 

2/14

So on Valentine’s Day I was asked by Jameson Babbowski to basically host the open mic/showcase at The Camel. I accepted and was really excited.

We had a hard 7:30 stop time, and a ton of comics showed up. So I had to run a super tight show. Jameson went up first and then introduced me as the host for the night. 

I was super unhappy with my set this day. I wasn’t ready at all for it. I had no idea what I wanted to try or do. I wasn’t as engaged as I should have been. The audience caught me sleeping and I felt like I bombed crazy hard. I’d give this set an F. I just hated it completely. 

After my set there were a couple more open mic spots (Anne Meng, and Brandon Beswick). They both did ok and kept the energy going,. I then brought up the first of the two headliners. IT was Alex Castagne. He did about 15 and had a strong set. He had one or two things not really work, but the rest of it hit pretty hard especially with the kind of dead crowd. I was proud of him. 

Then I brought up Jacob McFadden (host of Home Sweet Home). Jacob has some divisive material, but is a very strong writer/performer. He got them up top and kept them even though he did some stuff they weren't fans of. Eventually he closed on his “cute p***y” joke since I let him run the light a bit. It’s a favorite of mine because of how insane the act out is. He closed very strong. The audience loved it.

I then got to work on the open mic list. It was a ton of newer comics and we had started a little late. So everyone was going to be doing 3 to 4 minute sets. Everyone was cool with it and we started to just barrel through the show. We had some people have good sets, and some weaker ones. All in all though it was a super fun Valentine’s open mic. 

I managed to end it by 7:27. Right on time before the concert started. I hung out a little bit afterwards and had an interesting conversation about Louis CK and his whole situation. It was fun to talk about and have a good conversation about. I don’t talk about my opinions on a lot of stuff like that unless I”m comfortable with someone. It definitely gave me a better understanding of the situation and it was a passionate, yet kind discussion. I am glad I had it, and we need to have more like them.

I then headed out and home to have a nice relaxing night. 

2/17

I took Friday and Saturday off. Friday night I had a show, but pulled off of it at the last minute due to a personal conflict. Sometime’s you have to pull out of gigs because of personal stuff, and that’s ok. I believe good stuff always comes around if you’re willing to do the right thing. I heard the show was awesome and that was great. I enjoyed a night in writing, and relaxing.

Saturday I went to a coworkers birthday dinner and hung out with coworkers. It was pretty awesome. I don’t ever get to do this and it felt like the right thing to do. I also swung by to watch Adrian Cosby do his feature set at the FunnyBone. He was doing pretty well, but the crowd was so weird. We hung for a bit, and I headed back to chill with friends.  

I woke up the next day ready for my two shows in Roanoke. I was going to be opening for Tony Deyo (Conan) at Shishka Hookah Bar. Johnny Camacho was putting the show together and I had no idea how it was going to turn out. Johnny is a good dude, and has some funny stuff. He is a real professional, but I had never done a show at a Hookah Bar before. So I had no clue what to expect.

I drive 3 hours and when I get there the room looks amazing. Like Johnny had on a red velvet coat. He looked like a bellhop at an all gay resort. The venue was decorated and it was seated perfectly for a super fun show. Johnny told the comics (Alicia Hollingsworth, Kathryn Underwood, Nick Guacheta) that the first show is sold out, and we have about 30 to 40 sold for the second show. This is going to be a really fun night.

The first show starts and we don’t know how this crowd is going to be. It is mostly older white people. They could either love swearing or hate it. So Johnny goes up and starts the show. He doesn’t do much time because he wants to run a tight show since we have a time constraint to get to the second one.

Kathryn goes up and does well. Then Alicia has a pretty solid set as well. Nick has a killer one, and I am chomping at the bit to get on stage. This is a fun crowd, we have a birthday going on, and everybody is drinking and they’re basically begging to get talked to.

Johnny brings me up to a super nice, and thought out intro. I then proceed to have a hot one. Everything was working. I had some dope crowd work, that led right into my act. I think I did about 15 minutes opening for Tony and I did about 5 minutes of crowd work and 10 minutes of material. I got some pretty good video hopefully, so I am excited to upload it. I’d give this set an A-. After me Tony went up and destroyed for 45 minutes. He is a true pro and a super nice guy. 

After the first show the audience is just super dope. They come up to us and say so many nice things. They really seemed appreciative of such a good show. Johnny and I had a good conversation talking about comedy and I am just feeling super amazing about the whole night. Tony and I talk and he tells me I was super funny, and I compliment him on his set. It was the kind of show I needed after two days off. 

Some of my friends showed up for the second show. Jake Snyder was there so we got to chill for a bit, and the second show started to file in. There was about 30+ here and they were a younger crowd. Since I had such a long trip home Johnny let me go up first. 

Johnny does a little time up top and get some good laughs. He then brings me up and I have a pretty good set. I did a little bit of crowd work, but mostly just did different material than the first show. They were into it, but they weren’t as boisterous as the first show. I’d give this set a B- but I was really happy that I was able to get some big laughs with that crowd.

I said my goodbyes and got my 3 hour drive started. It was a long but amazing night. I can’t wait to do this room again someday. It was absolutely amazing. Just a great reminder for why comedy is the best.

THat’s it I am caught up sweeties. I love you all very much. Thank you for bearing with me and my lazy ass each week. Love you laydees and baybees! xoxoxoxo