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nanamikeento · 4 years

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dancing with our hands tied || pt. i

Pairing: Marcus Pike x female!reader

Summary: Marcus is your boss and you really enjoy working with him. But a work trip to the west coast makes him visit the past and you realize not only you like him, but you’re deeply in love with him. The only problem is that you both work together and it would never work. Or so you think.

a/n: so basically i had to split this bad boy in two cause i was writing a whole damn the mentalist episode. all you need to know is: i know nothing about how the FBI works or how crimes are solved, so i made it all up. deeply sorry if i offend any fbi agents that could be here?? if you don’t watch the mentalist, basically patrick jane is an asshole that can read people’s body language and points them out in public. that’s really all you need to know, it’s a dumb show tbh. also, this contains detective work and law enforcement, which, during times like this, i would understand if you don’t want to read this. don’t forget to donate to the black lives matter movement and sign petitions against police brutality. i’ve reblogged a variety of posts with link for donations and petitions, they're under the tag #blm resources.

Warnings: mutual pining, some angst, a pinch of fake dating

Word count: 6.7k (and there’s more coming)

part ii | MASTERLIST

The badge around your neck swings as you run and you have to hold it in place. The streets of L.A. are full of curious eyes, gathered behind the yellow tape; you check your phone one more time and sigh. No messages, no missing calls. It’s not like him, you know something’s up.

When you show your ID to the police officer that’s in charge of controlling the people, he lets you duck under the tape and approach the other agents already in the scene. You exhale, panting from your run as you introduce yourself.

“I’m with the FBI,” You tell them after stating your name. They all eye you like you’re from another dimension.

“What’s the FBI’s interest in all this?” Asks a red haired agent whose name you don’t know.

You take a look at the corpse on the ground. “‘Cause this is our guy.”

Crouching next to the lifeless body, you take a pair of latex gloves from the pocket of your jacket and put them on; with gentle fingers you tilt the dead’s head sideways so you can look for a specific mark behind his ear.

"Yep," You tilt the man's head for everyone to see a burning scar on the shape of an eye. "The Crystal Eyes gang.” You take the man’s hand to show the pinky finger ring the gang members wear, but it’s missing. Furrowing your brows you notice the tan line on his finger, where the ring should be.

The only man who actually smiles at your statement is the blond, blue-eyed guy. The rest of the agents sigh and roll her eyes, and you frown already irritated. First, your partner doesn’t show to a crime scene of a case he’s the head of, then these CBI agents are clearly not your fans.

The woman who seemed to be the boss rolls her eyes at the man and looks at your direction. Her blue eyes darting to you with anger and you’re not sure if it’s directed at you or the man with the arrogant smile. When she speaks, her voice is demanding, like she’s also your boss. “Are you leading this case on your own? Where is your partner?”

It takes everything in you not to tell her to fuck off. “He’s–” You swallow. “Coming.” You stand, looking away as you take off the gloves and discard them. Taking another look at your phone, you sigh in disappointment when you see nothing. Fucking hell, he’s not coming. What an idiot. “So, this guy’s name is–”

“You’re lying.” A voice interrupted you. It’s the man with the arrogant smile. “He’s not coming, is he?” You watch the way he smiles at you. “You keep checking your phone and the way you looked away when you talked tells us you’re either waiting for someone’s call or you’re checking to see if something happened to him.”

Fuck. How does he know all that? Were you that transparent or are you just a bad liar?

“I’m sorry, what’s your name?” You ask him, shoving your hands in the pockets of your FBI jacket.

“Jane.” He smiles, showing you an ID card that has a picture of him above the name ‘Patrick Jane’. “Consultant.”

Nodding slowly, you frown at him. “Jane.” You tilt your head as you speak. “He’s coming, don’t worry. If he doesn’t arrive, he must have a great, great excuse for his absence. Either way it doesn’t concern you. What you do need to know is that him and I are after this gang for about a year now, and this is the first lead we have in three months. We’re more than capable of handling this.”

“Clearly not, if your partner is not even here,” The boss says. You exhale sharply. You were going to kill your partner.

“Listen, Agent…”

“Lisbon.”

“Agent Lisbon,” You repeat her name. “I know it’s hard to see a case being taken from your team, and I’m sorry about this, but– You gotta let me do my job.”

Lisbon sighs, crossing her arms “What do they do? The gang. Do they sell drugs? They kill people? Maybe there’s something we can help you with.”

“Well, I’m with the art squad so…” You pause. “They steal art.”

You watch as all the agents look at their boss and an awkward silence tenses the air. Lisbon widen her eyes and then looks away from you, clearing her throat. It’s like their own unspoken thing.

“Art?” Patrick says, amused. “From where?”

The way he says it makes it look like a joke and you’re not sure if he’s mocking you or not.

“Art galleries, museums, you pick.” You shrug, crossing your arms in a defensive manner. “They see a place with an expensive art piece? They steal. It could even be a rich man’s living room. When it comes to Crystal Eyes, they don’t give a fuck.”

Silence hangs in the air and you could hear a pin drop, even out here in the open. Finally, red haired woman, Van Pelt clears her throat, alleviating a bit of the tension you still don’t know why it’s there.

“And, uh–” She swallows. “These robberies involve killing other people or…?”

“No, they usually use a stealth strategy.” You almost sigh, relieved for the broken silence. “Although, one time, they killed an old man at his own mansion when the robbery didn’t go as planned. I don’t believe this an accident, though.”

“Interesting,” Jane mumbled. “Hey, do you happen to know an Agent–”

“We’re done here!” Lisbon interrupts him and starts walking away. You watch her give him a look only a wife would give to her husband. Quickly glancing at their hands, you notice they use the same ring on the same finger.

Of course they’re married.

Lisbon says your name, getting your attention again and nods at you. “He’s all yours. Have fun.”

And with that, her and her team walk away from the scene. Sighing, you check your phone one last time. Still, no messages, no missing calls, not even a text. Nothing. Gritting your teeth, you shake your head.

“Godammint, Pike.”

…

You and your team had been in California literally for half a day before the call for the dead guy came in. It’s the first lead you all have on this gang in three months, so as soon as one of the informants let you know one of the leader were in L.A., you all flew to the west coast and based yourselves in one of the FBI quarters.

As soon as you walk in the big room, you see Marcus’ sitting at his desk, typing something on a computer that looks like it hasn’t been used since the 90’s.

“Pike!” You exclaim, getting his attention. His face changes from focused, to confused, to a tired look in a matter of seconds. Strolling towards him, you watch as he leans back on his chair. “Three years I’ve been working with you and you’ve never pulled a stunt like this!” You slam your hand on his desk, making everyone around you jump, except from him. “If you wanted me to look like an idiot in front of the CBI guys, well, you did it!”

He raises his hands in defense and says your name, the low baritone of his voice is enough to send shivers down your spine, but not right now. Not today, when you’re angry at him like this.

“Oh, please, do tell,” You grunt, shifting the weight of your body to one leg as you cross your arms. “I’m eager to know why you didn’t show in such an important crime scene, leaving me alone to deal with them.”

Marcus gaped at you for a second and then sighed softly. “I got stuck in the traffic.”

You roll your eyes. “Bullshit. I was miles away and managed to get there before forensics.”

He stared at you for a moment and then sighed. “I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry.”

“Well, let this be the first and last time.” You warned him, pointing a finger to him.

“May I remind you I’m your boss, Agent?” He gives you a teasing smile, leaning back on the chair.

You sigh shaking your head. “Yeah, you seem to forget that sometimes.”

His eyes left yours and you felt a pang of sorrow for him, not knowing exactly why. You and Marcus have always had a love-hate relationship. Even though he's technically your boss, you've always treated him like equal. Yelling at him in front of colleagues wasn't a new thing, and to be honest, he’s already used to it. Shaking your head, you stroll over to the furthest desk and sit down, claiming the spot as yours for the time you stay in L.A.

Marcus Pike is an excellent agent. He’s dedicated and hardworking and a damn good boss. The man was born to lead, the passion he has for his job impresses you. Ever since you’ve joined the squad, you’ve been assigned with him as your partner. Back then, everyone told you how lucky you were to be working beside him. Three years later, you still feel lucky to work to have him as your partner. Just not today.

Needless to say, you have a mild crush on him. When you first met him, your first thought was that he was incredibly handsome. And then you were gradually being acquainted with his work style, with the way he worked hard, so your feelings for him just grew stronger over the time. You’ve become closer him over the course of the years and you know him just as well as he knows you. Which is why you just snapped at him. He’d never allow such thing if any other member of the squad talked to him like you did.

Little do you know that Marcus is harvesting a crush on you too. It’s been a while since the feelings had started to make its way to his heart. He’s not sure when it started, but he knows it’s there. He feels it every time you smile and laugh at one of his jokes. He feels it every time you come up with a lead, every time you arrest a criminal. He feels it when he sees you wearing the FBI jacket, looking so pretty with your hair in a low bun or in a ponytail. Hell, he feels it when you’re mad at him.

Marcus glances at you, from his claimed desk and sees you looking at the computer screen, forehead creased in concentration as you filled in the report from the crime scene. Sighing, he looks back at his own computer, feeling his heart sink. Three years you’ve been working together and not once you showed up with a boyfriend. Claiming your job was more important to you at the moment, you just stated that you have no time for relationships. You want to focus on your career, make a name for yourself.

Which is why you and him would never work.

The clock ticked slowly that morning as you all put the leads together to find out who killed the man of the gang. His name was Liam Dixon and he had a big name in the gang, his picture pinned on the cork board from your office back in New York for months. And now, he just drops dead. During a briefing, someone suggested it might have been an accident, a mugging that went wrong, but you know it’s more than that. Saying that the only thing that has been missing from the body was the ring, you argued that it could be either personal or a gang conflict that went wrong. Marcus agreed with you. The orientation he gave everyone is look into police calls for stolen art recently in L.A. That way, you can all have a hint where the gang is acting.

When lunch time arrives, you sigh as you check your phone and stand from your desk. Organizing your desk, you pick up the post-it notes and empty coffee cups and throw them in the trash, when you see a figure approaching you.

“Let me make it up to you,” Pike says, leaning his hand on your desk. “I know a good place where we can have lunch.”

…

Going on lunch breaks with him isn’t unfamiliar to you, but you’re still upset at him, so you order a salad and eat in silence as he eats his own meal too.

“How was the crime scene?” He tries to make conversation.

“You’d know if you were there.” The words come out too fast from your lips and you quickly shoot him an apologetic look.

“You’re still upset?”

Waving a hand at him, you shook your head. “I’m just being petty.” You swallow your food. “The scene was packed, lot of curious eyes. I got there and the CBI guys were in the scene.”

He nods, considering his next words. “Is Patrick Jane still a part of the CBI team?”

“The consultant?” Your voice gives a hint of surprise. “Yeah, he was there. Kinda weird guy if you ask me.”

Pike laughs softly, shaking his head. “Don’t let your guard down near him. He’ll read you like an open book.”

“What do you mean?” You take a sip of your water, eyeing him.

“He’s… Very observant,” He explains. “He’s good at reading people and he has no filter. If something is bothering you, he will let everyone know.”

“Huh.” You smile. “What a weirdo.”

Silence hangs in the air as you both eat. A comfortable silence, a good one.

“Did you meet Lisbon?” He asks, suddenly.

Frowning at him, you nod, biting a piece of broccoli. “Yeah, do you know her?”

Marcus sighs, drinking the rest of his water. Something in his demeanor tells you he’s… Sad, maybe? His eyelids drop to his plate and his shoulders slump as he hangs his head low. You’ve been coexisting with him long enough to tell he’s not okay. Then, a thought occurs to you.

“She’s the ex, isn’t she?” You ask, quietly. He looks up at her and nods, his expression changing, covering the trace of sadness from his face.

Marcus had told you about an ex who left him for another man during one of your stakeouts together. It broke your heart to know that a man like him, so sweet and hardworking, was left twice by women who didn’t appreciate him. You told him that they it was their loss and, after he laughed at your corny attempt at comforting him, you said that if they didn’t leave him, you’ve had never met him. That night, he looked at you like you were the light of his life. Every time you remember, you feel butterflies on your stomach and smile to yourself.

It was nearly two years ago.

And it’s not like Marcus is not over Lisbon, after all it’s been five years since the breakup. But he’s still not ready to face her. Not again. Not after the last time he saw her with Jane and felt his heart bleed. He just doesn’t want to get hurt again.

“How is–” He clears his throat. “How is she?”

“Fat.” You shake your head, grimacing at him. “Her hair was all over the place, pimples on her skin, bad breath, lettuce on her teeth–”

Marcus lets out a laugh, shaking his head. It’s the kind of laugh that makes him throw his head back and wrinkle the corner of his eyes, and, god, his smile is beautiful. He laughs genuinely and you know that, because you've heard it before. You hear it when you are in stakeouts together and you'd crack a joke he'd really liked. You hear it in birthday parties of the members of the squad, when he’s tipsy and drunk happy. You hear it when you make your snarky remarks at the perks you arrest. You could watch him laugh for hours and you would never get tired of the view, of the sound of it. It makes your stomach churn with pleasure to know that you’re the one who provoked this laugh on him. As he wipes the corners of his eyes, you smile at him, laughing softly.

“Nice try, but–” He laughs. “Thanks.”

You just shrug, shaking your head. “Is that why you didn’t go to the crime scene?”

Pike’s smile fades away and you regret the question when you see the expression he gives you. Something tells you to take it back, to apologize and leave it like that, but if he didn’t want to face her… Then, maybe, he still has feelings for her. And the thought, somehow, hurts you.

“Yeah, I, uh–” He swallows. “I don’t think I’m ready to face her again.”

“Oh.” Is all you say.

After finishing your lunch, you both pay the bill and leave the restaurant. The thick, awkward silence grows heavy between the two of you as you both walk together back to the quarters. You want to speak, but you don’t know how to comfort him, how to make him feel better. And then a different voice calls his name.

“Marcus?”

You both stop walking and turn around. Lisbon and Jane, hands laced together, are staring at the both of you. Marcus’s heart almost stop at the sight, his breath get caught on his throat as he widens his eyes.

“Teresa,” He replies, a surprised tone in his voice, eyeing Jane and nodding at him. “Patrick.”

“I see you kept the, uh–” Jane points at his own face to indicate a beard. “The look.”

Marcus nods at him, but doesn’t respond. You nod shortly at Patrick and glance at Lisbon.

“How– How are you?” She asks, looking right into his eyes. A shot of jealousy hits your heart, and you swallow hard trying to push the feeling away.

“Good,” Marcus answer, smiling. “You?”

“Good.” She smiles at him and you have to look away. Pursing your lips, you discreetly take a deep breath and cross your arms.

This woman had Marcus wrapped around her finger and really discarded him when she decided she didn’t want him. She played with his feelings until she got tired and left, not knowing she had a great man who was in love with her and was willing to do anything for her. She doesn’t know how lucky she was for having him. The anger sets in your chest faster than expected as they make small talk, but you don’t listen to them. You can’t, or you’ll explode with anger. It’s Jane’s voice that pulls you out of you thoughts.

“You’re jealous.” His voice is directed to you and both of them stop talking to look at you.

“What?” You frown in confusion.

“Your lips.” He points to his own lips as he talks. “They’re pursed together. You’re crossing your arms to shield yourself, and you have this… Sour expression on your face.”

Widening your eyes, you look at Pike but he’s just as surprised as you are.

“You have feelings for Agent Pike and you’re jealous that he’s giving attention to his ex girlfriend.” Jane smiled triumphant. You gape, feeling your heart speed, and the heat on your cheeks as you look at him surprised. Lisbon shoots a look at Jane as if she’s saying stop reading people without their permission. Your eyes are focused on the ground, knowing that if you look at Pike, it'll be game over.

"Of course she has feelings for me." Pike laughs softly after a short awkward pause. You shoot a look at him, a frown in your brow, confused as hell. "She's my girlfriend."

A silent pause hangs between all of them. Agent Lisbon frowns deeply, widening her eyes to the both of you. Jane's smile fades away. Pike's smile grows wider. And you… You just look at him in shock, thinking about how quickly he thought of the lie. It's unnecessary to lie, there's no point in telling the CBI that you were together, except–

He wanted to impress Lisbon. Of course.

Trying to conceal your emotions from Jane, cause he'd know if you're lying, you smile at the couple and laugh softly. Marcus approaches you and lays his palm flat on your lower back. A touch that makes you tense and melt at the same time. The warmth of his hand gives you some comfort and, despite everything going on, it's a comfort you needed for a really long time.

"We're trying to keep it a secret, for now." The words roll off easily from your lips and when you see, you're already wrapping an arm around his torso, smiling as brightly as you can. "Because we're coworkers, and we don't know how the squad would react." And then, with a playful tone, you look at Pike. "But someone can't keep his mouth shut."

Marcus laughs, shaking his head. A fake laugh.

"I just can't contain myself." He leans towards you to press his lips on the crown of your head. “I’m too happy with you.”

It shouldn’t make your heart jump, but it does. You look up at him and give him a real smile this time, your eyes softening as a light breath leaves your lips. He looks at you and notices it, slightly tilting his head like a confused puppy, reading your expression too well. Your smile fades for a moment as you look away, but the fake smile returns when you look at Patrick.

“Oh,” He says, looking a little too disappointed.

“We have to go,” You tell them, smiling. “We got a gang to catch.”

As soon as you both are out of their sight, you let go of each other. The walk back to the quarters is silent and awkward and you have to put an effort to not blush the entire way. Pike warned you, the man is good at reading people. And he really has no filter at all. You just hope that your partner thinks Jane is wrong, you can’t afford him knowing about your feelings for him.

When you reach the doors to the quarters, he calls your name, stopping by the steps. Looking back at him, you see him, with his hands on his hips and his eyes on the floor. You swallow, feeling your heart speed up.

“About what Jane said–”

“He was wrong.” You’re quick to interrupt. Marcus’ eyes dart up to you and you have to stop yourself from sighing.

“He’s never wrong.” His voice is soft and there’s a hint of something in his eyes. It’s something sparkly, like– Like hope. You have to look away, pushing the feeling away as you shove your hands in the pockets of your jacket.

“Well, he was,” You tell him, and when he says your first name, “We’re coworkers. Don’t worry, I don’t have feelings for you.”

With that, you turn your back to him and enters the quarters, the lie still burning your throat. Heading straight to the bathroom, you feel your eyes watering. By the time you lock the door, they run down your cheeks and you sob. You didn’t know why it hurt so much to lie to him, but it does.

You’re really into him, aren’t you?

…

Another member of the gang was murdered. Frederick Hale, second to leader of the Crystal Eye, was found dead by gunshot wounds almost in the same street Liam Dixon was found. When you and Pike got the crime scene to identify the body, forensics were almost done with everything.

“That doesn’t make sense,” You say, gripping you tea mug on the table. During the briefing, your brain is working like a machine, trying to figure out why the member of the gang were dropping like flies.

“Could be a coincidence.” Russell suggested, shrugging.

“It could be, but two members in the same day?” You argue.

“It’s not a coincidence,” Pike tells everyone. “Ballistics came through. Liam and Frederick were killed by the same gun.”

It doesn’t surprise you. You knew it was too good to be a coincidence.

“So, someone is definitely taking them out.” You nod.

“Maybe they both fucked up, and the man was mad about it.” Davis shrugs.

“No, it’s not like Yosef,” Pike says, sitting down and crossing his arms. The shirt tightens around his arms and you look away quickly, not letting the horny thoughts distract you from the investigation. “He doesn’t eliminate his members like that.”

“What if someone’s infiltrated in the gang?” You bite your thumbnail, like you always do, a habit Marcus noticed you did in the first week of working with you. You do it when you’re concentrated, thinking of something important.

“Like an informant?” He asks, looking at you. You don’t meet his gaze.

“No, no. Like– Someone who joined it with the specific purpose of killing them?”

“Like an avenger?” Davis scoffs and you shoot an angry look at him.

“Yeah,” Pike says, nodding. “I thought the same thing.”

Finally, finally you look at him. He gives you an assuring look as he's saying I agree with you and I have your back at the same time. That’s a thing you like about him. The way you both communicate without words. You open your mouth to agree, but his phone rings before you make a word out. He picks it up, dismissing you all with a wave of his hand and you sigh, standing up and walking to your desk.

You only get to turn the computer screen before Marcus makes a quick beeline for you and asks if he could talk to you for a moment. Outside. Feeling your stomach churning, you nod, knowing something is wrong. Following him to the back patio of the building, you take a couple of deep breaths, preparing yourself for whatever is coming. When you both are in a safe distance from the other members of the squad, he turns to you and sighs.

“That was Jane on the phone.” He explains, quickly.

A frown is on your forehead. “Jane? Patrick Jane?”

“Yeah.” He breathes, wetting his lips with his tongue and exhaling softly. “He invited us to a double date.”

A laugh escapes your lips and you smile, thinking it’s a joke. “A double date with who?”

His face is serious when he answers. “You and me, him and Teresa.”

The smile falls from your face and you tilt your head, knowing there’s more to it. “And you said no, right?”

Marcus’ gaze is on the floor as he avoids the question by staying in silence.

“Pike.” You insist. “Tell me you said no.” No answer. “Please, tell you said we’re going to be busy or that we had plans already.

You wait for his answer until he finally looks at you again. “I said yes.”

Pinching the bridge of your nose, you close your eyes and sigh deeply. Marcus bites his bottom lip, eagerly waiting for an answer, leg bouncing in anxiety.

“Why?” You ask, eyes still closed.

“I-I– I just–”

“Is this about Teresa?” You interrupt him before he could think of what to say. “Is this you trying to prove a point to her?”

“No!” He answers too quickly and you narrow your eyes at him. “Y-you know I can’t lie to Jane, he’ll know if I do!”

“Not even on the phone?!” You argue.

“Trust me, he’d know.”

Looking away, you sigh, crossing your arms. Marcus knows he’s putting you in a difficult position and the truth is that he doesn’t actually know why he said yes to the date. Maybe he just wishes he could go out with you and, knowing you would refuse his invitation if it was a normal situation, he accepted to continue to lie to Teresa and Patrick just to go out with you.

“Fine.” You finally answer. “When?”

“Tonight, eight o’clock.”

Sighing, once more, you nod. “Okay. But his ends tonight. No more lies. We’re here to work.”

He raises his hands in defense. “I promise, boss.”

“Fuck.” You mumble, walking away from him and ignoring the teasing nickname,

This is bullshit.

…

Why this had to happen?

You look at yourself in the mirror for the hundredth time. The hotel room is a mess, clothes all scattered around the floor and bed. You didn’t bring any date clothes. Not even a casual dress. Not even a formal dress. You weren’t counting on going on a fucking date with a fake boyfriend.

The only formal set of clothes you bring is a plaid gray skirt, with length just above the knees, and a blazer in the same color and pattern. You put it in your suitcase just in case you’d have to attend an audience or be in the presence of a judge. Pairing it with a long sleeved black shirt and a pair of your usual office heels – black stiletto heels with a pointed toe – you decided this is the outfit.

Many times you imagined what your first date with Marcus would be. Your imagination liked to go far, from movie dates to fancy dinners, after all, it doesn’t hurt to think, right? But you never, ever imagined it would be like this. Faking a relationship to impress his ex. It kinda hurts, you realize, being a pawn to his game. But, deep down, you were dying for an excuse to go out with him. Even if it might be unprofessional. You just wish it would be you and him only.

A soft knock on your door announces he’s ready. You check your makeup and adjust your hair quickly, before walking to the door. You open it to a see a very handsome Marcus Pike standing at your door. He’s wearing a black suit and tie, like he usually does at work, but something is different. He’s neater, his hair is combed in place and his beard is trimmed and… Is he wearing cologne? The smell invades your nostrils and intoxicates you quickly, in a good way.

“Should I have shaved?” He asks, when you don’t speak. You blink, returning to the real world.

“No.” You shake your head, smiling. “You look– You look great.”

A shy smile curves the corners of his lips. “You too.”

You wave a hand at him, grabbing your clutch bag and closing the door behind you.

“I didn’t bring anything fancy, so…” You try to explain yourself.

“No, no, you look–” He hesitates. “You look beautiful.”

Feeling your cheeks warm, you look away from him, clearing your throat. Marcus is still amazed by you, looking so different tonight. Your hair is down and he fights the urge to run his fingers through it. In the three years he’s known you, he tries to think when he ever saw you with your hair down and he can’t. This might be the first time.

“Shall we?” You pull him out of his thoughts. He nods, and offers his arm for you to hook yours in it. You feel nervous, but for some reason, there’s a good feeling settled in your stomach.

Soft classical music reaches your ears as you enter the fancy restaurant, Marcus following right behind you, his hand hovering your lower back. As soon as you enter, a receptionist smiles and asks for your names.

“Yeah, we’re under the name Jane,” Marcus says, nodding once at her. She checks a list and tells you both to follow her.

She guides you both to an empty table and, for a moment, you think maybe they’re late, until you realize it’s a table for two. Your stomach drops and you swallow, frowning confused at the lady. Marcus laughs softly and shakes his head.

“No, there must be a mistake,” He says.

The receptionist frowns and checks the list again. “It says here you’ve reserved a table for two, Mister Jane.”

Marcus gapes at her as she walks away leaving you two behind. A waiter is politely waiting for you both to sit down at the table to hand you the menu, but you just look at each other, mouths hanged open.

“Maybe–” You say, swallowing hard. “Maybe we’re at the wrong restaurant.”

“No, he did this.” He whispers to you as you look at him, confused. “He set us up.”

A scoff leaves his throat as you look at him, pale and shaking. Does that mean you’re on an actual date… With Marcus Pike?

“What do we do now?” You ask, holding your clutch bag tightly with your hands.

“Well, we have two options. We can leave, and that’s okay if you want to.” He looks you in the eyes, leaning slightly towards you in honesty. “Or we can have dinner.”

The look you give him is one he can decipher. He can’t tell if you’re offended by the proposition or just thinking about it. Deep down he’s hoping you say yes, hoping you’d have dinner with him, just you and him. Then, a shy smile curves the corners of your lips and you shrug.

“Okay,” You tell him. “Since I’ve put on makeup and got all dressed up.”

He smiles at you and walks to the table to pull the chair for you to sit on. As the waiter hands you the menu and Marcus sits down in front of you, you try to calm down your nerves and try not to think you’re in an actual date with Agent Pike aka your boss. You order white wine and him Whiskey. After the waiter leaves, a moment of silence hangs between the both of you until you laugh nervously.

“I gotta admit,” You say, laughing. “Going on a date with my boss is kinda… Weird.”

Marcus stares at you for a few seconds and you wonder if saying the d-word was a bad move. But then he smiles, looking down at the menu and shaking his head.

“Just… Don’t think of me as Agent Pike. Tonight I’m just Marcus.”

“Marcus.” You repeat his name and nod. “Okay, Marcus… So what do you do for fun?”

Marcus breath almost hitches at the way you say his name and he imagines a thousand scenarios where you say his name like that. He clears his throat and swallows, closing the menu and looking at you.

“You know, the usual,” He answers. “Drink beer, watch TV.”

You smile, raising your eyebrows. “That’s all?” You tease. “You’re going to tell me Agent Marcus Pike doesn’t have a hobby?”

“C’mon.” He laughs. “You know which are my hobbies. You’ve known me for years.”

“Hmm, yes.” You smile. “But you said you’re Marcus tonight and I’m just trying to get to know you.”

Marcus looked at you with warmth in his eyes. A certain look that makes your stomach churn in pleasure, your heart speed and your cheeks warm. It’s something different. Perhaps the first time you look at his eyes like this in three years of knowing him.

“Alright,” He finally says. “My hobbies include watching TV, cooking and martial arts.”

A frown grows between your brows as you look at him surprised. “Cooking? I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, well, I decided to give it a try last month.” He shrugs and waits for the waiter to serve their drink before continuing talking. “I keep burning water, I don’t know why I even try.”

A laugh escapes your lips. A genuine laugh. “That bad, huh?” You take a sip of the wine as you watch him nod. “You just practice. I can teach you some recipes if you want. My mom tells me I’m an excellent cook.”

“Yeah, maybe you should.” He gives you that look again and you clear your throat, playing with the stem of your glass of wine. Marcus’ fingers slowly approach yours, barely grazing at your skin before pulling away at the sound of the waiter’s voice asking if you were ready to order.

Marcus orders the special stake and you the mushroom cream soup. The food is good, tasty, but you really wished you could have something simpler. You didn’t mind, as long as you’re with him. The night goes by with laughter, talk about your personal lives and stolen looks from each other. By dessert, you both were buzzed off by the alcohol and kept laughing at everything.

“Wait, you threw up on her?” You ask, a wide smile on your face as Marcus tells you a story about his very first date, where he got too drunk and everything went wrong.

“On her shoes!” He replies, burying his face on his hands.

“Oh my god!” You put a hand on your mouth to muffle a laugh.

“I was seventeen, okay?” He argues, laughing too.

Wiping a tear from the corner of your eyes, you sigh, feeling your face warm. You both fall into a comfortable silence as Marcus reaches for your hands on the table. Your fingers touch his and you feel the warmth of his body sending shivers down your spine. You realize you want to hold his hand forever, the feeling of his rough palm on yours is comforting to you.

“I’m having a great time.” He confesses, a closed-lipped smile on his face. An involuntary smile curves your lips too, letting the feeling take over you.

“Me too.” Your voice is small, shy. “It’s been a while.”

“Yeah.” He agrees and fall in silence again.

Suddenly, an urge to tell him how you feel hits you. It may be the alcohol, but you can’t shake off the thoughts of confessing your feelings to him from your mind. You shouldn’t do it, not even your drunk self knows it. But the pain of yearning for a man, a good man, and not being reciprocated hits you and you don’t like the feeling.

“It’s getting late.” You whisper instead and he nods, asking for the check. He insists on paying, despite your protests.

The cab ride back to the hotel is silent and he’s not touching you anymore, but you wished he was. You wished he reached out for your hand, laced them together and pressed his lips on your skin. You wished this night never ended, you wished you would never let him go. The buzz of the alcohol is already faded when you both arrive at your hotel room, pulling the keycard from your wallet. Marcus walks with you and you look at him, smiling.

“So that was fun,” You say, biting your bottom lip.

“It was.” He smiles back. “We should do it again some time.”

Your heart skips a beat at small offer and all you can do is nod and smile. God, you really want to kiss him. You really want to kiss that stupid face, wipe off that stupid grin and pull him to your room. Licking your lips, your eyes set on his and he seems to notice because he licks his own lips, making your breath hitch.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” He says, looking right into your eyes.

And you should say no. You should draw the line, tell him you work together and that would be inappropriate. But instead you say,

“Okay.”

And then his lips gently press into yours as you close your eyes. The air escapes from your lungs as you reach for his neck, pulling him closer, his own hands cup your cheeks, kissing you tenderly. It feels amazing. The sensations his lips give you are beyond your imagination. As you open your mouth, allowing him you slip his tongue in, you sigh, deepening the kiss and tugging at his hair.

Then, you sober up. You pull away too quickly and wide your eyes, the blood draining from your face and your throat closing at the realization you just kissed your fucking boss.

“Shit,” You mumble, backing up. Marcus calls your name softly.

“It’s okay–”

“No.” You interrupt him. “You’re my boss, we work together.” You exhale sharply. “We can’t.”

“Sweetheart–”

“Don’t.” You raise a finger to him. “Please– Just don’t.”

Fumbling with the keycard you enter your room without giving him a chance to speak. The place it’s still a mess from your private fashion show, but you don’t care. Tears spill from your eyes as you remove your shoes and your clothes, not bothering to putting on pajamas or organizing the room before burying yourself under the covers.

Well, now, you’re really fucked.

tags: @madadlorian @xo-dragonette-xo @rosetophighlander @adikaofmandalore @pedropascalito @fioccodineveautunnale @burningsoulbloodyheart

let me know if you want to be tagged in part ii!

#marcus pike x reader #marcus pike #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal #myfic #the mentalist #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal fanfic

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sharinluna · 5 years

Text

MLQC Chapter 17 Translation Part 1(Do not reblog)

DO NOT COPY, QUOTE, REPOST OR REBLOG THIS ANYWHERE. Links are okay but I don’t want this post to spread too much in other communities or websites.

Translation of excerpts from chapter 17.

This is not a full translation, only some parts. It’s more like a abbreviation/summary/paraphrasing of some parts of the story. Do not ask me to translate more or reveal more plots in the story.

The translation is based on KR version text. I’m not a professional translator and get things wrong. So do not regard this as the actual canon story.

I used Yōurán as the name of MC because that is the unofficial default MC’s name in CN version.

If you want to read chapter 15 & 16 translations, I tagged them under #mlqc translation

HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD

******************

Yesterday’s abrupt call from Dr. Song made me nervous. I called her back several times but no one answered.

As soon as I woke up next morning, I took the bus 330 to the hospital. Due to the early hours the bus was empty. With the influenza there were few people seen outdoors.

A tall young man carrying a skateboard and with earphones on his ears got on the bus. His lazy eyes met mine for a second. He sat next to me even though there were enough empty seats. I discreetly moved further away from him.

He sat cross-legged as if he didn’t have a care in the world and took out what looked like an MP3 player. A glance at the screen told me he was listening to Holiday by Green Day. Although he was listening with his earphones, the bus was so quiet that I could hear the blaring music too.

I must have stared at him too long, because he looked at me and raised his eyebrows. His lips were twitching as if to smile.

??: You want to listen in?

Yōurán: N, No thanks.

A little bit embarrassed, I waved my hand at him and turned in the other direction.

As I was looking out the window, the familiar pain assaulted my head again. A beam of white light came and went. In a familiar crossroads the bus 330 suddenly lost control and hit a woman crossing the streets.

As soon as the vision cleared I raised my head up. The accident was going to happen just a curve away! My vision was predicting the future again!

Yōurán: Stop the bus, please!

Without losing a second I stood up and yelled at the driver.

Driver: Miss, we didn’t arrive at the stop yet.

The driver looked at me as if I was crazy and went on driving.

Yōurán: I’m really sorry, but I have to get off right now! It’s an emergency! Please park the bus on the wayside!

Driver: No way! It’s not far till the bus stop, so just quit it and stop bothering me!

Yōurán: But…!

The bus was turning the curve now, and I hadn’t yet thought of a way to get him to stop.

The sky outside suddenly turned dreary. Then a gleaming flash of lightening landed on the ground near us with thunderous noise. It was a terrifying sight. Then it started to rain like it was flooding.

Driver: What’s with this sudden downpour? The weather forecast said there would be no rains today…

The driver, muttering, stopped the bus on the street.

Driver: It’s raining too much. Everyone, get out!

With soaring spirits I sprinted outside into the rain. The drenching downpour couldn’t hinder my hurrying footsteps. Please, please don’t let my vision come true!

The woman from my vision was crossing the street with an umbrella. Her steps were sure and stable. When she reached the other end of the street she kept on walking and turned the corner and went away safely.

I changed the future! Pure joy filled my heart. I was soaked but I was thankful for the rain. Then the raindrops that were pouring down on my head vanished. I looked up and saw an umbrella.

The young man from the bus shoved the umbrella to me. He averted his eyes when I looked at him, I could smell faint tobacco. I opened my mouth to say something but he was already walking away.

??: There’s no need to thank me.

His voice called out to me among the rain.

Yōurán: I wasn’t…

The rain gradually stopped. I could see a rainbow above the sky. It seemed like was a symbol of the miracle that I just experienced.

**********************

Yōurán: Excuse me, did Dr. Song come to the hospital today?

Doctor: No, she hasn’t been here for a few days.

Yōurán: But I got a call from her yesterday telling me to meet her here.

Doctor: She was transferred to a different hospital yesterday.

Yōurán: Do you know which hospital?

Doctor: It’s The 5th Hospital in the East District. It only hospitalizes critical flu patients.

I continued my search and noticed that all of Dr. Song’s records seemed to be disposed. Why was she transferred so suddenly? Right after she called me last night and abruptly ended the call?

**********************

The 5th Hospital in the East District was in a secluded area of the city. I researched and found out that the hospital was not well known by people.

I hid behind a tree as I spied the hospital building. Except looking quite old, the building looked ordinary. I have already memorized the floor plans of the hospital, and on a hunch, the records room on the fifth floor was the most suspicious, since it was bigger than necessary.

I used my reporter license to get into the quarantine zone and brought along a doctor’s gown and mask, along with a forged identification. The security guard only glanced at my ID and let me inside the hospital.

**********************

??: Hey

I startled and looked up from my investigation. In the upstairs lobby, a man was looking down at me. I couldn’t see his face in the dark, but his silver hair gleamed in the moonlight.

??: Give me that notebook you’re holding.

He didn’t raise his voice, but it was clearly a command.

Yōurán: Who are you? Why should I give this to you?

Deciding that I should leave immediately, I sneakily snapped a photo of the page I was reading.

Suddenly the lights went on and footsteps could be heard.

??: Back off.

He went over the rail and landed on the ground.

Yōurán: You…

He was standing in front of me. Half of his face was hidden in shadows, but I could see the sharpness of his eyes and eyebrows. He took the notebook away from my hands before I finished my sentence.

??: Let’s go.

Yōurán: Wait, where?

I looked at him warily. His demeanor aside, it didn’t seem like he would harm me.

??: Let’s trade this notebook for your way out.

He dragged me to the corner of the room, where there was a small door.

??: Go out this way. It’s safe.

With those brusque words he made to leave. I don’t know where the courage came from, but I reached my hand out to grab him. But he went out of my grasp.

Yōurán: What about you then?

??: Do not get in my way.

He disappeared among the shelves.

Yōurán: Thank you…

I whispered and went out the way he told me.

**********************

At last I could see the exit outside! But then I saw someone lurking in the doorway. I tried to turn around and run but a cold metal object touched the back of my head.

Man in black: Don’t move.

It was a gun.

Man in black: You’d better come with us.

Yōurán: I have a friend who’s going to come for me. Let me go now.

Man in black: Shut up!

He sealed my mouth with duck tape and covered my eyes with black cloth. He pointed his gun at my head again and I had no choice but to follow.

After walking along a long corridor, he pushed me roughly, causing me to almost fall down.

The smell of disinfectants and blood pierced through my nose. I could also smell something rotting. A hand ripped away the tape from my mouth and grabbed my jaw.

Man wearing black: Where is the notebook?

Yōurán: I have no idea what you are talking about.

With a cruel sneer he lifted me up and landed me on a metal table. With clicking sounds, my body was strapped to the table. Uncontrollable fear shot through me and I thrashed around, forgetting the existence of the gun pointing at my head. But it was no use, more shackles chained my body until I couldn’t move a muscle.

Extreme panic took over me. I could hear the bells of doom ringing in my ears counting down the moments that I dreaded more than anything.

A sharp needle pierced my hand. Icy fluid flowed in my veins. My resistance was feeble and my consciousness was starting to let go.

It seemed like they ripped a hole in my heart. Something inside flowed out and revealed the truth. A scene that looked like it came from my past played in my mind.

White walls. A deserted lab. A cold med table.

And a blond boy with agony in his face. Next to him lay a brown-haired girl who was unconscious.

…Was that me? I looked at the blood pouring out from the IV. Tears came from my eyes.

Kiro… Our lives were connected long before. But where are you now?

My body was growing colder and colder.

I heard someone saying: The surgery is a success.

The little girl’s face was unbelievably pale, but the blond boy slowly opened his blue eyes. He reached out and grabbed the girl’s hand but she didn’t wake up from her comatose state.

I thought back to the day when we said goodbye on the TV tower. When his golden eyes looked at me and smiled.

Kiro: Wait for me, Miss Chips.

I’m sorry. I don’t think I can go on waiting…

Like a fish losing water, I breathed my final breath.

**********************

I’m dreading how this will turn out to be because chapter 17 is the toughest for me to translate because I understood the least about this chapter.

Anyway, Kiro and MC’s shared past of being test subjects is revealed again. It seems like Kiro was transfused with MC’s blood to empower his evols or something. (And since Kiro’s blood type is O, we can imply that MC’s blood type is O as well.)

I don’t think Black Swan just ended with blood transfusion. MC fainted in chapter 8 when faced with her painful memories and in chapter 9 she was unconsciously denying her traumatic past. Her fear of needles is derived from her PTSD. I don’t know the full extent, but BS did a lot of horrible things to child MC and Kiro.

Also, MC and Kiro have a lot of twin/soulmate motives. They have same blood types, in one of the dates Kiro said he wanted to change his birthday to be the same as MC’s. CN players say that Yōurán’s symbol is the moon, and Kiro is the sun.

#mlqc #mlqc spoiler #mlqc translation #mlqc chapter 17

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novantinuum · 5 years

Text

Crack the Paragon, Chapter 9

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 7.2K~

Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops.

Steven falls apart.

Chapter summary: In which a diamond is a girl’s best friend.

You can find the first/previous chapter and AO3 links in the reblogs! (I have to omit them from the original post these days to ensure this will show up in the tags.) If you enjoyed this, I’d greatly appreciate your support through reblogs here, or kudos on AO3 as well.

Chapter warning: There is a fairly in-depth depiction of a dissociative flashback. Nothing I'd consider particularly extreme or deserving of a ratings bump, but I figured it'd be courteous to make a specific warning for it anyways.

Chapter 9: Symmetry

On literally any other day, folding laundry would be relaxing.

There’s something comforting about falling back into predictable rhythms, hands running on automatic through assorted piles of clothes as her thoughts take a wandering vacation. Chores are boring, sure, but compared to the non-stop drive of the rest of her life Connie can at least appreciate how mindless they are. In a world filled with things like honors algebra and violin recitals and sword training, falling into the arms of subconscious repetition every once in a while feels nice, like a much needed mental break from the rest of reality.

The only problem is exactly that: it’s mindless. It doesn’t force her to use an ounce of brainpower. It doesn’t block her thoughts from waltzing down dark alleyways, or taking sharp swerves into territory unknown. It doesn’t distract her from obsessively checking her phone every other minute to see if she’s gotten any new calls or texts.

It doesn’t stop her from worrying about Steven.

Normally steady fingers twitch as she folds a sock inside its proper pair. Her pocket nearly feels like it’s burning. Groaning, she tosses the pair into her suitcase and pulls her phone out. The lock screen illuminates, showcasing a photo of a pretty sunset she took from the hill above the temple. Her mouth tightens. Once again, nothing. Giving in to the distraction, she unlocks her phone and taps to reach his latest message. Tired eyes gloss over his photo and those words for the thousandth time.

Accidentally got separated from gem—

I’ll call later, some kinda scary stuff happened—

Please don’t worry too much.

Well, too late for that. She’s not fooled by his blasé, chipper attitude in this text, or the forced grin of the concerningly pale-faced Steven (one of two! How can he claim he’s fine when he’s literally lost a part of himself??) at the forefront of the photo he sent. No, no. She won’t be convinced until she audibly hears it or can throw her arms around him in person, which is harder said than done when he hasn’t returned her calls and Mom won’t let her take the bus over to his place for the morning because she’s supposed to be “packing.” Ugh. As far as she’s concerned, visiting extended family in India can wait its turn. Something terribly wrong must have happened in Beach City last night, and the suspense of not knowing is nearly suffocating her.

But logically, she knows worrying about it nonstop won’t be of help to her or Steven. He’ll call when he calls. She just hopes it’s before she leaves the country. Her dad's a bit of a tightwad when it comes to the idea of upgrading to international call and text, to her chagrin. If she’s honest, it’s the one part of this trip she dreads— having zero contact with her best friend for a week.

Connie hastily breathes in and out, attempting to forcefully will the stress to dissipate. Let it go. Stop thinking about it. She gently tosses her phone on her bed where she can’t reach it, and pushes herself back into the dependable rhythm of laundry folding.

Licking her chapped lips as she works through the pile of newly clean clothes, she folds the turquoise colored silk choli bodice her mom arranged for a relative to hand weave for her on her last birthday and carefully places it with its matching saree. The decorative border running the length of the saree is embroidered with little flowers and swirls in gold thread. Connie smiles faintly, reverently running her hand across the smooth fabric. She’ll be wearing her typical shorts, overalls, and blouses for most of this trip, but she’s super excited to have the perfect excuse to bring this outfit out of her closet for once. It always makes her feel beautiful, with her hair pinned back and the saree draped around her, but she still can’t help but fear she’s ridiculously overdressed whenever she wears it anywhere outside of family events. A shame. Maybe she’ll build the courage to wear it one day when she goes to Steven’s house for sword practice. She’ll change into her usual training clothes during the practice itself, of course— she can’t risk tearing silk or restricting her movement— but it’d be cool to share a piece of her own family’s culture with him like that. Her cheeks heat up as she imagines his reaction. He’ll probably think it’s pretty. Pearl, too. Her teacher definitely has a flair for artistry, after all.

...but of course, that’s assuming Steven and the Gems are okay.

Her previously giddy thoughts wane like a withering petal. Sitting with her legs criss crossed on her bedroom floor, she hunches over with a heavy sigh, propping her chin into her hands. How long is this morning going to last?

Muffled amidst the cocoon of thick blankets adorning her bed, her phone’s ringer picks that very moment to blare into existence. Her nerves electrify in an instant, though whether that’s more a symptom of surprise or anticipation is anyone’s guess. Chest pounding, she shoots to her feet and scrambles across the room to pick it up. She sighs a breath of relief as her eyes skim over the caller ID. It’s him. And he wants to video chat! Without thinking twice she jabs her thumb against the screen to answer.

A handful of seconds pass as her phone attempts to connect over her family’s spotty wi-fi, heart twisting painfully in her throat as she steels herself for whatever potentially bad update about her friend’s life she’s about to receive, but then—

The video pushes through, and her friend appears on the screen. His hair is notably mussed, (more so than usual, that is), with wild curly locks sticking up from his head at weird angles.

“Mornin’, Connie,” he says, exhaustion evident on his face but besides that, appearing physically well. There’s actually color in his cheeks for one thing, unlike in the photo he sent before dawn.

“Steven!” she exclaims, subconsciously gripping the sides of her phone tighter in the absence of an actual hug. “You’re okay!”

“More or less,” he says in confirmation, the corner of his mouth turning up for a glimmer of a second. His expression quickly becomes tinted in shades of remorse, however, his voice on the brink of cracking. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t call back earlier! My phone died on me, and then I forgot to plug it in, and then I got distracted by a bunch of crazy family stuff, and that’s probably not a good excuse, but—“

She tries to feed him a reassuring smile, pushing down the blatant depth of her worry for his sake.

“Hey, don’t fuss about it. It happens. And anyways, you’re here now, right? So all that doesn’t even matter anymore.”

Her friend deals her a noncommittal shrug in response, and slouches against the rough hewn stone she’s only now noticing in the background. If she has to guess, he’s sitting on the beach, leaning against the sheer cliff walls where they first met almost two years earlier. Interesting, she muses, her brow furrowing. Usually when they do video calls Steven makes a point to stay in his house because he gets better reception there. On top of that, there’s an undeniable melancholy brewing within his eyes that would be amiss to ignore. He’s not even trying to mask it for once, which speaks volumes in and of itself about how heavy a burden it’s become, whatever it is that’s bothering him. Geeze, what on Earth happened over there last night?

“So, your gem,” she starts, edging towards the topic carefully. “Are you still—?”

He shakes his head, seemingly already catching on to what she’s gonna ask. “Nah, we’re together again! Turns out I can still fuse even without without him.”

“Hmm, I—“ Connie pauses, mind fixating for a second on the specific way he referred to his gem half, ascribing an undeniable sense of individuality to him— “well, I’m super glad you figured that out. But I still don’t understand, how can you get separated from your gem in the first place?”

“It’s, uh- a pretty complicated story, fair warning.”

“Pshhh, that’s no problem, I’ve got all morning,” she says, and props her phone against her bedpost so she can continue packing while listening. Freed once more, her hands seek out more unpaired socks to join.

“Only if you’re good with it, then.” The boy sighs deeply as he begins to prepare his words. The infamous drama zone kicking in, he lets his head lull backwards at gravity’s command against the cliffside’s face. She can’t help but cringe at the audible smack of his skull against smooth rock. “Ow!” he whines, immediately jerking forwards again. He rubs the back of his head in clear disbelief, softly laughing at his own folly. “Well, that was a pretty dumb idea.”

“Not gonna disagree,” she says with a giggle, glancing between her clothes and the screen in intervals as she folds. “Now, tell me everything. From the beginning. I still gotta pack, but I’m listening, I promise.”

A soft smile brightens his face, sunlight glinting off his dark brown irises. It’s enough to capture her stare, to make everything else in the world freeze to a stop. Just for one magic moment. Her heart almost flip flops at the gentle way he gazes at her, his eyes filled with a shy reverence that honestly, speaks volumes to his nature as a person. Because while he’s grown undeniably strong as a half-Gem, he’s far more than that. He's kind. He’s sensitive, and caring. So, so caring. More than anything else he tries his hardest to be extra empathetic about the needs of others around him, and she adores this about him, she truly does. Her only wish is that he could be this receptive about his own needs all the time, too. With her firsthand knowledge of the stressful stuff he and the other Gems deal with on a weekly basis, she can’t help but worry sometimes.

He breathes in, chest rising and falling as he prepares to tell his story. “Okay. So it all started yesterday morning when I was playing video games with the Gems…”

______

“—and then that’s when I figured out I could still fuse, right after I texted you. So we did, and- and well, that’s pretty much it,” Steven finishes with a bit of a waver in his voice, absentmindedly twirling his finger around a short curl at the nape of his neck as he adjusts his grip on the phone with his other hand.

With his story more or less complete, barring a few recent occurrences he’s hesitant to speak of right now, he pays careful attention to the minute fluctuations of Connie’s expression as everything he’s told her sinks in.

(He intentionally left out some of the more intimate bits, of course— like softly crying himself to sleep before Dad warped back, or having a near breakdown on the beach, or his conversation with half of himself. Some moments simply aren’t for others to know.)

Her voice wavers as she finally makes to respond. “Wow, that’s… a lot.”

“Yeah. And like, I wanna believe it’s over now, but everyone’s still acting so weird.”

“Mmm, and then there’s everything about your mom, and Pink Diamond…” She balls her hand against her mouth as she mulls over this information, her sobered glance shifting from him to some unspecified point in her bedroom.

And at seeing the subtle aversion of her gaze, he frets for a second. He squirms in the seat of the cold metal chair he’s made his temporary home in, toes curling inwards much like the creeping dread that’s trying to inch its way ever further into his heart, stifling any last hope of peace or calm. Replacing it with fear. Like, what if his real talk is too real? Too honest? What if he’s freaked her out, or overloaded her with the sheer weight of everything that’s happened to him, what if she’ll wanna keep her distance from him because of all this, what if—

“I’m so sorry you have to deal with all this,” she says softly, slashing the cord that’s restraining him within his frantic thoughts.

His shoulders relax, tension fading.

“I- is there anything I can do?” his friend continues. “To help, I mean?”

“Nah, don’t think so. Not right now, at least. Honestly, just having someone to talk to about all this means a lot.” He begins to slowly swing his legs back and forth, and leans against the coffee stained table top. “Normally I’d talk to one of the Gems, but. Well, y’know.”

His friend bobs her head in the affirmative. “Mmm.”

“It’s just…” he begins, pausing with a long sigh as he tries to organize all his jumbled emotions into something remotely explainable. His eyes drift away from his phone, focusing instead on the soft, tantalizing glow of the ice cream freezer across the shop. “I think I almost died, Connie. For real. I was shivering, a-and scared, and cracked, and- and yet they couldn’t stop fighting about whatever happened in the past. I don’t know anything about Pink Diamond, or what terrible things Rose apparently did, but now it’s like… even if they don’t mean to, that’s all they can think about when they look at me?”

Steven groans in exhaustion, slumping forward so the side of his face is pressed against the table. It’s comfy, never mind how dirty the surface probably is. He shifts his phone in his hands so Connie’s image is still parallel to him. “I dunno. I should’ve never popped that bubble in the first place. If I didn’t let Bismuth out, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Steven!” a loud voice calls from across the shop. “Are you gonna buy a donut or what?”

“Whu- huh??”

Startled, he shoots upright in the chair— knowing all too well from the faint thrum dancing under his skin that he’s on the brink of summoning his bubble on sheer impulse— before realizing that no, it’s only Lars, everything’s fine, I’m fine.

The surly teen is slumped against the counter next to Sadie, (who’s counting the money in the cash register on sheer compulsion, as if rifling through it one more time might cause the cash to magically multiply), both employees marinating in the boredom of yet another low traffic mid-September day at the Big Donut. He pauses to catch his breath, in retrospect feeling super silly for his near freak-out. His two favorite donut people have been here this whole time, of course. How he managed to become so sucked in by his call that he forgot is beyond him.

“Are you okay?” he hears Connie ask softly, obvious concern in her voice.

Lars on the other hand, apparently wasn’t finished calling him out.

“You can’t just- loiter here all morning and not buy anything!” he says. Brow threading together in perplexion, he whirls towards his coworker. “Right? Isn’t there a law for that? Sadie, help me out here-!”

She rolls her eyes so far they almost disappear back into her skull. “Oh, leave him alone, he’s fine...” “Yeah, I’m not loitering, I’m having a nice conversation with my friend!” he chimes, holding up his phone screen to them as proof.

“Hi Sadie, Lars,” Connie says.

The young lady behind the register smiles warmly despite the bags under her eyes, and pauses her task to wave to the camera.

Unimpressed, Lars leans his chin against his balled up fist, elbow propped on the counter. His tired eyes narrow into thin slits, exaggerated by the squish of his cheek against his bottom eyelid. “A ‘nice conversation?’ You’ve been sitting there for half an hour rambling about the misfortunes of near death,” he says, deadpan.

“I—“ His eyes grow wide as he combs back through the— now that he thinks about it— admittedly dour mood of everything he’s recently said. “Is that really what it sounded like...?”

Is he just being a killjoy to everyone? He thought it’d be okay to be real about it with his friend for once, since he usually keeps his deeper issues to himself, but perhaps...

“No, just ignore him,” Sadie says as she diligently sorts the coins, cutting in right before his mind can continue its downward spiral.

On the screen, Connie nods in wholehearted support. “It’s just venting, I don’t mind.”

And despite everything else he manages a smile at that, small and thin but filling him with a needed burst of energy all on its own.

“Huh,” Lars mutters, scrutinizing him closely. “Well, whatever it was, dark and brooding is a surprisingly good vibe for you. We’ll make a teenager of you yet.”

Steven blinks in confusion.

“But I already am a teenager,” he says, perhaps a bit more defensively than he ought have.

“Yeah!” chimes his friend over the phone.

“Wait, really? Aren’t you like, nine or somethin’?”

He squirms in his seat upon reference to his inability to physically age, feeling the flush touch his ears. “Uh, actually…”

“Dude, he’s been a teenager,” Sadie says. She stuffs the last of the quarters in their slot and securely shuts the cash register drawer. “He turned fourteen a few weeks ago, don’t you remember?”

“N- no… I just—“ Lars lets out a scoff, shooting her a moody sneer. “Whatever, okay? I don’t have the time or the patience to remember everyone’s birthdays in this dead-end town.”

“Only twenty-nine people even live here year round.”

“So? Your point is?”

“My point is that it’s kinda common courtesy to look up and pay attention to your surroundings every once in a while?”

He turns up his nose. “Ugh, well you know what—“

Steven purses his lips as he watches the two of them devolve into yet another round of petty squabbling. (Why all of these fights lately…? What’s wrong with everyone, what’s in the air?) Suddenly feeling very much like high tailing it out of here, he shifts in his seat. He and Connie share a knowing glance, one that quickly lets him knows they’re on the same page. Originally, he came here to use the store wi-fi since he didn’t want to be at home right now, but he can probably still use it just fine sitting at the table outside. Without any overt announcement of the fact, he stands and makes his way to the door. Lars and Sadie are too caught up in their spat to notice him leave.

Only when the cool breeze greets him outside can he relax. He kicks back in one of the chairs set out front of the store, adjusting his phone in his hand. Gulls call loudly from the boardwalk in their endless search for trashed food. A handful of people he doesn’t recognize— tourists!— splash in the water or play in the sand, a pair of young men holding hands as they cross the public beach. Sunlight is finally breaking through the cloud cover, brilliant blue overtaking dreary grey. He smiles faintly. Despite everything, it truly is a beautiful morning.

“Sorry about all that!” he says to his friend on the line, glancing back at the doors of the Big Donut. “They really are cool people when you got to know ‘em, but they kinda disagree about stuff a lot.”

Connie stifles a laugh, her expression unreadable for a moment. “I know you keep saying they’re probably dating, but I honestly don’t believe you.”

His skin grows clammy all of a sudden.

Don’t… believe...

He's frozen. It’s almost like he’s with Sapphire, trapped again in that old motel room shivering amidst her frost powers. And yet simultaneously he’s not, ‘cause… because he’s burning up, hand clutching at thin air. He’s terrified. He’s completely alone, he’s—

He’s back in the forge.

Bismuth’s there, looming like a reaper above him, arm shapeshifted into some sort of curved saw blade and held aloft. Thick, viscous lava boils angrily in the pool surrounding the platform he’s on, and more than anything it’s a warning, a constant warning, and he’s stupid, he’s so unobservant and stupid, he should have paid heed to it when he came down here in the first place, why didn’t he—

Heat blasts almost violently at him as he shuffles away on hands and feet, scooting backwards on the blistering stone. He heaves for breath amidst his panic. Meanwhile, the channels of hard light running parallel with his veins buzz alongside the rush of adrenaline keeping him alive. Sweat beads on his forehead, sticky and unnaturally cool.

No matter how hard he tries, he’s too weak against her. His shield isn’t strong enough.

He knows this for a fact now, knows that Bismuth can dissipate both it and his bubble with enough force, and that’s a super scary thought but it doesn’t stop the primal instinct pulsing insistently at the back of his mind, pushing him to stand back up, to summon his weapon anyways and try to defend himself. It’s nothing but a lost cause, though.

Now, his only true shield is his words.

“Wait, I’m not my mom!” he cries in desperation, shielding himself with his arms. “I don’t know what she did, but I’m sure she didn’t want to hurt you!”

The stark shadow obscuring the rainbow haired Gem’s eyes grows darker.

“It’s too late,” she spits, preparing to swing her arm down. “I don’t believe you anymore!”

And then with a shallow gasp he’s here again, here at this dingy plastic table sitting under the bright and blue hope of morning, his phone clutched in a vice-like grip. Breath passes through his lips shakily. What the heck was that?? Was his gem feeding him old memories like what happened in his sleep, or something? Whatever it was, he’s genuinely not sure how much time has passed during the vision, a realization which unnerves him. Seemingly not too long, as Connie hasn’t moved to speak yet. Yet still her too-familiar words echo in his mind, pulsing with the thrum of inflamed blood vessels at an open wound, and without the blessing of inhibition he blurts out the first thought that reveals itself.

“That’s fair,” he says, voice cracking. “I probably wouldn’t believe me about a lot of things right now.”

Her brow creases with obvious concern. “Hey... Hey, I didn’t mean that personally. I was just messing around with ya’. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he sighs. “I’m sorry. I guess I just feel... really on edge.” Jittery fingers card through thick curls as his chest softly rumbles in the absurdity of it all. “Geeze, I’m being a real sad sack today, huh?”

“Well, you’ve been through a lot.”

“Yeah, but to be fair ‘near death scenarios’ are pretty much just an occupational hazard at this point. And I’ve handled that fine before, so…”

“Still doesn’t erase the fact that it’s impacted you hard this time,” she says softly, leveling her gaze squarely on him, her intuitive brown eyes disassembling his insecurities and then putting them back together like a puzzle.

He flushes, shrinking where he sits. He pulls his legs up onto the seat, clutching them to his chest. Intuitively he knows she’s right, he knows that all this has messed with him more than the danger of Gem stuff normally does, but he still can’t help but feel… ashamed? That he’s feeling this way in the first place? It’s bizarre. It’s completely dumb, and the more he fixates on it the more dumb it becomes. Eventually he decides he’s not in the right mental state to try and weave a halfway rational response to her and elects to swerve the topic.

“So there’s also another not-great thing that happened,” he begins, hugging his knees. “Should probably mention.”

“Yeah…?”

“Garnet unfused over all this. Maybe for good this time.”

She gasps, and in an instant her face shoots closer on his screen.

“Wait what? She- you mean that Ruby and Sapphire aren’t—“

“Yup.”

Connie covers her mouth in shock, eyes glistening. “Oh, no! Steven, I’m so sorry! And you don’t think they’ll be able to work it out?”

“No, they made it seem pretty permanent.”

“That’s… really rough,” she sighs in solidarity. “‘Cause I mean, at least since it’s fusion she’s still there in spirit, but- you grew up knowing Garnet.”

“Exactly,” he nods. “I love Ruby and Sapphire a whole bunch, but it’s still different, y’know? Like, it’s like I lost someone important to me. Maybe forever. And... it feels so awful,” he says, pushing past the lump in his throat that he wishes more than anything would go away. “All of it. It’s like everyone in my family’s falling apart. The moment she unfused, Sapphire immediately shut herself in her room, and then Ruby was so upset she ran away, and Amethyst and Pearl started yelling at each other about everything, so… I left. And called you,” he explains, gesturing at her. “And now I’m here, chillin’ at the Big Donut. And that’s pretty much it.”

“Gosh...”

“Yeah.”

“Again, I’m sorry you had to deal with all this. I mean, outright getting cleaved from half of yourself? I can’t even imagine…” She bites at her knuckles for a moment, deep in thought. “Makes me wish I had more than sympathy to offer.”

“Nah, just you listening to everything means a whole bunch. I really appreciate that,” he says. “I—“ his voice wavers a bit as he feels the heat of the blush blossoming across his cheeks— “I really appreciate you. A lot. You- you know that, don't you?”

She giggles, the sound a beautiful reassurance to his ears. “Of course I do! And anyways, you always take time to listen to me when I’m down. That’s what jam buds are for, right?”

“Right,” he says, the word reverberating in harmony in the deepest reaches of his heart.

“Steven!” a voice calls from the distance.

Connie’s brow furrows. “Is that…?”

He whips his head around, squinting in the sunlight to catch a clearer glimpse of the figure running towards the edge of the Big Donut’s patio, his long hair rippling behind him. At the sight of family, his eyes light up. He waves his free arm in greeting.

“Dad!”

“Hey, kiddo!” his dad says, crossing the last few steps to the patio chair he’s curled up in. Gasping for breath, he plops himself in the chair adjacent. “I thought I’d find you here. You doin’ better now?”

He makes a half grimace, and shakes his flattened hand in a so-so gesture.

Dad’s hopeful smile fades, quickly replaced with a compassionate sense of understanding that could only come from years of hard earned age and experience. “Yeah. Yeah, I getcha. Seeing people you love fight like that’s never fun. Do you wanna talk about it?”

He presses his mouth into a line as he contemplates. To be honest, after venting about everything to Connie, fixating on negative emotions more is the last thing he wants to do, but he doesn’t wanna be rude to his dad. Thank goodness he has a valid excuse to avoid it altogether!

“Uh, I’m kinda on the phone, here,” he says, showing him his phone screen as proof.

“Oh, by golly, so you are! Hey, Connie. How are you hangin’ in there?”

She flashes a smile. “Hi, Mr. Universe! I’m okay, thanks.”

“Heh, Mr. Universe, huh?” he chuckles softly, scratching at his beard. “Such formalities! You’ve known me for what, how long? Please, you can call me Greg.”

“Thanks, but my mom says I’m not allowed to call grown ups by their first names.”

“Dr. Maheswaran has all sorts of weird mom rules,” Steven chimes in, nodding.

“Hoo boy, do I know about those,” his dad commiserates in a flat tone. He makes a big show out of mulling this over, humming as he taps at his chin. “Well then, don’t think of me as a grown up, but more of a big kid with, erm… slightly bigger responsibilities.”

“Uh, okay!” Connie says, hesitantly glancing between him and Steven. “If it’s alright with you, then, Mr. Greg!”

Dad‘s mouth turns up in a fond smirk, and then he glances back at him. “Anyways, I wanted to let you know that the Gems have cooled down. I had… a bit of a talk with them, let’s say,” he mutters, clear exhaustion betraying his otherwise content demeanor. “Should be fine to go back when you’re ready.”

“Did Ruby return??”

“Nah, she’s still MIA. But Pearl and Amethyst are on the case.”

He sighs, disappointment flooding his heart. He’s not sure why he ever dreamed otherwise. She’ll come back eventually, of course. She’s gotta. According to Garnet, Rubies are very social Gems, which means they prefer sharing in the company of others over being alone. And even when she’s not fused with Sapphire, she’s still a part of his family. He dearly hopes she knows that.

“I hope her and Sapphire will be okay,” he mutters.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine in the end,” he says with a shrug. “They’ve come apart before, after all.”

Connie hums in agreement. “Yeah, sometimes even my parents need some quiet time away from each other. That’s totally normal!”

Dropping his legs to dangle from the chair again, Steven watches an orange spotted butterfly flutter between the beach umbrellas set up on the patio tables, meeting with its other half before both journeying away in the wind. His cheeks lift at their attempts at reassurance, and boy, does it feel so much more natural than frowning pensively.

“D’ya really think so?”

Smiling softly, his dad affectionately musses his hair. “All we can do is wait and see, bud. Wait and see.” He stands to his feet then, grunting as he uses the table’s surface to help push him up. Gaze growing somewhat weary, he peers with purpose towards the far side of the hill. “Anyways, your old man will be over at the car wash, scrubbing soap scum off the floors. Eughh, right? But hey, if you need anything… a hug, an ear, some classic fatherly advice… come and find me, okay? Take it easy this morning.” Grinning, he turns back to wave goodbye to the girl mirrored on the screen. “Nice seeing ‘ya, Connie. Take care.”

“You too!” she waves in return.

And with that farewell his dad begins his casual jaunt down the sidewalk, leaving the two of them alone once more. Except, he supposes that’s not true at all, is it? Even without Connie, even without Dad, or the Gems. Because if he can take away one good thing from this whole messed up experience, just one hopeful message, it’s that he’s never been alone a day of his life. That’s simply the nature of fusion, you see. Even in the darkest, scariest moments...

I’ve never actually been alone, he marvels. I’ve just been me.

______

Once Steven’s dad leaves to scrub down the floors at his car wash, their conversation evolves considerably from its bleak beginnings. Enough about all this Gem stuff, Steven says, what’s new with you? Besides, uh- folding underwear, of course!

Connie laughs, rolling her eyes at the visible blush on his face as she pushes the aforementioned undergarments out of frame. She eagerly shares some of the finer details of her India trip, telling him all about when she’s leaving for the airport, (late this evening, on a red-eye flight across the Atlantic), what area of the country she’s visiting, (Punjab, where some of her extended family lives), and how long she’ll be gone (just a week!). From there, the topic shifts between a variety of themes, ranging anywhere from her anxiety and excitement at starting school again when she gets back, the pride of finally figuring out a challenging song she’s wanted to perfect for a while on her violin, to this super compelling Unfamiliar Familiar fanfic she found where Lisa discovers she’s secretly heir to the throne of the corrupt society she’s always been vying to escape from underneath the authoritative thumb of.

“Wow, this is the story I never knew I always needed so badly in my entire life,” Steven says, brown irises turning starry-eyed in the sunlight. He’s sitting atop the hill now, resting content on his belly in the grass in front of the lighthouse.

“I know, right?? I’ll send you the link,” she promises, dangling her feet in the air behind her as she lays on the carpet.

He pumps his fist in the air triumphantly. “Woo, free infinite books!”

“Well, keep in mind, it’s not finished yet. Apparently it’s supposed to update bi-weekly, but I think the author got a bit boggled down by life stuff recently.”

“Aw, that’s too bad. I hope they’re doin’ okay.”

“Same… But hey,” she says with a soft laugh, “at least it’s a long fic, right?”

“Y’know,” he interjects the current topic suddenly, rising to his knees. “I wonder if I can see your house from here! D’ya think that’s possible, ‘cause I wanna see if that’s possible!”

He switches his camera’s view from front to back, the image of his face replaced by the scenic vista of the cozy beach town below, ridged by the peaceful waters of the Atlantic and Rehoboth Bay. She can see everything, from the gigantic pastry shaped facade atop the Big Donut, to the water tower clear on the other side of the peninsula. Beyond, lush green grasslands— dotted with clusters of small residences, humanity’s touch on the Earth— stretch as far into the horizon as far as a young dreamer can imagine.

Connie picks up her phone from the bedpost she leaned it against and squints at the screen, trying to map out the precise scale of the countryside between them in her mind. “Hmm, probably not. I think my town’s pretty hidden by the surrounding hills.”

“No silly, not from right here, here! I meant, from up here!”

She yelps as the view of Beach City on her phone screen jolts in a burst of sudden, rapid movement, shrinking smaller and smaller as the seconds tick by.

“Steven!! What are you—“

But internally, she finds the answer to this question before she can even finish asking it. Clearly, he jumped into the sky, so… so he’s using his floating ability. Even though she’s never seen him utilize it to leap to this extreme, it’s the only possibility that makes any ounce of sense. Her mouth falls agape at the picturesque view below, the town beginning to looking more and more like a blurred watercolor painting. Distantly, she wonders what it would feel like to be up there with him, her hands clutched tight in his, the wind dancing through her long hair.

"Consarn it! Your house is too small to pick out. Hmm..."

Or even as Stevonnie, can they float too? she wonders. Maybe one day she can ask!

“Oh my gosh, this is just like I’m on the giant slingshot they used to have at Funland,” she says, averting her eyes as her best friend continues his ascent into the shimmering blue sky. She lets slip a slight grimace, finding the stark contrast between the movement on the screen and the still permanence of her bedroom dizzying the more she watches. “And I’m starting to think there’s a reason they shut that ride down…”

“Hey, my floating powers are way better than The Comet,” he chirps playfully, having finally reached the apex of his leap. “Hah, maybe that means I should start my own attraction at Funland!”

“Doing what?” she says, unable to keep from laughing at the absurdity of the very concept. “Bubbling people on the tracks of the rollercoaster like the day we first met? I’m pretty confident that’d be a major health and safety violation.”

“Aww, but those are the best kinds of attractions!”

She hears him grunt with minor exertion, and suddenly the aerial glimpse of the countryside she’s watching on her phone drops out of sight, replaced in an instant with a sweeping panorama of the boundless sky, the line of the horizon with the sea, the ground looming ominously hundreds of feet below. Rinse and repeat, over and over. Everything is spinning, she realizes in alarm, and there’s no end in sight.

“Whoa-oH, it’s the Stevencoaster!” he cries in childish glee as he somersaults.

His lighthearted joy is so contagious she can’t stop the grin stretching wide across her face.

“Careful, you doofus, you’re gonna make me motion sick and I’m not even there,” she giggles breathlessly.

“Nooo! And the Stevencoaster makes everyone toss their cookies! Words truly cannot describe the culinary carnage left in its wake.”

She rolls her eyes in fondness at his antics, and sits up on her carpet. “No, but seriously,” she reaffirms, “that’s making me pretty dizzy.”

“Oh, sorry!”

Soon enough she watches him level out from his spin, his camera focusing for a moment on the ground a hundred feet below his sandaled feet before flipping to show his face once more, framed by wild dark curls. His irises are shimmering an unnatural pink she’s never seen before. It's enough of an unexpected shock that her smile fades, ever so slightly.

“Better?” he says, beaming at her as he continues on his slow descent to Earth.

They’re still pink. And his pupils… She’s not just imagining it, right? She blinks heavily.

“Y- yes, much.”

“Connie? What’s wrong?” he asks, landing upon the grass. His brow furrows.

Even more notably, his eyes are just as normal and brown as they ever were. Connie balls her hand against her chin as she deliberates this. Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

She shakes her head, silently mulling over how best to explain this. “Nothing, it’s just… I could’ve sworn your eyes were… different, for a second.”

“Different?” Steven‘s grin stretches so wide he looks like he’s about to burst at any moment. “Eye don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Well, if you become my pupil I could explain it to you,” she giggles.

“I’m listening,” he chimes eagerly.

“Okay, so honestly it could’ve just been a trick of the light, but… it’s almost like they flashed pink for a second. And your pupils were all funny, kind of, uh- slitted! Like a cat’s.”

“Pink?”

“Yeah.”

His face goes shockingly pale. “Connie, when was this?”

“Just a second ago,” she shrugs. “You were still floating.”

“Floating,” he repeats under his breath, seeming haunted by the very thought.

“Steven?” she calls, a sudden twist in her chest at the sight of his clear distress. “Steven, what’s wrong?”

“I, I—“ he stammers, unable to even meet her glance. “I’m really sorry, but I gotta go. I’ll text you later?”

“Uh- okay. Thanks for calling—“

He hangs up.

“...back,” she finishes softly, shoulders sinking.

She sighs heavily, dropping her phone into her lap and sitting back against her bed frame. What did she say? What could be so scary about the idea of glowing pink eyes to make him react like that? Sure, it’s a bit strange, but it’s no more unusual than any of his other unique abilities. She only hopes she didn’t ruin his good mood all over again by bringing his attention to it.

Her mother knocks on the doorframe outside, signaling her presence.

“Come in,” she mutters glumly.

The door creaks open. Mom steps through, and leans against the wall with her arms crossed, glancing knowingly between her and the phone still clutched like a lifeline in her hands.

“Are you still worried about that boy?” she asks.

Connie can almost hear the capitalization inherent in her tone. 'That Boy.’ Even though she and Steven are just friends, she knows full well who her mother thinks he is to her. (Not that she’d complain if that were the case, but that’s simply not a thing with them, and really that’s fine, she’s fine, their status quo is comfortable how it is—)

“Yeah… I just got off the phone with him," she says, letting her head sink into the folds of the covers trailing off the side of her bed. "It sounds like he’s been through a lot lately.”

“Well, when a child spends all day fighting monsters instead of going to school like he’s supposed to, I can’t say I’m surprised,” her mom says under her breath.

“Mom, come on, this is serious!”

“Yes, sorry, you’re right,” she says wearily, pressing her hand to her temple. “Just because I don’t understand it doesn’t mean that it’s fair of me to say.”

She turns away, and hugs her knees to her chest. Like a storm on a late summer day, her mind brims with so many things she wishes she could admit, so many things that need to be released if she wants to find any peace about this. But how to start? How can she make her mother understand?

“I’ve really been looking forward to this trip, y’know?" Connie says, feeling oh-so vulnerable sitting on the floor just like she always would as a young child, eyes glistening as she calls upon her mother for support. "Really. And I know we gotta leave tonight, but just knowing he’s hurting and I won’t be able to text him at all makes part of me wish… that I could stay here."

Unable to dam it up anymore, a few tears spill over to roll unbridled down her cheek. Her chest quivers uncontrollably as her face screws up and she begins to cry.

"Oh, honey," she breathes, moving to kneel on the floor next to her. She rests her hand on her upper back, gently kneading the stress out of her tense muscles.

"He's always been there for me when I needed someone to talk to, o-or somethin' to feel better," she sniffles, wiping the damp from her eyes and nose. "A- and then- the moment he needs me, I can't be there for him at all, an' it's not fair!"

Upon seeing the trail of snot beginning to drip towards her upper lip, her mother grimaces. She reaches across her for the small square box perched atop her nightstand. "Tissue," she says firmly, passing her the box.

She accepts the gift, pulling one out, and blows her nose hard.

As she's dabbing away, cleaning up the evidence of her tears, Mom's fingers shift to comb through the length of her hair. She twirls through long dark strands and pulls them out of her face. "Even if I don't get all this magic stuff you're both dealing with," she begins, voice brimming with compassion, "believe me, I understand more than most what it feels like to be cut off from the people you love. So... I’ll change your phone plan to international, how’s that? That way, at the very least you’ll still be able to contact him.”

Her eyes light up. “Wow, really?? But that’s super expensive!”

“Says your father,” she scoffs with soft laughter. “We can afford it. And anyways, I’d hate to see you miserable the whole trip.”

“That’ll be perfect!” she says, throwing her arms tight around her mother. And although she can’t see her face, Connie knows from the reassuring solidness of their embrace that every bit of the love she has for her is returned in full. “Thanks, Mom,” she whispers, her anxious heart finally finding a glimmer of peace.

#su #steven universe #connie maheswaran #su fanfic #su fanfiction #crack the paragon #greg universe #lars barriga #sadie miller #priyanka maheswaran #my writing stuff

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lettersofwrittencollective · 5 years

Text

The Pull (21/?)

Summary: The Ragnulf’s are one of the oldest lines of werewolves known. A gift from ancient times was given to the line. Though not all of the line will experience it. There are some who will experience a Pull. This Pull leads them to their true mate, a soulmate. The problem is, just because the wolf finds their true mate does not mean that they are the same for that person.

Author: @lettersofwrittencollective��

Pairing: Stiles x Hale!Cousin OC (Reader)

Word Count: 2762

Warnings:

A/N: Sorry that this took so long to get out! Though this scene is not Stiles or reader-centric, I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think :) Remember that reblogs always help!

Also, instead of posting every other day I am going to be posting The Pull on Wednesdays and Sundays. Today is Saturday so there will not be a post again until Wednesday This is to try and give me some more time studying which I have really needed.

<<Prev || Masterlist || Next>>

Isaac checked his phone again, waiting to see if Derek or the twins would send him a text. Hell, he’d even accept something from Peter if it meant that he got an update about Natasha .

After the things had disappeared and the dust had settled at the loft, they had all noticed that Natasha and Stiles were missing from the room. Allison had asked about Lydia and Aiden had said that Danny had taken her when Derek ran everyone out. Personally, Isaac had figured that Stiles had gone with Danny to help the redhead.

But that meant that Natasha was missing.

When he had asked about her, Scott had said she’d arrived with him, Kira and Stiles but that he hadn’t seen her since they had gotten to the party and she had gone to change. Aiden said he’d seen her having a soda, which he was sure was for Derek's benefit but had lost her in the crowd about an hour or so ago.

Derek had called Peter who had promptly lost his mind and showed up while Allison was trying to get a hold of her dad. The two of them and the twins were searching the area for Natasha to be sure that those things hadn’t harmed her.

He’d wanted to stay but with Allison’s Dad not picking up, the brunette was getting worried. She wanted to go look for him and, seeing as she had been just about ready to bolt out the door, Isaac decided to go with her.

They had decided to start at the Penthouse, see if they could find a scent to follow or some other kind of clue as to where he’d gone. It was a good thing too because when they’d come in they’d found him on the floor.

Allison had paled at the sight and he had heard her heartbeat spike for just a moment before she’d taken a deep breath and collected herself. It hadn’t taken them long to get Argent back on his feet. While they were getting Argent cleaned up, Scott had shown up, wanting to help out.

The four of them had made their way to Argent's study, or home office where he was currently sharing the story of the one time he had apparently almost been killed by these things.

A ding went off on his phone and he looked down to check

Derek: Nothing yet, will keep you posted.

Biting back a growl, he had to remind himself that there wasn’t a whole lot that he could do at this point but let Derek look for her. So, he turned his attention back to Argent’s story.

“There was something almost ritualistic about it. Like it was looking right into his soul.

Feeling an icy shiver run down his spine at the memory, Isaac said, “That’s the same thing it did to me.”

Allison points out that they had done that to everyone but Scott points out that it was only the werewolves… and Lydia.

Trying to put the pieces together, Isaac hears Argent point out that they would have gone after anyone with a connection to the supernatural.

Asking about the guy in Japan, Isaacs not at all surprised to find out that Allison's dad had sold guns to the Yakuza. Though it did serve as a reminder not to piss the man off.

“The moment the sun went down, it was like they just materialized out of the shadows. They had swords. Not curved like katanas but straight black steel like ninjatos.”

Those things had apparently been after the Kumicho, who was apparently the boss of the group that Argent met with and it had gotten through everyone. Cutting through the gangsters like it was nothing.

Hearing Argent's story, the mark on the back of his ear suddenly found like a brand. Touching it, he asked, “Did they mark him like they did us?”

Of course, they didn’t. Allison's dad told them about how the things had made their way through the group and when they had gotten to the Kumicho they had all taken their swords and impaled the man who was apparently not just human. Which, in Isaacs opinion, really wasn’t that surprising if he thought about it.

Though Chris had no idea what the creatures were he did think that there was someone that might know what they were or, at least what they hunted. He’d apparently spent yesterday trying to find this man, Katashi.

“Didn’t look like he wanted to be found.” Isaac pointed out, considering the way they’d found the older man this morning. Considering how long ago this deal had taken place, Isaac wasn’t sure that this guy would actually be their best bet so he asked, “What if he doesn’t remember you?”

Pulling out a box, Argent responds, ‘He’ll remember this.” In the box are the broken fragments of one of the creatures masks. Isaac can’t help the involuntary shiver that runs down his spine as he remembers the night before.

“I know I didn’t kill it. I’m not sure you can. But I slowed it down long enough for us to get out of there.”

When Scott asked what was behind the mask, Argent responded with, “Darkness. Absolute darkness.”

The room was silent as they each took in what that meant. Alisson reached out and he took her hand in his, holding tightly as he tried to reassure her that they would be fine regardless of what happened. His phone went off again and this time, it was a phone call from Derek.

He let go of Allison's hand and walked out of the room, answering the line as he went. Putting the phone up to his ear, he listened to the other line.

“Ok so she’s nowhere in the Iron Heads and we couldn’t find her near the loft. The thing is that her bike is here-”

“Well, what about your jeep? Or Peters car?”

“Also here. Though that may not mean too much seeing as how the twins say she’s been getting rides from Stiles lately.”

“What does that have to do with anything?’

“Well if she left with Stiles and Lydia it makes sense that she would have gone in his jeep.” He can hear the frustration in Derek's voice as he tries to explain it and Isaac is just going to follow that train of thought.

“But we don’t know that she did leave with Stiles.” Isaac’s pointing out before he can really think it through. Not that he wants to think too much about it.

“Aiden’s gonna go check on Lydia and see if she’s there at the same time.”

He couldn’t help the scoff that left him, “You know he doesn’t care right? He’s just trying to get Lydia to keep sleeping with him and Scott to take him in.”

The growl on the other end of the line surprises him but before he can comment on it, Derek’s saying “I don’t really care what his reasonings are right now. If Natasha is there then that’s fine.”

Before he can respond, Derek’s hung up the phone and all he’s getting is a dial tone. Pursing his lips, he turns to go back into the study where Scott is excusing himself from them and headed out.

Allison looks at him, the question evident on her face and he shakes his head.

“They still haven’t found her?”

“Nope.”

The brunette looks to her dad then to him before she nods her head as she walks past him, grabbing his arm and pulling him along, “Let’s go then.”

This, this right here is why Isaac can’t help but like the girl. She’s got a big heart and is always willing to go help out her friends. A smile tugs at his lips as they make their way towards the elevator. She must have seen the look because she’s raising an eyebrow at him and he has to drop the smile, shaking his head as he mutters that it’s nothing.

While the two of them are getting into the elevator, his phone starts ringing. Pulling it out and looking at the caller ID he sees that Sties’ contact name and forwards the call. The spastic boy probably wants to complain about Aiden and he doesn’t want to hear it. He needs to go find Natasha.

A moment later, Stiles is calling again and Isaac has to take a deep breath. Answering the line, he growls out, “What?”

“Ok first of all Rude, you don’t greet people that way. Second, good morning to you too sunshine. Third, are you with Scott?”

“Wait, Tasha?”

“Obviously.” She sounds irritable, that can’t be good.

“Wait why are you calling me from Stiles’ phone?”

“Something came up so we left the party go check out a lead on Barrow. My phone died and is currently charging up to turn back on. So, are you with Scott or Alli?”

“Allison.”

He could hear a groan on the other side of the line before Natasha is asking, “Have you guys seen Scott? He’s not answering his cell.”

“Umm, he just left a few minutes ago. I’m guessing he’s riding right now which would keep him from answering.”

Another groan from the other line surprised him as he could have sworn he heard her cursing under her breath. “Alright, we’ll just catch him at school then.” He then hears her shouting at Stiles, she’s telling him to get something together and that they’ll have to finish the argument at the school. Apparently, Scott’s going to agree with her for whatever it is.

He looks over at Allison who’s trying very hard not to laugh if all the snickering she’s doing is any indication. A moment later, she’s calling his name and when he acknowledges her, she says that they’re going to have to talk later.

The pitch in her voices surprises him and when he asks if she’s okay she gets silent for a moment.

“Tasha?”

“I’m not sure yet. I gotta go though, see you later. ”

The line goes dead before he can respond and Allison allows the laughs that she was holding back to escape. When he looks at her, she just shakes her head. “Tasha was with Stiles?”

“Apparently so,” he says softly with a nod of his head.

Allison’s smile gets wider and she claps her hands together. When he asks what it is, she merely shakes her head, “I think they’re cute together.”

He can’t help the scoff that escapes him, “Nope. She’s too good for him.”

Allison gives him a look that says, really? And he shakes his head, “I’m serious! Tasha’s is smart, strong, passionate, and a freaking badass.”

Allison’s laugh doesn’t surprise him and he can feel a shiver run down his spine when she leans in and places a hand on his chest. “You know,” she begins, “if I didn’t know better, I’d say you like her.”

He has a moment of panic and moves to look down at her but she’s got a smile on her lips her nose is scrunched up that adorable way that tells him she’s joking. Leaning forward, he kisses her nose. “I am serious though,” he says softly to her.

“So am I. You can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed them spending more time together. Or that he’s always got a smile on when she’s around.”

“Well, he needs to stop. He’d better get his head out of whatever fantasy it’s in. They can be friends but that’s it.”

Allison laughs as she leans back, “So, who should she date?”

He doesn’t like the question. Natasha isn’t here to just date someone. She’s gonna meet someone and it’s basically going to change the rest of her life.

Shaking his head, he doesn’t know how to answer but Allison is looking at him expectantly so he clears his throat, “What about Johnson?”

Allison laugher and kisses his cheek, “it’s a good thing you’re cute.”

Scotts on his way to the school when the twins pull up on either side of him. Groaning, he speeds up to try and outrun them but they catch up and end up parking next to him in the lot.

Sighing, he pulls off his helmet and looks at them, “You guys gonna be doing this all day?”

“All day.”

“All night.”

Scott has to bite back a groan of frustration but he remembers that they had been helping Derek. “So, did you guys end up finding Natasha?” Though he wasn’t very close to her he had noticed that Stiles was getting closer to it. He just hoped that it was more because he enjoyed spending time with the girl and not because he was trying to keep an eye on her.

Aiden's the one to respond, “She’s actually looking for you.” Scotts confusion must be evident on his face because a moment later Aiden continues, “Derek said she called Lahey trying to get a hold of you.

“Besides, in case you’ve forgotten, you are the target of demonic ninjas.”

“You mean the demonic ninjas that pulled swords out of their chests and completely kicked our asses?”

“Yea! Those demonic ninjas.”

Scott, while appreciative of the thought, doesn’t really think that he needs the protection and says so.

Ethan looks at him like he’s lost his mind before saying, “They were looking right at you when the sun came up.”

“And they also disappeared,” Scott returns with a shrug, “`Argent thinks they just come out at night.”

Ethan, however, is having none of it. “Since this is our first experience with demonic ninjas, we’re thinking we should play it safe.”

“All day,” Aiden points out.

Scott, realizing they’re right, lets out a sigh, “And all night.”

The three of them get off the bikes and make their way into the school. As they walk, Scott asks about Aiden’s comment about Natasha looking for him.

“According to Derek, she is.”

“He say why?” When neither one of them answers he turns to look at Aiden.

“What?”

“You talk to her more than your brother.”

“Doesn’t mean I know anything. She and I aren’t exactly the best of friends. Have you checked with Stilinski?”

Scotts surprised and furrows his brow, “I thought he was with Lydia?”

“If he was, he wasn’t there when I swung by.” Aiden shrugged. His voice was slightly defensive, almost as if he was daring the Alpha to say something about the fact that he had spent time with the redhead. Scott, for his part, decided not to address the tone. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Aiden's feelings towards his banshee friend but he trusted her enough to make her own decisions about where to go from here.

Sighing, Scott realized that the three of them have made it into the school. “Ok, so Aiden, you and Ethan see if you can get a hold of Natasha. Then we can all get together and she can tell me whatever it is that she needs to tell me but first, I need to talk to Stiles and let him know everything that happened last night. Without you.”

“No.”

“Yes,” Scott shot back as something occurred to him, “And I don’t want you listening in. No wolf hearing.”

“How would you even know?”

“I’m a True Alpha. You have no idea what I can do.” Scott shuts his locker and steps away. Making his way down the halls, it takes him a moment to realize that the twins have fallen in step just behind him on either side and just behind.

When he stops to question them, It’s Aiden who responds, “You said to find Natasha. Well, if Stiles isn't with Lydia then my money’s on him being with her.”

Scott’s silent for a moment but as soon as he realizes that Aiden’s right he chuckles softly,. “So find Natasha, find Stiles. Well, then you two get going. See if you can find anything on these- demonic ninjas.”

Ethan, he can feel, is ready to argue but Scott watches as Aiden grabs his brothers arm and agrees with Scott. Aiden tugs Ethan backward and soon enough, the two of them are making their way down the hallway that leads towards the library. It doesn’t escape his notice that Aiden was, shockingly, the calmer of the two twins.

Turning, he makes his way through the hallways looking for both Stiles and Natasha.

<<Prev || Masterlist || Next>>

Tag List: @nicole-lynne @fandom-princess-forevermore @capandbuck @biles-bilinski-24 @stiles-o-dylan24 @fiveisadorable @falling-stars-never-cry @blueraindrops @its-livelovelife @screamxqueenx94 @ceceliaking-18 @jasmin3xswayz31994 @dear-vista @fangirlbitch02 @riseandshinelittleblossom @jessicakimba @truthdaze @seninjakitey @kateeee0817 @squadkyoya @lucifersnipnips @niawoods @thesunthemoontheflare @bloodrose-scythe @fox-in-a-mousetrap-8 @findingmyselfinthismessedupworld

Do not copy and paste my writing anywhere without my consent. This work is the property of lettersofwrittencollective . Associated characters belong to MTV and are being borrowed for this work, all OC’s are the property of lettersofwrittencollective. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.

Posted 04 May 2019

#Reader insert #stiles x reader #Stiles #Stiles Stilinkski #Stiles imagine #stiles imagines #Stiles Stilinski Imagine #stiles stilinski imagines #teen wolf insert #Teen Wolf #Teen Wolf x reader #Teen Wolf rewrite #The Pull #My writing #series

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vanstae-remade · 7 years

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write short descriptions of your favourite mutuals/friends and then tag them (but not next to their descriptions) and try to make them guess which one is theirs!

this has been sitting in my inbox n im finally gonna do it

@babygukk @otpvmin @btslesbian @btsgoth @mochisgrl @soohao @chanhaosbf @younhgyun @jjk1 @myungho

1. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the certified Light Of My Life i’d break all my limbs off for u ??????? u literally make me so happy n i love love messaging u n you listen to me babble on abt random bullshit n my intense never dying love for tae n im so very thankful for ur existence i can literally message u the most random shit n u’d still talk to me ikjeioekorekfref

2. you’re the reason i still question whether i like scorpios or not ://////// wiodjoerkfreforekfo k but rlly i adore u so much n ur love for jjk is HEALING ur actually a gay icon, all ur random text posts may not always make sense but i wldnt trade them for anything, ur humor ? is next level idk if jin can even understand it,,, dare i say ………. my partner in (gay) crime

3. LITERALLY ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVES ?? I STALK UR BLOG ????? iejdeiodkeorfkref you’re honestly So Relatable n i love our interactions between each others posts, ur rlly jimins gamer gf n hes rlly out there being ur sugar daddy … goals :/ ur text posts r ult faves n my dash wld be DEAD without you wowie wow i love u a whole bunch

4. we invented mlm/wlw solidarity : fact, god you’re another blog that i can just endlessly scroll through i adore everything you post/reblog n im always ready to eat up another one ur god tier opinions, i feel like we have mutual understandings n such on a lot of things n just ??? i rlly cherish our convos even if its just discussing how much of a baby jungkook is eidjeiorfjref mmm

5. my co president to the taes baby belly enthusiasts club 😛 , GOD ur so ? soft n nice n sweet n easy to talk to n whenever you speak about tae or jimin i truly feel the love ur radiating all the way here in my bedroom, if someone asked me whats the top ten most relatable things you’ve ever read, one of ur love posts or tags would be on that list :////// you’re just a cherished mutual n i love love lvoe having ur presence on my dash

6. we’ve been mutuals through idk how many of ur url n bias changes and i somehow manage to keep up with them and if thats not pure platonic love then idk what is, i question many of the things that come out of your mouth (like sucking toes) BUT i still love you and appreciate u putting up with me

7. mmmmmmmmmm u should change your url to softmutual bc thats rlly what you are !!!! your blog is so warm n cozy n all the spring time emojis you use are so endearing !!! the whole atmosphere you try to give off is so comforting and you truly care abt others its adorable :((( u deserve so many good things n i hope u get them someday (hand delivered by hoshi)

8. my fellow hand kink haver 👀 ur like my #1 popular mutual n im like DAMN how come they follow me :////////////// iejmieof u were like the first person i got considerably close to on here n i love all ur random messages i get in my inbox !!! u have been with me through all of my url changes n shit posts n the new biases i gain and im SHOCKED how ur still here wow

9. the fashion queen herself i fucking idolize you 🤕 , ur honestly ??? so cool and i love everything you do, every time we interact i have to resist from going into a self induced seizure cos im just like ‘ur gon fuck up’ ujedioefkrf you’re another one of those people where i just feel the love you give off in your tags n i rlly just ? love u my beautiful aqua pal

10. I MISS INTERACTING WITH U BUT DEAR GOD DO I EVER LOVE YOU, you n ur bestie ???? absolute goals id rlly break all the bones in my body for you, i love love love having another nb army around n i love it even more when u spam my notifs, i love your love for jk, for boys, and just ? i love seeing u happy im gonna give myself whiplash over it

#DID I DO THIS RIGHT #EIOKFOKREFR #long post #cute mutuals #aiden speaks

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kiera-jpg · 7 years

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so i saw you reblog sth and i just wondered are you a maladaptive daydreamer? if yes about how many aus do you have? btw loooove your blog lots❤️❤️

(THIS IS SO FCKIN LONG IM SORRY JUST SKIP IT IF UR MEANT TO BE DOING SOMETHING IMPORTANT)sorry i left this so long, but i had to think it over. i talked to some people about it and did a lil research and originally my answer was going to be not really - but right now its looking like i might be.for example, i was in a relatively long car ride this morning (we go this way a lot (too often) so im used to it. i popped in my earphones and fell headfirst into a a full fledged plotline with character development. i thought it happened to everyone. apparently not.i thought it was normal to be so absorbed in a daydream that sometimes ur head moves at the same time as the character in ur head. i was also thinking back and realised that as a kid i was so scared id accidentally make a noise or hum the song that related to it, i taught my tongue to lie against the roof of my mouth.and im pretty sure that all falls under maladaptive daydreaming? i could be wrong but thats what we were bonding overas for the au - its currently about two boys who grew up in this small town in the middle of nowhere. theyre were part of a tough looking friend group that did all the rebellious teenage shit u see in the movies. these bois were hella in love and spent half the time roughhousing each other and the other half cuddling and being cute. boy a has this dream of being a musician/singer and shows boy b all the songs. hes more level headed and is trying to study real hard so he can get out of the small town. while boy b is like 'im not booksmart im stuck here forever' and but doodles all these nice sketches in his spare time.so boy a gets this chance to leave and become the guitarist for some up-in-coming pop band and its not really his sound but he gets to leave! but heres the problem, boy b doesnt get to leave. hes v happy for boy a but is scared that boy a w be an idiot and say no when he realises hes leaving boy behind.boy a almost decides to call it off, but boy b is like doNT U DARE. so they have one last week together before boy a has to go and on the last day boy b says 'tomorrow we're friends but tonight we get to stay lovers'. boy a's band gets super duper famous and boy a is marketed as a straight™. he keeps writing songs about boy b but never brings them to the band.years later he decides 'fuck it' and decides he wants to make a whole album dropping the truth on all the fangirls. he records all the songs with the right pronouns, with the right sounds and texts boy b for the first time in years saying he wants him to be in the final music video (my boi is v dramatic so all the songs have videos).boy b is like lmao the studio will not let that happen ur ganna lose ur job but whatever sure.boy a refuses to give anyone any info on the album, showing it to three close friends who very vaguely reference one song being more important than the others.boy b is like i cant believe ur fucking doing this ur an idiot but i miss u. so they film the first time the two see each other and the hug for the music video. they do all these scenes showing the dynamic of the relationship and that shit. theres like half an hour of outtakes of boy b being a little shit thats too funny to trash so when it all ends and everyone is freaking out because "WHO THE FUCK IS HE KISSING U CANT JUST END IT THERE" they post the thirty minutes of banter. when all is over boy a is like 'u single still?' and bou b is like 'yeah u?' and they decide 'fuck the system' and become a power couple and boy b finally gets some recognition on his drawings.lmao sorry its so long but if u bothered reading it good on u. probably wasnt worth it but thanks anyway.

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puppyluver256 · 1 year

Text

[Image Description: A human interpretation of Hisuian Decidueye, taking the form of a black man with short white hair and amber eyes. He is wearing an old-fashioned Japanese straw hat dyed orange and red with white fibers at the top, orange glasses, a tan shirt with brown and orange accents and a Galaxy Team insignia on one arm, a white wrap-style belt, a red cape with the Galaxy Team's Survey Corps badge attached, white pants with red trim, and black shoes with white soles. He has one hand on his hip, the other scratching the back of his head in nervousness. Green text outlined in maroon in the top right corner reads "Rice Pilaf - Hisuian Decidueye - Bashful". End ID.]

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I said at one point that I wasn't going to do Pokejinkas of my Legends Arceus team because I didn't know how the logistics of incorporating that story into the wider Chronicles of Tajiria lore would work given the emphasis on catching the Pokemon for story progression, but after some convincing from a certain someone who would know who they are if they ever see this, I decided to go ahead and do it :3 So yeah, here's my owl boy, a lad out of his own time and very much concerned about messing up history! His actual name is Reese, but when he first woke up in Hisui his head was a bit foggy so only the "r---s---pi" part of his name came to mind initially, and even when he (thankfully very quickly) properly came to and could give his actual name the nickname of Rice Pilaf that he had blurted out had stuck hehe. As if he didn't have enough to deal with after moving to Sinnoh, now he's had to get used to being several centuries out of his element too hehe.

💖🐶 Check out my pinned post for ways to support my artwork, among other things! 🐶💖

~Likes are appreciated, but reblogs are preferred as they let more people see my artwork! If you have something to say, feel free to give feedback in tags/comments/replies as well!~

Decidueye (any form) and other Pokemon concepts © Nintendo/GameFreak Reese "Rice Pilaf" Pierson and artwork © PuppyLuver Studios

#pokemon #pokejinka #decidueye #hisuian decidueye #rice pilaf (decidueye)#jess drew the thing #sfw #image description

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det-vackraste · 7 years

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Okey, so you're really supposed to be tagged by someone to do this, but since I don't have time to wait for that, imma go ahead and tag myself

1. selfie I’m on mobile, so… sorry, but check my “me” tag 2. what would you name your future kids? jeez, I don’t know.. If I have a boy I think I want one of his names to be Finn, cause that was my grandpa’s name plus it’s a cute name. If a girl, maybe give her my middle name Märta, just to pass that on down, but other than that I don’t know.. 3. do you miss anyone? Hmm.. maybe one of my friends who’s been away backpacking since January, and isn’t getting back home until June 4. what are you looking forward to? My mum, sister and I are planning a spa trip, so I’m looking forward to that 5. is there anyone who can always make you smile? My boyfriend, my dog or my best friend since 11 years 6. is it hard for you to get over someone? I haven’t really had to get over someone before, so I don’t know, but I can imagine I either don’t give a fuck or have a really hard time, no in between. 7. what was your life like last year? Real good. Last semester of school, so everything was chill, fun and exciting 8. have you ever cried because you were so annoyed? Well, I’m a crier when I’m angry or frustrated enough, so yeah probably 9. who did you last see in person? My boyfriend, who’s sleeping next to me 10. are you good at hiding your feelings? I can be if I want to 11. are you listening to music right now? Nope 12. what is something you want right now? grapes and cash 13. how do you feel right now? Pretty good. Chilling in bed, a little sleepy. A tad bit too warm, cause Sebastian is clinging to every inch of me in his sleep, but I really don’t mind 14. when was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you? If his current clinging counts as a hug; my boyfriend 15. personality description I can come off as a bit bitchy/boring/shy, but if I find you funny I’ll open up and be more fun and crazy. If I like you enough I’m also probably the most loyal bitch on this planet. 16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t? Yeah I have. Two of my friends who dated for a year had a nasty breakup, and quite soon after that the guy had sex with someone else. I promised him that I wouldn’t tell his ex. That was hard. But I didn’t… 17. opinion on insecurities. Not sure what this question wants, but… Insecurities are shit, and I’m doing pretty good with ignoring mine 18. do you miss how things were a year ago? On one hand yes, cause I had a clear routine and somewhere to be everyday, and everything was so chill and exciting since it was a few months before graduation. But on the other hand I’m okey with moving on with my life. I still have the people from a year ago that I care about, and I’m starting to get a clearer view of my future life choices so it almost excites me 19. have you ever been to New York? No I haven’t, would like to go though 20. what is your favourite song at the moment? Man, I don’t know… I’m a junkie for “Balladen om herr Fredrik Åkare och den söta fröken Cecilia Lind” by Cornelis Vreeswijk 21. age and birthday? 20 years old, January 7th 22. description of crush. Except for my boyfriend I don’t have a crush atm. But when I do, they’re pretty much always the same type of guy(my boyfriend included.. I have a very specific type, okey?); * Dark, a lil longer, curly-curlyish hair * Tall, lanky * (Harry Styles, Kit Harington, Robert Sheehan, Sirius Black) *Skinny jeans in legs for days *Big hands *Tall 23. fear(s)  I’m scared to death of spiders, no joke. Also scared of darker things, like the future, being lonely and such 24. height 167cm, whatever that is in feet 25. role model Uhh… don’t know really..? 26. idol(s) Harry Styles is a really good human being tbh 27. things i hate Cold places, brushing my teeth (it’s the most boring fucking thing I know) 28. i’ll love you if… You love me, probably. I’m trash for affection 29. favourite film(s) Man I don’t know… I’m not at all picky with movies, and usually like every movie I see, so….? 30. favourite tv show(s) Game of thrones & friends 31. 3 random facts * I’ve seen every season of “RuPaul’s drag race”. Pearl is my babe. * I’m basically CONSTANTLY moving/jerking/twitching at least one of my feet or toes in some kind of way. Don’t know why, but I’ve done it for like 8 years now, feels weird when I don’t * I don’t eat sauce. Not on burgers, or pizza, or Kebab or anything. Basically only eat ketchup. 32. are your friends mainly girls or guys? My closest, closest friends are mainly girls, but among all (lol, makes it sound like a lot) of my friends, it’s quite evenly divided 33. something you want to learn More languages, although I hate actually learning it, so I doubt it’s gonna happen.. I would also like to be better than I am at piano 34. most embarrassing moment ?? I’m an embarrassing person so… don’t know 35. favourite subject I like English and Swedish (my 1st language) cause I enjoy writing. Other than that, biology 36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill? * Want to find my dream occupation * Want to go to Australia * Want to share an apartment with either bestie or boyfriend 37. favourite actor/actress Leonardo DiCaprio is nice, I don’t know 38. favourite comedian(s) Asså mannen, Johan Glans 39. favourite sport(s) I don’t really do sports… but like… figure skating? (Eller gång, det är nog min favvo) 40. favourite memory I have a few: * Front row on One Direction’s where we are tour concert at Wembley. The whole 24 hours prior to the concert itself was amazing, and then being in the front row was just unreal. And then Harry screaming “köttbullar” (=meatballs, cause we had a Swedish flag) at us. Best day. * Like the entire week before graduation was great. Prom, chilling in the sun, graduating. It was all really nice. We bought a big, inflatable pool, so when the rest of the students were still in school, all of the graduates had pool parties in the school yard * One time when my boyfriend was playing some game on his computer, to gain his attention, I climbed up into his lap and latched myself around him like a backwards backpack, and then I accidentally fell asleep there. Slept for about an hour. Best nap of my life. 41. relationship status In a relationship since three years 42. favourite book(s) I’m such an embarrassing sucker for the entire Harry Potter series and that entire universe. Other than that I loved “the Book thief” by Marcus Zusak 43. favourite song ever God…….. I don’t know 44. age you get mistaken for I don’t think I’ve been mistaken ever… But quite often my friends have to show ID at bars, but I don’t? 45. how you found out about your idol My best friend showed me this boy band she had discovered, and well there he was 46. what my last text message says “Where’s the lie tho” in response to a screenshot of a funny text post I was sent 47. turn ons Oh god, where do i start.. * cockiness, but not in a gross way, but just a smug, confident way..? Making sense? * Hands. Long, slim fingers; hands of a pianist * Long, slim legs in skinny jeans * Jaw lines * Tiny man butts * Veiny forearms * Tall people * Smoking..? I don’t know why? I don’t even like smoking? It’s just something aesthetically pleasing with long, slender fingers holding a cigarette * HAIR, dark, long luscious locks * Kissing. Anywhere but the lips (lips too tho) * Biting * Teasing * Hands, grabbing, groping, gentle slapping. You name it, it probably turns me on 48. turn offs Like…. pissing? And snus (snuff). So fucking gross 49. where i want to be right now Somewhere with a lowest temperature of 25 degrees Celsius 50. favourite picture of your idol I’m on mobile, man, but probably like… messy bun, a flimsy shirt that’s really out there, and some sparkly boots 51. starsign I’m your typical Capricorn 52. something i’m talented at Like… music stuff.. I have a really good ear for keys and such in music..? 53. 5 things that make me happy * Sunshine * Dogs * Travelling * My boyfriend and best friend * Reading/drawing 54. Name something you’re currently worried about The future; what do I want to do for a living, and hence; what do I want to study at uni? 55. tumblr friends I’m not really tumblr active in that way.. I just reblog nice pictures of nice things and that’s that. One time TT answered one of my asks 56. favourite food(s) Tacos. 57. favourite animal(s) Dogs Foxes, because they’re extra pretty dogs 58. description of my best friend Real smol. 59. why i joined tumblr Facebook was so 2010

#me

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fanatic-af · 7 years

Text

His (C.H.)

A/N: This imagine (and the next couple of parts following this) are based on text post that some bloggers that I follow reblog. This will most likely have three parts to it (including this one). Sorry that I haven’t written in a long time. I didn’t have much inspiration. I hope you enjoy this though :)

Masterlist || Ask

Part 2 | Part 3

*****

“I’d be his if he asked.”

“Y/N!”

I turned away from my locker to see one of my very few friends making her way towards me. I smiled as she got closer. “Hey, Pheebs. What’s up?”

“You’re not doing anything tonight, are you?” She asked.

I turned back to my locker. “Just studying, per usual. Why?”

“You’re not going to the game?”

I shook my head as I shut my locker. “No.”

“You’re really going to miss the game to study on a Friday night instead?” She asked me incredulously.

I clutched my books to my chest. “You know I don’t do well in crowds.”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Not even for a Calum Hood?”

I flushed. “He doesn’t even know that I exist.”

She rolled her eyes. “You two have gone to the same school since the fifth grade and practically had almost the same classes since freshman year. How could he not know that you exist?”

I shrugged. “I’m a nobody.”

“Y/N!”

“What? It’s true. I’m shy, I barely have any friends, I keep quiet in class, and the only club I’m active in is the music club.”

“But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t know you.”

I sighed. “If I just say yes to going tonight, will you drop the whole ‘Calum knows I exist thing?’”

She smiled triumphantly. “Good. I’ll pick you up at six.”

####

“I can’t believe you tricked me into coming.” I grumbled as Phoebe pulled her car into the student parking lot.

“All I did was make you leave your house on a Friday night like any normal teen would do,” she defended herself as she pulled into a spot and killed the engine.

“Not all teens are as social,” I inform her as I got out of the car.

She got out as well and locked her car before meeting me at the boot. “Okay, maybe not all teens, but leaving your house – other than for school and the library – is healthy for any human being.”

We made our way to the gates of the football field where we showed the security guards our school ID’s in order to be let inside. Once inside, I had to blink a few times to make sure that I was seeing that there was indeed that many people in our school stadium.

I tugged on Phoebe’s arm. “There are so many people.”

She laughed at my shocked state. “This isn’t even that many people.”

I looked at her incredulously. “This is not considered that many people?”

“This is probably only about half of the people that will show up. We are a bit early for the game.”

“There’s this many people here this early?”

“Yeah. You have to come early for a good seat. Clearly, you haven’t been to one of these games.”

I shook my head. “So where do we go?”

She tugged my arm in a direction. “I’ll try and get us a seat close to the area Calum’s position is.” She told me before mumbling, “If his little fans haven’t taken it already.”

“Fans?” I couldn’t help but ask.

She smiled triumphantly as she came across some good seats and we sat down. “I’m sure you’re aware of how big Calum is in our year. You know, soccer captain, in AP classes, a part of many clubs so of course he’s well-known and he’s not exactly bad looking.”

I nodded as I saw a group of girls sit on the benches below us. “I guess I’ll be hearing a lot of squealing and screaming?”

She nodded. “Oh, yes.”

I sighed. “Great.”

####

There was a lot of screaming and there was definitely squealing.

I turned to Phoebe with a grimace. “Fuck, they’re loud and all that has happened was the team coming out onto the field and warming up.”

She laughed. “That’s normal at these games. There’s usually a lot more than this.”

I looked at the big group of girls at the bottom of the bleachers. “There’s more than that.”

She looked at me amusedly. “You really need to come to these games a lot more.”

I looked back to the field. “No, thanks.”

“Not even if Calum asked you to?”

“Why would he ask me to come to his games?”

“Well, when you become his girlfriend, I’m pretty sure that he’d want you at his games.”

“Hold up. When will I ever become his girlfriend?”

“In the near future. C’mon, Y/N. Keep up.”

“Gee, I didn’t know that you were some psychic.”

She smirked. “I had a vision.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. What time does this game start?”

A buzzer sounded just as I said that.

Phoebe laughed. “Now.”

####

“C’mon! That totally should have been a red card!” I yelled and the people around me started shouting in agreement.

“Who knew that you were such a fan?” Phoebe told me.

I looked at her. “Just because I don’t go to the games doesn’t mean that I’m not a fan or watch the games on TV.” I watched on with the rest of the crowd as one of Calum’s team members helped him up after receiving a pretty harsh tackle. I watched him limp slightly before rotating his ankle a few times and walk off in pain.

“That should score you some major brownie points with Hood.”

I rolled my eyes at her comment and cheered with everyone as the referee gave the player that tackled Calum a red card. “Hell to the yeah! We have the chance of getting a bigger lead.”

####

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank God that’s over.”

Phoebe nodded. “I know! It was such a close game. So intense.”

“Yup. I’m gonna use the bathroom real quick. I’ll meet you at the car.”

“You don’t want me to go with you?”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. You just head on back to the car. I’ll be quick.”

“Okay.”

We split ways – me in the direction of the bathroom and Phoebe in the direction of the parking lot.

After finishing my business, I exited the bathroom and started for the parking lot, but heard a lot of commotion coming from the boys’ locker room as I passed by it, followed by it opening and some dude crashing into me, making both of us stumble awkwardly. Luckily, he steadied the two of us before we crashed onto the ground in a pile of tangled limbs.

“Shit. Sorry.” The male apologized.

“It’s cool. At least you have quick reflexes.” I said as I fixed my clothes and looked up.

Holy fuck.

“Yeah. Comes in handy when I play soccer.” Calum chuckled.

I nodded slowly. “Yeah. Uh, how’s your ankle?”

He looked down at his foot – which made me look down at it too. I saw that it was now wrapped up and he rolled it around a few times. “Sore, but I’ll live.”

“Oh. At least you’re not seriously injured.” Stop talking, Y/N.

Calum let out a small laugh. “Yeah, that wouldn’t have been the most ideal thing since season is still going.”

I nodded as I shifted from foot to foot. “Mmhm. Um, I think I’ll head out now.”

“Why don’t I walk with you? I’m heading out as well.”

“Are you sure? You don’t need to wait on your friends or anything?”

Calum shrugged as we started making our way towards the parking lot. “Nah, they’re going out somewhere.”

“Oh. You’re not going with them?”

Calum shook his head. “I have too much studying to do.”

My inner nerd perked up. “Studying? What class?”

Calum rubbed at the back of his neck. “Uh, my anatomy class. I’m not doing as well in that.”

We have the same anatomy class. “Um, if you need help, I could tutor you – I mean, if you want a tutor. If you don’t, that’s okay.”

Calum stopped walking just as we made it to the entrance of the parking lot and turned to face me fully. “Really?”

I looked at him and tried to appear nonchalant. “I mean, yeah, sure. Only if you want a tutor.”

The smile that Calum gave me would have cured a blind man. “Yes! Please!”

I laughed. “Alright. Just let me know of your availability and I’ll try to work with that.”

Calum nodded and reached into his pocket. “Here,” he held his phone out to me, “put your number in and I’ll text you the details of my schedule and we can work around it.”

I nodded and took his phone and entered my number. “My name’s Y/N, by the way.”

Calum took his phone back and started tapping the screen. “Yeah, I know.”

I gave him a confused look.

He looked up when I didn’t say anything in response and saw my confused expression. “What?”

“You know my name?”

Now it was his turn to give me a look of confusion. “Yeah… We’ve basically been in the same classes since freshman year and didn’t we go to the same elementary and middle school? Why wouldn’t I know your name?”

I shrugged. “I’m not exactly a well-known person in school.”

“You don’t have to be well-known in the school for someone to know you.”

I was surprised by his answer and blinked at him a few times.

He smiled at me. “I need to get going, but I’ll text you this weekend. If I don’t, I’ll see you in class on Monday.”

“Yeah, sure.” I told him with a smile.

“I’d give you a hug, but I smell really bad and that wouldn’t be very attractive on my part.”

I laughed. “It’s cool. I’ll just see you on Monday then?”

He nodded as he started backtracking. “See you Monday.”

I flashed him one last smile as I hurriedly made my way to Phoebe’s car. I entered the passenger side and shut the door before squealing.

“How long does it take you for you to pee? I almost went down to go look for you. What took you so long and why are you squealing?” Phoebe asked.

I didn’t respond but may have watched Calum get into his car – in a very non-creepy way.

“No way.” Phoebe let out and I assumed that she followed my gaze.

I turned to her and nodded.

“What? You literally leave to pee and end up talking to Calum? What did I miss?”

“He literally bumped into me as I passed the locker rooms and he walked with me to the parking lot. Then I offered to tutor him for anatomy and he accepted it and got my number. He said he’ll text me the details this weekend or tell me on Monday.”

Phoebe squealed too. “No way!”

I nodded. “Oh, and get this. He even knows who I am! He knows that we’ve been in the same classes since grade school.”

Phoebe slapped my arm. “I told you!”

I rubbed at where she slapped me. “OW!”

Phoebe turned to face the wheel and started the engine. “You go to one game and leave with Calum Hood having your phone number.”

“He only has it because I’m tutoring him.”

“Honey, that won’t be the reason later on.”

****

“Mom! I’m heading out to the park with Zeus. I’m also bringing my book so we might be a while!” I called out as I shrugged on a light jacket and attached Zeus’ leash to his harness.

“Okay! Don’t stay out too late!” My mom called back to me from somewhere in the house.

“Okay!” I placed my book and Zeus’ ball in my bag, along with some snacks and water for the both of us, before walking out the door with him. I turned to lock it followed by throwing my keys into my bag.

It was about an eight minute walk to the park and I was glad to see that it wasn’t as packed for this time of the day.

I walked over to the field and sat down on a root at the trunk of a tree and let Zeus off his leash. I fished around in my bag for his ball and threw it. Zeus dashed off after it and I took out my book while waiting for him to come back with the ball.

For the next ten minutes, I would throw the ball as I read my book and Zeus would come back with it in his mouth before we repeated the process.

I threw the ball once again and placed my hand with my palm up over my knee so Zeus could return the ball there. When I didn’t feel the ball in my hand after a minute, I looked up in panic and searched the field to see where Zeus was and saw him with a guy.

I closed my book and placed it on top of my bag before heading to where Zeus was with the stranger.

“Zeus!” I called out and Zeus’ head whipped towards me before he sprinted over to me and circled around me in excitement. I looked back at the guy and was taken aback. “Oh. Hey, Calum.”

He smiled and walked over to us. Zeus ran around him as Calum held his ball up to me. “Hey, Y/N. I believe this is yours…well, Zeus’.” He tossed me the ball.

I caught it with ease. “Thanks.”

“So, what are you doing here?”

I shrugged. “Thought I’d take Zeus out for a bit and do some reading. What about you?”

“Came to practice a bit and relieve some stress.”

I threw Zeus’ ball and he chased after it. “What are you stressed about?”

“Exams are coming up and I’m not exactly prepared for it. Besides, we’ve been having a lot more practices for the oncoming games.”

I nodded and Zeus came back with the ball, only this time, he dropped it at Calum’s feet. Calum bent down to pick it up and threw it. Zeus soon dashed after it.

“Look, I’m sorry I haven’t called or texted you. I’ve just been busy,” Calum apologized.

I waved him off. “Calum, it’s only been two days. I think I’ll live if I hadn’t even heard from you until I saw you in class on Monday. I’m sure you’re busy.”

Calum smiled. “Thanks.”

“What are you thanking me for?” I grabbed the ball from Zeus’ mouth and threw it again.

Calum shrugged. “For being understanding, I guess.”

“That’s just called being a considerate human being.”

Zeus came back to Calum and he threw the ball once again. Then Calum turned to me. “Wanna play some soccer?”

I shook my head. “I’m shit at soccer.”

Calum raised an eyebrow at me. “How can you be shit at soccer? All you really have to do is kick the ball.”

I blushed. “I tried. Once. Ended up on my ass.”

He chuckled. “Come here. I’ll show you.”

I followed him to where his ball was currently placed in the field.

“Here. Stand behind it.” Calum instructed me.

I moved to stand behind the ball and saw Zeus sitting off to the side with his ball in his mouth, watching us.

“Your power should come from your core. So when you kick, rotate with your hips and kick with the inside of your foot. Like this,” Calum placed his hands on my hips and swiveled them forward in demonstration of how I should rotate my hips to kick the ball.

Would it be bad if I really enjoyed how his hands felt on my hips?

“Do you get the picture?” Calum’s voice sounded really close to my ear.

I nodded without looking at him.

“Okay.” Calum patted my hip twice before removing his hands. “Go ahead. Kick it.”

I kept his advice in mind and kicked the ball. It went a lot farther than I had originally anticipated and Zeus ran after it.

I smiled triumphantly and turned to Calum who was already smiling. “That went a lot farther than I thought it would.”

“See, you’re definitely not shit at soccer. You just had some shit technique.”

I playfully slapped his arm. “Hey, not all of us are born with pro soccer skills.”

Calum laughed and ran over to where I had kicked the ball. Once he reached it, he shuffled it between his feet for a bit before looking up at me. “You wanna just kick it around a bit. We can work on that technique of yours.”

I smiled. “Sure.”

Our little kick around soon turned into a mini scrimmage and Calum was definitely kicking my butt.

“What happened to just kicking it around?” I panted as Calum stole the ball from me…again.

He chuckled as he kicked the ball up and bounced it from knee to knee. “C’mon, Y/N. I’m going easy on you.”

“I understand that, but I’m not exactly an athletic person and I definitely have not played soccer before today.”

He let the ball fall onto the ground before placing his foot on top of it.

“What time is it anyway?” I asked him as I wiped some of my sweat away with the sleeve of my jacket.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket in his shorts. “Uh, almost six.”

My eyes bulged. “Shit. Really? I have to go.” I called for Zeus and he came dashing after me to where I had left my bag.

“Whoa, what’s the hurry? You’re carriage isn’t about to turn into a pumpkin is it?” Calum’s voice sounded from behind me.

“Har har. You’re so funny, but no. My mom just didn’t want me out so late and I walked here.” I packed my stuff and attached Zeus’ leash to his harness again.

“I drove here. I can give you a ride if you want?”

I stood up straight after slinging on my bag. I smiled at him. “It’s okay. It’s only about a ten minute walk from here.”

“Really, I insist. I already made you stay out late. The least I could do is spare you a ride home.”

“If you’re sure it’s not a bother.”

Calum shook his head and bent down to pick up his ball. “Not at all. Come on.”

We walked over to his car and got in, Zeus sitting on my lap.

Calum smiled sheepishly at me. “Sorry for the mess.” He told me as he tossed his ball into the back seat and started the car.

I laughed. “Calum, my car is a lot worse than yours. Trust me, yours is the epitome of clean compared to mine.”

He chuckled and began driving away. “Which way to your house?”

I gave him the directions and we pulled up within a couple of minutes. I turned to him. “Thanks for the ride. Do you want to stay for dinner?”

He looked at me in surprise. “You sure your mom won’t mind? She won’t be mad that I kept you out too late?”

I shook my head and opened the door. “Nah. Come on. Aren’t you hungry?”

Calum beamed at me before killing the engine and getting out as well.

We walked up to the front door and I unlocked it before stepping inside. “Mom! I’m back! I also have a friend over!”

“What friend- Oh, hello.” My mom greeted Calum once she caught sight of him as she came out of the kitchen. “I’m Loraine.” My mom held her hand out to Calum.

Calum smiled and shook her hand. “Calum.”

Mom gave me a look as if to say, ‘He’s cute’ before giving Calum another smile. “Why don’t you two wash up? I’ll just set an extra plate.”

I nodded while Calum thanked her before she disappeared back into the kitchen. I unhooked Zeus’ leash and he ran off somewhere into the house. I looked back at Calum who was already watching me. I smiled at him. “Come on. The bathroom’s over here.”

####

Dinner went by really well. I only embarrassed myself slightly and mom seemed to really like Calum.

“Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Y/LN. It was delicious.” Calum told my mom as we walked him to the door.

My mom smiled at him. “You’re welcome to come over for dinner anytime, Calum and please, call me Loraine.”

He smiled. “Will do, Loraine.”

Mom smiled at him one more time before bidding him a goodnight and disappearing back into the kitchen.

I opened the front door for Calum and looked back up at him. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow in class.”

Calum nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for letting me stay for dinner.”

I leant back against the door. “It wasn’t a problem. Like my mom said, you’re welcome to come over for dinner anytime…you do have my number.”

“I may take you both up on that offer if all your meals will be as good as that one.”

I laughed. “My mom is an amazing cook.”

“That she is. I better get going though. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nodded and stood up straight. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Calum didn’t move for a moment and he looked to be deciding on what to do before leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. He smiled at me once more. “Bye,” then he was out the door.

I watched him walk to his car. “Bye,” I whispered and gave him a small wave as he backed out of the driveway and his car disappeared around the corner.

****

“Shut up. He had dinner with you and your mom last night?!” Phoebe yelled at me as we sat in my car in the parking lot the next day.

I nodded. “I know. I can’t believe it either.”

“So what happened after? Did he do anything when he left?”

I paused as I fiddled with the steering wheel. “He may, uh, have kissed my cheek when he left?” My voice rose up slightly towards the end.

“He kissed you?!” Phoebe shrieked.

“Will you calm down? It was only on the cheek.” I told her.

“Still! You literally only spoke to the guy for the first time on Friday and now he’s had dinner with you at your house and he’s kissed your cheek within two days from said meeting. Face it girl, he likes you!”

I scoffed. “He does not like me!”

“Oh, he so does! It’s so obvious!”

“Pheebs, I’ve known the guy for literally three days.”

“Yeah, and…?”

I groaned. “Phoebe, as much as I find the dude attractive, I just don’t see him falling for me in any way.”

She pursed her lips as she stared out of the window. “Say he did. Would you be his?”

I stared ahead too and saw Calum get out of his car and walk over to his soccer teammates. “I’d be his if he asked.”

_______________________________________

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