#in this case I’ve gone on two dates with a really really great guy but am unsure how to move forward

[youremyonlyhope]

Who gave Sondheim the right to write a song as bittersweetly perfect as Sorry-Grateful?

[headkiss]

something more

pairing: aaron hotchner x fem!bau!reader

summary: you and aaron are friends with feelings more obvious than you think. or: 5 times the team suspects you and hotch are dating +1 time they know it.

word count: 6.6k

warnings: friends to lovers, the team being a little nosy, pining idiots!!!, probably inaccurate descriptions of bau jobs (for the plot!), a very small injury, a birthday, a first kiss, and fluff!

a/n: hiii this one has been a long time coming so thank you guys for being so patient with me!!! and special thanks to the anon who requested this one! i hope u guys enjoy it and please please let me know what you think <3 ily

༄

Aaron Hotchner was never someone you thought you could be this close to.

Coming to the BAU, you’d been intimidated more than anything. As Unit Chief, he’s got a reputation that’s hard to ignore. Professional, brave, cold when he has to be. His success and talent were undeniable, and all you wanted to do was prove that you belonged there, too.

Then, you really met him, and he surprised you in a way you hadn’t expected. Hotch was kind right off the bat, welcoming you to the team with a smile that felt like some sort of prize.

He was an excellent boss. Understanding and protective, quick to defend anyone on the team like they were his own family. Except, he was so much more than just your boss.

Now, you’d call him your closest friend, someone who’s number you’d call if you were in trouble. He’s your closest friend and yet you feel so much more for him.

It started slow, a friendship blooming the way a plant does with just enough sunlight. It was a shared smile here, a nudge of the shoulder there. It grew to be a seat next to him reserved for you on every plane ride.

Today, it’s eating lunch with him in his office.

Aaron usually works through lunch, more eager to get things done than he is to worry about skipping a meal. Somehow, with two tupperware containers in your hand and a sweet smile, you’d managed to get him to take a break.

“Whatcha doing?” You’d asked.

Hotch looked up from his paperwork then, dropping his pen because you were in his doorway. “You know, Unit Chief business. Reports.”

“Sounds like you have time for lunch, then.” You set the containers down on his desk, making sure to avoid the papers he’d just been working on.

“I should really get this done-”

“Hotch,” you stopped him, “you and I both know that you’re always ahead on this stuff because you stay here so late. Lunch won’t set you back.”

With a shake of his head and the biting back of a smile, a simple twitch at the corners of his mouth, Aaron agreed and stacked his paperwork off to the side.

That’s how you’ve ended up in the chair that’s usually on the opposite side of his desk, only now it’s tugged to be next to his. Your knees touch every so often when one of you shifts, and the warmth stays with you even when the contact is gone.

“Sorry it’s nothing fancy,” you say as he opens the container you brought for him.

“Don’t apologize. It’s great.” Hotch has a way of saying things that make them sound true, no matter how few words he uses, so you accept it.

“Okay, good!” There’s a small silence, a lull as you both take your first bites. “Can I help with anything?”

Aaron looks from the paperwork to your face, your eyes already on his. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to,” you reassure him. “I think sometimes you forget that you aren’t the only one who can do this stuff.”

He knocks his knee against yours. Purposeful this time. A silent ‘thank you.’

“Like you said, I’m ahead anyways. I’ve got it.”

“Come on, Hotch. I’m already done with my report from our last case. I’ve got time. Let me help.”

He’s always been reluctant to accept help, to ask for it, but when you’re asking so sweetly, when it’ll give him an excuse to spend more time with you, it’s hard for Aaron to say no.

“Alright. You help for an hour, that’s it.”

You grin at him, like his acceptance of your offer was some kind of gift he’d given you. Your nose crinkles a little with it, and his hand flexes in his lap, like he’s fighting not to reach out to you.

“Okay, put me to work, boss.”

“We just started lunch,” he says, a little chuckle puffing out.

“Have you ever heard of multitasking, Agent Hotchner?”

Aaron laughs, shaking his head as he reaches for one of the files in the stack he’d made and hands it to you. He’d call everyone at the BAU a friend, but there’s something different, something more about how he’d describe you.

He’s grown closer to you than he usually lets himself get to people, like you’re the only one with the right tools to break through walls he’s put up. You see each other outside of work (on the rare days you aren’t working), and still, he feels like it’s never long enough.

Hotch briefly wonders if he could just move your desk into his office. He shakes off the thought and what it might mean.

Head bent, you’re now focused on the work he gave you, and Aaron takes the chance to admire you. His eyes flick over your profile, the light hitting your cheeks, the flutter of your eyelashes every time you blink.

As if you could feel his gaze on you, you turn towards him and smile—a small, closed-mouth smile, but a smile all the same—before turning your attention back to the page.

When you take a pause and take another bite of your lunch, a small drop of sauce lands on your thigh. “Oh, shit.”

Aaron grabs a tissue from the box on his desk, wrapping it over his fingertip before wiping the small spot from your leg, his finger a spark against you even through your pants.

“Good thing you wore black,” he says, tossing the tissue in the garbage. His hand, however, stays on your leg, and though the touch is light the weight of it feels the opposite. Heavy, huge.

“Good thing you’re here to clean up after me, more like.”

Your eyes meet, and you share a smile with Hotch the way you often do. Mid-conversation, across a room, it’s a smile you sort of reserve for each other.

In the main office below, Derek, Spencer, and JJ stand together, watching the interaction through the window into Hotch’s office. You and Aaron seem to be in your own bubble, completely unaware of your small audience.

“They’ve gotta be together,” Derek is the first to speak, waving a hand towards the office where you and Hotch are talking. “I mean, come on.”

“I don’t know,” JJ shrugs, “they both seem kinda clueless.”

“We probably shouldn’t speculate about them,” Spencer, always the sweetheart, says. “But, statistically, Hotch never eats lunch. Just saying.”

JJ pats Reid on the shoulder, huffing out a laugh before she heads back to her desk.

You stay in Aaron’s office much longer than an hour that day.

-

Punctuality is important in the BAU. Really, if you’re not early, you’re late. You’ve always got to be ready, wheels up in ten, or five.

You suppose that doesn’t really apply to outside-of-the-office parties at Garcia’s.

It’s rare that you’re all available at the same time, from late nights at the bureau to families, it’s tough to make your schedules line up when you aren’t working, which is why whenever she can, Penelope likes to host drinks for the team.

You’re on your way there now, or, you should be. Instead, you’re getting ready in your bedroom while Aaron waits in your living room.

Hotch has offered to drive you to these things every time, and with every offer, comes your easy answer of ‘yes.’ He’d been outside in his car for five minutes before he decided to call, because you’re usually in his passenger seat within seconds of him pulling over by your building.

The ringing of your phone had your eyes blinking open, squinted against the sudden brightness of your TV. You’d accidentally fallen asleep, and, still disoriented, picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, everything okay?” It’s Aaron’s voice on the other line, and you pull your phone away for a second to check the time before sitting up quickly.

“Shit, Hotch, I must’ve fallen asleep. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, I can wait for you.” He’d wait as long as you need, he thinks. The thought passes through like a leaf blown in the wind, freely, randomly.

“Have you been waiting long?” You ask, fingers tugging at a loose thread in your pants.

“No, don’t worry. Barely five minutes.”

And he still wanted to check on you.

“Why don’t you come in? My couch is probably more comfortable than your car, right?”

“You sure?” He checks, like he hasn’t been to your place before, like you’d ever not want him there.

“Get in here, Hotchner.”

You hung up before he could reply, and he laughed to himself in his car before shutting it off and doing exactly what you’d told him.

So, now, you’re rushing to find an outfit while Aaron sits on your couch by himself.

Even though he’s in the next room, you can feel his presence around you, the steady security he gives you, the warmth that seeps out of him even when he tries to hide it.

You settle on a knitted sweater, a skirt, and some tights, which you realize as you tug them on aren't the speediest of options, but it’s too late to change your mind now. With your hair figured out and the mascara that had smudged during your nap fixed, you step back out into the living room.

Aaron made himself at home while you were gone (he often feels that way with you, at home), sitting on your couch with his arms spread across the back. He looks better than he should there, suit stretched across his shoulders, and you have to clear your throat to snap yourself out of it.

“Okay, sorry again for the delay. I’m ready to go.”

He looks up as soon as you walk in, eyes skimming over your legs and the tights wrapped around them, your waist, up your neck. His gaze lands on your eyes the way it often does, like magnets.

He shakes his head, “don’t be sorry. We’ll be what they call ‘fashionably late.’”

You laugh, because who would’ve thought that the words ‘fashionably late’ would ever come out of Aaron Hotchner’s mouth.

“Who taught you that one, huh?”

“I like to keep my sources anonymous.”

“Well okay, then. Let’s go be fashionably late, Hotch.”

He lets you lead the way to the car, only jogging up ahead to open your door before you can reach it yourself.

During the drive to Penelope’s, you take control of the music with little objection from Aaron, and when it gets to a song you know he likes, you sing along, encouraging him to do the same.

“Let’s hear it, Agent Hotchner.” You hold your fist out like there’s a microphone in it, looking at him with a grin on your face.

“I can't sing.” Aaron’s fighting off a smile, because you’re sitting beside him, not too shy to sing along, being all cute and, briefly, he thinks about reaching out and grabbing your hand and holding on.

“Sure you can! Everyone can sing, come on.” You unfurl your faux microphone-holding fist and tug on the knot of his tie, “loosen up a little.”

And, because you have some way of convincing him of things—first lunch, now this—he humors you by joining in for one chorus of the song. When your eyes light up a little, and your grin only widens, he can’t bring himself to be too concerned of how bad he probably sounds.

By the time you’re at Garcia’s door you’re a solid hour late, yet you and Aaron walk up to the door with matching smiles all the same.

“I’m getting you to do that every time I hear that song now, I hope you know.”

“That was a one time special,” he says. He reaches over your shoulder to knock on the door. His hand brushes against you, featherlight and quick, a crackle over your skin.

On the other side, Morgan says, “must be the lovebirds” when he hears the sound.

You and Aaron don’t hear him, only broken out of your little shared bubble when Penelope opens the door. “There you guys are! I made your drinks but the ice might be melted by now. You know, ‘cause you’re late.”

You know this is directed towards you more than it is Hotch, because Garcia’s a little intimidated by him still. You also know she’s only joking, and greet her with a hug before stepping in.

Aaron isn’t far behind you, though at these things, he never is.

You’re met with warm greetings from the team when you walk in, and you chat for a bit, but it isn’t long before things split off into smaller conversations. They all know that Aaron drives you to these things, and, as profilers, they’re also all able to see the way you look at each other, the way the knot of his tie sits lower than usual.

In the corner, Emily leans over to Derek, saying, “usually it takes at least two drinks for Hotch’s tie to look like that.”

“I told you, they’re together,” Derek shrugs.

“I don’t think they know that,” Emily replies.

This time, Aaron hears them, and he can’t help but look towards you in the room the rest of the night, thinking and thinking and thinking.

He ends up deciding that they might have a point. That maybe, that shift in his heartbeat when you’re around isn’t nothing, isn’t just friends.

-

The flight home from a case always feels the longest.

On the way there, you’re packing every hour with information about what’s going on, talking to Garcia, reading police reports. You’re all on edge, eager to get out there and help and do your jobs,

Then, on the way home, with another case solved, all you’re thinking about is going home, sleeping in your own bed, and time seems to go slower.

If your name happens to be Aaron Hotchner, you’d spend the plane ride home doing paperwork that actually can wait.

You and Aaron sit next to each other on pretty much every flight, though the seats have never been assigned. It’s an unspoken thing, like your names are written on the fabric of the same two seats on the jet and that’s just the way it is.

The first time was early on in your time on the team. It was a tough case for you, and Hotch seemed to know it without you having to say anything, so, when you got on the jet to come home, he smiled that small, twitch of his lips smile at you and nodded at the seat next to him. You’ve been sitting there ever since.

Today, your flight is on the shorter side, but feels long the way it always does. Trying to keep yourself occupied, you pull out your earbuds and shuffle your playlist, hoping that the songs will speed things up.

“Sick of me already?” Hotch speaks up when he notices your headphones.

You tilt your head to look at him. He looks tired, the way you’re sure you do, too, but never any less handsome. His eyes are soft where they meet yours, paired with a hint of a smile that you’re always able to catch.

“Sick of you, Hotch? Never.” You nod at the file he has open on the small table, “just didn’t want to distract you.”

“I thought you enjoyed distracting me. Always telling me I work too much.”

“‘Cause it’s true,” you say. “That doesn’t mean you listen.”

“I listen to you more than I listen to most people.” Aaron’s voice is gentle when he says it, the words sinking in and melting you just a little, sugary sweet. It could mean absolutely nothing, but with the way he keeps his eyes steady on yours, you don’t think it does.

“Listen to this, then,” you hand him one of your earbuds, and his fingers brush yours when he takes it from you. “But you can’t make fun of me if a musical soundtrack comes on, okay?”

“Okay,” he huffs a small laugh, and you feel a little brighter. “I promise.”

You’re aware of the team having their own conversations in the rows in front of you and Hotch, but you can’t bring yourself to join in, because you and Aaron are sharing your earbuds and his head is bent just a little closer to yours. It’s delicate, and you’ll do your best not to break it.

You talk a little longer, until it naturally fizzles out and Hotch is back to working on his files and you’re bobbing your head along to your songs. Only now, Aaron sits closer to you, his arm against yours.

He’s not sure what to do with his newfound realization that his feelings for you run far deeper than friendship. All Aaron knows is that he likes the feeling of you beside him, and that he’s planning on keeping you there as long as you’ll let him.

It’s quiet between the two of you aside from your occasional ‘this is a good one,’ and his hum of acknowledgement.

Eventually, you’re relaxed enough that your eyes grow heavy, the sleep you’ve been lacking suddenly catching up to you, and when you hit a patch of slower songs you’re fighting to stay awake.

When your head lulls onto Hotch’s shoulder, you jerk your head up, “sorry, Aaron.”

His chest does something funny. A jump. It’s not often you call him Aaron, and he’d listen to the sound of his name on your lips on a loop if he could. Because he can’t help himself, he scooches himself even closer to you.

He decides to call you something different, too, saying, “it’s alright, honey.”

You’re too sleepy to really read into that one, all you feel is the flutter in your stomach and Aaron’s hand on your head, gently guiding it to his shoulder.

When he’s sure you’re asleep, Hotch looks away from his files and over to you. Your cheek is squished against his shoulder, your lashes fanned shut. He thinks you’re the prettiest girl he’s ever seen.

Aaron doesn’t even feel the smile that spreads over his face as he reaches up and pushes your hair away from your face. He’s completely unaware of the eyes that catch him, far too focused on you.

Emily turned around when she realized she hadn’t heard your voice in a bit, and she did it just in time to catch Hotch’s movement. Instead of saying something, she turns back around and shakes her head to herself.

Hopeless, she thinks.

Sleep doesn’t come so easily with this job, with the things you see, so Aaron can’t help but try and stay steady for you, and if that leads to him letting his eyes close and resting his head on yours, then so be it.

It’s not until the end of the flight that the team checks on the two of you. As everyone stands and grabs their go bags, they notice the two of you, asleep next to each other, earbud wires hanging between you.

“Should we wake them up?” JJ asks.

“Hotch doesn’t get enough sleep as it is,” Spencer chimes in. “Neither does she, actually.”

Of course, Derek finishes with, “let’s leave the lovebirds to it,” before the team gets off the plane.

It’s only about twenty minutes later that Aaron does wake up, but he feels more well-rested than he has in a while, even with the kink in his neck.

Blinking his eyes open, he’s met with an empty jet and the comforting weight of your head on his shoulder. “Shit,” he sighs.

He debates waking you, ultimately deciding that you’d probably rather sleep in your bed rather than the seat of the BAU’s jet. Reaching up, he pulls your earbuds away, setting them on the table. With a brush of his fingertips to your cheek, he coaxed you awake.

“Hey, honey,” Aaron’s nearly whispering, like he’s afraid to scare you. Or, maybe, he’s convinced that if he moves too quickly, too loudly, this whole thing will fade away as if he’d been dreaming. “Wake up, we’re home.”

“Hm?” You grumble, scrunching your nose when he brushes your cheek again.

“We fell asleep, but we landed.”

“Oh, god.” You sit up properly, lifting your head. “I’m sorry, Aaron. Hotch.”

“Aaron is good,” he eases you. “Come on, I’ll drive you.”

Sleep-hazed, or maybe just happy that he can be Aaron to you, you agree easily and take his hand when he offers it, letting him lead you to his car.

-

You’ve been spending more time at Aaron’s ever since that flight. In the car, he’d convinced you to stay over at his place in the guest room, since it was closer. With your go bag already in his car and heavy, sleepy eyes, it was hard for you to do anything but agree.

It’s another slice of his life that he’s let you see, and you can’t help but feel like it means something, like you’re stepping further and further away from being coworkers who are friends and towards something different. Something more.

That flight feels like the catalyst, the thing that caused things to shift into what they are now.

Aaron’s couch is much more comfortable than yours, and though you’ve yet to spend the night again, you’re sitting there with him at almost every chance. The time off you get is rare, and Aaron wanting to spend it with you sends flutters to your stomach whenever you think about it.

You feel like you know him better, getting to see his space, how he chose to decorate, what colors he likes, which ones he doesn’t. You also know what temperature he likes to set his thermostat.

“Do you enjoy living in a refrigerator?” You ask, hands tucked into your sleeves. “Just wondering.”

Aaron laughs, a small huff, “I think you just run cold, honey.”

He’s been calling you that a lot, too. Honey.

“No way, Hotchner. Your house is what runs cold. Or maybe you’re cold-blooded.”

Not with you, he thinks. Years and years of doing what he does, Hotch might even call himself cold when he’s thinking a little too hard. But never cold with you. He thinks that might be impossible for him.

“Shhh, don’t tell anyone my secret,” he says, his arm brushing against yours from where he sits next to you on his couch. “Where are you cold?”

“Can’t feel my toes, Aaron. I might be out of commission for the next case.”

“Well we can’t lose our best girl, can we?” Best girl, he says. Like he means it, like it’s simple. “I’ve got some thick socks you can grab. Bottom drawer.”

Just like that, he’s cracked another wall of his down even further, giving you permission to go into his bedroom as if you’ve been in there a thousand times.

“Really?”

“Unless you’d rather not feel your toes-“

“Okay, okay,” you stop him, unable to fight your smile. “Thanks, Aaron.”

When you stand and head towards his room, Aaron can’t stop himself from thinking that you belong there, in his home, his room, his life. You fit in so seamlessly he wishes you’d never leave.

He stands up too, because the couch suddenly feels sort of empty without you beside him, without your warmth. He walks over to his thermostat on the wall and turns it up for you.

You’ve always thought that you can tell a lot about a person from where they live, and seeing Aaron’s bedroom now solidifies it. His place does too, but there’s something about his bedroom that feels much more personal.

Here, there’s more of him, little bits of his life scattered around. A picture of him as a kid with his parents on the dresser, the newspaper’s crossword sitting completely finished on his nightstand, his bed neatly made.

You smile at the framed photo before slipping the top drawer open and finding the pair of socks he’d been talking about. As much as you’d love to snoop, you don’t want to invade his privacy in any way. Besides, from Aaron, even a glimpse of his space feels special.

You slip on the socks before you leave his room, letting them bunch at your ankles.

As soon as you walk back into the living room, Aaron’s phone rings. Glancing at you softly, almost apologetically though he’s got nothing to be sorry about—you work with him, you know how important a call can be—he picks it up.

“Hotchner,” he says, holding it to his ear. His voice is different this way, more professional, controlled. Never any less pleasing to hear.

He’d wanted to say something about how good you look in his clothes when his phone rang, Garcia’s name flashing on the screen. Aaron wishes it was someone else, only to spend more time with you this way.

“Sorry to call late, sir,” Penelope says. “We’ve got a case. Missing kid; it’s urgent.”

“Don’t be sorry, Garcia. We’re on our way.”

“Wait, we?” She asks, curious as always.

“What’s going on?” You ask Aaron.

“Got a case. I’ll drive, honey.” He lets the pet name slip, like it’s a habit.

On the other line, Garcia’s grinning to herself in her office. She’d had a suspicion of who on the team Hotch would be with outside of work, and hearing your voice, and his use of the word ‘honey’ all sticky sweet, she knows she’s onto something.

“Oh, that’s ‘we,’” Penelope’s voice teases. “Tell her I’ll see you guys soon!”

Aaron shakes his head, fighting his smile. “Bye, Garcia.”

He hangs up and looks from his phone to you, your eyes already on him, corners of your mouth tugged up just a little like you’d heard what Garcia said, heard the lilt in her voice. Like you liked the idea of you and Aaron being a unit. We.

He likes that idea, too.

Back at the BAU, Garcia calls Derek next, who picks up with his classic, “hey, babygirl.”

First, she tells him that he needs to come into the office, that they’ve got a case, then, “you’re never going to believe this.”

Penelope loves to talk, and Derek’s happy to listen, so she tells him about how you’d been with Aaron when she called, and that you were on your way together.

“I give them another week, max, before they’re holding hands when they come in.” Derek laughs, because he can see yours and Hotch’s feelings so easily, plain as day, and he loves to be right about things.

“How mad will Hotch be when he finds out that we talk about his relationship?” Penelope’s mostly joking, only a fraction concerned.

“If the boss didn’t want us talking about it, he shouldn’t be so obvious, sweetheart.”

Once you arrive at the office, you don’t catch Penelope and Derek’s shared looks behind yours and Aaron’s—who happens to be carrying both his and your go bag—backs.

And if anyone notices the loose socks around your ankles, they don’t say anything about it.

-

You’re not supposed to go off on your own unless it’s absolutely necessary. You know that, the team knows that. Aaron, who is always trying to keep you as safe as possible, enforces it.

You guess that this time might be up for debate.

When it comes to what you do, you have to trust your instincts most of the time. And today, your gut told you to make a decision that might not have been safe, but to you, it felt like what you had to do.

Aaron had been on the phone with you, trying to figure out a way to make the car drive any faster to get to you. He’d heard it in your voice, in the tone of it, that he couldn’t convince you to wait for someone else to show up.

“I have to do this, Aaron,” you’d said. While the team would normally probably tease him about you calling him Aaron, as if it isn’t his name, they’d known not to interrupt this time. “You know I do.”

“You don’t have to.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he spoke. “We’ll be there soon, alright? Just-”

“I’m sorry.” And then, you hung up.

In the end, going in when you did had been the right move. A life had been saved, and you’d slowed the guy down enough that the police were able to arrest him when they arrived. All it cost you was a cut and a bruise on your cheek.

So, your instincts weren’t so bad.

Aaron, however, disagrees. Logically, he knows that he would’ve done the exact same thing you did, knows the rest of the team would’ve, too. But when it comes to you, he has a hard time thinking logically.

After you hung up on him, all he could do was breathe and breathe and breathe over the heavy thumping of his heartbeat and the worry spinning in his head. He drove the quickest he could manage, the car silent inside. A static.

It’s not that he doubts your abilities—he’s always thought you were incredible, even before the friendship, even before now—only that the idea of you being alone with such a bad man makes him feel sick.

He’d take your place in a heartbeat, if he could, just to make sure you’d be safe.

By the time he and the rest of the team get to the scene, you’re walking out of the building with a hand pressed to your cheek and a paramedic leading you to a nearby ambulance.

Aaron spots you right away, his eyes scanning the small crowd through red and blue lights and conversations surrounding him. When he spots you, everything goes quiet.

His first thought is, thank god she’s alive, then, it’s fuck, she’s hurt.

Without a word to anyone, he heads over in your direction right away. He meets you at the ambulance, where you sit on the small bench inside while the paramedic presses your cheek with gauze.

“Honey.” It comes out in a breath. Relief and pain all at once.

You look over to him, his hair a little messy, his eyes wide and roaming all over you like he’s checking for any other injuries. He cares about you, and it’s written all over him.

“Aaron. I’m okay.” You hold a hand out, and he grabs it, sitting beside you on the bench in the ambulance. “Promise.”

For now, he nods, letting the paramedic do their job bandaging up your cheek. When they’re finished, they hand you a spare bandage saying, “it’s gonna bruise, and it might feel sore for a bit, but you’re all patched up.”

The paramedic leaves after that, probably going to check on other people. The lights inside the ambulance seem to cocoon you, a bright difference to the darkness outside.

The first thing Aaron says is, “let me see.”

His hands reach for your face, rough fingertips gently holding your jaw, tilting you so that he can look at your cheek. It’s a little swollen, discolored where you must’ve been hit. There’s a furrow in his brow, something that looks like a pout on none other than Aaron Hotchner.

“Hey,” you grab his wrists, but his hands stay on your face. “I’m fine.”

Aaron’s always worried, he’s always cared about you and about everyone on the team, but this is different. He was usually able to hide things much better than this. Much better than with you.

Now, all he sees is the tiny bloodstain on your shirt and the bandage on your cheek. All he feels is your hands squeezing his wrists and your eyes locked on his.

“You should have waited,” he says. “I could have been there.”

“Hotchner,” your deadpan tone is intact, which he’ll take as a win, even if it’s directed towards him. “You and I both know you would have done the same. I had to.”

One of his hands shifts to cup your non-injured cheek. Normally, he’d be much more composed while working, but he can’t bring himself to care about how he must look right now.

“I know you did,” he tells you, because he does. “I just wish that you didn’t. I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

Your stomach is tumbling, rolling, your heart doing silly things in your chest. You can hardly feel the pain of your cheek anymore when his hand is on the other, his palm warm against your skin, his gaze even warmer.

“I’m hardly hurt, Aaron. Just a scratch.”

“Right. One that required medical attention. That’s more than just a scratch, honey.”

“If you say so, Hotchner.”

He shifts his hands so that they fall into your lap, palms up and fingers instantly finding yours, tangling together perfectly. Like puzzle pieces.

“Good job, by the way.” Hotch rubs his thumb over your skin once, back and forth. “You did the right thing.”

“Learned from the best,” you say.

You’re both oblivious to the fact that the team is watching from a distance, and that the two of you look so lovesick it’s ridiculous that you haven’t spilled your feelings yet. You’re both absolutely fucked.

Where she stands with the team, Emily shakes her head, “I haven’t seen Hotch like this since… ever.”

Beside her, JJ merely shrugs, like it’s obvious, “yeah, they’re in love.”

Spencer looks at you and Aaron in that ambulance with a smile. “The odds of you guys being right are very, very high.”

-

+1

Aaron Hotchner was never the biggest fan of birthdays. Was never big into the cakes and making wishes, the song and the presents and the fuss of it all.

When he started at the bureau, it stayed that way. Days off were rare enough as it was, so he’d always work on his birthday. And while he kept the signed cards from the team, he treated it as any other day. Nothing special.

This year, you’re on a mission to change that.

While it isn’t the first of Aaron’s birthdays you’ve spent with him, it’s the first one since the two of you have grown as close as you have, since you’ve felt the way you do. You’re just hoping to make it a good birthday for him.

You’ve roped the whole team into it. Decorating the conference room with streamers and balloons and a sign that hangs crooked on the wall, bringing in a cake that reads ‘Happy Birthday Hotch’ in frosting, and keeping it all a secret.

Of course, you’ve all already said happy birthday to him, and you’ve got a present stashed under your desk for later, but you’ve been doing your best to act natural even when the anticipation of your surprise for him eats at your stomach a little.

Surprises are a tricky thing, and there’s no way of knowing whether he’ll like it or not. You’ll just have to wait and see.

While in his office, the team had made it seem like they’d all left for the day, saying their goodbyes to Hotch. Instead of leaving, though, they’ve been hidden in the conference room waiting for you to bring him in.

“Aaron,” you say, knocking on his office door. “I think I lost an earring. Do you think you could help me look for it?”

Because you’re the one asking, Aaron says, “‘course, honey. Where do you think it is?”

You smile, because he’s fallen into your trap easily, because you know that he probably would search for an earring with you if you’d actually lost one.

“I remember having it on in the conference room, so maybe there.”

He stands from his desk, gesturing for you to lead the way with his hand held out. You grab onto it before he can drop it, tangling your fingers and leading him behind you.

Aaron lets you guide him, and when you open the door to the conference room and flick on the lights, he’s met with the team’s grinning faces and a chorus of, “surprise!”

For a moment, he’s speechless, frozen in his spot in the doorway with your hand in his.

No, Aaron’s never been the biggest fan of birthdays, but maybe that’s because nobody’s ever done something like this for him. You came into his life all sweet smiles and now you’re throwing him a surprise party? He’s never ever liked someone the way he likes you.

So much that like is spilling into a four letter word and he’s happy to let it.

You know him well enough to know that he doesn’t like being the center of attention too much, so the only people in the room are those of the BAU. His closest friends. And you, his favorite person.

Before he can say anything he’s being spoken to by the team, getting a ‘happy birthday, boss,’ from Derek, a spill about how hard it was to keep this a secret from Penelope, a grin from Spencer, a tip about how you’d organized all of this from Emily, a squeeze to the shoulder from JJ.

When he finally gets the chance, the others split into their own conversations, Aaron tugs you aside to the corner of the room.

“You did all of this for me?” He asks, head bent to catch your eye.

Although you’d caught the signature Hotchner smile—closed-mouthed and quick—when he saw the surprise, you’re nervous about what he might say. You worry that you’ve done too much, that he’d been pretending to like it for your sake.

“I’m sorry if it’s a bit much,” you start, anxiously tugging at your sleeves. “I wasn’t sure if you liked surprises, I know not everyone does, but I wanted to do something for you because I care about you. A lot. And birthdays are meant to be celebrated, you know?”

Aaron can’t help but let a smile spread over his face as you speak; a real smile. His heart is light, his feelings for you melting through him like the soft pink of cotton candy. He doesn’t think you could ever do anything that he wouldn’t like.

“I’ll clean it all up, too, I prom-”

Your rambling is cut off with his lips on yours. He’s kissing you.

It’s soft, the press of his mouth against yours, and it takes you a second to push back. It stays delicate, a dance between the two of you like you’d practiced a million times before.

His hands skate down your arms to hold your hands, weaving his fingers with yours, squeezing like he’s making sure you know this is real.

You feel it all over, your stomach tumbling, your heart beating in a rhythm that thumps his name. Aaron, Aaron, Aaron, over and over.

It’s a kiss worth a thousand words that you haven’t said yet, a kiss full of feelings and meaning and you know it, just by the way he does it, because you know him and he knows you. It’s you and Aaron, and it feels like the beginning of something huge. Of the rest of your life, maybe.

When he pulls back, Hotch rests his forehead against yours, giving your head a gentle nudge, locking his brown eyes on yours.

“It’s perfect,” he says.

The next thing you hear is Derek Morgan cheering, “I knew it!”

Similar words come from the rest of the team.

“Finally,” from Emily.

“About time,” from JJ.

“This isn’t surprising,” from Spencer, who smiles while saying it.

A sweet, “yay,” from Penelope.

Distracted by Aaron kissing you, you’d sort of forgotten they were there. Bashful, you tuck your head beneath Aaron’s chin, forehead against his collar. He simply tightens his hands around yours.

And when it’s time for cake, this year, Aaron Hotchner makes a wish on his birthday candles. He wishes to spend every other birthday just like this. With you.

༄

thank you so so much for reading!!! if you liked it, please please please consider reblogging/commenting and letting me know what you thought! love you <3

[gatorbites-imagines]

Hey you said in a post you were looking for requests for invincible don't know if your still wanting requests for it or not but I was really hoping for a wholesome damien darkblood x reader story. he and Robot are so far my favourites I just started the show though, not done with season 1 yet.

Damien Darkblood x male reader

Headcanons

I love robot too, hes really grown on me the more episodes I’ve watched.

Damien Darkblood is a pretty blunt and dry witted person, or rather, demon. He takes his job as a detective very seriously, wanting to find the truth and bring forth justice. This also means your demon lover would be working way into the night, and would be gone for longer periods of time to do cases.

In the beginning this would have unnerved you, mainly because the cases he takes are dangerous and could put him in danger. Your lover does his best to reassure you though, even with his flat and dry tone, since the different tones in human language confuse him.

You two would have likely met during one of these cases, since Damien doesn’t really go out to look for a date or partner. This would either mean you were a victim, a witness, a suspect, or maybe a hero or detective. But for the funs of it, lets imagine you are another detective.

You wouldn’t be doing cases to the same level as Damien, seeing as he can sense crimes that happened through touch, giving him a different view than what you, a normal human can spot.

Damien tends to see things from his own perspective, meaning he doesn’t see the full picture at times, but being his lover means you have an easier time getting him to broaden his horizons compared to everyone else your lover works with.

You both being detectives also means your apartment or home looks like something out of those detective shows, with different corkboards on the walls, with hundreds of pictures or notes, and different colored strings connecting it in patterns only you two understand.

When it comes to detective work, there are times you’ll tag along on Damien’s cases, mainly when he has to interact with others like Cecil or the guardians of the globe, seeing as his dry and cut tone tends to annoy people. You won’t take them insulting him as casually as they do though, so it’s a bit of a give and take for other people involved.

After long days of little sleep and nonstop work, you always end up dragging Damien to rest somewhere. As a demon, Damien wouldn’t need to rest, eat, drink or sleep like a human does, but seeing as he loves you, Damien would go along if you just wanted to cuddle.

He will act tough, but you always catch his tail wagging a little when you cuddle, and you scratch the back of his neck or under his chin. Hes nice and cold as well to your surprise, so there’s no need to worry about cuddling in the summer.

Because I said so, Damien purrs, but only around you and only when you are alone. There are always cases hanging over the both of you, but you two decided to take days where you put off the work and spend it together. This is when Damien is most likely to purr.

Hes your personal weighted blanket, since hes got a stocky build. Him laying on top of you is the best if you like that kind of stuff, plus, his tail somehow always ends up wrapped around some part of you. This also goes when you are laying on top of him though.

Damiens big hands are also great at giving massages. Your demon lover always jokes in his dry tone that you humans are so frail, since you get sore muscles from all the walking or running you guys do. But he always ends up massaging your legs and feet if you need it.

His claws are very nice as well, as he runs them through your hair when you cuddle. He would never scratch you, your lover never wanting to hurt you, but he will go out of his way to put just enough pressure for it to feel good.

If it follows canon and Damien gets sent back to hell by Cecil, you know the ritual to bring him back. You also rub it in Cecils face when it turns out Damien was right, and what little respect you had for the guy will be gone. You wont save him from your lover bluntness again after that.

[daughterofcain-67]

𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 (pt. 7)

(Beau Arlen x Female Reader)

(masterlist)

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Beau finally has a lead on where you are and how he can get Andre in custody! Now it is just a matter of finding you and making sure that you’re safe and unharmed.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: mentions of the kidnapping case, of course. Angry Beau. I think that might be it?

Previously

“No offense, Agent, but I’m pretty damn good at my job and I know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve been in this job long enough to know how to handle a situation like this. I’m not some damn rookie.”

“Fine, but I’m still going with you so it at least looks good on the papers. It is technically the FBI’s case still and we want these guys to go away for good. So try to keep that in mind while you’re trying to keep your cool.” He reminded as he walked out of the door.

Beau just glared at the agent. He knew Sampson was right about doing this by the book, but it still ticked him off. He wasn’t about to waste time on this. Sure he’ll do this by-the-book interview. But the moment things go south, Beau may need to make some plans to conduct an interview all on his own.

The sheriff went to his car and the agent ended up following him to the vehicle and they got in.

“Listen, I know you’re angry and I don’t know what kind of connection you have to the… captive.” Beau could hear the agent begin to speak, “I’ve been where you are with my wife before. It’s vital to keep your head on straight.”

“Hello, Sheriff. How can I be of assistance?” He asked.

Your eyes widened.

Beau was on the phone. He was really looking for you! He was looking for you right? You weren’t imagining all of this?

You had to do something, now was your chance! Andre didn’t take your mouth up or anything so you had to do something. This could be your only shot!

“Beau! He has me in some basement! He could go after Cade-“ a harsh stinging erupted on your face from where Andre smacked you.

“Oh no, Sheriff. That’s just some movie I’m watching at a friends house. He has a weird and nearly concerning taste in film. I can come and meet you to talk about the date in just a few moments. Let’s say… Tonya and Donno’s place? I’ve heard they have some great sandwiches. My treat.” Andre said.

“I have to get out of here.” You vowed and looked at your scabbed wrists and started to try and wiggle out of them yet again but you had even more of a reason to escape, more of a reason to try.

Now

That scream...

That scream was so haunting and Beau couldn't believe that audacity Andre had to lie to a cop and try to play it off as him watching some kind of movie.

"Please tell me there's a way to track that phone call." Beau said as his grip tightened up on the steering wheel as Agent Sampson was typing away at a computer.

"I'm trying my best, Arlen… but if we locate it, we may need to take separate cars. We have to be smart about this” the agent began.

“Andre is under the impression you're by yourself, right? And Y/N hasn't been gone more than forty-two hours yet so there's still time to do this right and make sure she's safe." He said.

"I'll be damned if I let you go there alone if we find out where she is." Beau vowed. If they were going to find you, when they found you, Beau wanted to be the one that made sure you were safe and sound.

He needed to be there in person and see with his own eyes that you were in one piece. For the sake of his own sanity if anything else.

"I can't track from the phone call. But you can drop me off at the office again before you meet Andre. Call Poppernack and tell him to find where Andre is staying. I'll get you a warrant for a search and a raid."

"I need you to get some officers to Cadence and make sure she's okay.” Beau said, recalling the very last snippet of what you were trying to tell him before Andre insisted it was some movie he was watching.

“Who knows what Andre will be capable of since Y/N spoke up when he was on the phone." The sheriff urged and the agent pulled out his phone to make the necessary calls he needed to make to make sure Cadence would be protected and that the deputy would be able to find where Andre resided.

The stress of the situation was weighing on Beau. He couldn't let anything happen to you, not after all the shit he's seen in the world because of this job. He needed to make sure you were okay but that was his top priority. Though, he also knew your priority was keeping your sister safe so he wanted his best officers to keep an eye on Cadence while they looked for you.

Finally, Beau dropped Agent Sampson off at the department, then Beau went on his way to Donno's diner. He needed some answers and he had the biggest feeling in his gut that Andre was wrapped up in this card themed circle. Andre had to be Ace or at least related to Ace somehow.

As much as Beau wanted to go into the diner guns blazing, he knew it would be in your best interest to do things right. At least for now.

When Beau made it to the diner, he shut the door behind him and he saw a certain truck. It seemed to be the only truck there that looked like Andre's so he pulled out his phone and took a picture of the plates. He sent Jenny a quick message since he knew she was still at the department.

BA: Run these plates and see if they're Andre’s. See where he's been last night and this morning. Sampson's working on a warrant.

When he slipped his phone back into his pocket and walked through the doors, he saw the very man he'd give absolutely anything to strangle.

Beau took in a deep breath before he strode over and sat down in front of Andre.

"Well now, I was wondering when you were gonna show up, Sheriff. How can I help ya?" Andre asked with a smile, the smile Beau would love to just punch until his teeth went loose. Knocking them out of his skull would be a bonus.

"Hi, sorry to keep you waiting. Had a last minute call at the office before I came here." Beau lied but then he placed his arms on the table and leaned in.

"You wanted to talk about my cousin, right?" Andre spoke, "You said he was in the country?"

"Oh yeah. Mat Bolkonsky's his name, right? The drug dealer, murderer. We have reason to believe that he's here and we know he's a part of some kind of gang." Beau explained, not wasting time on beating around the bush.

"We have his fingerprints at a murder victim's place. We've also got them at a kidnap victim's place. Have you heard about Y/N L/N?"

"From the coffee shop? Yeah, I know her. We had a date a couple of days ago. Why, is she okay?" Andre asked and it made Beau sick watching the man pretend that he cared about you.

"Well, unfortunately, her sister said she hadn't seen her. And when I did a wellness check she wasn't home. We've found evidence of breaking and entering and we have reason to believe your cousin has anything to do with it." the sheriff said and looked to see if Andre would even squirm at the idea that he was close to being made.

Though not much to Beau's surprise, Andre continued to keep up the facade.

"She's missing? And you.. you think my cousin had something to do with it?" He asked.

"He is the one with a criminal history and the fact that he's in town does not help his case. I was just wondering if maybe-"

"If I had any contact with him? No, unfortunately I don't have any contact with him and I haven't since his murder charges. I'd love to help get Y/N back, I really do. And if I could help than I would but I don't know how I can be of any assistance to you." He said and Beau's jaw tightened.

“You were the last person that saw her. How do we know you’re not lying to an officer?” Beau challenged and Andre raised a brow before he leaned in, matching Beau’s posture with his arms on the table top.

“Let’s be real. You’re hoping I had something to do with it because you’ve got feelings for Y/N. You’re hoping I had something to do with it so you can strangle me and take out any anger you have on me because you blame me for her disappearance.” Andre said.

“Damn straight I blame you. I haven’t liked you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I haven’t liked you since I thought you could have been a link to those two poor girls that went missing. You’re lucky they’re both alive otherwise I would’ve ganked your ass for murder before you would’ve blinked an eye.”

“Unfortunately for you, I don’t care how much you want to blame me, I’m clean. I’ve got nothing to do with it and there’s nothing you can charge me for when it comes to the girl. I know that’s frustrating for you to hear since obviously you love Y/N. But deal with it and go find some other guy to put your charges on.” He said.

“Love, like, whatever has nothing to do with it. All this is, is me trying to get Y/N back home to her sister, who is in fact guarded by the way.” Beau promised and Andre rolled his eyes a little.

“Look, I don’t care if you love her or not. The date was a fiasco anyway because your little girlfriend has trust issues. I can’t be with a girl like that.” The other man said.

"Now if you'll excuse me, Sheriff, I think this little meeting is over. If there's anything I can do outside of Matvey's whereabouts, please let me know. And please let me know if you find Y/N. Just because the date didn’t go well doesn’t mean I wish any kind of ill will on her."

Beau watched as Andre stood up, his gaze darkening when Andre turned around. He continued to watch as he walked out of the door and made his way to the truck.

The sheriff pulled out his phone and started calling Agent Sampson, hoping that he'll pick up.

Luckily, he did.

"Sampson, it's Arlen. Andre's just left the diner and he's making his way to the truck. I sent Hoyt the plates to follow him and maybe we can track where's he's been, where he was when we gave him that phone call."

"Atta boy, Arlen. We'll get right on it. In the meantime, follow him but be discreet about it. We don't know if he's headed to that basement Y/N told us about right away." The agent said.

After that, Beau hung up the phone and he rubbed his hand over his face. All he could think about was if you were alright. These guys were dangerous and he hoped nothing had happened to you.

But then Beau started to think about what Andre said.

And yes. Beau loved you. He couldn’t deny it and he didn’t know how it happened.

Now wasn’t the time to really dwell on revelations though. He had to find you before he ran out of time.

So Beau got up and walked out of the diner before he hopped into his car to follow Andre. He needed to get one step closer to finding you.

Your wrists were raw and bloody from where you had been trying your damndest to break free of these handcuffs. But finally when you were able to break free you let out a breath of relief.

You tossed the cuffs aside and carefully rubbed the areas below the cuts on your wrist because you knew they’d be sore. Then you looked down at the shackles on your ankle. Your hands may have been free’d but you were still captive unless you could find away to get the chain off your ankle.

The phone call that Andre had with Beau filled you with hope. You were relieved that he was calling but you knew it would only be a matter of time before Andre would come back again, or any of his other people. What if they moved you before Beau would have the chance to find you?

And what about Cadence? You knew she was worried sick, and you hoped that Beau heard you and would send someone to protect your little sister.

You couldn’t handle the guilt of what would happen if she were to get wrapped up in this mess. You didn’t ever want for her to go through what you were. She didn’t deserve it. You weren’t sure id she could even handle it.

When you heard the door open, your heart began to race. But you were trying your best to hold it together, to pretend like you weren’t intimidated by Andre and his crew, no matter what they will do, or what they have done already.

You dared to look at the entrance of the basement and you realized the footsteps sounded more like the clacking of heels. You lifted a brow before you saw a familiar woman: Andre’s sister, who you only knew as ‘Queen’ for the moment with their little charade.

“Look what you’ve done, all the trouble you’ve caused. King told us about the phone call from your little cop friend. Sheriff Beau Arlen… A stud of a man if you ask me. A pain-in-the-ass, yeah, but still handsome as Hell. And why he’s even looking for you would beat me.” Queen said and your brows narrowed.

“Really? You’re trying some self esteem attack or something? He’s just a cop doing his job and he would have done the same thing for my sister or anyone else in this town because he’s a damned good cop.” You said.

“Oh no, I wasn’t talking about the fact of who you are. I don’t know what you mean to him, nor do I really give a damn. I just mean we’ve gotten away with a lot worse. No one has been able to get any solid evidence against us until we moved to Helena. Until my brother met you. You worthless skank.” She seethed.

“You think I wanted to get involved with this mess? I went on one date with your brother, I didn’t think I would wind up here and I didn’t ask to be in this situation. The fact that the cops are on your tail is because of his choices and his shitty decision making. I had nothing to do with it.” You exclaimed and the Queen rolled her eyes.

“Oh, are you kidding me? If it wasn’t for my brother being interested in you, he wouldn’t have gone on a date with you. Then you wouldn’t have sent a text to one of the cops. After the message, Andre sent Ace and Jack to your place and both of them are so sloppy.” She scoffed and she walked over to you. Then she looked down on you with a snobby glare.

"Their lack of stealth has nothing to do with me. Maybe they aren't as good as you thought they were." You rolled your eyes and she pulled out a pocket knife. Where did she get the pocket knife, you couldn't say.

But the blade was aimed at you and you stared blankly at it, "Really? After what your brother did, a few cuts and gashes aren't that big of a deal."

Then you could hear a phone ringing. Knowing it was the Queen's, you glanced up at her and arched a brow, "You might wanna get that. Could be important."

The other woman let out an irritated gruff and she pulled out her phone from a pocket before she answered.

"What?"

You could faintly hear another voice on the other end of the line and you knew it was Andre, a very pissed Andre at that. You knew that Beau was a smart man, and you could only hope that he was following Andre now. You didn't know how much more of this you could take.

"You're kidding me... now? Where the hell would we take her?" More silence, "You'd better not get followed by that motherf- what? I'll see what I can do in an hour."

This didn’t sound good…

“Less than that? Look I don’t think we’re going to have enough time for that. Be a realist once in a while. I’m good but I’m not a miracle worker.” She rolled her eyes.

From the look on her face, Andre must’ve had some sort of outburst to make Queen get a little stunned. She let out a breath before she finally spoke again.

“Fine, I’ll see what I can do in less than an hour. But I cannot make any promises. If we get caught because of this girl I’ll never let you hear the end of it.”

Then the Queen hung up on Andre and looked at you before she scoffed and started dialing up other numbers while she walked out of the basement.

"Ace, we have a situation. We need to leave in less than an hour."

Your eyes widened. Less than an hour? Will Beau find you before then? How fast would their systems find you? What if they would end up being too late?

Beau focused on watching Andre. He saw that the man was pulled over, talking on the phone and he seemed to be having a very stressful conversation. Clearly Andre wasn't too pleased about something and Beau noticed that he was also looking at his watch as if they were pressed for time.

Then Beau started getting a phone call.

Without any hesitation, Beau answered and lifted the device to his ear.

"Sheriff Arlen." He said, hoping there would be some kind of positive development.

"Beau, it's Jenny. Agent Sampson located the basement Y/N has been the past couple of days. We've also got a warrant to search Andre's house." Beau's heart nearly skipped a beat at the words and when he looked up, Andre started his car up again and started to drive off.

"Have someone go to Andre's place and find any evidence that links him to Mat Bolkonsky. Send me the address to that damned basement. I'll be there in a few minutes." He spoke sternly.

"Already did and we got his computer. There were emails between Andre who apparently goes by 'King' and he's been communicating with a trafficking circle. Last night he emailed the circle about a girl fitting Y/N's description. Sampson thinks that it may be enough to get an arrest and maybe we can hold him. It's a long shot since it's circumstantial but it's gotta be something."

The adrenaline flowed through Beau's veins. They were so damned close to getting you back and he couldn't let you down. This was the best news he's heard all day long.

"Good enough for me. I'll meet you at that basement. Make sure we've got plenty of backup. Who knows what we'll come across when we get there."

Then Beau hung up and started driving off to follow Andre once more.

But Andre must've known he was being followed because Beau noticed he was starting to speed up and he was taking different roads. Luckily for Beau, however, he's gotten to know all of these roads while he was driving around with Jenny and Cassie when he first moved here.

When Andre and Beau stopped at one of the back roads, Beau noticed that Andre was pulled over and the car was turned off. When Beau realized Andre was stepping out of the car, Beau's brows narrowed. Then he stopped his car behind Andre's before stepping out.

"I thought we had everything taken care of back at the diner, Sheriff." Andre spoke, and Beau shook his head.

"Oh no... you see, we had a warrant to search your place. We've got a hold on your computer and we know of your little double life you've got goin' on. King? Really? Isn't that a little narcissistic?" Beau asked while he walked closer to him.

"You went to my house without my knowledge?!" Andre exclaimed angrily and Beau shrugged.

"Well, buddy, with a warrant it doesn't matter if you know about it or not. Either way, you're screwed. Now why don't you just man up and own up to taking Y/N. I'll take you down to the station." He warned.

"Even if you arrest me, you won't find her. I told my people you were coming. Y/N will be sold off since they don't care if she's used goods. Just means we get paid a little less."

Beau froze for a second and stopped walking before he glared at Andre, "Used goods... What the Hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh yeah. Guess you wouldn't have known. She's really good in the sack, especially when she's all tied up and vulnerable.” Andre said with a sly, sickening smirk. And Andre could tell that he was getting to Beau.

“What the Hell did you say to me?” Beau snarled.

“She sounded so pretty when she begged for me to stop. Probably the best I ever had.” Andre laughed.

In that very moment, Beau saw nothing but red as his hand formed itself into a fist and he punched the living hell right out of Andre. A fight insured between them. The adrenaline rushed through Beau’s veins and no matter how hard Andre seemed to punch, the sheriff threw his fist ten times as hard.

Could he lose his job just for that one move? Sure, if he had a camera on his car - which he didn't. But for you, he'd risk everything. Especially when Andre did something so despicable. It made Beau so unbearably pissed and nauseated at the same time.

"You sick son of a bitch.” Beau snarled but then he finally got to a point in the fight where he could flip Andre and he could get his hands behind his back and cuff him.

Once Andre was cuffed, Beau got him into the car and luckily he had the address of the basement in his phone now so he could go to the basement. He pulled up the address on the GPS on his phone since he knew other officers could hold Andre in their vehicles since those were meant to hold criminals.

Soon enough, Beau finally pulled up and saw the other cop cars there. Jenny, Poppernack, Agent Sampson and his crew. They were all there since they had to be prepared for what was happening. Beau stepped out of his vehicle and he motioned for another officer to come and take Andre in their holding cars.

When Beau walked over to the agent and two deputies he immediately wanted to know what the situation was.

“It’s been quiet. No one’s been in or out by the time we all got here and we all came as quickly as we could.” Poppernack said.

“I just hope that we aren’t too late.” Jenny said.

“By the way, what happened between you and Andre. You both look like Hell.” Jenny said and Beau shrugged a little.

“He may be in court for more than just trafficking and kidnapping. We’ll talk about it later.” Beau insisted.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s move in.” Agent Sampson said and Beau nodded and someone handed the sheriff a bulletproof vest and he put it on.

‘Please be okay, Y/N.’ Beau thought as they all started going towards the building. It was an old and abandoned convenience store. An odd choice, but that wasn’t the point.

When they all made it inside, everyone dispersed so they could look for you.

They searched everywhere. The storage room in the back, some were checking a shed outside, the whole place was being searched and that included the area around the shop and the shed themselves.

“Y/N?” Beau called out, staying on his guard.

He had to stay hopeful. He had to cling to the hope that you would be there. He needed to get you back so he could reassure you that you were safe, and that you would never see Andre again. Everything that Andre told Beau still fueled him with unspeakable amounts of anger but now he had to focus on the goal.

When Beau finally found the entrance to the basement he couldn’t help but feel at least a little relieved. He busted the door down but what he saw was not what he was hoping for.

“No…”

You were nowhere to be found! The handcuffs were lying on the floor, the chains that kept you there were empty.

“Beau, no one is here.” Jenny said when she found him.

Then it was like the walls around Beau were crumbling down. He didn’t know what else he was supposed to do so Beau ended up punching the wall in front of him. He punched it so hard he was positive he might’ve busted the skin on his knuckles.

“Damn it!”

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a great New Year so far! Will Beau find Y/N before it’s too late? Stay tuned to find out!

Tag List:

@deans-spinster-witch @roseblue373 @chriszgirl92 @fanfic-n-tabulous @globetrotter28

[moviemunchies]

I had originally planned for this review to be Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but I heard that The Fall Guy was very good, and wasn’t doing as well in the box office. I wanted to give it a shot.

And I’m glad that I did.

The Fall Guy tells the story of Colt Seavers, a stuntman for a movie star named Tom Ryder. After a stunt accident, his career and relationship with camerawoman Jody Moreno fell apart. Eighteen months later, Jody is a director of a science-fiction epic starring Ryder, and Colt is called out of retirement to be his stuntman. One problem: Tom Ryder has gone missing, and his producer Gail wants Colt to go find him. This leads to a series of misadventures in which Colt’s skills as a stuntman come in handy, while he’s desperately trying to reconnect with Jody.

Disclaimer: I am unfamiliar with the original Fall Guy. I know next to nothing about the 1980’s series, other than that it is A Thing That Exists, and it gets a shoutout in this movie. If there is something about it that would shape this review, or change one’s opinion of the movie significantly, I apologize. I don’t have that knowledge.

Great news, though: The Fall Guy is a really fun movie. You don’t need to know anything about the television series to understand or enjoy this film. It’s got pretty much everything that you could want in a movie: action, humor, romance, explosions, and likable characters. It’s one of those rare movies that I feel like I can recommend to almost anyone I know because it’s that well-rounded of a film. It’s not an epic or franchise film, it’s a standalone that has a lot of fun with its premise, and I really like that.

The leads have great chemistry! I’ve talked about how easily romance storylines can go badly in films and television–that you have two characters who get and stay together because they’re played by two attractive actors, and that’s it. Here, while you don’t necessarily know how Colt and Jody got together, as they started dating before the film starts, but they have enough chemistry and good dialogue that they’re a believable couple that you can root for as the story goes on.

This film is a love letter to stunt performers. They’ve long been a part of the movies that the industry could not do without, and yet they’re not recognized in awards shows, nor are they generally acknowledged by the audiences that line up to see the movies that they’re in. In many cases, they’re doing all the work that big-name actors get credit for, and risking their lives in the process. Honestly, guys, stuntmen and women should be getting all the props, and I like that this movie is about them.

I also think there’s a ton of interesting things you can read into the relationship between Colt and Ryder, though I don’t know if it’s necessarily meant to evoke specific examples (though TV Tropes thinks so, under “Take That!”).

There are also plenty of in-jokes about the making of movies, especially big blockbuster epics. The process of making the movie isn’t quite like the way it is in real life. It’s probably funnier if you are a part of the industry, because then you know what’s realistic and what isn’t, and what was thrown in as a joke.

And! There are a lot of practical effects in the movie. Which is to be expected, given everything, but it’s still nice to see. That also means that there are plenty of explosions going off all over the place, along with stunt driving, car crashes, and fight scenes. And also an attack dog. That’s pretty cool.

It’s a pretty good movie! Like I said above, this is a movie that I feel as if I can recommend to almost anyone (other than children, I guess, who would probably watch and enjoy it anyway). I’m sad to hear that it hasn’t been as successful as some other movies, because it’s great fun and very well-made. Please see it if you get the chance; I think you'll have a great time.

[archivxx]

✯[0.03]✯

Previous || Next

Note: I’m screwed, completely and utterly screwed.

You twisted your neck and looked up. And up. You were not exactly short he was just massive.

“Oh. Uhm. Hey.”

“Is everything okay?” He said it looking into your eyes. He said it in a low, intimate tone. Like you were alone. Like Nichole wasn’t stood mere cementers away. He said it in a way that should have made you uncomfortable, but it didn’t. For some unexplainable reason, his presence in the room soothed you. Like two seconds ago you hadn’t been freaking out. Maybe two types of unease neutralised each other? It sounded like a fascinating research topic. Maybe someone should look into that. Maybe you should excuse yourself and run a google search about it. Honestly, anything but this whole situation would be much nicer. Maybe you’d expire on the spot, that’s how you’d get out.

“Yes. Yes, everything is great. Nichole and I were just…chatting. About our weekends and stuff.”

Clyde looked at Nichole, as though he was realising she was in the room for the first time. He acknowledged her by giving her one of those nods guys give each other in passing. His hand slid lower on your spine just as Nichole’s eyes widened.

“Nice to meet you, Nichole, I’ve heard a lot about you.” Clyde said, and he was good at this, you had to admit. You were sure that at Nichole’s angle it looked like he was groping you, but in fact he was…not. You could barely even feel his hand on you.

Maybe just a little. The warmth and slight pressure and—

“Nice to meet you too.” Nichole looked thunderstruck. Like she might pass out. “Well-um. I was just about to leave. N/N I’ll text you later when um yeah—”

And with that she was gone, before you could even say anything. Which was good, honestly. You didn’t have to come up with any more lies. But also this was slightly less good as it was no just you and Clyde. Standing way too close. You would have payed good money to say that you were the first to step away, however that was not the case. The embarrassing truth was that Clyde was the first to but distance between you. Stepping back to give you the space you needed, then some more.

“Is everything okay?” He asked again, his tone was still fairly soft. Not something you expected.

“Yes. Yes, I just—” you waved your hands around. “Thank you.”

“Did you hear what she said about Friday?”

“I did that’s why I…” He looked at his hand—the one that had been on your lower back mere second ago—and you almost immediately understood.

“Thank you.” You repeated. Because Clyde Donovan might be a known-ass, but you were feeling pretty damn grateful for him. “Oh, also I couldn’t help but notice I’ve not had any agents or cops come to my place and arrest me on the spot.”

His eyebrows furrowed and the corner of his mouth twitch, minimally. “Is that so?”

You nodded, “Which makes me think that you haven’t filed a complaint. Even though it would have been totally within your rights, so, thank you. And for stepping in just now—you saved me a lot of trouble.”

He stared at you for a long moment, suddenly looking like he did when people got facts mixed up or said something he personally didn’t agree with. “You shouldn’t need someone to step in.”

You stiffened, right. Known-ass. “Well I was going to handle it myself. It’s not as if I asked you—”

“You shouldn’t have to lie about your relationship status.” He paused then continued. “Especially not to your friend so that she can date your boyfriend guilt-free.” Another pause. “That’s not how friendship works, last time I checked.”

So he had been listening when your spewed your life at him. “It’s not like that.” He lifted an eyebrow and you raised a hand in defence. “Tolkien wasn’t really my boyfriend and Nichole didn’t ask me for anything. I’m not like some sort of victim, I just want my friend to be happy.”

“By lying to her.” He added, dryly.

“Well yeah but-but-well she thinks we’re dating.” You blurted out. God the implications were painfully ridiculous. Too ridiculous to bare.

“Wasn’t that the point?”

“Yeah.” You nodded suddenly remembering the cup in your had. You took a sip of coffee. It was still warm. That conversation with Nichole couldn’t have lasted any longer than 5 minutes however it felt more like 5 years. “Yeah. I guess it was. Oh I’m Y/N L/N incase you still want to file that complaint. I’m with Brain—”

“I know who you are.”

“Oh.” Maybe he had looked you up then. You tried to imagine him combing through the different people working with this record company. Your headshot had been taken a while ago so it wasn’t exactly accurate anymore. Before you had become fully aware of what you were in for, when you actively tried to look good. Taming your hair better and actually taking your makeup off before going to bed. Before you were so sleep deprived it could honestly be a little life threatening. Before the thoughts that you may never actually be able to make it as a drummer.

“Okay.”

“I’m Clyde Donovan by the way.”

You burst into laughter. Essentially in his face. And then regretted it when you noticed his confused expression. As though he seriously thought you didn’t know who he was. As though he wasn’t one of the most popular solo artist of the century. The modesty was not at all like Clyde. You cleared your throat.

“Right. I know who you are do, Donovan.”

“You should probably call me Clyde.”

“Oh. Oh god no.” That would be too-that would be dead wrong. To you it felt like overstepping. He was such a superior to you it felt dead wrong. “I couldn’t—”

“If Nichole happens to be around.”

“Oh right.” That made sense. “Thank you, I hadn’t thought of that.” Or of anything else really. Your brain had stopped working properly 3 days ago when you decided kissing him to save your own ass was a good idea. “If that’s um okay with you. I’m going to go this whole thing is kind of stressful and—” if you were having it your way, you be at home, watching Ninja Warrior or RuPaul’s Drag race for the rest of the day while eating any junk you could find laying around your apartment.

He nodded, “I’ll walk you wherever your going.”

“God. I’m not that distraught.”

“In case we pass Nichole.”

“Oh.” It was, you had to admit, a really kid offer. Surprisingly so, since it came from Clyde “I’m too good for everyone” Donovan. You knew he was a dick. So you couldn’t quite fathom why today he was…not. He was actually being fairly kind. Maybe your own appalling behaviour was at blame since it made anyone look good in comparison. “Thanks but no need.”

You could tell he didn’t want to insist but did anyway. “I’d feel better if you let me walk you to where your going.”

“I don’t know where I’m going.” I had had the most drastic fuck up of my life it’s no wonder I’m a little disoriented. You didn’t bother adding.

“Well why did you come here?”

You fell silent for a moment before it finally came back to you. “Oh, I have a meeting for some music video.” You rolled your eyes at the mere thought of having to shoot a music video.

He opened his mouth. Then closed it. And opened it again.

You kissed that mouth, Y/N. And it was a good kiss.

“Well what floor?”

You shrugged. “Well what floor are we on now?” You’d definitely lost all your barring. You almost completely forgot where you ever were. It was only the midday and you’d completely lost it.

For the second time in a week, you’d been in an awkward predicament with Donovan and for the second time that week you couldn’t handle being around him a second long.

“I’ll see you around, okay?”

His cheats rose as he went to sight heavily. “Yeah. Okay.” Then the sigh. What sounded like disappointment?

It didn’t matter, the with that you got out of the room as fast as you could.

Masterlist

[forabeatofadrum]

Just Some Guy (5/9)

Notes: Buckle up, folks. It's a big year for Matt!

AO3

–

Year 5

MATT

All my belief in love has been crushed.

I’ve only been back at Watford for my fifth year for a month or so, and then I hear that Agatha Wellbelove is officially dating Simon Snow. The majority of students of our year (and of other years) are all in mourning.

Leslie tells me and the other guys, apart from Ryan, obviously, to get over ourselves.

“Agatha Wellbelove isn’t some kind of property or prize at the end of the road!” she exclaims, “She’s her own person who can make her own choices and she chose Simon Snow!”

Leslie is right, of course. It’s all up to Agatha, and why would she have ever picked anyone else, me specifically? We’ve been in the same class for 5 years and whereas I do think she knows my name (a thought that flatters me immensely), I don’t think she really knows me. We had that Elocution project two years ago, but aside from that, we barely talked.

Still, I sulk and I am disappointed.

Well, I suppose Leslie is also right with her idea that I need to get over her. My year in America didn’t push away the feelings, but back then I still had unreasonable hope. That’s gone, now. That does mean my only (small) interest in Simon Snow’s whereabouts have vanished as snow before the sun.

Hooray?

--

Feelings don’t magickally disappear, especially when those feelings have been with you for 5 years.

The Humdrum attacked Watford again. It’s big news, since it’s a repeated attack. The Humdrum doesn’t do repeats, but I guess he (it?) must have a sweet spot for Paindeer. A big herd of Paindeer interrupted a lacrosse thing. A match? A competition? A friendly game somewhere? I don’t care. It was a lacrosse thing and that’s all that matters to me, because Agatha Wellbelove is on the team.

I don’t know if Agatha herself was there during the attack. I heard the Paindeer trapped some players against a fence, which caused a lot of fear and panic, and then Simon Snow saved the day. Even so, all lacrosse players are ruffled.

“Stop looking,” Leslie hisses.

But I can’t.

Because Agatha Wellbelove is right there on the Great Lawn. She’s being held by Simon Snow. They’re on the floor, she’s in his lap, he’s whispering things in her ear and rubbing her arm in a soothing manner. He’s probably comforting her.

Gosh, I almost wish I was the one saving the day, just so I could comfort her like that. I wish I could make Agatha feel safe.

But I am no Chosen One. I am just some guy. And maybe I shouldn’t want to trade with Simon Snow.

Leslie lets out a sigh.

Then the Mage walks up to Simon and Agatha. He barks some orders at Simon. Simon looks puzzled and says something back, tightening the grip around Agatha’s waist. But the Mage isn’t having any of it. Simon Snow, the Chosen One, is needed.

Simon kisses Agatha, gets up, and follows the Mage.

Agatha is left behind on her own. She stares after Simon for a while.

Maybe now’s my chance.

But then she walks away.

--

I’ve been keeping up with my birdwatch hobby. Who would’ve thought? Back when the Cordero family first asked me to join them on their birdwatch hikes, I was really dreading it, but here I am. The World of Mages has some magickal birds that I would love to see.

One of them only shows up at night, though. John told me about it and he insisted that I should look for it today. I didn’t know John was interested in birds as well, but he just said he loves chirping in any way.

John even helped me sneak out of our room. He’s staying behind to cover for me, just in case. This is kind of exhilarating. I am not a rule breaker, overall. It is definitely not encouraged to go into the forest at night, but it is kind of exciting.

After a few minutes, I finally see the bird that I have been looking for. It is a magickal cuckoo. These birds love to manipulate you, but if you can see through their attempts to fool or distract you, you will be rewarded with the option to ask them to tell you your fortune.

I want to know if I ever get a girlfriend.

It doesn’t even have to be Agatha Wellbelove at this point, but Crowley, please, let me get a girlfriend!

It’s very important information.

(Don’t judge me. I’m fifteen and heartbroken and desperate!)

I take out my magickal binoculars. They’re spelled for wonderful night vision and it makes it more easy to zoom in. Mr. Cordero clearly put a lot of effort into it. It pays off, because I am a bit out of sight. I don’t want to get too close, because I don’t want to scare the bird off.

These binoculars also help seeing through the manipulation of the bird. The bird watches me and slowly starts to shimmer.

I did it!

The magickal cuckoo lets out a cry and I know it is my time to wish.

“Dear cuckoo, will I get a nice girlfriend?” I ask.

The cuckoo shimmers a bit more, which means it’s reading my fortune.

I am so entranced by the sight of this bird that I barely notice the bickering in the distance. I mean, it’s annoying, for sure, but the bird is fine with it.

I do definitely notice the fucking explosion, though. I feel the heat of the Chosen One’s magic before it actually hits me, so in panic I throw myself on the floor in the hopes of this magickal wave going over me.

It works. Sort of.

I wait for the magic to be gone. I can hear the Chosen One and that annoying Pitch Heir yell at each other about a Chimera, or something, so I see that as a sign that whatever they fought is gone. I slowly sit up and reach for the binoculars.

This evening did not go the way I planned, but the Chosen One’s bullshit won’t stop me from enjoying my bird.

But once I look through my binoculars, all I see are the charred remains of the bird I’ve adored so much.

The magickal cuckoo didn’t even give me an answer about the future!

At moments like this, I wish the Humdrum could just kill me.

--

I completely miss the drama till dinner.

John and I were building a model train set in our room, so we completely missed the upheaval. I see that Sam has tried to call us some times, but we both had turned off our phones. But when John and I set foot into the dining hall, our friends are basically ready to jump on us with the latest news.

Phillipa Stainton lost her voice.

I try not to care too much about all the shit that happens at Watford, otherwise I’d go mad, but this has rattled the entire student body to the bone. No one’s ever heard of a mage magickally losing their voice.

“What happened?” I ask my friends.

“No one knows,” Leslie answers.

“She went to see Simon, and suddenly her voice started squeaking and it just disappeared,” Scott says. He was there when it happened. He was walking around the Great Lawn with Ryan, who wanted to peek at Simon Snow.

(And people tell us to get over Agatha Wellbelove, now that she’s taken. Ryan should get over Simon Snow, since he’s taken too!)

“So, it was Simon Snow?” Luis asks, baffled.

Ryan shakes his head.

“I don’t think so, and I’m not just saying this because I fancy him.”

He adds the last part hurriedly.

“I’ve heard that Simon Snow blames Baz Pitch,” Arnold says.

“Of course he does,” Sam says and we all sigh, apart from John.

Of course he does. No offense to Simon, but he blames the Pitch Heir for everything. It’s kind of hard to take him seriously.

Leslie frowns.

“The world is changing right before our eyes,” she says.

It’s weird. I don’t want things to change. I am just some guy. I want to live my life in peace. Man, I really, really wish I were living in uninteresting times.

--

I fucking hate Political Science. I just don’t care a lot about politics. That’s probably why I don’t really give a shit about whatever Simon Snow and Baz Pitch have got going on.

Luis tells me that I’m privileged enough to not care about politics, and I suppose he’s right. I am the most basic person ever. But come on, can’t I have this?

And besides, there are people more privileged than I am! Baz Pitch is rich, and he’s the one currently calling for revolt.

We had to write an assignment about how the Mage got to power and of course Baz Pitch sees that as a perfect opportunity to spread the Old Families’ agenda.

Simon and Baz are having a full-blown discussion right in front of us. The teacher isn’t even intervening, because this is probably the most interesting thing that’s ever happened in this class, but come on. This is just so fucking annoying.

And yes, I know these guys probably have some points and what not. I sometimes still remember that time John and I saw Simon coming home from a mission during our second year. Something like that isn’t easy to forget, so yes, I try to listen and be sympathetic, but at this rate everyone’s tired of whatever rivalry is happening.

Let me write my essay in peace!

--

John and I walk up to our tower. We’re busy discussing our next chess moves when John promptly pushes me against the wall of the stairwell. He’s right on time, because the moment the two of us are safe against the wall, Simon fucking Snow tumbles down the stairs.

We watch him tumble down in silence. We’re a bit shocked, I think. We don’t go after him to help, since we’re frozen. I mean, to be fair to us, we didn’t expect the potential Saviour of the World of Mages to just fall down the stairs. We hear him land at the bottom of the staircase with a thud.

That snaps us out of it. John and I exchange a worried look. Then John looks up to something behind me. I also turn around and I see Baz Pitch of all people at the top of the stairs. His eyes are wide and his mouth is agape. I think he’s shocked as well. When he sees us staring, he looks away.

Then he rushes off.

John is the first to react. I’m still standing there like an absolute idiot, but John’s already gone down.

“Hey, you alright?” I hear him, so I also descent the staircase.

Simon Snow’s sitting on the ground and he looks dumbfounded, as if he’s trying to comprehend what just happened? Did that Pitch Heir push him down the stairs? John’s trying to help him up.

“Do we need to take you to Miss Christy?” I ask.

“’m fine,” Simon mumbles and he pushes John away. I realise that this is the first time John and I have ever spoken to him.

“You’re not fine,” John says.

“I said I am fine,” Simon bites out, loudly. Both John and I are shocked by this change of tone.

John and I don’t know what to do. We take a step back and watch how Simon gets up. He doesn’t struggle, but I don’t know if he’s trying to look tough for us, which is ridiculous. He doesn’t need to impress us.

“Penny is near the Wavering Woods,” John suddenly says.

Simon narrows his eyes for a second, but John doesn’t add more. He also doesn’t explain why he knows this, and Simon doesn’t know that John just… knows things.

“Alright, thanks,” he eventually says and walks away without a word.

What an ass, I think, before I remind myself that this guy just fell down the fucking stairs.

I watch him walk away and I am suddenly reminded of that moment in our second year.

“Come on,” John says after a beat of silence, “We need to get our chess board.”

--

The rumour mill at Watford is up and running, because Baz Pitch has proudly proclaimed that he’s pushed his nemesis down the stairs. A lot of kids from the Old Families look up to him with admiration.

During dinner, Leslie complains about how the Old Families glorify unnecessary violence. Sam and Arnold also think Baz Pitch is a piece of shit for this. Even Luis, who admires Baz for his football talent, isn’t happy. Ryan, who still has a little crush on Simon, keeps craning his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of Simon, to see how he’s doing. Scott tells him to not be so obvious.

I do too. I see Simon. There’s a bruise on his temple and Agatha Wellbelove is holding an ice pack against it. He has an arm around her waist. She’s speaking to him and Simon nods every now and then, but he cannot stop staring at Baz.

The sight Simon and Agatha together like that would usually pain me, but now, I am just worried.

I also watch Baz from our table. He really does look full of himself and he jeers about how fragile the Chosen One is.

“Can you believe the Mage thinks this guy of all people can save us?” he says, full of unabashed glee, and his minions cackle.

But I remember the look of absolute shock on his face. I remember how he rushed away from us.

John doesn’t say anything during dinner.

--

We’re having an end of year picnic. Not an official Watford one, but an unofficial Watford Chess Club one. Man, this year is almost over and I honestly cannot wait for it to end. So much has happened.

“John, is it me, or was this year busier than usual?” I bemoan.

“Well, this definitely is the longest chapter,” he says back. “I did warn you at the end of the last one.”

“What?” Leslie says.

“The following chapters are also longer than the first four, but this one does take the cake,” John adds and we all collectively let it slide.

“For real, though,” Sam lies down, “Especially with all that Simon and Baz crap.”

Ryan lets out a sigh.

“Like, we always knew that they were off doing their own thing, you know?” he says, “But it’s almost as if this year, it’s been more obvious. I heard that Simon follows Baz non-stop these days, even in the evenings and nights.”

Of course Ryan knows about Simon Snow’s whereabouts.

“Merlin, is Simon Snow a stalker?” Arnold says, aghast.

“At least he still saves the school on a regular basis. Really, a lot of stuff happened,” Scott says.

I frown at that. I did get caught up in the weird shit with the Chimera at the beginning of the year. And yes, John and I witnessed Baz pushing Simon down the stairs. And of course, Simon and Baz disrupt class a lot with their bickering. But I can’t say I was caught up in any more stuff. Maybe my friends witnessed stuff I am unaware of? I regularly hear stories about Simon Snow saving the day. That’s an usual occurrence.

“Should we be worried?” Arnold asks.

“What for?” I ask.

“Civil war, Matt,” he answers, as if it’s obvious.

“There’s been unrest ever since the Watford Tragedy,” I say, “No way now’s the time it’s all going to escalate.”

I hope I am right. I just want to live my life in peace and quiet. Let me do my own uninteresting thing. We have the Simon Snows to fight our battles for us.

--

End notes: Also a huge thank to Jess @you-remind-me-of-the-babe for coming up with the magickal cuckoo, and thanks Dre @cutestkilla for giving me the idea of Simon, uh, killing the bird in the Chimera blast.

[dearweirdme]

This ask is going to be a little bit of a rant and it’s about jikookers. I also want to mention I sent this to another blogger (in case something similar is seen), but I still want to say it here too.

I always see jikookers being like “that’s not normal bro behavior” or “I wouldn’t do that with my friend” and it always annoys me. Just because you wouldn’t do something in your friendship doesn’t mean other people won’t. Like “I’m super super close with my best friend but we still wouldn’t do some of those things,” okay? Doesn’t mean others wouldn’t.

Also, the way jikookers act like Jimin and jungkook have no self control that they have to touch each other during interviews (the whole j-14 one. Like, they really think they would do that when the chances of them being seen are very high and it’s also very unprofessional…) or randomly kiss on camera (the New Years bangtan bomb. There’s a cut when Jimin and jungkook are talking to the camera and I’ve seen them act like it’s a suspicious moment).

Even if they are dating, they still wouldn’t be doing some of the things jikookers claim they’ve done.

Hi anon!

People make assessments on the base of what they themselves have experienced a lot. It’s very complicated actually, because no two persons have the exact same experiences and therefore we all slightly differ in how we judge a situation. If I take myself for instance, I grew up in a modern, democratic, predominantly white, western country. I am the oldest sibling in my family. I am well educated. I personally have had little setbacks, but I am surrounded with many dear ones who have. Things like that are a part of how I view the world. It will be very different from someone in a third world country, or from someone who grew up in a very religious family.

I was a bit of a tomboy growing up, always had more male friends than female friends, and for me the way Jimin and Jk interact is nothing new. I have literally seen all of it before. I recognize moments like the Rosebowl and the ‘hickey’ (it’s a bite!) for what they are… friendship. Not all guys interact like that, that’s absolutely true.. but there are many who do. If you have never encountered men/boy who act like that though.. you might go 👀. And once you’ve gone 👀.. for many it’s too easy to read into stuff and never let go of the idea again.

Jimin and Jk do have a great bond, Jkkrs are absolutely right in seeing that. They are close, they are physically comfortable with each other, they spend time together aside from BTS, they are very playfull and bantery.. but it’s best friends, not boyfriends.

Real relationships, and especially those that have lasted for some time, are not reflected in continuous grand moments like Jkkrs like to think. Real relationships often show itself in subtlety, like small touches, seeking each other out, sharing looks, knowing each others habits and details of each other’s lives. Look at how couples in your own surroundings behave.. they do most likely not act the way Jkkrs make Jkk out to behave. Best friends though… they do keep spurring each other on often, simply because they are not constantly in each other’s presence.

I dislike the way they sometimes talk about them as if Jk and Jimin aren’t highly professional men. They would absolutely not jeopardize their careers (and those of the other members) just because they can’t contain themselves for a few minutes.

[eliaskahtri]

TIMING: A couple weeks ago LOCATION: Bigfeet’s Adventureland PARTIES: Elias and Gael SUMMARY: Gael makes good on that date he told Elias he’d take him on. And what better place for a guy’s first date than a theme park based on his date’s favorite thing? CONTENT WARNINGS: Vomit mentions (brief) Ever since going on that hike, engaging in arm wrestling with Elias and learning that the man had never gone on a date and wanted to go with him of all people, Gael had put some serious time and energy into looking for what would be considered a great first date. Elias liked hiking, nature, cryptids, nerdy stuff, cats… He could work with almost all of those and he was thankful that he had such a flexible roommate-turned-date.

After much deliberation and a literal coin flip due to indecision, along with reminiscing on his own dates that he had when he was younger, he finally found a place that he thought Elias would love. The two were in Gael’s little ice-blue convertible mini-cooper where Gael insisted that the other man either look studiously at his feet or wear a blindfold to keep the surprise. Small talk, either, ‘we’ll be there soon’ sprinkled into the conversation for good measure and he pulled into a parking spot, a little ways away from where the entrance to the location was though he could already hear the sounds of the roller coasters . “Okay, you can look now.” He said, patting Elias on the shoulder as he unfastened his seatbelt and started to get out of the car. Gael wanted to keep his eye on Elias to gauge his reaction and while he was fairly certain that he made a good call, he still found himself slightly anxious that maybe he didn’t.

Elias had been shocked when Gael said that he would still take him on a date. It all felt surreal as he rode in the car to wherever it was they were headed. He kept his head down, opted not to be blindfolded. He spent most of the time weaving in “are you sure you can’t tell me where we’re going?” Into their conversation as the chemistry professor drove. Finally, he was told he could look up. 

As he looked up, Elias’s jaw dropped as he realized where they were. “Bigfeet’s Adventureland!” He exclaimed, letting out a laugh of excitement and clapping his hands together. He thought back to all the teenagers that were making fun of him on the internet for wanting to come here for a moment, but then shook his head. “You really know how to pick it,” he commented as he looked back to Gael. “That’s worth some good points right there,” he decided with a nudge to the other man before unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. He might be a 35-year-old man, but dammit, he was excited. “This is already amazing and we haven’t even gone in yet.” He rambled on, eyes alight with excitement.

As they walked to the admission booth, Elias felt himself getting more and more excited. “I’ve been doing research on the cryptids that are believed to be in this area, and there’s quite a few.” He spoke as he got his wallet out of his pocket to pay for their tickets. “I’ll pay for admission,” he insisted, putting his card down for the worker before Gael could protest or put his own money down. He grinned in Gael’s direction, feeling triumphant. “Apparently if you rub the Bigfeet feet in the front of the park, they give you good luck.” He explained to Gael as they entered the park, stopping at the pair of feet and pointing down at them with a wiggle of his brows. “Do you wish to have good luck?” He spoke, gesturing to the feet as if to tempt the other. 

Even if they decided to turn around and leave, the look on Elias’ face was worth the trip out there to Gael - the elation, the childish enthusiasm, and Gael was pleased that he made a good choice. Elias had been… the past week was decidedly rough for him and the least the professor could do was try to lift his spirits just in case they were still low. “If you’ve already been, I’m sorry,” He laughed, his own mood picking up on Elias’ energy. Gael was still excited himself, though - it had been years since he’d been to an amusement park. He listened to Elias’ ramblings as they approached the gate and he started to get his wallet out but exchanged a glance with the taller man as the latter said he’d pay. “But–” He cut himself off; pick your battles. If Elias wanted to pay even though this was Gael taking him on an old-fashioned date to an amusement park, then they were both old enough to make those calls. Instead, he gave Elias a smirk and he put his wallet back where he could easily access it for a future purchase once they were inside. The expression faltered, however, as the other man pointed to the statue of a pair of very large feet on the inside. His nose crinkled as they seemed to certainly smell real, even if they were fake and that look transferred to Elias when the latter explained that people rub them for good luck. “Absolutely not,” Gael took a step back to solidify his stance before motioning to the statue himself. “BUT if you want to just lemme know - I already have excellent luck.” He said with an air of confidence. “Once you’re done with… those… what do you want to do first?”

“Oh, I haven’t, you really picked well!” He complimented as he turned his attention to the feet in front of him. Elias stared at the feet for a moment, but then he smelled it. “Er, maybe not.” He decided, raising his hands in the air as if surrendering. Something about the smell was offputting. Maybe someone would need all the luck they could get if they decided to rub stinky feet. “I can’t say I already have excellent luck, but maybe… maybe I’m already lucky. At least today.” He winked at Gael, nudging him playfully before walking forward to the park map. There were a lot of things he wanted to do, mostly he wanted to just learn more about the local cryptids. 

“I hope they have the fun carnival-type games.” He mused as he looked over the map, seeing where the alpine coaster was. “I’ll win you a stuffed bear or something.” He spoke with a grin. The idea of winning something at the carnival games sounded like such a money pit, but it was also one the cliches he felt needed to be done as long as he had a chance to do it. “What do I want to do first?” He wondered, looking at all the various attractions. There was the new attraction that I heard about, has cryptids that pop out. Don’t know how you do at potential jump scares.” He frowned, looking over at the coaster. “There’s also that guy!” He suggested, pointing in the alpine coaster’s direction. “I really don’t know much about the place and what it has, all I know is that it’s what childhood me would have dreamed of going to.” 

He was surprised how easy it was to be himself around Gael in the context of a date. It was strange to him, he’d only just moved here and he had already convinced someone to go on a date with him, and he hadn’t made it awkward like he was so used to doing. “I also heard there’s fried cheese on a stick from the caves I went to.” He thought for a moment, not sure if he really wanted to eat something that smelled the way it had. “Don’t know how I feel about that, honestly.” He confessed with a shrug of his shoulder.

Fortunately for Gael, Elias seemed to come to his senses, if only long enough that he wasn’t going to make Gael deal with him smelling like foot the rest of the day and he reciprocated Elias’ nudge with a grin and one of his own. The taller man’s gaze bounced between ideas and indeed, Gael found himself also curious about what all they had at their disposal. “Nothing scares me,” He insisted, his tone purposefully carrying an obnoxiously serious air to it - that wasn’t true, of course, but he certainly wasn’t about to jump out of his skin over some haunted ride. “Sometimes we have to do the things as adults that we never got to do as kids, right?” Gael was reminded of going to Universal Studios with his family a few years ago, all of them adults yet still enjoying everything though the nostalgic lens of childish perception. “Let’s do that ride with the cryptids first!” He suggested before pausing, his brow furrowing as he realized what he said. “The, uh, the one where the cryptids pop out. That is.” He added with a purposefully-awkward stammer. “And mayyyybe we should steer clear of that cheese,” He suggested, motioning with his head for Elias to follow and walk alongside him. “I’ll get you a funnel cake, how’s that?” The last thing either of them needed was to be reminded of Elias’ breakdown a little while ago where he killed an animal, regardless of whether or not it was a giant rat or a coyote.

Elias perhaps spent too long of a moment smiling back at Gael after being nudged in return than was socially acceptable before breaking himself out of the stupor. After all, Gael was kinda attractive. “Nothing, huh?” He questioned with a raise of his brow, an amused smirk on his face as he looked the man up in down in mocking question. He then tapped a finger to his lips, then shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll see about that.” He then said flippantly. “Then again, I don’t know how scary you can make a ride for kids, so there may be a point to be made there.” He added on after thinking on it for a moment.

He couldn’t help but laugh and raise his brows as Gael insisted they ride the ‘cryptid one.’ After all, they were all cryptid ones. He then gave the man a fond smile as he corrected himself. “Jumping out cryptids it is!” He then declared, grabbing the professor’s hand and setting off on their journey to wait in line for however long it would take to get to the front of the line. They had come on the weekend, so there would be some downtime that would happen while waiting in line. As soon as they made it to the back of the line, Elias let go of Gael’s hand, realizing what he had done with a blush to his cheeks. “Sorry, I didn’t… ask.” He let out, rubbing the back of his neck with his head down. 

While Gael wasn’t expecting Elias to take his hand, he certainly didn’t say anything or protest in any way as the taller man led them excitedly to the line for what they lovingly dubbed the ‘Jumping out Cryptids’ ride. It wasn’t until they had reached their spot at the back of the line that Elias seemed to suddenly acknowledge or be brought back to reality on what happened and the man suddenly released his hand. He allowed a pause to stand between them before Gael chuckled, catching the blush on the taller mans’ face, knowing that Elias was trying to avoid eye contact but fortunately Gael was so much shorter that it was easier for him to find his eyes with a raise of his brow. “You don’t have to apologize,” He said, light in his tone and he carefully reached out to gather Elias’ hand in his again. “I don’t know if I told you this, but…” It was his turn to be a little sheepish though he didn’t avoid eye contact or look down submissively, instead keeping his head up and looking at the line before them that winded into a blackened doorway where mechanical whirring could be heard faintly on the outside. “I’m tactile.” He scoffed, holding Elias’ hand loosely in his in case the latter got uncomfortable and wanted to pull away. “My mom always told me that I was too clingy but it’s just… easier for me to learn that way. Always has been.” Gael exhaled softly. “So! You don’t have to apologize for being excited or patting my shoulder or holding my hand.” He glanced up at Elias. “I promise.”

Elias thought for a moment before responding. “You know,” he began, a grinch-like smile spreading across his face as he put his hand onto his shoulder. “It’s touching that you’d say that.” His smile turned into a beaming grin, clearly proud of himself. He let his hand drop, feeling that his pun had made its point. “If you couldn’t tell, I kind of am too.” He confessed, shrugging his shoulders. “Not to everyone, mind you. It’s only with people I consider close.” He looked over to the other, shrugging his shoulder that was closer. “I suppose that means you.”

He scratched at the back of his neck, eyes falling forward as he waited in the line, excitement dwindling a bit as he realized what he was doing. Did the professor even like him like that? Was this pity? All of the thoughts swirled in his mind before he closed his eyes, forcing the thoughts out of his head. He couldn’t think like that, not now. As they reached the front of the line, Elias wiggled his brows. “I’ve heard that there are cryptids specific to Wicked’s Rest, though I don’t know anything about them. Besides the fact that there’s Bigfeet. Makes it sound like it’s a pack of them.” He felt himself rambling again, and he quickly shut his mouth. 

“Is it normal to be nervous?” He then asked after they had gotten into their mine cart. “I mean, not the ride. Is this a pity date?” He finally asked, looking over to Gael with a serious expression. “Because if it is, I don’t want it.” He felt strongly about this. It was something that had been weighing on his mind since he was asked, but he just couldn’t get the words to work. “I mean, I like you. I don’t want it to be on your end that you just felt bad that I’m not well-versed in dates.”

Getting confirmation that Elias was also touchy-feely set a warm feeling in Gael though he puffed out his cheeks and tsk’d at the pun. “Those are supposed to be MY thing,” He teased. “But I’m glad I’m included in your list - I imagine it’s not actually that long.” He remarked mildly - what he got to know about Elias lately included that the taller man wore a mask often when he was out and while there was a lot of genuine expression in it, there was obviously a reason why he obscured his true feelings though Gael still couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was aside from ‘possibly going insane’. Then the two fell silent, Gael glancing around absently at their surroundings as they shuffled through the line - lines made him feel like a zombie sometimes. Or cattle, maybe. He did look over as Elias struck up more small talk about cryptids. “Are there?” He asked, his eyebrows raising with interest. “Wait… so there’s only one of Bigfeet? Then why’s he called that… wait, is it because he’s got two big feet?” He mused, which just led to more questions about what other strange names people might’ve come up with for the local cryptids. He bet they had nothing on the Moth Man. More silence, which Gael realized he didn’t mind - he had multiple ways of enjoying the company of others, including being in close proximity to him though he made sure to give Elias little looks with a smile now and then. However, as they got into the little car fashioned after a minecart for the ride, Elias suddenly turned to him and firstly asked about being nervous. Before the other man could answer, the taller man followed up with the question he’d received multiple times throughout his life: ‘Was this a pity date?’ “...Why would I bring you on a date out of pity?” Gael found himself asking first - over the years, he’d grown either accustomed or tired of the question; he was many things and extended empathy where he could, sympathy for the rest and ‘pity’ wasn’t something he wasted his time with. He didn’t like feeling sorry for someone, he felt sorry with them and wanted to create solutions to perceived problems. “If I didn’t want to bring you, I would’ve just given you pointers on how to date someone else.” He explained, keeping his tone even though he raised his voice as they were tugged along into the open mouth of the ride. “Why, do you think this is a pity date? Do you want to go home?” 

Elias thought for a long moment on why he thought it was out of pity. He had spent a lot of his life having people do things out of pity with him. After all, he was the weird cryptid kid that no one wanted to be around. Suddenly, he was in high school again being made fun of. No, he couldn’t let that part of him win out. Here he was, ruining everything because of a stupid insecurity. He sighed, looking to the strange looking sea monster that popped up. “I supposed because that’s what I’m used to. I apologize for letting my own insecurity ruin things.” He spoke honestly, looking back over to the professor, then over his shoulder at a very real looking cryptid. It was a large clam-looking thing, it’s maw opening as they rode past. “Does that look real to you…” he spoke, voice trailing off when the ride suddenly picked up in speed. 

Elias, still confused, turned his head to look at the thing with an incredulous expression. “Huh.” He let out, trying to get back to what they were talking about. Oh right, that deep hole he’d dug himself into. Right. “Anyway I. Yeah, I understand if you’d rather leave, but. I’m sorry I said anything.” He wanted to bury his head into the earth, he felt so embarrassed. He didn’t want to keep talking, that only seemed to make things worse. Good job, man. You blew it with one of the hot people in this town. He couldn’t help but think to himself. As soon as the ride ended and they exited the car, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed of himself. “I let my own insecurities get the better of me.” He confessed, looking the other in the eyes. “And for that I’m truly sorry.”

He listened to the sounds of people screaming on a ride, the sounds of families laughing with each other as they passed. He should let himself have fun for once. “I’m grateful that you brought me here.” Elias spoke, attempting to lighten the mood with the park once again, unsure if it would land well. He looked around, seeing one of those test your strength game with the comically oversized mallet. “I bet you could hit the bell.” He offered, pointing in the direction of the carnival game. It was a weak attempt at patching things over, but an attempt all the same.

Of course Elias didn’t need to apologize, even if Gael sort of wished they weren’t on some phony jump-scare tugalong ride when the other man decided to bear his soul. The professor did understand Elias’ hesitation - the man hadn’t been there for long, neither of them had, and going by what else Gael had learned about him, it was that he purposefully didn’t put himself out there when it came to intimacy though he also figured that the mask he used came with its own set of problems. Gael didn’t have those problems, he never did; he tried to wear his emotions on his sleeve and he felt genuinely and broadly. It got him into trouble, for sure, but it wasn’t ever something insurmountable. He wasn’t even sure why he was thinking about this, comparing himself to Elias’ struggle, to the struggle a lot of people faced. He was a lot of people’s ‘first’ boyfriend, all the girls who didn’t know what they wanted or what to do and after a while he felt less of a partner and more of a teacher. Maybe he WAS on this date with Elias out of pity, even if he didn’t want to admit it. And he didn’t think that was the case - he gelled well with Elias. The two of them had a lot in common, yet not too much to negatively impact a relationship. Gael glanced around at the fake scares, the superficial fear that didn’t manage to push through his thoughts though some of them DID look more realistic than he initially surmised… and one or two of them smelled, too. He didn’t envy whoever was in their costumes. Soon enough, the ride was over and the duo stepped off to go find another activity. “I bet you can hit that bell.” Gael chimed in after a pause, having looked up at Elias earnestly as the latter apologized again. “I think you’re thinking way too much,” He added, crossing his arms loosely and holding a hand up. “You apologized thrice and mentioned insecurity twice.” He quirked one of his eyebrows before giving Elias a look and taking his hand again, not asking. “The only pity I’ll spare you is if you DON’T manage to hit that bell.” He laughed. “It’s okay to be nervous.” Gael’s expression softened. “And it’s okay to have insecurities. All I can do is help assuage them by assuring you that I’m here with you in this weird amusement park because I like you and I want you to be happy and have fun.” 

Shoving his embarrassment aside, he nodded his head, a soft smile appearing on his face. “Turning off my monkey brain,” he spoke, making a locking motion to his lips. “For as smart as I am, I’m kinda dumb.” He joked, knocking on his skull for emphasis. “It echoes sometimes, you know.” He added with a nod of his head, making his way over to the game. “Well I hope that it’s scaled down because if I recall correctly, you called me a beanpole.” He spoke with a scoff. As they continued to walk, he felt a sort of relief, as if he was allowed to be himself for once. He couldn’t help but mentally chastise himself for it, of course he could be himself around Gael, of all people.

“Uh, you first.” He insisted, gesturing toward the oversized mallet in front of them, the game attendant standing there with a smile on their face, just like they were paid to do. He felt weird, he hadn’t felt this way towards anyone in a while, but he also hadn’t met someone that he clicked so well with before either. And he listened to his cryptid facts? This guy was a catch for sure. He rifled a hand through his hair, letting his nervous energy go to finally allow himself to enjoy the park. Maybe the ride they just went on was cursed now, but it would be okay. “If I lose, at least I don’t go first.” He then added on, shifting his weight back and forth on his feet.

It was a strange feeling, letting himself just be in the moment. But it was a good feeling. He could be just like the excited groups that were walking around the park, he could let himself just feel happy. It was a foreign concept he hadn’t felt in a few years. Perhaps he was still letting the fog of his former life lift from him. But he couldn’t help but think at least it was finally lifting. It was no secret that Elias let himself feel things a bit too deeply. But he was having fun, and dammit, he had moved here to start over. And it was about time he finally did just that.

“You are a beanpole,” Gael couldn’t keep the smile off his face as Elias seemed to loosen up, or at least give that impression. Life was too short to stress about every little thing. He never did that and he had hoped that he didn’t give other people the idea that they couldn’t be themselves or that he was faking doing something just to make them feel better. Not that it was any of his business to say so and he certainly wouldn’t say it aloud but Gael meant the things he said and did; he found it much easier than putting on a mask of his own. At least in most regards. The animal attack and subsequent brain injury weren’t important, not important enough to draw attention to. Gael didn’t consider that a mask - rather, no one seemed to ask and it wasn’t as though he explicitly hid it from others when they did. That wasn’t what today was about, however, as he was led to the Strength game. “Okay, I’ll go first,” He nodded with confidence as his dark eyes glanced up - it wasn’t that big, not compared to the ones back home. Or maybe the ones back home just seemed huge because he was very small back then. The mallet wasn’t that heavy either but he remembered that these machines were strange in their operation sometimes - it was a manner of how you hit the target, where, the amount of weight on it. “Yeah, you have a point there.” Gael shrugged and gave Elias a clever look, moving past the conversation they had as though it wasn’t about anything worth ruminating over - that’s how he worked. If someone wanted to dwell, he’d dwell with them and he couldn’t keep himself from thinking about things sometimes but he also respected a healthy conversation and the ability to move past it. After a pause and some head tilting as he thought about the angles, the perceived weight of the meter and the weight distribution of the mallet, Gael stood at a peculiar angle himself, placed his legs a small distance apart and he brought the hammer down with justice. The little apparatus climbed and gently dinged the silver cowbell at the top - he just realized that this test your strength game was themed after a cow of some sort. In any case, soft as it was, he hit that bell and he rested the mallet on the paddle with a victorious smile, glancing up at Elias. “Physics!”

Admittedly, Elias couldn’t help but be a little won over by the professor’s use of physics to hit the bell. Judging by the age demographic of the people that frequented the park, he was willing to make his own judgement call. “Physics!” He exclaimed in return, taking Gael’s spot at the game and just whacked it as hard as he could. The apparatus went up and hit the bell with ease. “Children’s game!” He exclaimed with a wide smile. “Beanpole my ass.” He spoke with a point of his finger in the other man’s direction. “See? I can do strength things too. Like winning a test your strength game.” He spoke as he put the mallet down for the next person to take their shot with and walked back over to Gael’s side. 

“Do you remember that game where you’d shoot the water at the target to make the object go up and you’d win a prize?” He then asked, feeling fond memories of his own time at amusement parks as a child. He grinned. “I’m gonna try and win you a prize.” Elias vowed, looking around for what they could do next. “I haven’t been on a roller coaster since I was a kid. Hell, I haven’t been to an amusement park since I was a kid.” Elias then said, memories of cotton candy and overly expensive games circling around in his mind. 

It was then that he spotted Bigfeet himself, the costume left a lot to be desired, if he was going to be honest with himself. “That’s horrifying,” Elias whispered to Gael as he leaned into his personal space conspiratorially. “As much as I love cryptids, I hate mascot costumes.” He admitted to the other man with a serious nod of his head. “When my parents took my brother and I to Disney World, I cried at the sight of Pluto.” He thought back to the memory of the terrifying bipedal dog. “Something about it not being on four legs really freaked me out.” He couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the memory. 

Shaking his head out of the memories, he began to scan the park again. “So, what do you want to do next?” He asked, doing his best to ignore how his heart picked up in pace whenever he looked at Gael. He had to get over himself. Or maybe not? No, he couldn’t let himself think about that. After all, he had to live with the guy. If the feelings weren’t mutual, wouldn’t that be awkward for the both of them. Not wanting to seem too excitable, he ran a hand through his hair, biting down on his lip as he awaited Gael’s response.

“Psht, you won that one because you copied my homework, nerd,” Gael stuck his tongue out playfully though he still gave him a congratulatory applause for his success. The duo walked slowly, leisurely, and while Elias suggested thing after thing, each idea entering the slots in Gael’s brain as the latter wanted to view a map to better spend their time even if that was partially antithetical to their date, which was the two of them together going at their own pace. They were there to have fun, not go according to a schedule. Gael was pulled out of those thoughts, glancing from his own memories of water balloon-filling machines and coasters, which he ALSO hadn’t been on in years when Elias leaned into him and pointed out a guy in a mascot costume that hovered over a group of children in what he guessed was supposed to be friendly. He didn’t doubt the man on the inside was but from the outside, he silently agreed with Elias’ sentiments that mascot costumes were freaky. “What to do next, ey?” Gael glanced around mildly though his eyes kept drifting to the roller coaster. It HAD been a long time and he WAS seeking an actual ride after the disappointment of the ‘haunted cart’ ride… “The coaster?” He asked, looking at Elias and jerking his head towards the ride.Elias gave a fake pout to Gael as he was called a nerd. He was one to talk! “Though it takes one to know one, now doesn’t it?” He countered as he walked back over to his date, nudging into him lightly before they kept walking. There was something calming in the chaos of everything around them. He thrived off of the energy of others, from the excitable children running past to the adults that walked around enjoying the other’s company. Something about the summer heat and the people around him all enjoying themselves energized him, as it always had. 

“Coaster it is!” Elias replied, making his way to the line for the coaster. More waiting. While he was usually patient, the nervous energy that raced through him wasn’t helping. He let his weight bounce from foot to foot, wracking his brain for something to say to fill the silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but he enjoyed Gael’s presence. “So what do you do when school is out for the semester?” He asked, genuinely curious to learn more about the professor’s work. After all, it was no joke to be one. He had to really know his stuff. Elias could talk endlessly about his own passions, but he wanted to know more about him.

They went to wait in line for the Alpine Coaster (at least Gael thought that’s what it was called) and while he was again content to stand in the atmosphere of their surroundings, he figured Elias was up in his own head again. He only hoped that this time it wasn’t an assumption that he was just doing this out of pity again - he wondered how many accusations like that would’ve been enough to sour HIS mood. It didn’t happen often, really only impacting his temper those days around and after his… excursions. Brain injury. “Well, fortunately in the summer I don’t teach nearly as many classes,” Gael replied, tapping his chin absently as he looked up at Elias. “But when I’m not there, I’m doing whatever I want!” At this, he did a little… vague… dance sort of movement that involved bopping his shoulders and bending his knees slightly. “... So by that I mean I have time to go out and spend it with friends.” He straightened up and cleared his throat. “I heard that YOU had another job lined up - Dr. Kavanagh asked me about you. Gonna work at the morgue, eh?”

“What classes do you teach, exactly?” Elias wondered with a tilt of his head. “If you teach inorganic chemistry I bow down to you.” Elias held his hands up like he revered the other. “That’s a pretty good line up you got. I thought about teaching, but I just don’t think I’d be able to handle the pressure that you all are under. At least with being a professor, the kids want to be there.” He then frowned at the mention of Dr. Kavanagh. Speaking of pity… “Oh, yeah. The whole interaction was kind of strange, admittedly.” He ran a hand through his hair, thinking back on how he had met the woman. 

“She kept warning me to be weary of the people I worked for, then offered to interview me once she realized what I used to do.” He shrugged a shoulder. “And honestly, I left because of burnout, you know? I’m just trying to live my life for a bit as I figure out plan B. Is working for a bar really that bad?” He frowned, thinking back to Regan. “She’s interesting. And I have medical experience to some degree. I don’t mind working with the dead, I loved the cadaver labs back in college.” He explained further. “I used to be premed before I decided it was a money pit.” 

As they finally neared the front of the line, Elias looked up to the coaster. He hadn’t been on one of those since he was a kid. Hopefully the wooden ones held up. He listened to the elated screams of the riders that zoomed past them, smiling to himself. “I suppose maybe this could be a good fit. Not exactly engineering, but whatever.” He kept his smile, he was having a good time, even if it was spent waiting in lines and nearly making an ass out of himself. “Thanks for taking me here, by the way.” Elias murmured to Gael. “A good place, all things considered. I’m not used to people indulging in my interests the way you have.”

“Oh, just general chemistry - I specialize in physical chemistry though since I also went to school for physics.” Gael replied and gave a small nod. “And yeah, honestly. That’s why I decided to be a professor too… less uh… less to worry about. There’s a BUNCH of rules and stipulations and conditions and that just sounded a little too demanding, even for me.” The shorter man tilted his head slightly, catching Elias’ frown and listened to the taller man as he talked about the interview, Dr. Kavanagh’s warnings about the bar, the reminder about why Elias was where he was… Gael recalled their first conversation about schooling and college and he didn’t ask further at the time because it wasn’t his business once Elias affirmed that he was okay doing his own thing. “Well….” He also glanced up at the old attraction. “I’d just like for you to be happy.” He gave the taller man an earnest expression. “And it’s no problem, amigo,” He murmured back, looking mischievous with a small smile on his face. “Interests, hobbies, passions, these are all the things we’re supposed to nurture about each other and I love hearing about them.” Gael climbed into the other side of the car and leaned back, waiting for the bar to become adjusted according to Elias’ considerably longer legs. “And I mean, just between you and me, I kinda like you too.” He nudged the other man’s side playfully. 

Elias had already been impressed when Gael had told him he was a chemistry professor. He found himself even more impressed that the guy also studied physics. “I commend you,” he spoke with a serious expression and nod of his head. “Physics and chemistry? That’s some serious education.” He thought back to his own college experience, but it left a sour taste in his mouth. 

It meant a lot to Elias when the man had said he just wanted him to be happy. He’d spent so many sleepless nights about how he would be perceived by others, at how it looked for him to be working a nothing job when his education demanded more of him. “Well who knows, maybe the morgue gig will be just the thing for me. I get to do medical work like I originally wanted to do.” He shrugged a shoulder, ignoring the little voice in the back of his mind telling him to act. 

Elias’s smile only grew as the professor spoke of enjoying hearing about other people’s interests. It was one of the things that he liked so much about him, because he was the same way. “I like the way people light up when they talk about their interests.” He agreed with the nod of his head as they climbed into the car. He frowned as he realized how long he was as he sat in the low-seated car. It was almost comical. But then, he was completely thrown off guard by what Gael had just said to him. He turned to look at the man, his eyes comically large. He opened his mouth to reply, but the car took off, zooming to its first ascent. 

Click, click, click! The car went as it climbed to the top of the first peak. The clicks echoed in his mind, his nerves swelled with each click, but then he smiled, turning to look at Gael with a brilliant smile, and then, whoosh went the car as it turned to a rapid descent. His gaze darted forward again, eyes wide as he held onto the bar that kept them in place. The rickety coaster was making him feel a little uneasy, afraid the thing would come apart at any second. He didn’t want to make it known, so he just clenched his teeth and kept his gaze flitted forward, looking up at the next hill that loomed ahead.

“You’re so tall,” Gael teased as they adjusted the bar around the other man’s gangly legs, not wanting him to be uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure how comfortable HE was, however, as they were pulled along up around the bend and up the first hill. Was this a bad idea? He didn’t know how much he himself trusted wooden roller coasters, especially in a strange town like this but he pushed the negativity out of his mind. With an exchange of two enthusiastic, if nervous glances, they were over the first hill and the rest of the ride all but flitted in Gael’s mind as the professor clenched the bar with impossibly tight fists, hearing the roar of the old wooden contraption and feeling his stomach seem to float openly in his abdomen with each hill, each jerky turn on the rails and abrupt stop as they were yoinked around. Gael didn’t speak, scream, or even seem to breathe until they were off the ride where he exhaled loudly, blinking in bewilderment as he clutched one of Elias’ arms for support. “Wow! That was… ooh, it’s been a while since I’ve been on one of those,” He admitted, glancing up and giving the taller man a smile before a look crossed his features and he placed his other hand to his stomach. “Aaand I need a trash can.”

Roller coasters weren’t what they used to be, as it turned out. While as a child, Elias used to love the adrenaline rush, there was something about a wooden coaster that was rather rickety. He started feeling dizzy by the time the ride was over, and man was he glad when it ended. As he got out, he had to stare at something that wasn’t in motion for a minute before he started to feel like himself again. 

He couldn’t help but laugh after they had walked away from the ride, only to have Gael grab his arm, to which Elias turned to look at him. “Dizzy, huh?” He guessed, seeing as how he had just dealt with it himself. “I don’t think we’re built for those rides like we used to be as kids.” He decided aloud, shaking his head. He then frowned as the professor proclaimed his need for a trash can, and quickly whipped his head around to find one. Once he spotted one thankfully not too far away, he guided the poor guy toward the trash can and patted him on the back. “Let it out, buddy.” He commented before taking a step behind him, not wanting to get in the splash zone, as it were.

Elias thought for a long moment about something they could do to perhaps calm down. After the disaster that was the cryptid ride and now the roller coaster, he couldn’t help but feel like this was starting to turn out like a total failure. Still, he had been having fun after his own blunder. “You want to sit down?” He asked with a sympathetic expression, head tilted to one side. There was a bench beside the trash can, and a ferris wheel not too far off. “There’s a ferris wheel too, if you want something to do.” He suggested. 

It was a good thing Gael wasn’t too proud to show weakness as Elias led him to a nearby trash can otherwise he’d feel foolish right about now. “You’re telling me,” He forced a laugh between heaves. “Sorry, sometimes I forget how old I am.” Heaving a few exhales and pulling out a small pack of tissues to clean up his face, he leaned away from the trash can and his brown eyes danced on the bench that was near them before he turned to find the ferris wheel, the giant machine that seemed to be the centerpiece of any ‘first date’. “Ooh, yeah!” Gael said enthusiastically, placing a hand on his stomach as though trying to finish settling it as he kept his eyes on the attraction. Moving a little slower than before they got onto the wooden coaster though with his usual enthusiasm, he took Elias’ hand and looked sideways at him as he tugged the taller man along to the ride, which had a much shorter line thankfully. “Have you been on a ferris wheel before?” He asked curiously, looking up at Elias. “This is the biggest one I think I’ll have been on but I know for a fact that it won’t screw my stomach up.” He laughed, trying to push past his own embarrassment for how foolish he must’ve looked as he bent over a trash can after riding what was probably considered a ‘mediocre’ roller coaster at best.

Elias frowned as Gael let out whatever was left in his stomach, he wanted to console him, but at the same time he didn’t want to get too close. After a few moments, the professor was attempting to act like his normal self, to which he was a bit grateful. Then, he was taken by the hand and found himself in line for the ferris wheel. It was strange, holding someone’s hand. It was intimate experience that he hadn’t had much of, but he found that with Gael, it was easy to overcome the awkwardness. So, he found himself squeezing back into the hand hold. 

“Oh, once or twice,” he responded with a nod of his head. “I grew up in San Diego, so I’ve seen a few.” He explained with a shrug of his shoulder. “Are you going to be alright?” He then asked, worry melting over his face at the mention of Gael’s stomach. “I mean, if you want to leave I totally understand.” He tried to reason, afraid that the man was pushing himself too hard for Elias’s sake.

After a brief moment of waiting, they were getting into the ride and taking off into the air. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t want to ruin the mood. He found that when he opened his mouth when he liked someone, nonsense spewed out. So he was silent for a moment, noticing that their hands were still clasped together. He stared out the side, looking as the people on the ground got smaller the higher up they went. There was something peaceful about it. “Despite the hiccups, I’ve enjoyed the day.” He then spoke, turning to look at Gael.

“Nah, it’ll be fine,” Gael encouraged, already feeling better though now he also felt hunger gnawing on his empty stomach. The two stood in the short line and soon enough they were both in the two-person car. Notably, he didn’t let go of Elias’ hand this time, feeling his warmth, feeling their palms against each other. The two were silent as they ascended, Gael himself feeling decidedly more at peace on the slow, much steadier ride. He took this opportunity to look out again over the town and for a moment, he felt very similarly to how he had the day that Monty took him on the trail with the view. Everyone looked small, but the town itself seemed massive. Granted, he couldn’t see as much as then but the feeling that fluttered through his extremities… He inhaled deeply as the creases that tugged on the corners of his eyes in a smile formed his face. Then Elias spoke up and Gael slowly looked over at the taller man, keeping the smile on his angled jaw. “I’m so glad,” He replied softly and for a moment, he seemed to hesitate on something that lingered in the frontal lobe of his brain. His eyes danced on Elias’ face and he inhaled as though about to say something but he nothing came out. Instead, he lifted their hands, turned them so that Elias’ was facing him and he glanced down at it before lowering his head and kissing the back. “Thank you for coming with me today,” He said quietly.

As the kiss was pressed to the back of his hand, his brain short-circuited. He was suddenly so nervous and over the moon at the same time. He wanted to do something, say something, but the words didn’t work. Instead, his face lit up into a soft, almost private smile. “I would absolutely do it again. Maybe somewhere different next time, less wild rides.” He spoke, voice quiet, but had a delighted tone to it. 

Suddenly, they were at the highest point of the ferris wheel, and he wanted to say something, but the words didn’t come. Instead, he simply leaned back into the seat and let out a sigh. Then, he decided to be bold. He leaned in forward and pressed his lips to Gael’s. It was brief, and before he could realize what he had done, he had pulled away. Feeling his awkwardness rise up from the depths, he felt an overwhelming need to say something else. Anything else.

“Maybe something more intimate, like dinner.” It was a bold move, and it reminded him back to the last time he had been on a date. Her name was Sarah. It was back when he had first started his job back when he was in his early twenties. They had worked in the same space and they had worked, until they hadn’t. But he didn’t want to think about her right now. It felt like butterflies, allowing himself to be this close to someone again.  Another soft smile was exchanged with the taller man, more walls that weren’t erected with Gael managing to lower themselves. He was no stranger to making his emotions known and even when he was in this one-on-one situation, which he was sure was nerve-wracking to people with higher levels of anxiety, he was comfortable. Being around Elias was comfortable, a selfish little piece that he knew Elias had shown him that he wanted to keep for himself - he had one with Monty, he had one with Elias and he felt very thankful for these pieces of others he was given to fawn over. To fawn over them, priceless treasures in his mind.

While he was content with the kiss on Elias’ hand, a small display of intimacy he wasn’t sure and didn’t ask for permission for, Gael wasn’t expecting the other man’s lips to brush against his in a brief but still lovely and surprising kiss. He blinked at the kiss but he didn’t flinch away or even react until Elias pulled away, feeling his head following the sensation slightly before he went back to looking ahead; he wasn’t embarrassed at all but he was sure Elias might’ve been reeling inside with his spontaneity so he instead didn’t gawk, squeezing the taller man’s hand gently with affirmation.

“We can do dinner next time,” Gael breathed, looking out over the view again and trying to settle down the new little butterflies that fluttered in his heart.

[irishhills]

love in second-period drama class

Luke Egan is absolutely ready.

He’s the youngest student in his drama class at school – the only freshman – and the junior girls love him. They really do. Whenever they have to write their own sketches, this group of three junior girls always want him in their group, and they always feature him in a part. Last week, when their prompt was nightclub, they had him play “Tony Manero, but he can’t dance.” It was a hit.

But Misty Meuller seemed to like it best.

Misty Meuller, with the light brown hair, like an old jazz standard. It almost feels surreal to have a class with her. She’s one of the popular kids, a frontrunner for next year’s homecoming queen, and maybe the sweetest girl Luke has ever met. Somehow, by the grace of God and all the prayers Luke says at school Mass, she doesn’t have a boyfriend, either.

And that probably means she doesn’t have a date for this year’s homecoming dance.

Luke doesn’t share his plans with anyone. His friends don’t know. They’re too immature to understand what it really means to like a junior. They’d think it was all about sex, but Luke knows it’s more than that with him and Misty. They really make each other laugh. Last week, when she was pretending to be Tony Manero’s dance partner, she had Luke in stitches. It’s only been a month, but Luke thinks they really get each other. Why else would she always want to sit next to him? She could sit next to anybody.

Chris seems to know something about it, somehow. On their way to school, less than two hours before Luke plans to ask Misty to the dance, Chris says something about how Luke always has a crush on older women. He rattles off a litany: Mom’s best friend Ruby, her other friend Mary, that picture of Mary’s daughter whom he’s never met, Raquel Welch on The Muppet Show, the lunch lady in elementary school. He would have gone on if Luke hadn’t punched him in the arm. It was well worth Mom snapping at him not to punch Chris in the arm. What does he know, anyway? He’s in seventh grade already, his best friend is a girl, and he doesn’t even have a crush on her. Damn kids.

Drama class begins the same way everyday. Their teacher, Mrs. Hopkins, makes them do breathing and trust exercises for ten minutes. Like always, Luke and Misty Meuller are partners. As they breathe in and out, Luke tells Misty he has something important to discuss.

“Is it that scene where we make fun of The Andy Griffith Show?” she asks. “I mean, I’ve seen a few episodes, but I’m really worried the rest of the class isn’t going to get it.”

“It’s not that,” Luke says. “And The Andy Griffith Show is awesome. Everybody will get that.”

“I don’t know. I thought Angela’s Happy Days idea was a little more universal.”

“It’s not about that. It’s not about class, and it’s not about any sitcoms with Ron Howard in them. It’s about the homecoming dance.”

Misty’s eyes light up. So, it’s on her mind!

“Oh, Luke!” she says. “Are you going?”

“Well, I was planning on it.”

“That’s so great! Do you have a date?”

His heart feels like it’s going to split in half and pop out both of his ears. Misty grins at him, those big brown eyes like the prettiest doe in the woods. Maybe Luke will die before asking her to the dance. Maybe that’s what he wishes for, actually.

No such luck. He’s still breathing, and he’s still suffering the world’s worst case of teenage tachycardia.

“Not yet,” Luke says. “I was actually wondering if … well, if you wanted to go with me.”

The powdered blush on Misty’s cheeks looks unnatural now.

“Oh,” she finally says. “Well …”

“I never see you with any guys like that,” Luke says. “And I figured … I don’t know, I figured I must have won the lottery or something. I know I’m …”

“The sweetest,” Misty interrupts. “But I think we got our … my boyfriend graduated last year. He goes to Eastern. Hey, isn’t that where your mom teaches?”

Luke swallows hard.

“Yeah,” he says.

“Cool. Maybe he’s in one of her classes.”

“I doubt it, unless he really likes learning about Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan.”

Misty makes a face like she – somehow – doesn’t know who either of those women are. Luke represses the urge to shake his head. Maybe she wasn’t such a great dream date after all.

“Anyway, I got a guest pass for him yesterday,” Misty says. “He’s taking me to the dance. He’s a little beyond it now, but I’d feel like I was missing out if I went without him. You know?”

Luke nods, even though he can’t begin to imagine it.

“But, hey,” Misty keeps trying. “Maybe I could help find a girl for you to ask. Like another freshman.”

Another freshman.

Sounds like Luke’s worst nightmare.

But he nods and tells Misty Meuller he thinks that would be a great idea.

At least he’ll get to spend more time with her.

[moby-writing-and-stuff]

Scavenging Gone Bad

“I’ve told you, Mike, I transferred the last bit of payment for the repairs before I left,” the ginger twenty-six-year-old said as he leaned back in the pilot’s chair, his eyes not leaving the window in front of him, as he saw other ships fly around him. His hands were resting lazily on the controls, ready to grab them at a moment's notice, but relaxed and willing to let the ship’s autopilot handle everything for now.

“Well, the mechanic keeps calling me about how we stiffed him, Keith” the synthesized voice of his partner came through the ship’s intercom, crackling a bit due to the distance between the ship and where the transmission was coming.

“Ha! If anything, he stiffed us” Keith Coolidge said with a chuckle as he moved around a bit in the chair to try and find the comfy spot “Pretty sure he charged me twice as much as he should have for the work he did on the ship”

“I keep telling you we need to buy a new hauler,” Mike said, and despite the lack of visual elements to the call, Keith knew his husband was rolling his eyes “People just don’t carry the parts for it anymore, so, of course, he charged extra”

“Yeah, I’d buy that if he actually replaced anything” Keith grumbled “I’m convinced he just slapped some hyper-glue and sealant tape on everything and called it a day… Plus you know that this old girl has things modern ships don’t.”

“I know, I know,” Mike said in a tone that made it clear it was a discussion the two have had many many times over. Keith chuckled, but before he could say anything else, the lights on the chair’s arm beeped and blinked blue.

“Ugh, gotta hand up,” Keith said as he sat up a bit straighter “Got an inspection…”

“Right, hope they’re not too rough on ya,” Mike said with sympathy clear in his voice “Love ya, talk later”

“Love you too,” Keith said with a smile as he hung up the communicator and let out a sigh “Righto… Time to talk to the asshats..” he mumbled as he tapped the blinking blue button.

“You are attempting to leave the Sovereign Territory of the Othrys system” came the automated voice of the Border Security “State your name, citizenship, and occupation”

“Keith Coolidge,” the ginger said in a flat tone “Citizen of Othrys, planet Kronos. Occupation is Scavanger.”

Keith had gone through this particular routine so much he could do it in his sleep. It was one of the costs of living in the Othrys System Republic, one of the most calm states in the galaxy. Through the past thousand years, humanity had left its cradle in the Solar System and spread outwards through the entire galaxy after the discovery of Tunnel FTL drive and never really looked back. Nowadays, humans were spread through the entire galaxy, settling and building up on every habitable planet they could find, and even those that weren’t in the case of particularly daring and crazy. And when enough planets shared some kind of culture or ideals they tended to unite into a Sovereign System, of which there were so many it got difficult to count and each was unique in its own way. Some horrible and some near utopian.

Really, living in Othrys wasn’t that bad, Keith knew that. Clean cities, fair laws, good standard of living. Kinda came with being known as the Cultural and Humanitarian Center of Humanity’s various states. Most people in Othrys studied to become great artists, musicians, medics, and scientists. Most people.

And Keith wasn’t most people.

“Accessing…” the computerized voice of Border Security said, “Please stand by for Organic Security Officer…”

“Of course…” Keith said with a sigh as the line went dead for a second, only to be picked up by a rather gruff and bored-sounding voice.

“So, you are heading out to pick through the bits, Scavver?” the officer said

“Yes,” Keith said, rolling his eyes “And I’ve got all my permits up to date and signed”

“Huh, sure. Just upload em” the guy said. Keith sighed and hit a few buttons on the ship’s console, uploading the forms to the guy’s ship. Scavengers, or Scavvers as most people called them, weren’t exactly the most popular vocations in the galaxy, especially in societies like Othrys that prided themselves on being highly educated, high-class society. And people who went into space to pick through old shipwrecks and old alien ruins for valuable salvage and old alien artifacts weren’t exactly high on that list.

“Right, everything seems to be in order,” the guy on the other said “Try not to trespass into Shiva Empire territory, we’ve gotten way too many idiots who decide to go and poke through their wrecks, and it’s always a headache.”

“No worries there,” Keith said with a shiver. The Shiva Empire was one of the biggest Sovereign Systems in the galaxy and one of the nastiest. A bunch of expansionists, military-obsessed nutters who were only not actively conquering everything because every other system put immense pressure on them. And they did not take kindly to people who trespassed in their space and they certainly didn’t appreciate scavvers looking for a payday. “I’m heading in the complete opposite direction from them”

“Good. Got enough headaches to deal with. Now move along, you making a line” the officer said as he cut the comms.

“Real friendly guy…” Keith mumbled as he grabbed the ship’s controls and activated the thrusters, flying forward and officially out of Othrys. He twisted and manipulated the controls a bit, flying the ship further out before bringing up the communicator and dialing his husband again.

“So, everything went fine then?” Mike asked as soon as the line connected

“Considering the fact you're talking to me and not a Security Officer who doesn't get enough personal time, yeah” Keith joked as he piloted the ship towards the minimum safe distance to FTL. “But anyways, was just giving you one more call before I tunnel into FTL and wanted to talk one last time. I have a good feeling about this tip, the guy seemed really convinced that Ghost Ship he stumbled across could be worth something.”

“Thanks, Kit” Mike said “Wish I was there with you”

“I know,” Keith said with a sad nod “Wish you were too, but honestly it's for the best you stay home.”

“Ke-”

“Mike, we’re not having this argument again and definitely not having it over a comm unit,” Keith said in a serious tone “You had a full-on panic attack last time, Mike. A really bad one.”

“It wasn’t that bad…” his partner said

“Mike, we had to turn around to leave and I damn near had to sedate you,” Keith said in the same serious tone. Keith usually scavenged with his partner, but a few years ago, Mike got caught in a collapsing tunnel that cost him his arm and legs. While he had gotten holographic prosthetics that pretty much allowed him the same functionality he had before, he was still working through the mental trauma he got as a result of it. Most of the time, it was something the two of them could work through, but the last time it had been a rather serious one, and now the ginger wasn’t taking any chances. “Plus, I paid for those sessions for you with Dr. Hypatia already. And you know she doesn't do refunds”

“Fine,” Mike said, the tone of his voice making it clear he was throwing up his arms in defeat which made the ginger pilot grin a little “Have a safe trip, Kit”

“Thanks, Mikey,” Keith said. The comm unit cut off a second later, and Keith typed in the coordinates of his destination. 

Tunnel Drive…Online came the voice of the ship’s computer Drive warmed up…Coordinates accepted….Tunneling in 3…2…1…

Keith gripped the sides of the chair tightly as the entire ship lurched forward and blasted ahead, a rainbow of colors replacing the blackness of space as he entered the FTL tunnel. Keith kept a tight grip on the chair for a few minutes before letting go with a sigh and unbuckling himself.

“Right…inertia dampeners still holding…” Keith mumbled as he stood up and shook his head. “Computer, estimated time to arrival?”

Calculating….Estimated arrival time is…4 hours and 40 minutes

“Right… guess I better go get some shut-eye,” Keith said with a small yawn “Set alarm for 4 hours and thiry minutes” There was a small beep as the computer accepted the command. Keith yawned again and headed for the back of the ship to try and get some extra sleep before he got to the rather hard work of scavenging.

=============================================

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Keith grunted as he woke up, blinking and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as the dull sound of the alarm rang out. He hit the off-button on the panel next to his bunk as he sat up, but the beeping continued.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Oh come on…” he groaned as he gave the panel a smack and hit the button again, this time with more force behind it. A second later the beeping stopped, the only sound being the background hum of the Tunnel Drive. “Finally…” he said, rubbing his eyes as he stood up “Just one more thing in this tub that needs fixing I guess…”

The ginger scavenger yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he stood up and stretched, his eyes traveling around the small quarters. The ship he and his husband owned wasn’t exactly what people would call a luxury vessel. Most people would charitably call it a ‘flying hunk of scrap metal’. It was old, around seventy years out of date and almost every piece in it just wasn’t available on the market anymore, making repairs a complete pain in the ass which often ended with jury-rigged repairs. 

“One day we’ll be able to get a new ship…” Keith mumbled as he grabbed his boots and slipped them on with one hand and tapped the panel with the other. It beeped for a second and a small rectangular box dropped out, which he grabbed and jabbed into his neck. He shivered as a wave of energy rushed through his body and any sense of drowsiness evaporated from his body. “And someday we’ll get a ship with a coffee machine instead of using WakeUp Stims…” Keith mumbled as he chucked the now empty box into the garbage can in the corner of the room. Keith and his husband were always hard up on credits, mostly from where they lived. Living on Orthys was not cheap, even in the relatively less affluent area where the two had their apartment. Combine that with the fact the two needed to buy equipment for their scavving trips, repairs on the ship, and the day-to-day ways they needed to spend money, the two were not in any position to buy a new spaceship. Keith let out a small sigh as he stood up, grabbed his belt off the table next to the garbage can, and stepped out of the quarters, the door sliding shut behind him, leaving him back on the ship’s bridge, the never-ending rainbow of FTL blasting through the windows.

“Right, let’s take another look,” Keith said as he took a seat again, tapping the controls on the armrests. A second later, a hologram flickered in front of him, showing a map of the Milky Way Galaxy.

“Computer,” Keith said “Give me a description of the area.”

Accessing… the computer said as the map zoomed in on the area the ship was heading According to the Orthys’ galactic map, the territory is currently determined as ‘Non-Viable’

“Meaning its useless for colonization or industry” Keith mumbled

Correct. All terrestrial planets in the sector are too hostile for colonization. Gas and Ice Giants are considered unviable for fuel extraction due to isolation.

“So, it's the middle of bumfuck nowhere,” Keith said with a small smile. “Means no chance of anyone getting annoyed at me. Not counting the guys at the bar anyways” he turned back to the map “Give me Galactic Archeological records of the area. Who lived here?”

Accessing… the computer beeped as the map of the galaxy began to be separated into separate colors and names. Keith’s eyes washed over some of them as he waited for a response. The galaxy, as much as people could figure out, worked in a cycle of some kind. An alien species became advanced enough to spread out amongst the stars, they would expand, colonize, conquer, go to war, and then, eventually collapse. So far, archeologists have identified four previous alien civilizations that had expanded through the galaxy, with hints of there being even more in the distant past. While the idea of the cycle was something theologians and philosophers were fascinated by, for Keith it had a much simpler meaning. 

Alien tech was worth a fuck-ton of credits to the right buyer, no matter what species it belonged to.

Results found. According to the Pan-Galactic Archeological Organization, this sector belonged to the Cok'ex species. 

“Cok'ex?” Keith asked, raising an eyebrow “Not familiar with those… Elaborate”

The Cok'ex were one of the smaller galactic communities, as far as current research shows. They are believed to resemble humanoids, with large horns on their heads. They were extremely advanced, with cybernetics and robotics being extensively used throughout their civilization, but no working examples of their technology have been recovered to date.

“Heh, well then that sounds perfect,” Keith said with a grin. A ghost ship in an area that barely any humans really cared about, but was once the territory of one of the most advanced extinct alien civs? That had the sound of a perfect payday to him. He tapped a few buttons and deactivated the hologram. 

Warning. Arrival imminent. Brace for Tunnel-Exit

“Here we go,” Keith said with a grin as he grabbed the controls “Time to get rich!”

He grunted as he was jolted forward, the rainbow of colors evaporating back into the normal star-speckled blackness of space. He groaned a bit and shook his head as he started piloting the ship himself.

“Right time to get a look around…” the ginger mumbled as he tapped on the controls “Launch Scanners”

Understood the computer answered and a THUD rang out across the ship as the ship’s multi-directional scanners were launched.

“Okay, let’s take a look at what we’ve got here…” Keith mumbled as he tapped a few more buttons, a hologram of the system popped up in front of him. The scanners were designed to pinpoint the location of anything manufactured when scanning, so he just gave it a second as he stared at the holograms of the planets and the star of the system he was currently in. Then, a small red dot appeared on the hologram and a PING rang out through the ship’s speakers. 

The ginger’s grin grew as he grabbed the controls and began to fly over to the coordinates the scanners had given him.

“Time for payday,” he said with a grin as he boosted the engines. =============================================

“Right…” Keith mumbled as he stood in the airlock, making sure he had all of his gear “Flashlight… check. Holo-armor… check… emergency blaster….” he tapped the side of his belt and let out a sigh “And this is why you do checks every time, Keith” he said as he reached over the to the small locker next to him and grabbed a small pistol. He tapped the top of it, and the square on top glowed bright green and hummed lightly “Right, blaster is charged in case of emergency…” he muttered as he slipped it into his holster and stepped closer to the airlock. “Computer, is the scan of the vessel complete?”

Yes the computer answered Scans show the vessel’s structure is intact but there is no breathable atmosphere within

“Right, breathing equipment then,” Keith said as he turned back to the locker and began fishing through it “Sealed environment or vacuum?”

Sealed and pressurized. Scans do not show any risk of structural weakness in the hull, so a breach is unlikely

“Huh, guess these guys built their things to last then,” Keith said as he grabbed a pair of goggles and a breathing mask, slipping both on. “Power readings?”

Minimal the computer said Archeological records show that Cok'ex vessels have extensive power storage, meant to keep a ship active for centuries. It is likely that backup reactors or capacitors are active on the ship but are disconnected.

“Hmm, that could be handy or dangerous,” Keith said, crossing his arms and then shrugging “Well that’s a bridge I’ll cross when I get to it.” he walked up to the door and activated the Airlock Cycle. A loud hiss rang out all around him as the door behind him that led back to his own ship slammed shut and sealed. A second later, the door in front of him opened with a slow his. Keith took a deep breath as the atmosphere of the ship rushed in, the mask converting the alien atmosphere to oxygen and nitrogen for him to breathe. He pulled out his flashlight and stepped out of the airlock and onto the alien ship proper.

The ship’s interior was big, clearly built for beings far taller than Keith could ever hope to be. He pointed his flashlight upwards and could see catwalks and doors leading to other areas of the ship. The walls and floors were made up of dark green metal with no sign of visible light fixtures on them, at least none that Keith could see. He took a deep breath and ventured deeper, the clacking on his boots on the metal floor echoing all around him. He shone his flashlight over everything, seeing if there was anything to grab.

“This ship is… surprisingly spartan…” he mumbled to himself. He couldn’t see any decorations, flourishes, or any real personality of any kind. The ship seemed to be built with utility as literally its only function. “These aliens must have been really boring to talk to…” he said, shaking his head and moving deeper into the ship, passing under the catwalks. As he walked, he felt his foot hit something. Out of reflex, he pulled out his blaster and pointed it at whatever he hit, alongside his flashlight. “What the…” he mumbled, slipping the blaster back into his holster and crouching down “Is that a glove?”

It was indeed a glove. A rather large one, made of what seemed to be hard black rubber with green lines. Frowning, Keith gave it a poke with his boots before reaching down and grabbing it. “Wow, this thing is surprisingly heavy for a glove” Keith mumbled as he held it in his hand “Weighs about as much as my blaster…” he pointed his flashlight to the inside and grinned as the light illuminated a maze of green circuits all through the inside of the glove. Almost every inch of the thing’s interior was covered in them. “Oh, you alone are gonna make this trip worthwhile. I can get tons of credits for alien computer parts!” Keith said with a grin as he patted it. He carefully slipped it onto a small loop on his belt and after securing it, kept going forwards. 

“I might have just found a piece of power armor…” he said to himself, thinking out loud as he passed through an open door and into the ship’s darkened hallways. “If that’s the case, there’s probably even more in here somewhere, I doubt they just brought along one glove…If I can get an entire suit of the stuff, we’ll be set for years! Hell, if I do that, I could afford to come back with a full team and properly strip this thing! We’d be set for life after something like that!”

He was lost in his musings, so he didn’t notice where he was going until he ran smack into a large sealed door, making him almost fall on his ass.

“Gah..Shit, focus Keith” he mumbled, shaking his head “Don’t get lost in your head while scavving” he took a deep breath and looked around a bit.

The door was massive, almost twice as tall as him and like the rest of the ship, was made of dark green metal. Frowning, the ginger leaned closer and knocked on the door gently, listening to the sound to see how thick it was. “Well nuts…” he mumbled “I’m not cutting through that with my blaster…” he moved his flashlight over to the walls around the door, and smiled a little, seeing a small bulb next to it. “Right, the door is motion activated,” he said, reaching down with his free hand to tap the glove “So getting it open means turning the power back on… Or I could just go…” he glanced back at the way he came in, then down at the glove resting on his belt and smirked. “Yeah, I’m not leaving without a full suit of this stuff. Guess it's time to track down the backup generator.”

=============================================

Keith let out a contented sigh as he plugged a wire into another socket, smiling as he felt the hum of power moving through it. 

“Perfect” he muttered “Just a few more and this thing will be done.” It hadn’t taken long to find the backup generator which was in the large room where he first entered, and even less to crack it open and start rewiring things as necessary. He held out his right hand, and a small hologram of an identical generator appeared out of a projector in his hand. It was an image of a Cok'ex’s generator from the museum back home, which had been jury-rigged to work. “Right, now all I need to do is….shift one more plug…” he mumbled, doing that with his free hand “and hit the reset button!” he jammed his thumb on the bright blue button next to the mess of wires spilling out of the generator. 

The thing hummed and the wires began to glow bright neon green, power flowing through them. A few sparks blasted out the side of it, making the ginger scavver scramble back a bit out of reflex. A second later, the lights on the wall flickered and began to glow in different shades of green, and many parts that were pitch black began to turn on with alien characters. 

“Perfect,” Keith said with a grin as he scrambled back to his feet and wiped the dust off his body. He turned around and headed back to the hallway he had been at before. He reached the door and grinned as he saw the bulb shining green “Heh, guess I can guess what this species’ favorite color is” he said, chuckling as he walked up the door. The light blinked blue and the door hissed open. “YES!” he cheered, dashing inside to see what exactly was his prize for this trip.

Inside was a series of tubes, six in total, two on each wall except the one with the door. Five of them were occupied, much to Keith’s joy. He walked up to the nearest one, a massive grin on his face as he looked through the transparent material.

Inside the five tubes were massive figures, almost three times as tall as Keith and built like professional bodybuilders. They seemed to be made of the same shiny, glossy material as the glove he had found earlier. They mostly resembled humans, except for their heads which more resembled a bull, with a snout and a pair of massive horns pointing out of the sides of their heads. There weren’t any visible eyes, but from the light reflecting off them, the ginger could tell that in place of eyes, there were screens.

“Five entire suits of Cok'ex’s gear…” Keith said with a huge grin on his face as he looked around. All five of the figures were identical, down to the smallest detail. He rested his hand on the barrier, thinking of how much these would be worth as soon as he got them out. “Now…where’s the release switch…” he mumbled to himself as he looked around, but couldn’t see anything. Each of the tubes was completely free of any sort of panel or interface, the only thing on them apart from the transparent material being a soft blue light at the base, similar to the one by the side of the door. 

“Damn it…” Keith mumbled as he took a step back and looked around the entire room in more detail. Again he didn’t see any panel or form interface. All there was were some wires connecting the tubes to the ceiling “Great, controls are probably on the bridge or something…” he shook his head as he looked at the tube separating him from his prize “Why would you put the controls to the armory on the bridge? That just seems needlessly complicated…” he tapped the transparent material, frowning a bit as he heard the ‘thunk’ echo out across the empty room. “Hmm…I might just be able to cut through this….”

He pulled his blaster out of its holster, aiming it at the tube, and pulled the trigger. A loud hum rang out from the weapon as a bright green beam blasted out of the barrel, sparks flying out as it began to slowly cut through the material in front of him. 

“Right…” he mumbled as he increased the power output, the beam shifting to red as the heat increased “There we go…. Just a bit long- GYAH!” Keith’s words were interrupted as he felt something cold and metal wrapping itself around his arm. A second later, he felt another one attach to his other arm, the sudden tightness around his wrist making him drop his blaster “W-What the hell!?” he shouted, looking down at his arms, going pale as he saw that it was two metal cables with green glowing lines on them, much like the rest of the tech around him. He looked behind him, his eyes going wide as he saw that the empty tube had hissed open, and the cables had come out from it. Around it, bright orange lights were flashing and a very soft, almost unhearable buzz was ringing out of the walls. “S-Shit…” the ginger mumbled as he saw the back of the tube opening up and more cables shot out towards him. Two wrapped themselves around his ankles, tightening around so much he wouldn’t be able to wiggle free at all. The scavenger barely had time to react as the cables retracted, dragging him into the tube

“GAH!” he grunted as his back slammed into the wall, the tube closing with a hiss around him. “W-What’s going…”

Aoinga gadlea Mandgayu a voice intoned in an alien tongue that Keith didn’t understand a single word of.

“L-LET ME OUT!” Keith shouted, trying to break free of the cables, but unable to move a single inch from the wall. 

Aoinga gadlea Mandgayu the voice intoned again, either ignoring Keith or unable to understand him period. The tube shifted, changing from transparent to an opaque dark green. Keith’s eyes went wide as that happened, leaving him trapped in darkness, but that did not last, as a few seconds later, a series of bright green beams appeared on top and bottom of the tube and began moving towards him.

“Shit!” he hissed, wiggling as he tried to break free “Shitshitshitshitshit!” he closed his eyes and braced himself as the beams reached his feet and the top of his head.

There was a loud buzzing sound and the smell of something burning as the beams crisscrossed over his entire body. As they moved, they turned his clothes and any hair on his body into ash, which was rapidly sucked up by a built-in vacuum cleaner on the ground. He was left completely nude and free of hair in the tube after the first passing of the beams, and his blaster and the glove fell to the ground, clanking against the metal floor as they now had nothing to hold on to. The scavver opened his eyes slowly as he heard the sound of the items hitting the floor and looked around. As he did, he moved his head and realized what the beam had done.

“Fuck!” he groaned, shaking his head “That’s gonna be a pain in the ass to fix…” he looked down at the floor, his face going a bit red as he saw his freckle-covered bare form, but he focused on the floor and the items on the ground.

Kjadad mnad…Edaknag the voice spoke again as a series of blue beams formed on the ground, scanning the items. The ones touching his blaster turned bright red and flashed, and the smell of burning flooded Keith’s nostrils again as it was reduced to ashes.

“I’m so fucked…” he mumbled, trying to wiggle free again with no dice. The beams hitting the glove however, changed to green and a high-pitched beeping noise rang out instead. An arm popped out of the ceiling and picked it up, moving it closer to Keith

Kioad….gadn keatpo the voice said one more time before the glove lit up, the green circuits on the glove starting to glow a bright green, as did lines on the surface of the glove. It hissed as it opened up as well. The tubes holding Keith’s arm began to move as well, forcing his hand forward and into the open glove.

“W-Wait, what the fuck are you doing?” Keith stammered out, more confused than anything at this point. The machine, once again, ignored his words. Instead, it put his hand into the glove, which hissed and slammed shut around it. He blinked and wiggled his hand, barely able to even make the gloves twitch due to how much larger than his own body it was. A second later, the glove hissed and opened, the tendrils forcing his arm back against the wall. The trapped scavver let out a nervous chuckle and shook his head.

“R-Right…this thing is probably some k-kind of Power Armor station…. Thought I was a recruit or something…. G-Guess it figured I wasn’t one… H-Hopefully it will let me out now that it sees I don’t fit into the- GAH!” Keith hissed as he felt something jab into his left butt cheek, followed by a small amount of heat.

Dakre agda….bamda the voice said as from the ceiling, a pair of arms appeared and moved downwards to Keith’s body.

“Um…” the former ginger mumbled, eyeing the two arms, which seemed to have some kind of device at the tip instead of a claw like the one holding the glove “Are you gonna be the thing that lets me out?” he asked with a nervous smile on his face. There was no answer from the machine, instead the two arms pointed at his arms and shot out a bright purple laser. The scavver’s eyes went wide as he saw that, but all that happened when the beams hit his skin was a light tingling running across his muscles. The beams moved up and down across his entire arms, from his hands to his shoulders. Before he could say anything else, the tingle transformed into a pulse of arousal and pleasure ringing out from his arms, making him shiver and moan rather loudly, his dick springing up, hard as a stone.

“W-What the fuuuuuuuuuuu….” he moaned, biting his tongue to stop himself from moaning. He looked over at his arms, blinking as he saw that they were…growing. With each pass of the laser, the muscles in his arms grew more and more, taking him from his normally twig-like build and closer to something akin to the arms of a bodybuilder. He heard some more whirring from above, his eyes going wide as more of those arms dropped down and fired the same purple lasers across his body.

One beam hit his chest, stomach, and shoulders, and began to move back and forth across them, the muscles underneath the beam being sculpted into a perfect six-pack, his chest into a firm pair of pecs that anyone would be jealous of. His shoulders shifted, becoming broader to fit not only his larger chest but also his new arms, which now looked perfectly at home with his more sculpted chest.

The next two beams hit his legs and a very similar process began there, whatever had been injected into his behind allowing the lasers to mold his body as they saw fit. He blinked as he felt his bare feet touching the floor of the tube, his legs having gotten longer as well as more muscular, his feet being made bigger to match his new height and build. He moaned as the changes sent another wave through his system, making him shiver in place and close his eyes, trying to find anything to focus on besides the sensations the beams were sending through his body.

After what felt like an eternity to him, the arms retracted back into the ceiling and the haze of arousal finally began to lessen, though he was still panting as he blinked his eyes open and leaned his head back forward. Panting, he looked down at this body and gasped, seeing his new build properly for the first time. The only thing that reminded him that this was his body he was looking at was the freckles that dotted his skin, because aside from that his build was nothing like the beanpole he had been when the cables had dragged him into the tube, now more akin to a professional weightlifter or strongman than the skinny scavenger he had always been. There was a hiss as cold air rushed into the tube, making him both shiver and moan as his now sensitive skin felt the cold air hit it.

“W-What the….” he panted, shivering as he looked at the glove, which opened up again with another hiss. His arm was moved forward again and his hand slipped into the high-tech gear, which closed around it. This time, it was skin-tight against his now bigger hand and arm. He blinked and wiggled his fingers, seeing that there was no resistance from the rubbery material thanks to the micro-motors in the glove. “R-Right…I-I fit the armor now….And that’s all I’ve got on me…So can I just go now?” he asked, looking up at the ceiling of the tube.

Dakng….gadnab Yuakhda the computer spoke. Before Keith could even react, his other arm was brought forward and another glove was slipped on, hissing as it was sealed up

“T-The hell!?” he shouted as both his arms were slammed against the wall again “W-Where did that come…” his eyes went wide as he saw an opening in the ceiling of the tube, where new pieces of the suit were being produced in front of his eyes. He saw a pair of boots being assembled in front of him, starting with a glob of the rubber-like material taking on the needed shape, then circuitry seeming to grow out of the rubber, then the micro-motors forming and finally another layer of rubber, which had the glowing green lines the gloves did. As soon as they were done, they were brought down to the floor and opened up with a similar hiss to the gloves. “S-Stop!” he shouted as the cables holding him lifted up his feet, slipping them into the boots and sealing them before bringing them back to the same spot as before. He groaned and tried to move his toes, but unlike the gloves, he was met with a lot of resistance. He couldn’t move his toes an inch. He winced and shivered as another jolt of pleasure rang through him thanks to the cold air.

“W-What’s next?” he asked as he looked up, gasping as he saw the suit’s mask being assembled and lowered. It looked exactly like the ones he’d seen on the other suits, a large horned mask with a muzzle and a screen for eyes. The arms turned it around and opened it as it approached his head. The cables forced him to bend forward, and the mask was right in front of his face. His eyes went wide as the mask was fitted around his head his mouth being forced onto a small mold for his mouth at the base of the mask’s muzzle, which connected to his nose as well, the hiss that rang out making it clear it had been sealed around his head. He then felt his body being shoved back into position. Felt being the keyword as he couldn’t see anything inside the mask, only hearing the sound of his breathing through the mask’s filters.

Ddatea ad came the voice again, muffled. A second later, the mask began to glow green as it turned on. He shivered as he felt something being placed into his ears and light-flooded into his vision as the screen turned on, showing just two blue dots in front of him

“Whas happnenin…” he mumbled around the mouthguard.

Bda-uange adaptation complete the voice said, now sounding in an understandable language Updating visor UI with translation for ease of drone efficiency

“Drone!?” Keith said, trying to break free of the wall again with renewed effort, but it was still in vain. Even with his new build, the cables had too tight a hold on him. 

Subject of Non-Cok'ex origin. The voice continued, now sounding like it was coming from inside Keith’s head Drone Work Suit adapted to new physiology. Commencing full suiting procedure.

Keith blinked and then shivered, moaning loudly as he felt something cold flowing out of the pieces of the suit he was wearing. Unseen to him, more of the rubbery material was flowing out of the mask, gloves, and boots and coating the rest of his muscular body in the outfit, manufacturing the suit on his body as the individual pieces had done before. The lack of hair on his body meant there wasn’t a single obstacle as the base rubber formed, coating every single pore and spot of his skin. His still-hard dick was encased and entrapped in a large bulge between his legs. A second later, the circuits and micro-motors began to form on the rubber as well, feeding all the telemetry into the mask, with a HUD forming around the two blue dots that dominated his vision, giving him a readout of his surroundings and the status of the suit’s integrity. And finally, one final layer formed on top, giving him the same glowing green lines that all Cok’ex technology shared.

Finally, the cables holding his body in place released him and he stumbled forwards blind, leaning against the tube as he reached up and grabbed the suit by the horns, attempting to rip it off.

“Geoff me” he said, tugging again and again in a vain effort to get the material to give and let him go.

Error. Subject non-complaint. The voice said Adjusting parameters to match…

Before Keith could even wonder what that meant, he felt the motors in the suit seize up and freeze him in place. A second later, he felt a light tickle in his ear as what entered before began to work.

Accessing biological memory storage….the voice said Accessed. Beginning total memory wipe.

“Wait wh-” the words died in his throat as suddenly everything became hazy. His memories disappeared instantly, flashing before his eyes for a split second before evaporating into nothingness. He blinked and tried to shake his head as a sense of confusion and panic began to form “W-Where am I? W-What’s going on?”

Memory Wipe succesful

“W-What?! Memory wipe?!” he shouted

Error. Subject emotional levels elevated. Compensating. The voice said as the guy in the suit felt a tickle in his ear.

“W-What do you mean compenssating? What are you….” he blinked as he felt his emotions…drain away. Anger, fear, confusion, everything just drained and evaporated out of his system.

Emotional Center accessed. Emotional Suppression System installed and fully functional.

The guy formerly known as Keith just stared ahead blankly as the voice spoke, the words being processed by his mind but not really generating any response beyong the logical understanding of them.

Beginning Drone Program Upload…. The voice said as the figure felt his arms being moved back to his sides and being made to stand up straight. While that happened, the tickling on his ear returned and information flooded his mind.

He….It was Worker Drone Alpha. The first unit made by this vessel since it was abandoned by its organic occupants. Information on the workings of Cok’ex techonology, engineering and everything required to keep this ship functional, as well as all the abilites and functions of it’s suit flooded into it’s now empty brain. A second later, the screen in front of it’s eyes flickered to life, showing the transparent material separating its recharging tube from the rest of the ship.

Drone Alpha. Report status

“Drone Alpha operating at 100%,” it said in an emotionless, synthetic voice through the mask’s built-in speakers “Previous data has been wiped. Emotional Suppression system is fully functional. New data has been uploaded with no errors or corruption”

Stand-by for structural analysis of the vessel

“Understood,” the drone said with a nod, as a hiss rang out and stepped out of the tube, it’s heavy boots clunking against the metal floor.

Structural analysis complete. Errors in superstructure detected and uploaded to Drone Alpha’s systems. Begin repair routine then report to recharge pod when task is complete.

“Orders understood,” Drone Alpha said, the path being highlighted on its HUD “Begining repair routines immediately” it began stomping through the halls of the ship, the only thing in its mind was its work and nothing else.

================================================

Been a while since I posted a full fic, but damn this one took a bit of work. But in the end, I think I'm proud of it!

It's the first NSFW fic set in a sci fi universe of my own making. I gave a look at it in my collab fic Finders Keepers, but this is mostly what this is setting will be for. One shots of my boy Keith getting in trouble as he explores space looking for stuff to scavange!

Hope that you all enjoy it and if you have questions about the setting or ideas for other things that could happen to this unfortunate scavver, let me know in the comments!

A massive, massive thank you to my Patrons, who support me and my stories! If your interested in getting early access to them, seeing my writing progress in action or getting in an early vote during the start of my Poll Stories, please consider supporting me on there! Special shout-out to my top-tier Patron, Viketren!

I also have a Ko-Fi account if you prefer to drop a single donation instead of monthly support

[ilovemydogrambo]

Fighting Against All Odds- Chapter 2

For anyone that reads this story, I know that things tend to get confusing with there being two Toms so just a heads up, when I write this, Tom Schwartz will just be called Schwartz and I will put Sandoval for Tom Sandoval. 

In this chapter, the welcome back party for Michelle kicks off and it kicks off with a bang!

Chapter 2

It was almost 10pm and Michelle was finishing up cleaning her and Katie’s apartment. She was so excited for this party, ready to reconnect with everyone. She really had missed everyone but she was also nervous because she knew a lot had changed since she had moved away. But Katie had caught her up on most of everything so she somewhat knew what to expect. As these thoughts were racing through her mind, she heard a lot of commotion in the hallway.

“Oh boy,” Michelle said, realizing that everyone was about to come barging into the apartment.

The door then flew open and Michelle grinned as she saw all her friends come pouring into the apartment.

Suddenly, the apartment was then flooded with Katie, Schwartz, Sandoval, Ariana, Jax, Stassi, Sheana and Kristen.

“Michelle!!!” Stassi and Kristen yelled as they ran up to Michelle, this being the first time they’ve seen her. 

Michelle laughed and hugged them back, “Omg I missed you guys!!”

“We missed you too!” Kristen said letting Michelle go and looking at her. “You look great!” 

“Yeah she does!” Jax agreed with a big grin on his face and everyone looked at him and laughed.

“Wow really Jax? She’s been here for 24 hours and you’re already making comments like that?” Katie said with a smile.

“Well yeah! Come on now!” Jax replied laughing.

“Some things just never change!” Michelle said laughing.

“Girl, please tell me you got the booze,” Stassi said.

“Oh shoot. I know I forgot something,” Michelle said, playing dumb as she put her hand on her head.

Everyone just stared at her not knowing what to say.

“Geez guys, I’m just kidding! You really think that I would forget the alcohol?” Michelle said laughing.

Everyone started laughing, feeling relieved that she was just joking. 

“Well in that case, let’s start drinking!” Schwartz yelled and everyone started cheering.

Schwartz, Sandoval, Jax and Ariana went into the kitchen.

“Sis, what do you want? I’ll get you a drink while I’m getting myself one,” Katie asked her sister.

“Um, I guess I’ll start off with a glass of wine,” Michelle answered.

“Coming right up!” Katie replied and took off to the kitchen.

“Well, before I go get a drink, I’m going to get us some music going!” Sheana said excitedly as she walked over to Katie’s bluetooth speaker and turned it on.

“Ok but we need some pumping music Sheana,” Kristen said watching Scheana hook up her phone to the speaker.

“Well yeah obviously!!” Sheana said laughing.

Michelle smiled and sat down on the couch, “I missed everyone so much.”

Stassi took a seat beside her and looked at her, “We missed you too. It hasn’t been the same without you around.”

Kristen sat on the floor across from them. “So how have you been Michelle?”

“Pretty good! I definitely can’t complain! I’m just happy to be back home!” Michelle answered.

Just then, Jax and Schwartz came back with their drinks in their hands as Scheana got the music going.

“Geez that was fast!” Stassi commented about how Jax and Schwartz already had their drinks.

“Hey, we don’t mess around when booze is involved,” Schwartz said grinning.

“Or women,” Jax said with a smirk.

They all started laughing as Michelle rolled her eyes playfully.

“So Michelle, have you had any boyfriends since you’ve been gone?” Kristen asked.

“No, not really. I mean, I’ve had a couple first dates with a few guys but they never turned into anything. They never even got back the first date honestly,” Michelle said with a chuckle.

Jax smirked, “Well I mean, you can’t always get great looking men like us around just anywhere.”

“Oh my god. Could you be any more into yourself?” Michelle asked Jax while laughing.

“Actually he probably could,” Schwartz replied. 

Everyone laughed as Katie, Sandoval and Ariana came back into the room with their drinks.

“Here you go,” Katie said to Michelle as she handed her the glass of wine.

“Thanks boo. Now let’s party!” Michelle said as she took a big gulp of her wine and everyone responded by cheering.

A couple hours had now passed and everyone was still drinking and starting to let the alcohol get to their heads. They had pretty much turned the living room into a dance floor where everyone was dancing. The only time they weren’t in the living room dancing was when they were using the bathroom or if they were in the kitchen getting more drinks.

Michelle found herself in the kitchen by herself getting a glass of wine as she was feeling herself getting more buzzed by the second. Jax walked in and joined her, as he was needing a refill himself.

“Well fancy seeing you here!” Jax said smiling, as he was also starting to get to the very buzzed, nearly drunk state.

“Well of course I’m going to be here! This is where the alcohol is!” Michelle said laughing as she refilled her wine glass. “Damn we emptied that bottle fast.” Michelle held up the empty bottle and walked over and put it with the other bottles. She then started laughing.

“What’s funny?” Jax asked, pouring himself a cup of captain morgan and some coke.

“What’s funny is the fact that this party has only been going on for a couple of hours and we’ve already gone through 5 bottles of wine!” Michelle answered walking back over to her glass and standing by Jax.

Jax chuckled as he took a big gulp of his drink, “Well you know, if you girls wouldn’t be such alcoholics…”

Michelle playfully gasped and gave him a little shove, “Oh ok! What is that? Drink number 100?” 

Jax then laughed and just stared at his drink, “No! Maybe like 99 but not 100!”

Michelle just laughed in return as she went to give him a playful shove but with the amount of wine she’s had, she stumbled and fell into Jax. Jax laughed and suddenly caught her before she completely fell on her butt. 

“Damn girl!! Maybe you’ve had 100 drinks!” Jax said laughing and Michelle stood back up straight laughing. 

“Maybe! Damn, I’m a lot more unstable than I thought!” Michelle replied, still laughing. 

Jax then laughed also, “Now are we talking about your head being unstable or your feet?”

Michelle gasped and just stared at him but smiling, “Oh my god! You are such an ass!!” 

Jax laughed and just looked at her, “I know! Didn’t you miss me?!”

Michelle just laughed then her eyes noticed a bottle of Buttershots sitting on the counter. She then gasped and grabbed the bottle, “Omg I forgot I got some bottles of this!!! I love this stuff!! Jax, let’s do a shot!!” Michelle then started to grab the shot glasses.

Jax then grabbed Michelle’s hand and shoved her hand away from the shot glasses, “Uh I don’t know if that is the best idea! We are already getting wasted. Do you really wanna mix shots?”

“Oh come on Jax!!” Michelle said pouting and she gave her foot a stomp. “This is my welcome back party! You can’t deny me a shot!” Michelle just stared at him with a pleading look in her eyes.

Jax sighed and started to grin. “Ugh fine!” Jax said, giving in as he reached over and grabbed the bottle.

Michelle squealed and clapped her hands together, “Yay! See I knew you wanted a shot!!” Michelle handed him the shot glasses. “Pour it up, Mr. Taylor!”

Jax laughed and shook his head as he started to pour the two of them shots, “Wow you are so drunk right now! You are going to have a hell of a hangover!”

Michelle laughed, “But it will be so worth it!” 

Jax handed Michelle the shot and they both held the shot glasses up. “Ok to you being back home where you belong. We missed you and we’re so glad you’re back.”

Michelle grinned and they clicked their shot glasses together and they gulped down the shot, both of them taking in a big gasp of air after taking the shot. They put their shot glasses down and looked at each other laughing.

“Damn that was strong!” Michelle said, still shaking her head.

“You’re the one who wanted it!” Jax said laughing.

Michelle gave him a side eye and smirked at him, “Wow Mr. Taylor, now that sounds a little dirty don’t you think?”

Jax’s eyes widened a bit, not realizing that Michelle was going to take the comment dirty, and he smirked at her and started grinning, “Wow Miss Maloney, you have a dirty mind now don’t you?”

Michelle and Jax smirked at each other and stared at each other, suddenly letting the alcohol really sink in and there started to be sudden sexual tension between the two of them. They stared at each other, for what felt like forever, when there was suddenly a noise behind them.

“Ahem,” Came a voice behind them as someone was clearing their throat, breaking the eye contact between Jax and Michelle, and breaking up the weird moment that the two of them were sharing. 

[imightgetbetter]

If you’re still giving out advice, I think I’m in a doozy of a situation.

I’m the anon who had her first kiss like two weeks ago. There hasn’t been a lot of communication with him lately, I think he’s been very busy, but we tentatively plan on going out sometime next week.

The issue therein lies with his friend group. So long before I met him, we’ll label him as W, I’ve been friends with C. C was really the first friend I met in college, and she’s a great friend. Around last October, C introduced me to F, with the intent that since me and F have little to no dating experience, we’d be good together. I agree to go on a few dates with F, except I’m really not into him. I think he’s a great guy, I just don’t see him romantically. After like two dates with F, I told him I wasn’t really looking to date at the moment, due to my mental health. Me and F still remain friends, and text daily.

Fast forward to now, I join bumble on a whim, and meet W, the guy I had my first kiss with. W is friends with C, and they’re somewhat close. C is overall supportive of me being into W, and often provides some insight into things with him. The issue is that C thinks that I need to tell F, that I’m seeing W. I don’t think that it’s any of F’s business that I’m seeing W, especially since W and I aren’t official. While F and I do talk frequently, I wouldn’t say we’re close.

I can see how it might potentially be an issue later on if I get into a relationship with W (which I’m really hoping that is the case) and we all end up hanging out together, but as of right now, I really don’t think it’s F’s business. I don’t know what type of relationship F and W have, just that they’re mutual friends with C.

Do you think I should broach the topic with F? Or am I in the right to feel that it’s none of his business (especially since I’m not dating W ((yet, fingers crossed)))?

to be honest with you, i don’t think you need to tell this other person until you’re exclusively seeing the person you want to be seeing. you’re not together or even talking really (from how it sounds) so it’s not your responsibility to break the news to him before it’s even actual news. i wouldn’t say anything unless he’s actively pursuing you and trying to date you and you really don’t want to continue, then say, hey i’m talking to so and so, i’m not comfortable going out with you romantically right now, and leave it at that. i think a big misconception is that you owe things to people that haven’t done anything for you and that’s just women or people trying to please and it’s not fair. i really hope you two have gone out again and something good comes of it!

[hackandgrow]

Using Stories To Influence People

I found a mentor, a man named Ed Lawson. I write about him in my book. He was known as the California Walkman. He was a great civil rights leader of his time and Ed was a black man coming up in the 60s and 70s and he would constantly get harassed by the police. This is before Black Lives Matters. This is before all that kind of stuff and he took the police department to the supreme court by himself. He's not an attorney. 

He was just a guy who believed in justice and fairness and when I met him, he had gone through all that. He had won a supreme court case and he had decided that he was going to mentor some young people and there I was. And I was mentored by him for a period of time and he really shifted my view on the world and taught me a lot about how the world works, how business works, how deals are conducted. 

But most importantly how to influence people and he was more than anybody I've ever met to this date. A master of influence. He was a master storyteller and if you can master those two qualities, it doesn't really matter where you are, what you have, what resources are available to you because everything in life involves one person giving something to another person. So if you hold the tool of influence and if you can do that through storytelling, the most impactful form of influence, there's nothing that can stop you.

[seasidepierre]

sunkissed face part 6 | charles leclerc

FORMULA ONE DRIVERS MASTERLIST

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6 - part 7 - part 8

summary: Long distance relationship are not the easiest ones, but when you’re seeing Charles Leclerc, it makes things easier.

warnings: You’ll want to bitch slap Harrison.

words count: 4.7k

a/n: Can you believe I posted Sunkissed Face as a one-time fic and it ended up having six parts? Also, I didn’t even have 200 followers when I started Sunkissed and now I have 1.5k.. It’s just crazy how much you guys keep blowing my mind up with your support and kindness 🤍 Sunkissed Face is not over, I still have at least two parts in mind, but who knows when I’ll think I’ve rounded up everything I had to say about them? Maybe by next year, I’ll be done with them? As long as you’ll want them back, I’ll be happy to bring them some love. In the meantime, enjoy this one 🤍 (special thanks to my friend Bunny, who came up with some details about this and who’s the best at listening to me rant about plotlines and bitchy characters. You’re the best, thank you so much for supporting me and all my babies so much 🤍 🤍 🤍)

Of course, you knew good things had to come to an end but as you drove back from the airport, your little car felt like it was suddenly way more spacious than it had been on the drive over. Charles had been sitting on the passenger seat, his weekend bag on the backseat, and if his knees had been close to bump into the glovebox at first, he had slid the seat back and found the best way to rest his long limbs in the small interior of the car. He left you in charge of Waze and took your phone to take care of the music. The drive had been punctuated by Chris Martin’s voice, making you discover Charles’ poor singing qualities when he tried to make you laugh by belting the lyrics way too loud. However, on calmer songs, you realised that when he didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing, his humming didn’t sound half as bad as he thought it did. He sounded pretty calm and nice, actually. Another thing to add to the already long list of things that made Charles the most perfect human ever. It could have been annoying if you weren’t so infatuated with him already.

Charles had decided to fly commercial this time, because jets are nice when they’re not used all the time. Make it a recurring habit and you lose the novelty of it all. So here you had stood, in the hall of Heathrow, trying to stay hidden until he’d have to pass security and be gone to you for good. You did, however, find a compromise when both your hearts tightened at the idea of losing the warmth of the other and even Charles looked sad to be leaving. 

“Come with me in France,” He uttered against your lips, peppering kisses between his words. “It’s not too far, you won’t have to miss work if you leave on Friday evening. The flight is barely two hours long. You can leave at the end of Sunday afternoon.”

When you shook your head from left to right and ended up blubbering that even though you would love to but didn’t really have the funds for, Charles had dragged you to a commercial booth and booked your flights himself. You didn’t find the mental strength to say no to him. You knew he had spent enough money on you as it already was, but if it meant being able to see him again in barely a couple of weeks, you’d take it. To thank him for it, you had kissed his brains out when the moment came to say goodbye, which he’d been pretty happy about. Charles was easy to please. To hold his hand and to kiss his lips was enough to fill his heart with happiness. It was refreshing to be plenty enough for someone you were dating. It hadn’t been the case for your last relationships, finding yourself having to go to great lengths to make sure the relationship would last. It had always been in vain, now that you thought about it, confirming to you that changing your whole instinct and being wasn’t worth it in the slightest. Charles felt like he took you for what you were and appreciated what you had to offer. You liked him for what he gave you and he was plenty sufficient. 

You were just happy you could meet him halfway and he didn’t think about the relationship as some kind of equilibrium that needed a complete and perfect balance. Some days he was the one putting a bit more work in it. Some days it was you. The last handful of days have shown exactly that, as you spent your entire Sunday in pyjamas, his hands barely ever leaving your body, his lips tracing words on your skin while you two channel-surfed on the TV trying to find something interesting to watch. You ended up watching a Marvel movie, which made him laugh and send a DM to Tom with a picture of the TV, stating a blatant “I can’t escape you, apparently” which made Tom giggle on his side. The movie ended up in the background when you turned back to him, dragged him down to lie on the couch and launched the two of you in the longest makeout session you’ve ever experienced. 

You cooked lunch.

He ordered dinner. 

You took turns in the shower and went to bed way too early for two young people in love, but you got to lay between his thighs and read your book while he used your shoulder as a chin rest to scroll on his phone. There wasn’t anything exciting or thrilling happening, still it had been a really good day, spent in each other’s delicious embrace, kissing until your lips felt sore and learning how each other’s body reacted to the touch. 

There wasn’t much else you would have rather done.

And you were going to do it all again in just a couple of weeks. 

But in the meantime, you had to go back to your tiny flat, which was about to feel very empty now that the sound of his breathing wasn’t going to echo between your bedroom’s walls.

☀️

It didn’t take long for you to find something to do. The first couple of days had been pretty lonely, but you found yourself hung up on your phone’s notifications, waiting for a text that would put a smile on your face. Lucky for you, Charles seeked contact just as much as you did and you realised that he was just as chatty through writing than through vocal communications. He sent you pictures of what he was doing, views of his hotel room in Baku, pictures of himself in his bright red car and mirror selfies with his racing suit hanging low on his hips, which definitely didn’t help with the loneliness you were feeling. 

You wished he was here. You wished he was next to you. You wish you didn’t have to get your fix by diving nose first into the pillow he had used in your bed. You wish you didn’t have to cling to the sweatshirt he had “forgot” on your couch. But you didn’t want to have him any other way, so any second he was willing and able to give you felt like a gift.

Still didn’t mean that you weren’t feeling lonely, nor that you weren’t dealing with a major case of FOMO. Charles had just raced in Baku, having missed out on a podium by just a bit to his good friend Pierre. He had told you he was disappointed but it was largely balanced by his happiness for his best friend and you found it extremely adorable. The two of them had celebrated in a club that same night and you had had the pleasure of texting with Pierre through Charles’ phone because he was too drunk and you were getting worried as he didn’t answer his phone. Pierre had explained that he usually was taking care of Charles’ phone when they were out drinking because he had a tendency of leaving it on the tables or couches and losing it in the end. 

Now, Charles was on a flight to Italy, to work at Maranello again, and you hadn’t seen his face, other than on Instagram or on TV, since he left Heathrow about three weeks ago. You had holed up in your flat since you came back from the airport and had barely received visits, apart from the exception of an odd visit from Tom that ended up with him having to rush out because one of the twins was locked outside of their place. You had seen him for barely an hour, which had been a nice breath of fresh air, but it really didn’t feel like enough. In a way, it was your fault too, you passed on Pub Quizz Saturday that past weekend, because your work had caught up with you and you had been swamped under files or other festivities like that. 

So when Harry sent a text inviting you to a movie night, you took the bait so quickly it should have been a joke, but you couldn’t wait to get surrounded by friends and you knew they wouldn’t mind seeing you arriving in comfy clothes and with a bare face. Your makeup had run during your day at the office and you couldn’t wait to get out of your freaking white button-down and heels. So you wrapped yourself in Charles’ too-big-for-you hoodie, took out your most comfortable pair of yoga pants and cleaned your face bare before leaving your flat with a tote bag full of fresh underwear and your travel toiletry bag. You knew you’d more than likely end up sleeping at Tom’s, sharing his king size bed like always. 

The house was a giant mess as soon as you stepped a foot inside the hallway. There were yells, noises of automatic rifle weapons and very disgusting moans of zombies meeting their gruesome end. Needless to say, you didn’t last long in the living room, seeing how the twins and Tuwaine didn’t care whether or not you were there. They had barely answered your “hello” when you have passed the door of the room, so you didn’t feel guilty leaving them there with their gore game.

You found Tom in his office, his nose deep into a script, but you knew by the frown on his lips and the little crease between his brows, that he was having a hard time with it. You sighed with relief as you closed the door, though, muffling the sounds of the rest of them all, even though you hadn’t seen Harrison yet and weren’t exactly impatient to do so.

“Hey Tom,” You whispered, trying to keep his calm atmosphere intact.

“Hey, Peanut, how are you doing?” He smiled back, pushing his script back down on the desk and you returned the smile at the nickname you’ve sported for years.

“I’m okay,” You sighed. “How about you? Having trouble with your reading?”

“It’s just a bit denser than what I’m used to. They didn’t realise I needed the more spaced one, and I’ve been going at it for hours now.”

You’d been Tom’s friend for years, now. You knew him by heart and you’ve known him back when you were at school as well, before he got some home-school in the mix. One thing you knew about Tom was his struggles with dyslexia and how it could affect him sometimes, especially when he was reading something long. Over the time, he had found some tricks to make it easier: print bigger fonts, space the lines a bit more, sometimes he would alternate highlighted lines and blank ones. But at some point, he would just grow tired and frustrated, which you reckoned might be exactly what was happening right now. 

“Give me that,” You softly said, grabbing the script and sitting down on his desk next to him. “Close your eyes, they’re tired.”

Tom groaned a little, showing his gratefulness through noises rather than words. You chuckled quietly and made sure you were ready for the next part, which involved Tom crossing his arms over your thighs and dropping his head on top of it all. 

“Settled?”

He hummed and you checked where his reading had stopped. As much as you hated it, you knew it was easier for him to dog-ear the pages he had already read, so you picked up where he had left it and started reading to him, not asking any question about the plot, the characters’ growth or the different storylines. You knew it was best to let him absorb the text first, than in a couple of hours, when he’d have digested it, maybe you’d be able to ask a few things and brainstorm it over with him.

For now, you were just his personal audiobook and that was fine by you.

You read for about an hour before Sam came bursting into the office, telling you dinner was ready. He was red in the face, the kind of red you knew to be telling of a play fight with his twin, which didn’t miss the occasion to come barrelling into the room, yelling about how he was going to shave his head in his sleep for whatever reason. You had stopped trying to understand these two a long while ago. They kept bickering and teasing each other, it was a miracle one of them didn’t end up in the hospital with a fractured bone, again.

You sat at the table and properly greeted everyone with a quick hug, even though you purposefully avoided Harrison by grabbing the plate Harry was struggling to hold, to set it on the table. 

Seeing Harrison again still stung. There was this awkwardness still lingering between you two, that you literally couldn’t shake. You were still mad at him, mad that he knew about your infatuation with him and didn’t do anything about it. You would have prefered to be friendzoned once and for all, rather than being gossiped about with his freaking girlfriend. You were so glad and relieved that she hadn’t been invited, to be honest.

“New hoodie, Peanut?” Tom inquired, pointing at your jumper.

“If so, we’re gonna have to explain sizes to you, Nuts,” Tuwaine teased.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny, dumbasses. It’s Charles’, he forgot it at home. I’m stealing it until I have to return it.”

“I still can’t believe you’re cosying it up with Charles freaking Leclerc,” Harry exclaimed. “Like. The dude is a literal God.”

“He’s not a God,” You giggled. “He’s a nice guy, who happens to be very interesting to look at.”

“Of course,” Harry rolled his eyes up. “Don’t get me wrong, I love you, Nuts, but you’re you and he’s a freaking Formula 1 driver.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, my self-esteem really thrives with you all,” You groaned, grabbing the plate of green beans from the table. “May I remind you all that we have a literal superhero sitting at this table?”

“Touché,” Harry sighed.

“How’s it going with my boy Charles?” Tuwaine smiled.

“It’s going good,” You smiled. “I’m joining him in France next week.”

Tuwaine whistled lowly, impressed.

“So you’re fully dating him, then?” Tom wondered.

“I don’t know, we haven’t really discussed it yet,” You shrugged. “We’re just happy to spend time together, to be honest.”

“And you’re the only one he spends time with?” Harrison asked, his tone somewhat annoyed with the matter.

The silence that draped the table was enough to chill you down a bit. You repressed a shiver, thankful for the oversized hoodie to actually hide it and dropped a few green beans in your plate, trying to decipher if you had to ignore him or indulge his rude question.

How dare he imply that Charles wasn’t that interested in you? How dare he imply that you were one among several others?

You trusted what you had with Charles so much that you knew it wasn’t even a possibility, but just to be reasonable, you decided you would actually ask him next time you’d see him face to face.

“Dude, that is so rude,” Sam finally commented. “Leave her alone.”

“Ahem.. So. What are we watching tonight?” Tom defused the bomb.

“Anything but a romcom. I love you, Peanut, but I can’t do this anymore.”

“I’m not in the mood for a romcom,” You deadpanned. “Not anymore,” You added.

“There’s a thriller that just came out on Netflix, it looks okay-ish,” Harry suggested.

“Or we could watch another season of New Girl,” Tuwaine grinned.

Eventually, Tuwaine won, because you all loved New Girl and only watched it together. You had some serious catching up to do with Jess, Nick, Schmidt and Winston. 

You piled onto the couches about an hour later. The living room was lit by a couple of candles and the whole room looked cosy and warm. Sam had made cookies and popcorn, so it smelled sweet, which really made you happy even though Harrison’s sour mood really didn’t help. He barely spoke during dinner and didn’t make any effort to even pretend that he wasn’t pissy about something, which annoyed you to no end. You were grateful for Tom and Tuwaine who decided to sit on each side of you and decided that you wouldn’t let Harrison ruin your night even more. You got rid of the pillows behind your back and nestled against Tuwaine, letting your calves rest on Tom’s thighs which he immediately took in his hands to rub them. This was one of the things you liked the most about movie nights: the fact that you and the boys had a comfortable friendship, comfortable enough that they could touch you and you’d be cool about it.

Halfway through the third episode, the pocket in Charles’ jumper vibrated enough to make a noise. You frowned and fished your phone out of it, grinning at the notification on your phone.

 Charles Just so you know, I scored the fastest lap today.

You loved that he kept sending you texts like that, like little updates on his day to make you feel like you were there with him.

Did you drive around Fiorano, today? 

He hadn’t talked about a track test, only some sessions in the sim, last time you spoke on the phone with him. But again, it was Formula 1, they could have had a change of plan or he could have not been told. 

Charles Nope. 

What are you talking about?

Charles I was the fastest one to go from the sim to the toilets and back! They said they had never seen someone so quick, ever!

You snorted at his latest text, which brought Tuwaine’s attention to your phone screen. 

“Tell him I said hi,” He whispered.

“Get yourself your own cute guy,” You teased.

“Sorry but yours is the only cute guy I’ll ever be interested in.”

I’m proud of you, then! Congrats on this big achievement!!  Tuwaine insists that I tell you he said hi.

Charles Ah, thank you, thank you! Gotta take the win when you can Tell him I said hi, too. Tell Tom I got his DM last weekend, it was nice of him to check on me after the race. I just realised I forgot to answer him, he must think I’m a complete jerk

 You smiled at his words and presented your phone to Tom, which made him grin too. 

 No worries, he’s not mad, you must have been swamped with work, I’ve passed your message

 Charles I was super busy, indeed, but I appreciated his DM anyway

Every day, you wondered how you had lucked up so much to get a sweet guy as Charles in your life, who liked your friends and felt comfortable with them already. 

How’s the preparation for France going?

Charles It’s going okay, we’ll see how it goes on track. Can’t wait to have you back, though.  The hotel they booked for us all is super nice, you’re gonna love it! 

   Isn’t the track super close to Monaco? 

  Charles Not really, we’re like two hours and half away. It’s not really worth it to go back and forth. I could take the jet, but I’d rather not deal with the fatigue of it all.

  Got it! Then I can’t wait to have you back too

  “What did she just say?” You frowned at the screen, having caught only the end of the sentence Jess had just thrown at Nick.

“That she liked when he called her “Bitch” because it made her feel like Janice Joplin,” Harry repeated, making Harrison huff.

“Can we please listen?” He groaned.

“Sorry,” Harry whispered.

Your phone vibrated on your lap again, making you smile. 

  Charles Well good thing is, I’m super fast on the way to the toilets, already!

  You pushed your phone back to your lap, focusing on the TV again. Nick and Jess were in the middle of a grocery store of some sort and she was about to either go full Jess again or you had missed an important plot line again.

“I’m so confused, why is she freaking out over his shoes?”

“Because she’s trying to see if his feet are always facing her or if they’re facing something else,” Tom explained.

“And it’s important because?”

“Apparently if your feet always face someone, it’s because you love them.”

“Gotcha,” You nodded.

“Seriously, I can’t hear what’s going on,” Harrison groaned again.

You rolled your eyes at him, grateful that you were hidden by Tuwaine so he couldn’t see you.

At some point, your phone started to buzz continuously, which meant someone was calling you. You quickly excused yourself and told the boys to keep watching so they wouldn’t have to wait for you and you locked yourself in Tom’s office, accepting the FaceTime call.

“Hi,” You smiled at the screen.

“Hi,” Charles grinned back.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m a bit tired, not gonna lie. Racing to the toilets is exhausting,” He joked. “How about you?”

“I’m okay, don’t worry about me.”

“Texting is nice but I wanted to see your face,” Charles sheepishly told you.

“Well, now you do,” You blushed.

“Is that my hoodie?” Charles smirked.

“It might be, yep,” You blushed even deeper. “It’s super comfortable,” You explained.

“You look extra cute in it.”

It’s not like you could do anything but feel your cheeks flaming up once again, or more exactly, going a few degrees hotter.

A few seconds of silence occured in the conversation, a little breath of relief about seeing each other after a few days of work, of loneliness and fatigue. You both had worked really hard this past week and you were just relieved of having a small break in the form of the other. 

During those small seconds of silence, you detailed Charles’ face through the screen. His stubble was getting a bit crazy but you liked it either way. A set of dark rings were hanging under his eyes and your heart clenched a little, knowing he was surely exhausted but still chose to call you either way. They were paired with small lines on each corner of said eyes, a true sign that he was happy about your call. 

“Where are you?” You smiled.

“Physically or mentally?” He joked.

“Both.”

“Well, physically, I’m still in Italy. Ferrari has a couple of places where we can crash when we come to the factory, so I’m in one of those apartments. Mentally, I’m in London,” He shrugged, a small pink hue rising up his throat. 

“How’s your view?”

“From the window, it looks a bit boring,” He demonstrated, bringing you to the window that overlooked a few streets. “On my phone, though..”

“Stop,” You giggled.

“You’re gonna love the South of France, it’s super pretty. Prettier than this, at least.”

“Are we even gonna be able to sightsee? I’m coming on Friday night and leaving on Sunday evening.. I’m not sure we’ll have enough time,” You grimaced.

“Not sure, but you’ll see a bit when we’ll drive from the hotel to the track, at least. Sorry about that,” He frowned.

“I don’t care, I only care about spending time with you.”

“Well, my company is exquisite, I’ve been told,” He teased.

“That it is,” You grinned.

“And you, where are you? I don’t recognise your background.”

“I’m in Tom’s office, I was spending the evening with the guys. It’s movie night,” You shrugged.

“And you’re in here, talking to me? Jeez, I’m sorry for keeping you away from your friends!” 

“It’s okay, they’re still watching, I’ll catch up on what I missed.”

“Still, we should hang up. I’ll call you back tomorrow,” He suggested

“Can’t wait.”

“Hey.. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Charles,” You laughed. “See you tomorrow.”

  You sneaked back into the living room, ignoring the huff of annoyance from Harrison. You had no idea what was up his ass tonight but he was starting to piss you off as well. 

At some point, you leaned against Tom, Tuwaine having wrapped himself in a blanket, you knew he might groan about you keeping him too warm. Tom draped an arm around your shoulders, dropped a kiss on the top of your head and you snuggled against your best friend, happy that you could get your dose of cuddles even if Charles wasn’t here. You weren’t exactly touch-depraved, but sometimes it was nice to be hugged. 

  “What’s going on?” You whispered to Tom.

“You’d know if you weren’t texting non-stop or leaving to call,” Harrison groaned.

“Jeez, sorry Dad, didn’t know you were suddenly the one deciding on the rules of movie night,” You threw back.

“Honestly, I don’t know why you came here, if all you do is text a guy you barely know, talk about him on a loop and spend time with him instead of us.”

“Excuse me?” You choked up.

“You heard me well enough.”

  Your ears were starting to burn, which was generally not a good sign. And judging by the fact that Tom’s hands were suddenly gripping your calves instead of massaging them like they were doing before, you realised that everyone in the room was holding their breath.

What the fuck was Harrison doing?

Deep into the episode that kept playing even though nobody was paying attention to it anymore, he looked like a proper asshole who didn’t even care about the impact of his words, except for the fact that his jaw was clenching hard, a telltale of his annoyance much like your burning ears right now. 

  “You know, if you didn’t want to see me, you only had to not invite me,” You clapped back.

“I didn’t invite you. They did,” He pointed to the twins. 

“I see. Well sorry I bothered you with my mere presence.” 

“What presence? You’re barely here. If you wanted to spend time with that guy, maybe don’t do it here where you’re annoying everyone with the vibrations of your phone or taking his calls.”

“I won’t bother you much longer,” You sassed back, stood back up, making a beeline for your tote bag that you had left hanging on the back of a chair. 

“Peanut, no,” Tom tried to intervene. “Don’t go, this is silly.”

“This is not. I know when to leave when I’m no longer welcome.”

“I wanted to spend the evening with you,” Tom tried to convince you to stay. “We could go back to my office and read that script again?”

“Tom, I love you to bits, but I think I’d rather go home right now.”

  Tom sadly nodded, before the twins put the episode in pause. 

  “Don’t stop on my account. I’d hate for Harrison to lose out on the opportunity to blissfully spend the evening not in my company.”

“That’s dumb, we watch the show together or we don’t.”

“You’re together. Have fun,” You stated, leaving the living room.

“We’re not together if you’re not here,” Tuwaine yelled as you closed the front door.

  You had no idea how you managed to keep your tears away until you closed the door of your flat behind your back. Your flat was cold, dark and smelled like the leftover fish and chips you had the evening before. It was silent and lonely, which truly ended up chipping at your morale. 

It wasn’t even the fact that the situation had been ridiculous. You had fought with the boys before and you had had your fair share of words that truly went beyond what they meant. Sometimes, they were truly mean. Sometimes, the fights were extremely frustrating. It wasn’t about what had been said because rude words you could deal with. 

It was the fact that they came from Harrison, who was mad that you had finally someone treating you right in your love life. It was the fact that he could see how happy you were and still decided to fuck with it, for whatever reason. It was the fact that he willingly chased you away because he was mad. 

For the first time, you wondered how your friendship with Harrison was going to survive all of this. 

A few weeks ago, you would have thought that if it came to a choice between the boy you liked and Harrison, the answer was easy and not even worth a second of reflection.

That night, you weren’t sure Harrison was the right choice anymore. Nor if he would ever be again.

You sobbed the entire night.

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6 - part 7 - part 8

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[twisted-wonderland-shenanigans]

Monster!AU Kalim Fic: Whistle a Little Tune

Yaaaaay I finished this within two days! That’s a personal record wooooo!!! :D

Man, this was so much fun to write! On another note, it was so sweet as I was writing this that I gave myself a sugar rush. 😂 Hope you guys enjoy the cuteness that was inspired by this post!

@fantasy-dating-sim-trash (since you asked to be tagged once it was done 💖)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Are you sure this’ll work, Ace?”

“It’s gotta work, Grim. No one else has been able to get that whistle away from Yuu so far—unless you’ve got any bright ideas?”

“Mrrgh…I just don’t wanna hear that noise anymore. Coach does it enough in PE already!”

It had been a week since Yuu was given a whistle from Coach Vargas to encourage the students during PE classes, and over the last few days the toddler had been using it almost every second of the day. Aside from nods and head shakes, Yuu had completely reverted to using tweets and trills to “communicate” with everyone—not even the staff or the researchers could coax them to go back to using words. Anyone who tried to forcefully take it away was met with a wailing toddler, while trying to sneak it away when they were distracted or napping resulted in Yuu becoming distressed and crying. That left only one option:

Try and bribe the whistle away with something better.

“Okay, here goes nothing.”

“Good luck, Ace!”

“Don’t screw this up!”

Hiding his hands behind his back, Ace smiled as he walked over to where Yuu was lying on the floor. They were whistling a few quiet, airy trills as they focused on their coloring book, Cater—who was on babysitting duty at the moment—was sitting on the couch nearby. The hippogriff noticed Ace’s approach and—knowing what was coming—held up his phone and hit record just as Ace began to say, “Hey, Yuu! I’ve got a surprise for you~! Wanna see?”

Yuu’s eyes went wide and they nodded, immediately sitting up and trilling on their whistle. Fweet! Fu-fwoo-fwee-fuu?

“Okay, but first, how about a little game? Which hand: right, or left?”

Fuuu…fweet!

“Hm? Right hand, huh?” he said, rolling his right shoulder a bit as he followed Yuu’s pointing. “Is that your final answer?” Yuu nodded and trilled again, insistently pointing at his arm again. “Okay! You get…” Pausing for a moment, he swung his hand around and held up the prize as he said, “A cookie! Triple chocolate chip—a Trey specialty~!”

Fweeeee!! Fee-fwee-foo-fweet! Fwee!

“Oh, you really want it huh?”

Fweet!

“Well, if you really want it, I gotta hear you say the word ‘yes’ as loud and clear as you can first. Then I’ll give you the cookie, okay?”

Fuu……FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!

“Gah!?! Right in my ears!!” Ace–who had fallen over with his hands covering his rabbit ears–heaved a heavy sigh as he held out the cookie and said, “Here. It’s yours.”

Fwee-fwoo~!

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Deuce said, watching the toddler claim their prize and run over to climb in Cater’s lap to enjoy their snack. “I don’t think Yuu’s going to give up that whistle so easily though.”

“Ugh…gee, ya think?” came the disgruntled response as Ace sat up. “Anyone else got a bright idea?”

“Maybe we should just leave it be,” Trey said as he walked up to the first years. “Little kids tend to have odd quirks like that, so it’ll be best to just let them get bored on their own and move on to something else.”

Fwoo-oo-ooop~!

“Great…”

“Here, I picked up some earplugs from the shop for some of the others with sensitive hearing…just in case.”

////Later that day////

Twee-foo-fwoo-fweet?

“Oh, uh…here you go,” Epel said, holding out a couple of apple slices to Yuu, who was barely able to see over the table. Instead of accepting them, however, Yuu gave a frown as they shook their head, patting the table and trilling again. “No? Um…what about this chicken tender?” Again, Yuu shook their head with a warbling trill. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you want…”

Fwee! Twee-foo-fwoo-fweet!

“Augh…this is so frustrating,” Ace grumbled. “It’s been a guessing game ever since Yuu’s been using that whistle. Why can’t they just tell us what they want?”

Fwee? Fuu…twee-foo-fwoo-fweet! Phoo-phweet?

“Well, there’s not much we can do,” Jack said with a sigh, rubbing his aching ear. “At this point, we just have to do our best.”

“It’s impossible,” Sebek said, a frown on his face as his tail thumped heavily against the ground in annoyance. “Not even Lilia can understand what the small human wants! How are we supposed to–”

“Here you go,” a new voice said cheerfully, Kalim appearing and setting down a juice box in front of Yuu. “One juice box!”

Fweet! Fwee-fwoo~!

“You’re welcome,” Kalim answered with a beaming smile as Yuu pulled it closer to them and working to stick the straw in the hole. “Did you want anything else?”

Fwooo…fwee-fu-fu-fwoot?

“Sure thing!” he said, oblivious to the multiple sets of eyes from various tables staring at him as he scampered over to the cafeteria line. After retrieving a bowl from the offered selection, he returned and placed it–and a spoon–in front of them and said, “Here you go: one bowl of yummy pudding!”

Fwee!

Kalim chuckled as Yuu—after letting the whistle fall to dangle on the lanyard around their neck—eagerly sipped their juice box and dug into the pudding with the biggest smile on their face. It was then that Kalim noticed everyone staring at him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“...how…how did you know that’s what they wanted?” Deuce uttered.

“Huh? Because that’s what they were asking for,” Kalim said. “Didn’t you hear what they were saying?”

“What? How did you get that out of all those whistles?” Ace asked. “They didn’t even use words!”

Tilting his head in confusion, Kalim shrugged and said, “I guess I’m just used to it since I have so many siblings back home.” Reaching out to pat Yuu’s head, he said, “A few of my little brothers and sisters would sometimes talk to everyone with their toys or instruments. Haha, so I guess it’s just second nature for me!”

“...you can seriously understand what Yuu’s saying? With the whistle??” Grim asked.

“Yup! Is it that weird?”

The first years glanced at one another in shock and disbelief, Yuu oblivious to this revelation as they finished their dessert.

////Later////

Fweet! Fufu-fwee-fwoooo!

“I know right? Jamil’s cooking is the best! Thanks, Jamil~!”

Fwee-fwoo Fufwoo~!

“Um…you’re welcome,” Jamil responded, slithering over to set another tray of food between the two. “I have to say, this is…not what I expected.”

“I know right? Who would’ve thought that Kalim would’ve been the one who understands our lil’ Chickadee~!” Cater said, happily recording the two interact. Somehow, Kalim was able to carry on a conversation with Yuu and provide feedback, as though he wasn’t just listening to the sounds of a whistle.

“At least that makes one of us,” Grim uttered, munching on one of the meat buns that Jamil had brought. “Shoulda thought of this earlier! Then we wouldn’t haveta guess what Yuu wants.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t exactly solve the problem,” Jamil said quietly, the naga sitting back on his coils away from where Cater’s phone was pointing. “At some point we need to have a serious conversation with Yuu about that whistle, otherwise they may not speak to anyone again.”

“Ah jeez…you’ve got a point,” Cater said, stopping the recording and sighing. “As totes adorbs as this is, I do miss hearing their voice.”

“Hm? What was that, Yuu?” Kalim’s voice broke in, catching their attention.

Fwoo-fwee-fooo?

“Sure, we can play a game!” Kalim said excitedly, his tail wagging and wings quivering excitedly.

Yuu’s eyes shined as they eagerly turned to the others and began whistling at them. Fweeeee! Foo-fweet fwu-fweet? Phweeet!

“Oh…sure, you guys can play a game!” Cater said, a cheerful smile on his face.

…fwee?

Before he could respond or ask Kalim for a translation, the einfield turned to Yuu and said, “You know, I think they’d really like to join us if you asked them in your own voice.”

Fweet?

“Yeah! Everyone really misses hearing you talk to them, Yuu,” Kalim continued. “The whistle is fun and all, but it kinda hurts everyone’s ears when you use it, and that’s not very fun for them.” With a sad smile, he asked, “Don’t you miss being able to chat with them? Or when you get to tell stories to Lilia or Rook and how they tell you how much they love hearing what you have to say? Or even singing songs with Vil? I know everyone misses hearing you laugh too…don’t you wanna talk to everyone and have fun like before?”

Yuu looked contemplative for a moment, the whistle silent—much to everyone’s surprise. Then, to their shock, Yuu pulled the lanyard off and set the whistle down on the counter before turning to the others and asking, “Can we play together, please?”

“S-sure!” Cater said. “Whatever you wanna play, Chickadee!”

Beaming, Yuu raised their arms up and asked, “Upsies?”

“You got it~! Aaaand…we have liftoff~!!” Cater cheered, making a ‘whoosh’ sound as he hoisted Yuu up in the air. “Lookit you go! Soon you’ll be flying high like your big brother Cay-Cay~!”

“Yaaaay!!”

“Come on, let’s get the others!” he said, shifting Yuu onto his back as the toddler wrapped their arms around his neck. “We’ll meet you guys in the courtyard, okay? Hang on tight, Yuu! Whoosh~!”

The tiny human’s giggles and squeals of joy echoed down the hall, Cater’s wings partly open as he trotted with his passenger while Grim followed after them. With the three gone, Jamil picked up the whistle and said, “No one’s been able to get them to take this off since they got it. How did you know that would work?”

“Well, kids are smart, and Yuu’s a smart kid,” Kalim explained. “I just told them how everyone else has been feeling since I heard Cater mention he missed hearing them talk.” With a shrug, he added, “My brothers and sisters can understand things when my parents and I talk to them like they’re adults. They may not understand certain words sometimes, but they can still understand the concept of things better than we give them credit for, you know?”

Jamil blinked at him in response before he huffed, a small smile on his face. “Huh…well done,” he said. “Hopefully with this out of the way, we won’t have to worry about Yuu picking up some other noisy habit.”

“Oh! That reminds me, Lilia wanted to bring Yuu to the next Light Music Club and teach them how to play a musical instrument. I was thinking of showing them how to play the drums!”

“No.”