#it does definitely try to be about realising politics is all empty promises and change doesn't come from the top and community is the most

[aroaessidhe]

2022 reads // twitter thread

The [Un]Popular Vote

YA contemporary about a trans boy who decides to run for student president after witnessing homophobic bullying at his new school

while keeping the fact that he's trans hidden, because of his politician father

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Merlin has been gone for two years, Arthur has a meeting with the Lord Emrys to help with the changing laws:

And he has never bitterly regretted sending Merlin away more

Part 2(final part)

Angst,

SO

I'm gonna say... about 6 months before Uther dies, Merlin's magic is revealed to Arthur.

He really does NOT react well.

Arthur doesn't let Merlin get a word of explanation in, before he hits him on the head so hard he's unconscious before he even hits the floor.

When Merlin wakes up, what he can only assume is MUCH later, he's wearing cold iron shackles, he's been blindfolded, and gagged.

He just listens at first, still dazed and certainly concussed.

After about twenty minutes he's more aware, and realises... he's outside, in a forest, and he's on his own.

~

It’s been two years since Arthur abandoned Merlin in the woods beyond Camelot’s border.

He’s been King now for about a year and a half.

He went back three days later and tracked Merlin for a few hours, before coming to the conclusion that he'd gotten away safely, and heading back to Camelot.

He always tried to justify it to himself as protecting Merlin from Uther, ignoring the fact that Merlin had managed just fine on his own for years.

But really that was just an excuse. All he saw in the moment was a liar and a traitor. Really he should've had Merlin executed so... he's still a good person. He did the right thing.

He hadn't told anyone else the truth (perhaps because he knows they would hate him for it). Instead he told them that he and Merlin had argued, and before Arthur could get to the bottom of why his manservant was so irate, he stormed off in the middle of the night, and told him he wasn't coming back.

He stuck to that story the whole two years, though he's fairly certain they at least suspect he's lying. Gaius definitely does.

I imagine Gaius, only a few days after Merlin's disappearance, taking Arthur aside one night, and demanding to know if Merlin was dead. If Arthur had killed him:

"No! No of course not. He... we had a fight. It's like I said. He left in the night and told me not to follow him, that he wasn't coming back. I plan to respect his wishes."

Gaius releases the bruising grip he'd had on Arthur’s arm and takes a step back, his expression unreadable as he stares at the Prince.

"I...why would think I killed him?"

"Despite the fact that he most certainly could've defended himself against you, I always found it troubling how willing he was to let you execute him, should that be what you wanted."

Arthur has no reply to that, what would he even say? Would Merlin really have willingly walked to a pyre? If Arthur had only asked?

Gaius goes to walk away at that, but just before he shuts the door behind him, he pauses, and without looking back, says:

"If I find out you have killed my son, Sire, for who he is, there will... there is a large group of people who would see that justice is served. Myself included."

Everyone notices the change in the relationship between Gaius and Arthur since Merlin had left.

Arthur, with the knowledge that Gaius knows. Knows the truth and had guessed what he'd done. He couldn't face that.

They barely spoke to each other, Arthur avoided the physician wherever possible and words of encouragement and kindness were no longer aimed his way from the gentle old man.

His relationships with the others deteriorated as well.

They either thought he was telling the truth, and resented him for both being cruel to Merlin, and letting him go so easily.

(After years of Arthur treating Merlin terribly, no one is really surprised that Merlin had decided he'd had enough and left.)

OR they thought he was lying, hiding something, and resented him for not telling them the truth, and potentially doing something unforgivable to Merlin.

All but Gwaine are still polite to him, showing him the due respect of a Prince, and then a King, but not of a friend.

After a series of hijinks, Arthur comes to the terrifying realisation that magic isn't all bad.

Really I think, he's known all along. But admitting that magic wasn't pure evil made what he did to Merlin even more unforgivable.

He begins making moves to legalise it. It's slow and difficult, and he meets resistance at every turn.

BUT he also has the surprising support of Gaius, and his knights, and Gwen, and Morgana.

Still, none of them treat him like a friend, not the way they used to, but they're helping him along the way. He hadn't realised how many people close to him opposed the ban, until he started dismantling it.

Hope rises in him, over the months, as he realises that once he's legalised magic, he can find Merlin, and bring him back. The first place he'll check is Ealdor.

He's... scared of that. Scared that he won't be able to find him, but more scared that he will. That Merlin will hate him. That Merlin won't care that he's repealing the ban and won't want to come back.

Arthur doesn't think he could bare that.

Mostly because he knows that it would be entirely his own fault.

After the ban is finally lifted, there are huge celebrations. If the King is seen to be searching the crowds, as if for a familiar face, no one mentions it.

A few days later, a group of Druids come for an audience with the King, and are met by Arthur in the courtyard.

After quick introductions, and pleasantries, the leader begins to speak:

"Once and Future King, I first want to extend my gratitude for this warm welcome, and promise that you have the Druid's full support in lifting the ban. We hope for a peaceful future, full of cooperation and compassion."

Arthur nods and smiles slightly at that, but before he can reply in anyway, the Druid speaks again:

"Our leader, the leader of all Druids and all magic of the world, would like to convene with you, and discuss the specifics of any future agreements between our two worlds."

Arthur is surprised at that, but hides it well. Leader of... all magic? Sounds... powerful:

"Of course, I readily accept. They may bring themselves forth, I will make time for a meeting whenever they so choose."

"Your majesty, My Lord Emrys already awaits you in the throne room-"

(The Druid smiles at Arthur's barely concealed shock at his words, both at the idea that someone had snuck into his castle undetected, and at the mention of Emrys. One of the the few conversations he'd had with Gaius had been an in-depth explanation of who Emrys was, and his and Arthur's destiny (the physician had failed, of course, to mention Emrys' true identity.)) 

The Druid continues gently:

"-He's not one for public appearances."

"I.... of course. Will you and your group be attending? Or would you like to be shown to your rooms immediately?"

"This is a matter to be discussed privately, between the two of you, My Lord. Myself and my group have a camp just beyond the city walls that we will return to. Thank you for the offer of hospitality, we appreciate the kindness greatly."

With that, the Druid gives another short bow before turning and leaving through the castle gates, his group following closely behind him.

Arthur takes a deep breath, briefly glancing at Sir Leon, who stands at his side, and instructing him to inform the council that any remaining meetings for the day had been cancelled.

Leon gives a stiff nod and stalks off. He had been the best at hiding his disdain for his former best friend, but it still shone through occasionally, and Arthur's heart clenches as he thinks that he really can blame no one but himself for the deterioration of everything in his personal life.

With another deep breath, he re-enters the castle, and heads towards the throne room, trying to psyche himself up for meeting the supposed Leader of All Magic, who had managed to sneak his way into the heart of the castle, without anyone noticing or raising the alarm.

He pauses briefly outside the doors, and instructs the guards to not let Anyone in, without the King's express permission.

They nod, and with that, Arthur opens the doors and enters, shutting them quietly, before turning around to be faced with a near empty throne room.

He furrows his brow as his eyes settle on a single man, his back to Arthur where he stands gazing out a window, onto the courtyard below.

Arthur can't see his face, he can't see much of him to be honest, he's shrouded in a floor length blue cloak, hood up and covering his head.

The King stares only for a moment before raising himself to his full height, clearing his throat, and speaking:

"Lord Emrys? It's my honour to welcome you to Camelot. Thank you for coming."

The man turns his head slightly at that, though not enough for Arthur to see any more of his face.

"Your honour?-"

He huffs a small laugh at that, though it sounds dry and sarcastic, as opposed to genuinely humoured.

"- we shall see about that."

His voice comes out strangely, obviously magically altered, and Arthur has to stop himself from gulping at the many voices echoing around the otherwise empty room.

They sound sort of... familiar? But he pushes that feeling down and takes yet another deep breath:

"Of course. I've been told a great deal about you. That you have always been an ally to Camelot, and have protected both me personally, and the Kingdom, from the shadows, never asking for credit or requesting recognition. I thank you for that, my gratitude knows no bounds. You had no reason to protect a kingdom that previously would have seen you burn, though I swear to you, that is not how things work now."

Emrys let's out a chuckle at that, this one somehow even less humoured than the last

He gives a small nod, before saying, almost to himself, though Arthur hears anyway:

"Yes, we shall see."

His voice is no longer disguised, and Arthur once again pushes down the feeling of recognition blooming in his chest. He's sure he knows that voice.

("It sounds like.... no. It isn't. Stop hearing things that aren't there. You're just setting yourself up for heartbreak." runs through his head.)

Arthur is unsure how to continue the conversation from there, but before he has to force some sort of response out, Emrys finally turns, and lowers his hood.

Arthur takes a step back and gasps, his eyes wide.

Merlin's hard eyes stare back at him, his expression completely blank. He looks very different, but is still recognisable as Arthur's former manservant.

"...Merlin?" Escapes Arthur's mouth, so quietly he can barely hear it himself

At this, Emrys let's out a deep sigh, sounding almost resigned, as he cocks an eyebrow and replies:

"No one's called me that in two and a half years. You know, I used to hate the idea of people calling me Emrys instead of Merlin. Now, I find that I feel the exact opposite.-"

He tilts his head slightly, looking briefly puzzled as he maintains eye contact and mumbles:

“-Or perhaps it’s just you.”

At this Arthur gulps, and really looks at Merlin... or Emrys.

He's bulked out a little, no longer skinny and sickly looking, he fills his clothes (good quality, blues and silvers and blacks, intricate patterns and fitting well) in a way he never had before. His hair has grown out long and curls around his ears. His beard has grown in a little.

(Think, the living and the dead) :

His hands, which now have druid markings tattooed all over (they're also just about visible above his collar, though they don't go very far up his neck) , are clasped tightly in front of him, his fingers adorned with a couple of rings.

Nothing he wears looks especially expensive, Merlin had never been one to dress up, but they are good quality, and screamed "Druid" and "powerful".

"You're Emrys? Why did you never say??"

Merli-... Emrys tenses his jaw at that, his face showing slight anger as opposed to the boredom it displayed before, but before he can answer, the gang bursts in all at once.

Arthur can hear the guards yelling over the top of the door banging against the wall, and the footsteps of eight people rushing into the room.

"I tried to stop them sire but they wouldn't- Merlin??" From Leon has Arthur letting out a frustrated growl.

The King sweeps his eyes over the rest of the group as they all stare in surprise at Merlin.

Gaius is the only one who doesn't look surprised, he is instead smiling, and steps forward to offer Merlin a hug, which he accepts with no resistance as a small smile graces his face.

Merlin speaks quietly, but everyone can hear him:

"It's good to see you Gaius. I've missed you. When this is all sorted I've got so many things to tell you, to show you."

Gaius pulls back and grins even wider,

"All in time, dear boy. You're looking very well. I'm glad you've finally revealed yourself as the Lord Emrys."

Merlin blushes slightly at that and looks down:

"I haven't gone by the name Merlin in almost three years Gaius, Camelot has been the only place to not know me."

Merlin steps back, and glances quickly at the others, before settling his gaze on Arthur, who is looking a little like an animal caught in a trap. Merlin's eyes harden once again, and he schools his face back into disinterest and boredom:

"As I was about to say before, My King, I didn't get a chance to explain myself to you before I awoke, shackled and blinded and cold, with a rather nasty head wound, in the middle of a forest. And quite frankly, after that, I wasn't prepared to stumble my way back to Camelot and try for a second time. Though perhaps I should be grateful you simply knocked me out and dumped me, as opposed to burning me?"

Arthur looks to be in physical pain, but doesn't look away from Merlin, not even as the others gasp and mutter and stare and glare at him.

"Shackled? You.... I knew you were lying you monster. How could you?!" From Morgana is the first thing loud enough to be heard.

It's Gwaine who speaks next, but Arthur still doesn't look away from Merlin:

"You bastard. What the fuck is wrong with you?!" He goes to draw his sword and step towards the King, but Elyan holds him back:

"No, Gwaine. It isn't our place. This is Merlin's fight, and he knows we all stand with him."

At that, Merlin finally looks away, an ever so slight smile escapes as Elyan nods to him, and becomes the first of the group to move to stand behind Merlin, facing the king. The others follow shortly after.

They stand in a group just behind him, the fury rolling off them in waves.

Morgana steps forward and takes one of Merlin's hands in her own. Staring Arthur down, she speaks, her eyes flash gold as a sharp wind whips through the throne room. No windows or doors have been left open:

"Would you have done the same to me, brother-mine? Would you have beaten me and shackled me and left me in a forest to rot?"

Arthur steps back in complete shock, the group behind her and Merlin are also shocked, but take it in their stride.

Merlin squeezes her hand in a silent "I'm sorry, I'm with you, I'll teach you, you're safe."

Arthur doesn't really have the words at this point. He's speechless and in shock and almost crying.

He had always known that his first meeting with Merlin would be difficult, but he wasn't expecting everyone who had ever been important to him to be there as well, stood opposite him, hating him.

The wind dies down as Gwen places a hand on the other woman's shoulder from behind. Merlin looks towards Morgana first, and offers a comforting smile to her teary face, before looking behind him to the others.

"As much as I appreciate the support, and as much as I love, and have missed you all, I think me and the King need to have a private meeting on the matter. Personal problems aside, I need to see to the continued safety of my people."

It’s quiet, reserved Percival, who speaks up:

"Like hell are we leaving you with him now we know what he did." The others nod at this, but Merlin replies gently:

"I'll be fine, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. Go, I'll find you later."

At this, he turns once more to Morgana:

"There is a group of Druids camped just beyond the city walls, go to them, take Gaius. They will help you until this is all resolved, and then I can teach you myself." he says with a smile, and at her nod, he glances at Gaius, who steps forward and leads Morgana out the room, closely followed by a hesitating gaggle of knights.

Gwen is the only one who remains, as she takes Merlin’s hand briefly in Morgana’s place, and snarls at Arthur:

"Monster."

-before following the others out of the room, and shutting the door behind her, leaving the throne room once again empty of people, bar the Forever King and the Immortal One.

Merlin speaks first, looking back to Arthur, unwavering and determined:

"How do I know this is all real? The change in laws?"

"I... what? What do you mean real? Of course it's real. Merlin please, can we just-"

Merlin turns away as he interrupts him, and walks back towards the window, to look upon the courtyard, where countless innocents had been slaughtered:

"Pretending to change the laws so you can lure my people to your city, before starting another purge, sounds like exactly something Uther's son would do. I will not put my people in danger by encouraging them to come here, before I can be sure they are truly safe from the Pendragon line."

Arthur's heart breaks even more. He really had damaged the relationship between himself and Merlin more than he ever could've imagined. Merlin had seemed to make it his life goal to assure Arthur that he wasn't his father, that he could follow his own path and create his own legacy. Before Arthur had ruined everything.

"I would never. The law is changed. Sorcer- your people, are safe. Merlin will you please-"

Merlin turns and interrupts again, looking Arthur directly in the eyes, obviously not prepared to let the conversation turn personal.

"Promises made to beings of magic are... powerful. There is magic in words, swear to me that my people are safe from persecution, and I will believe it."

"I...yes. I swear it. People with magic will no longer be unfairly persecuted in this kingdom as long as I am king, I swear it, in the name of Camelot."

Merlin’s eyes flash gold, and Arthur feels as though the words he's just spoken have been branded onto his soul. In a way, they have.

Merlin looks once more out of the window, and replies quietly, but darkly:

"I will hold you to that, Arthur Pendragon."

~

THE END!

This two-parter has been finished!!

As per usual, I only write drafts, so if someone wants to write this up all proper, then go for it, credit and tag me✌

[gakucchis]

HEEELLOOOO !!!! hope you’re doing well and healthy~ i just had a funny thought; what would the obey me characters react to mc dancing to bad boy or psycho or seulrene’s monster HSHDHFJFK like i can imagine mammon’s eyes bulging out HAHAHAH

NGL this is the first time ive EVER gotten something in my box or what it's called 😭 i just woke up so good morning/good evening wherever you are, i hope you're doing well too! and GIRL am i READY to do this !!

after writing all this i realized, i did too much, im a bad writer, i suck at english, i am big dumb, im sorry for mistakes, my uncreativity, it’s 3am lol but at least i passed my driving test today! and PLEAse correct me if i have used gender specific pronouns anywhere!

i included "be natural" too because it's so classy and i love it :)

Obey Me! characters reacting to gn!MC dancing to a Velvet song by Red Velvet

Lucifer

lucifer notice that for weeks your knees had bruises

they started to heal, but they started to reappear again

he was worried about what you’re doing, but you just shrugged it off everytime he asked you about it

that didn’t stop him from trying to find out

one day, he hears a song playing in the kitchen, and knowing you’re on cooking duty, he investigates

he gets closer, seeing your figure standing at the stove, dancing to the rhythm of the song

while he enjoys watching you like this, he tries to link the dancing to your bruised knees

“MC,” he startles you with his deep voice behind you, as you immediately stop and try to stand firmly

“are your bruised knees from dancing?”

you look at him innocently, knwoing he’d tease you about your hobby

he waited for a bit, yet you didn’t say anything, only shaking your head lightly

he didn’t trust you with that, but he knows you won’t be truthful, so his plan is to catch you dancing once again

and that time came sooner than expected

as lucifer was leaving school around the time where most have already left, he was looking through the classrooms like he often did to catch any lingering students

one classroom was closed though, no matter how he tried to open it

“it can’t be helped,” he sighs as he uses a spell to open the door, revealing someone inside

inside of the empty room was you, your d.d.d quietly playing “monster” by red velvet’s irene & seulgi

you practised your dance, shifting from position to position, as you followed the choreography step by step, leading to you getting on the ground with your knees, trying to capture their powerful, mature side

you stopped as your gaze shifted to someone standing in front of you

looking up it reveals lucifer standing there with crossed arms, smirking while slowy kneeling down as well, lifting your face with his hand

“so, what do you have to say now, my idol?” he can’t deny that you caught his attention, so that he did not interrupt you and preferred gazing at your moving body

Mammon

POLICE, mammon is bored again

and his first stop is finding you again, as always

almost always he will bust into the room catching you by surprise, but as he got closer he couldn't overhear the faint music in the hallway

was it a song from that one band again that you liked? red velvet?

even though you had shown him some songs, he didn't remember many, but it would probably be "bad boy" if they repeated it so much

trying to surprise you, he planned on slightly opening the door and then jumping in, but something crossed his plans

as he silently and carefully opened the door, he saw you weren't in your bed, but rather in the middle of the room, with your back to the door

you were dancing to the song, silently humming the melody and concentrating on your movement, not seeing mammon at all

mammon wanted to leave or jump in soon, but you captivated him

followed your every move but by second his face would get redder at your suggestive dance

the way you turned your head, the way you rolled your body, the way you danced so seductively drives him crazy

he really felt like a bad boy down at your mercy

he thought about leaving and taking care of his growing problem because of you, but decided to try and turn the tables

"what ya doin' there, little dancer?!" he exclaimed and caught you by surprised

your flushed face only turned him on more

you tried to hide your face with your hands, but mammon got a hold of them

"listen... y-you weren't that bad..!"

your frown turns into a smile as you chuckle and give him a quick kiss, not realizing how much he's craving you right now

his face begins to blush more, but he can't let go of you or you lips for a few hours now

Levi

something inside levi is detecting something...

a girl group song?

someone's playing a song by red velvet inside the house?

he begins to investigate, but knows where to look first

"MC!" he shouts as he enters the room, catching you by surprise

your lips turned into a smile as you asked for him to sit down, it was actually you who played "psycho" by red velvet

you asked him to sit there and evaluate your dancing, but please be honest

levi didn't sign up for this, but he did it for you, even though he could guess you're a horrible dancer; at least he can listen to red velvet

the music started playing, and your body started moving to the rhythm

the more seconds passed, the more did levi get mesmerized by your way of moving

your expressions made this only worse – your lips that would sometimes turn into a smirk, your eyes that would sometimes stare at him longingly

levi couldn't just sit there and stare, his blush growing by second

he couldn’t even focus on the song anymore, he didn’t even feel like he could focus on you

“MC... that’s enough”

“why? am i that bad?”

“n-no..! y-you’re perfect...”

by that point you realized why he’s feeling uneasy and asked for you to stop, but he reassures you that you’re a good dancer

if you then offer to show him the other dances you’ve learned as well, he’ll die at just the thought of it

so he puts his hands on your waist and pulls you close

“you’ll be the death of me, you idiot...”

Satan

it’s the middle of the night

and even though everyone’s asleep, satan is up again to read something, but there’s something distracting him

your room was above his, and as you both had your windows open, he was able to hear the music you played at this hour

each second, satan got a bit more annoyed, until he stood up to ask you politely to turn it off already

he opened the door to your room, revealing you on a chair, with your leg stretched out and you going through your hair

for a few seconds you didn’t realise satan standing there, and you continued your dance as powerful as before

he didn’t say anything either - being mesmerized by your elegant dance and your seductive movements

it kind of made him forget what he came for, now he was just standing there, admiring your form

without realizing himself, his eyes followed you longingly, as you danced your way to the top of the chair,

turning around,

seeing satan,

and falling forward because you were surprised

“MC! are you okay? i’m sorry for startling you...”

he helped you stand up by holding your hand, but you were too shy to look at him, getting caught like this

you revealed to him that you tried dancing to red velvet’s “be natural”

“you don’t need to be shy, you can show me even more if you’d like,” he teases and brings your hand to his lips to place a kiss

you’re flustered, but you like the way he enjoyed your dance

“i could be your chair too”

Asmo

it was raining again in devildom, and even though you promised asmo that you would go out together to visit a night festival, plans had to be cancelled due to the weather

to not disappoint asmo, you came up with the idea to just have a small party for the both of you in his room, to which he happily said yes

a few hours later, after you’ve bought some drinks and snacks, you were giggling and talking about things

as “bad boy” by red velvet came on, you excitedly jumped up, and even though you would never offer that normally, the alcohol in you spoke, and you asked if you should dance to the song

of course asmo cheered you on to do it, he likes the song after you’ve showed him a few weeks ago

even though you’d normally be embarrassed to death, that feeling flew right over your head and you started moving your body according to the choreography of the song

asmo instantly couldn’t take his eyes off you, next to your beautiful moves to the velvet song, he couldn’t help but smile at your radiance

but his innocent smile turns into something darker the more he follows the swing of your hips and the way you bite your lips when you make eye contact with him

“are you trying to tease me, MC?~”

you cheekily shrug your shoulders and sit next to him again

“you’re beautiful~” he whispers and gives you the first kiss of many, many following along with many, many other things to make you prove the way your body can move

Beel

even though you definitely didn’t like working out as much as beel does, you told him you’d go along with him to gym

beel was happy about that, but he was a bit worried about what exactly you would do the whole time

as he started working out, you settled in at the small dancing area very close to him, and he realized that you would spend your time with dancing

a few minutes passed, and every few seconds beel would glance over at you

he wondered what you were listening to, but you seemed happy and energetic, and if you were, he’d be too!

at some point your dancing style changed from cheerful to more seductive, while still having a fast pace

he liked seeing you like this, but something bothered him as he saw how other demons looked at you the way he did

he didn’t know what it was, but you didn’t seem to mind

at some point it was enough for him, and he asked you to follow you to another room, revealing a bigger, empty dance room

“i just want to see you dance here”, he smiled with his blush apparent on his cheeks

he sat down and hid his little jealousy from before, but now he was able to see your whole body and to concentrate only on you

you played start on your phone and “monster” by red velvet’s irene & seulgi resonated in the room

beel was impressed by your sharp and quick moves, your hands following the trace of your body, your hips swaying from side to side, but he was even more mesmerized by your focused and somehow darker eyes

as you were done with your dance and turned back to him, he clapped for you with a blushing face

he felt more relaxed now, but at the same time he felt his heart beating quicker and his hands trembling

and maybe you could help him with that

Belphie

you were searching for belphie everywhere

as you were just sitting in the living room together, he sneakily stole your phone and left the room, but you didn't realize at first, it took you about three minutes

"belphieee! give me my phone back!" you shouted through the halls as you headed up the stairs to the attic

meanwhile belphie, who knew your code, was scrolling through your gallery, a video catching his attention immediately

the thumbnail was you in a dance room, hands on your hips

he started the video and realized it was a dance practise you filmed of yourself, the name of the file being "psycho_redvelvet_dance"

like belphie always is, he prepared to tease you, but his mind only focused on you in that moment

your head tilted back or you slowly standing up made his mind wander to other places and a sly smirk appeared on his face

you entered the attic and got into his bed fast, trying to pry away your phone as you saw the video he was watching

a blush grew on your face as you tried even more desperately to get your phone back now

belphie caught your wrist and chuckled, "you're a good dancer, MC, but i'd rather see it in real life than just on a video" he cheekily requested

you shook your head, never ever planning on showing him, but he wouldn't let go of you

"then at least show me how you move your body right now"

Diavolo

for extra credit points, you asked him if you could join a voluntary dance class and of course he agreed

after that, he didn't hear much from you about that matter

as the semester slowly ended though, the evaluations for dance classes were starting which consisted of a solo dance which will be graded

even though diavolo usually does not have to be involved in evaluations, he was asked to grade your performance as you're the only exchange student of that class

he received the video of your dancing to a song called "be natural" by red velvet

the moment you started dancing, you captured his interest with the interesting choreography

but it wasn’t only that, it was you personally who gave off a whole different aura than usually

it was like dancing changed you, but knowing that you have this whole other side to you, excited diavolo

your movements and your expressions suited the tone of the song perfectly

he never really new that you were good at dancing – but this proved it

it was quite a turn-on and his mind started drifting somewhere else

before doing anything stupid, he closed the video and came to search for you

surely enough he told you that your final grade would be a perfect 100, but not without his hands roaming your body and you thanking him in another way

Barbatos

a ball organized by diavolo came closer and closer, and you still had the trouble of not knowing how to dance properly for the occasion

you were searching for someone who could teach you perfectly, but not too strictly, and the first person you thought of was barbatos

even though you were shy with your request, he happily accepted your request and told you when and where to meet

you had planned to get there earlier, not wanting to make barbatos wait because after all he did this for you

the room was located inside the demon lord’s castle, much smaller and emptier room others, accompanied with some grand mirrors

you settled in, waiting and waiting, realizing you had been there too early...

barbatos entered the room, punctual like always, but catching you in a trance as you danced to a song

the song seemed to be the new popular song from the human world called “monster”

barbatos remembered you talking about that group and how much you liked them, he didn’t want to be impolite and interrupt you

he also knew that it was impolite to stare without your knowledge - but he couldn’t quite resist

your eyes watched your every move in the mirror in front of you, being sure to not hold back or underdance any movements, practising your expressions at the same time as well

he waited for you to notice him, but you kept going until the last second

“it seems like you aren’t a novice when it comes to dancing, MC,” barbatos chimes in and flashes a soft smile

you apologized for making him wait like that, but he shrugged it off

somehow he was looking forward to the close contact you’ll be having, hoping for you to show him the same longing expression you’ve heard before and feeling your moving body against his

Solomon

"you still owe me, did you forget?”

solomon, as he often did, caught you off guard

“remember when i let you cheat off my test?” that rang a bell in your mind, but it had been weeks since it happened

of course, to show your gratitude, you cheerfully asked him what it is what he wishes for, but what he said didn’t exactly excite you

“dance for me”

... first of all, it sounded wrong, second of all, you did not want to dance for him

you didn’t like dancing in front of others that much, and you even wondered how solomon knows about your hobby

after a long time of trying to convince him to choose something else or trying to persuade him with money, he just wouldn’t change his mind

you couldn’t deny that it wasn’t a weird request, but knowing solomon’s expectations are always high, you got more nervous and wanted to give it your all

at least you were able to choose the song, your forced confidence making you choose “bad boy”

standing in solomon’s room, his always innocent looking smile giving you the go, you give yourself in to the rhythm

you’re performing like you’re on stage, following each step and focusing on your facial expressions toward him

his smile didn’t fade, but you could feel his heart beating a little quicker, even a faint blush was apparent on his cheeks

your confidence grew by second, it was too late to tone it down now

you ended your dance perfectly, his eyes following you from head to toe, but stopping at your beaming eyes

“MC, i asked for you to dance, and not seduce me...” he chuckled in a low whisper almost, making it seem like a joke, but his hand snaking around your waist and his lips coming closer proved otherwise

Simeon

another day at rad was over for simeon, and he prepared heading back to purgatory hall

as someone hushed by the classroom, and he realized it was you, he remembered that he still had your notebook for human world history

exams were coming up, so he tried to give it back to you as soon as possible

simeon stepped out of the classroom and shouted for you, yet you didn’t answer

“are they wearing headphones?”

he rushed after you, but you seemed in a rush too, and a few doors later, he lost sight of you

he sighed and planned on going home now,

but then he heard music from somewhere

curiosity kicked in again, and knowing there’s a high chance it could be you, he followed the sound

as he opened the door to the auditorium of the school, simeon saw you on the stage with your back to the door

carefully, he closed the door and sat down at the nearest seat, waiting for your next move

the music starts again, “psycho” by red velvet

you begin to dance to the beat, the light shining on the stage illuminating your silhouette as simeon can’t help but watch

he’s impressed by your skills, and even though the song shows a dark and mature style, you look like an angel to him

the song is coming to an end, you’re standing there as if you’re imagining a sea of lights chanting for you

the illusion doesn’t last long as you realize you are alone like always, but this time, someone’s clapping

“it was beautiful, MC!” simeon exlaims and stands up, and even though you’re a bit shy, it makes you happy to hear someone compliment you

he’s coming closer, you get off the stage and you’re suddenly standing before him 

“were you trying to tempt an angel with that dance?”

“if you felt that way, maybe it’s your fault” you laughed but you couldn’t hide your faint blush

having totally forgotten about the reason why he wanted to see you, he asked you for another dance on the stage, which you happily did

[supernaturaldesires]

A Descent Into Insanity - Chapter One

Based on request by @sweetpotato-97

Could ask for a fic of Yandere Dean with a reader who sees him as a best friend and a form of brother for them, of course in the beginning Dean was not a yandere but he changed with the passage of time?

Note: the reader in a way is innocent and does not know that Dean is in love with them.

Pairing: None (yet)

Characters: Dean & Sam

Warnings: none, other than a slightly protective Dean

Word Count: 1,802

One Year Ago

As you pulled up to the old abandoned shack, you checked against the photo in the newspaper on your passenger seat. This was the place, without a doubt. You had stopped about 150 yards away to avoid drawing any attention or raising any alarms within the shack. If the stories you’d heard from the townsfolk were true, you were expecting just a couple of vamps, max three. It appeared to be a relatively new nest since the attacks only started a couple of weeks ago, out of the blue. You reached into the backseat, grabbing your machete and hip-flask. You took a swig of whisky from the flask for good measure before shoving it in the glove compartment and heaving yourself out. 

There was a gravel path leading up to the shack, but you opted to walk along the grassy verge in an attempt to keep as quiet as possible. When you were about 50 yards from the shack though, you noticed a ‘67 Chevy Impala tucked behind some large shrubs, just off the path. Strange. It wasn’t a large town and all of the attacks happened within a couple mile radius of the shack, so you couldn’t imagine much need for the vamps to have a set of wheels. Nevertheless, you pushed on.

As you approached the front porch, you noticed that the door to the shack was already open, creaking back-and-forth with the breeze. It was at that moment you heard a blood-curdling scream, followed by shouting. Armed with your machete, you launched through the front door towards the noise.

Two beheaded bodies already lay on the floor, and ahead of you there were two figures wrestling on the ground. “Sammy!” Shouted the man who was pinned to the ground, trying to fend off the snarling vamp with his bare hands. His machete lay on the ground nearby, but just out of reach. Without a second thought, you flew forward, thrust your machete down on the vamp, slicing clean through its neck. The head bounced off the man’s shoulder, to which he jumped up, shuddering and wiping himself down. “Hey, thanks man-” He looked up at you for the first time and blinked. “Oh, my bad. Sorry, didn’t mean to assume.” You lowered your machete, wiping the blade on the clothes of the dead vamp. “No biggie,” you shrugged in response. “You get used to it in this line of work.” You flashed him a knowing smile.

Another man entered the room through a second door, to which you instinctively raised your weapon again, but he immediately stopped and raised his hands in self-defence at the sight of you. 

“He’s good,” the first man said. “That’s my brother. All good, Sam?”

“Yeah,” the tall man said, running a hand through his shaggy hair. “There was another one in there but I managed to catch him off-guard.”

“Sweet. Well, this young lady saved my ass before I became a vamp snack,” the first man chuckled. “Thanks for that, by the way, um...?”

“Y/N,” you said. “As I said, no biggie. I wasn’t expecting such a big nest, so if you guys hadn’t got here first, I’d probably have been the meal anyway.”

Both men laughed at that. “I’m Dean, this is my baby brother Sam. Come on, let me buy you a drink to say thanks.”

Present Day

“Dean, can you please put a different tape on now?” Sam moaned for the fifth time. “I swear this is the tenth time I’ve heard this song.”

“Sorry Sammy, you know the rules,” his brother smirked. “Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.”

Sam turned in his seat to face you in the backseat, hoping to get some back-up but he knew he was outnumbered when he saw you playing air guitar.

“She’s got eyes of the bluest skies, as if they thought of rain,” you sang along gleefully. “C’mon Sammy, how can you get tired of Guns ’n’ Roses? I could listen to this all day!”

Sam groaned, shifting back to face forward and slouched grumpily against the car door. “Don’t encourage him, Y/N,” he grumbled. “And I’ve told you, not even Dean’s supposed to call me Sammy, you’re definitely not allowed.”

You leaned over the back of the front seat, throwing him a pout before motioning a tiny violin between your thumb and forefinger. Dean roared with laughter as Sam grunted, folding his arms with a strop. “Tell me we’re nearly there, at least.”

“Only another 50 miles to go, little brother,” Dean hummed. He shot you a cheeky look and you knew exactly what was coming next. You both sang at the tops of your lungs:

“WoooooOOOoooaahhh sweet child of mine!”

As you arrived at the bunker, you jumped out of the car and stretched your legs before hauling your overnight bag out of the backseat. “I’m jumping straight into the shower, I still stink of werewolf.” 

“Yeah I know,” Dean remarked, scrunching his nose comically. You punched him playfully in the arm, which he then clutched in feigned agony, staggering. 

“Whatever, tough guy,” you huffed as you made your way into the building. 

After showering and feeling refreshed, you pulled on a pair of joggers and an oversized hoodie and made your way to the kitchen. Sam was already sat at the table, staring intensely at his laptop screen and scribbling notes.

“I’m feeling pancakes, Sam, you want some?” The tall man just shook his head, his eyes not moving from the screen. “You know you’re allowed to relax every now and then, right?”

The elder Winchester sauntered into the kitchen then, also looking much fresher. “Did I hear pancakes?”

“Yep, you know where the ingredients are,” you smirked, plopping down into the chair opposite Sam.

Dean threw an irritated look at you before reluctantly rummaging through the fridge. “Asshole,” he muttered.

“Jerk,” you retorted without missing a beat. “You boys up for a drink tonight? I fancy going out, celebrating our victory in taking out that pack.”

“Sure,” Dean answered. “Let’s get some grub in us, then we can head over to the bar.”

Sam continued tapping away at his laptop. “You guys go ahead, I’ve just found this interesting article about this new legal case over in Wisconsin. Check it out, so this guy-”

“Yawwwn,” Dean interrupted. “Sometimes I wish I’d just left you at Stanford, you nerd. Anyways, Y/N and I are gonna go have some fun. Maybe you can look up the definition of the word sometime, Sammy.”

You and Dean had settled at a table at the bar, chatting about everything and nothing for about an hour, already four drinks in. You couldn’t forget that impressed glint in his eye when he first realised that you could not only hold your drink, but could also keep up with him quite easily.

You were howling with laughter as Dean told you a story of Sam losing a rabbit’s foot and the chain of unfortunate events that followed. “So I’m there on the phone to Bobby and I could tell Sam was mucking around behind me doing some stupid shit but I wasn’t really paying attention. Next thing I know, I turn around and he’s looking at me with that goofy puppy-dog face. ‘I lost my shoe,’ he says. Dropped it down a damn drain, the dumbass.” You wiped the tears of laughter from your face, shaking your head and taking a swig of your drink. “Anyway, gotta go empty the tank. I’ll be back.” Dean pushed away from the table and headed off to the men’s room.

One of your favourite AC/DC songs came on the jukebox, so you started tapping your foot and bopping your head along with the music. You didn’t really notice the stranger approach you until he helped himself to Dean’s seat. “Hey there, little lady.” You looked up at the guy, he was your typical jock-type, wearing a football jersey and a baseball cap. He was a little broader than Dean, but several inches shorter. “Can I get you a drink?”

“No thanks,” you said, smiling politely. “I’m here with a friend, just having a good time.”

“Yeah, I saw your friend,” the guy scoffed. “I promise you, come with me and I can show you a real good time, sweetheart,” he said with a wink.

You sighed and rolled your eyes. “I said-” your tone was harsh now, your words sharp. “I’m here with my friend. I’m not interested.”

“Aw come on sweet cheeks, I saw the way he was looking at you. He ain’t interested in you like that. I mean, he’s a fucking fool for it, but I’d be happy to step into the shoes if he’s too much of a pussy to fill them.” He tried to wrap an arm around you then, and you were just about to shove him off when his whole body was suddenly ripped away from you, and the next thing you knew, he was on the floor. 

Dean towered over him, his eyes sparking with anger. “Did you not fucking hear her when she said she’s not interested?” By now, the rest of the bar had fallen silent, all eyes on the unfolding scene. 

“Hey, dude, chill out,” the guy muttered. “It’s not like you were making a move.” 

Dean grabbed the collar of the guy’s shirt in his fist, getting right in his face. You jumped up, preparing to intervene. “What I do is none of your fucking business, if you come near her again, I swear-”

“Dean!” You shouted, grabbing his other fist which had raised, ready to take a swing. “Leave it.”

“Oi!” The manager peeked out of the backroom, having heard the commotion. He jabbed a finger at Dean. “Get out of my bar, now!” 

You could see the fire in Dean’s eyes redirect towards the manager, but you tugged at his shirt. “Dean, please! Just leave it. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Dean paused for a moment before releasing the guy’s shirt, letting him fall roughly to the floor. He turned his attention back to the manager, eyes like daggers. “You oughta get some better clientele in here, mate, instead of little bitch boys.” You hooked your arm through Dean’s and dragged him out the front door. He let you pull him away, but all the while throwing glaring looks between the manager and the man who had tried hitting on you.

You really did love your new life with the Winchesters, basically considered them your brothers now, but they tended to find their newfound protective role a little too seriously sometimes. You decided it wasn’t worth an argument this time, instead letting Dean cool down as you both made your way back to the bunker.

Chapter Two =>

Dean tags: @akshi8278​

Divider credit: @firefly-graphics​

[the-fandom-fuckup]

this time for The Parents

(Disclaimer: this is heavily bullshitted n I have no idea how pregnancies work, naturally or medically aided, so like, whatever doesn't make sense can be attributed to the wonders of quirks I guess)

Honestly there's so much I could say about these three, so many places I could start bc they're basically all I think about

However, I'm gonna start with what created this au in the first place: the quirkbabes lmao

I feel like the first person to bring up babies would be Kiri, after they've settled well into their relationship and careers. They're probably closer to mid 20's when he does his first dip into the topic, putting the idea out there but not expecting much to come from it

Bc he gets it, he totally does! Babies take time and energy and lots of love n care, and hero work is vry busy n vry demanding, where the only guarantee is you never know what's gonna happen that day

So he completely understands their weariness on the topic. But still, he can't deny that the thought of tiny feet terrorizing their halls makes his chest flutter

They don't bring it up again for a while, Kiri giving them time n space to think it over, while the other two have a good long thought n sort through their feelings

And it takes a bit, but they do come together to talk about it eventually. They talk about different options they could use, how many kids they're comfy with having, any hang ups over the idea, etc, n it takes time, but they get everything figured out

Which, of course, is when they start the process n have a wrench thrown in their plans. The original idea had been one child to start, test the waters n see how things go, but maybe they figure out Ochako's uterus isn't strong enough to handle multiple pregnancies n the more they try, the more risk there is to both mother n child

So they say okay, fuck it, we'll have one kid. That's easy enough, right? They sign papers or whatever they gotta do to get started, make appointments with the right people n get the process started for real

Only to have the doctor/quirk user approach them like the eggs took wonderfully, n will take a couple weeks of development before we can implant the embryos into your womb, but otherwise congratulations on becoming parents! N they're excited ofc, but Ochako couldn't help but go umm I'm sorry, you said "Eggs"?? As in plural?? N the person goes yes, your paperwork says that you asked for two eggs to be fertilized, have you changed your minds or..??

Ochako, Baku, n Kiri all look at each other bc obviously someone had fucked up here. But Kiri's vibrating at the thought of not one baby, but two babies n Baku isn't looking as put off as he usually does when someone fucks up, which is telling in its own way

So Ochako takes a breath n asks about any added risks that may come with two babies, n is quickly reassured that anything they could help prevent would not be an issue, n everything should run on course

(Ochako politely doesn't remark how everything so far has not run on course, bc she's nice like that)

So they go fuck it, we'll have two babies. Twins. How hard can it be?

Now I haven't thought too much about what happens during the pregnancy, but it's a given that Ochako puts as much time in during it as she can before having to go off on maternity leave

People try asking her about it n whispering to her like y'know, you could go off early if you wanted, right? It's disgusting that your partners would force you to work like this :/

N that's usually when she gets sick of their shit n snaps back my partners aren't forcing me to do anything, I'm a grown ass woman who can make her own choices n if I wanna come to work I'll fucking work >:(

(That doesn't stop them from trying to stick her on desk duty or cutting her hours. Which, during her earlier stages ofc, she gives her two cents about as well. She may be a workaholic but even she knows doing patrols while heavily pregnant is just asking for trouble)

When she does take the time off they probably don't put it in the media, giving a vague cover of Uravity going off for medical reasons with the promise of returning asap

Tbh they probably try to keep most of their family n personal life away from the media, since Baku would lose his shit over the invasions of privacy, but they don't outright hide it either. It's probably like a Todo fam situation where the public knows of the kids but doesn't have any specific details I guess

The first thing Baku does after meeting and holding his daughter is tear up a little, snort n say "goddamn she's ugly," then softer n with feeling, "she's fucking perfect."

Kiri n Baku do not let Ochako hold the children for a good while after the birth, both of them so wrapped up in the tiny humans they made together that they don't even hear her demanding to see them

They sure af coughed them up after Ochako snagged Kiri's balls in a death grip n threatened to tear them off tho, bc Ochako does not make empty threats n 10+ hours of labour is enough to push anyone to that point.

Ofc Ochako takes time off to recover after her pregnancy, but they decided together that Kiri would be the one to take the big break from work to care for the babies. It'd been his idea, bc he knew how important their work was, how Ochako was still worried about providing for her parents n how focused Baku was on getting to number one

The others were unsure at first, bc Kiri shouldn't be the only one to take care of the babies, but he plays it off as you guys have more responsibilities at work than I do, n I've never really cared for what rank I have. Plus it's not like you won't be helping, you have time after work to do your part, me staying home is just to give them a stable routine n make sure they're getting the attention n care they need. Being the stay at home parent doesn't make me the only parent, y'know?

But also, the other two being at work means they can't stop him from spoiling the little runts rotten, and Kiri definitely takes advantage of that lmao

He loses to pouty lips n puppy dog eyes entirely too often, n he knows he's weak to them, okay? But goddamn they made some beautiful babies and their power is unparalleled. They have him wrapped around their chubby little pinkies n they don't even know it yet

(They do realise this when they get older, however, and perfect the formula for their pout-to-eye ratio that has Kiri cracking in seconds. You'd think with constant exposure he'd toughen up a bit, but time has only given the babes more power. Kiri's doomed)

Having that time off does a number on him tho, n he doesn't really realise it until he's trying to button up his pants to head out n the button pops clean off. He's not super happy about the little pudge he'd developed on his holidays, but finding time to work out n keep track of the kids is tough!

Kiri pouts seeing his belly in the mirror, but Bakugou loves it. Between Kiri's new dad bod n Ochako struggling to lose the baby weight, Baku is in heaven.

He knows how to appreciate a nice belly n loves the way Kiri n Ochako jiggle while doing small tasks around the house, loves the soft weight of it when he grabs a handful during snuggles, n will leave kisses n raspberries at every given opportunity. He plays it off like "It means you eat well n take care of yourself, what's not to like about that?? Get off my dick"

But lets be real, he's not fooling anyone. Kiri n Ochako love the stubborn blush that goes down to Baku's chest when they tease him about it, n if they leave a bit more skin out to test his willpower, nobody mentions it lmao

Honestly this is getting long n I dunno where I'm going with it, just know that I have many thoughts about these guys n I love them dearly tyvm

[lay-d-l]

Zoyalai Modern AU

This spring I joined @grishaversebigbang and for whatever reason I signed up as a writer. Not a very smart idea it was very stressful and I don’t even like it that much, but y’know, next year, I’ll be ready. 

I worked with incredibly talented people who are, generally the sweetest human beings you could meet. 

Materialki:

@someofgennie x

@edmeom x

Corporalki:

@shelbychild

Fic summary: Zoya was living day for day, not caring really, not after him. After she bumps into a guy at her favorite coffee shop, her life gets interesting again. Will she let herself feel again?

you can find my fic here *it’s not there yet, so if you wanna see it, keep reading*

It was a wet Tuesday morning; it had been raining all night and I wasn’t feeling like going out. But things happen 24/7 and that means reporters, like me, work 24/7. I wiggled out of bed and went to the bathroom. Seeing what I saw, I groaned. It's Zoya's-Famous-Bed-Hair. Once, in junior year, I woke up late and didn't have time for hair and makeup. So, naturally, I put on the first thing I got my hands on and ran out. Which is usually okay, right? Yeah, well Os Alta Speciality School has uniforms. Though, they’re not like Ketterdam ones. In Ketterdam, it's regular pants-shirt-jumper; in Os Alta they wore keftas. That's not the point, though; the night before, Genya and I were out, partying, so I wore clothes from last night's party. The principal suspended me for the day. This morning, I braided my hair, took my laptop, and left for the Dragon Scale. Dragon Scale is a coffee shop just around the corner from my apartment. Since I started drinking coffee when I was fifteen I have always gone there; it felt safe. Mostly because no one, not even Genya, knew about it. Just like every other day, it was almost empty. One person at the counter and a few others scattered in the back. I went to the counter and Anna, the barista, smiled at me. "The usual?" she asked. "You know it," I smiled back. "Could you bring it to me though? I have a lot of work today." Not turning from the shelves she said, "No worries." With that I went to sit by the window. I liked looking at people as they passed by, even when it's not a busy day. I opened the laptop and started writing: the elections are nearing, are you ready to decide between our two competitors? Is it going to be the cunning Petyr or the sly Nikolai Lantsov? I was never into politics, but Shelby, my publisher, insisted I write about this year's election. I love my job, I really do, but this is incredibly boring and the campaigns don't start until a few weeks from now, so when Anna brought my frappe, I looked to the street. I was like a less smart Sherlock Holmes. Meaning I can't really deduct, I just notice how people walk and dress, or if they have any ticks. Like if their left shoulder is lower than their right one. There was a woman in a hot pink coat, which was an unusual choice considering not many people wear bright colours at this time of year. A pig tailed girl who had stuck a lollipop to her mother's jacket. And a guy who was trying so hard not to be seen, but who obviously failed. With nothing else to do I packed my laptop, took my cup and went out. As I was turning to say bye to Anna, I bumped into a wall. I said, "Really? Couldn't have told me I'm going into a wall???" She started laughing hysterically. "What?" "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm no wall." I turned around. He definitely wasn't a wall. "Witty remarks are really unnecessary." I said. He put his arms up in surrender. "I am sorry that I bumped into you though." “Don’t worry, it could have been someone not as pretty as you.” “Thank you, I think. I’m going to go now. Bye Anna!” as I was walking out I heard Anna talking to the man.

Next day, I was sitting in the park, trying to write something on the elections but it was a no go. I was closing my laptop when I felt someone sit beside me. I looked to my right and saw the guy from the coffee shop. “What does ‘Z’ stand for?” “What are you doing here?” I asked, “Are you following me?” “No, I was walking, and I saw a familiar face, thought I say ‘Hi’. What does ‘Z’ stand for?” “It stands for Zebra.” “Really?” “No, of course not, it stands for Zoya.” “Oh that’s a nice name, is it yours? What does it mean?” “Yes, of course it’s mine. It means ‘life’”I said. “And you are?” “Nikolai.” he looked at his watch, “As much as I liked this encounter, I must go now.” “Bye?” He bowed to his waist, “Farewell.”

I snoozed my alarm three times, but it kept ringing. Then I realised it's not a regular alarm, it's a Genya alarm. "What is it, Kostyk?" I said into the phone. "Oooh!" she exclaimed, "Kostyk, that sounds nice. Not used to it though." "I know that's why I said it. What's the rush?" "It's Saturday." "Oka-" "ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU FORGOT OUR WEEKLY MEETING???" "Don't yell," I said. "Of course I didn't forget, you'd kill me if I did. I just didn't think it'd be this early." "Early?" she asked, "Zoya it's 11:00 in the morning!" "Oops? Okay, well, I'm obviously awake now, so what were you thinking of doing?" I asked. "The Zoo! Winter is coming, and I want to see all the summer animals before they stop going out." "Sure, meet you at the park in two hours?" "Yeah, love you!" she said, and hung up. I got up and went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was empty, guess I forgot to go to the store. So I decided to go to a bakery down the street, hoping they still have something warm. Luckily for me, they did. I bought two dollars worth of mini-whinnies and got back home. It was a relatively sunny day, so I sat at the balcony. And for a Saturday, it wasn't really busy. Besides Genya days, Saturdays are usually the farmers market days too. Most people don't have time to buy groceries during the week. I looked up to the Grand Palace. Tourists always said it was the most beautiful building in Os Alta, but I could never see it. It's not ugly, I just found the Little Palace more interesting. The Grand Palace is like any other palace ever, with big towers and shiny roofs, I can see that in any place that had a royal dynasty. But only we have a huge library with a fountain next to the royal Palace. I looked at my watch and yelped, I'm gonna be late!, I thought. I changed from my sweats and tee, and put on jeans, a jumper and boots, In case it rains. Took the leather jacket and keys from the hanger and ran out. The park wasn't far from my apartment so I walked. When I got to our usual meeting spot, Genya was already there. I waved apologetically. She rolled her eyes: "At least you're here, let's go!" "Fine, fine, I'm going!", I laughed. We sat in her car and went to the zoo. During the ride we talked about what we did during the week, how's married life and how's David in general, but all that was dropped the moment we walked through the gates of the zoo. First we saw the birds; pigeons, eagles and those funny colored ones that sing. Next animals were sheep, llama and deer. Their cages were around a pavilion that had horses and ponies you could ride, but those are mostly for kids. Few years back, Genya asked if we could ride but they wouldn’t let us. She said “it wasn’t fair that only kids can do fun stuff…” and continued to tell me how when she has kids they will be free to do whatever they want. We walked next to the deer cage. David loves them so every time we’re here we tend to stay a bit longer. Today we saw there was a new addition to the family. On the cage it said she was a doe named Lola. Next stop were the ostridges and the emus, we skipped those, mostly because one ostridge bit me a few years back when I tried to feed it. Genya got it on camera. On the other side of the sidewalk were the bison, and we always acted as if they were the flying bison from Avatar: the Last Airbender. We named all of them Appa. The seals were sleeping so we went to the reptiles instead. Most of the snakes were also sleeping, as was the aligator so we decided to skip the hippoes too and went to see the wolves. Though they didn't pay attention to us as they were eating. The monkeys were mostly shitting onto their hands and throwing it at each other… The petting zoo was empty so we had all the little goats to ourselves! When I was a kid, and my mom still my mom, I tried to take one of the goats with me home, but I couldn’t carry it alone so it stayed in the petting zoo. When we got to the bears most of them were in the water, but there was one who went in circles around his pond, like he was trying to catch fish. Lions were lying around, hyenas were laughing at the visitors, which is not creepy at all… At that point we got tired and went to the big pond where the ducks and the swans are. I sat on a bench while Genya bought ice cream. “Strawberry?” she asked. I just nodded. "So," she started, "you're not seeing anyone, right?" I choked, "What?!" "Are you seeing anyone?" "Where is that coming from?!" "David recently got together with a childhood friend and when he got home, he said you'd like him and that you should go on a date." she said, casually. "Genya, you know I'm not the one for dating…" She touched her eye-patch and looked away. "I know, but just try? I mean, just meet with him, then decide what to do. Not everyone is like Alex…" I sighed, "Sure, wh-" "REALLY?", she exclaimed. "Yes, chill. Who is he?" "Oh, oh… I have no idea. David just called him Sobachka, but-" "Genya…" "But he can't be bad if he's friends with David. If you don't feel like staying, I'll pull you out." "Okay, Pinkie Promise?", I asked, and she smiled, "Cross my heart, hope to fly!" We threw the rest of our cones to the ducks, passed the safari animals, and finished this year's last visit to the zoo. Next to the zoo is an empty parking lot that has a small adventure park. Ever since I befriended Genya, after the zoo we go to the ferris wheel and the bumper cars.

Since I agreed to go on a blind date I decided it was best to do it in a familiar setting. So I told Genya that I wanted it to be in a coffee shop near my flat. I put on my battle armor, jeans and a sweater, and went out. The streets were empty, even for a weekday. I went into the shop and looked around to see a familiar face. Anna, behind the counter, Gennie in the corner, drawing probably. I sat in my usual place next to the window and waited. Anna came by the table. “Hey, what can I get you?” I looked up, “Nothing yet, I’m on a date…” “That’s a new one, how did that happen?” “I was out with Genya and she suggested it. And it’s Genya, she thinks he’s good, and she would not stop until I said yes so I’m here to see what happens.” She smiled, “Well, I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” “Yeah,” I said and looked behind her, “Gennie’s calling for you.” She turned around, “Oh, I better get that, she’s trying out a new technique.” Then she left. The set time was 17:00, I came a little earlier, just in case. I took my phone out of my pocket to see the time. He’s late. Door opened and Nikolai came in, he looked around and rolled his eyes when he saw me. He came and sat at the chair opposite of me. “Honestly Zoya, is it not tiring to follow me? You could just ask for my number.” I scoffed; ”Don’t flatter yourself I’m here for a date.” His eyes widened, “Come again?” “You thought you were-” “You’re a friend of David’s.” “What? How do you know that?” I asked. He scratched his head, “I, oh Saints…” “You’re my date, aren’t you?” “I would seem so.” I frowned, “Hey, don’t look so pissed I didn’t know either.” “Do you want to do this?” I asked. “I don't see why not.” he said. “I have no expectations, we sit and talk. If we click, cool. If not, we had an interesting afternoon. Deal?” He put his hand out. I shook it; “Zoya Nazyalenski, nice to meet you.” “Nikolai, my pleasure.” he smiled. Anna came by again, “This, it’s hilarious.” she said. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that.” Nikolai replied. She laughed; “ What can I get you?” “I’ll have a Frappe.” I said, “ What do you want?” Nikolai looked at me, then at Anna, “I’ll have what she’s having, and a plate of biscuits.” Anna nodded, “Coming right up.” “So,” I started, “do we start again, or do we just continue where we left off?” “We continue, can't pretend like you’re not my biggest fan.” i laughed, “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. On another note, how do you know David?” “We lived in the same neighborhood when we were kids.” he said, “One day, when we were 8, there was an explosion in his garage. I was playing in my backyard when it happened, I came running to see what happened, to see if he was okay. Spoiler alert he was, but I think he burned his eyebrows off.” “What happened?” I asked eagerly. “When?” I sighed, “What caused the explosion?” “Oh.” he looked confused, “I don’t know. I never asked. And how do you know David?” “I’m afraid my story isn’t so interesting, we met at highschool.” “You went to the same school?” “Yes but we were on different courses. I took journaling, he took engineering. He wasn’t social, I barely knew him before my best friend, his now wife Genya, worked up the courage to ask him out in junior year.” “Yeah, he definitely wasn’t a social butterfly. I was really surprised when I heard he was getting married.” “But I didn’t see you at the wedding.” I stated. “My father got sick, I couldn’t come” “I’m sorry to hear that.” he smiled; “I’m not, he’s an ass” “Who’s an ass?” Anna came with our order. “His father.” “My father” we said at the same time. I looked at him and smiled, he winked at me. “I see where you get it form” He gasped; “you didn’t” “I did.” Anna facepalmed. “I can see this is going great, so I’m gonna go.” “Thank you Anna.” Nikolai said. She waved him off. “Since we’re basically playing 20 questions, what else do you want to know?” I asked. He looked out the window, “Cliche, but, what is your favorite season and why?” “Winter, because there is nothing better than a wool jumper. My turn. Why does David call you Sobachka?” “This got very personal, very fast.” “Oh,” i said, “I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” “No it’s okay, no one is ever that direct with me.” he said and ate his last biscuit. “Why? Is it because you’re in this year's elections?” “I thought you didn’t recognise me.” “Oh please, I’m writing an article about you and the other guy” “Huh, he really is ‘the other guy’” he said. “So, are you going to tell me what’s behind your nickname?” “Right, ugh, I’m not my father's son, my mom cheated. Not many people know this. The ones who do call me Sobachka, y’know, like a dog.” “That’s rough buddy… So it doesn’t bother you?”I asked. “No, not really.” I chuckled, “Not many people are like that.” Indeed they are not.” he looked at his watch, “This has been fun, but I’m afraid I must go now. I would like to see you again.” “I would like to see you too.” I smiled.

I was walking down the stairs when I heard my phone ring. “Hello?” “Hi, is this Zoya?”said the voice. “Yes, and you are?” I sighed as I got to the bottom and went to check my mailbox. “Is my voice so plain to you that you do not remember it?” “Nik, it’s not like I have your number saved in my phone. How may I help you this fine evening?” “I was wondering if you are free tonight? For a stroll in the park.” “We saw each other two days ago!” “Please? I need a friendly companion.” he paused, “We’ll eat doughnuts?” “How dare you use doughnuts against me?! Of course I’ll come. Meet in front of the Little Palace fountain in an hour? “Done. I’ll see you there.” I smiled fondly. “Bye Nik.” During the past few weeks I have been seeing him more and more. One Saturday he and David tagged along on our weekly meeting. I got out of the building and went across the street. There were lots of cars so I decided against calling a taxi. It wasn’t a long walk to the Little Palace, but I had to go to the Library first. There weren't many people in the Library so it was a quick stop. The Librarian, Kuwei, is a friend of Nina’s so I paused to chat with him, but he had work to do so I left him to it. When I got to the fountain, Nikolai was already there. I kissed him on the cheek and sat next to him. “What’s up?” He picked up a bag and gave it to me, “Doughnuts first.” “Honestly I don’t know how can someone not like you.” I said and took a bite of the doughnut. “So good…” “Me or the doughnut?” he asked. “What?” “You said it’s good. Me or the doughnut?” “Oh,” I laughed, “definitely the doughnut!” “HA-HA, very funny. Look I didn’t want to ask you, but I really need help with my speech.” I wiped my mouth to get rid of any leftover sugar and took out a notepad out of my bag. “Sure, what's it about?” “Well, this showing is supposed to be about children. Their education, the schools, hospitals, even orphanages.” he rubbed his neck. “That’s great, children should be taken care of, we know that first hand.” “Yeah, but I don’t know how to phrase it. I thought you could help with that.” “Of course. You’re gonna tell me everything that you want to say, we’ll write that down and work our way from there.” We were working on the speech until the sun went down. I looked up at him and said:”It’s getting late, I should go…” Nikolai scratched his head, “Yeah, no, of course, we’ll see eachother on David's birthday, right?” “Yes. This has been fun, I’d like to be more involved with your campaign if you’ll have me.” “You’re always welcome, always.” he hugged me, “I’ll see you in a few days. Bye Zoya.” “Bye Nik.”

“Botkin is making a reunion.” “What, when?” “I don’t know, some time after today.” Genya said. “Hold on, how do you know that?” “Didn’t he call you?” “Not that I know. Wait let me check,'' I took my phone from the table and looked at my phone log, “Oh, right I do have a missed call from an unknown caller. But do I really have to go, I mean I’ll see everyone I like tonight.” Genya sighed, “Zoya, it’s a party, you are going, you are going to have fun.” “But-” “End of discussion.” “EnD oF dIsCuSsIoN” I mocked her. “Oh, piss off. Just don’t be late.” “That’s you Kostyk. Gotta go, love you!” I ended the call. We are celebrating David’s birthday tonight, I had to go and buy him a gift. A normal person would have done that by now, but I just love to do everything last minute. I dressed up, took my wallet and went out to the hardware store. It started to rain during the taxi ride, I was, naturally unprepared for that, thus making me a bit damp when I entered the store. One of the older workers came up to me and said:”A bit unexpected, isn’t it?” “You have no idea.” I replied. “How can I help you?” “It’s my friend's birthday, and he likes to repair regular household items, or just make up new things, so i thought to buy him a new tool kit because his old one is really worn out and probably very rusty or just damaged.” “Right.”he said, “Would you like a completely new tool box, or separate objects and a tool box?” I looked around, “Well, if it were for you what would you get?” “Is there a price range?” “Not really, no. But let’s not make it more than a weekly paycheck.” After a series of isles and relentless explaining of different brands of the same monkey wrench, he recommended a box with wrenches of all sizes, seven different screwdrivers and some kind of special doorknob key that is also in different sizes and very useful. When I bought the tool box, I went to the liquor store to buy Genya’s favorite wine, but the rain hadn’t stopped. I was dripping wet when I came to their apartment. I knocked, twice, when David opened the doors, he went in for a hug, I put my finger up “No, no, we’ll do that when I’m dry.” He shrugged. “If you say so.” “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” “Thank you Zoya, come on in.” he let me through.I pointed my finger at Genya, “See, not late! And not the last one to get here.” “Not to burst your bubble, but you are the last one.” it was Mal. I looked around, Mal and Alina were on the couch, Nina sitting beside them. Toyla was on  the armchair next to the couch. Tamar and Nadia were on the loveseat opposite the couch, near the kitchen. Leoni and Adrik on the floor beside them. Genya was on a stool, her back turned. “No I'm not, Nik isn’t here”. I took off my jacket, and sat on the edge of the couches arm rest.. “Nikolai isn’t coming, his father got worse. Didn’t he tell you?” “No…” I took my phone out of my pocket, “I really need to get this serviced, don’t I?” Nina raised a glass and said: “Yes, yes you do.” I stuck out my tongue to her, “Shut up.” “To change the topic, Zoya, are you going to the reunion?” Leoni asked. I groaned. “Yes… But I don’t really want to.” “Why is that that?” “I don’t like people from highschool, plus, half of them hate me because I acted like a bitch. “ i said, “You all are enough for me.” “That’s cute.” Adrik said. I smiled, “Yeah, cute. And honestly what can we do there and not here? I mean the only highlight of that reunion is Botkin.” Genya looked at me, “Zoya. You are going. You can Ask Nikolai to come with you.” “I doubt Nik would say yes. It’s a highschool reunion full of people he doesn’t know.”   “You’d be surprised.” said Alina. “And with that comment we conclude this topic...” I said.

“That’s enough talking about food, It’s making me hungrier than I already am.” David said after an intense discussion of ‘Are Waffles Better Than Pancakes’. If you ask Nina, they are. Though, for Nina, waffles are better than anything. David stood up, “The boys and I will go to Jess’ to get pizza, you try to be nice and leave some wine for us, okay?” We started to laugh, “We’ll do our best.” said Tamar. “Oh, do you think Darina’s working?” asked Tolya. “Why?” asked Mal. “Well, she likes to draw, if she’s working, we could ask that she draws David with ketchup on one pizza, and write ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ on the other.” “Huh, could be fun.” said Adrik, as he went after the others and walked out of the flat.   “Bring umbrellas, it’s still raining!” yelled Nadia after them, “Idiots…” she muttered. I looked at Genya, “Kostyk.” “What?” “Go bring out the good wine.” I said. “Ooh, yes, bet! Alina, with me, we need to find the wine.” They stood up, and went to the kitchen. "Okay," Tamar started, "so there's this game Tolya and I used to play as kids, when the boys get back do you want to try?" "Yeah, sure." I said and turned my head towards the kitchen, "Girls, Tamar has a game idea, come here!" They stumbled back to the living room. Alina sat down and asked "What's the name of the game?" "Um, I don't really know? We always called it Nervous Breakdown, cause no one would believe Tolya, but I think it's called Werewolves." she said. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" yelled Leoni. "I think I know that game, but we called it Mafia. You played it with cards?" Genya sighed, "That's great and all, but we don't know how to play." "True." I pitched in. "Okay, so this is kinda complicated so no interruptions and questions are after I explain how the game works, cool?" Tamar asked. "Yes mom." we said in usion. "Genya, go grab the cards, rest of you sit around the table." When Genya got back and sat down, Tamar started to take the playing cards. She started explaining: "Point if the game is to find out who's the werewolf. We sit in a circle. Everybody has a card that's in front of them, that's your card and there's a card in the middle. After you see what's your card and  what role are you playing you put it down and don't touch it. You put your hand next to it and close your eyes. Then when I say your role you wake up and do your roles part "Since it's seven of us there's eight playing cards. Two Jokers, they're the werewolf, they change the middle card with anyone's card and touch the person who's card they changed. But they touch with the card not the hand. Nod if you understood." We all nodded. "Then there's a Queen, she's the helper for the werewolfs, she wakes the same time as them and does nothing during that time, but when we all wake she tries to convince the rest of us that she's the werewolf so we'd kill her instead of the real werewolf so that the werewolfs would win. "Then there's the Jacks, he's a psychic, he can see anybody's card and the middle one, but he doesn't touch and he can't see his card in case it's been changed during the werewolf time. "Next up is King, he's a thief. He changes his card with anybody's card and touches the person who's card he changed. And then there's the Aces who are villagers and do nothing." she finished. I looked at all of them one by one and started laughing. Everyone was throwing a fit, there were a lot of spilled drinks. "No joke now, I think we could try, but everytime someone makes a mistake we drink!" Nina said. "You're gonna be the first one!" We started laughing again. And after a few more useless tries, we got serious. They all had so many questions that took a long time answering, boys got back with food before we could even play. So as we ate, we tried to convince them to play, but it was useless since they were drunk off their minds. To be fair I wasn't much better. We spent the night eating and drinking. Mostly drinking. And eating. It was getting late, most of the group left. Alina, Mal and I were still at the flat. David and Mal were talking in the kitchen, Alina was in the bathroom. Genya and I were on the floor.“Zoya?” “Yeah?” “You’re drunk, right?” asked Genya. I looked up and back down, the room was wobbly. “Yeah, definitely.” “Do you like Nikolai?” “Of course I like Nik, he’s a great friend.” She shook her head, “Do you like Nikolai? Like, like-like.” “Oh…” “Well?” “I- no. Maybe, how does one know that? Is there a test I can do online?” Genya started squealing, “HA! I knew it!” She turned toward the kitchen, “I raise my bet to 20 dollars!” But I didn’t hear that. I was thinking of Nikolai, of his face when we see each other.

I came home from Genya and David’s. I showered and put on my pajamas. I fell asleep. I woke up. My phone was ringing. It’s election day. I fell asleep. I woke up. I tried to write. I tried to eat. I fell asleep. I woke up. I got another text. “We won the election. -Nik”. I fell asleep. I woke up. I failed to write. I failed to eat. I fell asleep.

When I finally decided it was time to get out of the house, I went to Dragon Scale. It was extremely windy outside so I put on a beanie. When I walked in, my head was bowed, I went full face into someone. “I’m so sorry.” I said and continued forward,when someone took my hand. I turned around and saw Nikolai. “Zoya.” “Hi.” “Why didn’t you answer my calls? Genya said you were alright but you scared me to death!” I just stared, "Zoya, talk to me!" "Can we go and sit?" I asked. He followed me as I  went to the corner booth and sat down, Nikolai a few steps behind me. "I got really drunk at Genya and David's. And I said something to Genya. And I got scared, because if it's true it might end bad for me, just like last time." "What are you talking about?" "i was in many relationships, but none were very serious until I met this guy, it was years ago, when I was in highschool. He was older than me, and I really liked him, at the beginning. But as it went on I realised he was being toxic. It… escalated." "Ecsalated how? Did he hurt you?" Nikolai asked. "No, not me, but Genya. You know that eye-patch she wears?" He nodded. "He did that, I don't know how, I was at work when it happened. I asked her to tell me but she refused, I just stopped pushing." I bowed my head. "Zoya." I looked up. "Nik, if I were to tell you that I was in love with someone, what would you do?" "I tell you that I'm happy for you and that he is an extremely lucky guy." He looked kinda sad. "And what if I told you that I'm in love with you, what would you do?" He shot up in his seat. "What?" I smiled, "I'm in love with you Nik." "I-" "Do with that what you will, but I don't want it, this, to ruin our friendship." "I'm afraid it did." He got up, leaned across the table and kissed me.

Next month was full of TV screening and restless nights as Nik and I wrote his speeches. But Botkins' reunion was soon, so he would take a few days off to have fun. I spent every free moment with Genya and Alina, shopping for the reunion. As much as I didn't want to go, shopping was fun. Genya found a dress in the same shade as her hair and Alina found a bodysuit in black and gold. I had a really hard time finding something I like. But the day before I found a perfect dress in victorian blue. Nik wore a gray suit and had this beautiful waist coat. When we got to the ball room in the Little Palace, it was already full, but we kept close to the outer ring. Most of the people were dancing, even Genya and David, but I went to talk to Botkin. "Mr. Botkin." He turned to face me, "Oh, Zoya dear, how has life been treating you?" That was his signature line, "Good. I just wanted to see how have you been doing?" "Never better dear." he looked behind me, "Now go off, there's a handsome young man waiting for a dance." "What?" I turned around and saw Nik. "Oh, thank-" he was already off to talk to someone else. I walked towards Nik. He bowed, "May I have this dance?" I looked around, nobody seemed to notice us. "Yes, yes you may." The music changed to a slow dance. We twirled around, and around. Once we stopped, I realised we were alone on the dance floor and there was a light on me. I turned to face Nik, but he was kneeling on the floor. "Nik," I said carefully, "what are you doing?" He took a box out of his inner pocket and opened it. Inside was the most beautiful emerald I have ever seen. I knew what it ment. “Would you do it?” he asked. I looked up at him, puzzled, "What?" "Well, y'know…" "No, I don't." He sighed: "Make me the happiest man alive. Would you do it?" "Yes." He got up and hugged me, I thought I was going to fall over, when these balloons started falling from the ceiling. I kissed him. "I love you." I said. He smiled, "I know." And kissed me again. When all the balloons fell, Genya came through. "Do you like it?" she asked. "What? Wait, how do you know?" "Oh silly we all knew." I looked around to see my friends standing around us, laughing. Mal said: "We had a bet on when are you getting official." Tolya raised a hand, "I won!" "You lot are unbelievable! Come one, you are being punished, this is a group hug!" That night ended up to be one of my favorites.

I didn't want to wait. We booked a venue for our closest friends. Genya bought me my wedding dress for "being strong, and being my best friend". It was a floor length dress with long sleeves. Top of my hair was in a bun, while the bottom part flowed in the wind. Alina even bought me a crown. I was walking down the aisle when someone came bursting in. I turned to see who it was. "I don't know why am I surprised, you always were a bitch." Genya answered, "What do you want Alexander?" Nik ran down to me and took my hand, "That's him?" he whispered. "Yes, stay here." I told him. "What do you mean "what do I want"? Isn't there a part when I get to the object?" I looked at him. "Alex, if you do not walk out right now, I'm gonna call the cops." "They didn't stop me then, they won't stop me now." "Ugh, you're so full of yourself." I said. Long story short, the cops stopped him. We continued with the ceremony. The priestess looked at me, then Nik and said: "If you went through that, on you wedding day, you can go through anything. Are the vows really necessary?" We shook our heads. "Then, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." And oh boy did he kiss me.

We're at McDonald's. And we're celebrating. Genya took her milkshake and stood up. Everyone followed her. "For our friends, may they have a long, happy life. Cheers!" There was a long choir of cheers going around. I sat back and looked at Nik and his Happy Meal, "Is it too early to get a divorce?" He looked me and said, with his mouth full of french fries: "Why'd gou go dhat?"

[spectralscathath]

Skinny Vanilla Latte

Mikaela is the world's nicest customer, and Yuu's heart absolutely Does Not go 'doki doki' whenever he comes into the cafe for his standard order. Anyone who says otherwise is entirely incorrect. (Mikayuu but Coffee Shop AU)

Commissioned Mikayuu oneshot for @fyrecrackeruwu

Ao3 link, ff.net link

“Peppermint mocha, extra whip, for Lacus!” Yuichiro called out, trying to remember his customer service smile even though he knew his eyes said ‘I’ll kill you’ to every person in the café. Narumi just had to go and get a new job, like the traitorous bitch he was. Being a lifeguard wasn’t even a real thing.

Narumi’s absence left the Moon Demon Café down a barista, and because Shinoa and Kimizuki were banned from interacting with the general public, Yuu had been the only one they could shunt from the kitchen into front of house.

Fuck this job. If he didn’t need it so badly he’d have tossed his apron in Guren’s stupid face to get rid of the shitsmug smirk.

“Hi, welcome to the Moon Demon Café,” he turned to the next customer. “What can I-” oh my god. Don’t pause keep talking. “… I get you today?”

Holy SHIT someone call Heaven because an angel had gone missing. Seriously, the customer standing on the other side of the counter was the prettiest guy Yuu had ever seen. Not to be corny on main, but this was the first time Yuu had ever thought ‘eyes like sapphires, hair like spun gold’ had ever felt like actually applicable metaphors for someone.

“A skinny vanilla latte, please?” Pretty Boy said with the utmost politeness, and Yuu remembered that breathing existed and so did brain functions.

“Of course, can I interest you in any of our specials today?” He put on his best grin, writing down the coffee.

“No thank you, just the coffee.” Pretty Boy kept smiling, already having his card ready to pay because clearly this guy was Mr Perfect Customer.

“Sure thing, can I get a name for this order?” He barely held back from tacking a pet name onto the end, but he managed. Someone get him a medal.

“Mikaela. Mika works though, please don’t try spell ‘Mikaela’.” Pretty Boy- Mika’s- smile became slightly glassy, with the wartorn eyes of someone who’d had consistent misspellings of their name throughout their life.

“Mika it is,” Yuu grinned at him and scrawled it down. “I’ll have that ready for you in a jiffy.” Why the fuck did he say ‘jiffy’.

Mikaela snorted, bringing a hand up to cover his smile. “Sure thing.”

Yuu smiled and started up the coffee grinder, his cheer instantly evaporating away when he heard the sound of an empty grinder. Where were the coffee beans kept again? Shinoa better not have moved their location to fuck with him.

“It’ll be just a sec,” he forced a grin at Mika, getting a shrug in return. Customer seemed chill, cool. He reached under the counter to find empty air, instantly ducking down to check. Nothing but coffee residue from the bags. Welp.

“Hey, Kimizuki?” He yelled at the back.

“What?!”

“Where’d the coffee get moved?”

“You think I know?! Figure it out yourself, dumbass! I’m cooking!”

Yuu’s eye twitched and he counted to ten in his head to prevent himself from leaping through the overpass to wring Kimizuki’s neck. “Of course,” he grumbled. “Let me just pull some coffee beans out of my ass, that’s how we run things here.”

There was a soft chuckle and Yuu blanched, realising that shitfuck his sarcastic grumbling might have been a little too audible. He whipped around. “Uh- sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

Mika hid his laughter behind his hand again, blue eyes glittering like sapphires. “No no, it’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Yuu relaxed a little bit, kinda starstruck by the mirthful twinkle in those eyes. “I’ll just find you the coffee, give me a moment.” He spun around, hunting through every cabinet he could until he managed to find a dark roast with ‘hi Yuu’ scrawled on it in purple glittery ink. Shinoa and her fucking gel pens.

He started making the coffee properly this time, mentally promising that he would commit first-degree murder and get away with it the minute Shinoa showed her rat face again. He waited for the coffee machine to do the job and wrote Mika’s name on the takeaway cup, pausing before thinking to himself ‘fuck it’ and adding his phone number. He was gonna take the shot, especially since Mr Gorgeous had laughed at his sarcasm.

He finished putting it all together and smiled as he handed it over. “Skinny vanilla latte for Mika.”

“Thank you,” Mika grinned and pulled out a cup sleeve, slipping it onto the cup and completely hiding Yuu’s number. Yuu’s smile cracked. Fuck.

“Uh-” But Mika was already walking away after dropping change in the tip jar.

“Thank you!” He waved goodbye, the door closing behind him with a little jingle.

“You’re… welcome.” Goodbye gorgeous. Guess Yuu’d never see him again.

-------------

It was with great surprise that Yuu did in fact see Mika again, this time over Mitsuba’s shoulder as she did the ordering and customer talking while he just made coffee after endless coffee. Fuck rush hour holy shit.

He tried to catch Mika’s eye in-between frothing up milk and shaking cocoa powder over a cappuccino, green catching and locking with blue for the barest second before Mika smiled widely and gave him a little wave, a fancy-looking camera hanging around his neck. “Hi Yuu. Good luck with the rest of your shift, I hope it calms down a bit.”

“What, this? It’s no problem!” Yuu bragged, before he caught the side of his wrist on the milk spout and bit back a curse. Always with the burns.

“See you next time.” Mika grabbed his coffee, oblivious to Yuu’s plight, and walked out the door, again emptying some coins into the tip jar before he left.

Mitsuba turned to Yuu, blonde twintails bouncing with the movement. “You know that guy? He’s the nicest customer I’ve had yet. I hope he becomes a regular.”

“Yeah.” Yuu nodded. “Me too.”

------------

Mika did, in fact, become a regular. Which was awesome.

Every Wednesday and Friday like clockwork he’d show up, order his skinny vanilla latte to have there, pick a booth, and do stuff on his laptop. It was pretty cool, aside from the fact that Yuu couldn’t write terrible pick-up lines on the latte glasses.

That was Plan A of ‘Operation: get Mika’s number’ thwarted.

Plan B was to write it on the napkins, but then the problem was that Mika didn’t order food. Currently Yuu was on Plan C, which was Plan B but better.

Mika walked in with his laptop bag and his camera-holding thingie, waiting patiently in line until he was at the counter. “Hi Yuu.”

“Hey Mika. The usual?” Yuu gave him a charming grin.

“That’d be great, thank you.” Mika beamed. It was really pretty.

Yuu had to take a second to recover.  “Easy, one usual coming up. Do you want to try a muffin to go with it? On the house, between you and me.”

Mika looked like he was considering it and for a moment Yuu’s hopes were rising, rising higher- “Thank you for the offer, but I already ate. Just the coffee, please.” And down those hopes fell, dashed against the rocks and crumpled like wretched Lucifer, cast from Heaven into the pits of hell.

“Sure thing. Give me a shot if you need a refill.”

“Will do.” Mika smiled at him, paid, and pottered off to go take a seat.

Yuu watched him go, noticing that he was wearing thigh-high boots what the fuck that wasn’t fair. That was illegal, that had to be illegal.

“Uh, sir? Sir? Can I order now?” Someone rang the bell and Yuu snapped back to reality, looking at the man in the- what the fuck was that a fucking cat? It looked like this man had lopped off the skull of a white tiger and mounted it on his head what the actual fuck. Yuu really hoped it was fake, he desperately fucking prayed.

Okay, goodbye Mika, hello Crazy Customer of the Day #309.

------------

“Afternoon, Mika, the usual?” Yuu grinned at him, the café a bit quieter than usual. Maybe this time he could get a good conversation in while making Mika’s coffee.

“Yep, and also an English Breakfast tea, no sugars. I hope that’s not too much trouble.”

“None at all. You meeting a friend here?” He hoped it wasn’t a date. His attempts to try give Mika his number through shitty pick-up lines could not be foiled so easily.

“You could say that.” Mika smiled cheerfully, offering his card. “On debit, please.”

“No prob. He here yet?” Yuu looked around, not spotting any new faces.

“He said he’d be by in a few minutes. I’m surprised there’s not a rush, normally this place is quite busy. I thought getting a table would be harder.” Mika looked quite concerned at that.

Yuu waved it off as he finished putting in the docket. “It’s pre-midterms week. Everyone’s panic-studying, ordering pizza in, all that stuff.”

Mika chuckled. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m on top of my studies then, or else I might have had to miss out on the best coffee on campus.”

“Wouldn’t want that.” Yuu shot him a finger gun and a wink, before wondering if he’d overdone it. Luckily, Mika seemed to find it hilarious by how his smile went supernova and his laugh bubbled out of him.

“Definitely not. Thanks again.” Mika placed some coins in the tip jar before he went to the booth he always tried to sit at, pulling out his phone once he sat down.

Yuu watched him go and set to work on making the drinks, wondering if he should try make a food platter. Counterpoint to him trying to woo Mika through good food was the fact that Kimizuki was a snotty bitch who would kill him if he gave out even more free food, crushes be damned.

And yeah, Yuu could totally throw down with Kimizuki, but Mitsuba would tattle about it if there was a fight and he’d probably lose his job.

He’d just have to make it the best damn coffee in existence.

He was halfway through making the tea when a man walked in, and Yuu had to stop and stare for a sec because while yes, he was very fucking gay for Mika, he still had eyes.

It was when the total hunk sat down in front of Mika that Yuu felt his bout of ‘he’s pretty’ turn into entirely rational jealousy. Was Mika dating this guy? It took a special kind of hotness to pull off a braid and dyed bangs, Yuu could admit.

He put on his customer service smile as he carried the drinks over, rampant envy broiling in his veins. He set drinks down, being extra delicate and polite with Mika’s coffee and blanking out the other guy entirely. “here you go, Mika. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thanks. Crowley, this is Yuu, the barista I mentioned. Yuu, this is my dad, Crowley.”

Yuu practically heard the record scratch sound. Dad?

His next thought was along the lines of ‘oh thank god, Mika’s still possibly available’, and he was starting to realise he may be desperate. “Nice to meet you, Crowley.”

“You too,” Crowley grinned back with a touch of a British accent curling around the words, red eyes twinkling in amusement. “Thanks for the cuppa, luv.”

Yuu nodded before tuning him out again and giving another smile to Mika, going around to clear some other tables and already plotting his next move. Fingerguns and winks were now on the table. Mhuahahahaha.

--------------

“So, Mika, how’s the photography?” Yuu struck up a conversation as he cleared away the latte glass, taking advantage of the restaurant’s quiet to try and kickstart a deep meaningful conversation that he was absolutely going to fill with stupid jokes.

“it’s going well,” Mika smiled, saving the photoshop file on the screen. Clearly he’d lost a file once by accident and saved every program with the vigour of a spartan warrior ever since. “Are you interested in photography?”

“Actually, I’m studying psychology,” Yuu grinned. “Gonna go for a masters if I can once I’m done with this, then eventually you’ll have to address me as Dr Yuichiro.”

Mika’s smile sharpened slightly. “A PhD, huh?”

“Thinking about it.” He shrugged, trying to look humble when he was anything but.

“I think Dr Yuichiro’s got a good ring to it,” Mika smiled slyly, and oh no that wasn’t fair he was not allowed to make it sound so sexy.

“You’re the first. Kimizuki said I shouldn’t be allowed near people,” he grinned.

“And you work the register?” Mika laughed.

“Used to work in the back ‘til Narumi up and ditched us to ‘follow his dreams’,” Yuu told him conspiratorially. “I’m the only one of the kitchen staff who can reliably not scare away customers, so I got shunted here.”

“Maybe I should thank Narumi then, if he got me such a good barista,” Mika smiled. “You’re not scary at all.”

“How dare you, I’m terrifying,” he joked.

Mika scoffed, sapphire eyes sparkling. “As terrifying as my cat.”

Yuu let out a theatrical gasp, balancing his tray on one hand as he clutched his heart. “I think I liked you better when you were a polite customer.”

Mika blinked innocently at him, a challenge curling at the edges of his toothy grin. “Am I not anymore? Shame.”

What a brat. Yuu smirked at him in answer. “Well, I can’t be rude to customers, so I’m legally required to say no.”

“Only legally? Not morally?” Mika rested his chin in his hands as he leaned forward on the table, his photoshop file left entirely forgotten.

“Morally I can say whatever the hell I want as long as it’s not said in front of consumers.” Yuu winked.

“I guess you’re treading on thin ice right now, huh?” Mika bit his lip in affected concern, a prominent pearly canine catching for a moment, and Yuu’s mind went fucking blank. “Best be careful then. I wouldn’t want my favourite barista to go jobless. Right, Yuu-chan?~”

“R-right.” Yuu stuttered for a moment as he tried and failed to come up with literally any kind of flirty remark in reply, getting zero zilch zip from his flatscreening brain. Head empty no thoughts. “I’ll get you a refill, then?”

Mika’s smile screamed ‘cat who caught the canary’. “Don’t keep me waiting, Yuu-chan.”

He nodded and scampered back behind the counter, taking a minute to settle his racing heart. He heard a tapping sound and looked at the overpass into the kitchen, Kimizuki rapping a spatula on the counter.

“You’re pathetic.” Kimizuki’s scornful gaze was only amplified by the glasses he wore.

Yuu flipped him off. Fuck Kimizuki.

--------------

Yuu steeled his nerve as Mika walked in, refusing to let his crush pull one over on him again. Shinoa hadn’t let up since Kimizuki had told her, and Yuu was getting real tired of every whipcrack hand motion she was sending his way.

Mika smiled very innocently as he walked up to the counter, blue eyes bright and oh-so-breathtaking. “Hello, Yuu-chan.”

Little bastard.

“Good to see you too, Mika,” he grinned, resting his elbows on the counter. “Here for your usual, or are you thinking of switching it up?”

“Hm,” Mika tilted his head like he was considering it. “Now that you mention it, maybe I should try something out. How about something a little sweeter this time, Yuu-chan?”

“I think you’re sweet enough already,” Yuu flirted cheesily, watching Mika’s eyes widen a touch. That’s right, he could flirt too. All that ‘Yuu-chan’ business had no power over him now. “But sure, hit me up with what you want to try.”

Mika’s eyes sparkled delightfully, a challenge in his smile. “What’s your poison, then?”

Yuu raised a brow. “Well, I’m a black coffee kind of guy-”

“Because you grind so fine?” Mika interrupted him, like he didn’t just say the sexy pick up line for Yuu.

He gave Mika a Look, Mika merely batting his eyes back at him. “Double shot, nothing extra.” Maybe a bit of hazelnut when he really needed a pick-me-up. “That’s my coffee.”

“A ‘keep me up til two AM’ kind of guy, I like that.” Mika snickered.

“Stop it,” Yuu cautioned. Only he was allowed to use terrible puns like that.

“Make me,” Mika downright dared him, leaning over the counter a little more.

Yuu grabbed his chin and looked him in the eye, a spark of victory gleaming in his emerald gaze. “Keep it up and we’ll see where it gets you, gorgeous.”

Mika’s pupils dilated.

Yuu smirked at him and let go, picking up the docket sheet. “So, coffee order? You’re holding up the line, babe.”

Mika beamed, a smile like spun sunshine. “You know what, I think I’ll go for my usual after all. But maybe next time I’ll be a bit more daring.”

“Sure you will.” Yuu winked at him. “Later, beautiful.”

Mika laughed as he went to his favourite booth, Yuu internally high-fiving himself as he went. That went excellently.

Okay. Next time he’d ask him out. Next time for sure.

-------------

Today was the day. It was absolutely the day. Today for sure.

He handed Mika his coffee, got ready to say ‘I love you give me your number’, and chickened out when he realised that was absolutely not the way to ask and would instead plant him straight in ‘ultra creep’ territory.

Next week. Next week for sure.

------------

Yuu looked up from wiping down the counter, groaning as Shinoa came in. “Aren’t you meant to be on your day off?”

“Well, yes,” Shinoa smiled far too innocently, and Yuu’s hackles went up with suspicion. “But my dearest friend has been telling me ALL about his new favourite café, so I had to come by and see it.”

“Shinoa, you work here.” Yuu glared at her.

“He doesn’t know that,” she smirked, eyes sparkling mischievously. “I never say names, my darling Yuu.”

“I never agreed to you calling me that.”

“I don’t care.” She swanned up to the counter, propping herself up on her hands and tiptoes. Yuu scowled as she smeared her hands all over the area he’d literally just wiped clean. “Now gimme free coffee.”

“Fuck off. Employee discount only and even then I’m debating making you pay full price.”

“You’re so mean,” she pouted. “And when I’m buying for my friend as well. I think you’d like him, as much as a big meanie like you can like anyone.”

“I like people, I’m not Kimizuki,” he rolled his eyes. “Who’s your damn friend?”

“Oh, you might know him.” Her evil grin came back full-force, making her look downright demented. “Why don’t we see if you can guess from his order?”

“Do you know how many customers we have?” Yuu snapped a tea towel at her hands. “Hands off the counter, you’re probably infested with something.”

“Boo you.” She huffed and raised her hands, twiddling her fingers as she did. “Anyway, I want a multi-mega mocha milkshake with extra sprinkles and four shots of coffee. Oh! And whipped cream. Lots of it.”

“You’re going to die from a caffeine overdose and I will film it.” He wiped the counter down again out of spite.

“Maybe so, but at least I’ll die not hopelessly pining for some boy who takes, oh, what was it now?” She tapped her chin, looking deep in thought. He didn’t buy it for a second, especially not when she turned a vicious smile onto him. “Oh, right, skinny vanilla latte. Large.”

He wondered what the hell kind of expression he made that had her cackling like the wicked witch she was. “You gotta be joking.”

“Nope, and remember, on the cup for that one, my friend’s name is Mik-ae-la~” She sounded out the name, taking too much joy in it. “And make it fast, sweetcheeks, he’s going to be here soon.”

“I hate you with every blood cell in my body.”

“Make sure to put one of your cute little pick-up lines on that now,” she winked. “I’ve been reading them whenever I take out the trash. You’re so desperate it’s cute. Now shoo shoo, make me coffee, coffee man.” She flicked a hand at him, revelling in the power that a customer had. Shit like this was why she was banned from interacting with the general public at work.

“Sure thing. I’ll bring your drinks out to you,” he forced out through a smile, teeth grinding together as he gritted them. His eye may have twitched. He wasn’t sure.

She twirled around and skipped to her seat, spinning her favourite little trinket in her hand and making the green and orange lights on it flare up like she was at a rave. He tried to stare a hole through the back of her head before he set about making her the drinks she ordered.

Mika. Mika was friends with Shinoa. It was a testament to how in love he was with that guy that knowing Mika willingly hung out with Shinoa did not become an immediate turn off. He liked her too, sure, for whatever was left of his sanity’s sake, but she was still a pain.

He heard the little bell above the door jingle and glanced up, his heart skipping a beat when he saw Mika waving at him. “Hey Yuu,” Mika grinned, sounding way too proud of himself.

“Hey Mika,” he smiled back, unable to stop himself from getting all soppy at the edges. “Skinny vanilla?”

“You bet,” he winked at Yuu and sauntered off to sit with Shinoa, the two of them immediately starting up some sort of gossipy conversation judging by the hand motions and expressions.

He looked down at the drinks he was plating up, took a deep breath, and furiously scribbled a puntastic pick-up line and his number on the napkin under Mika’s coffee. This was it. He was going to do it.

“I am not a coward,” he muttered to himself, picking up the tray and carrying it over. “That was a multi-mega mocha milkshake with quadruple shots, extra whip, and sprinkles, and a large skinny vanilla latte?”

“She’s having the deathshake.” Mika pointed at Shinoa, who fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“No problem.” Yuu set the drinks down, trying to ignore how he could hear his heartbeat thundering in his eardrums like the bass beat of a good metal concert, keeping on a smile that was at this point reserved only for Mika. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Will do,” Mika reached for a packet of sugar and dumped it into his coffee, picking up his spoon before his hand froze, sapphire eyes tracing over the wickerscratch handwriting on the napkin.

Are you an espresso? Because you’re a shot to my heart. Call me?

Mika blinked up at him, Yuu frozen in place with the sort of calm that only came from blasting beyond panic and landing in the cool grey apathy of total nerve-ridden shutdown.

Shinoa snorted, the sound snapping Yuu out of his quiet reverie. “Uh- I mean, unless you want to kinda- not to be a creep or anything, but we could-” he paused when Mika put a finger over his lips.

Mika’s smile was soft as silk. “I like movies?”

“Movies. Right. I’m off at eight?” No way no way no way-

“Eight sounds great,” Mika’s grin became a bit toothier. “I’ll meet you out front?”

“It’s a date?” Yuu smiled hopefully.

Mika grabbed the front of his apron and kissed his cheek. “You bet it is.”

“Great!” He gave him a thumbs up, practically floating back towards the counter with a sunshine smile all his own.

He heard Kimizuki scoff from the overpass at him. “What coffee shop fanfiction bullshit is this?”

Yuu ignored him, too happy to even care. Best workshift ever.

[misssophiachase]

A while back the lovely @megansarah11 asked for a Klaroline drabble prompt inspired by Sybil and Tom from Downton Abbey (modern-day version). Apologies I never got to it love but I’m so excited about the movie coming out tomorrow so thought I’d finally write something : ) Hope you like it. Lyrics by Tracy Chapman.

He’s an Uber driver she wants to hate, she’s the daughter of an influential person he wants to hate but a mutually beneficial arrangement might change all that. 

Fast Car

You got a fast car, I want a ticket to anywhere

“Five minutes late,” she muttered from the backseat, stabbing at the buttons on her cell phone. “And one less star for lack of decorum.”

He’d picked her up outside Columbia University but given it was peak hour and hundreds of students milling around campus he’d struggled to see her even if it was her responsibility to place his license plate first. 

Glancing at the impressive looking college in the distance while he waited, Klaus wished he could afford to study there. His GPA was impressive so too his SAT scores during high school but he couldn’t afford college and scholarships were few and far between. 

Klaus Mikaelson didn’t drive an Uber for fun, in fact, he only drove because he needed the money to support his family not rude commentary from passengers mid-trip. 

This type he’d seen before, the epitome of a spoiled princess, although Klaus had to admit she was easy on the eye; blonde waves, porcelain skin, pink lips and legs for days encased within that leather mini-skirt. Daddy’s little girl had obviously decided putting the Uber driver out of business would be a fun distraction on the way out with friends. 

“Five minutes late is reasonably good for New York traffic, although I’m sure you know that already, but what exactly is wrong with my decorum?” He asked, probably against his better judgment but Klaus was bored and needed some entertainment to pull him out of his Friday night funk. 

“Lack of decorum you mean and last time I checked that was none of your business.”

“Well, if you’re going to review my services aloud, it’s a little difficult to ignore,” Kaus offered, looking at her in his rearview mirror curiously, noting those expressive blue eyes widening in shock.

She didn’t respond immediately, obviously thrown off by his reply. Instead, she proceeded to punch at her cell with more vigor and Klaus knew he’d lost at least another star in the process. He wasn’t phased and decided he’d much prefer music than her thoughts anyway.  

“What the hell is this?” She growled, finally finding her voice as the music reverberated loudly through the speakers. 

“It’s called music, sweetheart.”

“I’m aware it’s music,” she growled, “and don’t call me that.”

“It’s the Clash.” 

“Well, the name seems fitting given the lack of musicality,” she shared. Before she could eviscerate him again via review Klaus replied. 

“I should have known I suppose.”

“Should have known what exactly?”

“That someone so uptight and privileged wouldn’t understand punk rock.”

“I understand it perfectly,” she huffed. “In fact, I admire the way the genre has pioneered political messaging over the decades.”

“Really? You do?” He inquired, not expecting that response from the princess in his backseat. He decided she must be taking a few political electives and thought she knew everything.

“Yes, and, while we’re at it, everyone knows the Clash. I didn’t think you’d be so easily fooled.”

“Well, excuse me if you don’t look the type.” 

“You got me,” she admitted, his crimson lips curved into a smile knowing he’d won the argument. “I’m actually more of a Ramones fan if I’m to be completely honest.”

“Figures, you’d pick the band with the conservative guitarist.”

“I was more of a Joey fan, not Johnny if you must know. I ought to really address your judgmental tendencies in my review.” Klaus had to admit she knew her punk rock and the fact brother Joey was far more liberal than his older brother Johnny. 

“Well, given that, my tardiness and lack of decorum at least I’m consistent, love.”  

“I’d be curious to know just what your other passengers think about typecasting their musical tastes and political beliefs. And, by the way, you’re down to one star, buddy.”

Klaus could tell by consulting the rearview mirror she hadn’t bothered to look down at her phone once and a sly smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth. 

She was enjoying this and Klaus had to admit he was too. It also didn’t hurt just how cute she looked twirling a blonde lock in her fingers and biting the right corner of her bottom lip either. 

“I’m amazed I still have one star,” he teased, realizing he had nothing to lose at this point. “Daddy must hate that his daughter is a Democrat.”

“You have no idea, not that I’m trying to entertain your stereotypes at all,” she mumbled, laying her head back, her blonde waves fanning out across the seat. “I think he’d disown me if I wasn’t his only child.”

“Well, then I’m sorry I judged you,” he offered, his eyes meeting hers briefly. “I definitely deserve that review.”

“Well, there’s still time to prove yourself,” she smiled deviously. “How about we make a detour and you can make it up to me?”

Maybe we make a deal

“You brought me to Central Park?” Klaus shivered, trying to ignore just how frozen his toes were and hoping it didn’t spread to other much-needed regions. 

Klaus had been unable to help himself, offering his jacket to his passenger who was less clothed and insisted they visit the Bethesda Fountain. It was empty given the season and this time of night.   

“If this is a frostbite competition, I give in,” he chuckled whilst trying to battle the chill. 

“This is my favorite place in the city,” she shared, looking upwards. The sky was clear tonight, the moon barely visible but multiple stars twinkling in the distance. “I like to come here when no one else is around.” 

“Well, you certainly chose the optimal time.” He agreed, hoping she’d get to the point sooner rather than later. As a driver, it wasn’t his role to get out of the car but for some reason, she’d enticed him into the cold. Klaus decided to blame it on his need for a good review, well in case anyone asked. “Don’t you want to meet your friends?”

“Maybe later,” she replied, taking a seat on the edge of the fountain and patting the spot next to her. Klaus wasn’t one to come on command but he’d long abandoned his usual routine when she’d jumped into his car. “I’ll pay extra and up your stars, promise.”

“It’s not about the money or the review,” Klaus admitted, probably too quickly. “I just like all my appendages working at full capacity.”

“Looks pretty good to me,” she shot back, a cheeky smile crossing her features as her eyes grazed his crotch. Klaus thought he’d pegged her when she jumped into his car but was finding it difficult to concentrate given just how unpredictable she’d proven.   

“You were not what I expected at all.”

“I have that effect on people,” she grinned. “My father doesn’t like it all that much, usually has one of his drivers take me around the city so as to avoid anything untoward.”

“And that’s not a nice, fatherly thing to do I assume?” 

“He does it to spy on me,” she growled. “It’s like I’m eight years old all over again and he’s chasing Liam O’Neil out of my treehouse.”

“What exactly were you doing in said treehouse?”

“We were playing doctors and nurses,” Klaus smirked knowingly, causing her to jab him in the ribs. “Get your head out of the gutter it was all above board. If anything it made me realise just what a bad nurse Liam made.”

“So, why no driver tonight then?”

“I snuck out before he arrived,” she admitted. “I wanted to spend my night my own way.”

“My curiosity is piqued, who exactly is your father?” 

“Republican Congressman for the 2nd District,” she murmured. “Talk about a total buzzkill. He has this tendency to put a dampener on my life in general and not just because of his choice of political party.”

“Wow, that was not who I was expecting at all when we started our discussion.”

“Oh, is that what you call it? From memory, it was all about you questioning my musical tastes and insulting my beliefs.”

“We haven’t even scratched the surface of a real political debate and you know it, Caroline.” For some reason that made Klaus smile in anticipation of a rematch.

“You said my name,” she smiled. “And here I thought I’d forever be known as love or sweetheart or whatever you call all the women you pick up.” Klaus didn’t miss her double meaning. 

“Assuming I pick up all these women, love,” he smirked flashing his dimples, noticing her creamy skin flush a cute shade of pink as he did. 

“So, any chance you’d consider driving me around?” His eyebrows shot up curiously wondering how they’d moved from pick-ups to fully-fledged driving.  “Urgh not in that way,” she groaned, jabbing him again. Klaus had to admit he was quite enjoying throwing around double entendres especially if it warded off the chill. 

“What? You mean like a chauffeur? It’s not really my thing and I’m not sure your father would approve,” he whistled. “We don’t exactly run in the same circles.”

“He doesn’t need to know that. I just need more space and this arrangement could be mutually beneficial.”

“And what do I get exactly?”

“You get money and I get freedom,” she shot back. “Seems like the perfect arrangement.”

“Except for the obvious,” he said, “Your father probably has the most stringent vetting process in place for the position of driving around his only daughter.”

“Just leave it to me.”

“Why does that worry me?”

“Because for the most part, and not that I want to prove your earlier assessment correct, my father does most things I ask. It’s either because he loves me or doesn’t want me to make a scene. Either scenario works I suppose.” Klaus could tell by the hurt in her voice that she cared about what he thought more than she liked to portray. “You’re English, surely we can sell you as some Margaret Thatcher-loving Tory who came to America to discover his dream.”

“Of being a chauffeur?”

“Of being a chauffeur who is saving for college to become a lawyer at a private equity practice in Washington DC and then the next Attorney-General in a Republican White House.”

“Sounds exactly like me,” he joked. “It seems like you’ve offered this position to others before me.”

“No, that’s just pretty much every guy my father has tried to set me up with since I was eighteen.”   

“I think that will be a tough sell, love.”

“But just think about all the money you could make, Uber driving would be peanuts in comparison.” 

Klaus wasn’t motivated by money but given his mother’s health problems he knew the extra cash would make a difference with her treatment. He’d be stupid to pass up an offer like that and if it meant more time to discuss politics with Caroline Klaus certainly wasn’t complaining. 

Maybe she needed more freedom and maybe he needed more money but for some reason, there seemed to be an underlying reason neither had verbalized. 

It was as if she wanted an escape just as much as he did.

Maybe together we can get somewhere, any place is better

[bluesfortheredj]

Modern Romance Pt. 10

We stand at the edge of the room as (Y/N) takes in the people in the crowd, most of them famous, some of them very famous, and she tugs on my jacket sleeve when she spots Grayson Perry and Kylie Minogue standing together with Luke Evans.

“I knew there were going to be well known faces here,” she whispers, “but this is ridiculous.”

She hides her admiration well, just like she did with Ben, and I know I wouldn’t be playing it this cool if I were in her shoes. I nod to people I know as they walk by and they all look at her standing next to me, wondering who she is, which makes me a grin wickedly to myself as only we know our secret even though we’re in such a public place.

“What are you smirking about?” she asks, noticing my smile.

“I just like being here with you.”

“It’s not that… You’ve got a glint in your eye,” she pushes.

“A glint?”

“A glint,” she nods, “what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that this is nice, having a secret that no one else here knows. Everyone’s lives here are so public, and yet here I am standing with this mysterious woman no one knows. It’s a good feeling.”

“Scandalous, Mr. Lee. Absolutely scandalous,” she grins, rubbing her hand up and down my arm excitedly, “do you want to go and mingle while I stare at the art?”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” I reply.

We begin to walk, leaving the comfort of the outskirts of the room to find a path through the crowds who are drinking champagne and giggling amongst themselves. (Y/N) smiles politely as we pass actors, actresses, designers, and artists one after the other while I say hellos and make small talk when we stop for a few seconds. Thankfully no one mentions Bohemian Rhapsody by name, and as we get to the other side of the crowd as the musical act takes stage, the other suave Welshman in the room approaches us with a smile.

“Evening!” he beams, “congratulations on passing nine hundred million at the box office, my friend.”

“Thank you!” I nod, “haven’t seen you in a long time. How are things?”

(Y/N) looks between us as we talk, then Luke turns his attention to her with a very warm smile and a kiss on each cheek.

“And where on earth has he been hiding you?” he beams, with that suave air he’s so natural at.

“Bedroom closet,” she smirks, “he lets me out for special occasions.”

“Well I’m very glad he’s decided to let you out tonight,” he smiles, “it’s an absolute pleasure to meet you my dear.”

Damn, he’s smooth. He chats with (Y/N) for a short while before he spots another acquaintance and says his goodbyes to us just as James Bay begins his set on the stage. (Y/N) turns to me as I slide my arm around her waist, and opens her mouth to say something then quickly shuts it again as she rethinks her decision. I wait a few seconds until she builds up the courage to say what she wants to, and it’s beyond anything I could have imagined coming from her lips.

“Y’know, this kind of place would be ideal for married couples to break off and pretend they don’t know each other just to eye one another up all night across the crowded floor, then reconvene at the bar before having a night of passion,” she states casually as we continue to walk around the exhibits as the first song starts.

“Can it work for people who aren’t a couple yet, but definitely will be in the very near future?” I ask with a knowing smile.

“Let’s try,” she grins, slipping out of my grasp and into the throng of people.

I keep a watchful eye on her as she slips through the gasp in the crowd, smiling and nodding politely whenever someone catches her eye. People were turning around just to see who this woman was that had arrived on my arm, and I can see her turning away from their gazes shyly. She genuinely has no idea how beautiful she looks, and I can’t take my eyes off of her, even when I spy a tray of drinks out of the corner of my eye. Goodness knows how I didn’t knock the whole lot over. She locks eyes with me as she stops in her tracks when someone walks in front of her and she winks before moving around them and out of sight briefly. As soon as I spot her again, another acquaintance makes themselves known to me and I have to tear my eyes away from her and my shirt that gets to sit comfortably against her silky soft skin all night.

“Long time no see!”

“Very long time,” I reply, forcing a smile as I’m dragged into a conversation I really don’t want to have right now.

Suddenly her laughter fills the room, well to me it does anyway, but no one else seems to notice the sound that would put the sweetest song bird to shame. Then it dawns on me; who is making her laugh so much? I scan the room as inconspicuously as possible as I try to carry on my conversation, then I spot the back of her – my oh so familiar shirt standing out from the crowd on such a beautiful body. I look past her to see the person who appears to be so amusing and see a well known face. Bloody Ben.

It takes all my willpower not to walk over there, grab her by the arm, throw her against a wall and… Oh dear, now I have the most overwhelming urge to kiss her thighs.

“Well it was great to finally catch up again!”

“Yes,” I smile politely, “we won’t leave it as long next time.”

I stroll through the gathering of people that had thankfully thinned out thanks to the live act on stage  and Ben spots me coming a mile off, making sure to shoot me a smirk before I get to him.

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” he chuckles, “were your ears burning?”

“You could say that,” I smile, making sure to stand close to (Y/N) so I can slip my arm around her waist and feel some of her body warmth once more.

I glance down at her quickly as she leans into me without much prompting and I see a glimpse of cleavage thanks to v of buttons that she didn’t bother fastening, and I clear my throat as I shift my stance a little while I try to lift my gaze and focus on Ben.

“Everything alright mate?” he asks, knowing exactly what was going on.

“Fine. You didn’t tell me you were coming here tonight,” I say to change the subject quickly.

“Didn’t want to ruin the surprise did I? Seeing (Y/N) here was an unexpected bonus though! I was just complimenting her on her shirt, and I’m pretty sure I complimented you on it when we were in LA, right?” he winks, making (Y/N) giggle.

“You did,” I grin smugly.

“Looks better on (Y/N) though, sorry mate.”

“It really does, doesn’t it?” I smile, looking down at her again.

This time she looks up at me as well and we both know there’s a sudden change in the atmosphere between us as we hold our breath momentarily when we lock eyes. There’s a tension that hangs between us, an energy that’s begging to be released, and when her hand lands on my chest as she turns her body into mine I feel like it’s time for us to leave.

“Excuse me, could I get a photograph of you two?” one of the press asks, gesturing between myself and Ben.

“Of course,” I reply as (Y/N) immediately moves from my touch and steps out of the way.

This was one of the things I hated about being in the spotlight and she’d had to do it more than she should have for the amount of time we’ve known each other, yet she stood there with an admiring smile as me and Ben squeeze together in a tight hug with soppy grins on our faces.

“I think we should have a (Y/N) sandwich,” Ben pipes up just as the photographer goes to leave.

She smiles shyly as she dips her head down in embarrassment, but makes her way over to us without a word and we start sensibly but soon end with her pressed against us both as we hug around her body.

“They’re going to be on instagram within the next 24 hours, I guarantee it,” Ben states as he lets go of (Y/N) and I stay glued to her side, “especially the one of all three of us.”

I look at him wide eyed in slight horror at the mention, and he realises he’s fucked up.

“Oh my god,” she gasps, looking between the two of us, “I don’t even follow you two. Probably for the best if stuff like that gets posted.”

“I’m sure Gwil will give you his private one,” Ben winks, “anyway, I’m going leave you two love birds to it, some of us have to be sociable...”

Ben leaves us after goodbye that was far too long when he stood there holding (Y/N)’s hands between his, and she turns to me with an expectant smile as soon as he starts walking away. She looks around the room then takes my hand and leads me away from the busy floor into one of the quieter exhibition rooms where there’s only a handful of people standing around chatting away without the music drowning them out. We carry on walking through until we get to the next room which is miraculously empty and she pulls me into one of the darkened corners that are so welcoming to our desperate bodies.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers as I back her up against the wall, “I just really want to kiss you.”

She runs her hands up the front of my shirt then they snake around to the back of my neck, and before she can put any pressure on my skin to pull me down for a kiss, my lips meet hers in an unashamedly needy kiss. My thumbs dig into her hips as I grip onto her body as tightly as I can and she rolls them against me; I’m unsure whether that’s on purpose or an automatic reaction, but either way it stokes the fire she ignited that first day I saw her, and I’m going to have to stand behind her all night if this carries on.

“Gwilym,” she sighs in pleasure as I divert my kisses down to her neck.

Please say it again, moan my name again and I promise to always make you feel this good.

“Gwilym,” she exhales once more.

@painthatiusedto @winnielinleigh @queenslandlover-93 @excellentbecca @peachllobotomy @lovemarvelousfics @lovemelikeyou1997 @readinghorn @godohammers @timeandpixiedust @lv7867 @fuckyou-imspiderman @aynsleywalker @wolfgirlxslytherin @the-baby-bookworm @leah-halliwell92 @chlobo6

[wojtekbc]

D&D Session Summaries for 8&9

So there were some things that needed to be sorted out, which is why these two have been bundled together. Details of what actually happened will be listed later in the post.

When last we left our heroes... Returning to the city of Octin after defending Ravenhome from a detachment of Warbreed, the heroes arrived in time to celebrate their victory with a festival. Fun was had, drinks were imbibed, Shura won the axe of the antediluvian war spirit Gonzo in an arm wrestling contest... you know how festivals go! All went well until our heroes encountered a procession heading through the heart of the city; the daughter of the Duke Fabron and an eastern noblewoman are to be wed in a couple days! Oh? It’s Naoise’s @bluethegirl​ wife??? Well, we were planning on crashing a wedding in the east, and it seems to have appeared in front of us... All the more reason to disrupt political marriages if it’s linked to the party! Saturday morning starts like all others do for our brave heroes, with a hearty breakfast at a table in the closest thing we have to a home right now, the Affable Undulate, and a long discussion of what we are getting up to today. We have a wedding to crash, a meeting with our benefactor to attend, drugs to sell(???), typical day for the lads, really. Now, we know that we need to figure out where Allavara is actually being kept, and we’re waiting for night to rescue her, so discussion quickly turns to what to do about Guinevere Greysteel, our powerful councilwoman contractor. We have done jobs for her, sure, but we did kill Galen/The Wizard formerly known as Ketracel (at this point Cerna @pantographicclone​, who had been off on Cerna Business, manifests behind the party and tells us that we could just kill them all) so maybe we don’t lead with that? Maybe we sell her the drugs? Ellie @xynnos​ wants to bury it in the forest to keep it away from everyone, but we all pinky promise not to drink the orc juice and let him have some when he wants to Get Feral. So we finish up with food and show up at the Greysteel manse in the wealthy district of Octin so to meet with Guinevere early in the morning. We’re all introduced and then she begins to ask us about our contracts, namely what happened in Ravenhome. Shura tells her that yes, another force of Warbreed were demanding tribute from the town in livery of green and purple, that of the Duke Fabron, and that we forced them to move on by beating their leadership in combat. Jawbones @darkseldarine​ mentions that they were summoning demons, to which Greysteel says “I might need to make up with my cousin if magic is involved.” Shura, being a dumbass without an off switch, ounce of charisma and no impulse control in situations Like This, asks “Who is your cousin?” every one of the party and players knowing damn well it’s the fucking corpse we buried in a shallow grave in Ravenhome after Rowan @krunk-mcdunk​ brained the poor fucker less than a week ago. Ellie quickly realises there’s no easy way to shut Shura up without cutting him off, so we’re stuck with this lie. You know the drill, “What’s your relationship with this dude?” “Oooooh he’s missing??? That sucks, man” “No we haven’t seen him!” Strangely enough, it’s not Shura who almost fucks us up at this part, but our lovable ranger Jawbones(Jawbones!) saying “Hey! Didn’t Rowan...see a wizard? And clobbered him??”  Yet THAT doesn’t do us in either! What does is us talking about the orc juice and Shura lying through his fucking teeth and saying no. Greysteel:“Hand it over.” Shura: “And why should we.” Greysteel: “Well, name your price.” Shura: “We have a few vials left, alright, and we will hand it over on one condition. Our friend here, miss Naoise, is gonna need protection very soon, and she won’t be the only one. She needs to lay low, and we know the Greysteels can help us with that. If you want this potion, you will help us.” Greysteel: “Two vials for your protection, and you take another job, and you set up a meeting between me and the Kingless.” Shura: “Yeah that’s reasonable, but what’s the job? I’m not signing everyone up for it.” Greysteel: “I have intel on cults within the city.” Shura: “Sounds like my line of work.” Greysteel: “You’ll meet with my informant at 2, at this address. It’s possible this potion came from my cousin.” Greysteel tells us that the Baron and his entourage are staying at the Duke’s old castle, just outside the city. We get our pay for the contracts and move on. Some of the party go and say hey to the musketeers in their coffeehouse to tell them they have a meeting with the councilwoman, nothing really comes of that. Ellie and Cerna go to the library to see if Ellie can learn about the castle and any secret entries. So the rest of the day is basically relying on a Rowan/Jawbones stealth mission to figure out the defenses and state of the castle for the night operation we’re planning on pulling. Rowan and Jawbones manage to spot the tower Allavara is staying in while completely blanking on what the guards are up to. Jawbones also spots a room in strangely pristine condition not too far from the tower. The group meet up and discuss this and Ellie sends a message by way of bird to tell Allavara to prepare for a rescue mission, and OH YEAH YOUR WIFE ISN’T ACTUALLY DEAD :DDDD The team show up and avoid guards under cover of night to the base of the tower with Allavara. We discuss how we’re gonna get up there and down safely with Naoise’s wife and child, and eventually Cerna tells us he can spider climb up the tower with a rope! So we do that! And climb up! And get them out! Now this is where we have some things to talk about; we have a timeline that was kind of retconned because the decision the party reached was too impulsive for some of us. I’ll recount the story as we have decided it happened, not as it actually did, because this is revisionist history and you literally can’t fucking stop me. Allavara tells us she has heard strange noises from Fabron’s room down the hall, and has seen all manner of grim things surrounding the Duke. She notices the Wren necklace on Shura and tells us she fears he is a demon worshipper, or perhaps that he may even be communing with something grim right now. Some of the party decide to go with Allavara back to Octin, for her safety; Shura, Rowan, Jawbones and Cerna prepare to kill a cultist. We arrive, and he’s tranced out with occult knowledge and symbols lining the room in peculiar patterns. Out of his armour, with no guards left to protect him, Shura takes the Axe of Gonzo and decapitates Baron Fabron in one fell swoop. We turn the room, take the body and all valuables, and disappear into the night. Fuck that guy. End session. (I will mention for posterity that the way the Axe of Gonzo worked was that Shura could burn mental stats for a bigger crit range and extra weapon die on one crit. Auto crit on a sleeping target, and I rolled a crit anyway, coming to 8d12+2d6+9 because of Zealotry and Half Orc feats etc. This was supposed to be something of a combat encounter but for the second time in this game a named villain was killed in a single hit in their sleep.) We pick back up outside Octin where the group is prepared to split up just in case we have been followed; Naoise and Allavara go back to the Affable Undulate with baby Atticus, Rowan and Shura are headed for the Bloody Cup after a visit to church, Ellie and Cerna head to another bar and Jawbones goes off on her own for her own business.  Naoise spends a night with her wife and kid at the bar, just catching up. Shura and Rowan show up at church and he goes in to check with Belruel, making sure that what they had just done was the right call. He feels a hand on his shoulder and that definitely lightens his mood because yeah, in that situation he knows he would have done it even if it wasn’t the right call. Belruel does not tell him if Fabron is linked to the cult Shura has dealt with in the past, so that’s rough, but no matter! Fabron had a dark longsword in his room, and this lad  loves trophies, so in proper fashion, why not try and see what’s up with it in a church? In his little prayer circle, he tries to attune to the sword but it hurts him to do so, and then something strange happens. The metal creaks and takes on a lighter hue after burning red hot and literally screaming. Shura, and Ya Boi, being dumbasses, do not equate this to any real change, so he does not try and attune again in case it literally kills him. Rowan says her prayers to Winthrop the merry and laughs as Shura’s cursing at a sword across the room. The two of them go to the bar they chose, and a drunken exhausted Shura collapses in bed before he can attune to the sword. Jawbones (Jawbones!) makes herself less conspicuous and heads to a bar. She just listens in on the crowd, eats some stew, but there’s nothing too interesting; news hasn’t spread yet. One of her old friends lived here, so she talks to this lad Welrick, just checking in on an old friend. She asks for Arc, but there’s been no sign of him. In Arc’s room, the window is open and the room is empty, there is nothing interesting beyond a black rose coin. She pockets the coin but falls asleep as she’s waiting for someone to return. It’s from her pocket by the time she wakes up. Now Ellie and Cerna immediately head to a bar; Ellie tries to meditate and eventually he can sleep for a bit but the scars on his chest begin to open. Panicked, Ellie runs for the gates and out into the woods. Mr. Shiny has left him, his powers are fading and he is winded. Ellie lies down in a riverbed, as if embracing death, certain that Fyena, the pagan spring goddess who is all but confirmed to be living inside him has left, or is perhaps wounded? Cerna seems to have a nice night by himself, commenting on his weird fucking roommate. We all meet back up in the morning at the Affable Undulate; Jawbones and Ellie show up first and Ellie’s a bit fucking rocked by the events of last night. The rest show up not too long after, and Shura decides to attune to the sword; there is no psychic damage, so that’s neat! Fabron’s blade, once known as Barbspawn, has been reforged in the light of the church as a gift from Belruel to this boy; the sword is now Brightspawn. Cerna takes The Axe of Gonzo, and the team agrees to go and tell Greysteel she needs to help Naoise/Marcella and her family right now!  We show up and Greysteel is understandably shocked to see Allavara here and requesting hiding, but she agrees to uphold the deal; we’ll be taking Marcella out for drinks later this evening, but she can stay here now. We also have something to tell Greysteel, and we have no idea how to break the news to her; Shura fumbles for words, until Rowan’s flair for the dramatics takes over, she billows her cloak, takes a bow and the decapitated body of Fabron rolls out onto her floor. She is none too pleased with this, although she’s kind of glad we didn’t tell anyone but her. The news can’t leave the room, though, and we’re not getting a pat on the back for it, which sucks. Oh well! But we leave the mansion and the wedding procession is... still happening?? We see carriages, and we see Fabron alongside his daughter? We see Allavara in a wedding dress? We know they’re illusions or body doubles, but still, why are they keeping up appearances? Wild.  The contact is met, and enter @bluethegirl‘s new character! We show up at an apartment; the door is half open and the walls are lined with notes and scraps of paper. Lazing on a couch is a tiefling flipping through a book, with the cultist symbol of Arioch on a necklace. The investigator stands up, introduces himself as Ashe, and quickly notices Shura’s Wren necklace, tearing his own cultist one off with a strong “It’s not what it looks like!”  End session.

[hisgirlwonder]

House of Wolves – Part Two

Length: 3.3K words Warning: A little bit of smut (masturbation) Synopsis: You’ve been offered an apprenticeship at Kineros Robotics and you couldn’t say no; you’ve been dreaming about working in the field for as long as you can remember. Will it be everything you’ve been building up in your mind, or will it all come crashing down around you? Notes: For those of you who come across this - this is a continuation in a series (and you can find the first part here) inspired by a few things outside of the AHS realm! I’m actually really enjoying writing this with the differences in interactions (especially with Michael/Venable) and I hope you enjoy reading it ♥

(PS. ** is a change in who is speaking/who it’s focused on)

With your first day done and dusted, you were left with two thoughts on your mind: “Is Michael giving me special treatment or does he treat everyone this way?” and “Does Venable get any worse?” One of these you’d find out the answer to... very soon.

“I was definitely right in picking you, you know? You’re just such a good student, and person; a real asset to my company,” Michael gushes. You didn’t realise offering to carry the files in while he unlocked the door to his office was going to invoke such a reaction. Little did you know that he meant every word he said; everyone else seemed to want something from him but not you, you were different.

A shade of rose develops across your soft cheeks from the praise that was befalling on your ears. He wasn’t wrong at all – you wanted to be the perfect student, aiming to surpass every idea about who he thought you were prior to you starting.

You’re nibbling the inside of your lip as a distraction; trying not to talk because you know you’ll sound ridiculous and stumble over every single word that tries to come out of your mouth. Instead, you smile sweetly in the hopes he can feel your acceptance. Michael does but also senses your growing bashfulness and decides to change the topic, asking if you want to have breakfast with him.

*

“Tell me about home life, Y/N. What’s it like?” Michael queries, sipping away at his coffee.  

Just as you’re about to answer, the waitress arrives with the plates of food. Michael thanks her and mentions how good it looks; she’s smiling and you can both feel and see her mentally undressing him with her beady eyes.

“Ah, you wanted to know about my home life, yes?” you start talking, making sure the waitress heard he was interested in you and not her when she’s walking off, “It’s just me and my mother. My father is… absent.”

You both pick up your cutlery almost as if you were in sync and you’re wanting to make a comment about how you probably were since your meals were identical but you didn’t want to make anything weird. Michaels fork stabs into his bacon and his knife saws away at the meat, “Any siblings?”

You shake your head as you’re swallowing a mouthful of juice, quenching your thirst, before you place the glass back down on the table. Michael takes a liberty and begins complimenting you again.

Please don’t blush. Please don’t blush. Please don’t blush.

“That’s rather admirable and I know exactly how you feel. I didn’t really have any siblings and I feel like having some sort of company would have been nice growing up.”

You sigh heavily, understanding what he was saying all too well, “Exactly. I’d just get so lonely and wish I could share things with someone. You’re hit with such an empty feeling in your heart as a child when the other kids are talking about their brothers and sisters.”

Michael’s chewing, pointing the fork in his hand at you almost as if he’s saying that’s exactly it and nods. He swallows his mouthful then adds, “Precisely. People wonder why we aren’t so good at opening up when they know our past. At least you get me, Y/N.”

There it is. The familiar warmth hitting your face. You’re blushing again – at the back of your mind you’re wondering how often this is going to happen. You had no idea how to deal with such niceness. I mean, sure, your mother was nice to you but she was your mother. ­

You and Michael continue your meal, chatting and getting to know each other. By the time you’re finished it seems he has learned a lot about you. Unfortunately, you not so much about him; almost as if he’s hiding behind a shell but you were determined to break it. You comment on how good the food is; Michael laughs and warns you’ll get over it. “There’s only so many times you can handle the smell of hot food in the morning.”

“I think you need to taste my mother’s pancakes and then you’ll rethink what you’re saying.”

You could have died, then and there, after you realised you told your boss he should have your mother cook for him.

*

“So, Y/N,” he begins as you’re travelling back to the office, “I just thought I might let you know now I’ve given you the access over my emails instead of Venable.”

Why would he give me that instead of her? She’s been here longer than I have.

“Sir, if you d-”

“Michael, please.” He interrupts you, correcting your politeness.

“Sorry. Michael, are you sure?”

Arriving at the office, you stand outside as he’s reaching in his pocket for keys, informing you, “I’ve seen enough already to know that you are leaps and bounds ahead of Venable in almost every way. She only has a one up on you because of her age,” then hits you with a cheeky wink.

*

You sit down at the table, Michael tells you he won’t be a moment and asks if you want a drink of water. You’re confused as you’re thinking that it should be your job, offering to help. He doesn’t respond until coming back from the cooler, placing the glasses on the coasters. “Don’t be silly. You’re not her. I hired you for you, not for your ability to complete menial tasks.”

You smile, “I know, I just want to help. I really like making things easier.”

“You’re already making it easier by being here.”

There’s a knock on the open door. It’s Venable.

“Oh, I see you two are busy. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” she comments when she sees the two of you sitting so close; her tone is smug, leaving you feeling greasy and your skin crawling. Michael smiles forcefully but it’s obvious he’s annoyed with her because Venable is the last person he wants to deal with.

“Well, you are. But this is perfect because I wanted to talk to you when you came in.” He turns to you, “Y/N, do you mind waiting outside for five or ten minutes while the two of us have a quick meeting. I promise it won’t take long.”

You nod, “Oh, of course I can, Michael. I’ll sit outside and wait until you’re free.”

**

“I thought I warned you yesterday about coddling this girl? Telling her she’s making it easier by being here isn’t exactly listening to me.” Venable complains; sounding concerned but really the only concern inside that prudish, self-righteous mind of hers was herself.

“Wilhemina, it seems you’re forgetting who is the boss and you should probably remember that before you come in here accusing me of things. I wanted to tell you that you’ll no longer be helping Y/N because I have other plans for her.”

Venable stands in front of him, hand on hip and pointing out into the hallway where you sat on a couch, “Yeah, like grooming her so you can screw her?”

Michael’s face drops down into his hands, refusing to even look at her. He didn’t think she could get any worse but he was proven wrong. He sighs, “Get the fuck out of my office, will you?”

Venable is scowling and grumbling at Michael, huffing as if she were a child, “Look, I just wanted to talk to you about the emails. I can’t get into them.”

Michael growls, “I’m aware. I’ve revoked your access and if you require a further explanation as to why then you’re stupider than you look. Go and do what’s left of your job before I hire a monkey to replace you and take the rest of it.”

Anger is brewing in the pit of her stomach and Venable storms out of the room, heeding the advice and avoiding making things worse.

**

Venable is overcome with rage which leads to her covering her face and she screams into her hands.

“Um, Miss Venable, I don’t mean to bother you but are you okay?”

The sound of concern in your voice causes her temper to recede and her own tone changes, becoming unnervingly calm, however, you’re all too aware she’s still seething internally from jealousy when she says the next sentence, “Ah hello, Langdon’s pet. How are you enjoying the warmth of cosying up to the boss?” Every single word is laced with condescension.

You try to tell her that you’re only trying to help and she spits a slimy Oh and I bet you certainly are back in your face before briskly taking off down the hallway. Gobsmacked, you pick yourself up off the piece of furniture you’re sitting on and walk back into the office.

*

“Wow. Am I wrong to assume there’s always drama with her?”

He gestures for you to sit down, and adds, “You definitely are not because there always is. I’m awfully sorry she’s treating you this way. Please, won’t you sit for me? I need your help.”

You do as he asks and he admits the help he needs in the form of you being his stylist - he can’t decide which shirt to wear to dinner tonight and gets the feeling you have a good eye for fashion.

I should have realised when he wanted help with everything, he meant it.

He explains, “There are a few older women I have to take out for dinner and win over. I figure if I wear a shirt that brings out my eye-”

You interject the admission he just made, “I really don’t mean to be rude at all but seriously? You’re worried about that? I can safely say the last thing they’ll be thinking about is your eyes, Michael. Do you own a mirror?”

He glosses over the compliment, trying not to pay attention to it, heading over to a door at the left of his desk; he pulls out two shirts on hangers - one is wine coloured, the other eggplant coloured. He holds them against himself, alternating between the two. “Which one?”

“I honestly think both are lovely but,” you point to the red, “I’ve always been a fan of deep red.”

“This one it is," he holds up the one you’ve chosen proudly. He hangs the shirts away, and then the two of you get back to actual work.

**

“I was thinking about this long and hard last night,” you clear your throat, trying to hide the fact you’re getting flustered, “I wanted us to play a little game. What we’re going to do is that I’ll ask you a few questions and you can answer them as briefly or in depth as you want, sound good?”

“Sounds good,” Y/N smiles, excited to play your game.

“Alright, let’s begin. If you were making you’re a robot of yourself, what would be three good things, traits or otherwise, you would instil into it?”

Her sight is fixed on the ceiling, fingers loosely rubbing her chin, trying to create the perfect answer for you. Her eyes drop back down to look into yours. She goes on to tell you that her kindness, ability to cook, and love of nature and art would be her top three things. She explains that if she had her own robot of herself as a companion, she’d want someone that could understand her and vice versa – almost like an identical sibling so she wouldn’t feel so alone. They’d be able to cook, and paint, and see the world together.

You linger far too long on the she’s so virtuous thought and it turns into arousal; you’d never met anyone like her. So good, so pure. Your member begins to swell in delight, like a child with a new toy, but that’s short-lived when a message from Venable pops up on your screen, killing it instantly.

Are you going to let her out of your sight for a minute so she can meet Dumb and Dumber?

“Y/N, would you like to meet two of the other employees here? I feel like it would be interesting for you considering they specialise in what you have come here to learn.”

She’s excited, almost jumping out of her seat to say yes. The elation in her voice and overall mood is almost too much for your brain to handle; you’re digging your fingernails in to your palms underneath your desk to try and lure out another feeling.

**

Upon stepping into that room, you regress into a child inside a candy store; all the machinery, all the computers, all the odds and ends that go into developing their robots excite you. You run over to one of the tables to see a prototype they’re working on.

There’s someone headed in your direction and he certainly is something else, to say the least. “You must be Y/N. My name’s Jeff. I work here,” he points over to the computer in the corner of the room where a dark-haired man is sat, presumably typing up code. “This is Mutt.”

“It’s really nice to meet the two of you. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to spend time with me,” you coo in adoration.

Jeff grins, the side of his mouth cocking upwards cheekily, “As if either of us had anything better to do. You’re beautiful and polite? Wow, how are we going to get any work done? Michael mentioned something about you with us for a few hours so I guess it’s just my luck.” He looks towards Michael, winking, “We’ll take really good care of her,”

Michael watches as Jeff hooks his arm around your lower back, “Come with me and I’ll show you some of the things we’ve been working on.” He’s screaming inside but remains calm and yells out, “Come back to my office around lunch time and we can talk over some food.”

**

Your exit of the lab was swift, getting out of there as fast as you can before you broke anything. Luckily the door only opens by a motion sensor otherwise you imagine with your own pent up jealousy that the glass would get smashed. You head over to the vending machine to grab a beverage and lean against it; your forehead resting on your forearm that’s propped up on the machine.

Who the fuck does Jeff think he is, touching her like that?

You smack the side of a clenched fist into the surface repeatedly, overflowing with envy. You wouldn’t admit it but you didn’t want anyone else touching her. Venable slinks out of nowhere, seemingly to torment you for earlier, “Getting worked up already, huh? It’s only the second day, lover boy.”

“Shut your mouth unless you’d like me to shut it for you,” you spit, “You have no idea what the fuck you’re on about.” You dive down into the bucket of the machine to pick out the bottle and disappear into your office, locking the door behind you.

*

Venable is smirking from behind the glass with her eyes locked on you, pleased with the outcome of her efforts. She knows she’s managed to get under your skin as you did with her. Your eyes narrow in a hateful stare and you close the blinds so she’s unable to see then walk over to your desk and plant yourself on the chair, trying to calm the discomfort bellowing inside you.

Double-clicking the wireless mouse to wake your laptop up, the screen is lit up and you enter your credentials to log on. You navigate through a plethora of folders, until you find one you’ve hidden called “Plans” (you weren’t very creative when you made it) and open it up - it’s full of documents such as photos and videos all relative to Y/N. You knew this was highly unprofessional but the curiosity was going to either get the better of you or kill you; at this point you didn’t care which one it was.

Your eyes are glued to the pixels on the screen as you open up the folder with her photos in it. Thought after thought bouncing around in that head of yours.

How can Venable even be mean to this face? God, what a bitch.

Then you decide to re-watch the application video she submitted to you. Your hand diving into the draw to your right to retrieve a pair of headphones. You untangle the cord, push the end of them into the headphone jack, then pop the buds into your ear and press play.

Look at her gorgeous hair covers her neck, those beautiful hands gesturing as she talks, her big, E/C eyes sparkling…

The length between your legs, once semi-flaccid, now grew harder and harder by the second. Her wholesome, sweet nature bore holes into the façade you’d been trying to maintain until you’re no longer able to take it any longer. Your hands, two of your many limbs tense with frustration, scramble for your belt to undo it and you unzip your pants. Remembering Y/N makes an awful lot of cute noises you turn the volume up and take yourself out of your pants. You’re leaking with pre-cum already, lusting after the one thing in the world that you probably shouldn’t be.

Wrapping a hungry hand at the base of your shaft, you begin to loosely run the length slowly, up and down, making sure you feel every single sensation. As you get more into the video, vision still fixed on her, you pick up your pace. You felt dizzy from arousal, all of the blood rushing between your legs, filling out your erection.

Your urges play you like you’re a puppet and they cause you to act out like a naughty child. Michael Langdon, the man with the power, longing for the one thing he cannot have. Your movements grow faster, your icy blue eyes melting to mere puddles under flames of want and become hidden behind your lids as you head into a downward spiral.

What began as thoughts through the strength of your power transpired into a lucid dream that encapsulated you as if it were reality – hot, invisible breath flowed out through her nostrils and hit below your bellybutton, dancing around the trail of hair.

It feels so real as you imagine looking down in the space between your legs, and there she was - the one you’d been thirsting for from the moment you laid eyes on her entire being. She’s staring you down and your mind is replaying over and over again every innocent word she’s said; every vowel and consonant now tainted by your filthy mind.

She lets the spit pool inside her mouth and then drip from her lips, not breaking eye contact, coating your length in the viscous fluid. You grab again at your throbbing cock, now solid as the chair you were sitting on, and she’s enveloping your balls inside her mouth. You pick up the strokes, and so does the tongue she’s lapping against your body with, until a wave of ecstasy hits and you climax into your hand. Your moans fill the office but you couldn’t care less.

As you stand up from your seat to head to the bathroom, dick in hand, a familiar voice yells out to you. Your heart begins to beat frantically when you realise who it is.

“Um, sir, I’m really sorry. I tried to open the door but it appears to be locked. I apologise for my lateness if you still want to go and get lunch. We got carried away.”

You’d usually correct her politeness but right now you just wanted to hide the fact you’d fucked yourself, visualising her like you were a teenager again, and now needed to clean the dirty mess you’d made. Clearing your throat, you shout out, “Yeah, I didn’t want to be disrupted. Give me five minutes and I’ll meet you down at the café Y/N, okay?”

Taglist: @avesatanormalpeoplescareme @sensitivethot @sammythankyou @sevenwondr @langdonsdemon @1-800-imagines

[dracdad-a]

New Beginnings.

something cute i wrote at like 3 am because my mind was yelling at me to do it lmao

  The quiet atmosphere unnerves her -- she's gotten used to sleeping during the day like every other monster, of course -- carefully training herself for the time when all those disgusting and annoying creatures got on board the Legacy.

  But even then, she'd still had the company of the soothing sounds of velvety waves crashing against the side of the ship, and the occasional creaking noises all plastic, wood, and metal made whenever the large vessel gently rocked from one side to the other, and slowly back again.

  However, now, alone in an empty enough room in the famous Hotel Transylvania, a slight sense of panic and loneliness starts to wash over her as she lay awake. Though her mattress is comfortable, and the sheets wrapping her body are warm and very cosy, the stillness of the place make her inwardly feel rather twitchy as well. Ericka has never been on land for too long. This place is unfamiliar, and although it had been warm and welcoming, she is still surrounded by both humans and the very monsters she'd been taught all her life to hate and hunt.

  Dracula had been kind; he'd given her space, and her very own room to settle in for now, which she had been endlessly thankful for. They hadn't wanted to rush things, and inviting her to share a room with him just as they'd arrived would have been too much, too quickly. But now, she finds she can't sleep at all, in spite of all of this. The hotel is beautiful and huge -- providing her with a warmth she hadn't known she needed -- but now the emptiness of the room seems to be asphyxiating her.

  A heavy sigh escapes from between her lips and she sits up on her bed, glancing around to subconsciously ground herself to the here and now. Well. Perhaps... she should make herself some tea.

  Her fingers move one piece of clothing aside from inside her neatly organised suitcase, and then another, trying to find something comfortable and appropriate to wear around the building instead of just her white pyjamas. She is a stranger to most, and making bad first impressions is something she definitely wants to avoid. Finally, upon finding something to put on over her top, she stands up and slides the piece of clothing over her head, and her arms through the loose sleeves. This should be okay, for now.

  The old door loudly creaks open a minute later and she peeks into the empty hallway to make sure she hadn't bothered anyone with all the noise. "Can't sleep?" A voice startles her; she glances down to find the shrunken head hanging from her doorknob.

  "Oh, I -- not really. But it's fine! I was just... going to get some fresh air." She offers the other a smile, which is kind of pointless considering the monster had its eyes sewn shut a long time ago. She steps outside and closes the door behind her, informing the door-knocker that she'd probably be back soon. The human feels awkward and really out of place, in spite of everyone's kindness and reassurances, and she's not sure what to do or who to talk to about that.

  She could try talking to Drac but... she has a strong feeling she knows what he'd say anyway.

  Now, what had Mavis told her? Where is the kitchen, again? Thank God for her good sense of orientation, for she doesn't have to ponder too long on which way to go this time around. The hotel is gigantic, and she is pretty certain more than one guest has lost their way more than once before. Endless hallways and rooms make up the majority of the stone-walled building, and it is quite easy not to know where one is or where they are actually headed to, but she thankfully finds the elevators relatively quickly.

  Some humans were up and about -- creatures used to sleeping at night instead of during the day -- and she greets them with a smile, a little salute, and a polite, "good morning!" of hers. It feels somewhat comforting to be around some of her kind, though Ericka has never really had true friends to begin with.

  She'd grown up with her great-grandfather on board the ship and socialising with other humans isn't something she has too much experience with when her primary goal was an entirely different one. But then again, monsters and human beings aren't as unalike as she'd always thought they were, aren't they? People are people, she'd come to understand recently, no matter the species they belong to, and whatever differences she might find are mostly simply general cultural ones; ones anyone would even find between humans themselves.

  She slips into the kitchen with ease, finding that some of the staff members are already up and working this early -- or is it late for them? -- but soon finds herself being ushered out of the room by a short pointy-nosed gargoyle who gently insists on preparing the soothing beverage for her in her place. They all know perfectly well who she is -- news had spread rather quickly about all that had happened in the city of Atlantis, and yet no one here has so far brought it up or even looked at her badly for being a raised monster hunter.

  And... now she's back to square one, she notes, sitting down at one of the tables of the large dinning room. Feeling useless, alone and uncomfortable yet again, her long fingers impatiently drum against the flat surface of the wooden table.

  "... Miss Ericka?"

  Ah. She recognises that voice. Blue eyes find the boy's wide curious ones staring up at her. His red curly hair is as messy as it always is, but some warmth spreads through the Van Helsing's chest then, and the woman smiles. She's never seen herself much as a family person, but she can't help but care about the Dracula family very deeply already. "Dennis? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be asleep?" A quirked brow from her part makes the child fumble awkwardly with the rolled up piece of paper he's apparently holding in his little hands.

  "Uh... I was just getting a snack. I know I should be in bed, but I... got hungry and I didn't wanna' wake up mommy."

  "Well, shouldn't you go back to bed now? I'm sure she's going to worry if she happens to wake up, and finds out you're not in your room, honey."

"I guess." He seems to momentarily hesitate before speaking again, "and why are you up?"

  "I..." What should she say? She has so very little experience with children, it actually makes her frown to herself, albeit slightly. "... I couldn't sleep. So I decided to come down here and get something nice to drink."

  "But why not?"

  A pause. Oh, darn. She shrugs; briefly looks away. "I don't know. Maybe it's the whole time-zones change." The kid nods, but she isn't sure if he understands what it means. Perhaps he does, but she doesn't truly know how clever children are these days anymore. "What's that?" she asks in spite of herself, trying to change the subject and get the boy to go sleep after this little chat.

  "Nothing!" He quickly hides the paper behind his back.

  "Mhm."

  "Uhm..." he shrinks a little, slowly pulling the rolled up paper from behind his back. "... It's a surprise."

  "A surprise? For whom?"

  "My dad."

  Aw.

  "Can I see it?" she inquires.

  "You won't tell him, will you?"

  "Of course not. I promise."

  "Stake your heart?"

  "Stake my -- ? Sure." She closes her hand into a fist and places it over her chest in what she hopes is the correct gesture. Dennis' smile is a big one as he cheerfully hands her the paper.

  "He said something really cool before, and I wanted to make him a drawing."

  Her eyes carefully scan the colourful drawing, and her lips curve upwards before she can help it. Ericka glances down at him. "This looks really good. When were you planning on giving it to him?"

  "Jus' tomorrow. I finished it before you walked in here."

  Her smile turns into a little knowing smirk. "So you weren't here just to get a snack, then?"   "I uhm..."   The doors behind her opens, and the gargoyle steps into the room with a tray resting on his dark grey hooves.   "Oh, ah -- thank you." She gives the piece of paper back to the boy and gently takes the offered tray with the tea and sugar.   "No need to thank me, Miss." A brief but toothy smile shows the monster's pointy set of teeth before he leaves, and her stomach immediately drops. Does she really deserve all the good treatment she'd been getting?   "Are you okay?" Hearing such a sweet voice is apparently a good way to snap her from her troubling thoughts.   "Oh. Yes, I'm fine. I'm just tired, I think."   "Why don't you go sleep?"   "Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?"   She receives a sheepish look from him. "Yeah, I know. I think I'll go back to bed then."   "Okay. And be careful."   "Sure!"   It's after Dennis is gone that she's free to swim in the depths of her own mind again. The warm liquid she drinks soothes her nerves right away, but she notices she's not as gloomy as she was before. Ericka is part of a warm, open and beautiful family now, and she notes she can't stop smiling upon coming to that nice realisation on her own. Her great grand-father, though he'd taken care of her and raised her had never really done anything for her out of the kindness of his heart like this new family of hers has.   Sure, she might still feel lonely at times, for the adaptation process will not be brief, but she does have a lot of people around her who truly care about her. And more importantly, Ericka finally knows she's not alone anymore, and she can't wait to start making new amazing memories with all of them.   She might just be able to properly get some shut-eye tonight after all.

[katelides]

One Shot 35 -In A Crowd Of Thousands pt2

Sooooo because I’ve had many people ask me to write a part 2 for In A crowd of Thousands I decided to give it a shot. I made it a bit of a weird mix of the disney movie and the musical. There are elements from both but it’s also pretty different. Hope you like it and keep hitting me with those prompts :D

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12670274/35/Little-Big-One-Shots

http://archiveofourown.org/works/12940941/chapters/32041272

In A Crowd Of Thousands pt2

Beca is staring at the wall in front of her. She royally screwed up, and there was no way she could fix it this time. There’s no fixing it, ever! The brunette lets out a heavy sigh and falls back onto her bed and now continues to stare at the ceiling. How in heaven’s name did she get herself in this mess? She knows how and she’s pissed that it happened. Maybe it wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand if she had come clean in the beginning. Chloe is right, she’s nothing but a pathetic, poor, sorry excuse for  woman. She always screws up the best things in her life.

*Flashback*

Beca is sitting in her room and is waiting for Jesse to come and meet her. A rapid knocking on the door startles her and she jumps up. “Beca I know you’re in there, open up.” Chloe’s voice travels through the thick wood and a smile makes it’s way up the brunette’s face. She loves spending time with the redhead. Especially now since she probably won’t see her again after the press conference that will reveal that ‘the long lost princess’ is still alive.

She opens the door and her smile turns into a frown when she sees an angry Chloe standing on the other side. “Hey… Uhm what’s wrong?” Chloe barges into the room past Beca with a huff. The brunette doesn’t like this behaviour at all. Something must have happened between her leaving the ballet performance and now. She closes the door with a million thoughts running through her head and slowly turns around.

When she does she feels a sharp sting on her left cheek. It takes her a moment to process what happened but soon realises that she got slapped. “What the hell?” She half shouts in confusion. Chloe doesn’t react but just turns around and starts pacing the room, as if she’s trying to figure out her thoughts. But Beca needs to know what the hell was going on. “Chloe what just happened? Why did you slap me?”

“You lied to me. You played me. You made me feel like I was special and for what? So you could get some money out of it? Did you ever even consider my feelings? Why did you do it?” Beca takes a step back but her back hits the door behind her. The redhead’s voice grew louder with every sentence and it was terrifying. Beca had never heard her shout, ever.

“Chloe it’s not what you’re thinking I-“ Chloe cuts her off with a loud scoff. “So you didn’t lie to me? You really believed I was the princess from the start, you just wanted to reunite me with my grandmother, right?” The redhead’s voice was dripping with sarcasm and it made Beca cower away slightly. “You can keep your stupid excuses and money Beca. You’re a pathetic, poor excuse for a woman.” The way the brunette’s name and everything after rolled off Chloe’s lips was filled with venom and hate. “You have what you wanted and so do I, I have people that care about me. People that… people that love me.”

Beca stands up straighter even though she feels deflated. The assumption alone, that she didn’t care about her was too much for the brunette. “You really think that low about me? Maybe you being the princess has changed you. I never lied to you, everything I did I did to help you. The money was a bonus but it doesn’t matter to me, not anymore… You should go, I doubt we have more things to say to each other. You made yourself clear. Why would you, a princess, waist you time with a lying, pathetic excuse of a woman, right?”

Chloe freezes for a brief second but recomposes herself quickly. “You’re completely right, we do have nothing else to say to each other.” Beca steps aside so Chloe can get to the door. She sees the redhead hesitate so she rolls her eyes in a sarcastic way. “What, you’re too good to open your own doors now?” The brunette grabs the handle and yanks the door open before bowing in the most ridiculous way possible. “There you go your highness, anything else you need from your peasant?” Beca snaps and regrets doing it the instant the words leave her mouth. But she doesn’t back down, she still has some dignity left and she’s like to keep it.

Chloe leaves the room and doesn’t even look back. She can’t bring herself to do it. She hurt the one person that believed in her but the brunette hurt her first, right? The redhead doesn’t say anything either, she just walks away. Into a new life that would carry on without Beca, the brunette she owes everything too. The little girl that she would always find in a crowd of thousands.

*End Flashback*

3 days, it’s been 3 days and neither has spoken to the other. Jesse tried to talk to them but both just dismissed anything was wrong. Beca sits up on her bed and grabs a piece of paper and a pen from her nightstand. The brunette starts writing a letter to her best friend who has decided to stay. One more reason for her to disappear.

It’s all for the best, she should distance herself from the redhead and the only way she can really do that is by leaving. No one would miss her and maybe it’s for the best. She can’t go to the press conference that afternoon. Even if she would want to go it’s not like she would be welcome. She’s almost 100 percent sure that they won’t even let her in.

Beca finishes the latter and leaves it on her nightstand. Jesse would definitely find it id he would decide to come looking for her but by then she would be long gone. She finally won’t be a bother to the people that she cares about.

-,-,-,-,-

Chloe is pacing the room behind the conference room. Everyone who is supposed to be there is there. Her grandmother is talking to her lady in waiting, Jesse is flirting with a blonde she swears she never has seen before. Some more people that are probably friends of her grandmother or work for her. The only person that’s missing is... Beca. I can’t believe she’s not coming.

The redhead lets out a heavy sigh. Jesse seems to have noticed and excuses himself and walks over to the princess. “Hey what’s wrong?” Chloe looks up from the ground. “Huh? Oh yeah I’m fine.” The brunet raises his brows with a smirk. “Sure, now why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?” Chloe huffs at how transparent she really was. “Come on, don’t make me get Beca.”

“That’s the thing Jesse. She’s mad at me.” Chloe hisses, trying not to draw attention to her. “What? Why?” The redhead lets her head hang low. “I screwed up, Jesse. My grandmother told me about your con…” Jesse takes a step back in embarrassment. “I might have snapped at her for it and said some things I shouldn’t have.” Chloe hides her face in her hands, trying to keep her tears from falling.

Jesse takes pity on the girl and puts his hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know if this helps but… she declined the money just so your grandmother would give you a chance and talk to you. She really cares about you… she has never cared about anyone before.” Chloe’s head snaps up to look at the man before her. “S-She… what? Oh god I’ve been a horrible person, I need to find her.” She tries to walk out of the room but gets stopped by her grandmother.

“Chloe, dear, where are you going?” The redhead turns around slowly and comes face to face with her grandmother. “Grand maman, I need to take care of something important. I promise to be back soon.” The older woman smiles down at her little girl. “Just make the right decision dear. I’ll be waiting here if you need me.” Chloe jumps into her grandmother’s arms, which takes the old woman of guard but still wraps her arms around the not so little girl as tight as she can.

When they break apart Chloe almost instantly dashes out of the room. Missing the looks exchanged between Jesse and her grandmother. “I’ll go with her. I promise you she’ll be safe.” The old woman nods with a gentle smile. “You can always come back my boy. We can use someone like you around here.” Jesse bows politely muttering a ‘thank you’ before running after the redhead.

He catches up with her quickly and they make their way towards Beca’s room in silence. When they get there Chloe hesitates with knocking. Jesse doesn’t want to push her so he just waits. It takes her a few minutes but she finally finds the courage. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK It stays quiet on the other side and that’s pretty weird. Usually Beca opens the door immediately. Jesse and Chloe share a look of confusion so they open the door.

The room is completely empty, even all off the brunette’s stuff is gone. Well the tiny suitcase she took on her journey to Paris. “Your highness? I think I found something.” The redhead turns around to look at the brunet. “What is it? And please, call me Chloe... just Chloe.” Jesse hands her an envelope. “But it’s addressed to you.” She tries to hand it back but Jesse declines. “I doubt it’s for me. Why don’t you read it?” Chloe opens the letter and starts reading it.

Hi Jesse, if you’re reading this it means I’m long gone. Chloe found out about the ‘con’ but she doesn’t know I gave up the money because her happiness means more to me. Maybe she was right when she said that I’m a pathetic, poor excuse of a woman. I’m going on a journey to find myself and live up to the person Chloe once thought I was. Please look after her, comrade. Because if I find out something happened to the woman I love I’ll hunt you down! You know what, forget I said anything. Have a good life -Beca

Chloe drops the letter on the ground as if the paper had burned her. She starts shaking her head. She can’t believe what the brunette wrote, she can’t believe how stupid she could have been by treating her the way she did. The one person that cared about her, genuinely cared about her and she screwed it up. “If you talk to her maybe you can set this right?”

Jesse had picked up the letter and read it while Chloe was going through her internal struggle. “If only she would have told us where she’s going th-“ Jesse stops talking when he notices the realization dawn over the redheaded princess’ face. “You know where she is don’t you?”

“I do but if I go... if I go I probably won’t come back.” Jesse lets out a soft ‘oh’ when he understands what Chloe means. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I can win you an extra hour but if you’re not back by then...”

“I know... and Jesse?” The brunet lets out a hum. “Thank you for everything.” Chloe pulls him into a tight hug and he quickly wraps his own arms around her squeezing her oh so slightly. “You’re welcome, now go get your girl. She needs you just as much as you need her. Protect each other.” They pull apart with tears in their eyes. “This isn’t goodbye. This is the start of a new story.” They both let out some giggly laughs and wipe away the single stray tear they’ll never admit to having it rolling down their cheeks. “You’re such a goof, Jesse.” Chloe takes a few steps back and takes a deep breath. “Now go, you’ll know where you’ll find her.”

The two step out of the room and each head their own way. Jesse back to the conference room and Chloe out to find Beca. What they both don’t seem to notice is the shady looking guy following their every move. Choosing wisely who he wants to follow.

-,-,-,-,-

Beca is standing at the edge of the Pont Alexandre III bridge, looking out over the water. The first time she stood there she felt... whole, complete... But now she feels empty and alone. She has no one to go back to, no one to fight for. Maybe this is what her life is supposed to look like. And maybe one day she’ll be ok with it.

The brunette is so deep in thought that she doesn’t hear or see a person walking up behind her. “It’s beautiful isn’t it.” Beca jumps up so high she could swear she just broke a world record. ‘What the hell?” She turns around to see who scared the daylights out of her, ready to punch whoever is there. Thankfully she stops just in time when she sees who it is. “Chloe? W-What are you doing here?”

Beca slowly lowers her hand and takes a few steps back. All the betrayed feelings and mixed emotions resurfacing once again. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the conference? Like I don’t know, becoming an official princess?” The brunette’s voice is slightly more sarcastic than it was meant to be. “I know, I messed up Beca. But not talking to you for the past few days, and not seeing you at the conference made me realise how much I need you.”

Chloe takes a tentative step forward and tries not to smile when Beca doesn’t step away from her. “I shouldn’t have said what I said. You’re not a pathetic excuse of a woman. I’m sorry for ever saying that. I hope that one day you can forgive me. Before you leave, I-I just have to tell you that I-“

The redhead gets interrupted by a gunshot and her being pushed down to the ground. She has no idea how it happened or what’s going on. Everything is going too fast. She sees Beca fighting... Chicago ‘Raz’ Walp... He’s the son of Rasputin, the man who murdered her entire family. He had told her to stay clear of ever impersonating the long lost princess. Because anyone who’d try to do that would be sentenced to death. He must have found out who she really is and come to finish the job.

Chloe watches Beca fighting the man who’s not only taller but also much stronger than her. But she manages to avoid punch after punch, managing to hit the general a few times. It’s in a moment like this that Chloe remembers that the woman fighting to save her life at the moment has fought in the army and lived on the streets her entire life. She knows how to take care of herself.

In a matter of minutes though Chicago manages to overpower the tiny brunette and a gunshot is being fired. Chloe lets out a loud scream. She can see a lot of blood and the lifeless body of the love of life. She hears a maniacal laugh erupt from Chicago. She watches him stand up and turn around, it’s as if the entire world has slowed down around her. The man slowly makes his way up to the redhead pointing the gun straight at her.

“Did you really think you could get away? I really didn’t want to do this but you kept ignoring my warnings. I really like you, your highness. Too bad that because of your reckless behaviour that I’ll have to kill you. Or more accurately finally fulfil the legacy of my father, the great Rasputin! Finally the last living heir of the Beale – Romanovs will die.”

Chicago lets out a bouldering laugh  that gets cut short by a loud thump. “Stay away from her you creep.” Chloe’s eyes shoot up to meet the dark blue ones that belong to the one and only Beca Mitchell. “Y-You’re alive?” The brunette rolls her eyes. “Not for long...” The hit on Chicago’s back with the metal pipe from the bridge constructions wasn’t hard enough because of Beca’s gunshot wound to her right arm.

Before going after the brunette he lunges forward and pushes the redhead of the bridge, no one can survive that fall. The only thing that can be heard is the scream of Chloe falling. Beca tries to go after her but get knocked back  down by Chicago. “As for you, you’re an accomplice and you should be eliminated as well. But I’d like to do that the old fashioned way.”

Beca manages to avoid the first fist coming right at her but isn’t fast enough to avoid the second one. She gets hit in the stomach, then her jaw and another one straight to her lower abdomen. The brunette falls to the ground trying to brace herself for the next hit. She doesn’t care anymore. Without Chloe her life will always be empty. She failed to keep her promise, the promise to keep Chloe safe.

Chicago stands high above the woman with a wicked grin on his face. “In the end I’ll be the one walking away the hero. The one who killed the person responsible for the death of the long lost princess. Dasvidanya Beca Mitchell, long live the k-“

Beca doesn’t hear anything around her, except for a deafening blast. She watches as the general’s body shakes and falls over. Behind him stands the last person she’d ever expected to see. It takes every bit of strength for her to get up, the actually staying upright part is proving to be difficult. “C-Chloe?” The redhead smiles timidly before rushing over to catch the brunette. “I got you Becs, I got you.”

Both women slide down to the ground and hold on to each other as tight as they can. “Before he interrupted I was trying to tell you something.” Beca lets out a pained laugh. She shakes her head and looks up to meet the redhead’s baby blue eyes. “I know you’re sorry, you don’t have to say it again. I believe yo-“ The brunette gets cut off by Chloe’s lips on hers. It’s as if they were always meant to be.

“How did you find me here?” Beca manages to ask once she has regained her breathing. “Just like when you were 10 and I was 8. If we can find each other in a crowd of thousands we’ll always find each other.” Chloe leans in and kisses Beca once again. “I read the letter.”

“I kind of figured, I knew Jesse would show it to you.” Beca manages to sit up without too much pain. “I want you to know that... I love you too.” The brunette’s smile grows 3 sizes but not without any pain. Her jaw was killing her. “I thought I’d never hear you say that.” A few tears slip down her cheeks. “When I fell of that bridge I thought the exact same thing but now we can say it for the rest of our lives.”

The two women look up and watch the sun set in front of their eyes. Their lives will only be better from now on, as long as their together. Even apart they’ll always find each other in a crowd of thousands. No matter the distance.

I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT! REVIEWS = HAPPY ME HAPPY ME = QUICKER UPDATES FOLLOW ME ON TUMBLR FOR SNEEK PEAKS FOR UPCOMING CHAPTERS –katelides

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/will-republicans-ditch-trump-to-save-the-senate-as-support-nosedives-the-guardian/

Will Republicans ditch Trump to save the Senate as support nosedives? - The Guardian

Hispanic supporters of Donald Trump sat around the cabinet table, lavished him with praise and promised: “We will rebuild America with you, and we will make America great again.” For a moment, in his self-affirming White House bubble, it seemed the US president remained master of his destiny.

But when reporters questioned him, Trump answered only one. Then he was done. A White House staffer bellowed forcefully at the assembled media: “Let’s go! Let’s go! Keep going! Let’s go! Come on, we’re done! Let’s go!” It was a sign of how the president has become less indulgent of unfriendly media questions than when he thought he was riding high.

Trump is in trouble. The coronavirus has killed more than 130,000 Americans, tens of millions of people have lost their jobs and there has been a tectonic cultural shift for racial justice. Opinion polls suggest he is the worst-placed incumbent since Jimmy Carter was hammered by Ronald Reagan in 1980, leaving his Republican party somewhere between anxiety and panic about November’s elections for the White House and Congress.

“The mood is like probably what it felt like when you were on the Titanic,” said Joe Walsh, a former congressman from Illinois. “These cowardly Republicans in the Senate and House know Trump’s going to get destroyed in November but they’re tied to him and they’re gonna go down with him and they have no choice, and I think they realise that.”

The sinking ship metaphor comes up again and again among Republicans interviewed by the Guardian and other media outlets.

Biden leads Trump by 52% to 40% in a Guardian/Opinium Research poll conducted in late June. Numerous other polls agree the Democrat has a double-digit lead and, crucially, put him ahead in six battleground states. Two in three people now disapprove of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll, with the percentage of Republicans who approve sinking from 90% in mid-June to 78% now.

Nothing is going right for the president. A campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last month was a flop with thousands of empty seats. Another rally planned for Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Saturday night has been postponed due to weather. From his basement, Biden has outraised Trump in fundraising for the past two months in a row.

The president has even failed to brand his opponent with a pejorative nickname that sticks.

Amy Walter, national editor of Cook Political Report, wrote this week: “This election is looking more like a Democratic tsunami than simply a blue wave … Republican strategists we’ve spoken with this week think Trump is close to the point of no return. A couple of others wondered if Trump had reached his ‘Katrina’ moment: a permanent loss of trust and faith of the majority of voters.”

The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, wears a mask this week as he listens to Donald Trump, who by contrast goes uncovered. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/EPA

She added: “In talking with strategists on both sides last week, it’s also clear that Trump is dragging Republican congressional candidates with him as well.”

Indeed, Republicans realise they could lose everything, with the presidency and Senate following the House of Representatives, which they surrendered in 2018. The Senate is critical. If Republicans can retain their majority, they will be able to obstruct significant parts of the Democratic agenda, just as they did for much of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Martha McSally of Arizona and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are all trailing in polls. Even leading Trump loyalists Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham face stiff challenges from Democratic opponents raising huge funds in Kentucky and South Carolina respectively.

Walsh, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination, said: “I can tell you, publicly and privately conversations I’ve had, they’re scared shitless, all of them, any Senate Republican on the ballot. I mean, forget about Colorado, it’s done. Arizona is done. I think Maine is done. Joni Ernst in Iowa is almost done. Every race is going to be competitive. Democrat Doug Jones has got a fighter’s chance of winning in Alabama. Lindsey Graham is in serious trouble and they all know it.”

It is an astonishing turnaround in less than a year as the political and business worlds have lost confidence in Trump. A Citigroup poll of 140 fund managers last December found 70% expected him to win re-election, but last week 62% said they expect Biden to prevail. That once-impenetrable Republican strongholds such as Arizona, Iowa and South Carolina are now in play is a measure of how much has changed.

Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, said: “The people who pay attention to the numbers internally are very worried and they’re spending money in places that they never imagined they’d have to allocate resources like New Hampshire, like Georgia, like South Carolina.

“Politics on a national level is a numbers game. When you have to start spending money in states that were reliably red one cycle ago, you’re in trouble. Clearly Trump is haemorrhaging support in areas that he needs to win again. His margin of victory was so narrow last time that he cannot afford to lose anyone, so the alarms are definitely sounding within the Republican party despite Donald Trump’s proclamations on Twitter that he has overwhelming Republican support.”

Will Republicans finally disown Trump in an attempt to save themselves? Collins has refused to say how she plans to vote in November, telling the New York Times that she will not campaign against Biden, a former Senate colleague. She is also among several senators who have said they will not attend next month’s Republican national convention to renominate Trump in Jacksonville, Florida.

Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington, argues that with every drop in the polls, the cracks in the Republican party grow bigger. “What generally happens in a situation like this is that people just start going their own way,” she said.

“They just start differentiating themselves from an unpopular president. They start saying, ‘I work with Democrats,’ or ‘I don’t agree with everything the president says’. They start signalling to the electorate that they’re different. If the trends keep going as they have, the ultimate messaging will be: vote to keep the Senate Republican so we can protect against the worst policies that Joe Biden might try to enact.”

But there are more than three months until election day. Trump’s base remains fervent. His campaign argues that in this year’s Republican primaries he has set a record for most votes ever cast for an incumbent president. And he defied the party’s prophets of doom in 2016.

Senator Susan Collins has said she will not campaign against Joe Biden. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

Tim Miller, former communications director for Jeb Bush and ex-spokesman for the Republican National Committee, recently interviewed nine campaign consultants for Republican candidates in Senate and House races for Rolling Stone magazine. Although the unnamed individuals expressed views such as “Every shred of evidence points to a likely ass kicking in the fall”, Miller writes, support for Trump remains “steadfast”.

“What I found in their answers was one part Stockholm syndrome, one part survival instinct,” he explains. “They all may not love the president, but most share his loathing for his enemies on the left, in the media, and the apostate Never Trump Republicans with a passion that engenders an alliance with the president, if not a kinship.

Responding to the Rolling Stone article, Setmayer, host of the Honestly Speaking podcast, said: “It was disheartening to hear that because for those of us who are on the other side of this we’re like, ‘Come on! How much more are you going to take? Are you going to get off the ship or what? You’ve still got a chance here.’ It doesn’t look like they’re going to do that.

“They may go down with the ship because they feel as though the party faithful are so locked into Trump that they have zero chance if they separate themselves. That’s the calculation.”

There was little evidence of mask-wearing or physical distancing at the White House on Thursday. Nor, even now, does McConnell seem likely to politically distance himself from Trump in a last-ditch bid to hold on to the Senate. Setmayer added: “The shotgun marriage of the Republican party and Trump is so far gone at this point it would be virtually impossible for party leaders to outright reject him.”

From miracle cures to slowing testing: how Trump has defied science on coronavirus – video explainer

[crowned-ladybug]

Something Just Like This

Aka five times Jackie and Marvin refused each other’s help and the one time they didn’t.

Oh look, I finally wrote it. This has been in the plans since like four fics ago. Title has no relevance aside from the fact that the song makes me think of Jackie. Also, “Superman” by Five For Fighting came on my playlist while writing the fourth part and I can definitely recommend it for some extra feels.

Hey @magic-marvin-protection-patrol may I offer some stories about these two in these tiring times?

Dedicated to @sunkistjello bc they’re awesome and I promised them this fic like ages ago

Characters: Jackie, Marvin

Word count: 5.4k

Warnings: a little bit of blood an injury, but that should be it. Marvin and Jackie are dumb dorks in love they just don’t know how to go about it.

It's such a nice, pleasant evening, one of those quiet ones Jackie cherishes the most. No running around fighting crime, no worrying Marvin or sitting alone on the couch because Marvin is so immersed in working on his magic that he doesn't even notice Jackie is there. They're almost like normal people, and Jackie is sitting in the living room trying to choose which movie to watch while Marvin is getting up to lord knows what in the kitchen.

Jackie's head shoots up and he turns towards the kitchen when he hears the sudden sound of plates tumbling onto each other. He heads over to investigate, knowing full and well that he'll either find Marvin seriously needing his help or just in an amusing situation, and both of those are worth getting up for.

Marvin, as Jackie discovers, is balancing at least ten different plates of varying shapes and sizes with such intense focus that he doesn't even notice Jackie at first. He only realises he's got company when Jackie tries to take some of the dishes from him before he causes an accident.

Jackie takes the top few plates off the stack and leans closer to Marvin's face with a small grin. "You need any help?"

Marvin snatches the plates back and turns on his heel with surprising speed, and even more surprisingly he doesn't drop anything. "I'm fine, I've got this!" he shoots Jackie a reassuring grin before he starts sorting through the dishes, stubbornly without putting the original tower of them down anywhere.

Jackie watches with slight worry. Marvin doesn't pay him any mind.

He's got the plates sorted out quite quickly and without accident, and Jackie feels like he should applaud him for it, up until the moment Marvin turns and shoots him the widest grin, that little shit.

"Ha! Told ya!"

Jackie just chuckles to himself and gives him a fond shake of his head. "Sure you did," he agrees jokingly.

He moves to stand at the counter next to Marvin and starts putting the dishes away. He playfully knocks his hip against Marvin's, who reciprocates by shoving him so hard he almost falls. Marvin isn't sure if he should be laughing or apologising for a moment, but the next second Jackie jumps him shouting that this offence demands blood. Before he knows what's really happening Marvin is screeching and flailing, trying to escape Jackie's tickling.

"Okay, okay! I give up!" Marvin shouts, breathless from laughing. Jackie listens and his hands come to rest on Marvin's hips instead of running over his sides. Marvin tries to calm his residual giggling, but to no avail. "I hate you."

"Sure you do," Jackie grins and presses a kiss to his cheek. The smooth bastard. Marvin can't keep his giggles down again.

Jackie finally lets go of him to properly start putting away the clean dishes. Marvin runs a hand through his hair a few times to make it orderly again, then he joins to help him.

Though there's still a small smile playing with his lips, Jackie's thoughts circle back to earlier. He takes a mental note of what he's just learned – Marvin does not like accepting help.

Apparently neither does Jackie.

"No, really," Jackie waves his hands about, immersed in the story he’s telling. "There were four of them, all armed with knives and who knows what else. One of them almost got me. I barely got away!"

He stops when he notices that instead of his usual enthusiasm and excitement, Marvin seems so be very serious and deep in thought. Serious Marvin is never a good sign.

"Okay, what's up?" Jackie nudges him.

"You know I'm a magician and all that, right?" he starts, without any hesitation to his voice. "I could be useful to you out there. I could help you fight and escape easier. If you would let me come with you, y'know."

Jackie's expression darkens, but Marvin either doesn't notice at all or he just pretends he doesn't.

"I don't wanna take your title or anything! I'm totally okay with being just a sidekick!" Marvin shrugs and looks at Jackie with a hopeful grin. "We could fight crime together!"

"No."

"But...why?" Marvin looks confused. Jackie has never shut any of his ideas down so quickly before.

"Because I said so," Jackie crosses his arms. "I'm not going into a debate about this."

"But Jackie, I could help you! And it would be so much fun!" Marvin doesn't listen. Of course he doesn't listen. "Look, I can do fire magic pretty alright, illusions are easy, and healing magic isn't exactly my thing but I could try learning it for you!"

"I said no, Marvin. I'm not changing my mind about this."

"But-..."

"No," Jackie cuts in coldly. Before Marvin could say anything else he pushes himself up from the couch and makes for the door.

Marvin is dumbfounded. This is not the Jackie he knows. "Okay, but why?" he asks, maybe a little too loud.

Jackie stops in the doorway for a moment and shoots him a sharp look which undeniably means that he considers this conversation over. "Because I'm not willing to risk you getting hurt out there," and with that he turns and leaves. Marvin doesn't have the chance to respond, but then again he doesn't really know what to say anyway.

When Jackie wakes up in the middle of the night at first he has no idea why. He lies still, eyes trying to pierce the darkness around him. Then he hears it – heavy thuds and startled cries, coming from the direction of Marvin's room. Jackie jumps out of bed so quickly he has to hold onto the wall for a second as the world around him goes fuzzy.

He stumbles through the darkness as he makes his way to Marvin's room, not bothering with his glasses and thinking to himself that maybe they should put up some nightlights in the hallway. He knocks on Marvin's door for politeness's sake, but doesn't wait for longer than a few seconds before entering.

He doesn't know what he was expecting to see but it surely wasn't this. In the moonlight filtering through the thin curtains the image is more surreal than it should be considering Jackie's past experiences with living with a magician.

There's objects floating all around the room – books, drawing supplies, a few clothes, a couple of empty cups. They tremble in place and occasionally one or more of them give in to gravity and fall to the ground, then slowly float back up again. At least Jackie knows where the thuds have come from now.

But the worst part is when Jackie finally notices Marvin. He's nothing but a lump curled up on the bed, as small as he can get, shaking like a leaf. His blanket is thrown off, lying in a heap on the ground. As Jackie watches in startled silence, Marvin cries out again, flinching violently, and three or four of the floating objects plummet to the floor before rising again.

Jackie rushes to the bed dodging flying books so thick they could probably smash his skull in if they decided to fall the wrong moment. He drops to he knees next to the bed, grabbing Marvin by the shoulders. He's very clearly having a nightmare and Jackie needs to wake him from it somehow.

He has no idea how. He's never had to deal with Marvin having nightmares before. He doesn't know if they're a very rare occurrence or if Marvin is just very good at hiding that he has them, but this definitely has to be the first time they got this bad. Jackie has never woken up to something like this before.

"Come on, Marvin, wake up!" he shakes Marvin again, trying to be gentle.

Jackie doesn't know if it's the sudden physical contact or if he just got lucky with his timing and Marvin was about to wake up anyway, but Marvin’s eyes snap open and his body tenses, and all the floating objects fall down for the final time. He flinches violently at the noise and curls in on himself more, crying and trembling. Jackie's heart breaks seeing him like this.

"Hey, Marvin," Jackie whispers, careful not to startle him more.

Marvin peeks out from behind his hands, eyes wide in terror, but once they focus on Jackie's face he lets out another sob and reaches for him desperately. Jackie reacts immediately and pulls him into his arms as well as he can while still sitting beside the bed. He strokes the back of Marvin's head with his thumb as he buries his face into Jackie's neck and cries.

"It's okay," he whispers. Damn, he teases Marvin a lot for being shorter than him, but this time he actually feels so small. It scares Jackie a bit. "You're safe now, I'm here."

He can feel Marvin's nails digging into his back as he holds on for dear life. He ignores the little pricks of pain and doesn't stop whispering reassurance until Marvin's crying subsides. As soon as it does, Marvin pulls away. He's still shaking and Jackie watches him carefully.

Marvin falls onto his back and takes a couple shaky breaths. "Thanks," he mumbles, staring at the ceiling instead of anywhere near Jackie. "I'm good now."

"Are you sure?" Jackie asks. It's a genuine question, but he's not sure Marvin understands that. He reaches out to wipe Marvin's tears from his face. Marvin tenses under his touch for a moment before relaxing again. He's not wearing his mask, the scars running across his face are on full display and that always puts him on edge.

"Yeah. It's nothing."

Jackie hums. He doesn't want to argue. "I can stay here if you'd like," he offers. It's as much for his own peace of mind as it is for Marvin's, but he doesn't mention that. He'd feel much better sleeping next to Marvin tonight after an episode like this.

"No, it's fine," he considers trying for a reassuring smile but decides he wouldn't really be able to pull it off right now. Instead he just rolls over so that his back is turned to Jackie. As much as he loves Jackie he doesn't want him to see him in such condition.

Jackie sighs. Here they go again, Marvin and his stubbornness. Jackie won't argue, he hates to. He just hopes one day Marvin will come to him for help on his own.

"Alright," he nods and pushes himself to a stand. He picks up the discarded blanket and drapes it over Marvin's curled up form. For a moment he contemplates if he should, but he leans down and presses a kiss to Marvin's temple. "But do wake me up if you need anything."

Marvin only hums and shuts his eyes. Jackie knows he's not okay and he wishes Marvin would just admit it. It hurts to leave him when he's like this.

Jackie still does, not knowing what else to do. He shuts the door behind himself quietly and screws his eyes shut for a moment too. He just wants to help.

He doesn't hear any more noises from Marvin's room that night. For a while he believes it's a good sign, but his stomach drops ten feet when the next morning he sees Marvin exhausted and barely upright on his feet. He knows Marvin hasn't slept the whole night just to avoid his nightmares and his need for Jackie’s comfort.

Jackie sways as soon as he lets go of the doorframe. Hmm. Maybe he's lost more blood than he had originally thought. As he stumbles to the bathroom he prays Marvin is already asleep. The last thing he wants right now is to worry Marvin.

Okay, so maybe he looks like a hungry werewolf just took a tasty bit out of his shoulder. So what? He's a superhero fighting crime almost every day, heroes get hurt and then they move on and go back to their duties. That's how it works.

Marvin doesn't seem to understand that.

Jackie isn't mad at him, of course he isn't. He knows Marvin's worry comes from love and he loves Marvin back just as much. But whether Marvin worries or not, Jackie is still going to put himself out there, fight and inevitably get hurt every now and again. The only difference is that if he hides his wounds successfully then they won't hurt Marvin too. And so that's what he does, sneaking around the house when he comes home injured, pretending he's fine, promising Marvin to be more careful next time even though it's not up to him.

He gets lucky. Lucky in his book, at least.

Marvin seems to have already gone to sleep. It's rare that he doesn't stay up waiting for Jackie, but it happens. Jackie is glad he's not exhausting himself more than he already does by his magic.

The wound on his shoulder hurts like a bitch. Advil doesn't exactly work for this kind of stuff and so he bites down on a rag while he cleans it for himself. It would probably be much better if Marvin did it for him, but he doesn't want to disturb him. So he sits in the bathtub, getting blood all over himself, messing up the bandaging for the sixth time and grasping hopelessly after the gauze when it rolls away from him again. He manages.

He's almost done cleaning himself from blood when the bathroom door opens and Jackie freezes. Marvin comes stumbling in, looking incredibly sleepy. He's wearing his mask out of habit and comfort, and one of Jackie's flannels over his pyjamas. His hair is a mess, falling across his forehead because he can't be bothered to brush it back and Jackie oh so desperately wants to run his hands through it.

Marvin blinks confusedly at the light and at the sight of Jackie sitting in the tub before it clicks. His expression melts into a mix of hurt and worry, and Jackie curses his bad luck.

"What happened?" Marvin shuffles over, clumsy with sleep, and crouches next to the tub.

"Nothing serious," Jackie shrugs only with his intact shoulder. "I'm gonna be fine."

"You always say that."

Jackie's expression softens and he leans a little closer. "Would I ever lie to you?"

"No. Stop that," Marvin's eyebrows knit together and he looks dead serious.

"Stop what?" the innocence in Jackie's voice is genuine. He's not exactly sure what Marvin means this time.

"Sweet talking yourself out of this...situation you've got yourself into."

"Oh..." he looks away and tilts his head a little. "I promise I am going to be okay though. It's not as bad as it looks," he turns back towards Marvin and offers him a small smile.

"Why won't you just let me help..."

Jackie sighs. He looks genuinely sad. "Marvin, we've been over this."

Marvin's shoulders sag and he lowers his head. Jackie is still surprised by how quick his pride can drop into defeat.

"I just wish..." Marvin cuts himself off, not sure if he wants to continue. He screws his eyes shut and shakes his head, biting his lower lip. His eyes are dry and he's glad he's finally learning not to cry every time Jackie gets hurt. He'd want to, but he can't just guilt Jackie into staying every time instead of pursuing his dream as a hero.

Marvin leans his elbows onto the edge of the tub and stares blankly at the frayed bits of gauze lying at the bottom next to Jackie's bare legs. He feels numb.

"I can't just quit being a hero," Jackie shakes his head. He's torn. Again.

"I know."

Jackie takes one of Marvin's hands and presses his knuckles to his lips. "I'm sorry."

"I know," Marvin whispers again. He's sorry too.

They're at a standstill. And neither of them know how to proceed.

They're both having a bad day.

Marvin has been struggling with a spell for days and he's making no progress. It's infuriating and he's not exactly known to be the most patient person either. He's getting incredibly close to just lighting this whole thing on fire and giving up on it, then lighting a few more things on fire just to let out his frustration.

Jackie shuffles into the room looking uncharacteristically tired and frail. He's been having one of those days when just nothing works out. Everything seems to break under his touch, he can't get anything right, there's a lump in his throat and his hands won't stop shaking. Above everything he just really, really needs a hug.

He approaches Marvin tentatively, and the little voice in the back of his head won't stop telling him that if everything he tries goes wrong today, why wouldn't this too? He can see the tension in Marvin's shoulders and the smouldering fire behind his eyes, and his instinct to help and comfort overrides his need to be comforted.

"Hey, Marv," he tries for a soft, happy voice. "You need any help?"

Marvin turns around swiftly to glare at him. "I'm fine," he snarls pointedly, then whips back around so quickly he doesn't even see the hurt in Jackie's eyes.

Jackie all but runs to his room. Marvin didn't mean it, he's just frustrated, he didn't mean to hurt him, don't cry over something so stupid, don't cry, don't you dare cry...It's really hard not to cry. This day just had to deliver another low blow before he gave up on it, didn't it?

He sits curled up in the corner of his bed, knees drawn to his chest, hugging a pillow. He wishes it was Marvin in his arms instead. He needs comfort, desperately, the kind he can only really get from cuddling or goofing off with Marvin. He wishes he could just go back, pull Marvin up by his hand and ask him for a dance like he usually does when Marvin is having a bad day and Jackie wants to cheer him up.

But usually Marvin doesn't snap at him and usually Jackie doesn't have this bad of a day. But now he does and he doesn't know what to do about it. If only he could spend time with Marvin or find another way to pick himself up, but Marvin is busy and frustrated and Jackie doesn't want to bother him.

His mind wanders, but it always winds up with darker and darker thoughts. Jackie doesn't like them.

He's painfully aware of how stubborn Marvin is, and how stubborn he himself is, too. And he slowly starts to think it's going to tear them apart. He's scared Marvin will one day hurt himself when he just won't ever ask for help to deal with his own demons. And Marvin is scared Jackie will die of his own stubborn hero complex one day.

They can't keep doing this. Jackie finally admits that.

He kicks himself off the bed, discarding the pillow in the process. He needs to talk to Marvin about this, he doesn't care that Marvin is in a snappy mood and armed with powerful magic he could blow up in Jackie's face. They can't keep avoiding this.

He finds that Marvin had moved to his room to keep messing with whatever trick he's been struggling with recently. Jackie knocks on the door and Marvin cracks it open, just wide enough so that Jackie can see his face. He doesn't even say anything, just gives Jackie a pointed look that tells him to hurry up and get it over with.

"We need to talk," okay, that's a horrible start. Jackie anxiously brushes a hand through his hair. "We can't keep doing this, avoiding problems and never accepting help. It's not healthy," he sighs. He really hopes Marvin understands, but sometimes it's hard getting things through that thick skull of his.

Marvin lets out a sad chuckle. "It's just what we do, isn't it? Running headfirst into walls before thinking about going around," he shrugs, and before Jackie could ask what he means he shuts the door again.

Jackie is left standing there. He feels alone and lost. He has no idea what to make of Marvin's response, whether he's content with their current situation or if he's just too tired to try and change it for the better, or something entirely different even. Jackie wishes this was just a bad dream he could wake up from, or a fairy tale so that he could snap his fingers and make it all okay again.

Marvin is within arm's reach, just on the other side of the door, yet he feels miles away. It's not an entirely new feeling, Marvin does get distant from time to time, but this time it really scares Jackie. It puts an unwelcome ache in his bones, the fear that he's alone and doesn't know what to do.

He's scared. Both for himself and for Marvin.

That night Jackie hears it again. The thuds, the muffled cries – he knows, it settles painfully in his chest, that Marvin is having nightmares again. It's the third time just this week. He rolls over to his back and stares at the ceiling, or as much as he can see from it in the darkness at least. He wants so badly to get up and go over to Marvin's room to comfort him, but at the same time he isn't sure if he even should. That hurts to think about, too, how just a day ago Jackie would have rushed to check on Marvin and hold him until he calmed down regardless of Marvin's stubborn nature, and now he's here doubting if that would be the correct choice. It hurts.

He mentally kicks himself for even making that a dilemma. Marvin is stubborn and proud, but Jackie still loves him all the same. He can't just sit around while Marvin is hurting and needs his help.

He's just about to jump out of bed and make his way to Marvin's room, not even noticing the absence of noises, when his door opens. It's Marvin, standing in the doorway and holding onto the door for support, shaking and crying silently. Jackie almost trips over his own feet in his hurry to run to him and hug him. Marvin clings to him weakly as soon as he gets within his reach.

He half leads, half carries Marvin to the bed, because he's so shaky he can barely stand on his feet. Jackie keeps whispering to him. "It's okay, I'm here, you're okay, you're safe, it's okay..."

Marvin curls against him as soon as they sit down on the bed, hiding his face in Jackie’s shoulder as he cries. Jackie holds him close and rocks the both of them, back and forth, back and forth. He doesn’t stop talking for a moment, whispering reassurance over Marvin’s sobs and whimpers. After a while Marvin seems to calm down and he pushes himself away, breathing deep to calm himself. He doesn’t get far before crying takes him over again and he collapses back against Jackie. Jackie rocks him and mumbles over and over again that it’s okay, they’re okay, he’s got him and everything is going to be fine.

Marvin eventually runs out of tears and of breath. He remains holding onto Jackie, heaving tiredly and still shaking. An annoying voice at the back of Jackie’s mind nags at him, tells him that this is exactly what he’s been afraid would happen.

Except it isn’t. Because Marvin came to him on his own.

“Hey? Any better?” Jackie asks gently, burying his nose into Marvin’s hair tiredly. He can’t lie to himself, he’d love to just fall asleep like this. When he feels Marvin weakly hum and nod, he plants a kiss onto his head.

“You know, I...” Marvin speaks unexpectedly, his voice small and shaky. He shudders as he takes a deep breath. “I do need your help. I need you. And I do know that, I just...” he’s rambling, he knows he is, but it’s late and he’s tired and Jackie holding him like this just feels so nice, and he can’t stop himself. “I don’t wanna burden you when you already have...so much to deal with. And I don’t want to accidentally hurt you, with all my freaky nightmares and magic and all that,” his voice cracks and he does his best not to start crying again. He presses himself closer to Jackie. “I should be able to deal with all of this on my own, but...but I’m not.”

Jackie doesn’t know how to respond. There’s just too much to say. He squeezes Marvin for a moment, enjoying having him in his arms so much, and then he pushes him a little farther away. Marvin looks like a mess, a beautiful mess in Jackie’s eyes but a mess nonetheless. Jackie presses a kiss to his forehead, his bare forehead, no mask, just Marvin and his scars.

“We can talk about this in the morning, okay?” he asks softly. He knows he had been the one finding this more urgent than anything, but right now they’re both sleepy and not at all emotionally stable. They will need clear minds and daylight to sort this out.

Marvin agrees. They go to sleep together.

Jackie is slow to wake up. It’s the perfect start to the best kind of morning, feeling sunshine through his eyelids and a warm body curled next to his. He moves closer, pulling Marvin against himself more and he feels Marvin laugh.

He cracks his eyes open just for a moment, then presses his nose against Marvin’s neck and mumbles into his skin. “Morning, sunshine.”

He feels Marvin laugh again. This is perfect.

Marvin holds him tight and runs a hand up and down his spine, and in his sleepy, blissful daze Jackie wishes the moment would last forever.

He can feel Marvin sigh. “Why can’t everything just be this easy and perfect?”

And it’s over. That sentence successfully wakes Jackie up, making him remember last night and the day before, and all the things they have to sort out. Cuddling is great, but since Marvin just had to go and open a can of worms in the middle of it all Jackie cannot blissfully ignore the problem any longer.

Jackie sits up and stretches, his spine straightening with a satisfying pop. He can feel Marvin shifting too, but he doesn’t make any moves to get up himself.

“Alright,” Jackie leans back on his hands and looks down at Marvin, still stubbornly buried between the sheets but very much awake. “We seriously need to talk.”

Marvin only gives him a look at means “okay then, you start”.

And so Jackie starts. “We can’t keep doing this. You can’t go around fighting all your demons on your own. I just...I can’t watch as this happens to you. I want to help you. I love you, damn it,” he rubs his hands over his face, not noticing the shocked look Marvin gives him. It’s a little strange when he thinks about it, because sure they’ve been sharing a house for a good while now, they give each other occasional kisses and they cuddle and they don’t necessarily sleep in their own bed every single night but...love confessions? That was an entirely new thing to happen. But Jackie doesn’t even seem to notice. “We both need each others’ help, okay? We gotta learn that. It’s not easy, I know, but we have to.”

Marvin nods in understanding when Jackie looks towards him for approval. He knows Jackie must have had these thoughts for a long while now, so he lets him talk. Jackie needs to get this out of his system.

“Getting help doesn’t make you weak or any bit less or a burden,” Jackie continues. “You...you’re not a burden, okay? Don’t ever think you are. And you’re strong, really strong, I know that too, I just...” he runs a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath. “I want to help you, because you don’t have to do this alone. And...neither do I.”

When Jackie leans forward and props his chin up on his hands, Marvin knows he’s done. He looks so tired, too, and not the “just woken up and wanna cuddle” kind of tired.

Marvin lets himself think for a moment. What Jackie had said hit him pretty hard and now he needs to gather his thoughts. He knows Jackie doesn’t want to mess up and neither does he.

“Okay, first of all,” he groans as he sits up and his joints are forced back to work. He rolls his shoulders and moves to sit closer to Jackie, who watches him curiously. “I love you, too,” he leans forward and pulls Jackie into a kiss before he could lose his courage. Jackie makes a shocked little sound in the back of his throat before he all but melts and Marvin chuckles against his lips. A proper kiss. Now that’s another thing they haven’t done before. When they pull apart, Jackie is wearing a happy, dopey grin and Marvin playfully smacks his shoulder, laughing. “And secondly,” he lets his voice turn serious again. “You’re right. I need to learn to let you help me...and you need to let me help you, too. You can’t run around saving people and getting hurt all the time and then taking care of yourself all on your own. Let me do it. Let me help,” he smiles. “I’ll let you help me and you let me help you, huh? We can take care of each other.”

The grin is back on Jackie’s lips the moment Marvin finishes talking. “That sounds like a deal to me.”

Marvin laughs. “It is a deal then.”

They smile at each other for a moment like some sleepy, lovesick idiots. They’re goofing off and joking about it now, but they both know under it they’re being serious. It’s a completely serious agreement, a promise to try and do better, and they both want to keep it.

“Okay, can we seal the deal with breakfast though? I’m starving,” Jackie cocks his head to the side with a playful expression. “Pancakes?”

“Hmm, sure,” Marvin stretches again and stifles a yawn. “We have waffles in the cupboard though.”

Jackie’s eyes widen as if Marvin had just told him the way to some incredible treasure. “Waffles?”

“Yes, Jackieboy, we have waffles,” laughs Marvin. He thanks his lucky stars for blessing him with such a lovable idiot.

“I vote waffles then! I’m too lazy to make pancakes right now.”

“You lazy bum,” Marvin teases, poking him in the side. “Waffles it is then.”

“What are we waiting for then?” Jackie cheers with over-the-top enthusiasm. He’s being a big dork, but it’s making Marvin laugh so it’s definitely worth it. “Waffle time!”

Jackie tumbles off the bed, tripping over his own feet in his hurry, and Marvin watches him in amusement. He tugs Marvin up too, then makes to let go and get his glasses, but Marvin grabs his hand. Jackie stops, a little flustered and a bit more confused.

Marvin gives him a shy smile and pulls out a red rose from behind his back. An old magic trick, nothing spectacular as far as execution goes, but Marvin hopes the gesture is genuine and cheesy enough to make Jackie happy. From the way Jackie’s face turns almost as red as the rose, Marvin guesses it worked. He laughs, pressing a kiss to Jackie’s cheek that only deepens his blush.

Then he pulls away, grinning, and takes off towards the kitchen. “Move or I’m not leaving you any waffles, slowpoke!”

Jackie takes another fond look at the rose in his hand before he follows him, shouting jokingly about how he will move all of Marvin’s belongings to the highest shelves in the house if he does that.

They have a long way to go, they are both aware of that. Learning to ask for help is one of the hardest things to do, but they’re going to get there. One day they will, they just have to give it time. But the point is that they’re both willing to work on it, if anything because they love each other.

[daisy-chain-gardens]

Exchange Romance - Chapter 14

A/N:  I'm so sorry for such a slow update. School has been kicking my butt and not leaving me a lot of free time to write sadly. Hopefully there won't be such a huge delay next time but my schedule seems to change without much warning so no promises but I'll try my best. Please let me know what you think, it really does mean a lot to me :)

Word Count: 4,222

AO3 Link

It had only been three days since the fair but Jughead and Betty were already planning their next getaway. Well, Jughead was.

“Betts, I know you’re free this weekend so we’re going camping,” Jughead stated as he slid into the booth next to her, his arm automatically resting across her shoulders. “And before you say anything, I already asked Fred and he’s fine with it and I happen to know Hermione is out Saturday night.” Jughead punctuated his sentence by placing a quick kiss on her lips, her eyes wide in shock as she tried to process what had happened in the last ten seconds.

“Hey Jug, nice to see you too. Camping this weekend? Sounds perfect.” Betty kissed him back as he chuckled against her lips. “I can’t wait,” she said softly, dropping her head to his shoulder as he pulled her in closer. “You know Ron and Arch are gonna be here any minute and they’re probably gonna want to make plans for this weekend is Hermione’s away again,” Betty pointed out, shifting slightly to look up at him.

“Trust me, they’ll be fine with it. Archie’s the reason I found out about Hermione so I think they’ll be more than happy we’re not there,” Jughead said with a knowing grin. He dropped a kiss to her forehead as she settled back into his side. A handful of minutes later, Veronica and Archie sat down in the vinyl booth across from their friends. To no one’s surprise, they were definitely not complaining that their friends were going to be elsewhere for the weekend.

--------------------

Betty was up bright and early on Saturday morning, making her way over to the Andrews’ before Veronica had lifted her silk sleep mask. Jughead was carrying his bag out to the truck as she arrived at the house.

“Hey Betts, how’s it going?” Jughead asked as he tossed his bag into the bed of the truck and then made his way over to the bottom of the steps where Betty was waiting.

“Not too bad Juggie,” Betty replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulling him down to eye level. “But I get the feeling it’s about to go a whole lot better.” He leant forward slightly, closing the gap between them and feeling her smile against his lips. Jughead’s phone buzzed as they pulled apart. He reluctantly fished it out of his pocket, one hand still resting on Betty’s hip as the screen lit up.

Dad: Hey Jug, when would you be free to come over? There’s something I want to talk to you about

Jughead’s smile dropped and his face went pale. Betty moved her hands from around his neck to stroke his cheek, bringing him back to her.

“Juggie, what’s wrong?” Her voice was soft and quiet, a complete contrast to all of the thoughts racing around in his head.

“My dad just sent me a text asking me to come over when I’m free because he wants to talk to me.” Jughead’s voice was slightly hollow as he spoke. A confused expression came over Betty’s face as she tried to make sense of what he’d just told her.

“What’s wrong with that? He probably just misses you and wants to catch up,” Betty said in a tone she hoped was consoling. Judging from his unchanged expression she figured it hadn’t quite worked.

“Betts, you don’t get it. The last time I saw my Dad was back before Christmas when you met him. We don’t talk, we don’t ‘catch up’. I go and help him when he falls off the wagon and other than that we pretty much steer clear of each other. There’s something wrong.” Jughead raised his voice as his hands flailed in all directions.

“I’m sorry but I need to go and see him. We can leave a bit later but I need to sort this out first. I’ll call you when I’m done.” Jughead leant down to kiss her goodbye but Betty put her hands on his shoulders to stop him.

“You’re a complete idiot if you don’t think I’m coming with you.” She finally kissed him before walking over and sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, looking at him impatiently. He got the message and figured there was no point arguing, making his way behind the wheel and starting the car.

--------------------

Jughead some how managed to kill the engine and tumble out of his door at the same time as he flew towards the trailer. The car trip had been eerily quiet and Betty was starting to get worried, not just for FP but for Jughead as well. Jughead yanked the door open, his eyes frantically searching for any sign of his father. He froze as soon as he stepped onto the threshold and Betty came up behind him, stopping in her tracks at the sight in front of them. FP was putting the kettle on the stove, turning around at the sound of the door and smiling brightly when he saw the two of them.

“Jug, I didn’t expect you so soon. Is everything ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something,” FP chuckled as he leant back against the kitchen bench. Jughead was still standing frozen in the doorway and Betty put her hand on his lower back, encouraging him to move. He slowly took a step forward, his mouth still wide open as he tried to understand what was going on.

“Hi Betty, I didn’t see you there.” FP was still smiling, slightly confused as to why his son was looking so bewildered but otherwise in a good mood.

“It’s nice to see you again Mr. Jones. How are you?” Betty asked politely as she steered Jughead into one of the mismatched chairs that surrounded the small dining table. Jughead slowly started to break out of his shock and bring himself back to reality. Only this couldn’t possibly be reality, could it? FP had tidied up the trailer and it was almost spotless. Gone were the empty bottles of booze and dirty packets which seemed to be a permanent feature whenever Jug had come over previously. The bench was free of dirty dishes and there were even cushions on the overstuffed couch.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Jughead butted in before his father could respond to Betty’s question, sounding just as baffled as he felt. His eyes eventually stopped scanning the room and locked with his father’s. He looked … different. It was the kind of different that you couldn’t quite put a finger on but still knew was there.

“What do you mean what’s going on? A father’s not allowed to ask his son to come over for a visit?” FP asked, taking the whistling kettle off the stove and bringing three matching mugs over to the table.

“Of course they are but you don’t do that, we don’t do that. What’s going on Dad?” Jughead questioned once more, his voice now void of any emotion.

“Nothing’s going on Jug. I haven’t seen you in a while and I wanted to catch up,” FP said as he poured the hot water into the mugs, adding the tea bags before passing one to Betty and then Jughead. Jughead eyed the drink suspiciously before taking a long sip. Betty placed her hand on his elbow, trying to grab his attention discreetly. He looked at her as he set down his mug down, seeing the look in her eye and feeling himself calm down slightly. He took a deep breath before tearing his gaze away from Betty and looking at his Dad across the table.

“Alright. What’s been going on Dad?”

--------------------

Jughead finally managed to relax after his second cup of tea. FP filled them in on what was happening around the Southside and Jughead talked about school and the Andrews, Betty contributing every once in awhile. Jughead couldn’t help but think how strange this felt, how normal it felt. Never in a million years would he have pictured himself sitting in a clean trailer, laughing with his dad and his beautiful girlfriend over something that had happened to Cheryl in science class a few weeks earlier.

“Actually Jug, there is something I wanted to talk to you about,” FP started once they’d reached a lull in the conversation. Sure enough, nothing good lasts forever. “I was, um, I was wondering if you wanted to move back here, with me.” Jughead froze, his mug halfway to his lips. This couldn’t be happening, could it? Betty felt him tense up beside her and turned to look at him, seeing the fear in his eyes and wanting nothing more in that moment than to hold him tight and never let go. Jughead eventually snapped out of his trace and set his mug down calmly.

“Do you realise what you’re asking me?” His voice was cold and emotionless, scaring Betty a little as she reached for his hand. She squeezed it slightly but he didn’t respond. “God, are you really gonna do this again Dad?” Jughead stood up from his chair, slipping his hand out of Betty’s as he started pacing. “I haven’t talked to you five months and I come and visit you for what, two hours? And you think it’s ok to ask me that? Congratulations on getting sober Dad, really, I mean it. But how long is it gonna last this time? A month? A year?” The hurt was clear in FP’s eyes as he watched his son break in front of him, falling apart in the mismatched room that was as cluttered as the emotions which clouded his judgement.

“I can’t keep doing this Dad. As much as I want us to be one big happy family I can’t keep doing this. I can’t pretend that everything’s fine as you slowly lose yourself in a bottle once more. I can’t fend for myself and I should have to. I’m 17 for Christ’s sake. No one should have to go through the crap you put me through but I did, and I’m not going to give up a good thing now that you’ve finally gotten your act together for longer than a few minutes.” With that he was gone. Jughead yanked the door open and flew out the door, his tea abandoned on the table as Betty tried to comprehend what had just happened. Without so much as a word of goodbye she got up and rushed out the door after him, finding him crouched down beside the truck. His face was hidden in his hands but Betty could tell he was crying. She crouched down next to him and cautiously placed a hand on his back. He stood up abruptly, jerking away from her touch and leaning against the truck, his eyes trained on the ground.

“Jug, talk to me,” Betty demanded softly, carefully approaching him. She was inches away from him but he still wasn’t responding to her so she just stood in front of him, patiently waiting for a reply.

“I’m sorry Betts but I just … I can’t deal with this at the moment. We’ll go away another weekend or something but I can’t do this now. I just need some time ok?” Jughead mumbled.

“You can’t push me away Jug, not now. Please, just talk to me, let me in,” Betty pleaded, not caring how desperate she sounded. She couldn’t get through to him as he stood there, unmoved by the way her voice broke as tears started trickling down her cheeks. She realised that she wasn’t going to get anything else out of him and silently drew her phone out of her pocket, texting Veronica to send Smithers to pick her up. Jughead climbed into the driver's seat and pulled out of the trailer park without a word, leaving Betty to grow smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

--------------------

The apartment door opened quietly but Veronica was waiting for it, enveloping Betty in her arms as soon as she walked into the room. Betty collapsed into her and let Veronica drag her to the couch. She held her for a long while, smoothing her hair and making soothing sounds until Betty’s sobs eased into small hiccups and the rivers that had been steaming down her face finally dried up.

“B, what’s going on?” Veronica asked softly, lifting Betty up so they were face to face and wiping her cheeks dry.

“It’s Jughead. His dad asked him something and he completely lost it. I’ve never seen him like that before and I didn’t know what to do. He shut down and he wouldn’t let me in. He wouldn’t talk to me or listen to me or let me touch him and I … I’m really scared V. What if I’m losing him?” Betty asked timidly, her eyes wide with worry as Veronica kept stroking her cheeks.

“B, you are the smartest person I know but sometimes you’re a complete idiot,” Veronica said light heartedly. Betty looked at her confused, not understanding where she was going and not really in the mood to laugh. “There’s no way Jughead would ever let you go, especially not over something like his dad. He’s probably hurt and confused and overwhelmed at the moment so just give him some space and then go over there and talk to him. Don’t worry about it B. It’ll be ok.” Betty sent Veronica a small smile, feeling slightly comforted by her words but unable to ignore that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew that she was overreacting. She knew that her anxiety was playing tricks on her nothing into something all consuming but she couldn’t help but think that there had to be some truth behind it, no matter how little.

Betty feels her phone buzz in her pocket and she reaches for it immediately, feeling disappointed when it’s just her mother calling. She ignores the call and then looks through her other notifications, hoping to see Jughead’s name in there somewhere but just finding lots of missed calls from her mother. A small part of her wonders what would prompt her mum to call so many times but a much larger part of her can’t deal with her at the moment. Betty turns off her phone and then turns her attention back to Veronica.

“Thanks V. Sorry I’m such a mess,” Betty chuckles, reaching her arms out and pulling Veronica in for a quick hug. She brushed imaginary dirt off her jeans before standing up. “I think I’m gonna go for a walk to clear my head or something. I’ll be back later.”

“Stay safe and text me if you need anything.” Betty rolled her eyes playfully, putting on a plastic smile until she had her back turned. The door clicked shut behind her and it took all her strength not to collapse against it. She took a deep breath before dragged herself over to the elevator, eventually getting out of the building and setting off into Riverdale. Alone.

--------------------

Jughead slowly made his way into the house, his feet subconsciously dragging him up the stairs and into the bathroom. He pushed the door closed with a satisfying click, leaning against the sink and staring into the mirror. His eyes looked dark and tired, slightly puffy from the tears. His jaw was clamped shut and he could feel his teeth grinding but he didn’t care. He felt numb and a faint buzzing had taken over inside his head, all of his thoughts flying out the window. He didn’t even notice Archie coming into the small room until he felt his hand on his shoulder. He jumped in surprise, turning to look at Archie with wide eyes.

“Woah, dude, it’s ok. It’s just me,” Archie said slowly, holding his hands up as though he’d been caught by the police. Jughead let out a deep breath and leant back against the sink, his eyes staying closed. “What’s going on Jug?”

“It’s my dad,” Jughead divulged after a long silence. “He asked me to move back in with him.” Archie winced audibly, now understanding Jughead’s current state. “Yeah,” Jughead chuckled. “That pretty much sums it up.”

Archie’s phone chimed and he turned on the screen, seeing a message from Ronnie. After a while, Jughead took another deep breath and opened his eyes, seeing Archie look down at his phone with a conflicted expression on his face.

“Arch, what’s going on?” Jughead asked, sounding indifferent.

“Um, it’s Ron. She said Betty’s kind of upset.” Archie said cautiously, not sure if that was the best thing for Jughead to hear but also knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret. Jughead closed his eyes once more and brought his hands up to his face, rubbing his temples.

“Is she ok?” His voice sounded weak this time, the emotion overwhelming him as the numbness started to fade.

“I don’t know, Ronnie didn’t say. What happened to her?” Archie questioned but Jughead was already out the door.

--------------------

“Ron, where is she?” Jughead asked frantically as soon as Veronica had opened the apartment door. She looked slightly taken aback by his bluntness but recovered quickly.

“She left about ten minutes ago to go for a walk. She didn’t tell me where she was going but she said she’d be back later,” Ronnie said sympathetically. Jughead stepped back and took a deep breath, trying not to lose it. Betty was upset and somewhere in Riverdale all alone. And it was all because of him.

“Jug, calm down.”

“Saying that isn’t exactly helping Ron but thanks for the advice,” Jughead said dryly.

“I know but I don’t exactly know how to deal with you when you’re like this and that was my best guess. No need to attack me for trying to be nice,” Ronnie replied pointedly.

“Sorry Ron I’m just, I’m just worried about Betts. Was she ok, when you saw her before?” Ronnie paused for a moment before answering but that was all that Jughead needed. “Crap. this day just keeps getting worse,” He mumbled to himself as he walked back to the elevator and then into the truck, setting off around Riverdale.

--------------------

Jughead drove around for about half an hour, checking all of the usual and obvious spots before he finally realised where she was. He drove over to Sweetwater river and parked haphazardly, rushing out of the car and down to their spot. He found her standing in the shallows of the water, her shoes and socks lay abandoned on the riverbank as the cool water swirled around her legs. She seemed lost in thought as she absent-mindedly tossed pebbles into the current, not paying attention as he walked over to her.

“Betts?” Jughead said as he got close to her. She turned around and came face to face with him, stepping out of the water before promptly bursting into tears. “Betts, it’s ok. I’m here, I’m here,” Jughead reassured her as he hugged her fiercely. She cried into his chest and held him tight, completely overcome with emotion.

“I thought I’d lost you,” she says quietly once their sobs have subsided. Her voice almost gets carried away on the soft breeze but he manages to hold onto it just enough to get what she’s really saying. I thought you were going to leave me.

Jughead places a long kiss on the top of her head. “You’ll never lose me Betts.” Those five simple words hovered over both of them and caused Betty to cry once more, knowing that they had an expiration date that was fast approaching.

“I love you Jug, but you can’t shut me out, no matter how painful it is,” Betty whispered, her throat dry and her voice hoarse.

“I know that, I do. But sometimes my mind likes to play tricks on me and it’s easier to shut everyone out than it is to let them in,” Jughead confessed ashamedly as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

“Trust me, I know all about that. You had a perfectly valid reason for freaking out this morning but for some reason my anxiety decided to twist it all around and make it seem like you were breaking up with me,” Betty said with a sigh, now realising how ridiculous it really was. Jughead shifted so his forehead leaned against hers.

“This is true love, you think this happens every day?” Betty smiled brightly and leant forward slightly, pressing her lips against his. The kiss was soft, apologetic, instantly making up for a disastrous day.

“I will never love again,” she replied happily, kissing him once more. They held onto each other for a moment longer, neither of them really wanting to leave.

“Do you want me to take you home?” Jughead asked gently, his arms still wrapped around her. Betty shook her head.

“I want to stay here for a while longer,” she replied, pulling away from him and taking his hand. She walked back into the water, moving easily over the rocks with her bare feet.

“How are you doing that?” He asked after a few shaky steps of his own after he’d slipped out of his own shoes.

“Doing what?” She asked obliviously, peeling off her clothes and throwing them back onto the dry rocks. Once she was in her bra and underwear she waded into the cool water, diving gracefully under the swirling currents and resurfacing with a laugh.

“How do you walk in bare feet like that? My feet are killing me,” Jughead exclaimed as he followed suit. “And how are you willingly swimming in the river? It’s still freezing,” he complained before diving under himself and resurfacing next to her. Betty laughed once more and floated on her back, looking up at the cloudless sky which seemed to stretch out endlessly.

“You forget that I’m from Wellington, this is practically boiling,” Betty replied calmly, closing her eyes for a moment. Jughead watched her for a moment, revelling in how peaceful she looked surrounded by nature. He quickly decided she’d had enough peace and splashed her, causing her to splutter as she tried to retaliate, him laughing as he swam away. Betty chased after him and caught up pretty quickly. Despite his height Jughead wasn’t exactly the most coordinated swimmer and Betty was swimming circles around him in no time.

The stayed in the water until the sun started to set and their teeth started to chattered. Both of them took their time as they put their clothes on, their wet skin immediately soaking through the fabric, rendering it practically useless. They made their way into Jughead’s truck and sat in silence for a moment.

“Are you ok Juggie?” Betty asked softly, turning to face him. He was feeling amazing after their impromptu swim but he knew that wasn’t what she was talking about.

“I will be. Soon, I hope, because this is pretty crap,” Jughead confessed, taking her hand in his, causing her to send him a small smile.

“What are you going to do about your dad?”

“I don’t know. I think I need to figure that out soon because knowing him, after my little freak out he’s probably gonna go off the rails.” Betty looked down at their hands, her fingers tracing his as she listened to him talk. “I’m sorry I ruined our weekend,” Jughead said quietly. Betty looked back up at him and kissed him gently.

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Betty reassured him. This time it was his turn to kiss her, slowly, teasingly, before pulling away and starting the engine. Betty leant into his shoulder and didn’t move the whole way home.

--------------------

Jughead didn’t even bother asking because he knew what her answer would be. It had become another one of their little routines, Jughead walking Betty to her room, even though it was totally unnecessary it was now just something they did. They strolled into the apartment and straight into Betty’s bedroom. Jughead looked through her bookshelf for the millionth time while Betty went off in search of some towels. She returned moments later and tossed one at Jughead, keeping one for herself as she sifted through her drawers in search of her pyjamas.

They kept up some random small talk as she got change, Betty jumping into her bed as soon as she was done.

“Any suggestions?” Jughead asked her, still standing by her bookshelf.

“Surprise me,” she replied with a cheeky grin, knowing he hated choosing. He picked a book at random and then sat on the wooden chair beside her bed, all ready to start reading when she interrupted him.

“Juggie, you’re too far away,” she whined, patting the space next to her.

“But I’m all wet,” Jughead pointed out.

“I don’t care, get your butt over here,” Betty demanded, lifting the covers up for him. He rolled his eyes playfully before slipping in beside her, letting her find a comfortable position before reading the first line.

She fell asleep halfway through the third chapter and Jughead carefully moved her onto her pillow, slipping a note into her book in lieu of a bookmark and then heading home.

When two people love each other, they come together - WHAM - like two taxis on Broadway.