#like finding an old block of cheese in the back of the fridge you forgot about and its gotten super hard and chewy

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

[drpeppertummy]

Been A While. new (to yall) ocs. middle aged men be upon ye

[hunger, stuffing]

Leon stood before the break room fridge, trying to find his lunch, when he heard the door open. It was out of his sight, but he recognized the click of Shel's cane on the floor. Then, of course, as his friend spotted him:

"Hey, Leon the Lion!"

"Get outta here, Shelly," Leon replied, but there was nothing but friendliness behind the words.

"Hey, Leon, you eat yet?" Shel walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder. Leon turned and opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by his stomach rumbling loudly. He looked up at his friend in wide-eyed surprise, blushing. Shel laughed and patted his belly.

"Sounds like no! Come on, let's go to the bagel joint, I got a killer sandwich there last week and I been dyin' to go back," said Shel.

"I shouldn't, I brought lunch from home."

"Like hell you did! I've seen the way you eat. What'd you bring, week-old pizza or another crappy TV dinner? Come on, Leon, you gotta get some real food in you!" Leon looked away sheepishly, and his stomach growled again.

"Hey, see? Your stomach agrees with me! 'Oh, how I wish I could have a sandwich with vegetables on it,'" said Shel in a small, high voice, gently teasing at Leon's tummy with one finger as he spoke for it.

"Oh, please," Leon grinned, swatting Shel's hand away. "Yeah, alright, I'm in. You alright to walk?"

"Yeah, it's right down the block."

The two friends made their way to the little restaurant, which sold not only bagels and sandwiches made out of them but a variety of wraps, paninis, and hoagies as well. Shel ordered the sandwich he'd been dreaming about all week--a turkey avocado BLT that he'd claimed was the best he'd ever had--and Leon, after much hemming and hawing, decided on a grilled veggie panini with mozzarella. He'd almost ordered a hot ham and cheese, but Shel's vegetable comment from earlier had swayed him. It was true, after all; his diet was a mess, and he didn't eat nearly enough green stuff. A hot meal was a rare occasion for him as well. He had a tendency to eat leftovers straight out of the fridge. Sometimes he would eat things that had to be heated up, but if he found while eating that he hadn't microwaved it long enough, he rarely bothered to put it back in. Shel, a fine cook himself, hated to see his awful eating habits, and tried whenever possible to get some decent food into his friend's poor mistreated stomach.

"You wanna eat here or bring it back?" Shel asked.

"Shelly, I am so sick to death of being in that fuckin' building."

"Here it is, then," he laughed, patting Leon on the back. They sat at a small table by the window, watching the people go by. Leon's belly growled loudly as he unwrapped his sandwich.

"Jeez, you're hungry," remarked Shel. "Do you even eat anymore?"

"I forgot breakfast," Leon admitted.

"For Christ's sakes, Leon! You gotta get yourself together, buddy!"

"Well, this is a start," said Leon, holding up the panini. The first bite was the best thing he'd tasted in weeks. It was hot and melty, and the vegetables were cooked but still crisp. For a moment his face was reminiscent of somebody experiencing an orgasm, and Shel couldn't help but laugh. Leon grinned back at him and continued eating. The warm sandwich felt heavenly in his empty stomach. Happily, the two of them ate their lunch.

Leon's sandwich was big, and it filled him up quickly, along with the fries and the bottle of juice that came with it. He could've taken half of it home and still been satisfied. He knew it would never be as good as it was right now, though, and despite his growing fullness, he finished the whole thing. Finishing his last bite, he leaned back in his seat with a soft sigh. His belly felt tight and stuffed, but he also felt warm and content.

"Big sandwich, huh?" Shel chuckled, eyeing his friend's newly rounded tummy. Leon looked up at him, confused, then glanced down to see his belly bulging out against his belt. He blushed, embarrassed.

"Big sandwich," he agreed. He rested a hand on his full belly, watching the world pass by outside the window as Shel finished his own sandwich. He hadn't realized how quickly he'd been eating--he'd been too absorbed in the euphoria of the delicious sandwich for any kind of awareness--but he supposed he must've wolfed his lunch down like a starving animal if he'd finished that much sooner than Shel. Then again, Shel had a tendency to do things slowly, and that included eating. A pocket of air bubbled up in Leon's stomach, and he brought a hand to his mouth to stifle a burp.

Finally, Shel finished his lunch, and the two cleaned up their table and began the short trek back to work. Shel taking his time had given Leon a moment to digest, but his stomach felt especially stuffed now that he was up and moving again. He placed a hand on his belly as they walked. It was normally very soft, but he was surprised now to find it firm and tight--the upper half, at least; he was confident that the chubby pouch under his belly button was still squishy. His stomach area, however, was not, and he'd be glad to sit down again and give it some more time to settle.

"Oh, did you see Donna brought cupcakes?"

"Huh?" Leon looked up.

"By the coffee maker, she left 'em. You oughtta have one, she's gonna be pissed if nobody eats 'em."

"What, are they those weird oat things she makes?"

"Yeah," said Shel. Leon grimaced.

"Well, even if I wanted to have one, which I don't, I don't think I could," he said.

"Hey, you better not let her see that belly then, she'll probably think you're pregnant again. Eating for two, she's gonna say. Make you eat twice as many."

"Shut up, Shelly!"

[cyarikashakira]

Chimichangas

A/N: This is my first time writing a fanfic. I am super nervous but I have an overabundance of love for Joaquin Torres so I had to put it somewhere. I'm doing @caplanbuckybarnes's summer writing challenge.

Summary: Falling in love at the supermarket wasn’t on your to-do list today, yet here you were snatching looks at a cute stranger.

Warnings: (I don't know if these count as warnings) GN!Reader, No Y/N, Joaquin Torres is an absolute cutie pie!

‘They were gone. All of them.’ I thought as I rummaged through the wrongfully stocked freezer. A sniffle escaped, then two, which was followed by a full on wail.

“Who the hell put the Steak and Cheese chimichangas where the Chicken and Cheese chimichangas goes!?”

I slammed the freezer door and rested my head on it and placed my hand on the cold glass.

Casual shoppers and workers tiptoed around me while I grumbled to myself in annoyance. I just wanted my comfort food.

A full on breakdown in the middle of a grocery store and I gave no fucks. A tap on my shoulder and I whirled around ready to light up the poor soul who decided to bother me.

“What do you want?” I wiped the tears from my face with a growl. Giant innocent eyes looked at me in shock as I grimaced at him.

“Hi - um, can I help you?” He bravely pointed at his name tag which said ‘Joaquin’ with the Walmart name above

“Sure~ can you just point me towards the person who decided to sleep on the job and stock the wrong chimichangas in the wrong spot? I just wanna have a little chat.” I said with a fake smile on my face.

“Th-that would be me.” He gulped and pointed over his shoulder towards the stocking material behind him.

You peeked around him and just glared.

“So it was you. You have been declared as my arch nemesis. Where are the chicken and cheese chimichangas?”

“They are out of stock. But we can call you when they are back in stock.”

The air suddenly became tense.

“...Believe it or not, they already have my number because I buy them so often. It is Tuesday and it’s 8:30. They are always stocked at 8pm on Tuesday.” I looked down at my watch to double check the time. I crossed my arms ready to take my frustrations out on the worker.

“We are going to have to call some people.” He said plainly.

“What?” My head tilted to the side in confusion.

“For this chimichanga shortage. We need to call some people.” His smile got bigger as he continued talking.

“Chimi..changa shortage? If they are going to fix my day then you better call them.”

“I’m kidding..”

“Oh.” I let out a nervous laugh and made a face.

He ran a hand through his fluffy black curls and huffed. I took a look at his face, he was nervous.

“...Are you new?” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“To the stock things department, yes. This grocery store, no. I’m so sorry that I stocked it wrong but thank you for pointing it out for me.”

I immediately felt bad because I realized that I was being a dick over some food.

“I’m so sorry. I’m just having a bad day. It was just a complete shit show. My cat got sick, my car is on it’s last leg and my boss is on my ass and I ran out of chimichangas and forgot to restock my fridge so here I am today - “

I rambled on and on.

“Hey, it’s okay. We all have bad days. I thought this was about to be a bad day for me also because you were upset at me.”

“I’m sorry again. I’ll live without them. I should go home before I embarrass myself even more.”

I lowered my head now feeling shy and more aware of my surroundings.

“Before you go, I think I have something that will make your day a little better. Follow me.” He turned swiftly and started walking away.

“Uh, no. I’ve burdened you enough today, sir.”

He stopped and turned to face me again. A smile formed on his face. Were those dimples always there?

“Come on. I’m just taking you to a person who can solve your problems.”

“Oh o-okay.”

I followed behind Joaquin towards the front of the grocery store. He stopped in front of the deli section and tapped a hand on the counter to alert the workers.

“Hey~ is Margie in today?” He said sweetly to the teenage girl who could barely see over the huge counter.

“Yeah Curly, she’s in the back. Let me go get her.” She ran to the back and pushed the double doors with force.

I looked at Joaquin with furrowed brows and pursed lips.

“Why do they call you Curly?” A small smirk appeared on my face. He blushed and his hand went to his hair once again.

“My hair. It is how everyone finds me and the fact that I’m tall. Everyone has a nickname here. We are as much a family as capitalism will allow us to be. Margie is just...wait until you see her.”

The shock of blue hair caught my peripheral and I expected to see a teenager. No. A tall lady who was on enough to be my mama strolled up to the counter with a huge smile on her face.

“What can I do for ya, Curly Quin?” Her accent drawled as she leaned against the display case.

“We have a situation. Apparently, I suck at my job and a certain someone had an entire meltdown in the middle of the freezer aisle because they are having a bad day like it was my fault. I’m pretty sure they want to get me fired but I’m too cute for that, right? So we need a solution to their chimichanga problem.” He sarcastically and over exaggeratedly explained the situation to Margie and his smile got wider as he went on.

“So Grilled Cheese over here wants a chimichanga? How is that my problem?” Margie planted her eyes on me and I felt like I swallowed my heart.

For an old lady, her look was intense.

“I need the goods. The family secret, the whole enchilada, you get where I’m going with this. I’ll finally bring you back your book that you let me borrow when I first started working here.” Joaquin slapped on the puppy dog eyes and Margie rolled hers.

“I’ll believe it when I see it. That was a year ago. I’m never getting that book back and you know it. I’ll be back for you and Meltdown over here, assuming that is you.” She gave a small smile and moved to go towards the back doors. “Give me a sec.”

As soon as she disappeared, I face palmed and groaned.

“You guys are going to make fun of me forever, aren’t you?” I looked at him in despair.

“Oh yeah, you know it. Welcome to making history.” He smiled towards me, flashing a dimple.

“Is there a way that I can make everyone forget about this? I will pay you guys off. I promise. Just forget everything that happened here today.” I waved my hands in circular motions like I was casting a spell, earning odd looks from everyone around.

He laughed for the first time that night.

“It’s not every day a grown up has a total fit like a toddler. This has made my day and probably my whole week.”

I groaned again and stomped my foot in annoyance, ready to snap at him.

The back doors flew open and a brown paper bag was thrown in my direction. Joaquin and I fumbled to catch it at the same time and we butted heads.

“Good thing you knocked some sense into each other so I didn’t have to. Get out of here kids, your chimichanga problem is solved.” Margie smiled.

I opened the steaming paper bag and started crying.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” I started bouncing up and down with joy. I wrapped my arms around Joaquin and pulled him into a tight hug, crying on his shirt.

“No problem, I can’t breathe, please..let..go..” He said dramatically.

I immediately let go and cleaned my face putting on a huge smile. He took a deep breath and put his hand on his chest.

“You guys are the best and I am so sorry for taking my frustrations out on you. I really hope you can forgive me at some point.”

“Already forgiven. I just always want to do something positive with my day and make others smile. It’s all in a day’s work.”

“I don’t know how to thank you guys enough for the chimichangas.” I held the bag close to my heart, grinning widely.

“Go home and eat them. That’s thanks enough.” Margie deadpanned.

Oh. She was still there.

“Yes ma’am. Have a good night. Thank you for everything!” I waved goodbye to her.

“Don’t mention it kid.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow Margie!” He said to her.

She waved us off and we were on our way to the front doors of the store. We stopped just before the entrance, triggering the doors to automatically open. We were blocking the exit and people started going around us.

“I guess this is goodbye? Until I come in to restock my freezer again.” I said glumly, holding out my hand towards him to shake his hand.

“I guess so.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, placing it in my hand.

Question marks filled my brain as I looked down at his phone in my hand. He shyly placed his hand on the back of his neck.

“I told you whenever we restocked, I would give you a call so.. I would need your number for that.”

“Oh. But they already have my numb- Oh. Okay. Oh. Oh um, of course uh..”

I stuck my tongue out in concentration as I typed my name and number into his phone and handed it back to him.

“There you go. I uh, look forward to your call for whenever the chimichangas are back in stock.”

“Of course. I’m just doing my job. If they aren’t in stock and I’m off of work, can I still call you?”

My brain short circuited and I blinked rapidly at him. He was smooth. Toooo smooth. I studied his face for a joke.

“You aren’t joking with me, are you?” I put my hands on my hips.

“Nope, not one bit. Are you okay?” He questioned. I was sure smoke was coming out of my ears at this point.

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Just tired, it’s been a long day. I should get going.” I looked off towards the cars in the parking lot.

“It was nice to meet you. I’m sorry about your chimichangas and for my poor stocking skills.” He apologized sincerely.

“It was nice to meet you too, Joaquin. Thank you for everything. Am I allowed to hug you again?”

His brown eyes lit up and he furiously nodded. I wrapped my arms around him and he did the same to me. We let go as quickly as we started.

“I’ll see you around, Grilled Cheese.” He gave a two finger wave towards me and started walking backwards.

“Likewise, Joaquin Phoenix.” I started walking in the other direction.

“Haha. So original! It’s actually Falcon!” He shouted.

“What?” I stopped and turned back towards him but he was already gone.

I shrugged and walked towards my car. I opened the door and climbed inside, tossed the bag of chimichangas in the passenger seat and rested my head on the steering wheel. I released a huge sigh while lifting my head, started my car and began driving home. The street lights blurred past me on my drive home. My body was on autopilot as I opened the door, kicked my shoes off and sat on the couch next to my roommate with my bag of chimichangas.

I took a bite and immediately frowned.

‘Damn it. Steak and Cheese strikes again.’ I started laughing and shaking my head, dropping the chimichanga back in the bag.

“What is your problem?” My roommate said staring at the tv, not concerned to turn their head towards my hysterics.

“Nothing. I just had a meltdown in a freezer aisle and I think I fell in love with a stocker who is bad at his job.” I leaned back against the cushion of the couch and sighed dreamily.

“....no offense but you aren’t allowed to go to the store unsupervised ever again. You got issues...”

My phone began to ring and I just stared at the unknown number before answering.

“H-hello?” I stuttered.

“You will never guess what we just got in stock.” A light voice filled with laughter said over the phone. A huge smile formed on my face and I was booking it out of the door and yelled a quick bye to my roommate.

“I’m on my way.”

I hope you guys enjoyed this. I tried my best :)

[fluffykitty1999-blog]

Burned Chapter 18

"Dinner!" Ed happily dished up two plates on home made mac n' cheese that'd been left in the fridge for them, adding a glass of chocolate milk to Elicia's side of the table before he was chowing down on his own dinner.

Alphonse, as always, didn't eat, but enjoyed watching the two. It'd been fun, watching Elicia. As the night went on she got more tired and silly, and easier to play with. At the moment, her face was covered in mac and cheese.

"After dinner, can we play a board game, big brother?"

"Sure, but you'll need to brush your teeth and get ready for bed first." Ed eyed the clock. It was a little after 8, bedtime was at 9. He was sure it was normally earlier, but he'd spoil the kid, just this once.

"Yay!" Elicia reached for her glass of chocolate milk, only to spill it all over herself and the table.

She sat there, lip trembling and eyes watering, as Al drove for a towel.

"Don't cry! It's okay. Ed will get you another glass."

Ed got up and headed to the fridge, looking annoyed. "Darn. That was the last of it."

A few tears slipped down Elicia's cheeks.

"But don't worry! Al can go get us some more!" Ed fished around in his pants pocket, pulling out a few bills.

"There's a little shop that's open late a few blocks form here. Al can go get the chocolate milk and you finish your dinner and get your PJs on, and he'll be back with some before bed. Is that okay?"

Elicia nodded, and Ed relaxed, crisis averted, before handing the money over to Alphonse.

"Thanks, Al."

"No problem. Make sure you get her cleaned up before Mrs. Hughes comes home." Al said, nodding to Elicia, who was still covered in mac and cheese, as he headed for the door.

"Alright. Now that that disaster is averted, let's finish up dinner so we can get changed into our PJs!"

Elicia finished dinner without complaint, and Ed was able to coax her into her Pjs- a tiny t-shirt and pants covered in teddy bears that was adorable.

He had to chase her around upstairs and catch her to wipe all the mac and cheese off her face, though. Still, it was hard to be mad when she kept laughing like she did. It was cute.

"Now that that's done, how 'bout you brush your teeth?"

"But I can't! Big brother is coming back with chocolate milk soon!" Elicia protested. "I wanna play a board game!"

Ed frowned. He thought he'd heard something, but now all he heard was silence. He turned his attention back to Elicia.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Okay- go to the playroom and pick what you want to play."

Elicia went running off, coming back a moment later with a box that said "Chutes and Ladders" and setting it down beside her bed, looking excited.

Outside the bedroom window, there was the sound of glass shattering in the street below.

Elicia heard it too and looked up, surprised. "What was that?"

"Probably just a stray cat. We'd better hope Alphonse doesn't find it, or he might give it all your chocolate milk." Ed ran through everything in his head- he knew Al had locked the door behind him, and he didn't hear anything downstairs.

With that in mind, he settled down cross-legged on the floor of Elicia's bedroom and cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Now- prepare to be a sore loser! I'm the king of chutes and ladders!"

"Nu-uh!"

In the street below, a sleek black car parked further up the road. A black hooded man got out, lugging with him two large jugs of gasoline and a clanking backpack.

He'd intended to win the election and make Trevors the fall guy. He'd paid off false witnesses and everything. What better way to make sure he was never caught than to frame the wrong man- a political rival, at that- and then slash the funding to the police budget?

But things hadn't worked out as planned. And so Xavier was following his heart. It's what he'd done when he'd grown bored of politics and started butchering those women weeks ago.

He'd grown tired of the rich life. There was nothing more fun than killing- his wife had long since grown boring. Even she couldn't match the erotic pleasure he got from watching the light leave a woman's eyes.

Still, he'd lost the election, and if the calls he kept getting from Lieutenant Hughes were any indication, the walls were closing in. There was nothing better to do than go out with a bang.

He tried the front door of the Hughes' residence to find it locked. Oh well. He went about emptying half his first tank of gasoline on the front porch and struck a match, watching it all light up with glee.

This time, he wouldn't get the pleasure of watching his victims struggle and die. But maybe he'd be lucky enough to smell their flesh cooking- his mouth watered at the thought, and he grew excited, dashing around the back of the home and coating the small back deck in gasoline, lighting that up as well.

He dumped the remainder of the gasoline on the siding of either side of the home, striking matches and setting it aflame with glee.

He was going to jail for life anyways. Might as well take as many lives as he could before he got there. That detective might've caught him- but he certainly wouldn't have a home or family to come home to after this. The thought of the man's ruined life and his panicking wife and child burning filled him with exuberance.

He walked around to the front of the house to admire his handiwork.

The front porch and front of the house were beginning to be devoured in flames. The back porch was well underway as well, and both sides were beginning to catch, the siding smelling like melting plastic as the studs beneath caught and went up in flames...

It was a macabre lullaby- he could feel the heat from the flames, even ten feet back, and he smiled, listening to the cracking and popping of the flames. The second floor hadn't even started to go yet. It was brilliant.

"I get to go up the ladder!" Elicia cheered, looking excited.

"Yeah, well, I'll get you soon." Ed said morosely, rolling the dice hopefully. He tugged on the collar of his shirt- it sure had gotten warm in the house. Then again, maybe he was just frustrated. After all, he was getting beaten at chutes and ladders by a five year old.

He wondered when Al would be back with that chocolate milk.

It wasn't burning fast enough. At this rate, he'd have to wait around all night. Xavier stood on the front lawn, dropping his backpack and hearing glass rattle around. He'd prepared his maltov cocktails just for this. Glass bottles filled with kerosene, with rags stuffed in the top.

He lit the first rag, stepping back and hurling the bottle at an upstairs window- it shattered, and the formerly dark inside of the room lit up in a gorgeous red as the kerosene of the broken bottle spattered on the floor, and the bed linens and curtains caught fire.

The sound of glass shattering pulled both Ed and Elicia from their game.

"What was that?" Elicia asked, looking surprised.

"I don't know. It sounded like it came from the bedroom down the hall- Elicia, stay here." Ed said seriously, hurrying down the hall. His every sense was alert. Had the serial killer climbed on top of the roof overhanging the porch and tried to break in a window? If so, they were going to be met by a world of pain...

He yanked open the bedroom door, ready to go toe to toe with a killer, only to be met with a wall of flame.

He froze.

Skin. Burning skin. Flesh on fire, melting to the fabric of his clothes...

He was hallucinating. He had to be. He could feel his heart start to hammer in his chest, his mouth going dry. His breath hitched- he forced himself to take a deep breath, only to be met with heat and smoke in return.

No. This was real.

Pain. Pain engulfing his entire being- it wouldn't stop!

"Big brother!? What's going on?" Elicia called from down the hall, still blissfully ignorant.

It was her voice that pulled Ed back from the brink of his panic attack. She needed him- he forced himself to suck in deep breaths, to still the rattling of his mind. This was real, they were in danger, and he needed to get them out.

It was that purpose that caused him to slam the door on the burning room, hopefully slowing down the flames, and sprint back to the bedroom where he'd been playing chutes and ladders.

"Elicia! We need to get out..."

He skidded into the room only to see a black object flying at the window- right towards Elicia.

He was running on instinct now, and he dove forwards, tackling her and rolling- he heard glass shatter, and came to a tumbling rest in front of Elicia's closet. Following the first shatter, there was a second- Ed looked up to see a puddle of liquid catching fire in the center of the room, right on top of their game of chutes and ladders, and his eyes widened.

A maltov cocktail... someone is trying to kill us!

"What's going on? Big brother- Hhh." he heard Elicia's breath catch in her throat, and without thinking, he hefted her up and sprinted out of the room as the puddle of liquid- kerosene, from the smell of it- caught fire. He slammed the bedroom door behind him, stumbling into the hallway with Elicia in his arms, shaking and frightened, clinging to him.

Shit- what am I supposed to do!?

Roy was silent as he gunned the engine of his car down the streets of Central. Hughes was twitching enough to drive anyone mad in the passenger seat, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly and grinding his teeth together and just trying to breathe...

Gracia sat in the backseat of the car, lips pressed firmly together with a white-knuckle grip on her purse. They'd all wanted to call and warn Ed ahead of time, but there simply hadn't been time. Xavier might have already arrived, and a call would've done nothing to help them if Xavier, deranged as he was, was already there and Ed was fighting for his life.

Roy slammed the breaks and made another tight corner, burning rubber on his tires and speeding up again on the straight away. With each passing second, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on and if everyone was alright...

They were almost there, now, just another two hundred yards down the street. He saw it before he got there- orange bursts of flame reaching to the sky, engulfing the Hughes home, dancing towards heaven and devouring everything...

With only one man dressed in back standing on the lawn. No children. No blond boy in a red coat. No suit of armor. No little girl. Roy's heart dropped to his stomach. Gracia burst into tears in the back seat.

Roy slammed on the breaks and Hughes had jumped out of the car before it even came to a complete stop. The man was reaching into his backpack for something- a bottle of some sort was in his hand.

"HEY! YOU BASTARD! STOP!" Hughes was sprinting towards the man, now, and the man glanced over his shoulder before launching the object into the air. It soared in the night, crashing through an upstairs window- and that room, too, burst into flames.

Hughes tackled the man a second later, laying him out on the ground and scrambling, kicking, punching, punching...

Xavier's face was a bloody mess within a minute. Roy had to pull him off before he broke the man's jaw. In his frenzy, Hughes probably could've caved the man's skull in with his bare hands if Roy had let him. Hughes fought him every step of the way- the hellish heat of the flames was in the background, devouring everything.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD, YOU HEAR ME!? I'LL KILL YOU!" Hughes scuffled from where Roy had a firm hold around his waist, his bloodied hands trying to pry himself free so he could keep pounding on the man.

Roy hadn't seen Hughes this frantic since Ishval. And he hadn't seen this much flames since... His hands were shaking? Why were his hands shaking?

"You're going to kill him Hughes!" Roy yelled over the crackling of the flames. "He has to stand trial! Make him pay for what he did!"

Hughes stopped struggling. looking over at Roy uncertainly. "Stand... stand trial?" he asked, voice shaking. Roy had let go of him, and Hughes blood covered hands dropped to his sides, glasses eerily reflecting the light of the flames.

"S-stand trial!? For what, dammit!? Where's Elicia, Roy!? Where's my little girl!?"

Roy had thought Xavier was unconscious, but a cackling laugh came from the bloodied man on the ground- grating, like a rusty gate in the wind- and Hughes silenced the man with a savage kick, the heel of his boot making contact with the man's jaw and shutting him up.

Gracia had gathered herself, and she ran onto the front lawn with them, tears dripping down her face as he hands shook and she stared up into the inferno...

"Elicia! Elicia! Edward! Alphonse! Oh... where's my Elicia!?" she dissolved into frantic, hiccuping sobs, sinking to her knees on the lawn. Her voice had gone up an octave in panic.

Roy had heard that tone of voice before. He'd never understood the words of it, but he'd heard it- the panic, the raw desperation, as Ishvalan mothers dug through smoldering rubble with their bare hands. He hadn't understood the language, but he'd heard it- mumbling prayers, frantically calling children's names, as they sifted through the rubble of the hellscape he'd created. He had to physically swallow back the nausea that bubbled in his throat. Since when had it gotten so hard to breathe? Oh god, Ed was in there...

Hughes looked from his wife to the blaze, as though unsure which he should run to. He turned to Roy, desperate.

"Can you put it out?"

Roy stared up at the hellish flames and slowly shook his head. He created flames- manipulated the oxygen, maintained the blast ratio, and created his own spark- made his own little pocket of destruction- in the open air of combat.

He couldn't do anything here. There was too many occupied spaces- too many items in the house, too much fuel for the flames- even if he did somehow manage to account for every molecule of oxygen arranged in the complex space, which was impossible- he wouldn't be able to remove all the oxygen, wouldn't be able to quench the flames. And even if by some miracle he could- it'd take hours for the heat to dissipate. Hours for it to be cool enough for them to search the wreckage. He wouldn't be able to keep the oxygen out for that long. And even if he could- the kids might smother before they'd get them out. It was all a pipe dream, a theoretical impossibility...

"Put it out, dammit!" Hughes put both hands on his chest and shoved him back, leaving bloody handprints on his blue uniform. Mustang stumbled, looking at his old friend with a mixture of pity and disappointment in himself...

"...I'm sorry, Hughes. I can't." his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Damn you! You're useless!" Hughes sank to all fours on the lawn, shoulders heaving, whole body trembling as the man with a perpetual smile broke.

"Edward." Roy's voice was swallowed up the the noise around them- the sirens in the distance, the sobbing of both his friends beside him, and the loudest of all- the cracking, popping of the flames as the Hughes' home- and everything they held dear- was consumed.

Roy closed his eyes, trying to stay calm despite his heart hammering in his chest. Edward- the boy who cried at night because he could still feel his skin melting. The kid who loved to drink tea with too much honey in it, and eat tatter tots for dinner. He was probably terrified, if he was even still alive...

"Hold on, Ed. Please." water dripped onto the lawn in front of him and all around him, but it wasn't raining.

What do you think will happen next? I love to hear your predictions!

Will Ed and Elicia be okay? Will Roy have a heart attack!?! Will the author have enough coffee to survive the week? Find out soon, when I’m BACK ON MY BULLSHIT!

Homina homina KOFFEE https://ko-fi.com/fluffykitty12

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

Prompt: Wally Franks, but he's a wizard.

One wizard Wally coming right up!

It was a miracle how the Janitor kept the studio clean.

Even when it was just a tiny shack of a building, it was a busy tiny shack of a building that had ink and papers constantly spilling everywhere; crumpled up balls of paper that would miss the trashcans, broken bottles of ink, and god knows what else because people are messy. But it was manageable and easily cleaned. After all, if Wally 'slacks off until the last possible second every single day in that dumb hat of his' Franks managed to keep the place spotless, it couldn't be that hard.

Anyone in the studio could recognize Wally without even meeting the man because of that ridiculous hat, but nobody could tell why he wore such a thing as he always changed the story behind it.

"Laugh now, but dese are all the rage ouva in dose hoity-toity upscale cities. I'm gonna mistaken for one of those shmucks and get famous!"

"Oh, dis old thing? Okay, let me set the stage fah ya: Way, way, back in good ol' 1692, my great-great-insert a couple dozen or so more 'greats' in dere grandpa really cheesed off a witch in da woods... *one over the top ridiculous story later* ...and now my entire bloodline is cursed to weah stupid hats."

"I Might've lost da first bet, but ya should've seen da getup the outha guy's stuck with!"

"Da best way ta keep a clown from sneakin' up an killin' ya is ta trick 'em into thinkin' you're one of them."

"All my outha hats got covered in ink."

"Didn't ya see dat Mickey Mouse short in da 'Fantasia' thang Disney put out? Obviously I wear dis stupid hat 'cause gives me magical powers."

"Isn't 'Steamboat Willie' they only animation that Disney made?"

"Aw shoot- I mean, I must've been thinkin' about something else then."

Often after answering he'd laugh and nonchalantly change the subject. Nobody really thought anything of it, the Janitor was the biggest chatterbox in the studio and always had a bunch of different subjects on his mind.

The day after Henry left, the studio expanded.

More rooms to fill with art, more people to fill the void of the lost creator, more ink to fuel it all. In fact, it didn’t stop there, why should it? Joey more musicians and started hiring voice actors to make future cartoons even better than the old ones, to prove to himself that he didn't need Henry to make their creation successful. Yet in spite of this rapid growth, the cleaning staff still only had one member; a single janitor and his stupid, colorful, pointy hat.

Joey didn’t even bother trying to hire anyone else for the studio’s cleaning staff. Even when animators and musicians got concerned for Wally about being the only janitor at such a big studio, Joey always said that he could never find anyone as ‘talented’ as Wally for the job. And to the Director’s credit, he was correct. No matter how large the studio grew, no matter how often the janitor slacked off, and no matter how bad the messes got, the studio would always be completely and perfectly spotless when the workers arrived in the morning. While Wally did complain to high heaven about having to clean up after everybody and often repeated what was essentially now his catchphrase, he never seemed to be exhausted from the job itself. If anything, he seemed to be overall more well rested than the other staff.

However, almost no one paid mind to this, after all, they work to do and had deadlines to meet, no time to spend wondering about the Janitor's uncanny ability to stay on top of his workload, they just were used to it and accepted it as one of the studio workers’ natural mysteries. Like how the building felt like it was changing itself sometimes, or how the projectionist seemed to be anywhere and or everywhere, or how the music director seemed to be a seer who made bitter, sarcastic, and or dry humored remarks that would often turn into accurate predictions of the future, or how Joey always seemed to know where everyone in the studio was. (Okay, that last one might’ve just been that he had the building wiretapped and there was nothing supernatural about that.)

Thankfully for Wally Franks, there was only one person who really took the time to sit down and question how he managed to get all several stories of the now almost constantly inked studio completely spotless was the man who had piled on a couple extra chores with his and his machine's arrival.

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

“So I’m cleaning da studio late at night an' I almost forgot dat Mistah Conner started doing late night shifts an' he almost caught me in full swing, I had brooms and mops out flyin' everywhere an' he almost saw everythang! Luckily, his footsteps are pretty heavy so it was easy ta know when he was coming but man dat was close! And I'm startin' ta think he's caught on to da fact dat there's something fishy goin' on down 'ere an' I bet I was really something suspicious back 'dere. 'Dis is the first time since dat incident he let me outta his sight while on da clock. What do ya think Sam? Last straw? Should I really get outta here before it gets worse? How'd my futuah look eitheah way?"

The music director sighed in annoyance before answering the janitor.

"For the last goddamned time, I CAN'T really see the future, Franks! That's just a dumb running joke between the studio."

"But you definitely can! And wit' accuracy too! remembah when ya told me ta not eat dat sandwich in the fridge or else I'd get punched even though it was MY Sandwich and afta I shrugged ya off, Jerry went an' clocked me in da jaw? You saw the freakin' futuah! You saw that I'd get punched and ya tried ta warn me!"

"Or, I saw the fact you have a long history of eating other people's food, had my back turned to you at the moment, and thought you were eating Jerry's sandwich. Jerry probably also thought you were eating his sandwich because you two brought in the exact same lunch!"

The musician stood up from his seat to refill his coffee mug, but before he could, the janitor dropped down on his knees in front of him and gave him his best 'puppy dog eyes'.

"C'mon Sammy! Please tell me what I should do! I don't wanna end up stuck in jail or dead from this! I have a girlfriend and a kid!"

The unwilling prophet pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought of something to tell the "wizard" to get him off his back.

"My best advice to you is to tell Conner about your secret in a secluded area, preferably a night shift you both work. If he doesn't believe you, demonstrate a simple yet flashy spell. And then wait for his reaction. If you get the feeling he's going to tell the world, tell him that if he tells anyone else, you will curse him and his entire bloodline."

"Wait, really? I mean, I don't plan on ignorin' ya but is dat really the best caurse of action?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Well fer starters, cursing an entirah bloodline ain't somethin' you should take lightly! Even if it's something small, just, an' kinda silly like; 'Every time ya yell at someone for somethin' they didn't do, yer voice turns all high pitched and squeaky'. Ya could end up ruinin' someone's life! What if Tom's great-great grandson or whateva decided ta become a lawyeah and while defendin' his client, his voice got all squeaky. He'd be da laughin' stock of da legal system an' I'd be ta blame!"

"Okay, fine. Then just curse Conner specifically if he tries to ruin your life."

"But I don't even use magic on livin' things! What if I screw up an' accidentally turn him inta some kinda squeaky toy? Besides, is dere any otha way than just, revealing my secret dat I kept for my entirah life ta some guy who came in here an' started bossin' me around?"

Sammy rolled his eyes in annoyance. An action that registered to Wally as 'Why do these people keep asking me for help with the future if they keep fighting against me over the advice I give?' While Sammy knew his action meant 'Why am I constantly being bothered by my coworkers over their dumb running jokes pretending that magic is real?'

"Well, you told me, didn't you?"

"I mean, yeah, but dat's different! We're both, you know, and he's... well, not! I know you won't out me, but he might, even unda da threat of cursing!"

The two stood in silence for a bit before Sammy tried to leave again and Wally blocked his way.

"Just in case, do ya have any otha predictions?"

"I predict that if you stand between me and the coffee machine for any longer, you will suffer a terrible fate by my hands."

"Okay, okay! jeeze..."

And as the musician left for the break room, Wally silently dreaded the next time he and Tom would work a night shift together. Hopefully the studio's constantly irritated oracle was right about this being the best course of action.

[tsuki-chibi]

Passionfruit (November) Day 21: Frown

Catch up on AO3: Passionfruit

————

Adrien glanced at his bedroom door, listening carefully. He couldn’t hear anything from the hallway, but that didn’t always mean much. Nathalie could be pretty sneaky when she wanted to be. Still, after a couple minutes went by with no changes, he cracked the door and peeked out. There was no one in the hallway and he still couldn’t hear anything.

“Okay, Plagg, I think we’re good to go,” he said softly, easing the door shut. Last week he’d recorded himself practicing the piano for a solid three hours. That gave him plenty of time to get to Trocadéro, watch Alix and Kim have their race, hang out with his friends for a little while, and then make it back home before anyone realized he was gone. He locked his door and switched the music on.

“You know, you could also choose to stay home and sleep for the afternoon,” Plagg hinted.

“Don’t be lazy. I’m not even going out to fight an akuma. I’ll be detransforming as soon as I hit the ground,” Adrien said, rolling his eyes. “I’ll even give you a chunk of cheese for the effort.”

Plagg visibly perked up. “By cheese, do you happen to mean that expensive Swiss cheese you bought?”

“Sure,” Adrien said. That cheese had cost him a fortune, but he’d purchased it for occasions just such as this - when he needed to bribe his kwami to cooperate with what Adrien wanted to do. He walked over to the fridge and pulled the bag out. He’d asked the clerk at the shop to cut it up into smaller, kwami-sized pieces. Adrien took two from the bag and waved it around.

“I guess I could be persuaded to transform for a little while,” Plagg said, his eyes glued to the cheese.

“I figured you’d see it my way. Plagg, claws out!” Adrien called out. Green light swirled over him.

Chat strode over to the window and propped it open, letting a rush of cool air into the air. He hopped up on the edge and thrust his baton against the floor, pushing the button to extend it at the same time. The momentum propelled him forward over the fence that surrounded the Agreste mansion and onto the building next door.

‘Shit, you’re leaving? I am running so late,’ Marinette thought.

‘You haven’t left yet?’ Chat thought back, even though he knew she hadn’t. ‘Want me to swing by and pick you up?’

‘I wish you could, believe me. It would be way faster,’ Marinette thought. ‘I totally forgot my parents are going out for their anniversary. I’ve only got like thirty minutes before Nadja Chamack comes to pick up a cake.’

He dropped down into an alley a few blocks away from his house, but didn’t detransform just yet. Instead, he thought, ‘Why not drop the cake off to Madame Chamack on your way to the race? Wouldn’t that be easier?’

‘I... didn’t think of that,’ Marinette thought. ‘But that’s actually a really good idea. I can swing by the tv station, detransform, give her the cake, then keep going. It won’t even take me out of my way. Thank you, Chaton!’

‘Admit it, you just keep me around for my good ideas,’ he thought with a grin.

‘Well, you have to earn your keep somehow,’ she teased.

Chat snorted. “Plagg, claws in.”

“Where’s my cheese?” Plagg demanded the instant he was free.

“Here you go, as promised.” Adrien handed over the cheese, feeling the distinct tingle in the back of his head that meant Marinette was transforming. He estimated that she’d probably be a few minutes late, depending on how easy it was for her to find Nadja.

“Oh, that’s heaven.” Plagg moaned exaggeratedly as he tossed one of the chunks into his mouth and chewed loudly.

“Just hurry and hide. I have to go,” Adrien said, stepping towards the mouth of the alley. Plagg scarfed down the second piece and flew over to him, disappearing into Adrien’s overshirt.

He walked to Trocadéro, humming quietly under his breath, and met up with Juleka and Rose on the way there. Adrien walked the rest of the way with them, listening to their chatter. Alya, Nino, Kim, Max, and Nathaniel were already there, waiting on everyone else to arrive. Adrien joined Alya and Nino, who were ignoring Kim’s boasting and talking.

“I don’t know. I texted her but she hasn’t answered,” Alya was saying.

“Texted who?” Adrien asked.

“Marinette. She was supposed to bring that banner for Alix, remember?” Alya said.

Adrien remembered the banner only by virtue of his soulmate bond with Marinette, and the fact that Marinette had spent several hours agonizing over getting the banner just right. He nodded at Alya and said, “I talked to Marinette already. She had to do a quick delivery for her parents and then she was coming right over.”

“Oh good. I was worried she might have forgotten,” Alya said. “But that’s okay. Alix isn’t here yet either.”

‘I’m getting close!’ Ladybug thought. ‘Just dropped the cake off and I’m heading your way.’

“I’m sure they’ll both be here soon. No way would Alix miss this race,” Adrien said. He watched as the rest of their classmates, minus Marinette and Alix, joined them. Even Sabrina and Chloé were there.

Nino snorted. “It’s like the only thing she’s been talking about for the past week. It doesn’t really matter who wins. We’re never going to hear the end of it.”

“You’ll survive,” Alya said dryly.

“Thanks Babe,” Nino said, rolling his eyes, and Adrien almost choked. That was new.

Marinette and Alix came running up at the same time. Adrien held an arm out and steadied Marinette as she leaned against him, gasping. Alix immediately sat down and started pulling on her roller skates. As she stood up with Max’s help, she pulled something out of her pocket and thrust it into Alya’s hands.

“Hold onto this for me, okay?” she said.

“Wait, Alix, I want to film the race!” Alya said.

“It’s a family heirloom, so guard it with your life!” Alix called, ignoring Alya as she skated over to where Max and Kim were waiting. Max counted them down and then jumped out of the way as Alix and Kim took off.

Alya made a sound of frustration as the two competitors started. She held her phone up, but Adrien could tell that holding it with just one hand wasn’t giving her the stability she needed. Looking annoyed, Alya turned to Marinette.

“Here, Marinette, hold this,” she said, dropping the object into Marinette’s hands.

“But the banner!” Marinette said, trying to juggle both the banner and whatever she was holding. Panic flooded through her when naturally, she dropped one of them.

Adrien’s hand shot out and he grabbed what turned out to be a pocket watch seconds before it would’ve hit the ground. He looked down at it, curious as to what was so important about a pocket watch, and that turned out to be a mistake. On their last lap, Kim and Alix came much closer to the spectators. Sabrina squealed and jumped out of the way. She jostled Chloé, who stumbled into Adrien, who crashed into Marinette. The watch went flying and they all watched in horror as Alix accidentally skated right over it.

“My watch!” Alix cried out in horror, stopping short. “What happened?”

Alya gulped. “I - I had to videotape the race... so I gave it to Marinette. But she had to hold the banner, so Adrien took it... and then Chloé banged into him so he dropped it...” She trailed off.

“My old man gave me that! It’s a family heirloom!” Alix cried. “I can’t believe you did this!”

“Alix, it was an accident!” Marinette exclaimed. Her guilty weighed heavily on Adrien’s shoulders. He spoke up quickly.

“We didn’t mean to,” he said.

“This is all your fault!” Alix yelled at them.

“Alix, wait!” Alya called as Alix started skating away.

“Well, that was a disaster,” Nino said.

“Maybe we can fix it,” Adrien reasoned, walking over to the watch. A frown crossed his face as he got a better look at the damage that had been done to it. He didn’t know anything about watches, but it was in pretty bad shape.

“Ugh, I feel awful,” Marinette said, coming up behind him.

“It wasn’t your fault, Mari. It was an accident,” Nino said.

“No, it was my fault. Alix trusted me with the watch.” Alya groaned. “I wonder how much it would cost to get it fixed?”

“More than you can afford, most likely,” Adrien told her. He gathered the pieces regardless, standing up and putting them in his pocket.

“No! Kim!” Rose shrieked, and he, Nino, Marinette and Alya spun around.

“Akuma!” Alya exclaimed, whipping her phone out.

“Is that Alix?” Marinette gasped. “Oh my god, Alix, stop!”

“The name is Timebreaker, no thanks you dumb punks. I’m gonna go back in time to save my watch.” Timebreaker smirked at them as Kim faded away.

“What did you do to him?” Marinette yelled.

“I needed his energy to go back in time,” Timebreaker said, shrugging. “I got five seconds from him. So now I need all of your energy too!” She began skating towards them. Their group scattered.

Adrien lost track of Marinette as he raced towards a tree, but the tingle in the back of his mind told him that she had hidden and that Ladybug had arrived on scene. He ducked behind a tree, took a split second to make sure no one was looking in his direction, and hastily transformed. Then Chat leaped out from behind the tree and raced back towards the akuma just as Timebreaker touched Mylène and Nathaniel.

“You won’t be able to stop me, Ladybug!” Timebreaker taunted as their two classmates faded away. “I’m up to fifteen seconds! Soon I’ll have enough energy to do what I want!”

“Don’t let her touch you!” Ladybug yelled, flinging her yoyo out. Timebreaker cackled and easily jumped over it, lunging towards Alya.

“No!” Chat yelled, extending his baton. Timebreaker had to veer to the right or risk running into his baton. Alya, displaying a sense of self preservation for once, turned and ran.

“How are we going to stop her if we can’t touch her?” Ladybug hissed, moving up beside Chat.

“Try your yoyo again,” he suggested. “I bet she can’t affect us through weapons. If you can wrap her up, we can figure out where the akuma is and I can use my Cataclysm.”

“Good idea,” Ladybug said, eyes brightening. “Ivan! Look out!” She wound up and threw her yoyo. This time, Timebreaker didn’t see it coming. Chat crowed in triumph as Timebreaker was jerked to a sudden stop. Ivan continued running away, leaving the area otherwise empty.

“Damn you, Ladybug,” Timebreaker hissed, getting to her feet. She grabbed the yoyo’s string and pulled hard on it.

“My Lady!” Chat shouted as Ladybug was yanked off her feet. Ladybug squealed as she was violently pulled towards Timebreaker, landing hard on her stomach right in front of the akuma. Hawkmoth’s mask flashed briefly over Timebreaker’s face. A familiar, cruel smile followed, and Timebreaker started to lean down. Ladybug froze.

‘Marinette, run!’ Chat thought desperately, but it was no use. He recklessly threw himself forward; there was no time to push Ladybug out of the way, not with how fast Timebreaker was, so -

Ladybug’s scream was cut off as Timebreaker’s hand made impact with his shoulder. Chat literally froze... and knew nothing else.

[icantpayattentiontoanything]

The song that binds us!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4: Dancing

Sunday was a mostly regular day.  Rosemary spent her morning waking up, realizing that she forgot to get more tea, and going to the store.

There was a little cornerstone only a few blocks from her little apartment.  It contained all the main that Rosemary needed like sugar, tea, bread, cheese.  She walked down the street, music on and loud. With the music, she discovered the rhythm of the traffic of the street.  When she arrived at the store, she picked up a little basket and headed inside. It was almost empty, as it usually was. That's why she liked it.  She headed down the aisle, almost dancing to the music. Turning and twisting with the song flowing through her, for this was the only time she felt herself.  She grabbed someone tea, bouncing down the aisle. She spun, whirling her head and….

There was Damian, looking at her behind his giant shopping cart, a little bewildered. He had been shocked to see this girl, who was permanently shy and lost confidence with every minute, dancing in an empty store.  She looked beautiful. Long curly hair spinning, dancing terribly, she looked beautiful. Beautifully herself.

Rosemary's entire face turned red.  She felt her cheeks turn red hot. She didn’t think anyone was here.  

“Uh uuh, umm  well, w-well. Aah. I was just uh getting my tea.” Rosemary shut off her music, even though the silence was deafening.

“It's uh, fine.” Damian smiled, he was shocked at the instant change of character.  Just a few minutes ago, you would've thought she was the most confident girl ever. Now, she couldn't even speak right. What happened?

Rosemary could not believe that Damian saw her.  She was usually so careful that nobody saw her, let alone see her dancing because she didn't want to get embarrassed.  

“So have you always been this good of a dancer?” Damian asked, his voice hinting of playful sarcasm,

“I guess,” Rosemary returned the sarcasm.  That helped her feel less embarrassed.

The two stood there awkwardly, each waiting for the other to say something

“Wow, you have got a lot of stuff in that cart, are you going to eat it all?” Finally said Rosemary, eyeing the cart full of canned goods,

“Well, um that’s not for me,” replied Damian, “it's for a supper I'm putting on for my music students.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, most of my students can't afford lessons or much, so I put on a supper once in a while so I know they're getting good food.  I send them home with the leftovers.”

“Wow. That's really nice of you,” said Rosemary blatantly,” you're really generous.”

“Well thanks, I guess, it isn’t much.  I don't always pay for all of it.  I have some friends that help me out.”

Rosemary realized that this was probably the reason he could pay for his coffee yesterday.  She was happily shocked that he didn’t flaunt the fact that he helps the poor.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Rosemary asked, surprised at herself that she offered,

“Well you don't have to, but it would be nice if you could help me finish shopping.  I can’t seem to find all the stuff I want, like spaghetti, and I feel like I’m forgetting ingredients.”

“Of course!” Rosemary smiled, happy that she asked, and even happier that she could hang out with Damian while not being a bother.

Rosemary soon discovered that Damian did not have a list, and was not organized.  She took a pad of paper from her little homemade purse and began writing things down.

“How many people are there going to be?”

“About 30,” Damian answered, thankful for an organized person,

“Ok, and pasta is what we are having?”

“Yep, with garlic toast and salad.”

“Ok, all kids?”

“Yep, the tweens and young teens”

Rosemary wrote all these things down

“Ok.  First things first.  We need to go to another store, this one is too small, and doesn’t have the prices we need.  Can we take your punch buggy?”

“Sure!” Said Damian, forgetting to ask why she knew that he had a car.

Rosemary and Damian abandoned her groceries and walked to Damian's house.  Damian was happy that she volunteered to help, as she was way more organized than him.

“Wow! You are such a big help! How are you so organized?”

“I'm not, well, only on the outside.  I was left to take care of a lot of things by myself when I was a kid, so I became independent. But, I'm not so organized with people.” Rosemary was not so shy, now that she had a goal.

Damian drove, with Rosemary's help, to a bigger store.  They both took a cart, and Rosemary made a master list with everything they would need. Now surrounded by people, she was out of her comfort zone, but she pushed through.  They gathered spaghetti, bread, garlic, vegetables, and other things that Damian would have forgotten if he was by himself. He ran around getting things while Rosemary checked things off the list.

 “I'm sorry if I'm making you do all the work, said Rosemary.”  

“No! You're doing all the stuff I can't, like staying centred, and keeping track of stuff. Besides, you don't have to do this.” Damian said, grabbing a bag of frozen veggies.

The couple soon finished shopping and headed to the checkout.  Waiting, the line was long because it was 2 o'clock on a Sunday.  As people crowded in, Rosemary felt anxious, noises echoing around her.

“Hey, are you ok?” asked Damian, noticing the fact that she seemed comfortable,

“Um, a little anxious, but ok” She looked up at him, and his smile seemed to make the crowds and noise disappear. His smile seemed to make music.

Finally, they were able to pay for their groceries. As they went through, Damian was a little nervous, because all that food seemed to look expensive.

“320 dollars and 22 cents,” said the cashier,

“On Debit”, replied Rosemary,  stepping forward.

“Uh, I can pay for that,” said Damian,

“No its fine said Rosemary, already swiping her card, I don't do this stuff very often.  I can afford it.”

They loaded the groceries into the little yellow punch buggy until it didn't fit, then they stacked it all around them. Damian drove them back to his house.  

“Well thanks for helping me shop! That was a huge help.” He said grinning  

“I can always help more, my schedule is empty,” offered Rosemary,

“Really? I don't want to make you, you've already don't so much..” now Damian seemed the one not wanting to be a bother.

“It's fine.  Now, I'll help load the groceries into the house.”

Damian unlocked the door and opened it.  Both of them brought all the food, bag by bag, into the house.

Damian’s house was interesting.  It had music books and instruments, and speakers piled everywhere. Most things were slightly dusty and disorganized. Except for several things.  Pictures of family members were wiped clean. There was a piano, of an old sort, looking like one that originated in a church.  It was spotless. No scratch or dent, or if there was, it was repaired. It stood out from the room as if it was a thing of magic from long ago.  

Rosemary walked further into the house with the groceries.  There, she found the kitchen, which was another place pretty clean, as in cleaned out.  It was almost empty, there was only a pantry filled with odds and ends of food, all at least partially edible and at least partially chemical.  The fridge was empty, except leftovers of pizza, and ketchup bottles. He lived like this? Rosemary was glad she came because he must not know how to cook.  Sadly, she wasn't good at cooking either, she knew how to make grilled cheese and soup, but that was about it.

Her and Damian hurried back and forth carrying bags and bags. As they finished, he took one of his many speakers and plugged it into his phone.  He started pumping an energetic rock song. He pulled out pots, and pans, wiped counters, and started pulling out groceries as he needed them. Rosemary stood there shocked.

“This was unexpected,” said Rosemary

“What?” asked Damian, turning on the oven for garlic bread.

“Well, that you are so good at cooking, not that i underestimated you, just that you…”

“Are scatterbrained.”  he finished, “I know. I'm not that good at cooking, its just I find it easy to find a rhythm when I play music.”

He pulled out bags of veggies, seasonings.

“Can you spread butter on these baguettes?” He asked,

“Sure!” She eagerly grabbed a baguette and started roughly spreading the butter.

Damian gave a small laugh as Rosemary struggled to spread the butter without it ripping.

“What?”

“Nothing” he gave a small laugh, “can I show you how to do it better?”

Uh sure

Damian stood behind Rosemary and took her hand.  He moved it gently side to side along with the music.  

“It’s better slowly, with a beat.” He whispered  “1-2-3 1-2-3. Like a dance!”

He took the butter knife out of her hand.

“Join me in the kitchen for a dance!”

“Uh, I’m not that good,”

That’s ok.

Damian took her hand and started dancing to the pop song that was on now.  

Rosemary's heart stopped for a moment and then began again as she moved with the music.  She stepped on his toes a couple times, but it was fine. This was just for fun. They held hands as Damian tried to get her to spin like she did in the grocery store.  They laughed.

Damian thought Rosemary was beautiful.  She was so shy and had many layers, but somehow, he had gotten her to start to open up to him voluntarily.  He marvelled at her, dancing awkwardly, but seeming to know the feel of the music. He was overwhelmed. There was something special about her, that he didn't feel at first but now was sure of.  

The song soon finished, and Rosemary and Damian had to continue cooking spaghetti or else food wouldn't be ready in time.  Rosemary spread butter and sprinkled garlic seasoning, while Damian made the sauce and tossed salad. The time passed quicker and quicker as the two got more comfortable with each other.  They talked about stories they had read, Rosemary having read many books, and they also talked about new TV shows. Finally, Damian decided to bring something up.

“So would you actually want to take any music lessons? Because you seem, um, very comfortable and familiar with the music.” Damian asked, all of a sudden nervous,

“Uuh sure!  But I don't want to be too much work, you already seem to be busy with this

“I wouldn't mind! Maybe you could come over!” Damian's heart was playing a song,

“As friends?” rosemary didn't even know why she asked that she didn't care.

“Uh sure.” Damian felt one of his heartstrings snap. However, he didn't let that show.

“Sure!”

The two returned to “work” again, listening to music, humming along.  They finished cooking the food and began setting up the yard.

Damian pulled out old tables from a little garage in his empty, but the somewhat clean yard.  Rosemary set out plastic bowls and plates and cutlery.

A few minutes later, kids started coming.  A few carrying instruments, guitars, violins, and a few others Rosemary couldn't name.  

“Do you teach them all those instruments?” Rosemary whispered, shy a the teens and kids running around

“Uh yeah, I know enough about each to teach,” he whispered back.

“Woah. That's cool.  Do they own their own instruments?”

“Well, I give them their own, like a gift”

Rosemary, again, was set back.  She knew the cost of a good guitar. How can he afford to give those away? There were more kids coming now, and Damian knew them all by name.  Rosemary was impressed, he didn’t have a good memory, but he sure had people smarts! She looked at him admiringly, “I wished I was as nice as him” she thought, there was something special about him.  It was impossible to completely embarrass herself around him, and she didn’t worry as much that she was being a bother because he pushed her a little out of her comfort zone.

Damian noticed that Rosemary was standing on the sidelines watching him play with the kids who were coming in.  He encouraged her to come play, but she seemed nervous around the kids or him. He hoped that she wasn’t nervous around him.  What if she was? Oh no. His brain spun slightly out of control for a second. Then he got his head on straight, “if she IS nervous around me, I’ll just be sure to recognize her boundaries. We’re just friends.” He continued playing with the kids for a while.

Damian came up to Rosemary.

“So all the kids are here, do you want to start serving food?” He asked, obviously still thinking about whether he made her uncomfortable.

“Uh sure!”

“Do you want to announce that?”

“Uh that’s fine, I didn’t really do much, I don't know the kids.”

“Ok”

    Damian stood up on a chair, waving his arms crazy like.  He had on a nice cute smile.

“Hey! Everybody!”

The entire packed yard fell silent.

“Food is ready!” He yelled, and before everyone could cheer and stampede to the kitchen because of course, that’s what they were going to do, he added, “let's say thanks to Rosemary, my dear friend who helped make the food.  She volunteered to spend a crazy afternoon with me, and she basically organized the entire thing, because I’m so organized,” he said sarcastically.

All the kids nodded in agreement.

“Let us say grace”.  Then Damian said a short thank you for the food, hopped off the chair, and headed to the kitchen.

Rosemary followed him to the kitchen where there was already a line of hungry kids covered in dirt from playing in the yard. She noted that Damian didn’t care that all these adorable children were ruining his yard. Which was surprisingly well kept?  She grabbed a ladle and started serving spaghetti sauce beside Damian, who was scooping spaghetti into bowls.

Damian laughed.  “Good thing you came along and made sure I got enough spaghetti, or else some people would eat plastic bowls for supper!”

Rosemary gave a little laugh, which made her spill some spaghetti sauce.

“Oops! Sorry!” She frantically searched for a towel to wipe it up.   

“It’s fine, I didn't pay for the floors anyway.”

Rosemary was curious about what he meant by this, but she then realized that there were a bunch of kids impatient for food.

Soon all the kids were served, so Damian and Rosemary were able to finally eat.  They found a table in the corner so they could look at the kids playing. It was silent where they were,

“That was amazing.” Damian said, “we did it all by ourselves!”  

“Yeah, this was fun.  I had no idea there were this many kids in our neighbourhood. Where do they come from? Why aren't they with their parents?”

“Well, most of these kids are fostered or they’re parents are to busy raising money to take care of them.  It's a really crappy situation.” Damian went quiet,

“I can relate to that,” Rosemary said quietly,

“What?”

“Well, I used to be a foster kid.  I jumped around houses until I was 12 until I got adopted by 2 parents who really wanted a kid of their own.  They tried their best-” Rosemary stopped, not wanting to say more, but she continued. “They were good people, but they wanted someone different.  A kid with perfect grades, making friends, but that’s not who I am. Even though they chose me, they didn't get the kid they wanted.”

Damian looked at Rosemary, expecting her to be crying or something.  He was surprised to see her without much expression but somehow giving the impression of deep sadness.

“I-i’m sorry,” Damian gave her a little side hug.

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. I’m here for you”

“Um, Thanks.” Rosemary didn't know what to say. “I’m tired.” She leaned against Damian.  “Thanks”

They sat there in silence, watching the kids play unsupervised like on a playground, the sound muffled as it got to the small corner where they sat.

“Thank you so much for today.” Damian said to Rosemary, “I really like spending time with you, I really li-like you.”

Silence.

Damian realized that Rosemary fell asleep leaning against him.  He smiled.

"I guess she does feel comfortable around me."

@holy-anxiety-batman @fuzzysokc @lord-of-almond @proudgryffindor5 @justadamfangirl

[sunstar-of-the-north]

My Monster Alien Boyfriend?!: Chapter 2

            Friday rolled around and the many people of Los Angeles were excited for the weekend. None of them were as excited as Halu and Ravage however. The two were able to finalize their anniversary plans and couldn’t wait until Halu’s last class was over. They were tapping their fingers, eyeing the clock impatiently.

           One of the students in their small group gave him a smirk. “Do you got somewhere to be dude?” Halu blinked and turned to their class mate. “Huh? Did you say something?” The student chuckled. “I asked you do you got somewhere to be?”

           “Oh! No sorry. I guess I’m ready for the weekend, you know?” Everyone in the group nodded in empathy. “Yeah, I feel you. Well we got twenty more minutes, so let’s figure out this code and be done with it.” Halu nodded, slightly feeling embarrassed. Once class was over, they got their things together and dashed out of the room with the speed that would equal a cheetah’s. Ravage chuckled within their mind. “Make sure not to trip over your feet dear. I don’t want to see you fall flat on your face.” Halu chuckled, making a few students look at them. “I know you’ll catch me if I do!”

           Once Halu dropped off their things at their room, they went straight to the college’s parking lot. They found their car and quickly got inside. After the student started the car, they proceeded to drive out of the lot. A few minutes later they parked outside of a grocery store. Halu entered the large building. They took a moment to collect their barring’s then took a left. It took a while but they eventually found the snack aisle. They wandered down said aisle for a little bit, scanning the shelves. “Ah, here it is!” They took a box of cheese crackers off the shelf and proceeded to the fruit section. There Halu picked some green grapes and apples. Once they paid for their items, they left the store and drove to the liquor store.

           The student felt slightly out of their element. They rarely ever bought alcohol for themselves. Thankfully the wine section wasn’t too far away from the enterance. They walked over to many bottles stacked neatly on the shelves. Halu rubbed their chin in thought as they eyed them. “What are you in the mood for, red or white wine?”

           “…Definitely red. It’s been a while since I’ve had a glass.”

               Halu smiled. “Red it is then!” They took two bottles off the shelf. “Should we get C'est du Vin or Bouteille de Vin?” Before their boyfriend could answer, a tall man rested a hand on the shelf closest to them. He was giving them a friendly grin. “Having trouble finding something kid?” At first they were surprised by the man but then smiled. “No thank you. I know what I want. I just don’t know which brand I want.” The man nodded in understanding. “That can be a tough choice. It’s hard to find a good brand. It’s almost as hard as trying to find a good girlfriend!” The man chuckled at his own joke. Halu simply nodded. “So what’s the wine for?”

           “Oh uh—I’m celebrating!” The man grinned even more. “Oh cool! What are you celebrating for?” They suddenly went brain dead. “Just tell him it’s none of his business,” growled Ravage. They were about to tell the symbiote to not be rude when the man snapped his fingers. “Mid-terms right?” It took a moment for Halu to register what he said before replying, “...Yes! I uh—got really good grades on them and what better way to celebrate than with some wine and dine!”

           “I couldn’t agree more! Well if I were you, I’d pick C'est du Vin! It has a great flavor that lasts for a long time!” Halu thought about it for a moment. They then asked Ravage for his opinion. “…I hate to admit it, but that does sound good.” The student slightly rolled their eyes. They smiled at the man. “Sounds great to me! Thank you very much for the help!” He gave them an OK sign. “No problem! Don’t party too hard now,” he said playfully. Halu giggled and waved them good bye. Soon they and Ravage were back in the car. They noticed how quiet their boyfriend was during their conversation with the other person. “Is everything ok sweetheart?” Ravage didn’t respond. They were about to say something when he cut them off. “I’m not jealous! I just—don’t’ think it was any of his business, that’s all.” The twenty-one year old sighed. “Whatever you say Ravage. I just hope you won’t be a party pooper at our own anniversary.” He only huffed in response.

           The duo eventually made it back to Halu’s dorm room. They took a block of cheddar cheese from the mini fridge and put it in the grocery bag with the other foods. Halu started to change into a white, button up shirt, a sweater vest, a red bow tie, and a pair of black dress pants to pull the whole outfit together. “You look stunning.” They blushed slightly by his comment. “T-Thank you…well uh we better get going!” Halu took the bags with them, locking the doors.

                                                        ***

           It was dark by the time Halu and Ravage made it to their destination. They were at the very outskirts of the suburbs. They set up a pic-nic on a small hill, away from the prying eyes of humanity. This allowed Ravage to be outside of his host’s body without being spotted. He was currently watching Halu struggle with opening the wine bottle. They forgot to bring a corkscrew and were using a cheese knife as a substitute. He couldn’t help but chuckle at his lover. “Do you need help,” he asked. They shook their head defiantly. “Nope! I can do it!” After five minutes of huffing and puffing, Halu let out a defeated sigh. They handed the bottle to the symbiote with a hung head. He chuckled softly and took it. He opened his mouth which was full of sharp, shark like fangs. He poked his canine tooth into the cork. Once it was firmly stuck, Ravage twisted the bottle. It let out a loud pop when it was opened.

           Ravage spit out the cork and turned to the Arabian. “You never cease to amaze me,” Halu said with an impressed smile. He shrugged with a smug grin. “I aim to please.” They laughed and went back to the bags. Their grin dropped suddenly. Ravage raised an ‘eye-brow’ at them. “What?” They turned to them, blushing in embarrassment. “I—forgot the cups.” Ravage sighed while shaking his head. “What am I going to do with you?”

           They grinned sheepishly. “Um—keep me, feed me, and love me?” He ‘rolled’ his eyes. “I suppose so…Well it is just the two of us.” He then proceeded to take a swig of the wine. Halu gently punched his arm. “Hey, save some for me!” The creature chuckled deeply. “Okay, okay!” He handed them the bottle. Ravage then started to cut the block of cheese. He opened the box of crackers once he made a good amount of slices. Meanwhile Halu was opening the bags of grapes. They were about to eat a plump one when it was suddenly snatched out their fingers by a long, pink tongue. He frowned at Ravage who was grinning mischievously. The student couldn’t help but smile back.

            Pretty soon the two made a decent dent in their snacks. Halu was lying on their back while Ravage was still sitting up. They were both looking up into the sky. Even though most of the stars were covered by smog, some of them were able to gleam dimly passed the brown clouds.

             “…Did you ever imagine yourself to be where you are now?”

             Ravage turned to Halu. Although it was dark, the faint lights of the city made their brown eyes twinkle in the night. The symbiote pondered the question for a while. He then laid down on his side, only inches away from Halu. “No. I didn’t…I thought I would have eaten half of the population by now.” The human tried to hide their discomfort. They scooted until their body was touching Ravage’s. “Do…you regret not doing that?” He was somewhat taken aback by their question. Without hesitating, he answered no. Ravage could feel Halu’s muscles relaxing immediately. “I’m glad…to be honest; I didn’t expect to be where I am either. I mean—how many people wake up one day and be like, ‘Hey, today I’m going to let an alien from outer space live inside my body for the rest of our lives!’?”

             Ravage roared in laughter, resting his hand over his face. Halu soon joined in on the giggle fest. After a while the two started to get quiet again. The student noticed though that there was a bit of tension in the air. They watched their lover from the corner of their eye. His jaw was locked tightly and he was clawing the ground with his long, red nails. Halu touched his arm. He looked over to them, eyes looking slightly hard. “Yes?” They nervously licked their lips before speaking. “Are…you ok? You seem on edge.” He nodded. “I’m fine.”

             “No you’re not.”

              The symbiote frowned at them. “Yes, I am.” It was now their turn to frown. “Ravage, I’ve known you for a full two years now. I can tell when something is bothering you. Now spill it!” Ravage narrowed his eyes. He then sat up with a soft growl. He didn’t say anything, much to the human’s annoyance. Halu suddenly had an idea of why he might be in such a sour mood. “Oh my gosh, don’t tell me that you’re jealous! That guy was trying to be nice! Seriously you’re being-“

              “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

              Halu cocked their head in confusion. “What?” He gripped the grass tightly as he hissed, “He was practically devouring you with his eyes. The way they hungrily searched your body made me want to rip them right out of their sockets! It’s not just him either. Everyone looks at you as if you’re fresh meat. Yes, it makes me jealous but it also pisses me off! You’re a person, not some juicy morsel that people can ogle at!”

             Ravage turned his attention back to them. They were sitting up, eyes wide. He then averted his gaze, feeling ashamed for getting so upset. A few moments later he felt a warm hand on his cheek. The hand made him turn his head to Halu. They had a soft expression on their face. “…People can stare at me all they want.” Ravage was perplexed by their statement. He was about to say something, but they put their finger on his lips to silence him. “I could care less, just as long as you keep staring at me. Your gaze is the only one I care about.” With that, Halu planted a small kiss on his lips. The symbiote’s eyes grew to the size of moons by the gesture. He then grinned, a loud purr growing within his neck. Ravage returned the kiss but his was slightly harder. The two then had their arms around each other, pawing and clenching at their clothes or skin.

            Ravage gently pushed Halu’s chest, indicating that he wanted to lay them on the grass. They complied with his wishes. Halu broke the kiss and started to kiss his throat. He groaned softly. Then he used his tongue to lick the human’s neck, causing them to gasp in surprise. Ravage grinned wickedly at their reaction. His made the tongue go further down their body, sliding it underneath their shirt collar. Halu blushed red, softly moaning as they felt his tongue touch their skin. They had their arms around his neck, holding onto their lover like he was the only solid thing there. Ravage had his hands on their hips, gingerly rubbing them. They could also feel string like appendages slither about their body.

            “R-Ravage,” Halu gasped out. He slowly retracted his tongue, causing them to moan. The creature licked his lips. “You taste divine,” he panted. They blushed even harder by his statement. He then grinned till his red gums were showing. “But I want more.” Suddenly Ravage untied their bow and unbuttoned their shirt collar. In one fell swoop, he bit into Halu’s neck. They screamed in pure bliss, nails digging into the symbiote’s skin. He eventually removed his fangs, licking the wound. The Arabian was gasping for air at this point, eyes half opened. Ravage was panting as well, making small puffs of steam as he exhaled. He rested his forehead on Halu’s, eyes soft.

           “I love you Halu.”

            They grinned as they let out a shaky breath. They put their hands on Ravage’s cheeks, who in turned touched one of Halu’s hands. They started to nuzzle each other, both enjoying this rare time of being truly alone together.

           “I love you too Ravage.”

All Characters (c) Me Venom (c) Marvel/Sony

[willgayers]

“You can’t keep pretending it didn’t happen, cause guess what? It did!” Reddie

wowza! so this request has been in my ask box forever but here it finally is! this contains the whole losers club by the way, as it is a weekend-getaway ;-)

mainly reddie of course, but with some side-stenbrough and benverly!also a lot of platonic stozier

might start doing moodboards paired with my writing by the way, if i have the time lmao, but here’s one for this anyway!

The Losers Club were supposed to have a great weekend getaway.

They’d driven all the way to Bill’s parents’ cabin — and the series of misfortunate events had started literally on the day of arrival, Friday morning, when they finally got to the cabin and realized the electricity was off. Bill had to call his parents (because what the hell does a 18 year old know about shit like that?), who had to call the electrician and the teens had to sit in the car for a hour and a half, waiting for him to show up.

He took another hour to fix the power box but once he was done, the losers thought “well! now we can get this party started!”, but they were wrong.

“So… this really is the cabin?” Stanley deadpanned the second they stepped out of the car as he could now see the place fully, not exactly impressed. “You see Bill, when you said cabin, I imagined we were going to see a good old fashioned winter wonderland house. Not Jersey Shore- Xmas Edition.”

Richie laughed at the joke.

“Oh, c-come on, Stan. All cabins have m-magic.” Bill said.

“Magic?” Stan frowned.

“Yeah! Don’t you know?” Beverly joined. “It’s like, a thing. Cabins are so cozy. They’re in the middle of nowhere, away from the city noises… they’ve got that nice wooden smell too.”

“I bet this place smells like detergent.” Stan just snapped, and his friends laughed at his melancholia.

“Magic, huh?” Richie asked Beverly as they started walking in. “What’s that mean?”

“Shit, fucking hell!”

They turned their heads around to see Eddie kicking his suitcase that’s wheels got stuck in the snow, Mike rushing to help him.

Then Beverly and Richie turned to look at each other again.

“I’m sure you’ll find out.” Beverly smirked and walked ahead, leaving Richie standing there on the porch by himself, blushing a little but then shaking off whatever thoughts Beverly had just pushed in his mind before he walked in too.

—–—

“Mike, can you get the groceries?” Beverly asked in the kitchen, as she looked inside the fridge. It was empty as presumed, only a block of cheese and a half-empty bottle of Fanta inside.

“Sure,” Mike said and walked outside, his feet scrunching on the snow as he looked around himself, smiling at the sight. It was beautiful — trees around the cabin covered in snow, a lake opposite with a thick layer of ice over it. He didn’t understand what Stan meant by Jersey Shore Xmas Edition. This place was great!

He got to the car and pulled the door open, only to have his eyes widen in shock.

He walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk; sighing in relief as he found three bags. Grabbing them, he then closed the door and slammed the trunk close, walking back in.

“This place is huge, Billy!” Richie blurted out as he rushed down the staircase from upstairs. And he was right — the place was huge. It was made of wood, but very modern. One of the walls was completely just a big window, the kitchen was huge and it was just a one big room with the living room combined; the house had three floors (basement had a hot tub and a minibar), and four bedrooms.

“I guess so,” Bill shrugged, grabbing one of the grocery bags from Mike.

They placed them on the table and started to unload them, but frowned soon.

“Wait— t-these were all?” Bill asked.  

“Yeah,” Mike said, a little confused too. “But this is just… the beer. And some… salad supplies?”

“Yeah, w-we had s-s-seven bags!” Bill blurts out.

“Richie, where’d you leave the rest of the bags?” Mike turned his gaze to Richie, and suddenly so did all of them — and Richie winded back the events in his head; Bill paid. Stan and Mike grabbed the bags. Beverly and Ben were already waiting by the car; Richie was waiting for Eddie to buy his chocolate bar and oh my fucking god Eddie looked so cute when he smiled to the cashier and Richie’s heart expanded in his chest and then Eddie asked if Richie was ready and Richie just starry-eyed nodded anddddd…

“Oh, shit,” Richie mumbled, and all the losers looked shocked. Beverly started to speak.

“Please don’t say that–”

“I forgot them to the store,” Richie said and literally all of them let out a whine or a groan, paired with super over-dramatic expressions but hey; forgetting groceries at the store is an annoying thing.

“I’m sorry!” Richie tried.

“Richie, it’s a thirty minute ride back!” Stan said. “I am not driving again! Were you not just with us in the car? The road here is a nightmare!”

“I said I’m sorry!” Richie said.

“God, Richie, you had one fucking job!” Stanley blurted out, holding his hand out.

“Okay, lets just c-calm down.” Bill said, giving his boyfriend a look, and Stan didn’t say anything, but this didn’t stop him from glaring at Richie who was trying to escape from everyone’s gazes, still standing at the final step of the stairs.

“We’re just gonna go luh-light today, and eat some s-salad!” Bill smiled, holding up a can of tuna and a bag of salad. “And tomorrow f-first thing we drive to the st-store.”

“Well I’m not fucking driving,” Stan snorted.  

You don’t fucking have to, Richie wanted to snap, and like Bill would’ve known this, he looked at Richie who zipped his mouth.

“You don’t h-have to,” Bill just said to Stan. “I’ll drive. Lets just, m-make this salad now, okay?”

Stan looked at him for a moment before nodding, and grabbing a cucumber.

“Okay,” he mumbled, and Bill smiled lightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek, and Richie fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“We should probably take our stuff upstairs,” Ben said to Beverly, who nodded.

“Yeah,” she said.

“The first room on the left is mah-mine and Stan’s, because that’s my room.” Bill said. “Other than that, you’re f-free to choose.”

The couple nodded before leaving upstairs, dragging their bags.

“I can take that,” Ben said to Beverly who smiled admiringly as her boyfriend grabbed her bag; clearly struggling.

“Ben, it’s okay, I can carry it—”

“No, no I’m fine!” Ben choked out a laugh.

Eddie and Richie glanced at the two of them as they passed from between them, and then they glanced at each other; both of them clearly nervous.

“How many bedrooms did you say there were, Bill?” Richie asked.

“Four.” Bill said as he washed the salad leafs.

“And uh… the rooms, they wouldn’t happen to be single bedded, would they?” Eddie asked, clearing his throat.

“I… think one of them, is.” Bill mumbled, looking up as he was trying to remember.

“Great! Which one is it?” Eddie blurted out.

“I think it’s the one at the end of the h-hallway.” Bill said.

“Yeah, because I’m sleeping in the one down here,” Mike said. Everyone turned to look at him; like why would he wanna sleep down here by himself? Why would he volunteer?

“What?” He asked. “Someone’s gotta be the holy protector of this house. Besides; I’m the greatest cook. I’ll be the first one making breakfast.”

They all chuckled a little.

“Right! Breakfast. Some bacon, eggs, muesli… sounds great!” Stan said, and the smile faded from Richie’s lips as he realized where this was going. “But wait a minute— something’s wrong… oh, that’s right! You can’t make any, because Richie forgot them all!”

“Okay d-drop it Stan.” Bill said.

“I’m just annoyed! Richi—”

The look on Bill’s face made Stan stop talking though, and just mumble something under his breath before he continued on chopping the cucumber.

“Anyway, as I was s-saying, there’s one room that’s single bedded.” Bill said.  

“Well great,” Eddie said. “We’ll take that one then!”

Richie was kind of disappointed at how eager Eddie was with taking the single-bedded room; did he really not wanna sleep in the same bed with Richie that bad? He wasn’t that bad, was he?

“Right?” Eddie asked a Richie, who nodded.

“Right,” he said.

“Well— the room won’t take itself, will it?” Stanley tilted his head.

“God, eat a freaking Snickers, Uris,” Richie just mumbled and threw his Nike bag over his shoulder as he started marching upstairs.

Mike tried to choke his chuckle as Eddie just smirked at Stan, before following Richie upstairs.  

Stan was glaring after Richie, and then turned his gaze to Bill, who was also smirking at Richie’s joke — and Uris rolled his eyes.

—–—

“Is this the one —?” Richie asked as he opened a door on the left, revealing a bathroom. “Uh, no.”

“Unless you wanna sleep in a bathtub?” Eddie joked.

“I don’t think it’s big enough for the both of us, Eddie-Spaghetti.” Richie said, amused.

“We can take turns.” Eddie shrugged, and Richie laughed before turning back around and starting to walk further.

Eddie tried not to think of the way Richie’s laugh made something inside him flutter, and the way he found himself smiling at the sound.

Then Richie stopped at another door.

“Ah! It’s this one!” He said, walking in, only to see Beverly and Ben at the left corner.

“Hi,” Richie said, glancing at the bags on the floor. Eddie arrived behind him, raising a questioning brow.

“…hi?” Beverly and Ben said.

“What are you doing in mine and Eddie’s room?” Richie asked.

“It’s not yours, it’s ours.” Beverly said.

“Uh? No it’s not? It’s single-bedded!” Richie said.

“Uh, I don’t care — this one has a balcony.” Beverly said, opening her suitcase.

“Don’t open that! This is our room!” Richie said.

“God, why can’t you just share a bed?” Beverly asked, turning to the guys again.

Richie and Eddie glanced at each other, and then back to Beverly.

“Yeah, we’re not gonna sleep in the same bed.”

“Nope, sorry.”

“Or we could change the beds,” Ben suggested. “I bet they’re not that heavy.”

He walked over to one of the beds, and started pushing it. Not moving. He walked to the other side — still not moving.

The other three just looked at him, and Eddie twisted his mouth; this was realy not working.

“Maybe if I pull it from here-” Ben tried and started to pull the bed from the leg-end of it, but ended up falling down to his butt.

“Are you okay?” Beverly hurried to ask.

“God, what are these, fucking bolted to the floor?!” Ben blurted out.

“Well—” Eddie sighed. “I guess we’re just gonna have to take the other room.”

Richie turned his head to Eddie almost so fast his glasses dropped down.

“But we’re gonna have to sleep in the same bed,” he spoke.

“Well,” Eddie shrugged. “No can do.”

They made sure to give Beverly one last judging eyes though, before quietly walking to the last room at the end of the hallway.

And a whistle left Richie’s lips as he opened the door.

“Wow,” Eddie said.

It was huge.

The room had a giant window at the top of the ceiling, so wide that you wouldn’t have even needed a lamp because it illuminated the whole room; but regardless, there was a white big crystal lamp hanging on the ceiling. On the floor there was a sheep hide (presumably fake though, as Bill and his family were vegetarians), and the bed was a California king size.

“I think we got the master bedroom,” Richie said to Eddie, and they glanced at each other again, before both of them high-fived and rushed in.

“Holy shit, this room is like the size of my entire house!” Richie blurted out.

“God, we even have a mini fridge,” Eddie said, opening it.

Richie chuckled as he fell on the bed, his gaze following Eddie who was walking around the room, looking at every tiny detail in it; and Richie was looking at every tiny detail in him.

Truth be told, he had been in love with Eddie ever since sixth grade, yet he’d never have the courage to tell him how he felt other than by joking pick-up lines Kaspbrak never took seriously; because it was Richie! He flirted with everyone. But what Eddie didn’t know, that every time Richie flirted with him? He really meant it.

“Hey, good news!” Eddie spoke, his head inside some room behind the corner.

“Yeah?” Richie asked, and Eddie turned around.

“We have a bathroom — so there’s still that bathtub.” Eddie said, and Richie laughed.

“What, I take the bathtub and you take the bed?” He asked.

“Well since you offered,” Eddie shrugged, soon a smirk rising to his lips; and Richie couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Eddie saw the… look in Richie’s eyes, something he wasn’t sure if he’d seen before, and he felt his tummy fill with butterflies as he just chuckled and glanced away. And then the door swung open.

“Guys! Food is ready!” Ben said, his jaw then dropping as he looked around the room.

“Wow,” he said.

“My words exactly, Benny-boy!” Richie said, jumping down from the bed. “Still want that balcony room?”

“You two hit jackpot.” Ben mumbled, and Richie let out a raspy laugh, ruffling his friend’s hair on his way out; and Eddie felt his legs go limp.

God, this was going to be a long, long weekend.

—-

“Popcorn?”

Richie lifted his head up to Stanley who arrived in the living room with a bowl of popcorn in his hands later that day.

“Wow, is it poisoned?” Richie joked to his friend who laughed, clearly over his mood from earlier.

“No, it’s not poisoned, Rich.” Stan said, and Richie smirked before he reached out for the bowl.  

“Oh wait, actually—” Stanley joked as Richie’d already thrown the whole handful into his mouth.

“Kidding.” Uris smirked and Richie laughed, as Stan started to hold the bowl out to the rest of them.  

“I still can’t believe your parents own a cabin this big,” Richie said, as the whole club were sitting in the living room, some of them on the couch and some of them on the floor next to the sofa table, sitting on top of a another freaking sheep hide. “Are y'all secretly millionaires or something?”

Bill chuckled at Richie’s question, sipping on his beer.

“No, unf-fortunately.” Bill said. “This cabin used to be my grandpa’s.”

“Your grandpa’s? But this is so modern,” Eddie said. Him and Richie were sitting next to each other on the couch; and Eddie wasn’t drinking either. Richie was a little surprised at this, because Richie not drinking had never stopped Eddie before — it had never stopped any of them before, honestly, but now Eddie wasn’t. He’d objected from taking a beer twice already. But maybe he just wasn’t in the mood.

God, Richie; it’s not because of you, he thought to himself.

“Yeah well, grandpa never l-liked it.” Bill shrugged. Maybe that’s why.

“So was your grandpa a millionaire?” Beverly smirked from the couch, sloughing with the beer can lazily in the hand that was hanging out from the hand rest.

“More or l-less.” Bill said and all their eyes widened.

“Your grandpa was a millionaire and you never told us?!” Richie blurted out, and Bill laughed.

“Well why would’ve I?” He asked. “It’s not like I had the m-muh-money.”

“God. A millionaire in our midst.” Richie said. “Step back Stan, I might marry Bill.”

Eddie glanced at Richie as their friends laughed, feeling as though someone had just punched him in the chest. He lowered his gaze and just leaned to grab some popcorn from the bowl on the table, trying to eat his feelings away.

“Not if I do it first,” Stan said, throwing a hand over Bill’s shoulders and smiling at him.

“I’m serious, there might be a ring to it! Richard Denbrough.” Richie said, fake majestic, and everyone laughed again; all except for Eddie.

Stanley just rolled his eyes amusedly, saying; “Tough luck, Tozier.” — before pulling Bill in to a kiss.

“Get a room,” Ben joked.

Mike and Beverly chuckled as Richie turned his gaze to Eddie, who didn’t look entertained at all. He looked like he was drowning inside his big hoodie, his legs stretched out on the table in front of them, and he just looked so cute Richie could’ve swooned right there and then.

“You okay, Eds?” Richie asked.

“Fine.” Eddie just said.

God, what’s wrong with you?! He thought to himself. It was just a joke!

“Yeah? You don’t look like it.” Richie chuckled. “You’re sulking.”

They hadn’t even noticed that the rest of the losers were paying attention to them now.

“No I’m not,” Eddie said.

“Yes you are,” Richie said, leaning to press his finger against Eddie’s cheek to try and pull the corners of his mouth up, and Eddie burst out in a chuckle.

“Stop!” He laughed.

“There! Not broody anymore,” Richie smirked, and the other losers exchanged looks.

–—–

“So uh… how are we going to… do this?”

Richie and Eddie were standing on opposite sides of the bed in their pj’s, looking at each other and the bed alternatively.

“Well uh… you take that side and I take this side,” Eddie said from the left side.

“Right,” Richie said. “So we just… get in.”

“Right,” Eddie said.

“Right.” Richie said again.

Eddie nodded, and they both climbed to the bed, getting under the blankets; and then they realized the blankets were in fact just… a one, blanket.

“Uh…” Richie mumbled.

“Well I mean— it’s a huge blanket,” Eddie said. “I’m sure we can manage with it.”

Richie nodded in agreement. It wasn’t like he had anything against this.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Richie nodded.

They looked at each other in the slightly bothered silence, the room was dark other than the light around the bed that was coming from yellow night-lamps on the night tables on both sides of the bed.

“So… good night,” Eddie said.

“Good night,” Richie said back.

They looked at each other for another few seconds before Eddie nodded and gave a small awkward smile, and then turned his back to Richie, leaning to pull the string of his side’s lamp to shut it. Richie looked at the back of his head for a moment (and Eddie sensed this, as he didn’t feel the bed shift first), before he turned to his side and leaned to close his lamp.

Neither one of them fell asleep; they didn’t get even close to it; and then, after approximately five minutes, Richie spoke.

“You up?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Eddie said.

“I’m not even tired.” Richie admitted, and Eddie smiled a little, even though in the dark room it couldn’t be seen. Well, and he did still have his back towards Richie too.

“Neither am I,” Eddie said, and Richie turned around. Eddie did the same.

“So you wanna like… talk?” Richie asked.

“Okay,” Eddie shrugged softly. “About what?”

Richie shrugged.

“Something.” Richie said.

“That’s a wide subject.” Eddie chuckled, and Richie smiled.

“I like your laugh.” The words rolled off of Richie’s tongue and he did not mean to say that out loud — but oh, shit, he did.

Eddie’s brows raised up a little and Richie was too afraid to turn his gaze away, as his lips were a little parted.

“I mean—”

“You like my laugh?” Eddie smirked, amused.

“No, that’s not what I meant-”

“So you don’t like my laugh?” Eddie asked, faking offended.

“No, I like your laugh.” Richie mumbled, embarrassed, his cheeks pink.

Eddie looked at him in the dark, a wide smile on his lips. He then decided to speak too.

“I like your…” everything, he could’ve said. “Glasses.”

“I don’t even have them on right now,” Richie said.

“Can you see anything?” Eddie asked, actually a little curious.

“Honestly? No.” Richie said, and Eddie laughed again. “Especially cause it’s dark. I’m blind as a bat.”

“Awww,” Eddie cooed, and that did something to Richie; he didn’t know what it was, but he could feel the tension in the room change, so he got more courage.

“I like your hair,” Richie continued.

“I like your hair too,” Eddie smirked.

“What, this old thing?” Richie joked, running his fingers through his hair, and Eddie bit his lip gently — God, how he wanted to do that. 

“I like some of your jokes.” He just said, his voice going mellow.

“Holy shit, now that’s a compliment!” Richie blurted out, and Eddie smirked.

“Don’t let it get up to your head.”

“I like your smile,” Richie said, earning exactly that from Eddie, even though he had just brushed Eddie’s previous comment off. But come on, as if he was gonna let that one slip.

“I like your eyes.“ 

"That’s great, I’d look kinda scary without them.” Richie said, and Eddie laughed out loud, making Richie smile in the dark.

“Oh my God,” Eddie said. “That’s awful.”

“But it’s true,” Richie said.

“It is true.” Eddie agreed, biting down on his lip to stop himself from smiling.

“You… you said you can’t really see in the dark, but that doesn’t stop you from like… feeling, right?” He asked, his tummy flipping with butterflies as he thought of what to do next.

Richie felt exactly the same, even though he had no idea where Eddie was going with his. He kinda did, but he wasn’t sure.

“That’s… yeah, glasses don’t really… have anything to do with… feeling.” He uttered out, palms getting sweaty.

“Good,” Eddie said, before leaning to close the gap between the two of them, pressing his lips to Richie’s.

A tiny grunt left Richie’s mouth as he felt Eddie’s lips on his, and after processing for hardly three seconds, he grabbed Eddie’s wrists and rolled himself on top of the smaller boy.

The kiss turned passionate soon, both their tongues fighting for dominance — the kiss was hungry and thirsty and desperate for all the times that they’d been supposed to be doing this already.

Richie’s lips soon moved down to Eddie’s neck, earning a sigh from Eddie.

“I like your— your lips,” Kaspbrak breathed out as Richie kissed down his tanned skin. “-especially on me ohmygod.”

“Your skin smells like peppermint,” Richie moaned out in ecstasy, before attaching his lips to Eddie’s again; and it felt so right.

Outside snow was landing down in big flakes, covering the already white ground even more, the night-sky was filled with stars and Richie and Eddie forgot about everybody else in the entire world;

This must be what Bill and Beverly meant by “the magic.”

–—–

“Wakey wakey so we can get eggs and bakey that Richie forgot in the store!”

Richie woke up to Stan’s voice in the lobby, opening his eyes; and nearly gasping out loud at the sight of Eddie in his arms. His brunette head was resting against Richie’s bicep, his arm wrapped around Richie’s and their legs tangled together; and slowly, the events of last night started coming back to Richie. The way Eddie’s body felt on top of his, the way his lips felt like on Richie’s, the way his name sounded like coming out of Eddie’s mouth in a soft whisper-

“Richieeee and Eddiieeee are you up?!”

“Shit,” Richie breathed out.

Stanley was gonna march in any second now, and if he saw Eddie and Richie spooning, he wouldn’t stop talking about it ever, so Richie had to do something. He kept on glancing at the door, and Eddie, biting down to his own lip, trying to think of a way to get out;

And then he just jumped up, Eddie immediately waking up.

“A spider!” Richie squeaked, pointing at the bed.  

“Shit, where?!” Eddie blurted out, jumping up too.

“Get dressed, Stanley’s coming!” Richie hissed as he pulled on his sweatpants, and Eddie’s eyes widened, before he grabbed his pajama pants and pulled them on, getting his sweater over his head just in time as the door opened.

“Oh, great! You’re up!” Stan said.

“Uh-huh!” Eddie and Richie rushed to say.

Stan just did them the finger guns before walking away, whistling a tune.

Looks like Richie and Eddie weren’t the only ones who’d experienced the “magic” last night.

“So uh… about last night-” Eddie started.

“We should go,” Richie cut Eddie off. “I’m starving.”

Eddie looked at him for a moment before nodding.

“Right,” he said, and even though Richie felt kind of bad, he just nodded back at Eddie.

“I’m gonna… get changed.” He said.

“Yeah, me too,” Eddie said, but neither of them moved. And then Kaspbrak realized it would be awkward for some reason; not for him, but for Richie apparently. Which was weird, because they’d literally just been naked with each other.

“I’m… gonna go do it in the bathroom,” Eddie however still said.

“Right, okay.” Richie said.

Eddie just nodded and grabbed some clothes from his suitcase, before walking to the bathroom.

Why was Richie acting like this? Last night he was alright, why was he so weird now?

—–—

Mike, Stan and Ben were chopping for wood outside as Beverly was warming up the sauna near the pier; they were gonna do the whole “winter swimming and then sauna”- thing later that day; so the only ones left to go to the store with Bill were Richie and Eddie.

Richie was horrified; he’d have to spend time with Eddie again? God, he’d literally just woken up with his sight full of Kaspbrak, not to mention last night — now he’d have to go grocery shopping with him?

He felt odd; not that he didn’t wanna hangout with Eddie. Because he did. Like, a lot. Too much. Damn, way too much. That’s why he didn’t wanna hangout with him. And Eddie was just so — normal!

“Maybe they still have our groceries from last night?” Eddie asked from the backseat as they sat in silence in the car.

“Yeah, maybe,” Bill said. “At least I have the r-receipt.”

“You do?” Eddie asked. “That’s great! Just — lets not forget the bags this time, huh, Richie?”

Eddie’s chuckle echoed to the front of the car where Richie swallowed nervously.

“Yeah, lets not,” he just said.

Eddie glanced at him from the mirror, turning his gaze away immediately though as Richie glanced back at him. He was just trying to keep things normal, because Richie was clearly making a big deal out of last night. Not that it wasn’t a big deal, because it was, but Richie made it seem like it shouldn’t have happened. And it was starting to upset Eddie.

—–—

The grocery trip wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, if you don’t count Richie hiding behind every possible aisle and/or pile of soda cans etc, and now they were already back inside the cabin, cooking some dinner.

“I can’t believe that they gave you everything we forgot,” Beverly said. “That’s amazing!”

“We’re tourists from the city. They probably did it out of pity,” Stanley snorted and everyone chuckled; except for Richie, who was still walking on eggshells around Eddie.  

“You okay?” Eddie asked, looking into Richie’s eyes, trying to get the deeper message to him - but Richie just nodded, continuing to mix the mashed potatoes.

“Hey, you’ve got some-” Eddie leaned to brush a tiny bit of the mash off of Richie’s cheek, and literally all of the losers dropped what they were doing to stare at the pair; but Richie was lightly gaping at Eddie, and then they turned their gazes to the losers, who quickly went back to whatever they were doing.

Eddie too just grabbed his salmon slices and waddled over to the oven.

Throughout the whole dinner, Eddie and Richie didn’t look at each other, and when Richie asked if someone could pass the ketchup, Eddie just went for it automatically but Richie refused to take it.

“You want it?” Eddie asked, and the second he did, both him and Richie went red— remembering certain details.

“Oh my God,” Stanley growled, grabbing the ketchup bottle and lightly slamming it in front of Richie, before flashing him a fake, snarky smile. “There you go, Tozier.”

The other losers definitely had a hunch.

–—–

“So the sauna’s all ready?” Mike asked, as the whole lot of them stood outside wearing nothing but swimwear, their gazes glued to the hole made to the water in front of them. None of them had ever tried winter swimming, except for Bill — and he claimed it was fun. 

“Uh-huh,” Beverly said.

Eddie was shaking from the cold, his hands wrapped around his tiny frame, and Richie felt so bad; he just wanted to pull him against his chest and warm him up, but he couldn’t.

“So… who wants to go first?” Ben asked.

“I think Bill should do it since he’s done it already,” Eddie breathed out, trying to warm himself up by rubbing his hands up and down his arms.

“I think Bill should be the last,” Mike said. “Because he really is the only one who’s done it; he should stay and make sure we’re all doing it right.”

“That’s true,” Stan said. “Richie might accidentally drown himself.”

“Ha-ha, Uris,” Richie faked a laugh, and Stan smirked.

“Okay, I’m gonna go first!” Beverly said.

“As always,” Richie mumbled, flashbacks from the quarry hitting him.

“Okay, just lower yourself in and swuh-swim to the end, th-then swim back and just ruh-run to the sauna.” Bill said, and Beverly nodded.

“Got it,” she said, and started to lower herself in; and she screamed the second she did.

“Wow,” Richie said. “That how she screams in b-”

“Do not say it,” Ben deadpanned but Richie couldn’t help but smirk nevertheless.

“Now just swim!” Bill chuckled, and Beverly did as told, shrieking the whole time though, before she was finally back and up. The boys laughed as she ran inside to the tiny sauna- building next to the pier.

“Next?” Stan asked, and Ben raised his hand. 

“Oh, shit, this really is cold,” he breathed out, and Bill smirked as Ben swam from end to end and soon he ran in too.

“Okay, I am done waiting here in the cold,” Eddie blurted out, and he went in fast.

“Shit, shit, fucking shit, fuck fuck shit fuck-”

He cursed his way through it, and for a moment Richie forgot about how awkward things were between them and just laughed with the rest of their friends.

Then Eddie jumped up.

“How was it?” Richie asked, still in the relaxed state.

“Oh you’re not gonna survive it Tozier,” Eddie just breathed out before sprinting to the sauna, and Richie bit his lip gently as he stared after him.

Next went Stanley (who throughout the whole thing reminded his friends repeatedly about how this was such a bad idea and how he hates them), then went Mike (who giggled adorably and said ‘Wow, that really was cold!’ once he got out) and soon there were only Richie and Bill.

They stood there in silence, glancing at each other and the water.

“You know, just, w-whenever you’re ready.” Bill said, hinting Richie to just do it.

“It’s probably really cold though, right?” Richie asked.

Bill raised his brows.

“It is, yes.” He said.

“What if I just didn’t do it?” Richie asked, and Bill fake gasped.

“Are you ch-chickening out, Richie?” He asked, and Richie glanced away.

“Oh, you are suh-so not gonna chicken out!” Bill laughed, grabbing Richie from the arm to try and pull him towards the water.

“Hey!” Richie laughed, trying to protest.

“Get in!” Bill laughed.

“No! No—”

“Guys! Hey guys!”

Both Bill and Richie turned their gazes towards the sauna, seeing Beverly.

“The power’s out. Again.”

———

Back inside in the (now dark) house again, there were candles all around as the losers were all cuddled on the sofa under blankets, and dressed now — Richie was sitting alone on the opposite chair though, and him and Eddie kept on glancing at each other every now and then as Bill stood in the corner of the room, speaking to the phone.

“Tuh-tomorrow?! Wha do you m-mean tomorrow, mom?!” He snapped, and pretty much all the losers sighed or whined in frustration.

“I’m sorry honey, that’s just what he told. He’s not in town today, he’s coming back first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Well wuh-what are we supposed to do till then, huh?! It’s already getting coh-cold in here! By the time he arrives we’ll b-be in h-h-hypothermia!”

“Get some wood for the fireplaces.”

“We already u-used them all for the s-s-sauna!”

“You went to the sauna? Billy, honey, you know it takes a lot of wood. Why would you-”

“Well how was I supposed to know that the p-p-power goes out when it was just fixed yesterday!”

“You should really find a new electrician,” Richie noted and Eddie rolled his eyes in amusement.

“Why don’t we just go get some wood?” Mike suggested.

“What, you suggest we chop down a tree?” Stan snorted.

“No, Stanley, there’s that gas station nearby. Maybe they have some?” Mike said.

“That’s true,” Ben said.

Bill listened to them, and then sighed to the phone.

“W-we’re gonna go get some wood from the g-gas station.” He said.

“Okay. Drive carefully though, the road’s a nightmare this time of the year!”

Stan smirked smugly a little as he heard Bill’s mom agreeing with him.  

“Sure. Bye.”

And then Bill hung up.

“So, who’s going?” He asked.

“Richie,” Stan said.

“Huh?” Richie asked.

“You and Bill are the only ones who didn’t swim,” He shrugged. “You’re not freezing.”

“True.” Ben murmured, snuggling closer to Beverly.

“Well I don’t wanna go alone!” Richie blurted out. “It’s dark already!”

“Aww, are you scared of the dark?” Stan joked. “Or scared that a yeti will come?”

Richie glared at Stan.

“I’ll come wih-with you.” Bill said.

“Bill, this is your cabin,” Beverly said. “You have to be here.”

“Why?” Bill frowned.

“Well if something happens!”

“We have c-cellphones.” Bill said, holding his phone up. “See?”

Then he glanced at the screen.

NO SERVICE

“Shit,” he blurted out.

“What?” They all asked in unison.

“We just lost the reception,” Bill mumbled.

“Oh, great!” Richie blurted out, falling back in his seat. “This is just like the beginning of a horror movie!”

“Richie, come on.” Beverly said.

“Teens go to a cabin to have some fun time — they drink, they have a fun time, they have sex-”

All the losers turned to look at Eddie with wide eyes, and Kaspbrak went bright red as Beverly mouthed a “nice!” at him. Richie hadn’t even realized what he’s said as he was too busy staring at each finger he held up at a new thing.

“-then the power goes out, they lose cell reception, the nerd has to go get some supplies by himself—! You’re literally throwing me out to Jason in here!”

“Well, no can do, Tozier.” Stan said. “We’re all freezing, Billy owns this place-”

“I’ll go with you,” Eddie said, and all the losers turned to look at him.

“What?” Richie asked.

“Yeah,” Eddie shrugged, getting out from the blanket he was sharing with Beverly and Ben. “Lets go. Before Jason awakens.”

“You’re… you’re-”

“Yes, I’m coming with you, lets just go!” Eddie said, wanting to escape from under the amused eyes of their friends who had just totally realized the two of them had had sex.

“Okay,” Richie just then said and got up.

“W-wait a minute guys,” Bill said. “We don’t have s-service, so you gotta drive cuh-carefully, okay?”

“Okay,” Richie said and Eddie nodded.

“Do we need anything else?” Eddie asked and Richie glanced at him; Eddie glanced back, Richie blushed a little at the thought of having to sit inside that car alone with Eddie and turned his gaze away.

“If they have flashlights.” Stan said. “That would be great.”

“Okay. Flashlights and wood. Got it.” Richie nodded, and they started to walk away. Richie grabbed the car keys from the basket on the vestibule table, and they stepped out of the cabin.

They rushed over to Bill’s Range Rover (aka, Soccer Mom Mobile), and Richie started it in silence.

He took off from the front yard, and as he drove on the snowy road only lit by the lights of the car, Eddie finally spoke.

“Can we-”

“Eddie, please, I’m trying to concentrate on the road,” He said.

Eddie looked at him for a moment before nodding.

“Okay,” he said.

The gas station wasn’t as far as the grocery store, so it took them about fifteen minutes to get there;

Only to realize it was closed.

“Fuck!” Richie cursed out, kicking the door after trying to desperately pull it open.

“Calm down,” Eddie frowned.

“We just drove fifteen minutes for nothing, Eds!” Richie snapped. “Fifteen minutes, on a narrow, deadly road for nothing!”

“Maybe he’s just having a cigarette break or something,” Eddie said.

“This sign says closed. I think that means the place is closed.”

“There’s a phone number,” Eddie said, trying to ignore the slightly offensive tone Richie had just used. “Why don’t we call it? Check your phone. Do you have reception?”

“Alright, alright,” Richie mumbled, overwhelmed by all the babbling from Eddie.

“I have,” he said and glanced at the brunette.

“Well great! Call the guy,” he said and Richie nodded.

He tapped the number to his phone, before calling it.

Beeeeeep.

Beeeeeep.

Beeeeeep.

“He’s not picking up,” Richie said. “What if he’s sleeping?”

“He closed the store fifteen minutes ago, Richie. He’s probably not sleeping,” Eddie said.

Beeee-

“Hello?”

“Hey!” Richie blurted out. “Hello, hi, I’m uh, outside your gas station and I had no idea it closes at 9pm and my friends and I are staying at a cabin nearby and the power went off and we’re in desperate need of some wood and flashlights.”

Silence.

“So you want me to come open the store that I just closed.” The man said, a little rude.

“…yes please?” Richie mumbled.

“What’s your name?”

“Richie.”

“And how old are you?”

“Uh… eighteen.”

“God damn, you kids! I don’t understand how your parents let foolish babies like you out there, when you don’t even have a thing such as ready-wood prepared! Let me guess, you also didn’t bring any water?”

“Hey, we do have water and we used all our woods for a sauna,” Richie said, kinda offended.

“Okay, right… Well, I’m turning around now — but it’s gonna take me half an hour.”

“Half an hour? If you closed the store fifteen minutes ago and you’re not even home yet how is it-”

Eddie raised his brows at Richie in a ARE YOU SERIOUSLY COMPLAINING NOW?- way, so Richie shut it.

“Okay. Thirty minutes. Got it.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Thank you, bye.”

And then the man hung up.

“Thirty minutes. We gotta wait thirty freaking minutes,” Richie growled, stomping back to the car. He got in, and soon after Eddie climbed in from the passenger’s side.

Richie put the heating back on as he rubbed his hands together, gently breathing against them to try and get them warmer. His glasses were all fumed and he removed them, starting to rub them clean with the hem of his shirt that was peeking out from under his jacket.

Eddie looked at him, feeling kinda bad.

“Do you want my mittens?” He asked softly. 

“I’m fine.” Richie lied with kind of a cold- tone of voice as he readjusted his glasses to his face.

“Okay, that’s it,” Eddie spat, and Richie turned his head towards him.

“Huh?” He asked.

“You can’t just keep pretending like it didn’t happen, Richie, cause guess what— it did!” Eddie snapped and Richie swallowed.

Oh, shit.

Here we go.

The conversation Richie was trying to dodge.

“I don't—”

“God help me Richie if you say you have no idea what I’m talking about,” Eddie breathed out, and Richie went quiet.

“I don’t get it! What did I do? Did I do something wrong?” Eddie asked, Richie turning his gaze away. “I thought you wanted it too, I—”

“I wanted it!” Richie blurted out, slamming his legs down towards the seat in frustration, and Eddie went quiet. “Okay?! I wanted it so bad you have no idea.”

“Then why are you like this?!” Eddie blurted out back at him.

“Because I’m in love with you and it scares me!”

Eddie’s lips parted as he looked at Richie, who closed his eyes, not daring to look at Eddie.

“You’re in…”

“Love with you. Yes.” Richie said. “And last night was— for you, it was probably just a heat of the moment kind of thing, but for me it—”

“It wasn’t just a heat of the moment kind of thing,” Eddie said, and now Richie turned his head towards him.

“It… wasn’t?”

“No,” Eddie shook his head lightly, a soft frown on his face. “Richie, I…”

He took a deep breath, before he turned his gaze away to the dark winter and the ugly yellow lit up logo of the gas station, and finished his sentence.

“I love you.”

Richie looked at him, inhaling shakily as he felt like his whole body went limp as Eddie just stared out of the window, nervously licking his lips.

“Can you… say that again,” Richie asked, and Eddie turned his gaze back to Richie, a surprised look on his face, as he soon started to smile.

“Yeah,” he said, leaning closer. “I love you.”

A smile started tugging on the corners of Richie’s mouth as well, and Eddie chuckled, glancing at Richie’s lips before kissing him softly.

Richie kissed him back, lifting his other hand to grab Eddie’s cheek.

God, why had he been so afraid? There was nothing to be afraid of. He should’ve figured it out by himself; Eddie was the one who kissed him last night. And Eddie hadn’t told Richie to stop. Not once. Of course he liked Richie too.

They seemed to had lost the track of time, beacause suddenly—

Knock knock knock.

Both Richie and Eddie yelped out, Eddie pulling himself back to his own seat and Richie turning his head, to see an old guy with brown beard.

Richie rolled down his window.

“You must be Richie.” The guy said.

“Uh, yeah,” Richie said. “Wow— did it… did thirty minutes pass already?”

“No, I was faster than expected.” Then he gestured Richie to come out, who glanced at Eddie (that just nodded with a small smile) before he did. “You see, the road was…”

Eddie smiled and bit down to his lip as he watched Richie follow the guy, and soon he felt a ridiculously girly giggle leave his mouth— but he didn’t even care.

Richie got the wood and flashlights and apologized and thanked the gas station owner for about a dozen times, and he just told Richie to be more prepared the next time. And before Richie could get in, he gently nudged him to the side and said, “remember to be safe, also.” as he nodded towards the car, knowing damn well Eddie was inside, and at first Richie thought it was kind of creepy but then the man let out a raspy laugh, and Richie laughed back. He just seemed like a harmless old codger.

“Sure. And thanks again,” Richie said and the man just nodded, still snickering. He then waved at Eddie also, who waved back with a smile.

“He seemed nice,” Eddie commented.

“Yeah.” Richie agreed, not wanting to tell him about the man’s little “final addition”, and then he started the car.

The car ride back, of course wasn’t as awkward as on the way to the station, and Richie even tried to hold Eddie’s hand while he was driving but they learned that it was not that good of an idea as Richie nearly drove them off the road.

“Ho-ho-ho, merry Christmas!” Richie joked, slamming the door open. “And happy Hanukkah.” He added, glancing at Stanley who rolled his eyes.

“We have some wood,” Richie said, holding up a bag.

“And flashlights!” Eddie said, holding up a pack of them.

The losers noted the now zen- tension between the of them, and couldn’t help but smile. And they definitely didn’t wanna tell them that their trip was actually for nothing — as they’d found out that the only reason the power was out was because Ben had accidentally pulled one of the cords out.

“Great!” Mike said, clapping his hands together.

“You wanna light up the fireplace?” Beverly asked.

“Sure!” Richie said, placing the wood down.

“Wait, I forgot my phone in the car,” Eddie said, handing Richie the flashlights. He was about to turn around and walk away, but Richie grabbed him by the arm.

“Wait,” he said, and pulled Eddie close, pressing his lips to Eddie’s who was taken by surprise, straight up melting to the kiss and losing all function because this was in front of all their friends!

“Oh, my, God.” Beverly just said; they had all known, of course. They’d all known Richie and Eddie had undeniable chemistry, they’d all known something had happened at the cabin, they’d all found out what that something was; but they were still a little taken aback by actually seeing this now.

“Now you can go,” Richie said as he pulled away, and Eddie was a little dizzy, not even sure what he was supposed to do, but then he remembered.

“R-right,” he stuttered out, before turning around and walking out.

“Wow,” Ben commented.

“Wow exactly,” Stan said. “You turned him into Billy! Now I might just want a kiss from you!”

“F-funny, Stan.” Bill joked, and Stanley smiled sweetly at him. Richie then kneeled down in front of the fireplace to start tucking the fire in, and Mike leaned to whisper to Stan.

“So we’re just not gonna tell them about the power?” 

Stan looked at him and shook his head with a tiny smirk, and Mike nodded, smiling wide.

“Okay.”

@superbyersbros@xbell22@donthateonk8@stenbroughbros@reddiebrekmyheart@itsgreywaterrichie@donvex@blueeyespurpleskies@ageorgymi@oh-youre-the-worst@eddiekaaspbraak @whipashwhipash@rissyq @richietoaster @edskasqbrak @urtury @bukiminajimu @kcutieeesblog@stansmansuris@adorefack@reddieaddict@icyeyes102@denbroughbill@graveyardshipper@taletellingsir@anxiety-freak-yuuri@rheddie@queertrashmouth@richiefreakingtozier@castletozier@tohzier @80soleff@lonewolfhard@low-key-dying @sad-synth@richietoaster @badboyharrington@beepbeep-losers@temptedtozier@kaspbraccs@kylieee827-blog @sad-synth @low-key-dying@officiallyreddie@reddietofall@stanleyboii@eternitynurarms@remushlupin@turtleneckrichie@rosegoldrichie@80srichie@asteroidbill@lonewolfhard@trashmouthgazebos@littlepointman @finnhardwolf @allison0609 @fabulousprinceali  @tatiscribbles @s-s-georgie 

[coeurdastronaute]

Either/Or: Duck III

Previously on Duck

Even with a full arm cast, the CEO worked hard, choosing to devote herself to the distraction of her job. High in the belfry of LCorp’s tower, she toiled and tried not to count on a hero showing up on her balcony, though every single night she promised herself to ignore it, and yet she spent the day waiting eagerly. The days were spent waiting to avoid thinking about what her future might hold, which turned into a more exhausting job than her already exhausting one.

Work was a different kind of obstacle with a full arm cast, but Lena persevered anyway. It didn’t hurt that she got doted on behind the scenes. She grumbled about it, but the hero didn’t take it to heart at all. Little things had a way of appearing when she needed them. There was extra aspirin and her favorite juice one morning. There were flowers when she woke and little notes that had inside jokes. She was someone who had inside jokes. There were lunches left while Lena was in meetings, and there were homemade baked goods to get rid of the afternoon lethargy.

She got in the habit as well. One of her finished books made its way into the hero’s possession as she left it with a note on the balcony at the hotel. She made a sandwich and left it waiting, wrapped up nicely when she fell asleep early one night. When she went to a dinner meeting, extra dessert made its way back to the hero waiting. Lena was someone who thought of things like that, now.

More important than all of it, there were evenings, the deep, dark nights spent up much too late talking and shivering on the balcony. It was a delicate dance, to talk and not push. It felt more intimate than Lena could remember having a relationship in a long time, if that was what she could even call it. It was how she learned that Supergirl had to eat constantly due to her high metabolism. It was how she found herself telling a superhero about what it was like to be pushed against a wall and strangled, what it felt like to feel like nothing because of her mother’s words. She hadn’t meant to tell anyone those things, she hadn’t meant to think those things. But they came out at night, when the world was quiet and the stars were dancing brightest against the city lights.

The computer monitor on her desk had another spreadsheet on it that was important enough, that needed her attention, but the CEO couldn’t find it in herself to care at all. Instead, she just kept thinking about the way Supergirl looked when she talked about her own parents, this joy and this sorry that was so intertwined, so precise, it was contagious in equal measures. Lena thought about the way her face looked when she confessed her own childhood.

For even more reasons, in that moment, the CEO found herself hating the former Luthor owner. Her big brother would have known. No one would believe her if she told them about Lex near his wife, or how he mooned over her the first day he met her practically laying himself out on Lena’s bed while he talked about the girl with soft, red hair who smiled at him and said ‘You need a hat.’ Those words were on his ribs and when she knit him one three weeks later, he wore it proudly in the snow.

When Lena was fifteen years old, she held her nephew while her brother beamed from the other side of the hospital room. Dressed in his slacks and shirt rolled up at the elbows, he crossed his arms over his broad chest and the angles of his naturally stern face turned almost soft.

If she had been smarter, if she had been paying attention Lena always assumed that she would have seen the insanity right there. But it lingered below the surface, already coming out in different ways, but non obvious enough to warrant worry. Who would worry about the brilliant billionaire with a new family?

In her dreams, Lena stared at her brother's face and she looked for the signs and beat herself up so bad she woke up gasping from time to time, when the guilt got to be too much.

Lena watched it happen, watched him fall in love and watched him lose his mind, and as she crawled into bed after a hug from the hero, she felt the coldest shiver of fear and dread creep up her spine. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was capable of the same kind of evil, if she was capable of losing something she hadn’t considered.

“Ms. Luthor?” Jess asked, repeating herself for the twelfth time, and only finally getting a response from the distracted boss.

“Yes, sorry, what is it, Jess?” she sat up a little more in her chair and tapped her pen a few times against her desk.

“Can I get you anything for lunch?”

“No, thank you,” Lena smiled and leaned forward, suddenly self-conscious. “I brought something.”

It was almost a lie. She had sushi delivered to her that morning, fresh from Tokyo, and it made her heart giddy. For just a second, of course. And then the dred. That creeping fear of what it all meant overwhelmed her entirely and she found herself lost in those thoughts and memories of her brother and his descent.

“Will you get the boys something though? They’re growing lads and need a bite,” she remembered her guards who sat in the lobby, waiting for her to leave or move down the hall.

“Of course.”

New files were put on the corner of her desk, but Lena didn’t particularly care. She had too many thoughts for her office.

“When is my meeting with the Beta team?” she finally asked as she stood.

“Not until two.”

Jess moved around the desk, knowingly pick up what she knew needed refiled, organizing what remained while Lena grabbed her purse and moved toward the fridge beneath her bar.

“I’m going out for lunch.”

“It’s hot out there,” the assistant warned.

“I need some sun. I need to be out of this room.”

“I’ll phone down to security.”

“Just one. I don’t want an entire battalion just to go sit alone at the park.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Could you also call the hotel and have them deliver two large pizzas around ten tonight?”

“Pizza?”

“Yes, you know, that round thing with cheese?” Lena smiled as she moved toward the door. She couldn’t help but recognize a bit of amusement in her friend’s voice. “Sometimes I like pizza.”

“Enough to eat two large ones?”

“Thank you, Jess,” Lena smiled and shook her head. “I appreciate it.”

“Anything else? Maybe some bread sticks? Ice cream? Cheeseburgers?” she taunted.

“Just pizza for now. You’re the one who keeps telling me to expand my horizons.”

“That’s true,” she sighed as she stood behind the large desk and set up the rest of the day. “Have a good lunch.”

Lena wasn’t dumb. She knew that Jess wasn’t either, but she certainly didn’t know where to start when it came to her new friend, and so she took the half-hearted needling and she was thankful Jess was easy enough to not push too far.

It wasn’t even particularly normal for her to want to escape the tower, and yet, Lena found herself doing all kinds of things she never expected recently. That was how her brain now worked.

Years passed before Lena realized she hadn’t had time to think. Life just happened, was thrust upon her. And then her heart fluttered back and her head fluttered twice as hard. Sitting on the bench in the park a few blocks away from her building, she nibbled on delicious sushi and dug out the newest book added to her collection by the hero.

By the time her watch reminded her that there was actual business to conduct, she’d reached an almost state of zen. Children played and ran around the trees. People milled about, the world happened in this tiny slice of life and Lena was actually a part of it, she was actually existing and the sky wasn’t falling.

She dreaded checking her phone, though as she made her way back toward the entrance of the park, Lena found herself compelled to check the damage of her extended absence. Behind her, a behemoth of a man in a suit followed, eyes darting around behind dark sunglasses. It did nothing to make her feel safe. Nothing would. Fate just had a way of smacking her right in the fac--

“Golly, I am so sorry,” a voice hurried as Lena felt herself come in contact with an immovable force. She bounced back a step before strong hands grabbed her tightly.

It was those eyes, she realized, the moment she saw them. All warning signals went off like a submarine about to be torpedoed. It might have even been comical if she had the wherewithal to imagine the controllers in her head scurrying around while red lights swirled and warnings blared over the speakers. Instead, she just stared at those eyes.

“Duck!” she tugged a little as she felt her bodyguard approach and try to swing at the person who was currently holding her tight.

Much too quickly, they were tipped down with ease, avoiding the fist of the protector.

“Oh fuck,” Lena sighed, furrowing deeply as she wound her arms around a familiar neck and inhaled that familiar smell. “Not again.”

“I’m so sorry. I should have watched where I was going, and then--”

Both were speechless, both were terrified, both couldn’t figure out how to move again. That moment, the earth-shattering, life-changing moment they experienced amidst burning rubble and an attack copter, was supposed to be a one time feeling. But they felt it change, for better or worse, right there in the park in the middle of a warm afternoon.

Lena forgot how to breathe, and she didn’t know what to do. She knew, logically, that Supergirl had to exist in the world, and yet, seeing her now, was just completely new and unexpected. It was easier to keep a distance, to not think of this.

“Easy, Peter,” Lena held up her hand as she was righted and the guard fret over her. “I’m fine. Just an accident. Give me some space.”

She waited for him to back up before surveying the girl in front of her. Gone was the suit, the costume. In its place was glasses, soft blonde hair tied up in a pony tail, soft colors and starched shirts. She was anything but super, but standing right there, Lena was positive, and she now intimately understood why she was always afraid to ask about the hero’s real identity. Now it was real. Now it was possible. Now it was there.

Those eyes were wide and worried. All kind of blue and happy and different. Lena couldn’t find the rest of the world to save her life. All that existed was the moment between them when she came face to face with the girl of her dreams.

“I’m sorry again,” the not-so-strange, stranger muttered and adjusted her own glasses nervously.

“Come on, don’t pretend,” Lena shook her head. “Fate made us have the same interaction twice. Surely, that’s a little bit funny.”

“Maybe we’re both so dense it knew we needed a second go at it,” she smiled. Lena would know that smile anywhere. She spent the past few weeks mapping it in the dark. “Is your arm alright?”

The worry was new and still very foreign to her. But as the hero reached out and held the cast, scanning it tenderly, with a kind of familiarity that was normal for them.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” she promised, looking down to make sure it was still attached. When she met Supergirl’s gaze, she swallowed and cleared her throat. “We don’t have to… do this or whatever. You haven’t said anything before, and I respect--”

“My name is Kara,” she interrupted, hand sticking out, waiting for the niceties to be met. “It’s nice to meet you, officially.”

“Lena,” the CEO breathed, taking the hand offered to her.

They stood there shaking hands as if they’d never learned how before. It was almost the most contact they had mustered.

“I never introduced myself because I wasn’t sure you were ready.”

“I probably wasn’t,” Lena confessed. “I’m probably not.”

“I wasn’t either.”

There was a weirdness to knowing someone and not knowing them, one that lingered between them so that Lena felt a tangible need to say or do or be something, though she couldn’t. They knew each other as much as anyone who spent nearly every evening together could know, and yet they knew absolutely nothing. The dichotomy of knowing that the hero’s favorite smell was lemongrass versus not knowing what she did as a day job was baffling and confounding.

“I hope we don’t make a habit out of this.”

“At least nothing’s on fire,” Kara grinned. It was purely to the side and all manner of  mischievous. “Are you just out for a walk? Could I walk with you? Maybe? I was just… I had to go--- I mean. I don’t have to right now. But we could, if you want.”

“I actually snuck out of the office for lunch. Sushi and a good book.”

“Ah, sushi sounds good. Did you know they make the best sushi at this tiny restaurant on the fifth floor of a building in Tokyo? Right on the corner near the fish market,” she smiled wider, proud of herself. “I was just there not too long ago.”

If anyone else had been watching, they might not have recognized Lena Luthor. She couldn’t help it though, and with those words, she laughed, genuinely, honestly, right from the gut, laughed.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind next time I make it over there.”

The phone still clutched in her hand buzzed with warnings and the inevitable reminders from her assistant, but Lena didn’t want to go back. She wanted to run away with this stranger who was anything but, who was funny and geeky and unassuming, right in front of her. Despite how afraid she was.

“I shouldn’t keep you,” Kara murmured, her own smile growing as she watched Lena recover from laughing. “I’m sure you have business to get to. I was just on my way to do something. Um. Run a few errands.”

“Right, of course, yeah,” she nodded. “If this, uh. We should… talk?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

“What do you like on your pizza?”

“Um, well, anything, actually,” Kara answered, confused as to the train of thought.

“Try using the front door this time, tiger,” Lena grinned as her phone vibrated, annoyed and ignored and not taking it any longer. “Maybe tonight we finally figure things out.”

“Is this just because we ran into each other?”

“No,” the CEO sighed. “I mean. I planned on…. I planned on having dinner with you tonight.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she smiled, still unsure of herself. But Kara’s giant smile helped put her at ease. If she was going to do one thing in this world, she was going to earn more of those. And maybe that was what this entire thing was all about. The thoughts troubled her for a split second.

Lena Luthor liked to be good at things, and this was unchartered waters.

“Could I walk you back to your office?” Kara ventured, despite knowing it would make her late for work, despite knowing the lashing that would come from her editor.

“Sure.”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

“Awesome.”

Both smiled and nodded and were nervous wrecks, but persisted anyway, diving deep and very aware that they had no idea what the landing was supposed to look like.

The night that Lex Luthor was found in a non-extradition country, Kara spent hours holding back her cousin. And when the League found out, they consulted the government and held him back even tighter. In the back of her head though, her first thought was of a CEO who was undoubtedly glued to the television.

The night that Lex Luthor was found, Lena tried to ignore it and failed. When Jess poked her head in and offered to get dinner, Lena smiled politely and told her to head home. And when she went home, she oddly hoped that no one else would join her.

But she knew her soulmate.

The day she met her, officially, in the park, Lena was a ball of emotions. That was the thing she would never want anyone to figure out and worked hard to conceal, that she was a perpetual roaring river of emotions hidden behind the thinnest dam ever constructed, ready and eager to break at the slightest provocation. That was the thing that Kara knew, despite Lena’s best attempts to prove otherwise, and she hated it, and was in no mood for the weakness of her structurally unsound levee in the torrential flooding of her brother’s reappearance.

After two months, knocking had grown obsolete. But the night Lex Luthor was spotted, Kara hesitated.

Inside the hotel room, she heard Lena pace. She heard her set down a glass that, even from the distance of being behind a door, smelled like vodka. Behind the door to the hotel room, Kara watched Lena finally. Watched her cross her arms and finally go into the bedroom before taking off a work shirt in favor of something more comfortable. Kara blushed and cleared her throat before making her way inside with the key Lena told her to use.

“Hey, Lena, I brought dinner,” Kara called. “I figured you might be busy or maybe forgot and I was in the neighborhood, which is actually a lie. I wasn’t. I was actually in Metropolis, but I remembered you said that this place had your favorite--” she paused as she put bags on the counter of the full kitchen. “Golly.”

Her legs weren’t long, but when they were on display, they were all that mattered. Kara stared, and even though she didn’t mean to, she felt her gaze take a long while as it made the trip up from the ground to the edge of a long shirt that hung just below hips. The faintest edge of shorts could been seen there, but Kara had no time for that fact. Instead, she just stared and felt her eyes go wide.

She stared until she heard the sound of a bag hitting the ground and forgot that her hands held things. Her eyes and seeing took up much more brainpower than previously expected, but when Lena rounded the corner, nothing much made sense.

“Duck,” Lena returned with a smile she couldn’t have imagined all day. But then Kara was right there, and Lena couldn’t help it.

“Sorry, I’m. I didn’t. I didn’t mean to barge in, or interrupt, I was just--”

“In the neighborhood?”

“Yes. No. Wait,” she shook her head and scrambled to pick up the take out. “I was. I thought you might like company.”

“I didn’t think you’d stop by,” Lena shrugged as she put her hair up.

The past few months had been a delicate balance of friendship that neither explicitly knew how to navigate. Kara felt a growing attachment, a natural inclination to care about her soulmate. And she also wanted to kiss her which was growing to complicate things immensely because she was certain Lena was barely handling her being Supergirl.

“I was hoping you’d be… I’ll just. Do you want to put more clothes… I…” the hero turned around and blushed, focusing decidedly upon the bags of food. “I didn’t mean to. Golly.”

“You said that already.”

Without a thought, Lena approached and rested her chin on Kara’s shoulder. She kept her arms crossed, she leaned as best she could and inhaled the new familiar, that Kara smell, of sunlight and something fruity, something like a peach, soft and sweet that fogged up her thoughts.

“Today was shit,” Lena acknowledged. “But this smells good. Is this from Ezio’s?”

“The best clam sauce in the world,” Kara nodded. “I had to test out your rave review. Plus, pasta is the best kind of comfort food.”

For a moment, they looked like a couple. Lena knew it. She saw herself, she felt the pause. Kara swallowed hard and smiled at the feeling of warmth against her back. It was the most intimate they had been, and still, Kara didn’t know how to handle it. Thankfully, her stomach grumbled and she earned a chuckle.

“Let’s feed you then. I’m sure your day wasn’t much better.”

The departure of the chin on her shoulder was oddly hollow. Kara turned quickly and furrowed.

“Hey, you’re… how are you?”

“They can’t go get them, can they?” Her arms wrapped around herself tighter. “It’d be illegally obtained. The courts would side with him.”

Kara watched Lena cock her head and squint, and no one else would ever know what a scared person rested in the confident exterior of the CEO. She just shook her head in response.

“I spent all day holding back Clark. And any free moments, we were trying to find a legal way to go about it, but we didn’t… we tried… I mean--”

“You didn’t find anything.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It’ll… it’ll all work out,” Lena tried. “At least he isn’t trying to kill me at the moment.”

Kara snorted indignantly before her arms moved on their own. She was already hugging Lena tightly, wrapping around the girl tightly because it was the only way to provide comfort. It felt right, and despite Lena’s tensing, she relaxed a moment later, languidly lounging in the reassurance of strong arms.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” Kara promised. Her lips moved against Lena’s hair, against her temple, against the shell of her ear.

“I know,” Lena nodded.

As she pulled away, Kara’s hands fell to her hips, wrapped around her waist. She felt her hips press against the girl who brought her a dinner she’d mentioned weeks ago, just because she thought it would help. Her palms rested on Kara’s chest, her fingertips toying with buttons and collarbones.

“I was weirdly worried about you, all day,” the reporter finally admitted, when staring at lips was too distracting, and those eyes were nothing but an even worse target to keep her mind from taking terribly arousing rabbit holes of thoughts.

“It’s not weird. What do all of the stories say? We’re linked, now, right?” Lena shrugged. The news was welcomed though.

“I always thought that was just part of the story,” she admitted sheepishly. “I didn’t expect it to be so literal. I see my sister and her girlfriend, and they just move so naturally, I hadn’t expected it to be second-nature, or to realize I’m doing it…. Like thinking about you and stuff.”

“I was worried about you, too,” Lena confessed, clearing her throat and trying to stand up a bit straighter, though there were hands still rooted near her spine. “For the record.”

“So long as it’s on the record, you won’t mind me quoting you in my new article, Ms. Luthor.”

“Wait, what?”

“My article, to be titled Beautiful Billionaire Slums with Nerdy Reporter: Does Fate Make Mistakes?” Kara explained, her hands accenting each word as a headline between them.

“Tad lengthy.”

“You’re right,” she nodded. “How about Hot Genius Reluctantly Accepts Awkward Alien Lover.”

“Oh, is that what we are?”

“Oh, um, well,” Kara blanched and stood up a bit straighter. She adjusted her glasses.

No longer was Lena held there, no longer were arms around her waist, but still, she remained rooted, now the force holding Kara against the counter with just the help of gravity and her own hips. It was  mighty power to hold.

“How about Wonderful, Patient Hero Saves Heiress’ Heart From Lonely Future.”

“Lengthy.”

“Bespeckled, Kind-hearted Angel Thaws Frosty Bookworm’s Future.”

“A bit hyperbolic.”

“Not entirely,” Lena shrugged. Her hands wound around Kara’s neck, her forearms resting on her shoulder. “Fine. Pretty Girl With 1940s Vocab Wooes Pessimistic Orphan?”

“We’re getting closer,” Kara nodded with a smile.

“Quote me for whatever you want then.”

Hovering close, Lena watched Kara’s chest rise and fall quicker, she felt her tense and swallow, she felt her eyes grow wider and yet focus in on her own face quite quickly. It was a lot, it was close, it was a position they had been careful to not find themselves in, and just as Kara had explained, it happened so naturally, without either noticing until it was too late.

“We should eat then,” Lena finally decided, clearing her throat and letting her hands fall away from the hero’s neck. It was safer this way, she decided.

“We should. We should… yeah. We should,” Kara nodded eagerly, still dazed. “Yeah. Eat. Yes.”

Lena felt at ease for the first time in hours, and just because someone brought her dinner.

Much the way a fearsome jungle cat becomes a kitten when it is time for a nap, so did Lena Luthor remind Kara when she grew weary. The graveyard of their take out dinner remained on the coffee table amidst stacks of books and files from work, while a few of Kara’s notebooks and laptop made it to the mountain range of easily dismissed work activities neither felt the urge to traverse once they had full bellies and a comfy couch to share.

Normally, a prowling, sleek, menacing man-eater of a panther, Kara watched Lena fight against her exhaustion and her worry, watched her argue against herself until she settled like an innocent kitten against her side. The warmth radiated between them, and before Kara could really take the time to appreciate it, Lena was breathing soft and even, her cheek on Kara’s thigh, her arms wrapped tightly around her calf.

With the smallest of movements, Kara pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over they exhausted CEO who would rather swallow her own thoughts than let them see the light of day, who could never admit how purely exhausted she was, but succumbed to the mere suggestion of comfort and warmth and safety.

There’d been a moment, once, when J’onn spoke of his wife, when he referenced this idea that he was always exactly where he needed to be when she existed. It wasn’t a thought that made sense or seemed relatable, in fact, it often perplexed her, and yet right there, on the couch while some documentary played, Kara felt, for the first time in a long, long while, that she was exactly where she was meant to be.

With only the smallest of stretches, she leaned to turn off the light and settled into the couch, knowing full well that nothing was going to make her move and wake the sleeping executive from what must have been her first solid chunk of rest in --

And then her phone rang.

“Hm? Is that? Where’s my…?” Lena sat up and squinted, frantic and adorable as her hand patted along the coffee table.

Quickly, Kara dug into her pockets, trying to find the offensive device that betrayed what would have been a wonderful moment.

“I’m sorry, that’s me,” she rattled as Lena tried to still her heart.

“I must have fallen…. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean. What time is it?”

“I just have to take this…” Kara pointed at her phone and stood, leaving a confused and disoriented girl in her wake who still squinted and watched her move with only one eye open. “Alex? What’s wrong?”

From the couch, Lena looked down at the blanket and only half heard Kara muttering as she moved out of the living room. It took all of her mental processes to figure out how she’d ended up covered up, and why she was so near delirious from waking from such a deep sleep.

By the time Kara made it back in, she had already adjusted her messy hair and felt somewhat presentable.

“Everything okay?”

“Hm? Yeah, sorry. Alex just stopped by my apartment, and I wasn’t there,” Kara explained. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

“I’m sorry I used you as a pillow.”

“Never apologize for that.”

Though they were quiet, both had words bubbling up in their throats so that they burst out at the same time once they caught the merest look at the other.

“I should--”

“You should--”

Both snapped their mouths shut and stared at the other, willing them to say the next thing they paused.

Lena yawned and pushed messy hair around her head while debating it all. Kara stared back at her and shifted her weight from foot to foot.

“I should head home,” Kara finally managed, rubbing her hand anxiously along her elbow, holding herself together as best she could.

Lena felt her lungs pop at the news, wheezing out like an old party balloon. Still half asleep and very disoriented, the facts of the day swept back into her thoughts.

“Would you… I mean. You could stay, if you wanted.”

“Stay here?” the hero asked quickly. “With you?”

“I could leave if that’d make you more comfortable, but that’d defeat the purpose.”

Still in almost nothing, still very pretty, still doing ungodly things to her heart, Lena had no knowledge of the thoughts in Kara’s head, and for that the reporter was the most grateful. She didn't mean to, or that was her defense, but she caught a glimpse of legs, and then she caught those eyes, and she felt warm all over.

“It is late,” Kara wagered.

Somewhere, in a foreign country, stalked by round the clock surveillance from any number of world governments, Lex Luthor, the more infamous of the Luthor siblings, paced through the halls of his borrowed mansion, plotting and calculating and being utterly miserable and all but dead physically, because surely a man like him did not just appear into the world for no reason at all. There was always a plan, always a motive.

Somewhere else, far away, a more and more dwindling thought, the oldest Luthor heir concocted and hatched and schemed.

RIght there though, in the hotel room on the top floor of the hotel on Twelfth street, Lena Luthor, the youngest of the Luthor brood, the chosen, the adopted, the last one standing, she slid into her bed and kept strict to one fourth of it before facing the middle as, for the first time in a long, long, long while, the other side dipped with another body. Suddenly very much alive inside, she huddled under the blankets and calculated all manner of math that did not make much sense because surely she must be dreaming. A girl like her did not just a hero in her bed for no reason at all. She didn’t have anyone in her bed.

Right there, she swallowed and took a deep breath. The one true heir was too tired to extrapolate.

“I didn’t want to be alone tonight,” Lena whispered in the dark.

Clear on the other side of the bed, what felt like miles apart, the other body rolled to her side as well, and faced the honest voice.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” Kara promised.

“It’s not that,” she bit her cheek  and leaned forward slightly. “I just. I’m very good at being alone. But then you… you’re just. I know what it’s like to have someone around now. I didn’t want to be alone.”

God, did it fucking hurt to say things like that.

“You don’t have to be alone anymore, if you don’t want,” a tiny promise came after a few seconds. “There’s no where in the entire galaxy I’d rather be right now than here, in this exact spot.”

With a small smile that she was grateful Kara couldn’t see in the dark, Lena closed her eyes and ran her foot along her calf, adjusting sleepily and sorely into the big bed. For the life of her, she was not sure how to process an emotion like that. She couldn't figure out where to even start.

“That’s a like,” Kara whispered, shifting slightly.

Just as quickly as her mind tried to forget the equation put before her with Kara’s promise, it short circuited. The body beside her shifted closer, until she felt Kara’s knee on her own knee, until she felt soft breath on her knuckles, until she felt a forehead against her own forehead.

“A foot to the left was the real answer,” she explained as she stopped adjusting. “But now, my answer stands. True, too, considering I’ve been to many places in the Galaxy, and the next four.”

“I’m not as well traveled, but I have to say, that on this world, in this moment, I agree completely.”

“Good.”

“Thank you, Kara.”

The only response came in the form of a warm hand gliding along her back, soothing her toward the inevitable sleep.

[cheeruplovely]

Olicity: Zephyr

Chapter 1: Taking Out The Trash

Summary: “Zephyr” (zɛf ər), noun | A gentle, mild breeze. It does not disrupt, nor cause chaos, it merely brings a pleasant sensation on a warm summer day. (via wordsnquotes) Behind the vigilantism, they have to live. A look at our heroes as they go about the more normal moments of their lives.

Welcome to my new series, Zephyr!! We're going to be looking at the most domestic, normal, downright boring moments of life with Olicity. Still with me? Great, I hope so. Because I've realised that the moments I love writing most are the normal ones, so I'm hoping this can be fun.

The first prompt: @aussieforgood said: You want boring, here's boring. Taking out the trash.

“This isn’t going to fit, we need another bag.”

Those words make her stomach drop. They’ve been standing in the kitchen for ten minutes organising and clearing up, neither of them fully focused on what they’re doing, but as soon Oliver says those dreaded words, Felicity just wants to throw it all on the ground and go to bed.

Or finally hire a cleaner. That’s sounding more and more appealing every time they joke about it and quickly talk themselves out of it.

“We don’t have another bag,” she tells him tiredly. “It was the last I could find in the cupboard.”

Oliver looks up from the overpacked trash bag with a look on his face that can only be pure resignation. “I thought we had plenty?”

She shakes her head, leaning her elbow on the counter beside her as her husband’s gaze turns back down to the garbage bag he’s holding open. “I was going to get some tomorrow when I went to the store after work, but I forgot that garbage day moved.”

She’s seen this look on his face before. It’s the look he has when he spends an afternoon downstairs working on his bike only to come upstairs and throw his tools in the closet with far too much force. It’s the look he has when she’s used all the hot water and he’s just finished a ten mile run. It’s the look he has when she opens the bathroom door slightly quicker than he can cover up his real feeling over how long she’s taking to get ready for dinner.

“I don’t know why we can’t just have one garbage day and stick to it,” he sighs.

“I know. Thursday’s were so perfect,” she agrees, mourning the loss of their previous evening schedule. “We could just take the trash out after dinner with Thea, and now…”

“Wednesday’s are not a good garbage day,” he grumbled, shifting the bag in his hands slightly before he sighed again, resting the bottom of the bag back on the kitchen floor with a shake of his head. “I think something has to go back in the trash for next week’s collection.”

Her nose wrinkled up without control. Not just the idea of week-old garbage going back into their trash but also the idea of fishing through said trash for an item that could make the cut. “Isn’t that a bit...gross?”

Of course he knows that. This is a man who had never done his own chores growing up, which was one of the benefits of a spoiled rich-boy lifestyle. Felicity has known for quite some time that trash duty is one of the worst household jobs, which is why they’ve decided to conquer this particular chore together.

“Felicity, I don’t think we have any other choice.”

“Ugh, you’re right.” She hops down from the counter, planting her hands on her hips as she assesses the dire situation of the garbage bag just as he had done. “What if you held it down a little and I tied the bag closed?”

Her suggestion is met with an unfair frown. “Why do I have to hold it down?”

“I don’t want to touch the garbage.”

Oliver fixes her with a knowing expression, dragging his eyes slowly down from her to the open bag he’s still holding. “Felicity, half of this bag is food packaging, and I think we both know who ate so many cookies this month.”

“In my defence, those girl scouts really deserved a reward for getting past the doorman of this building.”

“He was probably bribed with cookies. Instead we paid…” He stops, looking back up at her. “How much did we pay?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she says quickly. “You’re all ‘I must save the city’ and all those donations stay in the local area, which benefits the community and encourages young girls to develop their skills with decision making and planning and people skills and money management, business ethics…”

“Okay, I get it,” he cuts her off. “Girl scout cookies are worth the investment.”

“I thought that after Wonder Woman you’d be a little more encouraging of girl power,” she points out, after they’d actually made it to a date night last weekend and decided to go see a movie. NIghts off are still rare for them, but they’re trying to find more of a balance. Sadly, chores are part of the balance, but for the most part they’re getting to enjoy married life like a normal married couple.

Well, their version of normal at least.

“I love girl power. Anyway, we’re getting off topic,” he points out. “We need to take the trash out and we’re running out of options.”

“I thought we’d already run out.”

Not to be deterred, Oliver starts shifting the weight inside the bag and leaning far close to it than Felicity would ever allow her nose to get. She threw away some cheese that was questionable yesterday and she doesn’t want to go anywhere near that again. “Wait, can we recycle this instead?” he asks, nodding his head towards a piece of packaging.

Peering in as much as she’ll allow herself too, she spots the item that she recalls casually brushing aside the evening before, and it must have landed in the trash by mistake. Another reason she shouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen. “Oh, yeah that shouldn’t be in that bag.”

“Can you take it?” he asks. “Then I can fit this in and we’re good.”

Steeling herself, she reaches into the bag and takes out the crushed piece of cardboard and holds it as far away from her as possible. “Is that last night’s spaghetti sauce?”

“Just rinse it off,” Oliver tells her, as she holds it over the sink and quickly lets the water take away the remains of last night’s dinner.

When she’s done, she places the cardboard down with their other items of recycling. “This is the worst job.”

He agrees with a firm nod, as he manages to get the garbage bag closed at last with a tight knot at the top that just might make it down to the dumpster behind their building. “It makes me miss Raisa.”

She misses Raisa too, so she knows when Oliver says that he means it. It’s not really about the household chores though, it’s about the company. Raisa was such a crucial part of his upbringing and he loves her for that, and she’d gotten to witness that firsthand when they got together with her and her family over the last holiday season. “I thought you missed Raisa because of the cookies.”

“Well, we have girl scout cookies now,” Oliver indicates to their still fairly substantial pile of cookies on the kitchen counter. So Felicity has a weak spot for cookies, who cares? There are worse things to be addicted to. “I wouldn’t want to get nostalgic and risk not supporting the future women of Star City.”

He winks at her. She tries not to let that make her stomach flip. She fails. After all this time, he still makes her feel like a teenager in love for the first time.

“Good answer,” she tells him, leaning up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek, “but you’re still taking the bag down to the dumpster.”

He scoffs out a laugh. “I didn’t charm my way out of that one, huh?”

“I did it last week,” she points to the schedule they pinned to the side of the fridge. It’s nothing to laugh at, but when you spend a great deal of your evenings running a base of vigilantes, you can’t always remember when you last cleaned the bathroom or if you have a clean dress for work. “It’s your turn.”

With one arm, he catches her waist and draws her back to him. She smiles when he nudges his nose against hers. “Can I exchange my turn for something else?”

“Oliver, I love you. But no.”

“Just no?”

“Just no,” she tells him, slipping out of his grasp. “Now hurry up or we’re going to miss Game of Thrones.”

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to be tagged in other fics, or have a prompt, or any comments at all, please feel free to drop me an ask HERE. 

You can also following me in other places: Twitter: ghostfoxlovely AO3: CheerUpLovely

Tagging my lovelies below:

@2manyfandomsfor1url / @1022bridgetp

 @adamamell / @addictedtoolife / @addictiontelly / @adiwriting / @agentsassydirewolf / @aichaaa12 / @akahazzap / @alanna-the-lionheart / @ale08081992 / @alemap74 / @alex-wesley / @alexandracheers / @alexiablackbriar13 / @alitalkss / @alittlefelicity / @all-time-blowers / @alwaysmyownvoice / @an-abundance-of-danielles / @anarrtsygirrlslove / @andcreation / @andjustforthismoment / @angelalafan / @angelheartsspn / @aray48 / @arianadolphin / @arrow-through-my-writers-block / @arrowiefan / @arrowfanfictionreviews / @arrows-4ever / @arrowthroughmyheartlove / @aussieforgood 

@bandanab310 / @beinmyheart / @bellemmie / @berkasaur / @biermank / @bisexualfelicity / @blacksnowflake7 / @bluemorgana / @boo-ritz-radley / @browneyedhybrid7 / @bytemegeekette

@caffeine-and-books / @callistawolf / @canadianbeauty2 / @canadianheartgirl / @certaindreamlandtrash / @charlie-leau / @charlienert / @chatoyant / @chicwithwifi / @choryacosta / @clarkesoverwatch / @clokiko / @coal000 / @coffeewriter88 / @crazycrystal10 

@daianestima / @daisywaisy14 / @dalisia3 / @darling-i-am-a-queen / @deadlybingo / @deathofrainbows / @decidecastiel / @diggo26 / @dirrtyhippiechic / @dopecycleblaze / @dust2dust34 / @dyedblondefelicity

@elene87 / @ellefraser17 / @elizasbodega / @emilybuttrickards / @emmaamelia95 / @emilybetterthanyourickards / @eternal-olicity / @ezra-fitzturkey

@fangirlfromthenorthcountry / @fangirlforlife2448 / @fe-li-ci-ty / @felicity-said--yes / @felicityqueenforever / @fex-fries / @filicityqueen / @flompinha / @florence-bubbles / @foxy-fangirl / @fulmencadit 

@gabriellyrdm / @garrickjay / @geemarie / @geniewithwifi / @greenmadhatter / @greenarrovvs / @greenarrowoverwatch 

@hear-the-banshee-screaming / @hellodomooo / @help-out-33 / @hiddenchamb3r / @hiddenmirrors / @hirahirachan / @hisbabygirl18love / @hisgirl-girlwednesday / @hopeful-warrior / @hotchnisscm97 / @hysterical-for-joshifer 

@iamnotfromthisplanet / @iheartarrow / @iloveyourintimate / @imstandinghere / @inapop05 / @internet-dwarf-with-wifi / @ishippolivia / @it-was-red-always / @itsakatemus / @itschiling / @itsthatwallflower / @itsybitsymitzy / @iv-on-ka

@jaitoddja13 / @jakelovesamy / @jaspertown / @jonhdiggle / @josephine123q / @justanotherbitchwithwifi / @justmydirtydreams 

@kebarr / @kels22143 / @keyrabadwolf / @kristjana02

@ladygreenwood / @ladyimara / @ladyplantagenet / @lakadyn / @leagueofolicity17 / @leasmoakingqueen / @leavesawarrior / @lecomics-hooverman / @letsplaymurde-r / @lexi9515 / @lgtwinkie99 / @ligiapimenta / @lindsey8907 / @lisabd27 / @littlexgirxblu  @louehmysoul / @love2luvyyou

@maaaaaaarts / @malafle / @mariel-olandag / @marniforolicity / @maryhn / @marytagus / @mel-loves-all / @melaux / @melismoak / @melsanfo / @mikss / @miriam1779 / @missfsmoak / @missyriver / @mje-thomas / @mochababychristy / @morganmaybaby / @multi-fandom-crazy-fangirl / @murderingminutesforhours / @myhauntedblacksoul / @mymusiclove101 / @musicxlovexshipper / @mynameisravenreyes

@nannett2307 / @nerdgirljen / @nessafra / @niki-is-amazing / @niknak1982 / @nishtanight / @nolajax / @nosuchthingastoomanybooks / @nothingworthwhileevercomeseasy

@ofnothingcharming / @olicity-got-me-fucked / @olicityalamode / @olicityjunkie / @olicitylovemaking / @olicitys-castle / @olicityshipper19 / @olicitytheworldoflove / @olicityns / @oliverandhisqueen / @olivers-it-girl / @oliversmoakly / @olulu88 / @oneofakindxx / @ontheolicityship / @orangeisorange / @ourwritinginvein / @overwatchingthearrow

@pardon-my-sci-fi / @perfectarrow / @pharmalen / @pimsiepim / @pleasantfanandstudent / @pleasedontletmedownx / @prettycamelia2015 / @promiseyoullbepatientwithme / @privateer809 / @priya108 / @pulpklatura / @punchdrunkdoc

@rachaelrachaelx / @rae81p / @rara-binks / @redpenbluebox / @redpensandgreenarrows / @redpensandarrow / @redvinesarebetterthanyou / @relativelyobsessedfangirl / @releaseurinhibitions / @renegadesalways / @reysgalaxies / @ronnieraymonds

@sabahuniverse / @sadfangirl05 / @sailorchibimoonunicorn / @sailorslayer3641 / @sammaldonado9 / @sammieathome / @saralvnce / @sarine77 / @sassejane / @saumyapriyadarshi / @selena-diaries / @sharingmyworld / @sherrynoconan / @shooting-forward / @siete-pecados / @simplewenny / @sinceriouslybea / @sinceriously-melodiful / @siriuslyobsessedfangirl / @sissy452 / @smkkbert / @smoakd / @smoaked-queen / @@smoakedandcharmed / @smoakedup / @smoakandarrow / @smoakinglaptop / @smoakinzel / @smoakyfox / @smurfica / @somethingwitty-somethingsweet / @somewhatinvisible / @sologirl00 / @strangeandlovelysound / @stygian-omada-fan / @superfirefox99 / @@superollie21 / @supersillyanddorky06 / @supersmallvamp / @super-zinie-me / @synchrolicity 

@tamarbaum / @tanyaslogic / @tav681 / @the-silverforked-sky / @thearcherandtheitgirl / @thecolourpurpleinafield / @thedreamersmovement / @thegirlinthedresshasablog / @thegirlwhoblogs / @thesunshine-in / @thetaufactor / @thinkolicity / @thxaqueens / @tinaday3w / @tinybluefishy / @tjmartinez98 / @turn-thy-paige / @tvdheartlicity

@unabashedlynerdypatrol

@vaelisamaza / @velvetsteel / @virgodess192379

@walkerandbartowski / @wecanbekingsoftheworld / @wild-emmagination / @winstallenski / @withafullmetalheart / @wrightainsley

@xoxofelicitysmoak / @xxliveyourlife

@yellowflicker09011996 / @youhavefailedthisomlette / @yourebeautifuleverylilpiecelove / @yourfelicitymyoliver

@zinny333

[themarauderlife]

First Date with Sirius

So finally I wrote something! It’s a little shitty but I’ve had awful writers block, so thank you so much for being patient with me and now my exams are drawing to a close I’ll hopefully be able to write much more over summer! Enjoy x

The museum opened out onto a little courtyard with a square of grass and blossom trees planted around it. The path was still cobbled, but it was neater here, well cared for. My heart was hammering in my chest, nerves writhing in my stomach at the thought of seeing Sirius again; I knew all the girls in my year would be thrilled to be in my position, but I just felt anxious. I stood at the corner of the grass, clutching my satchel bag to me tightly. Where was he?

Just as I was about to go in search of him around the museum, a voice appeared behind me.

“You’re late.”

I jumped and whirled around, glaring at him. “Do you always have to do that?” I demanded, shifting my bag uncomfortably. He looked just as handsome as I remembered in a long-sleeved grey top and black jeans, his dark hair tucked behind his ears and grey eyes sparkling in the sunlight; my throat went dry at the sight of him. He smirked, and butterflies exploded in my stomach.

“Do what?” he asked, his voice dripping with innocence.

I scowled. “Come up behind me and-” seeing the amusement twinkle in his eyes, I cut off abruptly. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

He laughed. It was a startlingly pleasant sound, filling with warmth, and I had to wonder where the hell his sarcastic twin had gone- the usual snarky Sirius I crossed paths with seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. “I’m known to be a troublemaker, (Y/N).”

He winked at me, but his joke bought back the unease I’d felt earlier; why would Sirius Black want to go on a date with me? It had to be some kind of joke. “Speaking of which, you haven’t bought anyone, have you?” I checked, glancing behind him. “James isn’t going to jump out from behind a bush, I hope.”

He laughed again, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Nope. That I can promise. Just me.”

Hmm, I would never describe Sirius as ‘just’ anything, but let the comment slide, feeling relieved. “Good.”

There was a slight pause.

“So,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “What do you want to do first?” He glanced around and I felt a twinge of worry; I loved this museum, hidden away in the middle of London, but I wasn’t so sure if Sirius would. He’d probably think it was boring, and me nerdy for liking it.

“I was thinking we could go around the museum first?” I suggested, tugging nervously at the sleeves of my jumper.

He swung his arm around my shoulders, dispelling my worries with that easy grin of his. “Lead the way.”

Sirius completely took me by surprise, and I felt guilty for ever underestimating him. He looked intently at the different artifacts on display and pointed out things I’d never even thought about before; I began to notice details that were really cool- the intricate designs on the tomb of the founder of the museum, and the way some of the paintings had been created just to show off his best side. Sirius read out all the information from the plaques, and I don’t know if it was the way he said it, his eyes lighting up with interest, but his version was much more invigorating than the many times I’d read it before.

“I was worried you wouldn’t like any of this.” I admitted, as we walked past another display. “I thought you might find it a bit boring.”

He smiled, rubbing my arm comfortingly. “Nah, I’m a bit of a sucker for historical artifacts. I guess it was drilled into me by my parents.” He pointed to an expensive-looking jar. “I could probably tell you where and when this was made if I tried really hard. My lovely mother and father have it in their heads that the oldest, most expensive heirlooms made for the most respected family.”

His voice was light and jokey, could sense the bitterness behind the words.

“Yeah, well, the coolest artifact we have in our house is this electric cheese grater my Dad bought two years ago.” I replied.

He grinned, eyes twinkling. “Cheese grater?”

I blushed. “Yeah, it’s a little weird I know.”

“I might think it weird if I had a clue what it was.”

I laughed, smiling playfully. “Oh, yeah. I forgot you’re completely oblivious to the muggle way of life. It’s a way of slicing up cheese.”

“Oh” he still looked perplexed. “I see. Cheese grater.”

“Go on then.” I said, pointing to a strange looking antiquity. “What’s this?”

“Hmm.” He peered at it closely. “It’s from the 1850′s, most likely the time of the Crimean War. Looks as if it was used as some kind of washing bowl.”

My eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“No.” He burst out laughing. “I have no idea what that thing is.”

I thumped him in the stomach.

Eventually, we left the museum and headed out into the muggle town. It was a pretty simple place, with a few high street stores and restaurants lining the road.

“I forgot to tell you I like your top.” Evan stated, examining the quote with a smirk. “‘Dream away your fears’. Very interesting.”

I laughed. “It’s not mine, though I have to say it’s kind of growing on me. It belongs to my sister. I don’t think you’ve met her.”

“No. Well, she certainly has an interesting fashion taste.”

“She does.”

“Is she a witch too?”

“No. She’s a muggle like my parents.”

“I see.”

I wanted to ask more about his family, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be intruding- I knew that they’d treated him badly. Hell, everyone knew about the notorious Black’s and their rebellious, runaway son. I also wanted to ask him how he felt about me- what it really was that we were. Of course, we’d been friends for a while, but I wanted to know if he could ever think of us as something more. Well, I thought, there’s no time like the present. Mustering up as much courage as I could, I took a deep breath. “Sirius…”

But his attention was suddenly captured by a display outside a little tourist shop on the high street. “Woah. Look at this.” he said, picking up the postcard and examining the picture of London on the back. “It’s like those muggle books you were on about! The pictures don’t move!”

I frowned. “You’ve never seen a post card?”

“Well, yeah of course I have. Obviously.” He ran a hand through his hair as I raised my eyebrows. I might not have been able to read his mind, but I had pretty good instincts when someone was lying. Sirius grinned at my expression. “Okay, maybe I haven’t.” He put the card back and pushed open the shop door. “Come on. Let’s look inside.”

It was a cramped shop, with little ornaments stacked on the shelves and dream-catchers hanging from the ceiling. Everywhere I looked there were pictures of London and the British flag adorned the walls, decorating almost everything under the roof.

I fiddled with a couple of dolls that someone had been hand-stitched almost perfectly, whilst Sirius disappeared somewhere behind a rack of fridge magnets. It reminded me of some of the stuff me and Mum used to make. She’d taught me to sew on her mother’s old sewing machine when I was younger, though I hadn’t put the hobby into practise for years now; it had felt too strange doing something we’d done together, without her.

“What’s that?’ Sirius appeared behind me, making me jump, and I placed the dolls down swiftly.

“Nothing.” I said quickly, noticing the piles of ‘Team GB’ sweets he was holding in his arms. “What have you got there?”

He smirked, and my stomach flipped a little. “Couldn’t help myself. What do you want? Strawberry laces or raspberry bonbons?”

“Strawberry laces, all the way.” I replied immediately, grinning. “I’m a sugar nut.”

He laughed. “I’d never have guessed.”

As we walked down the high street, feasting on our sweets, Sirius was smiling. It was the happiest I’d seen him so far- even in photos of him at premieres, he always wore the same brooding expression, but now there was a warmth in his eyes. “You know.” he said, manoeuvring past an elderly lady with a trolley, “My Mum always hated me eating sweets when I was little. I figured that’s why I like them so much.”

“Oh, you rebel.” I teased, bumping his arm gently. We walked side by side along the cobbled street, shoulders brushing, and I glanced up at him. “Do you still see her?” I asked, quietly. “Your mum?”

His smile fell, something in his eyes tightening. “No. I don’t see her.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say to that- I didn’t want to pry.

He sighed, jaw clenching. “She hasn’t tried to contact me since I moved in with the Potter’s, though I think she’s sent them a few howlers. They try to hide it from me, but I know what she’s like. I lived with her for sixteen years.” He laughed humorlessly. “I know by now that she’s a psychopath.”

My heart ached for him. “I’m sorry.” I said, meaning every word. “That you had to experience all that.”

He shrugged. “Don’t apologise. It’s no ones fault but hers. She can be sour all her life for all I care.” He shook his head, as if ridding himself of the negative thoughts, and glanced up at a sign down the street. A slow smirk spread across his features.

“What is it?” I asked, following his gaze.

“You said your idea of lunch as sausage and chips, right?”

“I think I can see where this is going.”

“Come on, I’ve never been to a ‘chippie shop’ before. Let’s do it.” He tugged me inside.

We sat down on the old picnic tables outside the restaurant, and Sirius handed me my battered sausage and chips. He didn’t hesitate and dug in, his eyes widening. “Oh my god.” he groaned, taking a bite of his own sausage. “This is divine.”

I watched him, holding back a laugh. With the sun shining down on him he looked incredible- his dark hair tucked behind his ears and his lightly tanned skin glowing in the light. “I can’t believe you’ve never done this before.” I told him, taking a bite of a chip. I had to admit they were insanely good.

“I can’t believe I’ve missed this. God, I feel deprived.”

“I think you were far from deprived, Sirius Black. Think of all the butter beers I missed in my childhood. The chocolate frogs, the exploding snap cards.”

He shook his head. “You’re not getting out of this one (Y/N). You’ve been holding out on me.”

I smiled.

We looked in a few more shops and then headed back up the cobbled street towards the museum for ice cream, our footsteps falling into sync. He was a lot taller than me, so I got the impression he was slowing down for my smaller strides. As we neared the museum courtyard, I looked up at the building as I’d often done when I was younger. “My mum always used to bring me here.” I said, feeling wistful. “She used to bring my favourite book and we’d read it on one of the benches.”

“What was your favourite book?” he asked, glancing at me.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” I replied, grinning. “I have a theory that it’s the root cause of my sweet tooth.”

He smiled, then his brow furrowed. “Do you miss her?” he asked, softly.

“Everyday.” Then my brow furrowed in confusion. “How did you know she was dead?”

For the first time, he looked sheepish. “I, er, heard you talking about it one time in the library. Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“That’s it’s okay. I’m just not used to people… knowing stuff about me.” I glanced at him, feeling a rush of shyness.

His eyes warmed. “Well, I think you’re worth knowing (Y/N).”

We headed back through the stone archway to the ice cream van parked in the middle of the patch of grass. “99 cone?” Sirius asked.

I laughed. Was this boy ever not hungry? “All the toppings, please.”

He handed me mine, careful not to spill any of the dripping sauce. “This is a thank you.” he announced. “For today, (Y/N). It was the most fun I’ve had in ages.”

At his words, so sincere, my heart hammered hard in my chest, soaring above with the clouds. “Thanks, Sirius.” I replied, biting back a smile. “Me too.”

He glanced at me, his eyes sparkling, and his face spread into a grin.

“You’ve got ice cream on your nose.” he stated, leaning towards me. And before I knew it, his lips were moulding onto mine. I felt as though my heart was going to explode right there and then as I reached up to entwine myself in him, forgetting all about the ice cream in my hand and only focusing on the fireworks exploding in my stomach, and the buzzing in my ears.

[cosmosogler]

hello! today i had very upsetting dreams. they were interrupted often by just random wake-ups and i had a lot of trouble falling asleep. i get the feeling i didn’t sleep well at all even when i was dozing. 

it’s hard to say WHY they were upsetting. they weren’t particularly violent or gross. it was like... i was living by myself and then my family came into my house and threw out all my food and stocked my fridge with stuff i didn’t like and harassed my cat and then all the rooms were turned into one room with everyone making noise and also there was an elevator for some reason. and then there were monsters but all the walls of my house were knocked down so i didn’t have anywhere to hide?

i wasn’t scared of the monsters as much as i was angry about the fridge and the cat though.

i woke up at 7:30, turned on the snooze, and got up ten minutes later. i squirmed into a beat-up t-shirt and went downstairs and jumped on the bike in the gym for 25 minutes. then i showered and shot water into my ears with the syringe thing until i was dizzy. but now my ears are clean!

i gave the floors a quick sweep and had a snack and... did some other stuff i think? i pulled out all my old class notes to look over later (i didn’t look them over later, they are stacked next to my elbow), and i fiddled with my pokemon a bit. then i went out to the grocery store and got some lunch supplies for next week and a box of cat litter. 

the 9-block walk home was actually kind of miserable with the box slipping out of my wet fingers constantly and the extra shopping bag whacking against my knee every step. when i got to the apartment building i took the elevator upstairs and dripped on the floor in the little compartment. when i got inside i turned on the ac and stood in front of my little table fan with my shirt off. it was still pretty warm though. i put my stuff in the freezer while i called mom to argue with her about the location of the grocery store for ten minutes. 

i might need a few things as the week goes on depending on what happens but i think i can get most of it at the apartment convenience store. the cat litter took up all my carrying space this time.

i did get snoopy a whole bunch of new snacks to try out though and a giant plastic bucket full of one of the kinds she already likes. hope she doesn’t get tired of seafood medley!

then i made myself a nice lunch. i had one of my apricots (i think it was on its last day) and made my thing of tomato soup. i did a bunch of laundry and then i sat with snoop on the couch and we watched bolt. the disney movie. i was interested because it was compared to the truman show. i cried because there was a dog on the screen. 

the movie was about the dog. so there was a dog on the screen a lot.

god dang it, the truman show is a jim carrey movie. i just looked that up.

after that i took care of a little more cleaning stuff, like taking out the trash, and then i made some dinner. snoopy seemed tired of all the touching from the movie so the brushing session was like five seconds long today. i wish she would clean herself even a little bit.

the mac and cheese flavor was new. it was “butter and parmesan.” it was pretty bland so i threw some sriracha in there and, well, at least it had a flavor after that. i also had my last plum, which was also on its last day. i haven’t checked out how the salad i made during the week is doing. i had most of it during my lunches though! i’ll clean out the bowl tomorrow.

after that i got settled in and listened to three episodes of taz. i hope that as the players get more resources for recaps and their own character details that they forgot to write down they will be able to tighten up the storytelling a little more. i mean, it’s hilarious to listen to them argue about whether or not merle has an ax periodically over two episodes, but after a while it gets hard for me to keep track of what they are actually carrying, and i get a little disappointed when they pick up really cool items and then completely forget about them.

i also raised all my new pokemon to about level 65. pretty bummed that i won’t get a chance to nickname a bunch of them since i’ve had some of the shinies i’m now training since gen 4 or 5. well, i guess it doesn’t matter THAT much, since with online battles you don’t see any nicknames anyway. i’m going to see about nagging suzanne or her fiance until they play pokemon with me though.

now it’s 10:40 again. i feel like i had tons and tons of time today. when i settled down to watch the movie after lunch i realized i had already been awake for seven hours. i guess i’m used to losing like 11 hours of my time to medication-induced half-hibernation. not sure what changed the side effects of my meds over time, or if the lack of side effects means i am also getting a lack of desired effects. i don’t really want to switch around my medication now though. whatever the meds are doing, right now staying on this schedule is helping a lot too, and if i change up my meds then i might have to change up the amount of time i allocate to sleep again too. that would be really frustrating.

i don’t wanna stop the meds because i’m not sure if they are working or not and don’t want to risk that they are, in fact, working and stopping them would lose that benefit. so i still gotta find a psychiatrist on monday. i need to make a lot of phone calls on monday and i am also expecting to hear back from a couple places. and my text books should be coming in too. i’m pretty glad that only one of my classes is meeting the first day. frees up a lot of time for establishing myself in the community. meeting new people is exhausting though. i don’t think i’ve made a single good first impression. 

good as in, i felt like i was maybe giving off the general vibe that i am not, in fact, stupid, needy, and overwhelmingly full of information. i feel like i definitely gave off those vibes to every single person in the department that i have met so far.

i’m gonna go for the extra ~30 minutes of sleep again tonight and see how things go tomorrow. i finished basically all of my chores today- tomorrow i’ve just got to get to yoga at 11, i want to see how that goes- and tomorrow could MAYBE be full of both taz AND actually studying. 

[suckitsurveys]

What’s your favourite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Is there a bus stop near your house? There’s one at the end of my block. And a train station a few blocks away too. Do you prefer red wine or white wine? Red. What’s the last airport you were at? Why were you there? Midway, to pick up Sarah when she came here for my birthday.

Who do you live with? My boyfriend and my father and Satan aka my grandmother. Do you read reddit? If so, how often and what subreddits do you like? I don’t. Have you recently broken up with a significant other or even just a friend? Nope. What’s the weather like today? Is it nice enough to go outside? It’s cold. Do you know anyone who’s had a baby recently? My best friend’s sister. She named her baby Hannah after me! Just kidding but a girl can dream. Have you used a pen or pencil today? What did you write down? Yes. What does your last text message say and who is it from? I don’t feel like typing it because it requires so much context. Can you count how many times you’ve seen your favourite film? Nope. I’ve seen it A LOT. When was the last time you ate marshmallows? Recently, in hot chocolate. Do you listen to any podcasts? How do you listen to them? Nope. How old will you be in the year 2030? 40/41. Does your skin bruise easily? Do you have any bruises right now? What from? Yeah. What was the last thing you spent $150 or more on? Christmas presents. Do you prefer yes or no questions or more open-ended questions? In surveys, open-ended. What brand of toilet paper do you usually buy? The store brand. If I knocked on your door right now, would you be acceptable dressed? I’m not at my house. Why did you leave your last job? I was only hired for the season. What colour were the last socks you wore? I’m currently wearing Bob Belcher socks which are black with white heels and toes and have Bob’s face on them. Are you studying currently? What level of education and what do you study? No thank fucking god. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and left without paying? I have, on total and complete accident. I was in the bathroom and my friend at the time was at the table and she had the check and I was under the impression we agreed she was going to pay but her dumb ass thought I was going to pay. So when I came out of the bathroom, she was outside, so I figured she took care of it, so I walked out to meet her and we were like almost to the car when I was like “so how much was it?” and she was like “i don’t know, I didn’t look because I thought you were paying.” So I went back in and told the waitress what happened and she was cool about it and I paid. What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud? There was probably something since then, but Kristen Wigg and Steve Carell’s skit at the Golden Globes. What’s your favourite scent of air freshener? Ehh, just a fresh scent is fine. How many weddings have you ever been to? Hmm. 3? I’ve been in all of them too. No wait! That’s a lie, I forgot about my cousin’s wedding a couple years ago. I was merely a guest at that one. Do you know anyone named Nora? I used to. My Aunt’s husband’s mother was named Nora, but she passed away a while ago. Are your hands and feet in good condition or could you do with a mani-pedi? My hands and feet are SO DRY. I might treat myself to a mani-pedi this Saturday. When was the last time you played a board game? What did you play? Yikes, it’s been a while since I’ve played with an actual board. I played Cards Against Humanity online the other night with Ellen and Kayla if that counts. How old were you when you first became sexually active? 20. Have you ever been to a festival for beer or other type of alcohol? Yeah, I’ve been to an OktoberFest before. Do you own a record player and/or vinyls? There is one in our attic, but it’s my fathers. I have no real interest in it on my own. When was the last time you went out for drinks? I don’t really go out just for drinks. I’m usually getting dinner too. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope. I’d love to go to one to be honest. Do you know anyone with a ‘virtue name’? I had to look these up. I know a Faith, a couple Graces, and a Joy. I used to know a Verity but only online. Would you ever wear real authentic leather? Eh. Have you taken out the trash today? Nope. How often do you wear make-up? Rarely. I plan on wearing some this weekend for our shop’s holiday dinner. What’s your opinion on The Simpsons? I don’t hate it but I’ve never really gotten super into it. Do you prefer horizontal or vertical stripes? Both are nice. Do you know anyone who has been through a divorce? A few people, yeah. If you had the money, would you take taxis everywhere instead of driving? No. I hate taxis and uber and lyft. Have you ever done a juice cleanse? No, because they’re all giant scams. Do you have any friends who you can’t decide if they’re attractive or not? I am friends with someone I was friends with in gradeschool on Facebook and she always posts really unflattering pictures of her face but every once in a while there will be a really pretty one so I’m like what is the truth? Is the inside of your fridge clean right now or does it need a clean out? Ugh we need to clean all of them out. The fridge in our kitchen gets filled up because my grandmother saves EVERYTHING she doesn’t eat. The mini fridge Mark and I have in the basement has been ignored because we have a full size one now, which can stand to be wiped down. That mini fridge is so gross we are afraid to open it haha. When was the last time you washed the dishes? Mark is usually the one who does the dishes. Are there any magazines that you read on a regular basis? There aren’t. Do you have to pay for parking in most places in the town/city you live in? Yeah, it’s so stupid because it’s not like there are free buses and trains and shit so whatever you do you have to pay to go places. Unless you are crafty and can find free spots. What’s the first thing you tend to do when you have a headache? Take something. Tell me about your responsibilities at work. I open doors with magic. Can you hear lots of traffic from your house? Does it bother you? There’s an expressway and train track basically in our backyard. I don’t really notice it inside the house, except for if the windows are open, but even then it doesn’t bother me. You become used to it really easily. The trains you can hear and feel on the inside of the house every once in a while, but not enough to disturb anything we are doing. Have you ever had proper Canadian poutine with the squeaky cheese? No, poutine does NOT appeal to me at all because I do not like gravy. Do your parents know how to operate smartphones and/or computers? My dad is pretty good with his phone and computer. How old are your parents, anyway? My father is 67 in April. Are you allergic to anything? What do you have to do to prevent them? Nope. What song is stuck in your head at the moment? There isn’t one. What’s your boss’ first name? Do you call him/her by that name? His first name is Anthony. Everyone calls him Tony. When was the last time you wore a uniform of any kind? What colour was it? It’s been AGES. Did you complete a survey before taking this one? Will you take one after? I did and maybe if I find one I like. Have you ever lost enough weight to drop a dress size? Hah. What’s your favourite kind of bread? Garlic. When was the last time you got pizza? What toppings did you get? It was fairly recently. There was definitely pepperoni on it. Do you own Monopoly? Is it the original or a special version? Yup. I have a Nightmare Before Christmas version I have literally never played haha. I think I have an original version too. What was the last thing you said out loud? ”Okay” You have to choose one: cats or dogs? Cats. How do you travel to and from work? My car that’s probably going to explode any day now. Do you primarily use cash or card for your purchases? Why? My credit or debit card. Because its SO convenient. Have you ever been to a stadium concert? Yeah, I’ve seen a few bands in stadium concerts. I saw Red Hot Chili Peppers with my sister like 10 years ago. And when I was younger I vaguely remember seeing the Counting Crows (hi @tapiooocasurveys) with my sister and father at a stadium. And Bob Dylan too. I feel there’s probably another one I’m forgetting. OH! Blink-182 when I was a pre-teen.

[hymn2000]

Called To Be A Rock - Frostiron feat. Spiderson AU fanfic - C25

Previous chapters: 1  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Comments/reviews/questions welcome as always

Overall Desc.:  Peter is staying with Tony and Loki one summer while his aunt is away working/travelling.

Chapter Desc.: Being so high up in the air can be strange, especially for extended periods of time

Ship(s) involved: Tony x Loki aka Frostiron

Verse: Personal AU

Ongoing Warnings/themes/cw mentions: domestic, hurt/comfort, family dynamic, Tony in Dad Mode, holiday stuff, conflict

Chapter 25 - Get Over Your Hill And See What You Find There

-

Peter looked out of the window until civilisation as he knew it faded from sight, left far below. The seat belt light turned off, and once the others did, he slowly undid his seat belt and got up again, having a little wander over to the other side of the plane and seeing if the view was any different. It wasn’t. 

“Are you two going to watch that film then?” 

Peter shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe” 

“Well, do whatever you like, as long as you don’t disturb me” Tony said, going over and flopping down on one of the sofas. “I’m driving when we land, so I could do with the rest” 

He put a pillow under his head and closed his eyes. Loki went and lay on top of him, and Tony held onto him and turned onto his side, cuddling up against him and soon falling asleep. Peter watched them for a little while, half wishing the sofa was big enough for him too. He tried not to feel left out. He looked round the jet. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before, with plush seats and sofas, a soft thick carpet, a small kitchenette, a big telly, charging ports, tables, and all sorts of other home comforts. He wanted to have a proper look at everything - but he was still so tired. It was still only about 6.30am, although it didn’t really feel like it. Tony had left his shoulder bag on one of the units. Peter rifled through it, finding a thin fleece blanket and Loki’s pig, and he took them over to one of the other sofas. He curled up on his side, wrapped up in the blanket while the pig served as a makeshift pillow. The soft sounds of the plane flying through the sky acted as a soothing white noise, and it wasn’t long before Peter fell asleep again.

- 

Peter woke up a couple of hours later. He looked over at the other sofa, and saw that Tony was still fast asleep, but Loki was awake, scrolling on his phone. Loki sensed himself being watched, and looked up, making eye contact with Peter. He set the phone down and got up, careful not to disturb Tony. Peter didn’t move. Loki knelt down on the floor in front of him. 

“You’ve taken my pig” 

“He makes a good cushion” 

“I know. Do you want to go back to sleep?” 

“No, I’m ok now. I’m hungry though. Have we got anything to eat?” 

Loki stood up, going over to the kitchenette and opening the cupboards. “What do you fancy?” 

Peter sat up, pulling the blanket back round himself. “I don’t know. I’d be happy with just cereal, to be honest” 

He got up, keeping the pig in his arms, and went over to him. He was surprised at how much stuff was in the cupboards. 

“I- I don’t suppose we’ve got any tea?” 

Loki switched the kettle on and took down a couple of tin mugs from the cupboard. Peter looked at them. 

“Moomins!” 

Loki smiled. “Moomins. They’re lovely mugs, don’t you think?” 

Peter nodded, picking them up and having a proper look at the pictures. He held up the navy one depicting Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden by the campfire. 

“Can I use this one?” 

“If you’d like. Here, put them down now: kettles nearly boiled” 

Peter did as he was asked. He was happy to see they’d brought the chai tea with them: he’d developed quite a taste for it. He was impressed by the little fridge too. He now understood what Tony meant when he’d said you sometimes forgot you were flying while on the jet: it definitely felt more like a little hotel suite than a plane.

-

Loki sat back, looking at the picture of Moomin’s in a boat on his own mug. Peter sat beside him, pig under one arm, leaning his back against his side.

“Shall we watch that film now?”

“Sure, if you’d like” Loki answered, turning the telly on and flicking through the Roku menu until he found it. “I love this: it’s definitely my favourite Wallace and Gromit one”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s such a classic: it’s so charming. It’s the little details that make it”

Peter smiled up at him. “I love it when you like human things. I swear you get cuter every day”

“Don’t get carried away” Loki said, but he put an arm round his chest and held him close. 

They both got lost in the film. They were quiet, aside a few laughs and comments about how nice the cheese looked and how scary the robot was. 

-

Loki switched the telly off once the credits started rolling.

“Have we got a pack of cards anywhere?” Peter asked.

“Ah, you want to make a tower?” Loki said. “I think there’s some in that drawer over there”

Peter set his empty mug down and left the pig on the sofa while he went and found the pack of cards. He settled on the floor and begun making his tower of cards. Loki sat down on the floor to talk to him. They were quiet at first, but as the conversation progressed, they grew louder, joking and mucking about together, making quite a racket.

A book collided with the side of Loki’s head, and he flinched at the impact. It hurt a lot, and his eyes smarted.

“What was that for?!” he looked up at Tony, who stood with the heavy book in his hand, looking less than impressed.

“I asked you to be quiet and let me rest”

“Well, sorry, but there’s no need to whack me one”

“Isn’t there?” he said, and smacked him with the book again, just to prove a point. 

“OW! Tony!”

"Be quiet” Tony looked at Peter. “The same goes for you, Mister”

He gave Peter a gentle tap with the book. He barely touched him, but Peter still blinked a bit. He looked over at Loki, who rubbing his head and looking pretty sorry for himself. 

“Keep the noise down, please” Tony said, going back over to the sofa.

“Are we nearly there yet?” Peter asked.

Tony checked his watch. “We’re not yet half way. We’ve still got a while to go, kiddo”

He lay down and pulled a cushion over his face, blocking them out. Peter turned to Loki, only to find that he’d retreated to the back sofa. Peter swallowed. There’d definitely been a mood shift.

-

Peter tidied up and then went over to the back sofa. Loki was on his side, facing the back of the sofa, his pig over his face.

“Mr Loki? Are you ok?” 

“I’m fine” Loki mumbled. 

Peter didn’t know what else to say. He clambered onto the sofa, squeezing into the gap between Loki and the back of the sofa, wriggling under the mans arm. Loki sighed, taking the pig from his face and holding it, and Peter, under his arm. 

“You shouldn’t lie to me. I’m just a kid: I’m very impressionable”

Loki couldn’t help laughing. “You’re a weird kid alright. Maybe that’s why we get on so well”

“Maybe, or maybe it’s the opposites thing. Y’know, young and old, human and god, sweet and... not”

“Did you just call me old?”

“Well, you’re like, a thousand years old. That is old, even if you don’t look it. By human standards, anyway. But yeah, even if you weren’t a god, just going off looks, still older than me”

“Ok, ok, I get it. And hold on a moment; who ever said I wasn’t sweet? And more to the point, who ever said you were?”

“What are you saying? I’m sweet! Kinda”

“You’re many things, Peter, but you’re not sweet. Not all the time, anyway: just sometimes. It’s not your most defining personality trait” Loki said.

“Which is?”

“Stubbornness”

Peter was surprised. “Stubbornness?”

“Yes. And persistence. You’re very like Tony, in that respect. And you’re clever. Maybe that’s another reason you fit in so well with us”

Peter decided to be flattered. “I like it with you and Mr Stark, y’know. I was pretty nervous at first, especially after when we first met...”

“Well, perhaps jumping you with a training session wasn’t the best way to make a first impression” Loki admitted. “I really wasn’t going to stab you, I hope you know that”

“I know. You said right back then. I believed you. I still do. It was still scary though. You do still scare me sometimes, but so does Mr Stark”

“Really? Why?”

Peter shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t like it when you two get angry or start arguing. And there was that whole thing where you went to stay with your brother and Mr Stark went all funny. That was pretty scary”

Loki looked at him sadly. “I didn’t realise we scared you”

“Well, ok, maybe ‘scared’ is too strong a word. That night, that one I mentioned? I really did get scared then. And I got scared that night I got into trouble for drinking and smoking. But that was proper fear, not little fear”

“You’ve lost me”

“Well, it’s a different kind of fear. Like, you know how there’s a difference between being scared about a dentist appointment and being scared because you nearly fell down the stairs? Nervous! That’s the word I was looking for. I do get nervous when you two argue. I’m glad you don’t do it much”

Loki stroked Peter’s hair. “You don’t have to be scared, and you certainly don’t have to be nervous. Disregard our spats for a moment: does Tony make you nervous?”

“Not any more. I know him so much better now. I think he’s great. I know what I can get away with and when I need to watch myself. I’m comfortable with him. He’s kinda like family now...”

“You two are so far in the father-and-son zone, it’s almost embarrassing” Loki teased. “What about me? Do I make you nervous?”

Peter rested his forehead against Loki’s chest so he didn’t have to look at him. “Yeah. But mainly because- well, because... Because I like you” 

“I know” Loki sat up, pulling Peter onto his lap so they were facing each other. 

“But, yknow, aside from that, you don’t make me nervous. I’m comfortable with you too. I never really expected to be. Ned loves it, thinks its cool”

“Thinks what’s cool?”

“Well, you know, us. Being friends with you. Messing about with you. Being close to you...” he paused, thinking of their wrestling matches and cuddle sessions and their trips to the shops. “You know I love you”

“I love you too. You’ve grown to mean such a lot to me while you’ve been with us”

Peter nodded, touching his cheekbone gently. One side of his face was still rather red. “Does it still hurt?”

“It’s fine” Loki said. Peter gave him a look. “Ok, it still hurts a little bit”

Peter knelt up, one hand on Loki’s shoulder, and he planted a series of kisses over his sore cheek. 

“What are you up to, kiddo?”

Peter pulled back for a moment, and kissed him firmly on the lips. 

“Better?”

Loki burst out laughing, and Peter quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

“Shh! We’ll wake Mr Stark again” 

“Sod it; he’ll cope” 

Loki pinned Peter down on his back on the sofa. Peter squeaked, trying to stay quiet. He didn’t want Tony getting grumpy at them again. He looked up at Loki.

“I think it’s about time someone made a fuss of you for a change”

“Mr Stark’s always fussing over me. You saw all the new stuff he bought me”

“I was thinking of a different sort of fussing”

A sudden image of being pulled close and kissed deeply flashed through Peter’s mind, and he blushed at the thought. The reality was of course much more chaste. Loki rubbed his nose against Peter’s for a moment, and started kissing all over his face. Peter giggled, living up to his claim of being sweet. He couldn’t help basking in the attention and appreciating the feel of Loki’s body against his own. He kept trying to think of Loki as a father figure, but his crush was still going strong and this ambition wasn’t seeing any kind of success just yet. He felt Loki’s hand on his hip, and the kissing stopped. Loki smiled down at him.

“You’ve gone all red”

Peter just stuck his tongue out at him. Loki grinned, slipping his hand under Peter’s shirt and tickling his stomach. Peter shrieked, grabbing at Loki’s hand.

“Don’t! Don’t, I’m ticklish!”

“I know” Loki said, continuing.

Peter shrieked again - and suddenly remembered Tony. He craned his head to look, thankfully finding him asleep. Still, he was bubbling over with laughter now, and was forced to cover his mouth with his hand to stop himself from being too loud.

“Mr Loki, stop it! We’re gonna wake Mr Stark!”

They did indeed wake him - but he was in a much better mood this time. He went over to them.

“Are you torturing our little guest?”

“Perhaps” Loki answered, not taking his eyes off the funny creature collapsed in a fit of giggles beneath him. 

“Do you need a hand?”

Not waiting for a reply, he grabbed Peter’s wrists, pinning them above his head and tickling under his arms. Peter shrieked, trying to pull free.

“Stop! This isn’t fair; I’m outnumbered!” 

Loki and Tony exchanged a mischievous look, and both continued until the boy was weak and helpless with laughter.

-

Peter was greatly relieved to be released. He continued to giggle weakly for a good thirty seconds afterwards, and they both laughed at him. 

“You’re a funny thing” Loki said, ruffling his hair. 

“Have you had anything to eat, kiddo?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, I had something before we watched the film”

“Good. Can’t have you going hungry” Tony looked at Loki. “And yourself?”

“I’m not hungry”

“You should have something anyway”

“Oh Tony, don’t start”

Tony didn’t push it. “Why don’t we stick something on the telly? Pass the time a bit”

Peter sat up. “What do you wanna watch?”

“I don’t know... Hey, how about the one with the evil penguin?”

“What, Feathers Mcgraw?” Loki said. “I think you’ll find he’s actually a chicken”

“He’s also the scariest villain on earth” Peter said, laughing. 

“It’s the fucking trousers that creep me out” Loki said, wrinkling his nose.

Tony gave him a tap. “Hey, what have I told you about swearing in front of the kid?”

Loki merely rolled his eyes. He felt Tony was being hypocritical. 

-

Tony had something to eat while they settled to watch the film. Peter sat on Loki’s lap, squeaking and shuddering in exaggerated fear whenever the penguin was on screen. Loki joined in on the charade, holding Peter tight and claiming he felt threatened.

Tony watched them fondly, quite enjoying their little game. He knew there was a level of sincerity to their claims (“I’m terrified of this penguin and I don’t care who knows it”), but mostly he was just happy to see how close they were. He loved Loki with every fibre of his being, and Peter was very quickly gaining the same level of devotion from him - not that he’d ever admit it. He was overcome with a feeling of utter contentment as he sat there, half watching the film, and half watching his funny little family.

-

“Right, well, I’m suitably scared to death” Peter said, grabbing the remote and turning the telly off. “So, what now?”

“Diamond heist?” Loki suggested.

Peter gave him a look. “I’m being serious”

“So am I”

“You two are ridiculous” Tony said, going over to the kitchenette. 

“How long have we been in the air for?” Peter asked.

Tony checked his watch. “Around five hours now”

“Woah, really? That’s mad” 

“Lolly, why don’t you get your book out and read to him for a bit?” Tony suggested.

Loki got up, finding Tony’s bag and digging out Anne of Green Gables. 

“Where did we get up to?”

Peter thought for a moment. “We’d just finished chapter fourteen”

It had been quite a while since they’d read together. Loki sat back on the sofa, and Peter climbed into his lap again, wrapping the fleece blanket round his legs and settling back against his chest. Loki opened the book, cleared his throat, and begun to read:

“‘What a splendid day!’ said Anne, drawing a long breath. ‘Isn’t it good just to be alive on a day like this? I pity the people who aren’t born yet for missing it. They may have good days, of course, but they can never have this one. And it’s splendider still to have such a lovely way to go to school by, isn’t it?’”

-

“‘Miss Barry was a kindred spirit, after all’, Anne confided to Marilla. ‘You wouldn’t think so to look at her, but she is. You don’t find it right out at first, as in Matthew’s case, but after a while you come to see it. Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world’”

Loki set the book down on the arm of the sofa and kissed Peter on the cheek.

“That’ll do for now”

“Aww” Peter whined, disappointment, but accepted it. 

“You ought to do audio books, darling” Tony said, glancing up from his phone. “You’ve got a good reading voice: I never knew that about you”

“Well, you learn something new every day” Loki said. 

He pushed Peter off his lap and went to sit next to Tony, cuddling up against him. Peter decided to interfere, and plonked himself down in the middle of them. Tony smiled, wrapping the blanket round him better and holding both of them close against himself.

-

Loki and Peter both fell asleep again. Tony eventually got up to sort some things, leaving them curled up in a little huddle like a couple of little aardvarks. 

The day was getting on. They’d flown many miles, passing over water and landmasses unknown, passing through different countries and timezones - different worlds than the one they knew. 

The eighth hour was approaching. A notice was passed to him, and he smiled to himself. He gave Loki and Peter a little shake.

“Wake up now, darlings”

They did, blinking a bit and leaning against each other as they looked up at him. Tony smiled at them.

“Get up now” he said gently. “We’ll be landing soon”

Peter and Loki looked at each other, and got up, hurrying over to the window, peering out. It was dusky, seemingly early evening, which felt very strange indeed, considering it could be no later than about 2pm in New York. They could see a city, or a town, all bright lights and buildings and roads as far as the eye could see. Well, not quite: there was definitely some greenery in the distance. It looked so normal - but so different too. 

Soon, an airport came into view. They knew they’d soon have to sit and put their belts back on, so they made the most of the view they had now, still at a loss. Loki had his arms round Peter. Peter looked up at him, his expression asking if Loki knew where they were. Loki looked at Tony, so Peter did too. Tony was looking very pleased with himself. He grinned at them.

“Welcome to England”

*

[off-the-scales-blog]

Our day started with himself declaring that there were a lot of oranges in the fridge that needed using, and that I should also think about how I was going to use that pack of polenta I bought last year because I thought it looked ‘interesting’. My first thought on his early morning observations cannot be shared as it would surely set the alarms off on all decent content filters, and it is best if I just leave it there for you to fill in the blanks yourself! I was hardly going to admit to him that the polenta had been winking at me every time I opened the drawer where I keep my flours, and I had been planning to use it soon! 

I scanned all the cookery book I have accumulated over the years and not one of them had a recipe that used oranges and chocolate. I know I have had chocolate orange cake with my coffee in the past, so I had a quick look on the internet where I found lots of recipes for orange polenta cake, but there were two problems. Some of the recipes used a lot of ground almonds, and that makes them expensive to make. Other recipes use a lot of plain flour and I wasn’t confident that these would convert easily to gluten and dairy free. That left me with one option – develop my own recipe using the lessons I have learned so far on gluten and dairy free baking.

What is polenta? Polenta originated in Northern Italy where it was essential to many peasant and working class families. It is made by grinding corn into maize flour or meal. It has a rich yellow colour, and has a slightly sweet flavour. It is used extensively in Italian cooking. As it is made from corn it is naturally gluten free and low in fat. It can be made up into a porridge and eaten hot for breakfast, or used as a substitute for mashed potatoes or pasta at dinnertime. You can put it in a square container, level the top, and refrigerate to cool and set, and then cut into chips to fry up as polenta fries. It can also be baked or grilled. It is also perfect as a substitute for breadcrumbs to coat fish for your Friday fish and chips. The options are endless.

Fine polenta can also be used as a gluten free alternative for flour when baking. Cakes made with polenta tend to be moist and dense, and have a pleasantly grainy or nutty texture. Use the fine flour polenta for baking rather than the pre-prepared block of polenta. The pack will usually say that it is 100% pre-cooked maize flour.

Quick tip: line all your ingredients up before you start to make your cake. I cannot tell you how often I have put a cake or muffins in the oven, or worse still served them to guests, to discover that I had forgotten an essential ingredient! When making this cake I nearly forgot the sugar – check the video to see me add it just in time!

Check out my video to see what happens if you don’t line up your ingredients:

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”Chocolate Orange Polenta Cake” collapsing=”false” collapsed=”false” color=”FFFDFC” ccolor=”FFFDFC” bgcolor=”FFDDE2″ cbgcolor=”885053″ bgcolorto=”FFDDE2″ cbgcolorto=”885053″]

[one_half]400g sweet small oranges

100g polenta

100g ground almonds

50g plain gluten free flour

1tsp gluten free baking powder

200g soft brown sugar

6 eggs

100g dark chocolate (min. 70% cacao)

[/one_half]Preheat oven to 170ºC, 150ºC Fan, 325ºF, GM 3. Line a 20cm round springform cake tin.

Scrub the oranges and put them in a microwave proof bowl and add 1cm cold water to the bottom. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, turn the oranges around, and microwave for further 3 minutes. Repeat until oranges are soft and squishy. Drain and leave to cool.

Weigh all dry ingredients into a bowl. Tick them off as you go so that you don’t forget any – I am speaking from experience here! Beat eggs in a large jug

Remove any pips from the oranges and puree them. If your blender is big enough add the dry ingredients and the eggs and blitz again to combine.

Pour the batter like mix into the lined cake tin and bake for 50 minutes to an hour. It is cooked when it springs back when pressed on top, or when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave on medium power. Check regularly so that you don’t overheat. Spread over top of cooked cake. Serve hot and runny, or put in fridge to set the chocolate.

Note: you know your own oven best and should adjust temperature and timings to suit. Tested using fan oven.

[/stextbox]

[stextbox id=”info” caption=”Hints and Tips to make the perfect Chocolate Orange Polenta Cake” collapsing=”false” collapsed=”false” color=”0D0D0D” ccolor=”FFFDFC” bgcolor=”C5E6A6″ cbgcolor=”885053″ bgcolorto=”C5E6A6″ cbgcolorto=”885053″]

I’m fairly confident that I bought the right size liners for my baking tin, but they refuse to fit snugly. Not a problem as the base of the liners are the perfect size I simply cut slits from top to base at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock! Now my liner fits and works perfectly.

If you don’t want to microwave the oranges, and you have some time to spare you can boil them in a pan of water until they are tender. This will take between one and a half and two hours. Keep checking the water level to make sure that they don’t boil dry.

Use small sweet oranges for the best results. Clementines, mandarins, tangerines, and satsumas are all perfect.

If you don’t have polenta you can replace with ground almonds.

Always check that your baking powder is gluten free.

Check that the chocolate is gluten free. Even though chocolate is naturally gluten free, you should check the label carefully as some brands of chocolate state that they ‘may contain’ gluten. This warning will be printed on the packaging when the manufacturer is concerned that there is a risk that the product has been cross contaminated with gluten from other products during the production process. There are lots of gluten free chocolates on the market, and if you must avoid even the smallest amount of gluten it is worth doing the research to find some brands that you like and trust.

Check that the chocolate is dairy free. Most dark chocolates are dairy free, especially those with 70% or more cacao. Always check the labels, again there is a risk of cross contamination!

When melting chocolate in the microwave always use medium power, start with 2 minutes, remove and stir, and then continue on medium power at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is runny. You know your own microwave best and should adjust the timings to suit.

[/stextbox]

Take your chocolate orange polenta cake to the next level

If you have a special occasion, feel like spoiling yourself, or have guests that you want to impress you can go the extra mile with the chocolate topping on this cake. Spice it up by using chocolate with orange 🍊 such as Willies Cacao Luscious Orange Cuban 65% Dark Chocolate Bar. You could use 2 of these luscious orange bars, or one bar and 50g dark chocolate. Other orange chocolate options are available, but many have a ‘may contain ‘ gluten warning.

 You can take your cake to a completely different level by soaking the segments of two or three small oranges in a tablespoon of your favourite alcohol (sherry, brandy and rum are all good) and a tablespoon of maple 🍁 syrup. Mix the alcohol and syrup together in a bowl, add in the orange segments, coat with the syrup, and leave to marinate while the cake is cooking and slightly cooling. Stir them occasionally.   Spread melted chocolate on top of cake, and decorate with orange segments.

Of course there are no rules to say that you can’t have the luscious orange chocolate and the alcohol soaked orange segments. What a treat.

Cookware

I bought my Moulinex food processor about a million years ago! Seriously, I can’t remember buying it, but would estimate that it is at least 25 years old. Needless to say this trusted old work horse is no longer available to buy new, but it is encouraging to see that you can still buy parts for it, and there are second hand machines for sale on eBay!

I’m sure that I thought that this machine was expensive when I bought it, after all it was made back in the days when things were built to last. Whatever it cost, it has earned its position in my kitchen over and over again. My mother in law always says that the expensive thing (she says the dear thing) is the cheap thing in the end. I think she is right on that one.

I am excited to see that there are still Moulinex food processors available on the market, and that the models available are remarkable similar to my old model. I can only depend on reviews from other people about their quality and durability, and for the most part the reviews posted are positive. If I was replacing my current food processor I would certainly look at these as an option, although I might be put off by the fact that they are not stocked by the large high street retailers. I think in the end I would be tempted to buy a Magimix food processor, a nice red one to match my Kitchenaid. I have a feeling that if I bought a Magimix today that it would see me out (Irish way of saying that it would last me the rest of my life!)

Ease of use:

The Moulinex mixer is easy to use once you get the hang of the locking mechanisms for the bowl and the lid. This model came with a dough blade and a plastic mixer blade as well as slicing & grating discs. There is one dial to control the speed at which the blade or disc rotates and a switch that turns the machine on if pressed one way, or will pulse if held in the other direction. There is a safety mechanism to ensure that the blades will not rotate if the lid is not in place. That’s it, couldn’t be easier. It makes quick work of grating a block of cheese, making breadcrumbs, and is fantastic for puree, and of course cake mixes.

Cost: Most of the models available seem to come in around £120 on Amazon. There are also some for sale on eBay. That prompted me to look at the price of a Magimix food processor on Amazon, and in comparison to other brands they are expensive, but…..yes, they are lovely. Check out some of the products available on Amazon using the product carousel below.

[amazon_link asins=’B006WYVEUI,B00IYL2KYQ,B00KCSQLZI,B00IYPAOE0,B00U13QK32′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’retat50clu-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’7ae92449-0b09-11e7-8b1c-b5cffe15ad6e’]

Overall score from me:

Top marks 5 out of 5. I am tempted to reduce the score to 4.5 to punish it for its longevity! I’m so tempted by the Magimix food processor, but really cannot justify the spend while this work horse continues to live!

My other baking essential is this Le Creuset Springform Round Cake Tin. This beauty comes in 3 sizes, and mine is a 20cm or 8in tin. It is also available in 24cm and 26cm. 

Ease of use: This is the perfect sized tin for all my cakes. the silicone covered side clip opens easily to release the removable base, and makes removing and serving cakes and desserts a piece of cake! Releasing the clip allows the sides of the tin to expand and the base is then free and the tin can be lifted cleanly away from the cake for a perfect finish. It is advertised as safe for metal utensils, but I would not treat my lovely tin so badly. I always use silicon or plastic utensils. It is freezer and oven safe, and should be hand washed which is really easy as it is genuinely non-stick. It comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Cost: The price of the springform round cake tin seems to be the same regardless of the retailer. At the time of writing the tin is priced at about £22. Check it out on Amazon by clicking the photo above or using the product carousel below. I was so impressed with this tin that I am slowly replacing all my old baking tins with Le Creuset tins.

[amazon_link asins=’B00DQAFLNW,B00DQAFOIO,B00EZKT92G,B00DQAFN6W,B00DQAFME0′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’retat50clu-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’683aa9f4-07cb-11e7-af57-2105d908785a’]

Overall score from me:

Another top score, a resounding 5 out of 5. My Le Creuset tins make baking more enjoyable, and the washing up is quick and easy.

Ingredients

I like my oranges to be sweet and easy peel. There is no way I am going to spend forever doing my best to remove all the orange peel and the white pith – honestly, no orange is worth that. Many recipes for orange cakes will specify the orange variety to use. My recipe is simple. Just use whatever oranges you have in your fridge or fruit bowl. If you are going to buy oranges to make this cake then choose whatever oranges you like to eat. That way you can always eat the oranges if you decide not to make the cake this weekend, and if you do bake the cake you can eat the oranges that are left over.

I don’t have a preferred brand of polenta. It isn’t one of my regular ingredients, although I am so impressed with the texture of this cake that I am encouraged to try it in other recipes. It is available in all major supermarkets. It is naturally gluten free, but please check the pack to make sure that it does not have the ‘may contain gluten’ warning. Packs will usually have this warning if there is a risk of cross contamination with gluten during the manufacturing process.

I buy the best value ground almonds from my local supermarket, and again will always check the ingredients to make sure it is 100% almonds, and that no gluten has sneaked in as a cheap alternative to bulk it out so that it can be sold cheaper. If I run out of ground almonds I will grind my own by blitzing whole blanched almonds in my little food processor. Just process them until they are completely ground and resemble an almond flour. The plain gluten free white flour that I used in this recipe came from Aldi. It is a blend of rice, potato and maize flour, and at the time of writing cost £1.29 for a kilo which is considerably cheaper than the branded alternatives available in other supermarkets and health food shops. The amount used in this recipe is not enough to test how good this flour really is, but it has prompted me to use it for other recipes. If I am successful I will be using this plain flour more often.

I buy whatever gluten free baking powder is available in the supermarket! Please read the label carefully to ensure that it is gluten free. This is one product where the cheaper brands can be bulked out with products that contain gluten. Always read the labels.

Supermarket brand soft brown sugar is perfect. I will only buy the branded product if it is the same price, or lower, than the supermarket own brand.

Eggs….always free range, and medium size. The free range part is the country girl in me, chickens should run around outside and eggs should taste like…..eggs. If you are happy with eggs that are not free range then go for it. I don’t think it will make a difference to your bread, but let me know if you think it does.

The chocolate needs to be at least 70% cacao, and be gluten and dairy free. We are big fans of Willie’s chocolate in our house, and most of the products are gluten and dairy free. This chocolate can be expensive, but they taste fantastic. For cooking we tend to buy the barrels of chocolate and these work out better value.

  [amazon_link asins=’B002F5FJSG,B007CX1GRY,B00EAKEIU4,B00DJW2XZ6′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’retat50clu-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’f5435e0e-0b0e-11e7-8a25-2d8df80de20d’]

Enjoy your Chocolate Orange Polenta Cake hot or cold….

This chocolate orange polenta cake can be served warm for dessert. It is divine with the chocolate still runny and served with an orange sorbet or dairy free cream or ice cream. It is also delicious served cold with a lovely hot mug of perfectly brewed tea or a cup of coffee.

This chocolate orange polenta cake is easy to make and is perfect hot for desert or cold with a great cup of tea. Our day started with himself declaring that there were a lot of oranges in the fridge that needed using, and that I should also think about how I was going to use that pack of polenta I bought last year because I thought it looked 'interesting'.