#on top of that there were several people in the reception area and it was very loud/hectic and only one nurse had a mask on!

[lightningfilledsaber]

Tagging it w/ but also forewarning I'm talking abt pet death again. It's midnight so technically not today but whatever. Had to fucking take my mother's puppy to be cremated today. Would rather have crawled into a hole and died myself lol. Useless fucking vets basically forced me to see the body despite super not wanting to do that. Fuck my life!

[corvus--rex]

another import from the accursèd bird app, and completely unedited, as per usual

-

Lance had always had an odd sense. He just knew sometimes. It had started as soon as he could talk. His family got used to it and believed him every time. His friends didn't, not at first. But eventually they all did, even the more skeptical ones in college. They would all have their "event" that would prove it.

Dragging someone across the playground just before an unattended car rolled through the fence right where his friend would have been, taking a different path to class only to prevent another friend from being pushed down the stairs, and then in high school when he yanked his two best friends back from being crushed by heavy scenery in the school theatre seconds before it fell. Telling a friend in college to take a turn where they wouldn't normally, only to avoid an accident at the next light. He never found an explanation for this sense, he just had it.

One afternoon, Lance was walking toward the subway station after work. That sense tingled, telling him to take the long way around. It was a beautiful early autumn day, and he took a turn down a quiet side street, lined with old brick houses built one on top of the other, maple trees dotting the sidewalk and just beginning to turn red and gold. It wasn't an area for heavy foot traffic, and he wasn't surprised to not meet anyone. He even still early for his train despite the detour.

Lance wouldn't have looked back, except for that feeling telling him he should. Emergency vehicles blocked the street, a snarling man was pinned to the asphalt, bloody knife laying several feet away, while the stabbing victim was loaded into a waiting ambulance. If the attack was random, that would have been him in the ambulance. He felt for the actual victim, he always did, but it was overshadowed by a sense of relief that it wasn't him.

Later, on the train home, he got a feeling of having been watched, but shook it off. There were a lot of people who'd stopped to watch. It was when he was falling asleep on his couch to the drone of the tv that he bolted upright, remembering someone small and unobtrusive, with round glasses and wild honey blond hair. They were across the street from him, facing not the mess of the aftermath, but him. It was unnerving, but hours past, and he decided to ignore it.

Three days later, Lance was out running a few errands when he got the feeling again. He waited beside the shop door instead of stepping out into the parking lot, just missing the elderly driver stomping on the gas instead of the brake and crashing into the potted bushes that separated the shop from the one next door.

He'd always help when he could, and called emergency services while making sure the driver wasn't hurt - she was fine, just shaken - and he waited until they were on their way to the hospital before resuming his day. Several people had stopped to either help or check if they were needed, and Lance hadn't realized that one of those people, a tall, broad guy - the orange headband stood out - hovered at the back of the crowd far longer than anyone else.

After that, Lance started paying more attention to the people around him when his sense went off. The next time was in his office building, he took the stairs down instead of the elevator, the doors stuck on the first floor with the car stuck halfway. This time it was a different guy, taller than the last one, with a white streak in his hair and a prominent scar across his nose, who sat in the reception area, watching as Lance was able to get the single person in the elevator safely to the floor while maintenance was still on the way.

The next incident left him shaken. The days were getting shorter, and it was past dark when he turned down the street his apartment building sat on. Halfway down the block, he felt the familiar tingle, and slowed down accordingly. A muffled shout caught his attention, and he looked down an alley just in time to see the streetlight reflect off the barrel of a gun.

Without thinking, he ran in, disarming the gun's wielder with the kickboxing he hadn't done in years but still remembered. Stunned, the attacker laid on the pavement while their near-victim called for help. There was no crowd this time, and his watcher was far more obvious, despite her trying to look like she was just passing by. Pure white hair sparkled in the yellow light of the streetlamps, bright blue eyes fixed on him and him alone.

The attacker was taken away and the victim refused a trip to the ER, leaving Lance to finally head home in a daze. He was surprised at his own actions, that was a fucking gun for fuck's sake, not to mention the kickboxing he thought he;d forgotten. But that girl wasn't there by accident. None of them had been, he realized. They couldn't be. But why. Why were they watching him, and only turning up when something happened? His sense would go off again, it always did, but this time he'd be ready.

Three days later, it happened again. No one was hurt, but the subway train he usually took was offline that day due to a failure on the rail. Fortunately, there was a metro rail that ran close enough to his office, and he was just in time to catch it.

The trip itself was blissfully uneventful, it was when he got off with dozens of other people that he felt it. Looking up, Lance saw the sparks from the electrical lines that ran some of the city's buses. He yelled, loud enough to get plenty of attention, people startled into listening. He cleared the immediate area just before the line crackled, showering the road with white hot flaming sparks.

The road was shut down, transit maintenance arriving to investigate the cause and make notes for repairs, all of which took enough time for the crowds to disperse. But Lance stayed, knowing that someone would be watching him from a distance.

He scanned the area, spotting that day's person. Roughly his height, maybe a bit shorter, black hair, pale skin, startling violet eyes that stared right at him. Lance waited until this latest person saw him staring right back. The new guy smiled to himself, and walked over.

"There you are," he said.

"You've been watching me," Lance answered, "Why?"

"Because. You belong with us."

Lance knew it was true. Whoever these people were, his place was with them.

"We can help. Gift like yours isn't all that rare, but the way you feel it, that is unusual. Come with us, we'll show you what you can really do."

That was a very tempting offer, but… "What about work? I think my office will notice I'm missing?"

"Already taken care of. Nothing bad, don't worry, but you're free to join us without worrying about anything."

Oddly, Lance wasn't worried. But he was curious. "Who are you guys anyway?"

He smiled. "The Witches of Voltron."

Lance immediately felt safer than he ever had. The tingle flared, but instead of a warning, it was an odd sense of familiarity. He knew this was where he belonged. Without question. He nodded, stepping closer to wherever this witch would lead him.

"I'm Keith, by the way."

Lance nodded. "I think I already knew that."

Keith laughed, shaking his head. "Of course you did."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll find out."

[buddie-buddie]

we will find a way (through the dark)

9.2k - t - ao3 In which President Evan Buckley is kidnapped and Secret Service Agent Eddie Diaz falls apart.

This whole Wyoming trip was a bad idea. Eddie had said as much when the travel plans first crossed his desk. Buck, to his credit, had agreed. Neither one of them seemed to understand why a speech at an hour-long ceremony warranted a three-day trip, but that ship had apparently long since sailed.

“What’s there to do in Wyoming anyway?” Buck had asked one of his advisors. “Can’t I just fly in for the ceremony and leave as soon as it’s over?” 

Eddie thought that was a brilliant idea. The less time they had to spend away from the White House– the less time they had to spend in Wyoming, of all places– the better. 

Unfortunately, Buck’s team was prepared with an answer, quickly launching into some long-winded explanation full of Washington jargon like strategic and good faith and precedent-setting. It was buzzword salad, as far as Eddie was concerned. 

The way Buck’s eyes seemed to glaze over as they spoke indicated he felt the same. 

Buck going anywhere other than the White House or Camp David is already less than ideal, and heading to some rural area of Wyoming, where there’s bad reception, limited resources, and guns outnumber people 4:1 is pretty much Eddie’s personal hell. 

Now that they’re here, his feelings haven’t exactly changed. His team is incredible, as is the entirety of the Secret Service. They’ve been hard at work clearing buildings, mapping travel routes, surveilling, and filling the gaps left by the less-than ideal amount of local law enforcement support they’ve been provided. 

They’ve been here for a day and a half now, and while Eddie still isn’t feeling great about the trip, he’s no longer walking around with “resting bitch face so severe it might get stuck that way,” as Buck had so lovingly pointed out when Air Force One had first landed. 

Tensions had managed to grow since their arrival, which Eddie knew could be attributed to Buck’s overall frustration with this trip in the first place. A frustration Eddie shared, tenfold. 

Buck was exhausted after a particularly busy week, spread thinner than he had been in recent memory. Thinner than Eddie thought possible. And yet, somehow, even after all these years, Buck still manages to surprise him. 

The night before they were set to leave Washington, Eddie had brought up the idea of postponing the trip. It had been a long, draining week and to add a few days of travel on top of it felt like a cruel and unusual punishment, at least as far as Eddie was concerned. It physically pained him to see Buck so stressed, exhaustion materializing in the bags under his eyes, in the dark circles that cast an unwelcome shadow across his face. 

When Buck didn’t go for that, Eddie suggested shortening it to one day instead of three. He was met with protest, insistence that he’d rather go and be miserable than change his plans and disappoint his constituents. Buck had stopped for a minute, his half-packed suitcase in front of him, and promised that when they got home, he’d stay in bed for a whole day. 

“I’ll allow it,” Eddie had said, wrapping his arms around Buck from behind and dropping a kiss to his temple. 

“I have one condition,” Buck said, relaxing into Eddie’s arms, melting into his touch. 

“Let’s hear it,” Eddie murmured against Buck’s ear.  

“You,” Buck said, pausing and tipping his head back in an attempt to look at Eddie. “Have to stay in bed with me.” 

Eddie grinned. He couldn’t help but squeeze Buck a little tighter, fondness unfurling in his chest. “Deal.”

“Yeah?”

Eddie nodded, turning Buck so they were pressed chest to chest, their foreheads resting against one another. “Yeah,” Eddie murmured, stealing a proper kiss. 

-

The first day of the trip goes according to plan. Buck is exhausted, and Eddie can tell he’s losing steam towards the end of the day, but he still manages to keep a warm smile on his face until they make it back to the hotel room. Eddie follows him inside, locking the door behind them as Buck heaves a sigh and sits on the edge of the bed. 

“You did well today,” Eddie says, toeing off his shoes and shrugging out of his suit jacket before crossing the room towards the bed. 

“I– I feel like you guys are smothering me.” Buck’s reply seems to startle both of them. 

Eddie tries not to take it personally. It’s not his fault there are fewer police officers in the entire state of Wyoming than there were students in his high school! Usually when they travel, local police come in to support the Secret Service. The small police population out here has meant fewer support officers than they’re used to. It left Eddie and his team feeling a little stressed, and they had come to the decision that the best way to fill the gaps and compensate for the change in routine was to increase the presence of Buck’s personal detail. 

Instead of two agents shadowing him, they bumped it to three. Instead of four agents surrounding him in open air, they’ve had six. 

Frankly, Eddie isn’t a huge fan of the change in routine, either. He’s been on edge since the second they got here. But if it means keeping Buck safe, he’ll adopt whatever changes are necessary. He might not like it, might spend all day longing for the status quo, but he’ll do it. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do if it meant keeping Buck safe. Nothing . 

“I’m sorry,” Buck and Eddie say at the same time. 

“No– no, Eddie. I’m sorry,” Buck insists, his eyes wide and searching as he holds Eddie’s gaze. “I– I don’t know where that came from. I just–” 

Eddie sits down beside him. Their knees brush, and the tension in the air dissolves immediately. “You don’t ever have to be sorry for telling me the truth,” Eddie tells him. “I’m sorry that we had to change your detail. I don’t like it any more than you do.”

“There’s nothing here but open air and cows,” Buck grumbles, loosening his tie and pulling it over his head with a sigh. “Can’t we decrease it?” 

Eddie shakes his head. Annoying as it is, it’ll be a cold day in hell when he does anything that could potentially put Buck in danger. “No, baby. I’m sorry.”

Buck makes a noise halfway between a groan and a whine, flopping back onto the mattress. Eddie sighs, taking comfort in knowing that even as tired as he is, Buck hasn’t lost his personality. 

“We just have to get through another day and a half. Not even. First thing Wednesday morning, we’re on the way home,” Eddie reminds him. “And then I believe there’s a deal involving a bed and a locked door that’ll need your attention.” 

-

The following afternoon is Buck’s big speech, the whole reason for the trip in the first place. He spends 15 minutes speaking at a ceremony to honor the 100th birthday of a national park that Eddie isn’t convinced he himself had ever heard of before learning of these travel plans. As Eddie expected, Buck absolutely crushes his speech, complete with a standing ovation before he waves goodbye and heads backstage to meet up with his team. 

“Nice work,” Maddie says, beaming as Buck makes his way down the stairs, trailed by Eddie, Bobby, Chim, and Hen. He strides over to where she’s waiting with a few of his advisors and a flock of additional Secret Service agents. 

Buck lets out a deep breath, relief and gratitude shining in his eyes as he thanks her. “Now what?” he asks, accepting the bottle of water Eddie passes him with a small smile. 

“Now, you have to go get changed into something more appropriate for skeet shooting with the governor,” Maddie tells him. 

She manages to keep the grin off her face, but Chim fails, chuckling as he claps Buck on the back. “Now this, I can’t wait to see.” 

It’s a twenty minute ride in the motorcade to the rifle club, where Buck is ushered into a sitting room and promised that the governor will be with him shortly. He takes a seat in one of the oversized leather chairs, directly beneath a taxidermy buck. 

“It’s Buck-ception,” Chimney muses. Eddie grins, though it may have less to do with Chim’s bad joke and more to do with the horrified look on Buck’s face as he turns his head and sees the deer mounted directly above him.

“I miss Washington,” Buck grumbles. 

Eddie doesn’t blame him. 

Washington has the Oval Office, which is free of dead animals hanging on the walls. Washington has four times more law enforcement officers in its 70 square miles than Wyoming does in its nearly 100,000. Washington has Christopher. Washington has the Residence. Washington has their bed–– God, Eddie misses their bed. 

Washington has their best memories and some of their worst ones too, but it’s home. And while Eddie’s never felt homesick when Buck’s in reach, he finds himself longing for the city just as much as Buck is. 

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it, though, because the governor is striding into the sitting room and Buck is rising to his feet to shake the man’s hand. 

“Mr. President.”

“Mr. Governor,” Buck says with a warm smile. Eddie remains in awe of him– how even when he’s somewhere he doesn’t want to be, doing something he doesn’t want to do, Buck still manages to be so friendly, so genuine. He still manages to share the best parts of himself.  “Thanks for having me.”

The governor returns Buck’s smile. “Pleasure’s mine.” He leads Buck down a hallway to a private locker room, Eddie, Bobby, and Chim trailing behind them alongside the Governor’s security. The Governor motions for Buck to use the room on the left before heading into the room on the right himself.

Chim stands to the left of the door while Bobby walks through the room, returning a moment later with a nod to signal that it’s empty and safe for Buck to enter. He steps into position, standing on the right hand side of the door as Eddie moves to follow Buck inside. 

“I think I can handle this by myself, guys.” Buck motions to the bag in his hand. Eddie tries not to take it personally. He knows Buck is feeling overwhelmed. He said as much last night. And yet, there’s still a pang of rejection at Buck’s words. But he shoves it down, nods, and steps to the side, as much as he hates the idea of Buck being out of their sight. 

But it’s only for a minute. They’re in a building that’s crawling with agents, and this is a private room– Eddie remembers as much from when he saw the building’s plans during his briefing this morning. There are no exterior doors, no doors that connect to other rooms. Just a small changing area connected to a private bathroom. And Buck is only getting changed out of his suit and into whatever sort of skeet shooting attire Maddie put into the bag that’s slung across his shoulder. 

He’ll only be a minute. 

The Governor reappears a few minutes later, his own suit traded for a flannel shirt and a dark khaki vest with matching pants tucked into calf-high boots.

Eddie catches the way Chim’s eyes light up, already anticipating Buck’s getup. He shoots him a look, silently begging him to behave. 

They wait for another minute before Eddie starts to get antsy. He has no idea what could possibly be taking Buck so long. He’s pretty efficient when he gets dressed in the morning, only slowing down to swap lazy kisses with Eddie as they move around the walk-in closet at the same time. That and tying his tie. But Eddie’s out here in the hallway and he’s hard pressed to believe Maddie would pack him a necktie for an afternoon at the rifle club. 

Something must be wrong. 

Eddie steps forward, knocking on the door. “Mr. President, all good?” He waits with bated breath for Buck’s answer, only it doesn’t come. 

“Mr. President?” Eddie tries again, more insistent this time. Again, no response. 

He looks between Chim, Bobby, the Governor, and the two state troopers trailing the Governor, concern written across all five of their faces. 

Fuck. 

Eddie doesn’t waste another second. 

The door is unlocked, but there’s something blocking it. He’s able to twist the knob and push it open, but it only goes a few inches before he’s met with resistance. He slams his shoulder into the door, using all of his weight to push it open far enough that he can make it through. 

A leather-trimmed bench has been dragged over from the middle of the changing area, if the dents in the carpet are any indication of where it once sat. It was shoved in front of the door, clearly meant to slow down anyone trying to make their way inside. Buck’s suit jacket is in a pile on the floor, just beside his dress pants and shoes. His bag lays sideways on the floor, a pair of olive green pants hanging out of the opening. 

His white button-down is in the middle of the floor, stained red with what can only be blood. 

There’s a lot of blood. Too much blood. 

A trail of it starting in the middle of the room, leading out through a wide-open window. 

Shit. 

There are bloody footprints on the carpet. Three pairs in the middle of the floor – two made by shoes and one made by bare feet. By the window, there are only two pairs. Both shoes. They dragged him out. 

The realization burns in Eddie’s chest, nearly breaks him. They dragged him out. 

How did they all miss this? How did none of them hear it? Eddie thinks he might be sick.

Behind him, he hears Bobby radioing in a mayday and calling for a total lockdown. He hears boots in the hallway, voices echoing in his earpiece. The Governor’s saying something, the state troopers, too.

But he can’t focus on any of that. Not when Buck is gone. 

No, not gone. 

Taken. 

The worst of it is the tiny black rectangle in the corner of the room. Buck’s panic button. Eddie beelines toward it, dropping down to get a better look. It’s still intact, which has Eddie trying to wrap his head around why Buck didn’t hit it– it must’ve been in his hand at some point if it made it all the way out of his pocket and across the room. Why didn’t he hit it?

He’s careful not to put any fingerprints on it, pulling a pen out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and using it to flip the thing over. He’s not ready for the sight of the bloody fingerprint, just to the left of the button itself. It trails off, as if the device was knocked out of Buck’s hand before he could get his finger onto the button. 

But he tried. 

Something about that makes it even worse.

-

“Talk to me,” Eddie says, walking into the sitting room, which has since become, for all intents and purposes, Secret Service headquarters. 

He just got off the phone with the director, briefing him on what had gone down. It’s been fourteen minutes since Eddie breached the door to the locker room and they discovered Buck had been taken. Closer to eighteen minutes since Buck entered the locker room in the first place. The pit in Eddie’s stomach grows steadily with each passing minute. He’s desperate for an update– a real update. Not just “Yeah, he’s definitely gone,” which had been the latest one a few minutes ago, before Eddie stepped out to call the director and try to tamp down the rage burning within him before it consumed him. 

“We have footage,” Bobby says, looking up at Eddie from behind a laptop screen. He’s sitting in the same oversized leather chair Buck had been in before, the stupid taxidermy buck above his head. 

God, what Eddie would do to go back to that moment. The things he would change. The things he could prevent. 

“Let me see,” Eddie says. Bobby hesitates, one hand on the laptop screen, as if to shield Eddie from view. 

“Eddie,” Bobby begins. “I just watched it. I think–” His voice is gentle and sympathetic in a way that has Eddie feeling absolutely terrified. 

“No,” Eddie insists. He can hear the hysteria starting to creep into his voice. He clears his throat, takes a quick breath. “Let me see.”

Bobby hesitates once more, but Eddie steps up next to him, standing over his shoulder and staring down at the screen. Reluctantly, Bobby hits play. 

It’s from an exterior camera, one that had a perfect view of two men dragging Buck out of the locker room window. Eddie stands there fuming, his blood boiling beneath his skin as he sees Buck, covered in blood, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs and a strip of tape across his mouth. 

He kicks and claws, thrashing around as they pull him out of the open window and throw him in the back of a waiting golf cart. It has a miniature flatbed in the back, and one of the men jumps in beside Buck, locking his legs around him and holding a hand over his mouth to keep him still and quiet. 

The other man throws a tarp over the both of them, concealing them from view, before jumping in the driver’s seat and speeding off. 

And then they’re gone. 

Eddie can’t breathe. Buck is gone– taken – on his watch. He’s out there somewhere, barefoot and covered in blood and at the mercy of the two animals who just dragged him through a window right under Eddie’s nose and Eddie can’t fucking breathe. His chest is tight and his head is heavy and everything hurts. He can’t– 

“Eddie,” Bobby’s voice sounds far away, too distant to be coming from the man standing directly beside him. “Eddie, look at me.”

Eddie can’t get the words out. Can’t get the air in. Can’t do anything except stand here as his world falls apart and stammer out a broken,  “They– I– I can’t–”

“I know.” Bobby’s voice is even where Eddie’s wavers, smooth where Eddie’s grates against the lump in his throat. But the fire in his eyes burns just as furiously as the one in Eddie’s. The undercurrent of anger that Eddie can sense coming off of him is just as intense as the one thrumming beneath his own skin. 

And something about that is more comforting than the evenness of his voice ever could be. 

“We’re going to get him back,” Bobby says, matter-of-fact. There’s no room for interpretation, no doubt behind his words. 

“He’s… Bobby, I– I don’t–” 

“He needs you,” Bobby says, his voice low. Quiet enough that it doesn’t draw the attention of the other agents coming in and out of the room, but loud in all the ways that matter. Keep it together , is what Bobby doesn’t say out loud. Keep it together for him. And fall apart later. 

Eddie hears it all the same. 

He nods, managing to get a shaky breath. And then another one. The heat behind his eyes eases up, the pressure in his head and the burn in his chest ebbing away with each additional breath. Not all the way, but it’s enough. 

Bobby places a hand on his shoulder, squeezes reassuringly in a way that has Eddie’s chest aching for an entirely different reason. 

And then Hen is running into the room, waving a sticky note in her hand. “I got a plate.” 

“Let me have it,” Eddie says. Bobby, to his credit, doesn’t protest as Eddie grabs the laptop out from in front of him and pulls up the database. 

Hen reads off the plate number and Eddie types it in. The system shows a match immediately. He pulls up the driver’s ID and his heart skips in his chest. That’s the same guy from the security video, the one driving the cart away. He’s sure of it. 

If the way Bobby stiffens beside him is any indication, he’s sure of it, too. They share a small nod, and Eddie sends a silent prayer of thanks to every God he can think of before keying his radio. “All agents, be advised, we have an ID on one of our suspects. Dixon Allan, age 31. Driving a white Silverado with a busted left tail light. BOLO is going out now.” 

“Last known address on our friend Mr. Allan is 129 Fox Hollow Road,” Bobby says, looking between Eddie, Chim, and Hen. 

“Well, let’s pay him a visit,” Eddie says. 

-

Eddie kills the Suburban’s engine three doors down from the house. The road has a more suburban feel to it than many of the streets Eddie’s seen since they first arrived two days ago. And yet, despite the paved streets and the houses close together, there’s not a single streetlight on the entire block. Though that’ll work in their favor. The sun is quickly setting, leaving them with only a few more minutes’ worth of daylight before the street is completely blanketed in darkness.

Another two cars pull up behind him, all of the agents careful to close their doors quietly and move silently as they head over to Eddie’s car.

Eddie swaps his suit jacket for a kevlar vest, rolling the sleeves of his white button-down up his forearms as Bobby steps up beside him, clad in his own vest. 

“Eddie.” Bobby says, the fear on his face giving way to something softer, more compassionate. “I can go in first.” 

Eddie’s chest squeezes, the onslaught of emotion catching him completely off guard. 

“We have no idea what we’re walking into,” Bobby says, the compassion from his face bleeding into his voice and softening the razor-sharp edge of the truth behind his words. 

“I know,” Eddie says solemnly. He knows Bobby is trying to protect him, offering to be the first one in, the first one to see whatever it is these animals have done with Buck. To Buck. 

But what Bobby must not realize is that this – whatever it is they’re walking into – is what Eddie deserves. He’s the one who let Buck into that locker room alone. He’s the one who waited too long to breach the door and get inside. He’s the one who failed. He failed his country, failed his people. Failed Buck. 

And whatever horror scene they’re about to walk in on, Eddie deserves every second of it. He can’t put that on Bobby. Not when all of this is his fault. 

“I’ll lead,” Eddie says, the words scratching against the lump in his throat. 

He’s saved from having to say anything more about it when his earpiece beeps, signaling an incoming communication. “All agents, be advised. SWAT is eleven minutes out.” 

It’s Eddie’s boss, the director of the Secret Service. The unspoken words there are Wait for them. Which Eddie has no plans of doing. 

Eddie keys his radio. “We’re moving in.”

“Special Agent Diaz––”

“Do you have any idea what can happen in eleven minutes?” Eddie demands. He gives zero regard to the reprimand he’s bound to get for interrupting his boss– and over the team comms for everyone else to hear, no less. “What they could do to him?”

“Stand down and wait for SWAT,” the director says. “That’s an order.”

“I don’t give a damn if it costs me my badge!” Eddie hisses, careful not to raise his voice to the point of giving away their position. “It’ll be on your desk first thing tomorrow if that’s how it has to be. But I’m going in there and getting my President. And I’m not waiting eleven minutes to do it.” 

The comms are silent for a beat before Eddie keys his radio one more time. “Respectfully, Sir.”

“I would never ask any of you to disobey–” Eddie’s voice trails off as he turns to face his team,  only to find them all in their vests, their weapons drawn. They’re ready to go.

“We know,” Hen says. 

Eddie tries again, shoving down the ball of emotion that’s started unfurling in his chest. “No one is under any obligation to–”

Chim cuts him off with a wave of his hand. “Yeah, yeah. We’re all consenting adults here. Now, let’s go get our President back.”

Eddie nods. “Clip your lights on,” he tells them. “Stay light on your feet and wait for my signal.”

He’s met with a round of nods, each of the agents fastening their flashlights onto the top of their guns. As they’re walking down the sidewalk, approaching the house, his earpiece beeps again. 

“Be advised, SWAT recommends breaching at the alpha side.” 

Eddie knows that’s as close to a “You were right and I was wrong” as they’re ever going to get. He’ll take it. 

At least his badge is safe.

“Copy,” Eddie replies. He directs the agents to different sides of the house, approaching the front door with Bobby, Hen, and Chim on his heels. He glances back at them, and once he sees they’re all ready, he turns to the door and kicks it in.

The lights are off, the entire house swathed in a darkness that feels somewhat fitting for the gravity of the situation. Eddie steps over the threshold gun first, feet second. 

His stomach drops as he looks around. He freezes, the beam from his flashlight locked in place. His breath catches in his throat and from somewhere behind him, he can hear Bobby’s do the same. 

The front door opens up into a small entryway, just large enough for a coat rack and a small table pushed up against the wall, holding nothing but a single set of keys– no doubt belonging to the white Silverado parked out front, the same one they used to flee the scene– and a layer of dust Eddie can see from several feet away. Directly ahead is an open door that leads to what looks like the kitchen. To the left, a hallway. 

There are cobwebs in the corners and dust on the floor. The house is cold– too cold for anyone to be living here comfortably. But that’s not what has Eddie’s blood running cold, alarm bells going off in his head as he fights against the fire in his chest to get a clean breath. 

There, on the hallway wall, set clearly against the white paint, is a bloody handprint. 

Beside it, another one. This one messier than the first, the fingerprints trailing away, down the hallway, as if their owner dragged them across the wall. 

As if their owner was dragged. 

Not without a fight, though, if the fingernail scratches in the wall are any indication.  

“Jesus,” Chimney mutters. His voice is empty, hollow in a way Eddie’s never heard it before. Almost as if he’s shut off his emotions, tamped them down in the way Eddie so desperately wishes he was capable of doing himself. 

“Let’s move,” Eddie says, pushing the words past the fear that’s materialized by way of a lump in his throat.

He heads down the hallway, his heart hammering in his chest as his eyes scan the trail of blood and scratches on the wall. The need to find Buck is the only thing more powerful than the rage burning deep inside him. It’s the only thing keeping him moving forward, keeping him from falling apart.

The intensity of the blood against the wall trails off the further he gets down the hallway, the heavy, robust marks fading into barely-there traces with each step Eddie takes. He tries to take comfort in knowing that it means Buck wasn’t actively bleeding– at least not from his hands– but any shred of relief is lost to the fear and the fury dangerously close to consuming him.   

The trail ends at the second door on the right. Eddie holds up his free hand in a silent signal to his team to freeze. The quiet footsteps behind him come to a halt, and he turns his head to see Bobby beside him. 

The anguish in his eyes has Eddie feeling like he’s looking in a mirror. Bobby has the same clenched jaw, the same creased forehead, the same fire burning behind his eyes that Eddie feels in his own. But there’s something more there. Something softer. At first, Eddie isn’t sure what to make of it. Then, Bobby nods his head towards the door, a silent offer. 

I’ll go first. 

He doesn’t have to say it out loud–– Eddie hears the unspoken words loud and clear. He knows it’s Bobby’s last attempt to protect him. To shield him from whatever might be behind the door.

Later, he’ll let himself feel the gratitude. Later, once Buck is home and Buck is safe. 

Later, he’ll find Bobby and he’ll thank him. He’ll tell him that he’s never had anyone care about him in the way that Bobby does. He’ll tell him how much the seemingly simple gesture meant to him. How he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget it. 

Later, he’ll tell Bobby how even though it meant the world to him– maybe even more– he couldn’t take him up on the offer. He hopes Bobby will understand. No, he knows he will. 

Later, he’ll tell Bobby “I had to do it.” And later, Bobby will smile and clap him on the shoulder and say “No, I know you did.” Later. Once this is all over. 

But now, all Eddie can do is meet Bobby’s eyes and hope the look he gives him is enough to say all the things he can’t right now. 

And then he moves. 

The door is locked. Eddie wastes no time kicking it open. It slams against the wall, the hinges rattling as he barrels into the room, Bobby and Chimney immediately behind him. 

The room is dark, illuminated only by the beams of their flashlights. There’s a startled whimper from the far corner, and it’s a miracle that Eddie hears it over the sound of his own heartbeat hammering in his ears. 

“Buck!” Eddie crosses the room in three strides. Protocol says he needs to clear the room of any potential threats before entering, but he’s long past the point of giving a single damn about protocol. 

Someone behind him shouts out a “Clear!” and he hears Bobby on the radio, updating the other agents on scene. 

None of that matters to him. His sole focus is Buck. 

Buck, who’s sitting in front of him, eyes wide and wet even in the bright light of Eddie’s flashlight. He’s on the floor in the corner of the room, his knees pulled up to his chest. His hands are bound behind his back and there’s tape over his mouth. His captors are nowhere to be seen. He’s alone. 

For reasons Eddie can’t quite name, that makes the knots in his stomach coil even tighter. Buck was alone in here. Buck, who hasn’t been alone– not really, anyway– in years. Buck, who just minutes before being taken had insisted he’d be fine by himself. 

Sure, the alternative is that Buck’s captors could’ve been in here with him, doing god-knows-what to him. And that’s hardly better than Buck being left in here alone. But something about the sight of him all by himself, tucked in the corner of the room and looking smaller than Eddie’s ever seen him, has Eddie’s stomach turning, his chest squeezing beneath the agony of it all. 

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Eddie promises, easing one corner of the tape up. He’s not sure if that last part is true. Not yet. But it needs to be.

“We’re here, we got you.” That part is true. They have him. 

Finally, finally, they have him. 

“Are you hurt?” Eddie asks. He can barely stand the half-second of wait time between his second and Buck’s reply, which comes by way of a quick head shake. No. 

Eddie’s shoulders sag with relief, just as his radio beeps in his ear. “All agents be advised, we have both suspects in custody.” 

Eddie lets out a sound that’s halfway between a sigh and a sob. The relief is palpable, coursing through him and soothing the frayed edges of what little remains of his sanity.

“We got them,” he tells Buck. “It’s over.” 

Buck nods, eyes still shining in a way that feels like a knife to Eddie’s heart. “Gonna take this off, okay?” Eddie says, working hard to keep his voice calm and even. Buck nods eagerly. Bobby is there too, kneeling down at Buck’s side and starting in on the ropes wrapped around his wrists. 

Eddie brings one hand up to the side of Buck’s face, and his chest squeezes at the way Buck immediately melts into the touch. He pulls the tape off with his other hand, dropping it to the ground as soon as it’s off. 

Bobby gets the rope off at the same time and Buck collapses like a puppet whose strings have just been cut, falling into Eddie’s chest with a strangled noise that Eddie knows he’ll be hearing in his nightmares for years to come. 

“I got you,” Eddie says, fighting off a sob he can feel building in his chest. He swallows it down and brings a hand up to the nape of Buck’s neck, holding him close. “I got you.”

Buck’s chest heaves as he draws in a shaky breath, fingers wound so tightly in Eddie’s suit jacket that his knuckles have gone white. “I got you,” Eddie says again. It’s just as much for Buck as it is for himself. 

He holds Buck as close as he possibly can, buries his face in his hair and finally takes a deep breath for the first time in hours. His hair smells like sweat and blood, but underneath it all there’s still the familiar minty fragrance of Buck’s fancy conditioner. It’s barely recognizable, but Eddie clings to it just as hard as he holds onto Buck.

Bobby backs off, gives them a moment to hold each other, to breathe. To let it sink in that this nightmare is finally over. Eddie’s gratitude knows no bounds.

“I– I’m sorry.” Buck’s voice is ragged, trembling in the same way his hands are. 

Eddie’s heart breaks all over again. 

“Shh,” Eddie shushes him. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I-I told you… I told you not to–” Buck stammers. Eddie eases him back, putting just enough distance between them that he can take Buck’s face in his hands. 

“Buck, please–” It’s all Eddie manages to get out before his voice cracks, hot tears stinging his eyes, threatening to spill over. 

He blinks them back, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against Buck’s. “I’m sorry I left you,” he says, his voice wavering. He could apologize every day, every hour, every minute for the rest of his life and it still could never be enough. “I shouldn’t have listened, I should– I should have insisted.”

Buck shakes his head. “This is not your fault.”

“It is,” Eddie insists. “It is, I– I should have…” His sentence trails off when he registers the way Buck is shaking. He’s trembling in Eddie’s arms, his whole body fighting against what Eddie assumes is a combination of an adrenaline crash and the fact that he’s still barely clothed. Eddie lets go of Buck only long enough to stand up. Quick as their lack of contact may be, it’s still met with a sound of protest from Buck. Eddie helps him to his feet, and it’s the first time he gets a proper look at him, and it takes his breath away. There’s dried blood all over him. It’s caked onto his skin, his hair. It’s beneath his fingernails, stuck in the creases of his palms. Sweat-damp curls are plastered against his forehead, and dark circles hang beneath his weary eyes. 

“Come on,” Eddie says gently. He wraps an arm around Buck’s waist, taking on his weight as he leads him towards the door. 

He keys his radio with his free hand. “All agents be advised, I’m bringing POTUS out. Need medical on standby.”

“No medical,” Buck protests. “I– I’m fine. Just need a shower.” 

“Yes, medical,” Eddie shuts that nonsense down immediately. He leads him out the door and towards the waiting ambulance. 

Maddie is the first one to reach them, running over as soon as she sees them cross the threshold. She meets them halfway across the front lawn, pulling Buck into a tight hug. She’s the only person on Earth for whom Eddie would let go of his hold on Buck, and he doesn’t mind stepping back and letting them have a moment together. Eddie can’t make out what she says to Buck, but if the way his shoulders sag is any indication, it’s exactly what he needed to hear.

-

“You’re sure you’re okay?” Eddie asks. Buck is sitting on the back of the ambulance, Eddie directly next to him. Buck’s head is resting on Eddie’s shoulder, and Eddie finally, finally feels like he’s able to breathe again. Buck is dressed in Secret Service issued sweats, a navy blue crewneck sweatshirt and matching pants. Hen had been quick to bring them over as soon as they made it out of the house, and Eddie’s not sure who was more grateful– him or Buck. 

Eddie was quick to help Buck into them, hoping they’d help to fight against the chill in the night air. He had grabbed a rescue blanket off the back of the ambulance, too, and draped that over Buck’s shoulders in an attempt to get him as warm as possible.

“I– I promise,” Buck says, voice still a little wobbly. “My, uh, my wrists are a little sore. That’s all.” 

“And your head,” Eddie reminds him. 

“And my head,” Buck agrees. 

There’s a small gash on Buck’s forehead, just above the spot where his birthmark kisses his eyebrow. It’s no bigger than an inch wide, and there’s an angry bruise already blooming across the skin behind it. The paramedics already cleaned it and applied a steri-strip, and Eddie was able to find a tiny bit of comfort in the knowledge that it wouldn’t need stitches. 

That tiny bit of comfort was immediately chased away by rage when Buck explained that one of his captors had accidentally smacked his head against the window frame when dragging him out of the locker room, hence the injury. “It’s weird,” Buck had said, both to Eddie and to the paramedics as they tended to the wound. “He apologized. It was like… I– I don’t know. I almost feel like they didn’t want to hurt me.” 

Buck had also said that they dumped him in the room, tied his hands behind his back, and left him alone almost immediately. They didn’t hurt him, didn’t demand information or national secrets. Didn’t make so much as a single threat. Not that they would have had much time to do so– Buck hadn’t even been there an hour by the time the Secret Service arrived.

It all certainly tracked with what Bobby was getting from Dixon, who apparently started talking before the cuffs were even fastened. Bobby had come by a few minutes before and pulled Eddie aside. Maddie was quick to swoop in and sit with Buck while Eddie was briefed. Apparently, the two idiots were hired by someone to whom the governor had an outstanding debt. They were only supposed to rough him up, but upon realizing the man they had jumped from behind was the president, they panicked and took him. How kidnapping the president of the United States was a better decision than aborting the mission and making a run for it, Eddie will never understand. But all that matters is Buck is here. He’s safe. And Eddie isn’t letting him out of his sight any time soon. Possibly ever. 

Not even to deal with Dixon and his partner. Bobby had asked if Eddie wanted to speak with either one of them before PD took them away, to which Eddie had shaken his head. “You’d be wrong to trust me alone with either one of them,” he said. 

Bobby nodded, understanding. “Why do you think I’m over here?”

“It doesn’t hurt, though,” Buck says, pulling Eddie out of his thoughts and back to the present. “My head.”

“There was a lot of blood,” Eddie reminds him. He feels sick at the thought of it, the visuals playing in his mind sending his stomach churning all over again. “It was all over the locker room. And on the walls in the house.”

“Not mine,” Buck says. “It was his. The smaller one. He tried to grab me in the locker room and I– I pushed him off. He hit his head on the corner of a locker. And then he must’ve gotten scraped up on the window, cause his arms were bleeding a lot. He got it all over me.”

Eddie remembers seeing the smaller of the two kidnappers get in the back of the golf cart alongside Buck, the visual of it seared into his mind. That would certainly explain the blood in Buck’s hair, not to mention the streaks of it across his bare body. 

“Okay,” Eddie nods, comforted by the fact that Buck seems to be alright. At least physically. And for now, he’ll let himself take solace in that. For now, that can be enough. 

He tips his head against Buck’s, their temples resting against one another as Eddie takes a shaky breath. Buck’s voice is so quiet, so small, Eddie almost misses it. “I fought back.”

“I know, baby,” he assures him, rubbing reassuring circles into Buck’s back. “I know you did. It’s over now. It’s all over.”  

-

When they get back to the hotel, Buck beelines for the bathroom, eager to shower off the blood and the sweat still caked onto his skin. Eddie fights every instinct telling him to follow Buck inside, to keep himself plastered to Buck’s side. Instead, he tries to give Buck a little bit of space, tries to wait to follow his lead, painful as it may be. He leans against the door frame and watches as Buck turns the shower on and grabs a towel off the rack. 

“Can you–” Buck says quietly, and there’s something uncertain in his voice, something almost a little bit shy, that Eddie hasn’t heard in a long time. He looks between Eddie and the shower, biting on his bottom lip. “I– I don’t… I don’t want…” His voice trails off, his question left unspoken. 

Eddie hears him anyway. Understands him perfectly, in the way he always has. “Of course.” 

He walks the rest of the way into the bathroom, kicking off his shoes and stripping out of his own clothes before helping Buck out of his. Steam fills the room as Eddie guides Buck into the shower and steers him beneath the warm spray. 

Buck closes his eyes, tips his head back against Eddie’s shoulder, his back to Eddie’s chest. Eddie wraps an arm around Buck’s waist, holding him close as the water sprays over them. Eddie can’t bear to look at it, can’t stand the sight of the water running pink as it swirls around the drain. He presses a kiss to the top of Buck’s head and closes his own eyes, taking a deep breath and allowing himself to relax into the feel of Buck pressed up against him.

“Thank you,” Buck’s voice is so small, Eddie barely hears it over the sound of the running water. “I don’t–” 

Eddie’s not sure how Buck was planning to end his sentence before his voice broke off. But it doesn’t change his answer. “It’s okay,” Eddie murmurs. 

“I don’t want to be alone,” Buck admits.

“You don’t have to be.”

He feels the sob tear its way through Buck’s chest before he hears it. Buck crumples against him, falling into Eddie’s arms as the gravity of the day’s events seems to finally hit him. 

“I’ve got you,” Eddie promises, taking on Buck’s weight and easing him onto the floor. He pulls Buck into his lap, holds him against his chest. He ignores the way the tiled floor is digging into the bottom of his thighs, and the way the water is beating on his back on the wrong side of uncomfortable. “I’m here.” 

There’s a certain weight behind his words. They hang heavier in the air between them, as if they’re suspended in the thick cloud of steam. They’re more than just an assurance. 

“I’m here,” Eddie says again. It's a promise. A pledge. And unspoken vow that he’ll never leave again. 

They stay like that for a while, until the sobs wracking Buck’s body fade into sniffles, until the water starts to turn tepid and Eddie gently eases him to his feet just long enough to wash off. He turns the water hotter and work’s Buck’s fancy shampoo into his hair, massaging his scalp and scrubbing behind his ears in the way he knows Buck loves. Eddie’s stomach turns as it rinses out pink, the last of the blood disappearing down the drain. 

He follows it with conditioner, the shower filling with its peppermint fragrance. Buck has been using this stuff for so long, Eddie feels like one of Pavlov’s dogs with the way the smell of peppermint instantly soothes him. It’s immediately grounding, and never more so than tonight, as it covers up the metallic scent of the blood washing down the drain. 

Once they’re done and all of the hot water is gone for good, Eddie detaches himself from Buck just long enough to turn the water off and grab Buck a towel, passing it to him before grabbing one for himself. As they towel off and step out of the shower, Buck’s hand finds Eddie’s wrist, holding onto him as he guides them out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. 

Buck stands over the dresser for a moment before crossing the room and pulling a t-shirt out of Eddie’s duffle bag. It’s the one he wore to bed last night, and as he turns it over in his hands, Eddie can see some of the lingering tension bleed out of his shoulders. He looks up at Eddie, who nods without hesitation. “All yours, baby.”

They make their way into bed, and Eddie relaxes instantly as Buck curls into his side. Eddie shuts the lights off and drops a kiss to the top of Buck’s head.

“Thank you for finding me,” Buck says quietly, the words muffled by Eddie’s t-shirt. But Eddie hears him loud and clear.

It feels like Eddie’s heart is splitting wide open. He wonders, briefly, if Buck is able to hear it do so from where he’s laying with his head atop Eddie’s chest. 

“Thank you for fighting,” Eddie says, running a hand through Buck’s hair. 

“I didn’t do much,” Buck replies. 

Eddie shakes his head. “You did more than you realize. You fought back, you…” he takes a breath, clears his throat as he searches for the right words. “You bought us time. You fought to make it out of there. You… you gave me– you gave us hope. We needed that.”

He shoves all thoughts of what might have happened if Buck hadn’t fought out of his mind and instead tries to focus on this, on being here with Buck. He tries to focus on the feel of Buck curled up against him, tucked into his side like they’re two puzzle pieces slotting into place. Like the two of them were made for each other.

Eddie likes to think they were.

Buck’s eyes are shining as he props himself up on his elbow, looking at Eddie properly. 

Eddie continues. “Even in our worst moments, we still make a pretty good team.” 

Buck smiles for the first time since this whole nightmare began, and the sight of it alone does more to mend Eddie’s battered heart than he ever thought possible. “You think so?” he asks.

Eddie nods. “I know so.”

"You know what could have stopped them even sooner?" Buck asks, a mischievous glint in his eye. He’s looking more and more like himself with every passing moment, something for which Eddie has never been more grateful.

Eddie knows exactly where this is going. "We're still not giving you a gun. Nice try."

Buck lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine,” he concedes. “But what about a really sharp knife?”

"So you can end up with an accidental self-inflicted stab wound?” Eddie asks. “I don't think so." 

"What about…” Buck begins, his voice trailing off as he inches closer to Eddie. “A super smart…” He brushes his nose against Eddie’s. “Absurdly handsome Secret Service agent…” he drops a quick, playful kiss to the corner of Eddie’s mouth. “...Who carries both a gun and a really sharp knife?"

Eddie grins, only for Buck to chase it away with a long, lingering kiss. "Deal," he murmurs against Buck’s lips as they part.

"Great,” Buck leans in again, smiling against Eddie’s lips as they kiss again. “I always did like Bobby."

Eddie can feel Buck’s chuckle rumbling in his chest, and despite his best efforts to keep a straight face, he can’t help but laugh alongside him. “You’re ridiculous,” he says fondly. 

“Yeah,” Buck agrees. “But you love me.”

Eddie nods, stealing another kiss. “I do,” he promises. “I really, really do.”

-

Eddie wakes up slowly, a tiny, content sigh falling from his lips as he turns over and reaches for Buck. Only instead of finding his warm boyfriend, all Eddie’s fingers are met with are cold bed sheets. “Baby?” Eddie mumbles, his voice thick with sleep. He props himself up on his elbow and blinks slowly as his eyes adjust slowly to the low light. 

It’s too dark for the bed to be this empty. 

He glances over at the door to the ensuite bathroom, but there’s no light slipping through the crack at the bottom of the door. “Buck?” he calls, a little louder this time. When he doesn’t get an answer, he kicks the duvet off and swings his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up properly. He reaches for the lamp on the nightstand, clicking it onto the dimmest setting. It’s still enough light to have him squinting as his eyes adjust. 

He rubs the sleep out of his eyes before standing up and looking around the room.

No. 

No, no, no . Not again. 

His stomach drops, his heart slamming into his ribcage. There’s a pool of blood on the carpet, just next to Buck’s side of the bed. And a trail of blood across the wall, leading from Buck’s side of the bedroom all the way to the door. Five lines for five fingers, fingernail scratches chasing after the bloody smears before cutting out abruptly at the door jamb. He stumbles, nearly falling over as he scrambles towards the hallway. 

“Buck!” The scream tears its way out of his chest, shredding against his vocal cords as he yanks the door open. “BUCK!”

“Eddie.” 

He blinks his eyes open. Buck is leaning over him, his eyes shining with concern. Moonlight pours in through the open window, dancing across his face as he looks down at Eddie. “It’s okay,” Buck assures him. He runs a thumb over Eddie’s cheek, his touch instantly grounding. “You were dreaming.”

Eddie swallows around the dryness in his throat and tries to catch his breath. His heart hammers in his chest as he looks around, trying to get his bearings. 

They’re in bed, in the Residence. The window is open, just how Buck likes it. Buck is beside him. Buck is here. The walls are perfectly clean. No blood. No fingernail scratches. Nothing but wallpaper. 

And Buck is here. Buck is pulling Eddie into his chest, holding him and murmuring “It’s okay,” and “I got you,” and “You’re safe.” 

Buck is here. 

Eddie’s breathing begins to even out, his heart rate slowing down as he holds onto Buck, his arms wrapped tight around him. “I’m sorry,” Eddie breathes. 

“No need,” Buck says simply, as if Eddie waking him up in the middle of the night plagued with nightmares of something that happened months ago is no big deal. 

Self loathing burns in his gut. He hates that he still thinks about that awful, awful night in Wyoming. He hates that everyone else seems to have moved on, and yet there’s a part of him that’s still right there, still standing in that blood-soaked locker room. Still kicking down that door. Still finding Buck, tied up and covered in blood. 

He hates how vivid the memories are when they come. He hates how he feels like he’ll never be normal again. Like it’ll never stop hurting.

He hates the nightmares. Hates the sick, twisted dreams where he sees that bloody wall again and again and again. Hates the dread that consumes him, the darkness that lives inside him still, even now. 

He hates that it ever happened in the first place. That he ever failed Buck like that. 

Eddie remains in awe at how well Buck is doing since that terrible night. Sure, the two of them both clung to each other for the first few days after their return. And it was weeks before Eddie felt like he could breathe again anytime Buck was out of his sight. But Buck seems to be doing well.

He hasn’t been plagued by nightmares in the same way Eddie has. He doesn’t look like he’s going to throw up every time their schedules don’t line up and they have to spend a few hours apart. Not like Eddie does, anyway.

He’s doing well. 

Eddie is not.  

“Was it Wyoming again?” Buck asks after a beat. 

Eddie’s breath catches in his throat as he nods. Buck passes him a glass of water from the nightstand. It makes something in Eddie’s chest ache. 

Buck is so good to him, so in tune. He always knows exactly what Eddie needs, always before Eddie knows it himself. Eddie could live a million lifetimes and still never find the one in which he’s worthy of being loved by Buck. 

“Y-Yeah,” Eddie says, his throat feeling better after downing half the glass of water. “I woke up and you had been taken again.” 

Buck sighs. “Oh, baby.” 

“I’m sorry,” Eddie is quick to say.

“For what?” Buck asks.

Eddie sighs, setting the glass down. “Everything,” he admits. 

“Eddie,” Buck says gently, placing a hand on Eddie’s knee and squeezing reassuringly. “Stop being sorry for that.”

“But I–”

“You came and got me,” Buck says, cutting him off. “Like you always do.”

“I always will.”

Buck smiles, and still, even after all this time, it’s the most beautiful smile Eddie’s ever known. “I’ve never doubted that.”

[sky-sykes-starr]

Danganronpa: Elite Stars (Yandere) - Part 1

Y/N P.O.V

I Y/N, was selected to join the elite stars academy, a prestigious school that only accepts people with ultimate talents that will change society, the country and the world for betterment of mankind. I am the ultimate triple threat I started my career when I was 12 years old being in magazines and doing photoshoots for back to school uniform clothing and designer brands, which then in turn made my acting debut at 15 starring in the movie ‘Cherry Girl’ as a supporting role and soon doing bigger and bigger roles like playing as Lumi in ‘Colour Rush’ or Krystal in ‘Love Arcade’. Being a model and actress wasn’t enough at 16 I decided to make my solo debut with the album ‘Timeless’ that hit platinum winning several awards.

My parents were so proud of me their child accomplishing and living my dreams. My mother likes to brag to all her friends of what I am doing and my father’s friends children’s are fans of me. And now to enter the elite stars academy that guarantees me success, they almost died of a heart attack knowing all my hard work was being recognised. I know for a fact that I will be set for life.

Yet, I know my competition shall also be attending this school, my hands feel quite clammy as I stare at the tall building. That is welcoming the new students from attending their school.

I’ve heard of a few ultimates such as, the ultimate heir, ultimate influencer, ultimate song writer and the ultimate visual were the only one’s I were able to find out about through an online forum. Maybe all the other ultimates are part of the entertainment programme.

As I walk past the gates and enter the front door towards the reception to sign in to the classroom I see a few other students who seem to be waiting for an adult to tell them what to do. Some of them are sitting on the couch right in front of the sign in area others are standing as there are no seats left and one of them right below the T.V that is on the top corner of the room. All of them turn to as enter the room all looking at me with curiosity, excitement and hunger in their eyes to know which ultimate I am.

???: oh look there’s another ultimate

???: I was told that there would be fifteen of us and since there is fourteen of us now that makes this girl the fifteenth

???: well since we’re all here should we do introductions

???: yeah I guess your right girlie

The two of my peers are talking as of I’m not in the room, how rude they are. They could just introduce them the moment I entered. Oh well, is what it is.

???: ay, new girl that just entered the room you start of

Y/N: Me?

I point to myself with confusion, well we’re all technically new I’m assuming after hearing their conversation.

The boy nods.

???: yeah who else am I talking to

Y/N: Well I am Y/N, the ultimate triple threat. The ultimate triple threat as in modelling, movies and music you.

Jay: I’m Jay the ultimate heir to my father’s fashion business, you might of heard of it since your a model, it’s called Park Couture. The girl right next to me is Aisha she is the ultimate model, she’s actually done some runway work with my father’s designs

Aisha: It’s nice to meet Y/N, I hope we can become friends

I look at them up and down. The boy is very attractive for someone who really does not have a ultimate talent other than being born into a rich family, he gives off ‘imma bend my secretary over my desk and do the dirty, even if my wife knows she can’t do shit’. As for the girl she herself is really tall her legs make her look like she is 6’0 feet tall and her eyes look like that they are piercing my souls. I can only imagine what all the other ultimates look like.

The next boy stand up with two other boys coming over to me extending his hand out for a shake.

Yeonjun: And I’m Yeonjun the ultimate It Boy, you might of heard of me along with these other boys Taehyun here is the ultimate vocalist and the boy to my right is Beomgyu, the ultimate visual. We are part of the group TXT which stand for tomorrow by together. We are pretty popular. It be a bit embarrassing, if you didn’t.

OMG TXT MY FAVE BOY GROUP IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME ATTENDING THE SAME SCHOOL AS ME. I WONDER IF WE ARE GOING TO BE IN THE SAME CLASS. I need to play it cool and chill, I don’t want them to think that I am a freak.

Y/N: Oh yeah I heard of you guys your music is pretty cool I’ve got some of your songs on my playlist

Beomgyu: Ayo we have a MOA with us cool

Taehyun: Not just that she is a famous MOA herself

Yeonjun: Not just famous but beautiful as well not many of our fans are as beautiful as you

You blush at his compliment as he gives a cocky grinning. Is he insulting his fans by calling them ugly

???: Alright since all the musical ultimates are introducing themselves I’ll guess will do the same

A small woman that speaks

Soyeon: I’m Soyeon the ultimate musical producer

Three other people stand next to her, I assume that those are part of the musical ultimates she was talking about.

Yoshi: I’m Yoshi, the ultimate song writer. It is a pleasure to be acquainted with you Y/N maybe we could work together sometime

Felix: Guess I’m next, I’m the ultimate rapper, the name is Felix

Damn that guys voice, I know him he’s a rapper a part of the boy group stray kids known for his deep ass vocals. Yet he has a cute face that does not even match with his vocal chords.

Gaeul: And I’m Gaeul, the ultimate dancer, I’m not musical related but I have choreographed a couple of dances for some solo artists and groups even featuring in some of their music videos as a dancer and being on stage as a performer

Damn no wonder why these people are called ultimates it is best I use that to my advantage and make connections with these people. You never know when they can be useful.

Y/N: Right well what about the rest of you

???: Seriously, you don’t know who I AM OF ALL PEOPLE

???: OR ME

???: oh please who would want to know you Wonyoung your like the cancer of the internet

Wonyoung: EXCUSE ME, TALKING TO THE PERSON WHO PLAYS GAMES FOR A LIVING

???: At least I can make a living of skills and talents not my looks

Wonyoung: Yeah well whatever, not like you even know me and as for you girlie I’m Wonyoung, the ultimate influencer, not just an influencer but I’m also a celebrity so feel blessed being in my presence

Y/N: Ok

Sakura: And I’m Sakura, the ultimate actress and unlike some people I’m ACTUALLY a celebrity. You must of heard of me I was in the soap called ‘Rosewood Empire’ the main character

Ahh, Sakura the ultimate actress I’ve seen her on T.V a couple of times a lot of the boys in my previous school had a crush on her and girls wanted to be her. She’s known for the soap she was on until it ended now doing big time Hollywood-esce movies were she is the face of every poster.

Y/N: oh no, I do know of you but I feel like it was best we give out formal introductions to each other as we are classmates. And you…

I turn my head to look at the boy

Heeseung: HEY THERE BEINGS AND ENTERTAINERS IT’S YPUR BOY HEESEUNG, THE ULTIMATE GAMER.

He shouts in an enthusiastic tone, showcasing a big bright smile at me.

Heeseung: That’s my intro whenever I do my streams, I play lots of games like horror, action and RPG to name a few. I’m known for having a million subscribers, I rose to fame pretty quickly within two months.

Heeseung, the ultimate gamer I know him I’m even a subscriber to his twitch streams, I enjoy his work a lot. He’s funny, good looking and has an infectious personality that has made many people drawn to him.

A woman who is sitting down speaks in a clear voice.

Miyeon: I’m Miyeon the ultimate host, you might of had your coffee early in the morning with me, on my show called ‘Coffee with Miyeon’, where we discuss fashion, food and gossip.

‘Coffee with Miyeon’ wow so original.

As I thought the introductions were done a good looking boy in the corner below the tv catchers my eyes.

I go up to him asking about himself.

Y/N: What about you? What is your name and talent?

Yeosang: I’m Yeosang, my ultimate talent I’d rather keep a secret. And now that everyone is hear I was informed by the receptionist to tell you people that we should collect our badgers that allow us to enter the room to head to our classroom

Wonyoung: That is so not fair we told you our talent

Yeonjun: If he doesn’t want to tell his talent he doesn’t want to tell us. He owes us nothing

Wonyoung: Yeah, well I bet his talent is shit

Sakura: Like yours

Yeosang: Well then let’s head to our class it’s on the ground floor it’s room 101

We past the doors to the reception room and head to our class filled with a weird tension as some people chat and other remain silent. The school itself is an ordinary school that is filled with the top ultimate students with their tilted, those people are well known for improving society with their talents. But, I do wonder what his talent is and why he would not even tell us. Maybe he is just feeling very shy. I guess I need him to open up to me. That’s going to take some time.

As we reach our room we open the door to see….

???: Ahhhhhhh

[beefromanoff]

Going Under Ch. 18

summary: following the press conference, the team heads back to the compound where Bucky gives Gianna a tour of where she'll be staying.

characters: Bucky Barnes x OC

soundtrack: somewhere only we know - keane

warnings: fluff, pop star fantasy x love story, set in an AU where the Avengers reunite after Civil War, pre-infinity war, slight angst, hurt/comfort, lonely reader/OC.

author’s note: i'm on my FREQUENT UPLOAD game lately...enjoy! xo

chapter list

_______________________________________________

The last remaining bit of daylight streaked across the sky in deep purple hues as the Quinjet touched back down at the compound. This was the first time Gianna had seen the outside since being brought here following the accident. The famed Avengers Compound stood nestled amidst the picturesque woods, a technological marvel hidden from the world. It’s existence was no secret, but the details were the stuff of legends. 

Some people said this was simply another division of the United States Military. Others claimed it operated as a bed and breakfast for various space-entities and gods. Neither of which were entirely untrue. From what Gianna had gathered, it was multi-purpose. This was where the Avengers split their time, most of the team having residences in both the Tower and at the Compound. There was also a massive training and operations facility for the new and improved SHIELD division, with all intelligence being privately screened and vetted onsite. There was an aviation hangar for all maintenance and storage of their various aircraft, and then several more sprawling units that Gianna had no idea about. Oh, and it all overlooked the most stunning, glassy lake she’d ever seen. 

After they padded down the exit ramp, Gianna turned, realizing she didn’t know where she was going. “I hope it’s not too late to ask for that tour?” Eager, but tired eyes peered up at him.

“I still have an hour or so before the mandatory bedtime.” Bucky mimed checking his watch. 

“I guess we better walk fast.” 

As they crossed through the hangar and into the main building, the grand foyer welcomed them with its polished floors and high-tech holographic displays. Gianna's eyes widened in amazement. "Wow…Bucky, this place is incredible!"

Bucky smiled, his metal arm glinting in the ambient light. He’d undone the top few buttons and rolled the sleeves on his dress shirt, a look reminiscent of a groomsman late in a wedding reception, looking handsome in a disheveled way. "You haven't seen anything yet. Come on, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Literally."

They strolled through the spacious common areas, passing by the lavish coffee station that catered to the Avengers' and SHIELD members’ caffeine cravings. "This is where Tony Stark fuels his genius," Bucky quipped, punching a few buttons on a tablet embedded in the marble countertop. 

At first, it looked like any other coffee shop, espresso machines and syrups lining the back wall. As Bucky took a step back, Gianna realized that Stark Industries really did do everything better.

A mechanical arm whirred to life in the dark cafe, whirring through the motions of making a latte. They watched in silence, the sound of the milk frother filling the air and the scent of espresso filling their noses. After a moment, the arm deposited two steaming lattes on the counter, Stark Industries emblazoned in the frothy milk on top.

Gianna took a sip, savoring the rich flavor. "Okay, one sip of this and I feel like I can save the world too. I know the Avengers’ real secret weapon." She dug a teasing elbow in his ribs.

“Let’s get this round of bruises healed up before we send you into round two, huh?”

Bucky chuckled, guiding her toward the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the compound's picturesque lake. "And that is one of my favorite spots," he said, his gaze drifting to the tranquil waters. "It's peaceful here, away from...everything."

Gianna nodded, her eyes mirroring the calm of the lake. "It's beautiful."

They stood quietly for a moment, side-by-side gazing out the windows across the water. The last bit of the light faded away and their own reflections began to look more prominent. Gianna took the rare moment to run her eyes over Bucky, settling for the reflection rather than the man standing right beside her. She took note of how he towered over her, easily a foot taller. His shoulders were broad, and though he had good posture, he always leaned slightly to the left under the weight of his vibranium arm. His chin length dark hair was tucked behind his ears, but still slightly ruffled from where he’d run his hands through it. Even in the dark glass, Gianna saw how his gaze seemed to have relaxed from the worried expression she’d gotten so used to. 

Maybe this is when we finally get to rest. Both of us. 

As they continued their after-hours tour, Bucky showed her the state-of-the-art training facilities, where the recruits honed their skills. There was a massive complex for the agents to practice sparring, a sprawling weight room, and an impressive shooting range. He explained that the Avengers had their own, smaller version of the training facility on the ground floor of their housing building. Everything except the shooting range had been replicated to allow them to train in privacy. In reality, they probably could only train with each other anyways, not even the best agent could hold their own with an Avenger.

It was oddly quiet across the grounds. Bucky explained that they had a night team of agents who monitored surveillance and stayed alert in case anything were to happen during off-hours, but everyone else went home at night. Some would stay late to train or research, but that was on their own time. 

After crossing between buildings in the cool night air, they stepped into the building at the back of the grounds, the one where the team lived part time. All of the buildings were short and expanse, not appearing to be more than four stories tall at most. This one was no different. The bottom floor was, as Bucky had said, a training facility. Weights, sparring rings, locker rooms, things Gianna didn’t recognize. They breezed through the floor, heading straight to the elevators. 

“Second floor is the main common area, living room, kitchen, movie room…things like that. Third and fourth floors are where the bedrooms are. You’d think there would be some kind of system for who got which room, but I think the official method was arm-wrestling for the best one.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Gianna smirked. “So you have…?”

“The biggest room.”

“I thought so.” She giggled as they crossed through the elevators onto the fourth floor. The doors opened up to a smaller, round living space with a kitchenette on the wall to the side. Doors lined the walls, leading to each separate bedroom.

It seemed like each floor had roughly five rooms. Before she finished counting off Avengers in her head, her thoughts were interrupted. 

“Look who’s back for round two of the best damn karaoke she’s ever heard.” Sam’s unmistakable voice called from the sofa. He had a beer in one hand and a TV remote in the other, which he used to click off the volume.

Gianna could basically feel Bucky rolling his eyes beside her, but she ignored it, striding across the soft carpet. “Hi, Sam. It’s good to see you.” 

“It’s good to see you too, kid.” He wrapped her in a hug. “Heard you can take a blast with the best of ‘em.” 

She shrugged. “That’s not what my MRI said. Concussion.”

“Ah, those are a dime a dozen around here. That’s the main reason we have FRIDAY, to remind us of every damn thing we forget. Ain’t that right, FRIDAY?”

“Correct, Mr. Wilson.” 

Just as she was beginning to wonder if she’d get the hang of the mysterious robotic voice who seemed to be omniscient, she felt Bucky’s hand on her lower back. 

“Ready to see your room?”

A flutter went through her stomach and she wasn’t sure if it was from his hand or from his words. Her room. Although she knew it was temporary, the idea of having a more permanent space than a hotel room sounded heavenly. Even having roommates, or suitemates, or whatever you would call this arrangement…a dream. She wondered where the rest of the team was, how often she could expect to see them here. Already, her mind conjured up images of rom-coms on the couch with Nat and Wanda. Well, when the world didn’t need saving. 

As they closed in on the back of the living area, Bucky stood next to two doors. 

“This is you.” He gestured to the door on the left and grinned. “I’m not too far away. Just like old times.” He nodded to the second door. 

“Do I need to ask how the room right next to yours, which happened to be the biggest room of all, happens to be up for the taking?” She narrowed her eyes at him, her smile giving away her true feelings on their proximity. 

“Sam should be better at arm wrestling.” He shrugged. 

“Hey, I heard that!” Sam’s voice called over the back of the couch. 

Turning the knob, Bucky opened the door to reveal a spacious and beautifully decorated room.

"It’s no Four Seasons, but…" he said, stepping aside to let her enter.

Gianna stepped into the room, her eyes taking in the elegant furnishings, the comfortable bed, and the view of the forest beyond the window. It felt like a sanctuary. She turned to Bucky, her heart so full of gratitude it felt like it could burst. 

"Thank you, Bucky. You've been amazing… through all of this. I don’t even have the words. Thank you."

Bucky smiled, his blue eyes warm. "It's my job to keep you safe. There’s nowhere safer than right here. I’ll make sure of that.”

“You deserve a raise.” Gianna murmured, still glancing around the room. 

“This was all Pepper. Wanda helped decorate, I think. She asked me for your Pinterest, or something like that. I told her I didn’t know what the hell that was. I guess she didn’t need it after all.” 

“You know what I mean.” She turned back to face him. “For going above and beyond. Everything you do…outside your contract.” 

Their eyes met, and Gianna stepped closer to him. Looking into his eyes, smelling his familiar scent, it dawned on her that they hadn’t ever discussed that night at Tony’s party. The kiss.

“I’m pretty sure my contract says ‘other duties as assigned’,” Bucky said, eyes drifting down to her lips. For a moment, Gianna thought he was going to lean in. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. 

“Do you need anything? Everything from the hotel should be here, if anything is missing we can send for it tomorrow. Water’s in the fridge outside, bathroom is next to the closet, and you know I’m right next door.”

“No…I don’t think I do. If you hear a loud noise, it’s just me falling asleep in the shower.”

He chuckled before stepping back to the door. “Goodnight, Gianna.” 

“Goodnight, Buck.”He pulled the door closed behind him. As she walked over to the bathroom to start the hot stream, Gianna pushed away the thought that the only thing she needed had just walked out her door.

[beardedmrbean]

Most morning newspapers in Finland headline reports that Russia intends to unilaterally expand its maritime border in waters close to Finland and Lithuania.

Helsingin Sanomat points to reports in a number of Russian media outlets on Tuesday that published the draft of a government decree by the Russian Ministry of Defence expanding Russian territorial waters in the eastern Baltic and in areas between Russia's enclave of Kaliningrad and Lithuania. It was reported that the decree could enter into force in January 2025.

Ryhor Nizhnikau, a senior researcher fellow in the EU's Neighbourhood and Russia Programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told the paper that if implemented the move would create a new "grey area" on the Russian-Western border, which Russia could potentially use militarily for various provocations and disruptions.

According to HS, the Russian Defence Ministry argues that it believes that the current 1985 nautical charts are not fully accurate and do not reflect the "current geographical situation", and as a consequence, the maritime zones adopted by the Soviet Union some 40 years ago should in part be "invalidated".

The paper notes that the unilateral revision of maritime zones is not a matter of notification from the point of view of international law and the United Nations.

"It is worth remembering that in 2015 Russia claimed ownership of the North Pole and the surrounding areas," Arkady Moshes of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs pointed out to Helsingin Sanomat.

At the time, Russia submitted an application to the UN claiming 1.2 million square kilometres of territory around the North Pole.

"The application was not recognised and in practice the whole thing was forgotten," Moshes recalled.

A communications spokesperson for the Finnish Foreign Ministry told HS that official comments would be made "during office hours on Wednesday".

Missing asylum seekers

Every fourth asylum seeker who entered Finland from Russia last autumn has disappeared from the reception centres where they were being housed while their applications were under review, reports the Uutissuomalainen (USU) news group.

Last autumn, 1,314 asylum seekers arrived at Finland's eastern border. Of these, 351 have disappeared. According to USU, most of them have moved elsewhere in the EU, as several other EU countries have made readmission requests to Finland.

"One hundred seventy-nine persons have been the subject of a readmission application. By far the most significant country is Germany, which has forwarded 142 readmission requests. Sixteen persons have been transferred back to Finland," Antti Lehtinen, Director of the Asylum Unit of the Finnish Immigration Service, told USU.

According to Uutissuomalainen, the Finnish Immigration Service has issued positive asylum decisions to only eight people who crossed the eastern border last autumn. A total of 98 asylum seekers in the autumn group have received a negative decision. Applications by 266 have been deemed to have expired, most of which concern people who have disappeared from reception centres.

Pro-Palestine protest to continue

Pro-Palestine students demanding that the University of Helsinki sever its ties with Israeli universities say they will continue their demonstration despite an announcement on Tuesday that the university will suspend all student exchange programmes with Israeli institutions.

Hufvudstadsbladet reports that members of the Students for Palestine movement, who have been demonstrating outside the university's Porthania building since early May, expressed frustration with the decision in a video posted on social media.

In that video, the University of Helsinki's statement is read out, while boos and mocking laughter can be heard in the background.

"While we are happy that our participation in the global student solidarity movement has helped the university find some kind of moral compass, our position is clear," the group stated in an Instagram post.

In a comment on the university's announcement, protestors said that the action being taken was not enough.

"As part of the global student movement, we will continue our fight for a full academic boycott of Israel until our demands are met," the group's post stated.

SDP support continues to climb

A new voter survey, commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat, shows that backing for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has continued to climb, while support for the Finns Party has weakened.

In contrast, support for the National Coalition Party (NCP) has remained unchanged compared to the paper's April poll.

Among the top three, this fresh survey pegs support for the SDP at 22.7 percent, up 1.1 percentage points. Support for the Coalition Party is at 19.9 percent and for the Finns Party 16.2 percent, 1.6 percentage points lower than in April.

Background data gathering for the poll indicates that an increasing proportion of SDP supporters are women. In addition, the SDP has the highest proportion of supporters over 65 years of age of any party.

HS writes that the decline in support for the Finns Party seems to be mainly because Finns voters have "moved to the stands", meaning they are now either unwilling to express their opinion, or would not vote if elections were held now.

Support for the Centre Party has also increased by 0.8 percentage points and now stands at 12.1 percent. The Left Alliance is at 9 percent and the Greens at 7.8 percent. The Christian Democrats have maintained the 4.2 percent backing they received in the parliamentary elections just over a year ago. The Swedish People's Party, on the other hand, has lost support, down from 4.3 percent to 3.4 percent.

Parking ticket scam

Ilta-Sanomat carries a warning to motorists from Helsinki's Urban Environment Division not to be taken in by fake parking tickets that have appeared in some parts of the city.

A yet-to-be-identified scammer has been issuing fake parking tickets in an attempt to line their own pockets.

The Urban Environment Department says it is easy to tell a genuine parking fine from a fake one. The real ones always have the vehicle registration number, place, time and car registration number machine-printed on it. On the fakes, these are handwritten.

In addition, in the case of the fake parking fine, the instructions for filing a challenge to the fine are on the same sheet of paper, whereas in the case of genuine parking tickets, they are on a separate form.

The department has reported the matter to the police and has requested anyone receiving one of the fake parking tickets to report it by email to pysakointi@hel.fi.

[just-an-english-guy]

Top Surgery/ Recovery Experience

I’m currently 3 days post-op from having peri with Mr Kneeshaw and his team in Hull so I thought I would write about my experience. This is everything that happened across the last 4 days from travelling up to Hull to surgery and my stay in the hospital to the journey back home. Apologies for weird layout, I’m on mobile.

I was scheduled for surgery on the 8th of March at 7:30am so my partner and I travelled up the day before by train and stayed in the Ibis near the station. We arrived at about 9:30pm as we left Cardiff at about 4pm due to me only being able to get a partial day of work. The train journey up wasn’t too bad, we had reserved seats that were close to each other (not always next to each other due to how busy it was but that was ok). We made sure to pack everything into one suitcase, one backpack and one small gym bag that was used as my overnight bag while in the hospital so that my partner could carry everything back on his own after surgery. As I wasn’t allowed to eat anything past midnight we stayed up pretty late to eat before going to bed. I was also rather anxious too so I wouldn’t have been able to sleep right away. Ive never had any kind of surgery before so I was worrying about what could happen and what it would feel like for a few days before which lead to several nights of not sleeping well.

On Wednesday we woke up at 6am, I had my final shower for a few weeks which I did take my time with and savour. It's only been 3 days so far and I already feel disgusting even though my partner has been helping me wash with baby wipes every morning since getting out of the hospital. Since my overnight bag had already been packed I didn’t need to do much in the morning except make sure my phone charger was added to it. In the end, I only ended up taking my dressing gown, slippers, a pair of joggers and a button shirt to wear as pyjamas and my phone charger. We left the hotel a little later than we had planned so we had to run to the bus station so that we would get the bus in time.

Hull does have a lot of buses that go to the hospital which is very good. We got on the 105 at 6:40 and we ended up getting to Entrance 2 of the hospital at about 7:10. We had to ask where ward 16 was at the main reception as the signs didn’t really make it clear but it wasn’t far and we arrived at the ward at about 7:20am.

Once we arrived they showed us to my room. They are all privet rooms with their own bathrooms which is very nice. While we waited for Mr Kneeshaw and his people to come to see us several nurses came around with things for me. They gave me a gown and a pair of compression stockings, and then someone came over with the evening meal menu for me to select what I wanted to eat in the evening. The food options were more extensive than I was expecting which was nice. Mr Kneeshaw came round shortly after to talk me through the procedure and to draw on me. We agreed on my nipples being in a slightly lower position than the average cis guy's nipples as my nipples sat kinda low anyway. I knew this would be happening when we discussed it in my initial consult back in August 2021 and I'm happy with it since it's not a big deal for them to be slightly lower than average to me. I then got changed into the gown and stockings and a nurse collected me from my room at 9am. They let me keep my own underwear on with the gown which I was thankful for. My partner left the hospital when I was taken down to the theatre as he wasn’t allowed to stay while I was in surgery. He got the bus from the hospital back to the hotel and waited for me to let him know I was awake.

When they took me down I had to sit in a little waiting area for a few minutes while they got my paperwork. After confirming my name, date of birth and allergies for the 10th time that morning they took me into the operating room. It was very cold there. I was in a thick fluffy dressing gown and I was still starting to shiver. They got me to lie on the table and gave me a warm blanket so that I wasn’t as cold. The people were all lovely and chatted with me as they got me prepped for surgery. They put a sticker on my glasses so that they knew they were mine before taking them off me. The anesthesiologist put the cannula into my hand which didn’t hurt that much but still wasn’t pleasant and then they gave me the oxygen mask and told me to take some deep breaths. Apparently, the anaesthetic was a multiple-part thing but I only saw the first part get put in as I was unconscious before the guy could even finish his sentence about what he was doing.

I woke up in recovery at 12:30 roughly, there was a clock on the wall in front of me so that was the first thing I saw. People are right when they say it doesn’t feel like any time had passed. It felt like I had blinked and, at that moment, had gone from the operating table to a bed in recovery. It was a little disorientating but since it had already been explained to me that’s what it would be like it didn’t take long for my brain to catch up. When I woke up I wasn’t in pain at all and I didn’t feel sick either, something they told me would likely be a possibility. I just felt a little sleepy. They took me back up to my room not long after I woke up and gave me my phone as I had left it on the bedside table. I text my partner to tell him I was awake and that he could come and see me now. Because of how far away we were staying and the bus times (it takes 40 minutes roughly for the bus to get from the bus/train station to the hospital) it took him about an hour and 15 minutes to actually arrive but that was ok because I knew he would be on his way so wasn’t worried. After texting him I called the nurse to help me get up to use the bathroom. As it was my first time standing after surgery she helped me get up off the bed and into the bathroom. I felt a little weird about having her there while I used the bathroom so I told her I would be fine on my own and she agreed to wait outside to help me back into bed after. It was difficult at first trying to sit down on the toilet since my legs felt really weak and I couldn’t put any pressure on my arms either to help lower myself. I got there eventually though and it was easier to get up after than it was to sit down. The nurse helped me back into bed and I slept for the remainder of the time before my partner arrived. About 5 minutes before he turned up a nurse came in to check my blood pressure, temperature and pulse rate so I was awake when he got there. Oh, I should mention that when I got up to use the bathroom they gave me two fabric bags to put the drains in and hang around my neck. These make walking around a lot easier.

Mr Kneeshaw and his team came to see me at about 4pm. He very briefly undid the post-op binder to check my chest was ok and he even quickly took a picture for me. I asked since I couldn’t get the angle myself to do it. After that, he put the binder back on tight and told me I couldn’t take it off at all now until my drains came out the next Friday. He said that everything went well with the surgery and looks good so left me to rest for the evening. Roughly every 2-3 hours someone would come in to check my blood pressure, pulse rate and temperature, this continued all the way through the night altho I didn’t mind too much as they were always polite about needing to wake me up.

After Kneeshaw had left, now that the binder was on slightly tighter than it previously had been I felt a little bit of pain down the centre of my chest. The nurses gave me paracetamol but told me I could have tramadol too if the pain got any worse. Luckily it didn’t and the paracetamol was all I needed. My partner stayed until about 6pm and then left so that we could both get some sleep. I spent the rest of the night in and out of sleep with the nurses coming in every few hours. At one point in the night, at about 1am I thought I could feel liquid dripping down both my sides so I called for someone to check I hadn’t dislodged a drain. I couldn’t feel any pain though but at the time I thought that was because whatever pain medication they gave me in the operating room was still in my system. Two nurses came to check on my dressing and it turned out it was just sweat I could feel and my drains were perfectly fine. The room was incredibly hot in the hospital and the blankets they use are extremely good at keeping you warm. No matter what I did in the room I was still too hot so in the end, I had someone turn the fan on and then I used the blanket to cover me from the waist down only so that I could sleep without melting.

I was woken up again at 6am by someone who emptied my drains for me. He did show me how to do it but because I was still half asleep I wasn’t really paying attention. At roughly the same time another person wanted to check my blood pressure again and after they had both left I went back to sleep. I was woken up again at 7:30 by someone letting me know breakfast was on its way and asking what I wanted. I ended up having a bowl of Weetabix at about 8am with a glass of milk. After I had finished my breakfast I went back to sleep but that didn’t last long as at 8:45 roughly I was woken up again by another nurse wanting to change my bedsheets and give me a fresh gown. I got the option to stay in the bed while they changed sheets or sit in the chair, I opted for the chair as I could walk around a little anyway and staying in the bed just seemed like it would be weird and uncomfortable. The nurse helped me get my slippers on and get into the chair before she changed all the sheets for me. She also helped me into a clean gown which I am thankful for as moving my arms wasn’t very easy at the time. I slept again until Ralph, one of Mr Kneeshaw's team came in to check on me and see if I could be discharged. He said that everything looked good and I could go back to the hotel when I was ready.

Because of the way the hotel bookings worked we had to change hotels on Thursday as the Ibis didn’t have any space for us for Thursday night. The split booking was the cheapest way to do things and since travelling alone was costing a fortune we decided this was the best way to do things. Due to the difference in check out/ check in times my partner was set to come to the hospital with all our bags at about 12 and then we would be able to check in to the new hotel at 3pm. When I explained this to Ralph and the nurses they said It was perfectly fine to wait until the afternoon before leaving and I couldn’t leave without my partner coming to get me anyway.

My partner arrived shortly after 12. He helped me eat some lunch as I was still having trouble lifting my arms enough to reach my mouth with a fork and then he helped me wash with baby wipes and get changed into the joggers and shirt I had bought with me as pyjamas since I never ended up using them as such and just stayed in the gown while in the hospital. I asked for someone to come and show us how to empty & reseal the drains again as I was half asleep when they did it in the morning and my partner needed to know anyway. After we were shown that they handed me my discharge papers, an information leaflet about the drains, a sick note to give to my work and a feedback survey to fill out. I completed the survey while my partner made sure everything was packed up and then we left. We got a taxi down to the hotel as we both thought getting on the bus might have been too bumpy for me to handle at the time which im grateful for.

We checked into the Gilson Hotel, close to the train station when we got back to the city. I hadn’t really looked up the hotel before booking it as my only priority at the time was making sure It was close to the station and cheap. It had stairs leading from the entrance door to the reception, with no lift. While not ideal this wasn’t too much of a problem as I could walk up the stairs, I just had to do it slowly and one step at a time with a little pause in between each one. There was a lift from the reception to the other floors though which was good. We were on the 2nd floor but since there was a lift it wasn’t an issue. I didn’t know the layout or design of the hotel before I booked it and it turned out that there were two steps in order to get up to the hotel door from the hallway. Again not ideal but not a massive problem for me. This hotel definetly isn’t accessible though.

Sleeping in the hotel was a little difficult, the bed was low down which was great for getting up and down for me since I am rather short but it also had really thin pillows which made it difficult to prop myself up. We ended up using 3 pillows to create a slightly slanted back rest against the headboard, rolled up my jacket and put it under my left elbow to keep my arm propped up since that was the only comfortable position for it that didn’t hurt and I used only my dressing gown to cover me up since the hotel room was even hotter than the hospital room was.

After a somewhat uncomfortable night where I only slept for about 4-5 hours I woke up and my partner helped me empty my drains at roughly 8am. We were told to do them once every morning at roughly the same time and keep track of what comes out so we measure the ml of each one with a little jug and keep a note of it. We had breakfast and then discovered that the snow had caused mayhem with our travel plans.

We needed to be back in Cardiff by 5pm as we had a house viewing scheduled (I know, it’s a really awkward time to be doing this but our Landlord gave us notice to leave on the 28th Feb so time isn’t really something we have on our side for this situation. We did try arranging the viewing for before we left but unfortunately that just wasn’t possible). Anyway because of the time restraints and our tickets being valid only on off-peak trains we had planned to get the 10:23am train which would have gotten us back in Cardiff at 3pm. Unfortunately, this train was cancelled and the train before it wasn’t considered off-peak so we couldn’t get on that one. This meant that we had to get on the 11:26am train from Hull and that we had lost our reserved seats. This wasn’t ideal but it would still get us back just before the viewing so that’s what we did.

Since it was such a long trip the journey was split into three trains; Hull to Sheffield, Sheffield to Bristol Parkway and then finally Bristol to Cardiff Central. Hull to Sheffield was fine, we sat in priority seating since I struggled to walk long distances still at this point and definitely couldn’t stand up for long periods of time. The plan was to do this all the way back to Cardiff however unknown to us at the time a lot more trains had been cancelled which caused issues later down the line. Sheffield to Bristol was packed. I mean truly rammed. When we got on people were already standing in the walkways because there were no seats. Since I needed to sit down my partner had me get on the train first and basically b line for a carriage to find a seat. When I got on there were no seats at all. I tried asking several people who were sitting in the priority seats if they would mind giving up their seats for me and explained my condition and that my original train had been cancelled so I no longer had reserved seating. No one would allow me to sit. My partner was still out in the walkway by the doors with the bags since he couldn’t get through, not that there would be much point anyway. After asking a few more people if I could have their seat and being told no the train started to move so I gave up trying to find a seat and shuffled back to my partner. He wedged our suitcase between the wall and one of the internal carriage doors and had me sit/lean on that while keeping his arms around me to stop anyone from knocking into me while the train was moving. After about an hour a lady who was also in the doorway section with us spotted someone getting up from their seat in the other carriage to get off at the approaching stop and told us so that I could go and sit down. By the time I had gotten there though someone else had sat down in that seat and put headphones in. Luckily another lady offered me her seat when I explained that I had just had surgery and needed to sit down. I was very thankful to her and we chatted for a bit. The seat turned out not to be her reserved seat either so she warned me that someone might try to claim the seat later. When the train got to Birmingham a lot of people got off and I saw the display screens say there were two available (not reserved seats) opposite the aisle where I was so I decided to move into one of them so that there wouldn’t be a problem if the person who’s seat I was in did actually come to claim it. Since so many people got off my partner was able to make his way into the carriage now and I text him to let him know the seat next to me was available and asked him to bring some painkillers as I was in quite a lot of pain at this point. He came and sat down and gave me the tablets and then a lady came by claiming I was in her seat and that I had to move. I was a little out of it because of the pain I was in so all I managed to say was that I couldn’t move as I had surgery. The lady wasn’t happy with this and insisted it was her seat, even though there were many other empty seats in the carriage. My partner looked at the display unit and pointed out that it was still showing as not reserved and then when that didn’t seem to change the situation he lifted one of my drains out of the cloth bags the hospital had given me and showed it to the lady saying again that I had just had surgery and there was no way he was moving me now. She went to sit in one of the other vacant seats after that. It was a pretty easy journey from then on. I was in a lot of pain though from when I had been standing up so I had more painkillers and then ended up sleeping for a good chunk of the journey. My partner woke me up a little before our stop in Bristol and then helped me off the train. Bristol to Cardiff was pretty uneventful, we sat in priority seats again and it only took about half an hour to get to Cardiff. We got an uber home from the station since we were both very tired after the day of travelling.

I have to keep the drains in until Friday next week when I go back to hull to have them taken out. The post op binder has to stay on for 6 weeks however after the drains come out I will be able to remove it for a few minuets every couple of days to wash, whereas right not I’m not allowed to remove it at all. I was told I could return to work after two weeks and could drive again after the 2-3 week mark if I felt like I could handle the seatbelt against my chest. I can also start exercising again lightly after 6 weeks.

Recovering is going to be a long process but I’m so glad this finally happened. I’ve been waiting over 4 years since I was first referred for top surgery and honestly it was worth it. I feel so happy that it’s finally here.

[jxtina-86]

Every Time You Close Your Eyes - Prologue

It's me, hi. I'm the problem, it's me. Another WIP, that will no doubt stay a WIP for a while... Given it has been 3 years since I first started writing it...! Anyway:

AU. All she wanted was to fit in. He knew it and now he uses it against her. Seth Rollins x OC x Roman Reigns. Also features Jon Moxley.

Would love to know your thoughts!

Rated MA

Warning: Language

Prologue

She could feel eyes on her, bated breath whilst her own caught in her throat. A hush had started to descend across the restaurant, glasses lowered, silverware gently clinking into silence. She could feel her cheeks flushing, her heart beating hard and fast as she watched him reach into his jacket pocket. Her tongue felt thick and heavy as she watched him pluck open the box and offer up a diamond that made her eyes bulge.

He coughed and for a moment, she almost believed that he was nervous. Those surrounding them would most definitely believe it. She could already see the scene that would ultimately unfold in a few moments time: complete strangers lining up to congratulate them, completely oblivious to the fixed smile that would adorn her face, a complete contrast to the winning, cocky one that would grace his.

“Luisa,” he started, reaching out to grasp her hand. “Will… Will you do me the honour of being my wife?”

From the next table, she heard a woman let out a soft coo.

She wanted to scream.

**

Two years earlier

Luisa’s gaze slowly travelled around the large meeting room. To her right, the office day was already in full swing, and her new co-workers were already immersed in phone calls and emails. She’d overheard snippets of conversation as she was led from the reception area to where she now sat – words and phrases had drifted over her that no doubt would start to make sense as the next few days and weeks unfolded. It had been an onslaught on her senses, yet despite the spike in her nerves, she also felt a stab of excitement.

She remembered that she’d felt that same excitement when she emerged from the subway station barely twenty minutes ago. Although she’d entered the building several times over the last few months, she still felt dizzy every time she looked up at its towering height. The novelty had yet to wear off and she wasn’t sure it ever would, especially with the view currently to her left. The city rose before her, the endless myriad of avenues and streets only identifiable by the landmarks that she’d spent most her life only seeing from below or from afar. Now they were practically neighbours, all peering down on the ant-like cabs and people below.

A blast of noise from the office made Luisa’s eyes jump from the view to the doorway. 

“Take a seat,” she heard the receptionist say, a well-manicured hand holding the door open. “The head of internships will be along shortly.”

As the latest addition took a seat around the glass table in the centre of the room, Luisa took the opportunity to assess her fellow interns. There were five in total, all plucked from a larger pool of interview candidates and an even greater number of initial application forms. She knew how lucky she was to be here, even if it was despite all odds. It had been made clear to her early on that she wasn’t their typical candidate. She hadn’t relied on a parent’s own network of big business colleagues nor was she in possession of a family name or a member of this society or that. No, she was just Luisa, from the suburbs, from a single-parent family, who got a scholarship at an Ivy League and went on to apply and be accepted onto one of the top internship programmes in the state all on the merit of her own hard-work. Luisa’s back straightened in defiance as she looked around the room and wondered what connections and surnames surrounded her.

She’d already clocked the designer bag that belonged to the only other girl in the room and now as she took in the other three, she noticed the subtle pin on a tie denoting a prestigious fraternity along with the flash of a watch that just screamed one of a kind. But as her eyes flickered to the guy in the corner of the room, she felt her brow furrow slightly.

Whilst the others, Luisa included, sat straight, pen and paper neatly laid out before them and all waiting in anticipation for what was to come, the fifth member of the group could only be described as bored. He was slumped in his chair, notepad askew as he flipped his pen over and over in his hand. Whilst his clothing was as smart as the others, his posture had caused his jacket to crumple on one side and he kept tugging at his tie, loosening it slightly with every touch. As he scraped a hand over his head, Luisa noticed the small knot of hair at the nape of his neck.

His own gaze flickered from the view of the city and for a split second their eyes met. Luisa felt her cheeks flush as she looked away and out of the corner of her eye she saw him smirk. But she soon forgot about it as the door swung open again and a tall, rather foreboding woman entered the room and introduced herself as Carolyn, Deputy Human Resources Manager.

The induction lasted an hour during which each intern was assigned to a department. Luisa carefully noted down her own department, Public Relations, along with her direct report. Slightly distracted she only half-registered the way Carolyn paused for a second before reading out the final name.

“Seth?”

Luisa’s eyes flickered to the far corner and watched as Seth half-raised his head in acknowledgement as he twirled his pen casually between his fingers.

“Legal.”

Another half-nod.

As Luisa turned her attention back to the front of the room, she noticed that the others in the room were watching Seth with curiosity. One of them, earlier identified as Peter glanced across at the other girl, Jessica and raised an eyebrow. Jessica responded with a brief shrug of the shoulders and Luisa couldn’t help but look back at Seth to note his own reaction. But as she half-expected, his gaze was still stoically on the notepaper.

**

The first week passed in a blur, despite how mundane her daily tasks seemed to be. Luisa’s expectations of being an intern weren’t exactly high, but they certainly hit an all-time low within an hour. She found herself stuck on the end of a bank of desks and essentially assigned as a PA to one of the executives. She’d spent her days answering emails that seemed to just automatically forward to her and fielding telephone calls first on her boss’ behalf and then for every single executive in the department.

Her predicament was made even worse when she bumped into Jessica in the elevator on the third morning. She felt her cheeks ache as she nodded and smiled as Jessica gleefully informed her that she’d made a substantial acquisition in her first two days – a record first apparently. As they parted ways at the subway station, Jessica invited her along to drinks on Friday.

“Just a few, y’know, to celebrate.”

Luisa had agreed, crossing her fingers in her coat pocket. The last place she wanted to be was with the rest of the intern group, listening to them brag about their first-week achievements. All she wanted to do when Friday rolled around was head home, order takeout and crash face-first into her bed and not surface for a good twelve hours.

She figured that Friday would be the same as any other day of the week and given that she hadn’t been able to escape the office until well after seven or even eight o’clock, she doubted anyone would miss her at drinks. As it turned out, the department started to emptier a lot earlier than usual and for the first time, Luisa found herself clearing her inbox just after six. Glancing around the office, she groaned inwardly as she saw Jessica darting around the desks towards her.

“Luisa! C’mon!”

She didn’t even get the chance to refuse as Jessica grabbed her coat and bag for her and turned towards the elevator, leaving Luisa no choice but to chase after her.

“Jessica, I’ve got a train–“

“It’s just the one,” Jessica grinned with a roll of her eyes. “Work hard, play harder right?”

“Right. Just the one,” Luisa echoed. “So, who else is going to be there?”

Jessica shrugged. “Just us interns. Peter. Brad. Seth.”

Luisa raised an eyebrow at the last name. She hadn’t seen Seth since Monday and had presumed that his attitude had failed to get him past day one. Jessica, who had seemed to show great interest in him during induction hadn’t mentioned him until now. She felt embarrassed for being so presumptuous, especially considering that she had fought the odds to be here and overcome other people’s supposed presumptions about her.

As they rode the elevator down, Luisa watched as Jessica touched up her hair and makeup. Luisa knew that she had a tube of lipstick somewhere at the bottom of her bag, but upon seeing the branded gold tube that Jessica was using, she felt ashamed to pull out her own drugstore version. She wondered if she could escape to the bathroom before they left the building.

“Here.” Jessica was nudging her, holding out a hand. Luisa looked down and saw the shiny tube, the logo gleaming up at her.

“I’m okay, thanks.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Take it. Use it. Keep it.” Reaching out she grabbed Luisa’s hand and pressed the lipstick into it.

“Thanks...” Luisa murmured. She hesitated for a second and then pulled the tube apart. She stared at the colour for a second and then glanced up at Jessica who gave her an encouraging nod. Unsure of this sudden newfound friendship that involved gifting expensive lipsticks, Luisa leaned towards the mirrored wall of the elevator and slowly applied the bright red to her lips.

The elevator door pinged softly and Luisa just had enough time to run her hands through her hair before she felt herself being pulled along by Jessica. As they headed down the street, she saw the sign for the bar that she’d heard her boss mention earlier and a fresh wave of dread washed over her. She was about to protest but to her surprise, they headed straight past. Luisa was surprised – she’d Googled the bar and it seemed the type of place that Jessica would be right at home in. She scolded herself – once again she’d judged a book by its cover and been completely wrong.

“They chose this place,” Jessica told her as they took a left down an inconspicuous side street. “It’s really not my thing. But they promised to buy the first round so what can you do?”

Luisa smirked to herself – so maybe her initial assumptions of Jessica weren’t as far off the mark after all. Halfway down the street was a small luminous sign above a doorway and she followed Jessica down the stairs. What started off as soft murmurings grew in volume as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The small bar was heaving but Jessica seemed to have the innate ability to cut seamlessly through the throng with Luisa duly following. As they reached the other side of the bar, Luisa saw Peter and Brad in a corner booth.

“Seth’s at the bar,” Brad told them as they took a seat. “And yes,” he said to Jessica as she opened her mouth, “I told him your order.”

“Good.”

“Didn’t know what you wanted though,” Brad’s gaze turned on Luisa. “Seth said he’d take his best guess.”

Luisa gave him a small smile in return before glancing towards the bar. Next to her, Jessica had already started to talk shop, announcing yet another acquisition that she’d been pivotal in. Peter and Brad had both been assigned to the commercial arm of the company and were quick to tell Jessica of their own successes of the day. Luisa could only pray that their one-upmanship would continue long enough to forget her presence.

Still staring towards the bar, she felt her eyes grow heavy, her vision softening as she let the sounds of the chat and general bar noise drift over her. There was a soft cough and she blinked, almost disorientated.

Seth stared down at her, the smirk that she’d seen on Monday once again playing on his lips. In one hand he held a glass of white wine whilst the other held four bottles of beers nestled precariously between his fingers.

“Finally!” Jessica called out, reaching over Luisa to take the wine.

“I took a guess,” Seth said as he lowered one of the beers in front of Luisa.

“Thanks,” she reached forward and clutched the beer, surprised at how hot her hands suddenly felt against the ice-cold glass.

“You’re welcome.” His eyes remained on her as he took a seat opposite.

Luisa squirmed in her seat, her own gaze lowering to the table. She pulled the beer towards her and raised it to her lips. As she took a swig, she heard Peter’s question.

“So Seth, how’s it going down in Legal?”

Luisa rolled her eyes, waiting for Seth to launch into his own first-week accomplishments.

“It’s everything Law School told me it would be. Dull, uninspiring and a waste of time.”

Silence filled the booth and Luisa watched in fascination as Jessica, Peter and Brad stared at Seth. She chanced a look at his face and saw a more genuine smile starting to form. He caught her eye and winked and Luisa felt an overwhelming urge to laugh. Although the noise that escaped her was more of a snort.

Seth chuckled, leaning back as he took a swig of his drink. “At least someone appreciates my honesty.” He glanced around the table. “Oh c’mon, like any of you actually made a sale or had any more to do with an acquisition than filing paperwork and arranging the call for your managers.”

Luisa felt her mouth moving before she could stop it. “I mean if that’s how this works, then today I put together the press release for a new client and then arranged the launch party for a new product.”

Seth let out a bark of laughter. “Good one.” He glanced over at the other three. “I mean, feel free to keep the pretence up if it makes you feel better...”

Luisa could sense that Jessica was shooting daggers in their direction, but the thought of Jessica, who had just handed her a designer lipstick just because she could, spending her the last five days in the same lowly position as her was just too good.

She raised her beer, staring across the table at her newfound ally in this world. “To the dull and uninspiring.”

Seth grinned as he leaned across to tap his bottle against hers. “To a complete fucking waste of time.”

**

Two years later

She felt numb as he pushed the ring onto her finger. A smattering of applause broke out around them as he rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. She knew her part already, the blushing bride to be, showing the ring off to anyone who asked before beaming up at her betrothed. She felt his beard brush against her forehead, the scent of his cologne thick and close as he held her against him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the maître d' gently manoeuvring his way through the tables towards them.

“Mr Rollins. Miss Haynes, let me be the first to offer my sincere congratulations,” he beamed at them. “We are truly honoured that you chose his wonderful setting for the occasion.”

“Well thank you for providing the perfect setting,” Seth replied. “I couldn’t think of a better way to ask the love of my life the ultimate question.”

Luisa felt a tap on her arm and she turned to see a middle-aged woman beaming up at her. “What a lucky girl you are,” the woman told her with a kind, yet oblivious smile. “I can tell you love each other very much.”

“Yes,” Luisa heard herself say. “We do.”

Once upon a time, she thought, that statement was true.

---

Thoughts...?

[inochinoyomikata]

Inochi no Tabekata 2 ch 2-5 Translation

2-5 Shizukudani Rukana– Happy Ever After

Hotel Grand Cosmos was ostensibly closed, the entryways were locked, and the windows with broken grass were covered with wooden boards. However, it was a semi-open secret that you can enter through the back door that leads to the boiler room. It seemed that there were a lot of people who entered from there on weekend nights to test their courage.

Even at three o’clock in the afternoon on a weekday, the inside of the hotel was eerie. Graffiti and rough conditions were clearly visible, and the nature of various scattered garbage was obvious at first glance, which was also unpleasant. Rukana wasn’t a naïve girl, so she was able to make a general guess. It seems that there were some people who intruded for the purpose of doing shady acts, not just to test their courage.

Regardless, it was not the kind of place you’d sneak into on a bright midday afternoon. Rukana went through the boiler room and looked around the pantry and the kitchen. What was in the kitchen? Upon further inspection, there was a plump, fat mouse. The lobby was empty.

Rukana held Cipher up in front of the front desk and looked around the high-ceilinged lobby. They couldn’t keep S waiting. They arrived at the hotel before the appointed time. But it was almost three o’clock in the afternoon. 

Was S somewhere in this hotel? Was he not there yet? Would he show up in the future?

The masked man was not S himself. Rukana thought so. He was S’s messenger.

Really?

The masked man may have tricked Rukana.

In that case, why?

Rukana crouched down with Cipher in her arms. She can’t help but think of the worst, the worst. Hotel Central Cosmos was built on the edge of a hot spring area located on the outskirts of the city. Cars aside, it was not a place a lot of people passed. When she looked it up online, there were rumors that a corpse had been found there several times in the past. It was just a rumor. Not true. It was false information, but the atmosphere was such that it wouldn’t be strange for such a thing to happen.

The masked man might have lured Rukana here.

To kill her.

She thought stupid things. The man in the mask, that monster, came inside her apartment. If he wanted to, he could have killed Rukana in her room. What would he do with the corpse? Her parents were also there.

It would have been troublesome if they woke up.

If it was here?

A man and woman will come to test their courage over the weekend and find a dead body. A few days after her death, Shizukudani Rukana will be found.

Rukana stood up. When she turned around, the monster was standing upright. 

“H….”

Rukana let out a muffled scream. She wanted to run mountains and mountains away, but her legs didn’t move as she wanted.

The monster waved a large hand that could easily snap Rukana’s neck towards itself. ‘Here he is,’ he directs. The monster started walking. Did he mean for her to follow?

She shouldn’t go. She didn’t want to go. Despite this, Rukana obediently followed the monster. From the lobby to the second floor. From there, they took another flight of stairs to the third floor. They went up to the fourth floor.

The fourth floor was the top floor of Hotel Central Cosmos. Guest room entrances lined the right side of the graffiti-covered corridor. The monster went into the first room.

It was not just scary.

The feeling of fear was paralyzing.

Rukana chased after the monster.

The guest room was large. There were several rooms. A suite room, a special room, or something like that.

Behind a large window with yellowish curtains, he was standing.

The curtains did not block much light from the outside. But he was backlit, and she could not make out all his features. He was a man. That was unmistakable. He wore a white shirt and tight pants. His hair was not short. His bangs fell just below his eyes.

There was a table and sofa like a reception set by the window. The monster sat down on the sofa. The sofa creaked.

The man remained standing.

“Well.”

A soft and deep voice shook Rukana’s eardrums. The first time she heard it, she didn’t feel that way. Rukana instinctively put all her strength into her arm as she held Cipher. Could this be him?

S of X-fes., who posts sentences with enigmatic implications in Japanese and English as if asking questions. SULLIVAN in the X-lum. conference rooms without words. Expressed his rational opinion concisely. All she knew was that he was a very smart person.

However, if S were a real person, he would surely sound like this. Rukana let her imagination run wild. Not only that, S appeared in her dreams. She couldn’t see his appearance.

He spoke to her from somewhere.

“It’s Shizukudani Rukana-san, right?”

This voice.

There was no doubt.

“S-sama.”

Rukana accidentally mentioned her personal nickname.

S smiled slightly. He laughed.

“How much do you know about me? Did you hear about my ‘Work’?”

“Of course.”

“Of course!” Lukana feverishly repeated. 

“I heard them. I saw the music videos. Everything. A number of times. They’re prophecies, aren’t they? S-sama, you weave into the incidents that occur with connection to zingai.”

“Guided by my ‘Work’, you learned a piece of truth at X-fes. And you infiltrated X-lum even though you weren’t qualified.”

S’s tone was as gentle as ever, saying that she didn’t have qualifications. That’s right. Rukana had hacked to gain unauthorized access to X-lum. 

“.....I- I am S-So-S-So-sorry…”

“Shhh.”

S raised his right index finger to his lips.

“It’s okay. I’m not blaming you. I admire you. What you’re holding, that child—”

“That’s Ci-Cipher…”

Rukana gasped after revealing his infamous name.

“Y-you can see him? Cipher?”

“I can see him. Yes. He’s called Cipher. Strangely enough, we used to call you ‘cipher’.”

“I-I looked at that log. In the chat room. Until then, I hadn’t given a name to this child.”

“You were so united that there was no need to name them?”

“That’s right!”

Rukana burst into tears and sniffled. S understood Rukana’s feelings.

“He didn’t need a name. But the word Cipher made it feel something like destiny—”

“My zingai too.”

S turned his face to the masked man sitting on the sofa.

“He doesn’t have a name. I call him a janitor because sometimes I have to distinguish him from others. He’s a tidy guy. He cleans for me.”

“Cleans…”

“Ah, Rukana-san. You’re good at guessing. That’s right. There’s a lot to do with cleaning. He can do things I can’t. It looks like your Cipher is the same.”

Rukana was at a loss as to how to respond. She’d never said that to anyone. It was difficult for Rukana to admit it honestly.

But the opponent was S. Besides, S had found out anyway. The man in the mask. The janitor. He was hiding under Rukana’s bed. He must have been on the lookout. The janitor must have learned about Rukana and Cipher’s relationship and told S.

“...That’s right. I also have a minimum knowledge of hacking and programming, but. I can’t do something like Cipher even if he stood upside down. I wasn’t the one who invaded X-lum either. I couldn’t have done it without Cipher…”

“That is”

S gently clapped his hands together as if his palms were joined together.

“That’s wonderful, Rukana-san. You and Cipher are special.”

Rukana’s breathing became shallow and quick, like she had just sprinted. The inside of her body was extremely hot and everything was numb.

Wonderful. S was also a wonderful person. This person understood Rukana perfectly.

Special. Rukana wanted that word more than anything else. She wanted someone to say so.

It was S who said so.

“I-I-I, wh-what can, what do I do, is that good, what could I do for you, what do I…”

“Calm down, Rukana.”

S no longer called Rukana ‘Rukana-san’. He abandoned that term. Rukana immediately understood the meaning. Rukana was recognized by S.

“But you really are amazing. That’s exactly why I brought you here. There’s something I want you to do. I want you to join me.”

“I will.”

Rukana immediately nodded.

“As a companion, or whatever. If there’s even one thing I can do for you, I’ll do anything.”

“If I hadn’t the slightest idea that you would say that, would I have become a liar in the upside down rain?”

S must have deliberately made a roundabout way of saying that. It was a faint tone, but it sounded like a joke. And it was the way S chose his words when writing on X-fes. Rukana would kneel and pledge allegiance if S wishes. But what S wanted was a companion. Rukana would do her best for S as a companion. At that moment it became Rukana’s wish.

It’s all for S.

If it's for S, I can do anything.

+++ + ++++

S created an account for Rukana on the message app MeX, which would only be used by high ranking members who could connect to X-lum. Without breaking into X-lum, S would give her the information she needs via MeX. It wasn’t every day but sometimes S sent messages to Rukana asking, ‘Are you still awake?’ She could also learn about the organization that operated X-fes. And X-lum, about zingai, and about S’s own plans. Rukana could now come into contact with one-hundred percent truth.

Rukana had Cipher create an application.

For S, of course.

She sat down with S at MeX to come up with an idea, and had Cipher program it.

Rukana decided on the name of the app.

Happy ever after

ハッピーエバーアフター。(1)

It means something like in a fairy tale, to be happy forever and ever. She wanted people who wanted to be happy to use the app. Conversely, it was an app for people who felt unhappy right now.

However, does Hapieva, aka Happy ever after, really work well?

For Rukana, she wouldn’t know until they tried. Cipher created Hapieva. He could also check with Rukana if it worked as expected. However, the contents were not well understood.

It was just a matter of trying.

It was still in the testing stage, so she couldn’t spread it all over the internet. While confirming the effects and actions, if there were any problems, she’d correct them. She’d repeat the version update to complete it.

For this, the hacking tool that S entrusted to the janitor and delivered was useful. It looked like a USB memory, but if you connected it to your smartphone, you could break through the security and install the specified application.

At Rukana’s junior high school, using smartphones for purposes other than emergency contact was prohibited. There was no problem with bringing them in, many students carried their smartphones in their bags. During her mobile classes, there were many unprotected smartphones that could be hacked as much as you want.

Rukana hacked into the school’s server and obtained internal personal student information for things like changing classes. Based on that, she selected candidates, and if they had a smartphone, she hacked it and installed Hapieva.

[You were invited to Hapieva. Let’s use a new SNS!]

After a while, that notification would appear on their smartphones.

Hapieva is a completely anonymous SNS. Many celebrities who might be of interest to junior and senior high school students have also hidden their identities. As soon as you decide on a username and start, your friends in Hapieva will call out to you.

[Nice to meet you!]

[This is Taro who likes ice cream from xxx]

[Chaos!]

[Isn’t it cold this morning?]

While replying appropriately, the user will notice that some personal names, place names, etc. are automatically converted to “xxx”. Some of the hidden characters in the statements of other users and colleagues can be guessed, and some could not.

Hapieva also has an element of mystery solving.

Havieva has rules. You have to launch the app and login once every 24 hours. Otherwise, the Hapieva will disappear automatically. The app explains that all the user’s utterances will also be deleted from the server. It says that if you want to quit, just don’t log in.

Companions can chat freely. If you report that you have experienced some kind of unpleasant experience or that something unreasonable has happened, your companions will react immediately. They comfort you. You have companions to help you with your troubles. If you send out the phrase [it’s tough], companions will encourage you.

[Isn’t it okay to be a little more honest with yourself?]

[It’s okay if you are honest]

[Because what matters most is who you really are]

[It’s fine as long as you are yourself]

[You just haven’t realized what kind of person you are yet]

[But its always there]

[Even if you don’t know it now, you will surely find it sooner or later]

[Find yourself]

[Better not hold back]

[You don’t have to think too hard]

[You just have to find yourself]

[Find yourself!]

[Let’s find ourselves!]

Hapieva is an app for those who want to be happy. If you feel unhappy now, we want you to be happy in Hapieva. Please be happy forever.

It’s like a fairytale.

Needless to say, fairy tales are not real. In the real world, there are no companions who always comfort, support, and encourage. Hapieva is far from reality. Obviously.

There were no companions anywhere. Hapieva is not an SNS. ‘If you launch the app, you can connect with your friends.’ It’s just pretending. It was made by Cipher. It is a program that guides the user’s thoughts and feelings in a certain direction.

After becoming a second year, Rukana began the full-fledged operation of Hapieva. 

During third period that day, she knew the second-year classroom would be empty due to physical education class. Rukana took Cipher and approached the seat she was looking for. When she searched the bag on the desk, she found a smartphone in the pocket. It was an old model from about two years ago, but there was no issue. Rukana connected the hacking tool to the smartphone’s charging port. The job was completed in less than two minutes.

Rukana put the smartphone in the bag pocket. She managed to suppress the urge to laugh until she left the classroom. As soon as she closed the door, she became impatient. Rukana walked down the hallway, shaking her shoulders and laughing. It was so funny that tears came to her eyes.

“Be happy, right, Itoha~”

---

(1) Wanted to keep the language switch from the novel here so that its wasn’t the same phrase twice.

[alyjojo]

June 🦜 2023 Monthly - Capricorn

Whole of your energy: 3 Pentacles

Your meditation cracked me up, it was like a comedy, which I personally appreciate after the very intense Sag reading prior. Your door was “in the middle”, which was highlighted for some reason, and when I opened it “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel started playing. You were running all over a suburb area, hopping fences, dodging buses, cars, ladders, and disasters at every turn that seemed to be aiming for you everywhere you went. You were running to meet someone, hopped several black metal fences in backyards, and when you finally got to this person, two giant bushes smashed you from both sides. You just forced your arm out through the bushes, holding a cup of love with sticks in it, the Ace of Cups, and the other person started laughing. This could be love, being Ace of Cups, I didn’t get *just* that, moreso you being supportive in any connection you’re in. It could be a friend or any kind of relationship. It was like “I’m coming I’m coming, HERE! I brought you this!” 😆

After pulling your reading, I was right it’s not just love, but it IS showing love & support to someone you care about. Could be a father with The Emperor, a friend, family member, maybe someone you work with. Your energy is cooperative, you’re helping someone get on their feet after possibly losing a job, maybe a lot of money, someone that’s been away from you for awhile in Hermit mode. With your color cards, it’s showing something brand new and amazing coming into your life, and also the realization that you’ve been out of touch and focused on work so long that maybe some relationships have suffered, or gone unnoticed for too long. This all could be switched too, someone else could be supporting you through a tough time. Masculine energies dominate the reading, even the younger ones are Knights, if you are female then you’re simply operating in an action-oriented way, taking control of a situation, moving with purpose towards a desired result - rather than being in a more receptive & emotional feminine energy. You’re the giver 💯

What’s going on in June:

King of Pentacles:

This is your energy, if you’re the supporting person in all of this, I assume so. You’re operating out of single energy, that could be literal or if there is a partnership, it’s not taking top priority in your life right now. You’re independent, financially secure, and having very quick messages back and forth with The Emperor. If this is you, it’s possible you’re losing a job, some regular hours, or something extra. The Emperor can be government related and could be higher taxes or some large expense you haven’t budgeted for or expected. Group 1 in this story are dealing with money issues, probably them. Group 2 are dealing with someone you’ve lost touch with and could be going through a hard time right now. If you’re this King of Pentacles, you’re completely secure financially right now, able & willing to help out others. If you’re not, you could be dealing with an earth sign that normally has it together, but is going through a hard time right now.

Ace of Wands:

Assuming this is someone else, you’re inspired and motivated to take action from whatever news you’ve heard. Knight of Cups can be romantic, but this feels platonic, and in this way the Knight is very sweet and loving. Either this person has gone through a Tower moment, and you’re motivated to be very sweet towards them, taking kind actions and helping in some way, or you’re inspired to shock them yourself - with just how loving and kind you can be. Either way, you want to be there for this person, they’ve touched your heart. 3 Pentacles is about appreciating people, 6 Pentacles in the next row, this is all about teamwork. When one person can’t put in as much effort, the others have their back, it’s a mutual exchange of kindness, boosting others up when they’re down, knowing they’d do the same for you. You could work with these people too, maybe your boss is going through some hard times and has to take a sporadic vacation, you’re stepping up.

2 Wands:

If the last row is an intention or the feelings you have, this row would be the action, it kinda feels that way. You’re planning on giving this person something tangible, could be a literal gift, could be money, or Knight of Pentacles can be giving consistent, dedicated & loyal effort - depending on who you’re dealing with. Every day you show up, every day you’re reliably where you say you’ll be and you’re someone that can be depended on, no matter how long it takes. For some it definitely feels like you’re “filling in” for someone in need, and so much of this is Pentacle energy, either money is involved or work is. There’s also a feeling here that though this starts with teamwork, you’re also on your own in a lot of ways, The Hermit & 5 Pentacles. “It’s lonely at the top”. Your oracle cards talk more about that.

King of Swords:

This could either be your own energy, thinking logically about all of the responsibilities you have or will be signing up for, you’re either receiving advice and communication for clarity on this, or you’re the one giving it. Again this is all about an exchange of talents, energies, expertise, money, friendship. This could be a separate person, 3 Pentacles can indicate three people, The Emperor, King of Pentacles, and King of Swords. Or they can all be aspects of you, and you’re needing help, even if you need help with what you’ve offered to help with/for someone else. Whew I hope that made sense…you’ve got a lot of on your plate and will be needing to sort through these things logically, organizing and planning ahead is a good idea, 2 Pentacles a very BUSY person and they/you can’t stay in this energy for long, it’s overwhelming and things will start being missed or done incorrectly. But 3 Pentacles is the main energy - help is available.

8 Cups:

Someone is leaving something behind, 8 Cups here is clarified by Justice, which can be a court case, something like bankruptcy or debt related could be involved, and having Counsel here in the oracles would nod towards a lawyer, King of Swords too when Justice is out. If someone is dealing with a court case, they will stop at nothing to achieve their right to fight whatever they’re needing to fight. I don’t really get an outcome yet, I just get determination. Teamwork. Taking control of a situation or helping out. Whoever is needing help has been severed from something or is doing that themselves, and there could be a lot of ego and defensive energy around this. They feel they’re right, they’re doing the right thing. I’m not sure who is who with this row, you’d know. Your own color card being Geranium is a flower growing out of one pot and being moved to another, better, more roomy pot, essentially what 8 Cups is about too. There’s more, better, a bigger pot to grow into with more wiggle room. If you’re the one doing this alone, your messages show to reach out and communicate with your people who will be willing to help you however they can, or you are the one doing that for them.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo 💯 Aries & Pisces

Oracles: ✨

22 Counsel

Seek out the counsel of those whose lives and creative work you most admire.

31 Communication

The clarity, interactivity, and timing of communications is critical.

48 Play

Our work can and should take on the quality of play, for it is play that stimulates creativity.

42 Joy 🎉

We are created in joy. The balance of energy and higher vibrations brings us closer to divine love - pure joy. Joy can be a destination, but it can also be the vehicle that you use to get to that destination. Faith, grace, gratitude, and love all merge together, at different times and in different amounts, to create joy. There is love, growth, tears, change, and self-realization in this card. This card portends a happy and joyous time.

We enter into June as:

Geranium 🌺:

“This is another beginning.”

What appears to be an end may not be one after all. Often situations that generate our greatest fears turn into remarkable opportunities. It’s time to let go of the past, and trust that whatever is coming is better than what you’ve known to this point. You are ready to begin again. A new opportunity is coming from a place you don’t expect. There is a regeneration of some kind going on. Whatever you were pulled away from in the past was for the purpose of bringing you to a higher place. It’s time for whatever has been dormant to bloom again. Trust there is a higher plan. This is truly an exciting time.

What is to be learned in June:

Brad Blueberry 🫐

“While I worked, my life happened.”

Are you waiting to complete your career to live your life? What are you so busy for anyway? Sometimes keeping busy hides us from the real issues. Is there something you’re putting off doing? What are you avoiding? This card says go live your life! Work is not all there is, you must set aside what is driving you and regain some perspective on your life.

Blue may be a lucky color 💙

[thesickpanda]

Heaven forbid a chronically ill person have fun!

2023 has been a colossally shit year so far for me, and that is saying something as the previous several years were also really terrible (with a few positive highlights here and there).

The past 3 months have been grueling for many personal and health-related reasons I do not care to go into. Needless to say my energy levels are the worst they have ever been; I am extremely tired and have no capacity to do even half the things I did last year. (I am actually frightened at how steeply I have declined).

One of the few activities that brings me joy is nature walking. Due to a combination of trauma, illness and personal life crisis, I have not had many opportunities to do this since last year.

Anyway, my significant other was forced to sell his last car on account of a broken transmission and bought a 2nd hand 4WD utility vehicle in January. We have long wanted a car with 4WD capabilities both as a useful tool for his job, but also so we could get to more rugged national parks to explore the area’s flora (I am a major native plant nerd).  So I called Nat Parks and asked about a nature reserve out west we’d been to a year ago but which had VERY rough roads (so we didn’t get in very far before blowing a tyre on our then ill-equipped vehicle). Apparently they had re-done the roads 2 months ago so they *should* be better than when we last tackled them with our now-deceased all-wheel drive. With a 4x4 we should be fine, the lady said. Feeling a bit more confident, we made a plan to go out on the weekend for a day trip so I could look at plants and SO could road test his car. I stressed to him that, as it has rained a lot recently, the roads might still be bad and we were not to take on especially scary looking routes. He was out for adventure; I wanted to forest bathe and enjoy a neglected hobby. We both DESPERATELY needed a break and some fun.

Welp…the roads were bad. Not all of them, and not all of the way, but they were definitely rough. We managed not to get bogged (though we came close) and I found some nice plants. By afternoon though, I was tiring and we decided to go home. Rather than going back the way we had come (and managed), my SO looked at the map and said we could get to the highway faster by going further along the road we were on. I was reticent but he said it would be shorter, so I agreed.

As we went down a very steep hill we saw our route was cut off by flood water from a previous downpour. I said “hell no!” and he agreed, but by that point, it was too late. He tried to turn the vehicle around (I now know we should have just reversed) but the vehicle became bogged…. BADLY. And as a new 4x4 driver, he was ill equipped for the situation. We had none of the tools off-roaders usually carry, like a winch. He tried valiantly to free the car but we were thoroughly stuck. A dead tree was holding us in place from sliding all the way down the hillside, but the car was also partly wedged into it, and on top of a boulder. The rear left tyre was in a grave of its own making in red clay. The sun was sinking and we had to climb, on foot, the very steep hill to the one spot in this large patch of wilderness that had reception. We were turned down by Roadside Assistance for being too remote, so ended up having to call emergency services. I had to make 2 ascents of that hill, which REALLY did my chronically ill body in. But I had no choice; someone had to stay with the vehicle while another stayed up top to be able to receive any calls from emergency services. We had to give GPS co-ordinates, we were so deep in forest. Finally two service people arrived and tried to dig out the car, to no avail. We gave up and abandoned the car. My SO was beside himself and wept the whole way home, with me doing emotional support and liaising with Emergency Services as he had gone into a freeze state (his trauma response; one of my trauma responses is to flick into Support Mode, which I guess got us through this debacle…ha ha ha #notactuallyfunny). They ended up driving us back in the twilight, informing us that to get a professional company to extract the vehicle would cost as much as the car cost at $5000. They dropped us off at the nearest train station and, several hours later, we got home just before 10pm. We were lucky the trains were still running.

My SO went to bed, planning to get up early the next morning to go to town and rent a 4WD and to take our friend with him to try to extract the vehicle themselves. I insisted he went to bed a.s.a.p. as he needed the rest. I obviously did too, but felt a wicked stomach ache coming on. At first I thought it might just be a delayed stress reaction (I have IBS), but soon realised it was food poisoning. I had been feeling a bit off since eating an egg at lunch (our picnic – thankfully SO ate something different). By 10.30pm I was stuck on the toilet with violent diarrhea and cold sweats. I called the pharmacy to ask if I could take Enterosgel after having Motillium and when the pharmacist learnt I had food poisoning from an egg, he insisted I call a home doctor or go to hospital. He sounded worried. At just after midnight, I woke SO up and almost collapsed. He got on the phone at 1am with a home GP who advised us what meds to take and when a hospital visit would be necessary. I was in the most horrific pain in my gut, because the food poisoning had also triggered a severe MCAS reaction in my stomach and intestines, and I was in sheer agony. Then SO remembered what an acquaintance of ours with MCAS had tried in such a situation - several antihistamines all at one. I tried this and….the pain reduced significantly. It was still BAD but not I-Wanna-Die bad. I have yet to be formally diagnosed with MCAS, but the fact that this worked so well tells me I am very likely to have it. (Indeed, my current specialist suspects I do (it is an extremely difficult illness to diagnose)).

I finally got to sleep at 3am. Overnight the heavens opened and at 6am, worried, I crawled out of bed and insisted SO call National Parks before heading out. He did this, and they told him it would be impassable in the rain. They advised he wait until weather conditions improved. We now have to wait a week for the rain to finish and for 3 days of dry weather to ensure he doesn’t get stuck again trying to rescue his vehicle. He has secured the help of another friend who owns a 4WD (and is experienced) who is driving up to assist him this weekend. I sincerely hope they don’t BOTH get bogged down there, as that will be a total nightmare.

There ends my attempt at some fun. I am exhausted, sick, hurt all over and even more unable to cope with basic things like hanging laundry or even watching TV without falling asleep/trembling. So many attempts to get out of my home and actually live my life have ended in disaster. I feel like the universe is trying to squash me like a bug. The only saving grace was that we were rescued at all. I shudder to imagine the kind of night I would have had with food poisoning in a torrential downpour, in the pitch dark, in the wilderness, with no medication and no torch. I know things could have been worse, but my goodness, they could have been better too!

[calradion]

Almost Nothing Left

Inspired by The Order of the Phoenix | Muddy Waters by Bells. After a long while I finally posted something. Hope you enjoy it. I apologize for any inconsistencies, mistakes etc.

The sound of crashing waves welcomed Alice, as she apparated with a pop to the isolated island. Three more pops followed her, and suppressing a shudder she said with a smirk, to the man standing in the middle: "Welcome to Azkaban, Mulciber!"

Mulciber looked at the looming structure with slight distaste. "Not exactly my idea of a holiday."

"Don't you worry," she said, as a pair of wizards muttered an incantation and the great black doors sprang open. "You have first class accomodations at the top. Heard that the view is beautiful. You'll probably miss the puppeteering though." She added at the end, as he sighed. You will definitely not be imperiusing any more people here , she thought with satisfaction.

It took her more than expected to catch him, he had been very slippery. Her one year absence from the Auror Office probably didn't help, but she wouldn't replace her time with Neville and Frank for anything in the world. Alice smiled as she thought of her son and husband. It's finally over and now we can be a proper family .

There several high ranking Death Eaters left, but she was sure that they would be caught in no time, and she would do anything in her power to make that a reality. For too long fear had ruled them, and finally they were on the brink of breaking those chains fully. No more innocents would die, no more families would be torn apart, and their world would be rebuilt; Alice believed with every part of her being. 

She felt tightness in her chest as she thought of the price they had paid for peace. Too high . She thought of countless lives lost in this forsaken war, of those she knew and of those she didn't,and how there is almost nothing left. With a pang she thought of Lily and James, and how little time they had to spend with their son. I have a chance to see my Neville grow, and go to Hogwarts, something that is lost to them forever, and poor Harry off to live with Muggles, the sister Lily spoke of with sadness. She remembered how much of a comfort Lily had been during their pregnancies, and all the tears and smiles they shared. Alice hoped she could speak to Dumbledore soon about Harry.

"Ah, Auror Longbottom, welcome," Everard, a tall wizard, greeted her. She had arrived at the "reception area", where there were more than a dozen men and women, sitting, throwing dark looks around the room. A few were opening their mouths in silent screams, their eyes wide and frantic.

"Good evening, Everard," she flashed him a smile. "Plenty of work?"

"Indeed, never had more people coming at once. That must be Mulciber?"

"Yes, he proved himself to be quite a challenge, two of my men are in St.Mungos, but I caught him in the end."

"Never would have expected less of you, Mrs. Longbottom," Everard grinned at her. "We can take it from here."

"Actually Everard, I wish to escort him to his cell," Alice said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. I must speak to him, that is the least I owe to Lily . That wasn't too out of ordinary, many aurors wanted to make sure their prisoners got into their cells, with their own eyes. 

Everard nodded. "Very well, just have to finish the paperwork, thank Merlin we got news of his arrival the moment he got sentenced, Crouch has been adamant that we give him the highest security cell." He riffled true some slips of parchment and drew one out. "Give this to McCain upon entering the high security wing,"

"Thank you, Everard," Alice said with a small smile." She turned to Mulciber. "It seems you'll have to enjoy my company a little while longer." 

"Wonderful," Mulciber drawled in response. 

Alice waved with her hand. "Robert, Mick, let's go." Without a sigh they obeyed. As she entered the prison proper, she felt a sudden cold that had nothing to do with the autumn weather, and she saw black cloaked shapes floating around the cells. She thought of Frank, and Neville making his first steps. "Expecto Patronum" A silvery wildcat emerged from her wand, and pounced of in front of her.

"You know, Longbottom," Mulciber said, after a brief period of silence. "I wouldn't be too happy, if I were you. Bellatrix is quite pissed off at you."

Alice looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "Oh really, is she still bitter that I beat her two years ago?"

"Indeed," Mulciber responded, looking at the blank ceiling with a frown. "I heard her say, you were lucky." He finished looking straight at Alice with a smirk. 

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Mulciber," Alice said, while tapping her wand holster, "or I'll do it for you. I don't need luck to beat, and besides I wasn't the one who ran like a coward."

Alice had heard those words from a few Death Eaters she had caught lately, but she paid it no mind. If you want me so bad Bellatrix, you know where to find me . She heard that Voldemort was furious with her. He wanted her and Frank dead for a long time. He can't hurt us now, anyway . 

Faint whimpers followed her all the way to the top, as she climbed what felt like a thousand steps. Mulciber had seemingly lost interest in speaking to her, as he looked at the Dementors with a glint in his eyes. You will break eventually, I promise you, Alice thought, they all do.

They finally reach the top, where five wizards were standing in front of a large steel door, bound with chains and three planks of wood from top to bottom. Alice approached the one with a golden badge on his chest.

"Auror Alice Longbottom," she said handing McCain the piece if parchment. "Here to transfer Pollus Mulciber to his cell."

McCain nodded. "Open the door! Cell X Y 380."

Alice felt like she entered a deep pit; there were no torches or any light sources, only her wildcat gave off light and nothing else, and this place was quiet, eerily quiet, as if you could hear a pin drop. "Some light, please boys," she said to her two companions. 

"Lumos," they whispered in unison.

Now being able to see, Alice led the way, all of their breaths noticeably ragged. She shivered and pulled her cloak tighter around herself. 

"Three hundred and eighty!" Alice exclaimed, trying to sound as cheery as possible, considering the situation. "Hope you will find the room to your liking, and if you don't… oh well, tough luck." 

She held the cell door open as Robert and Mick walked into the cell. They pushed Mulciber against the wall, released the binding spell on one hand and bound it to the chains, then they did the same with the other. They exited the cell half running. "Can we leave now, Sir?" Robert asked, his face pale. 

"Soon," Alice responded.

"I'm going to miss your company, Longbottom," Mulciber said, as the cell door closed, and his chains released him. 

"I'm afraid I can't say the same Mulciber." Alice said. "You should be pretty at home here."

"We might yet meet again, and I don't believe you will be so brave next time."

"You wish, Mulciber, sweet dreams." With those final words to Mulciber, she turned around and said to her companions. "I'm sorry boys, but we will need to stay here a while longer."

Mick gulped. "Why?" 

"I need to talk to someone, and I'll own you one, okay?"

They both looked at each other and nodded. "Very well," Robert said with a strained smile.

"Thank you," Alice said and strode toward cell three hundred and ninety. She couldn't help, but feel her heartbeat faster as she approached the cell. She saw an outline of a figure huddled at the end, head raised to the window, looking into the starless sky. She tapped her wand on the steel bars, and the figure turned towards her.

"Yes?" He asked, his voice weirdly neutral. How can he sound so bored? "Who is it? Nothing? Great, I'm already going mad." He let out a laugh. 

It's definitely him, Alice thought, her anger rising. And it's always a joke with him. "Nothing seems to lower your spirit, does it Black!" She said coldly, trying to put as much venom as she could in those words.

"Alice?" he asked, his voice faint as a whisper, and he got up from his position beside the window and approached the cell. Azkaban didn't seem to do him much good, yet his cheeks, dark hair and handsome face were still quite clear. Sirius.

How is he still so handsome ? she thought, her rage rising. After all he had done this didn't seem just. Even though he had been here for only a couple of days, Alice had hoped that the dementors would do a quick job, considering the crimes he had committed. 

"Yes it is me Black," she said, trying to keep her tears at bay. How did it go so wrong? "Make no mistake about it, this is not a friendly call."

"Alice, please," he said, and she saw tears glistening in his eyes, and that made it worse.

"I wonder, for who are these tears? Your master?" Alice asked through gritted teeth, the tears seemed to be bubbling underneath the surface. "I wonder what did Voldemort offer you?"

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice shaking. 

"You are sorry?" Alice let out a hollow laugh that echoed through the hall. "Sorry? After all you have done, the best you can say is: 'I'm sorry'." She felt tears now rolling down her cheeks, but she didn't care. "James loved you as a brother, and you betrayed him. Why Sirius? You who always talked about how different you are from your family, you who always talked about standing up to Voldemort, why? Were the lives of Lily and James worth it, was the life of Harry worth it?"

"Harry…" he said.

"He is still alive, no thanks to you, and your master's power is broken, he will live with Lily's sister, thanks to you. Yet there is still blood on your hands: Lily and James, Peter, Dorcas, the McKinnons, and countless others, even Marlene, I truly thought you loved her, yet it seems I was wrong. Again I ask, 'What did he offer you?'

Sirius stared at her, as if he was seeing her for the first time. 

"You disgust me, Black. You betrayed us, and there is almost nothing left. I hope you rot. I hope you feel the pain I and countless others feel, I hope your every waking moment is hell, and it will still be less than you deserve."

Without another word she turned, wiping her dried tears away, and never looked back until she was outside the prison. Again she thought of Lily and the son she would never know; that left her feeling hollow.

Then she thought of Frank and Neville, and with a small smile disapparated. It's gonna be alright.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate any kind of feedback.

[atlantaartisticweddings]

Atlanta Botanical Gardens and Piedmont Park two Atlanta Landmarks for Wonderful Engagement Photos

This week’s blog is Marco and Paola’s engagement session.  They contacted me nearly a year ago via Instagram.   As an Atlanta wedding photographer I am finding out a lot of people are finding out about Atlanta Artistic Weddings through our Instagram social media posts.  We also finding bride and grooms are finding us from Google and our over 100 positive reviews and the Knot.

Paola is a big fan of flowers and plants so they suggested the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  I checked their website and saw where they did not open until 10am.  I am a big fan of the morning light so I suggested that we start at Piedmont Park at 8am.  That way we can get that golden morning light and a few more photo locations before Atlanta Botanical Gardens opens.  They agreed and we met there early Sunday morning just after sunrise.

Paola arrived in a classic black dress and Marco wore matching black pants with a short sleeved black shirt.  Together they made a dazzling couple.  We started walking around the park and as I usually do I would stop where I would find the best light for that time of day.  We went to the edge of the soccer field for a stunning Atlanta skyline.  We then moved on to the lake in the middle of the park where they have a large pier and reception area with large corinthian columns great for posing against. 

While we were moseying around the park I got to do my favorite thing.  I got to know the couple before the wedding.  The more time we walked around the park the more they shared.   I got to know more about their kids Marco’s 5 grown kids and Paola’s 2 kids.  I learned that Marco arrived here from Puerto Rico.  We even spent time in some of the same towns there.  I also noticed how kind and thoughtful Paola was.  She is a fun and playful person who is ready for adventure.  Their personalities complement each other beautifully.

Once we had almost gone around the lake at Piedmont Park it was 10am and Atlanta Botanical Gardens was opening.  Paola and Marco went to their car and changed into new outfits.   Once changed we headed up to the top of the hill above the park to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  It was a beautiful spring morning.  There were several beds of flowers starting to bloom.  The reds and violets of the flowers made for a colorful and  lively photo session.  We traveled around the fountain, the oriental garden, the walkway and into the greenhouse where they have desert and rainforest plants.  That is where we wrapped up the engagement session.

Congrats to Marco and Paola!  It was a real joy to spend a Sunday morning with you two and getting to know two special people better.   We are looking forward to the wedding.  

Thanks for checking out this Atlanta wedding photographers blog! I hope you enjoyed the read and found it interesting! Make sure you keep coming back to our blog to see what the Atlanta wedding photographers at Atlanta Artistic Weddings get up to! If you’d like to contact me go to the contact page and drop me a line at https://www.atlantaartisticweddings.com/contact-atlanta-wedding-photographer. I would love to hear from you!

Thanks again!

Source: https://www.atlantaartisticweddings.com/

Source: https://www.atlantaartisticweddings.com/

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Montana De Oro - A Hidden California Treasure

Our next stop is crossing states into Connecticut to Hartford. You definitely want to investigate the shops at Nye Coast. Stinson Beach is a normal seaside town with an unbeatable area of Oceanside beach. 3) You should also walk from here at the aquarium or park on the inside Rogue Brewery parking lot under the bridge and walk out onto the pier its keep is they're able to view within the bay as well as the channel and take to communicate with all epidermis people fishing and crabbing. View More: topbinhdinhaz.com - Top Binh Dinh AZ Reviewed by Team Leader in Top Binh Dinh AZ: Lương Ngọc Nam Khang - Luong Ngoc Nam Khang Sure, purchase fish on a little lake or stream by your property. Those little crappies and sunnies were fun an individual have were younger. But, have you not sometimes wondered what it may be like to trap a sailfish or giant marlin? Come on, you deserve the device! Back in open water, we saw our first gator. When you spotted one, we started seeing them everywhere. As we passed, alligators would swim toward the boat angling for the marshmallows Neil would toss to all of. He even reached out to pet the one he calls Big Alabama.

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Alaska fishing vacations are the dream of a typical lifetime for the dedicated angler. Top Bình Định AZ The waters of this state teem with a large number of fish selections. From sea to inland lakes, anglers can find challenges around every area. And when they cast their line it is almost certain these people will set up with one particular thing. Come take a journey to one of the several best fishing spots in North The states.

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[rentrightforall]

Cocktail Table Rentals in the USA: Elevate Your Event with Stylish Elegance and Transformative Furniture Choices

Introduction

Cocktail parties and events have long been a staple of American social gatherings, bringing people together for celebrations, networking, and entertainment. When hosting such an event, the choice of furniture can significantly impact the ambiance and overall experience. Cocktail table rentals have emerged as a popular solution, offering a blend of style, versatility, and convenience for hosts across the USA. In this article, we delve into cocktail table rentals, exploring their benefits, varieties, and how they can transform your event into a memorable affair.

The Appeal of Cocktail Table Rentals

Cocktail table rentals have gained traction for several compelling reasons. Notably, they provide an upscale and sophisticated look that instantly elevates the atmosphere of any event. These tables are designed to focus on aesthetics, often featuring sleek designs, premium materials, and intricate details that seamlessly integrate with various event themes.

Benefits of Cocktail Table Rentals

Versatility: One of the critical advantages of cocktail table rentals is their adaptability. They come in various shapes and sizes, including round, square, and even high-top designs, catering to different event layouts and preferences. This versatility allows hosts to create dynamic seating arrangements and encourage mingling among guests.

Space Optimization: Cocktail tables are known for their space-saving nature. They provide a functional yet compact surface for placing drinks, appetizers, and other small items, ensuring that event spaces remain uncluttered and inviting.

Interactive Experience: These tables encourage interaction among guests. With guests gathered around them, cocktail tables facilitate conversations, networking, and sharing experiences, fostering a lively and engaging environment.

Elegance and Style: Whether your event is a corporate gala or an intimate wedding reception, cocktail table rentals add an element of elegance that leaves a lasting impression on attendees. Their refined aesthetics and quality craftsmanship speak to the sophistication of the occasion.

Varieties of Cocktail Tables

Standard Cocktail Tables: These are the classic round tables, often seen at upscale bars and events. They provide ample surface area for drinks and small plates, and their design complements various decor styles.

High-Top Cocktail Tables: Also known as bar tables, these tall tables are ideal for events with a more casual or lounge-like vibe. They encourage guests to stand and mingle, creating a relaxed ambiance.

LED Illuminated Tables: LED illuminated cocktail tables are a show-stopping choice for a modern and trendy twist. With customizable lighting options, they add a vibrant and dynamic element to the event space.

Choosing the Right Rental Provider

When selecting a cocktail table rental provider, it's crucial to consider factors beyond aesthetics. Reliability, reputation, and customer reviews should guide your decision. Reputable providers offer a range of table styles, ensure timely delivery and pickup, and provide exceptional customer service.

Personal Experience and Expertise

Having organized numerous events, I have witnessed cocktail table rentals' transformative power. I opted for high-top cocktail tables for a recent corporate networking event to encourage mingling and conversation. The result was a dynamic atmosphere where connections were fostered effortlessly.

Conclusion

Cocktail table rentals have emerged as a sought-after solution for event hosts across the USA, offering a blend of style, versatility, and practicality. These tables elevate the ambiance and foster interaction and engagement among guests. When considering cocktail table rentals, prioritize reliability and variety, ensuring that your chosen provider aligns with your event's vision. Whether it's a wedding reception, corporate gala, or festive celebration, cocktail tables bring an air of sophistication that makes a difference.

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Furnished Office Rentals

Meeting Contemporary Business Needs With Serviced Office Solutions: Furnished Office RentalsDue to their practical and adaptable workspace solutions, furnished serviced office spaces have become more and more popular among contemporary firms in recent years. These office spaces come completely furnished and outfitted with all the amenities needed for businesses to run smoothly, including conference rooms, reception areas, high-speed internet, and furnishings. Businesses can reduce the stressful and time-consuming process of setting up their own office with fully furnished serviced office spaces.Everything you need to get started is included in a fully furnished serviced office space, including desks, chairs, high-speed internet, and phone lines. As a result, you won't need to bother about purchasing office supplies or setting up utilities once you move in and start working.Furniture, equipment, and utilities are not necessary costs that can add up quickly.You can pick a space that suits your needs when you rent a fully furnished serviced office. Renting furnished office space might be advantageous for the following people, for example: 1. Entrepreneurs and startups: For these people, hiring furnished office space is an affordable choice. To allow new businesses to focus on their core competencies without having to bother about setting up and outfitting an office, they provide pre-assembled workstations and other necessary amenities. 2. Small and medium-sized businesses:Small and medium-sized businesses might consider furnished office spaces if they want a professional work environment but don't want to commit long-term or spend a lot of money renting or buying a typical office.

3.Remote and Freelance Workers: Remote and freelance workers usually opt for specialized workspaces outside of their homes in order to boost productivity and maintain a clear separation between work and personal life.

4. Businesses seek to enter new markets: Fully furnished offices might be beneficial for businesses trying to enter new markets. 

5. Project-based Teams: Project-based teams can utilise furnished office spaces to successfully work, regardless of whether they are from the same company or from other organisations.

Prime locations for service offices are a success doorway.For several reasons, a company's location is crucial to its success. How accessible and visible a firm is to its target market is significantly influenced by where it is located. If your company is located in a well-known region with plenty of foot traffic or is close to significant business districts, you have a better chance of attracting new consumers and clients. Companies might benefit from the visibility and ease that come with a prominent location. Furnished Serviced Offices Are Delivered In This State And Provide the following benefits: 1. Fully furnished and ready for use. They spare firms the time and trouble of searching for and constructing their own office furniture by including all of the essential pieces, such as desks, seats, and storage units.

2. Financial savings: By using a furnished, serviced office, you can avoid purchasing for furniture and office supplies up front.

3. Flexibility: Depending on their specific requirements, businesses can use serviced office spaces for short- or long-term lease arrangements.

4. Time Effectiveness: Businesses can move into fully equipped serviced offices and start operating straight away.

Please Select Bashundhara R/A's Top Serviced Office. The serviced offices in Bashundhara were constructed with the most recent gear and software. These locations offer cutting-edge IT infrastructure, comfortable furnishings, blazing-fast internet, and fully furnished meeting rooms. The facilities available include break-out areas, kitchens, a formal lobby area, and on-site security. These elements help you and your team have a relaxing and effective working atmosphere. Contact For Booking: +88 01712553547 +88 01921096846 Location: JCX TOWER, 1136/A, Block-I, Level 5,Japan Street, Bashundhara R/A