#ruth just looks chill

[helssent]

drew the TMC Big Kids Table Trio™ for the f unny

[lilacthebooklover]

hatchetverse but paul accidentally becomes everyone's parental figure. lex & hannah's? sure, they deserve a good parent who'll look out for them. stephanie lauter? yeah, why not, her dad highkey sucks. richie? absolutely, could even make them be biologically related for the lols. he meets peter through ted, they're chill (potential for angst if ted disappears in this iteration of the multiverse). he's the guy alice goes to about all of her stresses and worries- the 'cool uncle'. he meets ruth at the coffee shop where he sees emma before they have a concrete relationship, ruth is very vocal about how she wishes she could have a partner too. he could be even max freaking jagerman's unofficial dad (he does not think max has to fight off "one lousy skele'un" to be worth something). he tries to solve grace chasity's religious guilt with "yeah no sex is normal" and she views him as a source for all advice on the matter after that. paulkins but paul is a tired dad and emma doesn't find out he has like 50 kids until they've been dating a couple months and one of them randomly runs into his house. she introduces him to tim and he just rolls with it. it's another nephew, okay, neat. he's not great with kids but he finds himself with loads of them somehow anyway. then they all face off against sadistic eldritch gods and multiple cults together like a family. what more could you want?

[rentumblsstuff]

Random Hatchetfield Headcanons

The first time Alice Woodward ever smoked weed was when (after much inner turmoil) she asked Deb to shotgun it with her.

Max has two snaggletoothed incisors which is why people swear to god he has fangs.

Deb also has a snaggletooth which is what inspired the vampire part of Alice’s vampiric sapphic play. Alice also thinks it’s ironic she made a vampire character when Deb is a vegan.

Ruth as a Sophmore hit on Senior Alice a lot. Alice thought it was funny and she and Deb “adopted” her. Max and Steph also put the PANIC in bi panic for Ruth.

Max would find it weirdly hot that Grace wears bathing suits under her clothes because of the idea that he gets to see what her body looks like before even she does.

The hospital is downtown, so Becky Barnes definitely got infected in TGWDLM. Despite never wanting to do it again, Becky climbs the tree as someone calls the HFPD to save Kathy’s cat because she’s still infinitely compassionate even under Pokey’s control. Plus, Pokey knows she wants to get over the trauma associated with climbing trees, so he makes her do it to give her a big number about finally overcoming her past. She accidentally flings the cat as soon as the song starts, which is why in Show Me Your Hands, the cat dies so quickly even though it JUST got called in.

Peter infected Steph who infected Deb who infected Alice in TGWDLM. Pete and Steph would have been Sophomores and Deb and Alice were Seniors, but I always imagine Steph and Deb knowing eachother because MRFC said Steph is in the Smoke Club on Twitter at some point. Assuming Steph’s been a little punk for a while, she’s been in the smoke club since at least Sophomore year, and probably a new inductee the same year as TGWDLM (2018).

Alice and one of her parents (maybe Bill) were also raised in purity culture because we know the Woodwards and the Chastitys go to the same church. The Woodwards probably take it with a grain of salt though (Alice has expressed dislike over Grace’s prudishness)- either that or one of her parents (probably her mom) wasn’t originally from said church and also raised Alice with “this is what you’re learning here, but here’s also what I learned at my church at your age.” Bill was likely the one raised in purity culture because he does NOT LIKE DEB and thinks that if she HAS TO date a girl, she should date someone like Grace Chastity, implying she’s an exemplary teen girl. Ms. Woodward lets Deb sleep over and probably knows she smokes and likes her anyways; three points for Alice’s mom not being the puritanical one.

Ted reads romance novels. He’s a former geek turned sleazeball- you know he reads the smuttiest novels ever and calls them “his research”. He refuses to read any book with the friends to lovers trope because it’s too upsetting to think about. (Side note Time Bastard gave us a definite date that timelines don’t branch/reset before depending on whichever theory you believe because the homeless man is in every timeline, meaning that Jenny’s death is fixed in time and never changes: October 7th 2004, so the timelines change anywhere between October 8th 2004 and 2018.)

In whatever timeline Emma finally gets to have her weed farm, she meets Paul when he tells her he was prescribed that marajamij for his anxiety and he was too scared to try Xanax. She thinks he’s kind of cute for a wet cat of a corporate slave. “Fuck the patriarchy? Yes please.” (Side note Paul seems so uptight and unfuckable like bro gotta be blank down there like a Ken doll and has no discernible kinks from what I remember while Emma is laid back and chill asf and like… normal in comparison so yeah sure Paulkins canonically fucks but does Emma enjoy it?? Like dude even Pete’s more fuckable than him come on.)

Pete and Steph don’t kiss when they admit their feelings for eachother even though one of them would die before ever getting to kiss each other because they both think it’ll only make it that much harder to go through with sacrificing the other. One of the reasons Pete also chooses to be the one to take the bullet because he doesn’t think he even COULD pull the trigger on her. Like it’d be physically impossible for him, in his mind.

TGWDLM was originally meant to be an allegory for the institution brainwashing us. Show Me Your Hands and America’s Great Again: examples of people in power working for and fulfilling the evil wishes of some almighty, otherworldly, inhuman THING (be it aliens, be it those in power). It’s clearly meant to satirize the way that power corrupts and tries to convince you its way is better. Even Hidgens, THE FUCKING TEACHER, tries to teach his student that it will be better for everyone to join in that corruption and give in to the hive mind. This reminds me of how the school system in America tries to paint our history as something glamorous; manifest destiny instead of genocide of the indigenous populations. The people in power convincing those under them that the deaths of countless lives is a good thing and it will pave the way to a better future. Cool motive, still murder. Which is why Emma “Fuck the Patriarchy” Perkins is the last one to be infected. She was incapable of being brainwashed , and even when she was the last one left, she saw that the people watching didn’t care, and the all-consuming threat of corrupted power closes in on her until the very last moment.

The Lords in Black were going to try to convince whoever sacrificed their most treasured something to do more work for them, but Grace required very little convincing. Like Wiggly spoke into her mind like “Gracy-Wace! You forgot my booky-wook! Look in it, see any thing you like? Wanna kill all the pervy-wervys?” And she’s like “holy cow I can kill all the pervy-wervys with this book?” Pete would have needed the most convincing because he’s just lost the only girl who will ever love him (in his mind) and so he’d think these things took away his one chance at true love and NEVER want to deal with them again. Even if they offered him a way to get her back, he’s too smart to know that won’t come without an even bigger price AND too paranoid to think she won’t come back wrong like Max did.

If the Green-Foster family ever did get to move to California and Lex got to be an actress, her interview attitude would be a lot like Reneé Rapp and if she ever got asked about why she’ll openly shit talk people in an interview, she’s like “I used to work retail I learned pretty fast that nothing gets done if you keep your mouth shut.”

[ghostface-knight]

i'd like to present my concept of nightmare time episodes where every (or almost every) person is played by the same person, inspired by jaime lyn beatty in daddy. here are some ideas:

peter spankoffski is done being at the bottom of the hatchetfield high food chain, and so he seeks out help to become cooler. he comes across ethan green, who, having just been left by his girlfriend lex, decides, "what the hell, i'll mentor this kid on being cool". when ted spankoffski learns that his little brother is hanging out with "that no-good ethan green", he confronts pete about it, perhaps a little too harshly. his intentions are good, but when has anything ever gone the way he meant? ted, like everybody in town, knows about ethan's reputation, and he thinks he'll be a bad influence on pete. he knows that, if anyone can, pete can make it out of hatchetfield, and he doesn't want ethan screwing that up. so he confronts him, and one thing leads to another, and eventually pete storms out in anger. ted knows if he goes after pete immediately, he'll only make things worse, so he decides he'll let him have his moment of teenage rebellion and then reconcile with him after. a few hours later, ted spankoffski, now drinking his problems away, is approached by a mysterious man who has somehow gotten into ted's apartment. wilbur cross, as he introduces himself, half-convinces and half-mind controls ted into believing that ethan is responsible for this, and the only way to protect pete is to kill ethan. he storms into ethan's tiny basement apartment, wielding his now shattered bottle of booze, and prepared to rip him limb from limb with his new super-powered companion. ethan can hold his own, though, and the brawl is a tough match. eventually, though, ethan manages to get the remaining shard of the bottle and shove it straight through ted's chest. as this happens, pete comes out of ethan's bathroom, revealing that he'd gone to ethan for comfort after his fight with ted. ted bleeds out on ethan's floor as pete holds him.

ruth fleming has graduated high school, and she's lucky enough to find a super chill job as a farmhand on the farm of emma perkins. one day, as they do their usual work (which isn't much, to be honest), they are approached by linda monroe, who is all but seething. she's goes on about how drugs are evil and she will not raise her children in a town where such depravity is taking place. they threaten her off the property, and they think that'll be over and done with. it's not like they've never had to deal with moralistic creeps like her before, and they've always come out the other side. linda comes back the next day with a petition signed by just about every member of the hatchetfield boating society. yeah whatever, perky's buds is not going to be dismantled by some stupid rich people who think they have more power than they do. in the midst of this, they've recently recieved a new client: 17 year old hannah foster. a quiet kid from hatchetfield high, who seems to have joined the smoke club as a way to make some friends. emma and ruth don't think much of it -- neither of them have any qualms about selling to teenagers, and business is business. however, hannah keeps coming back for more and more, and ruth starts to wonder if there's something else going on. back in the linda plot, linda has taken to bringing people out to the farm to protest. each day she (or, more accurately, the people she's hired) come with more and more people holding cardboard signs and chanting. it's really starting to get on emma's nerves. one day, while hannah is picking up her purchase, linda, surrounded by a mob of angry parents and hatchetfield adults, returns. suddenly, linda no longer seems like a nuisance, but a legitimate threat. her followers carry weapons and the menacing smile on her face tells emma and ruth that she isn't messing around. as the mob breaks through the door of the farm house, emma and ruth urge hannah to look for shelter. hannah refuses though, and emma swears her eyes begin to gleam almost inhumanly. the mob makes it to them, and are suddenly thrown back by a wave of psychic energy so powerful it shatters the walls of the house. hannah's new powers (on account of the weed) leave emma, ruth, and herself standing unharmed in the middle of a surrounding pile of groaning, injured people.

i have a few other concepts, but this is getting super long so i better leave it here for now lmao

[honeyspawn]

Silly little assorted Hatchetfield Headcannons that don't warrant thir own individual post:

Paul is a pretty good cook, but not an excellent cook. Like, a 7/10. Above average. Sometimes his food comes out a little bland, but his chicken is never dry, and his pancakes are always fluffy.

Richie draws fan art. Ruth writes fanfiction.

Mr. Spankoffski's shoe store is in Lakeside Mall near Toy Zone, and he is on friendly terms with Frank Pricely. Sometimes when Pete is around he goes in there to look for action figures or Lego sets when he has spare cash. (Also Pete was helping his Dad in the mall during Black Friday, and Ted came when he heard what was going on to pick them up)

Boy Jerry didn't actually think Donna was guilty of murder in "Hatchet Town," he was just trying to get a promotion.

Richie makes cosplay tiktoks.

Despite being very good at swimming, for years Daniel's family thought he couldn't swim at all, because they never could see him doing it, and thought he was lying when he said he swam across the pool and back in a split second.

Ruth loves Be More Chill

Lex found out Santa wasn't real when she was 9 because Pam forgot/didn't bother to get her or Hannah gifts from Santa that year. When Lex asked, Pam confirmed it and said she's not doing it anymore. Lex has been making or buying Hannah a gift from Santa every year since, even after Hannah stops believing in Santa (it's a tradition at this point)

MacNamara and his husband have 3 kids. Their oldest son (Joey's army character, in tgwdlm, since apparently that was what he himself intended with his character portrayal), and 2 identical twin daughters about the same age as Hannah Foster.

Before she had to switch schools, Alice was the stage manager for the Hatchetfield High drama department, and Ruth was her underclassmen protégé (Ruth absolutely used to have a crush on her).

[apieceoftoastedbread]

i just finished working boys. holy shit??/pos

mentions of show spoilers under cut

SO. welcome to my ted talk. i just finished working boys. what. the. FUCK. but like in a good way. i loved it! i watched it with my dad kinda and i was giggling the entire time. i love rob as hidgens but if hidgens was anyone else BESIDES jeff i would have honestly not felt the same about it. jeff did great in the whole thing.

also, RUTHH!!.., MY BABY💔💔 SHE DID NO WRONG. IT WAS HER DEBUT☹️ she did great and i loved the few seconds of screentime she had.

the people in the audience were also making my tism alarm go off. if i can recall it was bill, ted, officer bailey, ms mulberry, richie, grace, gerald, linda, and brenda? those are all the people i can remember. seeing richie and grace go to see ruth actually made me go crazy i love them all SO MUCH. i wanna take richie and shake him. Ted was being a little asshole as always/pos. poor bill was abandoned. AND GERALD AND LINDA? oh my god i love them. i have a love-hate relationship with linda except she doesnt know who i am and would spit on me and i love her but also need her to suffer. I wanted to take the scene where him and linda are cuddling and just stay there forever. officer bailey made me laugh but also how is that man a cop. he just handed grace the gun?? ALSO GRACE IS SO BADASS BUT SHES CRAZY?? SUPPORT WOMENS WRONGS!! she started saying sumthing about the lord and i got chills.

the dead workin boys?? that was so sick what??

LIKE?? JON ILY YOU SCARE ME SO MUCH/pos. THIS WAS A JUMPSCARE BUT A GOOD ONE.

I LOVE THIS TOO? I FOR THE LIFE OF ME CANNOT TELL WHO THIS IS BUT THEY LOOK SO SCARY AND SICK I LOVE IT

RAHH I LOVE THIS LOOK. I LOVE HOW THEY ARE ALL COMING OUT OF THE MOST UNNATURAL PLACES.

OH MARK YOU SCARE ME SO MUCH MY UNSETTLING LITTLE BABY❤️ PLEASE NEVER SHOW UP AGAIN

THIS IS SUCH A BAD ANGLE BUT ITS STILL SO GOOD?? THEY ALL LOOK SO AWESOME

IDK IF ITS ALL MAKEUP OR CGI OR A MIX BUT WHOEVER DID IT DID GREAT.

THE MUSIC WAS AMAZING. LIKE IDK IF THIS IS ON SPOTIFY OR NOT OR IF I GOTTA UPLOAD WHAT I CAN FIND PRIVATELY FOR MYSELF. STARKID I LOVE YOU.

ALSO THE UNCANNYNESS OF PROFESSOR HIDGENS LAST WORDS BEING “i cant wait to get home to my boys..” WHILE BEING SHOT AT BY GRACE. HE JUST WANTED TO IMPRESS HIS BOYFRIENDS ☹️

uhm uhm im gonna shut up now because my brain is being overwhelmed by over analyzing this but please please please talk to me about this

[incorrecthatchetfield]

Pete: Hey, Max. Are you wearing your running bottoms and your hoodie?

Steph: Max, are you going running?

Grace: Have fun.

Max: *leaves*

Ruth: Oh, my God. What is wrong with Max, Grace?

Steph: Yeah, what happened? Are you guys okay?

Grace: Max is going for a run. If anything, we should be asking what is right with Max.

Ruth: He only goes running if he's upset. And he's wearing his sad hoodie. And by the looks of it, it's been washed, which is bone-chilling.

Grace: He's fine. Everything's okay.

Richie: *barges into the room* I just passed Max on the street running, on purpose! Oh, my God!

Grace: Maybe I was wrong.

Richie: *yelling out the window* Max Jagerman! Are you okay?! I see you! And I love you!

Grace: In my defense, no one here emotes in a normal way

Pete: That's fair

[possiblyawesometmblr]

I have a bestie who is very into starkid and I'm a fable person.

And so I'm curious. Fable characters as NPMD characters?

i'm calling in connor to help with this one just so you know. lengthy conversations are being had

first off: icarus as max. it's hilarious to give icarus a role where they actually succeed in killing a bunch of people and jock icarus is a fun concept not often explored.

this in turn makes centross and easton the two football friends who become immediately more chill once icarus is taken out of the picture, and also makes ven grace chasity

the main nerd gang is harder though, cause you can go so many ways with it. i think the best combo is:

rae as peter (he deserves to get Cool As I Think I Am. and also icarus kicking the shit out of him feels correct)

jamie and athena as richie and ruth (ruth is the hardest to nail down because she's so. Like That. but yknow that one shot of richie and ruth literally hanging off of peter and demanding to know what he's talking about with steph? that gives me lab assistants energy. and icarus gets to kill jamie for real this time.)

fenris as steph (he's so much cooler than the rest of these people and falls SO HARD for rae. goddamn)

ocie and momboo as steph's two cheerleader friends (world sisters!!specifically ocie because one cheerleader friend dates one of the football friends. go centross and ocie <3)

the major gods are the lords in black if you just ignore that there are four instead of five, and of course fable is wiggly. i cannot explain why specifically npmd wiggly gives off such strong fable energy when he doesn't at all in black friday but he does. maybe it's the plastic crown. or that he looks like he'd bully me.

everyone else, take your pick. we've been debating for a while and have absolutely no clue who shapiro could be

(bonus round: ulysses and vesperae as Specifically the NPMD renditions of paul and emma)

[royall-ass]

Richieeeee Richie Richieeee

YIPPIE YIPPIE

I love how much of a smartass he is?? a lot of the fandom mischaracterizes him (tbh sometimes i do to) but hes such an asshole 😭😭 like he tries to cool but hes a cringe loser i hate him /j /pos

Sometimes the lines he has… they send chills down my spine. Specifically the anime love pillows one 😭

”No he thinks the ghost is real, he’s just really fucking brave!”

PETE AND RICHIE!!!! God the way Richie fucking says shit to him and is such a jerk i love him 😭😭 i feel like despite always hating on each other they’re actually so close. Also Richie and Jason!!!! I need more of them together

Heh,,,, call me crazy,,,,, you’ll never believe what im abt to say, not in a million years,,,,, take a wild guess,,,,,,,,,, michie 😈😈😈 (this is sarcasm i love michie and theyre everything to me and and and)

Richie and Ruth 😞 they just have such a sibling dynamic that i cant see them together. Also the fact that Richie wingmans her by telling Pete to hit it and quit it

One time he gave out a bunch of invites to his birthday in fifth grade and nobody showed up because it was anime themed. Grace showed up but left quickly because she said it was sinful. Pete and Ruth would have gone but they had dance class that day

Idk if I really have any unpopular opinions??? maybe just how despite how much i love him he does sometimes say stuff that like i have to pause snd think about but like i think thats the point. Like for when Steph grabs him by the collar. It’s weird, but his character is weird. You’re supposed to love how nerdy and loser core he is

Okay this song is him AND Max, but idc,,, Jason by Bonnie Parker. I don’t need to elaborate just go listen to it and you’ll get what I mean (this is strictly for a michie headcanon but oh well)

And for my fav pictureee,.,,,,

HE JUST LOOKS SO COOL HERE SHAHGS

okay ty for ur time

[thalassic-p4rk]

yall.

yall.

Y A L L

*deep breaths*

*stares intently*

so. y’all know simon greenall is the speaking voice of barnacles. i’m sure some of you know that he’s had a different singing voice since the beginning. up through season 4, barnacles’ singing vocals are done by ross breen, and then (above and) beyond that, we don’t talk about it. but anyways, ross breen is not only an incredible singer, but he sounds so much like greenall that the majority of people don’t know the difference until they look it up, myself included.

so as you may have gathered, i like to do a deep dive on the actors and voice actors behind my comfort characters. do you know how much i had to dig to find that clip of greenall jumping off the pier? it was in his showreel compiled by his agent, ruth young. that’s how deep i dig. i also found a sex scene, but that’s irrelevant.

SO last night, i was bored, and since i wasn’t satisfied by the amount of comfort content i collected from my simon greenall dig, i said fuck it and looked into ross breen.

besties baby boos. girly pops. homies. queerly beloved.

i found a goldmine.

may i present to you, captain barnacles’ spotify:

AND IT ACTUALLY SLAPS??? LIKE, I’D LISTEN TO THIS SHIT REGARDLESS OF WHO WROTE AND SANG IT. ITS FUCKING GORGEOUS, AND IT ONLY HAS 48 MONTHLY LISTENERS. SO YALL BEST GET ON THAT.

and if there was any doubt that this was barnacles, i’d say this proves it FHJFDHH:

LIKE. GRRRRRRRRRRRR /VPOS.

‼️‼️BUT WAIT, IT GETS BETTER‼️‼️

BECAUSE in 2020ish, bestie boo bear rebranded. that’s right. this man has TWO SPOTIFIES!!!!

may i present to you…

✨Jazzy Comfort Barnacles✨

no i am not okay.

it only has 3 songs on the second spotify, but those three songs man. i will be posting about them separately bc holy fucking shit, it’s all comfort.

i fell asleep last night with “Flowing to you, Flowing Through” on loop and woke up feeling. so safe. i’m. it gives somewhere over the rainbow vibes yk? it’s bjarki’s song. and it just hits so fucking close to home lyrically for personal reasons and. ugh. later. this post is long enough as it is.

OH. AND IT HAS <1000 LISTENS. GIVE THIS MAN SOME LOVE GUYS. WE NEED TO FIX THAT.

his first spotify, ross breen, has several full-length albums. so far, we’ve only listened to one, “when i met the devil,” which came out in 2011 and is ALL BANGERS. we’ve only gotten through the one album bc we’ve been looping it all day. it has 15 songs, but quite a few instrumental transition tracks, so it comes to a little under 40 mins. my favorite songs are “when i met the devil,” “elephant’s foot” (which i will also expand upon in its own post), “life support,” “thin sheep,” and “jigsaw.” my favorite more chill songs are “monet,” and “keep the light on,” which made me cry like a baby during class.

from ross a., my favs are “flowing to you, flowing through” obviously, and “be ok”, which also made me sob hysterically and will be getting its own post too.

in conclusion:

[affo-gatto-gateau]

I had a random idea for an npmd circus au but I don't really have a plot or story so I figured I might just share it here?

so

Nerdy Prudes Must Die Circus AU?

The nerds are all part of a circus, though no one at school actually knows who they are. The vague idea would be people at school (specifically Max, Grace, and especially Steph) finding out their identities.

Ruth: Walks both tightrope and slackrope, and is being mentored in contortion

Pete: Does aerial stuff, silks primarily but also hoops and trapeze. Sometimes partners with Richie. Mostly so he can throw him.

Richie: Primarily does magic tricks, but also tumbling.

Ted: Contortionist and acrobat.

Paul: Primarily is an animal trainer.

Random ideas:

Ruth's headgear is hidden in her costume by a swirling metal cage of wires as a headdress. She still has a bit of performance anxiety, but it's generally mitigated by the fact that she's so far up from the crowd that no one could see or recognise her.

Ted is afraid of heights. Pete and Ruth tease him about it a lot.

Ted is also the one to mentor Ruth in contortion. He teaches her to use her powers for evil. Checking changing rooms is a necessity, because if you leave even the smallest space unchecked one of them will unfold from it and laugh at you.

Paul is the accountant for the circus. He takes breaks from numbers and goes and chills with the animals. He is also a clown. Not that anything changes about him, he just wanders around and slapstick happens to him. People laugh because he's the only normal guy in a world of madness. So basically as he is in canon.

Richie's sleight of hand is impeccable and he will use it to pickpocket literally anything he can grab. If something goes missing, he is the first person people go to.

The nerds play hide and seek and are absolute menaces at it.

Pete is wayyy stronger than he looks (yes, Steph is very impressed). He can pick up and throw both Richie and Ruth, and often does. This is also how they climb him so easily. They will both hang off him and he just has to drag them around like the dead weights they are

Speaking of climbing, yeah, they can all climb basically anything. Is it a surface? Is it vertical? Yeah they can get up it.

All of them can juggle really well. Somehow Paul's the best.

[amazingmsme]

one time steph made the amazingly stupid decision to let the nerds get high with her

ruth thought she was dying at first, and then proclaimed that she was in love with everyone in the room

richie was talking so fast it was probably barely english (also idk where to add this but richie is a lot more ticklish when high, and fights back a lot less ALSO HOW FUNNY WOULD IT BE IF STEPH WAS THE ONE WHO FIGURED IT OUT)

pete wasnt too bad, just giggly and adorable and steph loves it

Impeccable timing, your majesty! This was sent the other night while I was smoking, typed up most of it & then tumblr did a fucky wucky & my hard work went bye bye. But I’m in my hammock, smokin’ a j while I write this, so we vibin’

But Peter is the most normal because he’s always wound up so tight & anxious, so when he’s high he can take the rare chance to chill without overthinking his own reactions. I like to think Peter’s smoked with Ted before. His first time was either middle school or freshman year when he caught Ted smoking & threatened to snitch unless he let him try it. I’m telling y’all, he ain’t as innocent as he looks! He’s learned from the worst best!

Ruth on the other hand is a paranoid high, she thinks every bad thing in the world is gonna happen because she did a drug & this is exactly what they warn you about in school oh wait she’s fine. She’s never felt so relaxed & giggly

Richie gets so hyper & chatty, he literally talks a mile a minute & the rest of them are so lost & Steph has to ask him to slow down, they’re not on his level. & I can say that being high definitely makes you more sensitive, & it would take Richie by surprise because wtf he can be more ticklish? That should be illegal! But they’re all so chill & giggly & they decide to have a stoned tickle fight & it’s honestly the most fun they’ve had in AGES

[amethystunarmed]

I Need a Shovel to Love Him

Word Count: 4,226 A03 Link Richie calls Peter after the events of the opening night of Workin' Girls.

~~~

Holy fucking shit.

Peter is about to lose his virginity to Stephanie Lauter. 

They are on the couch in Peter's brother's apartment. Ted is gone for the evening, went to Ruth’s musical at the Starlight, but he had thrown a condom at Peter with a wink before he left. Peter was equal parts mortified and grateful.

By pure luck, Peter and Steph had managed to avoid getting tickets the same night Ted was going, giving them an opportunity to finally go all the way. They are making out on the couch, Steph straddling him while he gazes up at her in awe. Neither of them are wearing their shirts (Peter has come a long way from the first time he saw Steph in her bra and got so flustered he had to stop. He's just lucky she thought it was both hilarious and adorable). Her skin is hot against his, and when she trails her fingers down his spine, it gives him chills. Steph has finally taken pity on Peter, and moved to take her bra off herself, when the phone rings.

Pete sits up to grab it and Steph groans, flopping forward so her head rests on his chest. 

"Are you serious Spankoffski? You're answering your fucking phone right now?"

"I figure if it's my brother telling us he's on his way back because he finally realized the show isn't about sex workers, we'd want to know."

"... You get a pass just this once." She slides off his lap and Peter immediately misses her weight.

Peter fumbles for his phone and is surprised by the name that pops up.

The Power of God and Anime. Richie. 

Peter frowns down at his phone. Richie would rather die than make a phone call. For all Ruth loved talking to telemarketers, Richie about broke out in hives every time he had to make a call. (Between his phobia and Ruth's penchant for making the delivery boy uncomfortable, Peter had been making calls to Pizza Hut for them for years.) Richie wouldn't call. Not unless...

Peter hits the button and brings the phone to his ear, even as Stephanie groans behind him. He slides his legs off the couch and stands as he talks.

"Hey Richie, what's up? Aren't you at the show?"

Sobbing. Richie is sobbing. Peter's stomach sinks. "Richie? Richie, what's happening?"

"Pete?" Steph asks, suddenly concerned. Peter holds a finger up to her.

Richie hiccups. His voice is shaky, so much that Pete can barely understand him. 

"He- he- He went crazy, he killed them-" 

Peter feels like he's had ice water dumped over him.

"Who? Who killed who, Richie?" Peter gets up and grabs his shirt from where he'd thrown it earlier.

"Everyone, he- he-"

"Where are you?"

"The Theater."

Oh thank God.

"Richie, my brother is there, go find Ted, okay?" Ted was a fucking asshole but he would (probably) look out for Ruth and Richie, if only so Pete didn't tear him a new one. "He'll get you and Ruth out of there okay?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Richie says, sniffling, voice hitching. "Ruth and Ted are dead, Peter."

Peter drops his phone. 

He doesn't remember what happens next. He blinks and they're in the back of Mayor Lauter’s limo. Steph is holding Peter's now cracked phone to her ear. Miss Tessburger is prattling on about something but Pete can't understand her. Her words sound like a broken garbage disposal, continually revving but never getting any clearer.

He blinks again and Steph is kneeling in front of him. She sways as they take a sharp turn. She should be wearing a seatbelt, he thinks, inanely.

"Pete, you're scaring me."

Peter doesn't know why. He hasn't even done anything. 

He blinks and they're at the theater. Steph's hand is firm in his, the only thing that keeps him from drifting away. He trails behind her, letting her guide him to the sirens and the flashing lights. Until he sees-

Richie.

Peter loses time again. Suddenly he is sprinting, and Richie is too and Peter slams into him and they fall to the ground and Peter has his fingernails clawed tightly into Richie's vest so nothing can pry Richie away from him and-

He is sitting in the back of the ambulance. A scratchy orange blanket is wrapped around his shoulders. Richie is next to him. He has Peter's hand in a death grip, squeezing so tight Peter is beginning to lose feeling in his fingers.

An EMT is shining a light in his penlight in Peter’s eyes. It fucking hurts. Peter blinks aggressively at him.

“His pupils dilate, I don’t see any sign of concussion. As far as I can tell, Peter here is just suffering from a pretty extreme shock.”

He gives Peter a pitying little smile. Peter wants to knock his teeth out.

“But he’s not responding.” Stephanie is standing off the shoulder of the EMT. She has her arms crossed over her chest, her chin cocked out. It’s the same stance she’d had when she’d stood down Max Jagerman after they first started dating. It means she’s scared. “You can see it, he did it in the car too. Why the fuck can’t he hear us?”

The EMT hesitates a moment, then speaks slowly, like an adult on Sesame Street.

“Sometimes, when someone goes through something terrible, their brain will... take them away for a little. It’s a defense mechanism.”

Peter has already heard enough of this. 

“You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here.”

“Oh, thank god.” The tension melts out of Steph as she throws herself at Peter’s free side. Her arms wrap around his shoulder and she tucks her head into his neck, like she is trying to get as close to him as possible. “You’re okay. Jesus Pete, never scare me like that again.”

"Pete?" Steph and Peter pull away from each other to look at a Black man in a checkered shirt. He nervously fiddles with a button on the cuff of his sleeve. Peter hadn’t initially noticed him, but he’s pretty sure the man had been standing there for a while. He seemed vaguely familiar, but Peter couldn’t place him. "You're Peter Spankoffski, right?"

Steph pushes over the ambulance, and stands in between him and Peter and Richie. "Listen, if you want a statement, go talk to some other smarmy asshole looking to get famous off this. Try Linda Monroe, she has an affinity for vultures." She is so fucking cool, so brave. Peter thinks he may be in love with her.

Oh my god he's in love with her.

He's in love with Stephanie Lauter.

He wants to tell Ruth, even though she'll ask a million uncomfortable questions. 

He wants to tell Ted, even though he'd give some awful advice about not being tied down.

Peter squeezes Richie’s hand.

"No, no," the man says. "I'm one of Ted's co-workers? Bill. Do you remember me?” The name slots into place. Peter remembers him in the backgrounds of office party pictures Ted had shown him and from when Ted brought Peter to a “Bring Your Kid to Work Day” even before he moved in with Ted full time. He has a recollection of Bill smiling at him from where he had hidden behind Ted, telling him, Richie, and Alice Woodward to all play nice together. Peter gives him a faint nod, which puts Bill somewhat at ease.

“Look at you, all grown up. So tall!” He is studying Peter with a sad sort of softness, cataloging all the changes from that little kid he’d met years ago. Peter wants to find the nearest bridge he can jump off of to avoid this conversation. “I wouldn’t have recognized you if Ted hadn’t had a picture on his desk." 

Peter wonders if he spontaneously developed a latex allergy, it feels like his throat is swelling shut. “He... He has a picture of me on his desk?” 

"Yes, he does.” Peter waits for him to elaborate, but Bill just offers him an awkward little half smile. Which, what the fuck? Did he just come over to here to remind Peter he was going to have to go to his brother’s fucking office and clean out his desk?

“Bill, I don’t want to be rude, but... why are you here?”

“Oh.” Bill furrows his brow at that, like he isn’t actually sure. “We came here together. Ted and I."

Peter squints at him. "Like a date?" He knew Ted had been sleeping around the office (knew too much about it, because his brother was kind of a slut), but he'd been pretty sure he'd been hung up on someone named Charlotte.

"No!" Bill denies, "He- I had an extra ticket, and I- he was the only one who wanted to come." Bill suddenly looked nauseous. "H- he was the only one who wanted to come tonight, and to spend time with me, and the whole night I just-"

"So you're the reason my brother is dead." The whole group snaps their heads to stare at him, even the EMT. He doesn’t know why they all look so surprised. It seems like a pretty logical deduction to make.

Steph wraps her arm around Peter’s shoulder, but she stays standing. He feels small tucked against her side. It feels nice.

Richie gives his hand a squeeze and runs his finger along the side of Peter’s hand. It feels nice too.

Bill sucks in a breath, like somebody stabbed him. Which is fucking hilarious, given the circumstances. He looks at Peter like Peter did something to hurt him. It does not feel nice.

“What? Don’t have anything to say about it? You just said it, you were the reason he was here.” The EMT winces, and Peter glares at him. He wisely decides to fuck off to the front of the ambulance.

“Peter, that’s not- I’m didn’t-” Bill fumbles over himself. Peter isn’t sure what he fucking expected.

“I think you should go.”

“Right, right, but I just wanted to say, if you need anything, you can-” He fumbles with his back pocket and pulls out a wallet, nearly dropping it on the ground. Ted always says that Bill never knows when to drop a subject, and so far, Peter isn’t seeing anything to disapprove this fact. 

“Here,” Bill says, as he holds a white card out to Peter. “My number’s on there, you can give me a call-"

And Peter just wants him to shut the fuck up.

"I said fucking GO!"

Bill jumps and drops his business card. Peter feels bad, but he's too fucking tired to apologize. He slumps against Steph's shoulder. Her breathing feels like a gravitational pull, and he doesn't think he could escape it if he tried.

Bill scurries off, and Peter is grateful. “Fuck,” he groans, hiding his face in the crown of Stephanie’s head. She smells like sweat and that fruity shampoo her dad won’t stop buying for her. “Ted was right, he’s a fucking busybody.” It tears through his chest, even saying his brother’s name. He thinks the only thing that could hurt worse would have been not saying it.

It grows quiet. At least, as quiet as the site of a disaster can be. If he listens carefully, he can hear Chief Sweetly crying about one of the actors or Officer Bailey debating with Grace Chasity over who gets to keep his gun. (He's pretty sure Grace is winning.) The noises of the parking lot combine into a low background, police interrogations and muffled sobbing weaving into a dull drone. The police have turned their sirens off, but the lights still flicker red and blue and white. Peter closes his eyes, and the solid colors flicker across the black of his eyelids. The repetition is soothing, smoothing over the anxious hum that has been blaring a klaxon in the back of his brain. Between the warm pillar of Steph in front of him and Richie’s solid weight across his back, Peter finds his eyes drifting shut.

Richie’s shoulders hitching, however, gets him wide awake in an instant. Peter sits up, away from Steph, and pulls Richie closer to him, so he is angled toward Peter. Silent tears flood Richie’s cheeks. His mouth is screwed up in a crooked line.

“What happened?” Peter asks, frantically looking Richie over. He seemed fine when they arrived, but Peter had just been happy he was breathing, he could have missed something important-

"It's my fault Ruth is dead," Richie weeps.

"What?"

"I killed her, Peter. I killed Ruth." Tears stream down Richie's cheeks.

"I thought you said-"

"I told her to audition! She wasn't going too, she said she wouldn't get in. I'm the one... I'm the reason."

Oh fuck.

"Richie..."

Richie just sobs and latches onto his shoulder. Peter can feel time slipping again and he digs his nails into his palm to stay present.

"Richie, it's not your fault."

"I'm the reason she was here."

The sick feeling in Peter's gut twists deeper. That isn't what he... Fuck. What does he say? What does he say?

Steph sees his hesitation and gets a wild look in her eyes. Her hand flutters to the back of Peter’s neck. Her fingernails graze the skin in a repetitive line, like she is trying to beckon him back. He wonders if she thinks he lost time again. If so, she doesn’t say. She focuses all her attention on Richie. "It's not your fault, okay? You blame the murderer, you blame the theater for hiring this whackjob, you blame God for all I care, but you don't blame yourself for that shit, okay? That's how you drive yourself crazy, and Ruth wouldn't want that, you torturing yourself for believing in her. Okay?" She reaches across Peter and takes Richie's free hand. "Promise me."

"Promise you?"

"You won't blame yourself. Promise me."

"I'll... I'll try.”Steph opens her mouth, most likely to argue, but she is interrupted. From the side of the ambulance, the EMT clears his throat, far too loudly, and rounds the corner.

Steph glares at him, but only says, "We'll work on it.” Richie nods, and  Peter is positive he is counting on her forgetting about it. 

With the EMT back, their closeness starts to itch. Peter can feel him searching them, trying to figure out just what they mean to each other. Peter is pretty sure a vivisection would feel less intrusive.

The three of them untangle from one other. Steph habitually tucks her hair behind her ears, straightening to perfect posture. Even at the scene of a disaster, she maintains her image. Not that Peter blames her. He is sure Dan and Donna will have all sorts of footage from tonight all over the news tomorrow. As a local celebrity, Stephanie will probably get a featured segment. The thought makes him feel nauseous. "Everything seems to be in order!" The EMT says brightly. "I don't think you two need to go to the hospital. Do you three have someone who can take you home?"

"My uncle is coming to get me," Peter lets him know. He looks toward Stephanie and Peter. “He can probably get the two of you too!”

Stephanie's frown deepens. It has been such a common expression for her tonight, Peter feels bad. He has etched so much grief into her face. "But Peter-"

"I'm fine, Steph."

"No you're fucking not. You keep fucking... Leaving."

"I've been here the whole time."

"But you haven't. The lights are on but nobody is home. It's... It's fucking terrifying, Pete."

Oh.

Pete turns to Richie, who nods. His palm is slick with sweat against Peter's. He looks freaked out, even considering everything that has happened tonight, which Peter again feels bad about. He is letting everyone down today. Still... There is one person he can't fail. He can't.

Peter looks up at the EMT.

“Where is my brother?” 

Richie swallows nervously. Peter feels his Adam's apple bob against his shoulder. "Pete...” He says slowly, like Peter just asked if he could move to Clivesdale. “He's d-"

"I fucking got that." He doesn't need a reminder. "Where... Where did they take him. After."

The EMT presses his lips together. “You should let your parents handle that, sweetie-”

“Then it’ll never get done. Where is he?”

“Everyone who was... who had passed before we arrived was taken to the hospital morgue.” 

“Huh.” Images of Ted, pale and expressionless on a silver slab flash through his head. So many nurses were going to see Ted naked. He would have been ecstatic. 

Then Peter is laughing. He is laughing so hard he can’t breathe. Stephanie and Richie are saying something, and they sound almost frantic and someone is shaking his shoulder but it’s so fucking funny Peter can’t stop. Tears stream down his cheeks as he cackles. And at some point his laughs have turned to sobs. They shake his whole body, and he thinks he might be screaming. He falls into Richie, and Richie is sobbing too. He wraps his arms around Peter, and hugs him tight to his chest. Peter can feel wet spots on Richie’s shirt where he is soaking him with tears and snot, but Richie only holds him tighter.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Pete,” he murmurs over and over into Peter’s hair. A warm weight drapes over Pete’s back, and  Stephanie reaches up to pet through Peter’s hair. 

“Let it out baby, let it out.” Her voice is wet.

Peter isn’t sure how long they sit there, crying. Long enough, that Peter runs out of tears, and he just sniffles through shaky breaths, feeling like a wrung out dish towel.

“What am I going to do?”

“What do you mean?” 

“Where... Where am I going to stay?” His parents were out of the question. Peter wouldn’t go back, even if they wouldn’t just slam the door in his face. Without Ted to pay rent on the apartment... “I’m homeless. Fuck.”

“You can stay with me!” Stephanie assures him. 

“Your dad is going to be okay with that?” 

“Are you kidding? He’ll love it. Taking you in right before the election? He’ll look like a hero.” She scoffs. “He’ll probably claim it was his idea.”

A car pulls into the parking lot, a beat up red Toyota probably older than Peter is himself. The bumper is more rust than metal. At the wheel is the mean barista from Beanie's. She is wearing an expression that Peter has never seen on her before, blatant concern weighing her face. Out of the car, comes Richie’s uncle Paul. He is still in his suit, like he was relaxing at home in a starched shirt and tie. Considering everything he knows about Paul, that probably was the case.

“Richie!” He yells, louder than Peter imagined he could be, “Richie!” His head frantically turns back and forth as he scans the crowds.

“Over here!” Richie yells, standing and waving his and Peter’s conjoined hands. He has backed up, so the lines of their legs are still pressed together.

Paul’s entire body decompresses when he sees Richie, like he is sighing with his entire body. He staggers against the hood of the car, briefly studying himself with his hands, before pushing past it. He cuts the corner too fast, slams his thigh into the headlight, but he doesn't even seem to notice the impact. He speedwalks over to the back of the ambulance, running up to his nephew to take Richie's face into his hands. “Richie,” he gasps, like holding him is the first breath of oxygen he has gotten all night. Something about it makes Peter's already sore eyes sting, and he has to swallow a lump in his throat.

Richie looks up at Paul with a brittle smile. “Hi Uncle Paul. Thank you for coming.” He says it like Paul has picked him up early from a sleepover. Paul doesn't even answer. He just opens his mouth and then closes it, once, twice, then a third time. Then he pulls Richie forward, unflinchingly, into his chest. His shoulders shake.

“Jeez, Uncle Paul!” Richie shrieks, “You're crushing me.” He doesn't fight the hold though, merely wraps his free arm around Paul and squeezes. The hand still holding Peter’s trembles.

The mean barista jogs up to them, finally catching up from where Paul had run off without her. Peter remembers Richie mentioning she and Paul were dating, but Peter hadn't realized they were “Drive me to get my nephew from the scene of a mass murder” serious. Good for Paul.

"Hey kid. How are you holding up?"

Richie sniffs. "Sorry, Emma. I know you were excited to have dinner with Tom and Tim."

"Kid, you don't have to apologize for... For any of it. I'm just glad you're okay." She places her hand on Paul's shoulder. “Babe, you're going to suffocate him.”

“Right, right,” Paul says, distantly. He lets Richie lean away, hands slowly falling, like he is ready to reach out and grab him again at any moment. He glances over, paling at the sight of Peter and Stephanie. He clears his throat as he processes their presence. “Hello Peter. Stephanie.” He says Stephanie's name slowly, like midway through saying it, he realized he wasn’t actually sure he was right. 

She graciously doesn't mention it. “Hey, Mr. Matthews.” Paul frowns, like he always has the few times she's joined them for a study session, but for once doesn't argue. Instead, he turns to Peter.

“Richie mentioned that Ted... Is... Is he, um-”

Peter doesn't have the patience for this. “Ted's dead, yeah.”

Paul gets that same stricken look Bill had, and maybe Peter should be nicer, but to be honest, he just wants people to stop looking at him. Even the fucking barista, who Peter is 99% sure has spit in his hot chocolate, is looking at him like he's a walking tragedy and Peter can hardly stand the writhing weight of their pity.

“Okay... Okay, okay,” Paul repeats, slowly, taking a deep breath. "I'm... I'm sorry for your loss. Ted and I weren't close but... I know he really, really loved you."

It's so impersonal, so distant. It’s a stranger’s eulogy.

It's exactly what Peter expects from Paul. Their mismatched relationship used to be something Peter, Ruth, and Richie laughed at Ted recalling his "best friend Paul" while Paul clearly only tolerated Ted, at best. Ruth had once called it a "tragic, one-sided bromance" and Peter had laughed so hard, milk shot out his nose. But Ruth isn't here. And Ted isn't here. And Paul doesn't like Peter's brother. And Peter can't help but say it.

"Ted called you his best friend." From the way Paul's eyes widen, this is news to him.

"Oh. I... I didn't know he, um, felt that way. I kind of thought he didn't like me."

"Being mean is how Ted shows affection. He learned it from our parents."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Pete," Steph exhales, like the words pain her. She nuzzles closer to his shoulder.

"Speaking of parents,” Paul says, in that frantic way he does when he is trying to change the subject, “are they coming to pick you up?"

"Fuck, I hope not." Peter says, before he can stop himself. He groans. Fuck his filter tonight, apparently he’ll just say anything. Stephanie, Paul, and Emma are looking at him with barely masked concern.

“Peter can stay over, right?” Richie asks, nervously. He still hasn't let go of Peter. Peter can't imagine asking him too.

“Of course,” Paul says and nods toward Peter. Then he looks at Stephanie. “Are you... Are you coming as well?”

“I...” Steph looks between them. “I’m not-” It is the most at-a-loss Pete has ever seen her. “I wouldn’t want to... You guys were... Ruth and I, we weren’t... We only hung out a few times, and... I shouldn’t.” It’s Richie who reaches out and grabs her hand.

“Please, come with us. For Pete, and... for me?” Somehow, tears begin to drip down Richie’s face. (Peter is distantly impressed. He thinks that if he cried anymore, he would crumble into dust.) “You’re our friend, Steph. You are Ruth’s friend too.” He chuckles, and chokes on it. “She was so excited to have a friend who was a girl, you had no idea.”

Steph sniffles a bit. “She was my first girl friend too. At least, the first one who was actually nice to me.”

“Steph...” Paul says. Peter didn’t realize it at first, but his eyes are red. “Even if you think you weren’t as close-” Paul’s voice cracks, “-as you should have been, you get to be sad too, okay?”

“Paul...” Emma says, a twinge of genuine grief in her tone, but Peter can’t bring himself to care about whatever the fuck they are talking about, because Steph is looking between him and Richie like she is waiting for them to say something. Words are fucking impossible but to be honest, Peter doesn’t want to talk anyways. He holds his arms out and Stephanie falls into them. And Peter was wrong, because as Steph silently cries into his shoulder and Richie worms his ways into the hug, shoulders heaving, Peter finds he has more tears left to shed after all.

[6leggedhorse]

Offering choices for Loki

We’ve all at some point or another given a deity an offering. Whether it was our first time or it was the 100th time doing so, either way we’ve done it before. But what do you offer the God of mischief, chaos and fire when he comes into your life? Well today we’re gonna figure it out so grab a cup of your favorite drink, get comfy and let’s figure this out.

Is Loki Picky?

Now when we all begin to work with a deity one of the things we look for is what that specific deity likes in terms of offerings. Some are rather picky and specific while others aren’t picky and are just happy to receive an offering. Rest assured that Loki isn’t picky, they’re pretty chill when it comes down to offerings.

So What CanI Give Loki?

For example, while I was in Primm, NV on my way back from Las Vegas, I got him a slot machine that is also a pencil sharpener. While on my way to Las Vegas as my boyfriend and I were in Barstow, CA I got Loki a California themed shot glass. I’ve also given him candy, (currently he has a Butterfinger, Naby Ruth, and 100 Grand) he also has crystals, some tiny sea shells I found at San Pedro, a shark tooth and I even made him a pipe cleaner flower. I also utilize my current job working with kids as an offering as well as Loki loves being around children, especially those who’re going through tough times. But if you really want to be specific with him, here are a few ideas on what to give him offering wise:

-🍺 Alcohol: beer, whiskey, the hard stuff if you will Loki has been known to enjoy alcoholic beverages. A great example would be to get those tiny shot bottles of Fire Ball or Jack Daniel’s and give them to him as an offering. You can even pour him a shot!

-🍭 Sweets: Candy, cake, donuts, chocolate, ice cream etc Loki LOVES sweet treats just as much as we do! A good example would be to give him some candy or set aside a desert plate of cake during a celebration and involving him in that sense is a pretty chill and easy way to give him an offering. HOWEVER do not let the food sit there for too long either as this may attract insects and food does good bad eventually so remember to throw it out or go outside and place the offering (AS LONG AS it doesn’t harm the local wildlife and is organic and biodegradable). If you can’t leave food out at all that’s un wrapped or just out in the open, offer Loki to enjoy the food or drink offering by enjoying it through you. Or if you have wrapped candy that has kinda sat there for a but on your altar, you can eat those too (I usually wait till Loki’s done with it, I feel it out and get the feeling of when they tell me “Okay I’m good and done with it you can have it now =D.”

-📿 Trinkets:Loki loves themselves a good trinket! Whether it’s a crystal, fossil or a lego figure he loves his trinkets! Bonus points if you get him something that is meaningful to him like buying him a snake toy or a wolf figurine.

-👩🏻‍💼 Works of Service: it makes Loki incredibly happy to see that his followers work with children, mentally ill folks, volunteer work (Ex. Soup kitchens, donations, animal shelters, non-profit organizations, social work etc). And as a social work major as well as now an intern at DPSS, it helps having more options for offerings to him and bonus bonus points for also selecting a career that involves working with children and families that are struggling to function or when someone is in trouble and need help. (Low key I’m a turbo nerd for Social Work, I was so excited at orientation on Thursday!)

-👃🏼Incense: Only do this if you’re able to, but Loki loves incense! Dragon’s blood, cinnamon, and wine/whiskey work best as they’re perfect for the androgynous trait for Loki; let’s not forget he’s a shapeshifter too. So when considering a scent to offer him, try to stay androgynous and try not to stick to one side of the gender spectrum.

Epilogue

Sorry for the late post guys, this week has yet again kicked my ass really hard. These next 9 months are going to be grueling as I will have school, internship, work and family boyfriend to juggle. Everyday I will be doing something unless told otherwise. I start school soon, which I’m excited for as I enjoy my school and they have plenty to do to keep me busy I’ll still have time to post! Just gotta find a block of time to yeet it in though. Anyways what do you offer to Loki? Any ideas would be helpful to those who are new or just want to keep things fresh! Please repost, like and comment to spread this around!

Interested in communicating with other followers of Loki? Join the sub Reddit r/lokean this subreddit also as plenty of resources to help you start your journey with Loki as well as communicating with other Lokeans!

Click the link if you’re interested! https://www.reddit.com/r/lokean/s/N09D5wOaOI

If the link doesn’t work, search up r/lokean in Reddit. Its profile picture is of Fenrir!

References

[elisysd]

Dandelions - Ruth B

Masterlist - Previously - Next Chapter

tw: mention of depression, suicid*l thoughts

And I've heard of a love that comes once in a lifetime And I'm pretty sure that you are that love of mine

Charles woke up with a tremendous headache the next morning. He fumbled for a familiar presence but found only an empty bed. He struggled to sit up and opening his eyes was agony. On his bedside table were some aspirin and a glass of fruit juice, which he drank in one gulp. He could hear noises coming from the living room and tried to get up to see what Lyanna was up to. The room was swaying dangerously and he had to try twice before he reached the door. The light dazzled him and he wondered what time it could be.

Lyanna was busy getting her things together and packing her bags. The next day she was off to New York for a photoshoot and an interview with a major magazine that she had been putting off for several months. Part of her couldn't help but laugh when she saw Charles stumble into the room. She felt sorry for him and went over to him to help him onto the sofa.

“Tough morning?” she sarcastically asked.

“Don’t laugh. I feel like my head is about to explode. I’m not drinking ever again.”

“That’s what they all say. So this is true then, once 25 years old is over your body can’t handle alcohol anymore.”

“I handle alcohol very well.”

“Sure, seems like it.”

“Laugh all you want; I'll remind you of this when you're 25.”

“Still two years to enjoy then!”

She continued to walk back and forth across the apartment, while Charles watched her, trying as best he could to recover. Once she was done, she sat beside him as he let his head rest on her shoulder.

“What do you want to do today? Since it’s my last day, I was thinking we could do something just the two of us.”

“I’m in no state to go out so maybe we can do something chill?”

“Like what? Netflix? You promised me we would watch Drive to Survive together if I remember, months ago.”

“If I promised you then, I shall keep it.”

Halfway through the last season, Charles fell asleep while Lyanna was deeply into the show. She was amazed by how Netflix managed to make it overly dramatic when it was not that deep. Still, she thought that Charles looked good on camera. As if it were made for him. A shame he was such a bad actor, Hollywood would love him.

Charles's head was now resting on the young woman's lap. Lyanna ran her hand tenderly through his hair, finding him very cute like that. Her heart ached at the thought of having to leave the next day and abandon him, even if only for a few days. She would meet him again in Austin but she knew that they would only have a short time for each other. Charles had a Grand Prix to win and apart from being there for emotional support, there was little more she could do.

She was more apprehensive about Austin than she cared to admit. Deep down, she knew there would be a before and an after. This was their first official public outing as a couple and she knew the media would have a field day. She just hoped that it wouldn't be the only topic of conversation in the media and that Charles would be able to dodge questions about their relationship.

She was happy in Monaco, away from it all and with Charles. A protective little bubble just for them, far from her daily routine and her obligations. She still had a bit of trouble with the city, but she was getting used to it. She thought back to what Kika had said to her a few weeks earlier and she finally understood what she meant. It wasn't that she was getting used to Monaco or that she was beginning to like the city, it was the presence of Charles at her side that made everything better. She knew that no matter where she was, if he was near her, everything would be fine. Then reality hit her as hard as a speeding truck. She was falling in love or maybe she already was, she didn't know. She couldn't work out when it had happened, it was just there.  She had no real idea what love was or what she was supposed to feel. But this feeling of well-being, this urge to stupidly smile every time Charles broke into her thoughts, which happened far too often than she cared to admit, this desire to be close to him all the time, she knew it went far beyond simple infatuation. 

The air suddenly ran out of her. She tried awkwardly to get up from the sofa without waking Charles, but failed miserably.

“Lya? What’s wrong?” he groggily asked.

She didn't seem to be listening to him, too busy analysing what she had just realised. She was in a state of panic, pacing up and down the room in front of Charles, completely lost and wondering if his girlfriend had gone mad.

“Love, are you listening to me?”

He ended up ambushing her in a corner of the room, taking her in his arms and forcing her to look at him. She looked confused and on the verge of tears, which frightened Charles.

“Lyanna, talk to me. Please baby, you are scaring me.”

“Charles… I’m so sorry, I don’t know how or when it happened…”

“What happened love? Tell me, I promise I won’t be mad, I just need you to tell me what’s wrong so I can help you.”

“Charles, I think I’m in love with you!” she blurted out, choking on her words.

Charles's heart skipped a beat. He had imagined this moment in so many ways, but never, ever, had he thought that it would be Lyanna who would say those words first, let alone that she would be in this state when she confessed them. Charles let out a small laugh, which soon turned into a full-blown laugh. A big mistake, because it only made Lyanna panic even more, as she couldn't understand what was so funny about it.

“It’s really not funny, Charles! Stop laughing out me!”

Seeing her distraught expression, Charles stopped immediately. He approached her gently, cupping her face in his hands and resting his forehead against hers.

“You think you are in love with me? My Lyanna, I’ve fallen for you a long time ago but was too stupid pour admit it. I was waiting for the perfect occasion to tell you without scaring you away but you just beat me to it. You never cease to surprise me.”

“You love me?” she asked needed to be sure of Charles’ feelings.

“So much. You have no idea to the extent.”

“Okay. It’s good.”

He giggled while capturing her lips with his.

“It’s good indeed.”

“It’s a scary feeling for me.”

“I know. For me as well, but we will work it out and everything will be fine, I promise.”

“I’m in love.” She repeated again, seeming to fully comprehend how deep her feelings ran for him.

A long smile stretched across her lips and her body relaxed as Charles traced small circles down her back. The young woman stood on her tiptoes and placed her lips gently against Charles'. This kiss conveyed much more than her feelings for him, it was a promise. A promise that she wouldn't run away and that even if admitting she loved him made her feel vulnerable in a way she hated, she wouldn't back down.

“Don’t break my heart, okay?” she told him, pulling away and resting her cheek against his chest where she could feel his heart beating loud.  

“Don’t break mine either.” He responded, kissing the top of her head, and pressing her against him a little closer as if he wanted their bodies to become one.

They spent the rest of the day in the comfort of each other's arms whispering sweet I love you’s between kisses. For both Lyanna and Charles the day after would be hard to let go of each other.

And indeed it was. Lyanna never cried that much when it came to say goodbye and Charles had a hard time letting her go through the security’s doors. It was especially harder considering that her flight was long and they would not be able to talk to each other as much as they wanted.

Charles spent the day, brooding alone in the apartment where everything started to remind him of Lyanna. How cute she looked, cutting vegetables in his kitchen, how perfect she was in his bed when she was wearing nothing but one of his shirt, how ethereal she looked on his balcony during golden hour. He was so whipped, he knew that. He probably looked stupid behaving like a lost puppy, but he did not care. She loved him. She said the three little words. Her. To him. Not the other way around. And the thought of it made him feel like his feet were no longer glued to the ground.

On the other side of the Atlantic, after a long flight and a few hours' rest, it was time for Lyanna to get ready for her shoot and the interview that would follow. So it was with eyes ringed by lack of sleep and red from crying during the 10-hour flight that she greeted the hairdresser, make-up artist and stylist. Several hours later, she was barely recognisable.

The photo session went off without a hitch, Lyanna being used to it. When she had finished, she was ushered into a small room away from the hall where the photos had been taken, where a journalist was waiting for her, coffee in hand.

“Miss Michel, I’m Elena Doherty, it’s me who is going to conduct the interview today.”

“Pleasure, to meet you.”

Elena motioned for her to take a seat in one of the armchairs as an assistant came to bring her a cup of tea.

“You don’t mind it being recorder, right? So I’m sure the transcription of your words will be correct.”

Lyanna told her that everything was fine with her and Elena finished putting everything in place before settling down to face her.

"So, Lyanna. First of all, I'd like to thank you for your time and for agreeing to this interview. I know your words have been few and far between in recent years. It’s going to be an intimate interview. Imagine that as a journey inside the mind of a talented actress that some dare to call a once in a lifetime kind of prodigy.” Started the journalist.

“I don’t know if that would be accurate. It’s probably a bit too much.”

“But that’s what people said when it came to your performance in the last Steven Spielberg’s movie that owned you an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.”

“To be honest, I don’t really read what the press says about me. I care about art and work well done, not reviews.”

“But surely you must be flattered to hear such things about you.”

“Well, of course. It’s always a pleasure to see people enjoying your work, especially when there are so many people involved in a project. I’m a team player, I’m never going to take all the credit for a movie. I’m proud of my work for this one, but what makes me even prouder is the effort the whole team put in it. A movie cannot be great if the team is not at 100% no matter how good the actors are.”

“That’s for sure. You were recently involved in Flowers and Crowns, a romcom that you shot in Monaco. Care to tell us a bit more about what made you jumped in the project? It was a bit bold, especially since everyone was expecting to see you aim for bigger and Oscar worthy type of movies.”

“I’ve always been someone who follows my guts. There is nothing interesting to say about it. I loved the script, I’ve never done a romcom before and I think after all the pressure from the Oscars, I needed to do something light where I could have fun.”

“And did you? Have fun, I mean.”

“I did yes. I think people will enjoy the movie. In terms of vibes it’s a mix between a Bridget Jones’ type of humour and Notting Hill with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. I can’t wait for it to be released.”

“Can you tell us a bit more about your character or is it still something you cannot say?”

“Well, I guess that I can tell you that from all the amazing characters I had the chance to portray, she is definitely the one who is least like me. I can't say any more at the risk of being told off by production.” She added while laughing.

“Shooting in Monaco must have been a dream though, it’s a dreamy location for a movie. Did you feel like you were working or was it more like holidays’ vibes? What was it like?”

“Well it was very different from what I’m used to, very sunny and hot if you compared it to London where I live. But of course, it’s beautiful. We had the chance to shoot in various places, not only in studios. And it was amazing for me to be able to speak French for once.”

“I can’t beat around the bush any longer Lyanna, you must know it, but there were some rumours about you and F1 driver Charles Leclerc while you were shooting the movie. I won’t ask if it’s true because I know that you are not one to talk about private matters in the media. I’m going to ask how you handled that?”

Lyanna gulped and looked at the window. When her agent asked her if she would like to the interview, her first question was to ask for the most trustworthy journalist to conduct it and to not ask personal questions.

“It was hard. I don’t have the greatest relationship with the medias, it’s not new, you know that. So seeing my private life once again being displayed and speculated for entertainment purposes was not a good feeling. It brought back a lot of bad memories.”

“For our readers that might not know what we are talking about, do you feel like explaining?”

“A few years ago, I was a victim of what we call revenge porn. I was in a relationship that did not end well and the person I was with at the time decided to leak intimate pictures and videos of me in the press. The worst thing is that all the videos and pictures had been taken without me knowing about it. And from there onwards, things started to go downhill.

 I started to get harassed by paparazzi to the point that I could no longer leave my flat since they were always outside of my building, waiting for me to come out. I’ve been called names on social media as well as in magazines. You can imagine what kind of things were said. I was dropped by brands and projects that did not want their names to be associated with mine. I lost everything to the point that I had to fly back home to hide.

I was not eating anymore, I was spending my days in bed and I’m sad to admit it, but at some point, I started to wonder why I was still on this planet. What for? And that maybe people would be better off without me since this whole thing had repercussions on my family. My mom was shamed because of me to give an example. Later I was diagnosed with PTSD and depression. And you know, the worst in this story is that I’m the one who was blamed for everything when my ex-boyfriend was able to get away with it unscathed. More than that, he was praised for it, people were saying at the time how lucky he was to have broken up with me considering that I had no shame posing for pictures. I was the victim but everyone put the blame on me. It took months if not almost a year for the truth to be told but it was too late and up until today, I’m still blamed for this story.”

“How did you get through it?”

“With the love and support of the people around me and a lot of therapy sessions. I spend the year following the event working on myself to get back on my feet.”

“And career wise, how did you manage to come back on top?”

“I thought that I would never step on a movie set ever again. I really thought it was over for me. I had to start all over again. No important names from the industry wanted me back, so I started to shoot short movies, unpaid ones sometimes, and I started to work with independent directors on low budget movies. It was an amazing experience despite the circumstances. It really brought back my confidence. I think, somehow, it saved me, and I will be forever grateful for those projects. I thought that it would be my career from now on. And the Steven Spielberg called me and who can say no to Steven Spielberg? The rest is history.”

“I have to ask the question after hearing your story, how are you today, Lyanna?”

“I’m proud and glad to say that I’m happy. Really happy. Probably the happiest I’ve ever been. I have a good support system; I work with the most trustful people and I’m not putting pressure on myself. The projects I choose are ones I truly believe into. I don’t have special career plans; I go with the flow. And I have fun, that what is the most important.”

“I’m glad to hear that. If you could change something in the industry you work in, what would it be? If there was a message you wish to pass on, what would it be?”

“I wish Hollywood would be more supportive of women for starters. And to advocate more when it comes to mental health. So many artists struggle with it and it would be nice for us to feel supported by the industry.”

“Thank you, Lyanna, for your time. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.”

“Thank you, Elena. “

When Lyanna returned to her hotel room, she felt relieved. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and for the first time she was looking forward to reading the article in the press. It couldn't have been late in Monaco, she knew that Charles was due to fly out soon and that he must have been in the middle of packing his bags, so she grabbed her phone to send him a message in which she told him, without going into too much detail, how the interview had gone. She was surprised to see him answering her almost immediately.

I’m so proud of you. I know how painful it must have been to relived that. I can’t wait to read it and to see you. I already miss you like crazy. I love you.

========

author's note: SHE SAID IT. Finally. I so loved writing this chapter. I just love how cute they are. Next chapter, Austin GP... I can't wait. As usual, I'm always happy to hear your thoughts and reactions in the comments, in the ask box or through DM. Take care!

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@zendayabelova @purplephantomwolf @ru-kru @dakotali @blueflorals @aundercover @ruleroftheuniverse @fangirlika @writerscurse @elijahmikaelsonbitch @leclerc13

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[agattthaa]

Sunshine

Paring: Cassiel/Audrey

Word count: 2.976

Rating: T

Summary: Nothing could take Audrey’s peace on that morning, not while her body rested away from the sunlight and her eyes rested on Cassiel.

Tagging: @rc-catalog

Life could be worse.

Mikael had left for work, taking with himself Raphael and David. She had offered to go with them, but Mikael made clear that in that specific case, her presence wouldn't be necessary, they had said something about a clue from an artifact that could be the one they were searching for, so her skill wouldn’t be necessary this time.

They would need Raphael to evaluate the artifact and David to analyze any contract necessary if they did decide to buy it, and of course, Mikael would never pass the opportunity to watch for such a big step in their search with his own eyes. So, it was a fact, her expertise would not be necessary this time. Not that it was a bad thing, after all the turmoil happening in her personal life lately, all she needed really was a day free from all the turmoil that work got her into.

And now, she was relaxing on the steps that took from the manor to the garden, almost completely laid on them and enjoying the shadow she was under and the cool breeze from the early morning. The light summer breeze made her hair fly in every possible direction and the light sun rays that passed the thick tree leaves made the garden baren floor glisten in a beautiful golden shade.

Remus was the only one keeping her company at that moment, both his enormous front paws and his head lay completely peaceful on her lap while she lazily scratched behind his ears, and she smiled lazily thinking that she really used to be scared of him and now the wolf rubbed his head against her lap almost like a small kitten instead of a killing machine way bigger than herself.

A spot on her back that was touching a step of the stairs was already starting to bother her, making the woman consider getting up to grab a pillow in her bedroom to place it on her back, but reconsidering when she remembered the long stairs she would have to climb to reach them.

The thick stone walls in the manor were surely beautiful and they did an incredible job at keeping her warm at night, but during a particularly warm summer morning, the last place she wanted to be was inside the manor, especially since the wind was so gentle and cool outside. Her usual home attire, a gray legging with a matching gray long-sleeved crop top, was way too warm at home, but the kind breeze made her almost wish she had brought her favorite cardigan outside with her.

But still, despite the cool wind, the step hurting her back and the weight of her small pony finally sitting on her lap, life could definitely be worse. It was the first time in weeks that she truly felt peace. Not a single questionable assignment from work, not a single shady journalist bothering her, not a single call from Ruth calling her to church or trying to convince her to leave Astrea. Only her cute Remus, the shade of the second-floor balcony, and the cool breeze.

The only worry she wanted to have on this particular day was that the sun was getting hotter and she would have to move a bit up in maybe fifteen or twenty minutes to run away from it. Perhaps she would take that opportunity to make some lemonade, perhaps the kitchen was a bit too far. The sun kept getting hotter and the breeze stayed cool, which made Audrey wonder if there was a lake somewhere in the garden. Maybe she should search for it later. Maybe that would be the explanation for such thick vegetation in the garden.

But what mattered was that nothing could take her peace on that morning.

-You really became a lap dog, didn't you, buddy? Chilling at your mommy’s lap?

Her head immediately turned around to look at that man standing just behind her. His sarcastic smirk was high on his face, an expression that instantly made her roll her eyes and hug Remus closer.

-Is your father being mean to you, my heart? -She pulled the wolf’s face away to look into his eyes, making her voice as sweet as she could. -He is so mean to my baby, is he not?

If either of them minded the implication of both being the parents of the animal, none of them showed. It had never happened before, but now, somehow, Audrey didn’t want it to stop. She could feel Cassiel holding his laugh without even looking at him, and if the wolf was offended by the “meanness” that he received, he didn’t show, simply shaking his head so that Audrey would let go of his face and return to his spot on her lap. That makes Cassiel shake his head lightly, walking down the rest of the steps on the stairs.

That made her able to actually pay attention to him. For the first time since she arrived at Astrea, he wasn’t using his uniform. Instead, he was wearing gray sweatpants and a white tank top, one unnecessarily too tight on his body. One that allowed her to notice every single muscle in his arms, shoulders, and back as he walked away from her. Her gaze was so focused on it that her brain almost didn’t register the long wood pieces that he carried on his arm.

She sat down properly, winning a very annoyed look from the baby on her lap, making her give him a smile and run her fingers on his fur, her eyes turning back to the man standing a couple of steps away from her. He set the wood pieces on the floor, together with a large toolbox she hadn’t noticed before in a spot where the grass was a little more sparse and whistled.

The wolf immediately raised his head, looking from Cassiel to Audrey and from Audrey to Cassiel, as if the animal wanted to go towards the one calling him but he enjoyed his spot and the affection that he was currently getting was too good for him to actually do it. Cassiel whistled again. And then again. Remus kept on looking between the two of them, Cassiel whistled again, clearly getting annoyed at the disobedience of the one who used to obey him only, and Audrey smiled, clearly proud of being able to annoy Cassiel so much without saying a single word.

-Go to your father, baby.

She gave small pats on the wolf’s back, and to the clear discontentment of the standing man, the wolf stranded up, giving a head bump on Audrey’s shoulder, and walked toward his “father”, stopping in his tracks as soon as Cassiel was in front of, making the man roll his eyes and Audrey smile victoriously.

-Did a pretty face make you suddenly forget about the one who has been taking care of you all this time?

-So, you do think that my face is pretty.

-And the skies are blue.

He didn’t look towards her, but they both knew about the cocky smile on her face at that moment, the one that made her eyes shine in a particular way. It was better that he didn’t look. She completely laid down, with that outfit that made his imagination a little too precise, that smile on her lips… It was better not to look at her.

Instead, Cassiel focused on the wolf, taking a measuring tape from his pocket and measuring both the wolf and the wooden planks. Cassiel focused on the wolf and Audrey focused on Cassiel. It was clear he took his day off to make the wolf’s kennel. The kennel she had asked him to do.

She had no idea when was the last time he had a day off, he normally had to go into every single assignment, when not accompanying her, when not protecting her, with any other member of Astrea, if she had one assignment, he had three. And yet, on his day off, on a hot summer morning, he had chosen to do something she asked him for, something silly and that he clearly thought to be unnecessary. And still, he was doing.

Because she asked.

The measurements were long over, but Remus didn’t go back to her. Instead, he walked into the garden, only looking back at her once. Maybe he was thirsty, maybe he was hungry, maybe he knew that she would always be safe when Cassiel was there. Audrey simply let him go, waving her hand when he looked back at her, and turning her attention back to Cassiel.

He still wasn’t looking at her.

He focused completely on hammering and assembling the kennel. He hammered the wooden pieces, and as he did, the sweat made his skin glisten and his shirt cling to his body, making every single muscle in his upper body noticeable to her. He was doing it on purpose, she was sure of it. The choice of the outfit, the way he knew that it would cling to his body, the way he knew she was watching. It was a calculated plan he had created to tempt her, to make her succumb, to make her the one to put an end to this push-and-pull game they had been playing for way too long.

But the two of them could scheme. The two of them could play this game.

She got up, walked inside her bedroom, and took her top off, picked a white tank top and put it on. The devilish smile on her face only grew when she stepped into the kitchen and looked outside by the window. He had stopped working, looking to the place where she had been sitting and to the kitchen door like he had just noticed she wasn’t there anymore. But she knew it was not the case. She had felt his gaze on her as soon as she turned her back on him, she could feel his eyes on her as one could feel a touch. She always knew he was looking at her, especially because she was always looking at him.

She immediately walked towards the cupboard, got a tall glass of water and ice, took a sip from it, and returned to the garden, but this time, not stopping at the stairs. Instead, she walked towards him, painfully so.

He raised one eyebrow and she mimicked that movement, but with that wicked smile on her face. She fully stopped only when she was just standing right in front of him, so impossibly close that if one of them took a single step forward, they would touch.

-I had to go get some water. You were working so hard that I was getting tired just by watching you. -She took another sip of the water, carefully letting a single droplet of water escape her lips and looking directly into his eyes, seeing his gaze follow the water as it fell down her chin, her neck, her cleavage. Her smile only got bigger. -Do you want some?

The man didn't answer, instead, he just took the glass from her hand, gulping down the water as fast as humanly possible. His eyes make it palpable that the outfit change didn't go unnoticed, she thought he would crack.

Instead, he turned back to the kennel.

-Not that this was the thing you were paying attention to, but here it is. I finished it.

Her eyes finally left him, seeing the big wood construction that he had already moved closer to the hedgerow where A big tree kept the construction in the shade. It was big enough for a human being to get inside if he was crawling on the floor.

He had done an incredible job. The kennel looked good enough to have been made by a professional, and she knew that her appreciation was visible, because when she turned her eyes to him, he was looking at her. His gaze softer than it had ever been and she would never admit it, not even to herself, but she had never itched to touch him that much. She wanted him. All for herself. She wanted that smile only for herself. That sickening sweet gaze should only ever be directed to her and to no one else. Thankfully, his voice took her out of the enchantment.

-I got some paints inside, do you want to help me finish it?

She simply nodded, almost as if she was scared of how her voice would sound at that moment, afraid of what she could’ve said at that moment where her heart was full of nothing else besides her affection for him and her body begging her to let go of her useless pride or whatever else kept them apart.

She left the glass in the kitchen island when they passed it and she quietly followed him inside his bedroom.

Just like all the other rooms in the house, his bedroom felt completely unlived on. Not a single personal item besides the framed pictures on his desk and the three cans of paint in the middle of the room. He silently walked towards them, grabbing the two brushes that rested on one of the cans and handing them to her. When she gestured to grab one of them, he quickly got all three, stepping out of the room, and with a roll of eyes and a last look at photographs, she followed him.

He was already with the cans opened when she arrived, sitting on the ground and looking at her, and holding out his hand in her direction. She smiled, knowing exactly what he wanted, and instead of complying with his wish, she simply placed her hand on top of his, winning a raised eyebrow from him.

-The brush, Audrey.

The way he pronounced each syllable of her name was maddening. The way he looked up to her was maddening. His touch against her skin was maddening.

-I didn’t hear a please, Cassiel.

She said his name in a way no one else ever did. Like no one else ever could. He wanted to hear her say it every single day for the rest of his life. He didn’t say please. Instead, he laced their fingers together, rubbing his thumb against her wrist and smiling wickedly when a tint of red rose on her face, getting her to hand him the brush and sitting down beside him.

The two of them worked in silence, both painting the same side of the kennel. Action was incredibly counterproductive, but although none of them would admit it, they didn’t want to be any farther away from each other. All the stolen glances at each other and the brushes of skin when they reached for the paint at the same time made that clear.

It was a boring work, really. One that didn't demand much attention. One that, due to the lack of attention, ended on Audrey putting too much pressure on the brush and on some of the paint ended on Cassiel’s face.

Everything went still for a couple of seconds before her laughter broke the silence and his annoyed eyes turned to her.

He immediately turned his brush towards her, waving in the air and getting droplets of paint all over her, to the utter shock of the woman.

-I can't believe you did that.

-Not so funny now, is it?

-Oh, you are about to see it being fun again.

She reached for her own brush, but he reached for her faster, holding her wrist.

But he only held one.

With her free hand, Audrey dipped a finger on the paint and brushed it against Cassiel’s nose, winning a very displeased look from him. She immediately pulled the can of paint as far away from him as she possibly could, scared that he would try and copy her idea. He immediately tried to get up to reach for it, but either Audrey was way stronger than she thought or he was caught in surprise, because when she pulled him towards her as an attempt to keep him away from the paint, he lost his balance, and the two of them ended up on the ground, with him towering over her.

The irony of the situation should be laughable. On the previous day, she had ended up above him because of a bat and now she was under him because of a silly paint war. His hand still held her wrist and her hand still held his forearm, while one of his legs was between hers and the other almost resting against her left thigh. She had no idea of where his touch burned more her skin.

But oppositely from the previous day, this time they didn't run away from each other. Her fingertips slowly got up and down his arm, while he stood still, his thumb slowly rubbing circles above her pulse before his hand left her pulse and went to her face, bushing away a spot of paint, only to softly rub his painted nose on her cheek. The softness of the gesture felt much more like affection than as a payback from painting his nose. She didn’t complain about it when he pulled away to look into her eyes.

In the end, neither knew who had succumbed first, although much later both would pin it against each other, because her hand was pulling his neck closer and closer and his hands squeezed her waist while their lips devoured each other in a hungry kiss. They didn't need a single word between the first kiss that became a second, a third, a fourth…

The sun shined on the garden floor, the summer breeze was cool, life could be worse and Audrey and Cassiel belonged to each other.