#seems like only yesterday and now we're getting close to the end

[separatist-apologist]

Still A Sunbeam

Summary: As a child, Elain Archeron is pushed into a pond by the heir to the Day Courts throne, Lucien Spell-Cleaver, and vows she'll never forgive him for it. But as an adult, Elain finds that if she wants out of an arranged marriage to a Spring Court prince, she will need Day Court's help. More is at stake than a decades-old rivalry, and when their home is threatened, Elain and Lucien will have to set aside old differences and work together

Previous Chapter | Read on AO3

Elain was brought to Nesta, standing in a little alcove that offered them the illusion of privacy. Nesta looked exhausted, eyes ringed with dark circles and her face paler than Elain remembered. She watched Elain approach, nostrils flaring and lips thinning.

“I don’t know which of you is worse,” Nesta hissed when Elain reached her. “Tell me the rumors aren’t true.”

Elain should have known Nesta hadn’t come to hug. “What rumors?”

There were so many possibilities, and Elain didn’t dare to admit to anything. Nesta narrowed her eyes, but said, “You killed a High Lord?”

“That was Eris Vanserra,” Elain said automatically, just like Cadmus had instructed. Nesta looked like living flame just then, like she might combust entirely. “I was only in the room.”

“That’s not what Killian has said. He’s frantic.”

“Why?” Elain genuinely could not fathom what would have Killian so worked up. If Eris wanted to hold Elain accountable, surely he would have called in the troops by now. 

“Because you assisted in killing a High Lord,” Nesta hissed, speaking slow as though Elain were simple. “Why aren’t you more concerned?”

“Because Eris Vanserra isn’t going to share any of the credit,” Elain replied snappishly. “And this is just another attempt on Killian’s end to drag me home. I’m not going.”

Nesta stared at her for a moment, blue eyes unreadable. “Feyre said the same thing,” she mused, more to herself than to Elain. “No one wants to return.”

“Why are you here, Nesta?”

“Because the rumors circling you are concerning. Shacking up with a Day Court Prince—” Nesta’s nostrils flared again, lip curling in triumph when she realized that must be true.

“Assassinating High Lords. Three of them are dead in the span of a day, and our family is at the center of all three. Not to mention Hybern is in Spring—”

“What?” Elain breathed, trying to recall if Lucien had told her that.

Nesta’s amusement died again. “Tamlin is a fool. His father had some bargain with their king—one that was broken when he died, and should have remained broken. But Tamlin…Tamlin invited their general in anyway, and has been giving them tours of the wall.”

“Why would he do that?” Elain demanded, heart frantic in her chest. There were defenseless humans on the other side of that wall. Not to mention, her family was centralized in Spring, left to the whims of Hybern. Maybe her father would be fine, but would everyone else? Nesta waited for Elain to have the same realization she must have had. 

“Because he truly believes Rhysand has kidnapped Feyre and is holding her mind, and nothing short of a thousand years married to her will convince him otherwise. Lucien Vanserra’s assertion that she was not spelled and quite herself didn’t matter. Tamlin is willing to sacrifice everything to get her back.”

“So what do we do?” Elain asked, stepping a little closer. “I could talk to the High Lord—”

“We need to go home,” Nesta said, reaching for Elain’s shoulders. “All three of us. We need to go back, and I can’t convince Feyre this is the right thing.”

Elain blinked. “You want me to…”

“To talk to her? Yes. I want you to tell her that Tamlin isn’t listening to reason. He needed to see her, hear it from her own lips.”

“And what then? What if he doesn’t?” Elain demanded, pulling from Nesta’s grip. “What if you’re right and he won’t believe her unless she marries him. Are you asking me to convince Feyre or that, too?”

“No. There will be no convincing her, not when—” Nesta pressed her lips together tightly, arms crossed over her chest. “If Tamlin can’t be convinced, there is still one brother who could rule. Killian has some sense, at least. He hates Amarantha.”

“You don’t need me for that,” Elain murmured.

“You’re the only one who has seen a High Lord die,” Nesta disagreed, eyes pleading. “And I can’t do this by myself. I don’t want to go back either, Elain. We have to. Spring has been our home and the thought of letting it fall…I…”

Elain knew if she told Lucien this plan, he’d intervene. He’d come up with a hundred reasons for her to wait, or for him to accompany her. She thought of her promise—she wanted to make things permanent between them. 

“How much time do I have?”

“I’d like to leave right now,” Nesta said gently, as if she guessed Elain’s thoughts. “It’s not forever. That mate of yours will survive a week without you.”

Elain didn’t bother asking how Nesta knew. Of course she did. She must have scented it the moment Elain walked into the room. 

“A week?” Elain questioned, sliding the ring on her finger in circles. Nesta nodded her head, though Elain thought it was smart not to make any promises. A week could become a month, or even a year if they weren’t careful. 

“What happens if Feyre says no?”

“Then we go back and you can explain to me exactly how you ended up in a room with the High Lord as his son murdered him.”

Nesta’s eyes glittered with promise—she knew Elain was lying. Elain didn’t bother to correct her, even as she thought the plan was awful. Beron had been seduced by a younger, prettier female and put in a compromising position. Elain very much doubted she or Nesta could tempt Tamlin into the same.

He likely would have heard the details, besides. The only person who was going to ever get close enough to Tamlin was Feyre. And if Feyre was smart, she wouldn’t agree to go back. She’d say no and stay safe in Night with the new High Lord and whatever friends she’d made. 

“Did mother write to you?” Elain asked, thinking of her things dumped wordlessly into Lucien’s bedroom. What kind of welcome was waiting for her at home?

“She did,” Nesta said, her voice laced with pity. “She is…unhappy, but not unswayable.”

“She’ll never approve of him,” Elain insisted, her voice thin and reedy. 

“It’s not her life,” Nesta said fiercely. “She made her choices with father, and you get to make yours, too. What male wants another male’s mate, besides? Killian thinks he will but the scent coming off you makes my hair stand on edge. Mother had a life planned for us all, and we’ve wrecked it.”

“Sorry about Atticus,” Elain murmured. Nesta had always been slated to marry him just as soon as she finished her studies.

Nesta smiled—a genuine thing that made her far more beautiful than she already was. “Why? The High Lord of Night did me a favor. Atticus, too, if we’re honest. I don’t think he ever wanted me as a wife, either.” 

“If we’re going to leave, we should go now,” Elain murmured, looking behind her sister toward the window and the rising sun. Lucien would eat breakfast and meet with his father before coming to look for her again. 

He’d understand, she reasoned. Lucien wouldn’t like the deception, but he’d understand. And he’d be careful, too. Rationalizing that if things went so wrong, Elain could take refuge in nearby Autumn, she reached for Nesta’s hand and began leading her through the palace. Her home. 

I’ll be back, I’ll be back, she chanted in her head. Careful to keep her heart rate steady so she wouldn’t alert Lucien that anything was amiss, Elain managed to get Nesta through the palace without much notice. Courtiers and scholars still fluttered through the halls, glancing her way before returning to their conversations. She was nothing interesting anymore—a princess, so commonplace most of them just barely inclined their heads. 

Later, when Lucien was looking for her, this moment would be cited. He’d know she left intentionally, that she avoided him to keep him from convincing her to stay. It would take no effort on his part—Elain didn’t want to be parted from him. Not today, not ever. Her vision still loomed heavy in her mind. Was she walking straight into it? Or had she derailed just enough that Lucien would honor their marriage vows, deception or not?

Elain simply had to trust that whatever Lucien swore he felt, he meant. That it would take more than one small act of defiance—one made to try and save her home from utter ruination—to sour his feelings for her. Lucien had said he would want her, bond or not.

And though it was so deeply unfair to make him prove it, there was no other choice. Elain stepped into the humidity and the bright light, tilting her head against the warmth while Nesta hissed in disgust. Elain closed her eyes against the cold wind of Nesta’s winnow, wishing that when she opened her eyes, she’d be back in bed with Lucien.

That she’d find this had all been a dream. 

Elain opened her eyes to a city made of moonstone and marble. If Day was burning sunlight, this place was glittering starlight. Elain had never given much thought to the Night Court, and never truly considered what it might look like. This, though, with its shining, clean streets and neat buildings lined up in elegant rows, was beautiful. 

There was no screaming, no pleading or rivers of blood. There was even sunlight, hazy up above and far colder than Elain was used to. She wished she’d grabbed a cloak on her way out. Nesta smiled for a moment, unbidden and bright before she caught herself and replaced that smile with a scowl. A male was striding toward them. He was handsome with his thick, dark hair that fell in waves around truly massive shoulders. Elain didn’t think she’d ever seen someone as broad and muscular as this person. Tattoos crawled up his neck, vanishing dark leathers conforming to his powerful body. Red gems glinted in the light, flaring with what Elain suspected to be excitement when he saw her sister. 

His massive wings, once tucked tightly against his back, flared out for a moment. “Hey, Nes. She came.”

“Don’t call me that,” Nesta snapped as Elain turned to look at her elder sister. Nes? 

“I’m Cassian,” the large, impossibly tall male told her as he extended a hand. “Elain?”

“Elain,” she agreed with a broad smile. “How do you two know each other?”

“We don’t,” Nesta insisted as Cassian, still holding her hand, replied, “I’ve been training her.”

Training her in what? Judging from the flush staining Nesta’s cheeks, it wasn’t just a sword. There would be time to untease all that later—maybe when Elain had Feyre to herself and they could giggle like they were children again, far out of Nesta’s earshot. 

“We’re here to see Feyre,” Nesta interrupted, spine impossibly straight. Cassian’s grin merely widened, as though he were used to these sort of displays and enjoyed them immensely. 

“Lucky for you, she’s at the town house with Rhys. I’ll walk you to her.”

“There’s no need—”

“Oh, I insist,” Cassian interrupted smoothly. “It’s my job to welcome your sister into our court.”

“Well. Welcome her, then,” Nesta snapped. Cassian’s grin was just as sharp, just as lethal as Elain’s eldest sister. Had Nesta met her match here? 

Cassian turned to Elain, sweeping into a half bow. “Welcome to the Night Court, Elain Archeron.”

LUCIEN:

“You wanted to see me?”

Lucien’s father turned from his place in front of the window, his study in disarray. “I did. Elain is with her sister for the day, and I was hoping you could do me a favor.”

Anything to pass the time, he thought to himself. Lucien was unreasonably excited that when he returned to his bedchamber later, Elain would be waiting with food. She was going to accept the bond and they’d have a private celebration. No one could take her from him, then. No matter where they went, no matter how they were separated, she would always belong wholly to him.

Lucien needed something else to think about while he waited or he’d be too tempted to track her down. 

“Of course.”

“I need you to meet with your brother.”

Lucien looked up at the ceiling, sighing heavily. “What has Eris done this time?”

“Nothing,” said Helion, turning to face his son. “That’s the problem. War is on the horizon and Eris has all but closed his borders. I thought we could count on him…but…”

But Eris was self-serving above all else. And if he felt the risk was too great to himself personally, he’d stay out. Just like his cowardly father. Lucien was trying so hard not to hate his half brothers, especially after what they’d done for Elain. He owed them for that—Eris and Cadmus could have locked Elain up and held a trial, could have used what she’d done as an excuse to march into Spring or Day, depending on their mood. 

And instead Cadmus had brought her home while Eris gleefully announced to the world that he’d killed his father and then pardoned himself for crimes of treason, all while sitting with a Day Court courtier on his lap. Presumably. Lucien couldn’t picture Eris putting Arina on his lap—that’s just what he would have done if he’d killed Beron and had his mate with him.

Eris probably had Arina stand at the foot of his throne in one of those dresses that buttoned to her neck, penciling in when they ought to have sex based on some ridiculous calendar of her courses so he was certain to get his precious heir. 

“I’ll go. I want to see Arina, anyway.” That was true. Lucien wanted to offer her an out if she’d changed her mind. He knew how overwhelming the mating bond could be and how heady an experience it was. Surely the fog would be clearing, her senses returning. Assuming she hadn’t done anything stupid—like accept the bond and married his brother—Arina could still come home. 

Even if she hadn’t, Lucien might try and smuggle her out anyway. He could always lie and say she’d run away. His parents would kill him for it, but Lucien thought it would be quite fun to steal Eris’s wife right from under his nose just as his father had done to Eris’s father. 

“Take your time,” Helion instructed, unaware that Lucien was itching to get back to Elain. Or maybe he did, given his eyes slid to the mating band on Lucien’s hand. “Keep that from your mother. You’ll break her heart.”

“She’ll get her big celebration,” Lucien promised, though he ducked his hand behind his back all the same. Disappointing his mother was one of the worst things he could imagine. “This was just for us.”

A soft smile slid across his father’s face. “I know the feeling well. Keep it to yourself.”

Lucien nodded, making his way back into the palace. He did go checking after Elain, unable to help himself. He wanted to tell her he was leaving without her, and that it had nothing to do with her abilities or skills. A servant informed him she’d taken her sister into the city and Lucien thought it was best not to bother them given how sad she’d been about her mother and father’s rejection. Maybe Nesta Archeron could smooth things over for Elain’s family so by the time he visited, everyone was on better terms.

Lucien dressed himself, unable to take his eyes off the still rumpled bed in the center of the room. Elain’s trunks were still scattered about, half opened with clothes spilling out. He knew when he arrived, all her things would be neatly stored, the trunks put away. Maybe, having spoken to Nesta, Elain would feel better about where she’d left things with her parents, too.

Assuming, of course, Nesta hadn’t come to drag Elain back home. Lucien wasn’t willing to entertain that possibility, twisting the mating band around his hand nervously. She was his wife—he could go into Spring and bring her back, kicking and screaming if he had to.

And Lucien suspected he would. If Elain went home under some misguided belief she needed to do right by her family, Lucien would flex his muscles as heir of the Day Court, bring that signed scroll with Elain’s uncoerced signature on it, and put her right back in his bed.

Shaking his head, Lucien shoved the thought out of his mind. Elain wouldn’t—she’d wanted to get married, and she wanted to accept the bond. She wasn’t going home, barring some unforeseen disaster. She was safe in the city, likely showing her sister all the best parts of Rhodes. He’d meet them for dinner if he was home in time and hopefully charm the eldest Archeron into loving both his home and himself, and then have Elain moaning beneath him before the night was through. 

It was too hot to have a jacket buttoned to his neck. Lucien opted for a hunter green tunic with a white shirt beneath. Lucien used gold sleeve garters right above his elbows in lieu of his usual armband, and picked out his nicest pair of trousers and a gleaming pair of boots. That ought to satisfy Eris and his ridiculous court would be looking for anything to pick apart—Lucien didn’t intend to let them find it in his appearance.

Still, for the moment he stood outside, the outfit was unbearably hot. Itchy, too. Lucien winnowed quickly before sweat could cling to his skin and make a mockery of him, landing on crunchy leaves just outside the Forest House. 

Beron is dead, he reminded himself. It did little for his crawling anxiety, especially when the guards surrounding the palace watched him, arrows pointed straight at him as he walked to the entrance. 

The smell of cinnamon and wet soil slammed into his senses, far stronger than it had ever been outdoors. Lucien frowned, already missing home. A guard was waiting in a crisp red and white uniform, beckoning for Lucien to follow after him. The palace seemed thinner than Lucien remembered—fewer courtiers meandering the winding halls, watching for something to gossip about later.

Absently, Lucien wondered if Eris hadn’t culled them. It was possible they’d also fled for another court, though Lucien wouldn’t fathom who would want Autumn’s set living within their walls. 

Familiar golden doors were thrust open when Lucien approached, though there was no Beron Vanserra sneering at him as he entered. No open insults, no hateful eyes. Only Eris, casually positioned in that wooden chair made of twisting branches. Arina was propped on his knee, crowned in a burnished laurel leaves and draped in a pretty, burgundy dress that cut far lower than anything Lucien had ever seen on an Autumn Court female. Rubies adorned her throat, a match for the pretty ring on her finger.

She shot upward the moment she saw him, gathering her skirts as she jogged the four steps to the wood floors. Lucien kept his eyes on his brother, waiting for that flash of anger his father would have given.

Eris merely seemed amused. Indulgent, even. Lucien didn’t know what to make of that.

Arina flung her arms around his neck, and Lucien, still testing her brother, hugged her back with a little too much intimacy. He caught Eris’s expression shift to irritation, lip curling over his teeth before he smothered it.

“Where is Elain?” Arina demanded, pushing back just enough to peer around him.

“Busy, unfortunately,” Lucien replied, scanning his friend for any tell-tale signs of bruises or other harm. “How are you?”

He expected Eris to jump in, furious at the insinuation. True, his brother stiffened on the throne, gripping the arms so tightly Lucien heard the wood creak beneath his grip. But he kept silent so Arina, bubbly and vivacious as ever, could say, “I’m fine. Don’t look at me like that—Eris could only dream of getting one good hit in.”

“I don’t dream of that,” Eris said, his first words since Lucien had arrived. “I am content to let my wife speak for me.”

Arina rolled her eyes with affection, looking over her shoulder as Eris stood. 

“He had to make such a show of it. Did you know he’s High Lord?” she teased as Eris rolled his neck before slowly making his way toward them. “He reminds us all no less than ten times a day.”

An affectionate smile spread across his brother's face, so at odds with the male Lucien was accustomed to seeing. What had Arina done to him? It was impossible to consider that Eris may have always been this way.

“Brother,” Eris said by way of greeting, sliding one arm possessively around Arina’s waist. Was Lucien also that obnoxious? Arina reeked of Eris’s scent, the bond between them nearly overpowering. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, a warning not to get too close unless he wanted his throat ripped out.

But Eris was keeping it together, given Lucien had just been rubbing his hand up and down Arina’s spine. 

“Have you come to ensure I’m not mistreating my mate?”

“Among other things,” Lucien replied, not bothering to deny it. 

Eris exhaled. “Spend as much time with her as you like.”

Lucien didn’t think he could stand to, though it certainly put some of his fears to rest. If Eris had things to hide, he surely wouldn’t hand her up on a silver platter. Not when the mating bond was still riding him so hard, at any rate. “It’s tempting. A sleepover, like old times?”

Lucien relished the growl that slipped past Eris’s throat. It was too easy to rile him up now. Arina poked Eris in the ribs, leashing Eris before he could do or say something that might start an incident between Autumn and Day.

“Why are you really here, brother?’

“You know why,” Lucien retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “This potential war. Father wants to know where you stand.”

Arina looked up at Eris, eyes wide. “War?” she asked. 

“How poorly you inform her,” Lucien sneered, earning a smack in the chest from Arina.

“Knock it off,” she warned, looking between the pair of them. “What war?”

“Maybe war,” Eris interrupted, pushing the words through his teeth. “As far as I can tell, Tamlin is merely giving Amarantha a tour of his home.”

“Of his borders,” Lucien clarified. “Why would she possibly need to know that? And ships are pouring in from Hybern in the dozens. I doubt it’s all goods for trade.”

“What do you want, then? A promise I’ll march with Helion if Amarantha decides to invade?”

“Yes,” Lucien replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s exactly what I want.”

Eris held Lucien’s gaze. “Fine. I’ll agree—on one condition.”

Gritting his teeth, Lucien replied, “What is it that you want?”

“For you to stay two nights. Here. With your brothers,” Eris clarified, perhaps guessing Lucien would merely waste his time hanging out with Arina. “Otherwise tell Helion he can get fucked.”

“Are you serious?” Lucien seethed, well aware his father would not be so forgiving if he returned home without securing this alliance all because he wanted to sleep beside his wife. Eris must have guessed, eyes sliding to the band on Lucien’s hand. 

“It’s time to put the past behind us,” Eris said, slinging his arm around Arina’s neck. She beamed, clearly loving this plan and wholly unaware of what a bastard her mate was. 

“Oh, Lucien, you should. Things are so different—you’d love it. Invite Elain to spend some time here, too.”

“I’m sure Cadmus would love to see her,” Eris added. Lucien swallowed the urge to beat Eris to death with his fists.

“Fine,” he gritted out. He’d write Elain and explain himself. “Two days, and you agree to support Day if Spring lets Amarantha use their territory as a base.”

Something dark flickered over Eris’s face. “And Day will agree to house any refugees from my court should she come over our borders.”

Lucien would need to talk to Winter, too, but it was reasonable enough. Extending his hand, he nodded.

“Deal.”

[keerysfreckles]

decode — OP81 (au)

pairing: oscar piastri x fem!reader

summary: when two summer camp counselors fall in love in the span of two months

warnings: none! just a long one 😅 i got carried away oopsies, not proofread!!!

a/n: missing my summer camp hours 😞😞 this is how i cope

masterlist !

⋆ ˚ ｡ ⋆ ୨୧ ˚

y/n can't remember a summer when she wasn't at the summer camp in her home state. every summer since she was five years old, she was found at camp. when she was fourteen she signed up to be a junior counselor in training, then at sixteen became a counselor in training, and now at nineteen is an official camp counselor from one of the younger girl cabins.

y/n was ecstatic. she couldn't believe her eyes when she got the email that secured her summer job. except it wasn't going to feel like a job. she knew this wasn't going to feel like some chore like others would describe their job to be.

the whole bus ride up to the summer camp, y/n talked with her friends that went to camp with her in the previous years. her two closest friends were sat around her on the bus, sofia and nat. sofia met y/n during her second year of camp, and haven't stopped talking since. y/n and nat knew each other during camp during their last years as campers, but didn't start talking until their counselor in training years.

arriving at the camp felt so surreal for y/n. she was excited to see her second home, and her other friends that arrived yesterday by plane. she wondered if there were any unfamiliar faces this year, besides the new campers.

y/n, nat and sofia grabbed all their belongings and walked to their assigned cabins quickly. nat was going to be with the youngest of the girls, ages five and six. y/n was with the seven and eight year olds. sofia was on the other side of the girls' cabins, working with the twelve and thirteen year olds.

all of the counselors had "meetings" to attend before all the campers arrived tomorrow. no one really considered them as meetings however, knowing they were going to play ridiculous games in the large grassy field until sundown. the camp director thought it was a fun way to "get to know the other counselors".

as nat and sofia were getting a drink of water after a very intense game of dodgeball finished, a new counselor caught y/n's eye. there were three new counselors at camp, but this one was the only one that y/n really wanted to learn about. she looked at him from across the field. he seemed to be taller than her, with slightly pale skin and light brown hair.

"oh great, y/n's got another camp crush," nat appears by her, with sofia coming up on the other side.

"it's not a crush. i don't even know the guy!" y/n defends.

sofia and nat share a skeptical look, before sofia continues. "every year since you were seven you've found a guy to fawn over, and just because we're counselors now, we all know that's not stopping you."

nat chuckles at sofia's words, and y/n just rolls her eyes. she knew sofia was right, but she'd never admit that out loud.

after three more interesting games in the field, all of the counselors walked back up through the forest and towards the dining hall. there weren't any sort of seating arrangements, letting the counselors and other staff members sit wherever they'd like.

most of the counselors knew each other from being campers together, so they were all sat relatively close to one another.

luckily for y/n, the boy she was looking at earlier in the field was sat diagonally from her. she heard from sofia that she talked with him on the way back up from the field. he introduced himself to y/n and nat, and y/n instantly recognized his australian accent.

a handful of international counselors were found at camp every year, and y/n thought it always made it more interesting.

oscar, y/n, nat and sofia continued talking all throughout dinner. one of y/n's old friends from camp, lando, slid beside her halfway through dinner, and him and oscar got along pretty quickly.

at the end of the day, one of the many traditons at camp was for all the counselors to jump into the cold pool. don't ask y/n where this tradition exactly came from. she's been told so many times, yet she never remembers. however it came about, y/n was grateful. she's dreamt of doing this since she was a camper.

all of the counselors were lined up beside the pool, with the camp photographer, lauren, on the opposite side. the counselors were all still dressed, wearing their matching camp polos, and even kept their shoes on.

on the count of three they all jumped in, making the pool erupt in waves as twenty counselors splashed around. some got on each other's backs and were dunking one another, while other couldn't contain their laughter.

as y/n was wiping hair out of her eyes, oscar looked at her with a smirk adorning his lips.

she knew what he was about to do.

"no! oscar don't!" she tries to protest, but her laugh overpowers her words as oscar wraps his arms around the girl and pushes her under the water.

oscar watches y/n's smile widen once they're under water, and her hands are on his arms for a moment, only to push herself to the surface.

nat and sofia watched the interaction, as y/n now started splashing the aussie. "twenty bucks they're together by the end of the summer," nat wages.

"forty."

"thirty."

"thirty-five, final offer," sofia turns to nat.

"deal."

—

the morning the campers were arriving came quickly. so quickly y/n felt like she hasn't slept the night before. she was in the middle of making all the name tags for her campers bunk beds, so no one fights over who gets which one. she was cutting colored paper into simple flowers when sofia knocked on her cabin door.

"what's up sof?" y/n doesn't look up from her task.

"how'd you know it was me? it could've been nat," sofia sat on the twin bed, facing y/n.

"you walk heavy," y/n states, making sofia roll her eyes.

"whatever, unimportant," sofia quickly dismisses, "camp news is that a certain someone was talking about you after we jumped in the pool last night."

y/n groans, setting her paper and scissors down in her lap. "we've only been here twenty-four hours and there's already a rumor?"

"oh shush, you know you love it because lover boy was talking about you," sofia shoves y/n's leg playfully.

"first of all, don't call him lover boy. i only know his name. it's not like i'm deeply in love with him."

"you will be," sofia interrupts.

"second of all," y/n enunciates, "shouldn't you be getting ready for your campers to arrive?"

sofia laughs, "they're twleve year old, edgy, hormonal girls, they're not gonna want cute flowers and lady bugs saying who's sleeping where."

"you're no fun."

twenty-two minues pass and now all the counselors, the camp directior and co-director are all outside waiting for the buses to arrive. y/n was thrilled to meet her first set of campers.

the summer was broken up into three sessions, each session lasting two weeks. campers could choose to stay all three, but most only stayed for one.

y/n prayed her face wasn't flushed as she realized she was standing next to oscar. turns out, he was looking over campers the same age y/n was. the two made comfortable small talk until the buses finally pulled up into the dirt area.

once ever camper was off the bus and given their name tag, everyone made their way to the benches for announcements to start.

y/n's cabin was sat right in front of oscar's, with nat's right beside her. sofia's cabin was on the other handful of benches, considering they were the older campers.

announcements took an hour, as usual, and before everyone knew it, it was time for lunch.

the first lunch of the summer was always so special to y/n, even when she was a camper. this was when she met sofia, and years later she met nat in the mess hall as well.

lunch passed quickly, and y/n was back in her cabin, helping her campers fill out the forms to pick their camp schedules. she learned all of their names, and even learned about their favorite things. y/n's smile never left her face for the rest of the day.

—

three days into the first session and y/n was buzzing. she was in charge of the arts and crafts class campers could pick as one of their activites. she saw a few of her own campers in the morning, and surprisngly a few older boys during the afternoon.

she was in the middle of cleaning from the tye-dye the kids made today. she already hung up their shirts to dry, now she was cleaning off the tables where extra dye had gotten.

"do you need any help?" oscar stepped over the pile of rocks outside the arts and crafts shed, scaring y/n in the process.

"jesus osc, don't scare me like that," y/n laughs as her heartbeat comes back down.

oscar wasn't sure where the nickname came from, but he wanted it to stay.

"shouldn't you be watching over your swimming pool?" y/n asks, knowing oscar's sctivity this session was free swim. she didn't know what he was going to do the other two sessions, she meant to ask him later.

"nah, lando's got the last five minutes covered. all the campers got out anyway, complaining it was too cold." y/n knew lando from her last year as a camper. he was her first kiss, and call it cheesy but it was during the camp dance. neither of them speak ahout it to this day, and they planned to keep it that way.

oscar sat atop one of the cleaner parts of the table, chuckling as he notices y/n very colorful hands.

"why didn't you wear gloves?"

y/n shrugs, "gloves are too much of a hassle. plus after two showers i bet it'll come off."

"i could always dunk you in the pool again."

"no, no never again," y/n can't help but laugh.

y/n throws the dirty rags into a bucket, she makes a mental note to take it to the small camp laundromat later in the evening.

oscar hops down from the table, "do you want to walk with me to dinner?"

"you mean night time announcements?" y/n lets out a giggle at oscar's now pink cheeks.

"yeah uh– that's what i meant."

"how much were you really paying attention during the announcements really meant for the campers?"

"you know i could easily push you right now right?" oscar detours the conversation.

"oh i know you wouldn't."

oscar's about to reply, but y/n's name gets called by a few of her campers walking up beside the duo. she bids oscar goodbye, as she walks with the three younger campers.

dinner goes smoothly as it has been for the past couple of days. oscar smiles to himself when he realizes he's sat next to y/n tonight, with one of her best friends sat across from him.

the counselers were given a different table seating every day. the campers places stayed the same, and they were sat by others their ages. each table had twelve campers, with two counselers at the head and foot of the table.

the first fifteen minutes of every meal is silent, another camp tradition where no one truly knew where it came from. but after those fifteen minutes were up, the mess hall was buzzing yet again.

the campers were starting to take plates and dishes towards the side of the mess hall where the kitchen staff was. oscar stood up from his table, grabbed the extra dessert no one wanted and walked towards y/n.

she was talking with one of the girls at the table, while oscar silently placed the ice cream down. y/n looked to her right and smiled seeing who it was.

the interaction didn't go unnoticed by sofia or nat. sofia was walking back to her table when she saw oscar getting up, and she was quick to point it out to nat.

"you looked like you could use another dessert," oscar sat down on the empty bench besides y/n.

"well i'm sadly already full, but i'm sure maisie here wouldn't mind," y/n boops the blonde girl next to her on the nose before sliding the bowl towards her. "just don't tell the other campers," y/n whispers, earning a giggle from the camper.

"are you excited for the camp dance next week?" y/n asks oscar. each session had their own dance and carnival.

oscar nods, "oh definitely, but i'm more excited about the carnival."

"do you know who booth you guys are in charge of?"

"no clue, but probably something easy since i'm dealing with seven year olds," oscar laughs.

the two continue talking for a moment, until the camp director instructs for all the campers and counselors go to the main building for a movie night.

—

y/n couldn't believe her own eyes. she was watching kids leaving with their parents, while others got on buses to go back home. she was sad when she had to say goodbye to her campers that morning. nat gave her a hug, but it was still hard for her.

nevertheless, she was just as excited to meet the new campers arriving next week. during the counselor's week off, they get a different trip in between each session. the first was a trip to a waterpark near the camp, and everyone was buzzing when they got out of the camp vans.

the day was filled with most counselors riding the water slides, while other tanned or gossiped. there was thirty minutes left of their day pass, y/n and oscar planned on going into the lazy river before they had to go back to the camp.

over the past two weeks the pair has gotten extremely close. they hung out whenever they could. they'd sit by each other at any given moment. a few of the older campers noticed the chemistry that was starting to build between the two.

y/n's right hand and oscar's left one kept grazing while in the lazy river. neither of them were going to do anything about that.

"you've been quiet today," oscar speaks up, looking over to the girl.

"just grateful," her response was simple, but oscar knew how she felt. it was hard for him to say goodbye to his campers earlier in the week, but just like the girl, he was excited about the new campers coming this sunday.

after a few moments of silence, y/n starts to laugh.

"oh god, i broke her," oscar jokes.

y/n keeps laughing, "no, no. i just can't believe you knew practically every move to the line dances from the camp dance."

oscar's face slightly flushed, "you're just jealous of my dancing skills."

"sure osc, that's what it is."

—

exactly two weeks later and the second session camp carnival was in full swing. it was always held on the tennis courts, and each cabin was in charge of a booth. some were definitely better than others, consider five year olds had little to no patience.

at the start of the carnival y/n and her whole cabin were sat around the face painting table, fast forward an hour and a half, now y/n was sat alone, watching all the festivies around her.

"you know you can enjoy the carnival too right?" oscar comes out of nowhere, making y/n jump slightly.

"can you stop scaring me like that?" she laughs, and scoots her chair over so he can sit in the empty one.

he hands her the cotton candy from his other hand, receiving a thank you from y/n.

"but really, why are you here by yourself when you should be out there," he pauses to point to all the campers and a few counselors dancing to an ariana grande song.

"what if someone wants their face painted and no one's here to help?" y/n picks at the light pink cotton candy.

"you and i both know every camper who wanted their face painted came here right away."

"yeah okay," y/n agrees, "but not everyone's gotten their face painted."

"who hasn't? there's maybe three campers without something on their cheek."

"you," y/n smirks. she hands her cotton candy to oscar before grabbing the tray of face paints.

oscar groans, "is this payback for dunking you in the pool?"

"yes, that's exactly it," she giggles.

oscar watched as y/n stood from her chair. she was contemplating what to do, but eventually ordered oscar to close his eyes. 'screw it' y/n internally spoke, as she dabbed the non-toxic red face paint onto her lips with a clean brush. she set down the mirror, happy with the amount and bent down to kiss oscar's cheek.

it took him by surprise, and he could feel his cheeks redden at the feeling of her fingers on his chin and lips on his cheek.

y/n begins wiping her mouth, ridding the left over red paint. oscar smiles, "well now it's only fair i give you something in return."

y/n shakes her head, still having a smile adorning her features, "i'm the one working the face paint table, not you osc."

oscar's about to argue, but lando, nat and sofia all come running to the table as the campers are starting to leave the tennis courts.

"hey are you guys–"

lando cuts nat off with a chuckle, "nice face paint osc." that earns him a punch in the arm by sofia.

nat rolls her eyes before continuing, "you two ready for the counselor campout tonight?"

y/n's been talking about the campout since the start of summer, to anybody that'll listen.

the group of five went their seperate ways towards their cabins to pack a small bag for the night, and made sure to say goodnight to their campers, before a counselor in training came in the cabin for the night.

the counselors split up between two pick up trucks, with people riding inside and in the back. y/n and oscar's legs kept hitting each others after almost every bump, not that either of them minded.

the girls slept in one tent while the boys slept in the other. camp rules that both groups hated. it was starting to get dark when they arrived, so the boys started cooking pre-made hamburgers on a makeshift little grill over the fire, while the girls set up the tents.

during dinner everyone split up into their own groups. oscar, y/n, lando, nat and sofia put their chairs close to each other as they enjoyed the warmth of the fire and the sound of the crickets around them.

"is that a new hoodie y/n?" nat asks, curiosity filling her voice.

sofia joins in, "yeah, i don't think i've seen that."

y/n involuntarily blushes, "it's oscar's. he's letting me borrow it cause i got cold."

lando gives oscar a small high five while nat and sofia share a look. a look that the two have been sharing at least once a day.

—

four days later and y/n is upset once again. the second session campers are filtering out of the camp, and it feels five times worst than the first time y/n dealt with it. oscar walks up to the sad girl and places his hand lightly on her back.

"will pancakes and a hug cheer you up?" he smiles while handing her a plate with three pancakes covered in syrup.

y/n laughs and turns to face oscar, "both would definitely cheer me up."

y/n wraps her arms around the boy, and her body is flooded with warmth at the contact. she rests her head against his shoulder, her nose brushing ever so slightly against his neck. goosebumps rise on oscar's arms.

oscar leads the pair over to an empty bench so y/n can enjoy her pancakes to get her mind off the campers leaving.

"jeez osc, did you put enough syrup on these?" she laughs.

oscar throws his hands up in defence, "i didn't know how much you like."

a moment of silence passes between the duo, before y/n breaks it.

"are you gonna want your hoodie back? because it's extremly comfortable and it might make it's way into my suitcase by the end of the summer."

oscar smiles, "keep it. maybe it'll give me a reason to visit you after summer."

y/n reciprocates a smile, but a sad feeling makes it's way through her body again. she doesn't know what her and oscar are going to do after summer. neither of them have brought it up. the thought of having to leave oscar and never see him again terrified the girl.

—

the camp was well into session three, and y/n was more than excited for today. it was her twentieth birthday, the session three camp dance was tonight, and it was her favorite theme every summer.

y/n was helping her campers get ready, thanking herself for getting ready beforehand. she thought they all looked adorable in their different 70s inspired outfits. they ranged from bell bottom leggings, flashy colorful skirts, and fringed vests.

y/n and her cabin was walking towards the tennis courts, as well as the other cabins. just as they turned the corner, oscar was standing off to the side of the gate. y/n saw, and smiled as he beckoned her over.

she told her campers to go with nat's cabin, before running towards oscar, being careful not to fall in her chunky platform boots.

oscar takes in her appearance with a smile on his face. from her white platform boots, to her pink colorful dress with the flared longsleeves, and finishing with her white headband.

"you look adorable," he spoke, his words coming out faster than his brain could think.

y/n couldn't help but blush, "thank you osc. you don't look too bad yourself."

now y/n looks over oscar's outfit. she giggles as it's such a similar outfit to what pierce brosnan wore on the cover of the mamma mia poster. fitting perfectly to tonight's 70s disco theme.

"did you find my birthday present for you?"

y/n nods, remembering the small wrapped box placed at the bottom step of her cabin.

"i haven't opened it yet, just like the card said."

"good, and don't forget to meet me back here after all your campers are asleep yeah?"

y/n nods again, "what could you be planning piastri?"

oscar shrugs playfully, "guess you'll have to wait and see."

before the australian leaves, he kisses y/n's forehead. it happened so quickly y/n could barely comprehend it before he was already gone.

after almost two hours of dancing, picking at snacks and talking, y/n was finally feeling her feet starting to hurt. maybe the platform boots were a bit much, but she still thought they were adorable. she groaned as she sat down for the first time that night.

"hey, you alright?"

she picks up her head, seeing oscar standing in front of her with two cups of water. he hands one to her before sitting in the empty chair beside her.

"i don't think my feet have ever hurt this badly before," she laughs while unzipping her boots. she could care less about how dirty the ground was right now, she needed her feet to breathe.

"so glad i didn't wear the platform boots i packed," oscar joked, and his smile grew once y/n started laughing. he never got tired of hearing her laugh.

"have you had a good birthday so far?"

y/n lets out a content sigh while leaning her head on oscar's shoulder. "i have osc, it's been really fun. and i can't wait to see what you have planned for later."

—

just as oscar instructed on his birthday note to y/n that was attached to her birthday present, she's currently waiting in the tennis courts. her counselor in training was looking after her cabin, but all y/n could think about is what on earth oscar could be planning.

her fingers fidget with the blue bow on top of the box, and she's thankful she changed out of her boots and into her converse. she threw on oscar's hoodie she still hasn't given back, because it always gets chillier at night.

her thoughts were interrupted however, when the lights to the tennis court turned off. all she heard around her was whispered voices and shuffling feet.

"guys?" she laughs, more than confused on what they could be doing.

the lights suddenly turn back on, and y/n can't help but laugh at the four in front of her.

"happy birthday y/n!" her friends yell.

sofia's holding a small pile of presents, one from each of them (minus oscar's gift in her hand).

nat and lando are busy holding up a small banner, wishing y/n a happy birthday.

finally oscar was holding a pink box, which y/n could only guess was a birthday cake.

"guys!" y/n gushes, her heart feeling extra full at the moment.

everyone sets down whatever was in their hands to hug the birthday girl. oscar's hug was a bit longer than the others, and y/n definitely noticed.

"you guys didn't have to do anything for my birthday. it being on the day of my favorite camp activity was plenty."

nat shushes her, "nope, we all agreed we were doing something for your birthday as soon as the session started."

lando pipes up besides nat with a green and black wrapped gift in his hands, "enough with the sappy shit, open my gift first y/n."

y/n sits down before opening the gifts. nat and sofia sit to her left, while lando stands in front and oscar stands behind her to her right.

she opened everyone's gift, thanking each of them afterwards, and finally got to oscar's gift. the one she's been waiting for all day. she tears the blue ribbon off and takes the lid off.

however, y/n's confused once she sees two plane tickets. one to new york from maine, and one back to maine from new york.

"osc what is this?"

oscar squats down and holds himself up by placing his hand on y/n's thigh.

his voice was soft as he explained, "my mom helped me with this one. i called her before this session started, and i got her to buy the tickets for me. she was able to get then shipped before your birthday. so now you can come out to new york for two weeks with me."

y/n keeps looking at the plane tickets in her hands. her eyes were filling with tears while oscar spoke. no one's ever done anything like this before.

lando, nat and sofia left quietly, giving the pair a minute alone.

"love?" oscar lets the nickname slip before he has time to catch himself.

"no one's ever done something like this for me before," y/n's quiet, not wanting her voice to give out.

"hey," oscar wipes a tear that was falling on her cheek, "you deserve this. we get to spend two great weeks together, and you'll even get to see my cool apartment."

y/n laughs at his attempt to cheer her up, and is glad it's working.

y/n pulls oscar into one of the tightest hugs imaginable. he stumbles slightly, but holds onto the girl just as tight.

"thank you osc," she whispers into his neck, before placing a light kiss to the exposed skin.

y/n starts pulling away from the hug, but oscar just holds onto her tighter. he silently moves his left hand to cup her jaw, with his thumb catching another loose tear.

from outside of the tennis court, the eavesdropping trio all gasp as the two finally kiss. after weeks of endless flirting and longing glaces, they're finally kissing.

y/n holds onto oscar even tighter now. partially for stability, and partially to make sure he's really there. that this was really happening.

the two barely pull apart, their lips only having centimeters between them.

just as the two go to kiss again, sofia pops out from the darkness and into the light of the tennis court. "six feet of space!"

nat's quick to cover her mouth after she mentions leaving room for god, and nat and lando are quick to apologize, letting oscar and y/n be alone again.

—

"there you are!"

oscar's pulled from his thoughts as y/n makes her way over towards him.

he's sat on the bench outside the unoccupied cabin near the volleyball court. he went there a lot this summer, always giving him the space to think.

"i've been looking everywhere for you," y/n smiles while sitting beside him.

oscar can't help but smile when she does. he's told her a thousand times how contagious her smile is.

"are you excited?"

y/n didn't need oscar to elaborate, she knew exactly what he meant. today was the last day of summer camp. all of the campers left yesterday, and today was the day y/n and oscar were flying to new york together.

"i don't even think excited is in the ballpark to describe how i'm feeling," y/n laughs, leaning into oscar.

after a moment of silence, y/n's curiosity gets the best of her. "osc?" he hums in response, "what are we?"

oscar smiles to himself, "well i was hoping i'd get to call you my girlfriend."

y/n's smile grows immensely. "only if i get to call you my boyfriend," she giggles.

oscar kisses her softly on the lips, before interlocking his fingers with hers.

"oh!" y/n pipes up, "yesterday one of my girls made us matching bracelets."

y/n takes two bracelets out of her (oscar's) hoodie pocket. they were both pink, with different shades of pink beads threaded through the string. one said "O ♡ (your initial)" and vice verse with the other bracelet. oscar chuckles as he takes the one starting with his own initial.

"i love it," he looks down at it once more, "i'm never taking this off by the way."

before y/n reciprocate, the camp director comes around, telling them this is their last call to leave the camp and say goodbye to who ever you need to.

nat and sofia both left by bus earlier in the day, leaving oscar to deal with an unhappy y/n for an hour until he gave her another one of his hoodies.

"are you ready to go?" y/n stands while holding her hands out.

oscar gladly takes her hands in his, "yep. just one more kiss in the place where i fell in love with you."

[strangersteddierthings]

Shovel Talk(s) Part 3

Part One 🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four

Steve wants to be self-sabotaging. He wants to give Eddie a reason to break up with him. To end this before Steve ends up hurting him. Yet he's also helplessly in love, so instead of being ten minutes late for their date, he's fifteen minutes early.

He forgot he was going to just honk the horn until Eddie appeared and only remembers he was going to do it after he's already knocked on the front door. Eddie answers, looking as beautiful as ever even though he wore that shirt yesterday, but the jeans are clean, and his hair is brushed. Steve does manage to hold himself back from opening the passenger door for Eddie like he usually does, instead sliding himself into the driver's seat.

Eddie does shoot him a curious glance but Steve's careful about not looking at him as he starts the car and heads towards the bowling alley.

Jonathan, Nancy, Argyle, and Robin are also at the bowling alley. It's not exactly a coincidence they run into them because Steve knew they would be here. (Sabotage was the goal. Turning their three-month-aversary into a group hangout might do the trick.) But Eddie likes bowling, and their friends, and also seems to be using the group atmosphere to hang off of Steve more than he would if they were bowling just the two of them.

And if Steve's being honest with himself, part of him knew that would happen, too. That Eddie wouldn't mind the group because their friends cover for them wordlessly. Eddie wraps his arms around Steve and suddenly Jonathan is standing between them and anyone who could see. Eddie leans in to give him a quick cheek kiss and Robin is at Steve's other side doing the same thing. Argyle and Nancy spread out across the seating, leaving barely enough room for Eddie and Steve to sit, so their close proximity looks forced rather than wanted.

And Steve's bad at not wanting Eddie. He finds himself reaching out and having to snatch his hands back. He plays hot and cold all night and it does have the desired effect. He can see Eddie's patience waning, can feel a shift in their dynamic and his stomach twists with shame.

He keeps conversation with Robin, and Jonathan, and Nancy, and Argyle. But not Eddie. He doesn't outright ignore Eddie, though. When Eddie talks to him, he answers but he doesn't initiate conversation. Uses as few words as possible to answer before rushing to take his turn.

He should apologize.

He can't say anything.

He's in love with Eddie, so Eddie has to leave him.

He's in love with Eddie, so Eddie leaving will ruin him forever.

Eddie should hate him, so this would be easier.

Eddie should love him, so this would be easier.

Steve's a goddamn mess all night, and no one calls him on it.

Why would they? They think he's going to hurt Eddie anyway.

-

"Did I... do something?" Eddie asks. Steve feels a little sick to his stomach as he puts the car in park in front of Eddie's house but doesn't turn the key. After tonight it's not likely he'll get invited in anyway.

"What?"

"You've been distant all day, dude," Eddie says and Steve can hear the frustration in his voice. He also notices that Eddie called him dude, which he hasn't done since their first date. "Distant for a while now, actually."

"Sorry. I didn't realize," Steve lies, staring straight ahead. The voice in his head keeps chanting 'just break up with me already' because Steve knows it needs to happen, but he can't do it. But also he's thinking 'tell me you love me so I know we're in this together' and also 'I want to love you but I'm scared'. His whole mind is a contradiction right now.

Eddie looks at him, face carefully neutral, "What did I do?"

"Nothing," Steve is quick to say, because it is true and he doesn't want Eddie to think this is his fault somehow. "You didn't do anything."

"So, is it something I haven't done?" Eddie asks.

"No." Yes. But also no. Tell me you want this as much as I do. Tell me you hate me.

Eddie looks down to his hands, which are fiddling with his rings. They sit in silence because Steve doesn't know what to say. After what feels like an eternity, Eddie must decide something because he nods to himself and says, "right." before he climbs out of the passenger seat and slams the door shut.

The slam sounds so loud, so clear, so final, that Steve feels something inside him crack, echoing the slam. He rips off his own seatbelt and climbs from his car quickly, the need to reach Eddie before he closes himself behind his front door suddenly very important, suddenly overriding any other thought he's had. Steve just knows that if Eddie gets his door closed, then Steve really will have proven everyone right.

And he doesn't want to.

He feels it in his bones that if Eddie makes it into his house, and gets his front door closed before Steve says anything, that it will be with the thought that Eddie somehow fucked up their relationship and Steve will not be able to live with himself if Eddie believes that.

"Eddie, wait!" Steve shouts as he rounds the front of his car, beelining for the door.

His shout works, because Eddie, hand clasped on the doorknob, twists to look over his shoulder instead of opening the door. Eddie doesn't hide the hurt on his face, or the pain in his voice, "What, Harrington?"

Steve doesn't know what he's going to say, hasn't planned for this. He had never wanted either of them to hurt in this relationship, not in a way they couldn't fix (he'd promised Wayne three months ago-), yet he let his mind take him down the road of self-destruction. Self-sabotage. He'd fucking planned to ruin their date. Eddie should leave him.

And yet.

Steve might feel he's not good enough, or nice enough, or changed as a person enough to deserve Eddie, but in the end, Steve thinks, realizes, it's not his decision if Eddie finds him deserving or not. That's on Eddie.

And now, seeing Eddie, who always looks beautiful but now looks hurt, Steve doesn't want to just give up because everyone he cares about thinks he's not good enough. He doesn't want to have ruined this. If he can just be open, and honest, then Eddie will at least hear him out. He's just got to say something true. He opens his mouth and- "I love you."

Eddie's hand drops from the doorknob as his whole body turns to face Steve. His eyes are wild and wide as he asks, "What?"

That wasn't what Steve had thought he would say, but now that it's out he doesn't want to pretend he didn't say it. But he's possibly also having some sort of manic episode because he just starts talking and can't stop. "I'm in love with you, Eddie, and it fucking scares me to death, because no one seems to think that I can, or that I deserve to, but I do and I want to. I've just been spiraling thinking about it and about how everyone thinks I'm just going to hurt you, because that's the last thing I want to do, ever. But then I just spent this entire night trying to make you hate me which just means that I am hurting you. And, also, if more than one person makes a point to like, bring it up to my face, that I'm just going to hurt you, there's got to be some truth to what they say, right? Multiple people aren't usually wrong and now I've proven them right anyway because I've been an asshole to you this whole day, whole week if I'm really honest, and I hate myself for that beca-"

Eddie shuts Steve up by grasping both his shoulders and shaking him like a ragdoll. Steve didn't even register that he'd left the porch and had walked up to him. "Stevie, Steve, shh. You gotta slow down, sweetheart. That's a lot to take in."

"Right. Right, sorry," Steve's voice sounds watery to his own ears, and also Eddie looks a little watery, which is odd and- oh. He's crying, he realizes, when one of Eddie's hands moves to swipe a tear from his cheek.

"Go inside, sweetheart," Eddie nudges him towards the door, "I'm going to turn off your car and I'll be right in."

Steve obeys because he's pretty good at following instructions. Unfortunately, it does mean he just stands anxiously in the entrance hall waiting for Eddie to come in behind him because the only instruction was 'go inside'. Steve's not even aware that he's worried Eddie might not follow until he comes back into view and a wave of relief washes over Steve.

Eddie leads him down the hall to his bedroom before making Steve take off his shoes and clamber into the bed. Eddie fusses and arranged them so that Eddie is sat up against the headboard and Steve is cuddled up between his legs, head tucked under Eddie's chin. Steve worms his hands behind Eddie's back to hug him, and Eddie wraps his arms around Steve to return the embrace.

"Stevie, I got to be honest, I thought you were wanting to break up with me today," Eddie says.

Steve tightens his hold just a bit, "No. And yes. But also never?"

"That makes no sense."

"The thought of breaking up... I'm not going to lie, Eddie, I have thought it. But not because it's what I want. It's because there were moments when I thought it was what would be best, for you."

"How the fuck do you reckon it would be 'best for me' to break up with me?" Eddie is rubbing soothing circles on Steve's back, so he doesn't think he's in too much trouble.

"I let... I just got into my head about things. Your uncle gave me the shovel talk, which yeah, okay, fair. He's basically your dad, he's supposed to be on the lookout for people who would hurt you. But then, he wasn't the only one. And no one straight up said I would, for sure, end up hurting you, but then I learned that no one had given you a shovel talk and I just- Fuck. This all sounds so stupid! I don't want someone to threaten you. That's not what this is about but it's just- it feels like- why doesn't anyone care that I might get hurt, too? And then everything spiraled."

"Oh, sweetheart," Eddie presses a kiss to the top of Steve's head. Steve doesn't deserve this comfort.

"I just- I found myself thinking that like, if I just broke my own heart first, by breaking up, then they wouldn't be right. But also like, they wouldn't be wrong, because breaking up would hurt you, too, and then they'd pick sides and they'd pick yours because they were right about me but also, they're wrong because you have the power to fuck me up, too. 'Cause I love you."

"That's the third time you've told me," Eddie says.

"You don't have to say it back," Steve is quick to say, "I just- Now that I've said it, I can't seem to stop but you don-"

"I'm in love with you, too, you know," Eddie whispers, cutting Steve off as one of Eddie's hands comes up to play with Steve's hair. That thing that cracked inside him early, the feeling that made Steve call out to Eddie, settles back together somewhere deep within him.

Eddie plays with his hair for a bit before he says, "It's super fucking shitty of our friends to put that on you. And I'm sorry for not noticing that you were hurting. If it helps, Robin has given me a shovel talk. Kinda. I think she also gave one to Nancy at the same time? But for like, past you." That gets a chuckle out of Steve. "And Erica threatened to slash my tires if I hurt you, not even a full two weeks ago. And I don't think she even means like a breakup hurt. I think if she learns about today, she'll slash my tires even though we talked it out. Or, will have talked it out, by the time she finds out. Which I hope she doesn't. Because she'll slash my tires."

Steve is a little amused at the end of Eddie's speech because Eddie does sound, just a little bit, afraid of Erica. He tilts his head up and presses a kiss to the underside of Eddie's jaw and then freezes, because he's not sure he should have. Not after how he's treated Eddie this past week, and today especially. But Eddie doesn't react like he's upset. His fingers still glide through Steve's hair and his other hand rests on Steve's back in a half embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Eds," Steve says, shoving his face into Eddie's neck. "About today, this whole week, for- for everything. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry, too, sweetheart," Eddie whispers back, "I let myself think things of you, you know. Shit I know isn't true, and wouldn't be, because I was scared, too. That I'd fallen for you. I didn't let myself believe you'd love me back, so I thought some really awful things."

"Well, I acted on my thoughts, so you don't have to apologize."

"Yes, I do. And I accept your apology."

Steve huffs, breath warming his face along with Eddie's neck. "I don't think you did anything wrong, but I accept your apology, too."

They lay for a few moments more before Eddie's shoving softly at Steve, to get him to roll over, onto his side. He does, facing Eddie, and Eddie rolls onto his side to face him. Immediately Steve's hand seeks out Eddie's, he can't stand to not be touching him in some form right now. Steve slots their fingers together, and Eddie curls his fingers down to grip back. Steve brings their joined hands to his lips, placing a kiss on Eddie's knuckles before he says, "So, where do we do from here?"

"I don't know the where," Eddie gives him a soft smile, "but I do know that I want it to be together. So, I guess we just, go forward, together. With more talking. You have to let me know when you're hurting, babe. I can't help if I don't know."

"I know," Steve nods, "I know. And I'll try. I promise, I'll try my best but I don't- what if I can't?"

"I think you can," Eddie says. "You did, today, just now. And I guess, on nights we're really mad at each other, we go to bed mad but together. Same bed. Because I'll need the reassurance of you being here."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll do that," Steve says before pressing one more kiss to Eddie's knuckles, then letting their hands drop back to the bed. There's more talking to be done, Steve's sure. He wants to explain himself better, more thoroughly, but Eddie is content to let him lay here so Steve's going to take it for now. "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Yeah, sweetheart," Eddie says, soft smile on his face. "You work tomorrow?"

"No," Steve says, "why?"

"Redo date. Make it a whole day thing. Just us," Eddie explains with a shrug, "Not that the bowling wasn't fun. Just-"

"Yeah," Steve is quick to agree, both because he wants a redo, too, and because he doesn't want to hear the rest of Eddie's sentence. "How about we go to Indy for the day?"

"Sounds great. Now, let's get some PJs on and channel surf until we find something tolerable," Eddie leans in, giving Steve a quick kiss before rolling himself off the bed and beginning the search for pajamas. Steve's happy to watch him bend over the various piles of clothes around his room.

[ivelle-serenity]

Skateboard 7

Wind breaker

fem bodied reader | smut | action | pwp | jayjo/fml | vinny/fml | wooin/fml | joker/fml | hyuk/fml | owen/fml | enemies to lovers | angsty | the other woman (?) | reverse harem | fluff | SLOW BURN! | all characters featured are 18+

author's note: i need demitra's interaction with sabbath now and write smut. damn it. they're so hot--i just can't.

✧˖° — windbreaker men

✧˖° — mdni, smut, description of not safe for work content.

✧˖° — this is a story not one shot.

"Jay's out of it again," Dom sighed, watching Jay sitting alone on the bench. It was currently our P.E. class, and we were doing our stretches. Jay, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the world, sitting on the bench reading a book.

"He didn't eat lunch again. I'm really worried about him," Mia said, lowering her head.

"Damn it, I hate seeing him like this. Why doesn't Shelly even message our friend?" Dom said angrily, throwing the ball down in frustration.

I kept staring in Jay's direction. His friends were getting worried about him, but Jay didn't seem to care because of Shelly. I noticed my bag beside Jay; I had left it there so I could go straight home after P.E. without having to go back upstairs.

"I'm going to get some water," I told Mia and Dom. Mia nodded while Yuna tried to calm Dom down.

When I reached the bench, I grabbed my water bottle for a drink. I was surprised to find a sandwich in my bag that I hadn't eaten earlier. I took it out.

"Do you want?" I offered it to Jay. He paused and looked at the sandwich.

"I'm fine," he said.

"I made it myself. It's really good! Promise!" I said, sitting next to him. He glanced at the sandwich again before putting his book down.

"Fine, thanks," he said.

I smiled widely when he accepted it. I felt proud of myself for getting him to eat. As I watched him, I noticed Dom walking towards us.

"The tournament's tomorrow. I still can't believe we have to ride without Shelly," Dom said worriedly as he approached us.

"You guys trained for a reason. I know you can do it," Minu tried to reassure his friends.

"Why do we have to fall apart when we're so close to the end of the competition?" Dom sat down beside Jay, who was now eating the sandwich.

I just listened to their conversation, not wanting to intrude. I was only here to replace Shelly in the competition. I didn't want to assume they saw me as a friend. I knew my place. Besides, I had no intention of officially joining their crew. Wooin didn't want me getting close to the Hummingbirds, so joining was out of the question. I sighed.

"How about you, Demitra?" Mia's question caught me off guard. I forced a laugh.

"I'll just try my best tomorrow. I think you can win even without my help. You guys are amazing."

I could feel Jay's eyes on me. My actions yesterday were too risky. I can't let that happen again. I really need to control my feelings for Jay. It's embarrassing because he probably sees me as just a friend, while I see him in a different light. I also don't want Shelly to know I'm here. If she finds out, I'll probably transfer to another school.

"We still need your help to win the race," Jay said, stopping my thoughts.

"Of course," I said, scratching the back of my neck in embarrassment.

"We got you a wig," Yuna said, holding out a bag. A wig? For what? "So no one notices you're not Shelly."

I was stunned and had no choice but to nod. I couldn't believe I was going to pretend to be Shelly. If Noah were here, she'd probably laugh at me. She knew how much I hated being compared to her. But here I was, agreeing to her friends' plan.

"Got it," I said softly.

After saying that, they started discussing unfamiliar things related to the race. I overheard Sangho's name being mentioned, which made me even more silent. I noticed that it wasn't just Jay who was looking at me; even Yuna seemed to want me out of there, judging by her glances. Since I didn't want to intrude on their privacy, I moved away from the group. I approached some other classmates and grabbed a ball to play with.

Our teacher was absent. From what Dom said, they called him Mr. Nam. I hadn't met him yet, but based on how Jay and the others seemed to respect him, I figured he must be a great teacher.

My brows furrowed as a ball rolled towards the school's entrance, played by some other classmates. I quickly went to retrieve it. As I picked it up, I nearly dropped it when I saw a familiar guy.

"Vinny?" I exclaimed in surprise. He looked blank and pocketed something. He had a bike with him.

"You're studying here too?" he said with almost a tone of disgust. Perhaps he said that because he knew his former friends were studying here.

I nodded. "What brought you here?" I asked, looking down at the bike.

"Wooin wanted you to come to a race tomorrow to watch," he said, almost stopping my heart. "And he also wants you to know that you should be at the club every night at 8 p.m."

"W-What?" I couldn't process what he was saying.

"I can't go tomorrow," I said quickly. I didn't want them to know that I was one of the racers tomorrow! "And why should I go to the club at night?"

His gaze turned colder. "Have you forgotten the deal you made with Wooin?"

Damn it.

"You need to be there every night before the tournament. He needs you for the strategies we'll be planning for the race," he explained, looking irritated.

"O-Oh..." I nodded. "But isn't Sangho there?" I said nervously.

He fell silent. "Why are you so afraid of him?" he asked seriously.

I clenched my fists. "I told you, I got into a fight with some guys who seemed to work for him. And... those men didn't just want me dead. They tried to touch me." It felt pointless to lie. They would find out eventually.

"They what?" His face darkened. His eyes widened.

I looked away. "But I think they won't chase me here. But still... I don't want to see Sangho—"

"They tried to touch you? Fuck."

I smiled bitterly. "Vinny, do you think it's easy being a female rider in the underground? Not everyone we race against wants to compete fairly. Some of them want to..." I couldn't finish my sentence.

We both fell silent. Maybe he realized I didn't want to talk about it anymore. It was a nightmare. That's why I promised myself I'd never bike again.

"You stay close to Dom," he broke the silence. "He can protect you."

I furrowed my brows. "Why him? Don't you think Wooin can protect me?"

He sighed. "Not like that. Like you said, you don't want any connection with Sangho. Wooin has business with that man, so it's better if you stick with Dom for now," he explained, combing his hair.

"He's part of the Yakuza. He can protect you."

The real question is... Why would he protect me? I'm not even his friend! I'm just his classmate. I don't want to approach Dom just to be protected. I'm not that desperate!

"I think I can protect myself very well, Vinny. Thank you for your concern," I said with a smile. His gaze remained serious.

"I'll go talk to him, then."

"What!?" I exclaimed, trying to stop him from entering the school. "Wait! I thought you two weren't friends anymore?"

I blocked his way to stop him from entering. He was so tall that I was having a hard time. There were many eyes on us because of him. He looked like a gangster trying to enter the school.

I tried to block his way, but it was too late. Vinny had stopped and was glaring at something behind me.

"What's going on?" Jay's cold voice made me wince.

"Call Dom. I don't need you," Vinny snapped at Jay. I quickly turned to Jay and shook my head, trying to defuse the tension.

"You can go back. He's just asking me something," I lied, but Jay's gaze remained fixed on me, then shifted to Vinny in a silent challenge.

"I thought you weren't friends with him?" Jay's comment made Vinny pause and look at me with an annoyed expression. Maybe he was irritated because I had told Jay, or perhaps that was just his usual demeanor.

"Why do you even care, jerk?" Vinny retorted, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Hey, stop," I urged Vinny, my brows furrowed. "Can you please just go? You're making a scene." I whispered, glancing around and noticing the growing number of onlookers. The tension was palpable, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"What the fuck? What's that bastard doing here?" Dom's voice startled me. He approached with a fierce look, positioning himself between Jay and Vinny. I felt a surge of anxiety, fearing they might start a fight. Both of them towered over me, their presence intimidating.

Vinny clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "You..." he couldn't finish his sentence, throwing sharp glances at Dom, who tilted his head mockingly.

"Vinny, just go," I said firmly, my voice steady despite the chaos. His gaze dropped to me, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. He ran a hand through his hair, frustration etched on his face.

"I'm not here to fight, considering I've already beaten you," he sneered. Dom made a move towards him, but Jay held him back with a firm hand on his shoulder.

Vinny continued, "Just protect your new member, will you? You never know who might want to hurt this little one." His tone was mocking, but there was an undercurrent of threat that made my blood run cold.

Dom’s eyes narrowed, his body tensing as he took a step closer. “You think you’re tough? Coming here and making threats?”

Vinny smirked, clearly enjoying the reaction he was provoking. “I don’t need to think. I know.”

“Enough,” Jay said, his voice cutting through the rising tension. “Vinny, leave now.”

Vinny held Jay’s gaze for a long moment before he shrugged, as if bored by the whole confrontation. “Fine. But remember what I said, Dom. Watch your back. And hers.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving a heavy silence in his wake. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding and looked at Jay and Dom, who were still tense and ready for a fight.

“are you okay?” Jay asked, with a serious look on his face.

I nodded, but my mind was racing. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… let’s go back to class.”

What the hell was that? Is that his excuse to follow through with his plan to have Dom protect me? I hate him! He doesn't need to do that,.

[nyuusayuri]

Captain Koby x Reader

Unbreakable Bonds [Part 1/3]

Warnings: Upcoming smut in Part 2, slight swearing, mention of smoking

I apologize for upcoming spelling mistakes, but English is not my native language - hope you still enjoy it!

Everything was dark as my consciousness slowly seemed to return. My back hurts, as if I had fallen 5m and landed on a cold board. Probably because it was like that. Except that at the last second my fall was gentler than expected. Grumbling, I held my head, which was buzzing like it did after 3 nights of partying with Shanks and his crew. Still slightly dazed, I opened my eyes a crack and realized that I was in a dark, cold room with no windows to let in some light. Only the bars opposite of me, behind which I could see light and a lonely desk with a chair.

I sat up heavily and held my back the next second when a sharp pain shot through me, causing me to grit my teeth tightly to keep from accidentally crying out. Parts of my memory from yesterday flashed back to me and showed me how, after a fierce battle against the Marine, at some point I only saw smoke and was almost crushed under the wreckage when I tried to escape. But only almost. I can only vaguely remember the hint of something...pink. "What rubbish. Why did the damn Marine have to show up at exactly this time." To my right, I heard the click of a lock and decided to continue pretending to be asleep in order to perhaps find out more about my whereabouts.

"I'm sorry, Vice Admiral. Seems like the prisoner still hasn't woken up. I'm not surprised by the blow you gave her." "It doesn't matter. Sooner or later she'll have to wake up and talk. Those damn pirates are really nothing but trouble. We'll take her to Captain Koby's ship at the next port anyway. I have something else to do other than dealing with these annoying pirates. I'm sure he'll get something out of her,"came an annoyed voice, sounding so deep and rough, as if someone was inhaling nothing but smoke. But in a strange way it still sounded quite pleasant. "Ai ai Vice Admiral Smoker. We will inform the other ship immediately." The next moment the footsteps moved away again, but I stayed there until the door closed.

So Vice Admiral Smoker. It's a miracle I escaped with my life if he was the one chasing me. For all the hours that passed I tried desperately to find a way out, but unfortunately the Marine had thought these cells through really well, so in the end I had no choice but to give up and sit in a dark corner. "Then I guess I'll have to think about something while they try to transport me to the other ship." Sighing, I let my head fall against the wall behind me and stared at the ceiling. I still have these hazy memories of something pink, but I can't even think of what that could have been. "Hmm... I would be interested to know who I owe my life to. Even I would have barely survived a fight against Smoker." And so time passed until the ship finally seemed to dock at the next harbor. The only thing I noticed was the jerky movement of the ship as it was tied up, along with the hasty footsteps of the crew milling about on the deck above me, trying to prepare everything for a safe transport.

The next moment several Marines ran down the stairs and burst through the door. Everyone lined up, some seemed nervous and almost shitting their pants, while others showed no emotions and this was probably an everyday occurrence for them. A short time later he appeared in all his glory. Vice Admiral Smoker. Or how I liked to call him: Mr. Smoking hot. He looked at me grimly and I just responded with a mischievous grin. “Well, look at that. If that's not my good old Smokey." I slowly walked towards the bars and clutched them with both hands as I leaned closer to him. "I heard you wanted to push me away. And I thought we were finally getting closer." “Don’t even try it Y/N. That hasn't worked for me before and it won't work now either. We're transporting you over to Captain Koby's ship. He'll have more time for your little games than I do." Annoyed, he pulled the corners of his mouth down, at least as far as he could with two cigars in his mouth, before he gave the order to get me out of the cell and put me in chains.

On the way outside, after what felt like an eternity, I got some fresh air again and enjoyed the warm rays of sunshine on my skin. My eyes didn't seem too excited about the sudden brightness, though, so I had to squint them in order to not get blinded. "Smoker-kun!" A very bright and joyful voice came from a distance and seemed to be slowly approaching. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light and I could finally see clearly where we were. Near another ship I saw 2 strange figures. One had long blonde hair and a... very strange chin. When I looked at the other one next to him my body froze and my eyes went wide. That pink hair. No! That can't be! It was him...who saved me? A Captain of the Marines? "Come on! Move, you miserable priate scum!" One of the soldiers behind me pushed me forward with a shove in the back, I gave him an angry glance and continued to walk.

We walked straight towards the other ship and I could see more and more clearly who was actually standing in front of me. Captain Koby smiled and greeted his superior and then turned to me. Even though he didn't give me a smile like he did the Vice Admiral, I still felt a certain tenderness on his part. "Don't worry, Smoker-kun. Leave it to me. I'll get her to tell us something about the scroll." I looked at him in shock. The scroll! So that's why they hired someone as high as Smoker to target me. I twisted my mouth in annoyance and lowered my gaze to the floor. This could get funny.

[mrslankyman]

Do I Wanna Know?

Wrote this a while ago - 2,906 Words

Daryl Dixon - Prison Era (Not based on any episode in series)

February 12, 2012

As far as I know today is February 12. That's what Carol tells me. She keeps the days tracked. I guess she does a lot around here.

She's pretty reliable. Rick's been out scouting for a while. We're running low on supplies. Might have to make a trip to the closest town.

I head out of the main corridor of the prison where we've been staying. Pulling my pistol out from my holster and switching it into my dominant hand.

I opened the door that lead outside. The sun hit my face and I squinted. Living in the dark of the prison sure as hell made your eyes sensitive to any bright lights.

I passed Glenn and gave a curt nod. He was heading to the watch post for his daily steak out. I walked up to the fence. Looking out into the field. Only a few walkers today. Better than yesterday. There was a whole hoard out there. Thank god for Daryl. Him and his cross bow. That damn cross bow. He loves that thing more than anyone.

Speaking of the devil the familiar sound of a motorcycle filled my ears. I turned to the gate as Glenn pushed it open. Daryl came riding into the prison. Stopping his bike and taking the keys out of the ignition. He unwrapped the three rabbits he had killed. Of course he was out hunting. When wasn't he doing something? He barely slept because he refused to be useless.

"What ya catch out there Daryl?" Carol asked walking out of the Prison. Daryl looked up at her and held up the three rabbits. "Nice." She smiled and took them from Daryl. Forgot, the cook and the hunter were best friends. I groaned and looked back out into the field. Everyone in the group seemed to have someone.

I was just left out. I joined late and it felt like when you joined a friend group but the kids before had been friends for years. I was always the odd one out. At least I can survive here. That I am grateful for.

"What are you doing just staring off into the field?" A low voice asked behind me. I'd be lying if when I first joined that voice didn't set me off. In a good way.

Now it's just a constant reminder that I'm just lonesome. Daryl never cared for me. I knew from the day I joined. At first he tried to come across as friendly. In his own way. He just said Hello. Which was more than anyone else did. After about a week I guess he got tired of it.

"Yes I am. Does it bother you Dixon?" I asked not looking at him. My voice was laced with attitude. Hoping he got the point to leave me alone. It was what he did best. Ignoring me.

Daryl must've gotten annoyed. At least I assume because I heard him turn away and head inside. I let out a sigh and put my pistol in its holster on my waist. "I hope this shit ends one day." Such an idiotic thought. It was never going to end. The world was over.

-----

"Alright, we need to plan out the group's going out for supplies tomorrow." Rick said as we all sat down to eat. "We need more canned foods, medicine, and first aid supplies. Ammo too if we can find any." As Rick carried on I looked over to Daryl.

He was sitting next to Carol on the floor. They were talking about what I don't know. I rolled my eyes. He was starting to get really close with Carol. It was annoying seeing him make friends. I don't know why but it did.

"Y/N did you hear me?" Rick's voice pierced through my ears. The angry dad tone. I looked up at him. "What?" I asked. "You and Daryl are going out to Greens Burrow to search the market place up there for food." Rick said pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ok everyone else listen up." Rick said gathering everyone else attention again.

I looked over at Daryl. He was looking back at me and chuckling.

I guess me getting scolded is what made a almost 40 year old man laugh now a days. I rolled my eyes and ate my stew.

----

After we all ate dinner everyone headed to their cells to sleep. Besides Rick. He headed out of the prison. I assume to go on watch or snoop around somewhere. I don't really care.

As I headed down the short walk way to my cell I bumped into a broad shoulder. I looked up and groaned. Daryl. "Watch where ya going." He huffed out. I rolled my eyes and went to walk past him. "Annoying asshole." I mumbled under my breath.

A hand grabbed the back of my shirt collar and slammed me into the cement wall. I groaned as a slight rush of pain pierced my head.

Daryl looked down at me. His hand holding my shirt to the wall. He leaned closer his eyes squinting at me. "Wha'd ya call me?" He asked in a low whisper.

I glared at the man in front of me. No way in hell he was talking to me like this. "Wha'd ya think?" I mocked him.

I smirked a little in sanctification as the annoyances crept its way onto his face. "Is the big hunts man mad?" I teased as his hand bunched into fist. I took the opportunity before he could speak to flip our positions.

I slammed him into the wall. Watching as his eyes widen in shock. "Before you go around shoving women into walls.." I leaned into his ear. "Make sure shes not a professionally trained wrestler." His face scrunched up.

I laughed as I let go of him. "Ass hole." I cooed as I walked off to my cell. Completely satisfied for once.

----

"I seriously cannot believe I have to go with you. Rick could've chosen anyone." I complained as I fixed my pistol in my holster.

Daryl was getting his bike ready. "Stop complaining." He grumbled in annoyance. He got on his bike and looked at me. I stared at him confused.

"Get on the fuck are ya doin?" He asked as I still stood there. In utter silence. "I'm not getting on that bike with you." I rolled my eyes.

He leaned his head back in exasperation. I was making this hell for him. I could tell. I kinda liked it.

"I'm gonna leave without ya." He kicked up the kick stand of his bike and revved it up. "Fine! But only because I don't feel like walking." I saw him smirk slightly from the side mirrors on his bike. Our eyes caught each other and he stared at me for a second before looking away.

I walked up to the bike and threw my right leg over the seat and sat down. "You're gonna have to hold on." He said as he revved the bike up again. "I think I can balance." I rolled my eyes. "Sure." He chuckled as the gates opened.

He revved the bike up one more time before shooting out of the prison and onto the road ahead. My body wobbled and I flung my arms forward. Wrapping them around Daryl's waist.

Daryl Pov

I knew she wouldn't be able to balance. I felt her arms wrap around me and bit my lip. The breeze of the wind flowing my hair felt nice. But not as nice as this. I'll admit it's been a while since someone has ever touched me like this. Maybe that's why I don't mind.

Or maybe I just wanted to prove her right. I closed my eyes slightly. It was nice to get out of the prison. Even with the dead being all over.

My thoughts slipped to last night. Her slamming me against the wall. Her face as she leaned into my ear. Her voice.. I felt a shiver run down my spine. No I couldn't like this snobby woman. She was also keeping to her self. A strange woman in a now strange world. Not so strange at all If you really think about it.

I'm too hypocritical.

I was and still am like that. Sure I've gotten closer to a lot of our people but I still keep my distance. I opened my eyes. Watching ahead for any walkers or living people.

I could see in my right side mirror Y/N looking around. She looked nice with the wind blowing her hair. A carefree look on her face.

I looked ahead and kept going. All the way to Greens Burrow. Trying my best to ignore the thoughts I had of the woman behind me. I'm just going crazy. This world has changed me.

----

I stopped at the local market. I kicked down my bikes kick stand and waited for Y/N to get off. Once she did I got off too.

She grabbed a stray shopping cart and headed inside. She better not fill that shitty thing up. The two bags on my bike only had enough room for a few things. If we found any.

I shoved open the door. Carts and random shelves blocked the entrance. We climbed over them and got to the main center of the store. Empty shelves and random new papers littered the room.

I looked over at Y/N to ask her what we should do but she was already walking off. Pushing the cart down a random isle all the way at the back of the store.

"Is she dumb?" I asked myself as I followed her. I left my cross bow back at the prison. Fuck. I pulled out my pistol from my holster and lifted it up. Checking each isle as I walked over to her.

This idiot could've been eaten. I guess not everyone is as smart as you think.

Once I finally made it to her I saw the cart. Stock pilled of random canned goods and chips. "We can't take all of that." I grumbled as I lowered my pistol.

"We can just take some and then come back for the rest." She shrugged like it was no big deal. She is starting to really piss me off.

"I do not wanna be stuck running around all day with an idiot." I pinched the bridge of my nose in annoyance. I felt her hand pat my chest and I looked down at her. "Get over it." She smiled but her tone was rather angry.

I shoved her away and headed off down the rest of the isle. Checking for walkers so this idiot of a woman doesn't die.

----

Regular POV

It's been about a week since me and Daryl's run. He has been avidly ignoring me. I guess I really pissed him off when I said this walker with the ugliest fucking face looking like him. I thought it was funny.

Today I was out checking the other cells around the prison. Killing any walkers that I stumbled into or that stumbled into me. I had finally made it to the end of cell block E.

I was going to be late for dinner. Oh well. I headed back to the front of the prison and walked into the main cell block we were all settled in. Just as I thought.

Everyone had ate and there was nothing left. I groaned and mentally cursed Rick for giving me the worst jobs. I lowered my head and started walking up to the stairs.

"Not gonna eat?" A familiar deep voice asked. I looked over at Daryl. He was holding a bowl of stew. I rolled my eyes. "No." I huffed and turned to keep walking.

"Come on and eat. I don't need you to starve." He insisted. Talking to me like he cared.

"Why do you care if I starve?" I sneered. He just gave me a look. The 'you better do what I say.' look. I gave up and walked back down the steps and over to him. He held out the bowl to me and I took it.

"Thanks.." I say unsure. Should I be thanking him or telling him off? He had ignored me for a whole week.

Why do you care about me so much all of a sudden? You ignored me all week." I antagonized him. He just stared at me. Bitting his bottom lip. 

"I didn't ignore you. Now good night." He turned away and began to walk up the stairs to his cell. I rolled my eyes and started to eat my stew.

Then it hit me.

He wasn't ignoring me. At least he was verbally.

He would purposely bump into me and give me a rude look. Even if it was his fault. He'd look at me anytime we all ate dinner together. Constantly pick the same time to do guard duty as me. Even if he didn't speak to me.

I shook my head. Maybe I was just over thinking it. We were in a prison after all. With maybe 10 people. It's bound that we bump into each other and have the same shifts.

———

Again. Today I had to check Cell block A. I groaned as I walked down the hall. I was always chosen for the dumb jobs. I headed into a cell unit. Checking each cell for any sign of life .. or death. As I got to the end of the cell block a hand grabbed me and pushed me down to the grown.

"Ah- what the hell.." I looked up at the walker infront of me. It's jaws slammed together as I pushed it away with my hand. Keeping its mouth away from my face and neck. "ah- fuck!" I looked over to my side. My gun had fallen out.

"Shit shit shit! I kicked at the walker. It didn't budge. I tried shoving it off. No use. My arms grew tired and I trembled under the weight of the dead. This can't be how I die. No way.

As the Walker lowered its self. Close enough to take a bite out of my flesh. I swear I could've felt the pain of teeth bitting into my skin. A loud 'phew' echoed and an arrow pierced the Walker through the head. It flopped down. I pushed it off my quickly and scrambled away from it. Catching my breath.

Daryl stood at the end of the corridor. His crossbow in hand. He lowered it and walked over. Pulling the arrow out of the walkers head.

"What are you doing here?" I asked still trying to recover from the shock.

"Saving you. Dumb ass." He grumbled and set his cross bow down. He walked over to me and held out his hand. I hesitantly held my hand out and took his. He pulled me up and I stumbled into him.

He looked down at me as I looked up at him. "I heard you. I was walking around tryna find you to tell ya dinner was done. Since you missed it the day before." His voice echoed in my head. This time it wasn't annoying.

"Oh really? What makes you care so much if I miss dinner? It just mean more food for you. I don't get why you're trying to be so nice to me but stop."

He stared at me. His eyes narrowing slowly. "I just saved ya. Doesn't it prove I are about ya?! Do I have to spell it out!" He yelled flipping his arms into the air and back down.

"Why did you save me? Aren't I just an annoyance to you?" I went on. His hands bunched up into fist. "Maybe you are!" He sneered.

"Good I like being the reason you're so mad." I smirked and pushed him against the wall. He stared at me. Slowly catching onto my game. "Agitating you makes my day." I clicked my tongue in his face at the end of the sentence.

He bit his lip and glared at me. His hands grabbing my sides slowly but firmly. My heart rushed slightly. I pushed the feeling down. I wanted him to make the first move.

"Maybe I like that you agitate me." He added on, pulling me closer by the waist. His voice was deeper now. More low and quite.

I pressed my body against his. My arms wrapped around his neck. "I like that you like it." I whispered in his ear in a slow, low tone. I could feel him growing hard as each one of my silky smooth words touched his ear.

I pulled away and looked at him. I laughed slightly. Who knew a women could make a grown man melt at a few words so easily.

"Maybe I'll-"

He cut me off and pressed me against his chest. "Just shut up and kiss me." He demanded. I smirked and gladly listened. Pressing my lips against his cold chapped ones. His stumble rubbed against my face and I'd be lying if I said it didn't turn me on more.

We stayed like that for a few minuets. Just kissing and saying things I'm sure he wouldn't want the others to know about. Men get embarrassed so easily.

[vendetta-if]

Chapter 6 Part 1 Sneak Peek (Pt. 1)

Hey guys 👋 Time for the very first sneak peek at Chapter 6 Part 1. I still have one more sneak peek for Chapter 6 Part 1 that I will release as we get closer to the public update date on 22nd of April (GMT +8).

This sneak peek is a little unique because it's mostly written in text chat message format 😄 As some of you might already be aware, you'll be able to choose a group chat name for MC and the gang or input your own. Below is some snippet on the choices 😆

Chapter 6 Part 1 Early Access demo is now up on both Patreon and Ko-fi!

* * * * *

The annoying sound cuts through the silence, anchoring you more and more to the waking world. Trying to block it is futile as it continues. After a few more times, you finally turn back around and reach for the source—your phone that is charged beside your bed. Unplugging the charger, you bring the phone close to your face, eyes squinted as you check the notification tray.

Oh, it's the group chat that you made last night, being active. Quickly opening your Whazzapp, you backread the chat.

Today [12:27 AM] You: "Hey guys, are you free to meet up tomorrow? Maybe around noon or so? I've got something important to share."

[02:01 AM] Santana: "I'm always available to work on the case. Just let me know the location like half an hour before at the least because I'll need some time to walk to the nearest subway station."

[09:05 AM] Rin: "I've cleared up my schedule for the day, so I hope it's for something urgent and important."

[10:03 AM] Skylar: "Sure! I'm free today. Where are we hanging out, gang?"

[10:10 AM] Skylar: "You know what, we should totally find a name for our newly-made group chat. Saying 'little investigation group' is kind of a mouthful. I've been brainstorming some names these past few minutes, and I think I've got a good one. How about 'Fabulous Four'?"

[10:12 AM] Rin: "I don't think it's a good name, but at least it's different enough to avoid copyright infringement."

[10:12 AM] Skylar: "Glad we're of the same mind."

[10:13 AM] Rin: "Same mind? I doubt that. I literally just told you that it's not a good name. I think it's a bit cheesy tbh."

[10:13 AM] Ash: "Jesus Christ, can you guys shut up for another half an hour or what? Some people are still asleep. Well, I was until I got woken up by all the buzzing."

[10:14 AM] Ash: "Also, 'Fabulous Four' is a stupid name. And can't you count? We're a five-people team now."

[10:14 AM] Skylar: "Wait, five? So, if you're the grumpy redhead I met yesterday, then who's the other person I've been talking to? I can only see your phone numbers."

[10:15 AM] Skylar: "And no problem. We'll be 'Fabulous Five' instead! The more the merrier."

[10:16 AM] Rin: "I'm not introducing myself over a group chat message. We'll do a proper introduction in person later on."

[10:16 AM] Skylar: "Fair enough. I'll see you later then!"

[10:17 AM] Ash: "Ngl, 'Fabulous Five' still sounds dumb."

[10:18 AM] Skylar: "Clearly, you're just a hater. Instead of casting the first stone, how about you try coming up with another name then?"

Well, it seems like Ash is ignoring Skylar because that's where the chat ends for now. Checking the time, you see that it's already 10:24 AM. Well, maybe it's time to reply to some of the messages in the chat before doing anything else. Plus, it's an excuse to stay in bed a little bit longer.

* * * * *

Okay, next order of business, the group chat name that Skylar and Ash were arguing about. You kinda agree with Skylar that 'little investigation group' is far from the best or the catchiest name ever. Although, you're not really sure how you feel about ${sky_his} suggested name, 'Fabulous Five', right now. Maybe you have a better name in mind?

CHOICE

#I'll stick to 'Fabulous Five'. #'Elysium Cleanup Crew' #'The Vendetta Project' #'The Revengers' #'The Justiciars' #'Justice Squad Chat' #None of these.

* * * * *

#I'll stick to 'Fabulous Five'.

After pondering more on the name Skylar suggested, you decide that it's actually good enough and you actually like it. It's growing on you in the past few minutes of contemplation. Tapping on ${sky_his} message, you reply:

EMOTIONAL MC [10:32 AM] You: "'Fabulous Five' actually sounds awesome. Let's go with that!"

STOIC MC [10:32 AM] You: "'Fabulous Five' is not so bad. Let's just go with that."

[10:32 AM] Skylar: "Hell yeah! I knew it! I knew it's an amazing and genius name."

[10:33 AM] Rin: "…"

You can practically feel Rin judging you through the screen just from the three dots.

SARCATIC MC [10:33 AM] You: "Okay, calling it 'genius' might be pushing it a bit too far. Let's dial it back a bit."

GENUINE MC[10:33 AM] You: "I wouldn't really use the word 'genius' per se…"

[10:34 AM] Skylar: "Aww… Alright. I still think it's a compliment tho."

You navigate to the group chat setting to change the group name to 'Fabulous Five' before going back to the group chat.

GENUINE MC [10:35 AM] You: "Okay, there. It's done."

[10:35 AM] Skylar: "Whoo 🎉🎉 We're officially 'Fabulous Five' now. No complaining 😉"

[10:36 AM] Ash: "Fuck! Fine…"

SARCASTIC MC [10:35 AM] You: "There. We're officially 'Fabulous Five' now. No complaining."

[10:35 AM] Skylar: "Whoo 🎉🎉 You hear that, you grump?"

[10:36 AM] Ash: "Fuck! Fine…"

Chuckling quietly to yourself, you lock your phone and get off the bed in one smooth movement.

[klaprisun]

One Sunny Day

(Stardew Valley)(Haley x Female Farmer)

Chapter 13

The day of the Flower Dance has arrived. I received a letter in my mailbox yesterday informing me of the details.

Tomorrow we're all getting together for the Flower Dance.

If you can find a partner, you might even want to participate in the dance yourself!

There's a little clearing beyond the forest west of town where we hold the dance. Arrive between 9 am and 2 pm if you're interested.

-Mayor Lewis

I don't totally want to go considering I'll have to see Haley. We have not spoken for a couple days again. This time I feel it's deliberate. At least on my end it is. My heart still aches from our last encounter with one another at the Bath by the train station. She hasn't tried to reach out and apologize once. Part of me wonders if she even remembers. I wasn't going to try to find out though.

She will be dancing away with Alex with not a care in the world. Not even a second thought about what happened the other day. Everyone else will have a partner too except for me and I will look stupid standing on the side, watching everyone else have fun.

"I have better things to do today anyway," I mutter under my breath while crumbling up the letter about the Flower Dance, "I will start the day by watering my crops like usual, then I will swing by Pierre's-... oh never mind."

Everything will be closed today. How stupid. It only takes me 30 minutes to water everything and then I'll have nothing to do.

Back in my house, I sulk around for a good hour, refusing to do anything else. I stare over at the dresser I now have in my bedroom, wondering what clothes I would wear if I were to go check it out for a second. IF I were to go.

Getting up out of bed, I pace over to the dresser and proceed to pull open the draws to see what clothes I have to wear. There is nothing even remotely nice enough to wear.

"It's not like I'd be staying anyway. I'll just go, peek around the corner and leave," I start convincing myself.

Next thing you know I am walking down to the clearing the note said the Flower Dance is held. I had just thrown on baggy jeans, and a white flannel with a light pink tank top underneath. I kept the flannel open so the pink tank top is more visible.

I made the mistake to fiddle around in the fields before I left so my knees are covered with dirt and I am kind of dusty.

I've never been this far west before. I got a little lost finding my way but I did eventually make it since I saw ropes with colorful banners leading the way. But just as I said I was going to do, I stood back and observed from a distance.

Sam, Abigail and Sebastian are huddled together. Oddly, Penny is standing around with them. Emily has arrived back in town from her trip. She is prancing around and doing her own thing. Shane is also off on his own, but moping around instead of prancing. Leah and Elliot are chatting away over some punch, and Maru is talking to Harvey while they grab food from the buffet table. The older folks are also kind of just standing around and chatting with one another.

As badly as I wanted to ignore her, I saw Haley sitting by herself in the corner of the clearing in the grass. She seems to be wiping her eyes constantly, and trying to hide away behind her golden locks. She has the most gorgeous white, spring dress on with a crown made of beautiful pink flowers. Alex is nowhere in sight.

My legs seem to have a mind of their own, because I find myself approaching Haley in the shaded corner of the clearing. No one else had my attention, only Haley. I felt everyone's eyes on me as they watched me cut across the grass to get to her.

Haley didn't notice my presence until I was directly looming over her, casting extra shadows over her since I blocked any bit of light that's shining behind me.

She quickly wiped her eyes and nose before she spoke, "What are you doing over here?" she sniffles.

"I came to see what you are doing." I respond blandly.

Haley recognizes the bland tone and proceeds to quiz me more, "if you are just going to be all grumpy, why did you even come?"

"I felt left out. I had nothing else to do today. At least I'm not crying in the corner by myself." I snap back in a monotone voice.

That made her stand up to face me now. Except she doesn't seem that threatening considering her cute little outfit and her height. She brushes off her dress before pointing an accusing finger at me.

"I didn't ask you to come over here and ridicule me. Now go on with whatever you came over here to do and be gone!" she shouts. Our conversation is not in the range of anyone else, despite the shouting.

"Why are you crying, Haley? Where is Alex?" I calmly ask to try to settle things down. I don't try putting a hand on her shoulder or anything yet because I don't think we are quite back to that level.

She broke down crying instead of answering me. She covered her face with her hands and lowered her head. I just awkwardly stand there waiting for her to get to a point that she can speak.

"Haley you are going to wreck your makeup," is the best I can do to try to stop her from crying any longer. It worked though because her wails turned to breathy inhales.

"A-A-Alex l-l-left," she manages to get out.

"What do you mean?"

"He left for Zuzu City this morning to go see someone named Taylor. I heard them on the phone talking today and he just left right after. He left me hanging here with no dance partner. I have been the Flower Queen for 5 years and again this year, but how lame is it that I don't have a partner to dance with," Haley blurts out all at once. She got angrier and angrier as she went on.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Alex just left? On the day of the Flower Dance? Does he know how important that is to you?"

Her eyes sparkle up at me with more tears ready to form.

"Yes."

"So now you don't have a dance partner?" I reiterate.

"Yes."

"Have you asked anyone at all?"

"Ew no. That's not my job," she holds her nails up to her face to admire them. They are manicured with an eye catching, sea blue color.

"Well how are you supposed to get a dance partner if you don't ask around?"

She rolls her eyes at me, "I don't. Everyone else has a dance partner. You'll see. It's the same line up of partners every year. Nothing changes. It's kind of a tradition."

"Fuck tradition," I stick my hand out to her, palm up. I watch the gears work in her head to figure out what I am doing. It finally clicks and her head rapidly moves to look up at me.

"You... want to be my dance partner?" She says hesitantly. I can't tell how she is feeling with this proposition I have made.

I reach out and gently wipe the tear marks of her mascara from her cheeks. "Someone has to be the Queen's knight in shining armor."

Haley started blushing immensely at my remark. All she could do was look up and stutter at me. It was quite the sight to see.

"It is now time for the Flower Dance to begin! Everyone find your dance partners and line up as usual," Mayor Lewis hollers.

I watch as everyone huddles around, while the dancers line up across from their partner. The pairings really surprised me. Emily is with Shane, Sebastian with Abigail, Sam with Penny, Maru with Harvey, and Leah with Elliot.

Haley takes me by the hand and drags me straight to the open spot in the middle. She sticks me where I am supposed to go and prances over to her spot across from me. Since I have taken Alex's place, I am unfortunately the only girl on the guys side.

"I'm not a very good dancer. Warning you now," I tell Haley.

"You'll be fine. Don't worry," she giggles.

Mesmerizing music starts filling the air. I can't help but feel the weight of my worries lift off my shoulders as soon as I hear the song start.

On cue, Haley and the other girls in her row start swinging their dresses side to side to the beat. My row, which is all the guys, start approaching them to the beat. I am kind of behind on all the moves, Haley is amused.

The whole world seems to stop as I get closer to Haley. I can't help admiring how gorgeous she looks in the afternoon sunlight. It starts to feel as if we are the only two in the world.

Haley starts to wave her arms in the air while swaying her hips. I am not even paying attention to what moves I'm supposed to be doing at this point. I am just kind of bopping around... although that is kind of all I'm supposed to be doing anyway.

Haley goes back to swaying her arms in the air, I sense my row is moving closer to the girls, so I approach closer to Haley. We are almost face to face now, just a foot apart.

"You are all dirty," she whispers to me, referencing the dirt on my pants from this morning.

"You have no idea," I give her a wink, causing her cheeks to flare pink. I notice her stumble in the choreography which I doubt she has ever done in the 5 years she has been Flower Queen.

All the guys go to grab their partner's waist gently with one arm, and do some sort of a formal walk in a circle move.

I grab Haley's waist and hold it tightly, giving her a slight squeeze. Our bodies are pressed up to one another. The two of us are so wrapped up in our little circle move, that we don't notice everyone else has stopped.

Mayor Lewis clears his throat off in the distance, "That's it for the Flower Dance festivals folks. Y'all have a great night."

Haley and I immediately backed off from each other severely embarrassed. I look around at the crowd and notice Elliot and Leah fanning themselves as if they're saying 'it got steamy in here'.

Haley smooths out her skirt and gives me a little curtsy. "Thank you, my knight in shining armor, for saving the day."

I return a small bow and take her hand, planting a kiss on the back of it before releasing, "You know where to find me if you ever require rescuing."

I'm so glad I ended up going to the Flower Dance this year.

[crplpunkklavier]

there is something to be said about how i really barely feel disabled anymore once i'm in a truly accessible space. because the space is no longer disabling me.

so, we went to see the @montereybayaquarium for our honeymoon. we didn't make it through the whole aquarium on our first day, so we went twice. on day 1, i came to the ticket desk with my cane and said i'd like to have a wheelchair. on day 2, i didn't bring my cane, and once again requested a wheelchair. there was absolutely no difference in the employees' reactions: i didn't have to ~look disabled~ to be immediately met with a nod, and a wheelchair that 1) was my size and 2) i was able to move myself.

this is going to seem like a list of things that clear a very low bar, and i suppose it is. but i have been to bookfairs that attempted to take my cane from me because they didn't believe me i needed it, as if cane users carry cane prescriptions around with them (NOT A THING.), and who only let up when my friends and i explained to them (not reminded. explained) that what they were doing was illegal. the cologne zoo only has visitor wheelchairs that can be pushed by a companion, not wheeled by the user themselves. the art museum needs me to bring my own. so, you see where i'm coming from.

the aquarium was fully accessible. (at least for me as an ambulatory wheelchair user - i of course can't speak for people with different disabilities.) there was no exhibit i was cut off from by stairs, because all of them either had reasonable ramps (not too steep), or elevators that were quick and roomy enough not to make me feel like i was missing out. every exhibit was at a height/level that someone sitting down could still see. some of the active touch exhibits (like getting to pet certain animals or feel kelp) were trickier, but staff always came forth unprompted to ask me (not forcibly, just ask) if i could reach everything okay, and if i couldn't, they leaned down and over to help me get where i wanted. there was a walk-through bird enclosure where a staff person followed us, and explained that the doors need to open and close somewhat quickly, so she'll just stay around us while we're there, and as soon as i'm ready to exit through the door i was to let her know. she was fully in the background while we were in there, and at no point did i feel like i was under any pressure to get out soon, or like i was inconveniencing her.

literally the only difficult thing about going through the aquarium with a wheelchair was that at the very end of the day we weren't entirely sure where to give it back. the only difficult thing about going through the monterey bay aquarium with a wheelchair was getting rid of the wheelchair!

am i just advertising the monterey bay aquarium in this post? maybe. yeah. they're good in general and i'll give them as many free ads as i want. they were just also a really good example for accessibility that made me feel like a completely normal aquarium visitor. like i wasn't disabled, because the place enabled me to visit it.

and it's on my mind now that i'm back home in germany, because yesterday i had to take a train from a station that had me crawl up 4 flights of stairs with a cane and a suitcase around crowds of people that didn't help. and it wasn't that the elevator was broken or anything. it's that plenty of train stations even in large cities like cologne simply are not accessible for anyone who can't climb stairs.

and the aquarium was a good example for how it's not just things like ramps and available wheelchairs that are necessary, but how their staff also clearly knew what they were doing. there is an etiquette to learn for people who had never worked with disability before (you will at some point!), and they'd learned it. my needs never stumped them. and i got to spend my honeymoon feeling like an easy customer and only ever weeping because i got to see the ocean.

[aimlesspixel]

Part 2 of my in stars and time continuation fic

Read part one here if you're interested.

You're floating, in a sea of lightless space, stars of pure darkless dotting your surroundings. You're not alone here you can feel it you're not sure where but you know it's not harmful, maybe it'll show itself if you wait. It's quite peaceful here amid the sky, ripples begin to flutter across the lightless sea around you making the stars shift and constellations dance it all seems so close here yet so far. The stars darken as you hear something call out to you and…

"Hey… Hey. HEY, cmon stupid frin! Breakfast's ready we're gonna finish it all without you if you don't get the crab up." "Now now Bonbon you've made plenty for everyone and I'm sure Sif will be up in a moment." "Fine! I'll put peppers in it instead hehehe." "Now that's a credible threat, you better get up soon Siffrin."

You open your eyes to see Bonnie peering down at you… that's weird you could've sworn you were sleeping in your tent but the area above you distinctly lacks such an implement. Oh well you will yourself up and move to grab a plate. Just as Odile said there is a enough food for everyone. A good start to another day of travel if you do say so yourself I mean you're up before the sun finished rising! You'll get plenty of time to travel like this.

Odile seing you've finished your slightly spicy breakfast calls you over "Siffrin a moment please I would like to get this over with before we're done cleaning up."

You nod at her in acknowledgement and walk over. She and Mirabelle are in charge of making sure you're not overexerting yourself after the whole almost ending the world buisness. It's a bit embaressing but you don't want to worry them or get worse so you let them give you a check up.

Mirabelle looks you over while Odile takes your tempature and consults a transcription of a medical book she's gotten from the house's infrimary. Isabeau and Bonnie look at the process with slightly worried expressions.

Odile - "Well as far as I can tell you're not any worse for wear so I think the pace we've been keeping will be fine for now. Any objections Mirabelle?" Mirabelle - "I can't see anythng wrong but just to make sure you're feeling up to it right Siffrin?"

You feel alright even despite the weird sleeping spot maybe a little sleepy still but nothing serious. "Yesterdays pace is fine." Isa and Bonnies faces ease up and they get back to making sure you haven't forgotten anything.

Odile - "Alright just remember keep the crafts to a minimum whenever possible you don't want to overextend and knock yourself out or something."

She doesn't have to remind you. You still feel drained in a more intangible way than usual and can tell you probably couldn't manage too many crafts without a break, best to avoid any wildlife then. The path is well walked making it easy to follow the darkless leaking through the trees as you walk along the path your family alongside you it's nice, It'll probably become routine again soon enough but while it's nostalgic again you relish in it. Mirabelle and Odile are discussing books of some kind maybe it's part of their book club they mentioned… oh wait have they mentioned that this time? You're not sure. Does it matter? You're glad they can discuss it regardless. Isa and Bonnie walk alongside you chatting with you as you travel. It's nice.

It only takes a few days to reach your first stop. You could tell you were getting close when the path changed to a stone road. You'll just be staying here a day but it's nice to see time flowing here again. The Defenders at the edge of town greet you all as you enter and you see some kids running around the town.

Isabeau - "We really did it huh? It's still a little hard to believe but…" Yeah. The atmosphere is so much better now that people who fled are returning and the ones who were frozen have begun to move once more. You recognize some of them from Dormont most of the refugees who fled there left ahead of you all to reunite with their loved ones and homes.

Some of the kids from Dormont and some you don't recognize run up to you all.

"Look! Look! It's Mirabelle! She's the one who kicked the king's crabbing butt!" "Yea It's thanks to them that everyone's moving again!"

One of the kids in particular gets starry eyed at this and runs up to Mira.

"Oh! You're the reason mom and dad are moving again! Thank you thank you thank you!!!"

They jump up and down a bit before Bonnie calls out "Hey it wasn't just Mira we all went into the house and kicked that Kings crabbing butt!" The kids gasp and look at everyone beside Mira including you.

"Whoaaaaa. So you went in to kick his butt too?" The kid asks expectantly at Bonnie. "Of course." They say standing proudly.

Mirabelle - "It's true we all worked together to save Vaugaurd." She looks at you "Maybe a little too hard for some of us." You look away.

The kids chatter around you for a bit before Odile intervines "We know you're all excited to see us but we need to find that Inn so we can rent a room for the night."

"Oh sorry." The kids turn and run off, the starry eyed one looks back one last time before going "Thank you again!" and they run off.

[just-1-lonely-person]

Villain took in a deep breath. They never imagined that entering a gym would be that... scary....

But they had to. Recently, hero has been way too close to them during fighting. And we'll...Villains physical strength was...lacking. They realized that they couldn't only rely on their gadgets anymore, since hero has already figured out how to disarm most of them and there were only so many gadgets villain could create.

They had decided to go to the gym and a little stronger, so they could at least defend themselves a little in battle.

But now, standing Infront of the big building, they felt small and weak. Everybody in there was probably ripped and could probably lift the villain with one finger. They were probably super scary and mean and listened to loud music and we're probably tattooed from head to toe and drove motorcycles-

They noticed very quickly that they were overthinking. There were no motorcycles in sight, and the person who talked to them on the phone yesterday had been very kind. It couldn't be that bad.

They pulled at the door and entered, already shaking. At the end of the hallway was another door, behind that was the reception. They could see a young lady sitting at the desk through the glass door.

The lady greeted them with a warm smile, pointing to the hallway with the changing rooms. "Villain, yes? Please go get ready. Your coach will be here in a minute.'

Villain could only nod, going to the changing rooms. When they got out, another person was standing at the reception.

The guy turned around, scanning villain over. "Hello, your here to build up some strength yes?"

"Yes."

Something about that guy seemed familiar, but after they introduced themselves to each other and they went to the gym hall, the feeling eased a little.

Their coach, however, figured villain out immediately. Hero hadn't expected to see villain at a place like this. They usually kept their distance. Maybe they were planning to fight?

Well, that didnt matter right now. All that mattered was how adorable villain looked while trying out the exercises hero had given them. How they looked so shy and uncertain and how they looked up to hero, asking if they were doing the exercise right.

They looked so innocent. They just couldn't believe that this was the villain. But well, it was.

Villain didn't try to hide their identity as much as the hero did, since they never entered the battle field where people could see them.

But hero had gotten very close to them the last time they fought and had seen their face pretty clearly.

After an hour the villain was done. They let out a sigh of relief. "That was exhausting."

The hero laughed. "It's supposed to be. But after a while it gets better, don't worry."

Villain took a big sip out of their water bottle. They were proud of themselves. Their coach was so nice, even though they had looked at home oddly at first. "Are you gonna be here on Tuesday too?", they asked quietly. Was is an appropriate question? It wasn't weird right?

"Yup. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on the afternoons. And then in the morning on Saturday."

Villain felt a sudden surge of confidence. "Well, then I'll see you next Tuesday then!" They smiled and started to go to the changing rooms, one hand in the air, waving.

"See you then", the hero smiled back. Maybe they should come a bit closer to their nemesis in a fight in a few weeks, just too see if their strength improved.

That was the only reason, of course.

---

I was so scared of the gym the first time i went lmao

[miitarashi]

Hello~

So I've been thinking about some fluff with Tintin (he lives in my mind rent-free).

I would like to request Tintin with a fem reader who likes to be praised. Just like, she tries hard to work well during the day and does everything quietly. So at the end of the day she likes someone to pat her on the head and just tell her that she did a good job. She doesn't say she likes it, but Tintin notices.

Only do this if you can and want to, thank you! And forgive me if this seems a little confusing, English is not my first language.

Owww,this is so cute tho. Such a cute thing need to be writed! And don't worry,english is not my first language either and i understood pretty well,you're doing a good job so far at learning! I'm proud of you unknow person. 😌❤️

[Name] = reader (female)

Warnings: none,just cuteness

Prompt: You're a hardworking person who loves headpats.

When you met Tintin for the first time, you we're working on the local library taking this opportunity to study on your breaks because you wanted to apply for a position as an assistant to a local historian you greatly admired. Because of it, the subject you were studying was something that Tintin was needing more informations of,so he asked for your help, becoming friends ever since.

Consequently, he ended up watching your dedication for the position you was applying for. He saw your eyes focused on your notebooks and books, the post-it notes on your wall to help you remember important things when he come to a quick visit, even finding it cute when you turned up your nose when you saw something you didn't understand or pressed your lips together when you tried to put the pieces together to help him with his new article.

But the top 1 was definitely the happy smile and light blush that covered your cheeks when someone pats you on the head. Even if you didn't say it, it was pretty obvious when you did, you kept quiet because you didn't want to draw so much attention. However the journalist discovered it and waited for the right moment to do so, which was precisely when you applied to be an assistant to this historian who you greatly admired.

The day of the decision came and went, Tintin found it a little strange not having a reaction from you about the result so he decided to stop by your apartement when he was free and after a few minutes of conversation about that new article, he casually asked:

"Oh,[Name],did you already got the results of your application?"

"Hm? Oh yes,i got it yesterday and will be working with him by tomorrow" — his eyes widen a bit in surprise,mostly by the nonchalant tone you tried to say it,but still feeling that animated subtone.

"Well,by how much you worked hard for it,i would be surprised if you didn't get it" — he chuckle a bit,letting a small sigh and finally he could do it.

His hand reach the top of your head giving some pats in a caring way,smilling when that cute smirk appeared on your lips along with the tiny blush he adore so much to see,he would even hug and kiss your forehead if he could because you deserve it and even more,however he didn't want to cross any bondaries or end up making things awkaward by this sudden act.

"I'm really proud of you [Name],you worked really hard for it"

"Thank you Tintin" — you said looking back at him,smilling happily. His eyes soften,taking his time to just look at you cute face before looking away a bit.

"Your welcome and from now on,i guess i'll be having an even more capable help on my researchs."

"Yes,i'm really looking forward for it"

"..Me too" — he said in a light,careful dreamy tone almost, watching your little excited squirm making sure to keep this memory in his heart.

You both smiled,quite excited as you will start your dream job and Tintin will keep his little excuse to stay close and having your help on his cases. A win is a win.

————————————————————————

A/N: there it is,a cute request fresh out of the oven! (Yes i know,it's a bit short) And sorry for the delay,i literally forgot to post on the last sunday :( but! I already have some good ideas and some special things being prepared~ so just wait a little,i promise y'all will not disappointed! Hope you liked unknow person! Thanks for reading!

[punsmaster69]

16/DEC/20XX

𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘬.

i hit the floor like a sack of bricks.

this time, of my own volition.

i pushed myself upright, choosing to ignore where my head had apparently been this whole time.

rolled onto my side (landing on the floor) to stop my phone's ringtone from waking tori.

i quietly stepped into her bathroom to muffle the sound,

" 'sup?"

"Are you..."

before i realized i'd enabled my camera in my barely-awake stupor.

"...At Toriel's?"

a "shit." stumbled out of my mouth as i slapped my hand over the camera. i let my hand drop a second after, as this was now pointless.

alphys snorted at my reaction.

"Sooooooo?"

with the intonation of someone trying to elicit more information.

"you first. you called me."

"My reason was 𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘺𝘺𝘺 more boring than whatever's going on here."

"So you're spending the night?"

"Tell me about that."

"tell me why you called, first."

"I was just gonna ask if the device was working properly."

"seems to be."

i tried not to linger on the memory of what was happening seconds prior to it going off yesterday.

"Anyway. What are you two up to?"

"Having fun with your 'sleepover'?"

"don't put air quotes on it. sleeping's been most of the activity."

she raised an eyebrow.

"nothing else to it."

"So did this just happen or did you plan a sleepover?"

"kinda just went from magic demonstration to this."

"you already heard about how undyne's went, right?"

"pretty tiring."

"ended up conking out here instead."

"And you just decided to stay?"

"yep. she's got a real comfortable couch, y'know."

"I'm sure that's the only reason. Mhm."

"sofa's just that nice."

"say, how'd you immediately know i wasn't just in my room or something?"

"I know you sleep in boxers. Currently, you're fully clothed, so I knew you weren't home."

"You're most certainly not 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦."

"fair point."

"anyway. i'm gonna go back to this couch sleepover."

"seeya, nerd."

"Tell me more about it later!!"

"nope."

——

quietly returning to the living room, i checked to see if she was still asleep.

tori was hugging the pillow i'd not ended up using for more than a few hours last night.

i tiptoed to the kitchen with one goal in mind:

eggs.

eggs are something that even a shabby cook like me can (hopefully) do.

ideally, they'll be omelettes.

really, they're probably ending up scrambled.

——

didn't hear her get close, finally noticing she was awake when she put her hands on my shoulders.

her face met mine when i looked up.

"Good morning, Sans."

"mornin'."

"you like cheese in your omelettes?"

"I do."

she looked at the pan.

"...That is an omelette?"

"sorry."

"𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦-in' you down with my cooking skills, here."

"I do not mind. Omelette or no, it will be 𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘴-tra special coming from you."

"do you have tortillas? could make 'em into wraps instead."

"Oh! We should, somewhere."

"I have bacon bits we can throw in as well!"

"bacon bits?"

"now we're talkin'."

"you're really a lady after my own heart."

out of the corner of my eye, it looked like a surprised expression flickered across her face, but immediately disappeared.

"Thank you for making breakfast. This is very sweet of you."

"consider it payback for yesterday's."

'sweet' isn't something i usually get called.

can't say i hated it at all.

——

instead of being able to focus on what we're watching, my mind is concentrated on tori.

she's running her fingers along my joints, taking everything in; such that you'd think she'd never felt another hand before.

a part of me wants to pull my hand back, say it's too much for me.

but the stronger part of me doesn't want it to end at all.

something that's so distracting for me isn't seeming to pull her attention away to the same extent.

she's normal about this.

i should be too.

——

"Is something on your mind?"

"kinda think i should get a shower too, but i don't have any spare clothes with me."

"You could ask if Papyrus will bring some."

"nah, don't wanna make him come all the way over here again just for that."

"guess i can just wear the same clothes."

"Would lending you something of mine work instead?"

"shirts are probably the only thing of yours that'll fit me."

"I could wash your current clothes along with my laundry."

"i'd have to hang out in your bathroom 'till it's done."

"Would you be comfortable if I were to give you a large shirt to wear in the meantime?"

"just shirt?"

"A very large one."

"don't know how i feel about bare-bones-in' it down there."

"I do not think you'll fit into any of 𝘮𝘺 underwear..."

she gave a playful smirk.

"You're open to try."

"should i put on a bra, too?"

ended up just going with the shirt.

lame, i know.

——

"It fits a bit like a dress, does it not?"

the shirt stopped just barely at the top of my knees.

"shortest one you've put me in so far."

"I could go get a real dress."

"nnnope."

"i'm good."

"You would look good."

"sorry, but we'll have to play fashion doll some other time."

"i've got a couch to go sit my bare ass on."

she cackled.

"Out of anyone, I suppose I would much prefer it be a skeleton doing that."

"really though, i'm gonna go put a towel on under this."

"Alright. The wash is started, so it shouldn't be too long."

——

sitting next to each other is suddenly very precarious, as i am apparently the king of overreacting.

i accidentally bumped my leg against hers, and flinched like i had been shocked from it.

i need pants.

——

thirty minutes left on the wash.

getting a shower here made me realize that i'm somehow staying another night already, without even a second thought.

"......."

"i should go home, right?"

"No!"

"...It is late, already."

"You may as well spend the rest of the night."

"Please, do stay with me."

"...ok."

——

is it odd to say i sleep better here than my own bed?

[fullstcp]

"Eyes Wide Open" by Sabrina Carpenter Sentence Starters

EYES WIDE OPEN

"Everybody loves to tell me that I was born an old soul."

"There's so much that I don't know."

"Never felt so all alone."

"I can almost hear him/her/them now."

"I gotta make him/her/them proud."

"I keep my eyes wide open."

"I'm about to make my way."

"I can't see two steps ahead of me."

"I never thought I'd miss the rain."

"Lord knows how long it's been."

"I can't just let it go."

"There's still so much that I don't know."

"All I have is just this moment."

"I don't wanna miss a second."

"It could all be gone in an instant."

CAN'T BLAME A GIRL FOR TRYING

"Here I am again, the same old situation."

"Why does the guy thing have to be so complicated?"

"I should've played it cool, instead, I made a fool."

"Cause I'm young and I'm dumb."

"I do stupid things when it comes to love."

"Even if I always end up crying, you can't blame a girl for trying."

"I should've shut my mouth."

"I could've kept it quiet."

"I might've freaked him/her/them out cause I was so excited."

"I just couldn't wait."

"I took a leap of faith."

"I think sometimes I tend to be my own worst enemy."

THE MIDDLE OF STARTING OVER

"Now that I'm free, there's nothing but blue skies, paradise in front of me."

"I hold my breath and just believe."

"Tired of all the troubles, they've been wasting my time."

"I don't wanna fight."

"I'm in the middle of starting over."

"Life gives you pennies, turn them into dimes."

"Now this is home."

"Make the best of something new."

"The colors and the stars seem a little brighter."

"Tomorrow isn't far away."

"I'm working towards a happy ending."

WE'LL BE THE STARS

"We are young, we are gold."

"All our fears became our hopes."

"We can reach the constellations."

"Trust me, all our dreams are breaking out."

"No, we're never gonna turn to dust."

"All we really need is us."

"Don't be scared to close your eyes."

"No, we're never gonna die. We'll be the stars."

"We're holding onto who we are."

"When it's time to close our eyes, they will see us in the sky. We'll be the stars."

"Hold me close."

"It's in our reach."

"We're breaking out."

TWO YOUNG HEARTS

"It's a narrow line I'm walking."

"Better watch my step."

"We got everybody talking."

"Maybe in another lifetime."

"I've already made up my mind."

"And yes, I know what love is."

"We can run."

"I will follow you to the end of the earth."

"They can never tear us apart."

"I could lie awake in darkness just to dream of you."

"We're gonna keep on running."

"We want it all or nothing."

"We knew it right from the start."

YOUR LOVE'S LIKE

"Sometimes life gets bitter."

"I get strung out."

"I just need a little taste of paradise."

"I know a place I can escape to."

"My head is clearer."

"I got peace of mind when I fall into your eyes."

"Your love's the feeling I get when my favorite song's spinning in my head."

"Why can't it just be only you and me all the time?"

"There's no better rush than your love."

TOO YOUNG

"Everyone tells me I gotta go slow."

"It's gonna hurt sometimes, no matter what you do."

"Nothing can change my mind."

"If I'm too young to fall in love, why do you keep running through my brain?"

"If I'm too young to know anything, then why do I know that I'm just not the same?"

"Don't tell me I won't."

"Don't tell me I can't feel."

"What I'm feeling is real."

"But I've got to fall to fly."

SEAMLESS

"I'll see you in the evening."

"My best friend 'til the end."

"My better half, no pretend."

"You and me together."

"I know all your secrets. And I promise you, I'm gonna keep them."

"I'll be there when you are feeling clueless."

"You and me, we're seamless."

"We're partners in crime."

"You're stuck with me your whole life."

"You're right by my side whenever I need you."

"Through the hardest times, I'll be there for you."

"I won't be hard to find."

RIGHT NOW

"We'll never be as young as we are right now."

"We'll never see the world like we do right now."

"I have a way of getting stuck on yesterday."

"I tend to miss the little things that come my way."

"Time moves so quickly, without or with me."

"I've got to take a breath."

"I've gotta pace myself."

The present is our future past."

"We've gotta make this moment last."

"That's your intuition."

DARLING I'M A MESS

"This might be wrong, but he's/she's/they're all I know."

"I'll try to make our hearts beat in time."

"I'm a mess without your love."

"I'm trying to get by."

"All I need is one more goodbye kiss."

"I can't let you go."

"I won't forget, all that you said."

WHITE FLAG

"Take it all away."

"Save my heart for another day."

"I'm way too proud."

"Something's gotta happen."

"Something's gotta give."

"I know someday it's gonna happen."

"It won't upset me."

"I'll throw the white flag of surrender."

"Not forever, just for now."

BEST THING I GOT

"So what if I just want to be a little bit out of my mind?"

"I let you take my heart and I like it."

"So what if I just happen to be a little bit out of my mind?"

"I bet I'll steal your heart and you'll like it."

"I don't think it's any kind of secret."

"I feel you from a million miles away."

"Your love is the best thing I got."

"It's only just begun, but it's never gonna stop."

"I know sometimes it seems like I am just a little bit behind."

"I get back on the beat and you know it."

"I make you skip a beat and I know it."

"I think of you a billion times a day."

"Don't feel lonely tonight."

"Don't go out of your mind."

[mercurygray]

Hi Merc! How do you feel about prompt nr 16 (daybreak) for my Clubmobile girls? Doesn't have to be anything romantic if you're not vibing with it, just the girls

Thank you 💜

- your Fred Friend

I hope this works for you, Fred Friend!

Technically, it was Mary's fault.

Mission days were always early starts - 3:00 a.m. to roll out of bed in the old, crumbling mansion the Red Cross was renting for them, and pull the truck out from the shed to be on the road and catch the end of the 5:30 am run on the equipment shed with hot coffee and a mix of yesterday's leftovers and today's starter batch, usually too doughy as the oil came up to temperature.

It was cold out before the sun came up, and they kept the windows of the truck closed while they started the oil and heated the urns for coffee, the small space cramped but warm enough, with the four of them and the fryers going. Moods were infectious, in a small space like this, and Tatty seemed to have slept on the wrong side of the bed the way she was banging pans and slamming doors and grumbling about how she'd like to shoot the man who invented early mornings and gas stoves that wouldn't light.

Anyway, she was a little ridiculous, like early mornings had only just been invented and they hadn't been doing this for months on end, and Mary had started humming, and then Helen was doing it too, and by the time the tune got to Fred it had harmony and a rhythm section with the tongs and a measuring cup until Tatty turned around, blazing, and Fred could only grin.

"Oh, she kicked out my windshield," she started, still drumming along with the tongs, and the rest picked up, "And she hit me over the head She cussed and cried and said I lied And she wished that I was dead! Oh, lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down Pistol packing mama, lay that pistol down."

The coin could have fallen on either side, but Tatty, it seemed, had complained enough for one morning. She rolled her eyes and declared she was going to let the mess hall know they were here, leaving the three of them to open the windows, still laughing about their improvised jam session.

It seemed they already had a customer - or an audience. Captain Brennan was waiting in the half-light of dawn with a cup of coffee already in hand and a clipboard under her arm, uniform beautiful and crisp. (She was always well dressed, whether by habit or practice - all the girls said so. Not too many women could make the green and pinks look chic, but by god, would Marion Brennan try.)

"You're all very chipper this morning," the intelligence officer observed, waiting a respectful distance away as they rolled up the windows and started putting out the doughnut racks.

"Sorry, ma'am," Helen offered quietly. (Brennan intimidated her, for reasons Fred couldn't ever quite understand - but then, perhaps she was a little intimidating, with her beautiful hair and her rank and her surety about her station. And how many other women were walking around air bases with captain's bars and the complete trust of the C.O.? Brennan's word was law and her good opinion gold.)

Brennan chuckled, her smile rare and warm. "Why are you apologizing? It's good to see smiles this early."

"Get you a fresh cup, Captain?" Mary asked, gesturing with the pot she was holding.

"You may, Mary, thank you." Brennan shook the remnants out of her cup and onto the grass, and offered Mary the now-empty mug. "If we're being honest, I like your coffee more than I do the mess hall's."

"Isn't it a little early for you, ma'am?" Fred asked, leaning over the window holding the sugar shaker so the Captain could help herself. It was only the flight officers in the earliest briefings, pilots and bombardiers and navigators, and Brennan certainly wasn't one of them. (Any minute now they'd all be done suiting up, and those doors would open and the whole lot of them would begin the hike out to the trucks that would take them out to the hardstands.)

"You know what they say about early birds and worms. I need to review today's run with Major Bowman, after they've sent them all out so I can brief my team. And we have photos from yesterday's run to review and send on to wing."

"Those worms won't know what hit them," Fred replied with a smile. Another smile from Brennan.

"What worms now?" Colonel Harding appeared from the direction of the briefing hut, hat tucked under his arm, Jack Kidd following close behind him.

"The worms the group's going to bomb today, sir," Mary offered, holding out a fresh mug. "Coffee for you? Major Kidd, some coffee?"

"Thank you, Mary. Mighty kind." Harding took it and drank deeply before anyone could offer powdered milk or sugar, watching as Kidd stepped away to speak with Brennan.

The song was still stuck in Fred's head as she continued setting the mugs and doughnuts out for service, glancing up to see Harding's face in the dim of daybreak, watching the conversation between his XO and his intelligence captain with an expression that Fred thought she would call pride, and, in another space and a different light, perhaps something like love.

Oh, lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down Pistol packing mama, lay that pistol down.

[originalgenshinscenarios]

Monthly special: Variable Barricade crossover!

AGH I had it almost done for like a week. BUT I KEPT RE-WRITING THE LAST SCENE so it took me a week longer than I wanted it to 😭😭😭 BUT I’M BACK. And as the poll results are also in next chapter will be start of Miko’s route!!

If you want to join the taglist just send an ask or dm me!

Reader here is female and has established background.

Cw: Age gap (Reader is 18 and the ladies are ages 20-24)

|First chapter|

<= Previous chapter | Next chapter (Miko's route) =>

After the disaster your suitors called not a big deal, your absolute angel of a friend decided to check on your situation personally. Meeting your suitors was a way for her to determine if your grandfather had actually made a mistake by choosing these women. 

But who knows on whose side she'll be on in the end?

Part one, chapter 4- Fight for approval

After telling your suitors about Ayaka visiting they seemed quite interested.

"Just so we're clear, how much have you told her about us exactly..?" you didn't expect Yelan to worry about that, but it's not like you planned to hide that information. 

"I've told her enough for her to be interested. Then again, me and her are close so it was just a matter of time before she requested that I introduce her to you" you thought it was more likely for her to want to meet whoever you decide to choose in the end though, if not for your constant rants about them. 

"Hm, I wonder if she's visiting out of curiosity or concern. Perhaps both" Miko had a smug smile on her face "Ah what I would do to hear just what exactly you're saying behind our backs" 

"You talk like you never start conversations about me" you stare at her blankly. 

"To be fair our interest in you might as well be the only thing we share in common" Ningguang points out. 

You honestly had no words at this point. It just baffles you how one second they're at each other's throats just to defend each other the next. Shouldn't they be rivals? 

Your silence was an answer louder than any words you possibly could convey as you saw how everyone involved in the conversation just now took the hint. 

"So, when is she going to come by?" Eula was the one to finally bring up the question. 

You shook your head "Honestly… I don't even know yet…"

-

A week later, you and Ayaka were having lunch together. With what she promised recently, she decided to tell you only now that she planned to come today.

"I already informed Thoma that I'll visit today. I hope this isn't too much of a hassle that I didn't let you know sooner" she sounded almost guilty. 

"I still don't get why you couldn't call me yesterday to let me know" you huffed. 

"Because I know you enough to know that you would tell them how to behave. And I want this to be as genuine as it can be" she politely explained. 

"You say like they'd listen to me…" you complain. They don't listen to you. They don't even take your feelings into consideration… Most of the time "And also I could have already told them everything already for all you could know" with your answer she gave you the look that made it clear that she knew you were bluffing. 

"See? You were considering it. And they would listen if it meant they'd be able to impress both you and me" she pointed out. Although you weren't so sure about it, you decided to not argue with Ayaka on that matter. 

"Fine, you're right. But what about Thoma? You don't know if he isn't doing the exact same thing" if anyone he'd be the first to set them straight so they wouldn't embarrass the family head's judgement. 

"As much as it's his duty to make sure you warm up to those ladies, he is also curious about my view on the matter" she smiled "Let's just say that he wanted a second expert's opinion" from the tone of her voice it was clear that she only worried about you. But her words did come off as if she was teasing you. 

"And who would be the first expert?" it couldn't possibly be your grandfather right? He's very capable of reading people, but at the same time he hardly can be called an expert at what you might want or need. 

"That'd be Thoma. You know, he contacted me back when he first was starting to get to know them. Even then he tried to convince me to meet them, but I figured it'd be more fun if you were to introduce me to them… hope I did the right call on that…" she suddenly didn't sound as confident as she usually is when talking to you, so you decided to affirm her. 

"It'll definitely feel more natural. I'd feel weird if I were the last person to meet them to be honest" you rest your head against your hand as you let out a little sigh "Was it the same for you and your engagement?" 

You don't often talk about Ayaka's arranged marriage, mostly because she doesn't feel the need to. She accepted it a long time ago with little to no complaints. 

"I was the second person from my family he talked to. First was my brother who gave out the idea" she had her usual ever so polite smile on her face. You only then realize that your question was a rather stupid one. There aren't a lot of people Ayaka's soon to be husband could talk to in the first place… 

You remember when she told you the news. Unlike you she wasn't forced, she agreed to it. Your emotions didn't understand it but your logic did. For such a small family and a huge company, it's not impossible to imagine them needing some additional assistance. But you're yet to hear about her brother's marriage-! 

Your anger was as clear as day and it earned you a chuckle from Ayaka "Y/N, are you thinking again about the situation? It's sweet of you really, but I'm satisfied with how things are" she didn't look like she was lying "I just never planned to marry out of love you know. And if I can do so for mutual benefit, why shouldn't I?" you've already been through this but it still feels so weird to hear how happy she is about engaging in a loveless marriage. Especially since she wouldn't wish the same for you. 

"Ah… This topic is killing the atmosphere, isn't it? Let's discuss something else" and with that your usual chat with Ayaka started shifting topics from one to another. 

-

During your time at school, nothing out of the ordinary was happening in the house. 

"I wonder if Y/N was actually planning on introducing her friend to us" Yelan started the thought. 

"Why not? She probably has her own responsibilities, so surely you didn't think we'd meet her day after Y/N's announcement" Miko commented as she looked through a magazine. 

"Right, I forgot that whoever associates with the L/N heir has to be high class too" Yelan rolled her eyes. 

"It's more about that friend being a classmate from a prestigious school. Not that she'd only befriend someone on her level" Miko sounded bored "I mean, we're her "love interests" and the closest to high class is Eula who got disowned" 

"Don't bring me into this to prove your point Miko, besides it's normal for us to assume that meeting Y/N's friend will be sooner than later and it's been over a week since her announcement" Eula answered unusually calmly. 

"I'm just surprised how Yelan is getting impatient just after a week. I mean we had to wait much longer to even see Y/N in person" Miko rolled her eyes "But you're right, arguments like that will be only boring so I see no point in continuing it. Yelan, I apologize" she faked her politeness. 

"You're lucky I don't feel like wasting my energy either" Yelan sighed as she was thinking about leaving the room.

"It's almost impressive how the mood shifts the moment Y/N is gone. Almost like we're back with how things used to be when we first met" Ningguang joined in on the conversation. 

"Don't even bring it up. It was just disaster after disaster" Eula said. 

"That's true, imagine what would she be like if she heard what sort of things we argued over" Ningguang let out a light chuckle, lighting up the mood "If not for you and Thoma we probably would not be half at peace as we are now" 

"I'm honestly quite surprised how you somehow managed to prevent more fights than start them" Yelan turned to Eula. 

"If you meant it as a compliment, you're doing a bad job" she huffed.

"Speaking of Thoma…" Miko changed the subject "Does anyone have any idea as to where he might be?" 

"He should be somewhere in the house, otherwise he'd tell us that he's leaving" Ningguang answered. 

"I'm here, miss Miko, do you need something?" with Thoma entering the room it was very clear that he was in a better mood than usual. 

"I'd like two things actually. First, could you brew me some tea? Second, what are you hiding?" everyone looked at Miko slightly surprised by her second mention. 

"And what do you mean by that?" he raised his eyebrow at her as he was more focused on her question rather than her request. 

"You're acting a bit different today ever since you took a call. Did the old man tell you something about the engagement process?" trying to guess the reason, she took a closer look at Thoma. 

"Ah, that was just a private matter" he answered before going to the kitchen to prepare the tea. When he turned around though he could feel a little nervous over how he could potentially ruin "the surprise". 

"Interesting, I thought he didn't have any private life to speak of" she chuckles. 

"I suppose he's just that dedicated to serving Y/N. But it is concerning how he doesn't do anything but that" Yelan thought out loud "Do you think he ever even takes days off?" 

"He had to take a few at some point… After all, he has worked with L/N's family for years. There's no way he never took time off" Ningguang paused "But… He might just like his work too much to notice. I definitely was never blessed with such a job but who's to say he didn't just get lucky?" 

"Oh I definitely got lucky" Thoma joined in as he served Miko her tea "You could say that I was made for this job. As for my time off, before you came by, whenever Y/N was at school it was something that could be considered as such" he smiled proudly "That's just the way of being a full-time butler. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Hope this satisfies your curiosity" 

They looked at him without really knowing what to feel about his statement. But they decided to keep all their opinions to themselves regarding his relationship to his work. 

-

Few hours later you were headed back to your "home". As long as you've lived there it couldn't feel any further from the definition of home… But then again, the family estate didn't fit that description perfectly either. 

With Ayaka on your side though, you felt confident and ready to enter. After opening the door the first to greet you was Eula. But she paid more attention to Ayaka by your side. 

"Hello Y/N, I take that this is your friend?" you could tell that she wasn't too pleased with the aspect of a surprise guest. 

"Greetings, I'm Kamisato Ayaka. It's my pleasure to meet you" each of her words was filled with grace and it impressed Eula.

"My name is Eula, as you already know I'm one of Y/N's suitors" you were surprised by how polite she was, given how she acted upon meeting you in comparison "I'll let the others know about your arrival" she walked back to the living room. 

"Hm, she sounds different from how you described her" Ayaka giggles as she waits for you to lead her to the living room. 

"Hmpf, she acts unusually hostile when talking to me" you complain before you walk up to the door. 

"Perhaps she's just the type of person to act like that towards those she's interested in" upon her comment you could feel your cheeks burning up, but you don't respond to her teasing (even though it didn't sound intentionally so) and instead open the door. 

Everyone's attention went immediately to you, only to be turned to Ayaka as she was an unfamiliar face to most. They had seen you talking to her earlier, sure, but it's not like they even knew who she was until Thoma spoke up "Miss Kamisato, it's been a while" usually he also referred to her by name but it was only when it was just the three of you hanging out. 

Ningguang seemed to be quite interested upon hearing Ayaka's last name, but she waited to speak. 

"Right" you say to yourself "Ayaka, this is Ningguang" the two shake hands, you move on and introduce everyone in the same way. 

After the introductions all of you went to sit down, Ningguang was the first to jump on the opportunity to speak "It's an honor to have the opportunity to meet you miss Kamisato" 

"Please, just Ayaka is fine. I wouldn't require formality from someone who wishes to marry my dear Y/N. I'd like us to become friends- if possible" she claps her hands together. 

"Of course, Ayaka then. Mind telling us how you and Y/N got acquainted?" when Ningguang asked that question it was almost like Ayaka waited for this moment. 

"It was a year ago, we already knew each other since we've been in the same class but a year ago is when we really became friends. Although Y/N was quite popular I noticed that nobody really talked to her. So I gathered some courage within, and approached her myself" listening to this sounded almost like she was talking about dating you, but you don't stop her at her tracks "Believe it or not but she wasn't that much interested at first…" your suitors give the look that was telling you how much they believed that part to be true "But I managed to find a trick to get through that barricade. Unfortunately though… Some people claimed that I'm keeping her to myself. I honestly was just confused, because until I talked to her nobody didn't even speak to Y/N besides exchanging greetings and goodbyes… and that's when she stood by my side and told them that she likes my company, I was so moved!" as she fondly looks back at the memory, there was one thing all of them were curious about… 

"You found a… trick to get closer to Y/N?" Yelan asked the right question. And you just now realize that this visit might've been a trap from the start. It all made sense now. Ayaka was setting you up to give your suitors the right push to start getting close to you. 

"You wish to know what it is?" you almost couldn't recognize Ayaka with how she planned her words carefully for this exact moment. Before you got to protest she said "How about we play chess? Whichever of you wins, will get the information" which made you relieved. 

"Chess? Hm, I don't see why should we refuse. Especially if the reward is so valuable" Ningguang looked excited. 

They didn't know what they set themselves up for… which gave you an odd sense of satisfaction. 

-

"How do you-!?" Eula was so frustrated she couldn't even finish her sentence. 

It's been hours, and none of them were even close to beating Ayaka. You already lost count on how many matches started. But Ayaka was unbeatable. You haven't met her brother, but you were told that he was even better… Which gave you a little scare for how good the Kamisato siblings were at chess. 

Everyone was a mess, Eula was mad above all else, Ningguang had her pride trampled upon as she thought she was good at the game, Yelan was hesitating more and more with each move, even Miko lost her poker face after losing so many rounds. 

The worst thing is: none of them planned to give up. Fortunately, Thoma stepped in before it turned into a chess night "I believe it's getting quite late, maybe we should continue this some other time?" 

"You're right, unfortunately I think I should go. What a shame… I honestly didn't expect for this to be so entertaining" she innocently smiles. 

"So the rumors were true after all" Yelan said under her breath. 

"I definitely won't forget this disgrace! I'll have my revenge, just you wait" Eula had a stern look on her face. 

"That was… insightful… I honestly never thought my strategy to be so flawed" Ningguang on the other hand had a soft expression of disappointment on her face. 

"Hm, it's not like I needed that reward anyways. But it sure was fun to play with you Ayaka" Miko waved to her goodbye and went upstairs. 

"It was great meeting all of you. I wish you best of luck" she was ready to leave, and you earlier agreed that Thoma will drive her back. You also decided to tag along to have a talk with her. 

After leaving the house you were hit with the cold air night had to offer. Soon enough you entered the car and said "So meeting them all wasn't your only reason after all" you crossed your arms. 

"I'm sorry Y/N, but it was the best way to see all different sides of them in the shortest amount of time" she defended herself. 

"I wouldn't call those hours short…" you look out of the window and seeing how dark it is, is nothing but more proof. 

"You're right, I did get ahead of myself. But seeing their determination to fight for you definitely didn't leave a bad impression, did it?" 

"... Maybe" you mutter under your breath. 

"Hm? Can it be that you were happy about someone fighting for you in particular?" she says in a hopeful tone.

|Miko|

"I was surprised how Miko tried to win. She always seems so confident that she knows exactly what I want" you answer with a confused expression. 

"Is that so?" she paused for a moment "Maybe she just wanted to make sure the others won't get the answer?" she tried to fill in the blanks for you. 

"That seems possible… But then, letting others have the answer would be only an inconvenience. So I see no reason why she'd play for it so "desperately"" you still couldn't get that image of her losing some of her confidence. It could only lead you to a thought that she may not be as confident as she may seem. 

Then again, seeing her from many sides would definitely work in her favor. You don't necessarily like the idea of her constantly teasing you for the sake of her own amusement. 

Still, you're interested to learn why she thinks that you need her. Maybe it's just a matter of her "profession hunch” or maybe she was out of ideas to make you even slightly consider her so she threw random words in order to save face. 

|Ningguang|

"I remember how when we first played and I had almost the same reaction as Ningguang" you fondly look back at the memory. 

"I remember it too, it almost made me feel bad when I saw that disappointed look on your face" she giggled "So I definitely could see the comparison" she looked at you as if she wanted you to continue the thought. 

"That's right, but I don't think it matters much… I honestly can't tell why it stuck out to me so" it's only a normal reaction when you see that you're not as good at something as you originally thought. 

There was definitely potential in Ningguang for the corporate field. The more you talk to her, the more you're certain of it. So should you end up not liking anyone she would be a safe bet to some extent. 

Although your interactions were limited, you start to consider the fact that perhaps getting along with her wouldn't be so difficult. So maybe she's a better choice than her "title" may suggest.

|Yelan|

"Yelan seems to look out for me the most so far… I… I think I wouldn't really be against it if she were to win" as you think about it, she probably wouldn't even use whatever Ayaka's trick may be. 

"Oh? And how does she care for you exactly?" upon her question, you wanted to bite your tongue out for even speaking up about it. 

"She's just respectful of my boundaries. Nothing more nothing less" you glance away. 

"That's sweet of her. But are you sure it's nothing more?" with her question, you shook your head. 

Yelan… There is something about her that makes you even more interested in her. She's so carefree, additionally there is that mysterious aura around her you can't help but want to know more… 

She also seems to be the most concerned about you from the bunch, you wonder if there is a reason behind it- or is it just her personality trait.

|Eula|

"Although I'm used to seeing Eula mad, this time it felt a little bit… Different" you admit. You weren't sure why exactly, but her determination was something quite charming… Even if she didn't go about it in the best way. 

"Well, maybe because her anger was directed at herself" her way of thinking got you to think. 

"Hm… Maybe you're right… B-but I meant it as a feeling of respect I'll have you know, before you get any funny ideas" there was no way you'd fall for someone this quick. And especially for a reason like this! 

"Noted" she definitely didn't believe you. 

You wouldn't admit that you're the same but… You can definitely see how similar the two of you are, whether you like it or not. Especially given the relationship she has with your grandfather it almost makes you feel like she understood you the most out of the group. 

Then again… You can't help but wonder why it was just now that your grandfather decided to introduce Eula to you. 

-----

Now that you answered her question, you started thinking if you wanted to ask her something too. You thought a bit more about your choice of words as you decided to bring up the topic "Ayaka…" your tone changed, causing the atmosphere to change and making her worried "Why is it that you care so much about me being in love with my future spouse?" you still couldn't get it. Sure, it’s normal for a friend to wish for the best, but Ayaka is almost insistent that you fall in love rather than have a beneficial situation like her. 

"Y/N, unlike myself I think it's just what you need. Of course I don't claim that I know you better than you do but… Can you at least try and see for yourself?" she said with a sweet voice "And if you decide that you feel nothing towards them, I'll be the first person to stop them from pursuing you further" 

You chuckle at her promise as you decided to make one of your own "Okay, I'll try not to deny any possibility of falling in love" 

She was clearly satisfied with your answer "Be sure to update me on the matter, I'm curious to know who you'll pick in the end" 

-

When you were back in the house you thought back on your conversation with Ayaka. You prepared a plan for how you'll proceed from this point forward. You had their files in front of you, you've read it all so many times by now you've memorized everything that's on them. 

"I need to see if I can trust them… but how can I achieve so..?" you think to yourself as you hear a knock on your door. 

"You can come in, Thoma" you immediately answer. There was no need to see who it is, after all only him and you can be on this floor. 

So when he opens the door and serves you something to drink he notices how you were reviewing your suitors. You've started writing pros and cons for each and one of them already and it earned you a chuckle from your butler. 

"I see you're taking this more seriously than I imagined" he looked down at your notes before taking a seat on your couch "But don't you think that it's best if you let your heart decide instead of logic? You have plenty of time. So there's no need for you to set your heart for someone because it's the "best" choice" he says warmly. 

"I have a lot to lose should I make the wrong choice" you give him your perspective "I mean, I don't even know if I can trust them yet" 

He seems to be reading through your notes "So why make those?" 

"It's just to think of compatibility… uhm- either way that is but a secondary matter" you feel embarrassed as you snatched the notes from his hands. 

"Don't you think all this analysis and over thinking is what leads you to being so distant with them? Sure I'm also not a fan of you suddenly being thrown at a stranger, but no matter how hard you think this" he gestures to the pile of papers "isn't going to help you build any connection or relationship with any of them that will be real. You can't calculate your feelings" 

"Then what do you propose I should do?" you look down at your work troubled. You know this isn't going to work… But at the same time you're just too afraid to do anything else. 

"Spending time with them separately should do the trick" he stood up "Or at least take the opportunity to talk to them alone when you can" 

He knows you ignored this solution, but now that he had brought it up it's much harder for you to pretend to be clueless. 

"Really? Why haven't I thought about that?" you say sarcastically "Thoma, I know this is the best way but I just don't feel comfortable around them yet" 

"And you think this will change when you keep pushing every opportunity away?" he walks up to the door "Please consider what I've said, goodnight Y/N" 

When he left you let out a frustrated groan. Him being right made you angry at that moment, but since he was right you really had to think about your actions moving forward. 

You look down at the notes you've snatched from Thoma. You really have a problem with viewing it as anything other than an arrangement. With that in mind you can only laugh at how helpless you are. 

But just because you're helpless now, doesn't mean you'll remain as such forever. 

It was time to prove this to yourself and everyone else.

-- TAGLIST

@audre-falrose​ @frozengenderfluid​ @watamehorns​ @bebeluvvv​ ​ @fandangotales​ ​