#side note but I watched shock treatment for the first time tonight and wow

[bradassholemajors]

URL CHANGE. I cannot BELIEVEEEEE this wasn’t taken I am giddy with joy

[beanarie]

⭐star⭐⭐star⭐⭐star⭐⭐star⭐⭐star⭐ (or talk more about and/all of your Elementary WIPs/ideas bc I want every single drop I can get)

so i totally wrote about joan having breast cancer a couple years ago. here’s the bits i cobbled together, some of which also disappeared from my phone, which tells me i need to back my shit up more often!

~

The call comes while her stitches from her lumpectomy and lymph node removal are still in place and hurting like a mother and she's only too aware of Sherlock, his terror an acrid smell in her nose. She's told it's not what they hoped, but it's not hopeless, and she barely pauses at all before she looks at Sherlock, smiles, and says, "It's fine."

He's so grateful he takes her out for lunch. They go to a cafe with an outdoor area that he knows she's been eyeing for months.  She orders a giant salad with extra pecans and he wrinkles his nose before telling a story about Thomas Jefferson's penchant for giving pecans as gifts.

The call comes while her stitches from her lumpectomy and lymph node removal are still in place and hurting like a mother and she's only too aware of Sherlock, his terror an acrid smell in her nose. She's told it's not what they hoped, but it's not hopeless, and she barely pauses at all before she looks at Sherlock, smiles, and says, "It's fine."

He's so grateful he takes her out for lunch. They go to a cafe with an outdoor area that he knows she's been eyeing for months.  She orders a giant salad with extra pecans and he wrinkles his nose before telling a story about Thomas Jefferson's penchant for giving pecans as gifts.

[the truth comes out in a week or so!]

"We should talk about this."

He closes the file in his hand and tosses it on the stack. 

"I-I'm sorry I kept you in the dark. I needed to get the full results and figure out what to do next, without... I don't know. Background noise."

"It's not that serious. People with results like mine have a ninety-three percent chance of remaining cancer-free after treatment. Really, it's barely cancer." 

"I mean, yes. Several weeks of radiation, sprinkled with tests and maybe a PET scan or two. Still, not particularly life-derailing. I'm going to work. The only real change will be to my availability. And I won't be able to leave the city, except maybe on the weekends. Overall, we'll simply get more use out of face-time than we did before."

A series of short, shallow nods urges her to let the other shoe drop.

Joan adjusts her gaze to slightly beyond his left ear. "I've asked Lin to help me find a place to sublet for the next two months."

His only reaction is the barely perceptible droop of his shoulders.

"I'm not leaving you." The first time she meant to leave the brownstone, he abducted a contract killer, then tortured and stabbed him. The second time, he went back to London for almost a year with no notice beyond a short Dear Joan letter. She can't handle one of his signature extreme overreactions. "Sherlock, it's really important you absorb that, if nothing else."

"But you do plan on leaving."

"It's the least disruptive option for both of us. And it's only temporary."

[the next day, joan gets home and in the library there's a stack of books, dvds, and cd's on wellness-type things and other stuff, like a giant fluffy orange blanket on the couch. sherlock explains he did some research, orange is a calming color. also OK HE RESPECTS HER CHOICES but. she's not a disruption, she's family. also also moving is one of the most stress-inducing acts a person can put themselves through and it wouldn't be good for her recovery to do that twice in as many months. anyway, she stays.]

"We should formulate a safety plan."

Joan finishes the line she was working on and clicks save so she doesn't have to end up doing this report all over again. This has his second sponsor written all over it. Rashida, having completed her PHD, has been taking classes in behavioral science possibly with an eye for a new specialty. She means well, and she and Sherlock get each other like a pair of esoteric intellectuals only could. It's still strange to get confirmation that he talks about her illness with other people. "A safety plan."

"Yes! A short, memorable list of agreed upon actions in the case of emergent medical and/or emotional, um, turmoil."

"We never had a safety plan for you."

 "Didn't we?"

"Fine, so you'll let me pass out wherever I drop and just leave a protein bar by my head so I don't die of hypoglycemic shock when I wake up two days later."

"That's all you did?"

"So I'll let you know if I'm not feeling well and up to whatever's going on." His expression is unreadable, which is rare. "What? You implied pretty heavily that you wanted me to."

Incomprehensibly, his expression becomes almost sad. "That's why you remain so closed off, because of my history of resistance to..." 

"Okay, this conversation swerved past making sense. I tell you things all the time. This morning, with your cereal?"

"When *truly* bothered, you keep it to yourself and speak to no one, unless I draw it out of you."

"I speak up when I have something to say. And, I will."

-

"Have you considered cutting your hair?" 

"I'm not getting chemo, Mom. I told you."

"I know. It's just so much to take care of. My cousin Darlene, she had radiation. It drained her. You'll be tired."

"You've always wanted me to cut my hair."

Her expression grows softer, more wistful. "I do like it shorter." 

"I remember." Ruefully her entire catalogue of school photos scrolls through her memory. Mom's rule had been adamant and easy to follow: Never past the chin. "I'm not doing that again."

"Okay. Your choice." 

Joan doesn't rise to the hint of passive-aggression. 

A few hours later, she gets home from treatment, she takes a shower, and she tries to see tonight playing out in a possible near future. She adds imaginary weights to her wrists and ankles, and the almost unbearable weariness after watching a murderer get to go home scot-free. 

"Fine," she tells her reflection. 

She puts her mom on FaceTime, so she can see the results.

Her mom squints. "You didn't cut that much."

"Four inches." Just enough so she doesn't have to strain to get the brush through while she's blow drying.

“Hm.“

“Anyway, I’ll see you Thursday for tea, Mom?“

-

Lord save her from aspiring criminals who think they're too cool for the interrogation room. Anthony Raymond has been stonewalling them since Bell brought him in. What makes this especially annoying is he won't even ask for a lawyer. They'd tell him to spill his guts, or at least start negotiations for a deal. This nothingness isn't ideal when she has to take off for treatment soon. If she doesn't get this nut cracked before she goes, it'll be hanging over her head for the rest of the afternoon.

The door opens. Anthony doesn't move a muscle. Gregson enters bearing an extra-large fountain drink, a pen, and a piece of paper. He sits, thoughtfully configuring these objects around his immediate space. It takes a full thirty seconds, during which he doesn't acknowledge Anthony at all. He slides the paper toward Joan.

'Paige made you a smoothie. Not sure what's in this, but she swears by it.'

Joan glances at Anthony as though she learned something important, then looks back at the note. "Hm." She takes the pen. 'I'm good. Thank you both.'

'Holmes said you haven't really eaten yet.' He pushes the drink about an inch in her direction.

Joan makes two straight lines, one each for 'I'm' and 'Good'. 

[perp eventually cracks because their note-passing is freaking him out]

[slightly later, joan brings the smoothie into gregson's office. he asks what she thought of it. she says "i didn't try it" and throws it in the garbage.]

-

It's Saturday, the end of her first week of treatment, and there aren't any murders. Joan texts the guy she liked from TrueRomantix, the one who came to check that she was safe when Everyone doxxed her and hacked her profile. He's still cute. She can't remember exactly why they didn't sleep together the last time, something about it not feeling right. Meanwhile he fosters seeing-eye dogs and he has the best pectorals she's ever seen.

She takes off her bra, but leaves the camisole. It's dark in his bedroom, but not too dark for either of them to see her scars or the semi-circle constellation of radiation tattoos. At one point she guides his hand underneath to her right breast. When he goes for the left, she distracts with a move that almost has his eyes bugging out of his head.

"Wow," he breathes.

When they're done, he doesn't push her to leave *or* ask her why she isn't staying. They'll be doing this again sometime.

-

[another patient in the waiting room at the radiation clinic starts having a medical emergency. joan immediately jumps forward to help and the patient's mom looks at her like who the fuck are you. it sticks with her the whole rest of the afternoon.]

She's been in a position where people have doubted her expertise before, many times. But never because she was meant to be on the other side. She's a patient, that's her role now.

Briefly she considers lying. The Uber app is acting weird, something like that. She settles on a simple, 'Are you busy?'

She gets her reply in less than thirty seconds. 'Need a ride?'

When Marcus arrives at the clinic, he touches her arm and kisses her cheek, a note of intimacy between close friends. It feels natural, even though his customary greeting, usually at crime scenes or the bull pen, is a brusquely friendly "Hey." They communicate mainly in nods and smiles intended only for each other, cups of coffee as close to the way they like it as limited resources will allow. 

After they settle into the car, he doesn't turn the engine on right away. He waits, unobtrusively.  

"I don't want to disrupt any plans you might've had for today," she says.

He lifts one shoulder. "Just a pickup game. Nothing I can't put off for another week."

"Actually..."

He turns his head. "Hm?"

She was warned not to expect anything fancy. No bleachers, not much crowd. Kids of varying ages drift by, many popping in and out of the tiny storefronts. 

She can't remember the last time she simply existed in public when she wasn't jogging or staking out a criminal. The open air feels refreshing. Not one of these people care that she used to be a doctor.

After the first quarter, she asks to borrow the chair of a guy selling hats, scarves, and phone chargers from a folding table. He was spending most of his time at the halal cart talking to the man stuck inside anyway.

-

The chair is comfortable. The lighting tasteful. Joan's shoes feel fine. The mid-level exec at the other end of the table isn't stonewalling in the slightest. His voice could almost be called soothing. 

All those other things aside, if this meeting doesn't end in the next few minutes she is going to jump out the window. 

Her knee bouncing, she shifts her upper body in a way that's hopefully not that visible to anyone else. It doesn't help, in fact the resulting movement of her bra over her left boob makes her want to scream.

"We appreciate your elucidation on Mr. Wallach's movements last Tuesday." Joan nearly bites her lip at the growing light at the end of the tunnel. "Now if you could tell us about the lawsuit from three months ago. Sexual harassment, was it not?"

Joan gets to her feet with a repressed groan. Then she runs for the receptionist. "Restroom?"

She's just stepped inside the single stall and slid the lock into place when she hears the deathly urgent, "WATSON???"

She curses fluently inside her head and undoes the lock, just in case. "Sherlock! I'm o-"

And he's barreled through the open door.

"What the hell!" She pulls together the unbuttoned half of her shirt. 

"I thought-" Over Sherlock's shoulder, a security guard starts coming into view. "What-what are you doing?"

"Sorry." Her face will probably remain this garish shade of red for...ever. "I'm, uh, peeling. Itch is driving me crazy."

He blinks, adrenaline making him shake slightly and keeping him from comprehending. "What?!"

"The only emergency right now is my imminent death by mortification." Her left hand tightly curled to protect her modesty, she makes a shooing motion with her right. "Go away."

He turns toward the door, then stops. "I've done the reading. If you have developed a rash, or the beginnings of dermatitis, scratching is highly inad-"

"OUT."

-

Lin greets her at the bar in her signature neurotically enthusiastic way. After tilting her head a little, she agrees to sit at a booth rather than stay near the bartender, where she loves to try out her charms to get free drinks for the two of them.

"I've never seen you go hard like this." She's waiting on the server to bring her second martini and Joan's third whiskey. "You look tired."

Joan waits until after the drinks have arrived. "Thanks, I had cancer."

"What?"

"Had," she repeats. "Had. As of yesterday, it's past tense. When I'm done with this course of radiation, I'll be free." She knocks on the table. "Until the follow-ups." 

Lin gets up to go to the bathroom without a word. Joan downs her drink and orders another round. To Lin's credit, she beats the server back to the table.

"So those times you said you couldn't meet up because you had cases..."

"One, oncologist appointment and two, actually a case. Sorry."

"You told your brother, didn't you?"

Because Joan is three drinks in, she doesn't hold anything back from her eyeroll. Her siblings having no relationship with each other is not on her. "That's different."

"Because he's real."

"Because he lives two hundred miles away! I didn't have to see...that. That expression, in my face, all the time."

"You could've died and I would never have known you were sick."

Joan snorts. "I was never *dying*." There was that period between her biopsy and the results of her lumpectomy, when decades-old memories of various patients, poor souls fading in front of her eyes, resurfaced every hour. Lin didn't need to be there for that.

"Look." Joan kisses Lin noisily on the cheek. "I just got the best news of my life and I wanted MY SISTER here with to celebrate being Officially. Cancer. Free!"

A table of young men nearby let out a cheer. Lin smiles in spite of herself.

-

Joan wakes up naturally. 

She spends a few minutes watching him. Many people say they'll sleep anywhere, but Sherlock actually will. And he never shows a single sign of stiffness or back pain. She envies him that, even as she acknowledges that she'd still prefer a bed, even if there were no consequences to sleeping on the floor. 

"Is this just the first time I caught you?" Her voice is husky from sleep. 

He springs to his feet. "Oh!" He runs off, returning no more than six minutes later with breakfast.

After placing the tray on the bed, he stands at her side, stiff and silent like a brooding Lurch. "What, no speech?" she teases.

He takes in a shaky breath. "It has been quite some time since I lost the ability to imagine a life without you in it. Gratitude isn't sufficient enough to describe how it feels to know this is a concern I can put off for another day."

"Oh, Sherlock." 

"These past few weeks have been fraught, for you." She gives a start. This has taken an unexpected turn. "Full of pain and fear, the reopening of old wounds. You've conducted yourself so admirably. My respect for you, which had appeared to reach its zenith years ago, I find had untold heights yet to climb." He leans toward her, his hand cradling the back of her head while his lips press against her hairline. 

He disengages, turning his back and she makes a tentative grab for his hand. He freezes in place, not resisting. "I love you, too," she says thickly, shoving aside tears.

Joan doesn't remember having done anything remotely admirable. She's been tired and snappish, she forced everyone to cater to her, she stopped doing her fair share of the work. The one person she tried to help didn't need her. It's been weeks since she felt like she existed for any worthwhile reason. 

Maybe that's why it's good to see herself through his eyes, just this once. She squeezes his hand, then quickly lets go, taking pity on him. Plucking the cloth napkin from the tray and pressing it against her eyes, she laughs. "So this was your plan for my last day? Get my face all blotchy just in time to go in there and say goodbye to all those people?"

"What does it matter? You'll never see them again.

[fanstanfiction]

act one- josh dun imagine

author’s note: hey guys! this will be a part one to a little story idea that i came up with. this is an imagine for all my theatre kids out there! i got inspiration from the play Almost, Maine and it is such an AMAZING show!! anyways i think this is pretty cute, so enjoy! part two will be coming out soon :)) this contains 1.9k words

the cast list is up after school today and you’re so excited to see if you made it in the show. the bell rings and you run from math class to check the list. your eyes look in 1,000 places on the paper scrambling to look for your name.... and you see it. you got in the show, you smiled so big and started screaming with your friends. you go back to the list to see who else made the cast and to see who your scene partner is. josh dun... the name sounds so familiar but you could put a finger on it. 

the next day was the first rehearsal for the show and you were in the best mood for the rest of the day. the bell rings and you walk to the theatre room to see the cast and director. you put your stuff down and look to find your water bottle, pencil, and highlighter. you get your things and meet in the theatre where the read through would happen. you sit in the front row along with your friends and wait til the director starts rehearsal. there were only a few people you’ve never seen before but you would somehow end up being friends with them before the show was over. “hello everyone and welcome to our first read through!” the director exclaims. “we are going to go around and introduce ourselves and then we’ll dive right into the script. introduce yourself and then give us fun fact about you, go!” we all go around in a circle introducing ourselves until we get to a boy who you’ve never seen before but looks so familiar. “hi, my name is josh. i play in a band whenever i’m not here playing for you guys or band.” it all clicked as soon as he introduced himself. josh plays the drums for the theatre department during the musical season. you remember that you and your friends have a nickname for him and it got all around the department. you called him “cue boy” because he would always miss his cue to start drumming since he was distracted by the actors. he pulled his act together during the actual show since he didn’t want to mess it up for us.

 everyone is done introducing themselves and we go right into the script. “can everyone sit next to their scene partners so you all can start to get to know each other and the characters better?” the director says. we all mumbled a response and the director tells what scene to sit where in the theatre. josh and i awkwardly sat next to each other and i said a quick “hi” so he wouldn’t be uncomfortable. he responded with a warm smile that kind of melted your heart. “why don’t we go through our scene and then we’ll talk about our characters and ourselves at the end?” he says. “yes of course!” you said. you read the stage directions and try to visualize the set, the characters, and the context of the scene.  it was called, “Seeing The Thing” it was all about one guy who likes this girl and try to confess his love to her through a homemade painting. you and josh read through it and laughed at some of the lines and got awkward when the lines were really serious. you guys get closer to the end of scene to realize that you guys have to kiss a lot. 

DAVE: You know what? Do me a favor. Try given me a kiss and see what happens. And I’m not gonna make fun of you or nothin’ bad like that, I promise... 

RHONDA: No... No... Let’s do the... this: Is it apples? Cherries? Big open faced strawberry rhubarb pie- 

It says in the stage directions that they kiss, like for a long time. how is this school appropriate? you and josh finish reading your scene and discussing both characters. josh starts to say quietly, “hey do you-“ 

“all right, rehearsal is done! see you all tomorrow at 3!” the director says. everyone in the room burst with clapping and screams of excitement. everyone started to gather their things when josh starts to speak again. “hey... do you want to hangout sometime after school so we can get to know each other better?” he said in a very nervous tone. “yeah, i would like that.” you said with a smile. 

it was the next day and you were so excited about rehearsal as always. you enter the theatre with excitement and see that most of the cast was there already. the director takes attendance quickly so they can start blocking the scenes. “alright, we’re going to start with the top of the show. while you are waiting, go over your scene with your partner and have some chill time.” since you and josh were the second to last scene, there was a good chance that the director wouldn’t be able to do the blocking for your scene today. you two worked on your scene for about 30 until the stage manager came up to you guys. “ok, so we don’t need you guys today since we’re not even done with the first scene.” “okay, thank you!” you wait for the stage manager to leave before you say anything else. “well that sucks, but at least it’s friday. we can finally get a break!” you say quietly so only josh can hear you. “yeah.” josh says softly. “i have a show tonight... if you wanna come, i have an extra ticket.” he says with a nervous look on his face. “of course i’ll come! what time should i show up?” you say with excitement. “actually i was wondering if you want to come with me to the venue right now.” josh really wanted you to go, you could just tell. even though you haven’t known each other for too long, you wanted to get closer to him. “oh really?! sure!” you said. josh smiled so big and he ran to go get his stuff from the theatre classroom. you follow him and he was bursting with energy. you two grabbed your stuff and ran to josh’s car. you threw your stuff in there and took off. 

the venue was about 30 minutes away from the school and you two talked about music and concerts, you two have the same taste in music. “so, what kind of music does your band play?” “uh... i don’t know. we really don’t have a definite style. it’s up to the listeners own interpretation really.” josh says. “ooooo how edgy.” you say in a sarcastic tone. “i’m so excited about the show tonight! my band mate tyler said that there will be over 100 people which is the largest show we’ve ever played.” josh said with a big smile. “oh wow that’s so cool!! does he know i’m coming to the show?” “yeah, he’s excited about you showing up. he’s been wanting me to reach out to more people, i’m just glad you wanted to go.” josh said. the rest of the car ride was filled with crazy band stories that made you laugh, you really enjoyed josh’s company. you both arrive at the venue and walked through the front doors. there was a guy who was about the same age as josh. “hey what’s up man? y/n, this is tyler!” tyler was about the same height, if not shorter than josh. you couldn’t tell if he went to your school or not. you two said hi and walked into the venue together. you were given a backstage pass... you were not expecting this. “a backstage pass? josh, you know i would have been just fine with having a ticket.” you said. “i know, but i wanted to show you what it’s like in my world.” josh says as he stares straight into your eyes. “we should probably set up. do you want to organize the merchandise?” 

hours of organizing the merch and backstage areas was a hassle, but you do this all the time in theatre so it wasn’t out of the ordinary. the doors opened and you watched the fans run in. they must have some dedicated fans. a few moments later, someone touches your shoulder and you flinch... it was josh. “oh my gosh you scared the shit out of me.” you say breathless. “oh, sorry. i wanted to grab you so you can chill backstage, i know you’ve been working hard.” josh grabs your hand and leads you backstage, thank god their fans don’t notice. once you get to the backstage area, you see tyler and another girl. “y/n, this is tyler’s girlfriend jenna!” you exchange a hello with her. “we’ll we gotta go, bye.” josh says nervously. you end up in josh’s dressing room. it was super nice, way nicer than you ever expected. you help him organize his masks and clothes for the show. he told you everything behind the masks and you were shocked. eventually he had to get changed and he didn’t mind you being in the room because he just took his shirt off right in front of you. your jaw dropped and you couldn’t stop staring. “pull it together!” you say to yourself. “hey can you grab me that shirt over there?” josh said. he was just teasing you at this point because he was trying to get you to stare at his body and say something. you got up and handing him his shirt and proceeded to get this situation out of your mind. he got dressed while you were practicing some of your lines for the show. “god, don’t you ever get a break from theatre?” he says. “not unless if i want to be doing this for the rest of my life. theatre is more of a lifestyle at this point.” you say. “you know, i wish everyone could sit back and just relax.” josh says with a hopeful tone. “you should tell that to yourself, you literally play the drums all the time. passion is passion and you have to be working every minute of your life in order to achieve your dreams. but, the final performance is all that matters. now, i want you to go out there and perform your heart out. bring out the inner theatre kid and perform for your fans, i’ll be there to cheer you on. you’re gonna kill it tonight!” you say. josh gives you a big hug and just kind of holds you. all the sudden, someone knocks on the door. “hey josh, we’re on in 5!” you turn around to see tyler ready to go. “i’ll be out soon.” josh responds softly. tyler walks away before josh can say anything else. “can you stand on my side of the stage? i really want you to get the backstage treatment.” josh says. “yes, of course! as long as you show me, then i’ll be there.” 

it was showtime and you walk with josh to the stage, you do a theatre ritual before he goes out on stage. you watch him take the stage with tyler and let’s say they put the best show on for everyone in the crowd. rehearsal will never be the same after this concert. 

[seouledbysisi]

Moonlit

Chapter 5

The doorbell to their front door sounded. Sapphire and Riley were almost certain that it was Minho because he always had a habit of just popping up, which was fine since they didn't know many people anyways.

Sapphire lifted an eyebrow when she opened the door. “What's this?”

The guy handed her a package. “I'm an intern for H1ghr Music company and I was sent to give you this. Are you Riley or Sapphire?” He asked.

Sapphire nodded. “Riley come here!” She yelled. “What is this for?” She directed to the young guy.

He shrugged. “I'm just running errands. I don't ask questions, I just do as I'm told.”

“Who is this?” Riley asked as she finally walked up.

Sapphire gave the guy a tip. “Thanks.” She said and closed the door quickly.  “He said he's an intern for H1ghr Music.”

Riley scrunched her forehead staring at the package. “So they just randomly sent us a package. What in the world would they send?”

Sapphire placed the box on the counter and ripped the tape off of it. “Your guess is as good as mine.” She pulled out two bracelets which were diamond encrusted with the words H1ghr Music engraved on them.

Riley snatched the bracelet from Sapphire. “What the hell! This can't be real diamonds!”

“I don't know, they look pretty real to me. There's a note too!” She exclaimed as she pulled it out of the box. 

Thank you for your invitation to your grand opening.Myself and also my rappers are enthusiastic about this event. I would like to extend a personal invite to our company party tonight to give you taste of what your club has in store. I hope you will accept!

- Jay Park, CEO

Riley and Sapphire's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

“Jay himself is inviting us to a private company party!” Riley yelled as she leaped up and down.

Sapphire was in so much shock. “It's such short notice, like what the heck are we going to wear?”

“All the clothes you have in your closet I'm sure you have something! Call Minho up and tell him that he's coming with!” Riley ran off to her room to start getting ready.

A couple hours later Minho arrived to their apartment.

Minho

Sapphire

Riley

“Ladies! How the hell did y'all score an invite to a Jay Park party?”

They both were confused by how they were important enough to be at one of his parties.

“He even sent us these.” Sapphire lifted her wrist.

Minho's eyes widened. “He has a fine way of thanking someone. He must enjoy spending lots of money.”

Riley admired the bracelet on her wrist. “I ain't complaining. Maybe we need to invite his rappers more often if it gets us diamonds.” She laughed.

“So you feel me!?” Sapphire agreed. She slipped her heels on.

Riley grabbed her clutch purse. “Here goes nothing.”

When they arrived to the address that was printed on the invite they were all slapped in the face with astonishment.

“Surely this isn't his house, right?” Sapphire spoke as she stared in awe at the huge mansion.

Minho chuckled. “Most people rent huge houses for parties like this. If you get into the right circle of people you'll get used to this type of treatment.”

Riley shook her head. “I don't think I'd ever get used to these kinds of things.”

They stepped out of the Uber and headed up the steps to the entrance of the house.

Every person in the building turned to stare at them.

Sapphire immediately became nervous and covered her body with her arms a bit. “I mean I know we're American but do they really have to stare at us like they've seen an alien?”

Minho shook his head. “I think their gazing upon y'alls beauty to be honest.”

pH-1 came around a corner and Riley's heart began to pump like it had never before. How the heck does he have this kind of control over my body? I barely know the guy. She shook her head to herself.

“What in the world are y'all doing here?” He asked as he looked Riley from head to toe. He couldn't deny her beauty and his hands tingled as if they were dying to touch her soft, slightly tanned skin. He placed his hands immediately into his pockets to avoid them doing anything that he had no control over.

Riley sighed. “Your boss sent us an invite earlier today and promised to give us a taste of what our grand opening night is going to be like.”

He looked around the place as if looking for someone. “Wow, well it's great to see all of you here. Ladies, you look gorgeous but I'm sure you already know that.”

“Yeah, but it never hurts to hear someone else say it sometimes.” Sapphire added.

Woodie and Sik-K were jumping up and down with the other guests. They were surrounded by quite a few people and they seemed to be having the time of their lives.

“You don't get down like them do you?” Riley asked him as she unconsciously rubbed his arm to grasp his attention.

His breath hitched in his throat for a moment. “I do sometimes. They're always crazy though.”

She nodded as she watched the guys.

“Sorry to cut this conversation short but I better grab them so we can get up on that stage.” He hurried off and met up with the crowd.

Riley kept her eyes on him as he disappeared through the crowd.

“Are you oogling him?” Minho asked.

Riley quickly looked away. “No, I don't oogle!” She rolled her eyes.

Sapphire simply smirked.

“I think you liked what you saw.” Minho kept picking with her.

Riley shook her head. “Whatever. He's handsome but I totally wasn't oogling him, okay?!” She crossed her arms as her cheeks began to turn a light shade of pink.

“Y'all ready?!” Woodie was hype as always. He couldn’t keep still.

Sik-k dapped him up. “I stay ready, bro!”

“So you know Jay invited Sapphire and Riley, right?” pH informed.

Sik-K was confused. “Who?”

“The owners of Moonlit, duh!” Woodie hit his arm.

Sik-K rubbed the pain away. “We meet so many people, my bad forgetting their names!”

“They're here now?” Woodie asked.

pH-1 nodded.

“Even more reason to tear that stage up! Leggo!” Woodie ran up on the stage.

The ladies couldn't help but turn up a little while they performed.

“They really know how to work a crowd!” Riley spoke to Sapphire and Minho over the loud music.

Minho bobbed his head. “I told you that you'd love them!”

The guys came off the stage as the DJ started playing other music. Girls were surrounding them, grabbing them to dance with them.

Riley rolled her eyes as she watched a girl grind on pH. “Wanna get some drinks?” She asked immediately.

Sapphire nodded. “Yep!” They hurried away to find the bar.

Riley tapped on the bar as she babysat her glass of wine.

“You've barely touched your drink, something must be on your mind.” Sapphire asked as she sipped her Moscato.

Riley exhaled loudly. “Suddenly I'm about ready to go.”

Sapphire jerked her arm. “Why? The party is still going.”

“Yeah and I'm not feeling it anymore.”

Sapphire downed the rest of her wine. “What's wrong? You're moody now.”

“I'm not moody I'm just ready to go. You can stay.”

“You know I'm not going to stay without you, though!” Sapphire rolled her eyes.

Riley took a small sip of her wine and shrugged.

Minho met up with them with the guys in tow with him. “Hey, we've been looking for y'all!”

Sapphire looked up from her glass and looked right into Jay Park's face. “Oh my gosh, nice to meet you! Thanks for inviting us.” She threw her hand out quickly.

Jay shook her hand. “Are you enjoying yourselves?” He laid eyes on Riley.

“Well this is unlike any party we've ever been invited to, this is all dope!” Sapphire exclaimed.

Jay chuckled. “All credit goes to my party planner. I just spit the money out for it. I'm glad you ladies came though, I just wanted to meet you officially.” He nodded.

Riley gave him a small smile. “Nice meeting you as well.”

He walked away to speak with some of his other guests.

“She's ready to go.” Sapphire told Minho.

“Y'all are leaving?” Woodie posed up next to Sapphire.

Sapphire shrugged. “If she leaves I'm going too.”

pH cocked his head to the side and grabbed Riley's hand. “You're not having fun?”

Riley pulled her hand back. “The party is cool, I'm just tired.”

“Come dance with me first?”

Riley looked up at him with searching eyes. Had he figured out that she was upset or did he genuinely want to dance with her? She knew she shouldn't feel special seeing as he just had another girl grinding her flat ass all over him which pissed her off even more the more she thought about it. She really had no reason to be mad, he wasn't hers but she still didn't like another female's hands on him.

“Don't tell me you're too tired for one dance!” He chuckled as he reached for her hand again.

She took his hand and followed him.

Woodie took a seat next to Sapphire. “Aye can I get a beer?”

The bartender handed him a Heineken.

He took a quick sip. “You enjoy the performance?”

She nodded. “Y'all were nice up there. The crowd really liked it for sure.”

“Phire, why are you being so modest?”

She giggled. “I'm not, this is just how I am.”

“I find that really hard to believe. You don't have to be shy around me.”

“I can't help it, this is just how I am around new people.” She looked towards the DJ stand.

Woodie grabbed her chin and turned her to face him. “Well I guess we better change that. What are you doing this weekend?”

Sapphire cleared her throat. “I have plans Saturday around noon but after that I'm pretty sure I'm free. Why?”

“I was going to ask could I take you on a date.”

Sapphire's eyes widened.

Woodie laughed. “Don't worry I'm not asking you to marry me I'm just trying to get to know you better if that's okay?”

“No, I didn't mean to offend you. I just wasn't expecting for you or anyone else here in Korea to ask me on a date.”

Woodie gave her a peculiar look. “Why wouldn't guys ask you out?”

She stared at him for a moment. “Do you really have to ask?”

Woodie was still confused. “You're gorgeous and you must be smart since you own two businesses. I don't see a problem with you.”

“You didn't notice that I'm not Korean or are you blind?” Sapphire giggled.

Woodie rolled his eyes. “I'm not like that, Phire. I realize you're not Korean but I think you're great regardless.”

She gave him a half smile. “Well not many people here are going overlook the fact that I have dark brown skin.”

“Well I think your skin is beautiful. It reminds me of chocolate and I love chocolate.” He caressed her uncovered thigh gently. “So is that a yes?”

Sapphire took a deep breath. “Sure!”

Riley and pH met back up with them at the bar.

Riley wrapped her arms around Sapphire neck and pushed her hair aside to reveal her ear. “Guess who has a date Saturday night!”

Sapphire squealed a little. “Me too!”

[deamstellarus]

Stranger Things Have Happened (2/11)

Pairing: Clint Barton x Reader

Summary: You’d spent your whole life hiding your ability from the world. When you ended up in a dark alley, you never expected to be saved by Tony Stark. But when you met your soulmate, you knew it was fate.

Word Count: 4207

Warnings: None really, unless you count slight embarrassment 

Chapter 2: Awkward Encounters

          You woke up the next morning with the sun shining on your face. You were so content that the realization that you were not, in fact, in your room in your apartment didn’t occur to you until a few moments later. Then you started to panic, until you heard a voice call out.

         “Miss, your heart rate indicates that you are panicking. Please try to calm down. You are at the Avengers Tower. I have alerted the Boss that you are awake,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. said, and you suddenly remembered the previous night. Slowly, you got out of bed, your body aching but oddly feeling more refreshed than you have in months. Sliding on the slippers and pulled on a hoodie, went and brushed your teeth with the new toothbrush you found, then cracked open the bedroom door, peeking into the hallway. It was empty as you made your way into the living room, walking up to the giant windows and taking in the view of New York. You’d never seen so much of New York all at once, it was almost calming being so high up above the fast-paced city. You didn’t hear the ding of the elevator, so the following voice startled you.

         “Well good morning, Alleycat!” Tony said, taking you by surprise. You jumped, turned to see him a few feet away. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Are you hungry?” You were about to respond as your stomach answered for you in what must have been the loudest growl that echoed in the room. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he laughed.

         “It would appear so,” you said, pulling at your sleeves.

         “Come along, let’s go to the kitchen and see what Cap is making for everyone.” Right. You were going to meet the Avengers today. Suddenly, you were nervous. They’re just normal people, people who just happened to be superheroes.

         He started back for the elevator but turned to see you still glued to the same spot, feeling unprepared. What if you were intruding on their home? Technically you were. What if they didn’t like you being there? He held out his hand and you hesitantly took it, following him into the elevator. He pressed a button with a big A on it, upon closer inspection you saw it was the Avengers logo. “This is the button for the Avengers common room floor. This is also where the kitchen is located. You can come down here whenever you’d like.”

         The doors opened to a truly impressive common room. There was a 70 inch TV on the wall above a fireplace, facing several large (and expensive) couches. Just like in Tony’s room, there were floor to ceiling windows on the far wall. There was a bar off to the side that looked fully stocked. To the right was a long table that looked like it was able to seat at least twelve, and beyond that was a kitchen, with what looked to be state of the art appliances. There were a few people sitting on the couches, watching the news: a man with longer brown hair, a woman with long reddish hair, and a man that looked...is he purple? You recognized the brunet man though as Sergeant James Barnes, the Winter Soldier. Seated at the breakfast counter was a man with deep, warm skin you recognized immediately as the Falcon, and the man at the stove flipping pancakes was none other than Captain America himself.

         “Look alive people, we have company,” Tony said pulling you towards the kitchen. “Something smells good, Capsicle.” Everyone stopped and looked at you, some doing a double take and you cowered a little behind Tony. When did you get to be so shy? He chuckled. “They don’t bite, Alleycat. Mostly.”

         “Speak for yourself, Stark,” Sam said winking at you. “I’m Sam Wilson.” He said to you, holding out his hand for you to shake. You accepted it and gave him your name.

         “I know who you are,” you giggled lightly. “You’re the Falcon.”

“Ha! See Tony?! What did I tell you? The people love me!” Sam said, to which Tony rolled his eyes.

         “Steve Rogers, ma’am,” Steve said, holding out his hand, and you took it, staring at him in awe. He really was as anatomically perfect as he seemed to be on TV.

         “Over there is Bucky Barnes, the previous Winter Soldier, Wanda Maximoff, also known as Scarlet Witch, and the Vision,” Tony said, gesturing to the people on the couch. You waved a little to them. “Here, take a seat and Cap will get you a plate.” He said pulling out a seat at the breakfast counter for you, then making a beeline for the coffee machine. Even though you’ve only just met him, you’re sure he relies on the caffeine after having spotted the bags under his eyes. He probably doesn’t get much sleep.

         Steve set a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of you and Sam passed you the syrup. They looked at you expectantly, so you grabbed you fork and took a bite and released a small moan. Then stopped, and looked up blushing. They laughed.

         “Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve eaten and this is amazing,” you said after swallowing. “Thank you.”

          “It’s my pleasure, ma’am.” Steve and Tony exchanged a look. You wondered briefly if Tony had told the rest of them about you.

         “Go on and eat up, Selina Kyle. Doc wants to check your progress.” You made a face at the nickname but deciding it could be worse. Guess we’re gonna stick with the cat-theme then. You shrugged and began eating, practically inhaling the food. Under any other circumstances, you’d probably be more embarrassed but you couldn’t find it in you to feel that way at the moment. You finished your food, then thanked Steve and waved to the rest as you followed Tony a little more confidently to the elevator. Once inside he hit the button for the medical wing, then he looked over to you, taking note of your more relaxed state, calmer than you had been when he’d first seen you this morning.

         “You’ll meet Clint and Natasha tonight, Hawkeye and Black Widow, when they get back from their mission. Thor is currently in Asgard, and Bruce is most likely in the lab. Rhodey should be around here somewhere,” he said as the doors opened. He brought you back to the room you’d been in last night, where you formally met Dr. Cho. She looked you over and asked you about any pain you might have. You didn’t have much, you’d been to used to His treatment and had started ignoring the lasting pain that came with the punches. She prescribed you some pain meds just in case and sent you on your way. Afterwards, Tony brought you down to his lab.

         “This is my workshop,” he said proudly. Looking around, you couldn’t help but notice all of the versions of Iron Man suits. There must have been at least 50. The space was large, half of the area dedicated to different inventions, completed and half-done, of Tony’s, along with papers disorganized spread across the tables, knicknacks everywhere you turned, a well used coffee machine, and a couch with a pillow and blanket on it. The other half of the area was neater by far, and housed the projects of Dr. Banner, who was working on a project as we walked in. He waved and gave a small smile, you returned the wave and grinned back. Tony brought you to a stool at one of his tables and handed you a device. It looked like a phone, but sleeker than you’d ever seen.

        “It’s a Stark phone. It’s more advanced than regular phones, and has F.R.I.D.A.Y. already integrated in it. All of our numbers are programmed into it, but you can download anything you want on it. It’s yours,” he said. He looked nervous, like he wanted, no-- needed, your opinion.

         “This is really cool. Thanks, Mr. Stark.” You said smiling. If you kept this up, your cheeks were going to hurt by the end of the day. He visibly relaxed.

         “Great! Now I’m going to work on some things down here and you are more than welcome to stay with us, or you can explore the Tower if you want. F.R.I.D.A.Y. can help you if you get lost.” You nodded.

         “Thank you, Mr. Stark. I think I’ll go look around if you don’t mind,” you said getting up.

         “Please. Mr. Stark was my father. Call me Tony,” he said, gesturing toward the door.

         Once in the elevator you didn’t know where to go. An idea occurred to you. “Uhm, hello? F.R.I.D.A.Y.?”

         “Yes, Miss,” the AI responded.

“What types of things are there to do around here?”

         “There is a theater room, and a game room. There’s an indoor pool on the floor with the gym, as well as an outdoor pool with a deck for sunbathing. There’s also a library if you’d like to read.”

          It didn’t take you any time at all to respond that you’d like to go to the library level. You were shocked by the amount of books in the room, you hadn’t thought Tony Stark, technological genius would bother with having a library, much less a well-stocked one. You perused the shelves, finding an old classic and settled down in one of the over-sized chairs tucked in a corner by the window. You got comfortable, too comfortable it would seem, as that’s where Tony found you several hours later. He nudged your shoulder and you jerked awake, blinking the sleep out of your eyes.

         “That’s a good look, Sleeping Beauty,” he joked. You were confused until you felt the sleep marks for the book on your face. So you did the mature thing: you stuck your tongue out at him. He chuckled. “Get up. You haven’t had lunch yet and we don’t need Cap thinking I’m trying to turn you into me or something.” He winked.

         You followed him up to the kitchen, and Wanda was making sandwiches while Vision chopped some veggies to dip in a ranch sauce. Wanda smiled at you when you walked in, passing you a plate. You sat at the table with the rest of the superheroes. Wow, that was a weird sentence. Never before did you believe you’d be in this position. You all were eating quietly, before Bucky broke the silence.

          “So, tell us about yourself,” he said. His demeanor was intense but he had gentle eyes. The rest of the group leaned in slightly.

          “Uhm, well,” you began, not knowing really where to start. “I’m 23, I am a waitress, er was a waitress, I suppose. I had to quit that when He made me start testing.”

          “Who are you talking about, Kitten?” Tony asked. His grip on his mug had gotten a little tighter.

          “My boyfriend, er, well, ex-boyfriend now, Mason Thompson. He found out about my ability a few months ago by accident, and since then has been testing me and working with his bosses to do...I don’t know really. Last night, he took me to meet with them in person at a fancy restaurant, and were making a deal of sorts, but before they could take me, I faked having to go to the bathroom and ran out through the kitchen. I kept running until I stopped to take a breath and then hid in an alley until he left,” you said. You’d been looking at your hands during your story. You looked up then at Tony, “I guess that’s when you found me.”

          Tony nodded, eyebrows furrowed. He looked pale and the grip was so tight on his mug, his knuckles turned white and you were nervous for the mug. You supposed he had more than enough money to replace that one, or several thousand, should he want.

         “Why would they want you? What kind of testing?” Steve asked. Oh, right. They didn’t know about this.

         “I can, uh, transform into different animals, and uhm, people. When Tony found me, I was a cat.”

         If they were surprised, they hid it well. Probably comes with being a superhero, nothing is out of the ordinary when everything is.

         “Would you mind showing us?” Bucky asked, only to get elbowed by Steve, who pulled a face that you would recognize as the Captain America face. Probably had a special voice that accompanied it too. “What?” Bucky asked, rubbing his ribs.

          You shrugged before standing up.

          “You don’t have to, you know,” Tony said, putting his hand over yours, looking worried for the first time since last night. You couldn’t quite put a finger on why but you felt safe here. Maybe it was because you were in a room full of superheroes or maybe it was the compassion they’ve already shown you after only having known you for less than a day. So you nodded but stood up anyway, backing up a couple feet. You took a deep breathe and shifted into a cat, looking up at them and observing their faces. You gave them another moment and then turned into a grey wolf, walking around the table once before shifting into a snake and slithering up next to Sam, who proceeded to jump and fall out his chair. The group laughed as you morphed into Sam, taking a seat in your chair and making the face he had when you’d scared him. Bucky was laughing so hard, he was gasping for air. You shifted back to your normal self and giggled lightly, winking at Sam.

         “Oh I see how it is,” he said taking his seat again. “I’ve got my eye on you.” He pointed to his eyes then yours. You grinned back at him.

         “Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say we will keep you safe from Him,” Wanda said with a smile. The rest of them nodding in agreement, and you were grateful to have been found by this group of people.

         The topic switched off of you and as you finished your food, you were starting to feel a little out of place at the table. As if you were intruding on their space. “If you’d like, I can help you pick out clothes and have them ordered here. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to keep wearing those clothes, they look rather big on you,” Wanda said. It was like she read your mind. You nodded, thankful for something else to do.

         “Oh, before you go, your room is ready,” Tony said. “I put you on Wanda’s floor, if that’s alright.”

         “That’s perfect. Thank you,’ you said as Wanda pulled you out of the room.

         You and Wanda headed to your new room, and when you opened the door, it was similar to the guest room in the penthouse. The biggest difference was the desk that also had a laptop on it. It was perfect. Wanda grabbed the laptop and sat on the bed. You joined her and began looking for clothes that fit your style. In an hour, you had a full wardrobe picked out, ready to be delivered tomorrow morning. You looked at the price and the realization of where you really were and what that meant for you started to overwhelm you. You don’t don’t deserve all of this attention.

        “Don’t worry about the price. Tony is more than willing to spend it on you, and has more than enough money to spare,” Wanda said, sensing your worry. “It’s okay, there’s no need to feel undeserving.” But how did she--? Wanda smiled. “It’s part of my abilities. I can read minds and sense emotions, among other more...powerful...things.”

         Wanda patted your shoulder. She wanted to go out to the common room, but you told her you wanted to take a shower but you’d meet her there in a little while. She left and you took a deep breath. Maybe that was all you needed to relax and accept this new reality. After your jasmine-scented shower, you put on the fresh clothes you found in the drawers. They still dwarfed you but you felt better than you had in such a long time. You pulled a comb through your long, wet hair, slid on the slippers, and made your way to the common room.

         You found Wanda on one of the couches cuddled up next to a slightly stiff looking Vision. They must be soulmates, you think. You weren’t quite sure what to make of him yet; he doesn’t talk much. The other couches contained Steve and Sam on one, while Bucky scowled at Sam from the other. You chuckled softly as you made your way into the room. You felt their eyes on your exposed arms and crossed them, trying to hide the largest bruise on the inside of your right arm. Not quite sure where to sit, you hovered near them until Bucky patted the spot next to him, putting his arm on the back of the couch. You took a seat and fell immediately into him. Embarrassed, you sat up and scoot a little away from him, but he gently pulled you back.

        “I don’t mind, doll,” he said with a smile, and you could instantly understand why he was considered a ladies’ man before the war. You’d been to the exhibit of Captain America and the rest of the Howling Commandos, of course, but nothing had prepared you for seeing Bucky’s grin in person. You didn’t think it’d be so soon after Him that you’d feel comfortable this close to another man, but there was none of the men in this room had reacted nearly the same nor made you feel like an object since they’d seen your ability.

         You relaxed into his side and the six of you watched some made-for-TV-movies when the elevator dinged. You thought nothing of it until a loud voice called, “Hey! Who ate all my chips? Wilson!?”

         Not expecting the outburst, you morphed unconsciously, cowering next to Bucky. You felt their eyes on you, but your attention had been drawn to the new people in the room.You watched as a woman with red hair and a body that most would kill for walked into the room. Following close behind her was man who had dirty blonde hair, and a bow and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. Black Widow and Hawkeye, the latter of whom was holding a now empty bag of barbeque chips.

         “Did you hear me?” he asked. “What are you all looking at?” He looked down to see your fluffy body on the couch. “When did we get a bunny?” He knelt down to pet you. “Well, aren’t you a pretty bunny,” he said smiling.

          The rest of the group couldn’t help but laugh, while the two assassins stood there looking confused. You, on the other hand, were mortified. Not only had you met two more Avengers in animal form, but one of them just so happened to be your soulmate. At least he said the words on your ribs. You got up and hopped out of there as fast as you could to the elevators that thankfully opened as you approached them. When you were safely hidden inside, you changed back and took deep breaths, trying to calm down. You got to your floor and crawled into bed, hiding under the covers, hoping the bed would swallow you whole.

         You don’t know how long it had been but you woke to the sound of a knock at your door and then the door opening. Tony stepped in and gently shut it behind him. He carried a tray with what looked like Chicken Parmesan.

         “Hey, kiddo. You alright?” he asked, awkwardly setting the tray on the desk. You shrugged. “I know you hadn’t planned to meet them this way, but even Legolas is kicking himself for scaring you away.”

         “It wasn’t just that,” you hesitated, not knowing if you should tell him. He waited, and you wondered if he was normally this patient or if this was new for him. “Uhm, he kinda, said my words…”

         A look passed over his face. “Oh. Huh. Did you, uh, say them back?” You could have smacked yourself. Of course you hadn’t thought to say anything back, too embarrassed in the moment. You shook your head.

         “I ran off before I could say anything. He probably thinks I’m just some stupid girl.” You fell back onto your bed, pulling a pillow over your face.

         “Alright, no more self-deprecating remarks. That’s not who you are.”

         “You don’t even really know me.” You said into the pillow. You winced, glad your face was hidden.

          He replied without missing a beat. “Hm, be that as it may, Grumpy Cat, I am a good judge of character.” With that he opened the door, but before he stepped out, he said, “Just remember, you can’t stay in here forever, nor can you hide from a master assassin.” He shut the door behind him and for the rest of the night, you contemplated what you were going to do about Clint. Your soulmate.

          By morning, you’d decided Tony was right, you couldn’t stay in your room forever, nor hide from the assassin for too long. But why rush to him when you didn’t have to, right? Damn, when had you become such a baby? I suppose a few months of living with Him would change anyone.

“Where are the Avengers currently, F.R.I.D.A.Y.?”

“Captain Rogers is in the gym with Mr. Wilson, Sergeant Barnes, and Ms. Romanov. Ms. Maximoff and Vision are in the common room. Boss is the lab with Dr. Banner. And Mr. Barton is the shooting and archery range.”

“Thank you.” Alright. Well you suppose you could go down to sit with Wanda, but you might be intruding on the soulmates’ time together so you thought against it. Maybe you could sit in and watch the rest of them train, or would that be weird? There was a knock at your door and several workers carrying boxes greeted you. You opened the first one and realized it was the clothes you and Wanda had ordered yesterday. You dug through the boxes and pulled on a pair of leggings, a sports bra, and a thin pullover. Pulling your hair into a long braid, a la Katniss, and sliding on a pair of flats, you decided to chance it.

You headed down to the gym level, only to see Clint walking toward a door leading to the locker rooms. You hid behind a pillar until he was out of sight, and then let out the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding. Maybe you should just go back? You were about to turn around when you saw something shiny out of the corner of your eye. There was a vent next to the gym entrance, the door was slightly opened. What if…? No, that would be too weird, right?

         Against your better judgement, you morphed into a cat, and quickly ran across the floor to the vent, nudging it open with your paw. You climbed inside, up and over, following the voices and grunts you could hear from what you assumed was the gym. There were several other vents leading into the gym but you chose the middle of the five. Looking through the grates, you could see Steve spotting Sam on the weight bench, while Natasha and Bucky sparred on the mats. Was she winning? She was. That’s someone you would not, could not, cross.

         As you watched them dance around the mat, you didn’t here the slight shuffling of someone coming up beside you, until they coughed to get your attention. Jumping away  as much as you can in a vent, you turned to see what...who... made the sound. Clint. Just your luck. He looked at you expectantly. You changed back into your normal self and looked just fast his face, not quite looking into his eyes.

         “So, uh, you come here often?” You offered, wincing at how stupid you sounded. His eyes widened as realization flickered across his face.

         “Actually, yes…,” he said, to which you made a mental note to ask about that later as he followed that by saying, “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, but are you my soulmate?”

          Your mouth dried up. You closed your eyes and nodded, embarrassment flooding through you, face on fire.. You felt one of his hands cup your cheek. You opened your eyes meeting his blue-green gaze. “It’s alright to be afraid of the unknown. We don’t have to rush into anything. But I would like to get to know you. You know, I always thought I’d meet you at a bar or something,” he laughed. “I’m Clint, by the way.”

         For the second time that day, you could have smacked yourself at how awkward you are. You told him your name. His smile was easily your favorite thing about him.