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remsmoonlight · 3 years

Text

— title : point of view

— word count : 3k words

— pairing : daryl dixon x reader

— summary : tomorrow is something that is never promised, less so when the dead walk the Earth. being trapped for the night when a storm pours down upon you and daryl while trapped in a decrepit house by a few walkers are you sick and tired of hiding what you feel.

— warnings : some swearing, talk of potential death ( of the reader ) , a wee bit of angst that turned into more at the end :)

note: omg another daryl oneshot i gotta chill ajksajksk, but i had like seven main bullet points i made to follow when writing this and i followed like...... two, three at the most, anyways.... enjoy? this is brought to u by ariana’s discography lmao oops it does be cute at some point tho ... also felt a bit hsm with that one line at the end ahaha but fr lemme stop talking now

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* requests are open ! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Dark and gloomy clouds swirl over your head, blending into an extremely large and angry looking ready to descend from above. You wonder to yourself just how long you have left before the loud cracks that crumble through the air to accompany the forceful winds and pouring drops of rain are finally released. Halfway through the trip back from the town that lays after miles from the prison the car used decided it preferred to lay quietly in the middle of the road, shortly after the sickly sputters from the engine you heard Daryl mutter a few curse words. You were unable to hold in your amusement, despite the fact that a lack of transport obviously leaves you in a vulnerable position, it felt like it was your luck for that to happen to you.

It’s why you stay behind following the hunter in silence.

Studying him with focused eyes you can’t help but wonder how he never realises when you’re unable to tear your gaze away from him. In the beginning when you began to develop a certain affection for him you had been glad, for it to be too embarrassing for the thoughts you had about him in your head. In spite of this, when you realised that it was much more than a crush did you wish for him to mind read, because you have no idea just how to approach him about such a sensitive topic and while he can be tender about feelings, it’s also his downfall.

“ it’ll be gettin’ dark soon, there should be some houses down there to spend the night in. “

You stop in your tracks with a curious look that bled so suddenly into your features you had no time to stop it.

“ you don’t want to carry on? I mean, we’re not far from home? “ you question him with a hint of fear coddling your words.

“ we’d be trippin’ over our feet. Let’s back it back in one piece, yeh? “

Nodding, you regain your pace. It’s been a few months since you’d been hopping from one house to the other during that harsh winter, the bare thought of having to stay in yet another frail structure sent a chilly hand drawing its claws deeply up your spine. If you never had your group, you don’t think you would have made a winter like that, barely protected from the elements and the walkers that wished to plunge their teeth cavernously into your flesh.

“ as long as we leave as soon as the sun comes up. Please. “ you plead, your words filter off into a gentle volume from your position.

Leaves crumble and buckle underneath the weight, the sound of crickets dominate your surroundings as the two of you walk in silence. You itch to start a conversation, but the fear of distracting the man and annoying withhold the words that wish to fall from your lips, even then you don’t know how to begin. What would you say? There’s not much to talk about in a world where the dead have risen, where they wish to drag the world into decomposition.

Your wandering mind is pulled from its very own depths from a noise coming from Daryl, he’d turned to catch your attention. You both set to work attempting to enter any of the abandoned houses, hoping one had been left unlocked at some point.

Of course, luck is scarce. Despite there not being a soul who occupies them, they’re still somehow locked. Mournfully, you wonder if the owners of these homes had thought the governments and armies would eventually lock everything under their control, to the point that there would be a house for them to come back to? Your heart thuds painfully in your chest to think about what happened to them, and if they’re even still surviving.

A large thud draws you back to the present, the wooden door splinters at the force Daryl puts into a large kick to its frame.

“ well, there goes the lock. “ you mutter humourously, lifting the heavy bag higher up onto your shoulders as you walk in the open door.

“ we’ll put the couch there, stop any unfriendly types that come our way. “

“ I don’t know if there’s anyone left anymore. “ you reply, dropping the bag to the floor and moving towards the couch.

Situated on the other side of it, you grip the plush handle and lift with a struggle. It’s a strain to get it through the doorway to turn it around the corner, but eventually it happens. Daryl is joined by your presence by his side, you both push ⏤ this time it’s an easier feat with two of you on one side to dedicate your strength and weight to advance it.

As soon as you finish, a heavy crackle cuts through the air.

“ we got here just in time, huh? “

“ just about. “ he answers you, sparing a glance before moving through the lower floor ⏤ searching for anything that can be taken back to the prison.

Thunderstorms had never been your favourite thing growing up. Of course, rain was something that calmed you from the anxieties life brought, but the thunder and lightning is what you loathed. Never knowing when you were about to receive a fright from the loud rumbles and flashing lights ruined the whole experience for you.

The rustling Daryl makes is the only thing that brings you comfort in this moment, keeping you grounded and away from your thoughts. It doesn’t escape your notice that these houses feel no more than graveyards with the memories that have no use to live, instead haunting the structures with what could have been had chaos and death not taken over. You climb the stairs, hugging your sides as you refuse to touch the handrail leading up stairs.

There is a middle room with access granted without having to push open the door to gain entry. Your eyes scan the room’s interior, even with the dust and grime that bespeckle its surfaces, you can still see its beauty. Now, who does that remind you of? Your mind cheekly thinks before you banish it into the shadows of your brain, where you know it will force itself out with an immense stubbornness.

Despite the thunder booming in the distance frequently, you can’t help but admire the beauty of rain drops falling to the ground with a dainty grace only it holds. The sky continues to grow dimmer, only seeing the rain on your level and lower, no street lights flood the street to aid you in being able to see torrent from above. Jumping at another roar of sound from the storm, your heart begins to pick up its pace, so much you don’t realise Daryl joining you in the room.

“ scared? “

Turning around with such speed that leaves you surprised whiplash did not greet you, Daryl is left smirking at your reaction.

“ yeah, I hate these things. “ you respond, a bitterness coating each word heavily as you speak.

“ more than walkers? “ he questions you, as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

“ well, I suppose not that much .. “ another clap of thunder interrupts you, the rain beating harder and harder on the windows of the bedroom. “ can we talk about anything? This shit really grates on my nerves. “

“ what y’wanna talk about? “

Your mind stalls, with the previous thoughts that had been swirling in a state of disorder your draw a blank. A continuous thump downstairs interrupts your shrug, speeding down the stairs you realise a few walkers are trying to enter the property, of course their lack of intelligence fails to realise they’re throwing themselves into the walls and not the blocked doors.

“ shall we take them out? “ moving closer to the lengthy curtained window next to the door to get a better look, you can see three walkers hauling themselves mindlessly against the structure.

“ nah, the storm’ll get ‘em soon enough. “ he shakes his head softly, your mind taking note of the lack of proximity between your bodies as he repeats your action. “ no need to risk ourselves. “

“ wouldn’t be the first time you’ve risked your life. “

“ s’nothin. “ he contradicts gruffly, wiping a finger across his nose at your words. He truly doesn’t view it as that, refusing to think of it as risking his life. To Daryl, it doesn’t feel like risking everything to help the people around him, it’s not something he can find the words to explain but all he knows if there’s a chance, he would do it again and again.

“ Daryl Dixon, so humble. “ you speak warmly with a gentle smile threading itself into your features. “ you need to give yourself more credit. “

“ stop. “

“ you’re as brave as anyone in the group. I’d say braver than Rick. “ you joke, setting yourself from the entryway to the sitting room. “ although, if I had to choose you and Carol .. I’m sorry, but Carol every time! “

“ damn woman frightens me. “

Laughter light in weight dances airily between you with an elegance in its movement. For even a fraction of a second you forget that there are walkers that are itching to break through into the property, that there’s an angry storm that threatens to demolish whatever stands in its path, because right now it’s only you both here and now in this one room.

“ she’s come a long way. “ you agree, pulling a lone chocolate bar from your bag. Your favourite and you’re thanking the universe that it hasn’t spoiled yet. Turns out all these preservatives and chemicals have some use after all you note to yourself as half is offered to the man standing across from you.

“ so have ‘yuh. “ he acknowledges, taking the broken half of the candy from you.

“ I think we all have to be honest. I don’t think any one of us are the people we used to be. “

“ now who’s humble? “ Daryl asks, his tone light in relaxed merriment. He’d long since taken note of the transformation you’d gone through, he’s never seen you so strong as a person before.

“ don’t you turn this round on me, Dixon. “

The two of you fall silent, you direct your gaze to the window and the raindrops that litter the window pane’s surface. The harsh noises thundered no more, leaving a calm pitter of precipitation to fall with no interruption. From your position on the second couch, you wrap around a thin decorational blanket around your arms, leaning your cheek against the palm of your hand.

Pretending the world hasn’t gone to hell, that it’s just a normal evening where you’re admiring the scene before you. Skies that weep heavily is what the Georgian greenery has been calling out for, especially since the warmer temperatures have returned in full force. Switching your line of sight to Daryl, you feel a mellowness in the pit of your stomach as you watch him fondly. You can’t be sure if it’s the lack of distractions or eyes from your group, but you feel a miniscule spark of confidence within your confines.

“ come sit down, you can relax for a bit. “ you call, trying to convince him lightly. Your hand moves to pat the seat next to you.

“ can’t relax in this world. “ despite the disagreement in his words he does move towards your position on the plush seat.

“ it doesn’t mean we can’t make it. Otherwise we’d be burnt out, I’d hate to see that happen to you. “ You divulge as you reply to him, little inklings of hope in your tone.

“ y’don’t gotta worry ‘bout me. “

“ but I do, Daryl. “ you groan as a dull glumness contorts your features into something new. “ I mean, the lengths you go to .. you scare me to death. “

“ don’t be dumb. “ Daryl warns lowly as he shakes his head, few have shared their vulnerability with him. Perhaps only Carol, his mind can’t wrap itself around the fact that people genuinely care for him. Growing up, he’d been taught of it as a weakness. Something that should not exist, no one cared when he went missing for a short while as a child, and now having people who show him the opposite? It leaves a strange feeling to settle within his heart.

“ please, I need to tell you. I mean, I might not even be here tomorrow. “

“ nah, don’t say that. Y’will. “ he argues, he doesn’t even want to entertain the notion of not seeing you even for a day ⏤ let alone forever.

Truthfully, you’d not been particularly close. He understands it now, he pushed everyone away wherever he had the chance to. But after the downfall of the farm? You wouldn’t let up in trying to forge bonds that could rival even the strongest of metals. You had no idea, but he’d overheard you talking to Beth one day. When you said you didn’t want to be afraid of living, to have something worth dying for. That struck him deep.

“ neither you or I can guarantee that. Now, call me selfish but I can’t die with what ifs in my brain. “ you explain, you know it’s probably selfish to announce any kind of fondness for a person nowadays, because you can be ripped from their existence without any kind of announcement. But if you were to depart from the realm of the living, you’d want to have affectionate memories to experience and for them to look back on.

“ what y’sayin? “

Your eyes well up in frustration, whether it’s over the way you find the words are hiding beneath your tongue like cowards under the cloak of night or over the fact that you have begun this topic of conversation, backing yourself into a corner. There’s so much you want to say but how you should is not coming easy. Eloquence in your words is something you find yourself yearning for with all of your being should it bring you a happy ending to this discussion.

This isn’t a fairytale, there’s no happy or bad endings in real life you sorely think. There’s just reality, and the conclusions for that are neither black or white.

Fingertips grip the roots of your hair for a fleeting moment before letting go as if you’d never clutched them in exasperation at all.

Shutting your eyes so hard they hurt, you muster up the courage to speak the truth you’ve locked away in your heart, allowing it the light it has been deprived of for so long.

“ Daryl, I ⏤ “ your voice shuts off with a painful sound, sighing as if to psych yourself up. “ I feel more for you than I probably should. “

When Daryl says nothing, you open your eyes. Your entire being preparing yourself for the worse answer, this moment may hurt now but the pain will lessen. At least your soul feels lighter with the hidden information no longer chained to it as a burden, no longer will it have to be weighed down by its mass.

“ I know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but I couldn’t keep it in any longer. “

“ who said I didn’t wanna hear? “

“ ⏤ what ? “ you question, your brows falling lower as you squint in disbelief. You wonder if your brain is forming a false memory to protect itself later on.

“ y’don’t nothin’ to do with me though. “ he hesitates, the automatic response to push away anything good that comes his way to the furthest reaches. “ nothin’ but trouble. “

A sorrowful smile full of grief clouds your features, your unshed tears threaten to fall. If only he could see himself from your point of view, he doesn’t see just how admirable of a human being he is. Yes, he has his flaws but who doesn’t? In all of humanity, you don’t think there has ever been a perfect person, but it’s how they approach their downsides that shows the peak of their humanity, that they don’t let the darkness fester in their heart, to poison their soul into becoming a shell of a kind hearted person. That shows the strength of their character.

Daryl? You feel honoured to have been a first hand witness to see him turn from a hot ball of anger to a softer, kinder soul.

“ Daryl, you really don’t see what I do.” you forsake everything, leaning forwards and laying your hands across his. Taking in the immense warmth from them. “ That? It hurts me, because you’re rather amazing. “

Saying nothing, Daryl looks down at your intertwined hands. He wants the chance that’s being offered, though the fear of being the one who poisons everything he lays his touch upon settles heavily on his shoulder. No one has come out unscarred when dealing with a member of the Dixon family, his family tree being nothing more than toxic, with weeds that wrap around the limbs of the poor fool who got involved with them, as they drag them to their lowly depths. He doesn’t know how to let go of the past and for this he continues to pay, with the high price being his happiness in the present world. No response leaves his lips, for the first time in a long time he doesn’t know what to say, while knowing what he wants to say. It’s not until he feels arms wrapped around the top of his shoulders is he brought back down to Earth, a shudder of a breath is released from him as he realises what is going on. The action is reciprocated in earnest, you’re full of gratitude that he’s accepting your comfort ⏤ knowing it could have been a gamble of a decision, a fifty fifty chance of him reacting negatively or positively. You, too, draw comfort from the position you both find yourself, clutching the other. Hope dawns on your heart, knowing Daryl is not a particularly affectionate man. This means a lot, for it’s a leap for you both.

“ thank you. “ he whispers in the night. You know that this is the start of something new.

#daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x reader #daryl x reader #daryl dixon oneshot #daryl imagine #twd imagine #the walking dead imagine #twd oneshot #daryl oneshot

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ezrasarm · 4 years

Text

More Than Friends

Pairing: Frankie Morales x demisexual!reader

Word count: 1.9K

Warnings: Some angst, some fluff, discussions of sexuality

A/n: This isn’t my usual spiel and it wound up getting a whole lot angstier than intended but this fic means a lot to me and I would really appreciate it if you took the time to read it and let me know what you think because I am nErVoUs about posting it and in need of validation 😬😂

Just a wee disclaimer: Demisexuality is a pretty broad term and the way people experience it is all across the board so I’d like you to keep in mind that this draws heavily from my own experience with identifying this way (which I am very new to). If you would like to learn more about demisexuality there are some wonderful resources here at demisexuality.org and my inbox is always open if you’re curious.

[ masterlist ]

It was a complicated thing to explain to people who didn’t understand- who didn’t want to understand. “That’s how it is for everyone.” “You just haven’t found the right person yet.” “I can change that”. You’d gotten tired of being told the experience that was very much real to you didn’t exist, that your identity didn’t exist, of being labelled a prude or being told you were just nervous. Feeling that desire and choosing not to act was one thing but it was another thing entirely not being able to.

When you found yourself in a position where you had to explain yourself to him, you needed him of all people to understand that the way you felt had absolutely nothing to do with him. You had tried. You thought there was a chance you might get there with him but the longer you waited for that connection to form, for that feeling to come, the more you realized you were wasting both of your time.

You were terrified as you walked into the cafe to tell him that just like all the other people you had tried to broach this topic with before he wouldn’t believe you. He wouldn’t get it. He’d shrug it off and tell you that you didn’t know what you were talking about. That he’d get offended and take your lack of attraction to him personally. That he’d overreact. That he’d blame you for stringing him along. But you had to rip the bandaid off. He’s a reasonable person right? He won’t do that. You were just psyching yourself out. It would be fine.

Or not.

You were distraught by the time you were supposed to meet the boys at the bar that night. You hadn’t meant to hurt him. Why did he have to look at you that way? Why did he have to say it like that? “Right, I thought as much.” He had frowned down at his coffee. What was that even supposed to mean? Why couldn’t he have taken your word for it? Why couldn’t you have faked it till you made it? Why couldn’t you feel something? You questioned yourself as you got in the door, shuffling around in your purse for your phone before dialling Frankies number. You couldn’t do this tonight, you couldn’t run around pretending everything was fine when you had been lonely for so goddamn long and this fell through too.

You got his voice mail and hoped it wasn’t because he was already on the road. Of all the times for him to decide to be early, you hoped it wasn’t this one. “Hey, Frankie, it’s me. I hope you’re not already on your way here, I just- I’m not feeling up for tonight. I think I might be coming down with something and don’t want to get everyone sick.” You say when you get his voice mail, sniffing back your onslaught of tears before concluding the call with a “Anyway say hi to everyone for me and I’ll see you later.” before hanging up, your voice finally breaks into a sob when you drop your phone onto the couch and collapse into the cushions next to it with an aggravated and teary-eyed sigh.

As though by some cruel joke the universe had decided to play on you today it's hardly five minutes later when a knock sounds at your door and you just about have to suppress an exasperated laugh as you wipe the tears from your eyes with your shirt sleeve and go to get it.

“Hey, you ready to-” Frankie is cut off when his phone buzzes in his pocket and his brows furrow for a brief second when he goes to check it. “Oop, hang on I got a message.” He declares, “Hey look, it’s from you!” He says, throwing a wiggle of his eyebrows in your direction as you fold your arms in front of you and lean against the doorframe waiting for the penny to drop. It takes a second before you watch the grin slowly fall from his face and he finally takes in the puffiness around your eyes and the stray tear which had managed to escape your hurried attempts at wiping them away.

“You don’t look sick.” He notes solemnly after a brief pause and your gaze drops to your feet at the shame of being caught in a lie. Great, now he was looking at you all hurt too.

“That’s ‘cause I’m not.” You sniffle back, finding it even harder to withhold your emotions now that he’s standing right in front of you.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” He asked, trying to usher you inside despite the resistance you give him.

“Nothing really. You should go to the party. I’ll be fine.” You insist but he’s already managed to wiggle you both through the door and drag you back into the living room.

“And leave you here on your own? Not a chance!” He insists as he plops you down on the couch motioning for you to stay put with a warning hand gesture and glare as he dials into his phone. “Hey Pope, somethings come up, we won’t be able to make it tonight but be sure to give Will a punch in the arm from me and a ‘Happy birthday’ from (y/n) and we promise we’ll make up for it next week,” There’s a momentary pause before Frankie nods. “Yup, will do, Hermano. Bye,” he says as he hangs up shoving the phone back in his pocket before taking a seat next to you.

“Frankie, You shouldn’t have done that. I already told you I’m fine.” You sigh.

“And I already told you that I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.” He replies stubbornly, he’s clearly been hanging out with Santiago too much lately.

“You didn’t, but it’s good to know what I’m in for.” You huff out through a laugh that comes off a lot more bitter than you had hoped.

“I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong, Hermosa,” He says, brushing his thumb up and down across the knuckles you hadn’t even realized he’d taken in his hand until now.

“This isn’t something you can fix Frankie! That’s exactly the problem!” You snap, tears threatening your waterline again.

“What is? What’s the problem?” He exclaims and you realize the situation you’ve placed yourself in for the second time today.

“I broke things off with Andrew today.” You say not expecting him to look quite as shocked as he did.

“Did something happen?” He asked. He could understand you being upset over a breakup but he had never seen you quite like this before.

“No, nothing happened he just- I couldn’t-” You cut yourself off trying to figure out how you can phrase this for it to make sense.

“I really liked him just not in the way he wanted me to.” You say, your gaze falling to where Frankie’s thumb had stopped rubbing circles on your knuckle as he tried to figure out what it was you were saying. “He was dropping some pretty heavy signs that he wanted to…” You sigh trying to decide if you really wanted to get into this with him. “I can’t feel sexually attracted to anyone unless I have a strong emotional connection with them first.” You say probably a bit too abruptly. With the way he’s looking at you now, this clearly wasn’t the direction he had expected this conversation to take and you’re already wondering if you’ve made a mistake by telling him. “And just because I have an emotional connection with them doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll ever get to that point with them.” There’s a beat before he responds and you’ve already braced yourself for the worst when instead-

“And you didn’t have that with him?” He asks. You feel your heart, which you hadn’t realized had been hammering in your chest, settle slightly. He was so understanding that for a second you thought he didn’t understand.

“I wanted to.” You say. “I thought maybe if I got to know him better it might develop- that I might be able to like him that way-” You shake your head hesitantly. “But it didn’t- I couldn’t.” You whispered, your head hung low in disappointment. “He didn’t take it very well.” You tried to say but you could already feel your throat tightening at the thought of the look on his face and the words echoing through your head. “I didn’t want to hurt him I just-“ More tears spilled down your cheeks and Frankie was quick to pull you into his chest, his fingers carding through your hair as you buried your face in his neck. “I didn’t want to be alone anymore and I thought-” A choked sob escapes you and Frankies grip on your waist grows just a little tighter.

“We don’t get to choose who we are and aren’t attracted to.” He whispers into the crown of your head, hating the look of shame he had seen on your face only moments ago. Hating the way you blamed yourself for something you clearly had no control over, hating that he didn’t know what to say. “I’m so sorry he didn’t understand.” He murmured with his lips still pressed to your hair line, his free hand smoothing up and down your arm gently, waiting for your breathing to even out.

There’s a long pause before he speaks again. He knows now probably isn’t the best time to ask this question but it won’t stop nagging at him and he doesn’t know when else he would ever have the courage to. “What about me?” He swallows heavily, after a while, not exactly sure what kind of answer he’s expecting. “Have you ever thought of me that way?” He pries and for a second you’re shocked that his mind even went there. Did he want you to think of him that way? Did he ever think of you that way?

You take a moment to mull over the question, your curiosity for where he was going with it managing to outweigh your fear of giving him an answer when your mind wanders back to the way your heart used to hammer in your chest when he walked into a room and how he was the only one who ever came to mind when you so much as considered the possibility of getting intimate with someone. “I’ve thought about you that way before, yeah.” You admit, lifting your head from his shoulder to look him in the eye.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” He asks, eyes softening as he wonders how many awful dates he could have saved you from if he had just known a little sooner that you thought of him as anything more than a friend.

“Because you were married when I realized it and by the time you weren’t I’d come to terms with it and I didn’t want to screw anything up between us.” You explain truthfully. The entire situation had been so complicated when it started that you wrote off the idea before you could even consider it fully and now he was asking you all these questions and you felt like a fool for not having seen it sooner.

“Do you still?...think of me that way?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“Would you want to try giving me a chance?” He asks, wearily. “We can take it as slow as you want, there’s no pressure-”

“I’d like that.”

[ masterlist ]

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#frankie morales x reader #frankie catfish morales #frankie catfish morales x reader #frankie morales x you #frankie catfish morales x you #demisexual!reader #demisexual #triple frontier fanfiction #Frankie Morales x demisexual!reader #frankie morales x demi!reader

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bumblebear30 · 3 years

Text

Oops

Rita Calhoun x Casey Novak, Established Calvak

A wee comfort fic for these two as I totally love them.

Warnings: mentions of Casey's office attack, migraine / mild medical concern. Side effects of getting older. No smut but alluded to. Happy ending.

Please let me know if you have any other prompts or requests for these two. Happy to try write more for them.

Oops

"You did it again."

The accusing tone made Casey's head snap up from where she was nestled on the couch. She could feel the light crust of dried drool on her cheek where she'd pretty much passed out into the pillow and rubbed at it with the cuff the sweater she was wearing in the hopes that her always immaculately dressed girlfriend wouldn't notice,

"Did what again?" she finally mumbled in response, a heavy pout in place as she scrunched her eyes against the bright light streaming in the apartment windows.

Rita sighed huffily as she perched on the back of the couch and busied herself with finishing taking off her earrings for the day. From there she finally caught sight of the sleep befuddled Casey - the creases of the pillow evidently pressed into her cheek, hair all mussed and cocooned in softest of old sweaters that Rita owned as the redhead obviously tried to drag her lagging brain through what it was she had done wrong this time.

Her expression immediately switched from frustration to concern as she reached out to card her fingers through Casey's hair, the younger woman automatically leaning into it and shifting closer to where Rita was sat,

"You left files that I shouldn't see on the breakfast bar again. We got a place with room for two separate offices for a reason darling."

Casey winced and opened one eye to finally look up at Rita as she apologised,

"Oops, m'sorry babe, I genuinely didn't mean to. I just needed different light. "

Rita tilted her head and gave a small sympathic noise as Casey burrowed her head against the back of the couch,

"Migraine again sweetheart?" Casey nodded groggily where she lay, loathe to commit to any movements that required further effort. Seeing her so forlorn pulled at Rita's heartstrings and she quickly got up and shed her shoes and jacket onto a nearby chair as she came round to the front of the couch to join Casey, "That's the third bad one this month..."

Hearing the familiar sound of Rita settling next to her Casey shifted to lay her head in her girlfriend's lap, wordlessly requesting for the attorney's always slightly cool hand to run across her forehead and circle at her temple as she'd done before by simply tipping her chin just so.

Of course Rita automatically took up the action, also using her free hand to run her nails in soothing circles across Casey's lower back.

The redhead let herself just bask in the attention and comfort. She'd felt instantly a bit better as soon as the scent of Rita's expensive perfume had reached her - always accompanied by the faint smell of coffee, ink and paper, a lawyerly smell if ever there was such a thing. That and the almost pavlovian way her body responded to Rita's touch, practically commanding her to relax with the lightest of pressures, also helped ease the residual pulsating ache at the front of her brain.

Afterwards she'd been sulky for days, which had drawn further unimpressed looks and rolled eyes from Rita. Eventually she'd pulled her head out of her ass and apologised with a gorgeous bouquet and an evening of pampering - cooking Rita's favourites for dinner, making the effort to use the good china and having candles on the table followed by a super indulgent bubble bath for the brunette (the rose petals may have been overboard but she knew Rita secretly adored them.)

She knew where Rita's comment was leading though. They'd had this argument discussion the last time too and she was not wanting a repeat of that general fiasco and to ultimately wallow in her own grumpiness yet again. It was worse because she knew Rita was right, and was only concerned and fussing simply because she loved her. But she had still been in residual pain and exhaustion from the migraine in question as well as licking her wounds from losing the most recent case to her lover too.

All that had only been a week ago, meaning it was less than fourteen days since she'd last had to abandon her work to lie in a darkened room with a cold compress across her eyes and an ice pack wrapped up at the base of her neck. It wasn't sustainable, and she hated being sick all the more because she knew Rita was always more worried than she let on.

She sighed lightly and wriggled her head back so she was pressed more closely into Rita's ridiculously soft silk blouse. The brunette had lifted her hands away as Casey moved but seeing her settle let them resume the gentle caresses. Noting that Casey hadn't immediately started arguing with her Rita decided to press her case once more,

"I just think given that you have such a bad head injury in your past, " Casey couldn't suppress the fearful shiver that ran down her spine at the memories - and lack of them - of her office attack, "that it would be sensible to get a doctor to run some tests and check what is going on."

At still receiving no response from Casey Rita tried to push just that little bit more. She gently ran a finger down the elegant slope of Casey's nose, booping the tip of it which made Casey start and turn onto her back to smile softly up at Rita. Holding her gaze Rita matched her with an indulgent look as she tucked some hair back behind Casey's ear,

"It's just that I'm rather fond of that brain of yours sweetheart, I'd hate to think anything might be wrong." She finished her plea by cupping Casey's chin and running the pad of her thumb over her lips as their positioning meant she couldn't reach to kiss them.

Once again Casey closed her eyes and leaned into the touch,

"And here I thought you were with me for my 'cracking bod', " she grinned as she felt Rita's entire body move as she laughed, "But I know. You're right. As usual." Her admission made Rita smile in victory, Casey's quip pulling another knowing chuckle that rumbled through her,

"Good, I have the number of an excellent neurologist, I'm sure he'll be able to see you by the end of the week."

Casey shot her a look that screamed incredulity,

"He wasn't a client was he? I'm not sure how comfortable I would be with that."

The experienced attorney did laugh at that,

"No, no," she continued to play with Casey's hair, "although he has maybe been an expert witness on several occasions but he's only ever been the utmost professional." she paused for a moment as Casey considered her options. "So what do you say darling, let me call and set up an appointment for you?"

With one last resigned sigh Casey nodded,

"Okay," honestly she was prepared to go through nearly anything if she could stop feeling so accutely crappy whenever these migraines came along, or stop them from happening in the first place.

"But," the smallness of her voice and demeanour, so unlike the usual strong confident persona of the prosecutor, brought out Rita's overprotective side even more, "But what if there is something wrong? Like-"

Deciding to quickly end any spiralling Rita pressed her finger over Casey's lip to hush her,

"Shh, then its better to know and we'll deal with whatever it may be together as best we can."

Suitably mollified, Casey rolled once more so her nose was buried against Rita's stomach, so much so her voice was muffled when she finally spoke,

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried."

"I know darling, but it may just be that you need glasses or something like that now, you know?"

The scandalised and affronted noise that escaped Casey made Rita laugh once again,

"I've always thought you'd look very sexy in glasses you know..."

The low purr of her voice drew an instant reaction from Casey, it always did. Like a siren's call she opened her eyes, feeling better enough to shoot a flirtatious look up at her love as she arched her eyebrow as seductively as she could manage in her prone position,

"Is that so?"

"Hmm hmm," Rita's affirmative humm came as she matched Casey's expression with one of her own, "You could totally pull off the sexy librarian look darling."

"Librarian!?!"

In her offense Casey finally sat up to lightly glare at Rita on a more equal footing. She lightly trailed her hand up Rita's thigh, so overly unsubtle Rita knew she was just winding her up. Still she enjoyed the attention nonetheless. "What if I wanted to go for the sexy lawyer in glasses look? Could I pull that one off too?"

Rita tipped her head to the side as she squinted at Casey, umming and awwing for extra effect,

"I'm sorry love but I think Cabot has got that niche locked down tight."

Casey couldn't help but gasp at the teasing and swat at Rita's thigh in retribution,

"Rude!"

Rita kept cackling with laughter, simply relieved to see Casey's usual firey playfulness was returning,

"Well if you get glasses you can work extra hard to prove me wrong, no?"

With a knowing smile Casey leant forward to press an adoring but chaste kiss to Rita's lips,

"Sounds good to me, thank you for helping me feel better."

Reaching up Rita cupped Casey's chin and drew her face back to her for another kiss. Or two. Maybe three. She just loved how they felt against her own.

"I'm glad I could help. Now do you want to go lock those files away whilst I give the doctor a call? We can then get an order from Chengs if you'd like?"

Casey was already making the effort to stand, holding herself still for several moments to ensure her balance was set after feeling so woozy earlier. Finding herself steady she smiled at Rita once more as she started heading for the kitchen,

"As long as there is lo mein I don't mind!"

A couple of days later Rita answered her ringing cell automatically, not even looking away from her inbox as she barked her usual response,

"Calhoun, who's speaking."

"Hey sweet thing," instantly Rita's entire posture melted, Casey's voice and determination to use ridiculous pet names totally always got her,

"Darling, how'd the appointment go." she'd swung her chair away from the computer screen, her entire focus now on Casey,

"Well you were right."

"I usually am, remind me what I was right about this time?"

"Scans and everything came back clear but I've got glasses to wear now... " Casey paused long enough for Rita to both sigh in relief and laugh,

"Oh is that all?"

"Well, he advised I change to a different type fo light bulb where possible, and definitely to wear glasses when looking at screens as they'll filter that blue light thing? But that and some proper rest and it should all help."

"That's great news sweetheart, I'm so relieved." Truly Rita felt like a knot she hadn't known was there had been released in her chest,

"Yeah, so in the spirit of medical necessity, I think we should schedule a trip up to the house in the Hampton's." Sometimes Casey still would catch herself after saying such a thing. A house in the Hampton's. Their house in the Hamptons. Quite ridiculous.

Rita chuckled but instantly swept round to open their shared calendar to look for potential timings,

"An excellent idea darling, I could even ask Danielle to get the boat ready for us? I know you love to play at being Captain."

"Please, you just want to lounge about in your bikini in front of me don't you."

"Well with your new glasses we'll have to test how much better you can see me. I do love putting on a show for you."

The flirtation made Casey gulp, images of Rita enjoying herself nearly overwhelming her,

"You always do have the best ideas, I propose we do lots of testing."

"For medical necessity?" Rita's smirk was clear even though Casey couldn't see her face,

"Exactly, you always know how to take the best care of me baby..."

#Fanfic #My writing #Rita Calhoun #Casey Novak #Rita Calhoun X Casey Novak #Calvak

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sleepylixie · 4 years

Text

I Hate to Admit

College! AU Bang Chan X fem! reader

Imperium Universe || Jisung || Seungmin || Chan

2k (I’m so sorry), fluffiest fluff

Request? Yes! Hope you like this, Anon!! Apologies about getting a wee bit carried away. >.<

Warnings: None!

A/N: I liked writing this, even though it’s waayyyy longer than I expected it to be oops. This is an extension of the same universe as this Jisung fic and this Seungmin fic, but you can definitely read this as a standalone! Do let me know what you think about this fic, I’d love to hear feedback!! ONTO THE FIC :D

Requests are open for SKZ and BTS! || Masterlist

The skate park right outside your campus was always an interesting sight. There were always a lot of people around, enjoying themselves on the gentle slopes and plateaus. You were always mystified by the way the skateboarders could so easily throw themselves into the air, seemingly unafraid of taking a tumble to the concrete floor.

You’d pass by the skate park thrice a week in the early evening, on your way to a part-time shift at Imperium- the closest bar to your university. Your shifts ran late sometimes, bordering on midnight when you’d step out of Imperium’s back door.

More often than not, you’d encounter the same lone figure in the skatepark on your way back- an average-sized, lean figure who had a way with the skateboard that you’d never seen anybody have before. The first time you spotted him, you stopped and watched for a few moments as he made his way up the slopes like it was nothing at all- he was that good.

Skateboarding wasn’t your thing as much as people watching- there were so many interesting people in the world, so many different kinds of personalities that you couldn’t get enough. You would write them into stories of back-alley romance, tales of rippling fantasy and chronicles of traitorous woe, reveling in the way your worlds and characters built themselves up along the plot.

It became an unconscious habit, seeing the boy(it seemed like a boy, judging from his impeccably built shoulders and a penchant for extremely sleeveless muscle tops.) on your way back from your late bartending shifts.

He was curious, you decided. Who only visited the skate park when it was at it’s emptiest despite being so good? Did he not like attention? Was he shy? You made a mental note to try and talk to him one day- you weren’t hesitant with your curiosities. Someday, when you weren’t bogged down by your already numerous Works in progress and university, you would approach him and find out more about this midnight skateboarder.

But as it turned out, you didn’t have to wait too long.

“Y/N! Where were you, it’s almost 1 a.m!” Your sorority sister Chaeyoung sat up on her bed as you walked into your shared room. Her short blonde hair fluttered around her face as she slipped off the bed, bounding towards you. “I had a longer shift than normal, Imperium was weirdly full.” You responded, pulling your bag off your shoulder.

“Alpha Phi Alpha is throwing another rager. Do you want in?”

That’s when you heard it. You’d been so absorbed in the music from your own earphones that you didn’t even noticed the deep bass thumping through the air, the muffled cheers and screams of enjoyment. Of course there was a party going on, it was a Friday night.

Life next to a fraternity house wasn’t the most peaceful, but you didn’t mind it. Your sorority, Delta Kappa, was housed right next to the Alpha Phi Alpha frat house, close enough to share a fenced wall.

The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was the most sought after fraternity on campus; acceptance meant instant skyrocketing of social worth. It was all extremely cliché: the best frat on campus, filled with the smartest, most attractive guys, throwing the most memorable parties and yet maintaining their stellar record of being good at pretty much everything.

“Sure, why not? I have some energy to let off.” You smile, throwing open your shared wardrobe. Chae’s eyes shone wickedly, she was sold by the idea of any kind of party. “Are any of the other sisters coming??”

“Jennie, Lia and Yeri already left. I thought I’ll wait around for you.”

“How nice of you, Chae,” You huff out another laugh as you held out an outfit for her to see. “Ooh, I like it. Now hurry up, right?”

“Okay, okay!!”

20 minutes later, you were walking into your next-door frat house with Chae, already warmed by the electric vibe. “Y/N!!! You’re here!!” There he was-tall, blonde and devastatingly handsome. Also seemingly tipsy, by the looks of it. Hwang Hyunjin was one of your closest friends, but he had a hard time handling his liquor, even though he would stoutly disagree when sober.

“What took you so long?” He slurred slightly, slinging an arm around you and giving you a tight, alcohol-smelling hug. “Unlike some of you, I have a job, Hyunin,” You quipped, returning his embrace and pecking his cheek- your usual greeting.

“Whatever, you’re here now.” He scoffed and ruffled your hair. “ We just made some new additions to the frat, you should come and meet them.”

“Sure, why not?” So Hyunjin took your hand and led you through the throngs of partying people. Soon enough, you stepped onto the roof of the frat house, a fairly clean space for being set up by a troupe of boys. Fairy lights left the people on the terrace bathed in soft yellow lights, a rather aesthetic sight.

There were around a handful of people lounging around on the couches and carpets, but Hyunjin led you to a particular group of people nearest to the railing, laughing and talking in a circle. You knew he had a gang of friends from all over the campus that just seemed to have an inexplicable pull towards each other.

You knew some of them by appearance from other ragers- music major Jisung with the cheeky smile, law student Seungmin with the puppy-eyes and an acidic tongue, Changbin with his almost flawlessly built body (you always paused for a second to admire his physique) and Minho, the guy who for some ominous reason always had bruised knuckles.

“Y/N! Hey!” Jeongin exclaimed, eyes brightening up in an endearing smile. “Hey Innie,” you grinned, happy to see another familiar face in the junior from the same major as you. “Yes yes hello and all that, Innie,” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, ignoring the look of mock offense he got from Jeongin. “I brought Y/N to meet Chan, coz he’s new to the frat, and my favorite sorority girl should be the first to know about the new fish.”

He threw an arm out, pointing to one of the guys leaning against the railing of the terrace, all smiles and black hair. You extended your own smile towards him, already giving him a casual once over- He wasn’t too tall, with impeccably built shoulders in a muscle top….wait. The question was out of your mouth before you could stop it.

“Are you the weirdo that goes skateboarding at midnight?”

A pause rippled across everybody in the circle, the smile on Chan’s face reducing to an incredulous splutter as Jisung choked on a giggle- that did it. All of the guys dissolved into peals of laughter, loud and unrestrained.

“Sorry about that,” You said, letting out an embarrassed sigh as you stepped around the circle to get closer to Chan. “I’ve seen you in the skate park when I’m getting back after work.”

He shrugged, his handsome features still splashed with sheepishness. “It’s fine, it was just a matter of time, I guess.” Over the laughter, you could hear how smooth his voice was, like melting chocolate.

“If it counts for anything, I thought you’re really good at it.” You weren’t the beat around the bush with your words. “You made it look so easy.”

A light blush reddened his ears as he grinned at the compliment. “Thanks.. Y/N, was it?”

You spent the rest of the night with the boys, caught in easy banter- but particularly, you got to know Chan. He had been living off campus until he’d decided to apply for the fraternities on a whim, ending up with an acceptance to Alpha phi Alpha. He was a business major, with a creative minor in music producing- just like Changbin. He was a natural extrovert, effortless with conversation and people skills, a man married to his work-to the point that he regularly lost sleep over it. He was also a bit of a dork, you noticed, with his random bursts of exaggerated hand movements and lame jokes.

The sun was beginning to rise when you decided to get back home. “It was nice getting to know you, Channie,” you grinned, pulling him into an easy hug and pecking his cheek.

“Likewise, Y/N.” He smiled his captivating smile at you, before walking you to the frat house door. “Before I go, what do you say about exchanging numbers?” You asked. He was a good sort, the kind of guy who’d make a really good friend. Why not?

Chan agreed amicably and sent you off with promises to catch up soon, leaving you feeling light and happy.

To your surprise, he ended up dropping by your sorority the very next morning, asking if you were up for waffles at a nearby café. You happened to be awake at the time and decided to tag along with him- even though it was 6 in the morning.

“The guys refuse to wake up early and join me,” he complained, holed up in the café with plates of waffles and orange juice in front of you. “Chan, be honest,” You chuckled. “The only reason we’re awake at ass o’ clock is because both of us can’t sleep to save our lives.” He rolled his eyes in amusement. “Stop wise cracking and get on eating, Y/N.”

That café run cemented your day-old friendship into one of peaceful camaraderie, a safe space for each other within the chaos of your friend circles.

Winter melted slowly into spring, bringing tidings of new beginnings, assignment and semester exams and subsequently, end of semester parties. As always, Alpha phi Alpha was throwing a rager of a party that was expected to be the best all semester. Your entire sorority had received invitations and were all excited to drown out the stress of exams week. You, on the other hand, were also thinking about something else. Someone, rather-Chan.

You and Chan had only grown close over the course of the past months, gradually bonding over ungodly morning cafe runs, late night texts between breaks and video calls asking for outfit opinions.

You frequented the frat house more often, a fact that Hyunjin rejoiced (and teased you relentlessly) over. Chaeyoung only gazed at you with a suggestive look in her eyes when you slipped into the room at 2 a.m in the morning with one of Chan’s many black hoodies hanging off your shoulders. What, it was winter, it was cold on your way back from Imperium and he offered! Chan, to his credit, seemed to be just as invested in this newly growing friendship as you were. He walked you back from Imperium whenever he was at the skatepark, invited you on his midnight skate runs, even almost breaking his arm trying to teach you how to balance on his skateboard.

It was an outlet for his energy, he explained one day. Sometimes working on music or going on a run didn’t give him the same sense of calm that skateboarding did. It wasn’t about the attention for him- with Chan, it almost never was. Not surprisingly, you liked that about him. You liked Chan, for all his insomniac, stress skateboarding, black hoodie hoarding self.

The party was already in full swing when you and Chaeyoung knocked on the main door. One of the frat boys you didn’t know opened the door, smirking at you before yelling over his shoulder. “Yo, Chan, your girl’s here!”

Your eyes widened, exchanging an amused glance with Chae, who was openly laughing at your expression. Chan’s girl? Not that you hated the sound of that.. But you were just a friend- a friend who had a crush on him.. Right??

Chan hurried to the door that very instant, shoo-ing his frat brother off. “Sorry about that,” he murmured , exchanging hugs and cheek kisses with you and Chae. “To the usual spot?” he grinned, comically offering you his arm.

“Of course, my dearest,” you gushed, the two of you bursting into a fit of giggles as you linked your arm with his, allowing Chan to steer you towards the staircase leading up to the terrace. Once on the rooftop, you were met with a familiar sight- 7 boys giggling and talking amongst themselves in a loose circle near the railing. “Chan, don’t hog all of Y/N’s attention, she’s here for the party, you know?” Jisung called out the second he spotted the two of you heading towards them.

Amidst a gale of laughter, Chan frowned indignantly, opening his mouth to give Jisung a tongue lashing before you broke in, a sly smile stamped across your own face. “Who says I’d mind it??”

A chaotic chorus of 7 male voices responding to you had you laughing aloud, scanning Chan’s face for any discomfort. But he only had flaming ears, shifty eyes, and a shy smile trained on you- a smile that shifted from shy to teasing in split seconds.

“If that’s the case, then I’m stealing Y/N for the night, you guys!” He declared, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the door the two of you had just walked through. “Chan, what are you doing?” You breathed out in amusement, not pulling your hand away. Your heart was beating out of your chest at everything going on, especially with Chan’s warm hand enclosing yours and the way he’d just smiled at you-

“Something I’ve wanted to do for a while now,” Chan’s voice was exactly as you knew it, smooth, warm melted chocolate. “Come with me to the skatepark. Just for a while.” Who were you to say no to that voice?

Chaeyoung opened the door to the sorority early next morning, squawking in laughter when she saw who stood in front of her. You in Chan’s hoodie, your hand in his, your lipstick staining the side of Chan’s jaw and the kicker- you hugging Chan, quickly landing a soft kiss on his lips before skipping into the house.

Chaeyoung could only look at the adoring look on Chan’s face as you disappeared into the house and close the door, laughing quietly. Ah, young love.

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ericsonclan · 3 years

Text

A Romantic Holiday

Summary: Clementine and the others get ready to celebrate Valentine's Day with their significant others.

Word Count: 1000+

Read on AO3:

Start from the beginning:

“All I’m saying is that a movie and cuddling is a totally valid way to spend Valentine’s Day,” Brody looked back at her friends who all nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it totally is,” Clementine walked up beside her auburn friend and gave a smile.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Louis jogged forward, immediately intertwining his fingers with Clementine’s. With a gentle sway their joined hands began to move back and forth. Louis’ bright smile faltered when he saw the look on Brody’s face. “Unless you don’t want that to be your Valentine’s Day evening.”

Brody’s eyes grew large for a second before she looked down at her shoes. “It’s stupid. It’s not like Mitch or I have the money to blow on a fancy Valentine’s Day,” Brody gave a sigh. “But I would be lying if I said I didn’t want something more romantic.”

“Then tell him,” Violet’s eyes met Brody’s when she glanced up. “Mitch is a dumbass but he also really likes you so he’d want to make you happy,”

“Violet is right,” Prisha smiled over at Brody. “If you communicate with Mitch then perhaps you can find a romantic date idea that isn’t pricey,”

“Yeah, you guys are right,” Brody gave a shaky sigh then proceeded to take a few deep breaths. “So what are your guys’ plans for Valentine’s Day?”

“A carriage ride through a park. With the snow and each other it will be magical!” Louis pressed a kiss to Clementine’s cheek then spun her around once as a surprise before the two rejoined the group who stopped to wait for them.

“Violet and I are recreating our first ever date and going stargazing with tons of blankets of course,” Prisha wrapped her arms around Violet then looked down at her with a loving smile.

“That all sounds amazing. I just wish I had an idea of what I wan-”

“Well if it isn’t Prisha!” a voice boomed from a short distance in front of them. Brody looked as well as the others, curious who had cut the conversation short. A fairly tall man with a thick, gray, full beard walked forward with a happy smile. Based on his uniform and hat it was clear that he was the sheriff. His jaw was set in such a way that it gave him an aura of sternness but based on the crinkle of joy in his eyes it was clear that he was a good man. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Sheriff Kenny! What a pleasure to see you. What are you doing on campus?” Prisha smiled over at Kenny before a realization struck here. Violet was still within her arms, a sight she wasn’t sure how Kenny would take considering that the only ones who knew of her orientation were the group of friends she had now. Kenny studied Prisha and Violet for a moment. Violet’s grip on Prisha’s arms remained as constant as always as she shot over a pointed look at the sheriff who remained quiet for a few seconds. Violet continued to look at the sheriff with a protectiveness in her eyes until he spoke up.

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. Good for you,” Kenny tipped up his hat and gave a casual smile.

“Thank you,” Prisha held Violet closer. Violet noticed that Prisha’s tension had lessened quite a bit before it flared up again. “My relationship with Violet, my father...” Prisha’s voice trailed for a second.

“Don’t worry, I won’t go shooting off my mouth about anything. I’m just glad to see you happy. Damn, you sure have grown. I remember the days you would run around the station and pretend to find clues with a copy of some Sherlock Holmes book tucked under your arm,” Kenny’s recounting made Prisha grow embarrassed as she listened to the sheriff share story after story. Louis, Clementine and Brody seemed to be enjoying hearing all these stories that Prisha was sure would be brought up again and she noticed that Violet was also having fun hearing stories about Prisha from before they met.

“Anyways, I’m talking your ears off and I haven’t even asked for any of your damn names.” Kenny sighed apologetically before his eyes focused on Louis for a second as if he had recognized him somehow. “My name’s Kenneth Callaway but you can just call me Sheriff Kenny.”

“Nice to meet you, sir. My name’s Louis and this lovely gal beside me is my girlfriend, Clementine!” Louis smiled over to Clementine who returned it.

“Guess I’m next, I’m Brody,” Brody had a nervous expression on her face, likely due to a mixture of it being a first meeting and that the person she was introducing herself to was the sheriff.

“Nice to meet you all. I picked up on your name already,” Kenny looked over at Violet who gave a short nod.

“Well then, I shouldn’t be taking up any more of your time,” Kenny tipped his hat then turned to leave until a voice called out to him.

“Dad! I didn’t know you’d be on campus!” A young man with short brown hair strolled forward, his pinky intertwined with a person with hazel eyes.

“Hey there, Duck! I was just here to take a look around campus since so much has been going on here lately. Then I ran into Prisha and-”

“Prisha is here!” Duck’s eyes immediately lit up and slipping his pinky free he ran forward. In an instant Prisha was wrapped into a tight hug. “I was hoping I’d see you around campus ever since I started this semester.”

“Duck, you’re hugging me a bit too tight,” Prisha wheezed out before giving an appreciative smile once Duck had let go.

“So, still being a great detective as always? Are you working towards that degree to become a superhero?” Duck smiled brightly at Prisha.

“Well, I’m just becoming a lawyer, not a hero.” Prisha looked away, slightly worried that her eyes or her friends’ would show some sort of sign that they were in fact superheroes.

“Eh, it's basically the same thing!” Duck placed his hands on his hips before a flicker of realization appeared. “Oh, that’s right! I’ve never introduced you to Oakley before!”

Duck ran back and stood beside the person that had been walking with him. They seemed to be completely lost in the simple joy of letting snowflakes fall on their tongue. A small smile was on their lips as a snowflake right on the tip of it.

“This is Oakley, my paramour!” Duck grinned brightly as his pinky wrapped around Oakley’s once more. Prisha’s eyes grew large at that word while Kenny gave a tired groan.

“Son, you could use another word,” Kenny looked over at Duck who shrugged.

“It works for us,”

“But you’re referring to Oakley as your illicit partner. Do you see the issue with that?” Prisha looked at her friend who brushed it off.

“It would be an issue if someone else used it like that but this is different. Anyways, wanna say hi, Knox?”

Oakley stopped in their task for a second then moved their eyes to look at the group. “Hi,” Without another word they soon returned their attention to the sky. Duck didn’t seem to mind though and instead began to get everyone’s names. Soon it was his turn to share old tales involving Prisha: how they would pretend to be heroes around the station and such until one day she had left for Chicago and the two hadn’t really kept in contact until now.

After a while Kenny cleared his throat. “Well, we should be getting out of your hair,” Kenny patted Duck’s back to make sure he got the message too.

“Alright. See you later, Prisha!” Duck gave one final wave then walked off, happily talking with Oakley who listened as they intertwined their fingers. The group watched them for a minute longer before continuing down the path and picking up the conversation that they were having prior to the Sheriff showing up.

Prisha glanced at her phone for a moment. She had some time to kill before she had to start on assignments. Her thumb instantly wandered over towards the Discord app logo and with a quick tap she opened it. As luck would have it the channel she had last been on had begun to pick up with a brand new conversation after Brody and Ruby had finished up their tea talk.

Sing-us-a-song: Wee woo wee woo

BREAKING NEWS

Violet just told me that im her beast friend

Best

Best friend

OrangeuGlad: Congrats!

Bro: wait

Aasim: You are already best friends

Bro: Aren’t you already best friends?

Yeah

Sing-us-a-song: Its official now

Best friends :3

Knife2meetU: Louis

Stop sharing stuff from our private convos in DMs

Sing-us-a-song: Oop

Sorry bestie <3

Knife2meetU: No heart

Sing-us-a-song: Sorry bestie!

Knife2meetU: And no bestie

You’re this close to losing your best friend rights

Sing-us-a-song: Are you sure? Smirk face

There’s no take backs

Knife2meetU: Wanna bet?

Sing-us-a-song: Vi waig

Wait

We’re Bffs!

Thats forever

Prisha watched the conversation continue with amusement when all of a sudden her attention was drawn away from the chat and towards the door. Therissa walked in with a tired groan. Her feet dragged on the floor before she fell onto the couch.

“If I committed murder, would you represent me and get me off scot-free?” Therissa looked over at her roommate with a tired smile. A few strands of her dark brown curly hair fell over her face, covering her eyes.

“Oh? What got you so heated? You’re usually fairly level-headed,” Prisha placed down her phone and walked towards the kitchen area to start some tea.

“I am, but this professor is a total ass. First he praises my writing in his Creative Writing 103 class saying that it’s great but then when the second semester starts and I take Creative Writing 205 then he basically starts telling me it's shit now. It makes no sense and he keeps acting snarky and pissy with me. So now on Valentine’s Day I have a day full of classes, work and a writing tutor because I need to pass this class,” Therissa groaned and sat up when Prisha walked over with two cups of tea.

“Would you want my help on any homework?” Prisha smiled at her friend who accepted the tea gratefully.

Therissa took a long sip before answering. “No, you’re super busy as is. You’re always studying and when you’re not in class you’re rushing around everywhere. I’m surprised you haven’t been passing out recently.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Prisha’s expression was hidden behind the cup as she took a sip of tea.

“Wasn’t a compliment. I’m trying to point out that you push yourself too much. It’s a good thing Valentine’s Day is the day after tomorrow. Maybe you can finally relax for a day with your girlfriend. Speaking of which, you better have a nice outfit that you're wearing for the date.”

“I am!” Prisha smiled brightly. “In fact, after this tea I can show you it!”

Therissa returned the smile. “Good, then after Valentine’s Day we can return to plotting murder.”

“Sounds good to me.” Prisha took another sip and soon she got caught up in a conversation with Therissa.

“Shit, fuck, shit on the- fuck!” Violet ran over to the heart-shaped bowl that was over a simmering pot of water. The bowl was starting to slip due to the condensation from the heat and the fact that it had been placed poorly over the pot. Luckily Violet had caught it before most of the contents fell into the water. Violet gave a frustrated groan that turned into a hiss when her fingers brushed against the hot metal of the pot. Jerking her hand back, Violet ended up spilling the rest of the chocolate into the water. “Fuck, no!”

“Violet! Are you alright?” Prisha walked forward, the concern clear in her eyes when she saw Violet clutching her hand.

“I’m fine,” Violet could see that Prisha didn’t believe her. Silently Prisha guided Violet over towards the sink and started to run cold water over her fingers. Violet stared at the water for a moment then up at her girlfriend. “This was a fucking stupid injury,”

“It wasn’t. You were just trying to save the chocolate. It’s a shame that you got hurt in the process though,” Prisha noticed Violet’s face fall. “Don’t worry, I’ll help patch up your fingers and you can give the process of making chocolate one more go.”

“I don’t know. I fucking suck at it,” Violet mumbled, her eyes sad until she felt a kiss being pressed to her cheek.

“I beg to differ.” Prisha smiled lovingly at Violet who returned to look until Clementine’s voice drew both of their attention away from each other.

“Why does it look like there’s a pile of shit in the pot?”

“Oh horsefeathers! Did we lose another batch?” Ruby bustled over and huffed with annoyance as she began to clean up the mess.

“Sorry,” Violet’s quiet voice made Ruby glance over, her eyes softening.

“Aww, Sug, don’t worry about it. Luckily Brody had been as worried as ever and overbought on supplies,” Ruby nodded over to Brody who was working on preparing another batch.

“Seems like my anxiousness paid off this time,” Brody smiled at her friends then looked down at the ingredients that would soon make milk chocolate. “Do you think Mitch and the others will like this?” “Are you kidding? Of course they will! Louis is a sucker for sweets and so is Mitch,” Clementine placed a hand on Brody’s shoulder and gave a smile.

“Aasim loves all things romance and besides two of the people that are getting chocolates are with us and both of them have been all worried about making the perfect chocolate,” Ruby sent a teasing look over to Prisha and Violet.

“Well, ‘perfect’ is a strong word. I just want to make good chocolates for Violet,” Prisha messed with her braid for a moment.

“Yeah, what's wrong with not wanting to fuck up?” Violet crossed her arms and looked over at Ruby.

“I don’t think Ruby said it was bad, just sweet,” Brody gave another smile then took a deep breath. “Now let's kick this chocolates’ ass and surprise the guys!”

Clementine and Ruby cheered at that and soon all the girls were working on chocolate once more. It took a few more tries but soon the chocolate was being poured into the molds. After being placed in the fridge for twenty to thirty minutes the chocolates were done and the girls moved to the next step. Each of them worked to put the chocolates into little homemade heart boxes that Brody and Ruby had spent the night before making.

Violet swore under her breath while she worked on her box; Brody seemed to be in no better a boat. Meanwhile Ruby and Prisha had mastered putting together boxes of chocolates. Both of them were tying picture perfect bows on the boxes to seal them. Prisha hummed a happy tune to herself as she finished the final touches. But as soon as the others noticed that she was singing she quieted down. Lastly Clementine gave it her best effort and got a middle of the road result; she didn’t seem to care though. She knew that Louis would love it. Just as that thought had finished a knock came on her front door. Brushing her hands on her pants, Clementine walked forward. Her eyes grew large when she spotted Louis, Mitch and Aasim at the door. “Louis! What are you doing here?”

Clementine’s exclamation made the other girls poke their heads out of the kitchen to see the boys standing in the doorway. Each of them had a clip-on bow tie and a rose in their hands.

“Hello, my darling,” Louis leaned forward and planted a kiss on Clementine’s cheek. “We are here for our early Valentine’s Day surprise!” Louis grinned back at Mitch and Aasim. Mitch felt like his nerves were all over the place as he pulled on his shirt collar. Meanwhile Aasim seemed to be practicing something in his mind, his eyes focused elsewhere. Louis quickly snapped his friends out of their mindset and led the way inside. “We are here to serenade our lovely girlfriends with a barbershop quartet!”

“But isn’t a quartet made of four singers?” Brody walked forward, leading the way for the girls who all filed out to see what song the boys were about to sing.

“Right you are, Bro! Prisha, mind switching sides and completing our quartet?” Louis smiled over to his music confidant.

“I’d love nothing more,” Prisha smiled confidently as she walked forward and accepted a clip-on bowtie and rose.

Louis quickly gathered the three others and played a note for them all to be the same key. Soon the four of them began to sing Just in Time by Frank Sinatra. It was an older song that Violet was sure Prisha had pushed to be the choice for today.

“Just in time, I found you just in time

Before you came, my time was runnin' low

I was lost, the losing dice were tossed

My bridges all were crossed, nowhere to go,”

The four of them sang, each of them using their natural singing octave. Prisha and Louis were by far the best singers while Aasim wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. That left Mitch in last place who clearly couldn’t sing as well as the others but that didn’t stop him from powering through and singing loudly.

“Now you're here and now I know just where I'm goin'

No more doubt or fear, I found my way

For love came just in time

You found me just in time

And changed my lonely life that lovely day,”

The four walked forward towards Violet, Ruby, Brody and Clementine. Each of them looked at their girlfriends with loving smiles. Even though the song wasn’t sung the strongest, the girls could tell that Prisha and the boys were pouring their hearts into the performance despite it being obvious for some this whole thing was overwhelming.

“Now you are here and now I know just where I'm goin'

No more doubt or fear, 'cause I've found my way

For love came just in time

You found me just in time

And changed my lonely life that lovely

Lonely life that lovely

Lonely life that lovely day,”

As the four hit the final note they held out their roses to their respective girlfriends. Louis gave a playful wink Clementine’s way as she accepted the rose before all of his confidence melted away into dorky happiness when Clementine stole a quick kiss. Ruby accepted the rose, her rosy cheeks growing rosier as she got on her tiptoes and showered Aasim with quick, soft kisses. Meanwhile both Brody and Mitch were blushing messes as Brody took the rose and gave Mitch a compliment that made him even more flustered. Both of them tried to find the right words as they held each other’s hands. Soon they each decided it was better to just let their actions speak louder than their words and shared a strong kiss. Lastly, Violet took the rose and knew that her face was as red as the flower.

“I’m glad you enjoyed the quartet,” Prisha smiled at Violet who gave a short nod. The two were silent for a moment before Violet snuck a kiss. The romantic action made Prisha freeze in place for a moment.

“Oh!” Ruby’s voice made everyone look over at her. “We should give the chocolates!”

“Chocolates?” Louis’ eyes danced with excitement at those words and it only grew as Clementine disappeared and reappeared with a box of chocolates.

Soon all of the chocolates had been exchanged to which all of its recipients were extremely happy. Mitch wrapped his arms around Brody from behind and pressed a kiss to her cheek before he grew almost as overwhelmed as Brody by the action. Aasim was happily talking about how much he appreciated Ruby and all the thought she had put in this early Valentine’s Day surprise. Ruby blushed and quickly told him that he had been just as thoughtful if not more. Violet watched nervously as Prisha took a bite of the chocolate and was relieved when Prisha’s eyes sparkled with happiness. Clementine watched her friends for a moment then looked back over at Louis who was gushing about how lucky he was to have a girlfriend like Clementine, especially on Valentine’s Day. Clementine smiled softly and held onto Louis’ hands.

These Valentine celebrations were already going great and it wasn’t even the holiday yet. All of them had knocked it out of the park so far and after hearing the plans for the others Valentine Day dates Clementine was sure tomorrow would be a fantastic day for all of them.

Clementine’s eyes wandered over the map of Ericson University one last time. She had to be sure that there were no rifts opening up. If one appeared while she was busy getting lost in the joy of a date… It couldn’t happen. Luckily when she checked it for the sixteenth time it was the same as it always was. Blank and void of any shimmering blue or red dots. Clementine gave a shaky sigh of relief and tucked it away in her winter coat. Lee and Carley had already headed out, both of them looking giddy at the thought of starting their Valentine’s Day date. Soon after they had left, a babysitter showed up for AJ who was waiting to work on his second Valentine’s card that he wanted to give to Telulah as soon as he could. His foot tapped impatiently as he waited for Louis so that he could say hi before him and Clementine headed out. A few minutes passed of awkward silence and of the babysitter wanting to get AJ to focus on games instead of staring at the door when a knock appeared. Jogging forward, Clementine opened the door and found her boyfriend smiling brightly at her, in his hands a dozen roses.

“Happy Valentine's Day, my darling!” Louis leaned forward and captured Clementine’s lips in a soft kiss.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Clementine reached out and took one of Louis’ hands in hers.

“Are you ready for a magical carriage ride?” Louis smiled at Clementine who gave a short nod.

“Yep,” Clementine glanced back at AJ. “Okay, we’re going to be heading out now,”

“Wait!” AJ scampered forward and skidded to a halt in front of the pair. “You better keep her safe!”

“Will do, little dude!” Louis gave a huge thumbs up at AJ who beamed.

“Oh! And get her back by curf- curvs-”

“Curfew,” Clementine helped her little brother who nodded firmly.

“Yeah! Curfew!”

“Of course! I will make sure Clem is back and safe by curfew. You have a gentleman’s promise,” Louis noticed the happy smile on AJ’s lips at his words.

“Good!” AJ placed his hands on his hips for a second then rushed forward and tackled Clementine with a hug before running back to get started on the fun.

Clementine and Louis shared a smile and quietly laughed as they walked out the door. Clementine looked over at Louis. He was wearing a long brown coat as well as a green scarf that seemed to only add to his adorable winter vibes.“You’re looking cute today,”

Clementine’s compliment made Louis look over with a dorky smile. “Why, thank you! I picked it out myself. Well, that's not entirely true. Marlon helped me pick out this scarf,”

“Well then both of you did a good job picking out your outfit,” Clementine smiled when she saw how happy those words made Louis.

“Awww thanks, but I don’t look half as cute as you,” Louis swung their joined hands then nodded over towards Clementine's outfit. It was a dark blue sweater covered by a black winter jacket that all complemented her fuzzy blue winter hat.

Clementine blushed lightly at the compliment. “Thanks,” She quickly leaned over and pressed a kiss to Louis’ cheek. The two walked happily towards the location of the horse-drawn carriage, sharing as many kiss as they could surprise the other with until they reached the spot.

“M’lady,” Louis held out his hand with a warm smile. Clementine returned the smile and took his hand as he guided her up the steps of the carriage. Soon he was right beside her, immediately handing over the dozen roses. “Are you ready for a romantic carriage ride?” “I was born ready,” Clementine gave a playful smile that made Louis’ nose crinkle with amusement. Sharing one more kiss, Louis gave the signal and the carriage driver flicked the reins, causing the horses to snort before moving forward in a slow trot. Clementine scooted closer and wrapped her arm around Louis’ waist. Louis’ face grew warm and he gently kissed Clementine’s forehead then pulled her closer. Nuzzling his face against the top of her head, he slowly leaned his head against hers and the two took in the beauty of the snow-covered world around them. Both of them commented here and there about how lovely the park was as the carriage moved forward. After a few moments Louis began to hum a tune that Clementine couldn’t place for a moment. It took her a few seconds to pick up what he was singing.

“Are you humming Jingle Bells? After Christmas?” Clementine looked up at her boyfriend with a smile.

“Yes, I am, and there is nothing wrong with that,” Louis grinned down at Clementine and stole a kiss before continuing to hum. Soon his warm tune was joined by a softer voice. Louis glanced down to see that Clementine was joining him in humming. The two began to hum some more then quickly proceeded to sing the song out loud along with any other song that their hearts desired. Both of them looked at each other with joyful, soft smiles. This really was a magical carriage ride.

Ruby stood in front of the mirror and turned this way and that, causing her red dress to sway. Her brows furrowed for a moment before she looked back at Brody who was busy pacing.

“Brody, do you think my dress looks alright?”

Ruby’s voice snapped Brody out of her thoughts and she glanced up. “What? Are you kidding? Aasim is going to lose his mind when he sees you!” Brody stopped her pacing and gave a warm smile to her best friend.

“Yeah, you’re right. I think I’m getting into my own head.” Ruby looked back at the mirror. “Just like you are about your date with Mitch,”

Those words made Brody’s eyes grow large before falling. “It’s stupid. I was so busy the last few days that I didn’t even talk to Mitch about changing our Valentine’s Day plans. It's too late to change them now and besides, he sang for me yesterday which was a really nice surprise.”

“Brody, I don’t think you need to worry your head about this. I’m sure you’ll have a grand time with Mitch,” Ruby looked back at Brody through the mirror, a playful knowingness in her eyes. The sight of that confused Brody and she wanted to ask about it when suddenly a knock on the dorm room door appeared.

“Oh, that must be him!” Ruby bustled over and opened the door, revealing Aasim who was decked out in a suit with a red tie. Tucked in his left hand there looked to be a piece of love poetry based on the seal and the red bow around it.

“Hello, my dove,” Aasim leaned down and gently kissed Ruby. Ruby instantly cupped his face and deepened the kiss before giving two more quick ones.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Pookie,” Ruby took Aasim’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Are you ready to go to the tea shop?”

“I sure am! I heard the tea there is divine!” Ruby smiled up at her boyfriend then glanced back at Brody. “I’m heading out. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” Brody gave a quick wave and after Aasim helped Ruby get on her coat the two disappeared down the hall.

The pair walked in serene silence for a bit, enjoying the winter wonderland that their campus had turned into. They shared small kisses here and there as they walked, placing them on each other’s wrists and hands. Ruby’s rosy red cheeks turned even brighter in the cold of winter which made Aasim’s heart pitter patter happily.

Soon the two had arrived at Sarita’s Tea Shop where the owner welcomed them with a friendly smile. A large man stood beside the owner who they learned went by the name Tripp. He gave a quick kiss to Sarita before guiding Aasim and Ruby to their table. After placing their orders, Aasim and Ruby immediately held each other’s hands.

Aasim looked at Ruby with such tender love as he placed kiss after kiss on her hands. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that I found you. In fact, I tried my best to put into words my feelings for you,” Aasim slipped one of his hands free and held out the love poetry.

“Why, Aasim,” Ruby gently took the gift and slowly began to read it. Her eyes wandered from left to right, reading the words her boyfriend had so lovingly put on paper. With each sentence her heart grew warmer and warmer until she had finished reading. Silently she placed down the paper and leaned forward across the table, kissing Aasim softly. Aasim’s eyes widened for a moment then closed as he deepened the kiss. After a moment the two pulled apart and shared a soft look.

“I’m happy I found you too,”

The two smiled at each other, holding each other’s hands until the tea was brought forward along with the pastries. Tripp silently poured the hot water over a rose blossom in a clear teapot. Slowly the rose bursted open, blossoming and flavoring the tea. Ruby and Aasim stared in awe then shared another smile. This was turning into a truly unforgettable Valentine’s Day.

Brody sat on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Ruby had left a while ago and based on the haphazard text she got from Mitch he was nearly here. It wouldn’t be bad cuddling and watching a movie together. Feeling Mitch’s arms around her, stolen kisses.. Brody covered her face with a pillow as she felt herself grow overwhelmed. Just as she was about to go on another spiral of thoughts, a knock showed up on the door.

Peeking out from behind the pillow Brody got up, quickly readjusting her t-shirt before walking over to answer the door. When she opened the door her eyes grew wide with surprise. There, standing in the doorway, was Mitch in an honest to goodness tux. The dark blue tie was sloppily placed and the suit was a bit too big on him.

Mitch pulled at the collar for a second before he noticed Brody. “Brodes! Happy Valentine’s Day!” Mitch’s voice boomed a bit too loudly as he thrusted out his arm which held a metal trident. Brody blinked in awe of the trident then took it. Slowly her eyes began to examine it. “I thought that a stronger weapon is never a bad thing so I made you one,” Mitch’s eyes were focused on the floor. “It’ll protect you way better than that prop one you had,”

“I love it,” Brody smiled up at Mitch who looked at her with shock then proceeded to pump his fist.

“Yes! Fuckin’ A! I actually didn’t fuck up on Valentine’s Day! Because look!” Mitch leaned over and picked up a soft yellow dress then held it out for Brody. “Ruby helped me pick it out because I’m shit at this sorta thing but you gotta dress up for our plans.”

“Plans?” Brody accepted the dress and held it close to her chest with a soft smile.

“Yeah, it took me fucking forever but I saved up enough money to take you to one of those fancy restaurants, one of those places where you have to dress fancy and shit,”

Mitch’s words made Brody’s mouth open slightly in surprise. She definitely wasn’t expecting this. Silently she placed down the items then got on her tiptoes and pulled Mitch into a kiss. Mitch instantly wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. Once they pulled apart the two stared into each other’s eyes.

“I’m gonna go get changed,”

“Okay, I’ll wait out in the hall,” Mitch whispered. Both of their faces were super red as they squeezed each other’s hands and let them slip free. Mitch waited out in the hall, kicking his foot impatiently as he leaned against the wall. After a few minutes Brody emerged from the room in the short, soft yellow dress. Mitch’s mouth hung open for a second.

“Well, do I look okay?” Brody did a small spin.

“You look fucking amazing!” Mitch walked forward and stole another kiss from Brody. Brody hummed at the touch of the kiss then pulled back, her face a bright red.

“Thanks, you look pretty amazing yourself,” Brody’s hands wandered forward and held onto Mitch’s tux for a second.

Mitch had a confident smile on his face. “I borrowed this tux from my dad and he helped me pick out this tie,” Mitch’s confidence radiated off of him as he displayed his outfit before it faltered when he noticed his tie’s placement looked like shit. Silently Brody helped fix his tie then intertwined her fingers with his. The two shared a quick smile then after locking the door headed out towards the restaurant.

Both of them felt extremely out of place at this fancy restaurant. It was way out of their normal price range.

“Why the fuck do they have two forks?” Mitch looked at the table placement with confusion as he and Brody waited for their steak dinners.

“I don’t know. Maybe it's in case you drop one?” Brody shrugged, unsure of her own answer. Mitch stared at the forks for a moment longer before a mischievous grin appeared on his face. “Mitch, what are you thinking?”

Mitch was silent as he looked up at Brody before his elbow knocked off a fork. After a moment a waiter came forward and replaced his fork. Brody sighed which only made Mitch’s smile grow.

“Come on, Brodes, y’know you love me,” Mitch’s smug smile faded in an instant when he realized what he had just said. The two shared a look, both extremely red once more before looking away.

Brody was silent for a minute then answered. “Yeah, I do.”

Her answer made Mitch drop his glass of water directly on his crotch. “Fuck!”

“Mitch! Are you okay?” Brody pushed back her chair to check on her boyfriend.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It just looks like I pissed my pants,” Mitch was silent for a moment, wondering if he should go for it. “I love you too,”

His answer shocked Brody who in her surprise knocked over a plate which slammed onto Mitch’s toe. This date was absolute chaos but both of them seemed focused on the positives of the moment, chaos and all.

Violet hopped up onto the back of her old, beat up, blue pickup truck, parked in the same spot that Violet had taken Prisha all those months ago on their first date together. Her hands worked to place the last few pillows in place before double checking that all the fake candles were on. After frantically checking once more Violet got off the truck and walked towards the door. Opening it, she saw that Prisha still had her eyes closed.

“Okay, it's ready. Here, take my hand,” Violet instructed and Prisha immediately held out her hand which Violet grasped. Silently she led the way towards the back of the pickup truck. After getting Prisha in the right spot, Violet took a few steps back beside the truck.”Okay, open your eyes.”

Prisha’s eyes slowly fluttered open before growing large in awe. The back of the pickup truck was covered in blankets and pillows. Along the edges of the truck were fake candles as well as two vases filled with violets, baby’s breath and forget me nots.

“I did my best to make it like our first date but, y’know, better,” Violet awkwardly scratched the back of her neck then hid her hands away in her front hoodie pocket.

“It's absolutely beautiful! Violet,” Prisha’s voice hitched in her throat and she ran forward, cupping Violet’s face and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Violet’s eyes grew large at the romantic gesture for a moment then she deepened the kiss. Prisha pulled back and looked lovingly into Violet’s eyes. “I love it.” “I’m glad,” Violet smiled at her girlfriend then intertwined her fingers with Prisha’s. “So, ready to stargaze?”

“Of course!” Prisha returned the smile, kissing Violet’s nose quickly before getting up on the back of the pickup truck with her. The two worked together to get under the blankets and snuggled close. Both of them soon became lost in the beauty of the sky when all of a sudden Prisha reached out and held onto Violet’s hand once more. Violet gave a soft laugh at that which confused Prisha as she looked over at her girlfriend. “What?”

“Nothing. It's just on our first date neither of us was even sure if it was one and we both kept accidentally dodging each other’s hands,” Violet’s eyes traveled over to Prisha’s. “I’m really glad that you held my hand that night,”

“I am too. I can't even express how much you’ve grown to mean to me, Violet. How deeply I care about you, how much I love you,” Prisha turned her body so that she was closer to Violet. Her eyes soon became lost in Violet’s.

“Me neither. To think I’d find someone like you,” Violet whispered and moved closer. “I’m really fucking lucky. So, thanks for choosing me,”

Prisha’s smile grew and she gave Violet a soft kiss. “I wouldn’t choose anyone else. I love you,”

“I love you too,” Violet snuggled up closer to Prisha and soon the two repositioned themselves. Violet’s head gently rested on Prisha’s shoulder as Prisha’s arms wrapped around Violet. The couple’s gaze slowly returned up to the starry sky. Violet snuck a quick glance at Prisha then looked up at the sky once more. Being here with her and the stars that shone brightly in the sky, in that moment Violet needed nothing more.

#twdg #twdg clementine #twdg louis #twdg violet #twdg prisha #twdg ruby #twdg aasim #twdg brody #twdg mitch #twdg kenny #twdg duck #twdg oakley #clouis #rusim #twdg privet #twdg moody #fanfic #I am thou thou art I au

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lunnanunna · 4 years

Text

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STRAY KIDS Extra Member AU

Summary: Ollie has a rough late night practice and I.N finds her.

Warnings: swearing

Taglist: @hyunmijung @galacticstxrdust @giant-puppy-yunho @kimonmars @soobinssmile @mythicalamphitrite @atinygracie

A/N: Hope you enjoy!

Requests are open for each girl! Please let me know what you think.

Ollie glared at her reflection in the steamy mirror of the practice room. It was late into the night, possibly the wee hours of the morning, and Ollie was still at the company practicing. No matter how hard she tried, her dancing seemed off. She couldn’t go home if the choreography wasn’t perfect, she’d be letting the boys down during their promotions.

Taking deep breaths, hands resting on her knees for support, Ollie let out a growl. (Why couldn’t she get this right?) She stood up straight, shaking out her limbs then walked back over to the stereo to start up Back Door again.

Back at her spot, Ollie took in a few more breaths as the song started then walked towards the center on her cue. She moved through the steps flawlessly until the second pre-chorus. She turned to spin around then duck and crouch, or at least that’s what she was supposed to do.

Ollie slid into the crouch, landing on her side. Her ankle felt funny from the weird positioning it took while she slid. She squeezed her eyes shut at the light throbbing in her ankle and arm, and from the sheer frustration of it all.

“What the hell?” Ollie hissed, turning to lay on her back. She stared at the ceiling, mentally berating herself. (This wasn’t like her. She’d never struggled with choreos before. Hell, she was always the first to get them down!)

The music still played in the background, but Ollie wasn’t listening. She couldn’t move. “Chan-oppa actually made a mistake in choosing you.” It had been awhile since she had last heard Jisoo’s voice in her head.

With all the comeback prep, Ollie had completely forgotten about the girl. Well, almost. There were still the occasional dreams, or like right now, the whisper in the back of her mind. The boys didn't know about that though. Of course she’d never tell them. (‘Cause not telling them worked so well last time.)

Ollie roughly sat up, scrubbing her hands down her face. Lose strands of hair fell over her eyes, escaping her headband, and she grumbled at the little annoyances. (It was late and she was getting crabby.)

A gentle throbbing was making itself present behind her eyes. A tell tale that a migraine was beginning, so she slumped herself up and walked over to the stereo to turn it off. (Maybe she should go home. ‘Cause obviously she wasn’t making any progress.)

She took another look at the mirror, taking in her disheveled hair, the mullet looking more wild than usual due to her constantly running her hands through it. She had major under eye bags, and she knew that the stylist would tear her a new one for it. Her sports bra and sweatpants were a shade darker from all the sweating from the earlier group practice and then her solo practice. She was a mess and a half, and she hated it.

In a fit of anger, she grabbed her water bottle that was a few feet away and chucked it at her reflection. She swore she saw herself offer a taunting grin. (She was fucking losing it!)

“Noona?” Ollie whipped around at the timid whisper. Jeongin was standing in the doorway. (How had she not noticed him?) He looked almost scared to enter, but the moment passed and he walked in.

“Innie. What are you doing here?” Ollie asked, pretending like she didn’t just assault the mirror with her water bottle. She walked over to the corner of the room where said bottle lay haphazardly, and picked it up. It had a crack in it, water slowly leaking.

Her back was facing him as he answered. “I came to get you. It’s four in the morning, and we have to be up in a few hours,” the maknae said. Ollie could hear him moving around, most likely rounding things up, ignoring her little outburst.

“I hadn’t realized how late it was. Oops,” Ollie forced a smile as she turned to look at the younger. He was already looking at her, crouched in front of her bag, placing her things inside. He was trying to read her, and Ollie quickly fastened her mask, stowing away anything that wasn’t happy and relaxed.

“Yeah, when I saw you weren’t home yet, I came to get you,” Jeongin said, pulling out her black Crocs from her bag. He motioned for her to come over and put them on.

She walked over, removing her sneakers and replacing them with her Crocs. “Sorry, you had to come and get me,” she said, watching as he placed her sneakers in the bag and zipped it up.

He shrugged, looking up at her with a small smile. “Someone’s gotta look out for you.” Getting up with her bag slung over his shoulder, he walked over to where a black hoodie sat on one of the benches. Ollie followed him, taking the hoodie (Chan’s Hoodie) from Jeongin’s hands.

“Thanks,” Ollie spoke softly, pulling the garment over her head. The fabric draped past her thighs and she took in a deep breath of what was only Chan’s scent. It relaxed her a bit.

“Why?” Jeongin asked as they began to walk towards the door. Ollie looked at him, confused. “Why did you stay so long? I thought you had the routine down.”

They stepped out of the room, shutting the lights off and walked down the hall to the elevator. Ollie got a strong sense of deja vu, and shivered a bit. “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to get some last minute practice in for tomorrow. Or today, actually,” Ollie said, correcting herself.

“But you had already practiced with us, and were doing just fine. I don’t get why you need to work more,” the maknae said, looking at her.

Ollie avoided his stare smiling as she said, “It’s for Stay. I just want it to be perfect, ya know?”

“You’re overworking yourself. We’re not even halfway through the first week of promotions. And you’re not sleeping properly either,” Jeongin said, stopping and reaching out to grab Ollie’s wrist, stopping her.

“And how would you know that?” Ollie quirked a brow at him, smirk playing on her lips.

He quirked his own eyebrow, though his was unimpressed. “We’re roommates. I know when you’re tossing and turning or straight up not in bed. Like tonight,” Jeongin rolled his eyes then started walking again.

Ollie’s smirk dropped, and she watched as he made his way to the elevator. She took a deep breath, chewing on her lip. She needed to be more careful. She couldn’t keep causing problems for her members.

“Noona, you coming?” Ollie looked up at the maknae, sending him a smile. She skipped over to him, despite the protest in her aching muscles.

“Are the others asleep?” she asked, entering the elevator behind him.

“Yes. Just like we should be,” Jeongin sassed, pressing the button for the first floor.

“Sorry,” Ollie said sheepishly. She linked arms with him, pressing into his side. When he looked down he found her grinning at him. “I promise that you won’t have to get me next time.” She’d set an alarm on her phone next time so she wouldn’t stay too late and so none of the boys would have to get her.

Jeongin nodded his head, looking at her. She offered her a small smile, then reached over to pat her matted hair. “I hope so. We want you to be able to promote with us for the whole time, not just for half of it,” he said, eyes disappearing as his smile grew.

“Yes, sir. I promise it won’t happen again,” Ollie saluted him, giving a nod. Jeongin chuckled as the doors opened, and Ollie silently followed him out.

There was no way she was getting pulled from promotions this time. She’d work hard to prove that she was better and that she belonged with her boys.

Ollie’s Masterlist

#stray kids #stray kids au #stray kids 9th member #stray kids fanfic #stray kids scenarios #stray kids reactions #stray kids oneshot #kpop scenarios #kpop reactions #kpop oneshots #female kpop additions #bang chan #lee minho #seo changbin #hwang hyunjin #han jisung #lee felix #kim seungmin #yang jeongin

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pikemoreno · 4 years

Text

if you ever wanna be in love

Chapter V: Lightning Strikes

a/n: it’s startingggg. it might be good to read up on the events of the mentalist... to avoid any confusion for the next few chapters... i’ll just say that. also the lightning metaphor is a callback to chapter 1. it’s been a while so i wouldn’t blame you for not recalling

pairing: marcus pike x f!reader

word count: 4k

warnings: none, and i don’t expect there to really be any serious ones in upcoming chapters either... well actually, there’s a wee bit of angst here...

wanna join a taglist? | masterlist | series masterlist

The sun was hardly over the tree-lined horizon when you pulled up to the Elizabet Ney Museum. It was a consequence of your team being requested to come before the museum opened, allowing business hours to go on as usual during the investigation. That was making you wonder exactly how busy they thought this place was going to get on a Monday morning during the school year-- and how they expected the investigation to be successful when they had guests tramping all over the scene-- but you didn't question it.

Being a few minutes early, you took some time to traipse around the property to see if anything looked note-worthy. The sand-colored castle-like complex was bathed in soft early morning light and a haunting fog; the grass was dewy and squeaked against your shoes as you circled the grand building. The most likely entry and exit points-- the door and windows on the far side-- yielded nothing. Nothing on the wooden door nor the brassy knob was broken, and there was no sign of trampled dirt around it, nor was there anything amiss with the paned windows. However, the security camera just above the back-door threshold made you raise an eyebrow. They had full security cam coverage and couldn't determine how their stuff had been stolen? Odd.

You were far too distracted with your thoughts as you walked that you didn't hear the car pull in out front or the person getting out of it or the footsteps coming around the side of the building. So when Marcus appeared right in front of you as he rounded the corner, he had to grab your arm to steady you as you almost fell on your ass in surprise. You almost ripped your arm out of his grasp as the electricity of the touch shot through your arm, surprising you far more than his sudden appearance.

You almost did. But you didn't. It felt too nice in the end.

"Sorry," he laughed, "Didn't mean to scare you. Coffee?" He held out a drink carrier containing two travel cups. "Should be the one on the right." You took it.

"Does it have--" you took a sip before you finished your question.

It was exactly the way you liked it. You regarded Marcus with wide eyes.

"You know my coffee order?" you gaped. He shrugged nonchalantly. You followed him as he made his way back to the front of the museum.

"Yeah. What about it?" he laughed, sipping from his drink.

"How do you know it?"

"From when we were at Copper Coin last week." He looked genuinely confused as to why this was a shocking discovery.

"And you remember what I ordered?"

"Of course." His eyes shone with sincerity and just a hint of something that said, "duh."

You wanted to ask if he knew all of his co-workers' coffee orders by heart, but you were interrupted by the arrival of Adrian, followed closely by Wendy. You blinked a little.

Did they come here together?

You'd heard nothing from her since they had "gotten together" a few days ago. Now, this little scene had you wondering exactly how "together" they had gotten. You shot Wendy a questioning look around Adrian's shoulder, and she mouthed "later" with what was quite possibly the biggest grin you'd ever seen from her. Her whole demeanor had changed in the days since you'd seen her. Even if your plans for getting them together didn't work out as planned, the result was the same. Standing in front of you were two people finding at least the tiniest bit of healing in companionship. And that is all the set-up was about in the end.

Mission: success.

"Hey guys," Marcus greeted them, reaching a hand out to shake Wendy's, "You must be Wendy?"

"That's me," she shook his hand, smiling, "And you're Marcus." He nodded. "Hang on. How do you two know each other?" She studied the two of you carefully.

Oops.

"Oh well, a couple of weeks ago, we were out of coffee, so I snuck over to their break room to get some. We talked for a minute. And now I just see him everywhere, I guess," you laid out as casually as possible.

"I see." You couldn't tell if she actually sounded unconvinced or if your incredible paranoia just made her sound that way. "Well, this is Adrian, who I told you about already," she beamed, you shook his hand.

Be cool, be cool. I definitely haven't been interfering in your love life for the past two weeks.

"Nice to meet you, Adrian. You're on the Art Squad?"

Good playing dumb, me.

"I am."

"Great. Pleased to work with you."

The museum owner arriving saved you from further pleasantries. Adrian, being the one who had talked to her the most, ran ahead to greet her while the rest of you hung back. Wendy looped her arm through yours and started her quiet detailing of her night.

"So last night I went over to Adrian's place just for a little home-cooked meal and a movie," you nodded along, smiling at her excitement, "It was so great, you know? My perfect relaxed evening. Of course, then I accidentally fell asleep there-- thank God I keep an extra set of work clothes in my car. But what do I wake up to? Breakfast from Rick's!"

"Very impressive!"

"Right?" she sighed, "He made sure he was up before me and snuck out for breakfast. Ugh, what a keeper! How did he know?" You shot a quick look over to Marcus but gave a nonchalant shrug to Wendy.

"Everyone likes Rick's, I guess."

"Either way. It was very sexy of him. Find yourself someone like that." With that, she patted your shoulder and stepped over to join Adrian and the museum owner.

Marcus laughed a little as he fell into step with you. You cocked your head as you watched him

"What?"

"I'm the one that told him to do that."

"Really? Been giving him pointers, oh great love master?" He put a hand to his chest, feigning offense.

"Ouch. Of course, I have. He was with his ex for so long he doesn't remember how to date anymore. I had to tell him all of my tricks."

"Oh, is that how you charm all the women? Surprise breakfast?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes other meals. But always breakfast food." You laughed. "Seriously. It's unassuming, comforting. Anyone can go out to dinner and a movie, right? Breakfast food is both more relaxed and more intimate. No one is putting on airs or trying to impress with diner breakfast food. No one is ordering healthy to look good. No one is on their best manners. They're getting their chocolate chip waffles, and they're piling the syrup on it no matter what you say about it, and that tells you way more about someone than how they act at a fancy restaurant."

"That's… Actually, really profound."

There was an indiscernible look in his eye as you gazed at him and him back at you. Like he knew something you didn't, and he was just waiting for you to figure it out.

Remember when I took you to Rick's?

***

The case was a pretty difficult one.

The robbery occurred on one of the busiest days they'd had all year. Guests had been pouring in for one last little family day before school started back, enjoying an educational experience and the beautiful weather the day brought as they walked the grounds. The security cameras were down for the entire business day. The only lead was that the Ney family members-- a distant cousin and niece who had donated the heirloom and the bust-- had come right before closing. They would've undoubtedly noticed that their precious items were missing. Therefore, the items must've been stolen after they left, after the museum had closed.

But that's where things got tricky. The doors to the museum were locked, as were the windows, and there were, as you'd seen this morning, no signs of forced entry. The only suspects, then, were employees and volunteers who could've gotten access to the keys. That left the owner, a bunch of high school and college students keeping a summer job, and a couple of elderly art lover volunteers. Logically, you could pretty much eliminate the students immediately, though everyone would be brought in for questioning for the sake of process anyway. There was little reason for a student to steal those items. This wasn't a Monet and the Hope Diamond. They wouldn't have sold for much, certainly not enough to make it worth the risk of robbing their own workplace. Frankly, the motive was unclear all-around. The family was ready to sue the museum for their negligence, and the museum wouldn't last very long if it came down to a money battle. The owner probably wouldn't have sabotaged themselves like that, unless there was some sort of a deeper issue. And the elderly volunteers… You guessed could've done it if they were art fanatics, but, really: why? It didn't add up.

The owner told you as much as she could as she led you through the property-- she wasn't sure either. You were able to eliminate her as a suspect as she spoke. She was outright begging you to find the thief, nearly in hysterics over the prospect of losing the beloved museum and her livelihood.

"We'll do our best, Mrs. Moa," Marcus calmed her, "Do you know anyone who would want to sabotage you or the museum or the family?" She shook her head weakly.

"Not offhand. You'd have to ask them as well, though."

"We will. Don't worry, Mrs. Moa. You have four of the FBI's best here, we're gonna figure this out," Adrian beamed.

It was a blatant over-promise and gross exaggeration, but as you looked around at your new-found little crew, you almost believed him too.

You all shook Mrs. Moa's hand as you departed, telling her that forensics would be along shortly to do their thing, and you would start questioning suspects the next day. She once again gave her most gracious thanks and went back to anxiously prepping for the museum opening. The news of the theft and the subsequent lawsuit was spreading, and she was going to be getting a lot of hard questions thrown at her today. Poor thing.

"Would you all like to come over to my place later?" Adrian started as you all made your way back to your cars, "I'll order pizza, grab some drinks, and we can maybe talk about this case?" His "maybe" was not particularly convincing. This was strictly going to be a social event, and you all knew it.

You all gave your confirmation that you would be there and headed back to the office to finish out the workday.

***

Despite the in-office workday being a mere half-day by the time you made it back, it felt like it was dragging on forever. You had plenty of other files to work through and close, but you couldn't get your mind off the Ney case. There was a missing piece, and you had to get your mind off of that sinking feeling before you could do anything else. Wendy had been on the phone since she stepped foot in her office, and you frankly didn't know Adrian well enough to be comfortable going to him. So that just left Marcus to go to.

You'd been thinking about him all day. Now that Adrian and Wendy were together, was that going to change your relationship too? Would you still talk like you do now? You certainly hoped so. You'd bared your soul too much at the coffee shop for him to turn into a casual acquaintance now. And honestly? You'd gotten sort of attached to him. He really did make you feel important and wanted and cared about, just as you'd craved back at the beginning of all of this. Some sort of feeling had sprung up. Not necessarily, feeling feelings. You don't fall that fast. But there was something. Enough that you didn't want him gone. You wanted to learn more about him, experience more with him beyond just being a co-worker... Whatever that meant.

You hopped up from your desk and got into the elevator before anyone noticed you'd left, finding him where you now knew his desk to be. You leaned a hand against the front of the mahogany, and he looked up curiously, waiting for your explanation he could see forming in your brain.

"Do you feel like there's something missing in the Ney case?" You asked finally.

"Sure, a perpetrator," he responded in a deadpan.

"Alright, then. Good talk, smartass." You took two steps away from his desk before he grabbed you lightly by the forearm to bring you back.

"No, no. Come back. I'll be serious now, I promise. What are you thinking?"

"Doesn't it just seem like something's missing? I feel like there's no motive in any of the suspects we have."

"Well, that's what the interrogations are for, right?"

"Yeah, but--" you bit your lip for a moment, considering, "Do you think that the family would have anything to do with it?"

"How do you mean?" he folded his arms now. You didn't realize his hand was still on your forearm until he removed it. You felt the warmth leave as the overdone air-conditioning immediately chased the feeling away.

He did, of course. He knew his hand was still on your skin. And for every moment his hand remained there, it grew a little more difficult to not slide it down to where his fingers could fully intertwine with yours. But that would have been too much. His ex-wife-- and admittedly, multiple others-- had chided how he was too overbearing. He had been feeling that something as well, terrifying as it was. And it was taking everything in him to not fall into his usual, "overbearing" ways. Your mind towards him was completely indiscernible so far. Sure, there had been moments that it seemed that you'd be more than happy to have your hand held by him, but, more often than not, the friendly, playful banter you shared moments later completed nixed out those moments to him. He had no idea what you were thinking and was maybe a little hesitant to find out at this point. Right now, he needed to test the waters, play it cool, and maybe one day he'd feel he could do that without scaring you off.

"Well," you started, "I guess I'll have to question the family too to confirm this, but wouldn't they maybe have something to gain from the lawsuit? Money? Power over the museum?" you tapped your fingers lightly on the desk, then your eyes widened with your 'aha' moment, "Maybe I'll research if they've had any past disputes with Mrs. Moa. Thanks, Marcus, you've been a big help."

"I didn't--" you'd already run away, booking it back to your floor, "do anything."

He shook his head fondly.

You weren't at your desk trying to dig into the museum history for very long before Wendy walked up and sat across from you. She did so incredibly coolly, taking a moment to look around the office and give the chair little half-spins before she finally spoke.

"So, how do you actually know Marcus?"

You almost choked as you sucked in a too-quick breath.

"I'm sorry?"

"How do you actually know Marcus?"

"Exactly what we said earlier," you shook your head, "We met by chance in the breakroom a couple of weeks ago, I've seen him around, chatted occasionally, and now we're on this case together."

"Sure."

"You think I'm lying?"

How could she have possibly known about the set up?

"I do. But I don't know if you know you're lying." You gave her a questioning look, inviting her to continue. "I've never actually seen you truly smitten with someone. But I would imagine it'd look something like this."

"Oh come on, you've seen me with him one time." She laughed. Loudly.

"What? Do you think I don't have eyes? I've seen you two talking around the office. I've seen you laughing and looking nothing short of flustered. I've seen your phone go off with a text message when you leave it on your desk. It's from a 'Marcus' pretty damn often. Am I right in assuming you don't know two Marcuses?" It was rhetorical, but you shook your head anyway. "I saw that you were together when I came into Copper Coin the other day. I saw you both with the very same Copper Coin travel cups this morning. And I know for a fact that when you were gone from your desk right now, you were with Marcus."

"I mean, that's all true. But so what? It's not what you're probably thinking it is." She hummed, thinking for a moment.

"Do you want it to be?" That stopped you in your tracks.

What did you want from this?

"I--" you sighed, throwing your head back against the back of your chair, "Undecided."

"That's ok. Hey, it's only been two weeks. I just... I really have never seen you act like that with someone before. I had to ask." You nodded along. You had a strange feeling all of that actually meant: "You've been so ridiculously obvious that I had to make sure you knew how obvious you were being."

"It's not out of the question. I just don't know yet. It takes time. Do you think he… Feels that way about me?"

She sighed. "I can't say for sure. I'll have to keep an eye out tonight."

***

It was by total accident that you arrived to Adrian's at the same time as Marcus, but it happened nonetheless. The autumn air around you was finally cooling down. Marcus had his hands in his pockets, and you were kicking pebbles up the sidewalk as you walked down the parked-up street and up to the little yellow house. Its golden porch lights beamed brightly as the sun was falling behind the horizon so much quicker lately.

"Kind of a funny turn of events," Marcus mused. "We've been casually interfering in their lives, trying to bring them together, making sure they don't know that we know each other. And now they're together in spite of us, and we're walking into Adrian's house together."

"Yeah… Wendy kinda already knew that we knew each other."

"She did?"

"She did. She saw us together too much, I guess. But I don't think she suspects that we were up to anything."

"Oh good… So what did she say?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she obviously brought something up to you. So what was it?"

"Uh, I-- I guess she thinks there's more to it. I don't know." He laughed.

It was a nervous laugh, but you didn't hear it as such. You moved on before any of the rest of that conversation could be discussed.

"So has Adrian said anything to you about this little relationship of theirs?"

"Just that he has no idea what he's doing and needs help." You laughed. "So, I've been helping him out a bit."

"So… The pancakes are a part of that. What else have you been telling him?"

"You know, some date ideas. I remember you saying that a walk around a museum would be more her speed? I told him to do that. He knows all about the art in any art museum and could talk her ear off about any of it. Do you think she'd like that? Him telling her about the art?"

"She would love that, I think. That's very romantic."

"You think?"

"I do."

Is it something you'd love too?

There was no chance for him to ask. Wendy greeted you at the door with a raised brow. You didn't intend to arrive together, but that wouldn't convince her for a second.

***

The evening went by without a hitch. Adrian and Wendy's budding relationship was genuinely adorable. Watching them dance around the kitchen as they warmed up slices from the already-cold pizza, they looked like they'd already been doing it for months. The conversation shared was breezy and comfortable.

Until.

"Oh, Adrian, don't forget. Floor renovation starts tomorrow. We're on the 5th floor with Special Crimes for a bit," Marcus reminded as you all sat around Adrian's kitchen table-- pizza long gone, finishing the last sips of your drinks.

"Good to know," you interjected. He looked at you quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if I wanted to come bother you after finishing the interrogations? I would've gone to the 6th floor and would've never found you. Now I know." You grinned, taking a smug sip of your drink.

"What a tragedy that would've been." His smile was fond. When you looked over to Wendy, she had a peculiar expression-- her "thinking face"-- as she looked between you and Marcus. Her expression shifted to express exasperation.

"What?" You shifted uncomfortably in your seat.

Of course, you knew what it was. Once Wendy took off your blinders, you saw everything: the way Marcus interacted with you, the way you interacted with him. Every action tonight was tinged with nervous, flirtatious energy: from the way you laughed at every terrible joke of his to the way his arm was seemingly permanently fixated to the back of your chair.

You understood now what Wendy meant earlier, but you still didn't yet understand how you felt about it.

"Will you come with me for a second?" she asked you. You got up with her, moving to the foyer, leaving Marcus and Adrian mumbling amongst themselves to figure out what the hell was happening. She didn't waste time in confronting you.

"I've been watching you two all night, and that does not look like nothing. It's clear that he is very into you. I know you said you need time on it, but if you don't feel the same way about him, you need to stop leading him on."

"I'm not leading him on."

"You are. You may not realize it, but you are. The joking and laughing, the gazing, everything."

You opened your mouth to speak, but closed it, crossing your arms.

"You can't be wishy-washy on this. I'm not letting you run from this this time. So, once and for all: what's going on in your head, and what are you going to do about it?"

"You know what? Nothing. And nothing." The words came out a little sharper than you intended, tired of this conversation and…

Scared. You were scared. You felt the distinct static tingle of lightning about to strike, and you were running from its impact once again.

"Nothing?"

"No. I know what I said earlier about needing time, but I don't. I've made up my mind. Nothing is going on here; there never will be anything going on here, alright?" You turned around to stomp back to the kitchen, but someone was standing there.

Marcus.

He heard you; there was no denying it.

His face was unmistakably downcast. You looked to the floor to avoid those ever emotion-betraying eyes of his.

He was sure the whole neighborhood could hear him swallow his hurt.

"Excuse me. I was just heading out. Have a good night." He brushed past you both coolly and stepped out through the front door behind you. You think Wendy said goodnight in return, but you couldn't hear through the fog. You said nothing.

Lightning struck.

But you ran indoors, and he was a lightning rod.

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youngdumbamericanteen · 4 years

Note

Mabel bad?

Oof sorry for never answering you nonnie! I’ve been pretty busy lately haha. But the post you’re responding to is a bit...old. I now understand Mabel a bit more now as a person, however I do still dislike her as a character because her flaws I was talking about in that post are never meaningfully addressed.

This might get a wee bit long, oops. Click for a big Gravity Falls writing analysis/essay/thingy.

It’s good for characters to have flaws. Flaws that actually affect them and have consequences. Otherwise you have something of a Mary Sue that isn’t relatable and has a story that’s too easy and boring for the audience. The narrative punishes or addresses those flaws and they present a challenge for the character.

But at the opposite end, you have characters who have flaws that the narrative never addresses, which means the characters never have to grow. There’s two reasons this is bad. One, that you can have the same issue where they don’t face any struggle or grow as characters and it’s a boring story, or two, people don’t generally like to root for characters who they’d want to punch if they ever met them irl. You can have a story with main characters who are bad people, but you have to either make the character likable in other ways, present the situation so that the audience can gather that they’re in the wrong and either be rooting for their downfall or their growth, or have their actual story be compelling enough that the need to know what happens next outweighs dislike for the character. (And all of these things often require the story to be told from said bad character’s point of view.) Gravity Falls doesn't really do any of these things. Or rather, it tries but is ineffective for around 50% of the viewers.

Mabel is often presented as a pure soul, good of heart and just overall a good person. But she’s got flaws. She’s selfish and a bit inconsiderate, which is normal and not an unforgivably terrible thing, especially for a 13 year old girl figuring out her place in the world. All the Pines are a bit selfish, I think it runs in their genes. But the thing is, the show will treat her selfishness as perfectly fair and normal, with anyone her selfishness affects being shown as in the wrong. She often guilts people, mainly Dipper, into sacrificing things for her while rarely making any sacrifices of her own. She does it to other characters as well, but here’s a brief list of times Dipper has sacrificed something for Mabel (which I compiled with the help of this post on Quora):

Tourist Trapped: Dipper spends almost the entire time worried about Mabel’s safety and trying to protect her, while she just brushes him off and laughs at him.

The Hand that Rocks the Mabel: Dipper agrees to break up with Gideon for her.

Time Traveler’s Pig: Mabel insists that Dipper give up the reality that doesn't break his heart so that she can adopt Waddles, and when he initially refuses she purposely endangers the space-time continuum as retaliation.

Little Dipper: Mabel is very angry about Dipper making himself taller, even though Dipper would not have resorted to it if now for her teasing. She immediately demands and fights for the magic flashlight, causing it to fall into Gideon’s hands.

Summerween: Mabel drags Dipper out to go trick-or-treating in a costume he dislikes because she’d planned on them having a duo costume.

Boss Mabel: I shouldn’t even really have to explain this one, the whole episode is about her going on a power trip.

The Deep End: Mabel embarks on a rescue mission for Mermando, doing and using things that would lead to Dipper being fired from the pool job he loves, without consulting him at all. She hears his concerns and instead of just explaining she’s saving Mermando the first time, she completely ignores him and speeds off, destroying more pool property and ensuring he’ll be fired.

Carpet Diem: Dipper informs her of the the issues he has with her roommate habits, and she completely denies any fault, even though she and her friends had legitimately destroyed the room and the mini-golf course the twins had built. The two of them both overreact, and act selfishly throughout the entire episode, but she absolutely refuses to listen to him.

Boyz Crazy: This one isn’t Dipper but I still wanted to mention it because she is so ridiculously selfish throughout the whole episode, to the point where it’s to her and the people she loves’ detriment.

Dreamscapers: Again not Dipper or a sacrifice, but her worst nightmare is apparently losing her cuteness and becoming ugly. I dunno if that’s exactly selfish or anything but God did it make me wrinkle my nose in distaste.

Sock Opera: After promising to help Dipper with the laptop, she almost immediately abandons him for her crush of the week, then proceeds to ignore him for, and inconvenience him with, her puppet show, taking his things without asking and expecting him to be completely cool with all her actions. Bill literally mentions her selfishness to manipulate Dipper and it completely works.

The Love God: Dipper leaves Wendy and her friends in chaos to help fix Mabel’s mess.

Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons: Mabel, her friends, and Stan all make fun of Dipper and Ford and insist they should have full use of the living room.

Dipper and Mable vs the Future: This is one of the big ones that people talk about. Mable finds out that Dipper might want to stay as Ford’s apprentice and becomes incredibly upset because she dreamed of the two of them having fun in high school together. She sees Dipper and immediately makes it about her and her feelings, treating something he’d been dreaming of all summer (being The Author’s apprentice) as some direct attack on her happiness. She proceeds to literally give Bill the ability to start the apocalypse to avoid being separated from Dipper, all without having any sort of meaningful conversation with Dipper or considering his feelings.

Weirdmageddon Part 2: Escape From Reality: Out of all of these, this might be the one that gets to me the most. Mabel, seemingly knowing full well that she’s trapped by Bill, creates an imaginary fantasy land and refuses to leave just to spite Dipper for considering taking the apprenticeship. And despite doing all this, and attempting to convince him to stay with her, she creates an alternate “better” version of Dipper who’s “cool” and supportive and very, very, different from the real Dipper.

And this isn’t even mentioning all the times she just assumed she was completely in the right about something or had the moral high ground. Mabel frequently makes rush decisions because she thinks everything should be her way or how she thinks is right.

And I want to say again, none of these things are unforgivable. Honestly, a lot of the things on the list are pretty standard sibling things, and like she isn’t even always in the wrong. The issue is that I’m naming at least 15 times where Mabel has been selfish or forced someone to give something up for her, and she almost never learns her lesson or is punished by the narrative. There are also only 2 or 3 times I can think of where Mabel sacrificed anything for Dipper, and they were all times he was in actual danger or someone had to talk to her and say she messed up and needed to fix her mistake.

Dipper, on the other hand, sacrifices things for Mabel, faces consequences for his mistakes and his flaws, learns substantial lessons, apologizes, and rarely, if ever, repeats said mistakes. Now, this doesn’t mean that Mabel is awful and Dipper isn’t. I mean, Dipper does some pretty crumby things and has to be told he’s in the wrong or to apologize. And Mabel isn’t a bad person. Like legitimately, that is not what I want anyone to take away from this. She does genuinely love her brother and care about his wellbeing. She’s just a little selfish and unthinking sometimes, like anyone else.

Like I said, my issue is that it goes unpunished, and she repeats the same type of offense wayyy more than any other character. She’ll disappoint Dipper enough that he’d make a deal with Bill and then everyone will still say she’s the best and most caring person ever. That’s just annoying, honestly, or it is to me at least.

This isn’t dunking on her, this is dunking on the writers. And they aren’t unforgivable either, I mean Gravity Falls was a masterful web of foreshadowing, character building, lore, plot work, and incredibly intelligent humor mixed with jokes kids would love too. I don’t blame them for dropping the ball on Mabel, and I don’t hate her or the show or anything because of it. I just want us to acknowledge this flaw of the show, and also have people get it when Mabel gets on my nerves a little bit.

#ask b #i adore mabel as a character/person #but as an example of writing? she's not so hot #gravity falls #gf #mabel #mabel pines #mabel salt #anti mabel #<< those are just in case

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merryfortune · 4 years

Text

The Clumsiest Dream Eater

Written for @yanmazu <3

As part of the @precuresecretexchange

Fandom: Healin’ Good PreCure & Yes! PreCure 5

Ship: Nodoka & Nozomi

Word Count: 1.3k

Tags: Alternate – Magic Mundane, Youkai, Chronic Illness, Hurt/Comfort, youkai!Nozomi

AN: I hope you enjoy, I had a lot of fun writing these two’s friendship

Nodoka woke with panic when she heard a tray in her room, or something similar, clatter to the ground. It clanged over and over again on the ground, and Nodoka heard muttered fuss, as well.

Her heart raced and for good reason. She had just spent goodness knows how many hours, thrashing, hot and sweaty, against her bed but unable to wake up but now. For better or for worse, she was finally awake, and she could finally reef herself from the terrors of the nightmare that she was experiencing.

But as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she caught a silhouette haloed by a faint, pink light.

“Oh, oops…?” a voice in the dark murmured.

Nodoka blinked. This was a private hospital room. There shouldn’t be anyone – not even a nurse – at this hour but here she was. She had gained some kind of company in the wee hours of the night and though she ought to be afraid. She wasn’t.

Staring at this figure who came a little bit closer, Nodoka felt calmed.

“Sorry to disturb you,” she said, “but it’s decided. A girl’s got to eat and you look really tasty.”

“What?!” Nodoka exclaimed, her words feeling groggy.

The figure all but screamed back in fright, “Oh, no, I’m such a dummy, I didn’t mean it like that!” She thumped on her head and Nodoka saw more of what exactly made this girl and her teleportation into a locked hospital room unusual.

She had diamond-shaped ears atop her head, right in front of the tufted pigtails that she wore, tiny and tapir-like, Nodoka thought. She had tusks, too, on either side of her cheek like a huge smile. A cow-like tail whipped and thrashed about her in clumsy panic.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m hear to eat your bad dreams.” The girl said. “My name is Nozomi and I’m a Baku, it’s good to meet you.”

Nodoka blinked. “Really?”

“Truly.” Nozomi smiled.

“thank you…” Nodoka whispered. “I was having a really scary dream, you know.”

“I can tell.” Nozomi replied quietly. “But I haven’t eaten your bad dream yet, I’m afraid. I was about to but ughhhh. I bumped into something and woke you up.”

She sashayed over to Nodoka and sat at her bedside. Nozomi pet the top of Nodoka’s head and she smiled.

“But don’t worry, I can still eat it. The vapours of it are still all around.” Nozomi explained.

Nodoka smiled with pinpricks of tears her eyes. She held onto her blanket, the softness of it was comforting.

“Still. Thank you.” Nodoka smiled a weary smile.

“It’s my pleasure.” Nozomi replied in what she hoped was a soft, comforting voice. (It was.)

Nozomi’s hand fell back from atop Nodoka’s fluffy bob of russet hair and took her head. She closed her eyes and the vapours of Nodoka’s nightmare became illuminated. They looked like petals, Nodoka thought. They fluttered around, haloed by pink light and it was beautiful. They shone like stars in the stagnant darkness of her hospital room and she smiled delightedly.

As she ate, Nozomi could tell that Nodoka was happy. That she was looking on with awe and wonder as Nozomi had Nodoka’s nightmares for a late-night snack. They held each other’s hands as one by one, the rose petals of light disappeared. Absorbed by Nozomi who nattered contentedly as she mulled over the various flavours of Nodoka’s fears. It was almost sad, Nodoka thought, as she watched the final rose petal disappear.

“Thank you for this meal.” Nozomi gurgled happily.

“Thank you for coming around.” Nodoka giggled.

Nozomi got to her feet and it sounded like hooves, truth be told, on the floorboards. She stretched herself left and then right. It was always good to exercise after a meal, or so the doctors said, Nodoka thought as she observed how Nozomi flexed. She then turned on her heel and flashed a huge smile.

“I best be going home now.” Nozomi said.

“What, no? I was… I was, um, hoping you could stay.” Nodoka said and she outreached her hand.

“Really, why?” Nozomi said.

Nodoka grew fidgety and she averted her gaze. Nozomi was very bright. “I-It’s – It’s, um, kind of like a pyjama party.” she confessed in a tiny voice.

Nozomi gasped. “Yeah, it is kinda.” She giggled.

Nodoka smiled awkwardly.

“Its against the rules for me to stay too long but I’ll let you in on a little secret.” Nozomi said and she came down to her knees at Nodoka’s bedside. She rested her chin in her hands on the bed and she gazed dotingly up at Nodoka. “Baku are good luck charms.”

“They are?” Nodoka asked.

“A-yup.” Nozomi chirruped. “So whilst I can’t stay long, I can make sure you have sweet dreams for all the rest of the night, if you like.”

“I’d appreciate that…” Nodoka replied.

“Okeydokey.”

Nozomi got up again but her hands, like paws, remained kneading on the bed side where Nodoka sat upright. She leaned in and pecked Nodoka’s forehead.

“Baku like me live deep in the forest and tonight, I hope you get to visit in your dreams.” Nozomi replied.

Nodoka blushed. There was a gentle glow atop her forehead, an echo of Nozomi’s kiss.

“I hope we’re able to hang out later, too.” Nozomi added.

Nodoka lifted her hand to her forehead, like she would if she was trying to gauge a fever. She was warm, she noted with a fuzzy feeling in her heart rather than an ominous one.

“Thank you, Nozomi, I’m glad to have met you.” Nodoka replied.

“I shouldn’t wish nightmares on people,” Nozomi erred, “but I hope we meet again soon.”

“Me too.” Nodoka replied but she laughed darkly. She knew that she had more bad dreams than good dreams, but it was strangely heartening to know they weren’t wasted, if it meant a Baku could eat…

“Good night, Nodoka, and sweet dreams too.” Nozomi whispered.

Nodoka yawned and her eyelids grew heavy. Her heart was calm. Contented. She didn’t want to fall back asleep. Not just yet but Nozomi waved her goodbye and just as she blinked, slowly, like in a trance, she fell back asleep. Her head hit the pillow and her last thoughts were of Nozomi. And that pink glow that Nozomi possessed dissipated, became not even a flicker on Nodoka’s closed eyelids as she succumbed to slumber.

Please don’t be dream, please don’t be a dream, please don’t be a delirium-

She missed Nozomi already, but she fell asleep and she dreamt of vast, bamboo valleys and tall mountains and yes, of Nozomi who played and talked with others of her kin. All of them were oxen-tailed and hoofed and with diamond-shaped, tapir ears. None of them saw Nodoka, she felt translucent even in the dream, but she enjoyed it, nonetheless. She could swear she felt the gentle zephyrs on her skin, and she could swear that she smelt the fresh, mountain air. It was lovely.

But like all dreams, Nodoka did awaken in the morning and she still remembered her otherworldly companion from the night before. She was roused by a nurse for her morning meal and the woman blinked.

“Did you sleep on your stomach, last night?” she asked.

“Huh? I don’t think so.” Nodoka replied.

“You have a mark on your forehead, is all.” the nurse explained.

Nodoka’s heart soared. Later, after breakfast, Nodoka looked in the mirror and beamed as she held back her fringe. Her gaze transfixed on that slightly curved mark of a faint pink that was on her forehead. It may have been feeble proof, but it was still proof. The balm that Nozomi used on her lips still remained on Nodoka’s forehead from where she had gifted her with a good, sweet dream of where the Baku like herself hailed.

#precure secret exchange #yanmazu #nodoka hanadera #nozomi yumehara #healin good precure #yes precure 5 #precure #healin good #writing tag #merry writes stuff #i hope this doesn't come across as too shippy cuz i really started digging the dynamic

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shimmershae · 4 years

Text

Remember all the ship imagery we got in the early episodes of this season? Carol literally sailing toward Daryl in a boat, the ships all over her bedding, the helm in the background as Daryl takes her dinner and a flower, and Daryl’s comments about poking holes in any boats she might use to leave him again? Well. It just occurred to me, when Carol had her emotional breakthrough and decided to fight and stick around and work toward putting her demons to rest, i.e. go home to Daryl, it was after a boat literally fell on top of her. And maybe it was an odd little coincidence, but somehow I don’t think so.

I mean. The first instance, with Carol literally sailing toward a waiting Daryl was lightly tossed about as our ship finally, well, setting sail. I know I had a lot of fun with the idea personally. But shining a different light on it, I think Carol ‘coming home’ to Daryl was twofold. One, she was literally coming home, albeit somewhat reluctantly because she still hadn’t figured out a way to reconcile her feelings on Henry’s death and all the traumas it pushed to the surface nor all of the emotions being back in the circle of those who know her best kept ever present. And two, it showed that Daryl is not only her person or place of stability, but that he perhaps has already reached the point where he knows exactly what he wants and that’s Carol herself. I mean, he’s literally right there, ready and wanting to be her port in the storm.

Yeah, I don’t know if I’m explaining myself well. I’m sure someone else can piggyback on this and do a much better job, but I’m going to keep spit balling okay? Okay.

The boats on Carol’s bedding were a nice little touch, don’t you think? Especially since Carol’s been shown to dream about Daryl in that bed. Not in exactly the way that some of us might want her to, lol, at least not onscreen because our girl did say to Michonne that her dreams were good and that’s why they hurt so very much--why oh why they cut that scene from the aired episode I’ll never understand, unless they wanted to play close to the vest with their hand for a little bit longer (unneeded IMHO since those that don’t want to see are not going to see what’s staring them right in the face until it bites their noses off, but I digress) but still. It’s been shown and suggested she dreams about Daryl when she sleeps in that bed. Basically, she only allows herself to semi-admit what she most wants in her dreams, and I don’t remember if we see that bedding again later or not but I did find it kind of weird at the time that she was sleeping on top of the covers. It’s almost like she doesn’t want to embrace (cover up) the comfort that her subconscious offers her, huh? Psst. Daryl. Or, you know, literally stop running and relax enough to truly let her mind and emotions settle.

I’m digging a little deep aren’t I? Oops. Sorry if I sound semi-delusional. I am somewhat sleep deprived. But truly. My brain cannot accept that all of this is mere coincidence so the hamster wheel is trying to theorize and this is what you get. Sorry not sorry, lol.

So where was I?

So basically Daryl’s had his epiphany. The years Carol spent by another man’s side weren’t something he reacted to with the usual or stereotypical signs of jealousy because he’s Daryl. He wants the best for those he loves even at his own expense, but there was some deep-seated stuff there he maybe didn’t recognize right away or likely, as with Carol, didn’t want to immediately confront.

Sigh. These two and their shitty self-esteems. Whatever are we going to do with them?

Putting the rest behind a cut because this is about to get even longer. Read at your own risk. ;)

Shit may not be settled, but Daryl’s more settled and mature than he’s ever been and he knows what he wants: Carol. So he’s there waiting on Carol’s boat to sail in. He’s right there. Waiting on Carol to have the same epiphany or reach the same conclusion or not, whatever may come, because Dude loves her. He might not have put words to it, but he’s shown her and us in so very many ways. Carol might have come to him on the boat, but make no mistake. At this point in time? Our man is the captain of this ship. He’s standing at the helm. Get it? The helm in the background? Er, I’ll shut up before I make myself sound even nuttier, lol.

Let’s talk a little bit more about Carol, shall we?

So Carol. She knows what or who she wants too. She just hasn’t dared to voice it. Even in those woods, when her subconscious in the form of Alpha pressed her to admit the truth she wouldn’t say the words out loud. It’s almost like her keeping those feelings secret is her way of protecting Daryl from the ‘monster’ she feels like she’s become.

Oh sweet baby girl. My heart aches so much for her. She just has no idea. Really and truly no idea.

Listen. Daryl was completely serious about poking holes in all them boats. And call this a reach if you want to, but I think that little comment of his was twofold as well. More on that a little later.

Dude isn’t all that well-versed in matters of the heart, especially with somebody that means so very much to him. So understandably, he’s not going to automatically get everything right. And let’s be real here. He’s still so much more of a show than tell kind of guy so that’s what he’s been doing. Showing Carol how much he cares. Demonstrating his love by being there for her, by having her back, and by calling her on her bullshit (but only after she’s taken up all the slack and put them both and their communities in an arguably untenable position). He wants her to stay and he’s done everything within his power to make her want to stay--except say those three little words.

Which circles me back around to the two-fold part of the holes in the boat comment. You know where I’m going with this don’t you? Don’t you, lol? There’s someone else Daryl hasn’t said those three little words to or about, even after Carol herself tried her best to put them in his mouth. Our guy went so far as to tell our thick-headed Queen that it’s not like that, not at all, effectively poking the biggest of many holes in the most present ship. I say present for lack of any better moniker. Let’s just say that it’s the most threatening in Carol’s mind and subconscious because literally the only person acting like it’s a real thing is Carol. Kelly’s little wink and nod isn’t something I’m going to take on gospel because let’s just say a thousand and one ships could be launched at a teasing sister’s behest and only one or two be manufactured out of more than popsicle sticks and imagination. How many cute guys did your little sisters have you in love with when they simply offered you a smile or kind word? I literally cannot keep track of how many would-be suitors my little sister would have had me have, lol. The list is simply too long. It’s one of the things little sisters are so very (obnoxiously) good at--spinning fantasy into a reality of their own making. But yeah, I’m going off on another tangent. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m very good at that.

My point is this, hahaha. Daryl’s not just willing to poke holes in all the literal boats to keep Carol with him. The man has also, in his Daryl way, poked holes in the notion that he could feel something romantically for another woman. Because it isn’t like that. Not for the captain of this ship. He knows what he wants whether he’s managed to use his words yet or not.

Carol’s trickier because she’s not reached the same sort of zen Daryl has yet. She’s still operating under the erroneous assumption that she’s not good enough for her Mr. Crossbow and has been doing her level-best to steer him toward what she considers his perfect match even though her subconscious has been baiting her to just fess up to her buried truth--that she wants and loves Daryl just as much as he wants and loves her.

But you know what happened?

A literal boat fell on top of our girl’s hard head and knocked some sense into her. Honestly. While the circumstances were actually heartbreaking--our baby girl’s emotions have been so fucked up for so long over something that couldn’t necessarily be helped in the world she’s been surviving in--I have to laugh now,putting it into this newfound perspective. Kang literally bashed my baby over the head with her demons and the truth of her feelings. Seriously. She held all her so-called ‘failings’ up in her face and had her confront them before confronting her with her biggest fear. That fear being, you guessed it, that she lose Daryl.

You know what happened from that point.

Deciding that she could never let that happen, Carol had her own epiphany--it’s never too late--and she decided to fight and she went home to Daryl. Really went home to him and yeah, things are still up in the air because Angela Kang wanted to blue ball us just a wee bit more but I can’t be the only one hearing those drums break for their big solo in that old Phil Collins song, lol.

I can almost taste canon on my tongue and hoo boy is it sweet. A little bit spicy too.

Damn the coronavirus. Seriously. Send that thing right back to hell.

I don’t know about y’all but I need that finale yesterday.

Anyhoo. If you found your way to this last sentence after this mega stream of consciousness hooey, bless you. If you feel inclined to add your own thoughts to my sleep-deprived thoughts, be my guest.

Later, lovelies.

Keep calm and Caryl the fuck on.

#The Walking Dead #Caryl #Carol x Daryl #Carol Peletier #Daryl Dixon #Melissa McBride #Norman Reedus #gorgeous people #my precious babies in love #things that make me smile and cry #and giggle and giggle #for reasons #oh my heart

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bnhablessings · 4 years

Note

I was thinking about a one-shot in a modern AU where Mina is a really successful fashion designer and fem!Reader works at some lame retail job but dreams of becoming a model. That's all I really have for a concept and was hoping to leave the rest up to you haha. My bi-ass heart needs more best girl content;;

Challenge accepted for taking this anywhere. Mina deserves love and it is my first female character request so thank you omg. I have been waiting for this moment.

I use everyone’s last names but with Mina, I always use her first name, yes I know that it looks weird because of that haha

Warnings: All characters are aged up, Fluff and silliness, just a wee little bit of angst

Words: 2693

Ashido Mina x Female Reader

The clock seems to take forever as your shift comes to a close. Soon, just soon you can go home and have the next day off. You desperately needed it. This week and the hours here have been so long. If only some entity would have mercy on you for things to by faster.

Unfortunately, you were tasked with dealing with the last three customers before closing time. Your manager of course already dealing with the cash registers, not in use, and fixing up the store. Your eyes remained glue to the three adults that seem your age. They looked awfully familiar too.

“Dude! Look, look! I fucking told you she would grow! She has her own section here,” The black-haired male states.

The redhead looks to be entranced and the dorky blond with them starts to take photos immediately. You gave them a few minutes but now… It appears they have no sense of the time. Or they don’t care about making the employee suffer.

“Kaminari, you’re smallest of us, you should try on the clothes for her. Don’t you think so Sero?” The redhead asks with a stunning smile.

Sero just snickers and Kaminari seems to actually consider the idea. Not wanting them to risk endangering the clothing you are quick to sneak up behind them and speak.

“Is there something you are looking for in particular?” You force a smile that shows the exhaustion you are feeling.

However, they seem dense to your state as all three of them share a look and somehow come up with an idea. It’s written all over their faces and somehow you fear they are all sharing one singular brain cell between them.

“What the hell is taking you guys so long?” A new voice questions behind you.

It nearly made you wet yourself from how aggressive the voice is and how it came from out of nowhere. However, when you turn around to see the person you smile from seeing the familiar face. “Kaachan!”

You ignore the wince Bakugou makes from the nickname and throw your arms around him. To your surprise, he doesn’t push you away at all. Instead, he returns the hug but with complete rigidness.

“What? You know the pretty lady?” Kaminari asks.

You ignore the flirty tone he uses as Bakugou nods his head. He really has changed a lot from the last time you saw him in your primary school years. He’s not as… aggressive. It’s still there but he appears more gentle.

“Yeah. She’s my childhood friend. (Nickname), these are the stupid extras I’ve hung out with during high school,” Bakugou says looking away.

You can see he truly cares for them. You also realize that is why they all look familiar. You recognize them from Bakugou’s social media posts and tags he was included in.

The redhead smiles even brighter (somehow that seems so impossible from how smiley he already is). He shares his idea that the other two boys had with him earlier. “Well, I am Kirishima. That is Kaminari and Sero. Right when you asked us if we were looking for anything particular we had an idea! We were wondering if you would be willing to try on some of these clothes for us. You see our friend loves this brand and wasn’t able to come shopping with us-“

Bakugou is already trying to disuse the idea planted within their heads. The whole thing is rather endearing. It’s been a while since you last saw a group of adult friends like this. It definitely reminds of your high school days.

“Don’t say anymore. I would love to model for you guys. It will have to real quick though we are closing soon,” You state.

The three boys cheer with victory as Bakugou just huffs. The three choose a few pairs of clothing to mix and match before sending you off to the dressing room. Bakugou thankfully keeping your manager busy and away with his glare. Like the manager even cares.

In the dressing room, you observe the clothing brand they want you to try. The brand name is Ashido but the name is in a heart. It was cute. The clothing itself is to die for if you were being honest. It wasn’t exactly cheap but not too expensive either. From the clothing, they gave you it looks as if the designer was trying to aim for a cool “hip” chic design. Almost tomboyish but could be matched with other clothing to find a perfect match for someone’s personal taste.

It honestly makes your chest start to bloom with excitement.

Your personal dream of becoming a model trying to rise with each passing moment of putting on the clothes. You manage to ignore it until you come out of the dressing room and all four boys’ mouths drop open.

It takes a few seconds before one of them manages to snap the photo. “Holy fuck, you look gorgeous!” Kaminari states.

“Here try a few more poses than one more outfit, please! We owe you one for this!” Kirishima says trying to get the heat he’s feeling on his cheeks to go away.

You shrug but do as asked and honestly you live for it. They start hyping you up and you end up trying on two more outfits. Time passed by the blink of an eye and your heart wanted to burst from how much fun you were having with this small group.

Eventually, though, all good things have to come to an end. Bakugou breaks things up from becoming too restless which is good since your manager was now giving you the even eye. You looked at the time and saw it was half an hour past closing. Oops.

You are quick to change to your clothing and kick them out with a goodbye, clocking out, and apologizing to your irritated manager. Thankfully you get off with just a warning since you both have a good relationship with each other which is all just bonding over the sadness of working at this stressful job.

By the time you reach your car you get a message from a number, you don’t know and a smile spreads on your face as you see it’s signed from Bakugou.

Bakugou: *Sent Image* You don’t look half bad. Sorry, those damn extras took their time.

That was it but it made you happy to see that Bakugou has grown from such an intolerable little brat to a little bit hostile but tolerable man. And his friends? You already adore them but too bad it was only for a moment.

The new thought makes your heart have that sinking feeling and gives you a small feeling of dread. You quickly try to reverse the thought. Tomorrow you get your day off!

“Then it is back to the normal schedule,” You mutter.

Wow… There goes for trying to be positive. You rest your head for a moment on the steering wheel before gathering yourself together.

~*~

“Whoa! Who is she?! She’s so pretty! Look at her! Look at my clothing! They fit her so well she could be a model!” Mina states while holding onto her phone with an inhuman grip.

The pictures Kirishima sent were spectacular.

Kirishima laughs and points to their blond friend. “You got lucky then. Kaminari was the one ready to model your clothing. You’re getting pretty big with your name out there, keep it up, bro!” He says happily.

“Yeah, I would’ve been a great model too! You two joining us. It’s been a while since we all played a game,” Kaminari says changing the subject as he pulls out a few remotes to his console.

The two ignore him and Sero is the one to take a remote while speaking up. “That girl though? She was so cute and nice! You would’ve liked her Mina.”

Mina nods with excitement as she observes your features in the picture. “Oh my god. I just had a great idea! She should actually model for my designs!”

“Really? Are they hiring?” Kirishima asks.

Mina can feel the excitement grow as she latches onto the idea. She replies to his question, “Well sort of! I need to get my designing team in on it but once they agree they’ll hire her. We need her to create a portfolio though…”

“Why not go and ask her?” Kaminari asks.

The suggestion makes Mina feel rather light and fuzzy and the desire to recruit this astonishing female is too strong. Of course, her three close friends had to crush her hope immediately. “I don’t know man, isn’t that weird? Shouldn’t you get to know her first? See what type of worker she is?” Kirishima questions.

“I don’t know. If Bakugou was that nice to her I think that is equivalent to being an amazing worker.”

Mina decides to ignore them now. With one final look at the photo, a feeling of giddiness enters her. It’s final. She decided that this beautiful girl is going to be her model! Of course, that means she has to have her roommates take her to the store. So that is exactly what they do the next day.

The group minus Bakugou went straight there to look for her only to see that she wasn’t there. They did ask if she was working today from the employees saying they aren’t allowed to disclose any information.

“Well, what about the manager working last night? I would like to report him for…” Kaminari starts only to not come up with anything.

It was truly a good try but nothing came from it. They are on the verge of giving up when (Name) herself comes out of the employees’ area with a small box in her arms and her eyes slightly red and puffy from obvious crying.

~*~

You hate getting all emotional but truly you have a good reason. You just wish you could hold it in longer. The slight sniffling is the dead giveaway that you are coming close to crying. The feeling worsens only slightly upon seeing the familiar faces from last night with a brand new face.

However, you don’t interact with them all and even ignore their concerned looks.

You can’t talk when you are on the verge of tears so you rush past them and ignore their calls. Without any second thoughts, you hop into the car of your friend’s and start bawling your eyes out as he starts to take you home.

Thankfully, he doesn’t say a word until he reaches your place. Though you can feel his dread and worry for you that is practically leaking from him.

“Do you want me to come in and make you a warm beverage?”

You shake your head and hold the box tightly. “No thank you. You driving me home was enough for me. Thank you so much Izuku. You’re my best friend and you’re always there for me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.” You are quick to give him a brief hug so you don’t worry him any further.

Then you leave his car and disappear into your apartment where you feel the dread of what happened sinking in. Not knowing what else to do you go into defense mode and curl up into a blanket on the couch.

You are unsure how much time passes by but when you do come to it is because someone is knocking on your door. The knocks are gentle before turning harsh. There are multiple voices and that confuses you until you open the door.

Bakugou stands in the doorway and he is quick to say, “Sorry these damn extras wanted to come over and stupid Deku told me the address.”

The other three boys give you the puppy eyes, begging to know what happened. The girl with them stares at you with curiosity and concern. You invite them all in deciding the company is worth it rather than the dread you would feel by yourself.

“I got fired. So did my manager.”

All of them fall silent as they suddenly piece together what happened. “It’s our fault,” Kirishima murmurs.

You shake your head. “No. It was my fault. To be honest, the management team was looking for any excuse to get rid of a few employees. Not my loss but the panic of not having a job is slowly setting in. I’ll be fine but it is a bit scary.”

They stay silent not knowing what to say. That is until Bakugou stands up. “C’mon, let’s leave them to talk.”

The three perk up making you confused and a bit worried until the girl smiles at you. Her pink locks bring out the brightness of her smile and ease your discomfort. As soon as you hear the door close the girl takes a seat close to you and puts out her hand.

“Ashido Mina! Apologies for the late introduction but I wish to be your friend! That and I went to the store earlier because I saw the pictures of you trying on the clothing I made and I want to offer you a job as a model!” Mina states.

You need a moment to process this. It is obvious as you just stare at her with an expression of a fish. She laughs lightly at this but waits for a reply with the patience of an angel.

“Well nice to meet you Ashido. You probably know already but my name is (Last Name) (First Name). I didn’t realize that you were the designer of the clothes. That’s pretty cool but… You want me to be model them?” Your voice shows an obvious lack of confidence.

That is no problem to Mina. You are a beauty and she is going to make it her goal to prove it to you. She nods her head eagerly. “Yes! My breath was literally taken away for a moment when I saw the photos. I… Think you should be the face of my brand! My team is already on board so you are practically hired! I wouldn’t be your boss either but a co-worker so we can still have fun! We would just need to create a portfolio of you modeling the clothing and other clothes to send to my boss but besides that, you are in only if you want!”

It… Is a lot of information but your heart starts to pound. It’s the same feeling you got last night when the boys hyped you up. Clarity seems to wipe over you for a moment and it feels like the turn of events were meant to happen just for this moment.

You agree.

Mina jumps up and down before pulling you into a very much needed hug on your part. She is then quick to pull away after realizing what she has down. Her own heart feels like she’s drinking a bunch of energy drinks from how fast it is beating.

“I, oh wow. I don’t want to push my luck but I feel like I have to. I want to get to know you of course as friends would but to celebrate you being hired when you do, I was wondering if you would like to celebrate with a date? Oh my god, sorry that must be weird and too straightforward-“

You shut her up by laughing. It made her wince before she realizes your laughter isn’t one of malice. It is one of joy.

“I don’t think it is weird at all. I do want to take it slow of course but I think I already like you from what I’ve seen. We’ll see where it goes… But… Ashido, thank you for taking an interest in me. It means a lot.”

You two have a moment, sharing a smile with each other before sadly it is ruined by the door awkwardly opening and three out of four boys peek in who have eavesdropped on what was said. Mina’s face turns a deep red before you just burst out laughing again.

You are honestly so glad those three came into your work last night.

#boko no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha #mha #mina ashido #mina x reader #ashido x reader #female reader #fluff #oneshot #fanfiction #request #bnha oneshot #bnha fanfiction #bnha mina

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idontknowwhatsarcasmis · 5 years

Note

Hi! I'm a big fan of your writing. Can you or are you planning to write a fic about Maria or Natasha being jealous? I need some angst in my life.

Helloooooooooooo!

Nawwww! That’s so nice, anon!! Thank you so much! I’m soooo sorry this took a wee bit! WAs lacking inspiration, buuuut here it is now!

You asked to see either Natasha or Maria jealous and I thought…. Why not both!? =D

It’s quite short, but I wrote it really fast cause I’m working on other stuff (sorry), but I dooooo hope you like it! It was really fun to write haha

Also, it takes place during Iron Man 2, soooo it is a Lost Moment as well but a prequel! =D

Anyways, enjoy!

P.S.: this fic starts with Natasha’s POV and alternate with Maria’s every “Xxxx”, kay? Sorry if it’s confusing!Ao3

Ff.netXxxx

“Sooo, Hill asked you to her room, eh?” Clint’s voice was loud and far too happy for her taste.

“It’s for a mission, Barton.” She stated, not bothering to look back.

“Actually, she never said that. She said, and I quote, ‘Romanoff, my room in 10, and keep the idiot that tends to tag along away.’” He said.

Natasha smirked.

“We always knew she was ridiculously smart.”

She didn’t need to look back to know he was rolling his eyes.

“And ridiculously attractive?”

It was Natasha’s turn to be exasperated.

“I never denied that, Clint.”

“True, but you keep saying that’s all there is…”

She finally stopped to look at him, right outside Hill’s door.

“Yes, so? It is.”

He just looked at her.

“It is, Barton. I’m the Black Wi-“

“Widow, I do not do love, infatuation or crushes. I have no feeling. I am a dark knight, yadda yadda.” He cut her off, shaking his head. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Yes.”

“Uh-huh, and yet we’re best friends, Miss I-feel-nothing! And you keep flirting with her!”

“Friendships are different, and jury’s still out on that, fyi. I flirt cause it’s fun. I wanna see how far she can take it.”

He gasped in mock outrage.

“I am hurt! Also, I’m betting marriage and two kids.”

Silence.

“What?!” She whisper-shouted.

“How far she can take it. Marriage and two kids.”

“To the Black Widow? You’re out of your mind.” She turned around and opened the door before he could say anything else. It was just harmless flirtation. Hill didn’t even acknowledge her, most of the time.

As soon as she walked inside the room, however, she stopped. A very unpleasant feeling crept along her spine, and a heaviness settled in her stomach. Right in front of her was Coulson and Hill. Less than an inch between their faces, staring deep into each other’s eyes. Coulson’s hand was on Hill’s shoulder and Maria’s on his sternum. She clenched her teeth and put on the best fake smile she had ever plastered on her face.

“Oops, so sorry! Are we interrupting something?”

It was with very little pleasure she saw the two officers spring apart, a blush rushing to Coulson’s cheeks. As her gaze locked on Maria’s, she felt her perfect spy smile diminish a notch… there was also some redness on the older agent’s cheek.

Natasha clenched her fists.

Just harmless flirtation…

Just fun.

Then why the fuck was her stomach clenching more than her fists?

Fuck Clint.

Xxxx

“I hate that bastard.”

Coulson rolled his eyes and closed the laptop that was in front of them.

“I mean, who the hell does he think he is? Just blatantly flirting with every woman that passes by him. What is wrong with him?” She started muttering, drumming her fingertips on the table. ”And what is Romanoff thinking? Actually answering to it like that?!”

Coulson laughed at that.

“Come now, Maria, she’s hardly answering in an encouraging manner. She’s being more sarcastic than anything.”

“Well, Stark keeps on going, so she’s not stopped him.” She continued, even though she knew there was absolutely no point in doing so. There was just… this unpleasantness in her stomach. She did not like it.

“It’s in her best interest to keep him thinking she might be interested, but either way, Stark is harmless in that regard, Maria.”

“There is no point of view or regard that could or would EVER make Tony Stark harmless, Phil.” She kept glaring at the laptop in front of her.

He stopped gathering the stuff around the table at that.

“Fair, but worry not. There is no way Natasha would ever look at him that way for real.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“What does that have to do with anything?” She asked, knowing it was futile, but trying for a confused tone, even as her fist clenched under the table.

He just stared at her.

She stared back.

Silence.

Sigh.

“She’s far too busy making goo-goo eyes at you to really notice anyone else.” He finally caved, rolling his eyes.

Maria scoffed even as her heartbeat accelerated at that.

“You’re out of your mind.”

“Maria, the other, day when we told her about her new assignment to Stark and she saw us close to each other, she almost killed me with her eyes. I was honestly quite scared for my life.” He mumbled that last part as an afterthought, but Maria chose to go with that.

“Serves you right for teasing me so much about her!”

“I was just showing how she stood with you the other day! You were that close, and don’t dare say it was nothing, otherwise she would not have been that jealous.” He quickly answered, throwing his hands in the air. Maria rolled her eyes.

“I’ll just ignore that, and say that we can’t have a handler being scared of his agent, now can we? Maybe we should give her to someone else?”

He laughed at that.

“Sure, to you maybe? It’d be fun to see the Black Widow’s impeccable record plummet ‘cause she couldn’t pay attention to any debrief by being too busy making heart eyes at her handler.”

Maria huffed at that, getting up and starting to fix some papers herself.

“Enough with the eyes this and that already. I’ll start to think you’re the one with an infatuation.”

“Huh.”

She stopped at his tone. The paper in her hands crumbling a tad. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. He looked pensive.

What.

“What?”

“She is quite attractive.” He shrugged.

“What the fuck Coulson?”

He held her gaze.

1…2…3…

He exploded in laughter.

Fuck.

“Oh my god, you should have seen your face!” He breathed out, still laughing.

She clenched the bridge of her nose, pissed at herself.

She could not believe she’d fell for that. What the hell was wrong with her.

“Oh my god, you’ve got it bad!” He said as he kept on laughing. She counted to ten. “I honestly thought it was just a harmless crush, but for you to glare at me like that! Oh my!”

… Maybe one hundred… Fury would kill her if she killed Coulson.

“Maybe I can make her even more jealous next time she’s in for a debrief! Oh, this should be fun.” He mumbled, wiping the tears in his eyes.

Or maybe she could do it and just ran away. Or make it look like an accident. She was quite the agent, after all, Fury would never find out.

“Oh, stop planning my demise! You know you can’t live without me!” He said, coming around to her side and patting her back. “Also, making Romanoff jealous might work in your favour!”

Silence.

She would not ask.

Silence.

Sigh.

“Why is that?”

“Maybe she’ll finally make a move, you’ll have dinner, bang, fall in love, get married and adopt a couple kids!” He said joyously as he walked towards the door.

She stared after him for a few stunned seconds.

“Are you high?”

“Nah, can’t. I’m on the clock.”

“Then maybe I should just ask Fury to reevaluate your mental stability.” She deadpanned, because okay… maybe she did harbor a bit of a… ahm… liking… for Romanoff’s flirting. It was… nice… and funny. The Russian woman was quite creative. And maybe she often awaited those moments. Also, she maybe did realize her glaring at Phil last meeting. But from that to ‘marriage and a couple kids’? What the hell.

“I’m pretty sure he’d agree with me!” He called over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn back.

“Well, I’ve always known he had one or two loose bolts.”

Coulson laughed at that and looked at her once more right before closing the door.

“Fair, but anyways, remember one thing, Maria.”

Against her better judgment, she nodded at him.

“Denial is not just a river in Egypt.” A wink and a closed door were done faster than the paper weight she tossed in his direction. Damn him.

She looked back at the table in front of her, which had a picture of Stark starting at Natasha’s ass as she walked away.

Maria calmly picked up the paper… then promptly crumbled it into a very tiny ball.

Maybe Phil had a point.

Fuck.

Xxxx

“Ooh, another meeting, huh?”

Natasha had to very count to ten very quickly as she made her way through the halls, Clint hot on her tail. She had no idea how they were friends.

“I called for it.”

“Hm, couldn’t keep away, huh? The assignment kept you too far apart for too long, I know. I get you, I get you.”

Worst part? He did. She hated it.

… Not.

Best friend indeed.

“Not the point of the meeting.”

“Maybe, but a bonus, for sure!” He said cheerfully as they rounded the last corner. Soon she’d be free.

He was making good points, though. Maybe he did deserve something.

She stopped and turned around, making him almost lose his balance trying to stop before hitting her.

“Fine, I’ll give you that. A very good bonus.”

“Aha!”

“But not the best part.”

“Hah, and what would that be?”

“You’re not in it.”

She smirked, opened and closed the door on his face. She was almost fast enough not to hear the small ‘liar’ that came from Clint’s voice. Even so, she was still satisfied with her last word.

As soon as she looked inside, however, her smirked died.

“What’s he doing here?” She said before she could control herself.

The three other people in the room looked at her with wide eyes at that. Fuck.

Silence.

“He is your handler, Romanoff.” Fury finally said, looking between her and Coulson.

Right.

“Right.”

Coulson had a little smirk on his lips. Why did Coulson have a smirk on his face?

Silence.

Long silence.

“Is there a problem, Romanoff?” Natasha’s heart skipped a beat.

The question came from Maria.

Swallowing both her pride and absolutely nothing, she turned to look into blue, blue eyes.

Was that… a smile on her face?

God.

She was beautiful.

“Romanoff?” She raised an eyebrow.

Right. Question. She looked back at Coulson.

“No, of course. I was just surprised.”

“Good, ‘cause after your report, we thought of a few changes.”

“Oh?”

“I’m meeting Stark. And you’re meeting me there.”

“Already?”

“It’s time. He’s become too dangerous.”

“Worried about me, Commander?” She smirked at Hill. To her surprise, the other agent mimed her.

“I worry about all my agents, Romanoff –“

“Oh?”

“And their missions.” Hill completed over her, but her smirk grew.

“Stark is the mission. You worried about him?”

Maria’s eyes narrowed at her at that, and a brief glance around showed Coulson and Fury fighting to keep laughter in. Interesting.

“Well, hard not to. Being played with by a pretty girl is quite the hardship…”

Natasha did not hear anything else said, her mind froze on one single thing.

“You think I’m pretty?”

As Maria’s smirk grew, Natasha was very proud of not blushing, even with Coulson and Fury’s barely contained laughter as she focused on Maria’s blue eyes.

“Well, I had meant Pepper, but…” She trailed off, and this time Natasha could not stop the blush.

She had been played, yes, but… That was not a no.

“The complete report, Romanoff.” Nick had apparently decided to take pity on her and she turned to the matter at hand. But before she could focus on the one-eyed director, she saw Maria.

Not Commander Hill, Deputy Director. She saw Maria Hill’s shoulders shake with silent laughter and an easy and content smile on her lips.

Natasha’s heart did funny flips and flops at that, translating into just the slightest pause on her speech to Fury, barely noticeable to anyone but herself.

Damn… Maybe Clint was right.

It was more… And she was jealous. But Maria had laughed with her, looked at her. Called her pretty (indirectly, but still…).

Fuck.

She was in deep.

Xxxx

“Where’s ‘Phil’?”

“Where’s Stark?

Silence.

Clearing throat.

“Phil is at a date I set him up on, he’s my best friend, and he needs to get over his infatuation with a mutual friend.”

“He’s hopefully on a date with Pepper if either of them took my many hints that although he’s too good for her, she loves him.”

They said at the same time, eyes snapping back to meet each other at that.

…silence.

Oh. Both Phil and Fury had been right about Stark, then. Maybe… maybe they were right about Natasha as well.

They started at each other for a long time.

Maria cleared her throat.

“Well… that, ahm… that was a very good mission, Romanoff. Congratulations.” She passed over the completed dossier.

Natasha smiled at the papers for a moment, then moved it on to her.

“Another compliment? Why, Commander, a girl could get used to that.”

Heart beating so fast it felt like it would come out of her chest at any time, Maria answered, deciding not to deny that she had indeed called Natasha pretty. She was. Beautiful in fact.

“Well… I’d love to keep them coming, Agent Romanoff.” She said, deliberately slow, as she got up and around her desk, coming face to face with the other woman.

“Oh?”

“Aye, you just have to keep excelling at the missions.”

Natasha smirked.

“Are you asking me to keep being a good girl?”

Maria was very proud of not choking at that.

“A good agent.”

Natasha hummed.

“Is that an order?

“It is, agent.”

“Aye aye, Commander.”

#annonymous #niiiiice annon ^^#the lost moments #blackhill #maria hill #natasha romanoff #blackhill fanfic #prequel #fanfic #marvel #agent romanoff #commander hill

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firemagicked · 4 years

Text

Maw: Desperation

There was no sunlight in the Maw.

And death knights didn't eat.

There had been before him and since, other mortals into the Maw. The Ebon Blade even said some had gotten out again, but Lyren was less focused on that.

The light in the Maw was weak and pale, more shadows than light. And never changing. Nothing changed. It could have been days or weeks or mere hours. It could have been months. Time keeping devices and magics flowed too strange to be depended on.

Magic was in technical abundance… but it was that which came from souls. A literal river of them and Lyren hated it, hated every bit of arcane magic he needed to use that needed more than he could give it. So he rationed his own magic, and ate conjured mana buns and ignored the way his internal fire didn't like this place of Death at all, the his dependence had to be on arcane over fire because at least there was an outside source to sift through and transform into arcane if necessary.

At least he had brought his sword instead of using a staff as was more common focus when he had a companion that preferred throwing their face at the enemy. It was the one upside.

He was surviving. Not thriving. But he was surviving - and it was finding Darnath, the first time, that nearly outdid him.

The mark barely gave him any notice as two bodies dropped next to him, a furious and familiar death knight, and one of the winged beings who was paying for attempting to abduct him. The mark lit up with recognition - if it was weaker than it should have been, if other signals even now still felt stronger, it didn't compare to Lyren physically seeing him.

"Darnath!" For expediency's sake, now he used fire on the winged being.

He was hoping for a greeting. Even just his name. Any sort of words. Instead what turned toward him - was Darnath's body and none of his intelligence. Darnath's body gave a snarl, raised his sword in Lyren's direction - then paused.

"Darnath?" he asked it again, so, so hopeful. Not-Darnath strode toward him - but though there was a glimmer of recognition now as hands that had both once held his children and tried to strangle him came closer. Lyren tensed up, and swallowed. "Now would be a great time to say something if there's any part of you in there."

Instead, one hand left the sword to tug at Lyren's robes - still with enough magic in them they were recognizable, if dirtier. Darnath's head gave a nod, as if satisfied - and then just began walking off.

Lyren - stared. It was… There was no sign of improvement. Nothing. So much for the former Lich King's idea this whole adventure would "fix things". They had been better off on Azeroth. He should have - should have just dragged them back to Atlas. Fuck, what had he been thinking? Jumping into a death portal. Now they were far away from home *and* Darnath was still… gone inside.

Maybe if he brought him home, Alinith could have fixed it. Or Javinth, or maybe Mira would have had an idea. Any of them, a better resource that was more - … or at least equally trusted as the guy that had lost his very important Hat of Death that led to their world breaking.

(Mira was a little crazy but her heart was in the right place.)

(Javinth… was pretty good these days and knew some sort of soul magic he absolutely refused to divulge.)

(Alinith couldn't be trusted as far as Star could throw him but he seemed invested in Darnath's continued existence at least and had fixed Lyren's fuck ups before.)

Anything would be better than now and for a brief, brief moment Lyren closed his eyes and wanted to sob. The burn of moisture was there, the pit of despair, the yawning loneliness and guilt. For just a bare moment it seemed overwhelming.

He gave himself that one moment, before tucking all of that into a ball to deal with never and straightened up, and opened his eyes. "Wait up!" he called to what was left of the man he loved, and ran after him.

(Reaching for his shoulder was how he found out that not-Darnath might not be trying to kill him anymore, but he now bit. Unrelated, he now would have a scar on his right ear perfectly matching Darnath's teeth.)

-----

The first time he lost Darnath's body in the Maw, one of the Ebon knights grimly declared, "It may be for the best."

The subsequent fight was how Lyren ended with his magic chained and unconscious. When he was let go, he immediately left the camp, struck out into the Maw, and went to find Darnath.

Eventually, Darnath simply… wandered right back up to him. As if he hadn't been gone in the first place or in an entirely different area. He also tried to immediately bite him. Lyren was beginning to think Darnath was seeing it as a greeting now. Lyren did not approve, but he was so relieved to see him even the newly bleeding wound wasn't deterrent of his happiness.

His magic was stretched thin, his food had basically no true nutritional value, the lack of sunlight was possibly making him actually sick, they were cut off from all contact - but he had Darnath. It had to be enough.

The third and last time he lost Darnath's body in the maw was both the worst and the best. It was yet another rescue attempt of Azerothian denizens. Sometimes it was other knights, sometimes it was the original leaders stolen… sometimes it was new people that had come into the Maw since. Lyren had, honestly, stopped keeping track. They almost all failed except maybe to get one or two people through a supposed gateway to somewhere not the Maw.

They were over the river of souls when Helya herself popped up… and Darnath threw himself straight at her while the rest of them went flying off… on the opposite side of the bridge.

Lyren had felt the river of souls. It was impossible not to when he had first opened his senses up. But being in it - being in it the river was no longer like a singular piece of the Maw. Now he could feel each individual coursing through it. Some endlessly. Neverending in their rush onward - except - there was something -

"LYREN!"

It was his name. It was a voice he hadn't truly heard all this time in the Maw.

It was a soul. It was Darnath. Lyren was still spinning from that fact alone when Darnath came up with a plan and put it into action. `"Maybe Just...stay put. And. This, is going to be a wee bit uncomfortable."`

One of the souls was there, pushing at his mind until it penetrated his defenses and shoved inward and he knew it was Darnath but - `"Wha - Hey!"` - that was still his mind! And his body and most recently he was all too used to a close Darnath meaning he was about to get hurt. It was natural to resist and evidently Darnath knew that.

But they both knew it had to be done. Darnath's soul clung on but his voice was in Lyren's mind, soothing at the necessary hurts. `"I know I know. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, but if I don't get in fast and lock the path others might realize and try to follow."`

The mark on Lyren's back warmed, welcoming the new presence… and Lyren felt such relief he wanted to be able to just focus on nothing but the warm feeling of Darnath with him. Except he couldn't. They didn't even have time for the full explanation Darnath wanted as Lyren struggled out of the river of souls with one burrowed determinedly into him. Not a long term solution to be sure - but Lyren wasn't going to let it be a long term anything.

Somewhere in here, there was a body to find.

Unfortunately… they refound the Ebon knight before Darnath's body. A couple of them stared at him like they could see and Lyren ignored it, traveled with them on autopilot with a new murmur of Darnath banter in the back of his mind. It was wonderful.

It was distracting.

They were at the portal out before he knew it, surrounded on all sides… and there, out of nowhere, was Darnath's body crashing through the enemy.

`"...Am I really talking with just grunts and growls? No wonder he's not getting laid."` Darnath seemed less than impressed with himself. Which was a confusing sentence Lyren was never again going to think.

The thing was, the waystone portal was glowing. It was active. They had to go now if they wanted to go.

The problem was, last time he went through a portal he had lost Darnath. And right now his body housed Darnath's soul. If they went through again, there was no guarantee that this time, he would be able to find him again and soul and boy might remain separated. It was insane, and impulsive, but he knew it had to be done. `"Hold on a minute you two."`

He took a breath and stared at the body, empty of the usual soul occupying it. Occupying. A lot more made sense, but not all, and none of it was to contemplate now. He could only hope the feral death knight who absolutely was not really Darnath at all right now would give him a little leeway. `"Okay, we need to go through the glowy thing veeeery soon, but can you do something for me real quick first?"`

Disturbingly, feral death knight had learned to parrot some things… including a key phrase of the Ebon knights as he glared, full of wrath and a hunger wholly belonging to the undead. `"Get on with it."`

Notably, he did not give Lyren his hands. The phoenix stared before rolling his eyes and mentally going, 'fuck it'. It had to be done. Likely only from surprise, he was able to yank one the death knight's hands toward his back. He began struggling - and biting at him - almost immediately but Lyren still got one palm against his back where the demonic mark was anchoring Darnath's soul.

`""Lyren wa-!"` Oops. Evidently Darnath's soul wasn't quite ready for it to be suddenly connected to its more usual occupant as immediately after the soul left him… the big death knight slumped unconscious over him. He kept his feet, but only barely.

There was still fighting going on - fighting they were losing. Lyren couldn't risk it. He dragged Darnath's unconscious form over to the waystone step by step, aware with each breath how less and less blades rang out. He didn't look back. He could focus on hating himself later for it.

They made it through the portal.

But not intact. @darnath

#LyrenFlarewind #DarnathWindere #Dar and Ly Shadowlands adventures!#mentions of others #FlarewindFamily #Mira #Alinith #Lywriting

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