#there’s another one I wanna answer about estelle

[shortcakelils]

What type of animal is your Oc Cameo? Is he a fantasy character or an actual species?

Also angry and crying Cameo has been getting me feels

he’s a blue shark! well he’s supposed to be

suffer

[vyxated]

finally answering asks I've been keeping for a while ~.~

📝 sims2 & chalk'd ui, phone icons & wallpapers, cas bg recolor, font replacement, and some more (reshade & rig helper asks will be answered at another time ;; )

tysm anon!! I had to wrestle a bit with the file to make the taxi image work, and at the end it came out looking super neat! Especially if you have the sims 2's music playing (found a super cool music override that does that). It's such a cool idea, and I've been researching on how to do it 😆 ngl, making cc objects is something I wanna do someday, tho from the looks of it it's gonna take me a while to understand the process lol. If/when I make any breakthrough, I'll be sure to post about it :p (It'd be neat if it costs money too to use the taxi.)

jdfklsjf tysm @hellofears & @oshinsimblr !! I've been doing some final adjustments so hopefully I can release it within this week c:

thanks anon ^7^ you can replace them as long as you have access to the files (pancake1 made a pie menu & wants sound replacement and buurz replaced the in-game music with ones from other sims games). I looked around and found these resources you might want to check out: TS4 Sound Tool, UI sound kit & UI audio instance list

hehe tysm anon! My UI mods won't remove the shop icon so you'll need to grab other mods that do that. I decided not to do it myself to avoid having a new mod conflict ^^

Hii @simplyamazingsims, I've tested both mirroredup & triple mirror and both v3 files are working w/ the latest update. The reflection setting must be set to low or higher for the reflection to show up. You can also try clearing your caches and try removing the resource.cfg file (file will regenerate, and doing this fixes the issue for some). Oh and ofc having other cas backgrounds can cause mine to not show up so make sure there's only one in your mods folder ^^

@claravizeu it's a map override that I'll probably work on whenever I'm in the mood 😆

Hi anon! For the phone icons, I used xosdr's phone icons psd to create mine. For the wallpaper, I haven't found someone who've gathered & shared the files for it, so I'll see if I can do that myself :)

Heyy anon, it's a CAS bg that I made for the previews so it's not available to download. I haven't got the chance to prepare the files yet, but I'll try to find the time to do so ^^

Hey anon, unfortunately the notification wall is associated w/ the texture file that handles most of the UI panels, so you won't be able to remove a specific file to achieve it. I've received a request just like yours so what I can do is share it a separate file later on ^^

Hii as well, it's compatible yes ^^ you can use both mods as they don't have any files in common that conflicts with each other.

heyy @icyaliyah, sorry it took a while to respond! While I don't have plans to recolor them, you can download these pink recolors by estellics & dumbabie ^^ and thank you very much!

Hii as well, it's been a while so I don't know if you're still having the issue or if it's already been fixed. Afaik my mod shouldn't cause any loading issues on its own, as well as if you have the conflicting mod & files present and if you remove the conflicting files. So far, I've not received any reports of this exact issue, so I can't be of help. Sorry if that doesn't answer your question 😅

ahhhh @veone thank you as well for using it ever since it came out!! 🙈

Heyy anon, basically you'd want to only remove the files that conflicts w/ the mods that you do use, and not the other way around. For example, if you use TOOL, you'd want to delete the files in the Additional Files > TOOL folder (either both text and texture files or just the text file alone, depending on which one you prefer). If you don't use TOOL, keep the files be. So, if you only have the UI Cheats mod and none of the listed conflicting mods, then you don't need to remove any files ^^

heyy @swithdream, well very belated happy new year to you as well despite it being april already lol there's an update to the cas organizers that I haven't done yet, and when the time comes that I update those, I'll try to include the psds for all the templates I did ^^

Hii @kneptoone, it's a font replacement using TS3's Helvetica Rounded font that I made & haven't shared yet, yeah ^^ I can try putting it up for download since there isn't one out yet.

Heyy anon, I've been focusing on other things so I haven't yet found the time to work on my older uploads >< I'm definitely interested in doing those, but not sure when that'll be.

Hello anon, tysm! I'll do it at some point but not sure when :x I haven't properly played around w/ CAS since last year :X

[posallys]

idk if you've answered this before, but do you think PoSally gets back together and if so how

okay so this is going to sound strange considering my entire personality is posally, but it really depends. like somedays i'm like...yeah. they totally do get back together on the dl, and other days i'm like.....but they don't. they do but they don't and they can't, ya know? idk. like yeah they love each other yada yada yada, but the tragedy is so appealing....the yearning....there's something there.

but on the days where i'm like "they definitely do" it's usually something like the following:

it sort of starts after tlt when sally murders gets rid of gabe. i've said it before, but it was sort of obvious that poseidon is the one who sent the head to her and what he intended it to be used for, so i think he definitely comes by afterward to check on her (and properly get rid of the head just kind of lying around lol)

but i wanna make it clear that nothing happens when he does. i've also said this before, but sally was just in an abusive relationship for years, and i definitely do not think that she'd jump into anything, regardless of the fact that it's poseidon.

actually i don't think anything happens for a while. like i know i joke about it, but seriously. at least until after som, but probably not until like...after ttc at the earliest. i think that during that time he might swing around every so often just to check up on them (obviously percy doesn't know bc it's mainly when he's at camp/school). and nothing happens because i think poseidon knows sally well enough to know that she'd tell him what she wanted, if anything, and he respects her enough to not do anything she didn't say she wanted.

however there's a little bit of a shift around ttc. i don't think either of them realize it's happening until it does. he drops by and she's in the middle of making dinner and it's a meal she used to make all the time before percy was born. and he's helped her make it before so he just sort of jumps in and starts helping and they fall back into a rhythm and they're both like "...oh"

they slip up a few times if you know what i mean, but like, they don't really have anything going? because they can't. especially with the war coming and everything....it's just not really possible.

when poseidon drops by for percy's birthday, that's the last time either of them see him until after tlo because there's just a lot going on, and with poseidon fighting the war in atlantis it's just not doable.

i think that maybe percy suspects something? particularly in the months between the end of the war and him getting kidnapped. he gets a feeling something is up but he doesn't really say anything because he's seen his mom in unhappy relationships and its been so long since he's seen her smile with someone so who is he to say anything if she's happy.

and there's multiple ways it could go after hoo, but i think percy knows for sure that they are, and they don't necessarily try to hide it because at that point, who's going to stop them? there's no prophecy or anything, so they're not hurting anything

they just kind of vibe it out, and it's not perfect but it's something. i think poseiodn wants to be around a lot more than he's able to, but the fact that he does make an effort to be around as much as possible is enough for sally and percy bc it's not like she wasn't aware that he couldn't be around all the time. she's literally the one who has to remind him he has things to do. She knew what she was signing up for

i do think, however, that if you want to believe estelle is poseidon's, it was more an accident than anything. like. sally is almost 40 so it's a little bit later than most women have kids + yes they did use protection they didn't want another kid that could be subject to a phophecy yk poseidon already felt like shit about percy having to do all the stuff he did so when it happened they were all like "im not too sure about this" but eventually for whatever reason you want to think, they end up with Estelle and i think its a big moment bc like...its so unconventional but here's poseidon, with a mortal family, happy, and he can actually be around this time which is probably a big factor as to why sally was okay with having another demigod kid tbh. Like, poseidon can watch all of that stuff much better if he's actually allowed to have contact with them lmfao

[spacecowboyhotch]

All Grown Up Series: Prom

summary: jack asks his best friend an important question at their junior prom after some coaching from reader.

pairing: fem!reader x aaron hotchner, jack hotchner x estelle “tess” sanders

warnings: nerves, mentions of Haley, fluff, kissing

an: i don’t have much to say other than this shit is cute and makes me wanna cry…most of the parts do lol. if y’all have any ideas for other things you want to see as the parts come out i’m open to taking requests for this series!

word count: 1.5k

series masterlist | general masterlist

It’s a pleasant surprise when Aaron calls you on your drive home from work. It’s rare that he has a free minute that isn’t after 10 p.m. when he’s away on a case so you answer, eager and happy. It isn’t until you're a bit into the call that you think to ask him about Jack’s prom.

“Jack and Tess are going to prom together, did he tell you?”

Estelle, Tess as she goes by, is Jack’s best friend. Jack met her in gym freshman year. Somehow they’d ended up in a one on one game of basketball, and she wiped the floor with him. They’ve been inseparable ever since.

“No, I talked to him this morning, and he didn’t mention it. Romantically?”

You park in the garage, pressing the button to close it as you grab your bag and head into the house. “He claims it isn’t, so I’ll believe him until he says otherwise.”

“Does he seem excited?”

“He does but he’s nervous. He asked me to teach him how to dance.”

“You’re great at that, you taught me how to dance. Will you wait until I’m home?”

“Will you be home by Saturday?”

He sighs, doesn’t sound hopeful and so you know not to get your hopes up. It doesn’t bother you, you know its part of the job, but know how deeply it affects him. “God willing. I’ll do my best.”

“Well he works Friday night and most of Sunday, so if you’re home Saturday you’ll get a treat. But don’t stress yourself out about it, we’ll be here when you get back.”

“I just miss you guys, and this year is going to fly by.”

“He’ll be going to college Aaron, not moving across the globe. And his top pick is only 4 hours away.” You say, shedding your keys, bag and shoes in the mudroom.

“I know, I know. It’s just all happening so fast. He was just in middle school and now he’s going to junior prom?” You hear someone murmuring to him and know that he’s got to go. “I’ll call you when I settle in tonight? It’ll be late, say no if you need to.”

“Yes, please, call. Be safe and I love you.”

“I love you.”

____

It’s Saturday night, and you and Jack have pushed the coffee table and couch back so there’s enough room to dance. Jack has set up a playlist on the tv and soft music pours through the speakers. Aaron couldn’t make it, which isn’t a surprise but you want to bring it up to Jack just in case he’s feeling disappointed and wants to talk about it.

“Your dad wanted to be here but there’s another case so it’s just the two of us.” You say as you click through the playlist to find the right song.

Jack shrugs, doesn’t seem bothered. “Eh, that’s cool, I didn’t really want him seeing me make a fool of myself anyway.”

“You should’ve seen him when I taught him how to dance. So stiff, so uncoordinated.”

“I hope I’m better than him.”

“Don’t worry, he dances like a dream now. Alright, so hand on my waist, right here.” You nod when his hand is secure on your hip. “And my hand in yours. Okay we’re gonna just move to the music. Watch my feet and follow my lead and then we’ll have you lead.”

You count out loud, correcting him when he takes a wrong step or goes the wrong way. Eventually the two of you get into a groove and you let him lead. Once he seems completely comfortable you feel free to make conversation.

“So you and Tess,” You begin.

He laughs, loud and deep like his father when the two of you are alone, shaking his head. “It’s friendly, mom, I swear. She hasn’t said anything.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him. “Have you?”

He looks away, his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink and you can’t help but feel kind of giddy. “I don’t wanna make it weird. She’s my best friend, what if I screw things up?”

“Is it bothering you? Getting harder and harder to act normal?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I say you tell her Jack. You never know, maybe she’s feeling the exact same way you are.”

“You think?”

You drop the dancing hold, turn off the music and sit on the couch. “I think so, I really do. You both are so good for each other, you’re there for her when no one else is. I don’t think this will go poorly.”

“Well what do I say?” He asks, plopping down on the couch next to you.

“Why don’t we go have dinner at the diner and we can talk about it?”

“Yeah that sounds good.”

___

Jack looks dashing in a dark blue suit, and you can tell he’s nervous because he keeps smoothing he’s lapels even as he talks to his father, telling him that everything’s okay. Aaron is in boss mode, going down the mental checklist of everything that Jack needs. Jack is a little annoyed, but grateful because he knows his dad cares and that he’d probably forget something if he didn’t do this.

“You’ve got your keys?”

“Yes.”

“And your wallet?”

“Yes.”

“There’s enough money for dinner in there?”

“Yes, you gave it to me.” Jack says pointedly.

“Her corsage?”

“Still in the fridge so it doesn’t wilt.”

“And you know what you’re going to say?”

“Yes, dad.”

Aaron’s face falls, his eyes apologetic as he places a hand on Jack’s cheek.“I’m hovering I’m sorry, I’m just,”

“Nervous.” Jack supplies, placing his hand over his dad’s.

“Yeah.

“Me too.”

“You’ll do great Jack, you and Tess are best friends. Just be yourself.”

You come out of the kitchen, wanting to have a moment of your own with Jack. “Sweetheart, can you go get the camera so we can take some pictures before he leaves?”

“Sure.” Aaron disappears down the hallway and you walk over to Jack, taking his hands into yours.

“I know he means well but did he freak you out?”

“No, I think I’m okay.”

“Just take some deep breaths and you’re gonna be fine. He’s right, just be yourself, you and Tess know each other.”

“Deep breaths.” He repeats.

“You’re a catch, Jack and you look so handsome.” You glance behind you to make sure Aaron isn’t coming, you know its harder for him to talk about Haley than it is for Jack. “Did you do what we talked about?”

Jack nods, the slightest of twinkles in his eyes as his lips turn up slightly. “Yeah, I talked to her. It made me feel better.”

“Just hold on to that feeling. Know that all 3 of us are there, rooting for you.”

He doesn’t say anything, just wraps his arms around you. You return the hug quickly, and that’s how the two of you are when Aaron returns to the living room with the camera. He sets it down on the coffee table and then comes over to put his arms around both of you. “Everything alright?”

“Its all good dad.”

“Yeah everything’s perfect.” You murmur, kissing the top of Jack’s head.

—

It’s a little after midnight when your phone starts ringing. You shoot up straight in bed, reaching for the phone without looking at who it is, though you can guess. “Hello?”

“Mom!”

“Jack, honey, is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, I’m about to drop Tess off and come home, we stopped at the diner with some friends.”

Aaron wakes up with a reluctant grumble, turning over to give you a look, hair sticking up in an array of directions “Sweetheart,”

“Its Jack.” He sits up immediately, running hand through his hair as he leans in to try and get some of the call. “I’m gonna put you on speakerphone, dude.”

“How’d it go?” Aaron asks, eager for information as always.

“Well, I have a girlfriend now?” He says the word slowly, like he’s testing it.

“That’s a big responsibility Jack, you have to treat her right.”

“I know dad, I know.”

You have a one track mind, wondering about what you deem the most important event of the night.“Did you have your first kiss?”

“Mom, come on.”

“What if I was asking as dad’s friend that he lets spend the night sometimes?”

Jack snorts, “You haven’t been that since I was like 10.”

“Oh come on, humor me.” You whine, glancing over at Aaron who just has this soft look on his face.

It makes Aaron warm to listen to the two of you banter. Jack did indeed get his first kiss, saying it was really nice and made his legs feel like jello but he was successful in staying upright. You ask him how the dance was, and he says he can’t wait to do it all again next year, and is excited to share all the pictures he took.

“Dad, could we maybe talk when I get home?”

Aaron glances at the clock, eyes tired but his voice is sincere, saccharine when speaks, “Of course Jack, I’ll start building.”

“Drive safe, please.” You yell at the phone knowing that Jack has a habit of hanging up without saying goodbye.

“You got it!”

“I’ll make up for leaving you by yourself with pancakes in the morning.”

“And coffee.” You tack on.

“And coffee.” He agrees, bending down to give you a kiss. “I love you, goodnight.”

“I love you too.”

let me know if you want to be added to the taglist for this series in particular!

tagged: @ssahotchsbitch, @ssahotchie, @azenpal, @chelseyjoyce, @hotchwhore15, @dadbodhotch11, @ssamorganhotchner, @choppa-style, @kuolonsyoja, @heliotropehotch, @averyhotchner, @zetasaturno99, @art-and-thoughts, @spngirl05, @g-l-pierce, @qtip-blog, @scuttling, @akira-155, @j-cat, @laurensprentiss, @ssa-montgomery, @thinking-bucky, @silvermercy, @lilacprentiss, @fightingdragonswithreid, @vintagesubmariner, @ashhotchner, @moonshine-evelyn, @emlynblack, @ssahotchnerxx, @sunshinexweasley, @dindjarinneedsahug, @angelfxllcm, @ssahotchslover, @wheelsupkels, @multiverse-mxdness, @jaspxr, @gspenc, @sadgirlml, @jhiddles03

[unknownwriting]

Hiiiii, can I request of Ace survived b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ f̶u̶c̶k̶ A̶k̶a̶i̶n̶u̶ and his s/o was pregnant with his child then after 2 years of time skip (they don't know Ace survived) can please Luffy & Sabo reunited with Ace, to his s/o and child and having family moments 🥺🥺🥺 👉👈

ｓｕｍｍａｒｙ- requested ^^

ｗｏｒｄ ｃｏｕｎｔ - 2.9 k, i honeslty could write a whole book 

ｓｏｎｇ ｉｎｓｐｏ- i love you - billie eilish

ｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｓ - Portgas D. Ace, Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy

ｗａｒｎｉｎｇｓ - None :)

ａ/ｎ- my sense of time is fucked. I could’ve swore it was Tuesday...but i still had a lot of fun writing this. I cried half the time but Ace 🥺🥺 so I hope you enjoy

(unedited)

“The weeds!! The weeds Luffy!! Not the flowers!” (Y/n) shouted as she leaned out the kitchen window. Even then Luffy still began to yank out the barely budding roses. For as much as he wanted to do the garden, Luffy sucks at it. (Y/n) eyes trailed over to the small pile of weeds and roses, where Luffy continued to toss the roses in. Let out a heavy sigh, (Y/n) called out to him again, “Luffy! Not the roses!”

“Huh?” Luffy hummed as he looked up and around before finally making eye contact with (Y/n). She scoffed at her absent-minded brother-in-law as she stated again,

“Your weeding the weeds, not the roses.”

“Eh? But they all look the same?” Luffy hummed as he looked back to the pile of weeds and roses then back to the rosebuds in his hands.

“See the little green ball on top of that the stem, those are roses that have yet to bloom. Those need to stay in the ground so they can bloom, what your getting is the other green plants.” (Y/n) explained as she pointed down the weeds that surrounded the roses. Luffy’s eyes followed as he began to finally see the difference between the 2. And with a chuckle, Luffy had gone back to work pulling out only the weeds this time. (Y/n) scoffed once again as she leaned back from the window and turned around on her heel and looked back at her blonde brother-in-law. She was so grateful for Sabo and Luffy. They sat through everything with her and supported her throughout it too.  Keeping her safe and healthy when she found out about Ace’s death, being there to help her through her pregnancy even sitting with her through her labor, and even now they still come and visit her regularly, checking up on her and her family. The trio of brothers are the best people she has ever met. Brightening her smile, she shook her head and began to walk past them.

“Ya’know for as much as Luffy wanted to do the garden, you’d think he’s at least how to do it.” (Y/n) sighed as she made her way next to Sabo at the table. She had taken a spot right next to him and picked up the pair of pants she was stitching back together. Sabo continued to shuffle through some paper as he glanced over at (Y/n) and chuckled.

“Well, you pretty much banned him from doing anything else. The garden is the only thing Luffy can do now.” Sabo pointed out, taking the pile of papers in his hands and setting them to the side, then began working on the other pile.

“...It’s his fault for being so reckless. If he’s your brother you should’ve raised him better.” (Y/n) huffed, cutting the string off the pants and tying them up. (Y/n) was currently fixing a pair of Estelle’s pants that were destroyed when he and Luffy were playing. It wouldn’t be a big of a problem if it wasn’t one of Estelle’s good pants. It was one of the best days Estelle had though, so it was easy for (Y/n) not to get too mad.

“Ace was the one who was the closest to him. I lost my memories although that time.” Sabo answered, as his gaze shifted down to the paperwork

“Looks like Imma have to call Ace out on that then-”

“Mama!!” A loud voice had shouted as the door to the small house swung open and a small (h/c) colored child had rushed in. (Y/n) was quick to drop the pants and open her arms to greet home her child.

“Estelle! Welcome back, baby.” (Y/n) smiled brightly as she gave a huge hug to her child. Estelle giggled and happily hugged back. Estelle wasn’t gone for long, only about 3 hours but it was easy to tell that he missed his mom. He definitely takes after his dad, being a very family-orientated person. Standing up from her chair, she pulled away from Estelle yet keeping him on her hip, she smiled, “We’re you nice to Doctor Cherry?”

“Yeah, she even gave me a candy.” Estelle proudly shouted as he stuck out his tongue and showed (Y/n) its blue color.

“Wow, You must’ve been such a good boy. I bet Dcotor Cherry was happy to spend the day with you.” (Y/n) smiled, as she set Estelle back on the floor and looked up at the red-haired lady that stood at the door.

“Of course, Estelle’s one of my best patients.” Cherry smiled as she looked down at Estelle. Estelle giggled loudly as grinned up from his mother's side. Cherry was another person who stood by (Y/n) when she was going through such a hard time, helping (Y/n) nurse back to health and helped a lot with the pregnancy. She was another that was close like family. As Cherry took a step into the house, she had opened her mouth to speak again but Sabo and Luffy were quick to interrupt.

“You’re not even gonna say hi to your uncles. Estelle, you make us so sad.” Sabo teased as he and Luffy walked up to join (Y/n). Quickly turning around to the sound of the voices, Estelle smiled brightly again.

“Uncle Sabo, Uncle Luffy!!” Estelle shouted as he jumped into their arms. The boys were quick to hug back and spoil Estelle in all types of affections. (Y/n) smiled at the view, that's one of the many things that she wants Estelle to learn that no matter what family is always important. With Estelle already being a very family-oriented person, it seemed that (Y/n) didn’t have much of a lesson to teach. Giggling to herself, (Y/n) turned back to Cherry to see what she was gonna say early. Once Cherry had seen that (Y/n) was back on her, she began again,

“Someone was asking around for you early today. I’m not sure who, but he seemed almost desperate.” Cherry explained as she watched (Y/n) face twist into shock and just for a moment, there was a huge flash of hope in her eyes that seemed to cloud her judgment for a moment. It was for a brief moment, but even with that flash of hope Cherry could tell that (Y/n) wants, more like needs, to see who it is.

“Asking for (Y/- Ow!!” Sabo hisses as he quickly pulled his arm towards him and began to rub the red spot that Estelle pinched, “He’s still in his pinching phase? I thought we were over that.”

“With Estelle? Of course not, he still goes around pinching everything and everyone. I’ve been trying to get him to stop but he doesn’t want to. I’m surprised that you thought he grew ou-”

“Ow, ow, ow, ow!! My nipples!!” Luffy cried as he pushed Estelle away from him. With the pain still written over his face, Luffy cupped his nipples and hissed. (Y/n) laughed as she watched Luffy sit there trying to soothe the pain running through him.

“Yeah no, he’s still pinching.” (Y/n) laughed before her, and Sabo, both turned back to Cherry and continued to question her.

“Who’s looking for (Y/n)?” Sabo questioned. It was easy to tell that his overprotectiveness was kicking him. The only response that Sabo got from Cherry was a shrug and then slowly walking out of the house as if to lead the others. Sabo then turned to look at (Y/n) asking the same question to which (Y/n) only ended up shrugging too.

“I’m not sure. Sail with Ace and Whitebeard-san I’ve met a lot of people, so I don’t know.”

Sabo hummed in response as he began to follow Cherry outside. Something inside of (Y/n) made her so anxious, but something has her heart racing, palms sweating, and her legs aching. Something about this guest just had her body aching, as if she couldn’t sit still. In the back of her mind, a small voice continued to echo, but there was no way it could be true. He’s dead, he passed away 2 years ago. Last time (Y/n) you can’t raise the dead either. So with one last shaky sigh, (Y/n) began to make her way out the door and towards Sabo and Cherry. Trying to push back her feelings, it’s like this every time, always getting her hopes up only for them to come crashing down. She tries to keep her cool.

“So, does it look like anyone we know?” (Y/n) questioned, as she took a spot next to Sabo’s side. Sabo let out a small grunt as he squinted his eyes to see the figure. (Y/n) had followed suit. Just at the bottom of the hill stood a man with broad shoulders. He looked around confused as he stumbled around the bottom of the hill. A soft laugh left her lips as she watched him, he looks so out of place.

“I-I-I….I don’t wanna jump to conclusions here, (Y/n), but doesn’t that look like-“

It didn’t take long for the man to make eye contact with the 2 at the top of the hill. He starred for a moment as if he was taking in the view before he smiles brightly and slowly began to make his way up. As if the world has stopped around (Y/n). That smile. That was the same smile that started this whole adventure, that made her happy even on the saddest days, that was the same smile that she fell in love with.  It was hard to believe. As if time itself has stopped, (Y/n) stood there speechless. She couldn’t even muster a sound or a reaction. Something like this never happens, maybe one in a million but last time she checked the skeleton on Luffy’s crew was the one. This was impossible, it had to be a prank or something. This couldn’t be happening and just as (Y/n) had open her mouth and rat at the person standing below them a laugh echoed through the field. It was real, this is all real. That laugh was one she couldn’t and wouldn’t forget. That laugh belongs to her later lover,

“Ace.” Breathlessly and barely above a whisper was all she could do. She was scared if she said it any loud she would have started to cry right there. (Y/n) began to inch forwards slowly trying to wake her body up and tell it to move. God, if only she could wake it up faster. Soon enough those baby steps turn into bigger ones then fast ones, then finally she was running. She was running as fast as her feet could carry her down the hill. Tears swiftly fell from her eyes as she made her way to her lover. Maybe dreams do come true. After all these days, weeks, months of wishing, her wish came true. And even now it’s better than what she wished for.

Not being able to stop herself and not even trying to, (Y/n) jumped straight into Ace’s warm embrace for the first time in years. Automatically (Y/n) inhales deeply taking in Ace’s smell of burnt ambers and sunk deeper into his strong and warm embrace. By now she couldn’t help the waterworks from coming. Neither could Ace, the 2 of them held each other close, taking in each other scent and loving embrace. As if this moment latest forever, the 2 of them didn’t let go for as long as they could. However, (Y/n) can only cry so much into his shoulder before taking a deep breath. So barely pulling away and with a red-eyed and snot-filled face, (Y/n) smiled as she tried to speak up the loudest and clearest she could.

“Y-y-y-your… you’re alive!! Ace is alive. Your alive!!” (Y/n) cried as she tried to call out to the others however your attention was all on Ace. She was scared that if she looked away he would disappear, so she kept her around him and locked her eyes with his.

“I’m alive. I’m really alive.” Ace sobbed back keeping his eyes locked with (Y/n)’s. She didn’t even care if his voice has reached them, she doesn’t want it to reach them. All she wants is to be with Ace now. Smiling through her tears, she pulled her hand up to Ace’s cheeks and began to rub her thumb against his freckled cheeks feeling his rough skin against hers. Ace, still through his tears, smiled and hummed as he leads into her hand, enjoying the softness and warmth her hands had provided. This moment should last forever, they both wished. Just as (Y/n) has dropped her hand to his chest and was able to lean in to kiss his lips that she wanted to feel and taste once again, 2 pairs of very loud footsteps came behind them. Before the 2 of them could even react, 2 bodies came crashing down onto them.

“Ace!!” The 2 of them sobbed as all of the 4 bodies fell over in the grass. Both Luffy’s and Sabo’s sobs could be heard for miles, like (Y/n) and Ace, they couldn’t hold back their tears. So all 4 of them laid on the ground and just sobbed, they couldn’t do anything else. Each one of them held onto the other with such an iron grip, it was hard to breathe but nobody wanted to move. The only time they moved was when Ace pulled back and started at Sabo for a while trying to figure out who it was.

“S-s...sabo. Y-you’re alive too?!!” Ace gasped as he could feel more tears falling. Sabo looked up and smile at him, nodding. And Just with that simple nod both of the boys began to cry even harder and the hug got tighter. This whole hug was a mess, they were all crying loudly. People in the village soon came to even check on them but none of them cared. After 2 years each of their dreams had come true and nothing else mattered.

“Welcome home, Ace.”

~~

“Luffy don’t-!” (Y/n) tried to protest all she wanted, but as soon as she had put down the food, Luffy was all over it. And taking after his uncle, Estelle was right there digging into the food with Luffy. Let a heavy sigh past her lips as she walked back into the kitchen to get the rest of the food.

“Oi! Luffy save some for us!!” Ace’s voice rang through the house as a loud thump followed along with Luffy groaning in pain. Like music to her ears, hearing Ace’s voice once again causes (Y/n) so much happiness and relief. Having her black-haired lover back is the best feeling in the world.

After all 4 of them had somehow managed to stop the tears, they didn’t spend a moment from each other. Where ever one went the others always followed because they were all scared that if they left then Ace would disappear. Although, out of the whole reunion, being able to reunite Estelle with his father was the best part. Luckily he’s only 2 so things weren’t awkward and he was able to quickly adapt to Ace. Being again to finally introduce Ace to his son and Estelle to his father was by far the best part. It only made (Y/n) cry even more.

“Hey, Daddy you can’t hit Uncle Luffy. Mama will get mad at you.” Estelle laughed as he waved around the bone. Even the word was foreign to Ace, it still took him a while to get used to even being a dad. But after staring at Estelle for a moment, just taking in the fact that Estelle’s actually his kid. Ace chuckled and smiled.

“Oh, will she now? Last time I check, I think I can handle your mother when she’s angry.” Ace chuckled as he leads back in his chair and crossed his arms. She could cry just looking at him. After all these years he hasn’t changed a bit. Messy black hair, freckled skin, a huge smile that could light up the room. The only thing that had changed, was the giant burn mark on his stomach. It was huge and very upsetting but it’s not like Ace didn’t have scars from before. With one last shaky breath, (Y/n) pushed back any sadness she had and quickly replaced it with joy. There is no way (Y/n) was gonna be sad.

“You better think again fire boy.” (Y/n) had stated as she hit the back of his head while she took a seat next to him at the table. Ace hissed at the pain while Estelle laughed in response. Sabo and Luffy were quick to follow in suit. All their laughter sounded like music to her ear. There really wasn’t anything else she could wish for. Ace was back, she’s having dinner with her family, and she was happy. It was all too perfect, it was almost like this whole thing was a dream. God, (Y/n) was terrified that it was all just a dream. The thought of having them go back to a time where Ace was gone and that-

“Ouch.” (Y/n) hissed as she grabbed her arm. Looking over next to her, she saw Estelle gigging up at her. Estelle and his pinches are gonna be the death of her.

“You so deserve that for early. Good job, Estelle, you’re learning quickly.” Ace laughed out loud as he looked over at his son. Estelle smiled bright and laughed along with him. (Y/n) couldn’t even be mad, but she wasn’t about to let Ace get away with it.

“Oh, you watch it, because last time I checked Estelle was still a mommy’s boy just like his father.”

[johannstutt413]

(requested by mathmaticalknight; continuing from this)

As Tomimi settled into her seat for the Tail Club meeting, and Provence took a breath to start talking, a pair of small hands knocked on the door. The group turned their attention to the door as the Lupo went forward with the whole “speaking” thing. “Yes?”

“The posters said this is a club for people with tails?” Suzuran peeked around the door. “I have a lot of tails, and I have some questions about it.”

“Morti thought I should come, too,” Shamare said, also peering around the door. She’d actually come because Suzuran had invited her, but that wasn’t the point.

The trio (including a sort-of-visible Manticore) set about adding some more seats to their circle, but as they did, there was another knock. “Hey, I saw a poster for a ‘Tail Club.’ Is this enough tail to join?” Pramanix’s mound of Feline floof slapped the threshold as she walked into view.

“Sure!” Provence gestured to the chair circle. “We’re working on widening the circle right now, but we’re pretty sure we have enough chairs for everyone.”

“We brought a few just in case!” Blemishine replied to an unverbalized question as she, her sister, and her aunt walked in as well. Tripling in the span of one meeting...what a turnout!

The club leader, once everyone was settled in, stood up to address them. “Wow. Um, first, I’m glad everyone could make it! We’ll go around the room and get everyone’s names, but before we do, I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page. I know Manty’s cute poster calls us ‘Tail Club,’ but we’re not an after-school club or something; we’re a support group and an activist group more than anything, in that we lobby the Doctor and the rest of leadership on behalf of the needs of Operators, ourselves included, with tails that are especially cumbersome, high-maintenance, or just...big. Alright, with that out of the way, I’m Provence! Hi! I’m the president, I guess, of the Tail Club, and no, it’s not because I have the biggest tail. We might actually do an election or something now that we have more members...hmm. We’ll figure it out! Alright, right or left, you two pick.”

“I-I’ll go...” Manticore stood up as the Lupo sat down. “I’m the club’s...vice-president. If you have...any questions, you can...come and find me, or...you can tell Estelle or Tomimi...and they’ll find me...and then I’ll find you...Thank you...”

“Codename’s Whislash, but go on ahead and call me Zofia. Brought myself and my sisters with me when I saw the poster because, well, we’ve got fluffy business in the back and wanna be in solidarity with similar folks. It’s neat to see all kinds of tail- what are you giggling about, Maria?”

Blemishine didn’t stifle her laughter as she took her turn. “Nothing, aun- ‘sis.’ Maria ‘Blemishine’ Nearl at your service!”

“And I am Margaret ‘Nearl’ Nearl.” She smiled at the repetition. “Thank you for taking the initiative and starting this group, Provence; the wider thresholds have already saved me at least one embarrassing entrapment.”

“No problem, but Tomimi’s the one to thank for that one.” The president gestured to the Archosaurian, who gave a little wave as everyone else in the room clapped.

Suzuran waited for the applause to subside before taking her turn. “Good afternoon. I’m Lisa, or Suzuran, as you like. I have a lot of tails, which is like having one big tail, and I saw the poster and thought my friend Shamare might want some help, too. Isn’t that right, Shamare?”

“Um...Yeah.” The Vulpo’s misdirection had been foiled, so she just carried on. “Morti’s gonna sit with me, even though he doesn’t have a big tail, because he’ll remember if I forget what we talk about. He likes being in the same room as priestesses, too.”

“Your doll understands flattery, then. That’s interesting. Anya ‘Pramanix’ Silverash, Karlan Saintess and in need of some tail care advice - I’m getting tired of shedding fur on corners. I’ll help if I can, too, but most of you have a lot more to worry about than me, it looks like.” It was actually kind of humbling for the Feline to sit in a room with so many people with Tails of Unusual Size. Hers was fluffy and silky smooth, true, but just look at the Archosaurian.

The Archosaurian whose turn it was, in fact. “Hi. I’m Tomimi, and that’s the only name I have. I came here for help, and Provence and Manty have been really helpful, and they’re really nice, so I keep coming back. Let’s, uh...Let’s all get along!” She learned that one from Young Things Magazine.

“Thank you, Tommy!” Provence clapped her hands; she could already tell she was going to enjoy this ‘proper president’ thing. “Alright, first order of business for our first-timers: what problems are you having? Anya, you mentioned yours a bit already, so would you be willing to start?” 

“Oh, sure. I’ve always had a fluffy tail, and it’s pretty versatile, but there’s this one thing that’s always bugged me about it...”

After going around the room, sharing some tips and tricks for better grooming, and even breaking off into groups for tail-brushing time (Zofia suggested it, and everyone liked the sound of it), the meeting adjourned after a productive two-hour session. Suzuran found a broom to sweep up the sheddings (including scales from Tomimi - she was nearly done with her shedding cycle, but not quite), and Shamare waited for her in a chair near the entrance, whispering to Morti. Tomimi approached her, curious. “Shamare?”

“Hmm?” The harbinger frowned. “It’s rude to interrupt a conversation.”

“You can hear him?” She leaned in, trying to catch its voice.

The Vulpo pulled back into the upholstery. “I can. Do you want to?”

“I don’t think so.” The Caster sat on the floor in front of her. “Is he nice?”

“He takes the bad feelings away, and he likes talking to people.” She rubbed his head, and Tomimi could’ve sworn the stitched smile curled a little more.

That convinced her. “Did you make Morti?”

“No,” Shamare replied, “but I did give him his body.”

“Could you make a doll for me to give to my girlfriend? I don’t want her to be lonely when she’s busy in her office.”

The oracle blinked. “You want me to do that?”

“Mmhmm.” The Archosaurian gave her a toothy smile. “I like your style.”

“...Okay, but you have to get me the stuffing. My doctor found out I stuffed Morti with Originum and she wasn’t happy, but I need something to put in your doll.” The Vulpo didn’t want to blush, but it seemed Morti didn’t feel like intervening for her.

Suzuran skipped over to the pair, sweeping finished. “Hi, Tommy! Ready to go, Shamare?”

“One more thing.” She hopped off her chair. “Can I have one of your scales?”

“Okay.” The Caster lifted her tail and smacked the ground; a small tremor shook their immediate vicinity, and several scales fell off.

Shamare took a few, put the rest in the bucket her friend had filled while sweeping, and nodded to Tomimi. “I’ll bring your doll to the next meeting.”

“Thanks.” She watched the pair leave, cocking her head. ‘Those two are like opposites...Just like Gav and me.’

“Well, I didn’t meet any cute bachelors, but the tail talk is super nice,” Whislash noted as the Nearls packed up their chairs.

Provence chuckled. “Is that why you really came, Zofia?”

“M-maybe.” She sighed. “Look, I don’t like making a big deal out of it, since I’m only the eldest by a couple years, but it’s getting harder to find my kind of guy out in the wild. You have someone special?”

“Sure do! My girlfriend and I met here at Rhodes Island, actually.”

The Kuranta’s ears perked up as her nieces left her to her conversation; they had other stuff to do, especially while she was distracted. “Girlfriend? That’s okay here?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Then the Lupo remembered where the Nearls were from. “Oh, right, you’re from Kazimierz. Yeah, RI doesn’t discriminate like some other companies...or governments, either.”

“Huh...You, uh, know anyone on the market? They don’t even have to be that cute.” Saying the words out loud made her blush.

The Sniper smiled as she slipped her phone out of her pocket. “Actually, I think I know just the person. Walk and talk?”

“Sure!” Whislash’s tail swished behind her as she turned to leave, glowing a bit. “Ooh, there’s a movie playing tonight I’ve been wanting to see, if they like that kinda thing.”

“You can ask them - I’m sending you their number now.” Provence looked back as she passed the light switch; Tomimi was still there, so she left them on.

Manty was, too, although the Lupo had missed her at a glance; after all, they had a double date themselves...the Manticore needed her girlfriend to bear witness to the thicc she was exposed to on a daily basis. It just wasn’t fair. “Hey, Tommy...why do you think...everyone started coming today? We’ve had posters...for a couple weeks now.”

“Oh, Gav started telling people about it, too.” The Archosaurian was still seated in front of the chair. “Estelle is an Archosaurian, isn’t she?”

“She is...Why do you ask?”

The Caster looked back at her tail. “In my village, there’s a lot of arguing about which is better - big or small tails. I wonder if other Archosaurians have that debate, too.”

...The Specialist had a feeling she knew the answer to that.

[teddybeirin]

Answer all of the system vine asks.

Step the f**k up Kyle!: Do you have specific alters that deal with any conflicts or decision making?

Anselm, definitely. But not because we leave it up to him by choice, more like he takes charge naturally and doesn't leave much room for debate once he's decided on something? Very rude sometimes, but he's almost always right about things so he has a track record to back up his "I *should* be in charge" thing..

and they were roommates! (omg they were roommates): If you have an inner world, do any of your alters share a room or a certain space?

Not that I know of. I haven't actually explored a lot of this inner world, the current castle, it's really difficult for me to access it. But I am kinda sorta sure, I am wanting to say that Rain and the other littles share a section of it? And some of them have bunk beds. But I could be wrong, because I have little to do with it (it being, everything in there)

I am the sand guardian, guardian of the sand: which of your alters do you think are the most protective of the system?

Oh god. Well... I don't think it'd be easy to try and figure out which among them is the Most protective out of them all, but Anselm, Estelle, Maeve, Nik, and Carmel are all very protective. Anya too, in her own way? But in a waaaay nicer way.

I’m in me mum’s car, brum brum: If you drive, do any of your alters have different driving styles/techniques? Are any alters not allowed to drive?

We don't have our license! ...the perks of being trapped here. But you didn't hear this from me, we've driven before as a teen and Cassia wishes she could drive like a maniac but was pretty good at what little we got to learn while we had that taste of freedom.

hey my name is trey I have a basketball game tomorrow: Do any of your alters like or play any sports?

The kids love dodgeball, Anselm loves shit like races and obstacle courses if that counts.

when there’s too much drama at school, all you gotta do is walk awayeyeyey: have any of your alters ever gotten you in trouble at school? how so?

YEAH. It'd be so much to get into the "why" of it, but there was a period of time where we were intentionally trying to get kicked out of a school so that our family would react to the shame of it how they always do (run away/move away) and we'd move away from a very scary situation. That came with... feet up on the desks, causing trouble in class, responding to questions with jokes, responding to the birth name for roll call with "Wish I wasn't!", getting into fights, not doing the homework or classwork anymore, being tardy, not following dresscode, slacking in general, and generally being as much of a little shit as possible. Other than that specific time? Nope. Family said I was like a little angel before that year, lol.

Chris, is that a weed?? I’m calling the police!: do any of your alters smoke/do drugs? how do the others feel about it?

Not anymore. Cigarettes have always been off limits (would rather die than be like mom, yadda yadda) but alcohol was the soother of choice for a little while as a teen, weed was fun with friends until it wasn't fun anymore.

hey I’m lesbian - I thought you were american?: do your alters have different sexualities?

Yep. Majority that I know of are bi, but Anya is a lesbian, there's at least one straight guy and I am pretty sure it's Mattie. Dunno about everyone I don't know, obviously, but I think that counts for being different from one another - it's a pain.

I wanna be a cowboy babyyyy: what are your alters dream jobs?

Fifi? Ballerina. Anya? Kindergarten teacher. Estelle "I don't care, do what you all want", as for Yvette they really want to do more divination for pay, Maeve would ideally wish to be a full time artist but knows it "isn't realistic", Mattie wants to become a carpenter, and much of the kids have agreed to design and create toys for a living incorporating various things from the rest of em that care about the work life. As for Carmel, just survival work I feel I should mention but don't want to mention?

this b*tch empty, yeet!: are there ever times where no one wants to front? if so, how do you deal with it?

Noooo idea. There's certainly times when none of us want to be here, but that's... usually because of household shit and other stuff that makes it all very "oh god I have to get out of here I can't take this" so it goes to whoever gets put in front to handle it first based on whatever fuckery is going on with however the brain chooses to switch out. I don't get it if you can't tell.

omg I love chipotle, chipotle is my life!: what are each of your favourite fast food places/restaurants?

Street tacos. Do street tacos count? There's a diner I really love that I can't name cuz it'd be too recognizable location-wise, but it's got lots of bear stuff. Denny's, too.

I didn’t get no sleep cuz of y’all, y’all ain’t gon get no sleep cuz of meee: what are each of your alters sleeping behaviours like? do you have different sleeping patterns? do any of you remember your dreams?

Yvette is really into dream journaling, so I'm fairly certain they remember the dreams. I try to push them away as soon as I wake up, myself. We have such a shit sleeping pattern right now... Theo sleeps like a baby and falls asleep easy stays asleep easy, but Estelle and the rest of us can't sleep for shit - laying down feels really bad, so it ends up being a "how much work can I do to avoid sleeping til dawn comes?" and falls into a kind of faux-nocturnal "pattern" lmao.

Thank you for asking!! <3

[byima]

California Dreaming pt 4

I shared this on AO3 half a month ago and I’m just getting around to cross posting for the tumblr folks and you can read the full story here.

Lunch was a boisterous event. They ate at, or commandeered depending on who was asked, an Italian restaurant in the city of Berkeley. Everyone was there; Frank, Hazel, Nico, Grover, Silena, Beckendorf, Travis, Connor, Katie, Rachel, Jason, Piper, and Leo. Remi was there too, and so was Annabeth’s dad and her stepmom and half-brothers, who were in town because of her own commencement which had been the day before, and so was Frank’s grandmother. The restaurant was cozy, it smelt heavenly; 70’s and 80’s music buzzed through the speakers, friendly staff flitted between tables. Their group was two tables strong, too loud, too rowdy and it was one of few times the whole commencement weekend that Annabeth felt overwhelmed but energized by that feeling, rather than drained.

“No Charlie, this is the perfect time! We can rent a van–”

“Yup, just picture it man, tearing down the roads, stopping wherever we want, camping out during the nights–”

Silena grimaced, and Charles laughed at her expression. She and Travis had been trying to convince Charles and Katie to take a west coast road trip: from northern California to Nevada, then Utah, then Arizona and then down to southern California.

“I’ll be down, if we do this without a single hotel stay.” From Charles. Who was next to Paul, who was next to Sally, who was across from Percy.

“Two hotel stays.” From Silena, next to Charles. She was in full negotiation mode.

Estelle, on Sally’s other side, ducked under the table to retrieve the errant crayon she’d been using to color her kid’s menu. Through the aged speakers, Dexys Midnight Runners chorused, ‘Too-ra loo-ra too-ra loo-rye-ayyyyyyy,’ and the space hummed with a spicy-herb/heavy-sauce fragrance and music and laughter and liveliness.

“Nah Silena, if we’re doing this, we’re doing this for real.” From Travis, a few seats to Percy’s right.

Grover, on Percy’s direct right, finally found the image on his mostly unused, worse-for-wear Nokia brick of a phone. He held up the battered screen to Percy’s face. “This is it. See the name on that wrapper? I need to find this place and try their samosas–”

“Explain to me how staying in a hotel would make this ‘not real’ Travis.”

He raised his slice of buttered bread to his mouth. “I’m just talking about getting the most experiential of experiences–”

“And I’m talking about having semi-regular shower access–” Silena leaned towards the Stoll brother sitting across from her to emphasize her point.

“And apparently the locals have nicknamed the San Francisco fog Karl.” A fun fact from Paul.

“Is that so?” Piper encouraged him with a broad grin.

She got an under the table kick from Annabeth for that one.

At the other table, Frank’s grandmother held her new smartphone for Leo to see.

“Don’t do it for me, show me how so I can do it myself.”

“Er, sorry, Grandma Zhang you just- you have to… here-”

“No, I said show me, and now you’ve done something else, Valdez!”

“I know, but I’m trying to show you how to go back without a back button,” Leo ran an agitated hand through his curls.

Travis leaned forward too, matching Silena’s energy, bitten bread slice brandished. “You’re weak. And I’ve outgrown you.”

Charles was laughing again. Hard. Like struggling to breathe belly laughing.

“Why is Beckendorf having a conniption?” Piper’s voice carried from the other end of the table.

Katie answered. “Travis is back to quoting The Incredible’s.”

Connor was losing it, too. “My man Beckendorf has caught every single one of them.”

“Name a better Disney movie–”

“I’ve already named one. Mulan. And– Travis, I’m serious, we’ll watch it tonight and it'll shut you right up-” 

“Katie, Katie, Katie…” Travis shook his head in pity. “You can’t admit defeat, huh? I saw you last night, trying to act like you weren’t hyped during the family fight scenes-”

Silena smacked her hand impatiently on the table. “Travis, can you, for just one moment, stay with me? You were supposed to be on my side.” 

“And I was. I am.” He leveled an accusatory finger at her face. “But you’re a wuss if you can’t survive one road trip without hotel amenities.”

“You’re full of shit, Trav.” Back to Katie, sitting between Grover and Travis.

There was a minor uproar.

“Hey hey hey, watch your mouth young lady there are children present–”

“Don’t forget the children–” 

Connor and Travis. They are the uproar.

“Percy says that word a lot. So, I know it’s a bad word.” Estelle looked at her brother, then Connor, as she sold the former out.

There were a couple “oooo’s” from the friends gathered and Percy shook his head at the betrayal, hand on his chest because, alas, he’s Caesar, and Brutus has two pigtails and missing teeth.

Estelle, loving the reaction of the masses and her moment in the spotlight, added, “So does my mom.”

The entire table erupted in a chorus of “OOOOOOOO’S” and Paul looked at Sally, a little baffled and overwhelmed and amused because how else could he feel in such a setting?

“Sally Jackson, patron saint of motherhood–”

“Despite the utter disappointment that is her first born–”

“You’ve been called out, ma’am, how do you respond?”

Sally covered Estelle’s ears. “Fuck off. All of you.” A thespian response from the “saint” herself. 

The large party collectively lost it, roaring laughter carried through the restaurant, other patrons looked around to spot the source of the ruckus.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Sally Jackson-Blofis–”

“She’s quick, she’s gritty, and she’s straight from New York City–”

“I think that’s us.” Grover’s eyes followed his nose, which picked up on the savory scent of freshly prepared food being brought near to them. A united cheer drew attention, once again, to the celebrating group. 

 “You guys are gonna get us kicked out before we can even take a bite.” Frank made accidental eye contact with a frowning restaurant-goer.

Waitstaff arrived at their tables with black trays laden with the steaming, heavenly smelling bounty.

The young woman who’d taken their orders earlier gestured to the guy accompanying her.

“Alright everyone, this is Gio, he’s gonna take over for me since my shift is ending.” There were some noises of disappointment and she playfully hushed the table of spirited demigods. She set a plate of spaghetti with meatballs in front of Estelle and a baked chicken parmesan dish in front of Sally, gently warning the child that her plate would be hot.

Gio waved hello before he started distributing ordered dish to orderer. “Nani told me we have some graduates here today…”

 -----

“So Italians will actually eat it like… this.” Nico demonstrated to Jason.

“Like this?”

“Yeah…”

“Really?”

“Nah, I’m just fucking with you.”

 Percy nodded at Annabeth’s dish. “How is it?”

“It’s so good. You wanna try?”

Annabeth was already twirling her fork into the pasta, and she speared a piece of shrimp on the end before raising the bite to Percy’s waiting mouth. His eyes rolled back and he made a low noise as he slowly chewed.

Her eyes danced. “I don’t think it was that good.”

He shook his head in disagreement. “Lemme have some of yours. And you can have some of my pizza.”

“I don’t want your pizza.”

“You do. This is what they mean when they talk about the best of both worlds.” Percy tried forking a portion of her food from her full plate to his and she stopped him, doing it herself before he made a mess of both of them with his clumsy portioning.

“And then I give you some of mine…”

Annabeth felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned from watching Percy lower a slice of his pizza (which was actually heavy with cheese and red sauce and phenomenal tasting) to look at her dad who was seated behind her at the table running parallel to theirs.

“How does it feel to be finally done? Both of you, graduated and diploma’d.”

Dr. Chase had been on cloud nine the whole weekend. His daughter had graduated from the best public university in the country. What else would you expect from the academia-loving dad? But the last five years had been pivotal for their relationship, too. When Annabeth looked at her father, really looked at him, she saw the sadness edging his expression. Because he knew, as she closed this chapter of her life, she would begin another, and he would lose her to the east coast. So she’s been gentle with him, and maybe with herself too this weekend.

“I took my last final on Friday, so it doesn’t feel real yet.” 

She lowered her fork and looked to Percy for his response to see him shaking his head.

“Nah. I’ve been checked out for weeks now. Barely held on till the end.”

“He’s lying, dad. Percy’s been emotional all week.”

“I’m sorry to have missed the ceremony at your school.”

Percy had just taken a bite of his pizza and his eyes went wide when he realized Frederick was waiting for a reply from him.

Annabeth responded on his behalf. “Trust me, Dad. His ceremony was just like any other graduation ceremony. Too much sun, a boring speaker, and two seconds to cheer for the person you care about.”

“Dude, Annabeth gets it.” This was from Bobby, who was sitting across from his father. “Why did they have to do two graduations for you?”

“One was for everybody, which was like, over 6,000 people. And then the other was specifically for my department.”

It was a little hard to hear them over the clinking of silverware against ceramic dishes and Rachel and Remi’s loud debate over traditional versus digital art, so Annabeth turned in her chair to face her family.

“Nobody needs to come to our high school graduation if it's gonna be this much of a drag.” Matthew said this with resolve.

“I think you’ll feel differently about things when the time comes.” From her stepmom, Helen.

“This is how graduations and commencements work.” Frederick Chase picked up his fork to resume eating his pesto pasta dish. “You spend years working hard, pushing through to the finish, shouldering through challenges and all of life’s obstacles, and then the day comes–”

“Oooooo… And then the day comes…”

“Dun dun DUUUNN! Dad, you make it sound so dramatic.” Matthew and Bobby snickered.

“It is dramatic.” He waved his fork like a baton. “When you’re graduating, you are the star of the moment, the center of the universe, just temporarily, and all of us will do our best to show up for you in the biggest way we can.” His brown eyes twinkled and Annabeth felt herself blushing at the warmth focused on her. “We all will bear through ceremony after ceremony if that means we get to celebrate your accomplishment.”

Annabeth thought about the hug her dad had wrapped her in yesterday morning, long and tight, and the way that squeeze said a million things other than ‘congratulations.’ And Sally in the car earlier today… 

“Trust me guys, you don’t wanna be the person with no family at your graduation.” Piper turned from her conversation with Connor to give her two-cents.

“You were that person?”

“Yup. Eighth grade promotion. Me and a disgruntled nanny. As if junior high wasn’t bad enough.”

“Gonna have to agree with McLean here,” Rachel chimed in.

“Not to be the girl who complains about having a big family–”

“I’m betting you’re about to be that girl who complains about having a big family–”

“–but there’s nothing like having your aunt screaming on the phone in the middle of your high school graduation, simultaneously cursing out and giving parking directions to your tardy cousin.” Remi offered with a shrug.

Rachel and Remi argued the pros and cons of large heavily involved families, versus small, absentee ones. Frank coaxed his grandmother into trying the “too expensive” Italian cuisine. Travis and Katie were trying to out-embarrass each other with old camp stories. There were a million conversations happening at once.

“Jason, can I get the parmesan?”

“I feel like you have room for one more meatball in your mouth, kiddo-”

“Connor, I’m starting to regret allowing you next to my daughter.”

Sally held a napkin before Estelle’s mouth and the girl reluctantly ejected three soggy meatballs.

“So we pretty much knew Hazel was lactose intolerant at that point-”

“Severely lactose intolerant-”

And a million memories, so many silly, significant snapshots; Annabeth found herself wishing she hadn’t left Percy’s camera under the driver's seat of the rental.

“I’m never doing anything or going anywhere with you that has anything to do with Italy.”

“So we’re doing it?! This road trip is happening?”

“Does anyone need some more water here?”

“Lemme have some of your Bolognese-”

Annabeth startled. She’d been playing with the simple pendant that hung just below her collarbones when she felt Percy’s hand touch the crease of her elbow.

He had red sauce on his chin. And food crumbs on his upper lip. And all he did was lower their joined hands beneath the table and ask.

“What's going on in there?”

She rubbed her thumb into the first knuckle of his middle finger, gray eyes still intently consuming the surrounding scene; then her eyes met his and she saw understanding.

She tried explaining anyway, “I don’t want to forget… I want to- to be in this moment, you know? Or… I just- I wish I could-”

She pressed her lips shut and smiled ruefully, a little embarrassed by her abysmal attempt at the English language. 

“Yeah. Same.” He squeezed her hand. “Yeah.”

 ------

They were outside. In front of the antique looking benches that flanked the restaurant’s double door entryway. Annabeth was going to stay in Berkeley with her family for the rest of the afternoon and Percy would head back to New Rome with his family. For now, they stood together, waiting for Matthew and Bobby who were in the restroom, preventing the Chase’s departure.

Annabeth planted her hands on her lower back and stretched her spine. “You’re very… confident today.”

“Am I?”

“Mmhm.” She leaned closer to him. “It’s like you’re… aware that people are watching. All day, all of these eyes have been on you and you’ve been very okay with it.” Even now, she noticed, in his slacks and dress shoes and his light blue short sleeve button up, he was handsome, cleaned up and groomed and plain-as-day attractive and definitely drawing attention standing as they were, in view of all the passer-byers. Yet he was comfortable. Confident.

He shrugged, because he didn’t know how else to react to her keen observation. She read him so intimately.

She was still reading him, and she could see traces of that self consciousness that had been missing all day creep into his body language.

“Did I kill your mojo?”

If he’d been confident all day, then she’d been radiant all weekend. They’d spent the week, Monday through Friday, stressed, all over the place, sleeping odd hours and meeting up to study or cry (the tears were from Annabeth, Percy was a zombie at that point) just trying to get through finals week so they could actually graduate. And then the weekend had come and family had arrived and there were graduation ceremonies and baccalaureates and dinners with parents and dress shoes and dresses that made Percy want to carry Annabeth off to a beach and fucking frolic in the fucking sand. But he couldn’t, there wasn’t any time to frolic or marvel or drink to the last five years of their lives. So they bounced from ceremony to ceremony. And she’d been absolutely radiant throughout, walking across the stage during her graduation Saturday morning, receiving special honors from her department. Running toward him this Sunday morning, wrapping herself around him and confirming that he had in fact done this, he was in fact finished with school. He’s so grateful for her. In awe of her. He couldn’t imagine doing this without her. It was incredible to do this with her. She pierced his heart like a sweet note of his favorite song and he felt her in his bones. There was so much going on, and it was good, all of it was so good, and here she was, here he was, and he missed her. Annabeth Chase, mojo murderer.

“Yes.” He cupped her face and kissed her quickly, she didn't even have time to react. “No. Now I’m overthinking, like, everything though. Bobby is coming out.” He jerked his chin at something behind her. “I think your fam is ready to leave.”

She glanced back at them with a frown. “That was supposed to be a compliment, Jackson.”

“Your dad is looking at me like he wants to say something.” Percy insistently tugged her arm and turned her around. “Please go with them before he does.”

She pulled her arm free and walked backwards, pointing at him for emphasis as the space between them grows.

“Keep the confidence, okay? I’ll see you at dinner?”

He pointed back at her. "I'll see you at dinner."

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 17: Together Forever (originally posted on July 5, 2021)

AN: Welcome back my loyal readers! Sorry to keep you all waiting these past few months, but I know the wait will really be worth it. The final two parts of Alternate Future might be some of my greatest writings yet, and I'm more than excited to share it all with you starting today. Now without further ado….

Synopsis: Steven tries to become Connie's official boyfriend.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Charlyne Yi as Ruby

Erica Luttrell as Sapphire

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Featuring Ray Chase as George Ikari

--

Pearl stood in line at the Buddwick Public Library alongside many other parents and parental figures like her, waiting as a bearded, glasses-wearing Japanese-American man signed books at a table.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to not be from around here, right?" a single dad standing behind Pearl asked her.

"Well, technically yes," Pearl informed the father. "I come from a planet of beings similar to myself who are all based around gemstones, which explains my appearance. Also, just last week I helped save your world from a sociopathic revolutionary, so you're welcome."

"You foreigners say the craziest things!" the father giggled in disbelief of Pearl, who just groaned flatly as the line began to pick up.

Eventually, Pearl was at the front of the line and now face to face with childcare author George Ikari, who had his fingers clasped together as he gazed at Pearl.

"Let me guess, you are here because of your own son, daughter, or whatever pronouns your child prefers to be dubbed?" George asked Pearl while he took out another copy of his book, titled "When Your Child Wants Time Apart", to sign for the Gem.

"Well, he's not really my son, but Steven is the closest thing my team, the Crystal Gems, have to one after his mother died giving birth to him." Pearl explained as George got to signing. "And that's not even getting into the fact that his mother was a former despotic alien conqueror who grew tired of her life and the constant neglect from her fellow despots, so she faked her death because of how much she valued your planet as part of a big war, then thousands of years later she met a rock star and fell in love with him before they consummated their relationship and she gave up her physical form to give birth to Steven."

George just stared in shock at Pearl's tale before she tried to continue. "And just last week, there was this other Gem with a vendetta against Steven's mother who tried to destroy the planet and kill us a-"

"Stop." George commanded Pearl with a raise of his hand before handing over the signed book. "Just take the book and leave. Your tales are holding up the line."

"What did I tell ya, foreigners say the craziest things!" the single father from before laughed.

"I'm deeply sorry Mr. Ikari, it's just that Steven has been going through some rough times lately." Pearl apologized to the author.

"I completely understand miss." George said while pulling out his phone to show Pearl a picture of his own son, a young man with scruffy brown hair, a white dress shirt, and a nervous expression on his face. "My son Shane has had his fair share of troubles ever since his mother died, troubles that he insisted on running away from rather than facing them maturely."

"Just like Steven." Pearl compared the two boys sympathetically. "I am deeply sorry for your loss sir."

"Thank you for your kindness." George smiled, putting away his phone. "The best thing I feel could work for a situation like this is to let things play out and discuss his problems when the time is right."

"Thank you very much George." Pearl thanked the author as she finally began to leave the library with her new book in hand. "Though I doubt that'll be of any use to Steven."

--

Not too far away from the library, Steven was sitting in his room talking to Connie on the phone while she was on her study break.

"Wow Connie, looks like you got all this college stuff figured out." Steven laughed with his dear human friend over his phone.

"I've got a whole plan figured out for early admission into the University of Jayhawk, but I'm still not sure about my major," Connie explained to Steven. "Maybe I should major in political science and minor in sociology, or perhaps the other way around."

"Did all our galactic adventures together get you interested in politics?" Steven asked.

"Maybe." Connie chuckled. "But I'm thinking more down to earth, as far as long-term careers go." As the two laughed at Connie's pun, the timer on her phone began to go off. "Wow, fifteen minutes went by pretty fast."

"Aw man, these study breaks are too short." Steven complained before he realized something. "Hey wait, you left a brochure at my place last time." He stated, pulling out a brochure for Connie's college of choice to show her. "You want it back?"

"It's alright Steven, I still have two more, and the Internet too." Connie answered smiling.

"Oh, right." Steven realized. "Well, call me when you still wanna hang out, okay?"

"You know I will, silly!" Connie beamed. "Okay, for real now, bye!"

After Connie ended the call, Steven turned over on his back and gazed at the brochure in his hands. "The University of Jayhawk, huh?" he muttered to himself. "And how far is that from here?" Steven then opened up the brochure to learn how far the distance between Beach City and the university's location in Kansas was. "Oh, that far."

Once again, Steven began to glow pink as he sadly sank into his bed, fretting over how little often he'd be able to see Connie regularly. Gazing at his rose-colored hand, he then started pondering on whether he should do something about this new condition, as he had been thinking about since the titanic battle with Black Rutile.

--

Soon, Steven had decided to get up off his bed and walk downstairs, to which he found Garnet standing in the living room dressed in a hat and kerchief. "Oh Garnet, you're still here?"

"Steven." Garnet greeted Steven tersely.

"I could really use your advice right now." Steven declared racing over to the fusion. "It's about-"

"Not right now Steven, I gotta split." Garnet cut Steven off before un-fusing into Ruby and Sapphire.

"I'm terribly sorry Steven, but I'm running late for my lecture on alternate timelines." Sapphire apologized while taking off the scoutmaster's hat and giving it to Ruby, along with a kiss on the cheek, before racing off to her lecture. "See you soon!"

"Sapphire might be going, but you still got good ol' Ruby to talk to." Ruby said to Steven as she went to fetch a backpack. "Let's walk and talk scout, I got things to do."

"Oh, okay." Steven agreed as he followed Ruby to the Warp Pad, and the two set off.

--

Later that day, Steven had joined Ruby's class, consisting of Onion, Zebra Jasper, and Little Larimar, as they strolled through the woods on a gorgeous afternoon. When the class got to a good stopping point near a stump, Ruby hopped up on the stump to speak. "Okay everyone, you remember what we learned last week, right?" she asked her students. "Well, today is the day! Brace yourselves, 'cause today we're sketching nature and the animals around us!"

Onion and his Gem classmates excitedly took out their notepads to draw on as Ruby continued. "Draw to your heart's content scouts!" Ruby declared. "Feel the beauty of everything around you, and you'll have the honor of receiving this Nature Sketching Badge!" She then presented a patch depicting a paint palette and brush in front of depictions of a wolf and a bird. "Got that? Now get to drawing!"

As soon as the three pupils left to go draw the beauty of nature around them, Ruby took it as her cue to jump down from the stump to talk with Steven. "So, what did you need Garnet for?"

"It's about Connie." Steven admitted to the small red Gem. "Every time I talk with her, I feel like she knows exactly what to do with her life, mostly thanks to her parents, and I don't. When we're together as Stevonnie, I feel so ready for anything, but on my own, I feel so lost. Just, what do I want with life?"

"That's tough Steven." Ruby declared sympathetically.

"Exactly!" Steven replied. "Connie is gonna go super far away for college, and I'm gonna be stuck here in Beach City where barely anything can go right for me nowadays and I don't know what to do about them! I want to be with Connie forever, like how you and Sapphire are basically together forever as Garnet!" That was when he came to a conclusion. "Wait, if I want to be together with Connie, then she's my future!"

Steven's revelation made Ruby super excited, and she began scuttling in place with stars in her eyes, her rapid footsteps creating a small fire beneath her feet. "STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN!" she cheered, but stopped short once she noticed the fire she created. "Oh my gosh, one sec!" Ruby quickly ran off and came back with a towel that she used to put it out. "Anyways, STEVEN, YOU GOTTA PROPOSE!"

"Wait, propose?!" Steven exclaimed in shock. "But, we're only teenagers, we can't get married yet! But then again…"

"Don't say you haven't thought of it!" Ruby added cheerfully. "Besides, aren't there couples in this country that get married at 18 or something?"

"Y-yeah, I thought of it." Steven began blushing, which he tried to hide within his jacket. "I mean, we just had this discussion."

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Ruby yelled happily while jumping up and grabbing onto his head. "DO IT, DO IT, DO IT! DO IT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"

"Are you still really sure?" Steven asked the overly eager Gem. "As I said, Connie and I are still only teenagers."

"C'mon, we told you about how it worked for Sapphire and I." Ruby responded. "And if you're successful, you'll have the honor of receiving this!" She presented Steven with a badge depicting one figure popping the question to another. "The Proposal Badge! And if you're not so sure, well, seeing the future would be really helpful here."

Steven gasped, knowing just who Ruby was implying.

--

Far away from Ruby, Sapphire sat down with her class, made up of the Watermelon Tourmaline fusion, two of the Nephrites, Orange Spodumene, Cherry Quartz, and Angel Aura Quartz, while drawing lines in the sand with a stick.

"Okay class, let's begin our lesson." Sapphire announced to her students when she spotted Steven racing towards her with a big smile on his face. "Ah, Steven. I've been expecting you."

"Hi, Sapphire." Steven greeted Sapphire. "I'm sorry to interrupt your class, but I got big news! I've been thinking about my future with Connie lately, and a chat with Ruby convinced me that I should propose!"

"Wait, don't you have to wait until you're a grown-up to do that?" Cherry Quartz inquired with a raise of her hand.

"Let me guess, you're here because of my future vision?" Sapphire asked. "Let's run the numbers then." She then let Steven stand next to her before beginning to speak to her class. "Okay class, let's review what we've learned today." She began while drawing complex math equations in the sand. "Using the concepts we discussed so far, let us calculate the probability of Steven succeeding in asking Connie to marry him. Let's begin with the probability that she'll want to spend her life with someone, and then we'll multiply that by the differential factor in sociocultural marriage acceptance. Next, we multiply that by a possibly happy cohabitation, the factor of fear of engagement, the intensity of the love you share, and finally the robustness of your goals in life." As Sapphire finished her equation, she finally turned back to Steven. "Are you following so far, Steven?"

"Uh, maybe?" Steven answered as he stared at the equation Sapphire had jotted down for him in the sand, but it wasn't long before the ocean tides began to wash them away. "Oh no, your work!"

"And there we have it." Sapphire declared with a chuckle. "Don't you get it, Steven? My marriage to Ruby, our fusion as Garnet, it eluded my future vision for so long, defied the odds, and perhaps even changed the course of time itself!" she declared encouragingly. "We could just write equations in the sand all day, but then a wave of chance can come crashing in and wash everything away! Love is truly unquantifiable! Even with my gift of clairvoyance, I know far better than anyone that love can make the impossible possible! And that is why I say do it! Do it, Steven, just do it!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Steven began getting pumped up before turning to Sapphire's class. "Get one last good look at me, everyone, because after today you're gonna be calling me Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe-Maheswaran!"

The class began cheering vibrantly, bringing a big smile to Steven's face as he finally realized what his future now held.

--

As the afternoon slowly began to give way to evening, Ruby and Sapphire reunited by rushing towards each other on the sand, excited about the big proposal.

"Steven told me first, and I led him to you!" Ruby cheered, spinning her little blue wife around by the waist.

"I told him to go for it!" Sapphire laughed. "Oh, it's going to be so wonderful!"

As the two fused back into Garnet, she stood still for a few moments, contemplating her components' decisions before coming to one of her own. "I take full responsibility for their actions." Just then, Garnet heard footsteps and found Pearl walking behind her, her pointy nose stuck in a book. "Pearl, I'm guessing you want to see me about the book you're reading."

"I was just thinking about calling up you and Amethyst," Pearl announced as her gaze turned from the pages to her leader. "Where's Steven?"

"Oh, nothing much," Garnet answered. "Just going to make a rash decision that'll emotionally damage him in the long run."

"Oh, that's ni-" Pearl began before she did a double-take. "WAIT, WHAT?!"

--

As for Steven, he was too busy getting ready for an evening with Connie without a care in the world, picking up a cake from Spacetries that said 'Together forever!' on it, buying some flowers from Crazy Lace Agate, lighting up the glow bracelet that brought him & Connie together to begin with and dressing up in some nice clothes. If all goes well, he would soon become Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe-Maheswaran.

Meanwhile, at Connie's house, Connie kept on studying for the University of Jayhawk when she heard a roar coming from outside her window. Walking over to the window, she discovered Steven parked outside her home with Lion by his side.

"Evening Connie, how are you doing?" Steven asked his ladylove.

"Steven?" Connie replied. "What are you doing here, and why are you all dressed up like that?"

"You got a fifteen-minute study break in two minutes, right?" Steven inquired, gazing at his watch to check if his timing is correct.

"Whoa, spot-on!" Connie exclaimed, gazing at her phone to learn that he was indeed right. "So, what did you come here for?"

"You want to go for a walk with me?" Steven offered. "I'm sure you could use some fresh air."

"That's very sweet Steven." Connie smiled. "I'd really love to, but I-"

"Don't worry, we can take Lion, and then I'll bring you home in fifteen!" Steven declared with a thumbs up.

"Okay, let's do this!" Connie accepted the offer and left her room to meet Steven outside, taking a moment to tell her parents along the way. "Bye Mom and Dad, I'm spending my study break with Steven!"

Once Connie was out the door, she and Steven mounted on Lion's back and he ran away from the Maheswaran residence.

--

"Remember when we first met here?" Steven asked Connie as they dismounted from Lion and began walking down the beach.

"You mean when you tried riding a bike in the sand and then started running away screaming?" Connie replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I was trying to get your attention." Steven added.

"Last I remember, I was more focused on my book than your silly antics." Connie stated.

"Well, that all happened right here." Steven declared, gesturing to a picnic at the very spot where he and Connie first met all those years ago. "You like what I have here?"

"Steven!" Connie exclaimed in awe at the picnic set before them. "I don't know what to say! I also can't believe you still remember this exact spot!"

"I just remember it like it was yesterday!" Steven exclaimed just as eagerly before running over to a nearby rock to sit on.

"This is too cute." Connie squealed while blushing.

"And without further ado," Steven announced as he picked up a guitar to play while Connie sat down. "There's something very important that I'd like to tell you today." With that, he started strumming the guitar and began to sing. "I'd rather be tall, I'd rather be smart, I'd rather be sure you know I care." He sang for Connie. "Wherever you go, wherever you start, I'd rather be sure you know I'm there. I'd rather I always be a part of whatever you do. I'd rather be me, with you."

Although Connie was a little turned off by the deeper meaning of Steven's song, she chose to just keep those feelings hidden to not hurt Steven's while he continued singing. "Wherever we go, I already trust, I'd know what to do if it were us. I'd know what to say, I'd know how to be, I'd know your entire syllabus." Steven continued as the song reached its climax. "I can't think of any other thing in the world that I would rather do. If I could be, I'd rather be me with you."

"Oh Steven, that's so beautiful!" Connie applauded the love song. "If a little unsettling, but I'd rather not say it out loud because-" Steven then got down on one knee and presented him her old glow bracelet. "Huh?"

"Connie, will you marry me?" Steven popped the question at last.

"Come again?" Connie asked, completely taken off guard by such a proposal.

"Let's get married and live together as Stevonnie, just like Garnet!" Steven reiterated for his possible wife.

"Are you serious?" Connie chuckled at the marriage proposal. "I think we should talk about this first."

"You might think I'm being sentimental, but this makes sense!" Steven exclaimed. "I don't know what you'll be studying, but I'm sure Stevonnie will! We can go to Jayhawk together!"

"I really appreciate this little date, but come on! You're still young!" Connie said as she stood up. "And acting a little clingy, I might add." She added under her breath.

"What was that?" Steven asked Connie.

"Nothing!" Connie lied. "Like I said, we're still young. And even if some couples get married at like, eighteen, I don't think we're fit to be one of those."

"So, you don't want to be Stevonnie with me?" Steven asked despondently, but Connie was there to comfort him.

"Of course I'd want to be Stevonnie, but I'd like to be my own person too," Connie answered reassuringly. "You get that, right?"

"Yeah, but," Steven began while putting the bracelet away as Connie hugged him. "Is it a no?"

"I'd say it's not right now." Connie answered.

"But if we're going to spend our lives together, why didn't you say it now?" Steven kept on inquiring fretfully.

"We got plenty of time." Connie declared, moving on from hugging Steven to holding his hands. "Don't you worry."

"I'm not worried, honest." Steven tried correcting his best friend. "I'm just happy when I'm with you."

"I'm happy around you too." Connie replied. "It's just that-" Before Connie could finish, the alarm on her phone went off. "Oh snap, my alarm!" she yelped in realization while pulling her phone out. "Forget studying right now, I don't think it matters."

"But it does matter to you!" Steven yelled.

"And you're just as important!" Connie responded, beginning to notice Steven getting more stressed out.

"I'm fine, we can talk about it later." Steven began rapidly panting. "Look, Lion's still right there, you can go now."

"Are you sure Steven?" Connie wondered sympathetically. "You're looking a little on edge. Maybe I can hook you up with a good therapist. She's a good friend of my mom named Dr. Rebe-"

"I'm sure I'm fine." Steven cut Connie off. "Now go."

"Okay." Connie obliged before giving Steven a goodbye hug. "I'll call you again tomorrow at noon." She said before walking towards Lion to have him take her home.

"Have fun studying!" Steven continued putting up a happy front as he bid Connie farewell. But as soon as she was out of sight, that front completely fell. "Nobody I love ever wants to stay."

With that, Steven fell back-first to the sand and turned pink, the resulting impact ruining the nice picnic around him as he wallowed in a crater of his sadness, and stayed there for the rest of the day.

--

Many hours later, Steven kept on lying in the crater long into the night with tears in his eyes, and when he finally decided to get up, Garnet was there waiting for him with the picnic basket containing the cake still intact.

"I assume it didn't go well." Garnet theorized as she helped Steven up from the crater and began walking him home.

"I don't get it," Steven muttered cynically. "Ruby and Sapphire said I should go for it, and I did, but everything went wrong."

"I apologize on their behalf," Garnet stated. "You just can't trust love advice from hopeless romantics like those two."

"Then why didn't you stop me?" Steven asked the fusion.

"I couldn't see a future where you didn't try proposing to Connie," Garnet answered. "However, there were quite a few where after she said no, you forced her to fuse with you and subsequently went insane."

"Of course." Steven moaned. "Even in alternate timelines, nothing can ever go right for me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Garnet comforted her half-human ward with a hug to the side. "Your soulmate should be your complement, not a missing piece. Ruby and Sapphire may deeply love each other, but they still have their own thoughts, feelings, and lives." The pair soon reached the beach house and sat down on the steps together. "Whatever hole you have in your life Steven, I want you to know that Connie or Stevonnie might not fill it."

"It's just that you guys make it so easy!" Steven revealed as he took the basket from Garnet. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but it's kinda your fault for being so dang perfect!"

"I know you're upset Steven, and I take responsibility for your plight," Garnet apologized to Steven. "but blaming others as much as you blame yourself won't help."

"Then maybe shoving this adorable cake in my face will!" Steven declared as he opened the picnic basket to reveal that the cake was in pieces.

"It probably won't." Garnet deadpanned, but Steven didn't listen and started eating the broken cake anyways.

"Well, I'm still gonna do it!" Steven exclaimed, his mouth now full of cake.

"I know," Garnet added as she gazed up at the sky. However, what she didn't catch was a fly buzzing around her and Steven, and its green eyes started blinking.

--

"Ah, romance. So utterly futile." Black Rutile grimaced as she watched the live footage of Steven drowning his sorrows in cake through a hard light welding mask. "Still, all that trauma could be useful in the future."

As Black Rutile was spectating on Steven's pain, she was hard at work on her plans for revenge, using a blowtorch to put together the final touches on a special wrist-mounted device. Once she was done, the villainous Rutile aimed the device at a rock carved into the exact shape of White Diamond's gem and fired. The resulting blast destroyed the rock and left a massive cloud of ash where it once was, but she wasn't satisfied with the smattering of pebbles that once made up the rock.

"Hm, need to work on the disintegration aspect a bit more." Black Rutile pondered while retracting the welding mask into her visor and began going back to the drawing board.

--

Guess who's back? Back again? Black Rutile's back, she's no friend! And on that rather sad turned ominous note, we conclude the first chapter of Part 3. Now that we have Steven's romance issues out of the way, expect to see the following in the coming chapters, in no particular order.

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl re-enact Ace Attorney while Steven becomes even more scarred for life.

Viva Los Diego! Lapis & Amethyst get involved with a James Bond parody, Garnet & Bismuth solve mysteries together with a police officer who's basically the Plumber from Ratchet and Clank, Pearl matches wits with a snooty film director who's like Michael Bay, David Cage, Neil Druckmann & Zack Snyder in one, and Peridot tries promoting her CPH reboot.

Steven hangs out with Spinel and plays basketball with Wolverine.

Peridot finally gets her own song.

Jasper finally gets her own song.

A certain Stevonnie-chasing jerk dares Steven to reform him.

And finally, Black Rutile plays a role in a certain event in Fragments, the final chapter of this part.

Have I gotten your interest yet? Good, cause strap in everyone, it's gonna be nuts.

[segalia]

Living in Lockdown with You

What’s that saying about writing indulgent fluff if you don’t have the inspiration to write? Yeah...this domestic fluff three-parter has been nagging at me since I was in extreme lockdown a month ago and wondered how Percy and Annabeth would handle a similar situation. Featuring clingy and sleepy Percabeth and working from home. Enjoy. 

*** Annabeth stared at the screen blearily, trying desperately to focus on the videoconference in front of her. As a demigod, focusing was hard for her at the best of times, and this switch to everything online certainly wasn’t helping. She was all too aware of her face in the lower corner of her screen, wishing her boss hadn’t insisted they leave their cameras on for this presentation. Blinking and squaring her shoulders, she was just about to try again to tune into the discussion of a new architectural technique when a mug floated out of the corner of her vision. 

She looked up to see Percy offering her the steaming mug with a sympathetic smile. She took it gratefully, cupping it in between her hands and letting the warmth revitalize her. 

Thank you, she mouthed, then remembered her mic was off. “Thank you,” she repeated out loud, needing something real to ground her to this moment. 

“Of course,” he nodded, and turned to give her space to focus. 

“Wait,” she put the mug on the table and caught his hand, reveling in the familiar feel of his hand in hers. “Can you stay just a few minutes?” 

He smiled again, that troublemaker but supportive smile that had eased its way into her heart so long ago. 

“Of course,” he repeated, making himself comfortable on a nearby chair. 

She expected him to start playing on his phone as she went back to focusing on the presenter, so he caught her off guard a few minutes later when he posed an insightful question about what the presenter was saying. As she answered, pulling together facts from earlier in the presentation and one of her college classes, she realized that this weird combination of stimulation, from the hot liquid warming her up inside and his hand in hers, to the presenter’s voice and Percy’s questions, was helping her focus better than she had all day. She squeezed his hand briefly in his thanks, and he gave her a warm look before asking another question. 

Gods, he was so smart. 

With Percy peppering occasional questions throughout, she was able to not only breeze through the rest of the lecture, but also pose several intelligent questions when it came to the follow-up meeting. Finally, the meeting concluded, everyone said goodbye, and she signed off. 

She sagged back in her chair in relief. “Oh my gods, thank you. You were a lifesaver.” She hadn’t meant to steal him for the whole meeting, and she was sure he had other things he was probably supposed to be working on, but she was so grateful and he was so willing that she decided to feel appreciative rather than guilty. 

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It was actually pretty interesting. I’ve listened to you rant about architecture enough over the years that at least most of the words made sense.” 

Too tired to properly express her emotions of gratitude and how smart and amazing he was even if he didn’t always see himself that way, she raised his hand to her mouth and kissed it softly. “You’re amazing, thank you.” 

His smile was soft and a little bashful, but all he said was, “what are you thinking for supper? I’m not sure we have enough leftovers for a full meal.”

Her brain switched gears to food, and they started brainstorming. With stretching and groaning, they rose and headed to the kitchen, ready to tackle this new challenge as a team. 

***

A couple days later, she found herself going to bed at a decent hour for once (quarantine and distance work had been messing with her already messed up sleep schedule). When she crawled under the covers, however, Percy was still seated in bed, staring intently at his laptop (their apartment was really tiny--what can you do against New York apartment prices?-- and didn’t have much in the way of living space). 

“Are you--” she yawned, “almost done?”

“Huh? Oh, I mean, I think so? I can move elsewhere if you want.” 

She shook her head sleepily, aligning her body so she could curl around him. “It’s okay. Just dim your monitor please.” 

He nodded absent-mindedly, focus already returning to his work as he complied. 

She must have drifted off because she woke disoriented to find Percy still tapping away on his laptop. “Hey.” She breathed, adjusting her position to lean against him, stretching out a crick in her arm, “what time is it?” 

“Hm? Oh, I guess it’s 2:30.” He blinked and muttered, “when did that happen?”

“Percy,” she was having trouble keeping her eyes open, “you should head to bed.” 

“I know, I know, I’m just really close to finishing.” 

“You said that several hours ago.” If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall asleep and drool on his shirt.

He kept typing, and she wasn’t sure if he’d heard her. 

“Perce? Are you actually close to a stopping point? Cause if you save it for tomorrow and get some sleep now, you’ll probably do better work.” 

The computer noises stopped, and she felt him chuckle under her cheek. “Now where have I heard those words before?” 

She grinned sleepily, “Not sure. I think some wise guy said it a couple times.” 

“Wise guy, huh?” 

She could picture the smile on his face, but merely hummed in agreement and snuggled further into his side. 

“Okay, okay.” There was a pause before he said, “for real this time, I found a good stopping point, just give me a few minutes.” 

“Okay,” she was drifting off again. 

True to his word, she felt him shift several minutes later, and suddenly the dim light vanished. A tension she hadn’t even realized she was holding released. She only grumbled slightly as he gently slipped out from under her grasp, and sooner than she expected, he was back under the covers, drawing her into his chest. 

“Love you,” she murmured. “Sleep tight.” 

She felt a laugh rumble through his chest as he bent to kiss her forehead. “You too, Annabeth. Love you.” 

***

Her laptop was lifted from her lap mid-sentence and a weight settled in its place. “What?” She looked down to find Percy sprawled across the bed between her legs, head pillowed in his arms on her lap.

“Sleepy,” he muttered, shifting to get comfortable. 

“I wonder why,” she responded affectionately, holding her laptop in one hand and carding her fingers through his hair with the other. 

“Had to-” he yawned, “finish the project.” 

“And you did, so I’d say you’ve earned your rest.” His recent tiredness put her in mind of the months after he’d taken the Achilles’ Curse when he’d fall asleep anywhere and everywhere, often in this very same position. 

Of course, then, she didn’t usually have a computer and a report to finish. 

“Hey,” she gently tapped the computer on his head. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I dunno,” he mumbled. “That works.” 

“This works?” She repeated, skeptically resting her laptop on his head. 

“Sure.” 

Deciding to play along, she tried to continue typing. “Hm, I’ve determined that your head is not a sufficiently flat surface.” 

She felt him shrug against her legs. “Not for lack of trying.” 

“I don’t think I’m advocating for more monsters to bash you in the head.” She moved her laptop to his back instead. “I’m fond of your skull as it is.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah,” she smiled, running her hand through his hair again, tracing the shape of his head. “Now stop distracting me.” 

“Sure thing, babe.” 

Smiling and rolling her eyes, she turned back to her report in the dyslexia-supportive program one of her siblings had designed. Percy’s back was much more stable than his head, and she couldn’t say she didn’t appreciate the company. 

She finished a rough draft and saved it, deciding to look it over for errors and edits later. As she closed the report, her background came into view. It was her and Percy during their visit to Washington DC the year before. They’d planned a large group trip with Grover and the rest of the seven to support Piper’s recent appointment. A lot of them had road tripped down together, and spent hours at the Smithsonian Museums. It had been the last time all of them had been together, and now, with lockdown, the memories were even more precious. Her heart clenched, and she was immensely grateful for Percy, even if he was becoming hot and heavy. 

“We should have a group call with the others soon.” 

He stirred; she honestly hadn’t been sure he was still conscious. “We have one the day after tomorrow. Hazel put it in the group chat, and you already agreed.”

“Oh yeah.” With the stress of lockdown and working from home, details were a little hazy sometimes. “That’s good then. Are we calling your mom any time soon?”

“Maybe tonight? Paul’s busy with teaching online, and Mom’s been busy with her book and trying to homeschool Estelle. She said she’d let me know.” 

“Cool,” she idly traced patterns on his back. “Gotta say I’m so grateful for modern technology right now.” 

He snorted, “And that we can use it now.” 

“Gods, yeah.” A combined effort on the part of some Hephaestus kids, Athena kids, and a remarkably tech savvy Ares kid had led to a spell/app combo that meant monsters could no longer trace demigods through their technology. Annabeth had to admit that a smartphone had been a lifesaver a number of times, both in college and in monster fighting. 

“So, what do you want to do for this rest of the day? Especially now that you got that project out of the way?” 

“Sleep.” 

She tugged at his hair, “you can sleep later, c’mon.” 

“You can sleep with me,” he suggested, and she caught his mischievous look. 

“I’m not tired,” she stuck out her tongue. “Do you wanna watch something? We’re nearly caught up on, uh, that one show.” 

He named it. “That one?” 

Snapping her fingers, she nodded decisively as if she’d had the name all the time. He just gave her that teasing smile. “Yeah, that one. Wanna watch that?” 

With an overly dramatic sigh, he crawled off her. “Sure.” He kissed her cheek as he settled into her side. “Popcorn?” 

“Why not?” She smiled at him, “but you have to salt it.” 

“I think I can agree with that,” he grinned at her and pulled her laptop to him so he could pull up the show. 

She plodded to the kitchen (well, kitchenette), and returned a few minutes later with only slightly burnt popcorn and a salt shaker for Percy to wield. As she curled up beside him, and the familiar title song played, Annabeth felt the deep-seated contentment that no matter what crazy things were happening in the world right now, no matter how helpless and scared she felt, at least she had her something permanent with Percy. 

[hencethebravery]

>> first and last lines writing game <<

I’ve been writing all wknd so I’m going to take advantage of that and play these games that @eirabach has been doing. I love you, boo.

Tagging: @jump-on-winds-back @mymostimaginaryfriend @justanotherwannabeclassic @distant-rose @jadeddiva @soft-october-night

>> 01. last line(s) you’ve written

01. wip, “dearly departed,” spn, deancas: Despite all this, and perhaps in keeping with his own preference for following through on his habits, he has never once stayed for Open Mic Night. It’s not as if he has anything against it in theory, he just never felt especially compelled to do so. And he was never a big fan of crowds generally.

“You should think about staying tonight,” Meg advises, sliding his third cup back over the counter. “I’ve heard this guy before, he’s good.”

02. wip, “the apportioners,” og: Case in point: Never betray a demi-god. Particularly one so unbelievably busted. Who would go so far as to force her to watch the other demi-god she is almost certainly (and regrettably) falling in love with, commit one more atrocity. To force her to watch her son die. Again. To force her to watch him choose between her and his family. Far, far more trouble than they’re worth. And sure—sure. She is angry. She may well always be angry. And yet. There’s the kitchen. The small, warm kitchen with the cream-colored tiled floors, inlaid with red grout. Where Edie makes too much bread and Estelle stores her spelled sourdough starters. Where Greg made her a cup of chamomile tea and described the unique softness of Clemente’s thread—how it curled and straightened and existed. And so she refuses. She refuses to do what some other irreparably broken version of her friend has expected her to do.

So. She lets him go. Again.

>> 02. first lines of my last 20 10 (20 is just... so fucking many; if you wanna do 20 be my guest but i have shit to do today) fics

01. wip, “dearly departed,” spn, deancas: Creative writing is so not his forte and really, what’s there to say about The Lodge that hasn’t already been said? A revolving door of adjectives that infect the collegiate discourse every few years—when some starry-eyed freshman sees the tall, thin door frame in all its carved, unknowable glory and gets it in their sweet, sweet head that surely no one has ever thought to opine on the virtues of a local, now-legendary establishment that seems to have haunted Main Street since long before time began. So, what is there to say that hasn’t already been said?

02. complete, “untitled,” spn, deancas: The two of ‘em establish the somewhat rude habit of bailing during get-togethers without telling anyone. They stop answering their phones at any point before noon shortly after that. He’d call it a side effect of New Couple Syndrome (NCS), but it’s something they continue doing long after any reasonable person would call something “new” (and honestly, he’s not even sure you could say it was “new” when it was new, technically).

03. complete, “untitled,” spn, deancas: There’s a fucking manticore in Memphis. Seriously. Human face, body of a lion, the whole freakin’ nine.

“Certainly one of the more… imaginative of God’s creatures,” Castiel muses, “albeit, unsustainable.” 

04. complete, “herbalist’s guide to skyrim,” star wars, reylo: Rey Kenobi really needed to get in the habit of bringing dates to restaurants she had no emotional attachment to. She had already lost an unacceptable number of extremely dear favorites that had been there for her when she’d had less than nothing and now? Blighted by the memory of mediocre men who she knew she had given far too much power. She knew she had an association problem, okay? She and her mildly overpriced therapist were working on it. Had been working on it. For a while. She really missed the dumplings from Hunger Pang.

05. complete, “a grief observed,” star wars, reylo: The presumptive triumph inherent to the return of the self? Painfully short-lived. It is brief and blinding and there is a feeling akin to invincibility singing in his veins. A humming that echoes in the gruff tenor of what could only be his father’s voice. How it must have felt when the heroes made yet another daring escape—against all the odds. The euphoria that occurs when you have begun to think that maybe, just maybe, you’ve finally won. It makes the loss so much worse than he could have ever imagined. Not when you’ve gotten so close to having everything you never even knew you wanted. And that’s half the battle, isn’t it? Knowing what you want. Like it’s easy.

06. complete, “a super solid history of the “good old fashioned lover boy(s),” c. the beginning (or there about) to now-ish,” good omens, aziraphale x crowley: Perhaps one of the cruelest tricks that God has ever played (and the list was indeed long) was in allowing angels to believe they were incapable of love. There is some amount of debate as to whether or not this was entirely by accident. She was a busy woman after all━perhaps that was why it, the question of whether or not angels were truly capable of love, had slipped through one of her metaphysical cracks (of which, admittedly, there were many). Those who managed to refrain from falling had quite an easier time believing this particular theory to be very much the case. A largely unspoken, slightly offended, “She would never,” followed by an affirmation of the belief in the long held assumption that they were above such things anyway, so really, what did it even matter, and can we please return to the task at hand?

07. complete, “first family,” ouat, captain charming: If the chronically thin, awkward, and punk-ass 15 year old version of Killian Jones could have, somehow, opened a portal in time and space; a feat which might have allowed him to peer into the future in an attempt to witness what it might hold, he would have likely imbibed several ill-advised shots of cheap bloody rum, and then quite dramatically flung himself atop the rumpled sheets of his perpetually unmade bed. If the younger Jones had even an inkling of the type of life he’d be living as a 35 year old man─with a full time job, a mortgage, a husband, one wildly photogenic dog─he would have done everything in his power to steer himself off such a disturbingly clean-cut, well-behaved course.

08. complete, “untitled,” ouat, captain swan: Rather predictably (and not without a somewhat inevitable feeling of frustration), Emma Swan was one of those people who had never put much stock in the notion of “vibes.” She had a “freaking superpower,” according to Ruby, which allowed her to suss out the truth about people, but as soon as Ruby suggested that the same might be true of certain places, Emma had chuckled, as if it was some unheard of thing.

09. complete, “untitled,” ouat, captain charming: In the end, he’d chosen the place because to be quite bloody honest it was precisely where you might expect the writer of an obscure indie mag to live. It was an older building (a suitably generous designation), tucked in between the modernist monstrosities of the last 20 or 30 years. Replete with gorgeous, if not ill-kept, accoutrements framing the windows; crumbling steps and a brick exterior in varying shades of red and orange. The aesthetic was rounded out by the kind of neglectful landlord you might expect, a horrid man who frequently enjoyed reminding his tenants that he lived, “out of state,” and they’d have to, “be patient.”

10. complete,” untitled,” ouat, captain charming: There’s an old adage about assumptions that Killian Jones finds physically repulsive. It is so unerringly awful, in fact, that he won’t even deign to repeat the thing in his own head. You know what it is, it’s not as if he needs to speak the actual words. And regardless of the fact that there’s this old, tired saying about assumptions, people still do it, and he’s done it, and ya know what? It kind of worked out in his favor, so, take that.

[theartofimaginaryfriends]

Maccabee Mine (Part 4)

Fic Series: Hanukkah Oneshots

Pairing: Jewish!Percy x Jewish!Reader

Premise: Percy and Y/N bake Hanukkah cookies together.

Masterlist

taglist: @pjsolympians

Word count: 887

A/N: The pun title has absolutely no correlation to the contents of the fic but I'm running out of ideas so spare me XD Hope you enjoy this installment, it's my personal favourite by far :)

For the fourth day: the fourth light is the light of Mercy. Cruelty hardens the heart and destroys friendships. "Do justice and love mercy" was the teaching of Micah the prophet.

Y/N's favourite part about the holidays was baking. There was nothing they loved more than homemade sufganiyot, as well as sugar cookies shaped like menorahs, Magen David's, and dreidels. Recently, they had done all the baking with their boyfriend, Percy, who tried and failed to turn the donuts blue.

He was sat on the kitchen counter, eating one while watching Y/N make the dough for the sugar cookies, trying to find the perfect moment to add in a few drops of blue food dye without them noticing. "Hey, Y/N?"

"Hm?" They didn’t look up from the bowl, adding more of the dry ingredients, and turning the electric mixer back on. Percy licked the sugar from the donut off his fingers and stood up. He wrapped his arms around Y/N from behind, causing the baker to stop what they were doing.

"What?"

"I'm not allowed to want affection for no reason?"

"You are," Y/N laughed. "But I'm busy."

"I wanna help," he whined.

"You can help when we have to use the cookie cutters," they said. "And you can add as many blue sprinkles as you like."

"Hm… fine," he agreed. Percy didn’t move from his post, knowing that sooner or later Y/N would turn around to kiss him.

"You have gotta stop doing that," Y/N sighed, and put the mixer down before facing him. They draped their arms around his neck, pulling him down and kissing him, allowing Percy to uncap the bottle, and add in enough drops to make the dough a vibrant blue. 

"You know that I love you, right?" Percy had a cheeky look on his face. Y/N turn around so fast causing the demigod to almost fall over and laughed as they just shook their head.

"I'm not surprised," they chuckled. "I love you too, by the way."

"I know," he kissed their cheek and went back to his original post. Y/N continued mixing the batter until the proper consistency formed. After forming the dough into discs, they covered it with saran wrap and set it in the fridge. "How long does it have to chill?"

"Eight hours or overnight," Y/N answered, cleaning up the baking dishes. "We could probably get it done tonight, and bring some to our families tomorrow." 

"Sounds good," Percy said, stopping his partner from taking another step towards the sink. "Let me do the dishes, Y/N."

"But I made the mess," they argued.

"It’s fine," he shrugged. "Sit down for a minute, then we'll make lunch."

"Okay, thank you."

***

Eight hours later, Percy excitedly ran over to the fridge and brought out the dough. Y/N sprinkled flour on the counter and took out their rolling pin. As they worked on getting the dough to one-fourth of an inch in thickness, Percy set out their cookie cutters, adding one that looks like a little person to represent Judah Maccabee. "I forgot we had that one."

"It's Estelle's favourite for some reason," he laughed. "That and the dreidel."

"Didn’t she try to spin it last year?" Y/N said, smiling at the memory. Percy and Y/N started dating a couple of years ago, after being friends since they were six due to Shabbat School. They had been able to celebrate Hanukkah with both their families and the Hanukkah cookie deliveries had become a tradition since the two moved in together.

"She did, and I bet she'll do it again," Percy shook his head in amusement. "And then we'll hear your mother telling her to stop playing with her food."

"It’s not a tradition if there isn’t a little déjà vu," they joked, setting the rolling pin aside. Y/N grabbed the Magen David cookie cutters and began cutting the shapes in the dough. Percy had the menorah and did the same next to them. When the cookies were all cut out, the two carefully separated them from the dough scraps and placed them on the baking sheet.

As Y/N put the cookies in the preheated oven, Percy began rolling out the scraps to form more cookies out of the first disc. They got out the blue sprinkles from the pantry and brought them over to the counter. "We're going to have to stop what we're doing to light the candles soon."

"It'll be fine." Percy shrugged. "Pizza for dinner?"

"Sure," Y/N nodded, cutting out the next batch using the dreidel shape. "Hey, do we still have those edible markers?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The letters on the dreidel," they pointed out. "We should add those."

"You've always had significantly better handwriting, so I'll leave that up to you." Percy stopped what he was doing to grab the cookie decorating box. "Plus you're the one that insisted we buy all of these decorating supplies."

"What else am I supposed to do when I'm stressed?"

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Percy smirked, stealing a quick kiss from his partner. They put in the next batch, before quickly lighting the candles for the fourth night. Y/N and Percy took the shamash together and lit the candles from left to right. After they recited the brachah, the two of them stood and watched the candles burn for a moment. Things were peaceful, and Y/N and Percy couldn’t be more content.

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

A Summer by Your Side

Percabeth Fic

I know I can't believe it either?!?! A fic about a couple that ISNT jercy????? Who possessed me?!?

All jokes aside, this was great fun to write! Also no it's not the usual Percabeth dynamic but I kinda loved a shy-Annabeth and a sweet-Percy :)

Anyway I hope you guys enjoy and maybe I'll be able to write some jercy this weekend.

Masterlist for more crackships and other stuff

-------------------------------------------------

Ah Greece, with its bleached white walls, and ocean blue roofs; it's soft sand and cool waters. Its— goats?

"Watch out," a mop of dark hair came barreling around the corner hands reaching for the string around the animal's neck.

I jumped back, flattening myself against the wall just as the goat screamed past me.

"Stop! Don't go into the book shop please don't," The brown haired girl pleaded, still racing after the blur of white.

I ran after them, set on helping. By the time I reached the book shop however the girl had captured the goat and was angrily yanking it back up the pathway.

"Glad you caught it!" I smiled, trying to regulate my breathing after the whole two hundred meters I sprinted.

"He is the worst! He always escapes and my dumb brother makes me run after it."

The girl, I now realised, couldn't be more than eight or nine.

"I'm sorry kid, but at least you got him before he went into the store? I heard goats aren't the friendliest with paper."

"They aren't friendly with anything. Especially this old prickly pear," She scowled.

"Well how about me and you go for icecream after you deliver the package to its rightful place?" I offered.

She gave me a suspicious look, "Why would you wanna take me for icecream?"

"To thank you for warning me to get out the way." I ruffled her hair.

She swatted my hand away but grinned at me, "Okay! I'll meet you back here in two hours."

And before I could agree she was gone. I giggled at her energy and walked into the bookstore.

"Can I er, help you with something?" A rich voice broke through my haze.

"I must look like a tourist huh?" I laughed, turning around to face....the most beautiful person I had ever seen.

Thick dark hair stuck up in all angles. Ocean green eyes that stared into the deepest parts of you. A white shirt that offset the burnt golden of his skin.

I cleared my throat, "Wow, I'm sorry, yea I'm looking for a book on Greek culture? My friend wants it for her project."

He smirked at my eye roll, "I see, well you'd be in the wrong section for culture since it's on that side." He pointed to a shelf on the far end of the store, grinning.

"Right uh well, I suppose trying to read the labels when you don't understand any Greek is a bit pointless." I smiled sheepishly.

"How about I pick out a book for your friend and then give you a tour of the English section?" Mirth danced in those emerald eyes.

I frowned at his amusement but nodded, following after him.

"Now tell me, what do you like to read?"

We walked through the isles and he gave me his insights on the best Greek fiction. I told him about my ever growing collection at home.

"The shop is my collection. I share a room with my little sister. We barely have enough space for us, nevermind a shelf of books."

I laughed, "Well this is a pretty impressive collection Mr....."

"Percy, my name is Percy." He smiled softly.

"Annabeth," I tucked a stray curl behind my ear.

"Wow that is beautiful. You are beautiful,"

I blushed, thanking him.

"How about we go for dinner tomorrow night?"

My eyes grew as wide as saucers, "Like a date?"

His eyes danced with amusement, "Yes a date, kardiá mu."

"Okay, and what does cah- car-" I fumbled over the greek word, "What does that word mean?"

He simply smiled at me, turning to walk to the counter. Before I could protest the small girl from before waltzed into the shop.

"Hello, I'm ready for ice-cream!"

"Estelle what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the goat house." Percy scolded.

"Your dumb goat got out again and I had to catch it. This nice lady said she'd take me for icecream because I made sure the goat didn't hurt her." The little girl, who fast took on a striking resemblance to Percy, huffed.

"You two are siblings?" I piped up

Percy nodded, still surveying little Estelle

"Fine if she offered then you can go, but don't forget you have to help mom with the gyros tonight."

"Yea yea," She grumbled before grabbing my hand and yanking me out.

"Must we bring you back a cone?" I managed to yell to Percy.

"Chocolate please!"

And then Estelle and I were gone, racing to the icecream hut a few roads down.

Over the next weeks, while my friend researched for her project, lazed around the villa, and sauntered down to the beach every few days I spent more and more time at the bookshop.

Percy and I never ran out of things to talk about. I learnt that he had grown up in Santorini but moved to Naxos when he was 16, for an internship with his Dad. He's been here ever since. In return I told him about life as a city girl and how I fell in love with Greece for the cheesy reason that Greek Mythology was one of my favourite subjects.

He showed me around the island, and spoiled me with icecream and books. We were often buried up on the beanbags in the bookshop, him reading to me or I to him. Sometimes we'd take Estelle to the arcade or watch her at the skate park.

One day about six weeks into the summer he and I managed to grab some food and a blanket and decided to have a picnic on the beach.

He laid out the checkered cloth and nestled the basket in one corner before grabbing my hand and pulling me down towards him.

I laughed as I fell into him, but settled comfortably by his side.

He turned to me, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Your eyes kardiá mu, are so beautiful."

I immediately looked away, already trying to deny the compliment.

He lifted my chin with his finger so I was staring at him again, "You do not have to look away from me. You are so gorgeous and you should know it."

I smiled at him, "Thank you. And I hope you know I think you're gorgeous too."

"Yes, I know," He smirked, "You were blushing like a ruby the first time we met."

I smacked his chest but laughed, "Horrible tease."

He laughed with me, and I watched in awe as his eyes sparkled like the ocean, hair flopping over his face.

I couldn't resist the urge to lean over and kiss that smile. Before I knew it my lips were on his and the world had ended.

He returned it in equal passion, pulling me towards him until our bodies were flush against each other.

"I am so glad you did that," He husked.

"Me too," I breathed.

And with his answering grin the new world began.

The last weeks of summer rolled by in a blur of fruit platters, book chats, icecream dates and beach walks. Before we knew it I was shoving my last dress into my bag and ruffling Estelle's hair for the last time.

Percy and I promised to stay in touch, but it did not make saying goodbye any easier.

Our summer had finally come to a close; I was due back in the big city to start on my honours year and he was about to start on renovations for his mom's bookstore.

Our last hug lasted for many minutes as all our moments squashed themselves between us.

"Thank you for everything Percy." Tears pricked my eyes.

"I will miss you, kardiá mu."

I huffed a laugh at the familiar nickname and decided to ask one more time, "What does it mean?"

He put my hand to his chest, and let me feel the beating drums.

"This is what it means."

"My heart," I echoed softly, looking up at him in awe.

He simply drew me in for another hug, kissing my forehead.

"Until we meet again."

"Until then," I nodded.

I stepped onto the boat that would take me home.

[cabinofimagines]

A Merry Happy Plan (Percy Jackson xS!Reader)

A/N: Wassup I got sick so tomorrow I’ll probably take a break from posting lmaoo I’ll do my best to do all the requests before New year tho, hope you like it! -Danny

Words: 1,676

Warnings: None!

Requests: Not any of those anons but I’d love some sibling shit. Maybe a holiday sibling thing with Percy where the reader isn’t super cheerful around the holidays because her mortal parent died around then and Percy finds his own way to get them into the holiday spirit.

If there’s something everyone knows, is that Percy loves his siblings.

Deeply, unconditionally and out loud. Percy would go to war (again) for any of them anytime if they asked. 

That’s why it hurts him so much to see Y/N suffering during Christmas.

This should be a happy time! To be together as a family, eat your all-time favorite food, watch the best movies ever created... sadly, Y/N can’t have it all.

Her mortal parent died a few years back when she was still a kid. Even though she’s been at camp for a long time, it hurts like it happened yesterday. Don’t get her wrong, she’s happy and all, she loves her brothers and she loves her friends, she wouldn’t change anything... 

Still, she wishes she could’ve had a bit more time with her mortal family. It’s unfair, she never asked for bad things to anyone, she was a good kid. Yet, everything always went wrong.

Percy had a plan, Y/N wasn’t a fan of the festivities, he understood and during the first years, he respected that, gave her space to rebuild her life. Now though, he knows it’s time to help her a little, make her see that things can be good, no need to focus and drown on sad memories when she could be creating new ones.

It was December 23rd, Y/N was snoring lightly on her bed, all her body hidden under the covers. Percy sneaked quietly inside the cabin, he had a big suitcase beside him and a large coat hanging from his arm. He left both things next to the door and walk over to where his sister was sleeping, then pulled down the covers completely with one harsh tug.

“Good morning!”

“Mmph...” Y/N grunted, looking for the blankets blindly, “not now, Percy”

“Yes now,” He insisted, grabbing a handful of the fabric and pulling it away from the bed, “you’re coming with me”

“You know I’m not in the mood,” She replied, still half-asleep.

“That’s exactly why I’m picking you up,” Percy replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, “you’re spending Christmas with me and my family this year”

“What?” She rubbed her eyes, thinking maybe she was hallucinating, “I’m not allowed to leave camp, you know that”

“You are now, at least until New Year,” He smiles, “just came from asking Chiron for permission to take you with me”

Y/N sat up slowly, too confused and sleepy.

“Why?”

“Because you need this,” Percy put a hand on her shoulder, “you need to be with your family right now, not alone.”

“My family?” She frowned.

“Your brother,” He pointed to himself, “and my mom has heard so much about you she can’t wait to actually meet you. Same with Paul, and Estelle is so tiny you’ll love her right away, and I’m sure she’ll love you just as much”

“You don’t have to do this,” Y/N felt a lump in her throat that she was quick to push back.

“Maybe, but I care about you a bit too much to let you have another bad Christmas”

“I don’t even celebrate Christmas, Percy” She rolled her eyes.

“But it’s not because you don’t like it!” He retorted, “Or because of your religion or whatever. No, this is because you've been trapped in this mourning ever since... I just want you to be happy, all the time.”

“What would I even do back at your place?” She questioned nervously, “What if your family doesn’t like me once they get to know me?”

“Don’t be silly, you’re the best!” He chuckled, “Come on, my mom will help us to bake cookies and I’ll show you my favorite Christmas movies, you’ll have fun!”

“I don’t know if I should be having fun during this time of the year,” She shifted uncomfortably, “It’s disrespectful”

“It’s been years, Y/N/N” He held her hand and gave a gentle squeeze, “I’m sure they would’ve wanted to see you enjoying yourself rather than this”

“I...” She pondered the offer, maybe Percy was right. What was the use of moping? Of course she missed her parent, of course she felt like a part of her was missing, but did she really had to go through that pain on her own?

“Can you give me fifteen minutes to get ready?” She asked, “I need to get my stuff...”

“You’re coming?” Percy got up, excitedly walking over to the suitcase by the door.

“I guess, I’ll give it a shot”

“Awesome!” He dragged the suitcase and the coat over to your bed, leaving them beside you, “You can put all your clothes in there and that coat is for when we get out of camp, outside the limits it’s freezing cold so you’re gonna need it”

“You did plan everything, huh?” She chuckles, getting up and walking towards the bathroom.

“I’m taking care of my little sister, that’s all”

After half an hour, Y/N was ready to leave camp. She wished the best for her friends while she was gone, and got inside the car with Percy.

“You came here on your own?”

“Yeah, I got my license, remember?”

“Sometimes I forget how big you really are,” She grinned, ruffling his hair.

“Back off! I don’t wanna crash my mom’s car!”

“Sorry,” She raised her hands in defeat.

The trip was soothing, Percy sang along (pretty badly) to whatever it was on the radio and successfully made his sister laugh. She was terrified to meet his family, but he made a great job keeping her calm.

When they arrived, Percy grabbed her suitcase and waited until she was all wrapped up on her coat.

“Gods! Is it always this cold here?” 

“Every year,” He smiled, “let’s go, the faster you leave the street the better”

“Okay...” She sighed, “guess there’s no use to wait any longer”

“Just breathe, you’ll do fine,” He patted her back lovingly, opening the door for her to enter the building.

The little girl had strong lungs, Y/N could hear her screams from the hall, they were happy though. Like she was playing something that got her quite excited.

“Y/N,” Percy said cheerfully, “meet my family...”

She tried to control the way her hands were shaking and wore the best smile she could muster at the moment.

“Mom! We’re home!”

“She’s here?” Y/N heard a woman’s voice coming from the kitchen, “I’m coming!”

Her first impression of Sally Jackson was: “That’s how a mom should always look like”. She was feisty and had a kind smile, her hair was soft and when she leaned in to give Y/N a hug, she smelled like flowers.

“You’re bigger than I thought,” Sally grinned, “look at you! Percy has a picture of you when you were this tiny,” She lowers her hand to her chest and laughs, “but it looks like that was a long time ago”

“I-Uh,” Y/N looked over to Percy, who only nodded as a way to encourage her, “yeah, I think that picture is from when I was thirteen”

“Oh, hi” Paul Blofis appeared, he was carrying a young baby girl, who had to be Estelle, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Y/N”

The little girl stared at her intently, like it was the most interesting thing she’s ever seen, suddenly, she stretched her arms towards her and whimpers.

“Hey, seems like Estelle was also eager to meet you!” Percy chuckled, walking towards the hall where the bedrooms are, “I’m going to leave your suitcase, make yourself at home”

“Okay,” Y/N had her eyes fixed on the little girl, not sure of what to do.

“You wanna hold her?” Asked Paul.

“I don’t want to upset her...” She hesitated.

“I think she wants you to do that,” He looked over to his daughter, the baby squirming on his arms, trying to get to her, “it’s not hard, I’ll help you”

He then put Estelle on Y/N’s arms, who was drowning in anxiety.

“Am I, uh-Is this?”

“That’s okay,” Paul nodded, “It looks like she’s a big fan”

“Hi,” Y/N smiled nervously, “I’m your brother’s sister...”

“Paul, would you help me back in the kitchen?” Sally put a hand on his husband’s arm and he complied, “Thank you. Is it okay if we leave you with Estelle?”

“Don’t worry, I got it,” The girl smiled, holding her tightly against her chest.

Y/N walked over to the room where she heard some noises and assumed that’s the room she’d be sleeping during those days. When she opened the door, she saw Percy’s room.

“Oh, sorry,” She quickly apologized, “I thought this was the guest room...”

“We don’t have a guest room,” Percy replied in amusement, “you’re staying here in my room”

“Oh,” She stood there for a moment, unsure, “alright...”

“I mean, if that’s okay with you-”

“No, yes it is,” She replied quickly, “uh, your family is nice.”

“They’re kind of your family too, you know?” He smiled shyly.

“That’s nice,” Estelle giggled, playing with Y/N’s hair, “I could get used to that”

“Nothing’s stopping you,” He shrugged, “you don’t bother us. If anything I think that maybe you could make our family more... whole, you know?”

She stayed quiet, not knowing how to answer.

“I’m just glad you feel comfortable here,” Percy added, feeling his sister’s nervousness, “we can turn this into our own tradition”

“Yes,” Y/N grinned, softly caressing Estelle’s hair, “that would be cool... thank you, Percy”

“No problem,” He smiled back.

Sally’s voice came out from the kitchen, announcing it was time to teach the kids how to bake and Percy’s eyes instantly lighted up.

“Oh, you’re gonna love this,” He says excitedly, passing her by to rush to the kitchen.

“I think you may be right,” She whispered, playing with the baby’s hand and smiling to herself, a more confident expression as she walked out of the room.

This would be the best Christmas ever.

[celawrites]

Day 37

It’s 12am and my phone is buzzing and I cannot sleep. What the fuck is going on.

You have 20 new notifications

I click open our class chat first, and to my surprise, it’s all birthday messages.

Clown: Did you guys actually have to type me a whole essay? Thank you tho <3

Pebble: A well written essay!

Sam: Time well spent

My phone vibrates and I’m invited to a call from a handful of friends.

Joining Your Neighborhood Pizza delivery service’s call…

“It’s 12am let me sleep”

“Are you not happy that we’re wishing you happy birthday at 12am?”

“I am, it’s just I’m also exhausted for no reason”

“You’re going out for a McDonalds run right?”

“Yeah. You guys woke me up halfway through”

“Sorry”

“I’m sorry it’s 12am and I really wanna know who’s in this call right now”

“Ah! It would be Estelle, Beanie, Min, “

“Your son”

“Mint”

“Sun”

“What the fuck are you guys doing awake?”

“Admiring the stars”

“Sure. Totally believe you”

“Cressie it’s your birthday.”

“One year closer to my demise I guess”

“You’re insane”

“So I’ve been told”

“Ah. Check your mailbox in the morning! There should be a couple things in there”

I yawn. 6 hours of sleep isn’t enough to run on.

“Alright get to bed. Sleep your last 3 hours and I’ll be waiting for you at 3am”

“Mint you’re the most punctual out of all of us why are you picking me up?”

“I’ve never had a McDonalds run with you. Besides, It’s Friday.”

“Alright I’m sleeping now good night”

“Good night birthday girl!”

“That’s so cheesy ksjdfalfa”

Sure enough, at 3am, I wake up and find Mint outside my door, vibing in his car. I shake my head and lock the door.

“Good morning Mint”

“Morning”

“You’re mean you know that?”

“Happy birthday Mint”

“Right back at you”

“HEY REMEMBER WHEN YOU JUST STRAIGHT UP LEFT ME ON READ WHEN I WISHED YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY-”

“I THOUGHT WE WERE OVER THAT ALREAY”

“My salty ass could never”

“Alright what do you want for your birthday?”

“Neither of us give anything-”

“Our Asian ass could never”

“HOnestly”

“Ah. I do have a present for you though”

My hand reaches into my backpack and I pull out a scrapbook.

“In true Crescent fashion, I present to you our scrapbook”

“What?”

“A collection of all the photos we have together with little commentary along the way. This is now yours” I beam.

“You’re joking”

“Nope”

“I didn’t even get you anything like his I-”

“You don’t need to”

He snickers and hands me a small box.

“I found it while shopping online, and it reminded me of that one time A gave you a rainbow rose so I figured I would give you an eternal one”

I stare at the rose. It’s rainbow, and I was surprised he even remembered that his brother had given me one.  I tear up slightly, maybe its because I wasn’t used to getting gifts from him, or the sudden change of heart but I mean-

“I’m crying”

“You’re always crying”

“SHUT UP KDFSKFSHDJF”

My hands clink at the glass softly, and Mint hums in appreciation as he flips through the scrapbook.

“Where’s this photo from?”

“Hm?”  He points at a photo where both he and his brother are jumping on the trampoline while I’m sitting.

“Your mom sent it to my mom a few years back”

“Ah”

There’s a comfortable silence that passes over us, and I decide to answer all the texts that I had received about my birthday while he flipped through the book.

After about a dozen thank you!’s and 4 conversations, I finish. Mint snickers when he flips to the last page.

“You just had to put that one last huh?”

On the last page lies Mint and I at Junior prom last year. It was a tradition to go with eachother, and my friend had taken a photo where we were pretending to make out.

”Why? Don’t want your future wife seeing it?”

“No. It’s just you saved the best for last” he snorts.

“Of course” I hum.

“Alright what do you want from McDonalds?”

“Ice cream”

“You’re literally bleeding this week no”

“Uhhh. Fries?”

“Sure”

Mint starts his car and we head off. The sky is a calm blue. A dark shade that leaves you wondering if there’s more out there. It was ironic that I had met him so long ago. It was even more surprising when he moved here for junior and senior year. I was horribly confused, and the only explanation he could muster out was a job change for his parents. But I was pretty sure they just wanted to have A mature in a different environment.

“Lost in thought again?”

“Mhm. You never told me how and why you moved here in detail”

“Nothing really. It was a job change on my parents part, and a new path for A”

“What about you?”

“I wanted to chase the only person who never gave up on me”

“You’re disgusting”

“Better than confessing to my crush every day for a whole year”

“LEAVE ME ALONE”

“You’re the one who brought up how I chased you all the way to California”

“I still wonder how you can pin after someone like me”

“At some point I realized you saw me as a brother”

“I wish I could do that.”

“You’re a hopeless romantic. Have some fun every once in a while”

“Are you implying I should have a one night stand?”

“Once you’re a legal adult sure”

“Bad decision making except it’s Mint giving me bad advice as a joke”

“I hate you”

“Love you too~”

“You’re disgusting”

“Bleh”

HE pulls up at the McDonalds drive-through and I scream.

“dEAR ARE YOU ALIVE?”

“OMG HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING! EVERYTHING’S ON ME TODAY”

“WTF DEAR NO”

“NO OBJECTIONS. IS MINT WITH YOU?”

“I’m here”

“Happy birthday Mint darling anyways what do you guys want?”

“The usual”

“Nothing new?”

“Nope”

“Alright! See you at the second window!”

“Cressie darling I got you a gift!”

“I- what?”

“Gift.” He tosses something through the car window and it lands in my hands.

“What is it?”

“Check”

I click open the box and I find a small pendant with a moon.

“I thought you were a broke high school student?”

“But the boss gave me a raise and told me to get something nice for my lover and like I don’t have one so I mean-”

“I don’t deserve you” I sniff.

“Stop crying darling you’re scaring me”

I really hope you find yourself a lover this year or I will fight everyone around me I SWEAR”

“You’re being too loud again Cress”

“Sorry”

He hands us our food and waves us goodbye. It was funny to me. I had so many friends around me now that I had grown.

“Are you gonna make a birthday post?”

“Oh for Serenity!” I gasp.

I type away and Mint steals a couple fries from me. I hiss at him while typing.

“Too bad” he shrugs.

School rolls around and I ‘m met with 20 happy birthdays and a couple gifts fro my other friends. Surprise surprise I have other friends. Z and Sun’s gift surprises me the most.

“Cress” Sun calls for me after school.

“Hm?”

“Happy birthday” He hands a medium-sized box to me.

“You always make us scrapbooks for our birthdays so I thought I’d try to make one for you”

“Have I ever told you how much I love you-”

“You remind me pretty often but yeah”

I open the box and a seat little scrapbook sits inside. There’s a white pen, a silver one, and a gold pen rolling around next to it, and there’s a small letter. Z tackles me from behind and I crash into Sun’s chest.

“Z what the f-”

“Language” Sun glares.

“Your gift!” Z hands me a small photo sized box.

“Photos?”

“You made a whole batch with notes on the back for me so I decided to print a bunch for you!”

“Thank you Z” I sniff slightly.

“What’s wrong! Do you not like it?”

“No no! I’m emotional haha” I muster up a smile. My cursed birthday luck was gonna catch up with me soon. I just felt it.

“No worries! It was the least I could do” Z smiles.

I nod in response. The rest of the day carries out like normal, and I find myself tired by the end of the day. My classmates threw me a party, and at the end of the day, my friends threw me another one. I enjoyed it, but I was waiting for my cursed birthday luck to catch up to me, I could never be happy until it occurred.

“If you’re thinking about that birthday curse of yours again, I’d advise you to know that with me, there’s no chance of having bad birthday luck” Mint hums. His birthdays had no bad things. It was like the universe favored him.

“I know. But I can’t truly calm down until I get to bed”

There’s a comfortable silence that settles down before Mint speaks up again.

“I’m sorry”

“Why so?”

“You had always wished me happy birthday so consistently, and I never replied and I just feel really bad and all-”

“Don’t worry about it.” I tap at the red solo cup in my hand. “I probably deserved all that”

“You don’t and that’s why I kind of. Um”

“Mint you’re my editor what did you do-”

“Bought tickets back home?” I gape at him. My jaw is dropped, and he seems to panic. “My home’s open and all! I know your house is rented out and the renters for my place just moved out and we have thanksgiving in a month so I figured I would take you back for the break and I’m sorry! I probably should’ve asked first and all but-”

A choked sob escapes my lips. I’m shocked, I hadn’t gone home in so long. How did he know? A stream of incoherent words escapes my lips and Mint tries to soothe me.

“You know.” I managed to force it out. “Some days I question why I stopped crushing on you. You spoil me rotten, and I don’t even deserve someone who cares for me and knows me like you and you always seem to know how I’m feeling and-”

Mint rubs soft circles on my back, and I let out my emotions. My birthday curse wasn’t a curse. It was a tradition. A tradition to cry at least once on my birthday, and for the first time, I was crying tears of joy. A couple minutes pass, and I feel my emotions slowly draw back.

“Thank you” I mumbled weakly.

Serenity made a new post!

It’s my birthday! Thank you to all of you who sent in birthday wishes (and death threats)! Another year has passed and I truly wish that I could thank you all face to face for the support!

Once again, my lovely editor Leaf shares a birthday with me so go ahead and send in some birthday wishes to him as well. For today’s gift from me, you all get a blast of joy! Much love!

-Serenity

Previous : Masterlist : Next

[mr-chrisevans]

Meet Cute - pt. 8

CW: brief mention of suicide

Word Count: 1,474

First Chapter | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

It was a bad idea. Trust me I know it was a bad idea, but I couldn't help myself. That poster was the straw that broke the camel's back, if you will. I wouldn't let anything happen though. I was still with Adam and I just needed to get closure with Chris before I could really give him the full chance that he deserved.

"Does The Man even know who you're seeing for dinner tonight?" Estelle asked me as she sat on my bed while I got ready.

I paused for a second before responding. "No." I could feel her rolling her eyes and preparing to give me a lecture, but I spoke again before she could. "It's not a big deal. Nothing is going to happen. It's just for closure."

"So you keep saying." She replied and I could tell by the look on her face that she was not pleased with my decisions as of late. "You know, when I told you to contact him again I didn't mean so you could go on a date with him."

"It's not a date. We're just meeting up as friends to grab some food." She wanted to say something back so bad but she held herself back knowing that nothing was going to stop me at this point.

"Well," she hesitated, "I hope you get the closure you're looking for."

I sighed. "Me too." I finished getting ready fairly quickly after that. My nerves were bouncing off the walls and as I made my way to the restaurant I could feel my palms starting to get sweaty. I didn't want to be so nervous to see him and I tried to suppress it as much as I could. I thought that if I wasn't nervous then seeing him didn't mean anything. It was just seeing an old friend. No feelings involved what so ever.

Boy that plan did not work out.

I got to the restaurant before Chris and stood out front waiting for him. Maybe the fresh air would help my nerves. I had only been waiting for a few minutes before I felt Chris' hand on my back. "Hey there." He said as I turned to face him. My heart started beating ten times faster when I saw his face, those blue eyes beaming at me.

A grin spread across my face. "Hey." He pulled me into a hug and I think if my heart beat any faster it would have burst out of my chest. Feeling him in my arms again felt amazing. He was still in incredible shape from filming, but he was also so gentle. We pulled away from each other and I took the full sight of him in. "You got a haircut." Was the first coherent thing I could think of that wasn't inappropriate.

He ran a hand over the top of his head. "Yeah, it just felt like the right time for a buzzcut." He laughed. "How do you feel about it."

"It wouldn't be my first choice, I'll admit. But I won't hold it against you." I joked. He laughed again and I swear I could listen to him laugh for hours.

"Well, now that I know you can stand the sight of me, let's head inside."

The host led us out to a table on the patio and took our drink order before leaving. "So, how've you been?" I smiled and mindlessly twirled my glass of water on the table.

"I've been good. Glad I finally have some time to relax." It seemed like as he said the words a bit of his stress melted away from him.

"Sometimes I feel like I relax too much." I joked.

"You're still working at The Grind, right."

"Unfortunately, yes." I joked and he chuckled. "Still working at the coffee shop, still attempting to write something worthwhile, but here we are."

He looked up at me like he was debating saying something, and finally decided to. "I ended up reading that story you got published." No wonder he hesitated.

"Oh, oh that's cool." I swallowed hard. "I'm a little afraid to ask, but what did you think?"

"Laurel, it was amazing." Now when most people offer me compliments on my writing, I tend to doubt it. I usually just chalk it up to lip service to make me feel better about myself. But the look on his face made me certain that he was sincere.

"Wow, thank you." He lifted up his glass to cheers me on my writing.

"I did have a question about it though." I took another sip of my wine and nodded for him to ask. "How much of it was based on personal experience?"

I sighed. "Some of it was, for sure. The basis of what happened, yes, but the details and the characters aren't really based on anyone specific from back home. My junior year of high school one of my closest friends hung herself in her closet. It's something that's always really stuck with me and something like that it takes time to process. I guess writing about it was my way to finally really process it."

We both went quiet. "I'm so sorry." He finally said, "I can't imagine what that must have been like."

"It's okay. It's been enough time that it doesn't sting the way it used to."

We went quiet again for a little while. "Shit, I didn't mean for that to be the mood killer that it ended up being."

"Don't worry, it was a valid question. And I think she'd like that Captain America is interested in her." I laughed lightly.

"Well, she had a really incredible woman who told her story."

*****

By the time we had finished eating I couldn't bear to leave. Sitting across from him again felt so normal. It was like we were right back where we left off. I would never stop getting lost in those blue eyes. But I tried to shake those thoughts out of my head. We were here as friends. At least that's what I kept telling myself. I had Adam and we were happy. No matter how much I missed Chris I couldn't do anything about it now.

"I'm so glad I got to see you again." He reached across the table and took my hand in his. His touch still felt like electricity and I could just melt from it.

But I had to keep my cool. As gently as I could I freed my hand from his. "Listen Chris, I have to tell you something." The smile on his face sank a little and it was enough to make my heart shatter. "I don't know why I didn't tell you this earlier, I really should've but-" I paused taking a deep breath in before I spoke again. "I- I started seeing someone while you were gone." His face sank even more.

His hand fell back into his lap. "Oh. Okay, I see."

"Chris, I really am so sorry. I honestly don't know why I didn't tell you before. I- I don't know."

He looked off to the side for a few moments before he turned back to me, but he barely held my eye. "It's okay, Laurel. I couldn't have expected you to wait until I got back. You are a grown up and capable of making your own decisions."

Fuck. He was handling this so well. Not that I expected him to throw a tantrum, but somehow this was worse. "I just thought that if I saw you again it would just reaffirm our decision, but-"

"Please, don't finish that sentence, Laurel." He looked at me and my heart broke. It was one thing hearing his voice drop over the phone, but seeing his face in front of me made it so much worse. "I don't want to be in the way of what you have with this other guy. You're an important person to me, and if having you in my life means we can only be friends, then so be it." He smiled at me, but there was still sadness behind his eyes.

"Okay. I can do that."

*****

When I got back home, I threw my things into my room and walked into Estelle's room. She looked up from her book as I crawled into her bed with her. "So, how'd it go." I groaned in response. "So, he knows about Adam."

"Yep."

"And?" She set her book down on her side table, waiting for me to answer.

I sighed. "We are going to be friends."

"Oh dear." She said and wrapped her arms around me. "You sweet little dummy. Do you wanna get really really drunk?"

"I would love nothing more." I replied and willed myself to melt into Estelle's mattress.