#this sold so quick after adding it to my watch list a while ago

[theloverstomb]

found on ebay

[sfb123]

The Final Goodbye - Chapter 1

Book: The Royal Romance, Book 2

Pairing: Liam x Riley

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Description: In a slight canon divergence from book 2, Riley reaches her breaking point with the engagement tour and decides to restart her life when the court gets to NYC. Can the rest of the group clear her name, and convince her to come back before it’s too late? 

Rating: PG (I think there are a few swear words in there, very angsty, but otherwise pretty mild)

Word Count: 1,496

A/N: So, I did a thing. This started as a one shot that I half wrote like a month ago and gave up on. Then I got haunted by Whitney Houston (and later, when she got sick of bugging me, she moved on to @jessiembruno, I’m assuming to send her to harass me about finishing). This week, inspiration struck and I finished it...and it became a mini-series. So look forward to this over the next 4 Wednesdays. 

A couple of quick shout outs I wanted to get out there: @callmeellabella, thank you for being so sweet and taking a look at the snippet I provided. @queenrileyrose, thank you for taking the time to chat with me, I hope the story lives up to the hype I gave it. 

A not so quick shout out to @jessiembruno, I pretty much annoyed you every step of the way in writing this one, sharing screenshots, and letting you know every time that damn song showed up in my life. Your notes when you read it for me gave me so much encouragement, you were invaluable in helping me get through that last emotional push at the end. Hell, you even titled the thing! I don’t know why we hurt Liam the way we do, but I know in the end, we’ll always give him a happy ending (wait...not like that...well, maybe sometimes like that). 

Tags: Listed below. If you’d like to be added or removed, just let me know! 

Riley sat on the rooftop overlooking New York City, Maxwell rattling off the different images he saw in the stars as she got lost in her thoughts. They were in New York as the last leg of Liam and Madeleine’s engagement tour. Soon, they would be going back to Cordonia where she would be expected to sit in a cathedral and watch the love of her life marry another woman. 

They had been investigating the scandal that came out at the coronation for weeks, and didn’t seem to be any closer to finding Tariq. As the time ran out, Riley’s hope of a cleared name faded further and further away. Could she really go back there and watch another woman steal her happily ever after? She was already in New York, it would be easy to just stay and try to start her life back up again. Honestly, if she wasn’t going back there to marry Liam, what was the point of going back at all? Sure, she had made a couple of great friends, but there were a million and one ways for them to stay in touch. Or ghost them, to avoid hearing about Liam and his wife. She wasn’t quite sure which option she would choose once all was said and done.    

She weighed out the pros and cons, and finally decided that she would not be returning to Cordonia with the rest of the court. But she wasn’t going to tell anyone, she wasn’t going to give them the opportunity to team up on her and talk her into going back. And she certainly wasn’t going to tell Liam, he had already talked her into being the other woman for this entire tour, a moniker she swore she would never take on in her lifetime. She knew she wouldn’t be able to say no to him, and would be convinced to come back to Cordonia and be miserable. She would do it tonight, once they returned to the hotel, she would get her things together, and sneak out while everyone else slept. Daniel had an extra room, conveniently, he was using it to store the stuff she didn’t bring with her when Maxwell whisked her away. 

“Earth to Riley. Are you even listening? I’m dropping some of my A+ material right now.” Maxwell waved his hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Where’d you go?”

“Sorry Max, I was just thinking. Must have zoned out a little.”

“It’s ok, I get it. There’s a lot going on right now.” He replied empathetically, suddenly jumping to his feet in excitement. “I know, let’s go out!”

“We are out.” She looked up at him.

“No, not boring UN Gala out. Fun out! I’ll grab everyone, the dream team will cheer you up!”

Riley paused to think about it for a second. If she wasn’t going to give her friends a proper goodbye, maybe one last adventure would be the perfect way to remember them. They could do it up big, and then she would start over in the morning. She smiled softly at her friend before responding. “That sounds really nice Maxwell, I’d love to.”

“Yes!” Maxwell raised his fist in the air and pulled her into a hug. “You go back to the hotel and change, I’ll get the gang together and text you where to meet.”

Riley went back to the hotel and put on some more comfortable clothes. Something she would typically wear on a night out in New York. She didn’t want to start packing yet, in case Maxwell offered to walk her back to her room. She reached out to Daniel to make sure she could stay with him. Of course he said yes, while also trying to get the details. She promised to fill him in on everything when she got there. The more she thought about her plan, the more she started to worry. Maxwell said he was going to get everyone together. Did that mean Liam would be there? Would she be able to keep herself composed, and keep her secret, knowing that this would be the last time she would ever see him? She started second guessing her plan, she should have just left. Tonight was going to suck. 

She entered the bar, and immediately noticed Maxwell, Drake, and Hana in a corner booth. No Liam. She took a deep breath and approached them. “Hey guys!” She put on her cheeriest face. 

“Thank God, Brooks. Maxwell can harass you now.” Drake rolled his eyes and patted the seat next to him. 

Riley slid into the booth and put her arm around Drake, giving him a side hug. “Aww, poor Drakey. I’ll save you from big bad Maxwell.” Hana and Maxwell laughed, and Drake rolled his eyes. “So Maxwell, why this place? You know I’ve lived here for like ever, I could have picked.”

“No, this is your cheer up night, so I needed to find the perfect place, and this is it.” He gestured to the stage. “It’s karaoke night!” 

“So, if this is to cheer me up, and it’s karaoke night, does that mean Drake is going to serenade me?” She turned to face Drake, smiling sweetly and batting her eyelashes. 

“Fat chance.” Drake looked at Riley with a stern expression. “I’ll buy you drinks, that’s as cheery as you’re getting from me.”

“Sold!” She put her hand out and shook Drake’s. She signaled for the waitress to come over, and ordered a round of shots for the table, and a drink for herself.  

As the night went on, the group laughed and sang and told stories. Riley was having a great time, and wasn’t letting on in the slightest that this would be the last time they were all together. Maxwell had just come offstage from his third performance of the night, as he walked toward the table, his smile grew and he waved his hand to greet someone. “Liam, you made it!” 

Riley’s breath caught in her throat, and she could swear she felt her heart stop. She closed her eyes briefly to compose herself before standing and turning toward the door to greet him. “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming.”

Liam’s eyes started to sparkle the second they met hers, his smile lighting up at the sight of her. She looked just as beautiful as she did the night they met, he loved when she was dressed casually. Sure, she was stunning in ballgowns and expensive designer clothes, but this was her. Authentic Riley. The Riley that had captured his heart. “It took me some time to get away, but Maxwell said you needed cheering up, so this is where I need to be right now.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek gently. 

Suddenly, Riley was frozen. She wasn’t sure what to do, or what to say. Everything had been going so smoothly. Why did he have to show up? She couldn’t be there anymore. Not as long as he was. Now that she was faced with the reality of her plan, she didn’t know what she was thinking just leaving Liam without saying goodbye. Without telling him how much he truly meant to her. But she also knew she couldn’t give him a chance to talk her out of it. She decided she would use this opportunity to sing her feelings. 

“I have to go. It’s my turn to sing.” She turned away from Liam abruptly, pulling the shot glass out of Drake’s hands before it could reach his lips, bringing it to hers and throwing her head back. With that, she walked to the front of the bar.

After a quick conversation with the DJ, she walked to the microphone and looked down. As the music started, she looked up and locked eyes with Liam. She proceeded to sing ‘I Will Always Love You’ while keeping her eyes locked on his. Their friends looked back and forth between the two of them, seeing the pain in both of their expressions. As the songs continued, Riley was finding it harder and harder to keep her emotions in check. She started to avoid Liam’s gaze, only glancing up at him occasionally. To most of the room, it sounded like she was leaning heavily on her vibrato, but her friends all knew that was her emotions getting the best of her. 

Once the song finished, she placed the microphone back on the stand and quickly ducked into the crowd, before any of her friends could catch up to her. She carefully made her way to the door and left the bar. She walked a few blocks before she lost the battle she was fighting with her tears. After taking some time to gather herself, she continued on her way to Daniel’s apartment. There was no way she would be able to go back to the hotel, she’d figure out how to get her stuff later. 

Permatags: @anjanettexcordonia @athena-penrose @chemist-ana @cordonia-gothqueen @cordoniaqueensworld @gabesmommie1130 @gkittylove99 @hopelessromanticmonie @iaminlovewithtrr @jessiembruno @kat-tia801 @khoicesbyk @kingliam2019 @lucy-268 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @mile9213 @mom2000aggie @pixie88 @queenrileyrose @secretaryunpaid @sweatyrysconnoisseur @theroyalheirshadowhunter @twinkleallnight @txemrn

Liam X Riley:

@jared2612​

@choicesficwriterscreations​

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 1, Ch. 1

PART 1: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Chapter 1 - And so it begins

I decided to post my Charlie Weasley fanfic here ❤️

I will post a chapter per day since I have already finished writing it!

A mixture between Harry Potter Books lore and Hogwarts: Mystery Game

I just finished reading the books for the 10th time and between reading and playing the game on my mobile phone I have never been so intrigued or had so many questions about Charlie Weasley.

My imagination started to go wild halfway through The Goblet of Fire and I decided to create my own little story about how it would be like to know Charlie Weasley from his first year at Hogwarts and all the way to the Battle of Hogwarts (yes, it’s a LONG story)!

I will stop being a babbling, bumbling baboon now, bye!

Nova

I still can't believe I had to wait so long. My opinion is that if you are born after the 31st of August you are the unluckiest child ever! Imagine getting a letter of acceptance, that your parents have been waiting for since you have been born and since they are so excited about it, you get excited about it and then you turn 11 on 14th December only to find out that you have to wait until NEXT SEPTEMBER to go to school! Who came up with this rule!

Nonetheless, the wait is over as in one week I will be sitting on Hogwarts Express to go to the school my parents have been at so many years ago and have fun adventures as they so like to reminisce on how fun it was to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

“Nova, dear, we are going to be late!” My mother called for me from downstairs. I couldn't help but let out an exciting shriek that sounded like a baby Pixie, as I grabbed my favorite notebook which I took everywhere; and I mean everywhere if you were thinking about the bathroom. I loved to draw magical creatures, ever since my parents bought me Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I inspire to be the second Newt Scamander, except that I would work in a creature reserve, rather than have one at home.

I ran downstairs into the living room, as my dad was opening a bag of Floo Powder, ready to travel to Diagon Alley! My father was a Curse Breaker for Gringotts and ever since he was assigned to Egyptian tombs, mum and I barely saw him. It meant the world to me that he could take a week off work to accompany me to my first ever trip to Diagon Alley to gather all the things that I would need for my First Year at Hogwarts! I still remember the whole list, which included several sets of plain black robes and a pointy hat among other things, with the books like the Standard Book of Spells Grade 1, for which I was so excited to start waving my wand in Charms Class, along with History of Magic and the one I already had Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

That reminds me! If you are asking yourself, why have we decided to leave the shopping until the last week before I had to leave on the Hogwarts Express if I got my letter in December? Well, this is a little embarrassing but I tend to be a little bit of an overachiever and if mum and dad would get me the books in December, I would probably read them all 3 times by now!

That's also the reason my mum and dad made a bet about the House I will get sorted in. My mum thinks I will be in Gryffindor, while my dad strongly disagrees and thinks I would make a perfect Ravenclaw.

As I watched my mum disappear into the green flames and my dad pushing me to go next, the excitement grew in me as I knew I was about to embark upon the best journey of my life.

“Alright, pumpkin! Are you ready? Here, there you go!” My dad gave me the bag for me to take the Floo Powder out of. “Now, speak clearly and carefully, as we practiced: Diagon Alley.”

I took the powder, stepped into our fireplace, and as I threw the powder I said loud and clear: “DIAGON ALLEY!”

The next thing I know, I was standing on a busy street next to my mum, looking up at her to see a proud face as she was trying to hold in the tears of happiness, seeing me travel by Floo Powder for my second time; the first being to visit my aunt and uncle in Scotland.

A second later, my dad appeared next to us and I finally took a look around me. It was just as they have described but busier. Perhaps waiting to get the books until the last week before school wasn't such a good idea, as it seemed that everyone did the same.

Without even asking, my parents first took me to Ollivander's as they knew I wanted my wand more than anything. My mum accompanied me into the wand shop, as my dad whispered something in her ear and hurried down the street.

“Where is dad going, mum?” She smiled at me gently. “You will see soon enough, sweetie.”

She nudged me into Ollivander's and I couldn't help but get nervous as I saw the number of boxes from black to wooden and purple to burgundy. I gasped as a man appeared right behind the counter.

“Ah, Miss Goldhorn, it is so lovely to see you again. Ebony wood, 11 inches, Dragon heartstring, very flexible. Yes, yes, I still remember.” The old man said to my mum, with sparks in his eyes.

“It's Blackwood now but the wand is still the same.” My mum smiled as she pulled out her wand and showed it to the man.

“Ah, eldest or youngest?” The man asked with a grin.

“Youngest.”

“Ah, that would be, 10 2/4 inches, Unicorn hair and very unbendable.” He said proudly as he guessed my dad's wand without even hearing his name.

“Wow, you remember that?” I was now looking at him with total amazement. I imagined myself looking at him the way I did when I saw a drawing of a Chinese Fireball for the first time.

“I remember every wand I have ever sold, Miss Blackwood. Now, shall we find one for you?” He said slowly, even though I had a feeling that he was just as excited to find me a wand as I was.

“Alright, let's see...” He said as he turned around and disappeared behind one of the shelves.

“Alder wood, Dragon heartstring, 9 inches, fairly flexible.” He opened a green box, gently taking out the wand and handing it to me. I swung it once and absolutely nothing happened. I got nervous, as I swung the wand again and again nothing whatsoever happened.

“Oh, dear.” He said as he took the wand away from me. “That one didn't like you. No worries, let us try...let's say this one!” He exclaimed as he brought the next box. This one was wooden and out he brought a smooth-looking wand that looked a bit crooked.

“Redwood, Dragon heartstring again, 11 ¾ inches, not particularly flexible. Come on dear, try it out.” He encouraged me as he put the wand in my hand. I swung this one as I did with the other one with the fear that my mum and dad will make me go to a Muggle school if nothing happens with this one. Suddenly, the nearest lamp to me broke and Mr. Ollivander was quick to take the wand away from me.

“Or perhaps not, this one doesn't seem to listen to you either.”

Again he hurried and hid behind the shelf, murmuring something to himself as I could see he was thinking hard as he was enjoying a challenge.

“Ah, I think we could get somewhere with this one!” He was so excited now that he almost jogged back to the front, a burgundy box in his hand.

“Ebony wood, Unicorn hair, 10 3/4 inches, and surprisingly swishy flexibility.”

I took the wand carefully, wishing this could be the one as I was getting quite embarrassed. I swung the wand and it gave out sparks and I got a sensation in my body as if something just connected with me.

“There we go! I had a hunch Unicorn hair would be for you!” He gently clapped his hands together as my mum, pride on her face, got closer to the counter to pay the man.

After that we spent quite some time in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions as the lady inside took measurements of me I didn't even know could be made and afterward spent almost the same amount of time in Flourish and Blotts as my mum had a hard time getting me out as I wanted to grab more than just the 8 books I needed for school.

We finally found dad as we were looking through display windows of several shops while having the tastiest ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

As he saw us through the window, he came out of Magical Menagerie, hiding something big behind his back.

He smiled at me and showed us a big owl cage with a beautiful barn owl inside. I wanted to scream with excitement but decided not to as I didn't want to scare the owl.

“Your mother and I were thinking that you should have an owl of your own as you would have to write to me and mum while at Hogwarts.” He smiled at me and stroke my thick bluish hair.

“It's so beautiful! Can I name him?”

“Of course you can, darling!” My mum chuckled.

“Pip!” I exclaimed as I admired my new best friend. It had such deep black eyes, a white face in a shape of a heart, and the most beautiful patterns I have ever seen on its wings. I couldn't wait to draw him!

A WEEK LATER

I exhaled and inhaled deeply as I was standing in front of a wall between platforms 9 and 10, my parents one on each side of me.

“You can do it, sweetheart. Just don't run too fast.” My mum said to me softly, while dad gently squeezed my shoulder.

I took another deep breath and ran towards the wall, closing my eyes. As I opened them, I was on the Platform 9 ¾, steam running from the black and red Hogwarts Express.

We had exactly 7 minutes until the train would leave. While I was standing with my mum, admiring the train, my dad took my luggage to the luggage compartment.

“Oh, sweetheart, I wish you the best First Year at Hogwarts! I hope you will have as much fun as your dad and I had!” She kneeled to me, hugging me tightly, holding back the tears. Once she stood up, my dad came back. He hugged me softly while whispering in my ear how proud he is of me.

I hurried on the train as we heard a whistle, waving to my parents who started shouting after me: “Send us Pip to tell us in which House you were sorted!” My mum yelled. “And listen and take notes in classes!” My dad added.

I waved at them through the window until the train took a turn and I couldn't see them anymore. It was time to find an empty compartment.

I was in awe of how many students were on the train as I was almost at the end of it and couldn't find a single empty compartment. I passed a compartment with two kids arguing who is going to be a better Slytherin. A compartment with someone talking about Quidditch so enthusiastically that I couldn't believe just how fast he was talking. A compartment with 2 redheads that looked like brothers, one munching on a chocolate frog with hair so long he could put it in a short ponytail, the other one sighing while saying “Aw, another Helga Hufflepuff, I already have her.” He had so many freckles on his face that it was tough to define his skin tone.

I finally stopped in front of a compartment as a girl with pink hair caught my eye. She was sitting and conversing with 2 other girls and it looked like they were having a nice time. I slowly opened the compartment, cleared my throat, and asked if I could join them. To my surprise, they were more than thrilled to have me join and I was a little relieved that I finally found somewhere to sit as I sat down next to a girl with blond hair.

“Wotcher, my name is Tonks, nice to meetcha!” The pink girl said, grinning at me.

“I'm, Penny. Very nice to meet you.” Said the blond girl next to me, with a polite voice as she smiled at me.

“And I'm Tulip, Tulip Karasu.” Said the redhead as she extended her hand to me.

“Blimey, if I knew we were going into such details I would've said more!” Tonks said while Tulip and Penny chuckled. “Nymphadora Tonks, a Metamorphmagus at your service! And you better call me Tonks as I swear my parents are paying every single day for naming me that way!” The girl with the pink hair said. The other 2 chuckled again.

“They are paying for it?” I asked, puzzled.

“Ah yes, I prank them all the time and I am as mischievous as I possibly can be!” Said Tonks, proudly.

“Just because of your name?” I asked. She nodded in confirmation. I already liked her, even though I had no reason for not behaving around my parents, but I liked her energy.

“And if we are introducing each other with the full name, I am Penny Haywood, half-blood and proud of my dad being a muggle.” She said with the biggest smile I have ever seen anyone admit that they are not a Pure Blood.

“Blimey, I don't know how to introduce myself.” Said Tonks a bit disappointed that Penny added a new thing to learn about each other.

“Oh, I have an idea. How about we go in a circle and each of us says a sentence about ourselves. That way we can get to know each other and can give each other ideas about what the others haven't said yet!” Tulip said, quite proud of her idea.

“Yes, let's do that and let her start since we don't even know her name.” Tonks said while nodding her head at me.

“Alright, well. My name is Nova Blackwood, I am a Pure Blood. My mum is an Auror and my dad is a Curse Breaker in Egypt.”

“Wicked!” Tulip and Tonks said at the same time.

“That sounds like a dangerous but very fun position.” Said Penny thoughtfully.

“It's obvious that Penny's hair is naturally blond and I think that's Tulip's natural hair but may I ask why is your hair blue?” Tonks asked bluntly.

“Yeah, I was wondering that as well!” Said Tulip excited as if Tonks was reading her mind and then adding “And my hair is naturally red, yes.”

“Well, it's quite a funny story.” I started, chuckling. “When my mum was pregnant, my aunt from Scotland tried to dye my mum's hair dark blue. She is a very clumsy woman and as my mum was talking right before my aunt cast the spell, my aunt tripped looking at her instead of where she pointed her wand at, and as she cast the spell she pointed it at my mum's belly. They thought nothing of it since they thought the spell didn't work. However, when I was born and my dad had a puzzled look on his face as I came out with this hair color,” I pointed at my dark bluish grey hair, “my mum knew exactly where I got it from.

They asked the nurses and they did tests on me however they couldn't figure out how to reverse the spell so that my hair would be brown like my parents' so they eventually gave up as the hair color grew on them, naming me Nova after the supernova explosion since the color of the explosion tends to be blue sometimes.” I said, finishing my story.

“Wicked!” Said Tulip and Tonks together again.

“That has to be the most beautiful story I have ever heard.” Breathed Penny, looking as if she was ready to cry.

“Thank you?” I said as I didn't know what to say as I tell the same story to anyone who asks me.

“My turn!” Shouted Tonks. “Well, you know my name already. My father is a Muggle-born as well, mum's a witch from the Black family line. Don't like to talk about it too much. My hair's pink because as I said I am a Methamorphmagus and I can turn it whichever color I want. And I can also do this!” She said excitedly as her nose turned to that of an elephant.

We all stared at her in awe, clapping as if we have just seen an amazing performance.

“Well, I am a Pure Blood too. Mum works in Diagon Alley and my dad works for the Ministry: The Department of Mysteries so you can guess, I have no idea what his work is. And since we are talking about hair, I have it after my mum, she has hair just like mine.” She said grinning.

“Tonks said that she doesn't want to talk about her parents but Penny you were really happy to announce that your dad is a Muggle. Can you tell us something more, I have no knowledge of Muggles.” I said with an interest in my voice.

“Well, my mum is a Potioneer, selling her potions to pharmacies and other buyers, my dad however is a writer.

Since my mum and I are witches, he is quite successful as he writes children's novels mum giving him false information about Magic folk for him to write about, since she, you know, can't tell the truth because of the Statute of Secrecy but my dad loves it anyways and envies us that he can't clean the dishes with his wand.

I also have a younger sister named Beatrice who can be quite annoying but I love her all the same. Having a Muggle dad is interesting as there is always something mum has to explain to him but as he is always fascinated by it, it works out quite alright. And all my family including both sides of my grandparents have this kind of blond hair so I guess it runs in the family.” She chuckled after finishing the last sentence.

“Sorry to bother you ladies,” our compartment opened and a girl who looked like a Head Girl put her head in, “we will be arriving shortly, so I suggest you put your robes on. Also, I assume you are all First Years, meaning that you will want to find a rather large man when you exit the train as First Years make their way up to the Castle in a bit of a different way.” She said, giving us a friendly smile.

“So, which House do you think you'll be sorted in?” Asked Penny while we were all changing into our robes. “I don't care as long as I can have all the Potion Classes that I can get.” She added enthusiastically.

“Hmm, didn't put that much thought into it.” Said Tonks, frowning as she started to think about it.

“My parents were in the same year, but my mum was in Gryffindor and my dad was in Ravenclaw, so we'll see. They did make a bet in which House I'll be as they are both rooting for their own House.” I said as I buttoned my final button on my shirt.

“You know what?” Finally said, Tulip. “I like you lot, I would be very happy to be in the same House as all of you.” We all smiled at her as we realized that we would all like that very much.

[angryschnauzer]

In Another World

Summary: In another world, it was Jensen that got the role of Captain America, not Chris. You have dreamed of meeting Jensen ever since you saw him in his CGI glory in The First Avenger, and your comicon experience you discover to be underwhelming. But then you meet a cosplayer in the bar... and life takes an altogether different turn for you.

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Comicon, Comic Convention, Strangers at a Bar, Cosplay, Captain America Cosplay, Unprotected Sex, Hotel Room Sex, Oral Sex, Fingering, Blow Job, Anal Play.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Female Reader (no race specified)

The above Jensen manip i cannot trace, it was sent to me years ago by a now deactivated tumblr user, with the signature half chopped off. Its the artwork that inspired this fic. In case you weren’t aware, Jensen auditioned for the role of Captain America but it of course went to Chris.

I do not operate a tag list, but feel free to go ahead and follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications, as you will then be notified when i post a new story. Oneshots will be posted on Tumblr and AO3, Multichapter stories will be AO3 exclusives.

Due to the amount of stories i have written over the years i no longer have a masterlist, instead please check out my AO3 HERE.

In Another World

You sat at your computer, staring at the screen as you streamed the latest press junket. Marvel was going all out with its ten-year plan for The Avengers and with this press tour for The Winter Soldier you had fallen in love even more with Cap.

 As the images streamed live from the far east, you watched as Jensen flexed his muscles and his co-stars laughed in admiration. He was born to be Captain America.

 But you weren’t the only one watching.

 In a small apartment in Boston another pair of eyes watched with an added level of sadness. He remembered the audition. Standing in the hallway with a bunch of other guys, all in their 20’s, all having a few bit-part roles under their belts in teen TV shows or low budget horror movies. The same green eyes that stared out of the screen had looked at him in the hallway, holding his hand out to shake;

 “Hey man. Jensen”

 “Chris”

 Jensen smiled;

 “Strong Boston accent there dude”

 Chris chuckled;

 “Say the same about you, what’s that Houston?”

 “Dallas”

 “Eh, close enough”

 They chatted for a while as the guys ahead of them in the line entered the room, only to leave 5 minutes later. They didn’t look up at the guys left, no-one wanted to read expressions to give themselves fake hope. The door opened and the annoying droll voice of the elderly secretary called out;

 “Ackles”

 Chris looked up, holding his hand out to his new acquaintance;

 “Break a leg man”

 Shaking it briefly Jensen nodded;

 “Thanks man”

 -

 You clung to your priority tickets, the excitement so intense you weren’t sure if you were going to puke or cry. You hoped for neither. It was your first convention and you had maxed out your credit card and called in sick from work when the special edition tickets had been released, refreshing your computer every ten seconds so that when they had been released online you had made your purchase within 30 seconds. 

 Now standing towards the front of the queue you were terrified. You had loved Jensen from the first moment you’d seen him in all his CGI glory in The First Avenger. You’d followed his career and had even gone back and watched his entire back catalogue. He was a natural for the role and the stealth suit from the most recent movie had made him look so handsome you had actually swooned when you had seen those first opening scenes of the movie aboard the Lumerian Star. 

 The con volunteers were doing an amazing job, herding the fans into some form of order, and as you got closer you could hear the laughter and squeals of joy as fans ahead of you were rapidly shown in.

 It was your turn. The flimsy black curtain was pulled aside, and you were pushed into the brightness of the well-lit area that was surrounded on all sides by vivid blue panels that bore the con’s logo. Jensen turned and smiled, putting his hand out and you found you were standing next to him. Your head swam;

 “Do you have a pose?”

 “Umm…”  You could see the con workers and volunteers moving their arms in a ‘hurry up’ motion; “I guess… a hug?”

 “Sure thing”

 He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pointed towards the bored looking photographer;

 “Smile sweetie”

 You did. You smiled, your saw blobs as the flash blinded you. You didn’t even register as Jensen pressed his hand to your back, thanking you before turning to the next person who had already been pulled through the black curtain. A volunteer took your wrist and pulled you gently through the curtain on the far side, giving you your photo number as they apologised it was so fast.

 The curtain closed and you stood there, blinking as you tried to focus on the small piece of paper you held. It was done. Over. You’d met Jensen and it had been so rushed you hadn’t even had chance to look at him. 

 The bile started to rise, you looked around and saw a trash can, leaning over it and vomited into the piles of used coffee cups and candy wrappers. 

 -

 The hunt for a bottle of water at a con hadn’t been something you would think would take so long; a lot of the vendors had already sold out, others the line was so long it would have taken you longer to get the water than the queue for the con in the first place. It seemed as if everyone was walking against you, or you were going against the flow of them, but when you finally got your water you drained the entire bottle, soothing your bile parched throat. Wiping your mouth with the back of your hand you heard an announcement over the PA system;

 “We apologise, but the Jensen Ackles panel won’t be broadcast out of the auditorium due to technical issues”

 “WHAT?” you grabbed your wrist, looking at your watch as your eyes went wide. You’d been so dazed by your photo op and feeling ill afterwards you had forgotten about the panel. You needed a drink, and something stronger than water.

 -

 Chris adjusted the helmet of his costume as he looked in the mirror. The men’s room was quiet, the main panel of the con was on and he couldn’t bring himself to sit in the same room as the guy that had won the role that had made him millions; of fans and dollars. 

 After not getting the Captain America role Chris had continued to take bit parts and small independent movies. He was recognised occasionally but he hadn’t hit the big time. In fact there were months when there was nothing coming in and it was only after someone had asked him to fill in at a kids party where one of the superhero guys had fallen sick at the last minute did the idea of cosplaying come to him. Now however he was well known in cosplay circles, even getting paid for some appearances. He was called a natural for the role, but that was the hardest to hear. He’d worked hard with his costumer and within just a few weeks of the latest movie coming out they’d successfully recreated the amazing Stealth Suit in its darker colours. 

 Checking his pants for his wallet he decided he needed a drink, and something stronger than a soda. 

 -

 Nodding to the bartender, you thanked him as he set the beer down in front of you before he went to the far end of the bar to pull the latest load of glasses out of the dishwasher. You sat picking at the label and tracing patterns in the condensation that gathered on the cool glass. You were vaguely aware of other people coming and going, and when the barstool next to you was taken you didn’t look up.

 “What’ll it be Cap?”

 The bartender’s greeting drew your attention from your drink, casting your gaze to your side and your breath was sucked from your body. You watched as the man set his helmet onto the surface of the bar before nodding to what you were drinking;

 “Same as the lady please”

 Your eyes travelled from where his hand sat on the countertop of the bar up the dark sleeve of his stealth suit, taking in his wide shoulders and up to the fluffy dark blonde hair, slightly messed up from where he’d been wearing the helmet. You couldn’t help it, but you were staring. Your jaw was hanging low as he turned slowly to you, his blue eyes sparkling with just the faintest hint of green as he looked at you and a self-conscious smile tugged at the corner of his mouth;

 “Hi…”

 “You’re… you’re…”

 “No, just cosplaying…” he turned back to his beer for a moment until you finally found your voice

 “No. You’re Chris”

 He set his beer on the countertop and turned to you, this time a genuine smile on his face;

 “Do we know each other?”

 “Well…” you blushed; “We spoke on Instagram” He cocked an eyebrow, but his attention didn’t waiver from you as you continued; “You’re ‘AlmostCap’, right? You posted about wanting advice on how to dye leather boots a deeper colour? I messaged you with the details of the dyes costumiers use”

 His face broke into a wide smile;

 “Oh yeah, that really worked! How did you know that?”

 “Majored in theatre design at college”

 “Well that titbit of knowledge brought the whole costume together” he motioned to his stealth suit and you couldn’t help but to look him up and down; “Without you I wouldn’t look this good”

 You snorted back a laugh;

 “I’m sure you look just a good without the suit”

 Bringing your beer to your lips you took a sip, not realising Chris had moved closer until his lips brushed against your ear;

 “Would you like to find out?”

 -

 The hotel room door crashed against the wall, the metal doorknob leaving a dent in the drywall. Chris had you pressed up against it, one hand holding you flush with his chest as his other hand blindly reached out for the door to close it. As soon as his fingertips grasped the cool wood he threw it shut with a thud that reverberated through the room. 

 Your hands clawed at Chris’s costume, desperate to find purchase, something, anything to hang onto and anchor yourself as he kissed you so hard you saw spangled stars. He’d put his costume helmet back on for the rather quick walk through the convention to the hotel where you were staying. His lips traced patterns over your cheek before he pressed kisses down your neck, whispering as he went;

 “I don’t normally do this…”

 “Me neither…

 “...especially in costume…”

 “Oh Chris…Cap…”

 “It’s Captain tonight, Princess”

 His fingers had found their way to the buttons on the front of your dress, skilfully plucking each one from its grasp on the thin cotton fabric, before his still gloved hand roughly cupped your breasts. As his lips found yours again, he groaned into your mouth as he weighed your breasts in his large hands, the rough leather against the lace of your bra sending chills through you. If Chris had a Captain kink you weren’t about to say no, hell, it would be one of your biggest fantasies. 

 You found yourself being manhandled towards the bed, Chris’s kisses hard and ravenous, and when he wasn’t kissing you his tongue was doing the most devilish things on your skin. The bed touched the back of your knees and you were falling back onto the covers, Chris following seconds later as he pressed you into the mattress. With a thick thigh he pushed your legs apart, the rough Kevlar fabric of his suit brushing against the delicate skin of your soft skin as his fingers sought out the juncture of thighs. The brush of the harsh leather of his fingerless gloves made you groan into his mouth as he tugged your panties to the side and his thumb found your clit. Rubbing small circles, he teased it from its hood, before his fingers slid through your folds to ease some of your slick moisture from you to smooth his efforts. 

 When his lips left yours you chased after them, but his voice made you settle back against the bed and open your eyes;

 “Uh-uh… stay there Princess”

 You watched as he brought his fingers to his mouth, before his kiss bruised lips closed around his glistening digits and he moaned as he tasted you;

 “You taste amazing”

 “Umm… thank you?”

 “Here…”

 He brought his hand to your mouth and you grasped it as you sucked gently on just the fingertips, watching as Chris’s already lust blown pupils widened even further;

 “Jesus fucking Christ, your tongue…”

 Letting go of his fingers with an audible pop, you pushed yourself up onto your elbows, resting on one arm as you slid a hand between your bodies and palmed his erection through his suit;

 “What about my tongue?” you grinned before you tugged him down to lay beside you. 

 Pushing up onto your knees you ran your hand down his chest and stomach, the costume warm from his body heat and firm to the touch. Your fingers clawed at his suit to try and find the zipper, and after thirty seconds of searching you let out a huff;

 “Ok, how the fuck to I get in here?”

 With a low chuckle Chris reached down and lifted a hidden Velcro flap that revealed the button and the top of the zipper, and you eagerly tugged the pants of his suit open. The large bulge in his boxers immediately filled the space of the open zipper, and you found yourself nuzzling against the hardness that the soft jersey fabric could hardly contain. Pressing open mouthed kisses to the hard shaft through the fabric, you felt Chris’s hands on your head, he wasn’t pushing but you could tell he wanted you. With a smile you just about tugged his boxers down enough to free his cock, the thick shaft standing proud from the fly of his stealth suit. You wrapped your hands around it, the flesh hot to touch and pumped him slowly. 

 “Ah fuck Princess…”

 “Yes Captain?”

 “Please…”

 He sounded wrecked, and as you leant forwards and licked at the bead of clear precum that was pooling at the tip you not only heard but felt the low rumble of his moan of appreciation. Wrapping your lips around the tip you started to suck, your tongue working over the hot smooth flesh as your fist worked up and down, pumping him slowly as you let the saliva pool in your mouth so you could take him deeper. In a moment when you pulled off to take a breath Chris’s hands were suddenly on your hips, moving you until you were kneeling on the bed and straddling his shoulders, and for a moment you squealed where his sudden strength had moved you with such ease.

 “Gotta taste you…” he muttered from beneath the skirt of your dress, his hands smoothing over the globes of your ass and you could feel his breath hot on your skin. His fingers tugged your panties to the side and he was pulling you down onto his mouth, his tongue swiping through your soaked folds. 

 For a moment you lost yourself, Chris’s efforts driving you closer to orgasm than you thought was possible, but you found your senses and leant forwards again, taking him as deep as you could and you felt his moan deep in your cunt as he almost came on the spot. Working your fingers into his suit you cupped his balls, feeling them tight and hot in your hand as you sucked hard on his cock. At the same time you felt Chris drive his tongue into your soaked hole and his thumb sought out your clit. Your orgasm was rapidly approaching, and you could feel your legs start to shake. The harder he drove forwards the deeper you took him into your mouth. You heard a muffled cry from between your thighs and you felt that first tremble of the thick vein that ran the length of his cock. At the same time you felt his fingers dance over the crack of your ass, one finger pressing lightly against your dark rose and you were cumming over his face as he pumped thick ropes of cum down your throat. 

 When your legs were about to give out you tactfully rolled to the side, laying on the bed next to Chris as he fought to catch his breath. With laboured efforts he wrenched his helmet off, and you propped yourself up on your elbows to watch as he started to fumble with his costume;

 “Gotta get out of this…”

 Watching a hot guy strip was not something you’d experienced before, and a hot guy dressed as Captain America? Well that was hitting all your buttons in one go. You smiled as Chris was muttering to himself;

 “Fuckin’ suit, so fuckin’ hot… fuckin’ drenched in sweat…”

 When he was down to just his pants you finally spoke up;

 “Need a hand there Captain?”

 Chris looked up and grinned;

 “You mind if I use your shower?”

 “Sure thing, it’s all yours…”

 Chris started for the small bathroom door, his utility pants hanging low on his hips before he paused and turned, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth;

 “Wanna join me?”

 -

 Showering with a guy you had literally just met was a surreal experience. The comfort and security of being partially clothed during a hook-up was completely stripped from you as you stood in the small shower enclosure the hotel room offered. Chris had looked absolutely sinful as he had stood beneath the cascading water; his skin patterned with multiple tattoos and just the right amount of chest hair that made you want to run your fingers through it as the hot water coursed over his body. Your fingers had trailed down over his hard stomach, tracing the trail of hair that led to his thick cock hanging heavy between his muscled thighs. 

 His lips had met yours eagerly again, and he soon had you pressed against the wall, his leg wedged between your thighs as you ground yourself against the firm muscle. Chris’s hands found your ass and eagerly pulled you hard against him, trapping his now angry cock between your bodies;

 “Fuck… you’re so fuckin’ sexy” he muttered against your ear, his fingers digging into your asscheeks; “You gonna cum for me Princess? Soak my thigh?”

 “Yes Chris, please…”

 “What do you need Princess?”

“Something…. Just more…”

 He pulled back from you, searching your expression for something, anything as he chose his words;

 “I can give you more…” The depth of tone sent a shudder down your spine; “I’m gonna ask you this and you can say no, and I won’t walk out that door if you say no, but do you like ass play?”

 You growled. You god-damn growled like a feral wildcat, nodding eagerly;

 “Yes Chris… fuck, yes…”

 He captured your lips for another fierce kiss as his hands slid over your ass and one finger trailed up the seam of your cheeks before pressing gently against your rear;

 “Now Princess” he muttered against your lips; “I haven’t got any lube in here so it’ll just be a gentle press, you tell me if you want me to stop”

 You nodded, biting your lip as he pushed forwards, one hand gripping your hip as he slid you up and down his soaked thigh, the other pressing gently but insistently against your back door.

 Just that stimulation alone was enough, and you were cumming hard, your head pressed against the cool tiles as Chris sucked a hickey into your neck. 

 You stood there panting as you tried to regain your composure, Chris holding you tight in his arms as he gently caressed you as you finally came to your senses. Nuzzling against his neck you felt him push his hips forward, his thick cock hard again against your hip;

 “Ready for another round?”

 “Anything for you Cap” you grinned.

 -

 The pair of you had fallen back onto the bed, half dry and oblivious to anything other than pleasure. Body heat rising, you felt your back naturally arch as Chris lay on top of you, pulling his knee up to part your legs further and you could feel his thick length laying hot and hard against your soaked folds. As his other leg pushed up and parted your thighs even further, you felt that first nudge of his tip at your soaked entrance, your legs instinctively wrapping themselves around his waist and with one firm squeeze you felt his breach your body and slide into you.

 The base noise that escaped your throat as you felt each glorious inch stretch your velvet walls was music to Chris’s ears, and he let you take the lead even though he was the one on top, letting your body grow accustomed to his size. His lips brushed against your ear as he spoke softly;

 “You’re doing so good Princess, feel so fuckin’ amazing, takin’ me so deep”

 You slowly relaxed your thighs grip on his waist and Chris started to move, sliding his hips back as he slid out, before pushing slowly back in. Propping himself up either side of you, you watched as his arms bulged as he looked down and watched as he pulled out again, your wetness liberally coating him. 

 With his tip just notched inside you whined at the loss, before with a powerful thrust he filled you completely;

 “Holy FUCK!”

 “Do you like that Princess? Like my thick dick splitting you open?”

 “Fuck Chris, yes, do it again… please!” you whined.

  The gorgeous man above you grinned down, seemingly turned on by your begging, and with a loud grunt he started to pile drive into you, his impressive girth stretching you in all the right ways, the slight upward curve to his shaft making your g-spot his number one target with every push. The man was a demon in bed, fucking you hard as he pressed kisses to your chest and breasts, all whilst uttering the dirtiest things about how good you felt, how well you were taking his dick. You begged for more and he eagerly gave it, fucking you through one orgasm before chasing another. His thrusts started to get sloppy, his hips stuttering and he cursed quietly under his breath;

 “Fuck… I’m gonna cum soon…”

 “Cum inside me… I’m on the pill…”

 He pushed a hand between your bodies, rubbing hard circles against your clit and soon you were coming, your orgasm triggering his, and you as your body milked the cum from his body you both felt like you had found heaven. 

 With a grunt Chris rolled to your side, his dick sliding out of your soaked channel and he lay on the bed, his head propped up on one elbow, his dick full and swollen at your hip, still shining with your combined fluids. Your body trembled with the aftershocks of your intense orgasm, and you practically purred when Chris gently ran his fingertips over your breasts;

 “That was fuckin’ amazing… I’m probably going about this the wrong way, but can I buy you dinner?”

 “That’d be nice”

 -

 Dinner had been a fun affair; you had redressed, and Chris had worn his stealth suit pants but just wore the thin Under Armour undershirt instead of the full suit. Although the hotel was well used to people in cosplay costumes during the conventions using their facilities, Chris didn’t want to draw attention to himself, instead he wanted his sole attention to be able to be on you rather than people asking for photos. Throughout your meal the conversation had been fun and light, Chris telling you how he had in fact auditioned for the Marvel role but didn’t envy the craziness that came with the now worldwide recognition that Jensen had to put up with. You had explained how you now worked for a theatrical costumer’s agency on the West Coast, but had heard about some openings for a new series production out of Vancouver.

 Chris laughed softly;

 “Typical… I fall for a girl that lives on the opposite side of the country”

 “You… you’ve fallen for me?”

 Chris paused, resting his hand over yours;

 “I’m sorry, I’m kinda sappy when it comes to relationships… and I gotta be honest, when I saw you at the bar, I recognised you from your Instagram and when you helped me… I was trying to play it cool…” he took a deep breath; “I hope I’m not scaring you off…”

 Leaning forward you pressed a kiss to his cheek;

 “No… it’s nice… its more than nice…”

 -

 Once the meal was over the pair of you stood in the foyer, unsure what to do before Chris pointed out the rest of his costume was in your room.

 “Where are you staying tonight?”

 “I was meant to be crashing on a friends couch”

 Grinning you pulled him close;

 “Did you want a bed rather than a couch?”

 “Fuck yes”

 Minutes later you were crashing in the door to your room, Chris’s hands and lips trying to cover every inch of your body, and this time with the knowledge of how his costume worked you knew exactly how to get his pants open, tugging them to the floor as you pushed him into one of the chairs and knelt at his booted feet. With his dick in your mouth he was soon hard again, but that was when he took control, standing and moving you until you were knelt on the soft chair arms looking out of the high rise window over the convention center and city below, the lights of the city oblivious as he flipped your skirt up and pulled your panties down, and filled you with one smooth thrust;

 “Fuck… this pussy is fuckin’ perfect, you feel like heaven…”

 Wrapping his strong arms around you he pulled you flush with his hard chest, sucking at your neck as his dick rubbed so beautifully against your g-spot you were coming again, screaming out your release as Chris pulled out and lifted you, pulling you to your feet before you found yourself pressed against the wall and he filled you again. 

 Clinging to his wide shoulders you felt him filling you over and over, your pleasure climbing higher than you ever thought possible. Chris’s strong arms were holding you up, his large hands gripping your ass as he fucked you into the wall, your legs wrapped around his narrow waist;

 “Chris, I’m gonna cum…”

 “That’s it, cum for me, let me feel that pussy milking me as I fill you up… you feel so good, I’m never letting this pussy go…”

 As you came so did he, your walls squeezing him so tight he thought he may pass out from the sheer pleasure. For the longest time he just held you there, your bodies joined until Chris’s dick softened enough to slip out of you. Letting your feet fall to the ground you kissed as you made your way to the bed, falling onto the mattress before wrapping the covers around your flushed bodies, falling asleep soon after.

 -

 The sound of a phone ringing pulled you from sleep, the warm body next to you grumbling at the sound before it rapidly jumped out of bed;

 “Fuck, that’s my phone”

 Through bleary eyes you watched Chris’s naked ass as he rummaged through the piles of clothing on the floor, finding his phone and answering it just in time;

 “Yeah… uh-huh… for real?! Yeah absolutely! Send me the details, I’ll be there!”

 You watched as he listened a little longer before ending the call, turning to you and he had the biggest smile on his face;

 “I might have gotten a part!”

 “Really? That’s amazing!”

 “Yeah, they want me to do some screen tests with a possible co-star, see if there’s chemistry”

 Jumping out of bed you ran and hugged him, kissing him deeply as he carried you back to the bed;

 “I feel like celebrating… how about breakfast in bed?”

 “Ok, I’ll call room serv… oh…”

 Chris was pushing your legs apart and kissing up your inner thigh, and that’s when you realised he was talking about a different kind of breakfast in bed. As you lay back and enjoyed the magic he could perform with his tongue, you blissed out from pleasure.

 -

 Three Weeks Later

 Chris finished the last scene, the director calling cut and he grinned as he looked at his castmates. None of them could quite believe how they were there, standing in a cold and rainy British Columbia small town, with writers and directors that had been trying to get their series picked up for years. 

 The rest of the cast of ‘Supernatural’ was a small ensemble, and having been given the role of the older brother; Dean Winchester, Chris felt at home with the role and had been given he contract straight after his screen test with his on screen brother Sam. Laughing with the actor that played Sam - a native New Yorker by the name of Sebastian - the two of them had immediately clicked and their friendship and on screen chemistry shone through the camera.

 “Hey Evans, Stan!”

 The sound of the producer’s voice caught Chris’s attention;

 “Yeah?”

 They need you two back at the studio, costume fitting”

 “Sure thing”

 -

 The sound of the small doorbell that had been fitted on the counter drew your attention from the racks in the back room, calling out for your new arrival that you’d be out in a second. The job you’d applied for in Vancouver had pulled through, and it was your first week. A new show that needed a lot of men’s casual wear, yet things like jeans and jackets needed seams strengthened for fight scenes and pockets added for prop weapons. You were yet to meet the two main stars of the show, the casting having not been fully finalised until just days ago, and everything was hush-hush until it was going to be announced at one of the late summer conventions. 

 Dumping the armfuls of clothing onto the counter you turned and almost fainted;

 “Chris?!”

 For a second he looked in shock before he vaulted the counter, and took you into his arms;

 “You’re here? You’re really here?”

 “You’re the star?! You didn’t tell me!”

 You kissed him deeply, before a quiet cough from behind Chris drew your attention, Chris turning;

 “Seb, I want you to meet the girl I was telling you about”

 The other guy raised an eyebrow;

 “You’re THE girl? Wow, it’s a pleasure to meet you” he held his hand out over the counter and you shook it, Chris still holding you in his arms; “I’m Sebastian but everyone calls me Seb”

 Looking at the two of them you knew in that moment the show was going to be a hit, and you looked forward to making these two look even better on screen… if that was even possible.

[junker-town]

Josh Giddey is the NBA draft pick who almost slipped through the cracks

How Josh Giddey went from being cut by his Australian state team to a potential NBA draft lottery pick.

Josh Giddey knew he was down to his last chance. As he arrived at a multi-day basketball jamboree known as the East Coast Challenge, Giddey was one of 60 youth players competing from the Australian states of Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia hoping to be selected for the prestigious state team.

State basketball is the pathway to a brighter future in the game in Australia, but it had alluded Giddey to this point. Three times he had tried out for state-level basketball, and three times he had received an email at the end of the event telling him he’d been cut. Only 16 years old and already realizing he was at a crossroads in his career, Giddey was determined not to let it happen again.

He had the benefit of a recent growth spurt this time around that taken him up to 6’8 as a point guard. The added height only accentuated the gifts that always made him stand out: his passing and playmaking, and perhaps more importantly his ability to think one step ahead of the next defensive adjustment. After shining at the camp, the anxious hours waiting to hear if he was selected turned into a quiet confidence.

“I kept promising myself I wouldn’t get cut, I wouldn’t get cut, and the last opportunity I had to make the state team I didn’t get cut,” Giddey told SB Nation. “I finally got that one email I was waiting for.”

Giddey’s life has been in overdrive ever since. After shining at a subsequent national event, he was offered a scholarship by the NBA Global Academy at the Australian Institute of Sport. Giddey moved across the country to Canberra, where he would spend the next 18 months developing his game and his body while competing against peer-aged competition around the world. The accolades he earned at the academy eventually led Giddey to become the first Australian player to be tabbed for the Next Stars program in the country’s domestic professional league, the NBL.

After one season with the Adelaide 36ers, Giddey is now on his way to the 2021 NBA Draft. The same player who couldn’t separate himself from his peers in Victoria only two years ago is now projected as a likely lottery pick.

Giddey is at once on a meteoric rise and still just scratching the surface. He’s one of the youngest players in the draft and has a case as one of the most accomplished given his production in a pro league against seasoned adults. He is still growing into his body and refining his jump shot while already possessing the type of mental processing gifts that can’t be taught. It has been a wild ride to bring him to the precipice of his NBA dreams, but Giddey isn’t the type to get overwhelmed by the moment.

“It’s just good to see the work paying off,” he said.

Photo by Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

Marty Clarke remembers the first time he identified Giddey as a future prospect to watch during his days as a college assistant coach at WCC power Saint Mary’s. A fellow Australian, Clarke was a former teammate of Josh’s dad, Warrick, who enjoyed a long professional career with the NBL’s Melbourne Tigers and had his No. 6 retired by the club. He saw the traits that could eventually make the young guard the type of player Saint Mary’s would one day want to target, but he knew it was going to be a while before they could do so. Giddey was only 12 years old.

“When I first went to St. Mary’s in 2013, I said coach (Randy) Bennett, there’s a kid I want to put on the board but it will be like seven years before we can get him,” Clarke recalls. “He can really pass with his weak hand. He can pass full court, off the dribble, or from penetration. He was kind of doing a lot of that stuff as a 12-14 year old. Now he’s a 6’8 person who can do that.”

Clarke would eventually get his chance to help develop Giddey in a way neither could have anticipated. When the NBA partnered with the Australian Institute of Sport and Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence in 2017 to launch the NBA Global Academy, Clarke left Saint Mary’s to take a job as its technical director. Clarke was the perfect candidate as someone who previously had experience as a coach at the Australian Institute of Sport, and now had familiarity with American college basketball.

The same place that had produced almost every Australian player to reach the NBA — Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Joe Ingles, Luc Longley, Aron Baynes, and Patty Mills among them — was now further investing in its connection to the league. Clarke would oversee all aspects of player development and coaching for the 12 high school-aged players who were offered a scholarship to the academy.

“We have a really good blue print,” Clarke said. “The Australian academy has been here for 40 years. This is what this place has always been doing, producing Olympians and future NBA players.”

The NBA launched academies in India, Senegal, Mexico, China over the last 10 years as a year-round development initiative for elite youth prospects. Australia’s Global Academy takes teenagers from around the world. In its partnership with the AIS, players with the Global Academy live in dorms and attend classes while preparing them for life as a professional athlete. Instead of trying to win as many games as possible and compete for championships like a college team, the main goal of the academy is individual development.

The players at the Global Academy go to school and training six days per week with only Sundays off. In a typical week, players will be put through regular full team practices, as well as smaller group sessions that focus on things like connecting the bigs to the smalls by drilling pick-and-rolls and post entries. There’s shooting and skill training every morning before school, as well as weight lifting three times per week, and mindfulness training. Spliced in with all of that is education on nutrition, physiology, and personal learning like financial literacy and social media courses.

“Our goal here is when they leave here, they have lots of options,” Clarke said. “We make sure they’re eligible for universities. We want to make sure every door is open when they leave.”

The Global Academy also plays games against peer-aged teams, and that’s where Giddey continued to raise his profile. Giddey would lead the academy to the championship at the prestigious Torneo Junior Ciutat de L’Hospitalet tournament in Spain and was named MVP of the event. He followed it up with a strong showing at Basketball Without Borders during All-Star Weekend last year in Chicago.

“His development since he got here has been off the charts,” Clarke said. “Because he missed that state-level development, he skipped up to another level and had a lot to learn. He jumped a stage, really.”

Giddey’s time at the academy had given him multiple avenues to explore on what he should do next. That’s when he faced the next flashpoint decision in his burgeoning young career: Was he better off going to college in America or staying home to play in Australia?

Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Giddey had a long list of American college basketball programs who wanted him. He had standing scholarship offers from Arizona, Colorado, Rutgers, St. John’s, and more. After one college visit in particular, Giddey felt like he was ready to commit.

“I was 99 percent set on college,” Giddey said. “I took a visit to Colorado sometime in 2020, when I left there after my two-day visit, I was ready to commit there. I was about to commit there but my parents said just wait to we get home and we’ll talk about it.

“So I went home and we started talking to some people and they started talking about the NBL Next Star pathway. I met with Jeremy Loeliger, who is the CEO of the NBL, and they really sold it to me. The way they take care of their kids, the opportunity you’ll get to play against grown men at such a young age, I thought that was better for me personally than going to college to play against other kids.”

On April 16, 2020, at just 17 years old, Giddey signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL. He had become the first Australian to take advantage of the league’s ‘Next Stars’ program, which was originally intended to lure top American prospects who didn’t want to play college basketball. Former McDonald’s All-Americans Terrance Ferguson and Brian Bowen were two of the first signees of the program, but it was a decision by LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton to sign in Australia that helped convince Giddey it was the best path for him.

“They surprised everyone with how good they were, especially LaMelo,” said Giddey. “It was good to see because it was something I wanted to do. I wanted to be an NBL player and eventually an NBA player. To see those guys come through gave me the confidence to think I could hopefully do something similar.”

Going from youth tournaments against peer-aged competition to playing against grown men was an enormous adjustment. Giddey struggled with it at first. The ambitious passes that defined his time at the youth level were often becoming turnovers in more meaningful games. He was ice cold as a shooter to start the year, hitting just 2-of-20 shots from three-point range over his first seven games. The biggest issue was playing through contact on both ends of the floor.

“I was struggling with the physicality of the league,” Giddey said of the start to his time in the NBL. “You don’t realize how physical the league is until you actually play against guys that are 35 years old and strong, athletic, and quick. It was just a completely different level to junior basketball. I was playing at a fast pace the whole time. I was rushed, I was nervous.”

He points to his second game as his initial breakthrough, when he finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists against South East Melbourne, and was trusted to take the final shot in regulation. Even though he missed, the 36ers would win in overtime, and Giddey started every game the rest of the season.

Giddey was masterful at times as a facilitator, firing passes to open shooters in the corner with either hand and finding unique angles to get the ball to the big man near the basket. Starting center Daniel Johnson had one of the best seasons of his career at age-33 with Giddey at the controls, and fellow teammate (and former Kentucky big man) Isaac Humphries turned into a dependable scorer, as well. Giddey’s three-point shot also started to come around eventually, hitting 36.7 percent of his shots from deep those first 20 attempts.

“The big thing for me early in the year was I was so down on confidence,” Giddey said. “I was so worried if I missed what people were going to say, what scouts were going to think. There was a point where I spoke to one of my teammates and he told me all of this doesn’t matter. Just shoot every shot like you think you’re going to make it. That was when it switched for me.”

Before season’s end, Giddey had run off three triple-doubles over a four-game stretch and had firmly established himself as a first round NBA draft pick. Given his age and the level of competition, Giddey was remarkably productive: he averaged 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and a league-leading 7.5 assists per game on 51 percent true shooting.

Those numbers stack up reasonably well to what Ball did in the same league a year earlier as 6’8 playmaking guard at 18 years old. Ball scored more, but slightly less efficiently (47.9 true shooting) while their rebound, assist, and steal numbers were similar. It is worth noting that while Ball was often deemed reckless as a lead decision-maker, Giddey’s turnover rate was significantly highly at 23.7 vs. Ball’s 12.4.

Giddey isn’t as flexible and shifty as a ball handler as LaMelo, but the baseline similarities and statistical profiles in the same league, at the same age will be tempting for teams, especially following Ball’s run to Rookie of the Year after being the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

“To see how (Ball’s) game translated to the NBA, it’s made me feel even better about my decision,” Giddey said.

The appeal of Giddey for NBA teams starts with his intersection of size and passing. Giddey is an impressive facilitator off a live dribble who will fire passes with either hand while on the move. Against a set defense, Giddey is able to make quick decisions with the ball, and loves to zip a two-handed, overhead pass to his big man in the paint. His interior passing is particularly impressive thanks in part to his ability to leverage his length to find creative angles in tight spaces. The big question for his offensive game will be if he can make opposing defenses respect him enough as a scoring threat to fully unlock his playmaking gifts.

There will be serious questions about Giddey’s athleticism and strength, particularly if he has enough standstill burst to beat his man and force the opposing defense into rotation. Even if Giddey can’t put enough pressure on the rim to be a primary creator, he should be custom-made as a ‘connecting’ piece who can be a secondary facilitator and floor spacer as his jump shot comes around. In Clarke’s eyes, it’s Giddey’s overarching feel for the game that will help him overcome the challenges he sees at the next level.

“He’ll often have quiet first quarters or first halves, and then he’ll have monster second halves,” Clarke said. “He can figure things out on the run, and that’s a skill a lot of players don’t have. He can fix things in game.

“It’s not just feel for the game, it’s feel for the opposition and what they’re trying to do to you. A lot of people have feel for the game when the game is mundane and vanilla. He has feel for the game when it’s chaos going on. He can figure things really quickly.”

As the NBA moves into the pre-draft process, Giddey is widely projected to be taken in the lottery. We had Giddey going No. 14 overall to the Golden State Warriors in our mock draft, while ESPN has him going No. 10 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Giddey’s entrance into the league is also an achievement for the academies the NBA invested in around the world. He’ll be the first male athlete to be drafted into the league after being a full-time academy student. Clarke sees Giddey as the type of player the Australian Institute always dreamed about developing.

“He’s kind of the guy we thought of 30 years ago when we started the program,” said Clarke. “Imagine if we had a whole team of 6’8 guys who are multi-dimensional and can pass, dribble, and shoot, defend multiple positions. We’ll stick one big guy in the middle with four guys like that. Josh is kind of exactly that.

“Coaches always ponder what the future is going to be. I think Josh is what we thought about when I first came here 25 years ago.”

If Giddey embodies the dream of what the AIS always hoped to produce, he also came dangerously close to slipping through the cracks. In the course of just over two years, he has gone from a player who couldn’t make it out of his home state to a possible top-10 NBA draft pick. For a player on such a rapid rise, the next question is the most exciting: how much room to Giddey have to grow from here?

[ducktastic]

2020 Gameological Awards

Over on the Gameological Discord, we have an annual tradition of writing up our games of the year not as a ranked list but rather as answers to a series of prompts. Here are my personal choices for the year that was 2020.

Favorite Game of the Year

I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into Paradise Killer. I knew that I liked the vaporwave resort aesthetic from the game’s trailer and figured I was in for a Danganronpa-style murder mystery visual novel with an open-ended murder mystery at its core. Those assumptions were… half-right? The game definitely plays out like the exploration bits of Danganronpa set on the island from Myst but with far simpler puzzles. What I didn’t expect was to fall so deeply in love with the environment—its nooks and crannies, its millennia of lore, its brutalist overlap of idol worship, consumerism, and mass slaughter. It makes sense that the world of Paradise Killer is its strongest feature, since the cast of NPCs don’t really move around, leaving you alone with the world for the overwhelming majority of your experience as you bounce back and forth between digging around for clues and interrogating potential witnesses. And despite what the promo materials indicated, there IS a definitive solution to the crimes you’re brought in to investigate, the game just lets you make judgment based on whatever evidence you have at the time you’re ready to call it a day, so if you’re missing crucial evidence you might just make a compelling enough case for the wrong person and condemn them to eternal nonexistence. Am I happy with the truth at the end of the day? No, and neither is anybody else I’ve spoken to who completed the game, but we all were also completely enthralled the entire time and our dissatisfaction has less to do with the game and more to do with the ugly reality of humanity. I’ve always been of the mindset that “spoilers” are absolute garbage and that a story should be just as good whether you know the twist or not and any story that relies on surprising the audience with an unexpected reveal is not actually that good a story, but Paradise Killer is a game about piecing together your own version of events so I feel that it’s vital to the gameplay experience that people go in knowing as little as possible and gush all about it afterwards. Just trust me, if the game looks even remotely intriguing to you, go for it. I’ve had just as much fun talking about the game after I finished it with friends just getting started as I did actually solving its mysteries myself.

Best Single Player Game

I honestly missed out on the buzz for In Other Waters at launch, so I’m happy I had friends online talking it up as Black Friday sales were coming along. The minimal aesthetic of his underwater exploration game allows the focus to shift more naturally to the game’s stellar writing as a lone scientist goes off in search of her mentor and the secrets they were hiding on an alien world. It only took a few hours for me to become completely absorbed in this narrative and keep pushing forward into increasingly dangerous waters. In Other Waters might just be the best sci-fi story I experienced all year and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi novels, regardless of their experience with video games.

Best Multiplayer Game

Look, we all know this year sucked. 2020 will absolutely be chronicled in history books as a fascinating and deeply depressing time in modern history where we all stayed inside by ourselves and missed our friends and family. It was lonely and it was bleak. Which is why it made my heart glow so much more warmly every time I got a letter from an honest-to-goodness real-life friend in Animal Crossing New Horizons. Knowing that they were playing the same game I was and hearing about their experiences and sending each other wacky hats or furniture, it lightened the days and made us feel that little bit more connected. Sure, when the game first launched we would actually take the time to visit one another’s islands, hang out, chat in real-time, and exchange gifts, but we all eventually got busy with Zoom calls, sourdough starters, and watching Birds of Prey twenty-two times. Still, sending letters was enough. It was and still is a touching little way to show that we’re here for one another, if not at the exact same time.

Favorite Ongoing Game

Zach Gage is one of my favorite game designers right now, and when I heard he was releasing a game called Good Sudoku I was sold sight unseen. The game as released was… fine. It’s sudoku and it’s pleasant, but it was also buggy and overheated my phone in a way I hadn’t seen since Ridiculous Fishing (also by Zach Gage) seven years ago. Thankfully, the most glaring bugs have been fixed and I can now enjoy popping in every day for some quick logic puzzle goodness. Daily ranked leaderboards keep me coming back again and again, the steady ramp of difficulty in the arcade and eternal modes means I can always chase the next dopamine rush of solving increasingly complex puzzles. It’s not a traditional “ongoing” game the way, say, Fortnite and Destiny are, but I’m happy to come back every day for sudoku goodness.

Didn't Click For Me

With Fortnite progressively losing me over the course of 2020, finalizing with my wholesale “never again” stance after Epic boss Tim Sweeney compared Fortnite demanding more money from Apple to the American Civil Rights movement (no, absolutely not), I dipped my toe into a number of new “battle pass”-style online arena types of games, and while Genshin Impact eventually got its hooks into me, Spellbreak absolutely did not. With graphics straight out of The Dragon Prince and the promise of a wide variety of magic combat skills to make your character your own, the game seemed awfully tempting, but my first few experiences were aimless and joyless, with no moment of clarity to make me understand why I should keep coming back. Maybe they’ll finesse the game some more in 2021, or a bunch of my friends will get hooked and lure me back, but for now I am a-okay deleting this waste of space on my Switch and PC.

"Oh Yeah, I Did Play That Didn't I?"

I remember being really excited for Murder By Numbers. Ace Attorney-style crime scene investigation visual novel with Picross puzzles for the evidence, art by the creators of Hatoful Boyfriend, and music by the composer of Ace Attorney itself?! Sounds like a dream come true. But the pixel-hunt nature of the crime scene investigations was more frustrating than fun, the picross puzzles were not particularly great, and the game came out literally a week before the entire world went into lockdown which makes it feel more like seven years ago than just earlier this year. I remember being marginally charmed by the game once it was in my hands, but as soon as my mind shifted to long-term self care, Murder By Numbers went from hot topic to cold case.

Most Unexpected Joy

I was looking forward to Fuser all year. As a dyed-in-the-wool DropMix stan, the prospect of a spiritual sequel to DropMix on all major digital platforms without any of the analogue components was tremendously exciting, and I knew I’d have a lot of fun making mixes by myself and posting them online for the world to hear. What I didn’t expect, however, was the online co-op mode to be such a blast! Up to four players take turns making 32 bars of mashups, starting with whatever the player before handed them and adding their own fingerprints on top. It sounds like it should just be a mess of cacophony, but every session I’ve played so far has been just the best dance party I’ve had all year, and everyone not currently in control of the decks (including an audience of spectators) can make special requests for what the DJ should spin and tap along with the beat to great super-sized emoji to show how much they’re enjoying the mix. Literally the only times my Apple Watch has ever warned me of my heightened heart rate have been the times I was positively bouncing in place rocking out to co-op freestyle play in Fuser.

Best Music

Only one video game this year had tunes that were so bumpable they were upgraded to my general “2020 jams” playlist alongside Jeff Rosenstock, Run the Jewels, and Phoebe Bridgers, and that game was Paradise Killer. 70% lo-fi chill beats to study/interrogate demons to, 20% gothic atmospheric bangers, 10% high-energy pop jazz, this soundtrack was just an absolute joy to swim around in both in and out of gameplay.

Favorite Game Encounter

It’s wild that in a landscape where games let me live out my wildest fantasies, the single moment that lit me up in a way that stood out to me more than any other was serving Neil the right drink in Coffee Talk. Over the course of the game, you serve a variety of hot drinks to humans, werewolves, vampires, orcs, and more, all while chatting with your customers and learning more about their lives and relationships. The most mysterious customer, though, is an alien life form who adopts the name Neil. They do not know what they want to drink and claim it doesn’t make a difference because they cannot taste it. Everybody else wants *something*. Neil is just ordering for the sake of fitting in and exploring the Earth experience. It’s only in the second playthrough that attentive baristas will figure out what to serve Neil, unlocking the “true” ending in the process. Seeing the typically stoic Neil actually emote when they tasted their special order drink? What an absolute treat that was.

Best Free DLC of the Year

It’s still only a couple of days old at the time I’m writing this, but Marvel’s Avengers just added Kate Bishop, aka Hawkeye, and THANK GOODNESS. Almost every character in the game at launch just smashed the endless waves of robot baddies with their fists and that looks exhausting and uncomfortable. Hawkeye (the game calls her Kate Bishop, but come on, she’s been Hawkeye in the comics for over 14 years, let’s show her some respect) uses A SWORD. FINALLY! Aside from that, I’m just having a blast shooting arrows all over the place. She and Ms Marvel are the most likable characters in the game so far, so I hope they keep adding more of the Young Avengers and Champions to the game, and if the recently announced slate of Marvel movies and tv shows are any indication (with America Chavez, Cassie Lang, and Riri Williams all coming soon to the MCU), that seems to be what Marvel is pushing for across all media

Most Accessible Game

Nintendo is, first and foremost, a toy company. They got their start in toys and cards long before video games was a thing, and they still do more tests to ensure their video game hardware is childproof than anybody else in the industry (remember how they made Switch cartridges “taste bad” so kids wouldn’t eat them?). This year, Nintendo got to rekindle some of their throwback, simplistic, toys-and-cards energy with Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, a Switch collection of timeless family-friendly games like Chess, Mancala, and Backgammon, along with “toy” versions of sports like baseball, boxing, and tennis for a virtual parlor room of pleasant time-wasters. The games were all presented with charming li’l explainers from anthropomorphic board game figurines, and the ability to play quick sessions of Spider Solitaire on the touch screen while I binged The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix made Clubhouse Games one of my most-played titles of the year. Plus, local play during socially-distant friend hangs was an excellent way to make us feel like we were much closer than we were physically allowed to be as friends knocked each other’s block off in the “toy boxing” version of Rock’em Sock’em Robots.

"Waiting for Game-dot"

I get that everyone loves Disco Elysium. I saw it on everyone’s year-end lists last year. I finally bought it with an Epic Games Store coupon this year. This year was a long enough slog of depressing post-apocalyptic drudgery, I didn’t want to explore a whole nother one in my leisure time. I’ll get to it… someday.

Game That Made Me Think

Holovista was an iPhone game I played over the course of two or three days based on the recommendation of some trusted colleagues on Twitter and oh my goodness was I glad that I played it. What starts as a chill vaporwave photography game steadily progresses into an exploration of psychological trauma, relationships with friends and family, and the baggage we carry with us from our pasts. In this exceptionally hard year, I badly needed this story about spending time alone with your personal demons and finding your way back to the people who love and support you. Just like with Journey and Gone Home, I walked away from Holovista feeling a rekindled appreciation for the people in my life.

[yukichilovesbakugo]

Within Reach Special

Bakugo Katsuki x Reader

Bakugo's Birthday

Warnings: Cursing

Master list

A/n: Happy birthday, Bakugo. I'm really happy with how this turned out. Originally this wasn't going to be a part of the story, more of just a scenario, but now it's like a side story. Anyways, this takes place sometime after the USJ incident. I hope you enjoy.

Your class has just finished hero training for the day and school was over. You were one of the first ones done changed, so you sat in the relatively quiet classroom waiting.

"Y/n-chan!" Your eyes drifted to the green haired boy walking up to you. "I wanted to talk to you. Kacchan's birthday is in a few days and the class was thinking of getting together and celebrating after class that day." He was smiling and scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, that sounds fun, I guess. When is his birthday?" You propped your head against your hand, face mostly expressionless.

"Its on Monday the twentieth. Sato volunteer to make a cake, the only problem is that everyone is busy this weekend and can't get any decorations. Plus I hear a lot of stores are sold out of party supplies anyways. That's kinda weird, I wonder why?" The mouse folded his arms and held his hand to his chin.

"Its probably because of April twentieth."

"Kacchan's birthday?" His innocent eyes peered at you. A mental sigh escaped you.

"Nevermind. Anyways, I'm free on Saturday so I can make the supplies run. I have to go out anyhow. The old fart is dragging me to a charity party and I need a new dress. Plus, I need to get Bakugo a gift too." You started to mentally calculate how much money you would need.

"The class can all chip in and reimburse you for the supplies." The mouse added, relieving you a bit. Suddenly, the door slid open harshly, startling you. The ash blond stomp to his desk.

"Anyways," your eyes lingered on the blond for a moment before you looked at Midoriya, "I'll text you about it later." Bakugo quickly shot you guys a look.

"That sounds good, Y/n-chan. I'll talk to you later." The mouse retreated, feeling the glares of his childhood friend. Before you could even sigh, the explosive boy jumped in.

"What was that about?" He had grabbed his bag and stood in front of you. You stood aswell after grabbing your bag.

"Ah, well, I was telling him about how I have to go shopping this Saturday for a charity party." You weren't actually lying to him, technically. And with your face blank, it was hard to tell you had keep a little secret. The both of you had walked out of the classroom and were on your way home.

"Oh." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. That's when you got a good idea.

"Do you want to join me?"

"Huh? Why would I wanna do that?" His crimson eyes met yours briefly with his signature scowl.

"I dunno. Just thought it would be better than shopping alone." You shrugged at him. After a bit of silence, he answered you.

"What time do you want me to pick you up?" He half mumbled at you. A small smile appeared subtlety on your face.

"Well, I get done with my chores and seeing guest at 10 on weekends. I can meet you at the station at 10:30 if you want?" Bakugo glanced at you for a moment.

"I'll be at the shrine by 10 and we can leave together, idiot." You chuckled slightly at him, but agreed. Soon, your came to the turn that you guys always departed at. You both waved, then went on your way. Bakugo would deny it, but he was actually pretty excited for it. You aswell. In fact, you had a small smile when you arrived home. Even your grandpa noticed. When you arrived at you room, you sat your bag down and walked to your closet. After scanning it for a bit, you took out a cute, simple f/c blouse and a pair of short bluejean overalls. Feeling content, you took a shower and got ready for bed.

°•°•°•°

The next morning, you got up at 5 am like normal. After putting on your uniform, you got to work. Your duties included sweeping the entirety of the grounds and watering the pavement. This was undoubtedly the most time consuming of your chores. Next, you cleaned the inside of the main shrine. On weekends, you would assist your grandfather with consulting guest and that is were it took place. At around 7, you would take a break and make breakfast for the two of you. Of course, after eating, guess usual start to arrive. From then one, you would prepare tea and sit in on guidance talks. At around 10, you escorted the last guess out of the gates.

"Oi." A gruff voice sounded. You turned to see the ash blond who wore a plain black tshirt and some jeans. A small smile graced your lips.

"Goodmorning, Bakugo." You bowed. After standing up, your e/c eyes made contact with his ruby ones. "I just finished the last of my chores. I'll go get changed real quick then we can leave." Bakugo watched as you turned and shuffled away. He couldn't help but think you were pretty in your uniform. You looked so elegant and refined, yet still down to earth. Just as he thought that, you returned wearing something that made you look so cute. It was such an image shift, but he didn't hate it. You guys soon took of to the station. As you waited, he spoke.

"What exactly do you need to get today?" He shoved his hands in his pocket while you tilted your head in thought.

"Well, I need to get some party supplies and a dress. The old fart said it was more of a formal gathering so I have to get something more refined." A sigh escaped you. You glanced at him and thought about what gift you should get. Unfortunately, you were coming up blank. "Also, if you want, we can grab a bite to eat afterwards. It'll be my treat since I asked you to come."

"Don't be stupid, I can pay for myself." He grumbled at you.

"No, I insist. Please?" His eyes met yours and he felt weak. After pouting a bit, he agreed. You smiled at him. Soon, the train arrived and you both boarded. It was very busy and there was barely any room. The two of you ended up next to the door as it took off. You weren't really good with crowds, but you toughed it out. However, when the train jerked and a stranger bumped into you, you felt very uneasy. Bakugo must have noticed because he grabbed you by the shoulders and turned you so you were next to the doors. He shielded you. You smiled up at him and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly hide behind his bangs. When the train arrived at your stop, you guys hurried off.

"The train was pretty busy, huh? I wonder if it's like that all the time?" You hummed as the two of you walked the streets. Soon, you came to the first store on your list. It was the party store. As soon as you walked in, you could see the were under stocked. You couldn't find a single banner or even a party hat. Fortunately though, they had some streamers. After you grabbed a few in various colors, something caught your eye. It was a large stack of colored construction paper. After thinking about it for a bit, you grabbed it, aswell as some glue and tacks. With that over with, you guy went to the next store. This was the thing you dreaded about today. The dress. Although you liked dresses, you always had a hard time finding one that looked good on you. They either made you appear as a child or made you look like you were trying to hard. Bakugo stood by you as you browsed through the dresses. With each one you looked at, you got more frustrated, until.

"What about this one?" Bakugo held up a f/c, long sleeved dress. On the hanger, you could see that it would hug your waist and taper off.

"Huh, that's actually really pretty. I'm surprised you picked it out." You looked at him. His scowl quickly deepened.

"What's that suppose to mean!? I'll have you know I have great fucking taste, idiot." He was half yelling at you. After a small chuckle, you grabbed the dress and walked to the changing room.

"Whatever, blasty." You closed the door. You were quick to change and looked in the mirror. The dress hung off your shoulders and was actually quite flowy after the waist. It reached just below your mid thigh. It really looked good on you. After pausing for a second, you walked out. "What do you think?" He glanced over at you. The boy paused and took in your slender form. His heart was beating quickly in his chest as a small blush took over his face. Instead of answering, he nodded, to afraid he would say something stupid. You turned back into the small room and closed the door. You don't know why, but it made you really nervous to show him. Normally you had no problem wearing anything. Once you had changed back, you decided to get the dress. As you waited to pay, something else caught your eye. It was a little phone strap that had a grenade on it. You looked between it and the blond that was spacing out. You grabbed it and added it to your purchase. You guy walked out at the perfect time as your stomach decided to growl.

"Where do you want to eat, shorty." He started to eye every restaurant and cafe on the street.

"I don't know, what type of food do you like?" You looked up at him as he glanced at you.

"How about something spicy?"

"Oh, that sounds good." Your eyes wandered the street until you spotted something. "What about there?" You pointed to a small traditional Japanese restaurant. After you both agreed, you headed over. You guys were quickly seated and you looked at the menu. It didn't take long for you to decide on what to eat. When the waiter walked up, Bakugo spoke.

"I'll have the Tantanmen." He handed the waiter his menu and looked at you.

"I would like the Unadon please." You copied the boy and handed the waiter your menu. Once he left, you two began to converse.

"You like Unagi?" He leaned onto his arm.

"Yeah, my dad use to make it for me when I was little." You sighed in remembrance. "He wasn't really good at cooking, but I still enjoyed it."

"Yeah?" His eyes began to soften as he looked at you.

"That was a long time ago though. What about you? Do you like spicy food?"

"Yeah, it's pretty good. Though I think my mom makes it the best." You guys continued to talk even after your food arrived. It was nice. You smiled a lot and even got the blond to crack one. After you paid and you guys left, you walked down the now busier street. That was when you spotted a someone being pushed over. On instinct, you teleported over. A group of three boys had pushed over another boy. You stood in between them.

"Is something wrong?" You asked with your emotionless face. The three trouble makers all eyed you.

"Its nothing, sweetheart." The middle one spoke and reached out to touch your shoulder. You instantly smacked him away.

"Don't touch me." You glared up. They all started to laugh.

"Oh, aren't you a feisty one. Well if you want to but into our business so bad, you can join him." The middle one pushed you back and you landed on your butt. They all laughed again as you heard some popping nearby. Before you could even do anything, Bakugo stepped in between you and them. He had one of his nastiest glares on and his quirk was going.

"OI, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, FUCK FACE!!??" Blasty was more than mad, he was furious. You stood up and grabbed his shoulder.

"Bakugo, I'm okay, calm down." He grunted at you, still holding his glare at the boys. You looked at them. "You guys should leave now, unless you want a fight." The boys all looked at each other before deciding to retreat. They stomped and grumbled, but left regardless. You sighed and kneeled in front of the victim.

"Are you okay?" Your hand was held out for him to take. He nodded and grab it, standing up with you.

"Thank you so much! I'm so sorry about this." He bowed at you. You're face turned to one of relief.

"It's okay, I'm glad you're okay. If you get into trouble like that again, don't be afraid to yell for help. Someone will definitely be willing." You smiled softly as he nodded and left, then turned to Bakugo. "Thank you, by the way." He instantly started to grumble.

"Why didn't you dodge?" He crossed his arms.

"Well," you scratched the back of your head, "there was no need to."

"What!?"

"What I mean is if I moved, they could have easily gone for the boy again. Besides, they didn't pose and serious threat against me." You sighed. The blond was still mad, but he seemed to calm a bit.

"Whatever, just don't do it again." He grumbled as he started walking away. You joined him as you guys started to return home. It was really peaceful, and overall you had a good day. When you arrived at the steps to the shrine. You said your goodbyes to the ash blond.

"I had fun. Thank you for coming with me." You smiled. "I'll see you at school on Monday." Bakugo looked at you, eyes lingering a bit, before turning to leave.

"Yeah. Same, or whatever. Bye." With that, he left. You walked up to your house and entered. After settling in you started working with the paper in the living room. You cut out letters and started streaming them together. Once that was done, you started to make a party hat. After awhile, your grandpa walked in.

"What are you doing?" He looked at all the colored paper on the coffee table.

"I'm making party supplies."

"Oh, is it for a friend." He sat on the couch with his tea. You nodded and he smiled. He was happy, knowing you had grown out of your shell a little more.

°•°•°•°

It seemed like classes on Monday couldn't end sooner. You and Midoriya had talked some more and had a game plan. You were to distract Bakugo for a bit while the class put up the decorations and Sato grabbed the cake. You took the explosive boy and pretended to start walking home. When you reached to gate, you gasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bakugo. I think I forgot my notebook. Will you come with me back to the class?" He grumbled, but compiled anyways. You guys slowly made it back to your class where you opened the door for him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAKUGO!!!" The class yelled in unison as they huddled around Sato and the cake. Bakugo stood with his scowl, but secretly he was a bit happy. Everyone started joking around and laughing as each of them gave him a present. It was really a lively time. It wasn't long though till everyone started to clean up because they had to actually go home. When it all settled down, you and Bakugo started to head home for real. You smiled at him and spoke.

"Did you have fun?" You hummed.

"I guess." He grumbled, "I can't believe shitty deku told everyone about my birthday. Is that why you bought those party supplies? I thought they were for the charity thing."

"Nope, they were for you. I never said they were for the charity." You chuckled. You guys talked about the party and how ridiculous your friends were the whole way home. When it came to where you guys part, you stood and faced him. You felt a little nervous.

"I didn't get to give you this earlier, but happy birthday." You handed him a small bag that had 'Happy birthday' written on it. He quickly opened it and pulled out the phone charm you bought. He looked at the little grenade.

"Thanks." Although he had his scowl on, you could tell he was a little happy. After saying your goodbyes, you left.

Later that night Bakugo laid in his bed and held up the phone strap. He smiled ever so slightly as he got up and put it on his phone.

Tag list: @maisyyx @gayverlinq @loxbbg @whisperingwolfie

[love101imagines]

Somebody to someone

(osman | imagine)

request: Heyy so umm I saw this TikTok that’s about this AU where when you turn a certain age you get to communicate with your soulmate telepathically and like I thought maybe you could wrote something for Osman based on it ?

tags: @imtoolazytothinkofacoolname @girl-looking-out-window

You had grown up hearing tales about soulmates and how wonderful it was to finally meet them. Once you turned 17, you would be able to hear everything your soulmate thought until you touched them. You thought it was a bit intrusive, but you didn’t mind, thinking about how romantic it would be.

Truth be told, you didn’t have to worry after all. You had a loving boyfriend who you had been dating since you were 16. His name was Mahir, and he was just perfect.

So, as you blew the candles in your seventeen birthday’s cake with your family surrounding you, you were ready to hear his voice.

As you went to bed, you knew your friends would gush all over you to tell them all about it, so you got into your bed and waited for something to happen, until you took matters into your own hands.

“Hello?” You thought.

Nothing happened in the beginning, so you assumed that Mahir was already sleeping, until a voice in your head snapped you out of it.

“We should just skip all of this and just say our names. I’m...”

“Wait!” You almost said out loud.

Your eyes widened as you paced back and forth in your bedroom.

“This can’t be happening. You’re not Mahir.”

“Who’s Mahir?” The unknown voice came up again and you groaned.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“Lucky you.”

You rolled your eyes and fell into your bed.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to be my soultmate, what am I going to do now?”

You wanted nothing more than to crawl into your bed and eat something. You were being a bit dramatic, but it felt like your whole world had fallen apart. You had planned everything out, what your life would be like and now everything was different.

“It doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

“What?” You thought furrowing your brows.

“You don’t have to tell him. Just fake it until he touches his real soulmate and it’s over.”

You scoffed. “Well, aren’t you the romantic type.”

Everything was silent for a while and you decided to call it a day. It was already exhausting and it had only been a few hours since you turned sixteen.

The next day at school, Mahir was waiting for you at the school’s gate. He gave you a kiss and you felt a bit relieved, but still knew that in some kind of way he would find out.

“Quick, let me guess. Now, you’re thinking about...what your friends’ gift is going to be.” He said to you grinning.

You pressed your lips into a line but acted happy. “Of course, silly. I bet they’re going to give me that book I wanted, or some lipglosses.”

He chuckled and you two walked into school, his hand holding yours. “Now you don’t have to worry about me knowing all the girly stuff you think about.” He said giving you a peck on your cheek.

You smiled at him and sat down on your desk, your friends right by your side giving you your presents, and for a moment, you forgot about your lie.

“So? Did you lie to him?”

You rolled your eyes even though your soulmate couldn’t see you.

“Yes...but I still think it’s wrong! I’m going to tell him later. It’s selfish, I shouldn’t lie about soulmates.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

You widened your eyes while you took notes of what the teacher was talking about. “Excuse me? You don’t care about soulmates?”

“Not really.”

“How can you be my soulmate?”

You continued your class doing your best to pay attention, even though you were still annoyed at the boy who was supposed to be your soulmate.

“And why don’t you care?” You found yourself thinking.

You waited for a few seconds until he answered. “I already have a lot of things to worry about and I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t be able to take you to fancy dates and all of that.”

“I don’t care.” You found yourself thinking while you doodled on your sheet of paper. A few moments passed and you were almost startled when you heard his voice again.

“So you’re not going to tell me your name?”

“No, this way it’s more romantic.” You stated like it was a golden rule. “Besides, it’s more fun this way. You already got it all planned for your love life so there’s really no rush on meeting.”

“You’re right. So, where do you live?”

“In Gebze, you?”

“Istanbul.”

You felt your mood change slightly. “Oh, well it’s not that far away. I used to live there a few years ago until my parents got some jobs offers here. Um, what are you doing now?”

“I’m in the middle of a history exam.”

“And you’re talking to me instead of doing the exam?”

“I already memorized the answers.”

“Good for you.”

You conversations with your “soulmate” didn’t stop there. You two kept talking since you were in each other’s minds almost all the time and you found him interesting and funny. You had a few things in common, despite living almost one hour apart, but it was still a bit addicting to talk to someone new and that nobody else could listen.

“Why are you thinking about Istanbul so much?” He asked you three months after your birthday.

You sighed, even though he couldn’t see you. “My grandma got sick and my parents are planning to move back there with the rest of my family.”

“If it makes you feel better, we might meet.”

You felt a small smile on your face as you washed the dishes on your house. “I thought you didn’t care about soulmates.”

“Maybe you made me change my mind.”

“I know that you say that you only think about yourself but that’s a lie. Most of the time you only think about money but you also think about your friends. And you can’t say that’s not true.”

“Well, you’re always thinking about the same song over and over again it’s exhausting.”

“I hate you.” You thought slightly chuckling.

“Doubt it.”

A few weeks later your family moved to Istanbul, and now here you were standing in front of a new school in the middle of the semester. You really didn’t care about being the new kid, you only cared about how much homework you had.

“You are going to do all of that?” The girl who you ended up sitting next to asked you.

You stared at all the new assignments teachers had given you since you hadn’t taken any of the exams the other students had.

“I have to do them in a week. Almost every teacher gave me something to do, except Miss Burcu.”

The girl shrugged. “Just buy the homework like everybody else does.”

You lifted a brow. “You sell homeworks here?”

“Go and ask him, that nerdy boy. Just tell him which ones you need and he’ll give them to you tomorrow when you pay him.” She said pointing a boy with glasses.

“This school is so weird.” You thought to yourself as you walked to the boy.

“Why? Did you end up in an all girls school?”

You rolled your eyes at your soulmate’s answer but talked to the boy. He would give you the ones you needed the most the next day for ₺20, but you still couldn’t wrap your head around the fact that somebody sold homeworks at your new school.

“Can you believe they trade homeworks here? I can’t believe I didn’t think of that...”

“Did you buy them?” He thought all of a sudden.

“Well, I had to...Why are you thinking about a list with names?”

“No reason.”

You didn’t think much of it and continued with all the projects you had to finish so you wouldn’t pull an all nighter.

The next day, as you waited near the school’s gates for your homework to be “delivered”, the same guy you had talked to the day before approached you.

“Here you go. No, you don’t pay me. Come, he wants to receive all the money today.” He said as you pulled the cash out of your wallet.

You furrowed your brows confused but still followed him as he lead the way to a classroom where a few boys were doing more homeworks and an older and taller guy watched them.

“Osman.” The boy with glasses called out.

As you pulled the money again from your wallet, you didn’t notice how the guy called Osman was looking at you.

“This better be worth it.” You thought as you extended the money.

“Did you say something?” Osman asked confused as your hand brushed lightly with his as you took the papers he was handing to you.

You furrowed your brows. “Excuse me?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, sorry.”

“See ya.” You said as you checked if the papers were fine.

The next day as you talked with Miss Burcu after class about the poem you had to write, as soon as you left the classroom you were approached by the girl you had sat with and a blonde one.

“Hi! I’m Işik and I’m the student representative. We heard that you just moved here and we know how hard it is to make friends in a new city.” The blonde one said with a big smile.

“We are pretty sure we know your soulmate.” The brown haired said all of a sudden.

“Eda! It was going to be a surprise.” Işik complained.

You were not expecting this for your second week at school. “How do you know about him?” You asked as you walked down the halls with them by your side.

“He’s friends with us.” Işik explained.

“And he told us his soulmate was new at school and had an ex boyfriend called Mahir. Besides, yesterday he stopped hearing his soulmate’s thoughts just as he handed in a homework.” Eda said as you sat down on a bench.

“It’s so romantic. He’s the oldest so he was the first one to turn seventeen.” Işik said dreamily.

You started chipping at your nail polish to do something with your hands and calm your nerves. “So, you’re saying that my soulmate is the guy who sells homeworks?”

Both girls slowly nodded, still unsure of the whole situation.

“I’ll go and talk to him.” You said standing up.

Eda and Işik looked at each other before following you.

“He never said his name to you?” Işik asked as you walked around the halls looking for the boy.

You shook your head. “I didn’t want to. Besides, we lived in different cities.”

“He did say that you lived in Gebze.” Eda added.

“That’s true.” You said glancing at her before jumping into someone. “Sorry, I...you are him.” You said once you noticed you had bumped into the tall guy who had sell you your homework.

Eda and Işik smiled at each other, happy with their work before they left.

“You’re the girl who touched my hand and all of a sudden I couldn’t hear my soulmate anymore.” He pointed out with a smirk as he ate a hazelnut.

You rolled your eyes. “I’m your soulmate, I thought you were smart enough to already figure it out.”

He seemed to think for a moment before speaking. “Holy shit, you’re my soulmate.”

You couldn’t really stop smiling and blushing, so you just chuckled as the bell rang. “I can’t believe we finally met.”

“It was about time.” He said as you two walked to class.

And that how you went from being heartbroken for moving to finally meeting your soulmate, exactly the romantic way you wanted.

[myhusbandsasemni]

Asphodel, Travis, and Ivan

I wrote a story a while ago for a creative writing class, this was years ago, and I always wanted to come back to it and add onto it. So I did. I won’t be posting any of that first part cause it’s old and I’ve changed my mind about how those events happened, but this will be easy to read without that context anyways.

Enjoy

Asphodel, Travis, and Ivan escaped the collection of satellite living people, mostly from earth, who had escaped after being experimented on by a government on earth. They blew up the base as they left, killing most of the people living there. Now they’re off to find their next adventure in space, still not entirely sure what they’re looking for.

Asphodel sat down in the copilot chair next to Travis just as he was about to start a difficult flight through an asteroid belt. Ivan leapt up into her lap with an annoyed meow as she opened her bag of snacks, ready to help Travis navigate through it with her ability to calculate angles, speeds, and inertia. The fact that she knew exactly how to get through such an obstacle course, added to Travis’s piloting skills and slight mind reading abilities (and Ivan’s snarky remarks), made it so the three could get to places that most space shuttles and ships couldn’t get through. Which made them the highest paid delivery team for the more, well, illegal goods, of the star system.

“We better hurry,” Travis said, nosing forward into the scrambled mess of space junk. “I think we got pinged while you were in the bathroom.”

Asphodel made an annoyed face and nodded, her eyes speeding between objects and making quick calculations. “Hurry up, then.”

Travis revved up the small craft into the gaps they found together. Ivan fell asleep in Asphodel’s lap as they flew smoothly through the moving piles of rock and metals.

“Did you check on the cargo while you were back there?” Travis asked. 

Asphodel stayed silent as she watched the rocks go by.

“Asp?” Travis asked, not taking his eyes from the scene.

Asphodel sighed. “Why do you always make me answer out loud? You already know the answer.”

“I do, but it’s good for you to talk to other people,” Travis said, a half smile coating the tone of his voice. “It’s called ‘socializing.’”

Asphodel rolled her eyes. “Not this again,” she moaned.

“Asphodel, you’ve been a lone wolf, I get it. But you really need to learn how to verbally communicate, even if I can tell what your answer is. When you leave me, you’re going to need how to talk to people.”

Asphodel gave some sort of caustic remark in response, but she hardly paid attention to what she said. ‘When you leave me.’ It was expected, Asphodel was painfully logical and practical due to being grown in a government lab and raised as an experiment and human computer. Travis himself was a slight pessimist as he could tell what people were thinking all the time. Of course he would know that as soon as he was no longer useful to Asphodel, she would leave him for a more beneficial partner. But it…. Bothered her. She’d never been bugged by something like that before, but this bothered her. 

She kept those thoughts deep in her mind, though. Travis could only read the surface and she had very quickly learned how to keep him from reading the thoughts she wanted to keep a secret.

Travis looked into one of the monitors and cursed. “There’s a cruiser following us. We’ll have to talk about your socializing issues later.”

Asphodel rolled her eyes and pulled up the weapons controls on the monitor in front of her. 

She fired off a round of warning shots, Travis and her working in tandem to steer and shoot. The poor cruiser behind them was having the hardest time trying to keep up. It shot blasts after them, most of them flying wide. In one fraction of a moment, the cruiser got a very very lucky shot which clipped one of the engine’s of the shuttle before getting slightly unlucky and crashing into a large piece of debris. Asphodel caught sight of a pack of cigarettes and an old comic book, at least three decades old, being flung forward on the explosion from the cruiser. Her attention was immediately drawn back to their own situation as the shuttle started throwing very angry warnings that woke Ivan up, making him a very angry cat. 

Travis hissed as he wrestled with the controls. “Asp, find us a place to land.”

Asphodel glanced around the dull constellation of rocks and space trash and said, “Up 6 degrees and towards the Capulita Majora.”

Travis nodded and strained to get the shuttle through the tight spaces. Asphodel listened to the scraping of debris against their craft, calculating damages based solely on the noises she heard. 

They managed to limp through the belt and into a clear space where both were surprised to see a small space shop set up within the belt. Travis guided the shuddery craft into the bay of the shop and turned it off once he was parked. It was a testament to his skills as a pilot that it only took him one try to park the shuttle, even with it shuddering as it was.

“Probably don’t have to worry about our merchandise being called in to the Govs here,” Travis said, almost to himself as he already knew Asphodel was thinking the same thing. The shop did indeed look fairly shady. 

Travis stood up and stooped through the shuttle. He popped open the door and wandered out onto the platform. Asphodel followed him out, Ivan in her arms. Travis climbed up onto the wing and tied his jacket around his waist and crouched over the engine, taking a look at it.

Asphodel watched him as he tinkered, lifting up some of the panels to look into it. He sighed deeply and jumped down. “That’s what I thought,” he sighed. “It was a whisker shot.”

“You know I don’t understand your slang,” Asphodel said with a sneer.

“It means that the shot caused metal whiskers.”

“What, like tin whiskers?”

“Exactly. But since tin isn’t used in welding anymore cause of that issue, they figured out how to make beams that cause other metals to whisker.”

Asphodel handed off Ivan and climbed up to look. She pushed back her choppy hair to have a look at the whiskers. Sure enough, thin wisps of metal shot off from the welds and connected to other parts of the engine, shorting everything out. 

“I didn’t know they were putting those in cruisers, though. They’re shooting through technology at an uncomfortable pace, I would have to say.” Travis commented, stroking Ivan thoughtfully.

Asphodel just nodded, studying the pattern of the silvery threads of metal.

“Hey, you two!”

 Ivan gave a disgruntled brrp as the three travelers turned to see a curmudgeonly man walking across the docking platform. His outfit was dirty and covering in engine grease. He was missing two fingers and his pleasant resting face.

“What’s wrong with your shuttle? I have paying customers who use that spot,” the grizzled man growled, his piercing eyes glaring out at them from under bushy wire brows. 

“Got hit with a whisker beam,” Travis explained, leaning against the shuttle. “I’ll have it fixed momentarily, then we’ll be out of your hair.”

“Let me see.”

Travis stepped out of the way as the man clambered up, tools jingling in his deep set pockets. He peered in and scoffed. “You’re going to need my help,” the old man declared. “See that one?”

Travis set Ivan down and peered over the man’s grease stained shoulder. “Oh…. yeah. I see what you mean. How much do you need paid?”

The old man eyed Travis, Asphodel, and Ivan. “We’ll talk about it. You kids follow me.”

He rattled off and Travis followed. Asphodel fell into step beside him, Ivan walking just ahead of them with his tail in the air in a sort of snobby way, as if he did not approve of where they were at the moment. 

Asphodel studied the broken down ships and shuttles scattered across what was effectively a scrap yard and felt the same as the spotted tabby. She quickly identified where the atmosphere was being thrown from and was glad to see that this gravity/ozone generator was in good repair, unlike the ones often found at drop off and pick up sites for the smuggled goods they sold. 

There was a small hut found in the middle of the muddle. The old man leading the way inside said, “I’m Rick. I can tell you’re smugglers. No need to worry about it, though. I’m the repair guy for the smugglers that can make it this far into the belt.”

“You’re trying to get us on your list of regular customers,” Travis said with a wry smile and a knowing look.

Rick just nodded. “I can repair and replace, easy. And it’ll last longer than any other shady duct tape, spit, and a prayer shop.”

“Oh? How do you reason?” Asphodel said, taking another look around the place. The hut was a mess of nuts and bolts, welding materials scattered all over the area just like outside.

Rick grinned, showing teeth that we’re too bad off despite everything else. “Well, the fact that I have repeat customers proves it all on its own, doesn’t it.”

“Because you have such wonderful service,” Asphodel said spitefully.

“Oh, not at all. I’m downright unpleasant at times. The real reason being that when other shops do the work the customer winds up dead.”

With that statement on the table, Rick turned and disappeared into a back room before coming back with some kind of sandwiches. “Here, you smugglers don’t eat as often as they really should.”

Travis took it without hesitation and bit into it. Asphodel slowly took one of her own. Rick narrowed his eyes at them, Travis especially.

“You’re too trusting,” he commented, picking up the last sandwich and offering a piece of the lunch meat to Ivan.

Travis laughed. “Not quite.” He tapped the side of his head with the sandwich before taking another bite.

“Ah,” Rick said with only the slightest hint of distaste. “You’re one of them.”

Travis gave a conceding nod. 

“So, about the whiskers?” Asphodel asked, still investigating her sandwich.

“I’ll do them tomorrow.”

“So… you want us to stay here?”

“Yeah. Just sleep on your shuttle.”

Travis and Asphodel shared a look. 

“Before you go to bed, there is a way to pay me for the work,” the old man said with a grin. “I need supplies for groceries but there are some cruisers parked out there, waiting for me to come out. I can already tell you two would do much better against them than I would.”

Travis shrugged. “Which ship are we taking?”

Rick grinned. “Old Betty. She was my craft when I was still young and had some of my toes.”

Asphodel gave Travis a whiney look. Travis only laughed at her. “Come on, Asp,” he said warmly. “It’ll be fun.”

“That’s what you said about the time we shuttled six magawarths across two systems.”

“That was fun.They were so cute.”

Ivan made an offended noise to match Asphodel’s glare.

“I mean, I had fun.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” Asphodel sighed, picking up Ivan. She was pretty sure this wasn’t going to end well, but what else were they going to do? 

She told herself that, stifling the realization that she could easily have fun with this if she let herself.

Random Tag list Let me know if you want to be added

@thethistlegirl @merigreenleaf @doubi-ixi @oshi2413

[carriagelamp]

November 2020: A Months of Familiarity

This November ended up being a month of me either rereading old favourites, exploring new books by favourite authors, or a mix of both.

…Be prepared for so much Terry Prachett, I found his audiobooks on Libby last month and since that I’ve been unstoppable.

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

The first of my Terry Practhett books to mention! I chose to include this one on my list because it’s a beautiful stand alone novel, perfect to read if you’ve never touched on of Pratchett’s works before, and is often overlooked.

The book is about Maurice, an “amazing” cat by his own admission, who has teamed up with a stupid boy and his very own plague of rats. The moneymaking scheme is simple: set the rats loose on a town and after causing a panic let the boy stroll in and offer to play his pipe and lead them away… for a fee. This is working well, until Maurice, the boy, and the rats arrive in the town Bad Blintz. Here the rats are beginning to question the morality of their work, the boy gets entangled with a young, mischievous local girl, and they’re all shocked to find out that the town already has a real rat infestation… or so the rat catchers claim. Things quickly turn sinister and deadly as the group is forced to confront not only the cruelty of humanity, but something even more sinister living in the small, dark, hidden place of the town.

This is a YA book, unlike some of Pratchett’s other novels, so it’s a quick, fun read, while still having all of his dry wit and heavy, complicated thoughts about society, morality, belief, and what it means to be a person. It’s a genuine delight to see Maurice and the rats, recently made sentient by wizards’ rubbish, struggle to come to terms with who they were and who they are now.

Black Pearl Ponies: Red Star & Wildflower

Y’all it ain’t a secret at this point that I enjoy a stupid horse girl book, right? I picked up the first two books of the Black Pearl Ponies books from the library on a whim and they were basically what they promised. Girl lives with family on ranch, father helps train horses, girl goes on pony adventures with ponies. A particular focus is given to horse welfare and care. Very mediocre but a nice thoughtless covid read if you, like me, get a craving for animals books written for seven year olds from time to time. Plus this comes with the added humour of it being written, as far as I can tell, by a British author who thinks all Americans are stetson wearing cowboys which I find unreasonably funny.

Crenshaw

I love Katherine Applegate’s work; I read the Endling series earlier this year and they are overwhelmingly good. Crenshaw was also an enjoyable read, though not my favourite by her. It read a little bit like a book I read last fall, No Fixed Address, which was also a very good read though not my usual genre. Crenshaw is about a boy, Jackson, whose family, though close-knit and loving, is experiencing financial difficulties and struggle with food scarcity, homelessness, and all the instability and stress that results from this. During this tumultuous time, Jackson is surprised by the reappearance of a tall, bipedal, snarky cat — Crenshaw, his old imaginary friend. This is a charming book that blends genuine, real world hardships with whimsy and magical realism.

The Enemy Above: A Novel of WWII

Since it was Rememberance Day this month, I decided to pick up a holocaust novel. This book is about 12-year-old Anton, a young Jewish boy who finds himself fleeing from his Polish farm in the middle of the night with his old grandma when a German raiding party that attacks their village in an effort to make the countryside “judenfrei”. The book is, perhaps, not the most well-fleshed out, but it’s fast-paced and exciting for a child/YA audience that’s being introduced to holocaust literature, without trying to downplay the absolutely horror and brutality of the Nazis. It manages to strike a satisfying balance between fear, tragedy, and hope.

“Everything he had heard was true. He was just a twelve-year-old boy and yet they hunted him. He had broken no laws, done nothing wrong. He was simply born Jewish. How could anyone want to kill him for it?”

Gregor the Overlander

Somehow I never knew that Suzanne Collins wrote anything other than The Hunger Games? I stumbled across this series at a used bookstore and was first taken by the cover and then shocked when I realized I recognized the author’s name. Well The Hunger Games was such a good read, how could I not pick up a book with people riding on a giant fucking bat?

Such a good choice. I’m almost done book two and bought book three today after work. It is exactly the sort of low fantasy that I live for, when a fantasy world lives so close to the real world that you can practically touch it. I also love the fact that while all the wild fantastical elements are happening, you still have the main character taking care of his toddler sister the whole time. It’s at times charming, hilarious, and nerve-wracking!

It’s about Gregor, a normal kid who’s doing his best to help his mom take care of his two younger siblings ever since his father disappeared years ago. Gregor expected months of boredom when he agrees to stay home over the summer instead of going to camp like his sister in order to watch his baby sister, Boots, and their grandma while his mom is at work. He never could have expected that a simple trip to the apartment’s laundry room would lead to both him and Boots tumbling miles beneath the earth into the pitch black Underland, a place filled with giant rats and bugs and people with translucent skin who fly through the massive caverns on huge bats. He also could have never expected that he would get wrapped up in a deadly prophecy that would force him to travel into distant, dark lands into the waiting claws of an overwhelming enemy.

Kings, Queens, and In-Between

A Canadian queer novel that I’ve seen trumpeted everywhere. Libraries, classrooms, bookstore, this book got so much hype (and has such a pleasing cover) that I had to get my hands on it. Now, I’ve got to admit that it’s not really my genre; I don’t love realistic fiction. But that being said, it’s a fun, heart-warming, queer romp through that explores gender, sexuality, love, family, friendship… there’s a lot of lovable, quirky, complicated characters that get thrown together in unexpected ways at a local summer carnival. While there’s tension and misunderstandings and mistakes, this is overall a very optimistic and loving novel, and would be a great read if you want a queer novel that reads like cotton candy.

Love, The Tiger

This book is the graphic novel equivalent of a nature documentary. There’s no text, but you follow a day in the life of a tiger as it moves through the jungle on the quest for food. The art is honestly beyond outstanding, and though it’s a really quick read it is so very worth it. I’ve also read Love, The Lion in this series (also good, though a bit more confusing imho) as well as one of the books from his other series Little Tails which is still very nature and education based, though for a slightly younger audience.

Making Money

More Pratchett! Making Money was the first Discworld book I ever read, and it’s one of my most reread ones — it’s an ultimate comfort read! This is technically the sequel to Going Postal (another book I reread this month), in which conman Moist Von Lipwig is saved from a rightful death at the noose in exchange for agreeing to work for the city. Going Postal sees Moist narrowly dodging death in many varied forms as he tries to get the Anhk-Morpork postal service back on its feet and get the drifts of dead, whispering letters moving again. In Making Money things at the post office have become… too easy. Moist is bored, restless, until he finds himself thrust into a new job: head of the Royal Mint. There he has been given not only charge of the biggest bank in Anhk-Morpork, but also a dog with a price on its head, a lethal family with all the money in the world out for his blood, and the fear that his secret past life may be on the verge of being exposed to everyone, all while he’s desperately trying to make money…

The Moist series is honestly an example of Pratchett at his absolute best imo, and the amount of humour, wit, adventure, and scathing commentary he can build around a bank is outstanding. Cannot recommend enough.

The One And Only Ivan

Another book I’ve been hearing everyone talk about, as well as another Katherine Applegate book. It’s been on my radar for a while, but with the sequel and a movie coming out, it had everything at a fever pitch and I finally picked it up. Fantastic read, I definitely enjoyed it more than Crenshaw. This book was based off the true story of Ivan, a gorilla taken from his home in the jungle and sold to the owner of a mall, where he spent years of his life growing from child to adult silverback in a small, concrete enclosure. In this fictionalized version, everything changes for Ivan and his friends, when a new baby elephant is bought to help revitalize the mall attractions and Ivan makes a promise he doesn’t know how to keep: to protect this baby, and keep her from living the life Ivan and his friends were forced to. This book made me very emotional. Applegate’s picture book that goes along with it is also a great companion read.

Ranma ½

I realized that our library had the 2-in-1 editions of Ranma ½ and honestly that was it for me. This has been a favourite series of mine since I was in middle school and realized that the creator of Inuyasha had written other things. It is unapologetically ridiculous and larger-than-life and you have to love the shameless joy it has at being ludicrous. It does start to feel a little repetitive the further into the series you go, but at the moment, with covid, I find I have a huge tolerance for rereading slightly repetitive things so long as they make me happy. And boy howdy does the vaguely queer undertones, endless pining, and relentless slapstick of Ranma ½  make me happy. This is classic manga y’all and if you’ve never read it you should!

The basic premise, for anyone that doesn’t is that of an bonkers martial arts comedy. It follows Ranma and his father who, while training in China, fell into cursed springs. Each spring has the tragic legend of a person or animal who drowned in it, and if someone falls in they inevitably turn into that creature any time they’re doused in cold water. Ranma had the misfortune of falling into “The Spring of Drowned Girl” and, indeed, turns into a girl anytime he’s hit with cold water. Things continue to spiral out of control when Ranma meets his arranged fiancée, Akane, who is as exasperated by this situation as Ranma. Both would rather be fighting people than worrying about things like romance. And don’t worry, there is lots and lots and lots and lots of some of the goofiest martial arts fights that you can imagine for a bunch of high schoolers.

Through the Woods

A beautiful and creepy Canadian graphic novel. I honestly really don’t even know how to describe it in a way that does it justice. It’s a collection of short horror stories, with beautiful, flowing art style that draws you in and sends chills down your spine. I’ll let the art doing the talk, and honestly beg you to go find a way to read this graphic novel:

The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner: And Other Stories

The last Terry Pratchett book on my list (though shout out to the others I’ve listened to this month: Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, Men At Arms, and Snuff) and one that I actually physically, rather than listening to the audiobook. I included this one because unlike the others, this was a Pratchett book I had never read before. It collects a number of Pratchett’s short stories that had been written for children over a number of years. These weren’t necessarily my favourite examples of Pratchett’s writing (I prefer his longer work that can really dive into social issues) but it was such a quick, easy, fun read that you can’t really help but be charmed by it. I liked the stories that took place in “the wild wild west (of Wales)” in particular.

[aphrodites-law]

A Bit of Clarity 🍂 (2/?) The visions had started last autumn, a year ago now. It had caused a bit of chaos for some, a bit of clarity for others. Two days ago, Clarke Griffin had been perfectly fine managing both her Café and her stress. But now she was curious - so deeply curious about the vision of herself entwined with the aloof Lexa Woods that it was leading her to complete distraction.

[part 1]

The next Monday, Clarke waited for the deliveries as usual, quietly sipping on coffee while dawn barely made its appearance outside. It was getting colder and darker each week, but the holidays were Clarke's favorite time of the year and they were now fast approaching. She spotted the delivery truck and called out for Wells who came from the kitchen yawning. They were making pumpkin cheesecake today, not Clarke's favorite but one of their first big successes last year. Clarke couldn't believe they had already passed the café's first anniversary.

"Remind me why we do deliveries in the middle of the night on Mondays?" Wells asked while the Croft & Daughters delivery truck pulled up.

Clarke waved at the driver. "Because Niylah's the only one willing to work within our bite-sized budget."

Wells rubbed his eyes. "Right."

"You didn't need to come this early."

"Yes I did. Cheesecake needs to be in the fridge in less than an hour."

"I could've made it."

Wells shook his head. "You suck at anything pumpkin."

"Take that back."

"Morning!" Niylah called out while she opened the back of the truck. Clarke playfully elbowed Wells before approaching her.

Despite his sleepiness, Wells insisted on carrying most of the boxes in while Clarke signed off on Niylah's delivery list. When all business matters were said and done, Clarke offered her a cup of coffee before she hit the road on her usual delivery route. Though it didn't matter how early it was, because Niylah never showed any sign of fatigue. Clarke knew it was ingrained in the Croft family since childhood to be morning creatures.

"Long route today?" She asked while Niylah finished her last sip. Wells had slunk back into the kitchen to get started on the cheesecake and their first batch of croissants. It was by far Clarke's favorite time in the café - when the baking smells would take over just as the sun slowly rose outside. There was nothing like it.

"Not very long," Niylah answered with a shrug. She buttoned up her coat and breathed in deeply when they stepped outside.

Clarke rubbed her arms up and down, feeling a chill. "Look out for the frost."

 "Always." Niylah smiled but made no move to leave. "So…"

Clarke arched a brow, having a good feeling what was coming. "So?"

"The Polis Hotel is having a public event this Friday. Open lounge with drinks and food half-off, some great live music."

"Oh yeah?"

"I was wondering if maybe you'd want to check it out."

"The Polis Hotel, huh? That's pretty swanky."

"I think it might be the only time I'd ever be allowed inside," Niylah agreed.

The Polis Hotel was famously upscale, but the building itself had a long history and Clarke always appreciated its architecture whenever she passed it. It could be interesting to step inside for once.

"To be clear, you are asking me out at the crack of dawn?"

"What better time than a freezing Monday morning after I've delivered your goods?"

"My goods," Clarke repeated with a laugh. "You're a regular charmer."

"We can go someplace else - something casual."

Clarke remembered this game - knew what 'something casual' meant too well. They'd get drinks and get pleasantly buzzed and then she would wake up in Niylah's bed the next morning wondering why they were risking both a friendship and business relationship for something that never led anywhere else. This date would be no different, but Niylah was good company and it felt nice to be wanted, even if it was just for a night once or twice a month.

"No it sounds like fun, let's do it. Let's be swanky."

She ignored the way Niylah smiled, maybe more excited than Clarke had ever noticed before.

* * *

The next day, Clarke was on her short lunch break when she passed an art and supply store and lingered outside. She knew people, mostly students, came here to load up on paints, pencils and canvases, but she'd never given it a second thought before. What she did - passing the time with scribbles - wasn't art. Sure she'd had other dreams in college - and her portfolio was still somewhere in her apartment, though collecting dust bunnies by now - but the café had eaten them up and Clarke wasn't too brokenhearted about it. Dreams changed. It was just nostalgia for powdered pigments beneath her fingernails or charcoal stains on the palm of her hand. Shaking her head, she eventually left.  

She went through the back of the café and took her coat and scarf off in the small storage room by the kitchen. Their part-timer, Harper, was behind the counter taking an order, but there was a bit of an afternoon lull. She noticed that Lexa had come in and that Gaia was standing by her table and talking animatedly. Lexa, with her computer open and a sprawl of papers on the table, seemed to be taking quick notes, sometimes interrupting with a question. Clarke stayed behind the counter and glanced over a few times, curious to know what they were talking about. Eventually Gaia walked back toward the counter.

Clarke gave her a questioning smile. "Everything good?"

"Oh yeah, just had a quick chat about visions," Gaia replied as she took off her apron and went out back, ready for her own break.

Clarke frowned to herself, then grabbed a few of the plates in the sink to wash while Harper made their last customer's latte.  

"Hi, Clarke."

She turned around almost immediately, so surprised by the sound of that voice saying her name. She couldn't remember Lexa ever saying it before.

"Lexa. Hi. Can I get you anything?"

"Oh no, thank you." Lexa toyed with her phone. "This might seem completely out of the blue, but… would you agree to an interview with me?"

"An interview? About what?"

"I'm writing an article on the visions people had in Costial. Trying to find connections. I'm interviewing as many people as possible - all ages, professions, that sort of thing. Have you had one?"

Clarke felt herself panic. She looked away, pretending to look for- something. "Um. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I mean, yes," Clarke stammered, glancing toward the kitchen. "I have."

Lexa stepped closer to the counter, pulling up the calendar on her phone. "Would you be open to talking about it? My schedule's wide open this week, I could drop in-"  

Clarke's heart lurched. "I don't think so," she blurted out.

It felt like an eternity before she heard Lexa exhale, like she'd been holding her breath for a long time before. "Oh."

"I'm sorry," Clarke said, her hand clinging tight to the bottom of her apron.  

Lexa put her phone away. "That's fine."

Lexa looked just as awkward as Clarke felt, clearly embarrassed by the rejection. Clarke didn't know how to make her understand that it would only make both of them incredibly uncomfortable.

"It's just very personal," she tried.

Lexa nodded quickly. "Sure." She looked at her watch and cleared her throat. "Hm, I'll be on my way then. Big deadline this Wednesday."

She gathered her laptop and purse while Clarke thought desperately to think of something to say. Anything, damnit!

"Can I get you a slice of the cheesecake?" She offered. "On the house."

"Maybe another time, but thank you."

Clarke watched Lexa put her papers away in her satchel with the sinking feeling that she was burning down a bridge. She felt both confused and frustrated. Couldn't she have had a vision of herself adopting a dog or sleeping on some beach? At least she would've gotten more out of it than a headache and a number of unanswerable questions. It was lucky Gaia had left before she could overhear. Clarke wasn't certain she'd be able to keep the truth from her or Wells, and she definitely wasn't ready to discuss it.

Lexa put on her blazer and then approached her again. "I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable," she said apologetically.

It surprised Clarke that she even asked. She quickly shook her head. "No, not at all. Like I said, it's just-"

"Please, you don't owe me an explanation," Lexa assured her. "I was excited that Gaia agreed and got ahead of myself."

"I'm really sorry I can't be of any help."

Lexa shrugged, but a thought suddenly occurred to Clarke. She glanced at the cork board they had up on one of the café walls, where customers could pin their flyers.

"You could put up an ad there if you wanted," she told her.

Lexa turned to look at the wall and the various flyers. "I hadn’t thought of that."

Clarke didn't know why she felt so relieved she could finally be helpful to Lexa. "I know it doesn't seem like much but it attracts a lot of eyeballs every day. People really like the theater discounts we put up."

That had been the first deal she'd pulled off with one of the many local theaters. People at the café had incentive to see lesser-known plays at a discounted rate, while people at the theater were given vouchers for a free croissant with the purchase of a cup of coffee. The traffic from the afternoon shows in particular was well worth it, and the partnership had been going on for five months now.

The mention of the theater seemed to pique Lexa's interest. "Oh do- do you go to the theater a lot?"

"Wells, our baker, has season tickets, but I can't really find the time. Or it'll be sold out if I think of something. That's kinda how it goes when you live in the theater city of the country."

Lexa nodded in understanding. "I might put an ad together then. I've been having a difficult time-" she stopped herself. "People are very protective of the way their visions are transcribed."

Maybe they've just seen themselves sleep with you too, Clarke thought. "I'm sure many would be happy to have them in your writing."

Lexa rubbed the back of her neck. "Thank you, Clarke."

"Of course."

* * *

Clarke rarely drove east to the financial district, but the Organic Foods there was the only store that carried the obscure brand of honey Wells liked the best for their honey cakes. She went during her lunch break on Thursday, eager to avoid the evening rush hour. It was drizzling today, but Clarke didn't mind capricious weather so long as she got the product her baker and her customers enjoyed the most.

She was feeling antsy, unsure about her date with Niylah the following day. It wasn't anything uncommon for them, but this time seemed different. Clarke couldn't help but feel it had to do with her vision, which… she definitely hadn’t shared with Niylah. It wasn't just the tattoo that was missing, but the way their bodies had locked and the sweet sound of the whisper Clarke couldn't forget.

She shopped in the store with purpose, knowing exactly where to push her cart. She grabbed ten pots of honey total and made her way back to checkout, eyeing the cheese aisle on the way. Their Roquefort sure was overpriced but damn was it good. One time Wells and his girlfriend Raven had invited her over for dinner and graced her taste buds with the best Roquefort and pear salad she'd ever had. Her effort to recreate it on her own had been a soggy calamity.

"Clarke?"

She turned her head, her entire body locking at the sight of Finn Collins. His hair was slicked back with what Clarke assumed was an entire pot of gel, but it was his pretentious black suit that made him stick out like a sore thumb.

"Finn," she responded, though made no effort to color her tone with any warmth.

He approached her with a smile. "I'm surprised to see you here. You hate the East bank."

Clarke kept her hands on her cart, grateful that it was between them. "I don't hate the East bank. I just don't have ten dollars to spend on a loaf of bread."

"That's a stretch, but you've always been good at that."

"Can I help you?" She gritted her teeth.

He chuckled. "Calm down. I'm just messing around."

"And you're good at that, aren’t you?"

Finn's smile turned into a tightening of his jaw while he looked around, as if to make sure no one had heard.

"Don't worry, your father's constituents aren’t listening. I doubt they even do it at public events."

"They were very eager to listen today when I came in with my business proposals."

Clarke paused, remembering what Gaia had told her about Finn's expansion plans. She'd never mentioned him approaching chains though, let alone Organic Foods. "Do they know they'd be buying flash-frozen factory products?"

"My stores bake fresh daily and on the spot, Clarke. Why don't you come down one day and try our Elmond location? I'll even show you the kitchens. I have to say - it's a genius spot. The proximity to the college alone is driving demand through the roof. I'm already pitching a breakfast sandwich to investors."

He was trying to goad and if Clarke didn't know his tactics so well - bitterly well - it would have been easy to fall into it. She pushed her cart past him, taking some satisfaction in the way he jolted when a wheel rolled over the tip of his foot. Sometimes actions were better than words.

* * *

Clarke spent most of the evening picking out her date outfit for the next day, knowing she wouldn't have time in the morning, let alone after rushing from the café to pick Niylah up. It seemed like it would be relatively casual if the event was open to the public, but rocking her jeans and leather jacket didn't feel right. She settled on a black number and some strappy heels, mostly to not be a head shorter than Niylah who liked to wear heels whenever she could get out of her work boots.

The day of, Clarke was slightly absentminded. When Lexa walked in, this time at her regular 8am, Clarke found it hard not to focus on her. She was wearing a dark green sweater today, with the collar of a flannel peaking out as usual, and her hair in a single braid. It was exactly how Clarke expected Lexa to look, and yet each time she walked in felt like the first.

"Good morning," Lexa said as she approached the counter.

Clarke smiled. "Morning. What will it be today?"

Lexa scanned the display glass, swallowing when she spotted the basket of croissants. They were still warm, but Clarke knew Lexa didn't indulge every time she came.

"I'll just have a regular coffee, please."

Clarke nodded and grabbed one of the mugs, but as she poured the coffee she couldn't help but prolong the moment. "Sure I can't tempt you?" She asked, glancing at the basket.

Lexa hesitated before she smiled. "Maybe you can."

It was the first - the first time Lexa had smiled at her and Clarke felt her heart skip a beat. It was barely a quirk at the corner of her mouth, but it was there and it was hers. Clarke couldn't think of a better smile.

"On the house."

"What? No-"

Clarke set down her cup of coffee. “For the slice of cheesecake you turned down.”

“Well… if you insist.”

Clarke put the croissant on a plate with a napkin. “I do.”

Lexa paid in cash as usual, dropping the change in the tip jar. She picked up the plate but didn’t make a move otherwise, clearly hesitant to say something.

“Was there something el-”

“I have a spare ticket to this play,“ Lexa finally dropped. "A comedy my cousin wrote. Opening night, but everyone I know already has tickets."

Clarke waited with bated breath, just as nervous as Lexa seemed. A part of her just wanted to ask Lexa if she felt the same undercurrent of frustration between them, like a growing pile of things left unsaid. It was true for Clarke of course, but that truth would only drive Lexa away.

"I thought - based on what you said, that maybe if the opportunity presented itself… you might be interested in going?”

Still taken aback and completely unprepared, Clarke's first instinct was to deflect. “Writing runs in the family?” She asked.

Lexa nodded. “Just the two of us. Woods are usually in health or politics, so it’s brought us closer.”

Clarke wondered if that meant Lexa didn’t get along with the rest of her family. “When’s the play?”

“Tonight, 7pm,” Lexa grimaced. “Very short notice, I know. But there'll be an after-party with free food and drinks. Obviously you could bail on that - my cousin's friends can be a handful. He's an incredible writer though. It should be a fun play."

A night out to a new play, free food, interesting company - it sounded tempting enough that Clarke considered stepping aside to call Niylah and cancel their plans, but that wasn't fair to her.

“That’s really sweet of you to offer... I already have plans tonight though, I’m sorry.”

Lexa seemed to deflate like a balloon, but recovered quickly. “No need to apologize. This was ridiculously last minute.”

Clarke realized it was the second time she was turning her down. She hoped Lexa didn't start to think it was on purpose. “Another time maybe?" She suggested hopefully.

“I’d like that.”

That had to mean something, though Clarke wasn't sure what.

She picked Niylah up at her apartment at 9pm sharp, having the advantage of being closer to downtown. She lived in a two-bedroom on the second floor of the building, which her family had owned for four generations now. Clarke liked the Croft family, but she couldn't imagine ever living so close to her own. She loved both her parents, and they'd been nothing but supportive in the past hectic years, but they were a good three-hour drive away and frankly that was fine. Once, her mother had nearly given her a heart attack when she'd re-organized the café's financial records without consulting her and Clarke could only take such misguided initiatives in small doses.

Niylah wore a white top beneath a dark blue blazer and its matching pants, cutting quite the figure with the addition of her heels. It was hard to believe the woman drove a delivery truck as a job, but Niylah was surprising in her own right. She kissed Clarke's cheek while they waited for their Lyft, both knowing the night would not end in anyone being remotely sober enough to drive.

"Have you ever been inside?" Niylah asked her on the way to the hotel.

Clarke shook her head. "Are you kidding? They'd throw me in the dumpster on sight."

Niylah laughed. "They're not the Ritz."

"Oh, not because of the clothes."

"Finn?" Niylah asked.

Clarke's mood soured. She hadn’t forgotten their last encounter. "Can we not?"

"Sure."

Clarke sighed and took her hand. "Let's just have a good time."

Niylah looked at her lips and smirked. "I plan to."

The Polis Hotel was a historic landmark of the city, built over a hundred years ago and with the original stones to prove it. It had the looks of both a mansion and a small castle, a sort of majestic giant sat on a very slight hill. It wasn't a surprise to see a line of smartly dressed people outside, but when Niylah guided her past the line and straight toward the busy entrance, Clarke figured she'd kept something from her.

"Niylah, you said this was a public event."

"If you managed to snag tickets," Niylah shrugged. "My dad got them for free after he did a couple last-minute deliveries for them."

Clarke tugged on her arm. "You could’ve opened with that."

"You would've insisted I give them to someone else."

Clarke looked everywhere, impressed by the buzz. "This looks like a big deal."

Niylah showed their tickets, which got torn before another person stamped the back of their hands with the elegant logo of the Polis Hotel.

"It's promo for a play," Niylah remembered. "Nowhere Ground or something? The owner's son is the playwright. It's gotten a lot of buzz."

When they stepped inside, Clarke felt a thrill. There was something exciting about being a part of something exclusive and it was clear the hotel intended on giving its guests for the night a good time. Ushered down the hall, Clarke realized quickly that the crowd was spread out in two connected rooms, both rooms seemingly large enough to host balls. Back when it had been built, they likely did.

The first room was packed, with the bulk of the crowd by the bars and others in the seated area where food could be ordered. They were the ones closest to the stage, where a band was already playing loud 1920s inspired music. Clarke only caught a glance of the second room for now, a sort of game room with the allure of a casino. There were pool tables and table games already quite busy; blackjack and poker games well under way. Clarke figured this room had more actual guests of the hotel, though it didn't seem discouraged for anyone here for the live music to partake in them. She vaguely remembered the Polis Hotel having a gambling license, but she'd hardly expected a whole floor of it.

It was certainly a change of scenery; a world Clarke was interested in experiencing tonight but rather happy not being a part of any longer than that. She could tell Niylah was absolutely fascinated by it all, and it was easy to get swept up.

"Do you think they might retroactively throw a soirée like this for the café's opening?" Niylah asked.

Clarke stayed close to her as they made their way toward the bar. "Maybe for the tenth anniversary."

They started off the night with two Old Fashioned cocktails, eventually seated by a waiter in a '20s costume a few tables from the stage. Clarke had to strain her ears to hear Niylah, who tried very hard to talk above the volume.

"Are you trying the Charleston tonight?"

Clarke laughed. "Not a chance in hell!"

True to her word Clarke didn't attempt anything too far outside of her comfort zone, but they did make their way to the dance floor eventually where they fell into a rhythm that was all too familiar. She didn't mind when Niylah's hands went to her hips, and she didn't mind when their bodies loosened further through the night, especially after a quick bite and their third cocktail. When she felt her lips by her neck, however, Clarke knew that something was off. She pulled back and smiled, squeezing Niylah’s hand.

"I'm going to get some water," she said. "Want anything?"

Niylah shook her head, likely understanding Clarke needed a break. Clarke managed to get a glass of water at the bar and made her way through the crowd, feeling suddenly overwhelmed. She found herself by the second room, which had become busier since she'd peeked into it two hours ago but was still considerably less crowded than the stage room. She lingered in the back, slowly sipping on her water while she thought about Niylah and how it felt like they were on two different pages, clumsily trying to find their way back to each other.

There was a group in the furthest corner that Clarke guessed had to be some of the actors from the play. They were exceptionally attractive, with their '20s hairdos still in place and some remnants of makeup.

But it wasn't an actress that made Clarke hold her breath. She could hardly even believe it when she saw Lexa sitting at the table, with her thick hair loose and swept to one side and the sleeves of a dark grey flannel rolled up to her forearms. The dots connected immediately. Lexa was grinning like she was about to win the lottery, and when she put down what must've been an exceptional hand, she might as well have. Her group erupted into a mix of cheers on one side and groans of protests on the other, but the dominant sound was laughter. Lexa high-fived who Clarke assumed was her cousin, the playwright, before grabbing her drink and tipping it back. Her cousin squeezed her shoulder, obviously proud that she had brought them to victory. She didn't seem drunk but was clearly tipsy, smiling lazily while a dark-haired woman whispered something in her ear.

A feeling of complete irrational jealousy settled in the pit of Clarke's stomach. Still dizzy from the dancing and her drinks, it became hard for Clarke to stop herself from remembering her vision. From imagining Lexa's hands run down her body again, cupping her breasts, wrapping around her thighs to part them wider as she settled in between them and pressed her eager mouth against wet heat. Clarke couldn't have imagined prim, focused Lexa with a tattoo before - but she could imagine this Lexa having one, especially stood next to her cousin, who had an entire sleeve of them on his left arm and another one going down his neck and beneath the collar of his shirt. It was all she could think about now, making it impossible to deny any longer that Lexa's build matched the one from her vision, that her hair was just as thick, and that there was clearly more to her than clipped sentences and serious expressions.

Clarke downed her glass of water to parch her suddenly dry throat, hoping it wasn't so obvious the kind of thoughts she was entertaining. And on a date with another woman, no less. What kind of person did that? She had to get a grip, and fast. It must've been a cruel joke that Niylah found her then, softly pressing her hand against her back.  

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Clarke quickly nodded, but when she turned her head and looked toward Lexa again, their eyes met and okay seemed like the furthest thing to describe her feelings. She wasn't sure what she could possibly read in Lexa's expression from so far across the room, but her heart pounded regardless. Lexa knew why she'd declined her invitation now and Clarke couldn't really understand why she felt sudden guilt, like she had been caught in a lie. But she hadn’t - she'd told Lexa she had plans. How she could have known that they would wind up in the same place regardless? She swallowed hard and looked away.

"I think I've had enough for tonight," she told Niylah.

Niylah seemed to agree and reached for her empty glass. "Let me put this down and let's get out of here."

"Meet me outside the restroom?" Clarke asked.

"Sure."

It was a bit quieter on the way to the restroom, though Clarke wondered if maybe she was just going deaf. She followed the sign and wavered just a second when she realized she was walking by a large stairwell. It was splendid, with details in the railing that Clarke had to marvel at for just a moment.

She looked up and found a tabby cat staring at her from one of the steps, but tonight had already been too strange for her to be surprised. Shaking her head, she continued toward the restroom and forgot all about it.

When she checked herself in the large mirror above the sink, washing her hands with the slowness of someone with too much whisky coursing through them, her thoughts went back to the past year. She wondered if the next would look like the same despite her vision; if something so monumentally life changing to some people would just end up being an old memory to her. She pushed some of her hair back from where it stuck to her forehead, sighing at the state of her lipstick now completely faded.

When she came out of the restroom and passed the stairwell, she vaguely became aware of someone coming her way. When she glanced at their face, she stopped short. 

"Lexa," she said, surprised. 

Lexa looked up at something and then strangely stilled. "Don't panic."

Clarke frowned. "What's wrong?"

"There's an angry cat perched on the stairs about to pounce on you."

"What?" Clarke turned around.

"No don't move," Lexa warned her gently, her hand reaching for her waist to keep her from staring at the cat.  

Clarke felt a jolt beneath Lexa's touch, like the lightest press of her fingers had burned her. She hadn’t expected it, let alone Lexa stepping so close to her. She wasn't sure what she wished for the most - to have worn a thicker dress so that she wouldn't feel the heat of Lexa's hand so close to her skin or have it entirely gone.  

"Why not?" She asked her, alarmed, though she was unsure if it was because of Lexa's proximity or because a cat might claw her face out.  

"Any sudden movement and she reacts," Lexa explained as she kept her eyes trained on the cat. "She pounced on me in this exact spot just a few months ago. It's not a pleasant feeling."

Clarke found herself unable to look anywhere but at Lexa's face - or rather the column of her throat, tilted just a bit. "I can't imagine," she said.

"She's skittish, but a little patience goes a long way."

"Does it?"

Maybe it wasn't the time for Clarke to realize Lexa and her had always been separated by something before, whether it was the counter at the café or the table Lexa sat at. Lexa was a customer - had never been anything else. She said hello and ordered and said goodbye. They'd had brief conversations, but the line had still been there. The line that one expected between the person behind the counter and the person in front of it.

But when her question prompted Lexa to finally look away from the cat, and look at her, and realize how close they were, Clarke knew the line had vanished. Lexa's eyes seemed to darken, and Clarke thought maybe her fingers pressed into her waist just the briefest moment before she suddenly stepped away.

"She's gone," Lexa said with a hard swallow.

"What?"

"The cat."

"Oh." Clarke's heart hammered while she glanced toward the stairs, having completely forgotten about the animal. When she failed to catch Lexa’s eyes again, she thought for a moment that Lexa seemed upset. "Thank you," she breathed out.

"Hm."

“Hey,” Niylah called her as she arrived from around the corner. “You ready to go?”

Clarke blinked at Niylah before remembering their last conversation. She walked to her side. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Lexa was gone when Clarke looked back, but the feeling in her chest persisted.

The ride to Niylah’s was quiet, and neither reached out to touch hands like they would have usually done. Outside of Niylah’s complex, they stood by the door and watched the Lyft pull away. Niylah stepped closer to her.

“I had a great night,” she said.

“Me too. Thanks for the invite.”

"Thank you for the drinks."

Clarke smiled. Spending time with Niylah always felt easy. They laughed and were comfortable together. Their conversations always flowed. Clarke couldn't think of a single fault to pick apart, and yet when Niylah cupped her cheek and kissed her, she knew something had changed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she pulled away.

Niylah nodded sadly. "I figured. Had to reach this point sometime, right?"

"I don't want to lose you," Clarke insisted. "I… I just think I might if we keep doing this."

"I know."

Clarke wasn't sure what to say for a moment - wasn't sure why this night hadn’t gone like all the other ones. All she knew was that Niylah's kiss had carried less heat than Lexa's brief touch - hadn’t made her stomach tighten or her heart beat faster. She didn't understand it yet, how she could react so strongly to a stranger, but she couldn't drag Niylah into her mess.  

"Are we going to be okay?"

"I might be ten minutes late this Monday to stick it to you," Niylah shrugged playfully.

"You deserve at least an extra twenty."

Niylah hummed in consideration before she opened the door. "Have a good night, Clarke."

"Night, Niy."

-

[part three]

[geeky-introvert]

Hidden

Summary: The daughter of Floki and Helga has grown up with the sons of Ragnar all her life. Everything was fine until secrets were revealed that will change everything….One-shot.

I’ve never written for Floki or Helga before so this was an interesting change a little. Even though it still includes our boys this is mainly focused on the OC,  Bera, and her life. Enjoy. ❤️

Word count: 3246

Warning: Angst. No pairing.

Tag list:  @lisinfleur @mdlady @didiintheblog @alicedopey @rekdreams247​ @mblaqgi @oddsnendsfanfics @aphnxrising @happydaysandersen @therealcalicali @naaladareia @inforapound @captstefanbrandt @waiting4inspiration @tabalugax @p8tn0lish @igetcarriedawaywithyou @laketaj24 @darlingp @tephi101 @youbloodymadgenius @lordsexmachine @wonderlandofsu @ivaraddict​

If anyone else wants to be added to the tag list let me know please.

It was the life Bera grew up in, with loving parents and close friends surrounding her world. She couldn’t ask for anything different, life was perfect the way it was. However, the gods, fate, it all had other ideas for her, secrets and surprises soon to be revealed to her.

Her parents, Floki and Helga, were amazing and she loved them so much. She enjoyed her father being called the famous boat builder, always making her smile and for as long as she could remember him build the boats on the beach from a young age.

Over the years her mother has taught her about herbs, healing and simple things every woman should know. Her father taught her defence, even though fighting wasn’t a high interest of hers but knew it wouldn’t hurt to be able to hold a blade if needed.

Now she was a young woman, living with her parents while exploring through the forests collecting mushrooms and admiring her surroundings. The sounds of blades hitting caught her attention and smiled before hurrying through the shrugs to come into an open area where she saw the princes training together.

“Morning!” She says through a bubbly uplifting voice as they turned to smile at her in return, always liking her company. “Training as usual, why am I not surprised?”

“You know us all too well.” Ubbe answers through a smile. “Collecting mushrooms, why am I not surprised?” He asks back through a soft chuckle.

“You know me all too well.” She gave a smirk back before sitting down to watch them for a bit. As she cleaned the mushrooms she had in her basket before Ivar joins beside her.

“We haven’t seen you for a few days, how have you been?”

Bera liked the brothers, they were always so nice to her and remembered from such a young age playing with them in Kattegat. They’ll always be her friends, this she wanted.

“Same old. Helping mother and father at the cabin and keeping things in order. My father told me that there’s another raid to come soon, will you all be joining it?”

“We all are, Ivar’s first as well.” Ubbe says rubbing his little brother’s head.

“You all better come back.” She teases, always believing they’ll come back from their travels.

“Why don’t you come with us?” Hvitserk asks as they all sat down now taking a break.

“I promised my mother I would stay and take care of the cabin with her. My father will be joining you though.” She says smiling softly. “Don’t worry, there’ll be other chances.”

“We know, we just always like you coming along.” Ubbe says through a smile.

“I’m sure you’ll all be fine without me.” Bera smiles back blowing air on a mushroom to get rid of some of the dirt covering it.

They casually talked for a bit more, taking in the moment before Hvitserk spoke again through a half full mouth of food.

“Bera, if you could marry any of us, who would you choose?”

“Hvitserk…” Ubbe warns him through a groan.

Bera looks up at each of them before giggling. “Why would I marry any of you?”

“Why not?” Ivar now asks, curious as she looks back up at them all, seeing that the question was serious. Setting the mushroom she was holding down she answers.

“Well, because we’re friends, I look at you four like my own brothers and I’ve never looked or felt any different about any of you.” Her answer was truthful, that’s it.

However judging by their expressions she could see that they were all surprised and even a little disappointed. “What? Did you expect me to throw myself at each of you like your slave friend?” She asks hinting about Margrethe.

“He didn’t mean that.” Ubbe sighs. “We just...well, perhaps we have talked about you a lot and have been curious if it could happen for one of us with you. You’re beautiful, smart and have a good heart, anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Hearing this makes her knit her brows together a little, confused by his response to her as she looks at each of them. “Is this how you all feel?”

Their silence and avoided gazes was enough of an answer for her.

“Well, I think I might go.” Bera suddenly says gathering her basket and heading off as they all tried to tell her to not leave.

“Bera, wait-” Ubbe quickly caught up but she shook her head.

“I’ll see you all before you leave. Enjoy your training.” She says back before she was left alone again and headed back home with a bit on her mind. Never once did she think they ever thought of her like that, a woman for them to keep, marry and bare children with.

Yes, they were very handsome but she didn’t care about that. They were her friends and that was all she wanted with them, nothing else. Was that so weird?

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵ ‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“Like, I couldn’t lie, I had to be honest.” She says laying in her hammock at the cabin as she spoke to her parents while they did a little work. “The looks on their faces though, it was like I just took something precious from them.”

“Well, they’re not used to being turned down.” Her father Floki answers with a small smirk. “You’re a beautiful woman, sweet child. Would it be so bad to marry one of them?”

“Floki, don’t try to change her mind, she’s smarter than that.” Her mother Helga says supporting her. “I want our girl to marry for love, not through arrangement. Besides, hearing how quick the princes move between women, I don’t want her to be caught in the middle.”

Floki gave a shrug followed by a giggle before going back to some of his crafting. “Fair enough, whatever you want Bera, your happiness means a lot to us.”

“Thank you mother, father.” She says beaming softly. “I would like to marry for love, but it hasn’t happened yet. It will though, but I’m in no hurry to settle like that just yet.”

“As long as we get grandchildren soon.” Floki adds making her giggle again.

“Of course, I would never keep that from either of you.”

She loved them both so much.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵ ‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Before the boats left for the raid she of course saw the brothers once more to clear things up with them. As a peace offering she had brought them a new tunic each and they were very thankful. What happened won’t be repeated, they all knew this.

Usually she and her mother would join their father for raids but since it was only going to be a short one they decided to stay and have some mother and daughter time together.

Standing on the docks they fare welled and wished them luck for their journey before Helga took Bera through the markets, arms joined together already enjoying their time.

Another boat had arrived not long ago full of slaves and were lead into a barn where they were to stay before being sold off. Helga and Bera were nearby them but paid no interest, that is until they heard a voice.

“You!” Looking up they saw an older woman in chains, staring at them, or more at Helga, eyes full of hate as if she knew her. “I know that face...the very face that has haunted me for years! You’ve caused me grief and pain you devil!”

Bera was taken aback by her sudden outburst towards her mother and stood beside her, eyes firmly looking back at the crazy woman.

“Leave her alone! You’re just a slave, learn your place.” Such cruel words were never heard from sweet Bera, but when it came to her family she’ll do what it takes to protect them.

The woman’s eyes laid on her then, eyes full of anger were no more, but sadness.  She tried stepping closer to her but Bera pulled her mother and herself back just as the trader came to take her away to join the other slaves.

No more words were said as she was taken away as Bera shelf her mother shake.

“Crazy woman.” Bera mutters before looking at her mother. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yes, I’m fine, my sweet daughter.” She answers caressing her face forcing a smile.

“Are you sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She tells her but Helga shook her head.

“It’s alright, my child. No one has spoken to me like that before, just a little shook but that is all. Come on, let’s go home shall we.” Her arm wraps around her shoulder and lead her away from Kattegat back to their cabin.

Even though it was over, Bera couldn’t stop thinking about it.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵ ‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

After a few days Bera  was walking through Kattegat on her own to buy some fruits. The event that happened a few days ago was forgotten, but today was going to bring it up again.

She passes the slaves working around the barn and that’s when she saw the woman again, and she couldn’t sneak away as he eyes suddenly darts up to her. Bera goes to hurry away not wanting to interact with the slave but she just wouldn’t let her.

“Please, I don’t mean you harm.” She says making Bera stop and turn to face her.

“What harm could you do to me? You insulted my mother. You’re just a slave, you should know better how to speak to others. I won’t speak no more to you.” Again she goes to leave but her voice cuts through.

“Georgina, wait please…” The name makes her stop again and turns furring her brows.

“My name is Bera, I’m not this other person you think I am.”

“Yes, yes you are…” She says still keeping a short distance between them. “You’re my daughter, my beautiful Georgina, I know it. You were taken from me as a baby, by the very woman you call your mother. She’s not your mother, I am.”

“You’re crazy.” Bera shakes her head. “I’m sorry for what loss you’ve suffered, but I’m not your dead daughter.” Once again, turning her back she thinks she can get away.

“You have a birthmark!” Hearing this makes her heart stop, as her feet. “On your lower back, the size of an apple, in the shape of a leaf. You also have two small moles on the back of your shoulder, as if god gave you more eyes for your to watch your back.”

Bera slowly turns, eyes teary, emotions and fear. “How...how do you know that?”

“Because, a mother knows her own daughter.” She answers now coming closer again, this time a weak small smile, as if she convinced her. “You were born in England, in a village. You were my first daughter after giving my husband, your father three sons, your brothers. I only had you for a week before the heathens came and raided. I lost my husband that day, as well as my sons, but I still had you. Then, that woman, saw you and took you from my arms. I screamed and begged but she just...took you, as if claiming you as her own. For years I’ve been a slave, sold again. Now, I’m here, and I know God sent me here to be with you again, to find my long lost daughter.”

Her hand slowly comes up then to touch her cheek, a weak smile on her quivering lips while Bera was frozen, confused emotions rushing through her.

“I have to go.” Bera suddenly says and turns away, this time the woman letting her leave.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵ ‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Returning home she couldn’t stop thinking hard about what happened, or even the tears from falling, as if she was almost convinced. No one knew about her birthmark or moles, only her parents and this woman who claimed to be her mother.

Looking up she saw Helga and she gave her a warm smile before noticing she had been crying and hurries over to her, caressing her face with concern.

“Bera, what happened? Are you alright?”

She was quiet for a moment before asking her. “Are you my mother?”

“What?” Helga was confused. “Of course I am, why would you ask such a thing?”

“The woman from the other day, she saw me again…”

“My sweet child, don’t believe her words. She’s crazy, just as you said.”

“She said I had a birthmark in the shape of a leaf and two moles like eyes on my back.” Bera suddenly says and she sees her mother’s eyes change, as if scared. “How could she know this?”

The silence from her wasn’t settling either, the way she looked at her, as if there was some sort of regret or secret that has been hidden for so many years was slowly exposing itself now for Bera to see. It hurt, seeing this, the truth slowly unfolding.

“She was right.” Bera suddenly says lowly, more tears spilling. “You took me from her, didn’t you?”

“No, no, I saved you.” Her answer made it no better. “You’re my daughter, Bera. I love you so much, blood doesn’t matter, you’re still my sweet girl.”

Suddenly Bera pulled away and storms off while Helga tries to stop her.

“Leave me be! I need to be alone!” She shouts before running into the woods, the sounds of her mother’s echoed cries running through the trees.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵ ‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Bera didn’t return home for a week, she couldn’t. She chose to stay at the princes hunting cabin that she was always welcome to stay in. It was the only place she could be to be away from everything, to give her mind time to ponder over everything.

She heard the horns from Kattegat a few days before, the ships returning but she didn’t go of course. The last thing she wanted was facing her parents again, the truth, at least not so soon. All these years they lied to her, kept a dark secret and now that it was exposed she didn’t know how to truly feel about it.

Tending to the garden to keep her mind busy she hears a horse and looks up to see Ubbe.

It was quiet as he got off and approaches, no doubt people knew why she was here.

“I’m assuming you know.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes, I know.”

“How are they?” She asks about her parents.

“Sad. They miss you.” He answers while she shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter where you come from, they raised you, Bera. They loved and cared for you your whole life.”

“It matters to me!” She snaps back. “You don’t know what it’s like to be lied to your whole life, you don’t know the feeling, so don’t pretend you know.”

Ubbe sighs rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “I’m not saying I understand, I’m only saying that this has been your home, always. Helga and Floki love you so much, they’d do anything for you. You’re there world.”

Bera sniffs her tears up before she stops what she’s doing and looks at him. “Did you know?”

Staring at her he’s quiet before sighing. “Yes, I knew, we all did.”

This only added more heartache. “More lies? You all knew about me all these years and said nothing, never once did you want to say something?”

“It wasn’t something for you to hear from us! Bera, please, this changes nothing...”

Suddenly his face is hit by a tomato catching him off guard before another is thrown hitting him in the chest, and another again as Bera tosses her picked tomatoes at him.

“Go! Get out of here!” She shouts as angry tears spill down her face. Ubbe backs away but hesitates. “GO!” This is when he turns away, gets back on his horse and slowly rides away, sending her a worried glance but knew she needed time alone.

Bera falls to her knees as her hands holds up against the fence, sobbing loudly and crying out harder than before. Her whole life was a lie, everything.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵ ‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

It was another two weeks before Bera finally left the hunting cabin. She needed all this time to herself, to allow her thoughts to gather again and to think about what she was doing now.

Returning into Kattegat first she goes to the very same barn at the stables and approaches the man who owns the slaves. She offers to buy one, the very one who claims to be her mother. He was a little confused since he knew she had been causing trouble but didn’t question and accepted the coins from her.

Bera took the older woman away to the docks in silence before turning to her.

“You’re now a free woman.” She offers her new clothes and a bag, enough supplies for her. “You can return back to England, start a new life.”

She looked down at her hands where she held the clothes and back up at her, silently thankful for this chance before she speaks. “Come with me, you don’t need to stay here.”

Bera stares at her, as if considering it for a moment before shaking her head. “This is my home, this is where I belong. I don’t want to leave.” Her answer makes her bow her head before she lifts her head back up again. “I’m sorry for what you’ve suffered. Nothing will change the past but I can give you peace. All my life I was cared and loved for so much. My parents, they raised me well, gave me a chance. If they didn’t take me in I would’ve ended up a slave or dead, this is the life they gave me and I’ll always cherish it.”

She stares at Bera for a long moment before nodding, understanding her words.

“You’ll always be my daughter.” She tells her caressing her cheek.

“I know.” Bera answers giving her a weak smile before taking a bracelet off her wrist. “Here, I’ve had this for as long as I can remember. A part of me will always be with you. I...I don’t even know you name.”

“Amanda.” She answers, accepting the bracelet.

“Take care of yourself, Amanda, mother.” Even just once more for her to hear.

Amanda then hugs her and she accepts the hug before watching her get on the boat that’ll head straight for England. Bera watches her leave from the docks before the ship could no longer be seen from her eyes and turns away, heading back home.

Before she did though she made sure to clear things up with the princes again. That was easy, but returning home was harder than she thought it might be.

Slowly she walks towards the cabin by the lake, seeing her parents at work on the half finished boats before Helga looks up to see her and hurries over.

Without words she embraces her daughter, letting out a soft cry against her shoulder as Bera hugs her back, closing her eyes and nuzzling her head against her.

“I love you mother.” She whispers.

“I love you too, my sweet child.”

Floki then comes closer, sadness in his face as well before hugging his wife and daughter, the three trapped together in a tight embrace for a long while, savouring the love.

This was where she belongs, this was where she wants to be.

[lonestarbabe]

Holding Out For a Hero

Chapter 4: I’m Fine (AO3)

Marjan is worried about T.K. and enlists the help of Carlos to make sure T.K. is okay. Things heat up between T.K. and Carlos... but in an angry way... for now. Carlos learns more about T.K. while T.K. starts to think that Carlos may actually care.

T.K.

It was a Wednesday, but T.K. didn’t know which one. He only knew that the pool cleaner had been outside earlier. The pool cleaner came on Wednesdays, so it had to be Wednesday. He was almost positive it was March but coming up with the month took a few seconds too long as alcohol and Oxy muted his mind. “Maybe you should slow down a little,” Marjan suggested, looking at T.K. with her usual disapproving look. If T.K. knew she’d planned on coming over, he would have saved the drugs and alcohol for later in the evening. Marjan didn’t consume either, and while she didn’t mind being around people who were drinking or maybe even smoking some weed, she wasn’t shy about telling him why he should avoid those things. She thinks I’m an addict, but I’m just having fun. As much fun as a miserable person can have, at least.

“Don’t be a kill joy Marjan.” She always wants to spoil my fun. Some best friend she is. I don’t need her to look after me, no matter what she thinks. Between her, Judd, and the new bodyguard, I’ll never get a moment to myself.

“Slow down,” Marjan told him again, pulling the bottle of vodka from his hand and putting it out of his reach. “I know you already had pills, and you shouldn’t be mixing that crap together.”

“Okay, Doctor Marwani.”

“I’m a first responder. I know a thing or two about these things, but of course, teen heartthrob T.K. Strand doesn’t like to listen to rules. It’s not cute to be a bad boy anymore.” She sounded annoyed, but her eyes were terrified. Look what I do to everyone around me. I put them through shit, and I act like an asshole, even though I’d give them literally anything they asked.

“You’re such a rule follower. Are all firefighters as boring as you?” T.K. lamented. “You can’t get anywhere if you go slow. Did Michael Phelps ever slow down?” T.K. added, grabbing a new bottle and watching amber liquid fill his glass. He took the shot of tequila just to prove a point. Stings more than vodka, and I kind of like it.

“No, he didn’t, and now you see him sitting in an empty pool in those Better Help commercials. Do you want that to be you?” Yeah, sitting in an empty pool might be pretty fun, but you can’t drown in it. Unless you find something other than water to drown yourself in. Wouldn’t it be funny to drown at the bottom of an empty pool?

“That’s because he stopped swimming. He let his feelings catch up with him. If you don’t ever stop, nothing can ever catch up to you. That’s why I gotta keep going.”

“Everyone has to stop eventually, T.K. People get old and slow. They can’t win races forever. You just better hope that you’re the one who makes that decision and that it isn’t the universe that steps in and slows you down.”

“Give me too much time to stop and think, and I’ll go crazy. There’s nothing that you, Judd, or any hot bodyguard can do about it.”

“Hot bodyguard? Don’t tell me it’s another Mr. Clean.” Oh, yes, the Mr. Cleans. So many bodyguards he’d had were bald and had an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Clean. He figured Judd just thought those guys looked responsible. Mr. Cleans were attractive, sometimes, but in a one-night stand kind of way. Let ‘em use you and then clean you away with their magic erasers.

T.K. shook his head. “This one isn’t just hot in an ironic way. He’s an ex-cop.” T.K. had done a quick— two-hour— internet search into Carlos. Carlos kept a pretty low profile, but T.K. had learned enough about him to guess how he ticked. He also knew that he had an ex-boyfriend, so he at least liked men.

“And you say that you don’t have a type.”

“He’s an ex-cop.”

“Still. Once a cop, always a cop.”

“I don’t care what he was or what he is. I’m just saying he’s hot. He hates fun just like you, but he’s hot.”

“Don’t harass him, Tyler Kennedy.”

“Don’t call me Tyler Kennedy, Marjan Marwani.”

“Marwani isn’t even my middle name.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “Whatever. It’s not like I’m going to seduce him, anyway. I don’t do the chasing. People chase me.”

She looked at him like he was full of shit. “I’ve watched you chase plenty of guys. You practically mauled that big one last week.”

“Fucks, not dates. It’s different.”

“Yeah, because all you care about is having fun, I get it. T.K. Strand can never take anything further than a fuck,” she replied sarcastically. She doesn’t believe a single word of my bullshit, and that’s something I love and hate about her.

“I choose not to. Dates don’t like hanging out with party boys.”

“The issue is that party boys refuse to stay sober.”

“I’m sober a lot. Far too much for my liking, actually,” T.K. quipped.

“Yeah, I know. That’s exactly my point. You know, I rescue idiots like you every day. People who think they’re just having fun when they’re not having fun at all. They hate what they’re doing. They’re just being dangerous and stupid for no other reason than having a gap they need to fill.”

“I’m not dangerous. I’m really safe when I take anything. I don’t run heavy machinery when I’m high— not even my can opener. I’m careful, Marjan.”

She laughed. “Yeah that damn automatic can opener Judd got you could decapitate a person if they got their head too close.” Her face returned to concerned. “But don’t distract me with the Strand charm. I’m serious, T.K. I’m not worried about you getting other people hurt. I know you wouldn’t get in a car or endanger other people intentionally, but shit still happens. You’re going to do something to yourself that you can’t take back.”

“Maybe I’ll get a Better Help commercial out of it,” he said with a grin. When I’m washed up and the crowds stop coming to my shows, I’ll be one of those celebrities who has to resort to paid testimonials. I’ll suffer the horrifying ordeal of being known, forgotten, and known again as a relic from a time that had almost been erased from people’s memories. The voice from a song they used to love (or hate).

She punched him in the arm. “If you don’t shut up…” but she couldn’t help the smile that was on her face. “You look at the world so differently than I do.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure. Why are we even friends? I was trying to date a firefighter, not become best friends with his coworker.”

“Bob was forty-five with a wife and kids. You had to know it was never happening” Bob had a great dad bod.

“Why should that have stopped me?”

Marjan crossed her arms. “Your daddy issues are showing.”

“I don’t have daddy issues,” T.K. protested. My dad died a long time ago, and I’m totally over it. It’s not like he left me. He just left and never came back. He hugged me goodbye, went to work, and then just like that, he was gone. It wasn’t fair, but it was nothing he did. He died a hero, and now, there’s no hero left to save me. Not that I need one. I’m fine. Great even. I hate my life, but I’m surrounded by wonderful things. I would be happy if I wasn’t such a dreadful person.

“Your father was a firefighter and you wanted to date a firefighter old enough to be your father. Sounds like daddy issues to me.”

“You don’t get it because you don’t have daddy issues. I wasn’t interested because he was old or a firefighter. It was because he was hot… and looked nothing like my father for your information.”

“I’m just saying you never really dealt with your dad’s death.”

“It’s been two decades! Of course, I dealt with it. Mom made me go to therapy.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t take therapy seriously.”

“It only lasted a couple weeks before I threw a fit and convinced mom it did more harm than good.”

“See, you need to actually address your issues, T.K.”

“When did you get your psychology degree, anyway?”

“First, you tell me I’m not a doctor, and now you tell me I’m not a psychologist. You’re getting very predictable, Teek. And very defensive on top of that.”

“That’s not fair. I can’t say I’m not defensive without being defensive!”

“Sucks to be a loser.” Marjan made it her goal in life to win at everything.

“We all can’t be good at everything like you, Miss Has Gone Viral Eight Times.”

“It was only six, and I don’t think you stop going viral… ever. I always see your annoying face wherever I go— in magazines at grocery stores or billboards. I went on a date once with this girl, and when I went home with her, she had a big poster of you over her bed. Really killed the mood.”

“Any of the guys you dated have a poster of me?”

“One had a bobblehead.”

T.K. cringed. “That’s worse than a poster.”

“How? The poster is a lot bigger. I could shove the bobblehead in a drawer.”

“It’s unofficial merch,” T.K. explained.

“Oh, yes, the dreaded unofficial merch. How will you ever live without your cut of the money? You could have two Porsches by now if only you sold bobbleheads.” He didn’t mention that he could buy more than two Porsches if he wanted because he was sure she already knew that.

“The Barbie doll was nightmare enough. It looked like they glued feathers on my head.”

“I still have that doll. Just for when I need a good laugh.”

Marjan uncrossed her legs and got up to go to the kitchen.  “While I wish I could stay to talk, I have a shift in an hour, so I have to go. The captain doesn’t like my attitude as it is, which means being late would take me from his bad list to his firing list.” She shrugged. “It’s not my fault that I’m allergic to poor leadership.”

“That’s one hell of an allergy, Marj,” he shook his head at her. “If you’re trying to leave, the door isn’t in the kitchen. My mind is a little warped right now, but even I know that.”

Marjan put a water glass next to T.K. “I don’t want you to die. The hangover is probably unavoidable. But hydrate.”

“Why do you have to go? I thought your next shift wasn’t until Friday.”

“It is Friday. Hence why I have to go.” She told him impatiently. “Do you pay attention at all?”

“No, the pool cleaner came today. It’s Wednesday.”

“The pool cleaner comes on Thursdays, T.K. He came yesterday.” He checked his phone and saw that yes, it was Friday. Oof wonder where the time went.

“Fuck. Why does the week need seven days?”

“That’s it. I’m calling Judd.”

“He’s in Texas with Grace. I’m fine, Marwani. Go to work. Billy the Bully isn’t going to wait.” She sighed, looking torn about leaving him, but T.K. wasn’t going to be the reason Marjan got in trouble. Just because I can’t keep my shit together doesn’t mean I should drag everyone down into my miserable life.”

“I’m calling your new bodyguard.”

“No, you’re not.” He didn’t want the only times that Carlos saw him to be when he was indisposed. Carlos probably already hated him, and T.K., as much as he hated bodyguards, did not want to start again with a new bodyguard. If this didn’t work, Judd would probably call in a drill sergeant. Anyone but Carlos.

“I am. Maybe he can come sit with you for a while.”

“No way. You can’t call him on his day off.”

“There aren’t a lot of options right now. If he says no, he says no.” She’s so persistent. She won’t take no for an answer. Not with me, not with Carlos. “He might not be busy. He’s new to town, so he probably hasn’t made a lot of friends yet.”

“I’m not letting a hot guy see me in sweatpants and a hoodie.”

“That’s like your uniform.”

“Yeah, but it’s not for people who haven’t seen the shit show. I don’t want him to think I’m a slob.”

“Oh, so you care about his opinion? Give me his number. You know I won’t leave until you do.” She waited not so patiently for a response. “I guess I could ask Judd. Interrupt his nice trip with his wife, but you won’t make me do that, will you?” Friends are the worst.

“No, do not bother anyone. I’ll give you the number.” He sighed, fumbling for his phone. You’re a real psycho, you know that?” Marjan swiped the phone from his hands before he could even unlock it. She punched in the code. I really need to change that. “He’s listed under—”

“Hot Body Bodyguard, yeah, I got it.” She chuckled. “You’re so obvious.”

“Delete his number from your phone when you’re done.” He didn’t want Marjan talking to Carlos on the regular. That would be a disaster.

“Do you even know me?” Marjan laughed. “I still have Aaron’s number. This one isn’t going anywhere. I may delete Aaron’s though. I think it’s time.”

“Aaron?” He didn’t know who the hell that was. Was he somebody I slept with? One of Marjan’s exes?

“Mr. Clean #3.” Oh, him. He wasn’t so bad, but not at all personable. Hated the very idea of fun. Treated me like a toddler. Slightly attractive.

“Don’t remind me. He was awful.” T.K. groaned. He flipped his hand in the air to wave her away. “Go to work already.”

“Yeah, okay.” She finished up a couple of texts and stuck her phone in her purse. “I’ll see you later. Probably tomorrow, so don’t get drunk before five. No drugs either. I want you clear headed. I have boy issues to talk about.”

“I don’t get wasted every night, but okay. Cannot wait for your boy issues.”

Marjan smiled. “Good.” Before heading out the door, she turned to give him one last look. “Seriously, dude, be careful. I’d be really pissed if something happened to you.” Marjan always started throwing in “dude” when her emotions were getting the best of her.

“You’re the one who dives into fires for a living.”

“Yeah, but I do it with equipment. You dive into fires just to see if they’ll burn you.” She doesn’t understand that sometimes the burn feels better the numbness.

Carlos

Carlos’ plans were interrupted by a series of three pings on his phone. He picked his phone up, immediately having a bad feeling when he saw an unknown number. He was used to calls from unfamiliar numbers, but texts were rarer.

You need to get to T.K.’s house.

This is Marjan by the way. Marjan Marwani.

I’m T.K.’s best friend (reluctantly).

As he read the messages, Carlos stood from his couch, beginning to pace across his floor as his brows scrunched in consternation. This was not how he saw his day off going. T.K. better not be dead. I’m not going to lose that idiot if I can help it. I told Judd I’d protect him, and I don’t plan on backing down on my promise no matter how irritating T.K. can be.

What? Why? Is something wrong?

Carlos had just settled in from going to the store and was about to call his mom before cracking open a beer and watching TV. He was a worrier, so he couldn’t help thinking that something truly awful had happened. It can’t be that bad if T.K.’s friend is making jokes, Carlos reassured himself, but the chance that things might not be okay twisted Carlos’ stomach. I’m not going to let some bratty popstar ruin my evening. He’s probably just drunk and looking to do something stupid. I don’t need to deal with this.

Is it an emergency?

I’m not on duty, so I can’t just go over there if he doesn’t want me to.

Carlos had a bad feeling that his curiosity and worry would get the best of him, and he’d end up at T.K.’s mansion that was far too large for just one person. T.K. was difficult, but there was also something infectious about him. You couldn’t help but root for him or worry that he might not be okay.

He’s drunk and high. He shouldn’t be alone.

Please, just stay with him. He hates being alone.

I would but my boss is an asshole.

Please. Judd is away, and there’s no one else to call. He doesn’t have a lot of real friends.

He doesn’t even like me.

There was a thirty-minute delay before another text came in, and Carlos sat in suspense, worrying about all the things that can happen in thirty minutes.

Sorry. I was going to work. He likes you fine, and even if he didn’t, he’ll let you in because I told him to.

You’ve got blackmail on him or something? I barely know him, but I know T.K. doesn’t like being told what to do.

What you need to know about T.K. is that he doesn’t give a damn about himself, but he’d throw himself in a fire after taking a bath in gasoline to make sure the people he loves aren’t hurt.

Well, damn, he couldn’t argue that. Couldn’t say no to someone who clearly loved her friend so much. Couldn’t say no to T.K.

It would send the wrong message to spend his time off with T.K., but he hated the thought of T.K. overdosing or going out to find assholes to hang out with. He hated the thought of T.K. hooking up with some man who would take advantage of him. T.K. was a pain in the ass, but he was also a national treasure. Fangirls would never forgive Carlos if he let something happen to T.K. (He would never forgive himself.) This job is getting too messy. For whatever reason, I’m already too far in. Captivated by those green eyes and that lopsided smiled. I need distance because T.K. Strand is doing his best not to stay alive, and getting too close will set me up for a world or hurt.

He sighed, grabbing his keys from the hook by his door and heading out to his car. He sent Marjan a quick text.

Fine, I’m going over.

Good. I have to go. My bad boss is calling.

Keep him safe.

Carlos wasn’t sure if that last part was a best friend’s threat or a desperate plea, but either way, he didn’t want to screw this assignment up. I’ll keep him safe. But he couldn’t make promises because he couldn’t save T.K. from himself no matter how much he wanted to.

I’ll do my best.

Putting his car into gear, Carlos back out and zoomed down the highway until he got to a mansion set apart from the other houses. He wouldn’t admit to anyone how much over the speed limit he had gone. If he’d had sirens, he would have used them. Fuck T.K. for being such an endearing jackass.

He entered the code at the gate and haphazardly parked his car in the first place he could find. It wasn’t like him to be so impulsive. He liked order and control, and any lack of those things made him antsy, but he didn’t even notice that his car was 1 inch into the grass. He rushed up to the door, thoughts of T.K. being hurt or dead rising into a heart-pounding climax. What if I’m too late? What if I was too slow? What if I’m powerless to save him? What if I fail at this job?

The tension dropped from Carlos’ shoulders as he heard the deadbolt click open and saw T.K.’s head when the door swung open and Carlos was instantly relieved to see that T.K. wasn’t unconscious on the floor. In fact, T.K. mostly seemed fine.

T.K. gave a long, exaggerated sigh, and Carlos felt his breath momentarily constrict again. He looked good. Anyone with eyes could see that, but Carlos had self-control. He didn’t act like an animal just because he spotted a pretty person. He’s a ten, but he’s also off limits. He’s narcissistic and obnoxious. Maybe a little sweet, but he’s not good for me. He’s danger, and I had enough of that when I was a cop. I flew too close too the sun, but this guy, he’s flying in the center of the sun.

For someone who was supposedly in danger, T.K. looked like he had complete command over his situation. He wore a hot pink and baby blue striped button down with black skinny jeans that hugged his lean legs in ways Carlos didn’t allow himself to think about too much. He averted his eyes, being sure to look at T.K.’s face, which was just as overwhelming. Carlos noticed T.K.’s eyes were bloodshot with deep bags underneath. A person can hide under clothes, but the eyes, those emerald eyes, always tell the truth.

T.K. looked markedly too nice for a night in, looking and smelling like he was about to go on a date. Freshly misted cologne hitting Carlos’ nose— vanilla, cinnamon, and sandalwood. There was an underlying bitterness to his scent—cloves— but it was just enough to offset what would be otherwise cloying. “Are you okay?” Carlos finally asked.

“Yeah, but I have a little alcohol and Marjan thinks I’ve gone off the deep end.” That’s a can of worms that I am not even going to begin to unpack. “I’m obviously fine.”

“Fine or not, I’m here now. Might be nice to have a little company.” The more Carlos looked at T.K., the less fine he seemed to be. He didn’t seem as outwardly wasted as when they first met, but T.K.’s uncontrollable smile and aimless eyes told Carlos all he needed to know. The blissed-out look was chillingly familiar to him, so much so that he had the instinct to get in his car and speed away, but his sense of duty was too strong, and even as his past chased him, Carlos couldn’t look away from T.K. Maybe things can be different than they were with Taylor. Maybe not, but how can I in good conscience give up before I try? “I’m here,” Carlos reiterated. And I’m not going anywhere.

“I see that.” T.K. gave him a once over, licking his lips. “And you look very good doing it.” He’s just a flirt. I can’t let it get to my head. I have to protect him. Not fuck him. T.K.’s words were dripping with forced pleasantness, and Carlos couldn’t quite figure out what T.K. was really feeling beyond the happy highness. Silence fell between them.

T.K. bit his lip, looking down a little. The mood shifted. “I know you don’t want to be here. Don’t worry, Judd will pay you for your babysitting.” Carlos wanted to argue that he wasn’t here for the money or insist that he did care, but the air between him and T.K. had turned so suddenly sour that words swirled in his head with nothing to ground them into cohesive sentences. The smell of cloves was trapped in his nose and he tried to search for the vanilla and cinnamon, warm and pleasantly biting. “I’m sure Marjan will report back to him when he gets back from his trip. He’ll fret over me because it would be such a shame if I died and couldn’t make him any more money.” T.K. cracked a mechanical grin that clashed with the bitter tone in his voice. “He’d probably be relieved not to have me bothering him.” He’s got it all wrong, but I can’t tell him that. I barely even know him.

Carlos wanted to shake T.K. and tell him that Judd would be devastated if something happened to him, but he knew if he was too sincere, T.K. would retreat into the safety of humor and lightheartedness. He would become the happy and carefree T.K. that substances created to hide the sorrow. I have to learn to roll with his jokes and self-deprecation, even hearing it horrifies me. “I’ve heard that posthumous sales aren’t half bad. The initial spike… might be something to consider,” Carlos replied wryly. When there was more silence, Carlos wondered if he’d made a fatal misstep. Maybe I don’t have as good of a grasp on the situation as I thought. What if I’m losing him?

A flash of shock came over T.K.’s face before his lips upturned slightly and his head tilted to the side with curiosity. “You really busting my balls right now?”

Carlos kept the impassive look on his face, forcing his lips not to turn up. “I suppose I am.”

T.K. shook his head, the dark cloud lifting from his features just a little. Back to carefree T.K., and Carlos wasn’t sure if it was for the best or the worse. I can’t tell if he’s genuinely happy. “I can’t believe that of all the bodyguards in the bodyguard factory, you’re the one they sent me.” Back to joking, the cold tone dissipated in the early evening air.

“And I can’t believe that of all the popstars in the popstar factory, you’re the one I got sent to,” Carlos countered. He could keep up with banter if he needed to. He could even throw in some harmless flirting if it helped get through to T.K., but he couldn’t cross any lines beyond that. I know all about how crossing one line can lead to crossing more. I need boundaries if this is going to work. I must be careful for T.K.’s sake and mine.

“Rockstar,” T.K. corrected.

“You don’t sing rock music, popstar,” Carlos reminded him.

“It’s a—”

“State of mind. I know. Now, are you going to let me in? Or do I have to stand out here all evening fighting with you about the definition of a rockstar?”

T.K.’s head tilted again, this time in thought. “I don’t think I have much of a choice. Marjan will kill me if I make you stand on the porch,” T.K. answered, opening the door wider and leading Carlos into the living room. The stench of alcohol immediately hit Carlos’ nose and bottles were sprawled on a chair.

“That’s a lot of bottles,” Carlos commented.

“Some of them are old.” Some, not all. Not even most. Some. “It’s funny because sometimes when it’s dark, there’s so many of them there that it almost looks like a person sitting in the chair. I’ve gotten startled a couple times by it. Sometimes, though, it’s nice not to feel alone.” The honesty of the words struck Carlos. He’s got so many demons I haven’t even seen yet. He opened his mouth but quickly closed it again in the absence of having a meaningful response.  T.K. caught on to what he had said and backtracked. “I didn’t mean that seriously, you know. It was just a joke. I mean, there’s always people around me. Celebrities can’t escape people. I’m not really lonely.” The only people who feel the need to insist they are not lonely are the ones who are, in fact, lonely.

Carlos forced a laugh. “Right, a joke. You tell a lot of those.”

“Maybe. It’s more fun that way. I’m really funny when I’m not sober, so funny that people think I’m serious. It makes me a man of mystery I guess.” Oh yes, a mystery I’m afraid to investigate but desperate to know.

“Speaking of not sober, how much alcohol did you have?” He wanted a grasp on how bad the situation was.

“I’m fine.” Carlos had been a cop. He was used to dodgy answers, but they still frustrated the hell out of him. He’s testing me. Trying to see if he can make me mad. I won’t let him. I have to be patient and keep my temper in check.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Fewer than all the bottles on that chair.” T.K. added, “A lot fewer. I’m not trying to die tonight.” Tonight, that’s what I’m worried about. What about the other nights?

“How much?” Carlos asked with his no nonsense cop voice. It’s been a while since I’ve used that.

T.K. looked unimpressed at the question. “Several shots. I didn’t even have a full bottle of tequila. But shots are just bad if you only do one, so you have to keep going until you feel something. By the time the first one kicks in, you realize that the rest will be by shortly to hit you with a fucking hammer.” Carlos fought the headache that T.K.’s drunken logic was creating. He rubbed a hand across his temple, wiping the sweat and stress from his brow. He forced his facial features to relax. I need to keep those emotions in their place or else I won’t be able to understand what he’s saying. I have to listen.

“Pills?”

T.K. shrugged, looking at his hands cagily, which gave Carlos a pretty good idea of what he was dealing with. An addict who will try getting high on pretty much anything.

“T.K., I need to know.” He wasn’t quite sure what he’d do with the information, but it seemed like something he should know in case anything happened.

T.K.’s voice was quiet, and Carlos barely heard it over the murmuring of the central air working hard to cool the huge house. “Some Oxy. My favorite.” Carlos would put that piece of information into the T.K. file that he was compiling in his head, all the things that might come in handy someday when the inevitably awful stuff happened.

Yawning, T.K. plopped down onto the couch, and Carlos went to the kitchen and grabbed a recycling bin. He began loading the empty bottles into it. “You don’t have to do that,” T.K. protested. “It’s not your job.”

“I know, but it doesn’t help you to keep these here,” and to be honest, they were driving Carlos a little crazy.

“Why are you so nice?” It sounded like an accusation, skeptical and angry.

“I’m not.” I’m just bad at sitting around helplessly. I need something to keep me busy, and I hate looking at all those bottles and seeing him like this. “I like to keep my hands busy.”

T.K. winked, a sloppy wink. “I can think of a better use for those hands.” Oh, no. He did not just go there.

Carlos panicked. His jaw clenching. “Do not do that.”

“Do what?” T.K. asked as if he was completely innocent.

“Hit on me.”

“You weren’t supposed to be so hot.” Shut him up. Shut him up!

“I’m not hot. I’m just a guy, okay? Just a normal guy.”

“Normal, yeah, okay. Did you know that I’m really good with my mouth? I mean more than singing and stuff. I put enough junk in it to know how to use it.” T.K.’s eyes filled with hunger. He’s not thinking clearly. He doesn’t actually want me. He’s just horny. Carlos felt like putting his fingers in his ears and screaming “la, la, la, la, la.”

“Stop it. You’re not thinking clearly.”

“But if it was sober? Would you be interested?” He’s so desperate to be wanted. He doesn’t even care who wants him.

“It would still be a no.”

“Why? Aren’t I attractive?” Oh yes, far too attractive for your own good.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m your bodyguard. I can’t be blurring those lines.”

T.K. raised his eyebrows. “The more you know my body, the better you can guard it.”

“I said no. You can respect that, can’t you?” Carlos’ voice was agitated. His anger radiated through the room and spread to T.K.

“I don’t force anything on anyone,” T.K.’s voice was sharp. “I wouldn’t want to fuck someone with a stick up his ass anyways.”

“You don’t get to be an asshole just because things don’t go your way. Maybe try facing your feelings instead of getting mad and acting like a diva when any semblance of a bad feeling enters your mind.” So much for containing my temper.

“Wow, Mr. Nice Guy does have a backbone, after all.”

“I know what you’re doing.”

“Being an asshole?”

“You’re trying to see how many buttons you can push before I get up, leave, and never come back.”

T.K.’s face fell. “Why does everyone think they have fucking psychology degrees?”

“What?” What in the world is he talking about?

T.K. didn’t explain. “You don’t have to stay. I don’t care either way. I’m happy enough alone. Just leave me alone.”

“I don’t have to leave.” He took a breath. It’d been a long time since he had tried to handle someone so self-defeating and so scared to let anyone get too close. “I don’t want to leave.” Part of him wanted to run for the hills and stop the attachment he was feeling for T.K. Like T.K., Carlos was scared of letting anyone get too close. He was scared of knowing people too well, which was why he’d planned on spending his Friday alone. But I don’t want to be alone.

“You should want to leave.”

“But I don’t want to.” If only I could get it through his thick skull that some people just want him around. They don’t care if he is a singer or famous or a party boy. They just want to have him. Judd, Marjan, even me. We want him to be the person he’s happiest being and not this person who can’t stand to look himself in the mirror or the person who never shows the real him because he’s afraid no one will like it.

“What made you so stubborn?” T.K. paused to think. “Or should I say who?” Don’t think about Taylor. Now’s not the time. No need to make unnecessary comparisons.

Carlos crossed his arms as if it would help him keep all the feelings rushing through his body contained. “I was born a week late and put my mom through eight hours of labor. I was born stubborn.”

“Yeah, well, I was born a good person. Now, I’m a piece of shit, so how we come into this world doesn’t have much to do with how we go out.” Hopefully, we won’t be going out any time soon. Hopefully, he doesn’t want to.

“What do you like most about yourself?” Carlos asked, and it felt abrupt, but he had wanted to catch T.K. off guard.

“Why does it matter?” T.K. was already defensive, and the question made him more resistant.

“No questions, just tell me.”

“Oh, bossy. I like it,” T.K. said more biting than flirty.

“Favorite part of yourself?” Carlos pushed.

T.K. was quiet for a few moments. His tone softened. “Hard choice there’s so much to like,” he tried to act confident, but Carlos could hear his voice cracking. “but I guess the thing people like most about me is that I’m fun, the life of the party.” Is that all he’s got?

“Why is it that you love to talk about yourself until I actually ask you to tell me something about yourself and then all you can talk about is what other people think.”

“Here’s the thing, Carlos. Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not that interesting. I’m not that deep either. I’m just a vapid popstar who people like to think they know.” It sounded like defeat, and Carlos didn’t think the word popstar could ever sound so sad.

“You know what,” Carlos concluded. “Maybe you’re a rockstar after all.” T.K. looked up from his hands, eyes looking hopeful. Then, to make it sound less serious Carlos added, “Rockstar is a state of mind, after all.”

T.K. grinned at the inside joke, perking up a bit and letting a tentative grin appear on his face. “But I do play pop music,” he said. “So, maybe I’d rather be a popstar.” His eyes lingered on Carlos, “That stays between us, though.”

“Okay, popstar,” Carlos said clapping T.K. on the shoulder, and T.K.’s eyes flickered with something Carlos couldn’t quite make out. There’s so much to learn about T.K. Strand, so much that even his most devoted fans have even discovered. There’s a good person in there beneath all the layers of bravado. You don’t even have to dig that far to find them, but I want to bring that person out. I want to show him that there’s a place for the T.K. who can be happy.

[rj019]

Title : Genius, YouTuber, Artist, Musician and Spider-Man

Fandom : MCU

Pairing : Starker(tony stark x peter parker)

Rating : Mature (NSFW, Sexual Content) but it'll be in the later part of the story not in few chapters of starting.

Prompt : Social Media

Read on ao3 here. And Ch 0 here.

Chapter summary:

Avengers finding out things about Spider-Man.

Here's 1st chapter! Enjoy!!!

_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_

CHAPTER 1

Peter went home and just go to sleep after cleaning up and eating something. He doesn't want to worry about anything right now he's really tired. He knows that now probably all eyes are going to be on Spider-Man. He just needs to lay low for a while and people and media will forget about it soon. As for shield he doesn't want to think right now so he went to sleep.

But before he got too deep into sleep his eyes went wide open as he got an idea to take care of shield issue once and for all. He finally relexed and went to sleep happily.

 

____________________________________________

 

The day after ferry incident at Avengers 

 

The Avengers were in the common room area watching news while having breakfast for last day at the tower since tonight the things were gonna moved to the compound. And they were leaving tomorrow morning.

The news was about Spider-Man and the ferry incident that happened yesterday. Suddenly some news reporter said that they got exclusive footage of the ferry incident. Now everyone was curious about it and wanted to see what actually happened there.

Then the footage played. It was shot from the port. They sees as the some guy with metal wings was fighting with Spider-Man. He was trying to escape from his web. It wasn't so clear as it was in distance. Suddenly an energy blast happened and the ferry was split in half.

Everyone was shocked as to what was that blast. Now even Tony was more interested.

The ferry was sinking but it suddenly stopped. Spider-Man had connected both sides strong points with his web.

Bruce said, " How strong are his web to hold that much of weight together?"

Suddenly webs broke and ferry again started sinking. 

Everyone gasps.

But then again it stopped. Spider-Man was holding it together.

"Jesus Christ! How strong is this guy?", Tony said.

But it didn't look like Spider-Man could hold on for a long time but suddenly some bots were seen flying towards the ferry. Some bots were on the left side, some were on the right side of the ferry. They started pushing ferry togather. But some bots were still in the air. As the ferry got together, the bots in the air started mending it together. The clip ended.

Everyone was shocked as to what just happened. Tony asked Friday to get the clip and play it at the bots part. Tony started analysing it. His thoughts were confirmed that the bots were using arc reactor technology. Tony was in speechless for a while. 

"Who is this spider guy? How does he have my arc reactor technology and all this bots and stuff. Does he even have AI in his suit? It looks like it which will explain how he called the neno bots there." said Tony.

"May  be he had figured out your reactor. Crom the look of it he looks like a genius if he is one who made all those neno bots and AI." Bruce replied.

Tony tells him, "If he had figured it out then how does he not showed it the world. He could have sold it and got so much money. He would have made fortune."

"May be he does not want attention on him and wants to keep it to himself. As for why he didn't sell it, it can be that he knows how much danger it can be if it's in wrong hand. The guy can be genuinely good. After all if he had bad intentions, he would have shown it till now. He is out there for years. Even before NY battle. I saw some of his videos where he is helping people from aftermath of the battle on YouTube." said Pepper.

Nat and Clint were silent. 

Steve spoke up, " Not only that his strength stronger than me or Bucky combined. Why is this guy out there on street and not in Avengers team?"

"Shield is trying to get in contact with him from even before Avengers formed. He has been out there for almost 7 years. We don't know anything about him at all. Not who is or what his powers are or if they are biological or not. Everytime anyone goes after him he somehow knows someone is following as lose them. He was on Fury's list to get on the Avengers. He was on the top spots. But he never got to interact with him. Sheild is still trying to find out about him. The guy is good at cover his trials." Nat explained.

Everyone was blown away by that.

" I don't think so after this all Fury will get him away after this. He can be a big threat if he has this much power in his hand and ever gets on the other side." Clint adds.

" We need to find out who he is. If he is smart enough to figure out my arc reactor and make those techs, I need to have him work for my company and on our team." said Tony as he stood up.

" Wanna help Brucie? And all of you?"

Everyone nods. They all wants to find out who he was. They were bunch of curious heads. 

They tried all afternoon but got nothing and Tony was annoyed.

They decided to take break. Nat, Pepper and Wanda were watching some video on YouTube with others when he and Bruce entered the common room. Looks like the video just started. 

Pepper called them to watch it with them and played from the start.

There was a guy with mask who was playing a tune on guitar and started singing. The song was about Avengers. His voice was so pleasant to hear. There was so much details in lyrics. It continued for 2 minutes. After that video got cut. And the guy appeared again and said 'hey guys it's me again your cinnamon. Oh it's embarrassing to say this name now that I'm much older. I can't believe it's been so many years since we started this channel. I was like 6 when my aunt made my first video. Well it was my new song about the Avengers. Hope you guys liked it. Now let's go to today's video. I'm going to paint a portrait of all of the Avangers' whole team, everyone, new and old members in 15 minutes today while answering some of you guy's questions.' video cuts again.

Wanda paused the video. 'The song is so good. The lyrics are really detailed.' she said as others agreed. She played video again.

The guy appeared again but this time in a different place with canvas colours and all things to paint with. He starts working on canvas fluently and fast but neatly like he's been doing this for years like a professional artist. There was a woman with same mask as him sitting on chair beside him. He turned to her and said 'As you all know she is my Aunt and she will be reading the questions. You can start.' 

The woman smiles to camera and started cheerfully, 'Hey everyone once again! Let's get started with questions. So the 1st one from @user01 how much is your IQ? Your experiments are damn awesome and thing you make is just wow.' 

The boy smiles to the camera but go back to painting as he replies, 'I don't know I have never took an IQ test. I don't want to scare people away ' he gave a quick wink at the camera then goes back to painting. He is already done with base and outlines.

The lady starts to laugh and asks other question. ' this one is from @user02, are you still studying? ' the lady gave camera a weird look which said seriously?

The laugh can be heard from behind the camera. But the guy ssh them down. And replied 'Well you can say I am since I'm working to get my 4th PhD. Next question.'

' @user46 asks who is your favourite avanger? Look like this is a new to you videos. '

Everyone was paying attention now. Eager to know who was it.

The guy continues to paint as he smile and said, ' welcome to see our madness. My favourite avanger is Iron Man. He has been my favourite even before the Avengers were formed since he started. Tony stark has been my idol and crush from when I was 12. You can imagine how I must have felt when I found out he was Iron Man. If you wanna know there is a reaction video on my channel from 6 years ago.'

The lady asks next question ' @user8502 here wants to ask why can't I hack into you account to find out who you are? ' The lady and the camera guy and the guy himself starts laughing but his hands not stopping.He was half done and it was already looking great. 

When they calm down, the guy starts speaking ' you atually tried. Well it's good I made my account unhackable all those years ago cause I didn't want anyone to know who I'm and I still don't. Atleast for now. ' 

They continued with next question, '@user18qq how old are you?'

'I'm 19 and going to turn 20 in 5 or so months.'

'@userttl do you sell your art works?'

'No I'm sorry but I don't sell my work. I have a entire room filled with my all work since my childhood to now in my house.'  He smiles fondly.

'@user77kl what's your sexuality? Are you in relationship? '

This time the aunt continues to speak up, 'not that I know of. Are you cinnamon? '

The guy blush and shakes his head ' No I'm not in any relationship and I'm Bi. Come one aunt let get to next question I'm almost done' he blushes harder.

The aunt coos but ask the next question ' so @user63 wants to know what is your plan for future? '

' I haven't thought yet. I will probably applying for jobs in some famous companies. I'll stark industry too. Who knows if I get the job there and meet my crush. ' the guy smiles. He is almost finished he is just adding details everywhere. The portrait look awesome and he is still adding so much details. It's on professional level good and it not even done in even 15 minutes its only been 12 minute 47 seconds.

'ok looks like you're almost done so last question from @user3945 do you write your songs lyrics? They are so deep and detailed. I've heard all of your songs. You have some ones for individual songs too for Avengers. ' the aunt read.

'Thank you so much for listening to my songs. Yes, I myself write lyrics and compose all my songs.' he replied.

The guy adds some last details and finishing touches. ' So that was the last question for today and my painting is done.' he look behind camera ' how much time it took? '

The camera guy replied, 'it's been 13 minutes 53 seconds' 

' well looks like it took less then 15 minutes. Tada!!! ' he motions to portrait painting.

It was outstanding. It didn't look nothing like it was done in less then 15 min. The video cuts. Then it back again the boy and his aunt is standing togather smiling at camera.

The guy spoke, ' Thank you everyone who watched my video. Please like, share and comment. And if you are new and liked my video you can subscribe my channel. And as always guys if you wanna know how the portrait looks after drying, I'll be posting a pic of it at my Instagram. Check that out. Bye guys see you in next video. Till then take care.' 

Everyone stare at screen as the video finishes.

Rhodey speaks up, " It's a second genius we found in one day. Jesus 4th PhD at 19. Seriously? "

Wanda butts in " The video is 8 months old"

Scott joined in, "Is it only me who is all of a sudden feeling dumb? "

Pietro replied, " you were always dumb."

" If he gets in applies for job at SI we'll find out who he is, unlike some spider." Tony said.

" The guys is telented. Did you see his painting? It was awesome and so detailed and he made it in less than 15 minutes. I was on a professional level good may be better. I can't imagine if the guy did take his time to make something, it will definitely be a master piece. " Steve said.

" No one's gonna talk about the boy's crush on Stark?" Strange said.

Everyone looked at him startled.

"When did you come?"

" I'm here since the song part. You guys didn't noticed. " He replied smugly.

"Tony has been his idol and crush for eight years now. Woah! Even before you become Iron Man." said Clint.

" That mortal did look like there'll be a cute face beneath that mask, what do you think son of stark? " Thor asks.

" Yeah he was cute and had nice voice and all but I'm not gonna date any fanboy if you guys are implementing on that. " Tony sternly replied.

They were talking about the boy when FRIDAY spoke up. " Boss you are having a call from Happy."

"Connect the call Baby girl."

" Hey Happy"

" Boss the plane has took off. Everything is in order."

" Okk Hap. Thanks. "

The call disconnected.

" Looks like we're moving tomorrow as planned."

 

 

 

Not even half hour later Happy's call came again.

"Hey Hap. Everything fine?

" Boss! The plane has crashed at the Coney Island Beach."

Everyone's face turned to horror. They all stood up and went to suit up.

"What the hell Happy. I thought you said everything was in order."

" I'm sorry boss but everything was. The police is already at the scene. They said there was some guy webbed up there with a note from Spider-Man that he was trying to steal the stuff from plane. Some guy called 'flying valture guy'. I'm already on my way to the scene. "

" We'll be there soon too. " 

The line cuts off.

 

Avengers reached at the scene. It looked like disaster. Happy came to them.

"Boss everything is safe. Spider-Man had removed the carrier boxes from the fire before it could damage and the guy who wanted to steal it was webbed up to it. Sheild agents took him to the jail. He is the same guy from the ferry incident yesterday. He was selling some illegal weapons which were mixed with alien tech, they were after him for a long time."

Avengers let out the sighs. 

" It's good nothing's stolen or damaged. Get the stuff to the compound. This time we all will be going with it." Tony said as he motion to the others.

____________________________________________

 

Next day at the compound in the meeting room

 

 

Nick Fury and the Avengers were having the meeting.

" You all know about yesterday's incident was handled by Spider-Man. The plane which was crashed at the beach was not supposed to crash there. I want you guys to look at this video clip which our satellite captured." Fury said as he played the clip.

Spider Man and the Vulture was fight on the top of the plane. Valture broke on of the wings and plane started to crash towards the city and the buildings. 

Spider Man webbed the othe wing and changed the direction of the crash. The clip ended.

"You must have got enough idea how strong this guy is from this and the ferry incident. He is got so much power and advanced technology in his hand. If he is to ever turn on the other side. He can be a great threat. But he isn't showing any signs of that happening since it's been years since he is doing this superhero stuff and looking out for little guy. He had defeated many supervillain like green goblin, lizard, doc oct, electro, sandman etc. I think he will be a great asset to the team. I want you guys to find out who he is and convince him to join the team. Shield has been trying for years but he always got was without any traces. I'm giving you this mission. Hope guys can do it. "

Before anyone could speak up there was a cough heard which was non of there's. As the looks around the didn't saw anyone. They got into a fighting position. 

_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_

Cliffhanger!! Hope you guys liked it.

(人*´∀｀)｡*ﾟ+

(Peter has finished the 4th PhD mentioned in the video in this chapter. Cause the video Avengers are watching are eight months old. He even finished this fifth PhD in chemical engineering too but now he doesn't want to do anymore studying for now so he isn't working on any and is atually thinking about starting to find a job.

And Howard and Maria lives at Malibu mansion.)

[ft-dads-au]

Break Free

Gratsu Weekend 2020 Prompt: Join Pairing: Gray x Natsu, Siegrain x Gray (not Jelray) A Collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

AO3 | FF.Net | Takes place after Dancing to the Beat of Your Heart

August 14, 2021

Gray hurried into the train station, looking down at his watch to make sure Natsu’s train hadn’t arrived yet. His shoot had run longer than anticipated, but he’d raced out of the building as soon as he was done, hailing the first cab he’d encountered.

He’d wanted to turn the job down, but Hibiki had convinced him that it was a rather large sum of money for the amount of work required, plus they would also pay for his stay in Crocus. Once his mother had agreed to watch Aki for the weekend, he realized this could be a great opportunity.

Natsu worked pretty much all the time, but if he could somehow convince him to take the Saturday off and join him, then they could turn it into a weekend getaway. He was sure Makarov would love to watch the kids, and they could certainly use some time alone.

Gray and Aki had begun staying over every other Sunday. After getting used to sleeping on the same bed with him, Natsu had become more comfortable and curious about cautiously exploring their physical relationship, leading to some pleasurable evenings.

Gray looked at the platform numbers, stopping when he reached number seven. The train arrived at the platform, it’s brakes squeaking as it slowed down and finally came to a halt. He could easily spot the flash of bright pink moving through the crowd of passengers that were boarding and disembarking.

“I’m over here,” he waved, and Natsu turned to him with a smile. Gray grabbed him by the hand, guiding him into a less crowded area so he could pull him into an ardent kiss.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he murmured into Natsu’s ear, giving him one last hug before once again grabbing his hand “I can’t wait to show you around, I even found an all you can eat place near the hotel for lunch.”

Natsu’s stomach rumbled in agreement, but Gray didn’t think he even noticed. He knew Natsu hadn’t traveled very much, although he’d always wanted to, and as they walked outside the train station, he devoured their surroundings eagerly.

Crocus was an older city, the capital of Fiore, it had long been known as the Flower Blooming Capital. It was easy to see why when there were flowers as far as the eye could see in every color imaginable. Flower beds decorated the sidewalks, while window boxes added a certain charm to many of the shops in the commercial district. Gardens were prominent features of the parks they passed on their way to their hotel.

Gray chuckled, occasionally squeezing Natsu’s hand when he made an over the top reaction, amused to see how much he was enjoying this. He couldn’t wait to show him around the capital, but his first priority was to get rid of the small suitcase that Natsu was carrying. Soon they reached the hotel where Gray had been staying since Thursday, and he led Natsu inside.

Natsu’s eyes widened comically as he took in the luxurious design of the lobby. Gray caught him staring dumbfoundedly at the elegantly dressed staff, so he quickly moved them towards the elevator.

Once they made it to the right floor and stood in front of the door to their room, Gray began to laugh heartily.

“What?”

“I don’t know, the way you’re acting. I almost feel like I should carry you over the threshold or something,” Gray teased.

“Fuck you!” Natsu objected, not liking the implication of those words.

“On second thought, I like your idea better,” Gray snickered, opening the door and hurrying inside to get out of the way of Natsu’s response.

“Very funny,” Natsu muttered before something outside the window caught his attention. He dropped his suitcase and rushed over to examine it, “I’ve just never seen anything so beautiful.”

Gray smiled as he came up behind him, holding him close while resting his head on his shoulder and murmuring, “I have,” into Natsu’s ear.

Natsu stopped gawking out the window and turned around, finally paying attention to his boyfriend. He touched their foreheads together, closing his eyes and inhaling the scent of Gray’s cologne. “I missed you,” he admitted, threading his fingers through Gray’s dark hair.

“I’m here,” Gray’s voice was breathy as he nudged them ever closer to the bed until the only way to go was down. And Natsu complied, pulling Gray along with him as he sat down on the mattress and slowly laid back.

Although it had only been minutes since they’d locked lips at the train station, Gray felt ecstatic to be finally kissing Natsu again. He would probably never get sick of it, and every kiss they shared still brought him the same joy as it did the very first time.

They started slowly, but it didn’t take long before they got carried away. Their kisses became deeper, more passionate. For the moment, Gray had forgotten about the plans he had made in his head, the lunch, and the list of all the wonderful places in Crocus he’d thought would be fun for them to visit. His focus was only on his boyfriend. His warmth, his scent, the smoothness of his skin as Gray slipped his hands underneath his t-shirt. Natsu made soft sounds of pleasure against his lips, hums, and moans that were like music to Gray’s ears, and Gray wanted to hear more of it.

He let his hand travel lower, dipping below the waistband of Natsu’s jeans and tracing the outline of his hardening cock through his boxers. It elicited another wanton moan, but before Gray could move to get those jeans out of the way and give him some easier access, there was another sound coming from Natsu.

A low rumble coming from his stomach.

Gray knew they weren’t going to get anywhere when Natsu started giggling, interrupting their heated makeout session. He was quick to try and continue, but his stomach growled once again, and Gray let him go with a laugh, “Fine, fine, to be continued. Once your stomach starts doing that, it’s impossible to get you to focus on anything else.”

He could tell that Natsu wanted to protest, but as much as he’d enjoyed what they were doing, Gray knew he was going to be patient. Besides, for once, they had all night to play, without worrying about how loud they might get. They could pick up where they’d left off later, and he was already looking forward to that.

0-0

When they exited the restaurant, they were both stuffed, which wasn’t surprising considering their meal had turned into an eating competition which neither was willing to lose. It had finally ended when Gray had reminded Natsu they were wasting time that could be spent exploring.

They held hands and walked through the more colorful areas of the city, the ones that were mostly geared towards tourists, and Gray found he was enjoying himself despite having seen them plenty of times before. Seeing the awe in Natsu’s eyes as he took everything in made him want to show him everything. From the sculptures that decorated the fronts of many large buildings, to the street performers who entertained crowds with their tricks or haunting melodies, all the way to the shops, many of which sold items not often seen in Magnolia.

Natsu loved it all. He ran from place to place, pulling Gray along behind him until he noticed the one building that was larger than any other, dwarfing every other structure surrounding it.

“Is that a castle?” Natsu asked excitedly.

“Yep, it’s called Mercurius, a long time ago when Fiore used to be a monarchy the King and his family lived there but nowadays it’s mostly government offices, oh and it has some beautiful gardens you might like. I’ve done a few shoots there.”

“I’ve never seen a real castle before,” Natsu soon gave him the puppy eyes, “Can we go there?”

“Sure, why not?” Gray smiled.

“If we hurry, we might be able to take a tour,” Gray announced after looking up the information on his phone. They reached the castle in about twenty minutes. There was a long line for the tour, so they opted to walk around the gardens first.

“Erza would love it here,” Natsu smiled, taking picture after picture to show her. They followed a path that led them to a garden maze.

“I forgot this was here,” Gray exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of a challenge, “Want to see who can get to the center first?”

“You’re on,” Natsu was already grinning in a way Gray easily recognized. He had engaged his competitive mode. They each chose a different entrance, but before they could get started Gray’s phone rang.

He looked down and wrinkled his nose, “I have to take this.”

Gray motioned for Natsu to keep looking around while he took the call. It was Hibiki.

“Hey bro, hate to take you away from your day out, but they need reshoots,” Hibiki sighed, probably feeling bad that the shoot had proved to be such a pain.

Gray groaned, “We just got to Mercurius.”

“I’m sorry, but it shouldn’t take long, you can bring him with you and show off a little,” Hibiki suggested.

“Fine, we’ll be there soon,” Gray grumbled before hanging up.

He turned to see Natsu kneeling down in front of a particularly spectacular flower display, and he called out to him, snapping his picture when Natsu looked at him.

“Hey, no fair!” Natsu protested, “I wanted a picture of you.”

“Maybe we can get one together,” Gray declared, stopping a couple that was walking past and asking if they would mind taking their picture. He handed them his phone and stood next to Natsu, his arm draped over the shorter man’s shoulders as they both smiled for the camera.

Once the picture was taken, they thanked the couple and looked at the results. “Oh man, I look stupid,” Natsu complained.

“Look?” Gray teased holding his phone away so Natsu couldn’t delete the picture. “Come on, we have to go.”

“Go where?” Natsu asked curiously, “Who was on the phone?”

“Hibiki, my manager, I have to go back to Blue Pegasus for some retakes,” Gray apologized, but to his surprise, instead of seeming upset, Natsu looked excited.

“I’m going to get to see you work?”

“Yeah, trust me, it’s not in the least bit exciting. It’s a lot of getting ready to then wait for the photographer to take his pictures.”

“You get to see me work all the time,” Natsu reminded him.

Gray chuckled, grabbing his hand and leading him to the taxi line, “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

0-0

Hibiki texted him on the ride there, asking him to come in through the back entrance. That should have been his first clue that something was up, but he didn’t think anything of it, caught up as he was making out with Natsu in the cab to really think about anything other than what they would get up to after he was done working. Their kisses were growing more and more heated, and even though Gray wasn’t usually a fan of public displays of affection, right now, he didn’t care. He just wanted to finish the retake as quickly as possible so that they could get back to the hotel, and he could get Natsu out of those clothes.

They got out of the cab, and Gray led Natsu to the back of the building, where Hibiki was waiting for them. They hugged briefly, and Gray introduced Natsu to his friend.

“Hibiki, this is Natsu, my boyfriend,” he announced proudly, frowning a little at the appreciative once over Hibiki gave Natsu.

“So you’re the one Gray won’t stop talking about,” Hibiki smiled, “It’s very nice to finally meet you. Welcome to the Blue Pegasus Talent Agency, and might I say if you’re ever interested in giving modeling a try, I would love to represent you.”

“Down boy,” Gray laughed at his friend.

“What? He’s gorgeous, just look at those cheekbones, and those eyes” Hibiki went on talking about Natsu as if he wasn’t there.

“Stop making him uncomfortable, will ya? And tell me why I’m here?” Gray asked as they walked into the building, heading towards one of the sets.

“They decided their concept lacked originality or something,” Hibiki rolled his eyes, “You know how these creative types are.”

Gray immediately groaned, “Are you kidding me? After all the different shots they tried this morning?”

“I know, I know,” Hibiki soothed, “They assured me they wouldn’t take up much of your time, so why don’t you go get ready and hopefully you two can be out of here in an hour or two.”

They had arrived in front of the dressing room he’d used that morning, and he opened the door to find Eve, his previous assistant, and a makeup artist already waiting for him. Hibiki offered to give Natsu a tour of the building while Gray got ready, and he accepted, causing Gray to yell out, “Don’t sign anything!”

Hibiki chuckled, “I can’t promise I won’t try.”

“What’s the matter, Princess, afraid I’d be more popular than you?” Natsu taunted.

“Princess?” Hibiki snorted at the nickname, “Oh, I like him!”

“Should I show him the picture we took earlier?” Gray raised an eyebrow, laughing when Natsu hurried out of the room.

“So that’s Natsu, huh?” Eve asked as he grabbed the clothes that Gray discarded and handed him a robe. “He seems nice.”

Gray nodded, sitting down on the makeup chair and relaxing his features as much as possible to make it easier for the makeup artist to do her job.

“I’m glad you’re moving on,” Eve patted him on the shoulder before leaving the room to get the outfits Gray would need to wear from the clients.

“Me too,” Gray replied to the closed door, receiving another shoulder squeeze and a smile from the makeup artist.

Gray closed his eyes and willed himself to relax. As much as Hibiki wanted to remain as his manager, he knew this life was no longer for him. Every time he entered the building, he would tense up knowing he could bump into Siegrain at any moment. It hadn’t happened yet, but he had a feeling that was Hibiki’s doing.

The long shoots and crazy hours, the parties, and most of all, the interviews and the keeping up of appearances. None of it appealed to him anymore. Not that it ever had, but he’d put up with it for Siegrain’s sake. Back then, he’d thought they were a team, each building on the other’s successes, not having a clue of all the things Siegrain got up to behind his back. At this point, he just counted himself lucky that he hadn’t caught anything from his husband’s numerous affairs.

His life was most definitely in Magnolia now, with his family, and Natsu and their kids, but he’d continue doing these small jobs to help him get enough money together to open up the Taekwondo school he’d told Natsu about. It would be nice to teach others how to defend themselves and help them develop their minds and bodies. That was the kind of life he wanted to lead. Simple but full of meaning, joy, and, most importantly, love. He really looked forward to it.

Eve had hung up his wardrobe on a portable rack, and Hibiki finally returned with Natsu. From the way they were laughing like old friends, Gray could tell that Hibiki approved of him. The makeup artist finished up with some eyeliner, and he could feel Natsu’s eyes on him, making him feel a tad self-conscious when he stood up to get dressed.

“Eyeliner looks good on you,” Natsu announced, and while at first Gray thought his boyfriend was messing with him, his admiring glances told another story.

He put on the first set of clothes quickly, determined to get through the retakes as soon as possible, Natsu’s presence making it hard for Gray to concentrate on anything but him.

After an hour of wardrobe and lighting changes, he was finally done. He left the makeup on since Natsu had seemed to like it. And after putting his clothes back on, he guided him out of the building.

With a sly wink, Hibiki had informed them he’d sent a bottle of champagne to their room for their trouble and invited them to order whatever they wanted from room service before bidding them good night. Several members of the agency’s security staff walked them to a car Hibiki had arranged to take them back to the hotel.

It all felt over the top, but Hibiki was like that sometimes, so Gray didn’t think anything of it.

“Was it as boring as I said?” he asked with a knowing smile.

“Not at all, it was kind of interesting, but you’re right I could never do it,” Natsu admitted, “Having to be still for that long would drive me crazy. But you looked amazing. The way you changed your expressions and stuff, it was kind of like acting.”

Gray laughed, “Not even remotely, but thanks!”

“I could feel your eyes on me,” Gray whispered in Natsu’s ear, mindful of the driver, “It was so hard to focus, all I wanted to do was get you back to our room, and take off those clothes so we could pick up where we left off.”

He could hear Natsu swallowing hard at his words, and it turned him on even more. “Would you like that?” he teased, blowing warm air into Natsu’s ear and watching him squirm as he nodded.

Soon they arrived at the hotel, thanking the driver before hurrying inside. They were walking across the lobby and towards the elevator, arms wrapped around each other’s waist as they debated what to do for dinner when Gray suddenly heard Siegrain’s voice behind him.

“You must be quite pleased with yourself.”

He froze, not entirely clear as to what he was going on about but uncomfortable at having Natsu witness whatever circus this was going to devolve into. When he finally turned around to face his ex, he was baffled by what he saw. Siegrain’s substance abuse had had a dramatic effect on his appearance. It hadn't even been that long since Gray last saw him for negotiations, but he looked at least 10 years older. His hair was matted, his skin was dry and impure, and he'd lost weight.

“What are you doing here?!” Gray demanded, pulling Natsu behind him. He could feel Natsu fighting his grip, but he held on tightly knowing Natsu’s short temper.

“You have some nerve saying that to me after getting me kicked out of Pegasus,” Siegrain ignored Gray’s question, preferring to continue with his tirade.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Gray stated calmly, “I was only there for some reshoots.”

“You think you’re such a big deal, don’t you?” Siegrain narrowed his eyes, studying Natsu in a way that made Gray nervous, “Tell me, are you enjoying making a fool out of me in front of our friends?”

“Let’s take this outside, alright? No one here is interested in this,” Gray declared, trying to sound reasonable, “Natsu, wait for me upstairs, will you?”

“Like hell I’m leaving you alone with this asshole,” Natsu raged, and Gray could see from the stubborn set of his jaw that there was nothing he could do outside of carrying him over his shoulder that would get Natsu to return to their room.

“I can take care of myself, remember?” Gray assured him.

“I know, but I’m not about to give him the chance to hurt you.”

Gray looked from one man to the other and, with a long-suffering sigh, walked out to the hotel’s entrance. They could follow him if they wanted, but he wasn’t about to make a scene in the lobby. Natsu was right behind him, asking him in a whisper if he was okay.

Siegrain stomped after them, “Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you!”

“What is it that you want?” Gray crossed his arms across his chest, feigning boredom even though his heart was beating a mile a minute. “We have plans.”

“I want to talk to you, I miss you.” Siegrain attempted to look genuine, but it only managed to make Gray feel even warier. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“You missed me?” Gray scoffed, “Well, it sure as hell didn’t seem like you did when you were plowing everything in sight.”

“Come on, Baby, we don’t need all these lawyers, we’ve always been able to work things out between us.”

Siegrain flashed him one of his most charming smiles, and once upon a time, that would have been enough to get Gray to do whatever he wanted, but that spell had broken long ago. Now Gray could only wonder how he had ever been so naive as to fall for it in the first place, and it filled him with sadness and shame that he’d let this man mistreat him for so long.

“You had more than enough time to work things out, Siegrain, you just weren’t interested.”

Siegrain took a step closer, still flashing that same smile, like a scam artist that is only capable of one trick, “I know I’ve made mistakes, and it cost me our relationship, but you’ve made mistakes too. Can’t we put those behind us? Have a coffee with me sometime, now that you’re making your comeback, there are some amazing opportunities we can discuss. No one knows you better than me, let me put that to work for us! We’ll make millions, all you have to do is drop Hibiki. Come back to me.”

Gray stared at Siegrain in shock. No one knows you better than me? Come back to him? The man was delusional, scratch that, he was certifiable, but before he could respond, Natsu did so for him.

“Not a chance,” Natsu growled, putting his arm around Gray’s waist while openly glaring at Siegrain. “He doesn’t need you, he already has a manager looking after his best interests.”

“What’s this?” Siegrain scowled, gesturing towards Natsu, “We’re not even officially divorced yet, and you’ve already replaced me with a boy toy?”

“Let me make myself perfectly clear, I have no interest in pursuing any kind of relationship with you. Now or ever,” Gray’s eyes bore into Siegrain, “As for him, he’s none of your business. If that’s all you wanted you can go. As I’ve already said, we have plans.”

“You cockslut!” Siegrain screeched, “Where the hell do you get off talking to me like that?! I made you what you are! You were just some punk college kid without a jewel to his name when I found you.”

“Yeah?” Gray replied calmly, thanking God that Natsu was with him because trying to keep him from doing something stupid was allowing him to remain collected. “Well, it was this punk college kid that allowed you to live the lifestyle you’re so enamored of.”

“Can I just deck him?” Natsu pleaded, both his fists twitching at his sides.

“He’s not worth it,” Gray replied, searching for Natsu’s hand and lacing their fingers together both as a source of strength and a declaration.

“Also, Aki is doing well. I know you haven’t asked, but seeing as you were so determined to see him, I thought you might want to know.” He turned them around, trying to enter the hotel before things escalated, but Siegrain called after them.

“Fuck you and that snot-faced brat! Out of all the mistakes I’ve made, he was the biggest one!”

Gray could feel Natsu struggling in his grip, and he was almost tempted to let him loose, but he held firm. He turned around,” He is the only thing to come out of our marriage that I don’t regret. But I’m not surprised to hear you say that. You’ve never cared about anyone but yourself.”

Siegrain laughed, “Oh, I care about plenty of things, you just don’t happen to be one of them.”

Now it was Gray’s turn to laugh, “Was that supposed to hurt me? You’re going to have to do better than that. You know, I wasn’t going to say anything, but since we’re finally sharing truths here’s one. You look like shit, man. All strung out and itching for a fix. What’s the matter? Did people stop finding you interesting once my money ran out?”

Gray felt the blood dripping even before the pain of Siegrain’s fist colliding with his nose exploded in his head. He could hear the doorman calling the police, but all he was concerned about was Natsu’s response to him being hit.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Siegrain smirked, looking quite satisfied with himself, “Every single time you’d start in on me about spending more time together or whining about the brat, I fantasized about doing it. Gotta say it felt as good as I imagined it would.”

He wasn’t sure whether he let go of Natsu’s hand or if he managed to wrestle it free, but the result was the same. There was no hesitation, Natsu charged at Siegrain, his fist already flying toward his face, and Gray could see he’d made no effort to control his force. He had expected that, but what he hadn’t expected were the words that came out of his mouth as he held Siegrain up by his shirt collar, ready to punch him again.

“You’re pathetic, you know that?” Natsu glowered, “You had everything, and yet you threw it all away for some cheap thrills. You never deserved either of them, and I swear, if you ever try to come at Gray again, I will be there.”

Siegrain spit out a tooth, wiping his mouth of the blood that had sprayed out with it. He stared at Natsu for a full minute before announcing with a sneer, “He’s a lousy lay, but you probably already know that. Am I right?”

“I’m sure he’s better than you could ever hope to be,” Natsu retorted.

Gray was done with the whole conversation, “Just let him go,” he said tiredly, noticing for the first time that there was a group of people watching them, some even had their phones out and appeared to be recording. “Great, it’s going to be all over the news, Lyon is going to kill me.”

He tried to disregard the sting he’d felt at hearing Siegrain say those words. Even if they had only been meant as provocation, they reinforced the insecurity he had always felt over whether that was the reason Siegrain had sought his pleasure with others.

Throughout their relationship, Gray had agreed to do so many things he wasn’t proud of, things he’d rather forget, in the hopes that Siegrain would look at him with the same love he had once felt, but he realized now how futile that had all been.

The police arrived at the scene, separating the three of them and asking them what had happened. The doorman verified that Siegrain had instigated the whole incident, including throwing the first punch, and they viewed various videos that corroborated their story.

They handcuffed Siegrain and escorted him to the back seat of a squad car. It didn’t really seem to bother him, and as he climbed in, he made sure to get Gray’s attention, mouthing, “You’re going to regret this,” with a crazed grin.

Gray tried to ignore him. In the morning, they’d have to go to the police station to give their official statements, and to officially press charges, Lyon would have a fit if he didn’t. But for now, they were free to go.

0-0

The hotel doctor had already taken a look at his nose, resetting it and making sure the bleeding had stopped, though that didn’t keep Natsu from fretting over him. They rode the elevator in silence, Gray feeling tired and humiliated.

He could feel Natsu’s gaze on him, but it wasn’t until they entered their room that he finally spoke.

“So that was Siegrain, huh? He was kind of a dick,” Natsu fiddled with his hands nervously, “I’m still having a hard time believing he’s related to my boss.”

Gray could only nod in agreement, feeling overwhelmed by the whole encounter. He scowled at his phone, knowing he’d have to call Lyon soon and dreading the harsh words he knew his friend would have for him, no matter how deserved they were.

“I’ve got to call Lyon, why don’t you look at the Room Service menu, we might as well take Hibiki up on his offer.”

Natsu reached out for the menu and looked through it as Gray locked himself into the room’s spacious bathroom.

By the time Lyon was finished asking all his questions, and Gray had called Hibiki to give him a heads up, the food Natsu had ordered had already arrived, along with the champagne bottle Hibiki had promised them.

“Lyon and Hibiki will meet us at the police station tomorrow morning,” Gray sighed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration as he slid down to the carpeted floor.

He looked at what should have been their dinner, finding he’d lost his appetite. Part of him kept wondering what Siegrain had meant by his parting words, while the rest searched for a way to forget the whole incident so he could once again focus on Natsu.

“Siegrain always could ruin a mood.”

“We don’t have to let him,” Natsu pointed out as he opened the champagne bottle, smiling at the noise the cork made when it popped and quickly filling two flutes with the bubbly drink as it burst out. He placed the bottle back in the ice bucket and handed one to Gray.

“I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I ordered a few things,” Natsu offered him one of the plates, but he shook his head, earning a rare frown from his boyfriend. Despite his obvious disapproval, he didn’t push.

He could feel Natsu’s eyes on him, and afraid of what he might see, he quickly sipped his drink, attempting to smile in enjoyment before he could ruin Natsu’s evening too. But of course, he wasn’t fooled.

“I only know the little you’ve told me, but I do know this. You’re incredibly strong, Gray, and a great father,” Natsu put the plate back on the table and sat down next to him, “You don’t owe that sonofabitch anything, not after the way he treated the both of you.”

Gray absorbed that thought, recognizing Natsu was right. He had given enough of himself over to Siegrain during their marriage, and more often than not only gotten put-downs or backward compliments in return. He didn’t owe him a thing, but that didn’t change the way he felt right now.

“I’m sorry,” Gray studied the designs on the carpet, not wanting to see Natsu’s reaction to his words. “I wanted tonight to be special for you, but I— I just can’t.”

“What are you talking about?” Natsu lifted his chin, forcing him to look at him, “It already is special, I’m here with you, aren’t I? I don’t care what we do.”

Gray didn’t answer. While he appreciated the sentiment, he couldn’t help but feel like he was failing them.

Natsu got up and walked over to his suitcase, opening it up and rummaging through its contents until he’d found what he was looking for. He returned, holding a small bottle of some kind and placing it on the nightstand.

“I’d wanted to surprise you,” Natsu smiled, sounding shy, which was rather unlike him, “but now seems like a perfect time.”

Gray peered at the bottle curiously, but before he could read the label, Natsu had blocked his view.

“Gray,” Natsu sighed, “the way Siegrain treated you, it’s just like you once told me, it was emotional abuse. He made you feel bad about yourself for his own benefit. And he knows that if nothing else, he still has that over you, and he’ll continue to use it against you for as long as he can because he still gets off on having some semblance of control over you.”

“But that’s not what love is like at all,” he leaned down, capturing Gray’s lips in a gentle kiss, “Real love is warm and unconditional.”

Natsu began to pepper him with soft kisses, his fingers fumbling with Gray’s shirt buttons, kissing each newly exposed patch of skin until Gray started to giggle from the ticklish sensation, “What are you doing?”

“Showing you the love you deserve,” Natsu murmured, continuing to trail kisses down Gray’s chest, “but if I can make you laugh, that makes me happy too.”

“I’ve never had anyone see me the way you do,” Gray whispered as he felt his shirt fall off his shoulders. Natsu gestured for him to remove his pants, and Gray stood up and did so, finally realizing what Natsu was up to. He settled on the bed lying on his stomach, feeling Natsu climb on beside him, the weight of his body on his as he stretched to get the bottle which Gray could now see was some sort of scented massage oil.

The warming sensation on his skin as Natsu’s fingers worked on his shoulders, kneading at the tension that sat there, felt wonderful. For a few minutes, he was able to forget what had happened earlier, but then he turned his head slightly, wanting to catch a glimpse of Natsu only to be struck by the affection he saw reflected in those green eyes he’d come to know so well.

It made him tear up because in the nine years he’d been with Siegrain, he’d never once looked at him like that, and it brought up all the negative emotions he’d been struggling with since the moment Siegrain had shown up. Gray huddled into himself, not wanting Natsu to see him like this, not when he was trying so hard to bring him out of it.

“Hey, whatever you’re thinking right now, stop it.” Natsu tapped him on the head gently, before shifting his attention to Gray’s back and eliciting a deep moan. “Look, I don’t know what that asshole said to you over the years, but I do know none of it is true. He never understood how special you really are or how lucky he was to have you. But I do, every time I look at you, I thank my lucky stars that you came into my life, and I’m sorry it took me so long to understand how I felt.”

Gray found himself smiling at Natsu’s words, wishing he could just accept them at face value, but he knew he was in trouble. From the moment he’d decided to grab Aki and leave for Magnolia he’d only been focused on the safety and well-being of his son where his issues with Siegrain were concerned.

He’d been running and hiding non-stop, from Siegrain himself and from their shared past. As long as he focused on others, he could detach himself from his own emotions, stick his head into the sand. But both the disastrous confrontation and Natsu’s words had brought them to the surface, and as much as he’d wanted to, he couldn’t ignore them anymore.

“If anything, I’m the lucky one,” Gray confessed, “And I know you’re right, my heart even agrees with you but my mind... it just isn’t there yet.”

“We’ll get there. I know we will because I will personally drill it into your thick skull,” Natsu assured him with one of his signature grins, and Gray couldn’t help but snort in response.

“That’ll be a first. Usually, it’s me trying to drill things into your thick skull, Darlin’,” Gray teased, laughing at Natsu’s anguished groan as he was reminded of their study sessions.

Even though their usual banter had improved his mood considerably, Gray understood there was no way he could go through with his intentions of making love to Natsu during their getaway. Regardless of how excited he’d been earlier that day at the thought of them reaching a new milestone, or how eager Natsu might have acted. Siegrain’s presence still haunted him. His words had brought all of Gray’s insecurities to the surface, and he was determined not to let Siegrain ruin anything else for him, especially when it was something as meaningful as this.

Natsu put all of himself into everything he did, and Gray knew that when they finally had sex, it would be no different. But he also wanted to be able to do the same, and as long as they hadn’t dealt with their respective feelings regarding Lisanna and Siegrain, that wouldn’t be possible for either of them.

He was still a little disappointed with the outcome. It had felt so right that morning, and it was a bitter pill to swallow, this feeling that rather than moving forward, they had somehow taken a step back, but he recognized it was the right decision for now. To feel his concern for his welfare, and know that he didn’t care that Gray was in some ways broken, made him love Natsu that much more.

Gray let himself enjoy the rest of the massage, feeling his body surrender to those nimble fingers, and growing drowsier with every passing minute. He barely felt it when Natsu left the bed to clean up and turn off the lights, or when he climbed in next to him, wrapping them up in the covers and pulling him into his arms before kissing him good night.

And so cradled in the warmth of Natsu’s loving embrace, Gray drifted off to sleep, holding on to the thought that he was no longer going to grant Siegrain the power to hurt him.

To be continued in The Horrible Return of Siegrain…

A/N: This is quite literally the most infuriating story we have tackled since we started collaborating. As an example this was the original summary/plot idea:

Gray and Natsu finally reach a point where they both feel ready to have sex. Natsu is terrified, having never had gay sex before but Gray takes good care of him.

And that was our intention, to show how much they had progressed and maybe do some fluffy pwp. And we tried, we really did, we have plenty of false starts saved up that refused to go anywhere because the moment Siegrain showed his stupid face we knew they weren't ready, they were both still too vulnerable and they were literally screaming at us.

You often hear about characters having their own ideas and that is exactly what happened here and eventually, we stopped fighting them and listened, deciding they knew better than we did what was best for them after that confrontation.

It also set up the continuation to their story which as we said will be called The Horrible Return of Siegrain, keep an eye out for it but it will honestly be a while as we have other stories/events to get through first.

We hope you liked Gray and Natsu's story up until now!

[banditthewriter]

Lost and Found - Billy Russo

Prompt: if you could write something based on the quote: “Getting lost was not a matter of geography so much as identity, a passionate desire, even an urgent need, to become no one and anyone, to shake off the shackles that remind you who you are, who others think you are.” maybe something about reader wanting to start a new life and Billy looking to start a new life, and them both finding each other on the way? Prompter: @papercloudx 

So this one took on a life of its own? And became something... different. But! I hope you like it and I hope it stays true to your request!

Tags are at the bottom. Let me know if you would like to be added to one of my tag lists!

*gif is mine*

Enjoy!

*****

The local weather station said that it was going to rain. You pulled a hoodie out of your bag and shook it out, ignoring the way it still smelled like home. Or what used to be home.

It was day three of trying to find an apartment. You were laughed out of one of the places the moment you walked in, as if the faded t-shirt and jeans that had seen better days meant you couldn’t afford a ridiculously priced one bedroom apartment.

If those people only knew.

You tugged the hoodie on. It was an old one that you’d had since high school, the letters mostly faded now. There was a hole in the pocket and the string had been lost to the wash years ago. It was also the most comfortable thing that you owned.

With your wallet, phone, and the key that the manager had given you, you locked up your hotel room and slipped into the streets of the city. New York City hadn’t been your first choice but if there was anywhere you could disappear into the crowd, it was here.

Blending in wasn’t just what you wanted; it was a need, a dire requirement. You didn’t think that your name or picture would have been circled around up here, but you couldn’t be sure. That’s why you dressed in the oldest clothes you could pull from your bag.

Two small duffels were all you had with you. You’d need to buy furniture, clothes. It was hard to start all over, but you would do what you had to.

Someone bumped into you and you shot a look over your shoulder before you tugged the hood a little further over your face. The rain hadn’t started yet, but the hood did more than just protect you from the elements. On the off chance that your picture had made it this far north, you would rather no one recognized you on the street. Not yet at least.

Three stops later, with the rain pouring around you, you watched a wide eyed manager slide a set of keys over to you after you signed on the dotted line. He had been surprised when you had pulled the bills out of your wallet to pay for the first six months rent on the spot and hadn’t wasted time before he grabbed a lease for your to sign.

Easy as that, you thought as you let yourself into your new apartment. Wide open space, high windows. You traced your fingers over the windowsill, watching the rain come down in thick sheets. Cabs sloshed through the streets, people ducking for cover to keep from being splattered.

A large warehouse sat across from the apartment building. You had asked about it and the manager had shrugged as he explained that it was going to be a security firm of some sort.

Security. Well, if you were going to feel safe anywhere, it’d be here.

------

“Put it there,” you said with a gesture towards the row of windows along the far wall.

The movers nodded and carried the couch over to where you had gestured. It was the last piece of large furniture you had purchased and with it sitting there, it was starting to feel like home. After you had tipped the movers and offered them food or water, you closed the door and locked it.

Then you did up the next two locks. Plus the one you had installed yourself.

Couldn’t be too careful, you reminded yourself.

You made your way over to your new couch and sat down, feeling the bounciness of the foam cushions. You stretched out and leaned back, your eyes on the ceiling.

This was your life now. This apartment, this city. You could do whatever you wanted. You could try to find a job if you could find one that wouldn’t do a background check. Or that wouldn’t care about what they found there. Of course you didn’t have to work; your bank account saw to that.

“It’s play money,” your brother had joked once, a long time ago. A lifetime ago. “You use it or you lose it.”

He had taken that too seriously. You rubbed your hand across your jaw, a phantom ache making your eyes water.

How long had it been? You’d been out of the hospital for eight months, maybe nine. You weren’t entirely certain how long you had been in the hospital but you figured it was at least a few weeks. So nine, ten months since it all went wrong.

Use it or lose it. Your brother had gotten in deep with gambling debts. He wasn’t old enough to have access to his inheritance yet and since you were technically in charge of, the people that he got involved with had gone after you. The beating you took was meant to be incentive but your brother still didn’t have access to his money. And with you hospitalized, you couldn’t very well pull out the fifty grand he owed.

A broken jaw, a broken home. Your brother had tried to run out on it all, tried to leave it behind. He was young and stupid and didn’t stand a chance.

You sat at his funeral with your mouth wired shut. It was probably for the best because all you wanted to do was scream at the sky and ask why. Why you? Why this?

Why him?

All of the money was yours after that. Your parents had died when you were young and after being raised by an aunt who didn’t really care about anything outside her wine and pills, you had become disenchanted with it all. This apartment, the new furniture, were the first real purchases you’d made after paying for school and a car.

The car you sold before you got on the first train out of town. At least the degree was something that you could keep without it being obvious how much it cost.

With a sigh, you sat up and turned to look out of the window. Being trapped in your memories was giving you a headache.

Through the window you could see men moving stuff into the warehouse across the street. There was a sign that was being dragged in that read Anvil. A man wearing what looked like jeans and a leather jacket seemed to be in charge, pointing at things and making very big gestures with his hands.

You weren’t sure how long you watched him, but you felt safe that he wouldn’t notice you on the second floor of the apartment building. He seemed pretty focused on the task at hand.

------

“Caramel macchiato for Y/N?”

You jerked up from the book you were reading. That was quick. You made your way to the counter and reached out to grab your drink. When you leaned back, you bumped into someone beside you.

“Sorry,” you mumbled as you side-stepped to get out of his way.

The man barely looked up from his phone as he told you that it wasn’t your fault. Then he did a double take.

“No worries,” he said again, slower as he stared at you.

You didn’t like that look. You gave him a quick nod and hurried back to your table to sit down. With your book opened once more, you used it as a way to subtly keep an eye on the man.

“Black coffee for Billy?”

The man tore his eyes from you and grabbed the drink from the barista. He dropped some change into the jar and then turned to leave. You watched him hesitate for a moment before he continued, heading out the door and then almost immediately across the street.

You watched him walk to the front door of the warehouse and then through the large doors. Huh.

This coffee shop was right next door so you had started to frequent it out of boredom and the urge to see new things. This was the first time you’d seen him—Billy. 

You weren’t sure if the name fit the man. The name sounded so juvenile, like the name of a schoolyard bully. But him?

He looked like he’d walked right out of some magazine. And while you weren’t one to flash money around yourself, you knew it when you saw it. At the very least he wanted people to think he was money.

You weren’t going to blame him for that. Sometimes it was the only thing people had.

------

“Caramel macchiato,” an unfamiliar voice said as a drink was held out in front of you. “That’s what you order, isn’t it?”

You looked up in surprise, your eyes widening when you saw Billy. He rocked the drink back and forth minutely as he tried to entice you to take it. Carefully you closed your book around your finger and reached out with your other hand to accept the cup.

“Thank you,” you said slowly with a tinge of suspicion in your voice. “Do you often bring drinks to strangers in the park?”

He grinned and shrugged his shoulder. He gestured to the seat next to you and you slid over a bit so that he could share the bench with you.

“Only when they’re as pretty as you are,” he said with an even wider grin. “You looked like you could use a pick me up.”

The drink wasn’t from your usual coffee shop but from one nearby. You raised it to him in acceptance but didn’t take a sip. He noticed your unease and he laughed, looking down as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

“Didn’t really think this through, did I? Strange man handing you a drink in a park; you were probably warned about things like that when you moved to the city.”

It felt like a jolt went through your spine and you sat up a little straighter.

“What makes you think I’m not from the city?”

He looked over at you and shrugged before he flicked the papers that were sticking out from the the back of your book.

“That’s a city map, big with tourists. But since I’ve seen you a few times in the last few weeks, I figure you’re new instead of a tourist.”

You folded the corner down of your page and shut it fully. The map in the back of the book was one you’d been using to get used to your surroundings. It was actually what led you to that bench this morning.

“You’re observant,” you said as you wrapped both of your hands around the cup.

He laughed and cocked his head to the side a bit.

“The government will be happy to know that their expensive recon training didn’t go to waste,” he joked as he looked away.

That made sense. There was definitely something military about him. The way he carried himself, maybe.

You started to wonder if maybe you should introduce yourself or, better yet, make an excuse to leave, when he turned back to look at you once more.

“Do you like bagels?”

That… wasn’t what you thought he was going to say.

“Bagels?”

He smiled and made a circle with his hands. “Round things, hole in the middle.”

“I know what a bagel is,” you defended nonsensically, unsure how you lost track so quickly. “Uh, yeah, I like bagels.”

He nodded and rested his hands on his legs, palm down.

“I’m gonna get bagels tomorrow for breakfast. I usually get more than I can eat, so if you’re out this way and I’m out this way, maybe I can stop by again. If you think you’ll want a bagel.”

There was something endearing about his rambling, something you weren’t sure he would normally broadcast. You gave him a look, narrowing your eyes.

“Why?”

He laughed and leaned back, his arm propping up along the back of the bench.

“It’s a no-strings-attached bagel, I promise. What’s a little bagel between friends?”

You couldn’t help the short laugh that you let out at that.

“We’re friends, are we?”

To which he quickly replied, “Of course we are. Or we will be.”

Why couldn’t you stop smiling? It was really ruining the aloof presence you were shooting for.

“I don’t even know your name,” you said instead, a little lie but you weren’t above playing dirty.

“Sure you do. Just like I know your name.” Alarm bells went off in your head but they quieted down when he continued, “We go to the same coffee shop. I’ve heard them call your name half a dozen times by now.”

You bit your lip and looked down at the cup in your hands. You rotated it around a few times before you looked up at him.

“Alright Billy,” you said with a nod of your head, the only admission you were willing to give just then, “a bagel tomorrow morning.”

His smile widened into something that made your chest ache.

“Alright Y/N,” he responded, tilting his head as he looked you over, “any allergies I should know of? Any preferences?”

“No allergies, so surprise me.”

Had that last smile made your chest ache? This one damn near killed you. He stood up and smoothed down the jacket of his suit.

“I can do that.”

He started to walk away after that. You waited until he was a ways away before you lifted the cup and took a sip. As you lowered it, you could see that he had turned around and caught what you’d done.

His smile was worth it.

------

Morning bagels and coffee became a thing. Every morning that the two of you met up, he’d ask if you would be up for breakfast on another day. Sometimes it was the next day, sometimes it was days later. He never left the park without making a plan to meet you another day.

You weren’t sure if he knew that you lived across from Anvil, but you had your suspicions.

Over the next few weeks, you learned a lot about Billy. His name was Billy Russo and he actually owned Anvil. He’d run the business from his place for a while before he decided he needed a home base. The warehouse was his first set up.

He’d been in the Marines before this. There was something in his tone whenever he mentioned his service; something that told you it hadn’t ended well and he was trying to forget it.

There was something about him that drew you in. It wasn’t just his looks or his personality, although those were magnetic as well. No, it was something else. Something you couldn’t place for the longest time.

And then you realized what it was.

He’d opened up about his time in a group home called Ray of Hope. You saw the far away look in his eyes as he told you about the guy that had come around to entertain the kids. A good samaritan, he had called him, the title said with derision.

He was a kindred spirit. What you had gone through was completely different, of course, horrible in its own way, but you had both suffered. And you were both running.

You’d pegged it after that first time you saw him in the coffee shop. The tailored suit, the watch that cost more than your rent, the shoes that were obviously expensive; it was all his way of running. He didn’t get physical distance from his past, but he got something better.

“I’m not one of those stories,” he had said with a shake of his head, balling his napkin up to throw away, “where you come from nothing and make something of yourself. That’s not what this is.”

Except it was. He may not have wanted it to be that way, but that’s exactly what it was. He had built his own little empire, humble as it may be for the moment, but he had done it so that no one could ever look at him and see just the boy that had been safe havened in Albany. The pretty boy with the broken shoulder, eyes wide and mouth pulled back in a snarl to show the teeth he wasn’t afraid to use.

He couldn’t help his looks any more than you could help the choices your brother made. Billy had made himself into a weapon in retaliation; you had run in the middle of the night and used your mother’s maiden name to keep from being discovered.

Sometimes your jaw would start to hurt if the two of you talked for a while. You’d reach up to touch it and freeze, your hand falling back to your lap. He had to have noticed; it was impossible not to notice. He never said anything though and you were grateful.

As much as you were learning to trust Billy, respect him, you weren’t sure you could take that step. Admitting the truth would feel like bursting the safe little bubble you had wrapped around yourself.

So you kept it to yourself. Your smile would quiver with pain and he would notice, make an excuse to end the breakfast early. He did it for you because on the days you felt fine, he’d stay with you for an hour before he would leave.

“Perk of being the boss,” he had joked when you asked him if he was going to be late.

It meant more time with him so you weren’t going to complain.

------

Billy grabbed the wrapper from your hand to ball up and throw away. You opened your mouth to thank him but didn’t get the chance. Someone was running down the pathway and he ran smack into you, his body colliding with yours and sending you into the ground. He got up and yelled a half hearted apology before he took of running again.

Images flashed through your mind one after the other. The men that your brother had ripped off throwing you into the ground, their feet colliding with your sides and back. You had covered your head once you felt your jaw break which left your torso exposed.

You couldn’t remember how many ribs had been broken. It felt like all of them.

Your name was being called but it sounded like it was so far away. Then hands were on you and you shoved as hard as you could. The hands pried your hands from your face, a familiar voice finally breaking through the fog.

“Y/N? C’mon, talk to me,” Billy called again, his voice tinged with worry. “You hurt?”

Your chest hurt, another phantom ache. Your head was spinning as you sat up. There were a few people that were staring but this was New York City; they had seen weirder things.

“Y/N?”

You’d almost forgotten Billy. You looked over at him and tried to remember what he had asked.

“Not hurt,” you said in a shaking voice.

“Can you walk?”

Carefully and with your permission, Billy wrapped his arm around your waist and helped you back up. Your legs were shaking but you were standing. He kept his arm around you and led you down the street. It was just a few blocks to your apartment but it felt like miles.

As he turned you towards Anvil, you realized he couldn’t be taking you to your place because he didn’t know you lived there. He had been taking you to Anvil the whole time.

He waved off someone who had asked if you needed help. Instead he led you into a large office that had a window that overlooked majority of the warehouse where people were working out in stations.

“You sure you’re not hurt?”

You rubbed your jaw absently as you shook your head.

“It’s nothing,” you said unevenly, your eyes not moving from the window. “Old issue. I’m fine, really.”

“Bullshit.”

You whirled around and found yourself face to face with Billy. He was barely a foot away from you and when you took a step back, he took a step forward. Instead of backing yourself up more, you decided to stand your ground.

“You’re not fine and it’s not nothing. I can tell when someone’s dealing with flashbacks. I can especially tell when someone is dealing with PTS. You wanna tell me why you think lying about it is the way to go here?”

You’d grown attached to Billy, found yourself leaning into his space more often than not. But right then? You shoved at his chest, anger making your face grow hot.

“I don’t owe you anything,” you spat out as you tried to shove past him.

About five feet away, he called out to you, “It was the attack, right? Being thrown to the ground like that?”

It wouldn’t be far off the mark to say that you broke out in a cold sweat at that. You didn’t turn around, simply closed your eyes and breathed.

“How long have you known? About… me?”

“That you’re the same Y/N Y/L/N from the news? Since day one,” he said simply.

This time when you spun around, Billy wasn’t right behind you. He hadn’t moved from his spot except to turn to face you. He didn’t look threatening nor did he have that other look. The one that said he pitied you for what you went through.

“How?”

He shrugged a shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Your story wasn’t on the news a lot up here, but I make it a habit to stay informed on national stories as well. I remember yours because, well,” he stopped for a moment and then laughed, shaking his head a bit. “Because the picture that I saw of you from before the accident. You were on a porch I think, smiling at the camera. I thought you were beautiful. Couldn’t help but regret any damage that would have been done to you.”

You winced and looked down at your shoes. That familiar ache in your jaw was starting to come up again.

“Imagine my surprise to find you in my favorite coffee shop. And imagine my pleasure to find that you’re just as beautiful as your picture. If not more so,” he added in a low voice that made your eyes snap up to his face.

The scarring wasn’t bad, barely noticeable unless you were right next to the person. The plastic surgeon had been impressed with his own work which you were sure was a good thing. But to hear that someone still considered you beautiful?

“Why didn’t you ever say anything? We talked about everything from your past.”

Billy shrugged his shoulder.

“Why do you think I never asked you about your family or your life growing up? You were careful to keep yourself wrapped up. You didn’t want me to know so I pretended I didn’t.”

That simple, like he hadn’t even thought about it before he allowed you your privacy. Anyone else would have pried, tried to get any kernel of information from you. But Billy had let you keep your secrets.

“You came to New York to run away from your past and what you went through,” he said nonchalantly, turning to look away from you. “Who am I to fuck that up for you?”

Of course. This was a man who had run away to a desert to get away from what was done to him. He joined the military to get away from the jokes about being pretty, to learn to sharpen his God given tools. He ran from being safe havened, from being targeted, from being unable to change his circumstances at the root. Instead he dressed them up in thousand dollar suits and material possessions.

He ran too. If anyone understood, it was him.

You felt an ache in your hip; real, physical pain from your fall. You winced as you put your weight on your left leg, but it didn’t buckle. Billy noticed all the same.

“Let me drive you home,” he said as he approached you, careful to keep some distance between the two of you. “You’re in pain.”

You were, but it didn’t hurt as bad as you thought it would. Strange.

“No need to drive me, I just live across the street.” His surprised look made you laugh. Playfully you accused him, “You didn’t know I lived in those apartments? And you call yourself a recon Marine.”

He laughed and looked over his shoulder for a second. You watched the smile wane until he had that same neutral look from before.

“Go, rest up,” he said with a nod.

It wasn’t a dismissal, but he was letting the conversation drop. You knew he would follow your lead.

Slowly you turned towards the door of the office. You took a few steps before you turned to look at Billy once more.

“There’s this diner a few blocks down the road, has a neon sign that says pancakes?” Billy nodded to show that he knew of it and you continued, “Is it any good?”

“Yeah,” he said slowly, cocking his head as he started to guess where this was going, “yeah, not bad.”

You shrugged a shoulder, a grin pulling on your lips.

“Are you busy tomorrow morning?”

His smile was answer enough.

------

Lips pressed against your jaw where the ache was worst. Your eyes closed at the feeling that spread from the touch.

“The doctor said the pain was all in my head,” you said pitifully as you looked up at Billy. “I know he’s not wrong, but I don’t think it’s all in my head.”

He pressed another kiss to your jaw, this time the other side.

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t,” he said as he held you, his lips still brushing your aching jaw. “Just because it’s in your head doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

He cupped the back of your head before he leaned in to kiss your lips, the first proper kiss since you’d come back from the doctor. You gripped onto the front of his jacket as you let him take the lead in the kiss.

At some point you realized that you had stopped running, stopped hiding. It didn’t hurt to let Billy into your life, really let him in. It had started with just letting him in your apartment, then letting him into your bed. Then into your heart.

Your past didn’t define your future. No, that belong to you. To you and to Billy. Both of you had found ways to move forward and you’d found it together. You found each other.

X

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