#thursday my biggest concern was what should I have for lunch and look at me now

[mean-vampyre]

Time machine to jump 48 hours into the future

[the-bau-quinjet]

My Only Girl

Summary: request! Reader has to decide between keeping her secret and saving the man she loves. In the end, it's not a hard choice.

Warnings: violence/blood

Word count: 3370

a/n: I really enjoyed writing this one! I put a screen shot of the request at the end just because I didn’t want to give away the whole story :)

You never would have guessed that today would change everything. It started the same as any other Thursday. 

You were seated at your desk right outside of Tony’s main office working on his schedule for two weeks from now. Your music was playing softly through your earbuds causing you to bob your head as you read email after email. 

Suddenly, a Starbucks cup appeared in front of your face, a metal hand wrapped around the cup. 

You swiftly pulled the earbuds from your ears, turning in your chair to greet Bucky with a hug. 

“Hi.” You whispered into his chest during your hug. “You are truly a gift.” You smiled, taking the cup with your go to order. You press a quick kiss to his lips only to be pulled back in for a deeper kiss by Bucky. 

“Y/N, do you know when my next press conference is?” Tony asked, walking out of his office while still looking down at his tablet. 

Bucky let you pull back from him just far enough to answer Tony. “Next Thursday. You wanted to announce the new post-mission protocol for ‘Damage Control’.” You chuckled at the title, knowing Pepper was still trying to talk him into changing it. 

“Right! Thank you.” He finally looks up, taking in the sight of you in Bucky’s arms. “Barnes! Let her work.” He nearly whined, playing up the annoyance. 

“I will.” Tony leveled him with a pointed glare, looking between you and your computer. “I will! I just wanted to say good morning to my best girl.”

You scrunched your nose at the term of endearment, leaning farther back from Bucky to look in his eyes.

“You don’t like being my best girl?” He sounded genuinely concerned, earning a small chuckle from you. 

“I like being your only girl. Best implies that there are others, and though I would love to be the best of them, I don’t want there to be others.” You nodded your head resolutely, taking on a serious expression. 

“Please, you’ve had this man wrapped around your finger from the second he saw you.” Tony scoffed. 

“He’s right, doll. And you are my only girl. I love you.” Bucky pressed a quick kiss to your lips, letting you remove yourself from his arms to continue working. 

“I love you too. See you for lunch?” He nodded as he walked backwards to the elevator, keeping his eyes on yours until the doors closed.

“Wrapped around your finger, I swear.” Tony laughed when you glared at him, retreating back into his office to make some phone calls. 

-

Sometimes it’s really easy to pinpoint the exact moment everything went to shit. This was one of those times. 

22 minutes before you were due to meet Bucky for lunch, the red emergency lights started flashing with an accompanying alarm blaring in your ears. 

Friday announced “The compound is under attack, enacting lockdown protocol.”

“Shit.” Lockdown meant you needed to use specific codes to get into or out of any room. It definitely makes your life harder. 

Tony left to meet Pepper 15 minutes ago, so to your knowledge you were the only one on this floor. 

Glancing up and down the hall to double check, you swiftly enter Tony’s office, pulling up the security footage to see who you’re dealing with. Three different sides of the compound are surrounded by mercenaries clad in black fighting gear. 

You watch the screens, contemplating the best course of action to subtly help when one of the mercenaries pulls out a missile launcher. He aims it quickly, firing into the side of the building. 

You feel the walls shake as you watch part of the wall collapse, giving them an opening to enter the compound through. 

“Shit.” You run from Tony’s office, heading for the action without another thought even though this is definitely the biggest problem you’ve ever helped them with. 

You phase through the walls, doing your best to make sure nobody will see you when you come out on the other side of the wall. If all goes well, you’ll be back at your desk before anyone even notices you were gone. 

Your powers are a secret, even from the team. The powers that be, meaning your boss, don’t want the Avengers knowing they have an Angel on their side. It took you enough negotiating to get yourself assigned to this “project”, you were willing to do it without telling anyone that you are a angel. 

You basically had to beg your boss to let the Avengers be the people you watched over. Typically, angels are assigned to help those who can’t help themselves. Your logic for this assignment was that keeping the Avengers safe would, in turn, protect millions of other people. 

The one stipulation you faced when finally being assigned the the Avengers, was that you couldn’t tell them what you are.

At first, You had no problem keeping the secret. Being Tony’s assistant hardly meant spending ample time with everyone. You didn’t need to befriend them to keep them safe. At least, that’s what you kept telling yourself. 

Overtime, Tony broke down your walls. He convinced you to go to one of his galas, ultimately starting your demise. One look at Bucky had your heart soaring. Not telling him the truth has been eating away at you ever since he first asked you to get dinner with him. 

You pushed your guilt to the back of your mind, refocusing on getting closer to the attackers so you could figure out what to do. 

Typically, you use your powers to slightly change the path of bullets or hold off a bomb for a few extra seconds. It gives the team enough time to escape, not necessary unscathed, but with recoverable injuries. Plus, it keeps your powers hidden. 

It’s hard enough to hack into the video feed from various super suits without alerting anyone, you were definitely concerned about how to keep your powers hidden while using them so close to everyone. 

You skid to a stop just around the corner, listening as two of the mercenaries instruct the others. 

“Split up. You know who we’re looking for. If you find him, report in. First priority is getting out of here with him alive. All else fails, kill him.”

Immediately, you’re mind jumped to Bucky. Of course, Hydra scrum could be looking for anyone to use as a weapon, but Bucky made the most sense. When would they finally realize they can’t control him anymore?

You used your powers to confuse the men, making it look like whatever blueprints they studied were outdated. It would hopefully give everyone else enough time to get here and fight them off. 

You hid in a closet when you heard people approaching from behind you. 

“Sam, find Wanda and get to the east side. Nat and I will handle these guys.” 

You relaxed at the sound of Steve’s voice, waiting for the group to disperse before sliding out of the closet.

You ran back through the compound, heading for the lab. It was the closest place for you to retreat to in order to look through the security cameras again. 

“Friday, give me a rundown of what’s happening please.” You looked between the screens, intently listening to the AI’s voice. 

“The east side is being secured by Ms. Maximoff and Mr. Wilson. Based on projected outcomes, they will have everything under control in 7 minutes. Captain Rogers and Ms. Romanoff are fighting on the south side, near the blast sight. They will have the area secure in 6 minutes.”

You nodded, following along as you looked between the cameras. 

“The west side is secure. Mr. Stark and Mr. Barton have cleared the area and are holding off any additional attacks.”

“Good. Where’s Bucky?” You looked between the cameras, but couldn’t find him. 

“Sergeant Barnes is on the roof, engaged in hand to hand.”

“What the hell is he doing on the roof?” You panicked, clicking between camera angles until you could see him. 

There were ten Hydra agents on the roof, surrounding Bucky as he did his best to fight them off. 

“How did he get singled out so fast?” You mumbled to yourself, trying to think of a plan. They had Bucky backed up to the edge of the roof, slowly pushing him further and further. 

You could see what was about to happen nearly in slow motion. You acted quickly, not thinking about keeping your secret, but rather solely focused on helping Bucky. 

You broke through the window in the lab, wings appearing on your back as you flew to him. Just as you arrived, one of the agents shot him three times, propelling him backwards off the roof. Sending a shockwave over the roof, you knocked out the remaining agents as you dove, hurtling through the air to catch Bucky before he hit the ground. 

You grabbed him around the waist, lugging his body through the air with some difficulty. It wasn’t the most convenient position, plus you were slightly rusty from hiding your wings for so long. 

“Doll?” Bucky questioned, glancing at you through fluttering eyelids. “I knew you were my angel.” He whispered before his eyes fell closed, the blood loss getting to him. 

You swung around the building, re-entering through the broken lab window and laying Bucky on the lab bench. 

“Lifting lockdown protocol.” Friday announced, the noise barely registering in your ears. 

“Ms. L/N, Captain Rogers is requesting a check in from everyone on the team, would you like me to update him on yours and the Sergeant’s situation.” Friday asked. 

“Yeah, go ahead.” You muttered, not really paying attention to the question as you did your best to slow the bleeding. You haven’t tried healing anyone in years, so it was taking more effort than it should for you to fix this. 

You closed your eyes, hands hovering over Bucky’s body. Your wings were still present, although no longer fully extended. 

You channelled everything you could into healing Bucky’s wounds, drowning out any outside interference. Your hands began to glow, a warm golden light surrounding Bucky’s body as his bullet wounds healed. 

A few minutes passed as his wounds fully healed. You nearly collapsed from the relief of seeing him no longer bleeding out. His color was returning to normal, heartbeat speeding back up. 

“Y/N?” You jumped at the noise, turning around to see nearly the entire team staring at you. 

Your eyes went wide, hand still clutching Bucky’s as you stuttered in an attempt to come up with an explanation. 

“You have wings.” Wanda pointed out the obvious, everyone still wearing matching expressions of shock. 

You looked over your shoulder, nearly surprised by their presence on your back yourself. You had been so focused on healing Bucky, you forgot to hide them again. 

“Your hands were glowing.” Sam’s brow furrowed, looking between you and Bucky. 

You nodded, still unsure of what to say. 

Suddenly Steve barged into the room, unaware of the tension. He ran right for Bucky, yelling for someone to get a medic. 

“Why are you all just standing there? Friday said he was shot! Three times! Get a medic!” He looked at everyone in a panic before turning to look for wounds on Bucky. 

His brow furrowed as he tried to find any of the bullet wounds. “Wha- Where are the bullet wounds... He’s covered in blood, but not bleeding? Even we can’t heal that fast, what’s going on?” Steve turns back to the team, mouth slightly agape. 

They all point to you. 

Slowly, Steve turns finally noticing your presence. “Y/N?” He looks between the team and you again, a double take so fast it would have been funny if not for the situation. 

“You have wings?” He says it with much more confusion than Wanda’s point blank statement. 

You nod, voice still eluding you. You finally manage to get the wings to disappear. 

“Care to explain...” Tony asks, pointing to where your wings just were, your hands, and Bucky, “All of that?” 

Before you can reply, Bucky jolts awake with a groan. 

“What the hell?” He looks around the lab, taking everyone’s confused faces. Even Nat looks surprised. “How did I get here?” He rubs his abdomen, slightly sore from the bullets. 

Everyone shakes their heads, looking to you for answers. 

“Y/N?” He turns to you, hand squeezing yours slightly. “You were an angel. I thought I was dying...” He trailed off, trying to makes sense of everything in his head. 

“An angel?” Steve balks. Everyone else nods, various expressions of understanding on their faces. 

“I mean, that makes sense.” Nat chimes in, ready to accept it. “Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that ever happened.”

“What?” Bucky asks, sitting up on the counter. “She’s not actually an angel. I just saw that as my... I don’t know, dying wish?” His face scrunched in confusion, trying to make sense of what he saw. 

“Well, I’m not dying and I saw the wings. And the glowing hands.” Clint speaks up, turning all eyes back to you. 

A voice in your head is suddenly booming. Your hands fly up to the sides of your head, trying to dull the ache of the screaming voice in your mind.

“Y/N L/N, you have broken the only rule bestowed upon you. According to contract 71, you are no longer permitted to enter the Angel Realm. Any attempts to return here will result in termination of your capabilities. Misuse of your capabilities on Earth or any other planet will result in termination of your capabilities.” Your boss’s voice was instantly recognizable. 

You didn’t notice the team crowding around you while you doubled over in pain, rubbing your temples as the message repeated. 

“Ugh, why did you have to say it twice?” You suddenly stared up at the sky, annoyed with the whole system. 

“Um, who said what twice?” Banner finally entered the lab, having been avoiding any anger inducing scenarios. 

Before anyone could jump in with what little knowledge they had, you started talking. 

“My Boss.” You winced, looking at Tony as he raised a brow. “My other boss... well, I guess not anymore. My former other boss.”

“Which is...” Tony gestured for you to continue. 

“Maybe you should all sit down, this could take a while...” 

Everyone followed as you lead them to the kitchen and living room. 

“Okay, I’ll just jump into I guess.” You took a deep breath, looking around the room at everyone’s curious and slightly impatient expressions. 

“I’m an angel.” You nodded, trying to reassure yourself that it was okay to say out loud. 

“Yeah, and? We figured that one out fifteen minutes ago.” Tony huffed, wanting more information. 

“Four years ago, I found out about the Avengers.” You looked at all of them, nervous for their reactions. “Angels are supposed to protect those who can’t help themselves, but I wanted to protect you all.”

“Why?” Steve asked, eying you curiously. 

“Would you all stop interrupting and let her explain!” Wanda whisper yelled, gesturing for you to continue. 

“It’s a valid question. Um, I guess I just thought you all put your lives on the line to help everyone else and I wanted to do what I could to help you. I convinced my former boss to let me come here. I told her protecting you guys would protect all the people you were bound to save, and that’s a lot of people.”

Everyone nodded, seemingly taking in the information. 

“I wanted to tell you. I really did, but it was my only rule. I wasn’t allowed to.” You nervously wrung your hands together, biting your lip as everyone took in the information. 

“That’s why it’s former boss?” Nat questioned. 

“Yes. She fired me?” It was a question to your own ears. “I’ve never heard of an angel being fired before. That kinda sucks.” Everyone chuckled at that. 

“And that was why you doubled over in pain in the lab?” Bucky questioned, concern in his voice. 

You nodded. “Yeah, she has a habit of yelling in my head. And she always says everything twice.” You glared at the ceiling again, knowing she had probably moved on from you already. 

“You’re not mad?” You looked back at Bucky, practically forgetting about everyone else in the room. 

“You caught me after I was shot off of a building and then healed my three bullet wounds. I think you’ve made up for the secret.” Bucky smiled, pulling you into his lap for a hug. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” 

You nearly burst into tears at the relief you were feeling. “Oh thank God.” You squeezed him as tight as you thought he could handle, needing to feel him close to your for a second. 

You then turned to face the rest of the team, giving them an equally nervous look. “Are you guys mad?”

“Well, I didn’t get any magic healing.” Sam huffed, a smile on his face. 

“Nobody flew me around the compound.” Tony added on. 

“But, you can fly?” You gave him a confused expression. 

“Dammit” Tony muttered, thinking on his feet. “Tell you what, tell me what else you can do and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal... Maybe we can meet back here in half an hour?” You looked at their bruised and bloody bodies. “You all look like you could use a shower, and I for one would love to get this blood off me.” You gestured to the blood covering your jeans and shirt.

-

A half hour later, you were back in the living room. Tony ordered pizza, everyone crowding around the coffee tables and couches. 

“Alright. Get to it!” Tony called out, excitement clear in his voice. 

You stood up, turning to face the crowd. “Well, you know about the wings.” Your wings extended from your back with a woosh, spreading out before settling in a resting position. 

You heard various mutterings as everyone took in your wings in their full glory. You then floated slightly above the floor, wings gently flapping to keep you suspended. 

“How’s it feel birdman, her wings are part of her.” Bucky jested at Sam, a proud smile on his face.

“Yeah, well mine are bulletproof.” Sam sneered, a smile on his face. 

“Actually,” you winced, “Mine can be bulletproof. Basically, I can do whatever I want, but only for short periods of time. Like if someone surprise shot me, it would hurt. But if I was prepared, it would bounce off.”

“Wow.” Steve looked at you, a mixture of surprise and wonder in his eyes. 

“Um, I can also walk through walls, create shockwaves, move things with my mind, hack into any computer- although it takes some actual knowledge to not leave a trail... I mean, I’m pretty strong, but I don’t have much training for fighting hand to hand or anything. Oh, and mind manipulation? Not like mind control or anything, that is definitely frowned upon. Just... like earlier I made the Hydra agents forget the blueprints so they wouldn’t be able to get around the compound as quickly.” 

Everyone jumped in with questions. You answered every single one, talking well into the night. You did your best to give examples of your powers, like moving the rubble around to fix the giant hole in the south side of the compound. 

After a few hours, Bucky cut in. “Guys, she’ll still be here tomorrow. Wait, you will still be here, right?” He looked at you in a panic.

“Yes, unless you all want me gone, I’m here to stay.” You smile at them. 

“Good. Now as I was saying, she’ll be here tomorrow. Ask her the rest of your questions then. Hell, make a list if you want. Just let me take my best girl to bed.” Bucky pulled you up from the couch, leading you out of the room. 

“Goodnight!” You called back to the team before turning to Bucky. “What did I say about being your best girl?” You playfully hit his side. 

He pulled you into his arms, hugging you while you waited for the elevator. “I’m sorry. My only girl.”

“That’s better.”

Permanent taglist:

@averyhotchner @jesuswasnotawhiteman

[smollandtoll]

HC: Scripted Documentary

STOP! CHECK OUT THESE GIFS FIRST 

These gifs give us all the feels, all the super soft Geno is the new guy at the government office job feels. It’s in the way the camera moves in that first gif, very parks & rec or the office, very scripted docuseries.

So here we are imagining some governmental office show shenanigans with Sid and Tanger and Flower and Duper trying to get a suburb approved, or a school or something, LET’S GET REAL probably an ice rink and and Geno is the wildlife and ecological impact consultant brought in to assist the project.

It’s usually just tons of boring paperwork and random occasionally dramatic or frivolous projects and petty office drama and occasional panicky dealing with the public. It’s boring work usually, but Sid is a committed and devoted leader and believes in the system of bureaucracy even when he’s thwarted by various nemesi.

Anyway, Geno shows up on the first day of this new contract looking like that and all the french canadians in their ties and dress shirts immediately turn to watch Sid blush. It is so apparent that he is Sid’s Type™ like...Sid might have based the type ON this guy he is hitting the nail so hard on the head.

“Am in right place?” He’d ask earnestly, eyes sliding over each of them questioningly, voice deep and accented. Duper and Tanger probably take point, ushering him in and ousting Flower from his seat immediately to set G down right next to Sid.

So with their fearless leader somewhat distracted by Geno's arms in that sweater, their round table discussion goes off track like immediately.

Geno is just giving so much side-eye at their weird and borderline intrusive questions. He expected a bit of inquiry as to his credentials, and maybe interests but:

"Why you need know I'm want kids?"

Sid abruptly realizing what's happened to their round table while he was spacing out - imagining peeling Geno out of various thermal fleeces and underarmour layers like a present just for him -  and being SO COMPLETELY MORTIFIED. His friends couldn’t be professional if it came up and french kissed them.

"So sorry Mr. Malkin my colleagues have never been outside." He’d recover the meeting and get it back on track, luckily Geno isn’t too irreparably weirded out...maybe.

And he isn’t, he eventually just like settles into the staff and continues to be tall and beautiful and wear very clingy soft sweaters that make Sid walk into door frames.

(They all razz Sid that he definitely heard like music playing in his head and everything went slomo when Geno walked in the first time and Sid DENYING IT SO HARD JUST BEING SO FED UP WITH THEM. //JUMP CUT BACK TO SID'S TALKING HEAD: ....it was Taylor Swift)

But they discover he also has kind of a hilarious mean streak and he’s an absolute card shark at thursday lunch poker. He’s got a giant soft spot for puppies and kittens and baby animals of all shapes and sizes - they discovered this one bleak and stressful week a blustery February where the higher ups thought it would be a good initiative to give them some office stress relief puppies.

Anyway, there’s definitely a few seasons of Sid pining, Geno and him becoming good friends only to find out Geno is dating someone that he brings to the office christmas party or something. And she’s probably super nice and reasonable and beautiful and funny.

Sid is like KIND OF GUTTED ABOUT IT, and doesn’t fess up to getting Geno this insanely wicked secret santa gift - like a pen’s massage chair that blew the office secret santa budget out of the water or something.

So anyway, probably Sid works really hard on getting over Geno, and even starts dating like a wonderful dude who’s idk a high school football coach or something, very boy next door, very sweet and handsome and thinks Sid is just ADORABLE.

And there’s probably a lot of Geno talking heads about how much he hates that guy.

And a lot of Flower and Duper and Tanger talking heads where they just sit there and silently stare at the camera like ...what the fuck did we find ourselves in the middle of. The UST is STIFLING.

Then there’s probably the episode where like they have a business trip to go on and present their findings and Sid and Geno end up in a layover in the middle of the night in like denver or some shit, throwing popcorn at each others mouths from across the isles and Sid is like:

“You know what’s funny?”

“Hm?”

“I used to have the biggest crush on you.”

“Sid?”

“Yeah it was really embarrassing, I’d walk into doors and stuff when you wore tight sweaters.”

“Very clumsy when first meet. Thought you just get better.”

“Nah, just got used to you I think.”

“Not crush any more?”

“Nah, I mean, I had to get over it, we work together, and no way in a million years would someone like you want to date someone like me.”  but before Geno can question him what that means there’s probably an announcement that distracts them and then Sid goes to the washroom and Geno gets an annoying text from Ovechkin and it’s forgotten until much later when they’re tiding up after a town hall one night and it’s clear that it’s just STRUCK Geno how beautiful and funny and amazing Sid is.

And then he’s being picked up by his boyfriend and Geno is GUTTED.

Geno is not good at being subtle, he pines as well, but on a level that CONCERNS the French Canadians who take him out and get him drunk and get the whole story about how he’s just realizing now that Sid is perfect and wants kids and would run with their dog.

Sid and the boyfriend meanwhile amicably break up because he’s been asked to coach at a higher level than high school, college I guess which is a big deal, and he needs to move, but it’s an important move for his job. He asks Sid to come with him and Sid seriously considers it for a little while, but he knows his job and his family through the job is too important to him, so they amicably break up, and because Sid isn’t very heart broken about it he doesn’t really act any different or see reason to mention it really.

Cue a lot of flirty shit happening between them that neither of them chalks up to meaning anything because Sid is “in a relationship” and Geno is “very uninterested” and the FCs LOSING THEIR MINDS OVER. At this point they are really rooting for them and don’t want to meddle - which goes against Flower’s very nature however so he definitely locks them into a utility closet together for a whole episode.

They get hangry, tempers flare, Geno kicks the door, Sid spills an entire bottle of lysol cleaner on his pants, they sit shoulder to shoulder and talk it all out and right as they’re about to kiss probably Phil opens the door looking for some toner.

Sid likely ducks out to immediately pee and like try to wash the cleaner out of his now RUINED pants and like mutter to himself in the mirror about what the fuck are you doing Crosby. He’s your best friend.

But Geno is probably definitely watching him from the door and just says “That’s best reason we should.” and then sweeps Sid into the kiss they should have had right from the beginning. And it’s all sparkles and fireworks and it’s in a grody men’s bathroom.

fin.

[mysterytickingegos]

Roadtrip

Pairing: Wilford Warfstache x Reader

Genre: Fluff. Like so god damn fluffy. The fluffiest thing this angst-lover will ever write. TOOTH ROTTING- okay you get the point.

Word Count: 1,710

Summary: Your relationship with the strange TV personality naturally leads to some pretty fun adventures, but this one might just go down in history as your favorite.

Anonymous Request: If you have time, could you please do 10, 17, and 20 with either Wilford or Yancy (and they/them pronouns)? 🥺👉🏼👈🏼 I love your writing btw ❤️

Authors Note: I think it’s safe to say I’m out of the ficlet mindset after this one. I got an idea and got waaay carried away but hopefully no one minds!  Maybe a bit out of character? I’m not completely sure.

Want to read more?

[Image Description: A gif of Wilford Warfstache from the short “Warfstache Interviews Markipler” screwing with his hair. End Description.]

The sun wasn’t even up yet, that was your biggest concern. Not that there could be some kind of emergency but that someone had the audacity to knock on your door before the sun was even up. You swung the door open to see Wilford standing there, looking much more casual than usual and grinning the moment he saw you. “Good morning, sunshine! Ready to go?”

You sighed and let your defenses down. “To go?”

“Yes, to go! To go to the big thing in Chicago!”

“Yeah I remember that, I thought we were leaving at six thirty.”

“It is six thirty.” He said, glancing down at his watch to check.

You stared at him for a moment in sleepy confusion before it finally hit you. “You meant six in the morning??”

“Well of course I meant the morning, can you imagine the traffic that time of day?” He chuckled at the thought and let himself inside. “Besides, the network made it very clear I can’t miss this. Best not to take chances.”

“...You’re lucky you’re cute.” You grumbled, fighting back a yawn as you left to get dressed and grab the bag you packed the night before.

You’d been dating Wil for somewhere close to two years at this point, and you’d been friends for longer than that, and you still never had any idea what to expect from him. There was always a new adventure or shenanigans for him to pull you into, just waiting around the corner. This was one of those times.

When you came back downstairs he took your bag, and your hands in his once it was securely over his shoulder. “Come on, cheer up! I know you took the week off so I made sure this would be worthwhile, planned some stops, made sure we had plenty of time.”

You stopped to lock up your apartment before you two started walking downstairs. “What kind of stops?”

“Sweetheart, you are just gonna have to wait and see.” He told you with a wink.

MONDAY

If Wil hadn’t stopped at a gas station, you probably wouldn’t have been able to keep yourself awake at the start of the drive, but thankfully you took the opportunity to get yourself some caffeine and something for you both to eat. After that it was pretty fun, with music blasting and the windows cracked. Every half hour or so one of you would turn the music down and get into another conversation. You had both been so busy the past few months that you had plenty to talk about. Though, the entire time he made a point to keep a folded up piece of paper out of your reach.

The first detour was through the Las Vegas strip, the only stop being a cozy barbecue place off of an exit. But it was fun to see the grand casinos and attractions nonetheless.

“Okay, this is amazing,” You said, pointing to what was left of your sandwich. “What’s the story behind this place?”

“I’ve actually never been here before, just saw it had four and a half stars.” In the middle of his explanation, he swiped a fry off your plate. “I actually haven’t stayed in Vegas since before all the smart...google...haberdashery.”

You stopped halfway to taking a drink, biting back a smile. “Haberdashery?”

He smiled back, shaking his head at you. “Don’t start.”

“So you really planned this out then, huh?”

“Yeah! I have a whole list of places we’re stopping. Did you expect anything less from me?”

“I probably shouldn’t answer that.” You teased. He gasped in mock offense before both of you burst out laughing.

“Fair enough.”

Once you got back on the road it was an extremely long eight hours, at least in the second half after another gas station stop. Your legs were cramped up and the music was getting a bit tedious and had to be turned down. Wilford assured you it was the longest stretch in the whole trip, but even he was tired by the time you guys got to stop in a small Chinese restaurant on the border of Colorado.  “I should’ve picked a closer hotel.” He mumbled through a yawn, waiting somewhat impatiently on the ‘meal for two’ special. “I really didn’t think it’d be this late.”

“How far is it?” You asked, spinning your straw in your glass.

“‘Nother two hours, I think.”

You nodded, deciding to step in. “You could barely keep your eyes open when we pulled in, you should let me drive.”

“You’re probably right...” He seemed hesitant, but neither one of you wanted this to end in a car crash. “But don’t look at the list.”

“I won’t, I won’t. Jeez”

The next two hours were nice, as it was dark now and there were hardly any cars. It didn’t take more than a few minutes for Wilford to doze off in the passenger seat after he put in the next address and you played an audiobook at a low volume to keep yourself focused. Finally the GPS buzzed; “Your destination is on the left.”

You pulled into the lot of Riverwalk inn and nudged your partner’s shoulder until he finally started to stir. “Hey, c’mon we’re here.”

TUESDAY

You heard an alarm start going off on the other side of the bed and let out a groan, pulling a pillow over your head. “What time is it?”

“It’s eight, get up and get dressed and I’ll find someplace to eat.” And with that Wilford was up and out of bed, no problems.

You on the other hand... “We can’t even sleep in a little bit?”

“Not unless you want to start crossing places off the list, my dear.” He started going through his things to look for something new to wear. “We still have to make it there by Friday...for the thing.”

You grumbled some more, finally dragging yourself out of bed after hearing a couple promises of fresh coffee. “Wilford Warfstache, this ‘thing’ better be the best thing that’ll ever happen to you.”

“I already know it will be!” He said in a sing-song voice as you grabbed your bag and vanished into the bathroom.

“What’s the plan for today anyway?” You called out.

“Nothing much, a couple breaks here and there but it’ll take most of the day to get to-” You heard him cut himself off, “to...the next place. But things’ll get good tomorrow, I promise.”

And when you drove into Oklahoma city that night, you pondered all the possibilities.

WEDNESDAY

It was much easier to get up early, mostly out of excitement. After you two stopped at a random chain restaurant to get something for breakfast, you pushed for answers again. “Come on, you have to tell me now that we’re here.”

“Well, actually I couldn’t decide.”He tore his napkin in two and pull a pen out of what seemed to be thin air. You were about to ask if he even realized he did that, as he usually didn’t, but he held both his now-paper-filled hands out. “So, you pick. Left or right, whatever the paper says is what we’ll do.”

“Okay...left.”

He tossed the other paper over his shoulder and read what yours said. “Ooh good choice.” You tried to lean over the table to see it but he closed his hand quickly, leaning closer to you. “Now, Y/n, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you want to kiss me.”

“I’ll kiss you if you tell me where we’re going.”

He laughed at you and slipped out of the booth without hesitation. “Nope! Not ruining the surprise.”

He was very insistent that it didn’t happen, even convincing you to close your eyes once you were close. He guided you out of the car, and finally let you open your eyes. You looked up at the big green sign.

“OKC Zoo and Botanical Garden.”

“Oh my- are you serious?” You had to stop yourself from jumping up in excitement, and grabbed his hand to pull him inside.

You were still beaming hours after you two left, showing him how all the photos turned out over dinner in Kansas City.

THURSDAY

The audiobook had hit a lull, and you were too sick of pop music to switch it. Wilford was much more quiet than usual, so you kept to yourself for a while after lunch, eventually nodding off for a good half-hour.

“We made it!” Your boyfriend cheered, shutting off the car as you sat up straight. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t even realize.”

“Nah it’s fine. We’re here?”

“Yep! We are officially, finally in Chicago. Ready to stretch your legs?” 

You bought some ice cream from a Dessert Dealer before driving down to the architecture center to walk around, even deciding to catch a movie before you checked into the hotel.

“This was the best. week. ever!” You exclaimed, flopping onto the bed.

Wil chuckled and laid down beside you. “It’s not over yet.”

“Well you said no detours planned on the way back, and you’ll be busy with the thing tomorrow, so...safe to say we can call it.” You shrugged, flipping onto your stomach and laying your head on your arms. “What is it anyway? A speech? Big grand opening?”

He didn’t answer you at first, contemplating the answer. “Truth be told...” He started. “The network has no idea I’m here. I just wanted to surprise you with all of this. Because...”

“Because?”

He put up a finger, staring down at his watch until-

FRIDAY

“Because, happy anniversary.” He said with a grin,

You had to pause, doing the math in your head, before sitting up straight. “That is...the sweetest thing anybody’s ever done for me. God, I love you.”

He pulled you into a hug before you started tearing up. “I love you too...In fact I didn’t think it was possible to love someone so much.”

“Me either,” You admitted, pulling back to wipe your face with your sleeve. “Happy anniversary, Wil.”

Little did you know that despite the list being complete, there was still one more surprise in store.

You know, considering the ‘top secret list’ you couldn’t look at was just to keep your attention away from the tiny black box in his suitcase?

[crazyglitterpirate]

Regrets - Fred Weasley

It's my sixth year at Hogwarts. After what happened last year I really didn't expect things to get better but still Umbridge really? what a pain in the arse. but one thing that came out of it was the DA. what a suggestion from ginny may I add. everyone was a little shocked I joined since my parents openly spoke out again Dumbledore but they weren't here last year, they didn't see what we all saw. It meant I lost a lot of friends as I started hanging around with other DA members, even if no one else knows that what we were. Luna and Ginny were there when I had a screaming match with them when they said I was ditching them. I felt alone and rejected. but Ginny had told the others so I was always welcomed to sit at the Gryffindors table. I became close friends with the twins, they would distract me with all their products and I was really amazed at them. those two are a lot smarter than they let on. DA was good cause I would usually group with them.

One night at a DA meeting.

"ahh" I huff and sit on the floor " there no use I'm never going to get the charm right"

We were all practising a different charm and I for the life of me could get it, plus I was having a bad week, with me already on three detentions this week already.

"come on soph," George said as he sits down next to me while Fred is towing over me.

"yeah you'll get it you just can't give up," Fred said. He gives me a look of concern as we stare at each other without breaking our eye contact.

"what's wrong?"  He asked me, I could hear the concern in his voice. At this point, George had left and given us some space. "has someone said something again."

"no" I look away, well look at anything other than him, I didn't want him to know how nervous he made me. "just having a bad week"

"Well then let's make it better," he says and grabs my hand to pull me up with ease. I swear my heart started beating faster.

So I have a little crush on a certain redhead twin, I mean he's kind and funny, way smarter than you think and is extremely loyal to his family how could I not. but then there's me, sad weak little Sophie who can't even do this stupid charm, why would he ever see me as anything else. god, I'm so sick of people looking at me like I'm going to break.

"Okay, whatever Weasley" and with that, we continued with the meeting.

One week later.

As I was walking to the court lard I was my friends, well old friends. they were all laughing and being happy and it annoyed me, I didn't do anything wrong in the first place.

"Hey soph you okay" a small voice came from behind me but instantly recognised it."

"Yeah, I'm fine Fred, just looking for a spot to sit and read." I smile back but he gives me that look, you know the 'are you sure' look.

"I am fine" I huff "now can we sit"

"it okay if your not, you were friends for a long time"

"Fred I--"

"No, you can't keep pretending it not getting to you, it clearly is"

"and if you want I would be happy you try new products on them" "and George too, of course, we will be like your bodyguards around them" he ended with a smile.

Now I know he wasn't trying to be sweet and i know he didn't mean to make me feel small and weak but he did and without giving him a minute to say anything else I stood up and started shouting at him.

" FRED, WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP, I TOLD YOU I WAS FINE ARE YOU DEAF OR SOMETHING, THE ONLY PERSON BOTHERING ME RIGHT NOW IS YOU. I AM NOT SOME WEAK LITTLE GIRL WHO NEEDS YOUR PROTECTION, I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF. AND I'M SO SICK OF BEING MADE TO FEEL LIKE ONE. I CAME OUT HERE TO READ IN PEACE NOT FOR YOU TO DIG INTO THINGS WHICH BTW I NEVER WANTED YOU OR GEORGE INVOLVED IN SO PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN LEAVE ME ALONE."

I go to storm off but before I'm out of earshot I hear him say 'guess I won't bother you again I didn't mean it it was just a build-up which unfortunately Fred got the full bast of.

Regret i felt regret

Thursday that week, Fred hadn't made eye contact with me at all and would only say hi if I was in a group of our mutual friends. I was walking back from the library since I now had way more free time. I didn't hang out with the twins anymore I wouldn't even group up with them at DA meetings either, so I found myself reading and studying. walking through the halls I hear running and laughter a certain laugh I would be able to recognize a mile away and with that, all my emotions came at once and I found myself siding down the side of the wall crying not too loud but loud enough to get someone attention.

"soph?" George, it was George.

"Hey, hey come here it alright" he grabs me and just holds me "Shhh" he turned to look at me wiping away any tears that have fallen "what happens, are you okay, did you have detention"

I shake my head "no" I take some breaths " I just feel so alone, I feel like I've lost everyone my old friends and Now you and Fred."

"first of all you haven't lost me," he says and nudges me.

"and second aren't you the one who told him to stay away " he raises an eyebrow at me

"I know, I felt really bad after I did it, George, he just wouldn't shut up and be making me feel worse. God, why can't he just understand sometimes I don't want to talk about it."

"it's not that I don't want to talk to you two about it I just do better handling that stuff on my own, it's what I know, every time I try and say sorry he walks away or just flat out ignores me. Do you know how much that hurts it's like I'm not even there? I care about you guys so much and now I feel like I've fucked it up cause I lost it once. "

"like I understand if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore I really do, but ..... I just - I wish he would just acknowledge my apology. "

George just sits there comforting me ensuring me that he would come around. What we didn't know was Fred was around the corner and heard everything.

FREDS POV

We had just finished a prank and were running George being ahead of me while laughing we could hear someone crying, we both stopped and continued walking to where it was coming from. before I turned the corner I hear George say her name and my heart sunk.

"soph?"

I heard the whole conversation and a mass of regret and guilt came over me. I had never thought about it from her point of view well, to be honest, I never let her explain I guess I let my ego get in the way. I mean now I'm hearing it I should have respected her boundaries and her personal space and I shouldn't have ignored her I just felt so hurt that she didn't want me to comfort her, all I wanted to do was make her happy and avoid her crying but instead I've caused it. I am going to make this right, I need to!

I hear them get up and start walking George was offering to walk her to her house but she said it was okay and with that George was next to me in less than a minute. He waited till she was out of earshot before finally saying something.

"You're an idiot, an absolute git Fred"

"I know," I said

"well how are you going to fix it"

"I don't know"

I had planned a lot of things to apologize to sophie, but I chicken out every time. I almost did one day but then I fucked it up again by shouting things at her. hurtful mean things, I made her cry AGAIN this time it was her avoiding me, guess now I know how she felt, karma right? God, I tried talking to her but before I knew it I was flying out of the school with George without making things right.  she saw me and turned away.

Regret was all that I could think.

Sophies POV

I was sitting at lunch with luna, we tend to sit with the Gryffindors. George always engaged in conversation with me which was comforting but Fred still didn't speak to me, But I swear I saw him attempt to say something to me but stop himself every time.

It was the day of the big match Slytherin vs Gryffindors, I of course wore red and gold. and I decide to go with luna to wish everyone good luck. George instantly pulled me in for the biggest bone crusting hug ever.

"Okay I can't breathe" I get out "what trying to kill me or something" I laughed

I didn't even notice Fred had come next to us

"so what do you think? reckon I'd make a good gryffindork"

"I think you suit it, what do you think George?" Fred, he had actually said something to me, well George but at me.

i just looked over and smiled at him.

"Yeah Fred defo a Gryffindor at heart"

"right C'mon," Angelia said

"well that's my queue to go, good luck boys" I waved them off and linked my arms with luna

"let go get some seats this will be good"

I had deiced I would talk to him after an official apology for shouting at him. but then the fight happened not that I'm complaining I hate Malfoy too. The 3 of them were sent to Umbridge so ginny let me in the common room. George came in first and marched right to his dorm then harry who just sat on the couch and then Fred he looked around for a while then i rose to speak to him to see if he was okay.

"Hey Fred," I said while putting my hand on his arm, but he quickly moved

"what are you even doing here? You are not a Gryffindor you're not really in the DA properly just aspie for Umbridge!"

"Fred I-"

"What noting to shout at me for, why don't you go back to your friends and death eater family huh! I- "

"FRED enough it's not sophies fault."

I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I looked around embarrassed and hurt. and I ran out of that common room as fast as could"

I could pick up ginny shouting at him and someone calling my name but I kept running. I didn't go back to the DA after that and I sat back at my house table alone. ginny, luna and George checked up on me but I just waved them off saying I had too much work to do. i avoided fred. sometimes he'd call my name but I would only walk away faster.  until I was in class I heard a sound bang followed by shouting like everyone else I left to see and I was the twins on the brooms. Fred made eye contact with me almost pleading to follow but I didn't I turned and went to the library.

I didn't know they were leaving. or I would have listened i thought we had more time.

once again I was met with an old friend

regret

[atinybitofau]

Y E O S A N G ⇾ mafia au

THE ONE WHERE YEOSANG DOESN’T LIKE GOING OUTSIDE

a/n: ver 1 of the mafia series completed. ver 2’s to start soon eeeekkkk

• his friends think he needs to go out more.

• that despite his skills on a computer,

• he should start socializing away from media.

• worried that he’s gotten too consumed by the LED.

• he definitely needs to go out more.

• “Hey Yeosang, I was thinking about watching Jong’s fight this Thursday. Was thinking maybe you wanted to join.”

• he doesn’t face his friend.

• knowing the look of concern he’d see.

• “Nah I’m good.”

• Yunho sighs walking over to his computer chair. “What you up to?”

• “Hongjoong wants me to get him the layout of the enterprise building by tomorrow. So I’m making a route.”

• “Yeosang, don’t you think the world would look much better seeing it person?”

• Yeosang bluntly laughs.

• thinking his friend is too open to cruel society.

• ironic right?

• that he works as a mobster in the dark.

• not wanting to remember his pasts when he was once exposed to the open environment of the world.

• he thinks society’s better through a computer screen than in person.

• “Why do I need to see it when I can see it just fine from here?”

• Yunho leaves shaking his head.

• knowing the mob scene wasn’t something Yeosang wanted to do.

• it was an offer he just couldn’t pass up.

• cause he can use his skills to do good in society—

• albeit not morally right,

• but still.

• bringing down the people he thinks don’t deserve to define society in the first place.

• he thinks that only he understands how ugly the world really is.

• that he doesn’t need to leave the comfort of his isolation to know.

• and the day he’s coordinating from his dark room,

• the day he’s switching from tab to tab on his computer,

• making sure Wooyoung doesn’t hit any red lights,

• and the boys don’t encounter any mishaps,

• he sees you.

• and he’s almost enticed to leave his chair and join the party.

• “Yeosang, where am I going man?” Wooyoung sounds frantic through his in ear. “I’ve got cops up my ass and the enemy tailing my bumper. You gotta make a call.”

• but he can’t.

• he’s on the wrong tab.

• staring at you.

• the LED maybe starting to get to him.

• “The girl.”

• “What fucking girl, Yeo?! Dude, you gotta get me out of here.”

• he thinks he has to.

• of course, it’s his best friend.

• he curses canceling your tab out just for a second.

• “Left.”

• but by the time Wooyoung reaches safety,

• and he’s back on your tab.

• you’re gone.

• “Good job, Yeosang. We got the package.”

• he thinks maybe they did.

• but why did it feel like he didn’t?

• the next days come by and he’s out of it.

• out of his wit searching endless on the internets dark web,

• trying to find you.

• but it’s hard.

• to narrow down a beautiful girl when he can only remember your face 8 bit.

• “Hey, do you have a minute?”

• Yeosang for once,

• snaps around with a heavy heart.

• for once wanting to stand up from his chair and go out.

• to find you.

• cause he knows where you were.

• and he knows he might see you again.

• but he’d have to expose himself.

• he might just not be ready for that.

• so here comes Hongjoong, ready to offer him another thing he can’t pass up.

• “I’ve noticed some discrepancies with your blueprints for tomorrow’s heist.” he sits on the desk, arms crossed, worried now that he sees Yeosang hasn’t slept a blink. “Everything okay?”

• he wants to tell him.

• usually Yeosang’s blunt and careless.

• but he wants to let his feelings out.

• so he can understand why one girl managed to change his mind about staying in a computer chair.

• “Hyung, there’s this girl.” Yeosang starts, blinking under his glasses. “I can’t stop thinking about her. Like... the internet’s great and particularly very easy for me as a hacker. And I’m usually smart enough to find anything on it, my computer screen being my source of the outside.”

• Hongjoong chuckles.

• knowing though he may have took part in raising the orphan he’s always proud of,

• it’s time he started raising himself.

• “And what about this girl makes you want to tell me about it?”

• Yeosang sighs.

• heart on fire.

• your image flashing his mind like the things on his computer he sees 12 hours a day.

• “I want to find her, hyung. But I won’t be able to do it here.”

• “Then you should go. See the outside a little bit and maybe you’ll find her there. You know, the internet doesn’t have all the answers.

• Hongjoong does though.

• because he knows this girl— you.

• knows why you stood out.

• because you were the one girl in Yeosang’s orphanage the day he picked him up.

• the girl who held his hand when Hongjoong found him.

• wonders why Yeosang never remembered it was you.

• “Oh god! I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you.”

• he thinks you’re beautiful.

• can’t say the same about the environment around you,

• the weird feeling of unartificial air brushing against his skin.

• but he thinks it’s worth it.

• cause he still gets to see you.

• “That’s okay.” Yeosang mutters like an idiot. “I... I um actually came here to see you.”

• you smile softly,

• blowing your hair out of your face after standing from picking up your things.

• he thinks you look like you came straight of a fantasy film.

• and you think he looks familiar.

• someone you sometimes search the web for not exactly a movie.

• “Oh.” you hold your box to your side, cocking your hip. “In that case, what can I do for you?”

• he’s speechless.

• tongue tied—

• cause when was the last time he talked to a stranger in person before?

• “Sorry this was a mistake.”

• he thinks he’s dumb.

• that if society rejected him before,

• why would it accept him now?

• you want to chase after him.

• but first watch him turn.

• not failing to catch the heart shaped birthmark hidden under his glasses frame.

• “Yeosang?!”

• he stops.

• he blinks seeing white.

• maybe it’s from the LED exposure he gets sitting behind his computer screen all day long,

• but the moment his name escapes your lips,

• he remembers the one person who never rejected him.

• despite being apart of cruel society.

• “Oh my god, it is you.”

• you drop your box and sprint on your heels.

• heart on fire when you see your old childhood flame.

• the one man you thought society deserved more than anyone.

• but he freezes.

• unfamiliar with the feeling of affection.

• only knowing the affection of his keyboard and his mouse.

• “Yeosang, I missed you.”

• years passed.

• YEARS.

• but you didn’t need the internet to remember who this man was.

• “Where did you go? Why did you leave?”

• he stares down at you through his glasses.

• thinking,

• how could he forget that the world up close could be more beautiful than seeing it through a computer screen?

• how could he forget you?

• “Y/n.”

• you smile the biggest smile in the world.

• “You remember.”

• he kisses you.

• because well—

• years away from social interaction kept him from knowing boundaries.

• but that’s okay with you.

• you can read him like an open book.

• that they Yeosang was the same afraid kid he was the day he was abducted from the orphanage.

• the same kid who kissed you whenever he felt scared of the world.

• “You know, this doesn’t make up for you leaving me behind all those years.” you run your thumb against the strange birthmark on his cheek as he stares at you. “But I think you can start with this, sure.”

• he’s bewitched.

• never wanting to stop looking at you.

• maybe the chances of staring at you better than the chances of staring at his computer to fulfill his desires.

• “Do you.. do you want to meet my friends?”

• you giggle,

• feeling bewitched too.

• “Do they treat you better than the world ever could?”

• he wonders why.

• why the internet can’t always explain love the way he needed it too.

• making more sense only because he meets you.

• “Yeah. They do.”

• you giggle again.

• and it’s an audio that he’dvput on repeat even if it killed him and his CPU.

• “Well do you think they’ll mind if we all go out for lunch?”

• you interlace your hands with a man you think only subsided in your memory.

• your gigabytes running so low you almost needed to erase some things.

• but your glad you didn’t.

• wondering what would’ve happened if you stopped searching for Yeosang on the web every now and then.

• cause if you did, maybe you would’ve forget who Yeosang even was.

• “I have this amazing restaurant by the beach. And I think you might find it more beautiful in person than in a plain digital picture I could show you.”

• he’s never been one to think the world was beautiful in person.

• but maybe the world was just beautiful because you were in it.

• and he’d be okay with that.

• —be okay with exposing himself again.

• just to be with you.

• “If it’s as beautiful as you, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

@atinybitofau

[multifandomfanficss]

Benny X OC

My Babysitter’s a Vampire

You’re Special: Part 2

Prompt: This is another Benny x OC fic. In this fic my OC Liz battles her newfound powers and a siren alongside her boyfriend Benny and her best friends. This isn’t based on any specific episode, but is sort of a continuation of part 1.

Warnings: I don’t think there are any

A/N: I’m back at it again with the OC fics. Again there is a part when it briefly switches to 3rd person point of view, but it will be clearly labeled. Tell me if you want me to keep these going.

BEEP BEEP I woke to the sound of my screeching alarm clock. It’s Thursday morning. I got out my clothes for the day and waited and listened for the front door to close down stairs. As soon as I knew my dad was gone to work for the day I sprinted to the bathroom and turned the shower on. I slipped off my bracelet and put it on the sink. Part of me was afraid that I would ruin it if I wore it in the shower. It was a beautiful old leather bracelet with magical symbols carved into it. I got it from my boyfriend’s Grandma to help control my powers. I smiled to myself. Saying my boyfriend was still new and it was a nice feeling. Benny and I had only been dating for about a week now. Being as impatient as I am I hopped in while the water was still cold and bounced around waiting for the water to warm up. The water felt nice splashing against my skin. I felt safe. I had always felt a strong connection to water, but now knowing that I had powers that come from the earth everything was a little bit different.

After my shower I threw my clothes and my bracelet on and rushed to put a little makeup on. I don’t usually wear makeup to school. It’s a little bit annoying to wake up early just to put on makeup. These people see me everyday and we all know that nobody wants to be there anyway. I don’t need makeup for school. I’m just going to sit in front of a white board and projector for about 6 hours. I knew Benny wouldn’t care. He’s seen me without makeup a million times, but today was different. I wanted to look good and feel confident. Today was auditions for the drama club’s annual cabaret. Every year our school has a cabaret to raise money for the drama club. I love drama club. Although I don’t talk about it in front of the boys very much acting really is my passion. Benny knows how much I love it. He loves to do lights for the shows. Although Ethan and Rory always make fun of him he is such a techie. It’s really cute. I love seeing him get excited about all of the special effects that go into theatre. Even before we were dating when we were just best friends we always looked forward to drama club. It was always a good way for us to bond. We would never admit it to Ethan and Rory, but it was special to us.

I quickly ran downstairs, packed my backpack, grabbed a bagel for the go, and headed out the door. I met Benny and Ethan in front of the school with a smile on my face ready to face the day. When I got there they were arguing about the Mandela Effect and wether it was real or not. Typical. They were so into the argument they didn’t even notice me. “Benny, it’s not real. It’s not scientifically possible” Ethan argued. “Okay, Ethan, but you get visions and I have magic!” Benny responds. “And when they run out of fries in the cafeteria I throw a 6.2 on the Richter Scale...I gotta go with Benny on this one” I smile stopping in front of them. The boys look at me. “You’re just saying that because he’s your boyfriend now” Ethan says. “That’s right. She’s my girlfriend. I have a girlfriend” Benny says putting his arm around me. I blush. “Will you just shut up?” I beg him. I can’t help, but smile and giggle. He’s so stupid, but it’s the really cute kind of stupid. Thank God my bracelet is on or the school pipes would explode. Benny looked down at me and smiled. “Why do I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world?” He asks me. I blush like crazy. Usually I’m pretty cool and I’m never speechless, but Benny just puts me at a loss for words. “Guys I’m still here” Ethan breaks me out of my bliss. “Now if only we could get Ethan a girlfriend” Benny pouts at him. “Hey, there’s still hope for Sarah yet. She never actually rejected him” I remind Benny. “I’ll ask her when I’m ready” Ethan defends himself. “You better” I tell him. RING The bell goes off and we head into the school.

By the time I had made it to lunch I was already pretty nervous. The day was halfway over and my audition for the cabaret would be soon. I sat next to Benny while I stared across the cafeteria. Ethan and Rory sat across from me. Sarah and Erica were nowhere to be found because the seniors were on a field trip. I was spacing out big time as I tried to make sure I knew the lyrics to the song I was supposed to sing. “Uh...Earth to Liz” Benny said breaking me out of my thoughts. I shook my head and snapped back to reality “Yes?” I asked. “Does that sound good?” He asked. I looked at him with confusion. “Have you been listening to any of this conversation?” Ethan asked. “Sorry...I just zoned out” I apologize. I feel bad, but I’m nervous about the audition. I feel my leg shake under the table. Benny puts his hand on my knee and looks at me. I stop. “Sorry” I say quietly. “What’s up with you?” Rory asks. I shrug my shoulders. “Aren’t the auditions for that drama club thing today?” Ethan asks. I nod. “I guess I’m just a little nervous” I confess. “You’re gonna do great” Benny promises me. “Yeah! You’re Awesome!” Rory chimes in. “Besides didn’t you get like the lead last year?” Ethan asks. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get it every time. Theatre is hard. It’s really competitive” I tell him. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. “Anyway, what’s up?” I ask. “Movie night tomorrow at Ethan’s?” Benny asks. “You know I’m there” I tell the boys. I smile as they start another debate over Star Wars: Episode III and I zone out again. This time I find myself staring at a girl I never really noticed before. I don’t know everyone at our school, but at the same time we don’t go to the biggest school. I feel like I would have at least seen her in passing. She’s probably new. She’s dressed in mostly shades of purple and black and she’s sporting a pretty cool leather jacket. She looks like she radiates so much anger; like she just wants to scream at the world.

RING The last Bell of the day went off and I made my way to the auditorium. I was scheduled to be one of the first auditions. Then I could leave with Benny and Ethan who were waiting for me outside the school. I walked through the door and put my name on the sign in sheet. I’m supposed to go second. At least I’m not first. I looked down to see a name after mine that I didn’t recognize. Who’s going third? I questioned everything when I looked at the name Emily Sirven. I looked around the room and saw the mysterious new girl. It has to be her. The drama club isn’t that big and for the most part I know everyone. I wonder if she’s any good. I walk up to her and try to strike up a conversation. “Hi. I’m Liz. I feel like I’ve never seen you around before. What’s your name?” I ask. “I’m Emily and I’m going to make you feel in a minute” She snaps. I’m not quite sure how to take the oddly vague threat. Is it even a threat? “Liz?” Ms. LOL breaks me out of my thoughts. I turn to her. “You’re up!” She tells me. I hardly noticed the boy before me had even started let alone finished. I took a deep breath as I held onto the pendant on my TARDIS necklace. I rushed up to the stage and got ready to sing one of my favorite musical theatre songs. I belted out As We Stumble Along from the Drowsy Chaperone. The song was funny and powerful. As soon as I started singing I immediately started feeling better. I always feel at home in my singing. As soon as the song ended I left the stage. I pass Emily on my way out and decide to be nice. “Break a leg” I smile at her. “Oh I’m sure you’ll break something” She tells me. What is her problem? I knew I had to stay to see her sing now. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I stood with my back leaning against the wall and waited for Little Miss Ego to start. “I’m going to be singing an original song” She informs the drama club. Is that even allowed? This a theatre cabaret not an open mic. She started the song and I completely blacked out.

3RD PERSON POV

Benny and Ethan were waiting outside the school for Liz when the entire building started to shake. “What’s going on?!” Ethan shouted over the nicely sized earthquake. Ethan lost his balance and fell to the ground. “We have to find Liz!” Benny responded. He knew his girlfriend was responsible. He grabbed Ethan’s hand and pulled him up, running inside the building. The boys ran to the auditorium, but as soon as they got to the doors the earthquake stopped. They took a quick look at each other and quickly ran inside.

LIZ’S POV

“Liz” I heard Benny and Ethan calling my name while I was being shaken. I opened my eyes to see Benny on his knees in front of me with his hands on my shoulders. Ethan was squatting next to him. I was sitting on the ground against the wall. They looked very concerned. “What happened?” I ask. “I think you started freaking out over your audition” Ethan guess. “No, I already had my audition” I tell them as I try to remember what happened. My head starts to throb. “I have a massive headache though” I say as I rub my head. I watch Ethan look around to see everyone in the drama club struggling to get up. They all seem to be in a daze. New girl is nowhere to be found. I see all of the destruction. “Did I do this?” I ask. I feel like I already know the answer. Ethan gives me a sad look. “Well we don’t know for sure...” Benny tries to make me feel better. I’m scared. I’m afraid of myself. I hate this. “Benny, I wanna go home” I tell him. “We should probably run you past Grandma” He says as he helps me up. I fall into him. “Sorry. I’m a little dizzy” I say trying to regain my balance. “It’s okay. I’ve got you” He says holding me.

Benny kept a hand on my back making sure I was okay no matter how many times I said I was fine. I just had a little bit of a headache. Benny, Ethan, and I made our way up Benny’s porch and into his living room. “Grandma!” Benny yells. I quickly shush my loud mouth boyfriend. I hated telling him to be quiet, but my head was pounding. “Sorry! Grandma!” He whisper yelled as he walked off to find her. I cracked a smile. Ethan walked to the freezer and came back with an ice pack. “Here try this” He said. “Thanks” I say taking the ice pack and placing it on my head. “I wonder what happened to the new girl” I think aloud. “What new girl?” He asks. “There was a new girl in drama club. I think her name was like Emily Sirven or something like that. She’s really annoying. She disappeared when the little earthquake hit. It probably freaked her out” I tell him. “Little earthquake?” I hear Benny’s Grandma come down the stairs with Benny following not far behind her. “My dear, your little earthquake was big enough to make the news” She informs me. “What?!” I ask. I quickly check my phone and she’s right. “I completely blacked out. I don’t even remember it” I confess. “This is worse than I thought” She walks up to me. “Were you wearing your bracelet?” She asks. I nod. She picks up my hand and waves some magic that I won’t pretend to understand over my wrist. “It’s still intact” She says in surprise. “Isn’t that a good thing?” Benny asks. “On the contrary. You must have gone through something truly terrible if you were able to cause an earthquake that scale while wearing your bracelet” She says. I look down at the floor and look up again at her in confusion and fear. “Why don’t I remember anything?” I ask. “Your brain must be protecting you. Maybe the black out was a defense mechanism” She guesses. “I wouldn’t worry about it right now at least.” She tells us. “Something is definitely going on, but we can’t do anything about it this minute” She adds. I sigh. How can I not worry about it right now?

I wake up the next day dreading going to school. The whole day went by so slowly. I just wanted it all to end so I could finally get to movie night at Ethan’s with my friends. I just wanted it to be me, a can of soda, a couple bowls of popcorn, a sci-fi movie, and my best friends. That was the only thought getting me through the day.

By the time we got to lunch I was so ready to leave school. Usually I liked school. I enjoyed learning and I loved seeing my friends even more, but today I felt like the life was just being drained from me. I was in the lunch line with Benny when I saw her again. She was right in front of me. She was humming quietly. It was so infuriating. I had never been angrier. I couldn’t help, but think about the stuff she said to me at the auditions. I had to say something. I could feel this fire boiling in my blood. “Hey, what’s your problem?!” I ask her. Benny looks at me confusion, but I don’t care. Then he grabs my arm gently. “Cool it sparky!” He says in sort of a whisper yell. I look at him with confusion and then I look to the stove. The flames are out of control and the lunch ladies are rapidly trying to put them out. “How did I-“ I’m interrupted by Emily. She pushes me to the ground. “Stay out of my way geek” She sneers. The second she touches me it feels like a thousand knives are being stabbed into my brain. All I can hear is a loud screeching noise. I watch the water fountain on the other side of the cafeteria explode as I scream. Other kids in the cafeteria freak out and take cover from the water. They don’t notice what’s happening to me. I curl my body into a ball as tears start to form in my eyes. My ears are ringing. Benny wraps his arms around me as he tries to speak to me. I can’t hear him and I start to panic. Everything is too much. I can feel the earth below me start to shake and I can feel the heat of the flames in the kitchen next to me. I feel everything. I feel too much. Benny holds me tightly. I hide my face in his chest. I black out.

I shoot awake. My breathing is heavy and I have sweat dripping down my body. I’m in the nurse’s office. I watch as Benny quickly puts his hands on my shoulders to calm me down. He tries to talk to me, but I still can’t hear him. I look outside to see it’s pouring down rain. A flash of lightening hits the ground and the thunder shakes the whole room. I stare out the window breathing heavy. Benny understands and he places a kiss on my forehead before helping me off the cot and out of the nurse’s office. I don’t know where we’re going or what’s happening, but I can’t really ask. Benny leads me to my locker. He opens it and fills my backpack for me. I watch him silently. I try to stay calm as I worry about if my hearing will ever come back. I zone out and suddenly I find Benny putting my arms into my coat. He pulls it around me and zippers it up for me. I watch him sling my backpack over his shoulder. Then he puts my hood up before taking my hand and guiding me outside and through the storm. I jump at a bolt of lightening as I press my body to his. He holds me close as we walk home in the rain.

As soon as we got to Ethan and Benny’s houses we stopped by Benny’s for clothes. Our clothes were wet from the rain. I sat on his bed in soaked clothes while Benny quickly closed the shades in his room to make it darker for me. I think he’s trying not to overload my senses. Then I waited for him to find me a new tee shirt to wear. He held up different options he thought I might like. When he held up the shirt with the Captain America shield I made a hand squeezing motion in an effort to silently say ‘Give me give me’. He smiled and tossed me the shirt. I then walked over to his dresser and sprayed the shirt with the cologne Benny wears that he had stolen from his dad. He gave me a confused look. “I want it to smell like you” I tried to speak. It must have come out as a yell because Benny quickly put his finger to my lips. I could see him laughing at me. I looked up at him as he smiled down at me. I smiled back. Then I pulled his hand away. He gave me a quick kiss and then I changed into his shirt. He changed and we walked next door to Ethan’s.

As soon as we got to Ethan’s Benny led me into Ethan’s closet and shut the door. He probably just wants to help my senses. I started thinking about the time Ethan lost his hearing and he had to sit in his own closet. Then I had a big realization. “Guys I think it might be a Siren!” I said through the door. Benny opened the door with a small white board and a marker. I laughed a little, at least I think I did. I couldn’t hear it, but I obviously felt it. Written on the board was ‘Does this help?’ I nodded. He erased it. He exchanged a few words with Ethan. He seemed to be telling him what to write. Then Benny wrote ‘We think it’s a Siren too’. Ethan and Benny kept talking. I couldn’t hear them. “It’s probably that new girl” I said in what was probably more of a shout again. I watch the boys nod. “Her name was Emily Sirven” I inform them. Ethan takes the board from Benny’s hands. He quickly writes ‘Well Sirven does sound a lot like Siren’. My jaw drops. “Hey, I was a little too preoccupied blacking out or maybe I would have noticed it sooner!” I definitely shouted that time. Benny takes a phone call while Ethan sits with me. He writes on the white board ‘You should probably get your hearing back soon’. “Probably?!” I question him. Benny comes back and takes my hand. He helps me up and guides me out of Ethan’s room. “Where are we going?” I ask. “My house” I see Benny mouth the words. “Your house?” I ask. He nods. We’re probably screaming.

Once we get to Benny’s house I sit down in his kitchen. I feel someone come up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. I flinch. Benny takes my hand and mouths something I can’t quite understand. I turn around to see it’s just his Grandma. I smile. Her and Benny have a short conversation. I can only assume it’s about what happened to me. Next thing I knew I had Benny putting a pair of noise cancelling headphones on my ears. Benny’s Grandma then touched my head and I could feel a rush of magic go through me. Suddenly I could hear the sound of the blood pumping through my ears, you know the deafening sound you hear when you have noise counseling headphones on. I try to take the headphones off, but Benny puts his hands over mine. Instead he writes a message on a piece of paper. ‘You just got your hearing back all at once. It’s going to be very loud’. I nod. “So when can I take these off?” I suddenly hear how loud my voice was. I must have given a pretty socked face because I can hear Benny laugh through the headphones. I leave them on for a little bit longer. Then I start getting used to letting in more sound little by little.

Benny and I lay on the couch while we watch Supernatural with the subtitles on. He keeps the volume low for me. The headphones are off as this point, but I’m still getting used to having my hearing back. Benny looks down at me, tucking some hair behind my ear and out of my face. “How’s everything?” Benny asks. “It’s a lot better, but I’m still a little freaked out” I confess. “None of the stuff that happened today was your fault” He tried to tell me. “I know...it’s just....I’ve never controlled fire with my powers before...and the rain storm...was that me?” I ask. “Grandma thinks it might be, but you remember what happened last time with Serena. Sirens make your emotions all crazy. It’s not your fault” He reminds me. “Why do Sirens always pick dumb names that just sound like Siren. Like Serena, Sirven, come on. That is so stupid” I laugh. “Yeah what’s up with that? It’s like they’re saying please stop me I’m evil” Benny says as the credits role for the episode. We turn off the TV and decide to head back to Ethan’s for movie night.

I lay on the floor in Benny’s arms. His back is against the couch. Sarah, Ethan, and Rory sit on the couch while Jane is asleep in the chair next to us. Erica is nowhere to be found, probably out for a snack. She didn’t usually join our movie nights. I wish she did. We were watching a what was supposed to be a scary movie, but the only person who was scared was Rory. “Rory, how can you be afraid of this crap? You’re a vampire. You could easily suck that serial killer’s blood. You’re like way scarier than him” I tell him. “Really?” He asks. “Duh” I laugh. “You could beat Bill and his creepy lady with the knife any day” I promise him. “Awesome” I hear Rory say to himself under his breath. I smile as my comment seems to make him feel a little better. I’m exhausted. I guess it’s fair since I did almost rip the entire school apart today. After a long day I fall asleep in Benny’s arms. I don’t wake up until it’s time to go home and go to bed.

I woke up the next day and I knew what I had to do. Tonight is the cabaret. I had to go into dress rehearsal this afternoon and record Emily. Lucky enough I had gotten into the cabaret. I even had the big solo in the group number. If I’m being honest I’m pretty excited. I cannot let a Siren ruin it for me. I changed out of Benny’s shirt and got into the shower. I slept in his shirt. It makes me feel secure. Once I was out of the shower I threw on makeup and changed into something nice. Then I put on my shoes and headed out the door. I was a little nervous, but this was nothing I couldn’t handle and nothing my bracelet couldn’t keep down. Benny wanted to come with me to the dress rehearsal, but I assured him I could handle it on my own. All I have to do is keep my ear plugs in and get a recording of Emily. It’s pretty hard to mess that up, besides I’ve been feeling a little fragile and useless lately because of my newfound powers. I just wanna feel strong again.

The dress rehearsal went perfectly as planned. I got the recording and everything was fine. Now we just have to play it back at her during the cabaret. This could be a little harder. A couple hours passed and the auditorium started to fill up. I was happy the drama club was making so much money, but at the same time I was nervous about what could happen to all of these people. I was scheduled to go on right before Emily. Benny stood backstage with me while Ethan, Rory, Erica, and Sarah we’re getting ready for the fight. “You’re going to be fine” Benny says. “Just fine?” I ask with a laugh. “You’re going to be awesome!” Benny responds. I smile at my boyfriend. What did I do to deserve him? He can be annoying, loud, and obnoxious, but he is also sweet, funny, and a total nerd. He’s perfect for me. Ms. LOL signals for me to cone on stage and I quickly kiss Benny for good luck before walking on. I stand in front of my mic and belt my heart out. I look to the wings at Benny and get lost in the moment. Sarah, Erica, Ethan, and Rory are standing with him. No matter how much has changed and no matter how scary my life is right now I’m so happy doing what I love in front of the people that I love. Right now is the best I’ve felt in a long time. I don’t just feel safe. I feel free.

As soon as I finish the song applause roars through the audience. This does not make Emily happy. She tears onto the stage in fury. She starts to spread her gift. She sings her piercing toon, but she can’t effect me this time. I have ear plugs in. “Why can’t you feel my pain?” She asks. “Why don’t you feel this?” Ethan asks as he plays her own frequency back at her. She screams in pain. She pushes the speaker over and pushes me to the ground. Then she continues to sing. Ethan and Rory run to the sound system while Sarah and Erica try to fight Emily. Benny runs to me. “Are you okay?” He asks. “No!” I shout as I pound my fist into the stage and it shakes. “Liz, it’ll be okay” Benny promises me. I know it will. “I’m tired of feeling weak!” I shout over Emily’s noise. I stand up and I take off my bracelet and nothing goes wrong for once. “What are you doing?” Benny asks. “I’m in control” I say before shooting air from my hands. I shoot Emily with the air and keep her held to the ground long enough for Ethan to set up the sound system. Then he blasts her and she’s done. I collapse onto my knees and Benny runs to me. I watch the curtains close while everyone wears confused faces. They all try to figure out what’s going on. “How did you do that?” Benny asks as he slips my bracelet back onto my wrist. “When I was doing what I loved in front of the people that I loved I just had this emotion that was greater than any fear or any anger or any sadness I could have ever felt. Benny, I think love and happiness give me control” I smile. “You give me control” I tell him as I place my hand on his cheek. He smiles at me and we kiss. Erica makes a gagging noise. I smile and pull away. “Shut up” I tell her. “All I’m saying is that you could do a lot better” She says in her usual tone. I wrap my arms around my boyfriend and smile. Sarah elbows Erica in the arm. “Ow!” Erica exclaims. “But...” Sarah starts for her. “But I’m glad you’re...happy” Erica says through gritted teeth. Benny and I laugh it off. I look at him. “Don’t worry. You’re the best I could ever do” I say before kissing him again. Then we stand up and sit in the back of the auditorium while Ms. LOL apologizes for the weird show. This is just like the Rainbow Factory all over again. We decide to book it and hit the ice cream place on the way home. I sat on the bench under the neon lights with my best friends as I sipped my Chocolate Oreo Malt with my boyfriend’s arm around me. I knew nothing could be better than this.

[pandawritespoorly]

With Time: Chapter 16 - Wrong Person

Author’s Note: Happy Thanksgiving! Or just happy normal Thursday if you don't celebrate! Either way you get a bonus update!

Warning for strong language! (I don't know how necessary it is for me to add these warnings every time, but I feel like someone might appreciate it, so why not). This chapter contains: 'asshole', 'bitch' twice, 'fuck' twice, 'cunt', and 'fucking'. Also, Alya's texts are pretty clear bullying, so tread carefully if that might upset you.

Chapter Summary: Marinette feels guilty about telling Alya she won't be Rena Rouge anymore on the day before her birthday. Alya lets her exactly know how she feels about her former best friend now.

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Marinette is in a terrible mood. Her day had started badly. She couldn’t find her phone for a bit, and barely found it in time - stuffed in the back of a drawer. She has no idea how it got there. That really isn’t the biggest contributor to her mood though, it’s yesterday’s events.

She just feels so guilty. She’s supposed to be a good person and what she did…

Poor Nino. Poor Alya.

Alya… wait.

Today is her birthday! Marinette broke her heart on the day before her birthday.

What an asshole.

She can’t worry her friends though. They put up with her enough that if they found out what she’d done it’d probably be the final straw. 

Maybe she can cover up her misery with her sleepiness. It is pretty cold today. Paris is having a colder winter than usual this year it would seem.

“Are you quite alright, Marinette?” Felix and her are on their way to the library for the morning. 

So much for that, seeing as Felix already noticed, “Jus’ tired.” 

He looks unconvinced by her lie, so it would seem she deceived him for no reason. Stupid girl, can’t follow her own rules correctly. 

As they approach the table, Marinette hears one of them mention the Ladyblog.

“What?” Did Alya post something? Do they finally know what she’s done? Is this the last time she can hang out with them?

“Did you hear? The Ladyblog is gone. That Alya girl took it down!” Claude sounds shocked.

“She was pretty proud of it, from what I understand.” Allan adds.

“I never really used it anyways. I don’t really like her anyways…” Allegra’s voice sounds cold. Marinette didn’t know she knew Alya.

“Really? I think Alya’s pretty nice.” She should stick up for her ex-best friend, especially after what she pulled last night. It takes all her concentration to speak normally. They shouldn’t all have to deal with her slurred and mumbled tired nonsense.

The other four turn to her, slight confusion evident on their faces. What did she do this time? Allan speaks up, “We weren’t sure you knew her.” 

Marinette gets the feeling there’s something he’s leaving out, but she gets it. She shouldn’t be trusted with most things. Besides, they don’t know all her secrets anyways - it’s only fair.

Of course, now she’s dug herself a hole. In her effort to defend Alya, she’s removed all the distance she tried to put between her old classmates and her new friends.

“Uh, well, ummm, I use’ t’ read the Ladyblog a lot…” Her nervousness makes her stumble over the words slightly. She’s supposed to be pretending to be fine! Get it together! 

Allegra frowns, “I met her after that akuma attack here. She didn’t make a great first impression.”

Oh. Right. That’s when they met.

They’d also met her then…

The group notices the way she stares intensely at the table. 

Claude puts an arm around her, “Anyways, you seem pretty awake today Mari! Find some way to fight the winter?”

“No, um, I’m just trying to seem kinda’ awake today…”

Allan frowns, seemingly picking up on what exactly she meant by that, “‘Nette if you’re tired you can rest.”

She shrugs. It’s tiring to pretend she’s fine, especially considering that she’s still dwelling on the events of yesterday evening. She can’t bother her new friends though. She’s been lax in being better to them. She should never have let her guard down - who knows what could have happened. 

Her water bottle is handed to her, “At least drink some water then.”

She does as she’s told. She’d forgotten how great water is. 

Their short time before class starts passes quickly to the stressed and tired girl. As they’re standing to go, Allegra turns to the boys, “Oh, I might be a little late to lunch today. I’m practicing extra for Concours d'arts musicaux.”

“Alright.”

The two girls head to class. They sit in their seats as the teacher walks in, Marinette is barely paying attention, too focused on staying awake and thinking about how terrible she is. She misses Allegra’s occasional concerned glances. 

---

Allan and Felix had left to get their lunches from their lockers, and Claude is in line for his lunch, so Marinette is at the table alone. Claude had mentioned that they had one of Allegra’s favorite foods today,

She unlocks her phone and taps the first ‘Al’ she sees, sending a quick text to let her know. Her phone dings immediately.

 Alya: you have some nerve texting me bitch

Alya: i know what you’ve done you worthless human trash

Alya: you disgust me

 What? Marinette is so confused. She hasn’t done anything to Alya as Marinette recently. She knows that she’s awful, but why is Alya so mad at Marinette still?

Had she really been that bad of a friend?

 Alya: you left and you’re still messing everything up

Alya: bullying? really? 

Alya: were you planning on ever revealing just how sickenly cruel you are

Alya: lila told us what you did to Ladybug

Alya: im horrified i ever called someone like her my hero. She’s just like you

 Marinette doesn’t even consider how Alya’s contact got on her phone. It’s like when people stare at something horrifying. She can’t look away, and her grip on her phone tightens.

The difference for Marinette is that this is the confirmation she’s been expecting. It’s everything she’s thought of herself, and it’s straight from someone she cares about.

She had really been right all along. It hurts and she tears up. 

All her rules were for nothing.

Marinette really is a terrible person.

---

Claude had finally gotten out of the line. Of all the days for the line to move slowly, it had to be today. The rest of the group had noticed too - Marinette seemed extra off today. They were pretty sure it had something to do with the Ladyblog, but there’s little they can do, other than be there.

He’s been trying to be extra cheery today, hoping it could make at least a slight difference. 

He approaches the table and before he can even open his mouth he notices something is very wrong.

Marinette is staring at her phone silently and there are tears streaming down her face.

He has only her cry once before, and she’d stopped herself quickly. There hadn’t even been that many tears - but now? They just keep coming.

He sets his tray down and rushes to her side, “Marinette? Is something wrong?”

She doesn’t say anything, clearly having an attack and not at all paying attention to what’s around her. She’s hyperventilating and he really wishes he knew what happened. She flinches as her phone dings again, he reads the message with her and it becomes clear what’s going on.

 Alya: you conceited cunt you left and things are still going wrong and it’s all your fault

Alya: i hate you so much

 What.

The.

Fuck.

He had figured that Alya and Marinette knew each other, but why were they texting? 

Is this Marinette’s idea of a ‘nice person’?

Everytime the phone dings she flinches, but she reads the message anyways. He puts a hand on her shoulder and she doesn’t even notice.

“Marinette? Can you hear me?”  He speaks softly, and she continues staring at her screen like a lifeline. He tries to take it out of her hands, but she has a stronger grip than he would have expected.

People are starting to glance over at her, and he figures that being in crowded cafeteria isn’t helping matters.

“Marinette, do you want to leave?” She remains silent, only whimpering as the phone dings again.

He makes a command decision, scooping Marinette up. Her small frame makes her very light. She doesn’t even seem to notice. He leaves their bags behind, no one will touch them.

As he’s exiting the cafeteria, he sees Felix and Allan as they’re entering. The two notice him and the short girl immediately and rush to him. 

“What happened?”

“Is Marinette okay?”

“I’m not sure about that, but she’s definitely not okay. I’m bringing her to the library - it should be quieter there. Can you grab our stuff?” They nod, hurrying to grab the bags and food. As he’s entering the library he sees Allegra who notices the little procession and hurriedly follows, the other two fill her in as best they can as Claude sets Marinette down on the couch.

The phone dings for the upteenth time

“Oh fuck.” The others look at him in surprise.

“Just what exactly is going on?” Allegra asks.

“Try and get her phone away from her - you’ll see. I’m going to text Adrien to see if can get that bully to stop texting her.” They turn to the girl as he pulls out his phone and send a quick text to the model. He looks up just as Allegra reads the ongoing texts.

“That fucking bitch!”

“Oh Marinette…” 

Felix stays concerningly quiet, but his anger is clear.

Claude steps closer, watching as Allan continues to try to pry the device from Marinette’s hands. Now that he’s had a chance to look at it properly, Claude has realized that the phone in her hands isn’t hers - or not her usual one.

The case certainly looks like something she would choose, but it’s not the one he’s familiar with, and he’s willing to bet that her backgrounds are different too. 

It’s been a moment and the notifications have died down. It would seem Adrien had been successful. The phone turns off and Marinette continues to stare at the blank screen.

“Marinette? Sweetie, can you look at me?” Allan continues to try and draw her out of her daze. The girl has yet to respond to any of them, focused entirely on that phone, which is now dotted with her tears. Her breathing hasn’t evened and Claude’s beginning to worry she’ll faint. The group is sitting around her, trying to give her space while still watching her in concern.

Now that the texts are finished, Claude decides to try once more to pry the phone from her once more. He succeeds and tries to unlock it, to see just what was sent to the poor girl.

Marinette’s usual password works, letting him in. He scrolls back to the beginning of it, Marinette sent a simple text clearly meant for Allegra, and the response had been immediate. Reading the texts he feels tears prick at his eyes. He knew that they’d guessed Marinette had been bullied, but this? It was all so hateful. 

He’s willing to bet that this is the source of Marinette’s low self-esteem.

“Claude? Is everything alright?” Felix notices his distress, looking at him in concern.

Claude hands him the phone, “Just- read it. I-” He cuts himself off, shaking his head and turning his attention back to the pigtailed girl who hasn’t spoken yet.

Allan is tapping a steady rhythm on her hand gently, trying to help her steady her breathing. After a moment she seems to come back to herself.

She glances around at them in a terrified manner, unsure of how she got to the library and fearful of the consequences she’s sure she’s about to receive. They’re going to hate her now. Look what she’d done. She’s definitely broken several rules now. 

Alya confirmed for her that they’re useless, but Marinette’s considered them a safe constant in her life. She can’t help but cling to them.

 Rule #1: Don’t cry

Rule #2: Smile

Rule #3: Be nice to people

Rule #11: Adrien, Claude, Allegra, Allan, and Felix have been nice enough to put up with you, don’t make them regret it.

Rule #12: Don’t do anything that could attract an akuma to you

 That’s five rules in one go. Stupid. 

“I’m sorry.”

She says it once, then twice, then speeds up, repeating it over and over again.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry…”

“Mari, there’s nothing to apologize for. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Allan interrupts her and she looks at him in bafflement.

She did do something wrong though. She broke five rules. In one incident. The only thing she could do is follow the other rules as best she can.

 Rule #4: Apologize when you mess up (again)

 “Marinette, really. He’s right. You did nothing wrong.” Allegra moves closer to the girl on the couch, “That Alya-girl was spewing a bunch of nonsense. You’re amazing.”

Marinette looks unconvinced, hugging her arms to herself tightly.

“‘Nette, really. We don’t know what happened, but it wasn’t your fault.”

“It is. I messed up.”

Felix finally puts the phone down, “I highly doubt that.”

Marinette looks down and doesn’t respond.

“Mari. Really. You’re a great person. She’s wrong.” Claude rests a hand on her shoulder. 

Marinette only covers her face and curls into herself further.

“Oh, ‘Nettie…” Allan squeezes her hand consolingly. 

She doesn’t speak, just remaining like that as they sit nearby, unsure of how to what to say.

They sit for a some time with her. Eventually, she slumps to the side and Allegra puts an arm around her. The girl is exhausted, both from the cold and from the events of the day. 

“You can go home early, Mari…” Claude tells her.

She stiffens, and shakes her head. It’s understandable, considering how close her old school is to her home.

Allegra hugs her tighter. They talk quietly while Marinette rests. Eventually lunch ends, but they don’t plan on leaving. They can miss a few classes.

Marinette has other plans, stirring as she mumbles something about going to class.

“‘Nette you don’t need to go to class. You’ve had a long day.”

She shakes her head, standing unsteadily, and making her way away from them.

They hurry to catch up with her, “Are you sure you want to go to class? You don’t have to.”

“It’s what I’m supposed to do.” Stupid girl. Worthless trash. She can’t just keep doing whatever she pleases, there are people depending on her- a whole city’s worth. 

“It might not be what you should be doing.”

The group arrives at the classroom and Felix and Allegra say goodbye, the latter giving Marinette another quick, tight hug before going on her way.

Allan and Claude walk with her to their usual seats. Claude forgoing the rules to sit with them three to a bench. 

Marinette shuts herself down. It hurts too much to think about how much of a failure she is. 

Soon enough, she gives into the cold, falling asleep sitting up. Claude shifts her to rest against him so that she doesn’t fall. The two sit with her in concern. Allan hasn’t seen all of the texts, but still has a good enough idea of what happened.

At least she’s resting now.

When class is over they walk her to her next one. She’s silent, seemingly within her own head. 

“I could just skip… it’s only a work day today and the teacher likes me…” Claude’s speaking to both, but Marinette doesn’t react. He’s worried and doesn’t exactly want to leave her alone for an hour. He’s still on edge, wondering if an akuma will come her way.

Surprisingly, Allan doesn’t try to talk his friend out of it, just shrugging, “If that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you. I’ve got to get to class though. Bye Claude. Take care of yourself Marinette.”

She only blinks.

Claude stays with her during the next hour, the girl doesn’t speak, and he isn’t entirely sure she’s paying attention.

He passes her off to Felix for the last hour of school before heading to his own class.

---

The day has ended and the group is heading out together. Marinette is still quiet. They hear someone running up to them. Adrien appears at their side.

“Hey.” He glances at Marinette, taking in her blank stare and too-steady breathing, “Again? Oh Mari…” 

Allegra turns to him, “‘Again’?”

He hesitates, eventually settling on just saying,”Last time, she kind of… shut down.”

“‘Last time’?” Allegra is seething.

“What exactly happened?” He turns to the group questioningly.

“She’s got the wrong phone.” Claude hands Adrien the phone in question, “She texted that girl and…” He unlocks the phone and spins it toward him.

Adrien reads through the messages, and it sounds like he growls. Allegra and Allan read it next.

Allegra seems to be practically buzzing in anger now, and the rest of the group is similarly upset. Marinette remains still.

They walk to Marinette’s house, sticking close to her. As they climb into her room, Adrien is standing beside Marinette. As he’s directing her up the stairs, she blinks and turns to him, speaking quietly, “I want to tell them.”

He smiles at her softly, “That’s a good idea, Mari.”

It’s time to finally tell the others why she transferred.

---

Author’s Note: Yay! She's finally going to tell them!

This event was actually one of the first things I thought up for this story. It was originally wasn't going to happen until February and was going to lead to a reveal, but it got moved around timeline-wise, so that got scrapped. Then it got moved back, but by then I had a new reveal scenario that I liked better, so you'll have to keep waiting for that.

Next chapter will be Saturday as usual! It's a bit of a reprieve from everything I've been putting Marinette through. We get to see plenty of cute interactions between the Quantics and their new friends. It doesn't even have a strong language warning! Imagine that!

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!

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[fullmetalscullyy]

royai week day 5: unfinished business

rated: explicit/nsfw | words: 3819

read on ao3

“Is something the matter, Colonel?” Hawkeye asked, face a picture of concern as she regarded him. He’d been fidgeting again, and more so than usual.

Havoc snorted from beside her, muttering under his breath. “He’s been through two pens this week. I think he’s a little frustrated,” Havoc smirked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“I heard that,” Roy snapped.

“Good, you were meant to,” he grinned.

“The insubordination,” he muttered darkly, scowling at his Second Lieutenant as he laughed.

Yes, he was frustrated, but not in the general sense. Not in the way he should be in his place of work.

He couldn’t wait until the workday was over. Then it was payback time.

Roy strode from his car into the familiar apartment building. He was a man on a mission, and nothing could disrupt his path. Not even the out of order sign on the lift. Roy took the stairs two steps at a time instead to try and burn off the excess energy that had been hounding him for the past three days.

A sharp rap of his knuckles on the apartment door was the only sound in the hallway.

Hawkeye opened the door with a surprised look on her face. She was the picture of innocence, simply curious as to why her superior officer was outside her apartment door on a Friday night.

Yeah, right. She was in no way innocent.

“Sir?” She was confused. “What are you doing here?”

“I think you know,” he replied, shooting her a pointed look.

“I… I don’t think I do, but please, come in. Would you like a coffee?”

“Riza,” he replied sharply. She turned, again, confused. However, she never moved any closer to her kitchen because Roy grasped her wrist gently but firmly, spinning her back around to face him. She bumped against his chest, something that awoke a powerful, primal emotion inside of him. Unable to help himself, he pressed a kiss against her lips, finally feeling some of the tension that had built up inside of him slowly release.

“Uh… Sir, what –” Riza replied, flustered, when he pulled away.

“Don’t play dumb,” he murmured, moving away from her lips and kissing up her jawline, his words caressing her skin. He smirked when he noticed her shiver. His hands roamed freely, skimming up and down her sides slowly, around to her back then down her arms, wanting to exact the same kind of torture she had left him in for the last three days. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. This visit is simply dealing with some unfinished business.”

Riza’s façade broke and she chuckled to herself, grinning broadly. “If I’d known it would have elicited this kind of reaction, I would have done it sooner. And more often.”

“You little minx,” he growled, backing her up roughly against the wall. He swallowed her laugh – the kind that signalled her master plan had worked out in the end and the payoff was exquisite. Yeah, it was exquisite all right. Torture for Roy but entertaining for Riza. “It’s time to finish what you started two days.”

“With pleasure,” she grinned.

“Oh, it will be.”

He lifted her shirt out of the waistband of her skirt. His hands ached to touch her flesh and he gave into the desire, running them up her ticklish sides and around to her lower back, drawing circles on the skin which made her moan. Loudly.

“This is quite the reaction,” she breathed, head falling back against the wall as Roy moved down to kiss her exposed throat.

“When I proposed the idea of “spicing things up”, this isn’t what I meant,” he whispered against her collarbone. His hands had moved up to rest against the wall by her head, effectively trapping Riza in place.

“What’s so wrong with a little teasing?” she smirked. Roy lifted his head, extremely pleased when Riza made a sound of protest.

“You worked me up like that – in the office, I might add – and then took leave for two days and simply disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“I was visiting family, sir,” she purred. God, she knew exactly how that word affected him in a situation like this and she used it like a weapon. His Adam’s apple bobbed once, twice, then a third time. “Am I not allowed to do that with my holiday entitlement?”

“Not when you give me a fucking show in my office,” he growled, capturing her mouth once more and kissing her hungrily. “Your underwear is still in my drawer by the way,” he added.

“Pervert,” she giggled.

“Me? Who put them there in the first place?” he scoffed. “Pervert,” he muttered in disbelief under his breath. Him? A pervert? He didn’t strip in the office during their lunch break with the door barely unlatched so that anyone who walked in would be able to see them – Riza putting on a private show for him while Roy sat, rapt by her movements and drooling like an idiot. The biggest issue was the abrupt ending, the mischievous wink she’d given him before she collected her clothes and dressed in record time, strutting out of the office with her hips swaying in such a way that left Roy drooling again.

He’d been unable to leave because his trousers were incredibly tight in a very obvious place and the team had just returned from lunch not ten seconds after Riza had finished dressing.

Then she disappeared. For two whole days. It had been torture to work through Friday knowing the reminder of her little show was lying a foot to his right in his desk drawer. It had been torture to work with Riza all day, her acting like Miss Innocent and as if Tuesday had never even happened.

So yes, to confirm Havoc’s theory, he had been frustrated.

“Imagine my frustration when I received no answer at your apartment door on Tuesday night. Then Wednesday. Then Thursday. And imagine how I felt today, seeing you sitting there all business at your desk with no indication of what happened.”

“I was still in here,” she snickered.

“You…” Roy blinked down at her in disbelief, his mouth opening slightly in his shock. “Were still here? On Tuesday?”

Riza nodded, that mischievous twinkle in her eye never fading. “Yep.”

“You really do want to make me suffer, don’t you?”

Riza shrugged. “It was a bit of fun.”

“Not for me,” he growled, but his smirk belayed any real hostility. That could never happen towards her. “Now,” he ordered softly, removing his hands from the wall to touch the skin he’d been dying to get his hands on for the last three days. “You’re going to finish what you started, Lieutenant Hawkeye.”

“Of course, sir.” Her smile was devilish, her use of his honorific making him shudder. He kissed her hard once more, but Riza placed her hands on his chest, pushing him backwards. Shooting her a confused look, he asked her if anything was wrong. Riza shook her head, pushing away from the wall and into his personal space. “Follow me, sir,” she whispered into his ear, breath tickling his skin.

With another shudder he did as he was told. Eagerly.

He was mesmerized by the sway of her hips – something she put on just for this. She looked back at him over her shoulder, her eyes sultry and promising for the night that lay ahead for him.

“I apologise for “leaving you hanging”, sir,” she stated, flipping her hair as she returned to face ahead. The hands that had been swinging by her sides lifted to the front of her blouse. Roy looked on as he watched her unbutton her shirt from behind, the mystery and anticipation turning him on even more. His trousers tightened and he exhaled softly to himself, a thrill flying through his body. “Allow me to make it up to you.”

Her blouse dropped to the floor, revealing a purple lace bra. Roy almost tripped over the garment, enthralled by the sight. Her tattoo spread across her skin, but Roy had seen it hundreds of times by now. All he was focussed on was that scrap of lace and what it contained.

He had to see her.

Still, her eyes remained forwards, expecting him to follow. And of course, he would. Always.

As soon as they were in the privacy of her bedroom Roy’s hands were on her. She moaned into his mouth as he ran his hands up her bare sides. His hands swept over her chest, giving her breasts a gentle squeeze over the fabric of her bra. His fingers found their way to her nipples, giving them both a quick but gentle tug. Riza gasped, pulling away from his mouth in surprise and Roy smirked in response.

“Call it payback,” he murmured, mouth moving to her throat. He kissed her skin tenderly, moving up to her ear and nibbling on her earlobe.

“Oh, please don’t stop,” she moaned.

“Don’t stop…?”

“Don’t stop, sir,” she gasped as he gripped her earlobe gently with his teeth.

“That’s better,” he whispered directly into her ear. Riza shivered, her chest beginning to heave with every breath as Roy teased her. Roy’s attention was drawn away from her neck to watch his hands rise and fall with her breaths. They looked so nice, so right, resting there on her breasts.

“Like what you see?” she asked breathily, the sound sending a shock right into his groin. The way she was looking at him… It had him aching for more. Head tipped back, mouth open in pleasure, gaze lazily making its way down to meet his through the eyelashes of her half-lidded eyes.

Suddenly he wanted to touch every inch of her.

Roy bushed his hands over her chest again, gripping her breasts from the sides and giving them another quick squeeze. The soft gasp from Riza made him want to growl in response, that primal feeling erupting in him once again. His hands swept over her back as he claimed her mouth once more, hands stroking the skin of her scars as he moved them both closer to her bed. On the way he expertly flicked the clasp on her bra, letting her heavy tits loose. Roy tossed the piece of underwear behind him, not caring where it landed as her breasts were pressed against the fabric of his shirt.

He needed to lose that piece of clothing and lose it quickly. It was already off before they made it to the bed. They stopped abruptly, the back of Riza’s knees hitting it, but they tipped over, unbalanced.

She giggled as they fell backwards. Roy twisted so they landed on their sides, rather than crushing her under his weight. Once on the bed they paused, taking each other in. Riza smiled softly, bringing a hand to rest upon his cheek. Roy noted how even her eyes were smiling, pouring out the love she felt for him. He basked in it, letting the emotion wash over him.

Riza angled her head and kissed the underside of his jaw. “I love you,” she whispered.

Roy rolled them over – causing Riza to laugh again at the quick and sudden movement – so that he was hovering over her. As he looked down, he was overwhelmed. He loved this woman so much and he was determined to show her with his actions.

“I love you too, Riza Hawkeye. So much.”

“Even though I teased you?” she asked, an easy grin on her face.

Roy chuckled. “Even though you teased me, yes. I love everything you do to me.”

He begun to kiss his way down her body, lavishing attention on her nipples, alternating between sucking and gripping them gently with his teeth. His tongue swirled around the skin he’d abused with his teeth, lapping at it as she mewled and squirmed underneath him. The sound shot straight to his cock. He groaned when her hands moved to his head, fingers burying themselves in his hair. The nails scratching his scalp felt heavenly and Roy hummed his appreciation.

“Roy,” she gasped. Her back arched as he caught her nipples in his mouth again, sucking them hard as she eagerly pressed her tits into his face.

“Yes, Riza?”

“Please.”

“Please, what?” he asked, knowing how his pointless questioning turned her on even more. It frustrated her and it was exquisite to watch.

“Fuck me,” she demanded. “Please.”

“With pleasure.”

Always the tease, Roy slowly made his way down to the waistband of her skirt. He kissed and licked her stomach, the muscles contracting under his mouth as he tickled her. Her stomach was extremely ticklish – something Roy had taken note of very early on. Her frustration was clear as she shoved at his head, telling him to hurry up.

Oh, but my dear, your frustration just adds to the game, Roy chuckled as her hands continued to push him lower.

Hooking his fingers under the waistband, he eased the fabric off body, marvelling at how strong her legs were. They were toned and muscular – the perfect legs, in Roy’s opinion. Although, he may be biased, because they belonged to Riza. Every part of her was perfect to him.

He kissed her ankle after discarding the skirt, kissing his way back up her legs. When he reached her scorching centre, he paused, his breath tickling the skin and hair down there.

“Roy, I need you… Now.”

Her tone was desperate. It had been a while since they last been together. The smell of her indicated just how wet and ready she was for him. She wanted him to give it to her right now, and who was he to deny his queen that?

Roy quickly kicked off his trouser and boxers, his cock standing proudly. Riza eyed it, her gaze ravishing his body as she took him all in. She always did this, with a smirk that owned him in every way.

This body was hers, and that thought turned Roy on even more.

Crawling back over her like a lion stalking his prey, his gaze never left hers. Riza’s breaths were coming short and sharp by this point and as soon as he was close enough, she reached out with her mouth to catch his lips.

The intensity of it deepened, Riza becoming more frantic as her teeth grasped his bottom lip between them, tugging sharply. He couldn’t help but growl in response, pressing his lips hard against hers in response. As he did so, he eased himself into her wet heat, causing Riza to gasp at the sensation. Roy moaned into her mouth, gasping himself as her walls contracted, pulling him inside her.

“Oh my god,” she moaned loudly, throwing her head back.

“Fuck. You’re so wet.”

She squeaked and the sound almost sent him over the edge. “Fuck me, Roy. Fuck me, please. I need you. Now.”

He moved slowly, rocking his hips when he was all the way inside her. Riza moaned again but this time it was a mixture of frustration and pleasure. He picked up the pace eventually, leaving her breaths coming quicker and quicker. Every thrust was quicker than the last until eventually, he was pounding into her. The sight of her tits bouncing as he vigorously fucked her almost sent him tipping over the edge. In order to stave off his orgasm, Roy grabbed them to make them stop, but Riza groaned loudly at his roughness, sending another shock straight to his cock.

Oh well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

He kneaded the flesh in his hands, rolling her nipples between his fingers as he continued to pound into her. Every time, just before he begun to pull out, a new noise would be ripped from her mouth.

“I’m… I’m so close,” she cried, overcome with sensation as he slammed back into her, squeezing her tits at the same time. Roy knew she was, he could feel the walls of her pussy beginning to convulse around him. His own cock throbbed inside her, pulsing with need and desperate for release.

But there was fun to be had first. Two could play at this teasing game.

Riza’s breathing stuttered as Roy bottomed out inside her – but didn’t move. She glanced down in outrage as to why he would stop, but Roy’s expression gave nothing away.

“Wh… Wh –”

Roy circled his hips and watched in amusement as her eyes rolled back, fluttering closed, her head falling backwards against the mattress.

“Roy!” she shouted, desperate for him to continue. Still, he offered her nothing. When she tried to move herself, wriggling in place, Roy gabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head with one hand. His other ran roughly and quickly down her body, starting just below her throat, travelling in between her breasts, sweeping down her ticklish stomach, and stopping just above where they were joined. Roy lifted his hand once its journey was complete, however the tips of his fingers were just low enough that they grazed the skin of her mound. It was enough to make her freeze in place and that was all Roy needed.

His face dropped low and sudden, just mere inches from her own. Underneath his chest, her own heaved with her breaths, her nipples kissing his skin lightly.

“Two can play at the teasing game,” he stated, tone dangerous, gaze never leaving hers. She looked truly trapped, held in place by just his eyes. He pulled his head back slowly and placed one hand next to her head. His hips twitched forward slightly, testing the water, and Riza moaned loudly. He smirked, pleased with himself.

This was his true payback.

The tension was building inside of him and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. So, slowly, he begun to move. Riza almost screamed at the sensation – he’d been inside of her, completely still for about a minute now while she panted and writhed underneath his restraint. She gasped in relief, eyes flying open to see him still staring at her in the same way. Her skin flushed and Roy’s grin was wolfish. He loved the effect he had on Riza. Using simply his gaze, he could unravel her.

Unexpectedly, Roy begun to pound into her again. Like all the air was trapped in her lungs, Riza’s mouth was open but no sound left it. Eventually, it did, in one long scream.

She came over his cock screaming loudly into the night.

“Fuck,” Roy barked, continuing to thrust as she rode out her orgasm. He was so fucking close. Helping her ride it out, Roy’s fingers found her clit and rubbed it roughly. She didn’t let him have his fun earlier, so he had to get his kicks somehow. Riza’s eyes rolled backwards in her head as her climax intensified.

Listening to the sounds she was making, the wet sounds their bodies were making together, and the feeling of her walls contracting around him, Roy eventually came. He gasped and cried out, body shuddering as he did so. He rode it out, slowly moving in and out of her before pulling out, finally spent.

Roy fell onto the bed, landing on his back.

The pair of them lay there for a moment, trying to get their breath back and regain enough energy to sit up and talk.

“Well?” Riza panted, staring up at the ceiling. “Is the business officially finished?”

Roy nodded, still trying to catch his breath. “Oh yeah. Hell yeah.” Riza laughed lightly next to him, lifting a hand to wipe at her sweat covered face. She rolled onto her side, propping herself up onto her elbow, head resting against a closed fist. Her hair cascaded over her shoulder, fringe ruffled, and Roy thought she’d never looked so beautiful than she did now. Her post-sex look was a work of art that Roy wanted to immortalise forever. Of course, there was no way to do that physically, so his mind would do. He’d told her as such, only to receive the answer: “Well, we’ll just have to do it more often.”

He wasn’t going to argue with that.

Her fingers moved to his chest, trailing over his well-defined pecs and tickling the sweaty skin. It felt like heaven.

“I love you,” she stated.

“And I, you, Riza,” he smiled, grasping the wrist of the hand tickling him gently, entwining their fingers together. He gave it a squeeze, and so did she. Riza bent low, kissing him softly. Roy hummed into it, appreciating the gesture.

“I would apologise for the teasing,” she began, eyes flashing in amusement. “But I think it worked out in both our favours.”

“It did,” he grinned. “One request?”

“Anything,” she murmured, kissing him again.

“Warn me next time?”

Riza raised an eyebrow. “Next time?”

“Of course,” he replied, not batting an eyelid.

“Deal.”

With a grin, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, her back flush against his back. Oh, there would definitely be a next time. Of course, before that, Roy had to get his turn at teasing. He’d had fun tonight, but that was nothing compared to the three-day denial he’d been subjected to. Plans were already formulating in his mind and he grinned wickedly against the back of her head, his cock twitching at the thought of what he would do to this woman in front of him to maximise her pleasure.

One thing at a time, Roy.

Tomorrow was the weekend and they had the whole day to themselves.

He kissed the back of her head, her hair tickling his nose, as he bid her goodnight. Riza sighed happily, her arms curling around one of his, hugging his hand close to her body. His fingers grazed her breasts as she moved him and he smirked to himself. His fingers twitched, brushing against her nipples and causing Riza’s breath to hitch.

“Are you okay?” he mumbled innocently. His hand moved, removing it from her grip and snaking under one breast – the weight of it resting on his forearm – and coming to rest upon the other, his entire palm closing over the nipple.

“What happened to sleeping?” Riza asked, humming her approval.

“Sleep is for the weak,” he muttered, enjoying himself too much. His cock twitched again, gearing up for round two.

“Maybe, but we still need it.” He got comfortable, thumb stroking the soft skin of her breast as he weighed her statement. She was right, they needed to sleep. His hand stilled, palm still covering her nipple. The weight was nice and comfortable in his hand and on his forearm. He wasn’t going to move it.

Plus, if they did sleep now, then Roy would get to experience his second favourite thing in the world – behind making love to Riza Hawkeye.

Waking up next to her in the morning.

[shadyelizabeth]

Without Goodbyes

Based on this prompt by @dailywritingprompt-blog

“Hey, guys!”

Adrien looked up from the cat video Nino was streaming on his phone. Alya sauntered toward them, waving, with a bright smile on her face.

“Hey, Alya!”

“Babe!” Nino hopped up from the tabletop they were sitting on, his weight rattling the bench. Wrapping his girlfriend in his arms, he said, “Oh, how I’ve missed you!”

“I was only gone for two days,” she said, patting him not so gently on the back.

“It seemed like the longest two days EVER!” Nino squeezed her tighter.

“Ugh!” Alya brought her hands up between them and pushed. Caught off guard, Nino stumbled backward, the backs of his knees hitting the bench seat before he landed on his butt. “I didn’t know you were the clingy type.”

Adrien tried to hide the smile threatening to let loose on his lips behind his hand, but his best friend caught him, a look of hurt flashing across his face.

He clapped Nino on the shoulder and squeezed, hoping to convey it was all in good fun. 

Turning back to Alya, he asked, “Where’d you go this weekend?”

“Nora took me up to Senils so I could do research for my presentation on Joan of Arc.”

“Sounds fun! Learn anything interesting?”

“Oh, tons! But I’m not going to say anything now. You’ll get to learn about how kickass Joan was in History class with everyone else.”

“Looking forward to it!”

Tapping out a quick message on her phone, she said, “Hey, have either of you seen or talked to Marinette?”

Adrien’s eyes scanned the courtyard out of habit. Consciously, he knew if Marinette wasn’t by Alya’s side, she was going to be nowhere to be found. 

He’d been busy with his father all weekend, and even in the days before, working on designs for the new spring line, going back and forth on cuts and finishes, getting poked and prodded, being measured and tailored. He hadn’t had much time for anything else other than sleeping and eating, barely squeezing in time for homework. Adrien knew he’d been distracted but didn’t realize how unobservant he’d been; he couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen Marinette, let alone talked to her.

Shaking his head, Adrien said, “No, I haven’t. Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know.” Alya shrugged. “She was acting weirder than usual on Thursday, smiling, pretending like everything was fine, but I could tell something was off. Then, she didn’t show up to school at all on Friday. I didn’t have time to go by after school because Nora wanted to get on the road before traffic got backed up. I had my phone off all weekend trying to focus, and now she’s absent from school again. I’m starting to get worried.”

“Have you tried calling her? Maybe she’s just running late. It is Marinette,” Nino said.

“Of course.” Alya crossed her arms. “But it’s going straight to voicemail, and all of my texts have gone unanswered.”

Nino stood and wrapped a comforting arm around her. He dropped a small kiss on her temple.

Meeting Alya’s eyes, Adrien said, “Maybe she’s sick,” wanting to reassure her as much as he was reassuring himself, refusing to even think that anything bad could’ve happened to his–to their friend.

“Maybe,” she said, sounding unconvinced. “If she doesn’t show up today, I’ll check on her after school. I would go at lunch, but I need to prepare for my presentation.”

“I can go,” Adrien offered, maybe a little too quickly. “At lunch.” He couldn’t put his finger on the sensation simmering low in his gut; he just knew he would feel more at ease the sooner he knew Marinette was okay.

“Let us know as soon as you hear something, dude?”

“Will do.” 

As if waiting for their conversation to end, the first bell rang, signaling six minutes before class was to begin. 

Standing and shouldering his messenger bag, he said, “I’ll talk to you guys later.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The shopkeeper’s bell jingled when Adrien pushed open the door of the boulangerie. The warm smell of fresh bread and something light and sweet like sugar tickled his nose. Mr. Dupain’s back was turned towards the door as he kneaded a large lump of dough, patches of flour circling his arms. His eyes glanced over the displays of pastries–braids of bread and fruit-filled tarts, colossal cookies, and their Paris-famous macarons.

“Have a good day.” The bell over the door tinkled once more. “Adrien,” came Mrs. Cheng’s motherly tone. Mr. Dupain’s movements halted, his shoulders tensing, his still, hulking form like a brick wall. The knot in Adrien’s stomach tightened. “What can I do for you?”

“Hello, Mrs. Cheng. None of us have heard from Marinette in a few days. I wanted to come by and see if everything was okay.”

Mr. Dupain turned around, wiping his hands on his apron. His eyes met his wife’s, an intimate conversation shared between them. After a few silent moments, Mrs. Cheng said, “She’s upstairs, but let me call her first to see if she would like company.”

“Is everything okay?” he asked, both hands clutching the strap of his bag. The not knowing mixed with her parents’ behavior further unsettled him.

She hesitated, giving him a small smile that didn’t reach anywhere near her eyes. “Let me call Marinette. Tom can get you anything you want while you wait.”

Mrs. Cheng disappeared into the back room. Mr. Dupain stepped forward. “What can I get you, son? The croissants just came out of the oven a few minutes before you walked in, and we’re trying out some floral themed macarons for the season. We’ve currently got rose, lavender, and honeysuckle.” The enthusiasm in which he usually spoke about his creations wasn’t there.

This must be really bad.

Mrs. Cheng exited the back room, walking over to stand next to her husband, leaning her slight frame against his. “You can go on up; the front door is open. Marinette’s in her room. Adrien, try not to be too upset with her.”

“No, thank you. I don’t have much of an appetite for anything right now.”

“I know what you mean, kid.”

“Thank you,” he said around a dry throat. His feet took him behind the counter and through the backroom to the staircase, up one step after another, without really being aware of what he was doing. If whatever was going on had Marinette’s usually cheerful parents down, it had to be serious. But what?

Was Marinette sick? … No, that couldn’t be it. Mrs. Cheng said not to be too upset with her, so it had to be something that she’d done. Something troubling, but it was Marinette. She was so pure and loyal and just, always willing to lend a helping hand. Always bringing sweet treats to school for everyone to share. 

Maybe it had something to do with school? Maybe that’s why she hadn’t been there for the last few days?

When Adrien came to a stop at the top of the steps, he raised his hand to knock before remembering Mrs. Cheng said the door was open.

Turning the brass knob, he let himself in. 

Everything was exactly the same as the last time he’d been over. Rain boots were lined up by the door from biggest to smallest. A throw blanket was draped over the back of the couch. Exactly three stools sat around the countertop table, and sunlight poured in through the many windows that lined the room. The space felt lived in, cozy, like home.

Not wanting to linger, he quickly crossed the floor and started up towards Marinette’s room. The door was open, but he still knocked to announce himself.

“Come on in,” she said, her voice devoid of its usual perkiness. 

Climbing the last few rungs up, Adrien’s eyes were immediately drawn to the half dozen cardboard boxes that littered the floor of Marinette’s room. Almost everything used to decorate her room looked to be packed away, from the gadgets and trinkets that lined her desk to the sewing machine she used to create her unique designs. Her pink walls were lighter in the spots where her posters used to be. 

She was sitting on her chaise folding a pile of laundry, laying each folded piece into a big pink suitcase.

Even though it was clear what she was doing, Adrien still asked, “What’s going on, Marinette?”

Sighing, she pushed some clothes aside to make room for him to sit. He was across the room in two steps, dropping his messenger bag at his feet. Scanning her face, her eyes were tired and red; she’d definitely been crying.

She took a deep breath and said, “I’m moving.”

The knot in his stomach had ascended to his throat. Moving? Marinette had been such a vital constant in his life, since day one, he couldn’t imagine a future without her. He never thought he’d have to. 

“To where?” he managed to croak out. 

“Milan.” Her expression was neutral, neither excitement nor disappointment portrayed on her face. 

“When are you leaving?”

“My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 7AM.”

Adrien felt his face draw in, his eyebrows drawn into a concerning V. “But your parents–the bakery is still–and …” he trailed off. The bakery was still fully operational. Everything downstairs was still exactly where it should have been. Marinette’s room was the only one that was packed because she was the only one who was leaving. “You’re going by yourself.”

She nodded slowly.

“Why?”

“I got accepted into a design school there. Normally, they wouldn’t allow students to start after the semester has already begun, but because of my portfolio and the work I’ve done with your dad, they’re letting me start a little late.”

He blinked a few times, trying to process what he was hearing. Marinette was leaving. She was moving to Italy. To go to school. She was leaving in the morning. She would be gone in the morning.

Closing his eyes, he shook his head ever so slightly before opening them again. “No one’s heard from you in days. Were you planning on leaving without saying goodbye?”

Averting her gaze, she nodded once more. “I thought it’d be easier this way.” Her voice was so small. “I don’t know how to say goodbye to Nino, to Alya”–her eyes flashed up for a few seconds then darted away–“to you. I figured if I could just get out of here, I would write you all letters explaining where I’d gone and why.”

Adrien didn’t know what to say. He could’ve been mad about Marinette’s plan to leave without telling anyone, but that didn’t change the fact that she was leaving. That he had to finish out the rest of third year and all of fourth without her. That he’d be losing one of his best friends.

Was that all they were? They’d been thrown together so many times because of Nino and Alya, but as of late, more and more often it had been just the two of them. Playing videos at her house. Finding the quietest corner of the school library to study in, only to usually end up talking about everything but school. They’d had a running bimonthly lunch date for the last three or four months, taking a long stroll in the park afterward to walk off their meal.

Was this dreadful heavy feeling in his chest indicative of the loss he was facing? Or the potential of what could’ve been?

“Please say something.”

His mouth quivered as he fought to hold in the swell of emotions he was feeling. If this was what Marinette wanted, he would be happy for her. 

Reaching for her hand, he laced their fingers together, her skin rough and calloused. Mustering up his best smile, he said, “You, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, deserve everything you’ve ever wanted and more. You’re so tremendously talented, you’ll take Milan by storm just like you did Paris.” He tipped forward, resting his forehead against hers. “We’re all going to miss you. Maybe me most of all.” He gave her hand a small squeeze.

“I’m gonna miss you too.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

They sat in silence, savoring these last moments together. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Marinette spoke. 

“Adrien?”

“Yes.”

“I know this is a big favor to ask, but could you not tell anyone else?

Sitting back so he could see her face, the desperation in her eyes shone through. He hated lying to his friends, even if was for good reasons, but Marinette had never asked him for anything. This, he could do.

Cupping her face, he said, “For you, anything.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded once, slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. A million things left unspoken filled the space between them. He knew now wasn’t the time to start something he should’ve long before, but it was now or never.

Brushing his thumb across her cheek, he said, “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.”

Adrien guided her mouth to his, their lips meeting in a soft embrace. Her free hand landed on his thigh, supporting her weight when she leaned in. The kiss was sweet and tentative, full of curiosity and restraint. There was a hint of remorse about what could have been but also a promise of what could be.

Marinette broke first, “wow” escaping in a breath. 

Tipping her head down, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and then stood up. Her eyes went wide with confusion.

“Sorry,” he started. “I just know if I don’t leave now, I never will. Before I do, promise me you’ll write and text and call?”

“Of course,” she agreed.

“And when you come home, you’ll make time to see me and tell me all about the fashion and the shows and the high couture life you’ve been living?”

“One last thing.” He held out his hand, which she took, drawing her up into a standing position. They were toe-to-toe, her eyes so blue and her cheeks still pink from their kiss. “If you don’t fall madly in love with some handsome Italian boy, maybe one day you could give me a chance?”

“Yeah.” She smiled, the pink in her cheeks turning a shade rosier. “I think I can do that.”

Opening his arms, Marinette stepped into them. Her head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck, and he thought to himself, She’s definitely worth waiting for.

He slowly untangled himself from her, his hands sliding down the backs of her arms, their fingertips catching. He scooped up his bag and walked backward toward the door. “See ya later, Marinette.”

“Goodbye for now, Adrien.”

[zoeygreensimblr]

I Forgot the you Existed

On Thursday morning we had another appointment with Candice at the medical centre in Brindleton Bay, she did a scan and assured us that everything was looking good.

"Welcome to week 6 of your pregnancy Zoey, you're officially half way through the first trimester, have you noticed any weird cravings or that you've developed a higher sex drive due to those hormones kicking in?" She questioned me and I smiled, looking up at Angus

"Well I do find that I want to be intimate a lot more" I laugh, I had no idea it was due to the hormones

"I'm not complaining Princess" Angus say, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze

"You'll feel a whole range of emotions while pregnant, you will get angry over the smallest things, things that you would normally think were petty but just know that it's your hormones running the show and you remember that too Dad, that when she cries or lashes out that she just needs love and understanding" Candice informs us

"And ice cream" I add on, looking up at Angus and caressing his face, he just smiles brightly at me

"I'll get you some ice cream to go with the love and understanding baby girl" He promises me before turning his attention back to Candice, "Is there anything we should be doing to maintain a safe pregnancy? I know the risks are higher with multiple births". I look up at him scared, he had never spoken to me about his concerns.

"I'll give you a lists of foods to avoid, of course alcohol and smoking are the biggest things you wanna avoid but Zoey already said she's a non smoker, living in a non smoker house and that she's cut out alcohol from the moment she found out she was pregnant. Being pregnant with multiple babies could mean it does put a heavier strain on the body, she will be bigger than a one child pregnancy, she will become more tired and she could go into labour a lot sooner than her due date but we will monitor you Zoey, weekly and right now it looks like you're doing everything right" Candice explains, smiling warmly at us

"What about doing exercise?" I ask her, I know I beginning to become more exhausted more easily, I struggled with our session on Wednesday and it was just spin class

"Don't push yourself, running is alright at a reasonable pace but nothing where you put pressure on your stomach, no heavy lifting" She says, printing out the information about what foods to avoid and what ones to no increase my intake of, I see soft cheese is on the list and feel a little disappointed, I love cheese.

After we finished our appointment I approached the reception desk to enquire if Liam was working that day

"Dr Green is with a patient right now but has lunch after" Eliza informed us

"Can You ask him to meet us at the cafe across the road once he's free?" I asked and she nodded, theres no way after last week that she doesn't know he's my father.

Angus and I wait nervously at the cafe, he orders us food as well as a peppermint tea for me and a coffee for himself. We are not waiting long when we see Liam walk through the door, approaching our table, I can see on his face that he is also nervous

"Eliza gave me a message that you wanted to meet me here Zoey" He says, standing at our table

"I want to talk, I'm willing to hear your side of things but I'm warning you now, I don't want to be fucked around, if you lie to me then I will leave" I warn him. He takes a seat as the waitress delivers our food and drinks and he places an order of his own.

"I have nothing left to lose Zoey so I want to be as honest as I can with you and your boyfriend, I'm assuming" Liam says, holding out his hand to Angus

"Fiancé" Angus corrects him, shaking his hand, "I'm Angus" He introduces himself.

"Oh wow, Zoey, you're engaged?" Liam remarks, looking at the ring on my finger, "And you two are expecting or trying to fall pregnant?"

"We are expecting, twins actually" Angus answers him, "Zoey is 6 weeks along but we we've been engaged since before we found out so I'm not just marrying Zoey because I got her pregnant, I love her, we love each other and I've  wanted to make her my wife since I met her, I knew I had found the woman I wanted to be with" Angus rambles on, nervously trying to prove to Liam that he is good enough for me and I hold his hand to try and ease those nerves. My relationship with Angus has nothing to do with Liam and Angus has nothing to prove to him.

"Why did you cheat on my Mother?" I ask Liam, not wanting to drag this out anymore. He looks at me with shame in his eyes.

"Your Mother, Ruth, was 19 when she discovered she was pregnant, I was 25, we hadn't been together long either, I was in my intern year at the hospital and Ruth was a nursing student who was doing on the job work experience once a day, weekly. She was sweet and shy and we would go on coffee dates and talk about the hospital staff. I'd been dating her 3 months when she told me she was pregnant with you and your sister, Teresa" He explain

"Tess, she likes to be called Tess" I tell him and he nods

"After you were born I devoted my life to you girls, whatever you wanted, you were so cute, I'd read you stories at bedtime, I remember you Zoey loved the stories about ponies the most, you had a massive My Little Pony collection that you displayed in front of your books and Ter-, sorry, Tess, loved to colour in all the time so I would find her these fun colouring in books but being a doctor meant I wasn't around a lot and it caused problems, between Ruth and I, we started to fight a lot and by the time I started working at the clinic Ruth and I were only staying together for you girls, so you could grow up in a two parent home, it's what your mother wanted so badly for you." He says looking down at the coffee that the waitress had not long placed in front of him.

"But even if you and Ruth split up, I still don't understand why she would stop you from seeing your daughters, I know Ruth, pretty well in fact and she doesn't strike me as the type to just cut the father of her children out of their lives for no reason" Angus points out, urging Liam to give us the full story

"She had her reasons and it wasn't because I cheated either, Eliza is my sister-in-law, not my wife, she married my brother Patrick and they had two beautiful daughters together." Liam clears up, "I had an accident one night, coming home from work, you were around 7 or 8 Zoey so you probably don't remember this but I was badly injured, I couldn't walk for a while and I was prescribed heavy pain killers to try and ease the pain"

"What's this got to do with why you left us?" I ask him, confused

"I became dependant on those pain killers, addicted and when the doctor I was seeing stopped prescribing them I started forging my own prescription, I felt I needed them, long after the pain had gone, they made me happy, like I wasn't coming home to a woman who resented me and two children who had no idea who I was because of the long hours I worked. Eventually I hit rock bottom, I was erratic and had major anger issues and would lash out at Ruth, I did abuse her once, only once but  it was the final straw for your mother, she had had enough and she took you and your sister and banned me from seeing you, it was Don who paid for her court cost and he would push for drug testing, which I failed once and never got a second chance. I never wanted to lose my girls, I loved you and Tess so much, please believe me" He breaks down and I can see the honesty on his face, I reach out and take his hand to let him know that I believe him.

"Thank you for being honest, it's a lot to take in" I tell Liam, "I'm glad we were able to talk though"

"I'd like to get to know you Zoey, Tess too, I know I've lost so much time but I thought about you and your sister every day, wondering who you would grow into, you look exactly like your Mother when she was your age, you even have her voice" Liam tells me, sorrow in his eyes, "I've been sober for 7 years now, been to rehab twice and attend weekly meetings for addicts because that's what I am, an addict and I will always be an addict but I've turned my life around and I would love to know my daughters"

"How about we meet here every Thursday, after our appointment and we can just talk?" I offer and he smiles at me like I've just handing him his world back, "I cant make any promises for Tess though and I wont have you speaking poorly of Mum or Don, regardless of what happened" I warn him and he nods.

"I'd also like to get to know you too Gus, if that's ok" Liam says to Angus

"He hates being called Gus" I tell Liam

"Zoey, it's fine" Angus says to me, he doesn't want to cause trouble

"I'm so sorry, I know how that feels too, I hate when people call me William or Bill, being that Liam is Irish for William" Liam apologises to Angus and Angus smiles politely and nods, he gets it.

"Well Zo and I have been together since June last year, she blew me away the first time that I met her, she's funny and intelligent and has a heart of gold and I love her with all of my own" Angus gushes and I blush a little.

"How did you two meet?" Liam asks us, smiling brightly

"I met Angus at the gym that he owns and operates in San Myshuno, he is my personal trainer. We started dating not long after we met" I explain, squeezing Angus' hand 3 times, I love my boy and I proudly talk him up

"And you treat my daughter well I hope?" Liam asks Angus, sternly

"She's my Princess, I'll always put her first, well her and our children. I am sorry that I yelled at you last week but protecting Zoey is my number one priority" Angus replies, looking at me with admiration, "She's my world and I love her"

We end our catch up with Liam, making plans to meet at the same time next Thursday, I even hugged him before we left. We walked back to the parking garage under the clinic, Angus begins driving towards the city and I cant understand why.

"You realise you're going the wrong way right?" I laugh at him

"Am I though? Isn't the city where they keep the best formal dresses?" He asks me, without any further explanation.

"The formal was months ago Angus, remember, you took me and we danced together and had such a grand night?" I question him, he's acting very odd.

"I do remember taking you to the formal but I also remember afterwards at the apartment and how I ruined your perfect night and I just found out this morning that I've been nominated for business person of the year, for last year and that the awards ceremony is this Saturday night and my Princess will need a new formal dress and shoes and will have to make an appointment to get her hair done because baby it's formal and you're going to be my date and this time I'm going to be doing everything right, including ending the night with my girl, kissing her lips and telling her how much I love her" He gushes

"Oh wow, I'm so proud of you baby, my man, business person of the year" I say, getting excited

"It's just a nomination baby, I was up for it last year too but didn't win so I don't have high hopes of winning this year either but I couldn't turn down an opportunity to see you in a a beautiful dress and being able to dance with you, also Tess, Brian, Annabelle and Steph will be there too so it wont be as boring as last years ceremony where I got sat with all these CEO pricks who talked about how great their golf game was and how much money they earn" He explains, taking my hand and kissing it.

We parked in the garage under the apartment complex and walked to CAS formal, I started browsing through the dresses but began to become dishearten when I realised I no longer fit into any dresses, my size had gone up and I felt so frumpy.

"I'm so fat, nothing is going to look good on me" I complained, "Maybe I should just stay home, you don't want your fat fiancé in pictures with you when you win." Angus pulls me back from the dress, leaning down, looking in my eyes with a stern expression.

"You are not fat Zoey and I don't want to hear you  refer to yourself as fat ever again, you're fucking gorgeous and I want you by my side forever" He tells me before kissing my forehead, "I love these changes in your body, the beautiful glow in your skin and the luscious curves." He boosts my confidence.

"You say this now but wait until I'm five times this size and can no longer fit into anything" I point out

"So you're telling me you will be naked?" He jokes, trying to lift my spirits and I cant help but giggle

"Naked and on bed ridden" I add

"Now you're just teasing me Princess, bring it on" He smiles brightly at me, "But for now I want you to pick out a dress that makes you feel sexy, not for me but for you because I want my girl to feel good about herself" He tells me, leading me back over to the racks of dresses, "And Zoey, for once in your life don't give a fuck what anyone else will think, if you feel comfortable then that's all that matters. I'll leave you to it, I'm going to pop into another store down the road, get my Princess a special surprise" He kisses me on the cheek and leaves me to browse, I look through all sort of dresses, some long and elegant, others short, cocktail dresses, strapless, halter neck, off the shoulder sleeves, satin, silky, sheer in an array of colours and then I found an amazing dress, red, long, sexy and fit me like a glove without drawing attention to my ever-growing bump. I paid for my dress just as Angus came back into the store, carrying a black, paper bag.

"What's in the bag?" I ask him, trying to sneak a peek but he hides it from view.

"I got you a few things, one of which you will get tomorrow night and the other you will receive on Saturday, after the ceremony." He tells me, "I also booked us a room at the hotel where the ceremony is taking place, I thought you may enjoy a night away in a fancy hotel instead of coming all the way home to Brindleton Bay "

"You spoil me way too much my gorgeous honey bear" I tell him, kissing him softly

"Well deserved I assure you Princess" He says, taking my hand and walking me back to the car.

****What are your thoughts on Zoey's father?****

****What do you think Angus bought Zoey?*****

[suenala]

BTS-story ; well, here i am.

episode 3 ; 'please come!'

prev. < tsilretsam

[genre] ; fluff

[fandom] 방탄소년단

[⚠] ; cuss cuss ssuc

-

Lunch starts and everyone heads to the cafeteria. I was more in the back of the studio because every time lunch started, it would be chaotic. Everybody wanted to get there first so they could get the food nicely fresh and warm. I always bought my own food because the people who were last always hogged the microwave to warm up their food, I always hated standing in line so I always bought a nice sandwich (it was four slices and yes I ate them all ヽ（´ー｀）┌) or something. I waited until everyone left the studio and packed my things after I was about to walk to my locker I felt someone’s hand grab my shoulder. I had put my earbuds on after the Manager made the announcement so I couldn't hear anything after I took a second to realize it was someone's hand, I took the earbuds out and turned around.

Yn: "Yes-oh"

???: "Hello! My name is uh-"

Yn: "Jhope, i know haha."

Jhope: "Ah-haha, i forgot we were celebrities...heh-Oh, um, i saw you dancing earlier! Well, before you got interrupted, you were really good!" -He smiles at me very kindly, laughing a bit awkwardly with his hand on his neck and starts to blush- "I was wondering if you were auditioning? You look like you were working very har-"

???: "Hyung! Stop bothering her!

He quickly turns around and then looks back at me.

Jhope: "Ah..Jimin, i-" -jimin bows and tries to pull him back to the others but he doesn't even budge-

Yn: -i bite the inside of my cheeks, trying not to laugh. They were so cute! I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head a bit-

Jhope: "Can't you see im trying to have a conversation right now????" -as he’s looking at jimin, he rolls his eyes and crosses his arms-

Jimin: -sigh- "Hyung! Can't you see she doesn't care?"

Yn: "U-uhm.."

They both immediately turn their attentions toward me.

Yn: “I will be auditioning..but just please, treat me like the others! Not just because i can dance!”

Jhope: -giggles- "Your wish is my command! Well, this kid won't stop buggin' so see you then!”

Jimin: “Yea! See you later too!"-jimin smiles brightly and waves goodbye with his arm wrapped with jhopes-

I sighed and unlocked my locker and placed my belongings inside, thinking about what just happened is actually kind of funny and cute, will it really be okay if i win this?

time ; 12:37 PM

-Lunch has started-

I sit on an empty staircase with a couple of my friends as we eat lunch.

???: "Hey, yn!"

Yn: -im playing around on my phone in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the other- "Hm, what?"

???: "Yn, don't talk to your phone, talk to me!"

Yn: -i furrow my brows and look at her- "What'h?! What do you need so badly, Fee??"

Fee: "YOU NEVER READ WHAT I SENT YOU ON INSTAGRAMMMMM!!!"

Yn: "What'r talking about?"

Henry: "Fee, shut up, you're too loud." -fee snaps her head to henry in annoyance-

Fee: "You shut up- Yn, check your damn dm's!"

Yn: -i look back at my phone and sigh as i take another bite from my meal- "oH, yUh dish teck me."

Henry: "Finish what's in your mouth yn, geez."

Yn: "Mhm, yeah sorry."

-

-

Yn: "Yeah, The manager just talked about this."

Fee: "You idiot, i sent that on thursday."

Yn: "I should probably sign up, one of the members asked me if i was and i said yeah." -i didn't realize how half-heartedly I had said that until fee SMACKS my back-

Yn: "Ow! Fee what the fuck!"

Fee: "He-Wh-I-Who?!" -she yells at me with her mouth half full, literally spitting bits of crackers in my face whilst i just stare at her with my eye wide in concern-

Henry: "EAT WITH OUR MOUTH CLO-"

Fee: "SHUT UP HENRY!" -henry moves up a step to sit farther from the bacteria bot-

Yn: "Uh, Jhope did but i also talked to Jimin." -i say as i take another bite until she HITS ME AGAIN-

Fee: "No shit! For real?!"

Yn: -i start coughing and struggling to say I'm choking- "W-wat-tar!!"

Henry: "Look what you did you buffoon!" -he flicks fee on the forehead and hands me my water bottle-

Fee: "Ow!..im sorry."

Henry: "Yeah you better be."

Fee: "Henry shut up!"

Henry: "Tsk."

Fee says she can send me the link for the online application so i can apply and honestly, i im kinda nervous- but i dont know who said that 👀.

time ; 2:30 PM

-Lunch ends-

I stood back where i was when i was practicing this morning and noticed a long white TABLE set in front of the windows. The boys were standing with pink clipboards and next to the table a whole other stack of boards on the floor, which were blue, soon after everyone had entered from lunch, and the manager walked in.

Manager: "Okay, on the farther end of the table we have name tags with numbers and names obviously. All applications that were submitted passed 1:50pm were not entered since that was the deadline and after that we had all the names randomize and numbered so it didn't matter how early or late you submitted them. Alright! Everyone listen up because I'm only gonna say this once!

The pink boards are representing the girls and on the boards are a couple pages numbered from 1 to 130. Same for the blue ones, in the box behind Namjoon are tags about 260 but split in half. Each person will get one and whoever has the #1 will go on until #2 and so on, everyone will perform a solo choreography that they have made or a solo dance they've learned and with a group or not-whatever. After the females have finished the members (BTS) will see who have passed to go on then it's the males turn, next they’ll show if they can do the following; Sing, or Rap, the people the members select to move on will go on to the next round which the members will decide what will the challenge be. Then they will choose 5 females and 5 from the males also, those 10 will go to another round and the members will choose three people from them to become a trainee. They have dedicated their time into auditions to just THIS studio so please respect that. They can leave whenever they want, disrespect will not be tolerated. Phew! That was a lot but everyone got it?!”

Everyone: "Yes ma'am!!"

Manager: Oh! Those three by the way, whoever they may be, its like a death round, one of those three will eventually debut and the other two will be sent back home. Since these seven boys are generous, the top 10 will be able to make 2 collabs (song) with them as a reward for the hard work and everyone else who auditioned will get free concert tickets so dont be so bummed out okay? I believe in all of you so do your best!"

Everyone: "Thank You!!"

The manager left with all the males following behind her as a bunch of girls raced to Namjoon as he was helping pass out tags. Before lunch had ended, everyone got a text telling their numbers so it was less of a hassle but still....

Namjoon: "Ladies! A single line please!"

BTS: -Laughing at Namjoons failure-

Namjoon: "Help me!" -He gives off a dark glare to all the members and eventually someone steps up- "Thank you Hyung."

Jin: "Okay, I can help here too! Please form another line!"

Me and Fee just stand back in awe, staring at all the chaos girls can cause.

Me: "Wow, thats amazing." -i stand with my back against the mirror and my arms cross, contemplating if i should go and die in the crowd-

Fee: "Can't relate." -i look over at fee and raise a brow-

Yn: "Oh?" -i grab her hand and pull her to a line and gesture her to stay as i wait in the other-

Fee: "Really? Can't you come here?"

Yn: "Wha-What? Sorry, i can't hear you over these fangirls!"

Fee: "i sa-" -sigh- "I SAID COME HERE!"

Yn: -puts earbuds in and looks away-

Fee: "i give up. Truly the biggest brat."

It seemed like it took forever, just standing there and to be honest, at this point I didn't care if i got in or not;

But FINALLY it was my turn, he helped me find my tag and winked at me, I just gave him a quick smile and walked off. I didn't think much as Jin was always the one out of everyone to send hearts and winks and all the girls were ALL over him for that, it was c r a z y.

After that, all the girls grabbed their clothes and headed to the locker room to change into more comfortable clothing.

-

prev. < tsilretsam > next

[timeforgodyagm]

Discernment, Interview, Placement Event

It has officially been a little more than a week since I've gotten back from the "DIP" Event that placed me in the United Kingdom. Now that I've gotten some time to process and break down everything that happened, I feel more capable of voicing how that event changed my life, at least for the next year.

I woke up absurdly early on Thursday, April 11th, so I could get to the airport an appropriate amount of time early. That day was a pretty snowy day, especially for April, and flights were already being delayed. I had to wait a few hours to discover that my original flight that had been scheduled to arrive in plenty of time to catch the bus we'd be taking to the retreat center was delayed by several hours. Instead of arriving in Chicago by 12:30pm, we touched down around 5pm. Obviously we had missed the bus already, since they had left by 2:30pm, which meant taking an hour long Uber drive.

When we arrived, some of the icebreakers had already started. Because we were late, we were told to throw our luggage in our rooms and immediately head down to the conference room, with no down time. That actually set the pace for the whole weekend, it seemed like. I think I only called home once that entire time, which is really weird for me. The first day was full of introductions and telling us what to expect for the weekend, and it was... A lot to absorb. We closed Friday night with a welcoming worship, which I think helped me settle into the weekend a little more comfortably- even 400 miles from home, on my own, ELCA services all ring the same.

The next morning started pretty early, but we got an hour for breakfast which helped us be awake by the time we sat for devotions. We got a little more information on how the "YAGM" (Young Adults in Global Mission) program works, and then it was time to be thrown in to our country presentations.

I'm going to make a paragraph break here, in bold, just to say that I think this is when it started to get emotionally overwhelming.

My first presentation was the United Kingdom. A little disclaimer, I definitely headed into this weekend favoring the UK, but not for the right reasons. Coming out of this presentation, I was beyond sure that this is where I belonged. Every question I could've asked, they had already thought of and answered. I still wasn't consciously aware that I was leaning this way because of my own brain, and not God's will.

They gave us a break for lunch, and this is when the LGBT+ lunch took place. People who had already been through the program got to talk about what it was like being in their placement while not straight, and how they had to either stay in the closet or got to be out. They talked about the toll it can take on mental health, and we were told to carefully consider what we could handle in that way, because some of the countries you could not be out in. I've italicized this part for anyone reading in the future, trying to consider whether to apply, or what country placement they might prefer. The ELCA takes this into account and, again with the italics but with bold as well, will not place you anywhere that you are not safe. You will be safe where you are placed.

After lunch we got thrown into our second country placement's presentation. My other country was Jerusalem/West Bank, and going into it I wasn't sure what to expect. From high school debate I had learned a lot about the conflicts there, but that's all I knew. I didn't know how much this presentation would affect my decision. When I left that presentation, I couldn't make a decision between the UK and JWB.

Oh yeah! They had given us little note cards Thursday night, to be due on Saturday evening, where, aside from our name and two country placements, we were told we could write anything on one side that we thought was important to help them make a decision. That was anything from medical concerns, LGBT+ information, or even just a country preference.

Friday continued with a panel from YAGM Alum, who were back from country either recently or within a few years, to answer questions. They answered everything they could with the amount of time they had, and it was really helpful.

After the panel, interviews started. These were one on one interviews with the country coordinators of the 2 countries we'd been given, and were, to be honest, nerve wracking. Luckily for me, my first one was scheduled after dinner, so I had a bit of a break here. I got to try to start making a pro/con list for both placements. Spoiler alert: I spent way too much time on this, and it didn't help. At all. After that wasted time, I went to dinner with one of the UK coordinators that I wouldn't be interviewing with. We got to ask him some questions, learn a little more about England (where he's from!) and joke around a little. It was really relaxed.

After dinner was my first interview: Jerusalem/West Bank. My impression of myself that whole time? I spoke too loudly, moved my hands around way too much, and could not think of answers to the questions fast enough. I was stressed and nervous, and I don't think I interviewed too well. I was still at the point of not being able to make a decision, and I definitely thought I screwed that interview up.

After getting that interview out of the way, it was time for the evening service. This was a deeply reflective time, and I can't put into words how much it cut into the core of who I was. We placed candles around altars designed to be prayers for different things; countries, the environment, the church, ourselves. After that, I was emotionally exhausted. I went to my room and stressed about my morning interview for a few hours before falling asleep.

Saturday morning! This meant individual photos (I can't tell you how I really do not want to see what these photos look like) that will represent us for the next year around congregations and synods as our stories get told, and breakfast. My photo was right at 8am, and my interview wasn't for another hour. I got to spend that hour filling out a preference sheet for the UK (which we used to express our experience and desires for the different types of placements the UK has). I went into my UK interview feeling a little confident, having been through one interview and sorting my thoughts with their preference sheet. My impressions of myself this interview: excessively honest, still way too loud, and hands that just couldn't stop moving. Still nervous. I exited that interview feeling marginally better about it than last night's.

Now it was time for a couple more presentations, this time about what we'd be doing for the 4 months leading up to August (when we leave!) and how to fundraise. After that it was dinner, where I (and the people I sat with) stressed about what to put on our cards which were due in a few hours!!! What to do, what to do. After dinner I had more break time, (code for more time to stress about my card) where I continued to try to pro/con the countries. Still didn't work. Don't try this at home, kids. While I was stressing, I spilled my (English Breakfast) tea all over my folder (and the table) which really summed up my state of mind and should've been a hint as to where I'd end up. After cleaning it all up, I had only a few minutes to get to the next presentation, which blew my mind away and made me chill out so much about my card.

The presenter spoke about accompaniment and mission, and what exactly we should be doing with our minds. He spoke about how "God is the essence of relationships," and how we shouldn't be going out into our mission with a mind to convert, but to "help make others better people."

The biggest thing I took away from this weekend was someone this presenter quoted. He told us about Kaj Munk, who said:

"What is, therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: “Faith, hope, and love”? That sounds beautiful. But I would say–courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature…we lack a holy rage–the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages across the face of the earth…a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God’s earth, and the destruction of God’s world. To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To rage against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God. And remember the signs of the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish…but never the chameleon."

We went to a service after this presentation, but those words rang in my ears. I knew I'd be sent somewhere that I could help others, and to be honest? I thought for sure that was going to end up JWB. I didn't have a preference, and after all that stress, I never actually ended up adding anything to my card after the required information. My thoughts were too jumbled, and I knew I would be sent where I was needed. I put that card into the basket mostly blank, but a weight felt lifted off of me.

Sunday morning was worship (which I overslept.. I know. I know. But I wasn't the only one!!) and packing. After we had packed and check out, we gathered in the chapel to hear our placements. It was alphabetical, which means most names had been called out before mine, but I didn't absorb anyone else. I was focused on waiting for my name, and after I heard "Nichole Schloesser-Becht... United Kingdom," I zoned out again. We were told we couldn't outwardly react until it was done, to respect everyone, but I don't think I could have reacted in that moment if I wanted to. I didn't feel relieved that it wasn't Jerusalem, I didn't feel disappointed that it was the UK, I didn't really know what I was feeling.

Right after this we were sent to meet with everyone else in that placement, and it was only then that I started feeling truly excited. I could see myself in the UK, walking with a community for a year, creating a home in a different land.

After our meetings we headed out to the airport. It was snowing, because of course it was, so our flights got delayed, because of course they did. I'd be ending my journey how I began it -waiting for hours in an airport- but this time I had the approximately 7 other people who were making the journey back to Minnesota with me. It was a lot less lonely, and we all got to know each other pretty well by the time our flight took off (15 hours later than originally scheduled).

Landing in Minnesota and getting back home felt a little weird. I had spent all weekend emotionally engaged, and so I holed up for a day decompressing and catching up on the sleep I missed out on from the flight delay.

In summary, I'm thrilled to be making the journey to the United Kingdom in August, and I'm excited to learn exactly where I'll be placed come May/June. Stay tuned if you'd like for more information, and this is where I'll be updating when I'm in the UK!

[streamacademe]

Week 64, Day 441.

So, the first thing I did upon finishing my last post is order a book called ‘Excel for Dummies’, because, in hindsight, my joking about googling ‘Excel for Dummies’ was actually quite a good idea. Well done me. That same day I also discovered that I think I might be mildly suffering with “winter blues”, also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which most people go through this time of the year. The reason I believe this is because I am an extremely self-motivated person, yet throughout the last 64 weeks this is the most ‘meh’ I’ve felt about getting out of bed and doing any work (not that I’m letting it stop me of course). In any case, if you also feel a bit rubbish here are some tips on how to deal with SAD from the NHS, and an article I personally liked as it has a lot more detail. One of the biggest tips is physical exercise, which means today I’m dragging myself to the swimming pool! 🌊 On Wednesday, I had my first dentist appointment in about 3 years, simply because there were NO AVAILABLE NHS dental practices near me for about that long! Sickening. Anyway, all was well, apart from the fact that my dentist told me that I need to take out my labret piercing as it is starting to seriously damage my teeth. I know this sounds like a 1st world problem, but this piercing has been a fundamental part of my face for the last 12 years of my life. It was also my second act of defiance against the world (following running away from home) and I am struggling to recognise myself without it. But, teeth are important, and I have come up with a solution, which involves getting a medusa piercing instead and celebrating the end of an era with a new chapter as I’ll be able to have that piercing in, problem-free, for another 10 years. Yay. 😁 On Wednesday, I also had a catch up with one of my supervisors where I expressed my concerns about my intellectual abilities and skills. She looked at me like I was an idiot (ironically) and re-assured me that I am more than capable of applying the skills I learned in my previous two degrees to this one. We even went through some examples and I left feeling much more confident! I keep on saying this, but having supportive and understanding supervisors is so so so important.  

Thursday was a really nice day! Myself, my supervisors, and two representatives from the company that provide us with our water quality monitors went out for a lunch at a beautiful Italian in Sheffield called ‘Cargo Hold’. The aim was for me to get to know the people behind the technology, chat about water, and discuss our future work together. It was a really fun 3 and a half hour lunch with plenty of booze that left me fulfilled, but shattered. Therefore, I decided to spend Friday at home. 🍷

In recent years I have been trying to incorporate a minimalist mindset more and more into my life. I am not someone who has a particularly cluttered home, or wardrobe, but I do feel like I have too many things. Having less material stuff really opens up your life to more time for adventure. It helps you re-evaluate what’s actually important and prevents you from being tied down. I won’t even mention the financial benefit of having less! I am hoping that eventually I will reach a point where I can pack up my whole life in a car, with ease, which includes my cat. Luckily, my partner is of a similar mind-frame, which makes me a lot more motivated. The point of this paragraph is that I regularly go through my things and try and reduce the number of items I have, which I then either distribute across people that I know will appreciate those items, give them to charity, or sell them. I used my Friday to do just that. In terms of my PhD, having a de-cluttered home/lifestyle also really helps with having a de-cluttered mind. Therefore, I share with you a link on some of my favourite TED talks on the matter, and also a blog post by Mark Manson that has really helped me make some fundamental changes. 

Because I took Friday off, I went into work yesterday. I didn’t feel particularly great so used most of the day to put together a very thorough GANTT chart, which should get me through the next couple of months. Despite having a marginally rough patch with my work efforts, I understand that if I don’t get over myself, I will fudge myself over in the future. Hence my motto, “do little things often, before they become too big”. 

I have actually surprised myself with how much I’ve written this week. It really shows that all you have to do is start. 

Anyway, have a grand weekend and an even better week, and if you’re anything like me, try to embrace the winter blues! ❄

Photo: So relevant, it’s weird. Source: Google.

[cecilspeaks]

121 - A Story of Love and Horror, Part 1: “Barks”

The password is “mudwomb”. The username is “mudwomb”. The website is “mudwomb”. Where did the rest of the Internet go? Welcome to Night Vale.

I would like to tell you a story. It is a difficult story and I don’t know what it means, but it seems important to me to tell you. It is about two people and a terrible, impossible decision that they found themselves having to make. It concerns Frances Donaldson and Nazr al-Mujaheed.

But first, the community calendar. 

This Tuesday evening the Night Vale Football Boosters Club will hold their meeting at the Applebee’s that we’re all pretty sure was a Chili’s just yesterday, but now is an Applebee’s, and all records show it has always been an Applebee’s even though we remember it as a Chili’s. The subject of this week’s meeting will be the timing of football games, which all members agree are too long. “Hey, I like football as much as the next guy,” said Hannah Gutierrez, “but a whole sixty minutes of play? Plus all the breaks and starting and stopping? We're busy people. Football should take less time.” The Booster Club will be working on their new proposal to get games done in a tight 15, so everyone can get home to watch the newest episode of Stop Chef, in which a group of contestants compete to prevent a chef from cooking.

Wednesday is Love Day at Dark Owl Records. Owner Michelle Nguyen explained that after recent love-focused events, she wanted everyone to understand that love is a laughable concept. And she wanted to highlight its absurdity by selling albums with songs that ruthlessly mock love using subtle irony, like “I Will Always Love You” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. My former radio intern Maureen, who was in the store too and was holding hands with Michelle, agreed that love is stupid, and funny. And fun and ridiculous, and all-encompassing and revitalizing. Then Michelle said, “What?” And Maureen said, “What?” And then they both got embarrassed and asked me to leave.

Thursday is the Safety Parade, which the Sheriff’s Secret Police hold each year in order to highlight safety. Of course, no one is allowed to march in or attend the parade for their own safety. As Secret Police Mascot, Barks Ennui, always says: “Woof woof! The biggest danger to you – is you! Woof woof.”

Friday is a meeting at town hall to discuss the problem of entrances to other universes, and the question of whether all of us even ended up in the right universe after that whole recent mixup. There will be light snacks as well as blood tests and surprise interrogations about our version of history, in order to trip up intruders from parallel universes. Attendance is mandatory.

This Saturday and Sunday, the Brown Stone Spire will be offering powerful gifts in exchange for great sacrifices. The larger the sacrifice, the more powerful the gift. For instance, if you give it a DVD you got for Christmas five years ago and have never even taken out of its shrink wrap, it’ll give you a well-worn copy of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” that is missing its cover. But if you give it an offering of your own blood and fervent chanting, the copy of “Chamber of Secrets” it gives you will have an intact cover.

And finally, this Monday, Night Vale cinemas will be hosting a showing of that classic comedy caper, “The Grift of the Magi”, in which two con artists run scams in order to get one another Christmas gifts, only to find that they have accidentally each stolen the money from the other.

And now, a story of love – and horror.

Frances Donaldson runs the Antiques Mall in Old Time Night Vale. Long before she took on that job though, she developed an interest in time. As a child, she would stand still and consider that while she had not moved at all in space, something had changed. That she had grown just slightly older, her hair just slightly longer, and this without being able to see the movement at all. She liked to lie in bed and, through her window, watch planes pass very high in the sky. She liked to think about where they had taken off and where they might land. Objects fascinated her, because they too moved through time, on a different trajectory than her. Her bedroom lamp had existed, looking more or less like it was now, since before she was born, and could well exist after she had died. It wasn’t even aware, was too unable to move, and yet it joined her in this mad hurdle through time.

She found this terrifying, and she found this fascinating. And she found this delightful and she wanted it to stop. And she hoped it never stopped, and she felt all of these feelings equally and at once, and without contradiction. What use was there in worrying if all of what she felt about time did not exactly add up? She was too busy feeling it to consider what it meant. And so, of course, she became fascinated with antiques. These objects washed up from the crooked tides of time.

Nazr al-Mujaheed coaches the Night Vale High School football team. Go Scorpions. And this was almost the entirety of his world. He thought about football when he woke up, he thought about it on the drive to work. Of course he thought about it when he ran practices and had meetings with the assistant coaches, and he thought about it at night when he ate take-out dinners on his couch while watching football. This made him happy. And what makes a person happy, if it doesn’t harm another person and doesn’t harm themselves, is OK. Even if it’s not how anyone else would want to live.

But while it made him happy, Nazr was also aware that is more than one kind of happiness. And that perhaps this happiness he found in a life endlessly thinking about football, was less than the happiness he could find in a life with more things in it. This wasn’t about fixing a problem, this was an attempt to improve on a good situation. This was his play for some sort of grace. Other people he knew could provide an outside perspective, and perhaps allow him to be less focused on his work and on the game he coached. And so he decided he would try dating. Without expectations, without a plan, just as a way to see what the world might have for him.

And now, a word from our sponsors.

[masculine ad reader voice] Ford! Our cars are built strong, strong like a rock or a mountain or a bone. In fact, our cars are built out of bones, weird metal bones that were buried in a meteor. What creature did they belong to? How did it live with a skeleton of steel? Are its relatives even now streaking down from the sky, intent on revenging themselves upon the pitiful culture that desecrated their dead and turned them into affordable and reliable pickup trucks? Who knows. We certainly don’t. We barely understand how an engine works. We have one guy who knows, and he builds them all. But in order to protect his job, he won’t show anyone else how to do it. Now that’s smart thinking. Ford: drive weird bones.

There was no great epiphany for Frances that led to her dating life. She had been on the dating app, Void, since it had become available in Night Vale, and had gone on a few casual Void dates. It was not an important part of her life, because it didn’t seem likely to ever lead to anything more. But the occasional company was nice. A night with someone, and then back to her life as it was, which was a life she liked. In this way, her dating was related to her obsession with time. Her bed was always the same bed, and sometimes there was another person in it. And mostly only her. She floated upon that bed as it moved through time. Passengers on and off, and she alone voyaging onward.

And then, Nazr messaged her on Void and they started chatting. For his part, he was unsure of how to date, it having been some time since he had done and certainly before dating happened as a series of written communications, rather than awkward hand gestures. So he had messaged a number of women in town, who had seemed to him like someone he might want to spend more time with. He did this without expectation. He had few expectations that did not involve football. He just performed the actions that might lead to new outcomes for him, and three of the women had messaged back. He was, after all, not a bad looking man, handsome even, although it had been a long time since anyone had told him that. And so it would not have occurred to him that he was handsome, and this in many ways made him even more handsome.

Frances and he agreed to meet for lunch near the high school. This was close enough to her antique store that she could walk, and so the whole thing didn’t feel to either of them like much of a commitment of time. “So,” he said, once they had sat down with their food. “So,” she agreed, and for an awful moment it seemed like it would hang there in uncomfortable silence, and a bad date best forgotten. But then he asked about antiques, because he himself had an interest in old football trophies. And he agreed that might seem a bit weird, but the thing was that their designs were often fascinating. Never having been meant to stand up under scrutiny, crudely carved players, hands like dinner rolls, feet disappearing into the base of the trophy. And this turned into a discussion of all the many old items that would never be valuable from the viewpoint of capitalism, but were more interesting than the ones that were valuable. From this, the conversation spread out into her fascination with time. And then time itself, and their childhoods, and how it was hard sometimes to remember that they themselves were adults. And in Nazr’s case, older than his parents ever lived to be.

On returning to work, Nazr started the afternoon football practice as usual. And as usual, threw himself into the rhythm of drills, spells and counter-spells that make up any football skirmish. But he found, for the first time in his life, that he couldn’t make himself fully focus. There was a part of him still thinking about the lunch, about the way her hands had looked tapping on the table. About the way she talked about time as it were not an implacable force, but an old and fallible friend. He had to continually draw himself back intro practice, and the players wondered if he perhaps was sick.

Frances stood at the window of her antique shop watching the planes fly overhead. When a person entered the shop, she would acknowledge them vaguely with a nod, and then acknowledge them vaguely with a nod again when they left. But otherwise, she kept her eyes on the window. Something in her chest felt tight, but also less heavy. She was both scared and happy, and she wasn’t sure why she was either of those. When later they both messaged and decided to go on a second date, an evening date at a nice restaurant, something with a bit more commitment behind it, neither of them connected it directly to the way they felt after their lunch together. But both of them could not contain their impatience, and had messaged that very evening. Both at exactly 10:55 PM.

Let’s have a look at that weather.

["Riches and Wonders" by Eliza Rickman & Jherek Bischoff]

There was a second date. And that night, she went with him back to his house. Then a third date, when they went to her house. Then a few more dates where they sometimes went to one of their houses and sometimes just kissed, wild with the feeling of it. Out in the park lot of whatever restaurant or bar they had met at, before saying good night because they had to work in the morning, and they were adults who sometimes had control of themselves.

This was not one of those nights, though. This was a night that she was in his bed and he was asleep. This was a little over a month after their first date. As she lay sleepy and happy, she watched the TV, which was tinting the darkness a soft fickering blue. It was an old episode of “Friends”, in which Joey rolls limply and slowly, over the course of 21 minutes, across the apartment while out of focus in the background, Phoebe searches desperately through every cabinet and screams. Frances had seen the episode too many times to laugh out loud at, but still it felt comforting to watch, like sitting in a room that she liked. The episode had become a place she could go, rather than a story to follow.

There was a commercial break and a PSA from the Secret Police came on, featuring the adorable cartoon spokesdog, Barks Ennui. He capered about, pointing out all the different ways one could break the law in Night Vale and get sentenced to a forever term in the abandoned mine shaft outside of town. She found herself grinning at his bad puns in the section about reporting on your neighbors: “Traitorous activities can be ruff! Go fetch us their deepest secrets!” And then Barks said her name. His cartoon canine face turned directly to the screen and he said, “Frances.” She didn’t know how to respond. A commercial had never spoken to her, and certainly it had never done what Barks did next, which was to step out of the TV screen in a clumsy flopping movement and then sit up, a two-dimensional flickering cartoon dog standing in the bedroom.

“Frances,” Barks said. “You aren’t supposed to be here. This doesn’t belong to you.” He cocked his animated head, the wall of Nazr’s apartment vaguely visible through him, as though through heavy fog. As his head turned, it sagged in the direction of the ground, stretching and distorting his cartoon puppy face until it was a series of drooping ovals. When he spoke again, his voice sounded stretched too. “You will have to make this right, Frances!” he garbled. [muddled] “You will have to make this right!”

She screamed. Nothing happened. She screamed.

Stay tuned next, just – stay tuned. Next.

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Welcome to 2018. The year we finally do it. The year we eat the sun.

[bamby0304]

Season’s Special: Chapter 5

Summer: July

Summary: Life was simple. You worked at the local cafe, starting your days baking some pies before setting off to serve customers. Everything was routine, all year round. Nothing changed. As a creature of habit you were quite content living your life the way it was. But when a flannel wearing flirt walks into the cafe one morning you begin to wonder if maybe you’re missing something…

Over the next twelve months things start to change. Over four seasons your world is turned upside down… only question is, is it for better or for worse?

Masterlist

Warnings: Nope :):)

Bamby

A large bouquet of sunflowers were in your face, the yellow as cheerful as the person who’d bought the flowers.

“I saw these and thought of you.” Susie beamed.

Smiling lightly back at her, you took the flowers and headed over to place them in a vase on front counter. “Thank you. They’re lovely.”

The response was somewhat automatic. The flowers really were nice, but the reason why they’d been bought stung a little. You knew Susie only meant well, but the constant reminders of your rejection were seriously getting tiresome.

It had been weeks since you’d seen Dean. On the Saturday you’d had lunch with him the two of you had made plans to go out the following Friday. You’d gotten dressed up, making sure to look nice while also trying not to look like you’ve put so much effort in your appearance. You’d organised to have Tom stay behind at work, even though you usually worked Friday night. You’d worked up your courage and beat down your nerves. You’d been standing outside, ready and waiting… and waiting… and waiting…

When Dean was two hours late, you left.

The next day you got up early to bake whatever desserts were needed in the shop, and then you went straight back to your apartment. You’d stayed there all day, just in case he might show up at the store with some ridiculous excuse.

He never showed up.

Sunday rolled by, and nothing. Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. A whole week and he hadn’t showed up. Then another week. And another. And another. Still, no sign of him.

At first, you’d been mad. How dare he flirt with you, agree to a date, stand you up, and not come by with a reason or apology.

Then you were worried. What if something had happened? What if he was hurt? Or sick? What if something was wrong with his brother? Or another family member? What if he was actually busy taking care of someone, and the whole time you’d been hating him?

Then you hurt. When he didn’t come by, not even for his usual coffees and pies, you couldn’t help but feel like it was all your fault. You scared him off. You came on too strong. You were too hard to get. You weren’t pretty enough. You worked too hard. No matter the reason, you were sure it was your fault.

Now? Now you were just trying to move on and get back to work.

But people weren’t making it easy. Tom would throw in some comment here and there about how you didn’t need ‘a guy like that douche’- his words, not yours. Susie was adamant that there were plenty of fish in the sea, and you’d find a good guy eventually. Even some customers were throwing in their two cents.

Mr Jeffers would ramble about how you deserved a gentleman, and how in his day ladies were treated with respect. Karen went on and on about how she’d be burnt plenty of times, which led to her turning away from dating and instead making a family of animals. Harvey had been offering to set you up with someone else, while constantly reminding you that you were a catch and Dean was missing out.

They all meant well, and you respected their opinions and loved their efforts at comforting you. But honestly, you just wanted to forget it all. You just wanted to get back to focusing on the store, and not fussing over some guy.

You were in the kitchen, making a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. The day had gone by pretty smoothly. The afternoon rush had been and gone, leaving the store quieter than it had been in a few hours. Tom and Susie were still working, but with only a few customers the two moved at a leisurely pace, chatting away as they worked.

With the golden setting sun shining through the windows of the front room and into the kitchen, you couldn’t help but smile at the serenity of it all.

The sound of the bell on the front door ringing caught your attention, but you didn’t look up. Instead you focused on the task at hand, mixing the ingredients together in your large bowl. A moment later you heard Susie speak. But she didn’t use her usual friendly customer voice, instead she spoke with a cold and short tone.

“What do you want?”

Your head shot up out of shock. Dusting your hands off, you started around the corner, ready to scold Susie for being so rude. But as soon as you stepped out of the kitchen you came to a stop, your heart turning to ice as walls quickly built themselves inside you.

Dean looked away from Susie, his eyes turning to you. “I can explain.”

Taking a deep breath, you plastered on the biggest and fakest smile you could muster as you moved over to the dessert display. “Two coffees, a whole pie and a slice of the special. Right?”

“Please, just-”

“Susie, can you go make the coffees for me, please?” you asked, having cut Dean off.

She just nodded and walked off, shooting a glare in his direction on the way.

Dean opened his mouth to talk again, but you beat him to the punch. “Today we have rhubarb and raspberry, or apricot. Personally, I’d go with the apricot. It’s got a tang to it.” You smiled, reaching in to grab the pie without waiting for him to respond.

He sighed. “Y/N, please.”

Turning away, you moved to place the pie in a large box, and a slice of the special in a small one. Grabbing both boxes, you turned again, placing them on the counter by the till before running the numbers through.

Dean slid his money on the counter as you read the amount out. When you reached for the cash he grabbed your wrist, stopping you from pulling back.

Your smile slipped as your eyes shot up to glare into his. “Let go.”

“Just, please.” He took a breath, desperate eyes holding yours. “Let me explain.”

Wrenching your hand from his, you grabbed the pies and pushed them towards him. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“You heard her,” Tom spoke up from where he now stood behind you, arms folded over his chest. “I think you should get going.”

Susie- who was beside Tom- reached over to place the coffees on the counter. “Have a lovely day,” she said, voice cold.

Pulling back from the counter, you turned on your heels and started for the kitchen. But Dean wasn’t letting it go. He wasn’t letting you go. Instead of leaving like he probably should have, he followed you, staying on the other side of the counter.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to stand you up. I wanted to call, but it’s not like we exchanged details or anything. And I would have come by earlier, but I’ve been busy. And I know that doesn’t make it okay, but you don’t understand.”

Coming to a stop in the door way of the kitchen, your back still too him, you took yet another deep breath before turning. “I don’t understand? You’re right, I don’t. I don’t understand how someone can spend months flirting with another human being, only to fall off the face off the Earth for five weeks. I don’t understand how someone could leave another person waiting for two hours. I don’t understand how that same person could think the excuse that they were ‘busy’ is good enough. And I certainly don’t understand why they’d think anything would warrant forgiveness.”

His mouth snapped shut as he watched the fire in your eyes grow.

Neither of you said another word as you both stood there, looking at each other. He knew no matter what he’d say you wouldn’t listen. You wouldn’t care. You were too hurt. Any chance of a friendship, or anything else, was long gone now. As far as you were concerned, he was just a faceless customer.

Giving a short nod, he walked over to the counter and grabbed this drinks and food before walking out the door, leaving without a word.

It was dark. You stepped out of the store and closed the door behind you, locking it up for the night. After having such a lovely afternoon you’d been left with chaos as soon as Dean left. Word had quickly spread around town, and within twenty minutes the whole town knew about the scene that had played out in your store.

Everyone had been concerned about you. People had come by just to make sure you were okay. Some brought flowers. Others offered to sit and talk. Hugs and smiles were given. There’d been so many people it was all a blur now.

Sighing, you turned on your heels, heading for the front door to the foyer of your apartment… only to come to a complete stop as you spotted a car parked across the street.

The car was beautiful. Black. Sleek. A classic. You’d seen it around town and had once asked Harvey about it, because it was so beautiful. He hadn’t known who owned it, but he could at least tell you what kind of car it was. A 1967 Chevy Impala.

Appreciating it from a distance, you’d never spotted a driver. You’d never seen a single person in the vehicle. But you could see them now.

“Seriously.” You shook you head, glaring at Dean as he leaned against the side of the car’s hood. “Can’t you take a hint?”

Pushing off the car, he crossed the road, not having to wait for any traffic because it was late enough that most of the town was already asleep. “I’m not the kind that gives up easily.”

“Clearly you are.” You shrugged, folding your hands across your chest. “With the way you stood me up you made it quite clearly how easily you give up.”

“It’s not like I had much of a choice,” he argued, coming to a stop a step or so away from you.

You had to crane you neck slightly to look up at him, but that didn’t make you feel smaller. In fact, it just made you feel angrier. “Right. Because you were busy,” you scoffed. “I’ve heard some pretty lame excuses in my day, but that has got to be the worst.”

“It’s true,” he insisted with a short and simple shrug.

“What could keep you so busy for five weeks that you couldn’t even come by to explain yourself?” you countered.

“Work,” was his simple answer.

You raised an unconvinced eyebrow. “Work?”

“Yes. Work.” He nodded. “My brother and I work together. It’s kinda hard to explain what we do, but we’re kinda like… bounty hunters. The job takes us all over the country. Sometimes we can be gone for days. Sometimes weeks. Sometimes months.”

At first you didn’t believe him. Bounty hunters? Come on. But the longer you looked him up and down, you couldn’t help but wonder.

He did look like a tough guy. You were sure he could handle himself in a fight. His car certainly made you think he might live an exciting life. It would explain why you didn’t see him as frequently as your other customers. Plus, you’d seen him wearing a few suits, which he might need if he had to be a witness at court or something…

“Bounty hunters?”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but yes.” He nodded again. “Bounty hunters.”

Giving him one more scrutinising look over, you contemplated the idea for a moment longer before eventually nodding yourself. “Fine. I’ll buy it.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, he relaxed a little. “So, you forgive me?”

“Not by a long shot.” You laughed shortly. “But I don’t hate you anymore.”

Slowly, the grin you hadn’t seen in so long made its way onto his lips. “I can work with that.”

Bamby

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