#whoever gave mans his name was in their bag bc that's the best name in football right there

[allpromarlo]

amon-ra st brown is the best german football player in the world

[remmysbounty]

reunited//din djarin x f!reader

first off, thank you to my Siri ( @booksmusicteaandanimals​ ) for giving me this fic idea earlier today, especially bc after she gave me this idea i ended up getting two other ideas bc of it. 

I hope you all enjoy it :) 

I’m gonna tag some of you that I think will be interested, if you don’t want to be tagged in the future that’s totally fine, just let me know. 

please comment and/or reblog what you think, feedback is very much appreciated

You’d felt him before you saw him. It had been years since you’d felt another Force user in your presence, and even though he was clearly bothered by something, the waves of despair that you felt did not surprise you in any way. Feeling him as you walked down the path, you found yourself standing in front of a creature you had only heard about in legends and bedtime stories.

“Hello little one,” you brought your hand out to touch his three fingers, allowing him to infiltrate your mind, talk to you, “Would you like for me to help you find this man, the Mandalorian?”

You felt a resounding yes come through the force and after securing the little one in your arms, you continued down the path you were on. Clearly whoever you were looking for was someone who would stand out, whether intentional or not, and you had heard rumors about a bounty hunter being in the area that morning, so you figured the best place to head towards would be the cantina. As you walked you got to know more about the child in your arms and he shared with you memories of his journey with this Mandalorian. A Mandalorian who reminded you very much of one that you’d met when you were just on the cusp of adulthood. 

You waved at the little Mandalorians who ran through the marketplace, still having the freedom to do so before the Empire had forced them into hiding, and continued down to your stall, hoping that today would be a good day. The different teas that you’d prepared the night before rested in their containers, waiting for hungry eyes and watering mouths to request them and you sat there, eager to speak with anyone that viewed your stall as appealing, especially a certain Mandalorian who made his appearance every sun-down. 

He had his own blend, one that you’d created by accident, but that he’d enjoyed so much, you couldn’t help but make sure you always had some on hand. The sun had already started to set, the pink and orange hues covering everything around you, as you started to pack your stall- it had been another slow day.

“I hope I’m not too late,” your Mandalorian’s sudden appearance had caught you by surprise, something that happened often.

You smiled softly at the beskar covered man in front of you, “No, you are right on time actually.”

After giving him his tea bag, you finished packing up everything you’d need and started your trek home, accompanied by Mando, “Was your day good?”

A slight tilt of his head and a deep sigh escaping his lips told you that it was anything but, and you couldn’t help but agree, “Me too.”

As the two of you arrived at your door, you watched to see if Mando would follow you inside. Recently, you had gotten the feeling that things were changing between the two of you, and you wanted to tell him how you felt but there was another thing on your mind that you knew needed to be said first.

“Mando,” you whispered, waiting for the iconic tilt that told you he was listening, “I’m leaving Navarro.”

The second those three words left your lips, Din’s hold on the box in his hands released and he almost dropped it before catching it- and himself, “What?”

One word. That was all you got out of him, but what else could you expect.

You looked down at your twitching hands, wondering how you could explain everything to him. How much you loved him, cared for him, and also put him in danger. You knew he had a dangerous profession, but one thing was being a bounty hunter, and another thing was being on the run from the Empire.

“Something’s come up,” those three words told him everything he needed to know. You were hiding something from him and he didn’t like it, but watching your trembling figure next to him, made him wonder why you were lying. You’d always been so talkative, so open, so kind, so- he’d even considered giving you his name tonight, but now he wasn’t so sure.

Your eyes looked at everything but him, “I have to leave. I was won-” you looked down at your feet and took a deep breath in, “Can you stay here tonight, please?”

A deep sigh came from his helmet, “No, I’m sorry.”

You shook your head as a watery chuckle escaped your lips, “It’s okay, don’t apologize Mando-” “Din. Call me Din, please.”

“It’s okay… Din.”

 You hadn’t realized that you were projecting this last memory of your Mandalorian until you felt the child shift in your hands. Looking down you realized he wanted to share something with you. Suddenly, you were bombarded with different images of his Mandalorian as if he were trying to send you a message, “Do you think he’s my Mandalorian?”

As you asked that very question out loud, Din had caught sight of you and the child in your arms. He almost hadn’t recognized you, and if it weren’t for the fact that you held his son in your arms he would have easily skipped over you in his search for Grogu. What a coincidence that the one time he loses Grogu during a fight with some other bounty hunters, it is in the very town you are in.

Din had been so consumed by your appearance, he hadn’t realized the way Grogu had pointed you towards him until you were standing there as clear as day.

“Y/N?” He hadn’t realized he had even whispered your name, still in awe of seeing you after years of separation. It was sweet on his lips, like honey, and he wanted nothing more to drop on his knees and bask in your presence. 

Of course, you hadn’t been sure that the child in your arms was correct until you heard your name escape the helmet in front of you. Your eyes watered as you finally accepted that the child was very much right, “Din?”

Tears ran down your cheeks as you took Din in, “It really is you.”

You felt the child move around in your arms and you suddenly remembered what it is that led you to him, “I take it he is yours.”

Din nodded his head quickly in agreement as he grabbed Grogu from your arms, “Could-” there was a pause, “Would you like to come with me to my ship? We can talk more there.”

You gleefully nodded, even though the tears continued to fall, as you motioned for Din to lead the way.

Soon you found yourself in the comfort of the Razor Crest, and even though you had only been on it once before, it felt more like home then the planet you were currently residing in.

After settling down in the cockpit you found yourself telling Din everything, not only why you left but how you ended up in Navarro in the first place to how you ended up standing before him with Grogu in your arms. While he has hurt that you had never told him any of this before, he understood, in a way you’d wanted to make sure he’d stay safe and that could only be for certain if he didn’t know.

“Oh, cyar’ika,” Din’s hand hovered over your cheek waiting for you to give him permission to touch you in a way he had never done before, “I missed you.”

The tears returned as did the memories of your time right after leaving him, “I missed you too, Din.”

Somehow Din allowed you to come closer and you soon curled up into his chest, your head finding comfort in the sliver of skin open to the air around you, “I don’t want to leave you Din, ever again.”

Din seemed to grunt something at your words and whispered, “Then don’t.”

You brought yourself even closer to Din, which you didn’t believe was quite possible, and whispered a simple ok as you finally let your mind come to terms with the fact that you had been reunited with your Mandalorian, your Din.

--

tags: @booksmusicteaandanimals​ @lathyrusodorxtus​ @thewayofthemandalorian​ @maybege​ @pikemoreno​ @dindjarindiaries​ @dindjarinscape​ @littlemisspascal​ @bitchin-beskar​ @captn-andor

[jj-bxby]

brain cells ~ jj maybank request

requested by @maybebanks like, a long time ago (sorry!! i also changed up the ending a tiny bit bc i needed some fluff in my life) ~ can you write a request, Jj x y/n and they ‘hate’ each other so the pogues abandon them together on the boat. Jj starts smoking and it makes y/n anxious because she has a bad past/impression on drugs.He thinks she is just being annoying but she is shaking and wiping her tears so he doesn’t see.JJ starts to feel bad and he reluctantly stops. He tries to get her to admit she’s afraid but she is too proud and he sees her sensitivity so he apologizes, letting her rest her her head on his shoulder💕💕

word count ~ 2.1k

tw ~ weed, swearing, fluff

“Why didn’t you tell me JJ would be here, Sarah?” You demanded in a hush while you crossed your arms over your chest. “You know that I can’t stand him!” 

You just pulled the girl aside as you had seen the blonde tufts of hair that you knew so well. Sarah, one of your best friends, had invited you and Kiara, your other best friend, out on her dad’s boat for a “Girl’s Day.” Now, you found out that John B promised a fishing day to JJ on the same boat. And that means that you were going to be stuck in the middle of the sea on the same boat as Captain Asshole, JJ Maybank. It seemed like whoever was controlling the Strings of Fate had decided to set any friendship you and JJ tried to form into a complete hate fire. It wasn’t your fault that he was a complete dick, it was his. All of his hookups he couldn’t care less about, his lack of manners, and the fact that he can’t keep still for five seconds all pissed you off.

“Jesus Christ, Y/N, you know why! You wouldn’t have stepped so much as a toe onto the dock if you knew JJ was going to be here,” Sarah whisper-shouted at you. “You need to get used to JJ being around because he isn’t going anywhere, and neither are you.” 

“But I-”

“-Hate his guts, I know, Y/N.” You frowned at Sarah, annoyed that she knew all of your argument. “Try and tolerate his guts for today, ‘kay?”

You grumbled an agreement, her dragging you to the front of the deck where the boys were talking at. “Hey Y/N!” John B grinned, giving you a giant hug to make you laugh. 

“Hey, brother,” you joked. John B had definitely become something of a brother to you, being there when boys got on your nerves (even when it was JJ), when you were drunk and couldn’t be trusted to get home on your own, when you were sad, or just when you needed a place to stay, he was always there. You waved to Kie, who was now ascending the stairs to the boat after grabbing the food for the day. She smiled blissfully, knowing you had found out about the lie and that you were going to talk her ear off about it that night. 

“Hey, Princess,” JJ nodded to you. “Decided to get out of your castle today?” You gritted your teeth, already annoyed by the condescending tone dripping from his words.

“Yeah, sure. I was promised a girls’ day, but clearly, that’s not happening since John B is here,” you said with your honey-sweet voice. JJ rolled his eyes and peeled himself from the railing. 

“So where’s Pope at then?” JJ asked JB, whose eyes flickered to Sarah’s.

“Oh, uh, he said he had to work today,” John B clarified. 

You thought to yourself for a second, a look of confusion spread across your face. “I thought he didn’t work on Sund-”

“Hey, y’all! Guess who brought us food!” Kie shouted when she ran onto the deck with everyone. We all smiled and greeted her quickly, giving hugs and thanking Kiara for the lunches. Once all of the fuss calmed down, JB and Sarah headed to the cockpit to start us on our course.

You started to pull Kiara towards you to save you from being alone with JJ, before hearing John B call out. “Kie, can you untie us from the dock?” 

“Sure!” She pulled her arm away from your grip, turning around to give you a smug smile as she walked towards the stern. 

“I am going to kill you,” you mouthed. Sighing, you turned back to see JJ staring at you with a pompous smirk on his face. 

“Guess you’re stuck with me, Princess,” he said.

You hated that nickname. JJ knew you hated that nickname. You, John B, and JJ all grew up together, you and JJ being on the same street. He called you Princess to mock how easily you could make friends and slip into popular crowds, which was quite ironic considering your current position with him. “Don’t be too pleased with yourself, JJ, we haven’t been abandoned. Just because I can’t avoid you by talking to Kie doesn’t mean I’m alone with you willingly,” you grumbled, plopping down on the seat nearest to you. You liked the feeling of the boat rocking as you were steered out from the marina and into the open sea. JJ scoffed when you pulled out your phone to take pictures.

“You’re not even going to try to talk with me, Y/N? You’d really rather take pictures for your fake-ass Instagram instead of having a conversation?”

You were already annoyed, knowing JJ was just nit-picking your every move. “Yes, JJ, I would rather take pictures than talk with you. Know why? It’s because you’re such an arrogant asshole that people only fucking tolerate you so that they don’t rock the boat.” 

JJ laughed bitterly as he turned his body away from you. “You’ve got that twisted, Princess. You are such a bitch!” JJ shouted at you. “Every time that you open your mouth, you just have to judge me or be fucking annoying with how you make everything about you!” As the boat pulled to a stop, you heard the anchor drop with a splash and a hum in the distance.

“Oh please,” you sneered. “You’re the one who judges me! Talking shit about my boyfriends, about what I post and how I like to look, you’re always high, and you always have to call me that irritating name.”

JJ’s derisive smile cracked across his face. “Oh, you don’t like it when I call you Princess, huh?”

“No, I fucking don’t, JJ!” “Hm,” he started, “from what I’ve heard, you seem to like it a lot when you’re f-” JJ was cut off by the sound of splashes, one, two, three.

Your heads whipped around to see your friends swimming toward the HMS Pogue, which Pope was manning. “BE NICE TO EACH OTHER,” Pope shouted as he helped the pogues onto the boat. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” You called, stomping to the edge of the boat to call out to them.

“If you guys aren’t going to get along by yourselves, we’re just gonna have to force you together. Play nice!” Kiara shouted back. The Pogue hummed while Pope turned it in the other direction and sped off with your friends waving. You and JJ flipped them the bird simultaneously. 

“I need new friends,” you muttered, pushing past JJ to sit down on the deck. 

JJ rolled his eyes, grabbing his backpack. “Looks like they left us a note,” he said with a frown, plucking the paper from his bag. “‘Left some sandwiches, waters, and blankets for you, we’ll be back when we think you guys have calmed down. Play nice. From JB, Sarah, and Kie’,” JJ sighed. “Oh wait, there one more part. ‘We’ll come tomorrow morning at the latest, from Pope’.” You groaned, setting your face in your hands.

“This is so dumb. Why do they think this will fix anything?” You asked, furious.

JJ shrugged at you. “It won’t work if you don’t try and talk, Princess.”

“Stop calling me that,” you seethed. “I’m not going to try and negotiate peace with someone who intentionally infuriates me.” JJ rolled his eyes at you and dug around in his bag. Eventually, he pulled out a hand-rolled joint in a small bag. 

“You need something to calm you down. Both of us do,” he grumbled. He picked the joint from the bag, lighting it with his Zippo.

You felt a flutter in your stomach. “JJ, please don’t do that.”

He rolled his eyes again before taking a drag, leaving you to watch the billow of smoke coming from his lips. “Chill out, God. I know you can’t stand me, you’ve told me that enough. Just stop bitching about everything for ten minutes, okay?” JJ snapped at you. You tapped your fingers together, trying to distract yourself from the sourly familiar smell. 

“Can you just not smoke right now, please? It freaks me out,” you explained nervously.

He let out a breathy laugh. “Everything freaks you out, Princess. Deal with it.” He took another puff and you stood up, walking to the opposite railing to look out at the sea. You felt tears welling in your eyes as you got up, and they were falling by the time you got to the rail. The smell triggered the memories of bad parties flashed in your head; the one where guys hit on you and touched you and you had to shove them off, the ones where you got into fights, and the time where you ended up high and crying and panicking for hours. You wiped the tears from your face, trying to stifle any sniffles.

You heard footsteps come up behind you, and JJ’s soft voice followed. “Y/N, are you crying?”

You sniffled again, wiping at your nose. “No. I’m just sad thinking at all of the brain cells you’re losing right now.”

He came up beside you and looked at your face. “Weed really freaks you out that much, huh?” He mumbled sympathetically, wiping away a stray tear. “I’m sorry, Princess,” JJ whispered. You hadn’t heard him use this soft tone with you in forever, and you had never heard him say your nickname so sweetly. “I’ll put it out, okay?”

You nodded at him quickly, and he stubbed the joint. You walked back to sit on the bench of the boat. “Thanks, JJ.”

He sat down next to you, seeming much more relaxed. “No problem,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry. For not listening and for being a dick.” 

“Apology accepted.” You gave a shy smile. “I’m sorry for freaking out on you and for being a bitch.” 

JJ grinned back at you. “Apology accepted. Although, my remaining brain cells are just curious about why you were so anxious.” 

You ran your hand through your hair, sighing. “I just haven’t had any good experiences with drugs. They’ve all been pretty awful whether I was the one doing them or it was someone else.” JJ nodded solemnly, and you turned to look at him. “Why have you been so annoying to me all of these years, JJ?”

He looked taken aback for a second, then answered. “I don’t know. I guess for a while I felt like you were taking away my best friend,” he began. “Once I realized we could all be friends together and started spending more time together, I think… I think I started to fall for you somehow. And I really didn’t know how to deal with those feelings, so I shoved them aside and went for the ‘be an asshole’ route.” You felt a tingle spread across your skin at his words, and you had to remind yourself to close your mouth.

“So, uh… Why?” You asked him

JJ laughed in response. “What do you mean ‘why’? Look at you! You’re gorgeous and smart, and if I’d just be nice to you then you would be incredibly sweet like you are with everyone else, and you are just generally pretty fantastic,” he rambled. “I just couldn’t deal with any feelings for a while, so I sabotaged them.” You shook your head in disbelief.

“Jesus Christ, JJ,” you shook your head at him in disbelief. “If you would’ve told me then we could’ve stopped annoying everyone a long time ago!” You giggled at him and bumped your shoulder against his. 

“Wait, do you mean…?” JJ trailed off, confused.

“That I also have feelings for you? Yes,” you nodded. “We could’ve been annoying our friends by making out all the time, instead of by fighting all the time.”

He chuckled back at you, “Well, it’s not too late to start.”

You smiled at JJ, as he tilted his head down towards yours, pressing his lips softly to yours. After a few minutes of sweet kisses, you pull back from JJ. “They’re gonna wish they hadn’t done this,” you grinned, resting your forehead against his. 

“Oh hell yeah, they will,” he mumbled, ducking down to kiss you on the cheek. You smiled, setting your head on JJ’s shoulder as he slung his arm around you. The two of you watched as your friends drove the Pogue in your direction, the sun setting above you. 

“Love ya, Princess,” JJ whispered to you cutely.

“Love ya too, Jay.”

Yeah, the pogues would soon be regretting leaving you two on that boat soon enough.

moots/tags ~ @drewswannabegirl @jiaraendgame @midnightmagicmusingsmain @pink-meringues @jjsbxtch @maybanksbaby @starksweasleymain @starkeysdunn @futuretaxcheat @aesthetic-lyss @obx-direction-sos @joshy-obx @x-lulu @http-cherries @poguestyle17 @ifilwtmfc @bbeauttyybbx @shelbsays @softstarkey @fansxdom

[sarcastically-defensive17]

might be a weird request but an angsty fic of calum & reader r dating at a party but cal’s been givin the silent treatment cuz the reader did smth clumsy and cal got mad & they argue & at the party a drunk dude is all on her & she’s tipsy/mad/throws a drink on him & ends up bein a big fight & the band hears & sees the guy slap her causing calum go crazy feels guilty bc he wasn’t with her & the band protect her & kicks him out, fluff at the end insp: snooki getting slapped on jersey shore djjdkd

Fine - C. Hood

TRIGGER WARNING: NON CONSENSUAL SEXUAL TOUCHING AND VIOLENCE. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF THIS COULD TRIGGER YOU BECAUSE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT!!

I love this idea and I had to watch that video like seven times to get inspiration. I hope you like it! I couldn’t think of a plot for so long!

Original story by sarcastically-defensive17

There was something off with Calum. No rhyme, no reason, no explanation for his bad attitude, just random bursts of anger that led to venomous words falling off of his tongue.

Y/N hadn’t seem him actually happy in a while, and she had no idea what caused his outbursts.

She had been dealing with it, but the more he snapped, the harsher he was. She was starting to really dislike being around him, even more so, being at their shared house.

She had a breaking point, but he hadn’t yet hit it, until one Thursday night she had the girls over while the guys had a night out.

The wine had been passed around and they were all a little buzzed by the time the men returned home.

Shit truly hit the fan when Y/N gestured widely with her glass in hand.

She was always a clumsy person, that was no secret, and usually Calum would tolerate it with a smile on his face.

Until she spilled red wine all over Ashton’s white shirt. Everybody laughed it off, except for Y/N.

She rushed around trying to get the liquid out of the shirt it threatened to stain, and the minute her hands lingered on Ashton’s chest for a minute too long, Calum’s insecurities went haywire.

But in true Calum fashion, he refused to mention it to her until she noticed he was giving her the silent treatment after everybody had left for the night.

“Okay, enough,” she threw the cloth she was holding. “What have I done wrong now?”

Her tone was stern. She was sick of his random outbursts and bouts of silence. She didn’t deserve to be treated that way and she was determined to let him know that.

“Nothing,” came his curt response as he directed a look towards her that told her not to push it.

But she was never one for listening.

“No, Calum. I’m sick of this.” Her jaw was set as she folded her arms across her chest.

He let out a snide laugh, and her heart sank at the sound.

She had no idea what had gotten into Calum, but she really hated it. He was a boatload of insecurities and he took them all out on her.

“What do you have to be sick of? You sure looked fine when you were all over my best mate,” he rolled his eyes, setting his jaw to match hers.

“You’re joking!” She laughed louder than she should have, completely intent on reciprocating the sarcasm dropping from his tongue. “I was trying to clean his shirt, but oh no, I’m guessing in your mind, I want him!”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” he mumbled under his breath, turning to walk away from her.

“What did you just say?” She gaped.

He was scared of losing her. It was no excuse, but he was so terrified of her finding love in another and it made his insecurities flare up. He had been hurt many times before, and he was preparing himself for the worst.

He just didn’t realize how far he was pushing her.

She grabbed onto his shoulder and spun him around to face her.

“What did you say,” she spoke through a clenched jaw. She had enough. She was sick of being made to feel as if she couldn’t be around any other male.

“I said, it wouldn’t surprise me,” he spat and he watched as her face fell slightly.

She shook her head, puffing her cheeks as she did so.

“You are ridiculous, Calum.” Her hands were on her hips and her brows were set in fury, “So first, it was random bullshit that you had a bad day and decided to take it out on me, then you were jealous, and now you’re accusing me of wanting to be with somebody else?”

Her eyes were wide and he offered her no answer, instead choosing to clench and un-clench his jaw while looking anywhere but at her.

“News flash, Calum!” She was shouting now. It wasn’t the first time he had accused her of something similar, “I’m not going to cheat on you, or leave you or whatever! You can trust me!”

He wanted to feel sad, almost hurt that he caused such pain to seep into her tone, but all he saw was red.

“How can I trust you? How can I trust you when you were all over him tonight? Huh?”

The limit was hit. She couldn’t take it anymore.

“Fine, you don’t trust me, then get out.”

There was no room for argument. She disappeared upstairs as he scoffed behind her, collecting a bag full of his clothes and throwing it out onto the front lawn.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Y/N. I’m not leaving,” his heart started to hammer along in his chest.

She was calm. A scary sort of calm that sent sweat pooling on his heavy palms.

“I’m not staying in a house with somebody who can’t trust me, Calum.” She blinked, grabbing his keys and snatching the door to their house off of the ring before tossing the car keys to him. “Get out.”

They went back and forth until ultimately, Calum was knocking on Michael’s front door with tears in his eyes.

She was beyond angry with Calum and in pain over the argument with Calum. They hadn’t spoken since.

Unfortunately, the same weekend after she kicked him out, the guys and their significant others were at her house for a celebratory party.

One of their songs had become number 1 in some country. She was far too tired to remember. Especially after Calum had walked in.

She expected to see him, but she didn’t expect the pain that came along with the sight of her boyfriend.

Thankfully, there were more than enough people to successfully help her evade him, but not enough to keep her away from the man who wouldn’t stop chatting her ears off.

His name, Steve maybe? She couldn’t remember. The amount of alcohol running through her veins made sure of it, and she was sure she stopped his intoxicated chatter at least 5 times to ask him for his name.

In her drunken state she managed to catch Calum’s eyes from across the room and she saw his flare once he saw the man standing beside her.

Fingers clicking in her face pulled her attention away from her boyfriend.

“Are you even listening?” A gruff voice asked. It wasn’t the attractive kind of gruffness, like how Calum’s voice is when he first wakes up, but more of a voice tainted by years of cigarette smoke, and alcohol abuse, following a naturally irritating tone.

She smiled at him, intending to return to politely listening to him ramble about his high paying but low effort job.

“Sorry, I saw somebody and got distracted,” she slurred, leaning against the table and rubbing her head. Unknowingly giving the man a perfect view of her cleavage if he were to look hard enough.

A gross smirk worked onto his face and Y/N jumped as his hand connected with her backside.

“Excuse me-“

“Let’s go up to a room, yeah?” His eyes were heavy, and she flinched as he wrapped an arm round her shoulder, roughly groping the flesh he has clasped in his other hand.

“No thank you, I have a boyfriend,” she dug her heels into the ground as he tried to pull her along with him, and she could faintly see Calum’s eyes bore into the two of them.

The man scoffed, “And? I’ve got a dog at home but I still gave the little rat you’ve got upstairs a pat.”

“What did you just say about Duke?” Her anger intensified, her drunken state more worried about defending her dog than focusing on his sleezy proposition.

His hands moved up her waist, brushing her boobs as they continued up.

She shivered at the contact, feeling sick to her stomach.

“Get your hands off of me, you dog hater!” without thinking, she lifted the hand she held her cup in and threw it in the mans face.

He went silent for a moment, barely allowing her heart to beat once before she connected with the ground. Her cheek was throbbing, tears pricking her eyes.

She could barely register the commotion around her, as a head of brown curls flew towards the man and tackled him to the ground.

Three more figures rushed to pull him off of the man, and she couldn’t stop herself from clambering towards him when she saw it was Calum.

Ashton grabbed the man by the neck, dragging him towards the front of the house as Luke yelled at everybody to leave.

“It’s okay, love. I’ve got you,” Calum cooed.

She could barely think of why she was mad at him. In that moment, all she could focus on was the pain in her cheek and the feeling of his arms around her.

He ordered somebody to bring him ice, before pulling her up the stairs to their bedroom. The same one she had slept in on her own for the past couple of nights.

Except for whoever delivered the ice, they were alone in the room. Duke worked his way onto the bed to lay in his owners lap as Calum inspected her face.

“M’sorry,” she whispered into the air, her head feeling as if it were swaying. The ache intensifying from where she hit the ground.

“What for, baby?” He asked, pressing a package of frozen peas to her cheek.

“That guy touched me. Maybe he thought that I want to cheat on you like you do,” she was slurring her words. The whiskey in her blood was not doing her any favors as she tried to communicate with her boyfriend. “I don’t want to cheat on you. I love you too much, you insecure bastard.”

He snorted at the seriousness in her tone. She was observing him with a purpose.

Her mouth was moving, lacking the filter provided from her brain.

“How could anybody want to cheat on you? Have you seen you? You’re hot as fuck.” Her words were slightly muffled by the bag of peas. “I’m sorry I ruined the party. I didn’t want him to hit me.”

Calum put his hands on either side of her face, making sure to watch her cheek.

“Baby, you didn’t ruin the party.”

“But everybody left-“

“And? I don’t care about everybody else,” Calum’s eyes bore into her bleary ones, and he struggled to think of why he felt so insecure in their relationship. “I care about you, and only you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there with you tonight, love. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.”

He truly felt horrible. If he were with her, he could have kept her safe. He could have kept that sleezy guy away from her. Kept his hands off of her.

“S’okay, Cal.” She grinned behind the bag of peas, “You showed him whose boss!”

Her drunken state wasn’t the most ideal for them to discuss the issue of the past few weeks, but he made a note to do so in the morning.

He knew deep in his heart that she loved him, and it was about time he grew up and put trust into her as she did with him.

“I’m sorry he touched me,” she pouted looking down at her body. “His hands felt gross. Yours are better.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, pulling her close to him.

“He won’t touch you again, baby. I promise you.”

“Thank you, macho man,” she relaxed against him, letting her eyes fall shut with a sigh. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

“Also,” she sat up, letting the bag fall from her face. “If you tell me you don’t trust me again, then you can walk that fine ass out the door and I’m keeping our son.”

He chuckled softly at her, ignoring the twinge in his heart at the reminder of his disgusting words.

“Okay, Lizzo. I promise, I trust you,” she kissed him quickly, pulling back to let him continue talking. “My fine ass isn’t going anywhere unless your fine ass is right beside me, promise.”

“I do have a fine ass, don’t I?” She beamed at him.

[memoriashell]

hey i really like you ( can we go out? )

Characters /  Pairing: Fukawa Touko / Naegi Komaru, techincally some background Ishimaru / Oowada, Makoto gets a few lines, and Syo’s present for a bit in the begining.

crossposted on ao3

Notes: hello here's your late day five of @tokomaruweek​ week!! valentine's day prompt!!

the format for the texting section might look a little funky on tumblr since there’s no easy way of aligning right side / left side text but hopefully it’s obvious enough who’s texting what.

heads up i'll be skipping day 6 for now probably! i’ll come back to it when i’ve finished the rest of the week, i just might get stuck on it for a hot minute and i’d like to get the rest of the week out of the way first since i'm already behind.

anyways it's probably also noteworthy to mention that this drabble works on the basis you have a basic understanding of the cultural differences in how japan celebrates valentine's day. i was originally going to try and incorporate white day into this drabble instead of just mentioning it but i wasn’t super happy with how this one was turning out anyways and figured it was best to just get this out as it is!!

i also feel like i should clarify bc that i realize the way i characterize toko in everything this week has made it seems like she hates kiyotaka’s guts but honestly i think they’d be real close!! i really like them as two outsider kids who can relate to each other. they are two sides of the same narrative coin and in this essay i will /j anyways please understand she rags on him from a place of ( platonic ) LOVE. and also bc they r both my cc’s i could never be that mean to either of them. well. no meaner than canon is to them.

edit: forgot tws. nothing super huge bc it's mostly fluff, but it does refrence bullying ( although would you consider faked love confessions / etc as bullying? it's just cruel :( anyways. )

Summary:  valentine's day has never been good for ugly girls ( and hopeless romantics ) like her. 

Valentine's Day. Every girl’s least favorite day.

Or, well, at the very least, her least favorite. Uh, one of her least favorite holidays? Then again, it’s not like Touko really has a ‘favorite’ in the first place, so maybe her point is moot— but she’s getting side tracked here.

One would presume that a romantic like her, an author who writes romance for a living, would live for a holiday that's practically centered around love and romance, but they would be wrong. It’s a miserable reminder of a day for her who has practically been scorned by the idea of relationships. It is a bitter reminder of failed loves and societal norms that she’s never been able to meet.

( Ugly. Rude. Awkward. Unsociable. So what if they’re right? Who is she to tell them they’re wrong? )

If it is not for the fact that she is pretty sure Ishimaru will be at her door if she doesn’t show up, she would probably skip class today. Oh, to be a confident gay man on Valentine's Day and not a closeted lesbian who feels the need to meet heteronormative societal norms. It’s unfair because not only is he ( mostly ) unaffected by this kind of holiday, he’s probably one of the people who care the least about the delicate social intricacies ( and romanticism ) of a holiday like this one. If nothing else, so she can’t say she envies the position this puts Oowada in, because Ishimaru would probably just see this as a learning moment. Anyways before she sounds too envious of her peers for getting their shit together, she just wants it to be unknown that she thinks it’s really unfair that he would get to judge her reasons for wanting to skip school.

( Actually, if she fessed up the deep-seated issues related to why she’d rather not have to be present on a day like today, the last thing he’d do it judge but that’s not really something she wants to acknowledge right now )

Moving on.

Despite the fact that, internally, she is making a fuss about a holiday, she suspects that most of her class probably doesn’t really care about these things. That doesn't mean she feels any less pressured to conform. It’s not like any of them would want chocolates from someone like her anyways, so it’s not like she really needs to be worried...

It’s not the end of the world, stop being such a debbie downer! Syo butts in, ever so helpful. By which she means is very, very unwanted and unhelpful. All the same, they ( unfortunately ) have a point and if she has to put up with this shitty day then at the very least she’d like to have breakfast before someone sees fit to break down her door.

You technically don’t have to do anything. Syo sounds almost too enthusiastic to help with the ‘issue’ at hand.

Using you to escape my problems isn’t always a viable strategy. Touko rebukes. Nor is it a choice, usually.

Only because you try and make yourself as miserable as possible by making things worse for you.

She has nothing to say to that, and instead focuses on braiding her hair to be passably presentable.

“Fukawa-san?” Oh, what she wouldn’t give to not have to hear her name today. Granted, Touko doesn’t think hearing her name being called on any given day is usually a good sign, but it still feels too early in the day to willingly put up with anything and shoots a glare at Naegi, standing in front of her desk. It probably doesn’t help that he sounds nervous for some godforsaken reason, but that’s technically not out of the ordinary, and she’s pretty sure Syo has something to do with that. “Sorry, uh...I was going to try and catch you at your locker this morning, but I guess I must’ve missed you, huh?”

She gives him the most deadpan, withering stare she can muster at the moment as if to say obviously. She’d even turned up to class early because she figured that dealing with whoever else would be in class would be more manageable than having to deal with anything going on in the halls ( because Hope’s Peak is not a normal school and god knows if something can go wrong, it will, and she is not having any of it today ). She assumed that if she looked busy, anyone with any common sense would leave her alone, but Makoto is not the brightest, clearly.

It still kind of throws her for a loop, however, that he chooses to approach her today, of all days. If she were anyone else, or if this exchange happened in any other context, she is sure that him acting like this on Valentine's Day would seem like it was setting up for a love confession. If it weren’t for the fact that Naegi already had a partner so, that’s probably not an issue— not that that would be a theoretical issue, because hey it’s not like Naegi was likely to be the kind of person cruel enough to fake a love confession. That’s definitely not something that’s happened to Touko before and gotten her hopes up only to be horribly crushed and definitely not the reason she’s been particularly defensive today. Nope.

( Yeah, okay, she’s not fooling anyone, but thankfully the only one aware of this is herself. And Syo, but both of these things are clear givens )

It occurs to her that Naegi hasn’t said anything, waiting for her to say something to him, and she grits her teeth irritably. “Wh-What? Spit it out already.”

“Err...are you...” He starts to say something and then seems to think better of it, sheepishly ducking his head for a moment before holding a bag out to her. “Sorry. Komaru asked me to bring these to you. Kirigiri-san had to convince her to not try and sneak into the main building just to bring these to you herself.”

It takes a long minute for her to process what he says before snatching the bag from his grip and holding it close to herself. Friendship chocolates...? That’s probably what’s in the bag. Which is a pretty nice thought in itself— Touko doesn’t usually get gifts like this. It almost makes her not want to touch the bag and ruin the illusion, refrain from eat whatever’s in the bag: but honestly if she doesn’t, Syo will probably make sure to savor it, so she won’t even pretend like that’s an option.

( There’s a part of her that feels a little guilty too, that she hadn’t even considered that Komaru might do something like this and have something prepared for her in return, but if she’d made something and not gotten anything then she’d look like a fool, and it’s not like she would’ve been able to get it to her easily anyways, so she really shouldn’t feel guilty about accepting it, but— )

“I’m glad you like it. She was kind of worried about how you’d take it.” Naegi speaking breaks through her current train of thought and is he still standing here? Had she been stupidly smiling to herself? How embarrassing!

“It’s n-n-not like that...and what kind of person do, do you take me for, anyways...!” Well, if she had been showing any sort of positive emotion on her face, she isn’t anymore. Touko takes this as an opportunity to shove the bag into her book bag, before anyone can notice. For some reason, he looks vaguely disappointed. “I was...ugh, I was just th-thinking that it was surprising she’d trust you with it given the, the track record with how your l-luck turns out!”

Makoto opens his mouth to refute this but thank god someone calls his name from the doorway, and she takes that opportunity goes back to her books before he can try and say anything further to her.

touko-chan!!!!

makoto said he gave you my gift successfully so i know u got it

i think

i didn’t expect u to thank me or anything but it’d be nice

pls tell me u got it right

did u at least read the note i left in there for u

Does Komaru not have homework, or what? She could at least give her a few minutes to try and get a word in. It’s not her fault math is a bitch and Touko is too stubborn to maybe talk to one of her peers into explaining the subject to her.

                                                     Yes, by some miracle I did manage to get it.

                                                                                                             Thanks.

                                                                                        You’re a good friend.

                                                                                                               Sorry.

                                                                                         Is that all? I’m busy.

That is not all, apparently, because Komaru forgoes texting to call her directly. If it were anyone else, she’d ignore it; but since it’s her she figures she can probably talk and do math at the same time.

“So you didn’t check the bag at all?” Komaru speaks before she can even consider greeting her, and Touko rolls her eyes despite the fact that she cannot see it.

“Hello to y-you too. Uh…honestly, I shoved it in my bag earlier and...and haven’t checked on it since. I assumed it was j-j-just candy, and it’s probably safer hid from Syo there.”

“Ugh! I told Makoto to mention to you that I put something else in there. And there’s a box for Syo in there too!” She can practically hear her pouting through the phone line. “Well, uh— I guess that’s fine since you’re busy...? Just check it when you get the chance, okay? Please? I promise it’ll make sense.”

“I got it, I got it. I’ll take a break once I finish this up and check it out. Good enough for you?”

“Mhm! Thank you Touko-chan! I’ll let you go now, so you can focus. Bye!” If Touko wasn’t mistaken ( but probably is ), she sounded almost nervous, the way her words come out in one rushed breath.

Admittedly, now she’s too intrigued by whatever had Komaru pressed enough to make sure she was aware of it, and she doesn’t think she’ll be able to focus now, so...opening the bag it is. She grumbles and groans to herself for a moment, stretching as she gets up from her desk to grab her bag.

She hadn’t really noticed at the time, but now that she thinks about it, there’s some definite weight to this thing, more than she’d expect from some candies ( even now knowing that apparently Komaru had accounted for Syo as well ). Not much though, and she probably would’ve just passed it off for the box the sweet is stored in if she were to really think about it, but now she figures that’s probably not the case. Touko peeks inside the bag a little hesitantly— curiosity wins out over anxiety in the end, and spots what appears to be a small booklet along with a box of chocolates.

Oh god.

She braces herself because, this is probably some kind of manga if she knows Komaru and ( unfortunately ) not a mini-novella but otherwise has no idea what to expect. And once she opens it, she has to thank whatever higher being made sure Makoto didn’t say a thing to her about it because there’s absolutely no way she would have been able to keep a straight face if she’d looked at this in class.

One, she forgot how generally talented Komaru was at this type of stuff. Obviously, still room for improvement, but not nearly as bad as Touko would have thought. Two, this is not really a manga, but a fucking thinly veiled love confession, complete with the most casual ‘Hey I really like you, can we go out?’ Third, she’s extremely glad Komaru did not insist on being on the phone while she checked this out because she does not think she can coherently answer that right now.

In fact, it takes Touko a good half hour to calm herself down enough before she can even consider texting her a response. There’s no way she’s embarrassing herself any further by calling her about it, even if that might have been a more meaningful exchange, but like Komaru just confessed to her through manga so clearly they’re already past that point.

                                                                                                     You’re a dork.

                                           I hate that you’re using your talents for this though.

:)

thats not a no?

                                                                                                          Not a yes.

                         Very tempted to make it a no for making me suffer through this.

touko-chan;;;;;

be gentle to my poor heart if ur gonna reject me :(

                                                                                              Ugh. I was kidding.

                                                                                                      Yes you idiot.

                                                    Just don’t use manga for this stuff next time?

ok!!!!! :)

actually i promise nothing

lol sorry ♡

                                                                                                  You’re the worst.

hehehehehe >:)

i love you too!!

are you busy this week??

let’s meet up!!!

                                             Some of us care about our grades. As should you.

                                                            But Thursday and Friday are lighter days.

                                                                      Yeah yeah. I like you or something.

thank uuuuu ♡♡♡

She chews on her lip as she rereads the message and mulls over it as she tries to ignore the flip-flop of her stomach. It’ll be fine. She’ll just aim to have something planned out for White Day in return.

[juminsmysticmc]

Weird dreamer here!~ So, MC was pregnant of one of the RFA boys, she didn't knew the RFA she just recognized them bc she saw them on a magazine. MC went after the RFA and told V about her situation and the main suspects of being the child's father were Seven, Zen and Jumin (also, i loved my nickname!~)

MC gets pregnant but doesn’t remember who it was until she recognizes Seven, Zen and Jumin on a Magazine and tells Jihyun

Here is my weird dreamer! I’m happy that I could write this Fanfiction (and also that you liked your name, heheh) so, I was wondering for a long time how I could write this FF and who to choose to be the father…I hope you like it! Enjoy and tell me your opinion! Ps: my best friend (the one who requested a perverted Mc) supported me with the idea so, a big thank you to my dummy, love you!

 ,,So are just telling me that one of the three guys here in this magazine made you pregnant, Miss Mc? But you forgot who?’’ the blue haired leader asked you. You gave him a nod. ,,That day on the party I was full with troubles from home and work. And I guess I got a bit drunk…and so I had an one night stand with one of them. I really don’t remember anything but I remember that I talked with the three here and so one of them has to be the father. But I beg you, don’t tell them yet. I don’t want to trouble them. I really don’t want any money or something else. I just wanted to know for myself who my baby’s father is.’’ you begged him. Jiyhun, so was his name, gave you a nod. ,,So what’s my work?’’ he asked you. ,,Please get me a DNA Stample Mr Kim.’’ you begged him. ,,I will even pay you. I just don’t know how I should get it myself. I don’t plan to see them ever again but since you’re the group’s leader, you see them much ofter than me.’’  you told him and he gave you a nod, buried his head into his hands and sighted. Well, he doesn’t see them often either but let’s forget about this. ,,Okay’’ he agreed wth you. You were so grateful to this man. You knew that he was working so hard for you right now, you, a total stranger to him. You were just so touched. And a few weeks later you got three little bags with hair in there. 

You tested the hair. You wanted to know which one was the dad of your babies. Because you just found out that you were expecting twins. ,,So, Mr Kim. I just wanted to tell you that it’s the man with the red hair. I’m looking at his picture in the magazine. He’s going to become the father of two little girls. But please, even if it’s a heavy task, don’t tell him. Instead take my secret with you until the end of your life.’’ you asked him over the phone. Once again the leader gave you a sight. ,,Yes, I will do so Miss Mc even through I think that this is a big mistake.’’ he told you. ,,I know and I’m sorry.’’ you told him and cut the call. 

The only thing you didn’t knew was that Jihyun couldn’t take it anymore, this was just a too heavy secret and he thought that this wasn’t fair to Luciel. Well, he was also sure that Luciel would just ignore you and so he told him that he was about to become a father. ,,Really?!’’Luciel yelled. He had to be honest, he was a bit happy. His life would have a sense now. Two girls, twins. And he wanted to protect them. He didn’t want them to end up like him and his brother. Besides he wanted to make sure that you were a good woman or else he would have took the little girls away from you. He didn’t want to make the same mistake as his parents. He didn’t want that other children had to go through the pain he had to go through. 

And so he decided to keep an eye on you. He hacked into your phone and the CCTV in front of your apartment. You were a pretty young woman, had brown hair and blue eyes, wonderful hands and a nice character. He really liked you. And he wanted to protect you too. Because you looked just so kind. 

,,So, girls. I brought you some new clothes. I’m so happy! Just think about when I will be able to put them on on you!’’ you chuckled while you talked to your belly. Luciel was still looking at you and he could hear you since he bugged your phone. ,,Aiaiai…’’ you moaned. ,,Girls, don’t hurt mommy like that….not when your aunty isn’t here to help me…’’ you mumbled and began to cry. ,,Ahh….help…someone….’’ you cried and curved on the floor.Of course Luciel, your angle who looked over you, acted immediately and called an ambulance for you who picked you up and helped you. Luckily nothing was wrong. But you really wondered how this happened. 

,,Did you call them?’’ you asked your sister later who was by your side. ,,I was surprised too. I thought you called them’’ she told you and ate her soup next to you. Months went by and more accident like these happened. Once you were carving for pizza and in the next moment a pizza service was in front of the door, already paid and the pizza just the way you wanted. ,,Oh Ha Ni, I’m somehow scared now.’’ you said as you bite your pizza. ,,Maybe someone is reading your throughs. Just eat the pizza.’’ she laughed and took a slice. And then you stopped to believe in accidents. Instead you talked to your surroundings. ,,I’m not sure who you are but whoever you are, I believe you are my babies daddy. Come out and visit me, let me meet you if you can hear me.’’ of course you never got a response. But when you had to give birth and you were sure that you would die because of the pain, a red haired man visited you and kneed in front of you. ,,I’m the father. Please, you can do this, fight for the two girls! And afterwards, please marry me and have a life with me. I love you!’’ he confessed and took your hands ,,Ahhhhhhhhh okay….ahhh!’’ you said breathless and smiled at him. ,,Thank you, Mc..’’ he laughed and kissed you while you screamed and gave birth to the two girls. Luciel stayed with you the whole time and you were so happy that he actually decided to stay by your side. 

[sandersgrey]

I've talked about this before but AU in which Aziraphale is human and Crowley is a demon. Aziraphale probably was born around Wilde's time and lived somewhere near (he 100% had a crush you can't change my mind) and Crowley, who had been trying to tempt Oscar, keeps stumbling on him. Aziraphale's family probably was religious and that's why his name was that, so he almost exorcizes Crowley before he manages to explain himself. The human's family was all dead by then and Aziraphale felt a little lonely, just as Crowley did since in this AU he never had the angel's friendship or the Arrangement, so they end up becoming friends.

Except Crowley falls in love, and that's the Worst™ because a)Aziraphale isn't exactly subtle about his crush on Wilde and b)he's human, which means he'll die in a few decades, and being friends is all well and good but Crowley is already going to be heartbroken when that happens and he doesn't want to get more attached so he drifts away.

So a few decades go by.

Aziraphale had been extremely worried about Crowley's disappearance, but hadn't known how to search for him. He settles as the owner of a bookshop and never gets married, for more than one reason, but Crowley's eyes definitely feature in his thoughts whenever someone tries to get him to propose. Aziraphale just kind of hopes to see him again someday, before or after he dies.

Except, being loved by a supernatural being can change you. Crowley always believed deeply in his heart that the universe would take care of him. At this point, Aziraphale is no more a normal human.

He realizes this when he looks at himself in the mirror and realizes he's technically an old man, but still looks like he looked when he met Crowley, decades ago when he was thirty, if more sad.

Aziraphale realizes there's something strange and that his neighbors have started to whisper about what, exactly, he is. So he packs his bags and sets out to find Crowley. It takes him a few years (after all, Crowley didn't exactly leave an address) before he decides to just look where the most mischief is being done and, look, there's his demon

Crowley can't believe in his eyes because, wait, hasn't it been a few decades? As a immortal being he's not the best with human's ages but he's pretty sure Aziraphale shouldn't still look like that and, also, why is he here? Wait he had been looking for Crowley? Why? What do you MEAN he hasn't been GROWING OLDER-

Crowley then remember a few stories about humans that had been loved by angels and is reminded painfully that his genetic code is still mostly angelic if a little modified and goes... uh... actually that might be my fault...

"I'm not complaining, my dear, but what do you mean by that" and Crowley dies a little inside because calling people dear was absolutely an habit Aziraphale only picked up after some years and that's the first time the demon hears it and he's too gay to handle that

so anyway it takes them a while (a while being another few decades while Aziraphale just kind of tags along with Crowley) to realize each other's feelings but they do, eventually, and get together

At some point they settle down in London and Aziraphale gets himself a new bookshop to store all of the first editions he collected over the years. They reach middle ground so Aziraphale has the say in the bookshop's aesthetic but Crowley decorated their flat. It still annoys Aziraphale how homophobic people can be even though things are a little better but on another hand it does stop some customers from buying something when Crowley is pratically sitting on his lap while he reads, so

They do stop the Apocalypse (if by stopping you mean they were vaguely there) except he doesn't answer to Heaven so he's never discorporated and is just kind of in the bookshop while Hastur and Ligur go after Crowley in the flat above and he throws another bucket of holy water on Hastur when he finishes reading Agnes' book (which he can still do bc he had a lot of time to learn, if not as much as he had as an angel), Crowley and him go to Lower Tadfield together and it takes Crowley A Lot to not let Aziraphale burn but he still manages and the human is just there worriedly hoping Crowley doesn't hit anyone with the car but completely trusting him not to let him get hurt, and Metatron absentmindedly just thinks Aziraphale is an angel because what else would be standing up to him and he's clearly not a demon. Aziraphale can still use the flaming sword because he's human and whoever was the guard still gave it to Eve, so it still can be used by humanity if only by humans that are a bit touched by the occult or ethereal

Aziraphale is still 100% ready to die fighting Lucifer with his demon bf

After it all ends they go back to their flat and bookshop and, looking at Hastur and Ligur's remains, think that a change might be just what they need, and keep thinking it after everything gets fixed. They move to the cottage in South Downs and keep living their best life as a very domestic couple. They get married when it becomes legal and the only problem they have with it is the surname because "I'm not taking yours, dear, it would be strange to be called Mr.Crowley after so many years" "well I'm not taking yours, Crowley is my name" but they also don't want to just keep theirs so they become Crowley-Fell and it always cracks Aziraphale the fuck up when he's reminded of it. After that he starts to call Crowley by his first name and the demon would be lying if he says he doesn't like it

Crowley still calls Aziraphale angel because a)it's a inside joke from when they first met, because of his kind of angelic name, and b)he's a softie who likes to call Aziraphale "my angel" after they get together and his bf's humanity won't stop him

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Resource Management, pt24

Word Count: 1897 Tags: @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @feelmyroarrrr @anyakinamidala @dirajunara @little-study-bug @rampant-salamander @goodnightwife @samaxraph99 @anotherotter  @outside-the-government @kingarthurscat @coyote-in-space @originalpottervengerlock @dolamrothianlady @curiositywillbethedeathofme @superheroesofbothuniverses @mtriestowrite @wanderingkat77

It was probably stupid to go home, not knowing if Garrett was going to want me back. I couldn’t see him needing me, but he was crazy enough to want to kill me, and it gave me pause. But I wanted clean clothes, and a shower, and something to eat. I wanted the comfort of my own home. I wanted to hold my passport in my hand, and know that if the world stayed completely upside down, I could escape home, into the forests of northern BC, and not worry about anyone coming after me. Of course, once again, I had no way into my apartment. Fortunately, once again, my super was a champ about letting me in. This time, however, he had more to say about my job.

“Did you even know, Annie? Sometimes the grunts don’t know,” he muttered.

“I had no idea, Bob.” It was true. I still didn’t have the details, but I’d known there was a HYDRA infiltration. But we’d never had the chance to figure out how deeply it went. Cecelia Banks was a genius.

“The grunts never know.” He patted me on the shoulder and pushed my door open.

“Thanks, Bob.”

“What are you going to do now?” He asked.

“Good question. I don’t know,” I admitted.

“You let me know if you need anything, sweetie. You’re a good tenant, and good people,” he rested his hand on my arm.

“Thanks, Bob.” I closed my door and went directly to the bathroom. I started running the tub, hot, and full of Epsom salts and bubbles, and poured myself a full tumbler of whiskey. I stripped down and dropped my clothes in the hamper before padding back to the tub, glass in hand. I slipped under the bubbles and sighed. I wasn’t able to let go of everything, but I released a fair amount of tension just letting the heat soak into me. I leaned my head against the tub surround and closed my eyes.

I must have nodded off. I heard a knock on my door, and realized my water had gone cold. I slipped out of the tub and into my bathrobe. I crept to the door as quietly as I could and peered out the peephole. There was no one there, at least, no one I could see. There was no way I was opening the door. I stepped away and went to get dressed.

I made myself a peanut butter sandwich and flopped down to turn on CNN. I wanted to know what all was going on. I kept the volume low, and heard a knock on my door again. This time I ignored it. I heard the door unlatch and open and dropped to the floor in front of my couch.

“Annie, it’s Bob. I have something for you,” he called. I crawled around the living room and came up behind my cracked open door. I peered through the peephole again to make sure he was alone. He was.

“Let me open the door, Bob.” I shut it and unlatched the chain to pull the door open. Bob stepped in, his grey work coat pulled closed. He pulled a gun and holster out and handed it to me.

“This is my service revolver, honey. I’ve been glued to the TV since that first flying ship came down. You need it more than I do.” He dug in his pockets and pulled out a couple of box of bullets.

“Bob, I can’t –“

“Way I see it, kiddo, you have to. You’re not the kind of girl to not be some kind of important. And if you aren’t with the terrorists, it means they’ll be looking for you. My money says you probably have some secrets tucked in your brain that someone would kill to keep quiet. Take the gun. You’re from the Midwest somewhere, right?” He interrupted.

“I’m from western Canada –“

“I’m pretty sure I have your mom’s address in St. Louis on your lease. I’ll forward anything important to you there,” he cut me off again with a wink. “You should really think about going home for a visit until this blows over.”

He shuffled back out the door and disappeared down the hallway. I felt sick. He’d worked for one of the agencies for years, and if he thought I should run, he was probably right. I went to start packing. I pulled out my backpack and carefully picked the stitching out of the big maple leaf badge. I only packed a couple of days worth of clothes, as I had lost my purse in the safe house somewhere, so had only the cash that was stuffed in the mason jar in the back of my baking cupboard to get me anywhere. And considering I’d already raided it once recently, there wasn’t much left. I changed into the same cargo pants and sweatshirt I’d worn the last time I’d be ‘on the run’, hoping for similar luck. It was a moment of weakness, but I really wanted Phil to sweep in and save the day. I wasn’t usually a Disney princess, but this time I really wanted to be rescued.

I grabbed a few things that I couldn’t live without, just in case I wouldn’t be coming back, and tucked them away in an inner pocket in my bag. I slipped my laptop into the padded back panel and zipped it closed. I took a final look around my apartment, mentally saying goodbye to my books. Everything else was replaceable, but the books would be a loss if I couldn’t return. I opened my desk to dig around for my passport, and couldn’t find it. I opened the next drawer and moved the papers in it around, but it wasn’t there either. I double checked the first drawer again and checked my night table. No passport. I knew it hadn’t been in my purse, I’d only used to it to replace the ID that had gone up in the first attack on the Triskelion, and clearly remembered putting it back in my desk. I pulled every single item out of both drawers, but my passport was gone. The small envelope that I kept my Canadian ID in was also missing. Someone was trying to trap me in the USA.

My heart started racing again. I had about forty bucks in cash and no identification. It was going to make a border crossing difficult. I could hear voices in the hall, and what sounded like the crackle of a radio. It stopped right outside my door. I slid everything back into my desk and peered out the peephole. A couple of guys carrying guns in black tactical gear were gesturing to one another. I backed away from the door and headed to the kitchen window. I looked out, but didn’t see anyone watching the window. Whoever they were, like Garrett, they were underestimating me. I slid my window open and hopped onto the fire escape. I climbed down to the alley and walked away from my building as calmly as I could. When I was sure I was clear, I sped up and didn’t look back until I was on the metro on the way toward the bus station.

It was dark in New York City when I got off the bus. I’d bought the ticket for the busiest place I could think of, where I had the best chance of blending into the crowd. It wasn’t until I was halfway there that I thought that I might be able to track down Tony Stark at the Avengers Tower.

I walked into the lobby of the building and approached the security desk.

“Can I help you?” The security guard was old, and his shoulders stooped forward a little. His silver hair was brushed straight back, and he had a big bushy mustache that reminded me of my granddad. I couldn’t help but smile at him.

“I need to see Mr. Stark.”

“It’s 10:30,” he put me off.

“If I know Tony, that means he should just be cranking the stereo in the lab,” I nodded. If he was here, I thought. The guard raised his eyebrows and looked down at the computer screen. He typed something in.

“He would have left a name if he was expecting anyone. There’s no list for tonight.” He shook his head.

“If you could just call up to him?” I implored.

“If you know Mr. Stark, like you say you do, you know he doesn’t like being bothered when he’s working,” the guard typed something else into the computer.

“I do know that,” I said, “but this is kind of an emergency.”

A tall redhead walked off the elevator towards us, talking on the phone.

“No, I’m telling you, this is a total mess. A building was literally destroyed by a helicarrier with one of our new proprietary engines in it, and I’m going to be doing damage control for days about why you have terrorists using your tech. So no, Tony, I am not coming back upstairs,” she sounded flustered, and the hair, coupled with the conversation, made me realize she was Pepper Potts. I wanted to reach out and grab her, but she looked over and saw me standing there and stopped.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Potts, I told her –“

“Who are you?” She interrupted the security guard. Tony was still on the other end of the phone, I could see the timer on the screen counting up airtime.

“Anna Ellis.” If I said it louder than I needed to, it was because I saw that the call was still live. Potts jerked her head away from the phone and glared at me.

“How do I know you’re Anna Ellis?” She demanded.

“Please, Ms. Potts. I don’t have any ID and I have three dollars and ninety-six cents left. I have nowhere else to go.” I wanted to sit down and cry.

“But how do I know you’re who you say you are?” She put the phone down on the counter between us and hit the speaker button. Tony didn’t say a word.

“Tony brought a bunch of art into my office a few weeks ago,” I started.

“Too easy.” They said it in unison.

“The Starry Night was fake, but the Sunflowers were real. The hideous art deco Iron Man print was the real focal point of the room though,” I continued. Potts shook her head, still not convinced.

“He added pages to my Thor scrapbook that wound up having some sort of computer chip embed in them that allowed him to hack the SHIELD servers and discover Agent Coulson was still alive,” I concluded. I had nothing else. Potts went pale.

“Phil Coulson?” She shrieked, “Tony, Phil is alive and you didn’t tell me?” If she’d been able to beat him through the phone, I think she would have. The elevator doors opened and Tony stepped out, then stepped back in. Potts spun around and stalked toward the mirrored doors, practically glowing red with rage.

“Pepper –“

“Oh no you –“

“Pepper, Annie needs me alive if I’m going to help her.” He cut her off and darted around her, pocketing the phone. I was so relieved on seeing him that I slumped down against the security desk and started to cry.

[mailorderfictionalcharacter]

a list of semi coherent thoughts I’ve had about mcu wanda maximoff

0.5 this post is open to discourse. if u are unwilling to see viewpoints that are pro wanda or anti wanda this is not the post 4 u.

1. wanda runs off of very powerful emotions and that’s an a + character trait. her rage fueled grief and power is just fascinating to watch.

2. ew whitewashing why do you do this to me mcu. stop. enough.

3. yeah it’s kind of ridiculous to kill the ex-ceo of a weapons company that killed your parents as compared to whoever fired the missiles or whoever ordered said military action but it’s not that ridiculous if you apply the barest modicum of generous interpretation to it.

Tony Stark was emblematic of the very destructive American ideal of we’re great and right and coming with guns. Going off of IM2, even as he was doing great things (”I’ve successfully privatized world peace”) his performance was still very um American (”no one’s man enough to go [against me]”). Like as audience members we get it but I could see how that sort of look-at-me attitude would not ring like redemption to someone in that much emotional pain. Like, you could easily read their actions as being about attacking every American/foreign influence figure head, which is sort of supported by the fact that the twins wanted the avengers down not just Tony Stark.

If the weapons were illegally sold there’s no guarantee the twins knew that Tony wasn’t responsible. It’s possible Tony leaked the truth about Obadiah after the “I Am Iron Man” press conference, but the original plan was a SHIELD coverup.

I’m not inclined to conflate profiting of our wrongs or moral ambiguities on the same moral level as instigating wrongs, but it’s also up in the air whether or not Stark Industries cared about collateral damage in the design of their weapons and that’s something the twins could legitimately blame them for. IM1 canon is a mixed bag - we have intellicrops (concern for philanthropy) but we also have, y’know the Jericho (the weapon that levels mountains)

(read more under the cut)

tl;dr: wanda is a fascinating flawed character who suffers from writing problems but she’s also wearing the name of a jewish/romani woman even though marvel studios is too much of a coward to translate that to film & i’m perpetually bitter and indecisive about everything.

4. the twins had enormous social factors encouraging them to hate the avengers/america. even american media was questioning the avengers; shield had fell; people were putting up anti avengers graffiti

5. considering the twins spent their formative years in a country at war and lost their parents I’m assuming they went through quite a few economic hardships.

6. what sort of access did the twins have to media or education?

7. I’m not inclined to blame the twins for their desire to get revenge but it is worth noting that they seemed to have very little concern for collateral damage even though the only thing we as an audience knows for certain is that the whole reason they’re seeking revenge is because of collateral damage.

8. there’s a gap of 8-12 years between the death of their parents and their attack on the avengers. no matter what mitigating circumstances there were (and I think there were a lot) that’s a premeditated crime

9. there’s a lot of parallels between wanda maximoff and kira nerys except the writers on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actually cared about Kira Nerys.

10. both of Wanda’s major fuck ups (willingly unleashing the Hulk on Johannesburg and failing to protect everyone in Lagos) happened in African countries. I believe in some suspension of belief for superhero movies but I’m not sure it’s entirely appropriate to be like hey! look at Wanda! the whitewashed character who fucks things up in African countries! such girl power! great anti-imperialism message!

(I mean, the same disregard applies to all the avengers though. I’m pretty sure the safest interpretation of Lagos is “the avengers could have done better by not fighting in proximity with a bunch of civilians” which is on Steve. And unless I fever dreamed this Steve tosses his cowl at the feet of anti-avengers graffiti in the beginning of aou and there is nothing appropriate about that).

11. Wanda was introduced in AOU, a movie with sub par dialogue and tbh I have a feeling Whedon et.al never thought through the implications of Johannesburg bc he just wanted a convenient way to introduce a hulkbuster fight.

12. tbh I really want a scarlet witch movie to fix all of this but I also really want a recast and I know I won’t get either (fanon wanda is the best because we can fix all of this with a hammer).

13. CA:CW seemed to draw on a lot of Wanda’s comic history (specifically in the oppression metaphors) but since it followed the clusterfuck that was AOU I can’t exactly give them a standing ovation for that.

14. ca:cw did a very bad job following through wanda’s plot threads from aou. tbh I’m not even team we need to stretch Wanda’s redemption arc further but idk, it might be nice if she mentioned her dead brother or tied the Lagos incident/Sokovia accords to, idk, her past living in a war zone.

15. ca:cw could’ve given me wanda wryly commenting on how luxurious the compound was compared to sokovia but instead it gave the should-be-jewish character a cross in her bedroom and fuck that marvel why don’t you just stake me through the heart so I don’t have to deal with your bullshit

16. I wish wanda in the airport scene was more about her desire to do good (go stop the supersoldiers) than the awkward oppression metaphor

17. although push come to shove I would’ve focused on poverty/american foreign intervention over calling the powers she volunteered for the source of her oppression the whole raft scene does demonstrate that people whose powers (or even training) cannot be separated like say Sam and the Falcon or Tony and the suits face a special criminal justice risk.

but this isn’t really relevant to the accords, which are not the SHRA and honestly the same ethical problem of how to incarcerate enhanced people exists whether or not someone is acting as a superhero (is it ethical to put a psychic murderer in solitary confinement if that’s the only way to prevent them from using their powers to escape or assault guards?)

18. according to beta canon/film subtext wanda & pietro did not willingly sign up to work with hydra. Just good to remember.

19. I will forever be attached to the idea of wanda liking Vision’s company because he is both practically invulnerable (not going to get shot 7 times on a floating city) and emotionally dependent on her support (just like Pietro). (this is not implying twincest btw)

20. I think wanda’s house arrest in ca:cw is not completely unreasonable (she’s probably awaiting investigation & is at risk of being hurt/hurting others from mob violence) but definitely steve (and probably natasha & sam) should be under house arrest as well. but they aren’t, and I think it’s fair to say that in universe that’s xenophobia/anti-immigrant sentiment. why be afraid of the american icon when you can be afraid of the poor sokovian woman?

21. antis make way too much of the whole “she’s just a kid line”. like steve was responding to tony calling her, a human being, a weapon of mass destruction. like, he was just trying to humanize her and calling the youngest person in a group a kid even when they’re an adult isn’t that strange.

22. in lagos wanda was trying so damn hard to stop that bomb and yes she didn’t manage it but blaming her instead of steve? uh gross.

23. how much experience does she have? yes tony stark throwing himself into superheroics worked out surprisingly well but superheroes need training

24. I insist marvel release a 22 page dissertation on wanda’s mind powers but also if I don’t like it I’ll call it not canon. (my initial theory was that she produces ptsd symptoms - even if the person normally doesn’t suffer from ptsd - but something in the confidence that she can manipulate tony before entering his mind makes me think she has slight suggestive abilities beyond fear and also thor’s vision arguably followed a different vein)

25. antis like to argue that the maximoffs only turned on ultron because it benefited them but let’s be clear the maximoffs fought ultron because they thought he was wrong and wanted to personally help. they could’ve just tipped off the avengers and left or left ultron to do whatever ultron was going to do and only fought him if he directly came after them okay the twins had options and they chose the most altruistic option.

26. ppl who say wanda isn’t really whitewashed because marvel’s decades of retcons have whitewashed her at past points are pretty much using a two-wrongs argumentative fallacy.

[bastardnev]

Steal Your Heart Ch. 1

so for whatever reason when i shared the first chapter it didn’t show up in nev’s tag, so im gonna repost it because i can (i’ll be putting chapter two in another post bc if i put them together then this post would be Too Long)

also i am SO sorry to anyone on mobile lmao

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: World Wrestling Entertainment, Professional Wrestling Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wade Barrett/Pac | Adrian Neville, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added Characters: Wade Barrett, Pac | Adrian Neville, Other Character Tags to Be Added Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Thieves Summary: Random happenings in the lives of Wade, a detective, and Neville, a thief who took a liking to him and decided to tag along with him during his investigations.

Ch. 1: Buddies

Why could Wade never be assigned to a simple case?

Even though he had been busting his ass for years, Wade's rank as a detective was still fairly low. Maneuvering has way through Manhattan to get to the office was no easy feat due to the traffic and groups of pedestrians everywhere he turned, and it was a miracle that he even showed up on time some days. His efforts were constantly being overlooked by his boss, however, who was far too preoccupied with the higher ranked sleuths to pay attention to him. Wade was forced to watch his superiors be assigned the easier cases, the boss claiming that they'd been working 'far too hard' lately and 'deserved' something less complicated. The cases that they should have been given were handed over to Wade and everyone else who wasn't 'deserving' of a break, lack of qualifications be damned.

This time, a man had been murdered in his room at a fairly prestigious hotel in Miami. At first glance, it looked like the suspect was easy to pinpoint -- an ex-business partner was apparently staying in a room on the same floor. There were rumors that he had been jealous of the victim's success, going on record saying that he felt like he should have gotten that big promotion, but no one ever thought he would resort to murder. He was 'too nice of a guy' for something like that. Wade, however, wasn't buying such a cheap and overused excuse, and he was ready to bring the suspect into custody and call it a day.

There was more to this case, though, as Wade soon learned once he further looked over the file. Everything was far more complicated than it really needed to be. In addition to the rumors of the suspect's jealousy, there was also some speculation that a few members of the hotel staff were in on the killing. The victim had died due to poison, and it appeared likely that one of the workers had slipped something into his food once he ordered room service. Despite all of that, there was still no concrete evidence, and Wade was required to find irrefutable proof that they were involved.

To do so, he needed to go undercover, which he hadn't had to do in quite some time. Wade reserved a room on the floor directly below where the murder had taken place, pretending to be a delivery person who was staying in town for the next few days. It wasn't the best occupation that he could have chosen, but it was better than nothing. Better than being a murderer, that's for damn sure. Wade thought to himself.

The first day on the job was relatively uneventful. Wade's flight had been delayed due to poor weather conditions and he didn't arrive to the hotel until late in the day. All that he had been able to do was scribble down a few points in his notebook, outlining what he would do on the second day of the investigation. As of that moment, Wade was planning on keeping an eye on anyone involved in delivering room service. If he chose to believe the rumors that a staff member was involved in the poisoning, then the most appropriate choice of action would be to order food and learn just who he was possibly up against.

It was while he was plotting that Wade remembered that he hadn't eaten anything since he had gotten off the plane. It was too late at night for him to be getting room service, so he settled on a snack from a vending machine down the hall. He kept telling himself that he needed to start packing extra, more healthier snacks in his suitcase so that he wouldn't have to rely on junk food all the time, but in the end he couldn't be bothered. Besides, he loved Doritos too much to give them up.

The vending machine was in a small room that served as a sitting area of sorts. Wade remembered passing by it on his way to his room and spotting a few couches around a coffee table. He had made a note to himself to spend some time there once his work the next day was done, compiling whatever new information he had gathered. Hopefully no one would be there and he would be able to work without fear of getting caught.

When he arrived at the machine, Wade inserted the money and punched in the number for his chips, crossing his arms as he waited for it to fall down. Once it did, he crouched to get it, pausing when he saw the slot. How the hell was he supposed to get it open? He couldn’t push it in like he usually could.

“Who the hell designed this?” He wondered aloud, sighing frustratedly. The genius who built this damn thing should be fired. He was going to find away to get this bag even if it killed him. Trying a few more times to push the slot in, he gave it a light smack. “Fuck you.”

And someone laughed.

Wade jumped, hitting his head against the machine in a somewhat embarrassing fashion. This just caused the person to laugh again. Once he had composed himself, Wade stood up, turning to face whoever had been watching him. He found a man not too much younger than him sitting on one of the couches, covering his grin with his hand. Wade could see that there was a DS sitting in his lap.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but that was really funny,” the man said, giggling. “The machine tricked me up when I first got here, too.”

All Wade could do was stare at him for a moment. Aside from being embarrassed as hell at the fact that someone had witnessed the whole scene, he was also confused. How had he not noticed that someone was sitting there watching the whole time? “Yeah, it’s… it’s a pain,” he responded, averting his gaze and looking back towards the machine. “Stupid.”

“Here.” The man put the DS down on the couch and stood up. “I’ll get it for you. Watch and learn.” Wade watched as he crouched in front of the slot and pushed it down from the top, pulling out the chips and handing them over with a smile. “See? Easy!”

“You had to pull it down?” Wade’s eyes narrowed.

“Yeah! A bunch of machines are like that nowadays.”

“Who decided that?”

“Someone who’s clearly lost in life.” The man made his way back over to the couch, plopping down and putting his feet up on the coffee table. He crossed his arms behind his head and asked, "So, what's your name? I'm Neville."

"Neville?" Wade repeated. If he was being honest, it was a bit of a dorky name, but Wade kept that thought to himself. Now wasn't the time to be rude. "I'm Wade."

"What brings someone like you 'round these parts, Wade? You on vacation or something?"

"Uh, not exactly," Wade replied. Whatever he did, he absolutely could not give Neville any hints about his real profession. "I'm a delivery person."

"You're a delivery person? Seriously?" Neville looked confused. He appeared to eye Wade up for a moment, his eyebrows quirking up briefly. "That's... interesting."

"Yep. I've got some, uh, packages and things to deliver in this area. I'll be staying here for a little while."

"How much do you have to do if you gotta stay in a hotel for a few days? Seems like a lot."

"Yeah, well... It's part of the job. I don't get a say in it." Wade shrugged. Now that he'd said it out loud, the whole 'delivery person' thing was the worst lie he’d ever come up with, and that was saying something since Wade had had his fair share of bad lies in the past. Neville didn’t even look like he bought it. His eyes were slits and he was pouting, deep in thought. Wade could almost see the gears turning in his head.

Then Neville snorted, a smile returning to his face. "Sounds wild. I'm a professional thief."

"Oh, that's nice--" Wade stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening. "Hold on, you're a what?"

Neville shrugged as if it weren’t a big deal. “I’m a thief. I steal shit. Oh, son of a…” He was looking down at the red light on his DS. He switched the system off. “I need to charge this damn thing.”

Neville had already moved on to the next subject, but Wade still couldn’t believe what he had just been told. This man who he’d met only a few minutes ago just admitted to being a thief as if it were nothing, like it was a regular 9 to 5 job. How was Wade supposed to react to that? Seeing as he technically worked with the police, should he bring this guy in? Or should he let him go? Neville might not even be worth the force’s time.

“What’s with the look?” Neville asked when Wade hadn’t said anything for a little while. “You’re making a weird face at me.”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” Wade assured. “You… are a very interesting person, you know that?”

"I do know that, actually." Neville grinned cheekily. "And I'm also a pretty honest person. I don't feel the need to lie about my profession like you do."

Wade froze up, and he swallowed. How did Neville know that he'd been lying?! He knew that his excuse was lacking, but he didn't expect to actually be called out on it. "W-What makes you say that I'm lying, huh?"

"Because you are." Neville had begun to fiddle with the DS stylus, casually slipping it in and out of its slot. "I can tell."

"How?"

"Your badge is sticking out of your pocket. It has been the whole time."

"Are you serious?" Wade looked down. Sure enough, Neville was telling the truth -- his badge had been on display the entire time they were talking. Wade stuffed it back in, nervously shoving his hands in his pockets. "I, uh... Listen, you didn't see that."

"But I did!" Neville looked a little cocky.

"Neville, I'm being serious. You cannot tell anyone about who I really am, do you understand me?"

"Wade, don't worry. If there's anything that I'm good at, it's keeping things secret," he said. "How the hell do you think I've been living here for as long as I have?"

"Wait, you live here?" Wade cocked his head to the side. "How long have you been here?"

Neville thought his answer over, looking up towards the ceiling before looking back to Wade and saying, "About a month or so."

"How have you gone this long without being noticed? Does the staff really pay that little attention?"

"You would not believe the amount of unfilled rooms in this place. I just hole up in them and come out at night when no one's around. The patrons all think that I'm a really accomplished businessman since I always tell them that I'm here for a conference. They buy it every time."

"What about when someone reserves a room? What do you do then?"

"Then I move on to the next one. It's not that complicated." Neville stood up. "So, now that I've told you all about what I do, do you think you can fill me in about what your job really is? Pleeease?" He clasped his hands together, wearing puppy dog eyes. "If you have a badge, then it must be super interesting!"

"I really shouldn't..." Wade sighed, tapping his foot. Telling Neville the truth would defeat the whole purpose of going undercover. It was true that Neville had told him some pretty incriminating things about himself -- he admitted to a detective that he was a thief! Someone who was that brutally honest couldn't possibly have any malicious intent, could he? Besides, those eyes... Wade was weak for that sort of thing.

"Come on! At least tell me a little bit?"

"Well, if it's only a little..." Wade took a deep breath. "Okay, so you know that murder that took place here not too long ago? The one on the floor above us?"

"I know of it, yes. People were freaking out about it."

"I was sent here to investigate it, but I had to go undercover. The suspect is still staying here, and I need to gather information on him and a few other people who might be involved. There, are you happy now? I told you everything you need to know."

Neville pursed his lips, closing his eyes and crossing his arms as he processed what he'd just been told. "So you need to get some dirt on people, huh? Who else besides the suspect?"

"Some hotel staff members."

"Ooh, scandalous!" Neville rubbed his hands together, suddenly looking excited. "Lemme see the case file! I wanna know some names."

"I can't show you that," Wade said firmly. "That's confidential information."

"How do you expect me to help you if you won't even let me see the file?"

"You-- When did I say I wanted your help?" Wade's mouth fell open. "I never said anything like that!"

"Wade, I'm serious about helping you. This is a pretty big case. I've been staying here for awhile now and know the schedules of pretty much all the employees. If you need a second set of eyes to keep an eye on a suspicious staff member, then I'm your guy. So, what do you say? Are we buddies?"

"I'm not sure if 'buddies' is the right word to describe it..." Wade had to admit that Neville was onto something. There was no way that he would be able to keep an eye on so many people on his own. Even having just on extra person to help him would make things easier. Then again, could he really trust a thief? This definitely wouldn't look very good...

...Then again, his boss never gave a shit about anything that he did, so what would it matter?

"Fine..." Wade finally gave in, gesturing for Neville to follow him out into the hall. "Come to my room. You can read the file in there."

"Yes!" Neville pumped his fist into the air, hurrying after Wade. "Believe me, you won't regret this!"

"I'm sure I won't." Wade knew he would.

A day had passed since Wade and Neville were first introduced. Wade was seated at the writing desk in his room, his prior plans to work in the seating area thwarted by a family of five who insisted on hanging out there at that ungodly hour. It's too damn late for these little kids to be running around... Doesn't anyone have a bedtime anymore?

Wade tapped his pen against the page, propping his head up with his left hand. The second day of investigation bore a little more fruit than the first one, though Wade still didn't have any substantial leads to go on. After ordering room service for breakfast and dinner, all that he had learned was that the hotel had really good buffalo wings. Those things should be illegal... But I can't charge someone with murder for food.

He hadn't heard from Neville since last night. If he really only came out when it was dark, then that must mean that he spent the whole day lazing about in his room doing nothing. Why was Wade so worried about giving him the case info if he didn't seem to care too much...

Wade suddenly looked like he'd made a breakthrough, and he hurriedly wrote something down, smiling. He then crossed it out a few seconds later, frustratedly tossing down his pen. Those little kids aren't undercover spies, Wade. Get over the seating room thing and focus.

A knock on the door snapped Wade out of his thought, and he slammed the notebook shut. It wouldn't look very good if a staff member showed up and saw him speculating about their involvement in a crime. Then again, what would any employee want with him this late at night? He didn't order anything.

Then Wade remembered that there was only one person who would want to speak with him at that time. This should be interesting.

Wade stood up from his chair and went to unbolt the door. Sure enough, Neville was waiting for him on the other side, leaning up against the door frame with one hand and the other one on his hip. "Howdy," Neville greeted him with a wink.

"Alright, kid, what'd you find?" Wade stepped out of the way and allowed him to enter, shutting and re-locking the door. "Assuming that you actually found something and aren't just here to screw with me."

"I found out some top secret info." Neville leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "You ready? I learned... that this hotel..."

"Yes?"

"...has really good quesadillas." Neville pulled away with a cheeky grin.

"Are you kidding me?" Wade rolled his eyes, bumping Neville with his shoulder as he walked back over to the desk and sat down. "You're not taking this seriously at all."

"Oh calm down, would you? It's only a little joke to lighten the mood."

"Look, if you don't have anything relevant to add, then please leave." Wade came across a little harsher than he intended to. Neville didn't really mean any harm... Still, this was important. Now wasn't the time to be screwing around.

Neville sighed, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out some printed documents. "Okaaay..." He said, sauntering to the desk and showing the papers to Wade. "If you don't want me here, then I guess I'll have to leave and bring these with me."

Wade read over the contents of the papers. They were a series of emails, each one of them containing instructions.

Instructions about the murder.

"Holy shit--" Wade reached for the papers, but Neville pulled them away.

"You don't seem to want me here, so I'll just be taking these with me. Haaah..." Neville let out a dramatic sigh and slowly walked towards the door. "Maybe I'll catch up with you later."

"Hold on, kid!" Wade stood up again, grabbing his shoulder. "Where did you find those?"

"A thief never reveals his secrets." Neville winked at him from over his shoulder, but the look on Wade's face forced him to continue. "I, um, snuck behind the front desk when no one was around and printed these out."

"It was... that easy?"

"Mmhmm! You need to stop overthinking things. Sometimes the solution is right in front of you! Just like how I am right now." Neville patted Wade's arm. "But, y'know, you don't seem to want me here so... I'll be taking this back to my room with me."

"Nev, please. Stick around. I need that info."

"'Nev'?" Neville repeated, a smirk spreading across his face. "Is that gonna be my new nickname?"

"I guess." Wade shrugged. He didn't even mean to call him that -- it just slipped out.

"So am I like your little sidekick now? Are we... buddies?"

Wade took in a deep breath. He didn't really have much of a say in the matter, did he? He slowly let the breath out through his nose before responding, "We're... buddies."

"Hell yeah!" Neville grinned broadly and plopped down on Wade's bed, lying on his stomach and saying, "I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship."

"It's certainly the start of something, alright..." How does Wade keep getting himself into these situations?