#(anywho hope i don’t get people yelling at me in my ask box or whatever because of a ship i like)

[zombvibes]

*trying not to rant about deltarune ships to not scare off my followers*

[loubouskz]

lee know fic WIP

a/n: HELLO EVERYONE! sorry I haven't posted anything in a hot minute. I like to write/type on my laptop and I lost it in my messy ass room.😅 but I found it so I'm writing again! here is my wip of my lino fic that I'm working on. this is one(1) of three(3) things I'm working on. the other 2 are my part 2's to the 3racha fic and hyunjin fic. most likely 3racha will be posted before this one and the hyunjin fic are done. ANYWHO! I hope you enjoy this little part, I would love your comments on it and I hope you have a good rest of your day!🤧💕

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I woke up to my head pounding, alarms going off, and smoke clouding my vision. I squinted my eyes to try to find my brother. no sign of him, just lower ranked comrades running back and forth trying to get everyone to safety. my back against the wall as I sat on the floor. another boom shook the ship. shit. I carefully got up without falling and ran down the hall to the main floor. fire coming from the top and bottom north deck. watching the doors close as people were still running trying to make it through. I couldn’t bare the slight nor did I have time to help. the closing of the doors and flashing yellow lights meant that my brother was ejecting that part of the ship.

I made my way to the blue door that was to my left, the one that goes straight to the captain’s chair, and scanned my ID, praying to the gods it would work. no sound came through, but the green light popped signaling the door could be opened.

“thank you gods.” I said, opening the door and running the long path. please let everyone be there. I turned right and pushed the door swaying doors open, making everyone in the room turn their head. jisung was the first one to get to me.

“y/n, thank the gods your okay.” he said, pulling me in a quick hug. I wanted to cry right then and there, but I held them back. everyone was here, had some open cuts but okay none the less.

“what’s going on?” I asked as jisung and I made our way to the table in the center of the room.

“the overlord defense force, as known as the odf, attacked us on the north wing, destroying both upper and bottom decks. I made the call to close the areas off and depart them from the ship.” changbin said, pulling up the 3d hologram outline of the ship on the table. changbin pushed a button to show a map of the outside area.

“they have hit us 4 times, but haven’t tried again yet. it doesn’t look like they’re waiting for us to shoot and they’re not sending a spacecraft this way. it’s odd. I don’t want to turn the ship’s guns away from them in case they do start up again.” he said, pointing everything out. zooming in on certain areas.

“I could take them with ease with just a simple sneak into the ship.” seungmin said, pulling the gun out of his pocket. jisung rolled his eyes, “yes, but it’s still a suicide mission none the less.” jisung said. I noticed a small beeping light on the right blind spot of the odf.

“what’s that?” I asked pointing to it. changbin rotated the screen and clicked the dot. “I don’t know, there’s no info about this craft. I sent them a message to state who they are but they haven’t answered.” changbin said, narrowing his eyes.

I walked over to the big window and looked out to try to see it.

nothing was beside the big white odf spaceship, until I took a closer look. there were pixel-like boxes dancing in open space. that’s wasn’t normal.

“guys, come look!” I yelled, not taking my eyes off it. “what are you looking at?” felix asked, following my eyes. “I. I don’t know, but something is there.” I said, pointing straight at it. “don’t see anything y/n.” changbin said, rubbing his forehead.

just as changbin was about to turn away, a big shot sounded off. fire and a big open hole enter the side of the odf, making it pushed back in space and all the lights going off.

“holy shit, where did that come from?” seungmin asked, looking out with his hands to the glass.

“whatever is out there just saved our asses I think.” I stated, looking back at him.

I watched as the pixelated boxes get closer and closer to us.

“oh fuck I see it!” jisung nearly screamed. “sung, calm down a little.” felix said, placing a hand to his shoulder. we all watched in awe as it came closer. “what the hell is that?” seungmin said, leaning into the glass.

soon the small little pixels turned into one giant pixel right in front of our window. we all jumped as a call started coming through. changbin made his way back to the table and answered the call.

“you look to be in some need of help my friends.” a new voice came through. felix jumped as he heard the aussie accent hit his ears.

[echoghost1]

Ectober Day 03 - Cryptid

Summary: Vlad wakes up in pain and in the dark. He is not alone.

Word count: 2,393

This is part of my Carnival Mythika AU verse, but you don't need to have read that to enjoy this (hopefully)

Also TW: A character is part-spider

and TW for Body horror of finding out that they are no longer human

And if I need to add more warnings please just let me know and I will totally add them!

I spent like all day today (10/3) working on this fic 😩 I hope at least one person like it

Anywho, you can also read it below the cut if you prefer

Vlad opened his eyes and immediately shut them again. His head was pounding and everything hurt.

Worse still was he didn’t remember falling asleep.

He took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. It was hard to tell where he was because it was so dark, but also it looked like he was looking at the world through a kaleidoscope.

He felt his face just to be sure he didn’t have weird goggles or something attached to his face. He didn’t, but something was definitely different.

He had more eyes.

“What?” he cut off his own question because his teeth hurt. He hadn’t really noticed until he moved his mouth to speak.

He gently reached past his lips and felt his canines much sooner than he used to be able to.

Fangs?

What was he?

He couldn’t be human. Not anymore.

How did he even get here? Where was here?

Why was it so cold?

He hugged himself only to find his shirt had gone missing. No wonder he was freezing.

It was getting too late in the year to be running around without a shirt on. Not that he did much of that outside of swimming.

He knew he hadn’t been swimming today.

What had he been doing again?

That’s right, the circus had come to town.

He’d gone with his two friends. He had meant to just invite Maddie, but Jack was right there.

So the attempted date turned into a friendly hangout instead.

Jack was like a brother to him, so he didn’t want to be rude, but really wished Jack understood subtext a little better.

It wasn’t all bad though. He figured if he could just get some alone time with her, he could ask her out then.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance.

Not that it mattered anymore. He could never bear to let her see him like this.

If he merely had fangs he might be able to hide that, but the extra eyes? He must look like a monster. A freak.

No, it would be better if she never knew.

His body shook from the cold and the hard truth that nothing would ever be the same.

Something in the corner of the room got his full attention.

All this self-pity and he never bother to check if he was actually alone or not.

It was too dark to see what was there, but he knew he saw something move.

Whatever it was, it went still again.

Could it see him?

He hadn’t made any noise when he looked.

Or maybe it was because he hadn’t made a sound. Going quiet might have been as much of a tip-off as making too much noise.

It moved again and he backed away.

Tried to anyway.

His legs flared up in pain and he bit his lip to keep from crying out.

His newly sharpened teeth easily broke the flesh of his thin lips and the warm blood flooded his senses.

It was delicious.

He spat out his own blood in horror of his own thoughts.

“Oh geez, you’re bleeding. Are you okay? No that was a dumb question, sorry.”

Vlad turned his attention back to the other in the room. It could speak English okay, but it definitely wasn’t person-shaped.

It was too tall and had extra parts.

Vlad wasn’t sure if he was able to see it better because it was closer or if his eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness.

He wasn’t sure he liked being able to see it.

It reached out for him but since he couldn’t move without hurting himself he just braced himself for what was to come.

Only nothing bad happened.

“You’re freezing! Come here,” the being pulled Vlad into a hug, its long arms easily wrapped around his skinny body. Its clawed hand rubbed his back soothingly, but never scratched him, “there, there.”

The relief was instant. Vlad practically melted into the body heat of the other. Whatever this thing was, it was warm.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come over sooner. I thought you were shaking because you were scared of me.”

“I think I’m more scared of myself right now,” Vlad admitted as he carefully felt the areas of the creature he was currently clinging to for warmth.

Every part he could reach seemed to be covered in a soft short fur. It reminded him of a petting zoo and he wasn’t quite sure why.

“That’s right, this is all new for you,” it said as its warm breath ghosting across the top of his head.

He just hummed in agreement.

Then he started to feel bad for never asking for this friendly creature’s name. He may as well change that now.

“I’m Vlad by the way,” he introduced without moving from his current incredibly comfortable position.

“Hello, Vlad,” it replied.

And then proceeded to not say anything else.

Vlad leaned back so he could look them in the eye and he could see their reaction, “This is the part where you say you’re name?”

“Oh? Sorry, I’ve never done this before.”

“You’ve never introduced yourself before?”

“No.”

While Vlad was busy trying to understand how that had happened, because it was obvious that they weren’t lying, they kept talking.

“How do you get a name anyway?”

“From you’re parents, usually?” Vlad answered unable to keep the waver of confusion out of his voice.

He had a feeling that this was only going to get worse.

“That makes sense. I don’t have those.”

Yup, that was worse. That was so much worse.

And to be that caviler about not having parents means that they must have lost them when they were so young. Maybe even as a baby.

“How long have you been here? Where even is here?” Vlad asked looking around the dark metal room they were in.

“The train,” they answered.

Vlad wasn’t sure if they were ignoring the first question or simply forgot about it. Jack did that whenever he got asked too many questions at once.

“Who’s train is it?”

“It’s the Master’s train.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the next festival. Until it gets too cold and then we go to the Winter Place.”

“Winter Place?”

“Yeah, it’s all sandy and there’s a show every day.”

“A show?”

Now that he was really looking, maybe he had seen them before.

Before Vlad thought of stepping into that fortune teller’s booth to get advice on something that meant nothing now.

Before he had grown fangs and extra eyes.

Before his body had gotten so heavy and his center of gravity had moved.

Before all that, he had gone to the show at the circus.

There was a part where they dimmed all the lights real low and rolled a large box into the center ring. It was tall and narrow, like those crates that were in classic monster movies where there’s an ancient relic being shipped to an unsuspecting museum.

After plenty of pomp and circumstance, the box fell apart to reveal a creature.

It was almost human but not. It was too tall and had extra parts.

The ringmaster told them all it was evil. A monster. Something to hate.

Something to take their anger out on.

He had encouraged everyone to yell at it. To boo the creature. To shout their frustrations at it.

Vlad had participated.

He had screamed awful things because he knew it would be drowned out by the crowd.

He had been so cruel.

This creature wasn’t evil.

He wondered if it had ever done anything wrong at all.

“You’re the Jersey Devil, aren’t you?”

“You went to the show?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps this was punishment for all the awful things he’d done.

Vlad knew he wasn’t a very good person. Even if he never outright did bad things on purpose, it didn’t take much convincing to get him to do them.

“Sorry I didn’t notice,” The Jersey Devil apologized, “The lights are really bright, so it’s hard to really see into the crowds.”

“It’s alright. There were a lot of people. Doubt you would have recognized me anyway.”

“That’s true. You probably looked different before.”

“Speaking of that,” Vlad carefully segued, “what do I look like now?”

“You’ve got red eyes like me. Except you have more than I do.”

“How many do I have?”

Then, just as a child might, The Jersey Devil counted his eyes, one by one. The first two were Vlad’s original eyes, just in the same spot they had always been. Then on either side were three more.

No wonder he felt like he had been looking through a kaleidoscope. In a way, he was.

“Your skin is pale, like your hands, but only until your waist. Everything below that is dark and hairy like the top of your head.”

Vlad just nodded along at the news. He had a feeling that even if his friends or family could see him now that they wouldn’t even recognize him at all.

“Can you stand? I want to count your legs.”

Vlad decided to just do it and not think too hard about it.

He wobbled a bit at first, but The Jersey Devil held him upright.

“Oh hey! You have the same number of legs as you do eyes!”

“I have eight legs?”

“Yup!”

What sort of creature has eight eyes and eight legs? Eight hairy legs.

“Spider.”

“What?” The Jersey Devil asked.

“I’m a spider?”

“Do you not like spiders?”

“It’s not about liking spiders! I don’t really care one way or the other! I didn’t want to be one!”

The Jersey Devil backed away from Vlad during his outburst and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was twice his size, he would have sworn it was cowering away from him.

No. They were afraid of him.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.” Vlad sat back down and could already feel the cool steel of the train leech away what little warmth he had retained from being close to The Jersey Devil. “This isn’t your fault. You’re a victim just as much as I am.”

The two sat side by side in silence while Vlad tried to rain his temper back in.

As they sat there Vlad couldn’t help but wonder just how long The Jersey Devil had been trapped here. How long had it been since they had been human? Did they even remember it?

“Where did you live before all this?”

“Before?”

“Yeah, before they took you away and made you be a part of their horror show.”

“I,” The Jersey Devil hesitated, “I don’t think there was a before.”

“What about before they changed you?”

“No one changed me, I’ve always been this way. All I did was get bigger.” The Jersey Devil smiled and flexed its wings for emphasis.

Vlad wasn’t sure how he missed the large leathery wings before, so he did his best not to react.

Instead, he asked his next question, “Do you mean to say that you were born like this? You were never human?”

“Yes.”

Vlad had a feeling The Jersey Devil wouldn’t actually know the answer to this but he asked anyway, “How old are you?”

They shrugged, “I don’t know exactly. I never had a birthday so I’m not quite sure how to keep track of it.”

“You go to the Winter Place once a year, right? Every winter?”

“Yeah, why?”

“How many times have you been there?”

“Oh, lots of times.”

“Can you take a guess at how many?”

“It’s more times than I have fingers.”

“You’ve been there more than ten times?”

That was a lot.

“All I know for sure is that I’ve had three masters.”

“Three?”

“Yeah. The first Master always reminded me that if he hadn’t found me in the woods when he did I would have died. I don’t really remember the forest, but I was very little then. I could hardly flap my wings let alone stand.”

The Jersey Devil seemed lost in thought for a moment before it continued.

“Then there was my Mistress. She’s the one who taught me to speak. She was the kindest person I ever met. I watched her grow up and have a child of her own.”

They were a little more nostalgic about her than Vlad thought she deserved. If she was truly kind, wouldn’t she have given them a name? Or set them free?

“And now I’m on Master number three. He’s got a son of his own now so he’ll probably be the next Master.”

Vlad had to take a moment to think about what The Jersey Devil had just gone over. It sounded like they had outlived at least one person’s entire life? And if that was true they were a lot older than he had previously thought.

“You really need a name.”

When The Jersey Devil merely blinked in response Vlad continued. “We’re going to come up with a name for you. Right now.”

“We are!?”

“Yes. What kind of name do you want?”

“What kind can I have?”

Oh boy.

“Do you want a long one or a short one?”

“Short, so it’s easy for me to remember it.”

“Okay. Do you want it to start with any particular letter?”

“D? Or maybe J?”

Vlad listed off as many names as he could think of but none of them seemed quite right.

“Jude! That’s got a J and a D in it.”

“Jude?” The Jersey Devil took a few moments quietly repeating the name.

They did this every once in a while to test the names out but seemed to be doing it more with this one.

“Hey Jude?” Vlad said partly as a joke in reference to the classic song.

The Jersey Devil perked up in response.

The pair were equally surprised by that outcome.

“That’s it! It’s perfect! Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” The Jersey Devil, no, Jude, said as they wrapped Vlad up in a big hug using both their arms and wings to fully engulf the pair. “Jude! Jude! My name is Jude!”

The reason Vlad ended up here might not have been anything he would have ever wanted, but he was glad at least he could make someone else feel better for once.

Maybe it wouldn’t be all bad here after all.

[thisisthestoryofanotherus]

Tranquility- CH

A/n: I love Duke....and Calum....anywho...Hey guys! So this was a piece I was working on for #disabledsos I think I’m late but still wanted to do something. Click here for the original link. Honestly this is one of the reasons I love 5sosfam so much, this group is helping raise awareness to fans with disabilities, chronic conditions, medical illnesses etc.. They help make everyone feel included, and with this project we’re trying to spread representation. We all want to be Y/n…but sometimes its hard to picture ourselves as the reader when they are nothing like us. I decided to start with the reader being blind and read about people’s actual experiences and guide dogs, etc. trying to get perspective. This really got me thinking, and I really want to expand my writing to reach more readers of different backgrounds, so let me know what you think and any requests!

In addition to this, I may continue the story I’m not sure yet, but also having a whole event today. Send in requests for blurbs, mtls, reactions, opinions, thoughts on CALM, whatever! I’ll be here all day today getting to know you guys so please go on over to my ask box here!

Warnings: none? Dogs? Idk lol

Word Count: 1,143 ... not bad kinda short sorry

Sitting at your favorite park bench, coffee in hand, you knew it was autumn. You felt the cool breeze against your face, heard the rustle of leaves under the boots of people walking past, saw the scatter of red and yellow light against the trees in front of you. You knew this park so well you could almost see the scene in front of you. Almost… This was a favorite park of yours when you were younger, before you lost your sight that is. From what your sister told you, not much has changed. So, although you could almost see the park in your head, the reality was you really only saw bits of light and colors. Almost like someone painted what was in front of you, then started moving the brush dripping in black paint randomly across the canvas, completely mixing the colors and obscuring the image. At first adjustment was hard, but you made a life for yourself all on your own. All you had to do was approach things just a little differently.

You took another sip of your coffee as you patted the top of your trusty guide dogs head who lied on the ground beside you, enjoying your early morning. With all the stress from work and school it was nice to just sit and breathe. Your thoughts, and tranquility, were interrupted with the sound of barking, and someone screaming “DUUKKEE”. Next thing you knew there was a smaller dog jumping back and forth from your lab’s back to your knee. You dropped your coffee in surprise, praying the hot liquid hadn’t landed on either dog. From the lack of a bark or yelp, you assured yourself they were fine as you turned your attention to the pleasant surprise. As you pat the new dogs head, it left slobbery kisses all over your hand. You wish you had worn gloves, but the ball of fluff was too cute to push away.

“DUKE! Leave the poor girl alone, come here! I am so sorry… I took of his leash to fix his collar and then whhooom he was gone. He’s not bothering you is he?” A man’s voice asked, you heard him approach and pick up the poor dog, Duke you now knew. You heard your own dog Max whine a little at his new friend being taken away. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“No he’s fine! Though if you had come any later he may have licked me to death” He began to laugh too at your words, a deep chuckle that left you feeling warm despite the morning chill.  You felt him sit beside you on the bench, and from the sound of metal clinking you guessed Duke was getting his leash put back on. Although no longer a peaceful morning, you were happy for the company. This stranger seemed nice and funny…and well you had a weakness for dogs.

“Ya this is Duke. He’s a little troublemaker and getting into stuff. He’s a sweetheart, but he could learn a few things from your dog here. What’s this one’s name…” As his voice cut out and dropped a few octaves, you guessed he finally noticed the red vest on your dog. Preparing yourself for the worst, you sighed, knowing whatever moment you both had was gone. Too bad, you were enjoying the conversation.

“This is Max. Yes, its okay if you pet him right now, I don’t mind since we’re just sitting here, and before you ask I’m blind that’s what he’s helping me with.”

“O-oh, ok.” He then laughed, you couldn’t tell from amusement or nervousness. “You must get a lot of questions. Hey Max…how you doing buddy?”

You felt Max’s tail hit your leg…repeatedly. “He likes you”

“Well thank goodness. I love dogs.”

“I would hope so if you own one” you laughed, trying to ease the tension, grateful when he began to laugh as well.

“Very true! He’s my baby, but I promise you I’m not the bad parent you probably think I am. I’m Calum by the way”

“Y/n” You said extending your hand. You felt his warm, calloused hands wrap around your own as he shook your hand, lingering just a second longer. He only let go when he heard the barking of his dog, who had begun pawing at your leg trying to get down from the bench. Max started making noises too, curious as to who these new strangers were and wanting to play. He set Duke down with a “be good” and returned his attention to you.

“Y/n…” He said, as if testing the sound of your name. “Um, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything I just-“

“Hey it’s fine. You really didn’t do anything, like you said I’m used to a lot of questions and people treating me weird when they realize these stylish shades actually have purpose”

“I have to say you pull them off nicely. And I’m sorry that must be hard…”

“Eh you get used to it. Just thank you so much for not yelling”

“Why would I yell?”

“If I had a dime for every time someone started practically shouting at me when they found out I lost sight I’d be hella rich. Like they assume I’m deaf too. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so annoying.”

“Haha…oh my gosh that’s terrible”

“Yeah…but not as bad as others asking if I need to feel their face to identify them. As if my sight moved from my eyes to my fingertips…I think that’s the worst one” You laughed

“And here I was gonna ask you to put your hands on my face so you know how good-looking I am”

Jokingly, you put your arm out aiming for his shoulder, trying to ignore the feel of his biceps, as you managed to find the side of his face. “Ah let me guess…tall, dark, and handsome?”

“Correct! I’m 6’1”, black hair, tan skin, and incredibly handsome. Wow and here you had me thinking this wouldn’t work!”

You both laughed, it was a long time since you had laughed this much. A long time since you felt this comfortable with someone. A long time that someone didn’t start treating you weird, and could actually laugh about your hardships. You wish you could have stayed here, but of course reality set in. Your alarm went off, alerting you of your next appointment.

“Great…I’m sorry I have to go. I’ve got this meeting to get to. It was nice talking to you Calum”

“Yeah…you too Y/n. It’s a small park, maybe I’ll see you around?”

“I try to walk Max here in the mornings around this time…so maybe”

You smiled and waved goodbye to the stranger Calum as you made your way out of the park, wondering when the next time you’d see him would be…

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Sixty-Two: Your Policy ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Fugaku ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

He knows it’s going to be one of those days when the first thing he hears upon arriving at work is his father saying, “Sasuke, a word.”

...wonderful. What has he managed to do wrong this time? Sighing and putting his things down at his desk, Sasuke follows Fugaku into his office, closing the door behind him in preparation of a beratement.

The patriarch takes his time, making his way around his desk before taking a seat, leaning back with steepled fingers. “I just wanted to give you a little...warning.”

Dark brows furrow. “...warning? About what?”

“As I’m sure you know, we’re been doing performance reviews the last few weeks. And a few people are, unfortunately, going to have to be let go.”

For a moment, fear flickers in his gut. He...he can’t be one of them, can he?

After a brief pause, his father offers, “...I’m afraid your secretary is one on the list of those we’ll have to let go.”

Sasuke...blinks. Blinks again. “...you’re joking.”

“I’m not. She hasn’t been performing up to our standards, my son. Now,” he goes on, holding up a hand to stop his son’s rebuttal. “I know that the two of you have a rather...complicated relationship…”

Sasuke can’t help an outright snort. Complicated, huh? Yeah, sure. If you want to call a woman desperate for both attention and social standing badgering him into sleeping with her a time or two complicated. They aren’t dating. In fact, in a lot of ways, he’s become less and less able to stand her the last few months. Her attempts to wriggle her way into his social circle (and likely leech off of him, maybe for a promotion) have largely failed, and after indulging her out of a mixture of curiosity and pity...he finds her obnoxious, self-centered, and a nuisance.

So in truth? He’s glad. But he also knows this will rock the boat. Hence the warning.

“So, I just wanted you to be aware that I will be serving her her notice this morning. And I expect a rather brilliant fireworks display,” Fugaku mutters.

“Right...you don’t happen to need any errands run this morning, do you?”

Fugaku snorts, a hint of a grin curling his lips. “No, I’m afraid not. But, Sasuke…” Leaning forward, he braces arms atop his desk. “You might want to...reconsider your policy when it comes to the people you become involved with. Secretaries are just...a recipe for disaster. If you really have to date someone in our company, try another department, will you? Give us all a little breathing room?”

“I’m not dating her,” Sasuke retorts, nose wrinkling.

“Well, whatever it is...it’s going to make this all the messier than it would have been if you’d just kept your business relationships professional,” his father bats back. “Now, you’ve got work to do.”

“So...what am I supposed to do about a secretary in the meantime?”

“I’ll have one of the girls from billing step in for a bit - then we’ll see about hiring someone full time. I’ve already started going through a few applications.”

“Do I get any say? They’ll be my secretary, after all.”

“I think this is something best left to me,” Fugaku replies dryly. “You just...worry about today for now. The rest will follow in due time.”

...maybe he has a point. “All right...thanks for the warning.”

“Figured it was only fair.”

With that grim tiding, Sasuke retreats from the office and instead heads toward his own. Maybe he can position a file cabinet against his door to bar it shut in case she tries to come in and strangle him. He might not be the reason she’s getting fired - it’s rather clear it’s her own fault - but he can picture now how she’ll be trying to spin this to make him the bad guy. Because surely she knows that the end of her career also means the end of this...whatever the hell they’ve got going on. And given how clingy she’s been...he’s really not sure what she’ll be more angry about.

All he knows is...she’ll be very, very angry. Sweet facade aside, that woman has a temper…

Closing his door and attempting to make himself look small behind his desk, he just...gets to work, occasionally glancing up to see if she’s arrived yet.

Five minutes before the day officially begins, she shows up, going about her morning routine...only to pause at an intercom from her phone he can’t hear with the door closed. Pointedly looking at his monitor, he can still feel her eyes boring through the window at him.

Here we go…

While Sasuke is sure his father will be as cordial as he can be (though his base nature is rather...gruff and unyielding), he knows there’s no avoiding the blowup. So when he swears he can feel stomping footsteps, he peers warily around the edge of his screen.

To his honest surprise, there’s no yelling, or screaming. Just a very red, purse-lipped woman collecting her things (very angrily) from her desk, shoving them into a box before making her way to the elevator.

It’s then she yells. Just a few words. Very...vulgar words that make even Sasuke flinch, the rest of the floor surely hearing it (and maybe even the entire building).

Risking a glance back up, he looks to his phone at an incoming comm. “Well...it could have been worse,” Fugaku sighs through the speaker.

“True…”

“Your temporary gal will be here in a few minutes - just give her a rundown, and she’ll be fine.”

“All right, will do.” Letting the ‘call’ end with a long sigh, Sasuke doesn’t bother to get back to work until she arrives - he’ll only have to stop and start again. Instead, he watches the window, only standing when a figure hesitantly steps up to the desk, glancing around as if in search of help.

Opening the door, he takes a moment to look her over.

She’s a bit shorter than his previous partner, and entirely different in build. Whereas the former had been rather lean and almost flat (in most regards), this one is...more rounded, with long dark hair and a heart-shaped face. Her outfit is mostly dark purples and soft blues, and he swears her eyes are huge! It’s like she looks right through him, like a doe in headlights. And unlike her predecessor, who was all edges, attitude, and temper, this one seems...soft, receptive, and attentive.

...she’s adorable.

Blinking, Sasuke balks for a moment. “You’re, uh...the temp?”

“Yes, sir. Hinata Hyūga. I’m, um...I’m from over in billing…? Mr. Uchiha asked if I could cover in light of you...losing your secretary. I hope I can be of help…!”

“I’m sure you will.” Doing his best to smooth out his facade, Sasuke puts hands in his slacks pockets, trying to look nonchalant. “All you really need to worry about is phone calls, and my schedule. Think of yourself as like...my day planner, but in person form. In all honesty, I’m not that busy - my brother’s the one who gets run more ragged. You’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

“O-okay. I’ll do my best!”

“If you need any help with the software or anything, you can ping my brother’s secretary - she’ll walk you through it. She’s an old pro, so any questions you’ve got, she can handle. And she’s super friendly, so don’t sweat it.”

“Oh, I see...thank you! I’ll do my best!”

“Hopefully we’ll get someone new in here quick so you can get back to your right department, huh?” he asks, giving a hint of a grin.

“That would be nice, yes...n-not that it’s a problem being here! In fact, I...I volunteered for it. I’ve never been in this p-part of of the building. And I thought it would be a good learning experience - to, um...to work with one of the higher ups!”

...she really needs to stop being so stupidly cute. She just...oozes charm and sweetness! It’s not fair! “Yeah, uh...well, I guess you can give it a shot and see how you like it. Guess if it’s a good fit, you could always apply for it yourself, if you wanted..”

“Oh, I...I don’t know about that.” Hinata gives a nervous giggle. “But, um...I guess we’ll see! I b-better get started. If I need anything, I’ll...I’ll ping the other secretary.”

“Or you can ask me. I dunno much about the program they use, but anything else I can probably answer if she’s busy.”

“O-okay! Thank you, sir.”

“Please, just Sasuke - sir or Mr. Uchiha are too much like my dad,” Sasuke offers, grimacing slightly.

“Oh, right! I’ll...I’ll keep that in mind. So sorry, I -”

“Nothing to apologize for, Hinata. Don’t worry so much - it’s just a temporary thing. We’ll help you get through it. Besides, we’re the ones who owe you for stepping up to the plate.”

Her cheeks flush a delicate shade of pink. “R...right. Um...okay. Well, I...I’ll see what I can get started doing!”

Sasuke gives a slight smile. “Sounds good. I better get to it, too. Holler if you need anything.”

“I-I will!”

Retreating back to his office, Sasuke sits...and buries his face in his hands with a gusty sigh. Didn’t he just get lectured about this? Why the hell did the person who showed up have to be so...so…?

...well, at least she’s only here temporarily. Knowing that tone his father used, his next assistant won’t be anyone he’ll be likely to shack up with. And...now that he thinks about it...it was Fugaku himself who suggested someone in another department, right…?

For now, though...he’s going to have to grin and bear it. The poor thing’s going to be nervous and behind enough with her new learning curve without him trying to cozy up to her and being distracting.

That’ll just...have to wait.

                                                            .oOo.

     ...I feel like I wrote something similar to this before, but...I'm getting to the point where I can't tell what's been done in this challenge, or maybe things from past events, so...if it's a bit repetitive, my bad xD But I'm exhausted and in a bit of a rush, so...this is what my brain gave me!      ...I love this trope, honestly - it's SO cliche, but...I'm a sucker for cliches, haha~ I'd like to do more if I get the chance, but y'all know how that goes by now lol      Anywho, it's late and I've got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, so best to call it a night! Thanks for reading~

[blackrosesfanfic]

Chapter 170

Trey

People don't think about their actions and words when it comes to commenting on celebrities' lives. Cammie sighs. I know it's bothering her. I also know if it was up to her we would all hide and never go out into the public's eye. I want her to myself as well. But we can't live this life and have that. I personally have spent too much money to stop. I wouldn't do it anyway.

"Mommy!" Lane says running through the house.

"Lane!" I yell from the kitchen.

He comes flying in the kitchen with his little self. He bounces as he gets to me. I pick him up. He hugs me then stares at my food. I push it to him a bit then go back to checking Instagram. According to Cammie someone has a fake account with her Instagram pictures. I can't find it so they must have taken it down. There were a lot of bad comments on the page that she was upset about.

"Where Mommy?"

"Right there." I say turning his head towards her.

He gets down then runs to the back door. He knocks on it. "Mommy, open. Mommy?"

She steps back without looking opening the door. "That's not even true. No its not. Okay, whatever. Lane?"

"Hey, Mommy." he says running straight pass her.

"Come give me a hug." she snaps then closes the door.

I study the monitor for a few seconds. It looked like Caden was kicking his feet. He likes doing that silent cry. Cammie waiting for him to cry to feed him. He has been sleep for 2 hours which isn't normal for him.

"Hey, Tremaine. Why you staring at that monitor like that?"

"Caden sleeping for a long time."

She looks at the screen. "You trying to see his heart beat? You staring so hard."

"I’m watching his feet. I can see his heart rate. It's right here."

"That thing does not show his heart rate." She takes it from me. "What haven't they thought of?"

I take it back. "It tells you if he rolls over as well."

"But he can't roll."

"I don't know that. He might."

She chuckles. "He will not be rolling over for another month. Check your book. I had two..."

"Don't even say you had two kids. I have two kids."

"Tremaine. How many you raised to adulthood?"

I look away from her. I got two kids though. She can't use that anymore. In 18 years I can say I raised 2. Shit. 18 years. You think me and Cammie will be together for 18 year? That's a long fucking time. I've never committed to nothing for 18 years. Can't even keep the same team around me. 18 years with Cammie. Can I do that?

"Yes, Tremaine." Cammie says.

"Say what?" I say looking at her.

She laughs really loud. "Yes, all of that."

I sigh. Oh. I thought she was in my head. She touches my back. I don't respond. I just stare at the monitor. 18 years with Cammie will be an achievement. I'm going to strive for 20 years. Keep my dick to myself and my eyes on the price. My goal is to be a better man than anyone I know. Especially celebrities. Their marriages at shit. Some even married for the fame of being married. Don't even live in the same house. That won't be me.

"What's wrong?" Cammie asks putting her arms around my neck.

"With me?" I say looking to see if she is off the phone for sure. "Nothing wrong with me."

She kisses my ear. "You look worried."

I touch her arm. "I'm thinking about the next 20 years. You gonna be with me that long?"

"I'll always be here."

"Promise me."

She hugs my torso. "I've already showed you."

I turn around in the chair. Lane comes up carrying a box of clothes. He drops them on the floor then starts breathing hard. I chuckle at the face he makes. He starts digging through the clothes. I stand up hugging Cammie then look back at the clothes.

"Lane, where did those come from?"

"It JJ clothes." Lane says steady digging through them.

I grab Cammie's ass. "Why your son bad?"

She chuckles. "I don't know. Lane! Get out of those clothes with you dirty hands. Where did you get them from?"

"Lane, where my baby clothes?" MiMi says coming in the kitchen.

"Oh no." Lane says laughing then he runs away.

"You need to do something with your son. I swear. That boy came in the room. I told him specifically not to touch the clothes with his nasty hands. So what does he do? Steal the fucking box. The whole box." MiMi says picking it up. "And touch them, you little pig."

Lane comes from behind the curtain. "No."

"Yes."

"No, Me-A-yah."

She rolls her eyes walking out. "No this boy didn't call me MyAsia. I know better."

Lane runs out of the kitchen behind MiMi. I start kissing Cammie's neck. She dashes away from me.

"No, Tremaine. Don't start."

"Jayla."

She puts her hands on her sexy hips and walk away. She was talking to herself. I swear that girl and MiMi are around each other too much. I don’t think they realize how much they act alike. I put my plate in the fridge then go to find Dee. I wanted to talk to him about something he said or was starting to say.

"Yo, peps!" I say walking into the  recording studio.

"Sit the door man." Chris says.

I stay by the door. "Oh no. I got to go around Cammie. I'll be standing out here."

Chris laughs. "What Cammie got to do with you smoking? You can't smoke?"

"I can't hold my son if I smoke."

"For real?"

"Her sister told her a story about some kids getting taken because... Oh shit. I got to talk to Cammie about her sister visiting. I'm everywhere. Yo, straight up. Shower before you touch Minnie. Smoke can rub off your clothes or hands into her hair and she test positive for Marijuana."

Chris mouth drops open. "Shut the fuck up. No shit."

"Shit yeah." I nod. "Hell I'm in here now."

"You are. Pass?"

"Naw, just contact. Dee." I say sitting down. "What were you saying earlier about the business?"

"Oh." he says standing. "I got you a check."

I laugh. "Nigga whatever check you got for me ain't my kinda check."

"My money ain't big enough?"

"It don't hold a value to me." I say taking it. $42,000. "I can't take money out your kid's mouths."

He sighs. "You the reason they eating. I mean they don't got what your kids have but they got all they need. That is if my wife can let go of this life long enough."

I hand the check back. "I was just upstairs thinking about how close our wives are. Listen any clothes on my kids back is the same as the clothes on yours. You have my word on that. Nobody being raised together and feeling left out."

"We talking about my Godkids? Oh shit naw. They got everything they need. I'm right here."

"I feel like they wealthy as I am." Dee saya.

"Yo, if you stop hustling today and go broke it's nothing. You a brother. Like my brother. You good. Your kids good." Chris says.

I nod. "For real. If anyone owe me it's Cammie. I helped you help her friend help her herself."

"I might be too high. That shit ain't make no sense."

We all laugh.

"Shit. Just feed your baby." I say putting my hands up.

Chris raises his eyebrows. "Yo, your fucking baby is adorable. All she does is smile at me. Trey your baby don't do nothing."

"He cries."

"My baby is adorable." Dee nods. "She perfect."

"I want a girl."

We all get quiet. Chris start laughing.

"What the fuck we talking bout?"

"Shit." I say yawning.

  Alex

Why is my life suddenly consumed by these bitches? Last year I didn't talk to any of them. Now we planning shit and shit. Eww. Hidia laughs extra hard on the phone with Cammie. Apparently we are going to see the baby in a few days. Can't send a picture because shit tapped. Like damn your baby not the Prince of Egypt.

"Why we have to wait a few days?"

"Cause you have shit to do. Do you not?"

I shrug. "I mean I did say that."

"You did. Now you acting like she said it."

"Oh yeah." I laugh. "Anywho."

Hidia rolls her eyes. "Okay so in a few days they having this big party that Disney is throwing for them."

"We invited to that?"

"Yeah. She sent the invites already."

"Who up and throw a party... What's this party for?"

Jamaal holds an envelope in the air. "Is this for this party you speak of?"

"When did you get that and where from?"

"Delivery guy." he shrugs opening it.

I go snatch. "No, my letter. I open it."

He pushes up on me then walks away. I start opening the letter. Fancy ass sending party invites by a delivery guy. How fucking? The envelope is snatched out of my hand. I look up shocked. Like what the actual fuck?

"Dia, you out your mind?"

"When did this happen?"

I push her shoulder. "What?"

She points at the door. "You and Mr. Nice Ass."

"Oh girl. I made a mistake and went out with him."

"Oh a mistake?"

I laugh and hold out my hand. "My invite please."

She hands it back. "So does that perfect ass mean perfect strokes or am I reaching?"

"No. You might have some logic behind that. I have evidence."

"I can't believe you ain't tell me. We talked. This not new shit. I can't deal with people and secrets."

Jamaal comes back in the room. "What's the party?"

I open the invite and read it aloud. "You have been selected to make a guest appearance at a milestone in life. Come celebrate the blessing of life and parenthood."

"A baby shower?" Jamaal says peeking at the invite.

"It's a sip and see. You come eat drink and aee the baby. Disney is throwing it. Why so sudden?"

Hidia claps her hands. "It should have been at Disney."

"It's a newborn. Why waste the money?" Jamaal shakes his head.

"I never heard of Disney throwing a baby shower though." I say looking at the invite.

Hidia rolls her eyes. "How many people you close to that are part of Disney that have kids? None. Do you know anyone with an infant?"

"I'll RSVP with one guest." Jamaal says taking the invite.

"Your father wants you at dinner. They are going out tonight."

I sigh. "Did I miss someone's birthday?"

Hidia laughs. "Let's hope not. I'm going to head home. How can I get my invite if I'm here and not where I supposed to be. Jamaal, are you still not taking any trainees? My man is in need of those power glutes and thighs."

"I'm not a trainer." Jamaal says on his computer. "Are you bringing a gift or sending money? This is nice. There's a link with approved gifts."

"Get out of here." I say going to look at the screen. "An engraved plate set. Why would I spend $300 on that? Where are the toys?"

"Not approved."

I roll my eyes. "Send money to someone that has millions for what?"

Jamaal laughs. "This Lion King blanket is really nice."

"You are gay." I say walking away. "Ay!"

He had grabbed me. "Call me what you want. I have a 500k contract sitting on my desk stamped."

"So." I push him. "Your cut or the overall deal?"

"My cut."

I flip my braids slapping him with them. "So what? You owe half of it to me."

"I don't OWE you nothing."

"I think you do. Half."

He has to be touching me all the time. I like to act cute and in charge at work. I can't do that with him always on me. I walk away from him. I keep telling him to keep to himself at work. He never does.

"Lexie's birthday is today."

"Is it really?" I suck my teeth. "Nobody told me."

He chuckles. "She thinks she is 45. She doesn't like birthdays. She told me last night that nobody likes to get old. She wants to go back to preschool where they watch movies and color all day."

"I don't know about her but I like gifts." I call my friend who is on my phone talking mad junk about my new relationship. "What do you even mean?"

She laughs. "It's doomed. He too perfect."

"He really not."

"Bae, come on. You trying to make it not work cause it's so perfect. Plus you don't want a relationship. I understand cause you a golddigging cheater."

"Now that I am not." I suck my teeth.

She laughs. "I never seen you be faithful. Anyway he fine, he does whatever you want, he has money, he comes from money. You never told me about the dick, but Imma give him a check for that too. Now what's wrong with him?"

"So Cammie sent an invite to her baby shower type thing that is being sponsored by Disney."

"Shit." she sucks her teeth. "Bitch, pop out 4 kids and don't even get food stamps but she pops out 1..."

"Two."

She smacks her teeth. "It makes no difference. My husband is the best point guard the Saints ever had."

"Okay, stop hyping your man up. Don't know about that."

"Bae, Alex says her business is going into bankruptcy. You have to find a new agent as soon as possible. Dead ass."

I laugh. "Stupid. He going down with me. He loyal like those musician bitches on the Titanic."

She laughs too loud in my ear. I move the phone away from my ear. I had sent her into loud mode. Everything she says from hear on out is going to be too loud for my ears. I pick the invite up then smile at it. It's super cute. I wouldn't mind having someone all over something I created from a simple fuck. I laugh at the thought. Bitches with cute lives making me thing I'm the type. I need for her life to get less attractive. Got me fucked up.