#-which papers went where by making me throw them all into those dumb piles in the first place

[adhd-fandom-and-gay]

HjhxhxjsnxjKqs

[shadowthief78]

Literally for what purpose, too?

Long, silky hair; perfectly clear conplexion; eyes that would make movie stars swoon with matching lashes (and they do, you watched some interview where an up-and-coming actress confessed her admiration with cheeks a little *too* pink for just aesthetic appreciation).

It's not fair he can be so effortlessly good looking and devastatingly unaware of it all. You've seen it, firsthand, how he shrugs off cameras and brushes away interview questions with a perfectly toned hum or shrug just polite enough to tolerate. He slides so smoothly between the focus and attention of the cameras and his teammates in a way that would have producers begging at his door (you've seen more than one idol or actor agency-stamped envelope when sorting through the mail).

It's so unfair he can have stacks of fanmail piling up in his mailbox from people around the globe (you've counted six languages so far) and you're left with nothing. He doesn't realize how lucky he is to be able to command probably several hundreds, if not thousands, of people by simply existing.

Yourself included.

You mull over your thoughts, busy stuffing letters into each player's bin. As usual, Chris and Chigiri have the most. At least Chris stops by to clear his out once a day or so, taking all the compliments up to his room for who-knows-what (you think you saw some, ahem, "intimate" photos through the paper of one especially thin envelope. You do wonder, abeit halfheartedly, what came of those). But Chigiri leaves his until you come badger him about cleaning his mail.

It's too late already, you sigh, poking at the bent corner sticking out from the overstuffed slot. He usually just asks you to throw them all away, saying there's nothing useful in there. Nagi and Reo always tease him, insisting he must having a crush to so casually throw away those dozens of confessions, which he always denies.

He does get an awful lot of love letters, though, all decorated in pink and red with heart stickers and reeking of perfume. You sneeze. There go your allergies again.

"Stupid," you say out loud. "Stupid pretty boy and your stupid love letters you never look at. I might as well start tossing these out as soon as they come in." You sniff. Already the artificial jasmone smell is making your nose run. "Then I'd spend less time annoying you about your mail."

"You think I'm pretty?"

You practically jump out of your skin. "Chigiri?"

He glances at the letter you're holding, his overflowing mail box, and you. "Chris told me to come clear this stuff out before you went insane over badly rhyming love sonnets and unreadable cursive."

That makes you laugh. "He's right. You could really pick any of these hopeful sweethearts."

He shrugs and tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. "I don't really want any of them, though."

"Really?" You flick another letter into Chris's slot and pick up the next one. Agi.

"Really. I kind of already have someone I like, so it's a bit pointless to waste my time with all of these, don't you think?" He has both hands full and still at least a dozen more letters left.

"So Nagi and Reo were right! Who is it?" You think. "Someone who's waiting for you at home? One of the earlier letters?"

"No and no." He tucks a stack of paper under his arm and reaches for the rest. "They're a little stupid, to be honest. Dumb." He smiles to himself. "But only a little bit."

"Is it really okay to call your crush dumb?" You wonder out loud.

He laughs. "I don't know. You called me that, so I thought it was fine."

Before you can process, he leans in slightly, smiling confidently. "Isn't that right, pretty girl?"

literally for what purpose! i want to kiss him!!!

It's actually unfair how pretty Chigiri is

[yellowcabdriver]

love language

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader

Summary: Javier wants to love you the right way.

Genre: fluff, hurt/comfort

Warning: none

A/N: this was written in like 20 minutes before I went to sleep so sorry in advance for mistakes 🥲 Also, a kiss on a head for those who guesses Javier’s love language I tried to force in here 🥰🤣

“What form of love language do you prefer?”

You raised your head from the paperwork you had been filling out for what seems like an eternity.

“What?”

Elena shook some heavy-looking glossy magazine in her hand.

“There’s a test in here. Wanna find out?”

You went back to filing the report and shrugged your shoulders.

“How many love languages are there anyway?”

“Umm…” Elena quickly flipped through a few pages. “Five.”

Usually, you were not the one to indulge in magazines, especially not at work but… it had been a long day at the embassy. Very long. You spent the first part of the day typing out reports for Noonan, then you had to go to the archive and sew together some old documents in a badly lit backroom in the company of, you were sure of it, a ghost of someone who died in that backroom choking on an ungodly amount of dust. Your back was aching, high heels required by the dress code were straight up slaughtering your feet one step at a time. And also, you were bored out of your mind.

“Wow, okay.” You sighed and plopped down on a chair. “Sure, let’s see. I needed a break anyway.”

With a victorious shriek, Elena started reading out questions and marking the answers down on the pages with a pencil that desperately needed to be sharpened.

“Okay, you got…” her lips inaudibly moved as she was counting the results. “You got words of affirmation.”

“Oh, bullshit!” You threw your head back in sardonic laughter and stretched out your legs. “I don’t enjoy being complemented at all, I always get super uncomfortable!”

Elena shrugged her shoulders as she was erasing her pencil notes from the magazine.

“Maybe you do, somewhere deep down.”

“Nope, not a chance,” you snickered. “Your magazine is full of lies.”

“Hey!” Jokingly offended, Elena hugged the magazine to her chest. “It’s my only entertainment in this lifeless pile of paper!”

“What did you get then?” You asked, propping your cheek with your palm making you sound all muffled.

“Acts of service.”

“Well then, I’ll tell David to serve you up real nice.”

An enemy missile in the form of a crumpled piece of paper landed on your table.

“Oh screw you!”

“What’s the hustle?”

Elena and you immediately straightened up at the voice of a visitor who, upon further inspection, turned out to be your boyfriend, Javier.

“It’s just me, not Noonan,” he raised his palms slowly walking to your table as you two relaxed into your previous positions. Javier sat down at the edge of your table next to your chair and leaned down to kiss you on the forehead, this was his way of saying hello.

“Are you ready to go home?” He asked. Boy, were you ever.

“Of course, I am. So tired,” you complained suppressing a yawn. Javier smiled, soothingly stroking your hand.

“Let’s just go home, they don’t even pay us any overtime anyway,” Elena muttered, shooting a resentful stare at the piles of documents in front of her.

“By the way,” Javier turned to look at Elena. “David is downstairs, I think you’re gonna catch up.”

These words were enough for Elena to throw away her magazine, which honour she was just defending by violating a Geneva Convention of friendship, and bolt out of office without further ado. You and Javier looked at each other in amusement and burst into laughter at the same time.

“We should also go.”

“Yep, let’s go home.”

Nominally, “home” was Javier’s apartment, it was closer to the office and was overall much nicer than your place. Driving down the familiar street—the next turn after that yellow house, you were thinking, is home—Javier put his hand on your lap and asked you:

“Why were you arguing with Elena? Did she do something to you?”

“Oh, she did, she Inflicted the pain of knowing the content of a beauty magazine,” you half-heartedly complained, enjoying the warmth of Javier’s large hand on your thigh. Javier grinned at your remark.

“That harsh, huh?”

“We were just bored and decided to take a dumb test from the magazine.”

Javier chuckled as he quickly glanced at you, his yellow aviators catching a glimpse of the setting sun.

“About what?”

“Something about love language.”

“And what about it?”

“Well, found out that my love language is apparently words of affirmation.”

The car slowly stopped in the driveway as you reached Javier’s apartment building.

“Really?” He smiled at you, kissing the back of your hand. You almost melted at the gesture of his casual affection.

“Yes, who would’ve thought, right?”

Javier laughed again, exiting the car and jogging to your side to open the door for you. You jumped down and placed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth as a thank you.

“So it means you need to hear words of affirmation every day? Like your Cleo?” Javier asked, locking the car doors and turning slightly to look at you with a smile. You snorted. “Your Cleo” was a plant sitting comfortably on a windowsill of your office. She was a dying little thing until you saved her from being literally abused in the dark hallway of the embassy. Once you got her into a well-lit room and started watering her properly with actual water and not residue 3-in-1 coffee, Cleo turned into a stunning blooming beauty. You did talk to her, mostly paying her compliments—yes, weird, but you read somewhere that plants responded to positive affirmation. Javier, of course, didn’t believe any of that but for you, and he highlighted that specifically, he would greet Cleo every now and then when he entered your and Elena’s office.

“I am not like Cleo!” You huffed, making Javier smile as he hugged you by your waist and you two started walking towards his apartment. “But I believe everyone flourishes under kind words, don’t you think?”

Javier opened the door to his place and let you enter first.

“That’s a fair point, hermosa.”

The evening went by as it usually did: you two ate a dinner that Javier quickly put together—you maybe were a better cook but a slow one, for sure. Then you went to put Javier’s clothes into a washing machine, a dreadful loud thing that was tumbling around so hard you were afraid it would explode, while Javier washed the dishes. Finally, you two settled on the coach to watch some classic evening telenovelas because nothing relaxes a person more than an intricate plot of a tv show where somehow everyone ends up being everyone’s relative.

You were very engulfed in an episode—main character shot a man who turned out to be her biological father,—when Javier quietly asked:

“Am I saying enough compliments to you?”

“What?” You let out an involuntary laughter but as you turned to look at Javier, he didn’t seem to be joking.

“You said your preferred love language is words of affirmation and I’m… cariño, you know I’m not good with words,” Javier let out a bitter chuckle rubbing his temple—a nervous habit. “Am I showing you enough love?”

Oh.

Oh.

That you didn’t expect.

You turned the volume down and quickly climbed on Javi’s lap. He uncomfortably glanced up at the ceiling with a vulnerability you never saw him exude before. You could see something you would believe was more of your thing—an insecurity of being not enough.

“Javi, please, look at me,” you took his face in your hands and he immediately left a quick kiss on your palm, like a reflex.

God, that man was gonna be the death of you.

“Javi, my love, I never said anything about my preferences, it was just a dumb magazine. And besides, I don’t need to hear compliments, you know I can’t even take them well!” you said causing Javier knowingly to raise his eyebrows in agreement. Your left hand found its way to the back of his head and into his soft curls making Javier groan quietly.

“I love you so much and I love your ways of showing affection. I feel loved, if anything I feel adored.” You let your right index finger trace his aquiline nose and Javier closed his eyes at your tender touch. You began to press soft kisses all over his face.

“You love me so well, Javier Peña. You are so caring, so wonderful, so handsome, and sooooo sexy…” you exhaled as your kisses reached his jaw and you felt him smile. “I love you, Javi. So so much.”

Javier opened his eyes and pulled you in for a proper kiss.

“I love you, too, mi corazon,” his hands gently squeezing your thighs.

As this gesture pressed you closer, you felt the tightness in his jeans. Jokingly widening your eyes you glanced down, between your bodies, as Javier offered you a shy boyish grin.

“Ohh, but I see that someone else’s love language is definitely words of affirmation.”

Javier’s hands slid under your shirt and tightened around your waist as he began to leave open-mouthed kisses on your neck prompting you to let out a shamelessly loud moan.

“Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that,” he softly said, nuzzling his nose into your neck. “I really love to hear your praise, mi amor.”

[unrelenting-jazz-hands]

He picked the wrong seat.

(This is something that’s been floating in my head. I love college!AUs and I’m just happy to be here. I like the idea of Levi studying to be a social worker and Hange being a behavioural Neuropsychology prof/researcher. plus Hange would have rats... this fic is just a place for her to have rats and rat friends.)

He didn’t know it when he first sat down on the couch, but he should have known it when a woman in maroon sweatpants staggered up to his couch.

She placed the tower of books and papers she was carrying onto the couch with a grunt that let on how heavy the pile had been. She shook out her arms before sitting on the other side of newly formed blockade. Levi glanced her way and leaned over to throw a scowl, to make sure she knew the disruption was not appreciated.

But she just sat quietly and read. So, he didn’t move, he figured it would be fine. He should have moved.

And she just sat quietly and read. So, he didn’t move, he figured it would be fine. He should have moved.

"Hange! Hey, Hange! There you are, why didn't you answer your phone?" A young man jogged over to the woman sitting on the couch next to Levi.

Levi's scowl deepened, and he glanced at his watch, not for the first time in the last 15 minutes. His own class finished over an hour ago, but Isabel's lecture wouldn't be finished for another 45 minutes. It was getting late, and as the air grew colder, the nights were getting darker. He didn't like the idea of her walking home alone at this time of night. Furlan thought he was being dramatic, they weren’t on Understreet anymore.

The kid approached the couch and dropped his bag unceremoniously at her feet. He looked a little older than Isabel. Fuck, he was dreading the day she introduces some dumb boyfriend to him.

The woman slowly looked up and seemed more startled than she should have been to see the kid in front of her. She blinked and looked at her watch.

"Oh, it's 6:45 already? Hey Jean! Sorry, I lost track of time." One of her hands was still on the stack of books that was starting to lean just a little too much for Levi's comfort.

He shifted away and glanced around the room. The atrium was busy and noisy. There wouldn't be anywhere else to sit this side of campus on a gloomy September night. The choices were to either sit here or to stand somewhere like a weirdo. He grumbled to himself and looked back down at his notes.

Jean shrugged, "All good, Hange. But, where's your phone? You didn't see my messages?"

Hange looked down at the report in her hand as though she expected herself to be holding the phone. "Oh... I thought I had it." She attempted to pat down her jacket pockets (of which there were far too many) and then tried to use her foot to move her bag towards her.

Glancing up at the kid with a slight frown, "what's up? Why? Did something happen at the lab?"

"No," Jean said with smile, "Armin was just asking what time he should tell his tutorial the kick-off party starts. And then just to say that the slides for the lecture tomorrow look good."

Levi watched out of the corner of his eyes as Jean bent down to help the woman check her bag for her phone and mumbled, "We really should get you a case you can clip to your belt or something…"

"A-ha!" Hange raised a fist clenched around a flip phone, and then suddenly, she was holding it with two hands.

Her pile of books had had enough and was about to topple over when Levi's arms shot out to steady the tower before it collapsed on the brunette. She hadn't even noticed.

He didn't mean to catch the books before they fell. He really hadn't planned on moving at all; the books weren't even falling his way. It was her own damn fault if she didn't notice. But, his body was just too used to moving quickly to catch pictures, mugs, and lamps before they could reach the floor. It wasn't a coincidence that they didn't have many breakables in the apartment, what with the way Isabel was constantly twirling around and Furlan's sleepwalking.

When Hange did notice, a few seconds later, she let out a startled yelp and attempted to use her whole body to steady her library.

"Shit, no! That's making it worse," Levi said, not bothering to hide his annoyance. He steadied the pile again and kept his arms holding it up for a while longer before shooting a glare to the airhead next to him.

"Sorry, sorry!" Hange said with a laugh. She grinned at him from around the books, "thanks a bunch, though! Wild reflexes!"

He rolled his eyes, "You just weren't paying attention."

She raised an eyebrow and cracked a grin, "what? Were you staring at me?"

Levi felt his cheeks go warm and diverted his gaze from the woman's laughing eyes.

"No, I wasn't," he said curtly, "I was just sitting in the fucking danger zone."

He made sure the books were steadied before he picked up his notebook again.

The kid in front of them coughed and shifted around uncomfortably. "Thanks, man," he said while giving Levi a quick once over. "If those textbooks go down, all the paper she's stuffed into them would have ended up everywhere. It took hours to match the notes up to their text pages again."

Jean reached over and started restacking Hange's stuff on the floor while she held on. She still looked like she found the whole thing much too funny for Levi's liking. He decided not to look her way.

"You should really organize your shit better," Levi mumbled, keeping his eyes on his paper.

Hange leaned her head back against the couch, "aww, man... that's what everyone says. I've tried, guys! It just never lasts." She let out an exasperated sigh.

Jean muttered something too quiet for Levi to catch, but Hange nudged him with her foot and shot him a look.

"Well, enjoy carting around half the library then..." Levi shot her way and that, he hoped, was their last interaction.

Hange looked down at Levi's open binder, which was neatly labelled and visibly well organized.

She let out a small "huh," before turning her attention to the kid again.

"Alright, Jean! Well, the kick-off party starts at 8:30 at the Wallflower. I'll head over after my lectures and locking up the lab." She frowned, "wait, why wouldn't people join? Puppy therapy is always super busy."

Jean sighed and leaned his head to the side, "yeah, but Hange. I mean, the hype just isn't the same with rats. Plus, the lab is intense and the hours for the regular meetings are kind of random."

Levi frowned at his notes. What the fuck? Fucking weirdo...

Hange sighed, "yeah, you're right." Then shot him a bright grin, "But! I swear I'm about to get a big grant to really kick it all up a notch! We're really getting somewhere, and we can maybe take on a few more assistants next semester to help with all the data entry that's going to need to happen!" She was basically bouncing.

She paused and looked around the room quickly before returning her fiery gaze back to Jean, who was looking a little frazzled.

"And get this, Jean Boy, I've been working on something with Moblit. I can't get into it right now, but it could be really big if it all goes according to plan. Like really big!" She was bouncing again. Her hand gestures were getting more exaggerated and much too close to Levi's personal space. He decided to just lean away and scowl instead of getting dragged into another conversation.

Jean narrowed his eyes, "Wait, like big for you and research nerds or big as in normal people big."

Hange grabbed his hands, "like brand new wing big. Like the Rat Pack Club goes on vacation big."

Levi was still looking at his notes. He had to admit he was starting to be a little more curious than he was annoyed. She was trying to whisper but wasn't doing a very good job at it. God, it was like she didn't know how to be quiet.

"Wait, so this is something you're working on with Dr. Berner? I thought you were still heartbroken from him switching labs," Jean asked while trying to take his hands back. "Is he back?"

Hange shook her head, and her smile dimmed a little, "no, my ride or die still over at the Medical Imaging Lab in the comp sci building." She perked up and continued on, "But! It may have worked out for us in the end!"

Jean looked a little less tired now, "huh... well, when can you tell us about it? Who knows about it?"

Hange let out a low chuckle, "uh, well, don't tell anyone. It started as just a little side project for Moblit, Nanaba, Nifa, and me. We didn't expect it to really go anywhere. So keep it to yourself, for now, I'll let y'all know when I can."

Jean nodded. He looked determined and, suddenly, a lot younger than he had a minute ago. He gave a mock salute, "you got it, Doc!"

Hange mirrored his salute and gave him a wink. "Awesome, ok! Oh, also, did you have any questions about tomorrow's lecture?"

Jean shrugged and shook his head, "nah, I looked it over, and it's pretty chill. Cog Psyc was a fun course."

Levi glanced up and looked at the top right corner of his notes. Intro to Cognitive Psychology.

"And that's exactly the vibe we want this semester! Fun!" Hange exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Yeah… ok, fun. I can do that," Jean mumbled. "I'll tell Armin," he said as he turned to go. The kid waved lazily over his shoulder, "See ya tomorrow, Hange!"

"Get home safe, Jean! Tell Sasha and Connie I say hello," Hange waved to the back of the kid's head before leaning back and slouching down.

"Rat Pack Club goes on vacation. Ha! Take that monkey brain," Hange muttered with a smile. She closed her eyes like she getting ready to take a long nap in the middle of the atrium, which was getting less busy as time went by.

"Oh!" She exclaimed and shot up and turned to face Levi with a much-too-bright smile, "I forgot to introduce myself!"

She stuck out a hand that was covered in ink smudged. Levi felt the corner of his lips fall and held back a snarky comment; he really was trying to be less pissy, as Isabel put it. He sighed and reached out to shake her hand. He had hand sanitizer in his pocket.

"I'm Zoe Hange, but please call me Hange! Nice to meet you, and thanks for saving my books!"

Levi nodded, "Levi." He went to take his hand back, but the weirdo was still shaking it.

"You're taking Psyc 221 tomorrow, right? That's awesome. I hope you're ready for a heckin' good semester, Levi!" Hange was still shaking his hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, it sounds great," Levi mumbled as he jerked his hand away from her grip.

"Is this your first semester here? Transfer student? Do you live on campus? What courses are you taking?" Hange kept going as though he looked happy to be there instead of inching away and gathering his papers to leave.

"Second semester here, transferred from Wallrose College," Levi muttered. He didn't want to admit it, but Hange's enthusiasm was putting him on edge. What the fuck was she on?

Hange nodded enthusiastically, "That's great! Welcome, and if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask! I'll be your lecturer for PSYC 221. My lab's down in the Neuro wing, so feel free to stop by if you have any questions!" She pointed down the hall that had a staircase at the end of it. "I always really enjoy having some older students," she continued, "at least someone to make eye contact with when the kids make a reference I don't know." Hange smiled at him before rummaging through her pocket and proceeding to hand him a business card. He didn't want to take it, but he also didn't want to piss off his professor. Fuck it, whatever.

"I know what you mean. My younger sister is always trying to get me to do these stupid fucking dances for TikTok or whatever the fuck," Levi grumbled out as he looked over the card. His eyes flicked upwards to meet hers.

"rat_attack2000@maria.edu?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn't let it leak into his voice, but, shit… She had to be a few years younger than he was, and she was a professor and director of a research lab. He didn't want to say he was impressed, but he was. But she was also a fucking weirdo.

Hange nodded and smiled widely. She reached back into her pocket, grabbed the card back from Levi, and scrawled something down with the newly retrieved pen. The pen was labelled, pocket pen.

"Yeah! It's the email address for the club I started with some students. My research lab has been doing some behavioural studies with rats, and it's hard not to fall for their little paws and their little eyes. So, every now and then, we get together and hang out and chill with some rats. This Friday, we are having our kick-off party. You should stop by!"

Hange handed him the card back. It had a time, a date, and an address.

"This is more of a social gathering at a bar near campus, not really a regular meeting. It's mostly just a bunch of research assistants and a few of us old folk having some drinks," Hange shrugged, still smiling. She wasn't done, "the usual meetings are chilling with the rats and throwing around ideas. Sometimes the students pitch us some experiments, and then we give them feedback."

Levi didn't think he would go. To the meetings or the party tomorrow. Hell, he knew for sure he wasn't going to go. Still, he nodded and muttered out a half-assed, "sure."

"Plus! The kids don't stay too long at the parties. They eventually head out after a few drinks to the next destination to get trashed where their profs can't see them. So it's only rowdy for a little while. It's been a while since I made it to the second location. I'm not that old, but I'm not that young anymore." She laughed lightly, and Levi was caught off guard by how pretty the sound was.

"I can't Fridays," Levi said as he pocketed the card, "I work Friday afternoons."

Hange nodded, "It's 8:30 to late-thirty, so stop on by if you want! Or if you know someone who'd-"

She was cut off by someone dropping their bag onto Levi's lap.

"What the fuck?" He started, looking up with a scowl. Of fucking course it was Isabel. He looked at his phone and saw 5 missed calls.

"Dude, what's the point of having a phone if you never answer it," Isabel said with a little more sass than Levi was used to. His brow furrowed. He'd ask about that later.

"Don't be a shit," he said gruffly, but still more gently than his usual tone. She made him worry like that. "My phone was on silent."

"Hi! You must be Levi's sister! He mentioned he had a younger sister." Hange stood up and grabbed Isabel's hand with a smile, "I'm Hange. I'll be your brother's professor starting tomorrow. Should I be keeping an eye on him? I feel like he's going to give me a hard time." Hange gave Isabel a wink and a smirk, which the younger girl returned. She looked a little less tense than she had a minute ago.

"Pfft, Nah. He's pretty bland." Isabel replied and shook Hange's hand with significantly more enthusiasm than Levi had. "I'm Isabel. Thanks for engaging with Mr. Grumpy here. He usually just sits there like a weirdo."

Levi stood up and thrust Isabel's bag back into her arms, "Ok, time to go." He turned on his heel and started walking away at a brisk pace.

Hange shouted out, "bye, Levi! See ya tomorrow!"

Levi waved over his shoulder but stopped when he didn't hear Isabel following behind him.

Isabel was still standing next to Hange, who was staring at her pile of books. He groaned and made his way back to the couch as Hange leaned down and tried to pick up the stack.

He placed a hand on Isabel's shoulder and attempted to steer her away.

"Isabel let's go," Levi said.

The young lady shook her head, "Nah. I'm catching a ride with some friends. We're gonna go get some food before heading home! So don't worry about me!" Isabel gave him a look and gestured towards Hange, still mapping out a game plan. Levi pretended not to notice her look and shot her a glare of his own.

"Isabel. Dammit, why did you tell me that before I stayed till the end of your classes?"

Hange let out a chortle and glanced up at them, "Ha! Classic. Have fun, kid!"

"Well, since you don't need to worry about me," Isabel said sweetly, "you're free right now. Hange, let Levi help you with this!" She shoulder-checked Levi and stuck out her tongue at him with a grin.

"I'm sure she's fine," Levi said.

"Oh, man! I would so appreciate it!" Hange all but yelled, standing up suddenly. Her head smashed right into Levi's chin, making them both groan and bring their hands up to their respective injuries.

"Dammit, four-eyes. Be fucking careful," Levi growled. He shot Isabel a look, but it didn't stop her giggling. He was losing his edge.

"Ok, bye! I have my phone, and it won't be on silent!" She waved and hurried off in the direction of the exit. There was a group of girls who waved, laughing, before walking off together. Levi let out an exasperated sigh, but he was happy to see she was making friends. She deserved it.

Groaning, he looked back down. Hange… was just sitting on the floor, next to her pile of books. No, she wasn't just sitting there. She was reading a book.

"Yo, four-eyes. You want help or not."

"Hmm?" She looked up as though unsure of who was talking to her. She blinked her big, brown eyes and then smiled. Her lips formed a little oh, and though she only just remembered where she was. "Oh, yes! Sorry, I got side-tracked there for a minute. How's your chin! I'm really sorry about that!"

She stood and reached out to touch Levi's face.

He took a step back, "You were just touching the floor. I don't want you touching my face!" He felt his cheeks warm up a bit and shifted his gaze. He picked up most of the stupid, fucking books.

She chuckled and reached down to pick up the rest. She looked at him with a grin and replied, "that's a fair point, Shorty."

"Shorty?" Levi all but dropped the books. "Whatever, Four-eyes," he said and stormed away.

He heard some undignified sputtering as she tried to think of a comeback. He smirked. Good, she should feel bad.

"You just called me Four-eyes? What, I can't call you Shorty?"

"Not when I'm doing you a favour," he shot back. " And after you try to break my face!"

"No! Come back, Shor- Levi! I mean... I mean, come help me, Levi," she sounded whiney. He wasn't sure if he liked that sound.

He turned around and saw her trying to pick up the stack again. He let out a sigh and dragged his feet back to the fucking weirdo, again.

"Oh my fucking god… Why do you even have this many books with you?" He said gruffly as he took an armful of the offending items.

"Research!" Hange exclaimed as though it was obvious. She started to walking away at a surprisingly fast pace.

"What the fuck, slow down, weirdo," Levi said. In-fucking-credible.

"Well, come on then!" Hange said, glancing over her shoulder. "My office isn't too far away."

It sure felt like it was, though.

After winding their way through the halls and then down several sets of stairs, Hange finally unlocked a door and turned on the lights of her office. It was absolutely filled with books, with stacks of papers covering every surface. She shuffled into the room, stepping over a few plastic boxes, and placed her cargo on her chair. It was the only surface that had any space. Hange motioned for Levi to hand her his share, which she placed on the ground, next to the chair.

"Fuck, Hange. How the hell do you ever find anything?" Levi said, unable to hide the growing frustration from his tone. He didn't like clutter, and he really didn't like this room. "This is a fucking mess."

"Oh, it's not that bad! I can find what I need eventually!" She waved her hand and flicked off the lights. Hange picked up two plastic boxes, letting out a small grunt as she did so.

"Alright! Let's head out. Close the door, would you?" She nodded to the open door.

"What's in the boxes?" Levi asked, shutting the door. He had no idea why he was still here. Why was he still here, talking to this lunatic. God, he shuttered thinking of the stacks of paper in that little office.

"Oh, just old notebooks that I need to shred, some speakers I need to donate, and then a lot of rat food to bring to the shelter."

He had forgotten about the rats.

He looked over at the tall, lanky woman. She was obviously struggling. Shit.

"Give me those," he muttered as he took the boxes from her.

She let out an audible sigh as she shook out her arms, "oof, thanks a bunch! Ok, it's over this way!"

Levi glanced her way, "what is?"

"My apartment!"

He felt weird about this. He didn't know this person. Well, he did, or he would know her. Tomorrow, anyways. It still felt weird. He wasn't sure he really knew why. He nodded silently and followed her.

He paused when he looked down.

"Are you wearing fucking crocs?"

[snailwritesfics]

Presents

-> Nothing better than a Wattpad repost to start us off.

Pairing: Ochacko x GN! Reader

Warnings: None

————-

Your eyes struggled agaisnt everything to keep themselves awake. Your wife was driving the both of you, and your car and connected rv, down the interstate. When you looked over at her, you could see her struggling to stay awake as well.

“Ochacko,”, you groaned, your voice raspy and tired. “It’s not safe to drive when you’re so tired, let’s stop somewhere.”.

She looked over at you, with a distasteful look on her face. “Where?”, she snapped back at you.

You were surprised, she never talked to you so harshly before, even when she was tired.

“Sorry hun, I’m just frustrated with the night.”, she apologized. “Can you look for a place for us to stop?”, she asked, in a tone that sounded half-pleading.

“Yeah.”, you responded simply.

You pulled out your phone, and used the new face ID feature to lazily open it. You opened google and searched for rv parks in your area. You found one that was rated, well very poorly, and contemplated even suggesting it to Ochacko. In the end you decided it would be better to find a place now:

“I found an rv park we can stop at.”, you said, already turning on the directions.

“Great”, she responded.

You let your eyes close, as the sound of the automated voice reading off directions lulled you to sleep. You could still somehow feel the bumpy side road the two of you were driving on. But ignored it, as your body went into an even deeper state of rest.

When you woke up again you felt your head being supported by a pillow, not the back of your seat. You rolled over to see Ochacko in the seating area of your small rv. She was eating some ramen while looking out the window.

You carefully sat up, as to not hit your head on the low ceilings. Your shuffling had made Ochako turned around, as she was close to you anyway, you stayed sitting on the bed. “Hey.”, you yawned.

“Hey hun.”, she responded as she caught up to throw her can of ramen away. “Are you hungry?”, she asked.

“No, but thank you.”, you said.

“Well stay here I have something for you.”, she said. She got out of the rv and walked to the trunk of your car.

You sat there and let your mind wonder with things it could be. Divorce papers? No, you too loved each other. Besides who would be dumb enough to divorce on a road trip. Your present! Of course, how could you forget. It was your favorite already after all.

You wanted to get out of the car and get her present but you didn’t want to spoil it for her. So, you decided to stay put, and not look as she got yours, you didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

You almost dozed off again as you looked out the tiny rv window. It was covered in rain droplets. It must’ve started pouring when you were out cold, you thought to yourself.

You heard the door hit the rv wall, which interrupted your thought process. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to slam it, there’s not much space in here.”, Ochacko said.

“No worries.”, you responded as you moved to sit down on the small table and booth resembling chairs surrounding it. Ochacko followed you sitting on the other side, she had three bags of stuff for you. Now you felt bad, you weren’t able to get her as much.

“You didn’t have to go all out.”, you said, “Now I fell like I barely got you enough.”.

“Don’t worry.”, she said. She pushed your hair out of your face, and looked at you with loving eyes. “I’m a pro hero, it’s not much a big deal for me.”, she said.

Oh. While that’s true, that’s not what you wanted her to say. You though something more intimate was going to happen when she touched your face like that. But to be fair, you were both tired and about to exchange gifts. Even though you were alone, now would be an awkward time to kiss, let alone make out.

She pushed the smallest bag in front of you. “Open it.”, she said.

You opened the bag and found two bath bombs, one was decorating with purples and blues in a swirling pattern. And one was a bright pink, with yellow thrown into it. Also in the bag was a set of very high quality pens, and one of those silly pens with googley eyes glued onto some fuzz. You digged into the bag for one last thing, a card.

Inside the card read;

Dear my beloved lover,

I hope you have a gorgeous holiday, and many more to come. I love you an unimaginable amount, to a point where I could never express the feelings I have for you. I wish to make this holiday an amazing day between the both of us.

Love,

𝓞𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓸

You closed the card and looked up at her with a laugh.

“That was the cheesiest thing I had ever read.”, you said snickering slightly.

“I know, I know”, Ochacko responding, laughing as well. “I just wanted to find a good card that wasn’t so generic, I thought about writing my own. But, then I found this one. It says a lot about how I feel about you.”, she said.

You smiled. It meant a lot to you that Ochacko was willing to look for what must have been ages for the right cheesy card. She then gave you the second bag, which was only slightly bigger than the first. Inside were three books, all were fantasy books. One though, made you completely geek out.

It was the newest book in a series you had been reading. You had no clue how she had found it considering it was only given to a select few stores, and not mass produced. “I- how?”, you asked. “It’s not as impressive as it looks”, she said. “I got it from someone reselling it on e-bay.”, she laughed.

“Oh”, you said. “Still thank you so much babe, I can’t wait to read it.”.

“I’m glad hun.”, she responded with a soft smile on her face. She took your previous presents and the trash and placed them on separate piles on the floor.

“One last present.”, she said handing you a rather big bag. You opened and it let out a sheirk only similar to that of a fangirls. Inside was a booklet explaining how a skunk lives in the wild, and a gigantic skunk plushie, that when sat next to you was the size of a short human. Maybe around 4’ 11”? You didn’t know, nor did you care.

You squeezed the stuffed skunk tightly, not caring that it was probably bigger than any real skunk ever could be. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!”, you said looking at Ochacko. You were no longer tired but rather fully awake. You grabbed the booklet off the table and started skimming through the pages.

Ochacko let out a light hearted giggled. “You’re such a dork.”, she said smiling. You didn’t even mind, you smiled as well looking at her.

“I love you.”, you said.

“I love you too, hun”, she responded.

[eryiscrye]

12th one for the prompts?

#12-Writer and Editor AU

This AU was both prompted by @abrokencrevice and anon! This idea popped into my head right away. Sorry it took a while to write. Once again... the definition of short has been uh... played with.

Jaime ended the call and immediately threw his phone onto his kitchen island, not caring that it might slide along the marble and topple onto the floor. But luckily it didn’t. Unluckily, it hit a stack of paper and sent sheets flying absolutely everywhere. He would deal with those later. He had T-minus 10 minutes to finish his preparation, T-minus 8 minutes if Brienne was more pissed off with him than her terse tone had implied. 

He pulled on two oven mitts and opened the oven door. Heat billowed out along with the tantalizing smells of spices and garlic and Jaime’s lips curled in delight. He reached into the oven and pulled out the cast iron skillet, filled to the brim and bubbling with chicken, chickpeas, and a harissa sauce made from scratch. Quickly, he slid to his dining room table and set the cast iron skillet onto a marble trivet, which, he had learned several practice sessions ago, were highly necessary when dealing with very hot dishes fresh from the oven. There had been many, many practice sessions. Tyrion and Cersei and Addam and Elia and Catelyn were sick of chicken, chickpeas, and harissa now. But it was all paying off. It had to pay off.

Jaime adjusted the positioning of the large bowl of couscous mixed with lemon, coriander and pomegranate seeds, the bottle of wine, the wine glasses, the cutlery, and the plates then stepped back and nodded. Running back into the kitchen, Jaime shut the oven door, turned it off – a task that he now never forgot after one unfortunate mishap– and grabbed a lighter. 

Running back to the dinning room table, he lit the two candles between the cast iron skillet and the bowl of couscous, relishing in the clean citrus smell they gave off. Brienne loved citrus. She must’ve. She always smelled like citrus. It made his relationship with oranges very complicated.

Lastly, Jaime ran into his office, grabbed a large binder full of paper and a small flash drive shaped like a sword and then ran out again to set the objects precariously on the dining room table where there was still space.

He frowned. The new objects threw the ambiance of the whole set up way off. Jaime picked up the binder and left the flash drive. Now, the damn thing was liable to be knocked onto the ground and lost in his dimly lit dining room, and turning on the lights to go crawling around on the floor looking around for it would definitely throw off the ambiance of the evening. Jaime picked up the flash drive and tucked it back into the binder.

How the hell had he not thought of this? The dumb binder was so fucking integral to his whole plan!

His doorbell began screeching at him.

Jaime looked at his watch and grimaced. She had arrived within 7 minutes. She was definitely pissed off at him. That was also not what he had been going for. He went over to his phone and activated its connection to the building intercom. “Hello,” he said as cheerily as he could while hurriedly trying to gather up all the scattered paper back into a neat pile.

“Let me up Jaime or so help me—“

“Buzzing you in!” he merrily shouted over the rest of her words and heard not only the clack of the building door opening but the stomping of her feet too. Too late Jaime thought that maybe he had gotten the balance of practice sessions and due dates wrong.

It was all by the by now. He was going to make this work.

He had met Brienne over three years ago. She was meant to be the next in a long line of editors whom he would eventually get sick and tired of, the next in a line of editors whom only wanted to ride on the coat tails of a man who had once written award winning best sellers that had meant something, even though he just couldn’t anymore. She was meant to be another editor that would push him to write and publish anything as long as it had his name on it, because as long as it had his name and face on it, it would sell. 

But Brienne had been none of those things. Firstly, she had hated what his novels had become. She had confessed to being an avid fan of the first, and second, and third books as a teen and still as an adult… but then she had become disgusted, as he had, with the rest. She hadn’t even wanted to be in the line of editors vying for him. She had made it clear from the very first day that she was only working with him as a favour to Olenna, and that their relationship was surely set to implode. 

The joke was on both of them though. Through the natural chemistry of their dynamic, Jaime had been angry – no – passionate enough about her and the way that she dismantled him, goaded him, drove him, and inspired him, that he had once again released something that meant something, although the book had taken years before it had won anything and then subsequently become a best seller. But that was it. The moment that spark was back, she was his for forever. Or in truth, he was hers. 

The rest was just inevitable.

The sound of fists on his door echoed into his flat. “Jaime Lannister! You better have that first draft for me or I am going to rip your—“

Jaime threw open the front door and waved the binder and flash drive at Brienne, “Have it right here!” He interrupted snarkily and then his mouth went dry as a wave of citrus hit him. 

“Why in all names do you have a printed version? Are you being all old again? We’ve discussed this!” Brienne raved madly, and then, “Have you decided to adopt the vampire life style? Why are there no lights on in your flat?” Brienne asked with a furrowed brow.

Jaime just simply continued to gape. Was this how she had gotten here in 7 minutes? Because she hadn’t even bothered to put on real clothes? Not real clothes being a complete misnomer. Brienne was fully dressed, just dressed in a way that he had never seen her dressed before. 

As his editor, he had mostly seen her in clean-cut pantsuits, plain blouses, and just typical, absurdly conservative work attire. She was never anything but professional for their conferences, book signings, dull company meetings, and even when she came barreling into his apartment to wrestle the next draft from him about ten minutes before they were meant to be due to her. Which was about two days before they were usually due to the publisher. She really gave him too much slack. But he was charming like that.

However, the Brienne before him now… well. She was wearing a big, baggy, blue sweater that hung off one shoulder – showing him that she was either wearing a strapless bra or not wearing one at all -, soft cotton shorts that barely reached mid-thigh – highlighting the extreme length of her very freckled legs –, her hair was a soft bird’s nest around her head – whereas usually it was in a utilitarian bun-, and the fucking cutest wire frame classes were haphazardly perched on the crook of her nose. He didn’t even know that she wore glasses. 

She looked bloody adorable and Jaime was not ready for the assault on his senses. 

Brienne waved a hand in front of his face, “Jaime? Have you started getting migraines? Is that why your flat is so dark? You could have told me, I would have convinced the publishing company to extend your deadline.”

And she would have. If he told her he was having any real problems, and not well… just being the annoying person he inherently was, she would do everything in her power to help him. It was this kind of strong-willed caring that made him—

“I’m okay,” Jaime managed to rasp out, “Please come in.”

Brienne tipped her head curiously, “I can just take your draft if that’s it,” she pointed at the binder and flash drive in his hands, “You can take the rest of the night to relax and I’ll get out of your hair—“

“No!” Jaime managed to shout out, “I…” Ah… right. Now he remembered what he had forgotten to rehearse. He had spent so much time perfecting the meal he had planned to cook for them that he had never quite gotten to the part about how to actually ask her if she wanted to eat it with him. No wonder every single one of his fucking siblings and friends seemed to be in on the same joke. They all knew this moment had gone right over his head. He was going to kill them all.

At that moment, Brienne’s phone chimed several times and she peeked at it, obviously intending to just take a quick look before giving him back her full attention, but then she did a double take and went through the whole process of unlocking her phone to take in the full contents of whatever was sent to her. 

“Um…” Brienne murmured as her cheeks went splotchy pink. How in all names was she getting cuter? Then, oddly, she held her phone out to him, “Jaime. What is she talking about?”

Jaime’s Friend Elia: He’s trying to invite you in for dinner. Please say yes and end his misery

Jaime’s Friend Elia: End all of our misery. I can’t eat any more couscous

Jaime’s Friend Elia: Sorry that was Addam

Jaime’s Friend Elia: AND ALSO MAKE SURE TO READ CHAPTER 12 WHILE YOUR STILL AT HIS PLACE!!! HE’S BETTER AT WRITING THAN ARTICULATING HIS FEELINGS

Jaime’s Friend Elia: Just read the damn title

Jaime’s Friend Elia: And we don’t mean this for editorial purposes Brienne

Jaime’s friend Elia: Sorry that was Tyrion then Cersei then Catelyn. I’m locking my phone now. Just say yes

Jaime blinked as he read the messages, and then his eye twitched. He threw a scathing glare toward the apartment across the hall – Elia’s apartment – and wondered how many people had their ear pressed to the door on the other side. 

Brienne stood on her tippy toes, which meant that she was now near a head taller than him, to get a better look into his place. “Are those candles? Jaime, why do you have candles lit?”

Jaime swore he heard snickering and couldn’t stand it anymore. He grabbed her forearm and pulled her into his flat, tossing one last glare at Elia’s peephole. He slammed his door shut. 

Brienne, meanwhile, had used the momentum he had given her to progress deeper into his apartment and into his dining room – where the only source of light was flickering – and he found her just standing at the threshold. When he came to her side, she looked over at him. “What is this Jaime?” she asked in what sounded like a desperate whisper.

Jaime sighed and rubbed the back of his head, “I was going to ask you if you wanted to have dinner with me, but I’m just realizing I never even asked if you’ve already had dinner.”

“I haven’t had dinner yet,” Brienne murmured as she looked back at the set up and then back at him. Her eyes scanned his whole body, going from head to toe. He had dressed up for the occasion, in a white, tailored dress shirt – the sleeves still rolled up to his elbows from when he was cooking – and dark gray, wool slacks. His effort looked silly beside her extremely casual attire. “Is this… a writer and editor dinner, Jaime? Like a ‘sorry, I left this draft until the last possible minute’ dinner?”

Jaime shook his head and couldn’t help but grin at her. She was so sweet and oblivious. Apparently everyone else knew. “I think Catelyn told you that it isn’t.”

Her eyes turned back to the table. It was so gentle and affectionate, the small “Oh” that wooshed from her lips. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the awfully romantic looking set up. “What’s the title of your new book? You’ve refused to tell me for months now.”

He opened the binder to the first page. Printed on it were the words: ‘I Dreamed of Blue’. He didn’t know if he was happy with it. But he didn’t think any words would be able to encapsulate the entirety of his heart and soul.

He watched Brienne swallow nervously, but also shift closer to him. His heart bloomed. “What happens in chapter 12?”

Jaime’s fingers tapped nervously as she slowly met his gaze. Gods, the ways her eyes sparkled. He wanted to kiss her. “The main characters finally tell each other how they feel.”

[phoebonicawrites]

[sic] : Among Us fic (Whumptober day 18: paranoia)

Back with more space murderbeans for @whumptober2020! There’s no gore in this one. I wrote this because I wanted to see if I could make the detail the fic revolves around into an actual serious plot point. I hope I succeeded.

***

The door to the crewmate dorms slammed open and Green screamed, scrambling out of bed and grabbing the flare gun beside her pillow.

“Green! Green, it’s okay, it’s me!”

Blue raised his hands, taking a step to the side from his position in the doorway, leaving Green a clear path to the exit. If she’d needed to run. Which she didn’t, because it was Blue. It was just Blue. Not something else wearing his skin. It was over. It was all over now and tomorrow they’d be on their way home. Away from Polus, and the cold, and the memories. Away from the storage shed where she'd stumbled on Red's dismembered body, their leader the first to be slaughtered, and away from the lava pit where she and Blue had thrown the struggling, snarling thing with Purple’s face, and away from every nightmare in between.

“Blue, what the hell?” She lowered the gun, her hands trembling. Vitals no doubt going crazy, if anyone had been left to monitor them. “Don’t barge in like that, you scared the crap out of me! I could have shot you!”

“I know, I’m sorry, look…” Blue moved cautiously over to one of the nearby beds and sat down, keeping a comfortable distance, hands where Green could see them. “I need to show you something. That last message from HQ… I realised what was bugging me about it.”

“...yeah?” Green sat down on her own bed, setting the flare gun down carefully beside her on the thin mattress, making sure that it pointed away from either her or Blue. “What was it?”

Blue started to reach behind himself, then paused. “I’m gonna take it out of my pack, okay?” he said quietly, and Green nodded. She hadn’t really thought that those hands would come back with a knife, or a gun. They’d watched each other run a full body scan in medbay, after everything. Blue was clean. So was she.

But the fear was still there, and they both understood that.

Blue took a folded printout from his bag and opened it, turning it around for Green to read. “Here, look…” He pointed to the spot on the paper he’d already marked, a few words heavily circled in red pen. “You see it?”

Green squinted at the paper. It didn’t look any more strange to her than it had before. It looked like salvation. There’d be a ship here to pick them up at 09:00 local time tomorrow morning (or this morning, by now). She read over the highlighted words again, her brow furrowing.

...no imposters remaining within the... 

She shook her head, sitting back upright. “You’re going to have to talk me through this one.”

“‘Imposters.’ I-M-P-O-S-T-E-R-S.” Blue tapped the paper, voice rising in agitation. “It’s spelled with an O, Green. It’s always been spelled with an O.”

Green stared at him.

“Are you kidding me?” Her own voice rose and cracked, incredulous. “You woke me up to tell me Mira HQ made a fucking typo?! It’s not even wrong, it’s an alternate spelling -”

“Which Mira doesn’t use -”

“- and I thought we were under attack, but you’re here playing grammar police -”

“I know how it sounds!” Blue screamed, shaking the printout in her face - no, Green realised, a pang of guilt twisting in her stomach, he wasn’t shaking it at her, he was just shaking. All over. Damn it. She’d just been thinking how considerate he was being, doing his best not to trigger her into a panic over something small, and here she was yelling at him for having his own irrational terrors to deal with. “I want to be wrong, Green! I want to believe this is all in my head, but I can’t!” The last word broke into a sob, and he doubled over, head in his hands, the printout crumpled against his helmet.

“Blue…” Green stood, moved to go to his side, then caught herself. “Can I sit with you?” Blue gave a small nod, and Green settled onto the mattress beside him. “Blue, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I know better. We both just went through hell together, and we’re jumping at shadows now because any tiny thing that seemed off before could have been the thing that got us killed. It makes total sense that you’re freaking out over this.”

Blue nodded again, swallowing hard. “Y-yeah. You don’t… have to apologise, I know it sounds dumb, but…”

“It’s not dumb. But it’s not going to hurt you, Blue, I swear. It��s just a typo. Or someone forgot which spelling was the official one. Or - hell, maybe it’s the Berenstain effect. I wanna say it was always O-R too, but we could both be wrong -”

“But that’s just it!” Blue’s head snapped up, eyes meeting Green’s through their visors. Wide and dark, ringed by black circles that Green was sure matched her own. Neither one of them had slept well in some time. “I hoped I was remembering it wrong. So I checked.” He reached into his pack again, this time pulling out a whole stack of crumpled printouts. He handed the top one to Green. “See, this is the first message we got from HQ once we arrived here.”

Green scanned down the paper, her eyes quickly drawn to a single red-ringed word in the list of potential hazards. Impostor.

“They all say O-R. See, here - and here - and here.” Blue handed the papers to Green as he spoke, and her eyes flicked over them, finding the circled word each time. Impostor. Impostor. Impostor.

“What would it mean, though?” She dropped the papers onto the bed, hoping her voice sounded more confident than she felt but knowing the waver in it was audible. Blue’s panic was getting to her, that was all. She had to stay calm and rational, for his sake too. “Even if the latest one’s wrong, all it is is a typo -”

“But it’s not just the latest one.” Blue passed her another paper from the stack. His hands were steady now, his voice firmer. He pointed to the top of the page. “Look at the date on this one.”

“Morning of the thirteenth. The day after the first attack.” Green looked down the paper, finding the red ring. O-R.

“Yeah. And after we got this one -” Blue snapped his fingers, the sound sharp and jarring in the quiet room. “Comms went down for about five hours.” He handed over the next printout. “This arrived the next day.”

Green stared at the red circle. The date. The red circle again. A cold knot began to form in her stomach.

Imposter.

“That’s -” Green’s mouth was dry. Just a typo. It has to be. “That isn’t…”

Blue placed the last two papers gently in her lap. “See for yourself. Every message from after the comms blackout spells imposter with an E. Everything before spells it with an O. And I know this still doesn’t prove anything. I know that. I don’t want it to prove anything other than I need to spend some time with a shrink once we get back to HQ. But ...remember what Pink said once he got us back online?”

The papers slid down from Green’s lap to the floor. She didn’t reach for them. Her hands were numb.

“He said…” The ball of ice lodged in her stomach grew heavier. “Give Purple some credit, too. It would’ve taken me all night without her help.” Her insides suddenly clenched tight, and she doubled up, pressing a hand to her visor and trying with all her might not to retch into her helmet. “That - oh, god, and that was why we didn’t suspect her for so long… I thought she’d done it just to throw us off the scent…”

“So did I.” Blue gathered up the fallen papers and straightened them into a pile. His voice was flat, now, his face grim behind his visor. “Maybe she did. I really, really don’t want to be right about this, Green.”

Green nodded, clutching at the fabric of her suit to keep her own hands from trembling. She didn’t want Blue to be right, either. She didn’t want to learn the answers to the two questions spinning round her head, the answers six hours away and getting closer all the time.

Who exactly have our messages been reaching?

Who’s coming for us in that ship?

***

[Note: it’s ‘impostor’ in-game, but as Green points out, both spellings are correct. This fic isn’t meant to mock anyone for using either one. I just really like the trope where a seemingly unimportant detail turns out to be extremely important after all.]

[sabine-leo]

PART 3 

Author: @sabine-leo

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston / Reader - with Benedict Cumberbatch and Bobby

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Mysterious encounter, 

Wordcount: 2492

Part: 3 / ? (aprox 4) LINK TO PART 1 , LINK TO PART 2

Summary: A mysterious masquerade ball calls for a enthralling encounter with a handsome stranger.

Note: He did not lose his shoe... or did he?

This chapter has text messages. > for incomming < for outgoing

The next evening you still felt like it had all been a dream. Sadly, and to Emma´s and your despair he did not lose his shoe on the way out. No, he was gone and the only thing reminding you of him was your mind. You had not bothered do dress properly today. You had nowhere to be and your books and your sofa didn´t require you to dress up. So, as the doorbell rang you went to open your door in just your yoga pants and the wide shirt you were wearing. A big box of Ice-cream was shoved in your face and a blond head popped up next to it.  “Thought this was as good as any chance to get our Ice-cream overdose…” Emma smiled and walked into the kitchen.

 Chuckling you followed and leaned against the counter. “You think this is an Ice-cream worthy occasion?!” Emma nodded. “Absolutely!” She picked two spoons out of the drawer and was headed to the sofa. “I mean, have you seen yourself with that man yesterday? I almost fainted watching the two of you dance and flirt!” She flung herself onto your sofa and opened the Ice-cream.

“Even through the masks you could see the sparks flying out of his and your eyes!” Stopping short on your way to Emma you looked at her. “No, I have NOT seen him and me together…” Turning on your heal you went into the bedroom. “Where are you going? The Ice cream is here..” Emma called irritated.

 2 minutes later you came back with the recipe in your hand. Emma raised her eyebrow and the spoon full of ice-cream stuck in her mouth. “Whaffat?”  

Taking your laptop, you went to sit next to her and said. “We went into the photobooth together. This is the link and the password to access the pictures. He got one and I got one…”

Emma took the spoon out of her mouth with a plop. “You have PICTURES?”

You nodded and smiled. Emma giggled. “Oh dear! You can hide them as your little secret and one day tell your grandkids about the handsome stranger you met for ONE NIGHT ONLY!”

Rolling your eyes at Emma’s phantasies you typed in the information and waited as the page was loading.

 Not that far away Tom threw his keys onto the table and took a deep breath. He had been out for the most of the day but his mind was on something else as work entirely. His hand went into his pocket and searched for the piece of paper. He had not been able to let go of it. Even knowing that he had his rules for a reason, he could not shake the feeling that he had made a mistake yesterday night. Putting the physical attraction aside he had liked your wit and the few things you had talked about between dancing and taking those pictures. Now he stood in the middle of his livingroom staring at a piece of paper that would give him access to pictures of you and him together. Tom sighed.

“Maybe it was just the venue and the thrill of the night?” He tried to talk himself out of his misery.

A tad frustrated he banged the paper down onto the table next to his laptop and went to take a shower.

 “OH MY GOD!” Emma squealed as the pictures showed up on screen one after another.

“Look (Y/N). LOOK!! You two look SO good together!” The first pictures with the both of you goofing off appeared and Emma and you started to laugh. They were pretty hilarious. You could only guess what hysterical faces the both of you could pull off without the masks on. And a guess it would stay…

“ooohhh my heart!” Emma sighed as she saw the picture where you looked deep into each-other’s eyes and then she mocked a faint as the picture of the kiss came up. You on the other hand took a spoon of Ice and said “Kill me now!” before you fell back and stuffed your face.

Emma smiled a little sad on your behalf and saved the pictures and hit the print button.

 Coming out of the shower - which did not help with his mood at all -  in just his sweatpants, Tom sat down and opened up his laptop. He might as well look at the pictures and see if they were as good as his mind tried to make him believe. He filled in the needed things and waited. The first picture appeared and the frown that had been a constant on his face today lifted. A little smile tugged up his lips and a full out laugh escaped him as the funny pictures came up next. Tom could not help himself. He zoomed in on the kiss picture and saw how real it looked. His hand keeping you close. Your hand on his chest. He looked through all pictures again…The body language spoke a million words to him as a trained and accomplished actor. You could not force a connection like that. Tom groaned and let his head fall back. “I am such an idiot!” He saved the pictures and hit the print button as well.

 The both of you had accessed the pictures. The both of you had saved and printed them. On both of your laptops opened up a box with a little DING noise. Tom frowned and took a closer look.

Emma saw it first and began to smile while constantly hitting your arm and yelling.

“HE LOST HIS SHOE!”

                The pictures where accessed from both sides.

If you have not exchanged contact-information’s already you can do so now.

The information will only go out if BOTH sides put them in.

Fill in here à Email: ____________________ 

and/or Phone:_____________________

              Thank you for joining the fun of the Moonlight Masquerade!

 Reading the text for the third time you looked at Emma and laughed. “He did not lose his shoe until I lose mine too!” Emma looked stern. “Oh, sweetheart! You ARE losing your shoe! If you don´t lose it I will pry it off of you and throw it at him!” You could not help it and started to giggle at Emma’s stern look. “But Em…What if he doesn´t want to lose his shoe?”

Emma shrugged “Then he probably turned into a pumpkin head and is not worth your shoe!”

Emma got up and said “You put in your shoe…number, geez this is Cinderella 2019” She laughed and added. “Just with a little more mystery and believe me, the dance was most definitely not PG13!”

Taking in a deep breath that left you in a laugh as she made her comment you stared at the open box for a moment. What did you have to lose?

 Tom stood up and paced his livingroom. A hand went through his hair and made it stand up funny. His ringing phone made him jump. “Yes?!” He said a bit tart. “Helloooo sunshine! Open up your door! Haven´t you heard me ringing your bell 3 times now?” Tom looked to the door and frowned.

“No…no I did not hear it, sorry. Just a second Ben!” Tom hung up and grabbed a Shirt before he opened up to let Benedict inside. “Don´t you look like happy ray of sunshine today?” Ben said and flung the script they both wanted to read together into his arms. Tom closed the door behind Ben and went back into the livingroom. “Sorry, my mind is a bit occupied…” Tom said and Ben tilted his head. “Care to elaborate?”

 Tom slumped down on the chair and just held out the pictures he had printed. Ben took the pile with a frown and started to look through them. “Oh.. so you went to the Masquerade.” He grinned and turned the picture of the kiss to Tom. “Wild guess, THAT´s on your mind!”

Tom chuckled and nodded. “Kind of….more like THAT.” He turned his laptop and pointed at the box.

Ben read it and sat down too. “I don´t understand…”

Tom sighed and gave him a run down of the night. Ben listened but started to laugh at the end.

“Thomas William Hiddleston. You are one dumb fellow.” Tom rolled his eyes. “I know, but my rules..”

Ben interrupted him. “Rules…Yes, I know we need them. But honestly, if you don´t get to bend them when something like THIS happens, they aren´t helpful at all!”

Tom rubbed his face. “Maybe it is just my mind bloating the night up. Maybe it wasn´t THAT good a match.” Ben looked at his friend. “You can only find out if you put in your number and meet her again. And before you start. Yes, it is a risk because of who you are. But maybe it was THAT good and maybe it is worth the risk to expose yourself just this once.”

Tom stared at the box and then at the pictures. “But what if she does not want to…”

Ben smiled and pushed the laptop to Tom. “Only one way to find out!”

Tom nodded and smiled at Ben.

 For the next hour (after the both of you had hit send) Tom went through the script with Ben and Emma had gotten you to watch a Horror film. Mentioning that all that fluff and swooning over the pictures would literally give you cavities. You just pointed at the Ice-cream with a raised eyebrow “You swooned and brought the Ice-cream!”

“All the more reason why I get to choose a movie!” She said and darkened the room.

The DING that went off and the screen on your laptop coming alive made the both of you shriek. Then you started to giggle at your own reaction and went to see who had sent a message.

“Oh god!” you said and started to smile… “He did lose his shoe…” “WHAT?” Emma jumped up.

 “Oh!” Tom looked up to Ben and smiled. “So… she does want to…” Ben winked and clapped Toms shoulder. “You got her number. Don´t be a fool and use it!”

Tom laughed. “That sounded like a threat my friend!”

Grinning, Ben nodded and said. “Maybe you aren´t such a dumb fellow after all!”

They both laughed and Tom programmed your number into his phone.

“I will use it, but I have to think about what to write first…”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Spontaneous as ever…”

“Heey!” Tom sounded offended. Ben looked him dead in the eyes.

“Think about it, Tom. Did you overthink everything you did yesterday night or did you just act out of instinct? Sometimes you just have to trust your gut. It´s as simple as that and it´s as complicated as that.” Tom sighed but nodded. “You are right, I did not overthink yesterday…and it was the best night out I had in years.” Ben smiled at him. “Then trust your gut. Every time I saw you glancing at the pictures you smiled. Maybe it was just a combination of things that made you hit it of with her. But maybe it was something else entirely.”

 Later, as Tom lay in his bed, he updated your profile with a picture from last night. Ben´s words resonated through his head and he opened up the text window. He typed and erased it 2 times before he huffed frustrated and got out of bed to open the window. He stared at his phone and grabbed it, typing fast and hitting send so that he had no time to overthink.

 > Hello Darling, oh right…you told me your name so that I don´t have to start calling you Darling. But what if I want to (Y/N)? I am glad you accessed the pictures and entered your number. Last night was remarkable…Maybe you would like to text and get to know each other a little better? Or…Have Dinner with me and do it in person?

Thomas

 There, he had done it. Tom threw his phone into the pillows and went into the kitchen. Bobby, who had been back from Toms Mum as Ben had left, looked up as he passed his dog-bed. “Go to sleep buddy, I just need some ice-water.” Bobby snuffled and rested his head again.

 Also in bed, but reading a book you heard your phone buzz and rolled your eyes. That probably was Emma again for the 4th time after leaving with a snarky remark or telling you of a new parallel she found to Cinderella. You took your phone and it almost did fall onto your face as you saw the picture and the name of the sender. You read his message and laughed a little at his starting line, then you smiled and bit your lip. He wanted to meet you again. Get to know you a little better. After 3 erased starts you wrote back.

 < Hello Thomas, I am glad too! The pictures you took from us are great. I hope you got your friend home safely. Yes, I´d love to get to know you a little better. Last night really was astounding. Dinner sounds lovely. And I don´t mind if you call me Darling 😉 But let´s see if you still want it after Dinner…

 Tom had made it back into bed and just finished texting Ben that he would say yes to the script as his phone went of in his hands, signalling another text. The picture that popped up made him smile instantly and that smile only got bigger as he read the response you had sent him.

 >  Alright, DARLING. Meet me on Friday at 8pm at Odette´s -- 130 Regent's Park Road ?!

 <     Friday at 8 it is!

 >  Do I have to wear my mask?

<     Please don´t. Getting to know each other better might be easier without one. Although it has been fun.

 >  It was but you are probably right… can´t wait to see your - without a doubt- beautiful face! Sleep well Darling!

 <     See you on Friday!! Sleep well Thomas!

 Tom smiled at his phone and did something he normally would not do, but this was different.

“Odette´s how can I help you?”

“Hello, this is Tom Hiddleston. I´d like to book your secret garden for Friday from 8pm…”

“A table Sir?”

“No, the complete garden venue with a table for 2 please…”

“Uhm, You might need to come in for such an exclusive booking.”

“Alright, see you in 20 minutes!”

 Tom got up and dressed. He had his rules but if he bend them and meet you somewhere public he could make sure it was JUST the two of you without unwanted interruptions. That way you felt safe meeting him in a public place and he felt safe enough to be himself.  

“Hey buddy…want to go for a night walk?” He looked at Bobby who wiggled his tail directly and went to retrieve his leash.

Tags: @lokilover-39 @archy3001 @amazinggraces-world @tanishahka @coniumalces @drakesfiance @confessionsofastrugglingteen @inlovewithfreyamikaelson @heart-shaped-hell @theoneanna @marikochi @xxxeatyourh3artoutxxx @awkwardfangirl2014 @rainbowsinthestorm @anchored-in-high-tide

[travelingstar]

Opportunity Chapter 1

Hi there! So before beginning this fic series that I hope to complete and share with others, I just want to say that this idea came from me and @starkravingspiders chatting and we bounced some ideas off of one another and decided to write our own versions of the same rough idea of the story.

Also a bit of a warning this chapter does contain some more mature themes and a good amount of angst, but the story overall does get more happy. Enjoy!

It had been another long day for the 19 year old Peter Parker.

His day had been filled with the usual stress of starting his early in the morning shift at a breakfast diner, turning in his papers, paying attention in class, finding food at the grocery store that he could afford (usually ramen and maybe some pre-made foods if they were on sale), finishing his shift at a cafe downtown and rushing to his job as a pizza delivery guy. Now he just needed to heat up some ramen and get two essays done and he’ll officially be done for today.

He looked down on his badly cracked cell phone to skip to the next song, he didn’t have many since they do cost a bit more than he is willing to pay, and to both check the time and if anyone had called or messaged him.

Peter didn’t know why he was still so hopeful. Afterall, two years ago his life went to shit after Tony had died.

His aunt and friends were happy to have him back, and so was Peter don’t get him wrong.

But sometimes he felt like they were looking at him like he wasn’t really real. At first, Peter thought that this would go away after some months. But they still do look at him like that. After he had graduated high school, Peter rarely gets a text from Aunt May, he would always be the first to make contact, whilst with Ned and MJ, they had already rarely called or texted, which he figures is just because they were now busy with either school or their jobs. He wouldn’t text as much, which just made him feel bad. They probably thought he was a terrible nephew and friend.

And due to the whole five years of absence, it has become hard for him to even make friends since a lot had happened whilst he was gone and after a while he kinda stopped trying since he had to focus on school and making rent every month.

What remained of the Avengers never call or contact him. Peter understood, they all knew Tony much longer than he did and he was just some dumb kid that got carried along by Tony. And since the man is dead, why even get to know some college kid.

Peter shook his head slightly, bowing his head, but still walking. ‘No, I can’t cry. Everyone lost much more than I did.’

The last time Peter saw Rhodey, Pepper and Morgan was at Tony’s funeral. He had tried to give them his condolences, but they didn’t look at him and went inside of the cabin that Pepper owned, whilst carrying Morgan. Morgan did look at Peter, looking confused. She clearly didn’t fully understand why everyone was crying and Peter felt bad for even trying to talk to them. They had lost a long time friend and a child lost her father.

All because of him.

The others at the funeral, except for Aunt May, didn’t talk to him.

He had overheard from Happy that the family had been listening to a recording Tony had left behind and read his will. Peter, almost subconsciously, turned to them and wanted to ask if Tony said anything about him. Anything.

But he had felt a hand clutching his shoulder and he turned around and saw Steve, looking at Peter like he had just hurt someone.

“Look kid, they don’t need to be bothered right now. They just lost a friend and a husband. Just give them some space, okay?”

Peter stood at that spot frozen. He wanted to say something, do something, anything! But he couldn’t. He watched Steve walk towards Bucky and acted like nothing was wrong, whilst Peter felt a fresh pair of tears streaming down his face and feeling that inner voice feeding on those words and just continuing to tell Peter that he was no one and that he shouldn’t bother others. He listened as everyone was talking about Tony for the rest of the service and thinking he had no right being there.

It didn’t help that before Thanos came the first around that Peter had realized that he was starting to crush on Tony.

Sure he always admired the man, but when he had gotten to know him and spend time with him, he started to first crush then fall for the billionaire who would anything for the people he cared for. He loved Tony’s charm, his comments on others he didn’t like, his massive interest in tech and his rambling, oh god his rambling Peter would have listened to for hours and never get tired of the man talk about anything from his latest invention idea to a newly found food joint that he wanted to invite Peter to.

Peter even imagined finally confessing to Tony. He had imagined Tony kissing him, hugging him, taking him out on dates, making out, having his first time with the older man, spending Christmas with him, any scenario that came to mind for Peter he would imagine.

But than Thanos came and took him away from his life for five years and came back to a world without the man he fell for, said man having made a family and having a daughter. Peter felt like he had been forgotten by Tony, but knew that the man probably never liked him like that to begin with and just wanted to be happy whilst he still could with a family he made himself during that time. But Peter could never blame Tony for trying to find happiness after all of that happening.

But Peter would still imagine those scenarios, afterwards however he would be filled with guilt and shame.

SHIELD had since restricted when he can be Spiderman. Peter knew that he was being manipulated into agreeing with them, but in the back of his mind he hears a voice telling him to just give up and to not even try to fight and to let ‘professionals’ handle these situations.

He hated that he couldn’t fight crime.

He saw a mother and child being mugged during his pizza route a couple of days ago and wasn’t able to do anything.

A guy being harassed on the streets some weeks ago and, again, couldn’t do anything.

Peter witnessed a bank robbery taking place whilst getting off his shift at the cafe and he couldn’t stop it.

Sure he could sew together a suit like his first one, but SHIELD would find out and threaten to burn his suit and take him in to be tested.

He doesn’t like to remember that threat.

Happy would now only contact him to tell him that SHIELD wanted him on another mission. Peter knew that this was for his safety, but he felt like that was just a half assed excuse to not have to waste time in talking to him. More often than not, Peter would have to decline the offer since he had to either take a shift and there would be no way of getting out of it without losing his job or had a exam to study or do other schoolwork. Happy wouldn’t reply with much, only really with the occasional comment that would come from Fury that Happy would quote, telling Peter that he needs to do his job and to not throw excuses and waste their time.

Peter let out a shaky sigh and took a deep breath before walking faster home. He figured if he was going to cry, he might as well just go home and do in private without anyone judging him, except for his mind.

But it is telling the truth, so he thinks.

His apartment was in the worst part in Queens. It was the only place that he could’ve afforded and was relatively close to the subway at least. There was a lot of crime going on, but luckily Peter only ever witnessed drug deals and some people chasing someone for ‘money that he owed them’ or something.

The nearby buildings were either abandoned, filled with those living there who could barely afford much like Peter, or were places where criminals would meet up and handle their business there.

Thankfully, Peter had only ran into one once when the other person was high, so Peter was able to quickly escape.

He gets to his apartment and pulls out his keys and unlocks his door to his small as hell apartment. He barely had anything and didn’t want to burden Aunt May by taking anything that wasn’t his. She didn’t make comment on the small pile of belongings Peter had with him before he left Aunt May’s place for college.

Once inside and closing the door, Peter heard something.

Rather someone.

Whistling.

‘Oh cmon, I don’t want to be mugged in my own home or murdered.’, Peter thought to himself, thudding his forehead against the door. He really just wanted to curl up for at least a minute before pulling himself into making some ramen.

Couldn’t he have a moment where things weren’t hectic or made him feel bad?

He figured he might as well face this person and get it over with. After all, the sooner he is done with this, the faster he can make food, finish those essays and than maybe sleep for five hours before getting up for his morning shift at the nearby fast food joint.

Peter turned around and saw someone he thought he’d never see until maybe he died.

Tony Stark, sitting on his old tattered couch, playing with the prototype reactor in his hand before staring at Peter.

“Oh hey, was wondering when you’d get back. I need your help to get back to my universe, since I can’t contact anyone else. By the way, why are living in a dumpster hole and not in Avengers tower?”

[ringa-starr]

What you Mean to Me Ch 4

A/N: Hey Dudes and Dudettes! I wanted to take a bit of a break from the drama and make this chapter more of a comedy :) Don’t worry though the drama will for sure continue in the next part! 

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter even though I wrote it in a matter of hours and it really just came from one single idea I had.

Needless to say, t doesn’t feel like my best work, but I hope you guys like it anyways.

Please leave any comments, suggestions or ideas you have for this fic down below or in my inbox because I would LOVE to read them!

As always, stay excellent and breathtaking and be excellent to each other!

I love you all,

-Deidra

It was almost 6 in the morning and Bill’s party was finally over.

As you can probably imagine, his parents’ house looked like two tornados had gone through it: pieces of shattered glass were all over the place, empty soda bottles and red paper cups littered the floor, CDs were all over the place, chip crumbs of all kinds crunched under your foot with every step you took, paper plates both clean and dirty filled the floor as well, and finally stains of God only knows what covered the entire downstairs area.

The only people who were in the house now were Bill, Ted, Emily, Deidra, Ashley and River which meant it was up to them to clean up the party evidence.

Thankfully, Bill’s parents weren’t due back until the next morning.

“Dude!” Bill gasped as he and his friends slowly and carefully walked around the now silent living room.

“How’re we gonna clean all this up?” Ashley asked, really thinking out loud to herself.

“I don’t know”, River said with a shrug, accepting the large, black garbage bag Bill had just handed him. “One section at a time I guess.”

Deidra placed a hand on her pounding head, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Would you guys please stop screaming?” she moaned. “My head’s killing me!”

“Ahh the first hangover”, Ted said with a large, goofy smile as he filled his own trash bag with cups. “You never forget it.”

“How would you know?” Bill asked Ted with a teasing smirk. “You’ve never been hungover a day in your life.”

Ted’s only response was giving Bill one of his signature smirks before continuing with his cleaning, Bill shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“Ew, guys!” Emily cried from the spot she was cleaning in the hallway. “Come here and look what I found!”

She started laughing as everyone ran into the hallway.

Smirks as well as confused looks filled her friend’s faces at her find: a pair of dentures lying on the hardwood hallway floor.

“Where did those come from?” River asked, disgusted.

Bill and Ted looked at each other and started laughing.

“Maybe they’re Bart Applegate’s”, Ted said with a laugh, thinking of one of San Dimas High’s tall, bulky football players.

Bill laughed even harder.

“Yeah”, he agreed. “Rumor is that big, dumb tub-of-lard’s teeth rotted out of his dumb skull.”

Pausing for a minute, Bill looked at the pair of fake teeth and narrowed his eyes, smirking as an idea came to mind.

“Hey, Ted”, he said to his best friend as he picked up the teeth, the smirk never leaving his face. “Check this out.”

Opening his mouth wider, Bill slammed the dentures into his mouth, causing disgusted gasps from everyone except Ted.

“Eww!” Emily cried out, covering her mouth with her hands.

“Grrr!” Bill cried, giving his friends a wide smile, causing Ted to burst out laughing.

Bill walked back into the living room and pointed up at the ceiling fan, another idea hitting him.

Taking a chair from the kitchen, Bill placed it under the fan and climbed onto the chair.

Ted, knowing what his best friend was going to do, having seen it on tv once, walked over the stereo and put in a CD before moving the chair out of the way.

Ted then flipped on a light switch next to the front door as The Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian blasted from the speakers.

https://ringa-starr.tumblr.com/post/186600054397/armenianppl-aram-khachaturian-sabre-dance (You can listen to it here)

Everyone looked up at the ceiling as Bill started spinning around and around on the ceiling fan with the dentures in place, Ted biting his lower lip to keep from laughing again as Deidra, Emily, River, and Ashley looked on in part amusement, part disbelief.

The stereo, of course, was already turned up to full blast so it was no surprise that Bill’s elderly next door neighbor Mr. Fredrickson could hear everything that was going on.

The old man lay in his bed, one of his pillows slammed over his head to block the noise out, the exact position he had been in all night long.

And now he had finally had enough.

With a furious growl and a scowl to match, the elderly man slammed his pillow down on his bed before throwing on his bathrobe and slippers.

“Lousy good-for-nothing kids!” he grumbled angrily under his breath as he walked out the front door. “Why when I get my hands on that little punk, I’ll…”

Bill’s house was vibrating again as Mr. Fredrickson stumbled up to the living room window and looked inside.

He could see Bill spinning around on the ceiling fan only it took the little old man a few moments to realize something.

Eyes going as big as plates, Mr. Fredrickson gasped out loud.

“MY TEETH!” he screamed, although it sounded more like ‘My Teefs!”

Feeling his blood pressure go up, Mr. Fredrickson pounded on the window as hard as his little bony fists would allow, causing the teens to look in his direction.

“I’ll handle this, guys”, River told his friends before walking to the window and opening it.

River knew that Mr. Fredrickson liked him; basically, everyone did and why not?

River was one of the nicest, most respectful teens in San Dimas.

River gave the old man a kind smile as he leaned his elbow on the windowsill.

“How are you, Mr. Fredrickson?” River asked kindly.

“How am I?” Mr. Fredrickson asked, his voice rising. “How am I!? I didn’t get a lick of sleep last night due to my loud-mouthed good for nothing teenaged neighbor hosting a throw down last night! Arrgh!”

River frowned. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Fredrickson”, he told the old man sincerely. “Really I am.”

Mr. Fredrickson sighed, his expression softening.

He knew River had no control over what his friends did, and yet, Mr. Fredrickson asked himself why such a good, honest, trustworthy boy like River Phoenix hung out with a group of troublemakers like that.

Mr. Fredrickson gave River a kind smile after a moment’s pause.

“River”, he said. “You’re such a good boy. Why do you choose to hang out with these hooligans?”

River turned his head around to look at his friends, Bill still spinning on the cealing fan.

With a sigh, River looked back at the elderly man.

“With all due respect, Mr. Fredrickson”, River replied, “Even though it doesn’t look like it, my friends are actually good people.”

Mr. Fredrickson slowly nodded his head, his lips formed in a thin line as he watched what happened next.

As if on cue, Bill was wiggling loose from the dentures’ hold, causing him to fly backwards and slam into a nearby wall, falling into a large pile of garbage, the dentures still perfectly in place on the ceiling fan.

In Mr. Fredrickson’s opinion, that moment alone made all he had went through the previous night worth it.

The old man was laughing his butt off as Bill’s friends ran over to see if he was okay.

“Bill!” Ted cried as he and Emily started throwing paper cups and plates aside. “Are you ok, dude?!

Bill slowly opened his eyes halfway, seeing Emily and Ted spinning in front of him.

A moment later, the blonde gave his friends a goofy smirk as he slowly tried to stand up.

“Granddad”, Bill said groggily, his legs feeling like Jell-O and his whole upper body sore. “You ran another stop sign.”

That was all the teenager said before falling backwards head-first into the pile of trash, Mr. Fredrickson laughing so hard he thought he was going to wet himself.

River ran into the bathroom to get a cold washcloth as Emily got down on her knees in front of the trash pile.

She didn’t care if pieces of broken glass were scrapping her legs and knees to pieces as she dug through the trash pile, finding Bill moments later unconscious.

She carefully took her boyfriend in her arms, cradling his head as she eased the cold washcloth River had just given her on Bill’s forehead.

Ted scowled as he looked at the old man outside Bill’s window.

“Whooo-boy!” Mr. Fredrickson cried happily. “Boy, this right here makes all the hell I went through last night worth it, I tell ya hwat!”

Ted turned off the switch and put the chair back under the fan.

Carefully, and still scowling, the long-haired, chocolate eyed, teen grabbed Mr. Fredrickson’s teeth from the ceiling fan before walking over to the open window.

“Aw take your teeth and shove ‘em up your ass!” Ted cried angrily before throwing the old man’s teeth out the window as hard as he could.

“Hey, you little punk be careful with-“

Mr. Fredrickson didn’t get a chance to get another word out before Ted slammed the window shut; his way of telling the old man to fuck off.

Emily let out the breath she was holding when Bill started groaning lightly before slowly opening his eyes.

“Oh, thank God!” Emily cried with relief as she kissed her boyfriend’s face. “Are you alright, baby?”

A smile slowly crept its way onto Bill’s face as the memory of what just happened came back to mind.

“That…was…excellent!” Bill cried as if he didn’t hear Emily’s concern about him.

Bill made eye contact with Ted and they did their signature guitar move, Emily and River looking at each other and smiling, rolling their eyes.

“He’s fine”, the siblings said in unison before laughing.

Taglist:

@shhh-no-ones-home​? @celestiaelisia​ @derangedcupcake​

[tcswritings]

Biochemistry.

Patti waits for Orla in the Dirty Deed and finds herself in the company of another friend.

***

6:32.

‘Two more hours.’ Patti thought to herself as she pushed open the weather-beaten green door, carefully stepping into the pub and unbuttoning her coat on her way in. Warmth came towards her, as well as murmur and friendly laughter and chit chat and all of it made her smile.

Patti had liked the little pub from the first moment on. For some reason, everything here felt familiar and the owner, Rosamund (albeit giving off a rather feisty vibe on first glance) radiated a warmth that she had never experienced before, at least not from anyone who wasn’t her own mother. The Dirty Deed felt like home, and Patti could understand just fine why Orla and her friends loved to spend a lot of their free time here. She had been rather excited herself when Orla had suggested earlier that they could meet up here for a drink before they would eventually hit up the theatre.

Unfortunately, Orla was still on her way home from the tattoo studio and she was stuck in traffic. She had called when Patti was already almost at the pub which meant that she would spend a while here all by herself, which was still new, and Patti couldn’t help but feel a little nervous although she knew that it was silly. She still hoped that she would get one of the seats at the bar so she could at least talk to Rosamund a little.

“Hello!” she called at the barkeeper, a little shy but with a smile, as she stepped through the archway. Rosamund turned around and when she recognised her, she smiled right back.

“Oh why hello, dear! Come in!” she greeted her new guest. Patti felt how the tension left her body and she smiled a little wider as she now approached the bar.

“You look frozen, dear. What can I get you?” Rosamund asked but before Patti could answer, the barkeeper looked into another direction, pursing her lips before making a little face of disapproval.

Patti followed her gaze, curious about what had caused that miffed little expression, and she squinted a little before she eventually spotted Mick and Mina in one of the booths to her right.

Well, at least she assumed it was the two, as it was hardly possible to see their faces. She could merely make out a tall and slim figure with a mop of light blonde hair, tied back in a messy ponytail, who had his hands all over a petite brunette sitting in his lap and it seemed as if the two were determined to never catch a bit of breath again.

“Good gracious.” Patti’s eyes went wide.

“They’ve been doin’ that for the past hour, more or less.” Rosamund grumbled. “I mean, I get it, it’s young love, it’s exciting, it’s sexy and all but what those two are doin’ over there is nothin’ short of what happens in those movies-”

“Get a fuckin’ room, you arseholes!” a somewhat familiar, husky voice from the other side of the bar interrupted and both Patti and Rosamund simultaneously turned their heads.

A bespectacled young man with long and messy red hair was glaring directly at the booth where Mick and Mina couldn’t leave their hands off each other. Daryl’s expression was just as crabby as Rosamund’s and Patti had to bite her lip to prevent herself from laughing at the sight of the two and her urge to giggle got even worse when she saw that Mick merely held out his long arm to the bar, showing Daryl his middle finger, not even bothering to look his way, as he was still preoccupied with his girlfriend, apparently not intending to change that in the foreseeable future.

“Oy, you little shit!” Rosamund hissed as she swiftly grabbed a wet cloth from under the bar and flung it at her niece and her sassy boyfriend.

Whow. Patti blinked in surprise. Any time she had been to the Dirty Deed has been pure entertainment and today was no exception.

The cloth did the trick - it hit both Mick and Mina in their faces with a little splat!, causing the two to jump apart immediately. Some murmur went through the pub as other guests turned around now, chuckling at the scene. Rosamund smiled with grim statisfaction and Daryl let out a rather dirty cackle.

“What the fuck, Rose!” Mick cried out, wiping his face with his hand, while Mina gingerly picked up the cloth from the wooden table with two fingers, giggling at it’s sight. “Eeew.” she laughed, her mood apparently not affected in the slightest.

“You two either do what Grumpy McSmartarse over there just said or you stay but behave from now on! This isn’t a whorehouse!” Rosamund barked. “And don’t you dare throwing that fuckin’ cloth back at me!” she warned when she saw that Mick snatched the cloth out of Mina’s hand with a determined movement.

“We’re sorry!” Mina gave in with another giggle and she placed her hand on Mick’s hand that was still holding the wet cloth. “We’ll behave, of course!”

“Fine!” Rosamund nodded. “That’s what you said an hour ago, but alright.” she added quietly, more to herself, and she eventually looked back at Patti. “I’m sorry, dear. Didn’t mean to be rude. What can I get you, now?”

“Uhm, just a Ginger Ale.” Patti ordered, still a bit thrown off guard by the unexpected scene.

“Comin’ right up. Go and sit down somewhere, c’mon!” Rosamund encouraged as she pulled a clean glass from under the bar.

“Hey Pat, come over!” Patti now heard Daryl call. “You got better sight at the two idiots from here.”

Patti shrugged and tottered to the other side of the bar, taking the seat next to Daryl. “I don’t know if I wanna see that, to be honest.”

“Ah, it’s fun, actually. Rose and that guy over there at the tap have been dubbing them for the past hour, it was hilarious.”

Patti laughed and she thanked Rosamund when she brought over her drink. While she took a sip, her eyes wandered to the notes and books that Daryl had spread on the bar in front of him. “What’s all that?” she asked curiously, putting her glass a bit further away from the paper sheets as a precaution.

“Oh, just some, uh, stuff.”

“Principles of Biochemistry With a Human Focus.” Patti read one of the books’ headline out loud. “What on earth...?”

“Just tryin’ to educate myself a little further.” Daryl shrugged as he took off his reading glasses and started gathering together his notes, putting them all on a pile next to him.

“It’s 7 PM and it’s Friday... other people use that time to go and see a movie or somethin’ like that, y’know?”

“Is that so?”

“Mh-hm.” Patti nodded and smiled. “Orla and I are gonna go and watch ‘It’ again later. You wanna come?”

“Nah, I’ll pass. Got plans.”

“Oh, you have a date?”

“With Biochemistry, yeah.” Daryl smiled.

“Come on!”

“It’s really not as boring as it sounds. Besides, I’m doin’ a tutorial on Monday and I gotta prepare some stuff before tomorrow. That’s when I go out, y’know.”

“So you do have a date!” Patti beamed.

“Yeah, with that overgrown creep over there!” Daryl nodded towards the booth in which Mick and Mina were now behaving in an exemplary manner, at least for the time being. “When he can stand being away from her for an evening, that is.”

“Wait, what, you don’t like Mina?”

“Hardly know her.” Daryl shrugged. “She’s nice, I guess. It’s just - I dunno.”

“It’s what?”

“Uh. Let’s just say I’m a bit, uh... concerned.”

“Why?”

Daryl shook his head. “Nah, not important. Anyway, we have that concert comin’ up tomorrow. I’ll be damned if Mina likes that kind of music, so I guess it’s just gonna be the two of us. Unless you wanna come, in case the two can’t part.” He looked at Patti and smiled.

“It’s one of those weird bands with some guy screaming in pain again, right?”

“Maybe.” Daryl laughed.

“Ugh.” Patti made a face and shook her head. “As long as it’s not Jason Derulo, Billie Eilish or Florence, I’ll pass.”

“Jason Who?!”

“Not your jam, don’t worry.” She took another sip from her Ginger Ale. “Hey, what did you mean when you said that you’re concerned?”

Daryl rolled his eyes. “Ah, it’s nothing. I dunno. Okay.” He made a little pause. “It’s all going so fast? It’s been merely a month and she already pretty much fuckin’ lives at his place!”

Patti let out a perplexed little laugh. “That’s it? That’s what you’re worried about? Oh god! Come on, you know what it’s like to be in love. The first few months are pure heaven, you can hardly part ways and when you do, you already miss the other one the minute they leave you.”

“Really now. Sounds, uh... pathetic, actually.” Daryl scoffed.

“What?” Patti blinked in disbelief. “What are you talking about? It’s just the way these things are! I mean, you have been there, right?”

Daryl looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like I’ve been there?”

“Wait. You’re not tellin’ me that - you never -”

“No, never.”

“No way. You must have been in love at some point?! You never met a, dunno, cute science girl or so?”

“Couldn’t you think of a better cliché?” Daryl groaned.

Patti rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I’ve actually had a cute science girl once.”

“There you go? And?”

“Spent some amazing nights with her. Wasn’t in love with her, though. ”

“Daryl, that’s sad.” Patti blurted out.

“Psh. Why? Because I didn’t turn into that guy over there?” Daryl pointed at Mick again. “I’m sure I’m not missing out. Hey, you do know that it’s all just chemicals in your brain goin’ wild anyway, right?!”

“So? It still feels great?” Patti smiled.

“Whatever. This is not about me. Thing is... okay, how am I supposed to say it without sounding like an arsehole?”

“Just say it? I’ll try not to think of you as an arsehole, I promise.”

“Mick is stupid.”

“Wow, ouch. Arsehole!”

Daryl laughed. “Ah no, not stupid, y’know, as in ‘dumb’? He just doesn’t think shit through. He’s gaga. That’s it, that’s the word. Gaga. And he’s even more gaga when he’s driven by hormones.”

“Everyone is gaga when driven by hormones.”

“Yeah, right, maybe, but you haven’t known him for as long as I have. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to tell you all this anyway... whatever, I think he’s just one breath away from going mental.”

“What?” Patti frowned and looked at Mick again. “He looks perfectly happy to me?”

“No! No, you don’t get it. It’s not about here and now.” Daryl sighed and he paused. “If he takes one more blow to the heart, he’ll crack. I don’t want him to crack.”

“Maybe he won’t. Maybe the two are good for each other. Only time can tell.” Patti shrugged.

“Whatever you say, Pat. I’ll stick to what I said. He should get some shit in order before the two go off and pick wedding decorations.” Daryl crossed his arms, resembling a schoolboy who just got punished with detention.

Patti snorted. “I think you should stick to Biochemistry. You’re paranoid and cranky.”

“Huh. That be it, then.”

“I’m sorry. I’m cheeky.”

“Yup. You better stay that way, it’s fun.” Daryl smiled.

(... to be continued!)

[gamerwoo]

Joshua: Rainbows and Butterflies

@fxllenforyxu asked: hey! i hope you dont mind if mind if i slip in here and request a witch au w/ joshua when you get a sec friend. c: i hope you’re having a good day/night!

Characters: Joshua x reader (gender neutral) 

Genre/warnings: witch au, slice of life, fluff, crack, drunk antics, kinda vomiting but it’s rainbows

Word count: 1,560

Summary: After you met Joshua Hong, nothing was really normal. Even now, after you’re used to his weird antics, he still manages to find new things to throw at you. But you still wouldn’t trade it or him for anything.

The first time you met the strange boy, he was sitting at a table you were waiting. He was hitting on you by doing some magic tricks that were pretty cool, but extremely lame. His friends kept whacking his shoulder and tell him to stop, and that he was being really lame, but you just giggled and blushed as he handed you a piece of paper that you assumed he hid up his sleeve.

On it was his phone number, and the rest was history.

Joshua Hong was definitely something else -- literally. He wasn’t just any normal person, which was something he admitted on his third date after two dates prior that consisted of even more cheesy magic tricks. Josh was, in fact, a witch. However, you didn’t believe him at first, and just laughed in his face for about ten minutes.

“Come back to my place, I’ll show you,” he insisted.

You rolled your eyes, wiping under them to get rid of the tears from giggling so hard, “Sure, dude. This is just some dumb way to get me to sleep with you, right?”

“I’m serious, _____!” he insisted. “C’mon, just trust me.”

He grabbed your wrist and brought you over to his car that was parked in the lot. However, instead of opening the passenger side door for you, he dragged you over to the trunk.

“Hey, what’re you doing!” you shouted, yanking your wrist away.

“Relax,” he chuckled, popping it open and grabbing a broom out of it, “I’m just trying to prove my point to you.”

He closed the trunk before putting the handle of the broom between his legs. Then he gestured to the space between his body and the end of the handle in front of him. You just stared at him like he was stupid.

“What?” you finally asked.

He laughed, “Get on.”

“...Josh--”

“Just c’mere!” he insisted, reaching over and wrapping his arm around your waist.

He pulled you into the handle, so you sighed and swung a leg over. Josh put his arms on either side of you, gripping the handle in front of you. He noticed that you were just kind of standing there, not really hanging on, and he laughed at you again -- he seemed to be doing that a lot.

“You might wanna hang on,” he warned.

And then you felt the ground slowly fall away from you. Your eyes widened, squeezing the stick with your thighs so hard as your hands wrapped around the stick until your knuckles were white. But as you finally peeled your eyes away from the ground to look around, you noticed the ground wasn’t falling. You were flying.

“Joshua, what the hell!” you screeched.

“Just hang on and trust me,” he smirked before flying off toward his house.

After that night, how could you not believe him? Also after that night, you got very used to riding on his broom, and even loved it. You’d sit on the back of it with your arms around his waist, and whack him in the back whenever he’d try to start singing “A Whole New World” -- which was every single time (”What? You let me do it the first time!”).

You also decided that despite Joshua not necessarily being conventional, you still really liked him. So, he asked you out that night, and made a rose appear from thin air.

Not surprisingly, you found yourself staying at Joshua’s a lot -- actually, it was a bit of a surprise considering you were still kind of terrified to touch anything in his house. The first morning you had ever woken up in his bed beside him, you decided to go make waffles for him just because you wanted to be a good significant other.

There was just one problem: you forgot you were an awful cook. All of them were burnt -- some more than others, so you couldn’t even make that consistent -- but you still served them up to him when he wandered into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around your waist. 

“They kind of suck, but...it’s the thought that counts, right?” you shrugged timidly.

“Syrup will probably make it better,” he reassured you. “There should be some in the fridge.”

But when you turned your back to dig through his refrigerator, Joshua had whispered a spell to himself before snapping his fingers, turning your waffles into fluffy, un-burnt waffles.

Six months of dating later, you and Joshua decided to move in together. Of course, you moved to his place considering his place had a lot of weird things to move that you didn’t want to explain to anybody who would have to assist in the moving process. However, when you got there with all your boxes, Joshua had simply enchanted them all to just float out of your trunk, up the driveway, and into the open door. You pouted at him with your arms crossed while he just smirked and continued to swing his finger in the air to lead the boxes to where they had to go -- and it didn’t help that he was lounging in the air while doing so.

After moving in with him, it wasn’t uncommon to come home to things like random animals in the house or purple smoke distributed throughout the rooms of the house (”whatever you do, breathe in through your mouth and not your nose!”) or that one time that you came home to see a pile of frogs all talking in Soonyoung’s voice only to find out that Soonyoung had been turned into a pile of frogs (”to be fair, he dared me to do it.”).

However, you had never once come home to your boyfriend laying in a puddle of rainbow-colored goop on the floor of the living room. The source of the goop seemed to be his mouth since there was a trail of it coming from Joshua’s mouth as he groaned.

“Josh!” you gasped, dropping your jacket on the floor and rushing over to him.

“Don’t...don’t s-step in the-therainbow,” he slurred, his eyes half-open.

You came to a halt right at the edge of the puddle, looking down at Joshua in concern, “Why...?”

“Iss not rainbow,” he paused to hiccup, “iss vomit.”

You made a face, backing away from the brightly-colored puddle, “Ew, Josh! What did you do?”

“Minghaocameover,” he giggled, “’‘n’ he brought--” another hiccup, “--wine!”

“So you got too drunk?” you guessed -- though you could’ve figured that from the slurred speech and the rainbow puke. “Look, can you tell me this story while I get you...hosed down or something.”

Joshua pushed himself to sit up before using the couch to boost himself to stand. You stood by with your arms out in case he slipped or just wobbled too much, but he seemed to be fine. He walked to you slowly, swaying with each step until he was right in front of you, grinning like an idiot.

“So,” he continued with his story, “Igot sick, an’ I triedto getitostop.”

“But you made it rainbows instead,” you figured, gripping the hem off his shirt and tugging it over his head to get rid of the stained material.

“Noooo, it turned into b-” hiccup, “butterflies. Buuut onthe bright side, that puke cleaneditselfup!”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking your head, “So how’d you get to rainbows from butterflies?”

“Magic, duh.”

“Yes, Mr.Witch-y Pants, I got that,” you nodded as you unbuttoned his pants to get those off too. They pooled around his ankles, and the act of getting him to step out of them without tripping was actually very tedious. “Just let me get you into the shower, okay?”

So you helped Joshua down the hall and into the shower after turning it on for him. You sat on the sink in case he fell -- thankfully, he didn’t -- and then let him dry off and get changed on his own.

Meanwhile, you went to put his clothes in the washing machine before cleaning up the rainbow puddle in the living room. Thankfully, it smelled nothing like vomit, and more like cotton candy and lemonade. Then you went to wait in the bedroom for your boyfriend.

Joshua walked into your bedroom a few minutes later with his boxers on backwards and inside-out, but you were just proud he didn’t put them on his head or something. He plopped down into bed beside you, nuzzling his face into your neck. You let your arms wrap around him as his wet hair brushed against your jaw.

“Thanks,” he murmured.

“For what?” you laughed softly, letting your fingers comb through his hair.

“For always putting up with my dumb antics,” he chuckled, seeming more sober now. “You know, I think you might be even more powerful than me.”

You snorted, rolling your eyes, “I’m just some human, Josh. I can’t be more powerful than you.”

He looked up at you, his cat-like eyes shining in the moonlight streaming in through the window, “It takes a pretty powerful person to put up with someone like me, so you are the most powerful person out there. And I love you.”

“I love you, but I don’t put up with you,” you frowned. He just gave you a skeptical look, so you shrugged and nodded. “Alright, maybe just a little.”

[bxtch26]

Your backstory❤️Arthur Morgan ⚠️mentions of smut⚠️

“Thank you kindly Mrs. Morgan, this will go right to tonight’s stew!” Pearson beamed as you brought in some game you hunted. You tipped your hat and returned the smile. Keeping the smile as you walked away, shaking your head and chucking. Mrs. Morgan. Who would have ever thought that’d be you? Arthur Morgan is your husband. Has been for 5 years. Though you’ve been sweet on one another for all of 10 years. You both grew up in the Van Der Linde gang. Him 15 and you 13. You both came to share Dutch's vision of a life lived free from civilization and the rule of law, becoming one of the first members of the gang. You learned to ride a horse, shoot a gun, throw a lasso, fish, hunt, track, drink, smoke, curse- you name it- together. At first you were both very angsty young fools who hated the world. But Dutch was the first person to show you both compassion. He’s always been a father figure to you two, John as well. Johns always been like your brother, you love him so. You and Arthur had been making goo goo eyes at each other for months before either of you made a move. You had no idea what you were doin, neither did he. You just couldn’t get each other off your mind. He was such a tough burly man but also so kind on the inside, a side most don’t see. It was one night Hosea gave you a tip about a robbery. Small homestead, easy pickings. You immediately asked Arthur to come with you, like you always did. That was the first night you slept together. The man who owned the home had his hands on you before you could retaliate and Arthur’s trigger finger was hot. You had killed people before, it was just still a strange thing. You both rummaged through the house making small talk here and there. When you got to the upstairs bedroom there was a huge bed and fireplace. It was amazing, way better than anything at camp. It was getting late anyway so you decided to stay there, after making sure the coast was clear of course. One thing led to another and you both finally shared your feelings while sitting in front of that fire. Oh you were such love struck fools. Your first kiss was sloppy, you didn’t know what to do. Let alone in bed. But after guidance and laughing your asses off it started to feel good, for both of you. Dutch had already had “the talk” with Arthur, Mrs. Grimshaw same with you. So Arthur knew to make sure you didn’t go do a silly thing like get you pregnant. Not yet anyway... It was a bit awkward after that. You didn’t know really what to do with yourselves. But it was obvious. Both of your faces turned bright red around each other. You both grew more comfortable with public displays of affection. He would leave you a few small flowers or some game or cup of coffee by your cot every morning. He would give you drawings of your horse or just you. Sometimes you would just sit back to back while you both drew and wrote in your journals while enjoying one another’s company. You would always go on missions together. Sing in front of the fire. He always came to you first if he was hurt. Needed stitches or a bandage. Soon you moved into his tent, on his account. Sometimes you would spend the night in his, and vice versa. But soon enough Arthur wanted you to know he was taking things and you seriously. It didn’t ruin things like everyone says in the films and books. You just grew closer. Having someone to hold at night. Someone near and dear to you. Ain’t nothin much better than that. You still remember when Arthur proposed to you. My god he was a nervous fool sweating bullets. He took you out on a small boat, to a beautiful patch of flowers and trees you’d never seen before. Right after he got on one knee and asked he apologized if it sounded “dumb.” You just shook your head at him

“Shut up and kiss me you silly man.” You guys got married a week later, right in camp. Reverend Swanson officiated it, John was the best man, Abigail your maid of honor. Jack threw the flowers down the “aisle” which was really just a dirt path. Javier strummed his guitar and sang as you two danced away. That was almost 6 years ago now. You have never been happier. You haven’t lost any feelings for him like they say happens in long relationships. If anything you grew closer and grew to love him more. And even after being together for so long Arthur was still a flushed mess around you like a school boy with a crush. It’s hard to find something like that in the life you two led. But you knew what he was , and you understood. He knew what you were, and understood. You’ve never had to go through anything alone since you joined this gang. Boy if your momma could see you now. Married to a gunslinger. Who could have guessed it. Still the best thing to ever happen to you. Some people still deny it, especially Micah.

“Why are u wasting time on that old man?” You would just continue you chores and ignore him. In town when you went to the saloon to get a drink people would look at you funny. But you never cared. Nor did he. It was you and him, the rest of the world didn’t matter. At this point you two were so comfortable with each other. He would grab your ass when you bend over to clean off the camp tables. You would lick your lips and watch him chop that fire wood with those few top buttons undone. He would shake his shoulders revealing more and roll them when he could feel you staring. You teased each other all the time like that, like you were still kids. When he came back to camp from long stressful missions you would dress up in your skimpiest laces you saved up to buy from Valentine just for him. His eyes would grow wide and he would drop everything. You would offer a massage while he told you about his day. You had both learned quick that making love at camp required strength to be quiet. Something you always found difficult with him. You could see his struggle too. You would have quickies at camp, it’s no surprise they would hear and know. If you could spare the teasing then it was worth it. But most of the time you would go out together. Whether it be a hunting trip or to a hotel you would just go out periodically to get some time alone. You had found an abandoned cabin years back, and it was often your meet up spot. But you didn’t always have sex. Just holding him in front of the fireplace and playing with his hair and singing to him was all you could ask for. On days where Arthur was particularly stressed he would take you to Saint Denis. He would buy you a nice dress, and get himself a nice suit. He would style his hair, you preferred him to keep it long. Made him even more handsome, and it was nice to grab on to. You loved nothing more than going to a nice dinner with him. He would never act like something he wasn’t, just wanted to treat you. He took care of you, and vice versa. “To death will we part.” You couldn’t imagine sharing a life with anyone else. You smiled remembering all the fine times you had with your man as you found him sitting in front of the fire. He saw you and grinned, immediately holding his hands out to welcome you to his lap. You sat, legs draped over his. He nuzzled into your neck, breathing in your scent.

“Hi sweetheart.” You melted into him, grabbing his hands on your waist and intertwining your fingers.

“Hey you.” You replied as he leaned back, allowing you more room to nuzzle into his chest. You turned around to plant a sweet kiss on his lips that earned a collective aw from the camp. Except one. Micah came out of no where, scoffing at you two.

“You’ve grown soft Morgan!” Arthur’s grip on you tightened but his face was relaxed.

“My lady ain’t made no complaints of me getting soft yet!” You blushed, smacking his shoulder and laughing into his neck. The others around the fire laughed too at Micah’s failed attempt to ridicule you two. You were both so nervous of how the camp would accept you relationship, but it’s become the norm now. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. Arthur continued to rock you to Javier’s playing and singing. He hummed along to the music into your hair. He knows you love when he does that. You reached back to place his hat on your head so you could play with his hair. You know he loves it when you do that. Dutch spoke up, asking Molly to dance. Arthur tapped your thigh, signaling that he wanted you to get up. When you did he grabbed your hand and walked you to the front of Dutchs tent, next to him and Molly. You both started to dance slowly. Swaying to the music coming from the rest of the camp. He held you close, both hands in your waist, your hands locked around his neck. He preformed a few flares, twirling you and dipping you causing you to giggle into his neck. Dutch whispered sweet nothings to Molly next to you two as she giggled into his neck as well. It was a strange thing, in a camp of outlaws to see couples dancing sweetly with nothing but love for one another. You may be bad people, but you can feel love. You can make connections with people, you can have love. Gunslinging is nothing like you read in the papers. You brought your head to rest on Arthur’s shoulder, him the same as you guys hugged each other closer. When the music ended, Arthur bowed and you curtsied. The night went on with singing and drunken fun around the fire. Soon Arthur joined a game of poker with John and Uncle. You were in his lap, legs draped over his thighs, one hand on his cards the other around your waist. He said you were his “ lucky charm.” You sighed happily, resting your head back and in the crook of his neck. You must have fallen asleep you were so tired because the rumble of his chest from laughter woke you up. He reached forward to pull the money pile to him, grabbing your waist tight to keep you there. You blinked at him, his eyes on his new cards when he finally turned his gaze to you and gave you a sweet smile.

“Didn’t mean to wake you darlin’. Get some rest.” You nodded sleepily, resting on his chest as he continued to play. Uncle teased Arthur, saying

“You sure you ain’t gonna quit out? Seems you got your hands full” Arthur just scoffed at him

“They way your playing I could play blindfolded and still win.” You smiled into his chest before falling back asleep. You woke up suddenly when he scooped you into his arms before you could say anything. You gasped and giggled, holding onto his shoulders. He carried you bridal style to the tent you shared, you laughing all the way. He set you down on the cot and cupped your face with both hands. He drew you in for a soft kiss, your small soft hands over his big rough hands on your face. When he pulled away, he caresses your cheek before straightening his back and beginning to take off his boots and belt.

“We should get some sleep darlin’. Got a surprise for ya tomorrow.” You started to do the same, discarding your boots and belt.

“Oh? That wouldn’t have anything to do with tomorrow being our 6th year bein’ married, would it?” He smiled as he crawled into bed, arms open for you. You crawled on top of him, entangling your legs and nuzzling into his chest. His scent finding you as he wrapped his big strong arms around you, bringing you into his warm embrace that made you feel at home. He took a deep breath, chuckle rumbling through you.

“Maybe.”

[sockablock]

@fanboyingduringteatime​ you know what you did 

Literacy, Among Other Things (AO3)

“Molly, why didn’t you tell us you’d been to Goldcrest before?” Jester asked curiously.

They were all piled into the cart, bouncing along the dirt path that led northwards to the Ashkeeper Peaks. Fjord and Nott sat at the head, steering the horses, as Caleb kept watch on the left flank and Beau attempted to focus on the right—though she kept throwing glances over her shoulder at a certain someone, seated in the back and gazing peacefully at the clouds. Jester had a napping Kiri snuggled in her lap, and was staring at Molly with rapt attention.

He lowered his cards, and shrugged. “Dunno,” he said. “I guess I didn’t realize where I was.”

She giggled at that and raised an eyebrow. “How could you not, though? Didn’t anybody say where you were going? Didn’t anybody announce the plans? Or didn’t you at least read the sign of the town as you were going in?”

Molly leaned back against the pole supporting their canopy and smiled lazily. “All the towns blur together after a while, dear. And honestly, I can’t be bothered with boring things like that. I’m…hmm, how to say this…functionally illiterate, I suppose.”

“Illiterate?” Fjord called from the front of the wagon. “Illiterate?”

“What, really?” Jester exclaimed.

“You can’t read?” asked Beau, immediately leaning in.

“He is only two,” mused Nott without looking back.

“Go fuck yourself,” muttered Kiri, stirring from her nap. Jester gave her a soothing pat on the head, and Molly rolled his eyes.

“Functionally illiterate,” he sighed, “not actually illiterate. There is a difference.”

“Which is?” Beau prompted skeptically. “I would joke that one starts with an ‘f’ but if you can’t read, then—”

“I can read, asshole,” Molly scowled. “I’ve read plenty of job postings and I even read the first chapter of Tusk Love, remember? I just mean that…that…I don’t know, I don’t retain the information, or something like that. It just doesn’t matter.”

“Molly is not one for books,” Yasha supplied. “But I will assure you all that he is capable of reading.”

“But don’t you like stories?” Jester pressed. “Don’t you like adventures and songs and drama and romance and—”

Molly put up a hand. “Of course I do, dear, of course I do. But I don’t need ink and parchment for that. I can just go to a bar, sit back, get a drink, listen to a minstrel weave a tale. It’s alive that way. On paper it’s just dialogue and plot and, and…literary devices and what have you. But when someone sings it, or reads it, or stands in front of a crowd and spins it into reality, well, that’s where the tension is, where the thrills are, where the stories live. I understand words on a page, I don’t understand why people bother.”

There was a brief silence following that.

“I feel like I should clap or something,” said Beau, shuffling in the cart and turning back to face the landscape rolling by. “I don’t totally get it, but nice speech.”

“I sort of get it,” said Jester, giving Molly a supportive pat on the knee. “Personally I think I like books more, you know, just because I read a lot growing up and I just think they’re really wonderful to have around. But, but, your thing makes sense too.”

“Sailors are like that,” Fjord added helpfully. “They prefer spoken tales and shanties to gettin’ things from books.”

“You are valid, Molly,” said Yasha as she went back to her watch.

Nott shook her head and raised an eyebrow at Caleb. “Don’t you have anything to say?” she asked. “You love books, aren’t you going to defend them? Aren’t they amazing and great and have so much knowledge? Aren’t they the best ever, and don’t you want to get your hands on every one you can find?”

Caleb, who had remained silent this whole time, turned and met Nott’s confused gaze. Then he looked at Molly and shrugged. “Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs,” he said quietly. “I do not find any problems with that, and I do not think anybody should. There is nothing wrong with not being a reader.”

Molly blinked in surprise. Then he stuck his tongue out at Nott, settled back into his lounging position, and pulled his deck back out. “Thank you, dear,” he grinned at Caleb. “For your delightful support.”

Caleb shrugged again. “Kein problem,” he said, and turned back to the hills rolling by.

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

Molly and Caleb had first watch that night in the forest off the road. The others had already retired to their sleeping rolls after a long day’s travel, tent flaps drawn shut and snoring quietly.

The two of them sat alone beside the glowing campfire. They both lounged in the grass, leaning against a large boulder and staring through a break in the canopy at the moon glowing above. Fireflies twinkled gently around them.

It was silent, save for their breathing, and the gentle hum of crickets. Then Caleb blinked, and looked over, and very softly, asked a question:

“Do you know the story of the magpie and the milkmaid?”

Molly was extremely taken aback by this, but recovered quickly and magnificently.

“Can’t say I’ve ever heard that one, dear,” he said.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Caleb nod solemnly.

“What about the tale of the farmer, his son, and the donkey?”

“No?” Molly said hesitantly. “I haven’t heard that one either.”

“The crow and the peacock?”

“Er…no.”

“The lion and the mouse.”

“Again, no.”

“The fox and the grapes?”

“Are you just describing dumb animals getting into shitty situations?”

“The frog in the well?”

“Caleb, I haven’t—”

“The three monks and the hill.”

“Dear—”

“The monkey and the peach? Or the cricket and the ant? Or the mouse in the larder or the farmer under the tree or the sword in the lake or the spear-seller and the shield or the—”

“Caleb, Caleb, for gods’ sake! No, I haven’t heard any of these bloody tales, alright? Fuck, no.”

“…the scorpion and the frog?”

He hesitated. “Alright,” he conceded begrudgingly, “I have heard that one.”

Caleb gave another nod, which was starting to get on his nerves. “But you have not heard any of the others?

Molly groaned, and let the back of his head—and horns—hit the boulder behind him. “No, dear, I have not.”

“I see. Well, I have,” he said, and turned towards Molly with an unreadable expression. “I know them well. In fact, I know them very well. Those were the first stories I learned to read.”

Molly groaned again, louder this time, and sagged down the rock until his back was in the grass and he was staring up at the stars. He closed his eyes.

“Don’t tell me you were lying before, Mister Caleb,” he grumbled. “Don’t tell me you’re about to lecture me on how important it is to read, and how I should practice or something, and how I should respect the written word—”

“No,” said Caleb, and Molly paused. “I was not going to say anything of that sort. I was actually going to say, again, that I have been thinking on your statement from earlier, and I understand what you are going through. I am bad at communication. Now more than ever, but even as a child I was not very good. And my parents would try to teach me things, and the elders would try to lecture at me, and my friends would try and tell me stories, but for some reason, I could never understand. Perhaps they spoke too quickly, or perhaps their speech was muddy, or maybe I myself could not keep up. I was called slow, you know, by a number of people. This was when I was very young.”

Caleb looked back up at the quiet night sky, and pressed his back against the rock.

“Then Oma Müller, who lived a few houses down, she taught me to read. Those very stories, from a book she had. And maybe it was because I was in control of the language, and I could choose the speed and I was doing the telling, but suddenly I could understand. I could understand very well. Eventually I figured out how to listen to others too. And before I knew it, I was not ‘slow’ or ‘simple’ anymore. I was bright. Intelligent. Even brilliant, some said. That wasn’t really the case, though, not really. I just found what worked for me. And if hearing things works for you, and you know this to be true, then that is wonderful, and I am happy for you.”

They were silent for a moment. Molly felt a strange knot in his chest unwind.

“Oh,” he said quietly, and tried to clear his throat. “Oh. Um…thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

This made Molly chuckle, and his jewelry jingled softly. “I’m…er…glad you think that. I’ll admit, I didn’t really want to say anything about this before. I didn’t…I didn’t want you to think that I was dumb, I guess.”

Caleb frowned. “Was?” he asked. “What do you mean, by that?”

“You’re smart, obviously, and everybody knows it,” Molly said with a wave of his hand. “And you spend all your time pouring through tomes and shopping for books and reading papers and whatnot. I barely read, so obviously, in comparison…”

Caleb shook his head adamantly. “Smarts is not only in books. I am an idiot in social situations, you are the genius there. It is a matter of context. And it is different for everyone.”

Molly grinned at that. “Now that is something I’d agree with,” he said with a strange lightness to his tone. “You’re…you are quite clever, Mister Caleb.”

He could have sworn there was a faint smile across Caleb’s face as the wizard said, quietly, “You as well, Mister Mollymauk.”

They sat in the evening quiet for a while. Then Molly, still lounging in the grass with his hands folded behind his head, frowned.

“If you were just going to go ahead and reaffirm my whole…deal, or whatever,” he said curiously, “then why did you name all those stories and ask if I knew them? What was the point of that?”

Caleb shifted sheepishly and glanced down at Molly, whose eyes were closed though his brow was furrowed.

“I…er…I was going to offer to tell them to you, actually,” he said. “Um…if you would like. They are only children’s stories,” he added hastily, “but, well, they are meaningful to me and if you have never heard them before, and I know you are probably not going to read them, then at least I could make sure you will be familiar with them from here on out, if you want, er…”

As he trailed off, he saw a bright grin creep across Molly’s face. His human vision was too weak to see, but a faint purple blush danced across the other man’s cheeks.

“I’d love that, Mister Caleb,” hummed Molly. “I think that sounds lovely.”

Caleb felt the edges of his own lips begin to quirk upwards. In the darkness, hidden by night, a tiny smile broke his usual stoic mask.

“Alright then, Mister Mollymauk,” he murmured back. “Which one would you like to hear?”

Molly considered this for a moment, face scrunching up as if in deep thought.

“How about the one with the peacock?”

Caleb laughed. It was soft, and barely audible, but it was one of the brightest and gentlest sounds Molly had ever heard.

“Alright, of course. The Crow and the Peacock it is.”

“Does it have a happy ending?”

Caleb considered this for a moment. “Not really,” he admitted. “But it’s got some pretty good life lessons, and if you’d like, maybe we could add a…an…epilogue, of sorts, to make sure it does.”

Molly laughed at that. “Have at it, then.”

Caleb leaned back against the rock and gazed up at the moon. He felt the grass rustle, and then Molly’s elbow rested lightly against his thigh. He startled, and his eyes went wide, but did not move away.

Instead, after taking a moment to collect himself, he cleared his throat and very quietly, so as not to wake the others, began:

“Es war einmal, there was a flock of crows that lived in a tree together just above a group of peacocks. One day, one of the crows noticed his reflection when he was getting a drink at a lake. I am so plain, and so boring, he thought to himself, I wish I was beautiful like the peacocks. So, the next day, he flew to where the peacocks lived and found a feather lying on the ground…”

And down in the grass, eyes closed and chest feeling warm, Molly let the lilting music of Caleb’s story wash over him.

Their campfire crackled beside them. The moonlight hummed, the fireflies whispered, and crickets chirped softly in the distance.

[zankivich]

Teacher’s Pet: A College AU Chapter 10

So some slight angst and as a result tons and tons of fluff from Shawn. I just really love the progression of this story and it gives me all of the feels when writing it. I never plan things out and just write to write, so I have zero clue how many more chapters it’ll be, but it just makes me happy so... yea. Let me know if you like plzzzzz. 

TW: mentions of panic attack

Chapter 10

Shawn was taking his family to airport when you went to campus. Dr. Edwards was in her office, and you needed to know what the damage might be. He had his meetings with the music exec people coming up and you had decided not to tell him a single thing until at least after that. Dr. Edward’s was much more than a professor, she was your mentor, and the hope was that she could be there for you emotionally before it would get too far.

You knocked on her open door seeing her sitting at her desk with her wild, messy curls piled up high in a bun. Her glasses where on her forehead but she moved them back onto her face when she noticed you.

“Come in, come in! What are you doing here on a Sunday?” She smiled.

“I--I wanted to talk to you for a minute.”

You closed the door behind you and your mentor’s usual happy, go lucky attitude stilled.

“Oh no, what’s wrong?”

She closed her laptop and pushed it to the side giving you her full undivided attention. You plopped down in the seat across from her desk and kept your gaze on your hands which were twisting fitfully in your lap.

“It’s my fault. I just want to start with that. I knew what the consequences could be, and I--I didn’t stop it.” You started.

“Y/n, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

You swallowed at the lump in your throat feeling tears of frustration and anger burn at your eyes. You hated crying in front of people.

“I can’t…I can’t like tell you all of it right now, because I have to protect him but...I’ve been seeing someone from our class. I did everything that I could to stay away from him, I did but I’m in love with him.” You whispered cheeks flaming. “I love him, and I couldn’t stay away. It’s not just sex; it never was. We’re just like...good for each other. And I don’t want to end it”

“Sweet Jesus.” Dr. Edwards sighed sliding down in her chair. “I am too old for this shit. Why are you telling me this now, half way through the semester?”

“Someone is blackmailing me. They sent pictures of us kissing and hugging. They won’t tell me what they want but… I figured I should confess.”

Her eyes became alarmed. “Now wait just a minute. No matter what fucked up thing you’ve done, someone can’t just blackmail you. Have you reported it?”

“Did you miss the part where I said I’m sleeping with a student? No, Kate, I didn’t report it!” You huffed.

“Alright, just calm down. Let’s just go through our options here. How involved are you at this point?”

You winced. “He practically lives in my apartment….There is no practically. I can’t remember the last time he back to his place.I just met his family for the first time. We’ve done the ‘I love you’s’. We’re as involved as physically possible.”

“And you’ve what… given him test answers? Helped him with assignments?”

“No! No, absolutely not. He’s learned more in class than even I can believe considering where he started. Sure, sometimes he comes to office hours, but I don’t help him more, or less,than any other student. And when we grade papers, I purposely put his in your stack. I only know his grade because he likes to gloat. I’ve done everything that I can to make things as fair as possible.”

She sighed spinning around rapidly in her chair and peering up at the ceiling. The only thing keeping you from a nervous breakdown was that she hadn’t kicked you out of the program yet.

“Shit, y/n.”

You hiccuped trying to keep the tears at bay.

“Am I gonna get kicked out of school?” You whispered.

“I...Don’t know. I honestly haven’t read up on that policy in years on account of me not sleeping with students.”

You rolled your eyes. “Funny. You’re being funny right now.”

“Sorry,” She smiled. “Look. Let’s take some time. You go home, focus on your research, while I do some digging. In the meantime, I’m gonna have to ask you not to come to class. I have to cover my own ass here too.”

You nodded keeping your eyes on your hands. “That’s fair.”

“And do not contact whoever sent you those pictures. Just keep it at bay for now, until I find out just how big of a mess we’re in.”

She led you to the door giving you a hug that reminded you of your mom. When you left your heart was heavy in your chest. Your love for Shawn was incredible and it was great, but your master’s was all that you had to be taken seriously in your field. Getting kicked out would ruin you without a doubt. Not that you didn’t think about this before dating the guy, but there just wasn’t any staying away from him. And on top of that you really didn’t fucking want to.

You got back to your apartment before Shawn had made it back, crawling out of the clothes you’d thrown on to be somewhat presentable and into one of Shawn’s hoodies before sliding into bed. The curtains were drawn, the room dark, and you were fully spiraling into the sadness. As far as you were concerned the world was ending. You didn’t know who you were without your education. It had become your passion and your life, and the thought of that being taken away was terrifying. You could have gotten angry at Shawn. Afterall you both had not entered into the relationship with the same risk, and you told him time and time again that it was dangerous. But, when you were lying in bed crying your eyes out there was only one person in the whole world you wanted comfort from and that was him.

“Hey babe, I’m stopping at the bakery we found last month? The one with the little cinnamon donut holes you like? I should be back soon in twenty though.”

You had given yourself a pep talk to stay cool, calm, and collected for about fifteen minutes before calling Shawn, and this tiny bit of information only sent you sprawling head first into tears all over again.

“A--Are you crying? Hey? Hey, what’s wrong?”

You heard him shuffling around and the bing of a door as he assumedly left the bakery.

“This is so gross. Crying is the worst.” You huffed wiping angrily at your cheeks.

“Baby talk to me. What happened?”

“It’s nothing. I mean it’s not nothing but...I just want you to come home. Please.” You sniffled.

“I’m coming now.”

“Wait, Shawn!”

“What, what?” He exclaimed at the sound of your voice.

You bit your lip voice softening drastically. “Will you bring the donut holes please?”

He sighed heavily. “Jesus, y/n. Yes. I’ll bring the donut holes.”

“Thank you.” You whispered.

“I love you, just give me a minute alright?”

“Okay.”

Time passed impossibly slowly without him. You cried into your blankets, holding the pillow from Shawn’s side of the bed to best absorb his scent. This is how fucking gone you were, weeping into a pillow like a fucking child. Oh how the mighty fall.

Your face was shoved into his pillow when you heard the familiar sound of the door opening. You listened to him drop his keys on the bed side table and kick his shoes off of his feet. It was always your favorite sound in the world because it meant he was there, he was staying, with you. This time was no different and you quickly shifted your face out of his pillow to tackle him into the bed and hide your face in his chest instead.

“Woah there.” He murmured wrapping his arms tightly around you. “I’m here. I’m right here.”

More tears escaped, and Shawn just seemed to know exactly what to do. You sat in silence, you crying, and him rubbing your back in a soothing manner. His fingers came to rest in your hair pulling the wild curls out of your face and holding it in a makeshift ponytail. It took forever for you to cry yourself out and having him there did make it easier as long as you didn’t have to look at him. When the tears had come to a halt and your body was hiccuping in exhaustion, you finally lifted your head from his chest and peered up as he was handing you a box of tissues off the nightstand.

“Have you been jerking off in my bed?” You sniffled grabbing tissue. “I don’t keep those there.”

He snorted. “No. We have sex like twice a day, who has the time or the sperm? I picked some up on my way home. Figured you could use ‘em.”

You blew your nose multiple times, Shawn holding his hand out to take them from you.

“I am not putting my snotty tissues in your hand right now. I want you to still want to have sex with me after this.” You muttered, throwing them onto the table instead.

He grabbed at your chin tilting it so that your eyes met and smiling softly at you.

“I’ll always want to have sex with you, no matter what you do.”

You hiccuped and pushed your hand against his dumb, perfect face not in the mood to get lost in his eyes at the moment.

“Sure.”

“Are you ready to talk about it yet?” He murmured hands rubbing soothingly at your back.

You peered up at him over red rimmed eyes, your whole body tensing.

“I can’t tell you.”

He frowned. “What do you mean, you can’t tell me?”

“It’s not a big deal. I--I don’t want you to worry.”

“Y/n I am now a hundred times more worried than I was before you said anything. What is going on that you won’t tell me? You promised you wouldn’t let things get on top of you.”

“I did! I did. I’m reaching out. This is me reaching out instead of pushing you away. I just can’t tell you what happened. I’m doing this for you.”

He shook his head in confusion. “I don’t want you to do this for me! I want to help. Why aren’t you letting me help you?”

“Look it’s my shit to deal with; it doesn’t concern you!”

“You concern me! You’re my girlfriend; it all concerns me. Just…” He groaned looking up ceiling and taking a deep breath. “I’m not trying to start a fight. I just want to be there for you.”

You crawled out from under the covers moving to straddle his waist and wraps your arms around his back. Your face fit perfectly into his neck and you kissed him in reassurance.

“You are. You always are. You’re perfect. I just . . . don’t wanna hurt you.”

His hands found your hips rubbing circle sinto the flesh.

“Then please just tell me what’s going on. You’re scaring the shit out of me.”

He wasn’t letting it go and honestly it was all getting to be a little much. You were suffocating under the weight of it all and you didn’t know how you were going to come out of it in one piece. So, you reached behind you and dug into your pocket for your phone swiping it open to get into your messages. You pulled up the first picture and handed him the phone, deciding that now would be the perfect time to dive into the donuts.

“Holy fuck.” He mumbled.

“Yep.” You nodded around a cinnamony piece of confection.

“W--Who is it? How could you not tell me about this? How does this having nothing to do with me?!”

“So...I don’t know who it is. I got the text at dinner after your recital and I didn’t want you to be stressed out again after everything that you went through rehearsing. I wanted you to just focus on meeting with the big time music people. There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s my fault, and I’m the one who’s gonna have to deal.”

“Your fault? We’re together. We’re--We’re in a relationship. We just love each other, we aren't hurting anyone. That’s not wrong.” He chastised. “There’s no fault to be had.”

You rolled your eyes running your fingers consolingly through his hair. Your soft hearted, gooey Canadian would of course take it that way.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insinuate that our relationship is a mistake. It isn’t. And I love you. And I don’t regret anything. But, i’m in really deep shit right now and there’s not much you can do to get me out of it.”

“They wouldn’t kick you out. You’re the best person they’ve ever had.” He mumbled wrapping his arms tighter around you as if his hodl alone could protect you from the world.

“I appreciate that, but I think you might be a little biased.”

He sighed peering into your eyes and holding his face in your hands.

“I won’t let them kick you out because of me. If it comes down to it, I’ll fix it. I promise.”

And he really did look so confident in what he was saying. As if there was nothing that would get in his way when it came to you. It was sweet and endearing and crazy because your whole body ached to believe him.

“How?” You mumbled eyes straying to his chest.

He tilted your face back up to his, eyes firm in their stance.

“I’ll do whatever it takes. Tell them I pursued you and you wanted nothing to do with me. Those photos don’t show the whole truth. They just show whatever story we tell them. I would never let this end your career. I know what it means to you.” He whispered.

It was certainly a lot to think about. Shawn stayed propped up against the headboard, letting you stay curled up in his arms as you shared the donut holes that he’d brought home. The quiet was nice after all the stress of the morning. It was odd for you how much you craved the comfort of his body. You’d never been so needy in your past relationships. And yet, something in you just wanted to crawl in his arms and never face the world again. He was warm and perfect and he smelled like home. He slipped his hands under your--his--sweatshirt and traced shapes on your back soothing you until your eyes felt heavy and you sunk deeper into his hold. Maybe things would be better when you woke up.

***

You sat in your bed watching Shawn get ready for his meeting. You weren’t allowed to go, they were sending a car for him and everything, so all you could was make sure he looked like a God on his way out the door. Shawn was making this harder than ever considering the perfect canvas you had to work with.

He collapsed onto your bed throwing one of his shirts to the ground to join the other several that had been thrown in your attempt to dress this man child.

“Fuck it. I’m not going.” He muttered hiding his face in his hands.

“Like hell you’re not.”

You scooted over behind him wrapping your arms around him from behind to lean your head upon his shoulder.

“What’s going on? Talk to me.”

He pulled at his hair in frustration and glared at the wall.

“It’s stupid. This is stupid.” He mumbled.

You smiled at him because a grumpy Canadian was quite the adorable contradiction.

“Do you remember the time you sang for me in one of the practice rooms?” You asked running your fingers along his bare chest.

“Yea...You had a bad day and you came to see me during my independent study. We went to dinner after.”

You nodded. “Bad day is kind of an understatement. I had a panic attack that day in the middle of a presentation for the Dean of liberal arts. It was really bad. And there was no one there to hum in my ear. I spent forty-five minutes in a bathroom unable to breathe. We had to reschedule.”

He turned over his shoulder to stare at you.

“You never told me that.”

“I know. Bad with sharing emotions, remember? Still working on it.” You smiled warmly. “Anyway, when I came to see you my nerves were frazzled. I was a fucking mess. And you were practicing that song you’d written a long time ago.”

“Never Be Alone?”

“That’s the one. You sang it for me in just that tiny little room with the echo and it felt like resurfacing. Like I’d been outside of myself for a long time, and it brought me back to my being. I knew then that you were special. If you can do that for me and my stubborn, emotional ass, I know you can do it for others. You’ve got this Shawn.” You murmured emphatically into his shoulder. “I know it.”

You kissed at his neck and settled your fingers in his hair as he let out a breath he must have been holding in forever. The tension was back in his neck and shoulders, but he was nodding and letting your words sink in.

“I’m scared.” He admittedly finally. “I don’t want to let you guys down.”

“The only way you could ever let me down is if you weren’t your true self, and if you didn’t go after what you wanted in life. You don’t get signed and I’m still gonna be madly in love with you. And I’m still gonna come to every gig and rock the fuck out with you. Don’t do it for us, do it for you.”

You sat in silence for a while, the weight of your words slowly absorbing. He put his hands on top of yours and took some more deep breaths before ultimately sighing.

“Is motivational speech giving part of your master’s program?” He asked dryly

“Very funny. Get your ass up, you have a meeting to get to.”

You climbed off of his back in order to go to your closet where his clothes were quickly over taking yours. You went shopping together a lot because your boyfriend was sexy and you liked to dress him up and he liked to let you. You pulled a black floral button up off the hanger. It had short sleeves and would show off his arms. In the large scheme of things, maybe it didn’t matter, but he’d be confident if he knew he looked good and damn would he look good.

You held the shirt out to him and watched with knowing satisfaction as he slid it on. He peered at you with heistant eyes wondering if this was the right one. This man was driving you up a wall, and if you didn’t get him to chill the fuck out asap he would never make it to his meeting.

You slipped your palms under the fabric of his shirt reaching up to tweak at his nipples which were always ultra sensitive. He blushed crimson and tried to back away but you quickly grabbed at his belt loop to pull him forward.

"Babe what are you--"

"Maybe if my mouth is on you, you won't be able to think about nervous?"

You pressed your lips to his left nipple feeling the goosebumps appear across his skin. He closed his eyes and sighed quickly becoming putty in your hands. You licked and sucked at the skin until it was erect and wet.

You had wanted to play with his nipples ever since you noticed just how sensitive they were. Sometimes they would simply brush against you during sex and the sensation alone would be enough to make them hard. Given the look on your boyfriend's face this was something you were definitely going to have to explore more in depth.

You pulled your mouth off of him and blew at the skin causing him to moan and slip his fingers around the back of your neck doing nothing but simply gripping the skin. It was a little dominant and a little messy and you loved it.

"Remind me to do that again later." You grinned moving to button his shirt for him.

"I....I can't say I hate you cause I don't, but you really kill me sometimes. I have a sneaking suspicion you’re kinkier than I could ever imagine."

You fluttered your eyelashes at him in mock innocence, which only seemed to propel him further. Unfortunately he did kind of need to get going.

"I love you." You murmured letting your eyes rest on his. "You're gonna do great."

He nodded softly and kissed your lips one, two, and three times which wasn't helping the whole not wanting him to leave thing. Eventually, guitar case in hand, he was out the door and you were left to your research, and definitely not to count down the hours until he came home. Definitely.

***

Shawn’s p.o.v

He placed his guitar case against the wall and kicked off his shoes, placing them against the wall next to her smaller ones. He sniffed at the air as his stomach rumbled and the scent of home cooked food settled deep in his nostrils. There was movement in the kitchen, and along with the glorious smell of food he found himself practically floating towards it.

“Babe?” He called out catching her just as she was pulling a pan out of the oven.

She groaned turning to face him.

“You weren’t supposed to be back this early! I didn’t even get to change yet.”

“What’s all this?”

“It’s your ‘congratulations for meeting with a record label’ dinner.” She murmured blinking her big ole eyes at him in innocence. “I asked your mom for her roast recipe. And I...I made cookies cause whether the news is good or bad, you need cookies. So…”

A smile so big his face felt stretched appeared on his lips and he quickly ran around the island to get to her. Her lips were like heaven on his, and the passion that was radiating from within him felt overwhelming and completely necessary all at once. No one had ever done something like that for him. He’d only told her about roast dinners one night when they were lying in bed trying to talk about the things that mattered to them. It had been when they were still getting to know each other, and for her to remember that felt like something special, and something to take note of. He was sure in that moment that no one had ever cared for him like her. And as a result, the hold that she had on him tightened, and the need to be with her and to belong to her only got tighter.

She still had oven mitts on as he gripped her hips through the apron running his tongue along her lip. Instead of granting him access like he wanted, she pushed softly against his chest until he got the hint.

“Not that I don’t love your lips and everything, but I kinda want feed you before the food is cold. And I want to look more presentable when I do it.”

“You’re beautiful.” He growled defiantly, digging his hands into her hips for emphasis. “I don’t need you to dress up for me. I’d much rather this apron be the only thing I have to take off of you later.”

She raised an eyebrow at him a smirk forming across her soft lips. He managed to convince her to bring the roast to the table and sit on his lap while they ate. It was the sappiest, most ridiculous thing ever, but he wanted to be close to her and he didn’t wanna wait through a whole meal to do it. The food was good as hell, and he made a mental note to deny, deny, deny if his mother ever asked him whose was better. In the deep pits of his mind, he remembered being sixteen and swearing that he’d marry the woman who could cook a roast like his mom. She looked at him with gentle, kind eyes, and just in case she could read his thoughts he shook his head and looked down as his cheeks warmed.

“So… Either the news is so good you’re stringing me along or I’m gonna have to go apeshit on some music exec’s face.”

He chuckled. “The funniest part about that statement, is that I know you would go apeshit without hesitation.”

“Of course.” She shrugged. “Now tell me.”

“Yea so...It was Island records. There was this guy named Andrew and he had a couple other people in the room. They found my stuff online and he just played it for them while we all sat around this very clean, glass table. And then they asked me some questions about the type of music I wanna make, and I sang for them.”

“Okay...AND?!”

He grinned teasingly at her. “And he asked me to come to a studio in LA. Wants to introduce me to some music people. Said we could have a serious conversation about him being my manager, if I wanted.”

She leaped from his lap like a dolphin hopping out of the water, and it was as impressive as it was incredibly adorable.

“Are you fucking me?! He wants to manage you? Just like that? I told you. I said my baby’s a fucking icon, and everyone’s gonna love you and what happened, sir? One fucking meeting and you already have a record deal!”

Something about her praise and her acceptance made it all feel much realer than it had felt in the moment. Maybe it was just knowing that she fully supported him. And it wasn’t his mom or his little sister or his best friends. She didn’t have to love his music at all. But, she had from the moment they met and that made him much more confident in what he was creating. She’d never believe him if he told her that he couldn’t have done that meeting without her, but it couldn’t have been more true. His cheeks were now flaming under her praise and he pulled her back into his lap to hide the evidence in her hair.

“It’s not quite a record deal yet. Andrew was saying it could take months to actually solidify a deal. Him being my manager wouldn’t necessarily mean Island would sign me.”

She rolled her eyes at him with so much sass, his heart nearly burst from his chest. So. Fucking. Cute.

“Boy will you just bask in the greatness for a minute. Bask in it!”

She kissed his cheeks as if to say, “you were born red, get used to it.” and fed him pot roast to his heart’s content. And then she took him to the couch and put on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while she rode him into the couch with nothing but her apron on. Some might say it was the best nice of his whole entire life. And they just might be right.

Tag List: 

@nevermindmisha 

@alltoowhalee13 @glader-groupa-sub8

@begginyouformendes

[injusticeff]

Chapter Eighteen

***2 weeks later***

Tiarra

The news was filled with the so-called "home invasion" that was done on the "nice innocent young lady" named Ajanae Patterson. I had covered my tracks so I wasn't really worried about the cops but the amount of coverage they were doing on this girl was real life blowing me.

It had been over two weeks since I tried to kill her ass and they were just still milking the hell out of this story. It's definitely not present as much as it was when it first happened but they still talked about it from time to time. At least once a day asking if anyone had any information or had seen anything to call in and let them know.

But I was too good to get caught and I doubt there were any witnesses because if there was, they would have some information about it already. I had learned too much stuff from watching those reality crime shows to get caught up making some dumb and careless mistake.

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the remote and shut off the TV before turning to my phone for entertainment instead. I realized I had a text from Dominick and instantly scrunched up my face considering he hasn't returned any of my texts and calls since that day I had to go to the hospital. He was smart to avoid me though because each time, I was only calling to cuss his ass out for doing some shit like that to me as if I'm a weak bitch.

From: Bitch 🖕🏽

call me as soon as u see this 💯 important

Of course I hesitated at first because I didn't know if what he wanted to talk about was important for me or important for him. If it's for him then he can surely kiss my ass because I won't be doing any more favors to someone as ungrateful as he is. I've always been there for him when he needed something done, when him and Simone would be in a bad place, even when I didn't need to be.

I decided to see what he wanted though just for the hell of it. The phone rang several times and I was about to hang up until I heard his voice come through on the other end. "Yo?"

"What's so important that you decided to text me after ignoring me for a whole month?" I crossed my unoccupied arm over my chest as if he could see me, instantly earning an annoyed sigh from his end but I'm the one who should be annoyed with all this back and forth he's always doing with me.

"Don't start with the bullshit Tiarra or I'll leave yo ass in the dark to fend for yourself." He retorted causing me to instantly furrow my eyebrows since I had honestly no idea what he was talking about.

I swear it was just like Dom to be calling someone on some cryptic bullshit, trying to be mysterious and whatnot. Like can we get to the point already? "What are you talking about 'fend for myself'? Since when have I not been able to take care of me, myself and I?"

"Since yo dumb ass decided you wanted to try and go kill somebody, but failed like an idiot."

My body immediately straightened out as his words processed through my mind because I hadn't told anyone about what I had done. There wasn't anyone I could really tell but still. If Dom knows about it, who else knows? "H-How did you—"

"Don't ask me no dumb ass question like that, Tiarra. You know I got eyes and ears everywhere, regardless of if the police ever find yo ass or not." The line got silent as I attempted to process what he was saying but couldn't because I was still stuck on the fact that someone else besides him had to know that I was the one who tried to kill that Nae bitch too. And I have no idea who it could have been.

My heart instantly began to pound as I soon felt a headache coming on. "Well why did you even look into who shot that bitch in the first place? It has nothing to do with you."

"You know I'm not the type to give out information like that and you're lucky I even fuck with you on some type of level 'cause I wouldn't have even told yo slow ass at all." He spoke, letting a sarcastic chuckle escape from his lips soon afterwards. "If you wanted to do the job, you could have at least done it right."

Immediately rolling my eyes, I scoffed because I had actually thought I'd done a good job of covering up my tracks. Hell, it's been over two weeks and the police still have no clue that what happened to her was an attempted homicide. "I did do it right. Tell all your nosy ass connects to mind their fucking business, how about that?"

"They do mind their business but it's not their fault that one, you let off three loud ass shots in a neighborhood at night so you most likely woke mad people up. And two, yo dumb ass ain't wear nothing to cover your face."

My face instantly scrunched up because I know for certain that I had worn a ski mask that night. "I had a whole ski mask on so who's capping to you?"

"Well somebody saw what you looked like clear as day and they also saw what car you tried to sneak into afterwards so it is what it is."

Then what he was saying finally hit me. I took off my mask so that I would be the last face Nae would see before she died and after I shot her, I immediately ran before someone was able to call the cops. I had completely forgot to put my mask back over my head. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I buried my head in my hands wondering why nobody had turned me in yet and if they were even planning to in the first place.

I cannot go to jail and orange is definitely not my color. My freedom was now in jeopardy and I needed to find out who his connect was so that I could put an end to them as well. "Well... why does anyone else care about what happened to her? Are they related to her or something?" I asked, attempting to subtly get some information out of him since I knew straight out asking wasn't going to work.

"Nah nah, don't worry 'bout all that right now. Worry 'bout you. I'm only telling you all this 'cause as of now, you have someone tailing you."

My eyes widened and he didn't even get to finish his sentence before I dropped my phone and frantically hopped up from my spot on the bed, running to my closet. Grabbing one of the large suitcases from the corner of the small room, I threw it open on the ground and began piling clothes inside of it, not caring if they were getting messed up or wrinkled. I just knew I needed to get out of this house and get the fuck out of dodge.

My blood began to boil at the realization sinking in that this bitch really hired someone to follow me around and kill me whenever the chance would permit. What kind of looney ass female does something like that?

I struggled to zip up my suitcase because of how full and overcrowded it had become as I looked over my now half empty closet to make sure I wasn't forgetting any of the clothes I had actually enjoyed wearing. Running back into my bedroom, I started gathering hygiene necessities such as deodorant, lotions, perfumes, and my make up bag before stuffing it all into one of the empty pockets in my bag. I damn near looked like a crazy person running back and forth to gather everything I thought I would need to keep up with how I live.

I grabbed my phone which was now locked due to Dom most likely hanging up when he realized that I wasn't responding anymore, going to my private tabs and searching up some names of hotels near me. I didn't want to pick anything too close but I also didn't want to go too far right now since I was most likely going to switch from whatever hotel I would be staying at to a new one in a week, tops.

When there's someone after you, you can't get comfortable in one place for too long because that always runs a risk of them finding you there easily. I had to leave a confusing trail if I was going to make it out of this alive.

And one thing I was going to make sure to do was finish the job that I started. No one is going to continue looking for me once they stop getting paid however much she's paying them.

I dragged my now heavily full suitcase out to my car and immediately remembered him saying that whoever witnessed what happened saw what car I went into. A low huff escaped from my lips because I knew I was probably going to have to rent a car too. This whole situation was taking too much money out of my pockets already. Once I threw the bag into the backseat, I quickly hopped in the driver's side and started up my car before following my GPS to the hotel I had decided on while I was in my room.

I kept finding myself looking into my rear view mirrors as I drove to make sure that no one was following me. When I finally arrived to the hotel, I made sure to throw my sunglasses on just in case as I made my way inside. It seemed like everywhere I looked, there was someone that had glanced at me or looked too suspiciously casual.

On the way here, I stopped at an ATM and took out some cash so that I wouldn't have to use my card and be easier to trace. That's one of the biggest mistakes people make on those crime shows that air on TV all the time. They leave a paper trail like some dumb asses.

I texted Dom to thank him for telling me even though I don't fuck with him right now because I know he didn't have to let me know that the bitch is trying to put a hit out on my head, but he still did. This makes me question how Dom really feels about me; he says he could care less but then goes and does stuff that shows me otherwise. He clearly cared about saving my life and so he clearly cares about me.

It made me smile just knowing that the man who claimed to be so nonchalant went out of his way to let me know something that would ultimately save my life. And I knew I had to thank him somehow but right now, I'm not taking the chance of bringing anyone over to where I'm staying. That bitch is still his ex-girlfriend and I learned a long time ago that you can't trust nobody, not even your family.

I'm the walking epitome of someone that shouldn't be trusted so why would I make that same mistake with someone else? Contrary to popular belief, I'm far from a dumb bitch. Conceited? Yes. Rude? Maybe a little bit. But dumb is one thing that I definitely am not.

Once I checked in and received my room key, I looked around one last time to make sure that I wasn't being watched or followed before dragging my heavy suitcase along with me up to my room. I remained alert the entire time and didn't let my guard down until I was safe inside of my room.

The first thing I did once I was in my hotel room was crash down on the bed and let out a long exasperated sigh. These next few weeks trying to finish the job were going to be hell; not only because I had to come up with another plan to kill the bitch again, but also because I had someone I didn't know watching my every move to see what I'm up to and strike me when I least expect it.

Well, jokes on them because I'm always prepared.

Xae

Bree groaned lightly as her head hovered over the toilet bowl lazily. She kept having to remind herself that she couldn't just lay her head down on the seat since everyone's bare ass be on it but I could tell she wanted to rest her head somewhere.

I tried to comfort her by rubbing circles on her back gently with my hand but she only responded by groaning once again, this time a bit louder than before. I winced and backed up a bit because I thought she was going to throw up and I was not trying to have that shit splash back up on me.

But she only weakly lifted her head and reached for some toilet paper, wiping her mouth and nose soon afterwards. "Do you feel any better after throwing up?"

"A little bit, I'm not as nauseous anymore." I reached out to her and she smiled before grabbing my hand as I helped her stand to her feet. She was fine once she got her foot foundation.

The first thing she went to do was brush her teeth because she hated everything about vomiting; the taste, the feeling, everything. "I must have ate something bad. What did we eat for dinner last night?" She asked, turning to me with her toothbrush in her mouth.

"We had chipotle, you never got sick off that before."

She shrugged slightly before turning back around to spit the toothpaste out of her mouth. "Must have been a bad batch or something. I did get something other than my usual."

"Yea, you right." I agreed, nodding in realization. "Just don't get whatever you got no more."

She let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Trust me, I won't. It has me sicker than a dog."

I began nervously scratching the back of my head because I just knew that she was about to be pissed off by what I was about to tell her. "So, I had told Ant I was going to go chill with him and meet some of his fam. We supposed to go bowling."

"Ok, and why are you telling me this?" She replied dismissively as she began to lay down and get comfortable in the bed.

"Because I know how you are with Simone but she's gonna have to come check on you every now and then, and you can't be acting an ass. It's just gonna be for a couple hours so play nice, please."

She shrugged nonchalantly and buried herself underneath the covers like a burrito. "Xae, I don't know why you're worried. I can walk, I'm fine. I don't need a supervisor like I'm some five year old in daycare. Go have fun with your friend..." She paused to sit up a little bit so that she could see me better. "Why do you hang out with him anyway?"

"Girl, you know I don't have a lot of friends. McDonald's mixed up our order one day and we just immediately sparked up a conversation. He cool, what you got against him?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't have anything against him baby, it was just a question. I don't care who you hang out with just... hurry and come back to me." I replied by making my way over to her and leaning down to press my lips against her soft ones, allowing my tongue to invade her mouth for a quick second before pulling away as she glared at me with lust in her beautiful dark brown eyes. "Like I said, hurry back."

"I will." Giving her one last peck, I grabbed my keys and went to go say goodbye to Simone before heading out of the house.

I didn't know where the bowling alley was by heart so I already had it programmed into my GPS to save me the time. My feet carried me to my car and started it up once I was inside, driving off in the direction the Siri lady was telling me to go. I cracked my window, allowing some breeze to roll off my face as I cruised down the roads and highways.

I'm not really that good at bowling but I agreed to go because it seemed like something big for Antonio. He's basically met my family but I haven't met any of his so he figured he'd invite me to a function they have every once in a while when everyone is free to spend a few hours out with their family. That seemed like a nice little tradition to have, where everyone gets together throughout the year just to have fun. Many families don't do things like that; at least I know mine doesn't.

I would have stayed with Bree to take care of her while she wasn't feeling well, but I couldn't turn him down. Especially when I had already agreed almost a week in advance. It would be fucked up to cancel on him last minute, plus, I'm already more than sure he's told some of his family members about his plus one and it would look bad on my part if I didn't show up after he told them that I said I was. So, I was between a rock and a hard place here.

Before I knew it, I pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley and searched around to find a space, ultimately having to go to the back to find an empty spot. Damn, it's packed for it to be the middle of the day. Once my car was parked, I hopped out and made my way back around the building to go through the entrance of the establishment.

Multi-colored lights immediately came into view along with one side of the building being an entire arcade full of different types of games. Music was blaring but the sound of young adults and children playing the arcade games kind of drowned it out a bit if you were on that side. I reached into my pocket to grab my phone and text him, letting him know that I was here since it felt awkward just standing around looking lost. As I awaited his text, I just busied myself on my phone so I wouldn't have to look like I was a kid who just lost his mom in a supermarket.

I felt taps on my shoulder causing me to turn around, instantly dapping my friend up as I noticed some of the people that were behind him. "What's good bruh? Alright so, this is my aunt Clemencia and my uncle Julio, my cousins Ajanae and Naija," he spoke as he pointed at two girls, one with her arm in a sling and the other typing away on her phone not paying any attention, "and mi madre Rosa." The short woman he pointed to then pulled me in for a back breaking hug as she mumbled some things excitedly in Spanish before saying it was nice to meet me. "Family, this is Xavier but he likes being called Xae."

"It's nice to meet you all." I added as I smiled and waved at everyone.

Everyone waved back except for his cousin whose face was still buried in her phone but it didn't really bothered me. She looked like a teenager in high school and I was that same way around my family when I was a kid. I really wanted to be out and experiencing doing my own thing but my mom literally dragged me to any family functions we had, since we didn't have many to attend in the first place. I was mad when I was younger but once I got older, I didn't mind it as much. You never know how long people will stay on this earth and family is all you have.

"Oo, I like your tattoos." His aunt flaunted her hispanic accent as she simultaneously felt the muscles in my arms causing me to look to Antonio for help. He responded by holding his hands up in defense and laughing.

"Mami, cálmase. You're scaring this poor man, he doesn't want you." The girl with short hair and her arm in a sling inserted herself into the situation.

Her mother scoffed and pulled her hands away from me only to place them on her own hips. "Callate nena, cuidate tu negocio."

"Do you want her?" The girl then asked me as she pointed to her mom.

I had no idea what to say in this very moment as I looked between both of the women while they looked at me expectantly. "Uh..."

"Alright, y'all stop scaring my friend off and let's go bowl. I don't wanna hear no more of this foolishness." Antonio spoke sternly but anyone could tell that he was being playful when he said it.

We all started heading off towards the counter where we could pay for the lane we'd be playing in and get our bowling shoes. I felt a slight nudge to my side causing me look at the person who had started walking alongside me. "Hey, sorry about my mom. She thinks she can pull anything that moves and I keep tryna tell her that she's not in her prime no more."

"Aw, don't tell her that. You gon' kill her confidence." I chuckled out.

"Psh," she rolled her eyes playfully, "I wish. Maybe then you wouldn't have been hit on."

I looked back at his aunt who then began to smile at me causing me to quickly turn back around and act like I wasn't just looking at her. "Uh, isn't that her husband?" I asked, referring to the man that lazily strolled beside her and didn't really say much.

"If you could even call it that. They're only together because they have kids. They do what they want." The girl seemed irritated by this fact and I didn't wanna pry, so I remained quiet. She sighed. "Anyway, I'm Ajanae."

"Xae. What happened to your arm if you don't mind me asking?"

She gave me a slight smile. "Oh no, you can ask me anything Xae. But unfortunately, I got shot."

I nearly tripped over myself at her revelation as I glanced at her with a surprised look on my face. "You got what?" I would have thought she sprained it playing a sport or something but getting shot? Sheesh, who did she piss off?

"It's not that big of a deal, I'm good." She replied dismissively and I honestly couldn't blame her. I probably wouldn't want to talk about the situation all the time either and I'm sure she gets a lot of questions as it is. She looked up at me and eyed over my facial features for a quick second before turning elsewhere. "So, Xae. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"A fiancé to be exact, so be like ya thirsty ass momma and get gone." Antonio answered for me out of nowhere as he threw his arm around my shoulder to pull me away from his family. "Sorry that every woman in my family hits on anything with legs."

I let out a low laugh as I shook my head. "Nah, it's all good. I don't mind it. Although, if Bree was here and saw all that, she'd need fries to go with her salt." He laughed along with me and shrugged slightly.

"Eh, she can't be mad at you. At least you weren't flirting back. You coulda been one of those types of niggas."

I instantly shook my head. "Nah, my baby girl lying in bed sick and throwing up. I wouldn't be out here flirting with no other chick while she's waiting for me back at home."

"Throwing up?" He raised a curious eyebrow. "You think she's pregnant?"

Shaking my head once again, that hurt feeling that came over me whenever I talked about this situation hit me almost automatically. "Nah man, Bree can't have kids. She ordered some new shit from Chipotle yesterday and she's thinking that's probably what's got her feeling sick. I keep telling her stop tryna be different, she don't wanna listen."

"Damn, well I'm sorry about that... You never know though."

I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it anymore. "Yea, but it doesn't matter. Me and her talked about it and we're content with adopting when the time comes and we both want kids."

"Sounds like y'all have y'all whole life planned out together already." He replied causing a small smile to grace my face as I nodded in agreement.

"We really do."

Simone

I fought a smile as Xae helped me fold the last of my clothes that I had took today to wash. There wasn't a lot that I brought with me, so I had to wash more often than they did but he always helped me out.

I've stayed longer than I'd hoped to. I tried asking my mom but she didn't have enough room for me there. After both of her kids moved out, she saw no reason to have a house with multiple bedrooms when she was only going to use one.

I didn't mind staying here though. Other than the obvious glares from Bree, it was a nice environment to be in. But I know that I can't stay here forever and I feel as if I'm overstepping my boundaries by staying here longer than intended anyway. I had been looking for some cheap hotels in the area that were still at least a little decent but anytime I'm searching for them, Xae tells me he's in no rush to kick me out. He was being so sweet to me when he really didn't have to be and that alone warmed my heart.

We would have these smoke sessions whenever stress was getting too much to bare; with him doing all this wedding planning and me dealing with my situation with my obsessive ass baby daddy, it was easy to open up to each other since neither one of us had no spot to judge. We would talk for hours at a time even after we had already smoked the blunt down to nothing but a small roach.

It was nice being able to just talk to someone sometimes. I feel like I've just been holding so much in and handling everything myself, but it was cool getting advice from someone on the outside looking in. Just talking with him alone, I almost forgot that I was running from someone and not just hanging out and having fun. Once the realization sets in that this isn't really my life, though, is when all those happy feelings come crashing right back down again. I'm only taking bits of pieces of his happy life and intruding on his personal relationship with Bree by taking up so much of his time that should be going to the planning of their wedding.

They've made really good progress but I feel as though they'd be done by now if it weren't for me being here so long. Things like what he's doing now by helping me fold my clothes, is what's taking away from the time they could be spending with each other instead. And what makes things worse is I think Bree sees that too, which is only adding onto her unreasonable hatred for me. These past two weeks, I've been trying to get on her good side by helping around the house but nothing I do ever seems to be good enough. The more impressed and appreciative Xae gets by me doing those things, the more annoyed she seems to get.

"You got one more load after this right?" He asked as he folded the last one of my leggings. I had so many leggings that it was ridiculous and you would probably catch me in one four out of seven days of the week. Maybe five on a good week.

I nodded in response to his question, tucking some loose strands of hair behind my ear. "Yea, but you don't have to help me with that though, it's a small load. I can handle it."

"Honestly, I really don't have nothing else to do right now, so helping you is keeping me company at the same time." Chuckling at his revelation, I shook my head and grabbed my clothes carefully before walking them to the guest room where I laid them down in my suitcase. I hadn't unpacked during my stay here because I knew it was only temporary and I didn't want to get comfortable knowing that.

Xae also grabbed the remainder of my clothes that was left and followed suit, setting them into my bag neatly so nothing came undone. "Thank you. I know you don't have to help me since I'm the one staying at your house... but you don't treat me like I'm some sort of burden to be here and I really appreciate that."

"That's because you're not a burden Simone and I don't know why you think you would ever be one either. This house has been more spotless in the two weeks you've been here than it has since we unpacked all of our stuff. You're always doing something to help out around the house and it's not like I don't be seeing you looking for different places to stay." He shrugged, not really knowing what else to say since he had been previously rambling.

My mouth stayed shut too as I enjoyed the silence for a quick second before rushing towards him and wrapping my arms around his torso with my eyes shut tight to try and hold back my tears as his cologne invaded my nostrils. His arms immediately wrapped around me, providing comfort and safety to anyone in them. I couldn't stop thinking about all he's done for me up until this point even after countless times of me being a bitch and purposely going ghost on him and avoiding him for literally no reason. He's been right there all along.

Once I realized we had been hugging for a bit too long, I reluctantly pulled out of the embrace and chuckled to hide my embarrassment as I used my thumbs to wipe some stray tears that fell from my eyes. "I'm sorry. I just—I almost forgot how it feels to have someone be so nice to you and not have ulterior motives in mind."

"Well, how do you know I don't have ulterior motives?" He asked with a playfully raised eyebrow causing a smile to creep it's way onto my face. I kept trying to fight it but looking at his handsome sharp features made it no better.

***Flashback***

Me and C'yara were playing truth or dare like teenagers at a slumber party and it was cool to have this kind of worry-less fun in my life again. I was learning so much about her; some things I wanted to know, and some things I definitely didn't.

"Ok, truth or dare, Sim."

I instantly cringed at the nickname with Dominick's evil eyes whenever he'd call me that after beating me immediately coming into mind. It took a second but I gave her a smile instead. I was trying to do better with my life and let go of the toxic parts of me Dom had created, that means I can't go flashing on everybody that calls me a common nickname for my name. It's not like they meant the same thing by it as he did. I needed to let my hurt go and being here was helping me progress so much more with it. "Truth."

"Ok," she placed her fingers on her chin as if she was thinking hard on what she wanted to ask me until a glint of mischief flashed in her eyes and a smirk formed on her face, "Do you like my cousin?"

When I tell you I almost choked on my damn spit. "W-What? Why would you even ask me that? He's engaged."

"Ok, yea all that is true but that also wasn't my question. I asked if you liked him."

My mouth got a little dry as my eyes darted around the room, trying to think of what to say in response. "I mean, yea I like him, he's a good friend of mine."

"Girl." She gave me a look that somehow made me hear the smacking of teeth, even though she hadn't physically done it. Her looks were that telling; it was kind of a talent. "You know it wouldn't be tea if I was asking you if you liked him as a friend. He's a soft ass sweet ass nigga, everyone's going to like him as a friend." She then threw her hands up at her last statement.

"I don't know... sometimes I look at him and—he's been protecting me literally since I was a child and it's so crazy that we keep running into each other." Finally after nervously rambling, I settled with. "I don't wanna say."

C'yara instantly giggled and started lightly poking me causing me to squirm a little bit on the bed. "Come on, don't be a pussy Simone. Just say you like Xae, so we can get on with our game." She taunted playfully as her fingers continued to tickle my sides causing me to bust out laughing.

"OKAY OKAY... yes." I barely whispered the last part but you know she heard it anyway as she immediately began jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

"I KNEW IT! Oh my gosh, this is so crazy! He likes you too and—"

She was about to ramble but I quickly stopped her since me liking another woman's fiancé on a deeper level than friendship was nothing to be proud about in my opinion. "What? No he doesn't. He loves Bree."

She stopped to look at me and it honestly looked like she was about to say something sarcastic but instead, she just shook her head. "You really must not see the way that he looks at you. Anyway, it's your turn."

***Flashback ends***

Memories of that night with C'yara and how I felt so disgusted with myself for admitting to wanting someone I couldn't have came flooding back into my mind as my smile soon dropped. Xae's instantly did the same as he furrowed his eyebrows, looking at me with that concerning look that gets me weak every time. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I just remembered... that I have to go pick up my mail. It's been a week since the last time." I quickly spurt out as an excuse but at the same time, it was true.

All my mail was still going to Saint's house because I learned that it was already paid off. I think his grandparents had owned it previously and the sad part is, that's the very place he... I quickly shook those haunting thoughts out of my mind and came back to reality. "You want me to drive you? I—"

"NO! No... It's only fifteen minutes away and I'm only getting mail." I stated sternly causing him to chuckle and throw his hands up in defense.

Giving him a nervous smile, I rushed out of my designated room and grabbed the keys to Saint's car that I had been using since he passed. I left without another word to anyone and made my way over to my deceased lover's house.

Each week when I saw his house, I would just stare at it for a few minutes reminiscing on all the memories me, Saint, and Junior had in that very building. I was at my happiest there and nobody could tell me the love Saint had for Junior and I wasn't real. He treated my son like his own child and provided for him when I couldn't financially. He literally saved up thousands of dollars for me in this very situation I'm in now; without him.

I didn't know I was crying until I felt the hot tears drop from my jawline and onto my jeans, sinking into the absorbent fabric. I needed to get away from here. Quickly getting out of the car, I made my way over to the mailbox and scooped out the many letters Saint had still been receiving and some of my mail as well.

Once I got back in the car, I began sorting through the envelopes, separating my mail from his as one in particular instantly caught my eyes. It was addressed to me and was from the county Dom lives in's court office. I immediately opened it up, not knowing what I did to piss him off this time and pulled out a letter that had a full page of writing on it so I decided to skim through it.

It was a summons. Dom was requesting to take me to court for... sole custody of Junior?!