#5 there wouldn’t be too many people in a coffee shop but there are so many kids

[asexualjedi]

Seeing a doctor who leak post and seeing like giant paragraphs and being like yeha ok I’ll read that later

[janeyseymour]

I Wouldn't Tell Anyone

based off of that tiktok trend: "i wouldn't tell anyone i won the lottery, but there'd be signs".

WC: ~2.75k

Melissa Schemmenti has worked at Willard R. Abbott Elementary School for years. And in those years, the one constant in her life has been Barbara Howard. The two had started the same year, and while many things have changed, their friendship would never. No, Melissa had watched as Barbara married Gerald, witnessed the woman’s growing belly as she carried both of her daughters, had seen the ups and downs in the Howard family. And likewise, Barbara had been there to see the marriage to Joe, the divorce of Joe, the lean years… and everything in between. They’ve seen the way that teachers come and go, children grow up before their very eyes, and at this point they’ve taught children of students that they had in the starting years. Teaching practices have grown and changed- it’s really an ever-evolving world that they live in.

The second grade teacher had a solid wardrobe that she kept in rotation over the years- really just a few blazers, her signature leather jacket, the same shirt in various colors, a few pairs of slacks and jeans, and of course her heeled boots that she wore everyday without fail.

“Melissa,” Barbara had asked one day. “Perhaps you and I should hit the mall? I know some great places that have wonderful clearance sections.”

“Are you tellin’ me I need to change out my wardrobe?” the redhead teased as she threw her bag over her shoulder.

“You know that is not what I am saying, woman,” Barb rolled her eyes. “But I see the way that your shirts are starting to wear thin. I also need an outfit for the end of the year banquet that this damned superintendent is forcing me to go to.”

“When you’re part of a committee, you have to go to that kind of stuff,” the second grade teacher had smirked. “Why you think I ain’t a part of all that?”

Even after the two of them hit it off, going to the mall whenever they found themselves with enough money to spare to treat themselves to a shopping spree, Melissa’s outfits still mostly circulate without fail. 

Years pass, and then she meets you one night while she’s out at the bar. She walks in, and you’re captivated. You don’t know what draws you to her, but whatever it is is magical. Your eyes hardly leave her stunning figure as she dances. You know that by the end of the night, you have to at least attempt to make a move on her.

And you do when she decides to take a break from dancing to come over to the bar. Conveniently, the only opening is by where you’re sitting and nursing a margarita.

By some grace of God, she’s been watching you too- trying to figure out how to start a conversation with you over the loud music and people dancing all around you.

She saunters up to the spot that you’re at and smiles at you. Wow… her smile is radiant.

“How come a pretty girl like you ain’t out there dancing with someone?”

“Just came here after a hard day at work,” you shrug. “Wanted a marg, thought maybe the music and drinks would brighten my spirit.”

“Well, you got the marg,” she gestures to your half empty glass. “Why don’t I buy you another, and then we can listen to the music together?”

“I’m sure you have friends here that wouldn’t want me crashing.”

“I’m here alone,” the redhead reveals. “The name’s Melissa. And you are?”

“Y/N,” you tell her.

“Well, Y/N, why don’t you let me buy you a drink, and we can be alone… together.”

You end up getting her number as you part ways for the night, and simply text her when you get home that night, time and place.

She’s just walked into her own house when your text comes through. How does Renata’s Kitchen at 5:30 on Tuesday sound?

I have to wait tomorrow and Monday to see you?

I mean, I could grab a coffee tomorrow after church if you’d rather that, the redheaded beauty sends.

You send her the address of your favorite coffee place, which just so happens to be hers as well. You wonder if the two of you have ever run into each other and just not known it at the time.

The outing for coffee ends up being an entire day’s worth of just walking around the city together as you chat about life. You find out that she’s a second grade teacher at one of the local schools and that she has Sunday dinners with her family every week (that is actually the only reason she has to regretfully leave you that day) among many other things. She finds out that you work for one of the local law firms down the street from Abbott, ironically enough. How have the two of you never bumped into each other, or at least seen each other? You get to your place of work at the same time as she does, you’ve both gone down to the same Wawa at the same time for lunch because your lunch hours coincide, and she quite literally walks past your firm to get to happy hour specials with her coworkers.

Once she leaves you to head to her family dinner, she texts you to let you know that she would still love to do dinner with you on Tuesday. You excitedly reply that you would be absolutely delighted. 

The two of you have been going out for quite some time now, and it’s quite funny that you’ve both kept it on the down low. You’re a bit concerned that while courtrooms have progressed with society that if your relationship were to become public, it could get in the way of cases. And she, similarly is nervous that she could face backlash at the school she works for for being in a homosexual relationship. So, neither of you have said anything to your coworkers. And it’s all going swimmingly. While you had both just stumbled upon each other one night at the bar, not expecting to find each other, here you are two years later as a happy couple.

You land the case of a lifetime, one where you could make a decent profit off of your already relatively high paying salary. On top of that, you know that you’re about to be promoted after working with this firm for the last five years.

You end up winning the case, bringing in some good money, and then you’re moving up the ladder and finding yourself with more cash outflow than you know what to do with at the moment. It’s too much for you, living in a small apartment in the city by yourself with nothing else to worry about. So, when your girlfriend comes over to your apartment for dinner, you propose something.

“Mel?” you ask as she stands at your stovetop. She hums to let you know that she’s listening, but her eyes stay trained on the vegetables that she’s chopping right now. “How would you feel if we moved in together?”

The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board halts, and she turns to face you. “What?”

“We’ve been together for almost two years,” you tell her. “I just got that nice promotion, plus a huge payout from the settlement with DuBoise, so… I was thinking maybe we could move in together? Find a nice townhouse somewhere in the city and settle into our lives together?”

About a million emotions flicker through the redhead’s face before it settles on a smile. “I think that might be a good idea.”

So, after months of looking, you both say goodbye to your small apartments and are able to move into a beautiful townhouse in Queen Village. When Melissa files the paperwork to change her address for paychecks, Ava comes flying into the staff lounge with her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.

“Uh, ahem,” the principal coughs out and raises her brows, waving the paperwork in front of the second grade teacher during lunch.

“What?” your girlfriend grumbles as she grades a few papers and shoves a forkful of her salad into her mouth.

“Since when did you move?”

“A couple of weeks ago,” Melissa shrugs.

Barbara’s brows furrow. She wasn’t aware her friend was moving house. “Oh, Melissa. Could you not afford the place anymore?”

“Girl, she upgraded big time! Went from living in the slums to a three bedroom townhouse in Queen Village!”

“Queen Village?” the kindergarten teacher repeats.

Again, the redhead just shrugs.

“Melissa, how did you manage that? I know what you make, and there is no way you could afford to live somewhere like that!” Janine cuts in.

“Can it, pipsqueak,” Melissa rolls her eyes. “Let’s just say… I have my ways.”

Nobody is brave enough to ask the mob-like woman what the hell that could even mean.

“Well, when do we get to see the place?” Jacob tries to invite himself over.

Green eyes glare over at the man. “If I can help it, never.”

“Oh c’mon, Mel Mel,” Jacobs whines out. “I lived with you at one point! Why can’t we come see your new place?”

“At the time, I did not know it was you,” the redhead huffs. “And then you moved out on me.”

“Because I found 

The second grade teacher blows out a breath. “Maybe once I have it all furnished and put together.”

So, once the two of you have the place put together for the most part, the Abbott clan makes their way over while you’re out of town for a convention that you were forced to go to.

To say that the crew is beyond impressed is an understatement.

“Melissa, this is beautiful,” Barbara compliments.

“How? How?” is all Jacob and Janine can stutter out.

The redhead just smirks. “I know a guy.”

They leave not knowing that the guy that she knows is you- her girlfriend of almost two and a half years at this point. And because it’s you, and you have an unwavering love for Melissa, the house is impeccable and everything she could ever want it to. You take good care of her.

Since moving in together, Melissa’s meals have only become more extravagant. With both of your finances almost entirely combined at this point, you spoil her with the best foods and ingredients that you can get her at any moment. So when she comes into the staff room with way fancier dishes for her lunch, it raises a few eyebrows. The teachers have seen Melissa stretch a dollar like a big headed baby stretches a… the redhead smirks.

“I know a guy,” is all she offers up.

The eyebrows of her coworkers only creep further up her head when she comes in with leftovers from one of the nicest restaurants in the city- a place known nationally for the delicate dishes and absolutely delectable desserts.

She’s eating the extra slice of cheesecake the two of you had brought home when Janine leans over. “How’d you get that?”

“I know a guy.”

“You sure seem to know a lot of guys.”

They have no idea that there are not multiple people- you are almost singlehandedly responsible for the lavish lifestyle that your girlfriend suddenly leads. 

Somehow, Melissa is forced to go to one of the banquet dinners that the district is holding because she’s hit a milestone in her teaching, and they’re highlighting her. So, of course Barb offers to go with her to try to find something nice to wear to the dinner that she too will be attending.

“Oh, I think I actually have an outfit,” the redhead refutes the offer. “But thank you.”

“Girl, you never turn down an opportunity to go out shopping,” the kindergarten teacher raises a brow.

“I just… know a guy that already bought me an outfit.”

Melissa shows up to the event looking like a million bucks, and Barbara almost can’t believe it. The redhead’s hair is curled to perfection, the dress that she’s in has clearly been tailored to accentuate all of her curves and to be the proper length. The shoes that she’s wearing are not the black heeled boots Barbara is so used to seeing her work wife wear- no, instead she’s got on a pair of heels that have to be at least two hundred dollars if the kindergarten teacher had to guess. 

Of course, their picture gets snapped and is posted to the school website a few days later. 

At lunch, while Janine is eating and on her laptop, her eyes go wide. “Melissa!”

“What?”

“You looked beautiful the other night!”

“Thanks, kid.”

“How did you get all of that?”

“I know a guy.”

Jacob moves his chair so he too can get a look.

“Melissa, that is…” he thinks to himself quietly. “At least a six hundred dollar look! For a school event? Girl, where are you getting all of this stuff?!”

“I told youse, I know a guy.”

It’s a weekend when the Abbott crew decides to get together, and they all have plans to go to Barbara’s house for game night, but Gerald gets sick and they can no longer use the Howard residence.

“Well, I guess we should cancel,” Melissa sighs as they’re all leaving the school that day.

“What if we just came to your place?” the kindergarten teacher asks. “It’s the only other space big enough to accommodate us all.”

Begrudgingly, the second grade teacher agrees. As everyone is on their way over, she calls you.

“Hello?”

“Hey hun,” she says softly. “So… change in plans for tonight.”

“Oh? Do I get you all to myself tonight?”

“Not exactly…” the redhead trails off. “We’re moving game night to our house.”

“Oh,” you say softly, your face dropping as you thumb through papers in your office.

“Yeah,” she hums.

“I mean, I guess I can go out to dinner with my mom or something to pass the-”

“What if we just… came out? At least just to the crew,” your girlfriend suggests quietly.

You mull that option over for a few seconds. “Y-yeah. If you’re ready for that.”

“I am if you are.”

“I can pick up dinner,” you tell her. “I should be out of here by 5:30, and then I can head over to grab some food before coming home.”

“There’s…” she counts in her head. “eight of us.”

“Eight?”

“Somehow Mr. J wormed himself into this get together,” Melissa laughs softly. “Something about getting the band back together- whatever the hell that means. 

Once you’re free from work, you head over to one of the nicer restaurants in the city, and because you and Melissa have become frequent flyers there, they’re able to oblige your request for a few trays of food. You leave a generous tip before packing the food into your car and making your way back to your townhouse. 

Upon pulling in, you take a few deep breaths before gathering your briefcase and the food and making your way to the door.

When you push it open, all eyes are on you.

“Hey,” you sigh as you kick off your shoes and head for the kitchen table to put down all the food.

“Melissa, you didn’t tell us you have a roommate, never mind a hot one!” Ava grins.

The redhead just rolls her eyes before glaring. That glare is gone though once you make your way back into the living room and sit down next to your girlfriend.

“Hey babe,” you smile at her before kissing her cheek softly.

“Babe?” Barbara’s eyes go wide. “Melissa Ann, do you have a girlfriend?”

The redhead just smirks. “Oh, did I not mention that I am happily in a relationship and have been for two and a half years?”

“Wait a minute,” Mr. Johnson furrows his brows and looks you over. “Ain’t you one of those fancy lawyers that works at the firm down the street from Abbott?”

You nod. “Hi. I’m Y/N.” You cordially shake everybody’s hand with a kind smile.

“Wait,” Janine pieces it all together. “Is this why you moved and could afford this place? Why your meals have gotten a lot fancier, and how you could afford the clothes you wore to the dinner the other night?”

Melissa just nods. “I guess you could say… I won the lottery with this one.”

TAGS: @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @thesamesweetie @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels--slut @gwennybriggs @megamultifandomtrashposts @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude @sapphicxrat @a-queen-and-her-throne @sunsol-22 @notinmyvocab @melanielaufeyson @dvrkhcld

[cobaltperun]

Masterlist

I don't mind talking to people, so don't be shy, if you ever come across my page and figure you might want to tell me something, go right ahead, send a private message, or an ask, I'm happy to respond!

💙 - fluff/happy ending ❤️‍🩹 - a bit of angst 💔 - angst ☠️ - main character death 🔞 - smut ⚡- fight scenes

Smut for long stories is separated from the main stories.

Stories

Eternal Flame (Jenna Ortega x female reader)

Summary: For her it’s a passion, for you it’s an accident. And as she continues shining brighter and brighter with each role you are left mesmerized, drawn to her flame and cherishing every time she lets herself be vulnerable with you. (Reader takes on the roles of Lost and WOTS Reader character)

Scream

Lost (Tara Carpenter x female reader) 💙💔⚡🔞

Summary: To anyone on the outside, and to Tara’s friends, you were Tara’s fierce protector, the MMA fighter who’d take anyone on for Tara. The Guard Dog, as Amber called you. You had no idea you’d have to protect her from people who claimed they loved her. It didn’t matter. As long as you and Tara had one another there was nothing you wouldn’t be able to survive.

Story warnings: Scream violence, family issues, trauma, angst, certain sensitive topics

Request - To Never See You Again (Tara Carpenter x female Reader; She was unattainable, radiating with blinding beauty that went above and beyond her appearance. And though you knew you shouldn’t, you flew too close to the Sun, hoping one day she would look at you the way you looked at her. Set right before Scream 5) - 2.2k 💔☠️

Request - Pick Up (Tara Carpenter x Female Reader; You and Tara can't help but be silly) - 1.1k 💙

Request - Marry Me? (Tara Carpenter x female Reader; One day, while you play, you tell Tara that you want to marry her, she remembers it years later) - 1.3k 💙

Request - Jealous? Yes! (Tara Carpenter x female Reader; both you and Tara are oblivious, until Tara decides to tell you about her crush during one of your movie nights) - 1.3k A very tiny crack version 🤣 💙❤️‍🩹

Request - One Time Too Many (Tara Carpenter x female Reader; Tara keeps getting drunk, and you're the only one who can get her to stop, at least for the night.) - 2.3k 💔 Part 2 - One Last Time - 1.8k ❤️‍🩹💙

Request - Sweep 'er off Her Feet (Tara Carpenter x female Reader; Liking soccer brings Tara closer to Woodsboro high's two soccer players, the striker and the team's sweeper.) - 2.3k 💙

Request - Jerks With Hearts of Gold (Tara Carpenter x female Reader; You and Tara bicker, constantly, over the tiniest details, but little do her friends know, it isn't all as it seems.) - 4.8k 💙

Request - Heartbeak Girl (Tara Carpenter x gn!Reader; Tara had her heart broken and turned to you, not knowing how you felt about her. Perhaps a song could make her realize how you feel. (no Ghostface, band au) - 2.7k 💙❤️‍🩹

Request - Heart on Sleeve (Tara Carpenter x GN!Reader; Tara was never all that interested in tattoos, aside from thinking some of them were cool, until you came along. You were proud of your tattoo, but you didn't feel like showing it off to just anyone, and then Tara came along.) - 1.8k 💙

Request - Drunk Words, Sober Thoughts (Tara Carpenter x GN!Reader; Drunk Tara is a bit flirtier than she usually is when she gets drunk, and you, as her best friend, have to deal with it) - 1.1k 💙

Request - Miss Popular (Tara Carpenter x GN!Reader; Nerd and a popular girl? Sometimes it ends well.) - 1.5k ❤️‍🩹

Request - 5 Times You Made Coffee and 1 Time You Didn't (Tara Carpenter x GN! Reader; Tara has a crush on you, a barista at a local coffee shop) - 3.1k 💙

Request - Moonlight Dance ((Smut) Bottom Tara Carpenter x top G!P Female Reader; Prom night ends with you and Tara making love for the first time) - 3.1k 💙🔞

Request - She's my Girlfriend! ((Very small smut) Tara Carpenter x Female Reader; Sam walks in on you and Tara having sex.) - 1.3k 💙🔞

(Request) Rule Breakers ((Smut) Bottom Tara Carpenter x Top G!P Female Reader; Not even getting grounded can keep Tara away from you) - 4.9k 💙🔞

Wednesday

Woe out the Storm (Wednesday x female Reader) 💙💔⚡

Summary: It took some time, but eventually you came to realize only Wednesday Addams could look at the raging storm of chaos and destruction and make a home out of it. Only she could listen to the cacophony of the roaring thunder and hear a melody.

Request - Her Wrath (Wednesday Addams x Female Reader; a jealousy driven prank causes you to have an epileptic seizure, incurring Wednesday's wrath) - 0.8k 💙❤️‍🩹

Request - The Beat of Our Hearts ((Smut) bottom Wednesday Addams x top G!P female Reader; Wednesday needs it rough, she needs it fast, just so she doesn't have to accept she loves it soft and gentle as well. Aged-up characters) - 1.7k 🔞

Miller's Girl

Genius (Cairo Sweet x female (G!P) Reader) 💙💔🔞

Summary: It was such a cliché, a reunion she didn’t expect to ever happen, let alone six years after she last saw you. It was supposed to mean nothing, a bit of nostalgia, maybe a brief catching up while waiting for class, it was supposed to be a small wave of nostalgia, not a tsunami that disrupted her entire life. You were her opposite, and as hard as she tried she couldn’t resist your pull.

Request - (Don't) Let Go (Cairo Sweet x female Reader; Following Cairo breaking up with you you turn to drinks and sex until one night Cairo sees you with your latest distraction) - 1.8k 💔

Request - No Chance ((Smut) Bottom Cairo Sweet x top female (G!P) Reader; After years of being best friends and eventually developing feelings for one another, Cairo asks you to be her first) - 3.1k 💙🔞

Finestkind

Next Week (Mabel x female Reader; Mabel only has eyes for you) - 1.2k 💙

Request - Sunny Day (Mabel x GN! Reader; Mabel and you spend a fun day at the beach, and certain words finally get spoken) - 0.8k 💙

X

Request - Sunset (Lorraine Day x Female Reader; Reader makes sure Lorraine still knows she is beautiful, despite her scars) - 1.5k 💔💙

Request - Puppy Trouble (Lorraine Day x GN!Reader; Lorraine and you aren’t exactly sure how to handle a puppy, but at least you’re having fun and Mr. Raindrop is very cute.) - 0.5k 💙

Request - About Time ((Smut) Bottom Lorraine Day x Top G!P Female Reader; Lorraine stays by your side when you are sick instead of going to film another movie, old feelings both of you tried to ignore end up coming to the surface) - 2.6k 💙❤️‍🩹🔞

Request - 3AM Needs ((Smut) Lorraine Day x Male Reader; Lorraine gets horny in the middle of the night, that's it, that's the story) - 0.7k 🔞

The Fallout

Request - I Can't Lose You (Vada Cavell x female Reader; Following the incident you are struggling to move on, and Vada feels like she's losing you.) - 1.5k 💔💙

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Darkest Part (Astrid Deetz x Female Reader)

Summary: You will never, in life or afterlife, if such a thing exists, meet anyone as infuriating, rage inducing, entitled, or frankly awful, as Astrid fucking Deetz. There isn’t a single thing you’d like more than to never be around her, but as your luck would have it, you just can’t stay away from her.

One Piece

Straw Hats take care of Sick!Reader (platonic) (The title says it all, just the Straw Hats reaction to Reader getting sick) - 0.4k 💙

Incorrect quotes

MCU

At the Avengers party

Adopt, don't shop

Happy black widow

It's you

Pun

New leaf

Wednesday

Secret

Random things

Tara Carpenter issue alphabet

[lonely-parrot]

Just you and me

@jegulus-microfic june prompts

Day 18: Date

Word count : 772

Summary: James desperately tries to get Reg on a date, but the poor sap has trust issues/ quick angst, fluffy ending

Regulus has had a lot of fun these last few weeks.

Every day his bookshop is open, at four p.m., James enters the door with a pastry and a coffee in his hand – and most importantly, a sunny smile. And every day he gives them to Regulus, while asking this single question: “hey, wouldn’t you like to go on a date, just you and me?”

And every time, Regulus answers no.

Regulus kind of hates himself sometimes.

Because it’s fun to see James pouts, and it’s fun to see him offer his treat anyway, and to hear him chats Regulus’ ears off until 5 p.m., but he’d like, oh, how he’d like to say yes to James. To say, take me wherever you want, take me however you want, let me forget I can’t trust anyone.

He doesn’t trust people to stay. The only person he trusted with all his heart was his brother and…

He can’t trust.

But James comes back. He asks the question, and when the answer comes, inevitably, he doesn’t stay mad. He talks, he talks. And by the end of his visits, he always buys a book.

“You know,” he says one day to Regulus, who leans closer to him, he can’t help it, he always leans closer to James, “I have bought so many books, that I think I’ll be forced to buy another appartement, just to be able to stack them all up.”

 Regulus is helpless when it comes to James, James Potter since he finally was able to learn the man’s last name, something that shouldn’t have warmed his heart so much.

James comes, again and again, probably ruining himself by the number of books and pastries he bought in a year, and Regulus is stuck in his ‘no’ pattern, and he wants to say yes, but he can’t. He never will be.

And, then, one day, James doesn’t come.

Regulus should have seen it coming. A year of James Potter. A year with the sun had to come to an end, right? Regulus doesn’t deserve the sun. Regulus Black doesn’t deserve good.

But, maybe, James just had to work, that day.

Maybe, because you know, it’s weird for someone to always be free.

Right. That must be that.

It must be, because he doesn’t come the next day either, and he can’t leave Regulus. He can’t. Regulus knows people easily get rid of him. He doesn’t matter to anyone, but James Potter spent one hour of almost every day to talk to Regulus. So, he had to matter at a point? Or was he just a game James got tired of playing?

No. He must be working.

Why hasn’t he said yes? How difficult was it?

Why hasn’t he asked for his phone numbers during all the year they spent side by side?

Maybe he’s dead.

Regulus checks the news, the paper.

No James Potter appears.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you.”

James is here. James. Is. Here. Regulus doesn’t breathe. He’s mad. And relieved; he’s still alive.

“I… I don’t think I can keep up with the asking you on a date thing. It was too much. For me. I’m sorry. I should’ve realised it sooner. But… I still really like you. Maybe, we could be friends? I bothered you for a year and I didn’t even get your number. I’m sorry. Maybe you don’t want me to be your friend. I haven’t been the best human being.”

“Your silence speaks for itself. I’m going.”

He walks towards the door.

“I really would have loved to love you.”

He leaves the shop.

Regulus is alone.

He just had to say yes.

He’s in a movie in a mere second. He runs. It rains.

James is still under it, getting soaked, his eyes are red, and Regulus thinks he’s been crying.

“Yes.”

James’ body freezes.

“I… I want to go on a date with you. You and me. Yes.”

James turns. His messy hair are slack on his head, but he’s still as beautiful as ever.

“Did you say what I heard you say?”

“Yes. James, I have a question for you…”

James looks at him, through his wet glasses.

“Hey, wouldn’t you like to go on a date, just you and me?”

James is crying, but he’s running, not in the opposite direction but towards Regulus. He’s running and he stops a centimetre before colliding into Regulus.

“Yes. Can I hug you?”

Regulus nods, and when James’ arms encircle him, it feels like the world is righting itself up. Regulus breathes for the first time ever, his nose in James’ neck.

“Yes.”

[static-symphony-fm]

you are in love (true love)

now playing: you are in love (taylor's version)

pairing: magnus chase x fem! reader

word count: 1.9k

summary: 5 people who knew magnus was in love with you before you did + 1 sword

an: FIRST FANFIC LETS FUCKING GOOOOO this took so long to write! I love how I accidentally made it blue themed even though that's magnus's least favorite colour 😭 its ok we all know he's canonically a 1989 girly

fun fact i actually took the first picture! i shit you not I was on a road trip with my family READING MAGNUS CHASE and I look up and see THAT SIGN and i SCRAMBLED to take a picture

content/ warnings: 5+1 things, background blitzstone bcs c'mon they're basically canon, shitty writing, kissing ooo spooky, magnus being a simp, there actually isn't a whole lot of reader in this x reader fic, minor allusions to sex stuff, a lot of swearing, weird use of perspective, i was trying to go for third person limited but magnus is the one it's limited to not reader? but reader is referred to using second person? sorry if it's confusing.

1. samirah al-abbas

  if someone had told magnus a year ago that in a couple month’s time, meeting for coffee weekly with one of his best friends and not getting kicked out of the overpriced coffee shop was going to be the most normal thing in his life, he wouldn’t have believed them. probably would have flipped them off, too, and stole their wallet as he walked away. but he’d like to think that he was a changed man, seeing as he was, in fact, in a hipster café in boston, trying not to make fun of all the fancy menu options. like, seriously? who orders a dragon fruit, pomegranate, and kale smoothie?

he realized he’d been thinking for too long and returned his attention to samirah, sitting across from him and discussing wedding plans for her upcoming marriage to amir as she sipped her latte. he noticed the way her eyes seemed to get brighter, and her entire body language conveyed how excited she was as she talked about him. magnus had a fleeting thought about how good it must feel to love someone so unconditionally like that, and have them love you back just as much. 

as if reading his mind, samirah finished her sentence and studied him, tilting her head as she seemed lost in thought, peering at him like he was a calculus problem she couldn’t quite figure out. 

after a few seconds, magnus broke the silence. 

“alright, it’s getting weird. why’re you looking at me like that?”

samirah snapped out of it, focusing on what he was saying.

“nothing, just… do you think you’ll ever get married?”

jeez, that was a loaded question. magnus narrowly avoided choking on his black coffee, swallowing and burning his throat before answering.

 “sam, i’m dead.”

“so? people get married in valhalla all the time. i have been to a very disproportionate amount of weddings in the two years i worked there.”

“yeah? how many of those end in divorce?”

samirah took a long drink of her coffee, swallowing it slowly as she responded.

“forever is a very long time, and no relationship is perfect, but wouldn’t it be better to have someone to spend that time with?”

“…i guess.” magnus accepted, lost in thought. truthfully, samirah was right, like always. if circumstances were different, if he hadn’t died at sixteen, he could imagine himself getting married. settling down. living in a cabin in the forest with two kids. 

a thought came into his mind, entirely of its own accord, of doing all of that with you. your laugh, your soft hair, the way your lips curled up and your eyes widened when you smile. you’d probably be a great mom.

whoa, what the hell? he should definitely not be thinking about getting married to his friend, what the fuck? that is not normal. 

he pushed the weird thought out of his mind as best he could, gulping his coffee and focusing on the burning in his throat and not what he was just thinking. samirah had gone back to talking about amir, and magnus was not going to think about marrying you any longer.

2. alex fierro

after nearly getting his head cut off by alex’s garrote for the third time that day, magnus needed a break. alex had decided that magnus needed to learn to fight without the help of jack, and it wasn't going too well for him. he collapsed on the bench next to alex, chugging half a bottle of water before even taking a breath. alex rolled her eyes. 

“it’s not that hard, you just aren’t fast enough.”

magnus managed to control himself and not say a snarky comment back, but it was a close call. instead, he ignored her, staring straight ahead and not engaging. unfortunately, you were in his direct line of sight, sparring with mallory only a few metres away. alex picked up on this quickly, nudging his side. 

“you like watching y/n fight, huh?” she teased, smirking. damn, why did she have to be so perceptive?

“what? no. shut up.” magnus replied quickly, trying to hide his blush. “i mean… she’s a good fighter. not like i like her or anything like that.” 

“mhm. suuuure you don’t.” alex replied, definitely not believing him. fuck.

“i’m telling the truth!” magnus protested. god, how was arguing with alex harder than physically fighting her? 

“yeah. did you see her necklace today? pretty, right?”

“she’s not even wearing a neck- fuck.” magnus said instantly, before catching himself. 

“go to hell.”  he swore, glaring at alex, who was grinning at him in a way that reminded him a little too much of her mother. 

“you first.”

      3 + 4. blitzen & hearthstone

“magnus? magnus?”

a pale hand reached in front of magnus face, waving and then snapping its fingers, bringing him back to reality. he blinked and looked around at hearth and blitz, sitting across from him in the dining room of the chase space. hearth took his hand back to sign finally, raising his eyebrows sarcastically.

“your head’s way up in the clouds, kid.” blitz remarked, drumming his short, well manicured fingernails on the table, his silver engagement ring glinting.  he was right. magnus definitely was pretty out of it lately. 

probably thinking about y/n, hearth signed. jeez, why did every conversation he had have to be about you? and no, he most certainly was not thinking about you and your pretty eyes and your delicate hands and the way your ass looked in those jeans you were wearing yesterday… jesus fucking christ, he needed to stop.

 he buried his face in his hands and groaned loudly, then raised his head back up so hearth could read his lips, hoping that his blush wasn’t as visible as it felt. 

“i am not thinking about her.” he lied through his teeth. 

“there’s nothing wrong with having a crush, you know.”

ugh, why did they have to act so much like his dads? 

“i don’t have a crush!”

“kid, you’re a terrible liar. everyone can see the way you stare at that girl. now remember, if you’re doing anything intimate, you gotta use protection…”

that’s it. magnus couldn’t stand up from the table fast enough

 “nope! this conversation is ending right now. good talk!”

5. annabeth chase

magnus and annabeth had been walking around new york for the past three hours, trying to make up for the ten years spent apart.  annabeth had shown him her favorite library, and pointed out a bunch of cool architecture in nearby buildings, with a promise to show him and his friends camp half-blood in the summer.

 they were currently taking a break, stopping for lunch at a falafel place that wasn’t quite as good as fadlan’s, but it was still falafel. magnus was enjoying listening to annabeth talk about her architecture projects– she was taking online classes to prepare for the higher level of new rome university’s program. 

magnus loved listening to her talk about things he didn’t understand. as a child he’d always thought she was a genius, the way she always solved puzzles and math problems easily. ten years later, that theory still held up, hearing her go on about a bunch of terms he didn’t understand.

“sorry, i’m probably boring you to tears. you wanna talk about something else?”

annabeth offered.

“no, it’s fine… i really don’t have a lot going on.” magnus replied, smiling politely.

“come on. there’s gotta be something interesting.” an idea seemed to come to annabeth.

“you have a crush on anybody?”

magnus swallowed. 

“no.”

but he was too slow. those steel gray eyes that matched his own were locked on him like a hawk, or maybe an owl. 

“yes, you do. come on. spill!”

magnus stayed silent. he was not telling his cousin about his crushes, but those metallic eyes stayed locked on him. he eventually gave up. annabeth could be scary when she wanted to be.

“fine. fine. her name’s y/n…”

+1. jack

 it was movie night at the chase space. was magnus ever gonna stop calling it that? no. it was cool. shut up. the credits were rolling on some disney movie that alex had insisted on, and everyone else was slowly but surely making their way to their rooms, yawning as they said their good nights. you had been sitting next to magnus on the couch the whole time, and suffice it to say that he had had some trouble concentrating on the film.  

it was just you and him, you in your nirvana t-shirt and gray sweat shorts, and in that moment, he decided to tell you.

 you got up to leave, waving at him, and in a feat of bravery so incredible it would be studied by historians for centuries to come, magnus managed to work up the nerve to speak up. 

“hey, uh, can i talk to you for a sec?”

“sure? what’s up?” you asked as you sat back down.

jesus, what had he gotten himself into? it’s ok, magnus, you got this. you beat loki in a flyting. you can talk to a pretty girl. 

“uh, i was just thinking… i just…” off to a great start, aren’t we? fuck off, voice in his head. he can do this. he took a deep breath.

“i really like you. you're gorgeous and funny and so insanely smart. i’m an atheist but i’m praying to god you feel the same way. will you be my girlfriend?”

you bit your lip, breaking eye contact as you looked off into the distance. fuck. you were gonna say no and then he was never gonna be able to talk to you again and he was gonna have to change his name and move to canada…

“can i kiss you?” 

what.

there were a million things magnus expected you to say, but that was none of them. he managed to stutter out a simple “please…” and then you leaned forward and your lips were on his and magnus chase died.

this felt more like the end of his life than being knocked off a burning bridge and drowning did. his heart was beating a million times a second, and he seemed to have forgotten how breathing worked. your lips were softer than anything he’d ever felt before.

 he managed to reciprocate a little, mostly acting on instinct, and all he could think about was how astronomically better this was than jackie molotov in the seventh grade.

what was he supposed to do with his hands? he was pretty sure that keeping them at his side was the wrong answer, so he moved one to your waist and the other one to the back of your neck, tangling it gently in your soft hair as his lips moved against yours.

gods, he could have stayed like that until ragnarök, but his stupid sword had to ruin the moment. jack started buzzing on his neck sleepily, seeming to have been woken up ungraciously. he hoped that you couldn’t feel it, but that was pretty unlikely, considering how close you were to him. jeez, he was blushing more and more every time he thought about that. 

eventually, you pulled away, smiling a little. 

“good night, magnus.”

he nodded, unable to form words, and managed to stand up and walk back to his room, wide eyed, operating on autopilot. he walked into his room and immediately collapsed backwards onto the bed, staring at the ceiling without blinking, completely still. not a thought passed through his mind for at least ten minutes, till he finally was able to reach up and pull jack’s pendant off of his necklace.

“dude, what happened to blades before babes!?!”

[pilot-boi]

Pilot AUs Masterlist

Ever wondered what the fuck all my AUs are about? Well wonder no longer!

This is a list of all of my AUs (so far), or at least all of the ones I could find. They all have summaries and most have links to where fics have been posted, or to the tag on Tumblr where all the posts are about it

I will keep updating this as more AUs happen, because I am sure more AUs will happen. Also, I can’t tag all of the AUs in this post, there are literally too many

(List under the cut)

MIA

The Original AU

Jaune gets kidnapped and beat the fuck up for information

Literally just whump the entire time

BNHA

What’s on the tin

The kids but if they were in the place of BNHA characters

Fullmetal

What’s on the tin

The kids but if they were in the place of FMAB characters

Tour Group

RNJR + Qrow get lost on their way to Mistral and basically just fuck around on vaction

Very bad fashion from Jaune

VERY cracky

Sun, Neptune, and Ilia end up coming along with the plot when RNJR don’t show up

The whole plot still happens, it’s just treated VERY much for comedy

Paperwork

If Roman was told to go to hell he simply wouldn’t

After the boy dies he goes to heaven because nobody was paying attention and he snuck through the door with all the other fucking million people who died the night of the Fall

Hangs out with Summer, Pyrrha, and sometimes Penny and they watch the plot through the clouds

Stranger Things

What’s on the tin

The kids but if they were in Stranger Things

Not a straight up character replacement, actual different plots because of the different personalities

Mistral

Everyone gets to Mistral, fights at Haven, and they go no further

Buy a house and all live together while doing missions and being domestic

Jaune gets his ass kicked every other week

That’s it, that’s the plot

Army Birds

Have you ever wished Qrow Branwen could date Maes Hughes from FMAB?

Mistral AU offshoot

After the phone booth Maes is isekai’d into RWBY and is found by Qrow and Jaune

Qrow because ship, Jaune because holy shit gunshot wounds

It’s like Fairgame but if Clover wasn’t a fucking narc

Coffee Shop/College

Your classic coffee shop AU combined with a classic college AU

All the kiddos are sophomores/juniors at Beacon University

Shipping and shenanigans ensue

Seamonkeys are the coffee shop ship, but Jaune also works there

Heartwood

An AU based on a ship that HarmonyLight and I came up with between JNR+Marrow

Diverges about halfway through Volume 8 as it hadn’t finished when we came up with it

Whale dies, but who knows after that

They ride a boat to Vacuo

Daemon

What it says on the tin

They’ve all got daemons but the plot is the same

Twice the characters, twice the pain

Percy Jackson

What it says on the tin

The kids but if they were in Percy Jackson

Not a straight up character replacement

Different characters take different places as necessary for the plot

Godly parents are all different

Hanahaki

Pyrrha is really pining in this one y’all

Oof oof ouch angst she’s choking on roses for the boy

Space

Very Firefly inspired space AU with JNPR as a crew of a ship

RWBY are crew of another ship

Political nonsense and spaceship fights galore

Soulmate

Platonic and romantic and all those in between

When you get hurt, your soulmate blooms flowers in the same place

Vibrancy and size of the flowers depends on the severity of the injury

Canon events are the same

Time Travel

Oscar gets sent back in time for fix-it purposes, but not as far as you’d think

Timeline diverges during the finale of V7, when ALPN end up in the vault during the Maiden nonsense

Some doomed timeline shit happens and literally EVERYONE dies before Oscar and Jaune’s eyes

Oscar unlocks his semblance (time travel whoopee) and Jaune boosts him so he can go back and F1X TH1S

Blooming

AKA, Pyrrha lives because I miss her

Through the power of Arkos and Jaune being a soft boy who keeps giving his maybe girlfriend flowers, the girl lives and the world is saved

90% Beacon era with a VERY short epilogue

5+1 Style

Modelling

Baby’s first RWBY fic courtesy of inspiration from the OG Jaune server

Arkos are both models and both idiots

Pining, fake dating, and lots of fluff ensue

Daycare

ALMOST everyone except Weiss, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ilia are 8-years-old or younger

Modern/realistic AU

Weiss owns a daycare center that watches all these kids, Arkos are her employees

90% fluff

10% the inevitable angst of some of the characters being orphans

Les Miserables

What it says on the tin

I wrote down like seven pages of notes without stopping to drink water

Sort of character replacement AU but with subtle things changed for to make sense

Major Character Death

Duh

Qrow Fucks Up

Least thought through honestly

Canon but if everything boiled down to being somehow because of Qrow’s bad luck

VERY cracky

LOTR

What it says on the tin

Character replacement AU but with some MAJOR things changed for to make sense

Plot is the same, but how they get there might not always be

Flying Monkeys

Sun gets kidnapped by Salem for Grimm body part experiments and all he gets are wings and a boat load of trauma

Finally one not about Jaune

Oops looks like Sun got fuckin tortured for months all so I could make a dumb pun oops

The only one of these with a whole comic done about it

WAY more stuff in my head than necessary

Fallen Angel

Jaune and MOST of the baddies are kidnapped as children and experimented on by Salem as she tries to make them into angels and become a god

Less complicated than it sounds

User/Reader influenced

Modern AU of Remnant, timeline diverges after the gods leave

Magic is taken away and EVERYONE is made into part animal part humans

Nobody is bird though, and they’re more animal than Faunus

The gang literally fistfights “god”

Wings

Canon but if everyone had bird wings

Way more lore than necessary

The plot is the same, HarmonyLight and I just did a hell of worldbuilding

CatsVDogs

V9 AU where Jaune and the Curious Cat get into a relationship during his time trapped and it’s all downhill from there

CC is hella abusive, Jaune gets hella traumatized, it’s a bad time

Jaune’s shadow is sorta sentient

CC is a twinky tumblr sexyman catboy

Jaune gets possessed by CC instead of Neo, but he gets better

Voices

After the Fall Jaune starts being able to hear voices of dead people

Mostly can hear Huntsmen because they’re Auras are stronger

Mostly thinks he’s going crazy because Ren, Nora, and Ruby can’t hear the voices

Boy is stressed, and tired, and at the end of his rope

Wolf

Werewolf AU I made because it was Spooky Season

Jaune gets mauled by a Beowolf as a child and will turn into one when he gets too emotional

He can’t control it though

Runs away after blowing up at Pyrrha and saves Cardin in wolf form at Forever Fall

Starstuff

The one where Jaune glows when he’s happy because he’s LITERALLY sunshine boy

Everyone has nature related powers that slowly awaken to show that the gods are coming back

Wrote most of it in 2021 to HarmonyLight and then forgot about it for two years

DND

Started as the gang playing DND, turned into the gang LIVING in DND

Not in Feyrun, set in a DND-ified version of Remnant

Characters are not the classes/races you’d think

Way too much thought put into it

Mando

The Arcs are similar to the Mandalorians, but that’s where the Star Wars ends

Jaune adopts Oscar and eventually Nora

Fluff ensues

Twins

“Hey, Yang and Jaune look kind of alike” taken to the extreme

Jaune is abandoned by Raven and raised by the Arcs

Parent Trap realization/angst ensues

Twins have a psychic bond

Mirror Man

Jaune retreats WAY far into the RK persona

RK “kills” Jaune to protect everyone from “a horrible killer”

Very angst much ouch

Not actually DID, just mentally protecting himself from V8 trauma

Modern Magic

That’s it, that’s the AU

Inspired by all those modern witch AUs I used to read back in 2014 MCYT

Set in “real world” and they’re all in college

Man out of Time

Jaune is a timelord, but he isn’t the Doctor, I literally can’t stress this enough

His TARDIS crashed and he was adopted by the Arcs

Regenerates way too often for how long he’s been alive

Healing Rust

Yo that boy’s got hella trauma, let’s speak on that

Set after V9 and written as a MAJOR healing fic

Oneshots inspired by asks sent in

Royalty

Obligatory royalty AU

Jaune and Weiss are the royals, Pyrrha is Jaune’s guard

Everyone is involved somehow

There’s angst in The Plot, but mostly it’s just Armoured Angel

Fusion

Jaune’s Semblance manifests as a way to fuse the souls of two people, combing their bodies

Two people can fuse, but Jaune has to have fused with both of them first

LOTS of art of different character fusions

Angst and identity issues galore

Burning Knight

When Penny is killed, Jaune inherits the powers

“Woohoo, time to repress this”

Egg cracking is pushed off until RWBY fall into the Ever After

Jaune is a girl who feels like a guy, still uses he/him pronouns

Hare’s Breadth

Jaune dies on the tower during the Fall, Pyrrha survives

Blacksmith repairs him to prevent a paradox

Juniper is used to repair since his body was dissolved by Cinder

Angst and fluff and being confused about why the hell he’s alive and a jackalope-taur

Knights in Time

Jaune and Weiss are sent back to Volume 1 by the Blacksmith

Time travel fix-it ensues

Starts with White Knight, eventual Armored Angels

[weixuldo]

Pancakes and Pastries

Linecook/Roommate! Anakin x GN!Reader

a/n: this is based on this lovely asks from @ddejavvu (link here). Just a preface, I didn't assign a gender becasue I wasn't sure what the ask implied (if u want me to change it I gladly will :) anyways, other notes will be at the end to clear up more abt the story.

You’re a terrible cook and only sell the baked goods at a small cafe downtown. Thankfully, your roommate, Anakin is an experienced linecook and is ready to make anything for you. Too bad he's a natural flirt, otherwise you might just find yourself falling for him.

Warnings: gn!reader, cursing, banter, no use of y/n

________________________

6:30 a.m 

The tiny brass bell above the cafe door dinged continuously as the working crowd came to grab a small bite before heading off to work. 

The cafe was filled with the warm aroma of coffee beans and fresh pastries. The display windows held rows of all types of treats; macrons, muffins, strudels, bagels, cookies, toast, and many more. A plethora of coffee makers and different flavorings to cater to each customer’s specific desires, lined the back counter.

Mornings were always pretty busy, you were in the heart of the city after all.

You had gotten up ungodly early to prepare for the day, so once you got everything ready and opened the shop you were pretty tired. But regardless of the exhaustion creeping in, you still had a full shift ahead of you so you needed to put on your best customer service face and seize the day. 

Latte, snickerdoodle cookie, iced chai tea with two pumps of vanilla, farmhouse roast with cold foam, 5 assorted macaroons, a slice of key lime pie, a frosted eclair, strawberry crepes. The orders came in waves and you prepared them all. 

You weren’t even scheduled today, but your boss called you at the last minute because the new guy got fired for stealing inventory (really what was he stealing? There was nothing but ingredients in the back), so you hauled ass down here.

Sadly today the staff joining you today were rookies, so you had to take orders and keep an eye on them too. 

It was bad enough that the bakers in the back were being lazy today, but to deal with new workers who didn’t know the system was even more frustrating. 

It was going to be a a long day.

3:50 p.m.

The cafe closed early on Sundays, so you flipped the “we’re open” sign over and got ready to close everything down when you heard a knock on the door.

Whoever that was would just have to stay disappointed because you were too tired to deal with another needy customer right now.

They knocked again and you had to collect a calming breath to make sure you wouldn’t go off on them when you turned around. Much to your surprise behind the glass door was your roommate….your handsome roommate.

Anakin Skywalker was an interesting guy. Deviously handsome looks, insane confidence, witty humor, and radiating charisma.

A few months ago you were apartment hunting but the rates in the city were way too high for you to pay alone, so you put out an ad for a roommate. A lot of the requests you got were from older people and you didn’t exactly feel the most comfortable as a young adult, just starting out, living with someone two or even three times your age. 

After a few days you stumbled upon Anakin’s application. Maybe his picture captured your attention… maybe you stalked his instagram to see if he was a serial killer (and to look at more of his pics).... Either way, the two of you obviously ended up living together. 

When he first moved in you were worried he would be bringing chicks back every night based on his stunning looks and flirtatious personality, but thankfully you were mistaken.

He was just a normal guy; go to work, come home, shower, eat, sleep, repeat. You didn’t mind that at all, because your routine was basically identical. 

A small blush rose to your cheeks as you headed for the door. His hair was held back by a folded black bandana and he had his own apron in hand. 

“The door was open, ya know” you said, motioning him into the establishment. 

“Oh, the sign was flipped, so I assumed…” he said, motioning to the door. 

“Mhmm”

“We are almost closed, but i’ll allow you one purchase, just cause i'm so nice” you teased. 

He walked up to the counter and surveyed the sweets, “oh, are you now? If you’re such a kind person, how about giving me a coffee cake on the house, sweetheart?”.

“Woah, woah, woah… you’re asking a bit too much there pretty boy” 

He leaned over the counter slightly with a smirk, “aww, you think i’m pretty”.

In response you playfully rolled your eyes, “yuck! It’s just an expression, Skywalker, don’t get an ego about it” .

He grabbed her beaten up wallet out of his back pocket and laughed, “You already know i’ve got an ego”. 

“That I do” you quipped back as you grabbed a coffee cake slice

“You love it though” he smiled as he handed you a ten.

Your eyes lingered on his forearm as he offered you the cash, he was a fit guy and the veins on his arms bulged just right; plus he was a line cook, so you knew that he had good dexterity in those pretty fingers too. 

“Whatever you say” 

You weren’t going to tell him, but you added your 50% off employee discount (since you were on the clock) just ‘cause. 

The cash drawer popped open with a ding and you went to hand him back his change.

“You heading back to the apartment?” he asked as he gathered his cake. 

“Yea, I’m gonna take a nap, I’m tired as shit. I’m guessing you’re about to go into work?” 

He drew his lips into a thin line, “yep, I’m livin’ the dream. Are you gonna get lunch?”

“Probably” 

“You should, food is important…Have a good afternoon though”. 

You returned the gesture and went back to wiping down the coffee bar when you heard a few clinks and the door closed shortly after.

Your brows furrowed at the speed at which he left, but to be fair his shift was literally starting in two minutes. You walked up to the register to lock it when you saw he had tossed the rest of his ten in the tip jar; a small smile spread across your tired face.

11:02 p.m.

Your sleep schedule was so fucked up from all of these awkward shifts so you were just waking up from your nap (if you can even call it that).

Before you could register what to do next, your stomach let out a hungry growl and you groaned. You forgot to eat lunch and missed dinner so you were starving; sadly, it was grocery shopping weekend for you and you were out of instant meals.

A sandwich then. 

You put on a small tank top and some gray shorts and headed to the kitchen. You hated cooking and you weren’t good at it either, so usually you had a salad kit, turkey dinner meal, or a premade acai bowl in the fridge. But since you were out of your usual options, you had to stick with a good ol’ PB&J.

You heard the click of keys in the door and you knew Anakin was back from his shift. Some of you wanted to dash back to your room and just wait until he went to shower to make it; you were lowkey intimidated by him. Before you could leave he noticed you and greeted you. 

“Oh, Hey Anakin, how was work?”

“It was fine, the Sunday night rush is insane though, I’m so glad I go in later tomorrow” he groaned, sitting down at one of the barstools in front of the counter. 

“You makin’ a little snack?” he asked, leaning over to see the ingredients in front of you. 

“It’s more like dinner and lunch-”

His eyes widened, “lunch?! I thought you were getting something on the way back?”. 

You shrugged, “I guess I forgot”.

“So you’re going to use a PB&J to supplement two missed meals?” he asked, bewildered. 

“Uh huh” you nodded. 

“No, no, no…” he muttered as he hopped off the stool and came around the counter beside you. 

He took the knife from your hand and began to put the spreads away. 

“Hey!” you exclaimed with a frown.

“Listen, If you’re going to break a two meal fast, I’ll be damned if I let you break it with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich” he huffed out a laugh. 

“Alright wise guy, what do you suggest instead? We both know I’m a horrible cook”.

He bent down and grabbed a pan from the cabinet and some ground beef.

“What are you doing?” you asked curiously. 

“I’m making you some food. Go ahead and sit down, I’ve got this” he said softly as he started up the stove.

“No, it’s really alright Anakin, you just got off of work. You really don’t have-”

“I want to,” he responded.

You stopped talking and took a seat as he maneuvered around the kitchen like he had been here his whole life. 

He chopped the beef and while it cooked he mixed spices to season the meat with. You watched him intensely; when he cooked his brows furrowed in concentration and the right one arched ever so slightly.

He lightly bit his bottom lip when he shook the pan to flip the tiny pieces of beef, and the tendons in his pretty hands flexed with every movement. 

You really shouldn't be thinking about your roommate this way, but sometimes it was almost impossible not to. Inside, you cursed yourself for even thinking you had a shot with him; he was just a generally flirty guy and acted the same way he did with you when you brought friends over (though he was honestly just being nice). Plus there was no way that you would be his first choice out of all of the people who wanted him. 

Anakin stood over the pan and shook out the seasoning he had just made to flavor the meat. Sure, he was tired from a seven hour shift, but this was for you; when it came to you, he would do almost anything. 

He wasn’t exactly sure when his little “crush” started, he just knew that it was definitely there. Maybe it was when he realized you worked in the cafe beside his restaurant, so he would pop in as often as he could to grab little sweets; ones he could easily make himself, but he chose to buy them just as an excuse to see you (much to the detriment of his wallet). 

Or maybe it was when he realized you discounted all of his purchases.

Or was it those late nights where the two of you would put on movies and share funny commentary whilst sharing a bowl of popcorn. 

Or was it simply because of the way you maneuvered through life? Your sunny disposition, wonderful personality, and genuine kindness… plus you were drop dead gorgeous.

Whatever it was, he was locked in… of course he still kinda flirted around, but he was a natural flirt. At this point he couldn’t imagine wanting someone as much as he wanted you, he was entrapped by the possibility of having you in the future. 

But of course, being the oblivious guy he is, he had no idea his feelings were reciprocated at all. So he chose not to act on his feelings out of fear of losing his spot in the apartment (if it went bad, you could kick him out and look for a different roommate to replace him). 

“It’s done,” he said, turning the oven off and putting the pan on a cool burner. 

“What is it?” you asked, walking around to his side. 

“It’s meat for a taco,” he said, grabbing some cheese, guac, and lettuce. 

“Oh, wow! That’s awesome, you made that so quick!” you exclaimed, looking at the pan. 

“Here, let me grab a spoon to get the meat out” he said passing behind you.

Your eyes widened when you felt his strong hands on your waist as he moved past; did you feel that right? Did his hand linger? And why were you feeling hot?

“Here” he handed you the spoon.

“Thanks Anakin, this is really sweet” you said, getting your taco ready. 

“No problem roomie” he said in a sing-songy voice.

“And with this you’ll have left overs so you can have lunch tomorrow. Don't forget again” he fake scolded. 

“Alright dad” you quipped back. 

He laughed and shook his head as he headed back to his room to take a shower. You observed his broad back as his shirt defined his shoulder blades and muscles while he walked. 

Fuck. You were getting way too attracted to him. 

___________________________

You woke up to a sweet aroma of pancake batter and fresh fruit. It wasn’t often that you and Anakin ever got up around the same time but apparently today was your lucky day. 

He truly loved the culinary arts because he never faltered with his ambition to prepare a quality meal. He cooked breakfast a lot, but most times you were already at work and just saw the dishes in the sink or only got to have a quick bite. Though, every so often, on a rare day like this, both of you were able to share a delicious breakfast together (he always made sure to make breakfast for you when he knew you were off). 

You walked out of your room with a yawn and rubbed the sleep from your eyes. Once you took a seat he handed you a freshly made plate and tossed some strawberries on top. 

“Look who finally decided to get up” he joked with a smirk. 

You yawned once more, “Listen master chef, if my boss didn’t call me in for every little inconvenience- maybe my sleep schedule might not be as fucked”. 

“Fair, fair” he nodded. 

“Thanks for breakfast, it looks yummy” 

“Of course” he smiled back

You looked at the plate with hungry eyes, it looked amazing, the only other thing you would add was-

“You want some of this, don't you?” Anakin smiled, flaunting a new bottle of whipped cream in front of you. 

“Ugh” you rolled your eyes.

“I know how you take your pancakes,” he laughed, “you’re very predictable”.

“Am I?” you said before trying to quickly grab the can from his hand. 

He laughed again and raised his arm higher, “that’s not gonna work and you know it.”.

“What can I do to get some whipped cream around here?” you cried comically. 

“Well this stuff isn't cheap and we’re going through the largest national whipped cream shortage in history” he said, trying to sound serious. 

“Oh, wow that’s tough” you returned with an unamused tone. 

“Isn’t it though?” he added. 

“I guess if you want some, you’ll just have to pay me” he looked away. 

“With what Mr.whipped cream enthusiast? We both make shit money” you exxagerated. 

“I may consider non monetary payment… possibly a kiss on the cheek?” he said.

“You want me to kiss you on the cheek?” you asked.

It probably came out more rude than you intended, it was only becasue you were flustered and your tones always got jumbled when you were nervous. 

“Well you know what they say, “kiss the chef”. But if you don’t want any whipped cream…” he stated; he was a little nervous that he put himself too out there (he was never the best at subtlety). 

“No, no! I want my whipped cream, so I will comply” you said proudly. 

“Alright” he smirked. 

…

… …

“Are you going to come collect your compensation or just stand there with the bottle in your hand?” you asked playfully. 

“Oh, right. How dare I make a customer wait” he smiled, walking towards you.

“You’re so full of shit, Skywalker '' you teased as he bent down so you could kiss his cheek. 

He felt butterflies when your soft, pillowy lips landed on his flushed cheek. How he had imagined that feeling. 

“Alright, here you are mam” he shot out a dollop.

“That’s it?!” you exclaimed, unsatisfied. 

“Each shot is one kiss” he shrugged, “national shortage…remember?”.

“Ugh” you rolled your eyes and continued to kiss his cheek until you were satisfied with the amount on your plate. 

“Alright, alright. Thank you for the great customer service, I'll be sure to leave a good review on yelp” you joked as you pushed him away so you could eat in peace. 

“Much appreciated, thank you mam” he smiled.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever” you responded, with a light blush tinting your cheeks. 

5:30 p.m.

Anakin groaned from his room before entering the living area with his scrunched up apron in hand. HE stopped in his doorway to stretch. 

“Man, I really don’t feel like going in today”.

You hummed in acknowledgement, “It shouldn’t be too busy, since its only a monday ''.

“Yeah, I hope so” he said, putting his work shoes on that he kept by the door. 

You glanced over your shoulder to look at his muscles rippling as he tied the laces; it was mesmerizing. 

He stood and you whipped your head around quicker than you thought was possible. 

“Alright, I’ll see you later. It’s my week for trash right?” he asked, grabbing his keys.

“Mhm”

“Ok, I’ll take it out when I get back tonight. Don’t worry, I won’t forget” he smiled before waving a small goodbye and shutting the door. 

Something about him was just so homely, he was so sweet and thoughtful; you felt that living with him was just natural at this point. 

________________

The restaurant was actually pretty busy when he first arrived, he saw a few party tables as he walked in. Great…

After clocking in, he got straight to work; manning the char grill, making sure all the orders were getting out in a timely manner, and goofing around with the other cooks. 

In passing one of the cooks asked how his crush was doing. 

“What do you mean?” Anakin innocently asked with a stupid smile on his face. 

“Oh, just the one you live with. Ya know, no biggie” he laughed. 

“Doing well, I made us breakfast this morning,” Anakin proudly stated.

___

All of the staff knew about Anakin’s not so little thing for you. He had been working at this restaurant for a while and was pretty acquainted with everyone. The cooks all knew abt you because everyone liked to talk in the kitchen, plus some of the other guys were curious about Anakin’s love life, seeing that he was so desirable (all of the waitstaff thought he was fine as hell). 

He showed them your instagram when the two of you first started living together and everyone in the kitchen cheered him on. 

The waitstaff on the other hand were not so thrilled that the handsome and mysterious line cook already had his sights set on someone else… someone who wasn’t them. Of course they were jealous, but when they got your insta from Anakin, they couldn’t even find anything bad to say about you;l you were stunning. 

Doesn’t mean they liked you though…

___

A new order buzzed onto the screen above that had all sorts of modifications; Anakin was about to groan, until he recognized something familiar…

Usually no one asked for a salad without tomatoes and cheese but instead with rice, cucumbers, raspberries, strawberries, and chicken- or cinnamon on their mashed potatoes; there was only one person he knew who ever ordered such a peculiar combination.

You.

The waitress who rang in the order walked by and Anakin caught her attention. 

“Hey, the person who ordered thi-”

“Yeah, I know. They’re such a pain. Like, at this point, just make it at home if you want so many modifications” she rambled

He then described your appearance to her and asked if the customer fit the description.

“Yea, sounds like ‘em” she said before carrying on with her work. 

He smiled, you came into his place on your day off. Suddenly he felt a warm sensation in his chest. 

The waitress came barreling back in and shouted Anakin’s name, “they apparently forgot to say they didn’t want-”

“Butter on the mash” he finished, already knowing what was coming next. 

“Yea, how’d you know?” she asked, confused. 

“That’s my roommate, I make this for us all the time back at home”.

She gave him a look before walking away to whisper something into another server’s ear. He knew they were then going to go out and judge you because they were jealous. Typical. 

He continued to make your plate with care and since it wasn’t busy, even spent time drawing a little hearts with the cinnamon and salad dressing (not very subtle Anakin). 

The other cooks notice and start making fun of him and he playfully starts winding up a rag to snap at them. 

Once your food has been run he slipped out of the kitchen for a “bathroom” break; obviously everyone knows where he’s going.

He walks out into the front house and is immediately relieved by the cooler AC in there, next he scanned the tables and booths until he spotted your familiar face.

Soon enough he offers himself a seat in the booth opposite of you. 

”Anakin!” you exclaim, “You scared me”.

“My apologies Sunshine, Just thought I’d come out and see my favorite customer” he said before winking. 

“How’d you even know I was- “ you began before you looked down at your plate and realized. 

“Yea, not many people are out here ordering such a peculiar combo” he teased. 

“I should have known it was you who made the plate, well with the hearts and all. That must take a lot of time, they were really precise” you said, taking a sip of your water. 

He laughed before answering, “I reserve those for very special guests'' (he only did those when you came in). 

“Well, I wonder if you do this to persuade certain “people” to cut back on your rent for the month” you arched a playful brow. 

He clenched his chest and looked offended, “Of course not! I would never do such a thing”.

You laughed at his stupidity. 

He loved making you laugh, it was one of the sweetest sounds he had ever heard. 

You saw a few other cooks poking their heads around the wall that divided the kitchen from the seating in curiosity. 

“I think your co-workers want you to hurry up” you smiled, pointing towards the entrance to the kitchen. 

He let out a sigh, “I guess so”. 

As he stood you thanked him for stopping by; “My compliments to the chef” you teased. 

“I am always at your service” he dramatically bowed before jogging to the back. 

When he left you released a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Your heart was racing… you were in too deep (but so was he). 

Anakin spent the rest of the night happily making orders; he no longer cared he was at work, because you had just made his day. 

Everyone in the kitchen began to tease him because he had a certain glow to him and they all knew why. 

“When are you finally gonna go on a date?” someone asked him. 

“Yea, you seem pretty damn sure about this one” another butted in. 

He smiled to himself, “Soon guys. soon…”

***

a/n: The reader likes some weird ass combos lmfaooo. Basically these two are both missing the point that the other likes them. Now to clear up some things, I know cafe's are usually open all day but I needed it to close early for the plot. Also, I worked at a steakhouse and modeled Anakin's work as such just cause its what i'm most familiar with (Ironically I don't eat meat lol).

[emberfrostlovesloki]

Tomorrow's Stars [Spencer x Reader]

Photo Credits: Left (@nietxsche) Center (@444vampireluvv) Right (@milla984)

Prompt: Spencer is struggling with his desire to stay clean from his addiction. He ends up wandering into a new store and getting his tarot cards read for the first, as well as meeting the reader concerned for him. The cards foretell both sadness and happiness, but not for who. 

Pairing: Spencer X Non-BAU-Reader

Category: Angst/Comfort 

Word Count: 5.9K 

Content Warnings: Mention of drug use and addiction [Spencer], brief mention of death due to drugs [part of a case], food and drinks are mentioned, alcohol is mentioned, and mental health concerns. If I missed any, anything please let me know!

A/N: Hi all! I hope you are all doing very well! Yes, it is whump-tober, but I bring you a Spencer comfort fic before we dive into the pain that is to come. And it is coming. I have had this Spencer fic idea for so long, and I am happy with how it turned out. I am still busy, but as per usual, I’m also still writing. Thank you to everyone who has kept up with me, or to any new readers or followers! Please be kind to yourselves this week and do something you love, you are so special. If you enjoy this fic, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated! Love Levi - ❤️

List with all stories 

y/n = your name 

y/l = your last name 

y/f/f = your favorite flavor 

Diss = dissertation

It hadn’t started this way. Not with y/n in his arms as she drifted off into sleep. It had started with the Diluted and trying to get off of it. After the worst slump of his life, Spencer had been in desperate need of distraction. His brain wouldn’t slow no matter how many topology equations he solved, or how many digits of pi he could memorize (89,004); his brain wouldn’t stop. And though he knew it was killing him and his career, the drug had slowed him down and had let him breathe for the first time since adolescence. 

The drugs had stopped, of course. Even in the throes of his addiction, Spencer knew that he’d either die from the habit or be made to stop. Thankfully the latter had happened and Reid spent the first few weeks trying everything to distract himself or do the opposite. He’d been swimming at 5:00 AM in his apartment pool, to all the coffee shops, to running, but Reid didn’t love the exercise and if he drank too much caffeine and sugar, it only made his brain and anxiety worse. 

After one of his tougher mornings, full of aches, cravings, and wandering like a vengeful spirit, he passed onto a side street that he’d never been on before. If he was in his car, he would have missed it every time. Something about the oddity of the shop offering Spiritualism advice, books, tarot cards, art, crystals, and more, as well as the fact that it was a new thing in a place he’d been for years drew him in. 

The small bell on the door chimed as Spence entered the small shop. The walls were black, and the older lamps and light fixtures were polished brass which shined in the antique mirrors placed on the walls. A voice from the back of the shop said, “Welcome in. Make yourself at home. If you have any questions just shout.” Reid couldn’t help but smile as he looked over the shop. Spencer didn’t believe in this kind of New-Agey belief system, but he didn’t believe in standard religion either. To him, if it brought someone comfort and it wasn’t hurting anyone, people could believe whatever they wanted. It just had never been a comfort to him, but the shop seemed to have some unique books and art, plus he thought it was nice that the proprietor was comfortable enough to be in the back and not worry about any of their things being stolen. That normally meant the products were all junk or the owner had a good clientele. Spencer assumed it was the second option as he caught sight of a special case with more expensive products unlocked. 

Spencer drifted around the shop, looking at the crystals first and discovering which were fakes and which weren’t. Reid slightly raised his head as the bell rang again and a gust of cool air entered the building. A soft voice called out, “Hey Helen, I’ve got bad news.” A response came from the back, “Really, y/n? What happened?” The sound of footsteps passed Spencer and he watched as a woman moved past him and toward the back. She shot him a small smile as she moved to find the owner. Spence now half looked at the crystals and half listened to what the woman had to say. The sound of a chair scraping on the floor was quickly interrupted as the young woman said, “Well, I went to Brixton’s like you recommended to try and find  Kriessals' translation and the owner told me that he had just lent it to a private collection. I assume that’s code for, he sold it.” The store owner sighed and replied, “Damn, I’m sorry, y/n. That was the last lead I had for that text. Finding copies is notoriously hard, but that sucks.” 

Now Spencer was invested, and he peaked his head around the corner. As a scholar and an academic, he had to know what this book was. He hadn’t heard of the author before. Spence stepped into the aisle and cleared his throat before saying, “Sorry I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. I’m a bit of a bibliophile, maybe I could help you find the book you’re looking for?” The woman who was standing next to the owner of the store blushed slightly either from embarrassment, or surprise before replying, “Well, at this point, I have really looked everywhere, but it’s a horrible German translation of The Necronomicon, translated by Joseph Kriessals in 1910. It’s a disaster of a translation that most copies were thrown away or forgotten.” 

Reid nodded his head. He hadn’t heard of that translation, but he had read the original and a few other translations. The topic of the book made sense in a place like this, so he joked, “So, are we trying to summon some demons of Germanic origin?” y/n laughed and looked at the floor before looking up, saying, “Unfortunately not. I am trying to look at mistranslations and intertextual references in occult documents during the 1900s for a postdoc that I am very much regretting at this point.” 

Spencer understood this struggle well, and excitedly asked, “Oh, is it one of your core documents for your dissertation? I made that mistake once and I had to have an hour-long conversation with my chair about why I moved from an Old Germanic text to an Old English poem. She didn’t think it was funny that I said they were the same thing.” y/n let out a little chuckle as the store owner looked between them, mild surprise painted on her face. 

y/n looked up and said, “Wow, people rarely get so excited about an old book. Have you heard of it before?” Reid nodded his head no, and replied, “No. I haven’t heard of that translation, but I can see why it might be hard to get a hold of. I guess I was just surprised when you said your topic it’s…” Spence cut himself off before he finished his sentence, not sure if the comment would be appreciated. However, both women raised an eyebrow and Reid laughed softly before saying, “I guess I was surprised that you were a skeptic is all. I would have guessed that not a lot of non-believers would come to a store like this.” The comment was mostly directed to the store owner who wore a sly smile as he made his statement. The older woman said, “I assume you're a skeptic as well then? What brought you in?” 

Reid reddened and said, “Well, to be honest, I was a bit bored. I don’t mean to offend you.” The woman smiled before replying, “Oh. I’m not offended, dear. I think no religion or belief system is worth believing unless it can hold up to some scrutiny or doubt. I most certainly don’t know everything and I don’t pretend to. Little miss y/n over here probably does, but she’s holding out on me.” y/n rolled her eyes at the woman and said, “Oh Carrol, please, you know I’m an idiot.” The three of them shared a short laugh before y/n stood straighter and extended her hand to Spencer, saying, “Hey, I’m y/n, y/l/n. And this is Carrol-Anne. It’s nice to meet you.” 

Reid smiled and said, “I’m Spencer, Reid, it’s my pleasure. I am really interested in your research. Maybe I could help you find that book if you’d like me to.” y/n nodded and said, “At this point, I’d take any help I can get. I’m desperate enough to have my tarot cards read, maybe they could tell me where to find that damn book.” 

Spencer had eyed the dark and decorative card on the folding table. Carrol-Anne noticed his gaze and asked, “Have you ever had your cards read, Mr. Reid?” Reid nodded his head no, and replied, “No. I’ve never really been in a scenario where it was appropriate.” Reid thought back to all of the cases that dealt with the occult, the Satanic Panic, or New-Age religion, where there had been tarot cards involved. There weren’t many but a few stood out. Once Spencer had his head cleared of those violent memories, he realized that Carrol-Anne had offered to read his cards for him. Caught by surprise, Reid nodded and took a seat at the empty chair across from the store owner. 

Carrol held the deck out for him and said, “Please shuffle these for me. Try and focus your energy on them. I’m just going to do a basic reading for you.” Spencer nodded and did a few simple shuffles of the deck. He didn’t do anything fancy that I might have done if he was at a poker table in Vegas. Even if he didn’t believe in this kind of thing, it was clear that Carrol-Anne did, and he wasn’t going to disrespect her by playing some of his card shark tricks on the deck. When he was finished, Spencer handed the deck back and Carrol began to spread twenty-four cards in a circle on the table. When this was done, the woman placed the extra cards aside and looked up saying, “Alright, Spencer, I’d like you to pick three cards. It can be at random, or if you feel pulled to certain cards that’s alright as well. Please just point to the cards you’d like to pick. Don’t turn them over.” 

Spencer looked at his options. He didn’t have any specific draw to any cards. He considered picking three cards right next to each other, but out of interest, he decided to pick cards that were equidistant from each other. He went counterclockwise and selected each card. Carrol smiled at his choices, clearly she’d seen the pattern before. Caroll picked the first card Spencer had picked. Flipping it and placing it in front of Spence: The Hermit. The next: The Hierophant reversed, and last: the card directly in front of him - The Tower. He looked at them not sure what he was supposed to divine from the pieces of paper. 

Caroll looked at the cards for a moment longer before saying. In front of you is your past, present, and future. The first card you picked, The Hermit describes obedience, dedication, and intellect. The next card, The Hierophant reversed, indicates that you have a strong moral code and ethical approach to life. I sense perhaps a bit of Stoicism and Utilitarianism. Lastly, your future is The Tower. This indicates that your life might change suddenly and not in a pleasant way either. This could be a mental, physical, or spiritual shift, and it’s likely to come when you don’t expect it.” 

y/n looked between the cards and Spencer to see if he looked convinced but his face was mostly void of emotion. A system of his drug withdrawal that neither woman would know about. Wanting some insight into what her sitter thought, Caroll asked, “So, do the first two cards seem close to you, even just a bit?” Reid’s eyes met her and he said, “Yeah. It does. But I guess it could fit loads of other people too.” Reid said it with false confidence, the last card, even though he didn’t really believe it, had him worried. He heard the store owner heave a small sigh like she’d heard that a thousand times before. He noticed her hands reaching to put the cards back in their case but he said, “Wait, can you pull two more cards?” 

Caroll looked surprised and then pleased, nodded her head, and replied, “I’d be happy to, but this time, I’d like you to at least give me a direction. What would you like the cards to tell you about? If it can be broad, that's generally better.” 

Spence took a moment, he’d panicked and asked before he’d thought that would be a question he was asked. He contemplated what he wanted to know the most. At the moment his biggest fear was the unknown, so he finally decided, “I’d like to know if I make it.” This response got slightly worried looks from y/n and Caroll, but she motioned for him to pick the next reading, which he did. Caroll removed the cards from the first reading and placed the last two in front of Reid. The first was the Sun reversed and the second was the seven of wands. Caroll didn’t wait this time as she said, “The first card, the Sun in reverse means sadness or negativity.” Spencer did react to this card. He looked troubled. Caroll tried to reassure him by saying, “This isn’t always our sadness. It could be someone else's, like a friend or neighbor. You never know with the cards. And the second card is the seven of wands. This is good. From what I’ve seen so far it seems you’ve struggled in some way, but this card talks about perseverance, you maintain control, even in difficult situations.” Reid nodded and felt a bit reassured. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he needed something positive before he went back on his meandering walk. 

Reid looked at Caroll and said, “Thank you for doing that. At least I’ve learned what reading is like now. And the cards weren’t wrong.” Caroll smiled and replied, “Anytime you want a reading, you can come right in, dear.” Spencer nodded and stood up from his chair. y/n touched his shoulder and he turned to look at her. It was like while during the reading, everything else had disappeared and he smiled at her as she handed him a slip of paper and said, “Here’s my number and school email if you do have any luck finding anything to do with that blasted translation. I wrote the name of it on here again in case you forgot.” Spencer smiled and said, “Thanks, y/n. I do have a pretty good memory, but it never hurts to have a reminder.” y/n nodded and said more softly, “You know, you can call me if you ever need anything, or you like, need to talk.” 

y/n tried to say this in a way that didn’t sound like she was patronizing Spencer. She knew the feeling well, and it was one of the worst feelings she’d had as an adult. Other friends, family members, and mentors asking you what you were doing with your life, and having no answer didn’t feel great. It wasn’t like y/n had wanted to finish school without a clear path. It frustrated her to this day. She looked at the tall man to make sure that he hadn’t taken her offer that way. He just seemed sad, and maybe he needed a friend. Thankfully, he smiled and said, “I might take you up on that. Thanks, y/n. I better head out or I might get hypnotized or something.” y/n chuckled and waved him off saying, “Bye, Spencer.” She watched him walk out the door, wondering if she’d see him again. Little did she know that the reading that had just happened would bind them closer together in time. 

Life kept moving as it always did and Spence kept wandering through it. He did have the added benefit of having a text to find. When he had depleted his resources in the States with little to no help, he finally reached farther afield. One of his friends and a fellow academic, John Fisher, who was looking at extant texts in Germany at the Benedictine Archabby of St. Martin, was one of the people he reached out to. However, John was infamously bad at checking his emails. But Spencer was hopeful that he’d have an answer. 

As he waited, the days got darker and his depression sank lower and there was a moment when he almost slipped into using again. He was so close but his future card came into play when a new case came up in Ohio. The Unsub was targeting teens in middle and high schools with tainted drugs and the look on the victim's parents' faces, and their utter grief at how their children had been stolen from them was a reminder enough to Spencer that his life was worth more than a momentary high. Later that night, he poured his stash into the toilet of his hotel room and dumped the bottle in the motel’s dumpster when he pretended to take a call so the team wouldn’t think he was just wandering off. That was the first big change that happened to him and it was a sudden upheaval. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy to never want that feeling again, but he now had some new motivation. 

In the New Year, Reid heard back from John who had good news. He had a friend who had a few pages of the text that y/n was looking for, and he would send them to Spencer once he had them scanned and had access to Wi-Fi. When he received that email, he texted y/n. He’d kept her number just in case he could end up helping her. He hadn’t forgotten how kind she had been to him at a low moment last year, and even though he hadn’t called her for help or encouragement, he still appreciated her. He hoped she remembered who he was after the months that had separated them. 

Thankfully. y/n did remember him and was very happy to hear from Spencer. Reid had planned on just emailing her the file, which he warned wasn’t a full copy of the text, but y/n asked if he’d like to grab a coffee that weekend before he could propose an all-electronic handoff. Spencer paused. He smiled and agreed, happy to be out of his apartment, which he had been doing more of in the new year. His life had actually been looking up so far. 

When Reid walked into the cozy coffee shop y/n had recommended, it only took a moment for him to spot her. y/n’s face was buried in a pile of papers which she had spread across a small table with two seats. Spencer cleared his throat and y/n looked up at him; her eyes shining when she realized it was him. 

“Spencer. Oh my God, it’s so good to see you. You’re such a lifesaver.” Reid chuckled at how accurate y/n’s statement was as y/n started quickly trying to neaten her piles to make space for him to sit and set his wallet and keys down. Reid asked, “Am I interrupting something important here?” y/n sighed and said, “You know, I promised myself that I wasn’t going to do any work on the diss while I was waiting for you, but I got here early and, well, the things just seemed to come out of my bag on their own. I swear, this is the second dissertation I’ve written and you’d think I’d have learned how to not have procrastinated with the first one.” Spencer sat down and said, “Oh, I understand the struggle. Suddenly any time is good writing or reading time.” y/n nodded and said, “You get it alright, I’d say it’s a chronic condition for academics.” She looked at Reid and asked, “Can I get you a drink? I do owe you more than one for this.” 

Spence smiled and replied, “Okay, can I get an oat milk latte with vanilla syrup and an extra shot of espresso?” y/n nodded and moved back to the counter, pulling her purse with her. While she was ordering, the agent peaked over at y/n’s hurried notes, and after a few seconds, he noticed some interesting trends she had picked up in the manuscripts she was reading. He quickly skimmed the text to better understand the context of her notes. By the time y/n got back with his latte, he had loads of questions and suggestions for her. He saw her smile and as per usual, he expected that she might want the small talk that many did when just meeting for a chat. He didn’t want to seem rude, but once he was handed his drink he said, “Sorry, I couldn't help but skim some of your comments and I had some questions about some of your notes, particularly the ones from lines 110-135.” 

y/n like most researchers lit up at being asked about her work and she asked, “Are you sure? I could talk about this for hours.” Reid nodded enthusiastically,” which allowed y/n to speak about one of her passions. The pair talked without even looking at the time, but a ping from Spencer's phone made him look at the missed text, and call from Derek asking him where he was. “Shit,” Spencer muttered, stopping y/n midsentence. He flushed and said, “Sorry, I totally lost track of the time. I’m supposed to be meeting a friend right now. He’s giving me running lessons allegedly, so I better go.” y/n smiled and said, “Oh sorry. I didn’t know you had other obligations I would have shut up half an hour ago.” 

Reid brushed off the comment and said, “Don’t mention it, this was more enjoyable than runnings gonna be. I had a great time.” y/n beamed again as Spencer got up and said, “I might have to call you to ask for advice, you could have told me you were some kind of genius the first time you offered to help me.” Reid chuckled and replied, as he got up, Derek was calling him again, “Call me. I’d love to talk again, but I’ve got to run.” The tall agent waved before quickly making an exit out the door and finally picking up saying, “I’m coming, I’m coming. I got distracted.” Derek laughed on the other end of the line and said jokingly, “Was it a girl or… let me guess, a new book?” Spencer flushed and said, “A girl this time, actually. Now hang up, so I can drive without getting a ticket.” 

It was y/n who reached out to Reid again. She had a feeling that he maybe wasn’t the type to ask for repayments for favors, even as big as one he had done for her with finding the text she needed. That wasn’t exactly the case, Reid did think about y/n often, but Derek and Emily’s teasing along with a busy start to fall had left him little time or energy to text or call her. But when the 2007 Beowulf movie had its tenth anniversary and came back to theaters for a limited run, y/n couldn’t stop herself from asking Spencer to come with her. She could only imagine how the genius would react to seeing an almost nude Angelina Jolie as Gredel’s mother trying to seduce Beowulf. y/n was secretly hoping Spencer had never seen the film. When she proposed a tentative plan, Reid jumped on board and agreed. 

The movie was as bad, and funny as y/n had remembered it and Reid was rendered almost speechless as they walked out by what he’d just seen. y/n smiled into the cool evening and said, “That bad, huh?” Spence let out a long breath, before replying, “I can’t believe it. I feel like I need a strong drink to shock me back to reality.” y/n smiled, but she wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. It took Reid a second to realize that y/n didn’t know how to respond. Spencer flushed and continued, “I’d actually like to do that if you’re down for a drink? I have a lot to say about what we just saw.” y/n beamed at him when he clarified his intentions, and she said, “Sweet, you wanna ride with me? That way we both don’t have to overpay for downtown parking.” Spence nodded and followed y/n toward her car, trying to keep his academic thoughts at bay long enough to not scare y/n off the instant he got in the car with her. 

After that first night out of not so much dating, but geeking out about shared passions, y/n and Spencer spent more time together. They’d watch Dr. Who and Star Trek at his place, and meander around old book shops and hidden coffee joints, trying to see if they could make it to everyone in D.C. in under seventeen months. Spencer had done the math, but y/n thought they could do it faster than that. When she had said this, Reid joked, “What, you don’t want to spend seventeen months with me?” y/n had laughed but didn’t fully know how to answer. It was hard for her to tell if what they had was just a strong friendship that had started unusually, or something more. She and Spencer had almost all but forgotten his tarot reading a few months ago. Sadness had been promised, and it was coming, but not for him. 

It was late May and Spencer hadn’t heard from y/n since their last meeting at a game shop where they had started a D&D campaign. They’d spent a fair amount of time together in the past month. It was enough to have the team say a few things about his new “friend,” but not so much that they could say anything about it more than simple teasing. But the lack of communication was beginning to worry him. Finally, on Friday night, he got a text from y/n saying, “Hey Spencer. Sorry, I’ve been MIA. There were some issues at the end of the semester that I had to deal with, but I’ve also been feeling a bit down recently. 

Spencer had remembered how down she felt when he’d first met y/n and something in his gut told him he should be there for y/n like she had been for him, even when he was just a stranger. Reid typed up a quick reply, hoping it didn’t sound like he was too worried about her: “y/n, I’m sorry to hear that. Want me to pop over and bring some snacks and drinks that might make you feel better?” Spencer had only been to y/n’s place twice. They normally opted for his apartment when they were together. However, y/n’s apartment was nice but strange for sure. The first time he’d seen it he thought she was joking. 

It was in the downtown district in an old-looking dilapidated building. From the outside, it seemed like it could have been a set piece from Blade Runner 2049. When y/n had badged herself in and moved toward the elevator at the end of the hall, Reid had looked at the old lobby that was dusty and had sheets draped over any remaining furniture. y/n had seen Spencer’s sceptial expression and chuckled, replying, “Yeah, it’s ‘unique.’ The building is owned by one of my old roommate’s father. He keeps saying he’s going to renovate it and turn the rest of the buildings into apartment units, but hey, I get the entire top floor and roof access, and you can’t beat the rent.” When they’d gotten to the top of the elevator and the doors opened, her space looked normal. There were lots of floor-to-ceiling windows and y/n had decorated it in an eco-brutalist style that worked with the current architecture. Spencer really liked the space, but he assumed y/n was a bit self-conscious about where she lived, thus why they didn’t spend much time at her place. 

When y/n texted back: “Sure, Spencer. I think I’d like some company.” Reid smiled, encouraged that y/n would let him come over. He quickly grabbed his wallet and keys, got in his car, and went to the store. He picked up a pint of y/f/f ice cream, some flowers, and a bottle of red wine. With those things purchased, he went directly to her place. y/n had texted Spence in the store the key code to get the elevator to come down, and that she was on the roof. She had told him to just come up and then on the roof when he got there. 

Spencer felt weird going up to y/n’s apartment without her beside him. When he got inside, some of the main lights were on, but the space was mostly lit by lamps scattered around the room casting a warm glow on her art, plants, and furniture. Reid put the flowers on the counter and the ice cream in the freezer, before taking the wine bottle and moving quickly to the short flight of steps at the back of the kitchen that would take him to the roof access door. Once he stepped outside, a warm breeze tousled his curly hair. He took the last few steps two at a time, and at first, in the darkness, Reid couldn’t see y/n at all on the roof. He felt a panic rise inside his stomach before he finally saw y/n lying in the center of the building. She was oddly still, and he rushed over to her, kneeling to make sure she was okay. 

y/n opened her eyes when he got close and said, “Hey Spencer. Sorry, I wasn’t downstairs to greet you. I didn’t feel like moving.” Reid caught his breath, knowing that y/n was okay, he sat down next to her. y/n moved her eyes from Spencer and back to the night sky. There were a few moments of silence before Spence asked, “What’s going on, y/n? How long have you been out here?” 

y/n sighed and said, “What’s not happening might be a better question. And I’ve been out here for about half an hour.” After hearing the emptiness in y/n’s voice, Spencer wanted to reach out and brush his hands over her shoulder, but he spotted herself. Wanting to be on the same level as y/n, Spencer set the bottle of wine down and lay down next to y/n asking, “You want to talk about it? You were so nice when you met me and I was going through shit, I’d be happy to listen to anything you're feeling.” y/n closed her eyes and looked at Spencer again as if checking to make sure he was serious. After whatever assessment she needed, y/n said, “My dissertation just passed my committee. I get to add another Dr. next to my name.” 

This seemed like the kind of thing to celebrate, but y/n didn’t seem to be happy about it, so Spencer didn’t make a big deal about it. Instead, he asked, “Why is that troubling you, y/n?” y/n bit the inside of her lip before saying, “I don’t know. I was happy to hear that I passed because that was a fiasco, but I just kind of feel empty. I wonder if I’m just going to spend the rest of my life hoping to get degree after degree after degree and never find what I’m passionate about. I can keep learning forever, but I don’t know if that’s going to make me happy anymore. 

Reid felt her admission personally. As someone who had also gotten plenty of degrees, that were helpful to him, he also had done it as a way to distract from the rest of the pain and loneliness in his life.  y/n looked back at the dark sky and Reid did too for the first time. The stars were surprisingly bright with all the light pollution around the building. Reid assumed that it was because y/n’s apartment was higher than the other buildings around it. 

y/n softly said, “When I was young I’d look up at the stars and be so inspired about the future. And in highschool, I once went to Guatemala with some of my friends and we’d go up on the roof of our hostel and look at the stars like this, and I felt so comforted, but I was wrong.” Reid turned his head to look at her as she continued, “*When I got older I realized that the light that we see from the stars is from dead things, all burned up in space. They died out thousands and thousands of years ago. The light we see is just their last message that they once existed.” y/n sniffled, and Reid couldn’t help but put his hand over hers and give it a tender squeeze. y/n stiffened at first, but quickly rolled over, not able to hold back her tears which she cried into Spencer's shoulder. Reid softly shushed her and ran his hand through y/n’s hair with his long fingers. 

When y/n composed herself a bit, she pulled back and said, “Sorry, this is so embarrassing. I’ve been an emotional wreck all day if I’m being honest.” Spencer gave her a small smile and sat up, helping y/n up with him. “Don’t apologize y/n. I understand.” y/n nodded, inside knowing that Spencer wasn’t just saying that because. “So what do I do now?” She asked. When y/n asked this question, Reid knew at that moment that he loved y/n. He wanted to support her more than he had before. He wanted to help build her up to a place of happiness. 

Spence let out a small, nervous, breath, saying, “y/n, we can’t always keep wishing on tomorrow’s stars. At some point we have to wish about now. I don’t have all the answers for you, but I do have a question.” y/n looked at Spence, “What is it?” Spence took his chance and asked, “Will you go on a date with me tomorrow? We could do anything that would make you happy, even for just a few minutes. I’d like the be there for you during that.” y/n’s eyes widened in surprise, but after a moment to process, she nodded her head yes, saying, “I think I’d like that too. It will give me something to look forward to.” 

Hearing this, Spencer smiled genuinely, and y/n finally saw the bottle of wine beside Spence. She gave Reid’s shoulder a small push and she said, “Hey, you didn’t say you brought wine. If you’d brought that out at the beginning I think I would have been happier.” Spencer chuckled as he grabbed the bottle and twisted the metal cap off. He replied, “Well then I’m glad you didn’t see it until now. But now that you’re feeling better, I think we can afford to imbibe a bit.” y/n shook her head with his choice of words before saying, “Are we going to be heathens and drink straight from the bottle, or are we going inside to get glasses.” Spencer said, “Well, I think inside, because it’s starting to get cold, and there's ice cream in there.” y/n’s eyes widened again and she jumped up replying, “Well you’ve got me convinced. Come on slow poke.” Reid laughed as he got up and took y/n’s hand as they moved toward the door. Neither of them would think about it, but the cards had been right. As the pair moved toward the stairs, the stars seemed extra bright.

Text Break Banner by @cafekitsune

*I can't take full credit for this concept as it comes from an episode of The Waltons called "The Minstrel." I try and give credit where ever it's due, so if you liked that line/scene you might check out that episode. Beware, it is a bit sad.

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[kkanabel]

caffeine addiction ❃ cut off ❃ chapter 2

Bakugou Katsuki x Reader / Coffee Shop! AU / Fashion? AU

directory/m.list

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words: ~2.1k

You returned to the café a couple mornings in a row after that. While Bakugou did have regulars, not many of them stayed at the café and sat there for hours like you did. Actually, none of them did. There was only one of them who sat there for hours like you did on a regular basis, and he only came once a month to sit down with a cup of coffee and his journal, writing away until Bakugou saw his hand cramp up. The customer would shake his hand and continue regardless of his cramped hand, but he’d just keep writing. Maybe you were writing, too? Perhaps you were doing coursework?

Either way, it was somehow nice being in the company of another person when he was working alone in the mornings, even if the other person was a complete stranger.

Plus, it was fun seeing what you’d be wearing the next day. It was as if Bakugou was a teenage girl watching a social media influencer’s OOTDs religiously. He couldn’t blame himself–with his upbringing being so deep into the fashion industry, it was a given. Especially because you’d be strutting into his quiet café wearing full designer brands every day. Anybody without a trained eye wouldn’t be able to notice–you hardly ever wore gaudy logos all over your clothes like others. Because Bakugou grew up around designer brands, he instantly recognized your clothes to be from the runway or a couple seasons before.

Bakugou wondered if you were just some rich girl who’d either been there to court him or one that’d fallen in love with his coffee and was ready to drop a fortune on his café (by buying many cups of coffee or buying out his entire café altogether, he wasn’t sure). He wouldn’t be complaining about either option, but neither of them seemed correct. When you came into the coffee shop, the only interaction you had with him was a “Good morning”, “Hey”, or a “How are you?” in greeting. Your responses to his greetings were kept brief, so it didn’t seem like you were trying to flirt with him (sadly).

Also, he noticed that you spent your money on the less expensive parts of his menu. These were also all the drinks that were highly efficient in caffeine–it was always some variation of an espresso drink. 

This was until the one day when you two had a longer interaction that was deeper than a transactional conversation. It happened a couple days into your regular appearances at the café. Some of those appearances were only to grab some coffee. Much to Bakugou’s disappointment, you left the café right after grabbing your to-go cups. Probably meeting up with someone, he thought.

But today? You looked the exact same as the way you did when you first entered his coffee shop. Sleep deprived. Disheveled. Dead inside. He found himself worrying before he could stop himself.

“A quad, please.” You handed him your credit card with a blank face. It’d only been three minutes after he opened-- 5:33 AM. He didn’t blame you.

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity but didn’t ask any further questions. He never did. He didn’t want to pry into the life of some stranger who’d find it annoying. And seeing you in this state-- you’d definitely find it annoying.

Bakugou Katsuki quickly realized that you always put some sort of effort into your outfit no matter how tired you looked. Even though you were wearing sweatpants (“Kindeki again? This girl must be rolling in it,” he thought.) and a hoodie, the hoodie was layered underneath a trench coat, creating a put-together look. 

As he was waiting for his espresso to brew, he did a quick Google search on Kindeki. He looked specifically at the pieces you’d been wearing and saw that the pair of sweatpants you were wearing went for ¥100,000 (approx. 712 USD) a pop. It was normal in the fashion industry, but Bakugou hardly ever saw any of these types of pieces on people who went to his café. If they did, then the items were reused. Things like purses or a nice coat. They were… regular. But this girl seemed to have a closet full of these.

He was pretty confused. In his past experiences with girls who wear tons of designer brands, they would normally buy the more expensive options on his café menu. The caramel macchiato was especially popular among those types, and it made him a lot of money. It was also the drink that the women that flirted with him would always buy the most. The men that would flirt with him were pretty varied in drink order. 

So, were you spending so much of your money on luxury and designer brands that you had to save on money when you got here? No , he thought. That can’t be it . He took a quick glance at your face and saw the dark circles beneath your eyes. No, she’s here to drink coffee for one reason: as a replacement for sleep.

Bakugou turned his nose up at pieces that didn’t have much thought or creativity in design. Especially if they were charging ¥100,000 for it. But when he looked at the description and found out that the outer lining was made from 100% recycled alpaca fur, he changed his mind completely. This girl had… morals. And extremely expensive taste.

And the closer he looked, the more he found out that the design was one of the most ergonomic sweatpant designs he’d ever seen in his life. There was a hidden adjustable elastic on the cuffs, meaning you could change up the look of the pants easily. You had it scrunched up for the signature sweatpant look. The design was made specifically in mind to accentuate the waistline and the hips without sacrificing comfort. A pair of sweatpants.

He was impressed. Since his father mostly designed extravagant formal wear and office wear, he wasn’t well-versed in brands that focused themselves on comfort. Either way, Kindeki sounded very familiar. Not in the way that designer brands normally sound, but in a way that seemed… personal, almost.

He shook his head and passed that thought to the fact that he grew up learning the names of fashion designers. That’s probably it, he thought.

An hour after Bakugou’s rush hour, the row of short, transactional interactions between the two of you ended.

Maybe taking up a freelancing job the day before a huge assignment’s due was not a good choice. 

You sat in your favorite café, rethinking all of your decisions in life before getting back to the assignment at hand. Your eyes were extremely heavy. The four shots of espresso helped, but most of what it did was pump up your heart rate and make your hands shake so much that they felt like they were going to fall off. At least it was delicious. You held the mug in your hands and chugged the remaining liquid.

(Unbeknownst to you, from the counter, Bakugou watched in horror as you downed an entire espresso shot as if it were a Friday night at some trashy frat party.) 

Finding this café was like finding a true gem. The coffee is absolutely heavenly, the café itself smells good and has a super cute interior design, and the barista you saw every time was also absolutely gorgeous. But the coffee? It was unlike anything you’d be able to make at home. You tried to emulate the espresso that this rando dude made, but there was something about your espresso that was always off. 

Each time you went to this café, you always tossed on at least a decent outfit for fear that your aunt would be walking by and lecture you on, “Your aunt is an esteemed fashion designer! Why would you be wearing trash like that?! Wear the clothing I gifted you!” 

It happened too often in your early days. She’d somehow see you out in the open and then criticize your clothing choices. Not the way they looked, but the fact that they didn’t come from big names or better, from her designs. Especially because your aunt was opening up a store in the area, the chances you’d come across her were bigger, and you did not want to deal with that again. 

You just wanted to find a place to do your procrastinated assignments without having to be lectured about wearing Gildan for once. You still wore those thread earrings almost every day, though. They’re just too pretty…

Your head slumped down and you immediately woke up, startled. Your assignment was still sitting in front of you, half-finished. You had to finish this as soon as humanly possible. Before you fell back asleep.

Heading back up to the front café counter, you were faced with the extremely handsome barista who you saw wearing Masaki-branded items every time you saw him. You’d recognize those two signature dots placed strategically on their clothes anywhere. He had on blue-light glasses that were Masaki. The loose button-up he was wearing was Masaki. The combination of the two fit him extremely well. Almost like he was born to wear them. Like the outfit was made exclusively for him. 

You wondered why a rich kid was working at some café, but you ignored it in favor of ordering more espresso. “Double shot over ice, please,” you said, holding out your credit card to him before he’d responded.

You saw an eyebrow of his shoot up again for the second time today. “I’m gonna have to cut you off after this.” 

“Cutting me off? This isn’t a bar,” you said, continuing to wave the credit card in front of him before he took it.

He gave a quick nod to your hands, which were shaking more than an electric toothbrush after women find another use for them. “Yeah, but this is an establishment that cares about our customers’ health.”

You furrowed your brows in response, knowing he was right. You were still mildly sad that you couldn’t get more of the delicious espresso he makes. You just wanted your caffeine. As you stood at the counter, waiting for your drink while simultaneously taking a break and watching the man work his magic. You saw him whip something else up, which appeared to be some variation of a lemonade. Is he making a drink for himself or something?

When he finished, he placed the two drinks in front of you. You looked up at him with clear confusion in your eyes. Woah- he’s way taller than you’re used to. He always sits while talking to you, but now, you realize that this guy was blessed by whatever higher power is up there. Scratch that-- seeing how blessed this man is, he might be the higher power we’re talking about.

“Peach lemonade instead of more coffee. It’s got sugar, and the lemon kicks your ass. You should be able to wake up with these two. Let me know if you want a cup of water.” He says, turning to sit back down at his stationed spot at the register. 

Your brain, running on sheer adrenaline and 4 shots of espresso, lagged for a moment. “B-But-”

“It’s on the house.” He cut you off, opening up a laptop and appearing to look busy. You couldn't fight him. You didn’t even think to say “thank you” in your surprise, and just went back to your seat with two drinks in hand. 

You’d finished your espresso quickly, making sure it was still fresh by the time you ingested it. Still delicious as always. You were starting to feel the drowsiness again, so you picked up the peach lemonade and took a swig of it before coughing and feeling the sweetness and acidity hit you like a truck.

He looked at you from the register with worry, but then saw you holding the lemonade and started smirking. “You’re right,” you said, “this definitely kicks my ass.”

He responded with a laugh and softened eyes. This man is both beautiful and amazing at making drinks. Whew. He really is a god.

Before he turned his attention away, you caught his attention again. “I forgot to say this, but thank you. Your drinks are amazing. And this lemonade–I’ll start replacing some of my caffeine with it.”

“A pleasure to serve ‘ya,” he said, smile wide on his face. 

You had to clear your throat and try to clear your mind of the image of his extremely handsome face beaming at you like that.

directory/m.list

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[piratefishmama]

Crossing the Line | Part 5

The odds of finding one feral little metalhead in such a large city without any starting point to go off of were slim at best. Okay that was being generous, the odds were basically non-existent as Steve had been telling Robin for the past hour as they wandered the streets seemingly without aim.

“Rob, we should just buy the tickets and see his band! What’s the worst that can happen?”

“We lose our hearing to people who can’t play their instruments properly, you get rejected publicly, someone throws up on us, we wind up in the mosh pit and you get your THIRD concussion, someone spills their drink on me, or on you, you get recognised and publicly ridiculed for wearing a goddamn sweater vest to a metal gig because I saw you pack your bag what in god’s name, Steven.”

“It’s comfortable.” Steve grumbled in response, momentarily subdued by all of her good points “at least it’s monotonal.” It was a grey knit number, one of his softest. “And I was gonna put a black shirt under it.”

“Yep, no, we’re not doing that, you’re not wearing that. If we must go to the gig and I do mean if we must, you’re going to need another outfit, so we’re going to spend today shopping for that, then head back to the apartment and strategize. We can divide and conquer, you take one half of the city, I’ll take the other, we meet in the middle for coffee.”

“…One half of a city. Where even is the middle of it? How is that a plan?”

“Not the best first plan but it’s the planning stage of the plan, and the planning stage is AFTER shopping, so don’t judge the plan until the planning stage of the plan.”

“You said plan a lot.”

“Less talk more thrift shop, let’s go.” His hand grabbed and away they went. It didn’t matter how rich he was, Robin loved thrift shopping, and after meeting her and knocking down her walls of distrust and uncertainty until they became practically joined at the hip platonic soulmates, finding out how many little treasures you could actually find in those shops, he kind of loved it too. It was an experience he wouldn’t have ever gotten without her, an experience that only added to the down to earth personality that’d developed as he grew older with her.

He didn’t know who he’d be without Robin… probably the same douchebag everyone kind of expected him to be. The douchebag he’d been in his teen years perhaps, partying, drinking, doing drugs, trying to be something he wasn’t to impress the people around him when all they cared about was the vestiges of fame trickling from his being.

Perhaps she’d saved his life by just being there. So he’d indulge a little tomfoolery for her sake.

Even if it did wind up with his feet hurting and his arms aching carrying bags of things he’d never ever wear but might have to for true love, trudging down some random street while Robin looked for some weird non-chain coffee shop because Starbucks held no soul.

“Robin can we just— look, right there, Starbucks, we can go in Starbucks, it’ll be fine, in and out!”

“I’m not going in Starfucks, there’s always some idiot instagraming the weird spelling of their name on the cup as if it’s not a Starbucks ploy to get them free advertising.”

“Or someone claiming to be Voldemort as if the barista would actually shout “he who must not be named” for the brief moment of twitter fame reporting it would bring them.”

“Or tacky mass-produced merch.”

“Or overpriced desserts that aren’t worth it.”

“Or—Ooh!! Lookie, there’s one!” They probably could have gone on for longer, but Robin spotted the little brown shop with large dark windows at the end of the street with a hanging sign outside similar to one found on old bars only this one had two coffee beans on it with the word The Roast written in cursive around the beans. And up close it looked like every rustic coffee shop ever made.

Simple, lots of browns and warm white lighting.

“Down the road from a Starbucks? That’s a gutsy business move.” Steve hummed with the most basic amount of interest as he entered through the door Robin held open for him.

“Honestly you’re never more than a stones throw away from a Starbucks, pick any direction I bet we’ll find another within two blocks.”

“That’s fair.” They made it all the way to the counter where a lone, bored employee leaned heavily against the thick wooden countertop, flicking through a magazine of some kind, the board above him strewn with funnily named coffee drinks and little doodles to match them, Steve found his eyes drawn to that while the Barista released a deep

“Welcome to The Roast, what can I get for you?” Without looking up from his magazine.

“Alright, I’ll have a uhm—ow—Robin, what—ow would you stop elbowing me?”

“Steve.”

“What?” He followed her pointer finger to the man now looking at him with the widest, brownest, most beautiful Bambi eyes he’d ever seen in his goddamn life and all thoughts just kind of drifted away, replaced with the single word… pretty. “Oh…Hello...”

Part 7

[skyziej]

Gavril x y/n: To the beach

so, um, hi yall again, yep im back to just put a fanfic here, for @peaches-blook0-0 and my inspo writer is @nebulous-nevermore

Because of slinking shadows by @nebulous-nevermore i wanted to do a fanfic of gavril, so enjoy, u lil critters :))

(p.s, also, THIS IS MY FIRST TIME WRITING IN A WHILE, SO PLEASE NO HATE ToT)

(also it's very long, so u can skim read if u want :))

Y/n x Gavril: to the beach (part 1)

Today was a slack day, you had no work and Gav, like always, had nothing to do. He was supposedly going out today to “borrow” people’s food from their houses, but why would he have to go, if the fridge at y/n’s house was already stocked up with cheese, fruit and many other delicious delectables, hence, there was no reason for Gavril to go to other people’s houses. After you had finished cutting up some watermelon and putting some cheese on an extra plate, you met Gav on the sofa in the lounge room before sitting next to him.

“What’s on the agenda today?” you asked Gavril, as you put the plates down on the coffee table Infront of youse.

 “Oh nothing darling, just relaxing for today before heading out, again, that is” he said with a relaxed sigh.

 Y/N:  “Uh huh, and don’t you always relax anyways, because u get to live in my house rent free?” you say picking up the tv remote.

 “Ha! Good one!” he said picking up a piece of cheese.

 U just roll your eyes at him before turning the tv on. As you turned it on, a wine commercial, with the beach as the background, played, making a sudden idea light up like a light bulb in your head.

“Gav, I know what we’re doing today.” You said as u turned the tv off.

 “What?” he asked.

“Were going to the beach.” U said.

“The what?”-Gav.

Gavril x y/n: to the beach (part 2)

After shopping and packing the car, u, Gavril and Sabolan (yes, sobolan is included 😊), were heading off to the beach.

“I can’t believe u don’t know what a beach is!?, What have u been doing Gav!?” you said as u were driving.

“Well, trying to survive, playing music, and being, well, a man of the night.” (he’s secretly batman peoples :33 (jk jk))” he said as he looked out the window.

 “Well that clearly hasn’t gotten u to see the most” you said.

After an hour of driving, youse finally got to a beach.

 “Up! Sleepy heads!” you said as u unbuckled yourself.

 Gav woke up drowsily, rubbing his face to wake up. “5 more minutes” he said as he fell asleep.

“Nope! Were all going, come on!” you said as u got out from the car, walked over to the passenger side, opened his door, and headed off to the boot of the car. You were unpacking the car until Gav came to help u too. After 40 mins, youse were all set. You both had all your stuff out and were ready to enjoy the beach.

You then walked onto the beach and ushered him to follow. He walked onto the sand with a precautionary step, taking him 5 mins to really feel the soft, warm, sand, between his grippers. Looking up from the sand, out into the vast blue.

He stood immobilized in thought, as he tried picturing his remembrance of the resonating feeling within him right now, a foggy memory, that wouldn’t clear up, he couldn’t quite put it together. But he swore he had felt this feeling somewhere before.

 The breeze made up for the heat that the sun was radiating, as it flowed through his hair. It was quite, quiet as the only thing that could be heard was the waves flowing up and down onto the bank of the beach, and the breeze that whistled by.

As he was lost in thought, you were waiting for him, but then realized he was spaced out. So, what u did was wave your hand Infront of him to get his attention.

y/n: “Hello, Gavvv, Gav to earth!?”.

 Gav: “huh? Oh, sorry was caught up in thought for a second, it’s just… this place feels familiar, like I’ve been here before” he said as he looked at u.

 “Well… maybe it’s a childhood memory?” u say.

 “Maybe...” he says looking out again.

 You then roll your eyes and shake ur head a bit before taking his hand and starting to walk. “Come on! What r we waiting for?! Let’s go!” u say as he follows u.

Gavril x y/n: To the beach (part 3)

You both enjoyed the day at the beach, which was chaotically eventful. First u both wanted to go swimming, and youse did. You were first into the water, then Gavril, but as soon as his tail submerged, he ran out as if something bit him. When u went to go and check up on him, he said that his tail (the goo) had responded in a ick way, making a sharp pain shoot up his spine, meaning he couldn’t stay in the water any longer, which meant that swimming was off the list (this fic includes Gav’s goo NOT being able to goo the whole ocean version, lol). Next you and him were playing in the sand, drawing in the sand with sticks found from nearby vegetation, before eventually being thrown at each other, as a joke, which, thankfully! Neither of u got hurt.

Youse then made sandcastles for Sabolan which was fun, and Sabolan went into nearby bushes to get small things for his sandcastles as well, which was all fine until he started getting chased by seagulls. Luckily Gavril saw what was happening to Sabolan, and ran to Sabolan’s aid, whacking the nearby seagulls away and making one of them fall to the sand, saving Sabolan.

Gavril then cupped his hands and bent down close to the sand for Sobolan to climb into his hands. Sobolan then quickly scurried into his hands, trembling a little from the deadly experience. Gavril then calmed him down by gently caressing his fur and holding him close to him. After that, Sobolan then learnt that he did not favor the beach after that experience, so he always stayed close by to Gavril.

Then for the afternoon you both had a small after-noon tea beach picnic, enjoying the chatter of each other, as u both ate some sandwiches you had made, followed by a home-made platter.

 After that you both had ventured along the beach in search of some shell’s At first, Gavril wasn’t sure what shell’s were, until you showed him, and after about 15 minutes of Gavril picking up every shell he could, his hands were full of different shaped and colored shell’s, which u had to put in your tote bag (You were carrying with u), because he had refused to let them go.

Gavril x y/n: to the beach (part 4)

After both of your mini little activities on the beach, youse had finally rested on a fallen log, that looked like it had been there for quite a while now. You both  sat next to each other.

With the sunset umbre of the afternoon sky, and the gentle and cool breeze rustling the nearby palm leaves above you two, Gavril couldn’t think of a better opportunity then to try something with u, that had been bobbing in his minds for months. He was about to break the silence, but you beat him to that first.

You: “So did u have fun?” you said as u look at him.

Gav: “ I did, it’s the best fun I’ve had in ages, except I couldn’t stay in the water, and that Sabolan nearly became seagull food, but apart from those things, I enjoyed the day most with you” he said quite heartedly. You then awkwardly chuckled, before quickly changing the subject.

You:  “Ha…yeah…but I enjoyed it with u too, and u Sabolan!”

You said as Sobolan, at the mention of his name, quickly scurried off Gavril and onto u, with a slight happy squeak. The conversation’s kept going until you felt Gavril’s hand take hold of yours.

“Hey, Y/N, may I try something with you?” he said as he looked at u with a slight red tint on his face.

 “Um…okay? What is it?” you said as you shifted to face your body in his way. He then turns to face you, holding both your hands in his. “Y/n, thank u for letting me and Sabolan stay with you. Even when I broke into your house, you still let us stay, and I am truly greatful” He said softly.

He then squeezed your hands gently and sighed, before speaking again. “You know….. how I said we could be more then roommate’s and u agreed to it?…..well…I’ve been thinking about it for some while now, and I didn’t know when to do it….but…this here…seems like the right moment to do so” he said as the red plastered across his cheeks increased, as he looked at you softly.

“Wha- what do u mean?” you said more quietly, as your blush deepened and your heart-rate increased, as you waited for something from him.

Gav: “Here let me show u” he said. You then watched him entangle his fingers with yours, before looking up at him. He saw how the sunset’s warm light, from the downing afternoon, made your features look twice as more beautiful. He then gently placed his hand upon your cheek, making your blush deepen again followed by a soft smile, which also made him smile.

He then lightly caressed your cheek with his thumb, before gently brushing some of your hair back behind your ear with the same hand, placing his hand on your shoulder. He then moved his face closer to yours, his eyes darting down to your lips, before back to your eyes.

So you too, moved in slowly as well until both your lips softly touched each other’s. He kissed you and you kissed back, both melting into the moment, as he then caressed your cheek once again, his tail gently touching your back, as if to keep you close and protected.

Gavril x y/n: to the beach (part 5)

You both pulled away after a minute and looked at each other with faces full of red, both reacting with a short, soft chuckle.

“Soooo…is it official?” he asked after a minute, as he looked at u.

“Hhmmmm…alright, but we’ll keep working on it, okay?” you said, as he looked at you with a soft smile, nodding a bit in agreement.

 “However that was good for your first move, I’ll give u that” you said looking at him.

“Thank you, y/n….so does that mean I get to continue staying at your house for free?” he said trying to get a reaction out of you.

“Don’t push it, lovey” you said as you gave him a look.

Gav: “Lovey? Now that’s a new one, better start calling you that too” he said with a light laugh. You just sighed, and shook your head a little, with a smile, as he smiled and held u close to him, leaning your head back onto his shoulder as he wrapped a comforting arm around you, before giving you a small kiss on the top of your head, and resting his head on yours, with a slight nuzzle, continuing to watch the remainder of the afternoon’s beautiful sunset.

(Anyways, that's all folks! hope u enjoyed it :))

[thedevilrisen]

Welcome to my 300 follower celebration! This number to me is astounding and I am so, so, so grateful for each and everyone of you!

As usual I will be doing what I call a prompt celly which consists of my prompt poll and my prompt lists which you can find here! I will be taking requests from today to the end of October so you have 16 days!

The first prompt poll is here!

Here are the prompts for requesting!

Coffee Shop Prompts

"Do you come here often?" "I work here, so what can I get for you?"

"I will not drink whatever you just ordered for me. That would be considered torture under the Geneva Convention."

"Why would you come to a cat café if you're afraid of cats?"

"That is enough caffeine for one day, I'm cutting you off."

"You can't just connect your phone and change the music, just because you dislike my playlist."

"That is the worst way anyone has ever spelled my name."

"Yes, you can sit here, but I'm not a small talk kind of person, so don't try."

"I'm not getting paid enough for this." "You say that at the slightest inconvenience." "And I'm always right."

"So sorry I spilled your coffee, let me get you a new one."

"I've never seen so many people here." "Well, we have Wi-fi and we have air conditioning, the people love us right now."

Drunken Love Confessions

Concerned Angsty Questions

1.  “Should I call someone for you?”

2.  “Did you take anything?”

3.  “Do you want to tell me happened?”

4.  “When was the last time you ate anything?”

5.  “Can you walk?”

6.  “How do you think this will all end?”

7.  “Do you need an ambulance?”

8.  “Were you crying?”

9.  “Should someone help you get home?”

10.  “Do you know where you are?”

11.  “Can you tell me your name?”

12.  “Where do you want me to take you to?”

13.  “Do you need my help?”

14.  “How do you feel now?”

15.  “Can I do anything that would make it better?”

16.  “Do you want my jacket?”

17.  “Can you let me see your eyes?”

18.  “Should I stay a bit longer?”

19.  “Will you be alright?”

20.  “Do you have someone who can look after you?”

Sick/Comfort

“How did you end up like this?” 

Burning Up then Freezing Cold 

Caught in the Rain 

Herbal Remedy 

“Could you just hold me?” 

Spoon-Feeding 

“I’m still not used to being taken care of.” 

“Couldn’t you keep your cold to yourself.” 

Face Masks 

“You’re safe, it was just a dream.” 

“You’re burning up!” 

Role Reversal – Medic to Sickie 

“I wouldn’t even trust you to boil tea in your condition!” 

Falling asleep in the wrong place 

Guiding sickie back to bed 

“Is it me or is it really warm in here?” 

“I know you want to help but you’re only making things worse.” 

Delirious 

“I know ice cream is good for sore throats but that’s way too much!” 

Lost Voice/Strep Throat 

From better to worse 

“Our date can wait! You’re far more important.” 

“You need a tissue?” 

“Don’t you think you should stay home today?” 

Standing Vigil 

“You sure I’m sick? Because I feel fine.” 

Vacation Disaster 

“Well, it sounds to me like you need a little bit of TLC.” 

Late Night Dialogue

[nottawriter]

Fanfic Writer Questions!

Thanks for the tag, @fazedlight and @thatonebirdwrites

1- How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 16

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

356,960

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Supergirl – Arrowverse/ DC Comics: Primarily Supercorp, secondarily Dansen, Brainia, and J’M’zz, and I have one AgentReign with secondary Supercorp.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

PRIDE and Prejudice – Super gay retelling of Jane Austen’s classic. Every kudos equals $1.00US to a LGBTQIA2S charity I make at the conclusion of Pride month (June) each year (teen)

Tell Me It’s Not Too Late – Post-S4, Lillian believes Supergirl is responsible for Lex’s death. Lena rushes to J’onn’s for game night, to confront Kara on her identity, only to find she’s nowhere to be found (teen)

I Believe in a Thing Called Love – Full alternate Season 6 rewrite (teen)

Wouldn’t It Be Nice – 50 First Dates movie AU (teen)

How Lost We Are – Lena is placed by her Witness Protection team (Maggie, Kelly, and Lucy) in Midvale as a flower shop owner where she meets teacher Kara and coffee/bookshop owner Jess, among others (mature)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, I do usually respond, though not always right away. I enjoy chatting about my fics, so don’t hesitate to ask questions, but I don’t give out spoilers though.  

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

When She’s Gone, the Darkness Comes – Oof. It was so sad I had to write a second chapter. I much prefer happy endings (teen)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them have a happy ending of some kind, or they will once they’re completed. Though there are some with happy endings like Speak Now and Tis the Damn Season. Smut. I’m talking about smut (explicit)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah, though I’ve been mostly lucky. I don’t know why people leave hate on any fics really. If you don’t like something, close the tab.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. It started as a small scene here or there when it was a natural progression of the fic, but now I occasionally right full smut fics and pwp like those found here (explicit)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Kind of, but the characters are all from within the Arrowverse/ DC Comics universes somewhere.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I don't understand why someone would do this. Please respect writers.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. I Believe in a Thing Called Love is also in Spanish Creo en una cosa llamada amor (teen)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I’m currently working on one with @thatonebirdwrites, though it's not published. It’s a Supercorp fic where Kara is a building inspector and when she goes to inspect Lena’s home, she meets Lena’s daughter to tells her the floor is lava, so naturally Kara has to ensure that issue gets resolved.  

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

Supercorp. But I do love most wlw ships

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I intent to finish all of my active WIPs. I have some WIP ideas that may or may not ever get going, but once I start a fic, I intend to finish it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have no idea… I guess easter egg type stuff or like blending canon into storylines. If your a reader and there's something you think is a strength I have, let me know.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually writing. Words be hard. And it's hard to find the time.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I do it sometimes, probably not well. I like to include the translation in the fic (unless the characters themselves aren’t supposed to understand until later). But I'm sure the translations aren't fully right as I only use google translate and the Kryptonian dictionary.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Supercorp. I started writing fiction in Dec 2020. Before that it was all scientific research papers for uni.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I suppose What Has Been Lost (Mature). It was what started this crazy adventure, has been the most challenging piece, and my longest (still ongoing). It truly blends lore and characters from across the Arrowverse and DC Comics into a human world and original storyline.

For Tags, if you'd like to participate: @fyonahmacnally @casualsavant @luthordamnvers @itsalliebitheway @innamorament0

[maximoffcarter]

One step forward - Part 2.

Pairings: Casey Novak x Alex Cabot

Summary: Second part to 'One step forward'. If Alex was good at something, it was keeping her word and her promises, doing the best she could to not disappoint. But what happens when she leaves once again and she leaves Casey behind? Will she keep the promise?

A/n: So...I have to admit that I am very nervous about this second part, not sure if it's what people expected but I felt like it was a good storyline. I must warn you...there is angst. Maybe a little more than I expected. And this is long. I just couldn't stop writing. But here is second and last part of this one shot. I have to thank those who have read the first part and loved it, it really made me feel so good about posting🥹 And those who have sent requests that I'll be working on them over the weekend. If you have any more requests, please feel free to send them on my asks or my inbox, and I'll try my best to deliver. Enjoy and leave your comments, reblogs, hearts, whatever you'd like, will be very much appreciated🫶🏻

A/n 2: Also to clear things out a bit, I changed the story line a bit? Since it was never clear what Casey did, I brought back Mary Clark, and then I completely ignored the show Conviction😂 You’ll understand when you get there😉

Part 1.

*not my gif*

Casey had been asleep when she heard Alex talking on the phone with Hammond. She heard the crack on her voice as she asked Hammond for a few more days, saying that she’d be careful and it’d be like she had never been here again, but judging by Alex’s silence, she knew that Hammond had denied her request. It broke Casey’s heart to know that Alex would have to go back to Witness Protection, also go back to that life that Alex said she hated so much, she felt bad to know Alex would be alone once again and she wouldn’t have any way to communicate to anyone who knew her. She had already heard stories of the way she found out about her mom, how she had to go out with people around her in case something happened, she had become paranoid. And the worst part was, that Casey wouldn’t know where she was going, she wouldn’t have a way to find out because Hammond would just take her somewhere new once again, and it wasn’t like Casey could just leave with her, she had a job to return to, she knew Alex wouldn’t let her drop it just because of her. But to imagine her life without her? Now that was impossible.

Yes, maybe it was silly, maybe it was too soon, but Casey had to bury these feelings for years. She had already admitted to Alex that she had also seen her every now and then in court, or how she heard Branch talking about her or even had seen her on TV about an SVU case. But truth to be told, Casey had known her since college days. Who didn’t know about Alexandra Cabot? Top of her class, the favorite of the school, of course she knew about her. She had seen her so many times at the coffee shop she used to work in but was always shy to say anything, so she’d always ask someone else to take care of Alex’s table. Her silly crush was too much for her to handle, she had so much to do that she couldn’t get distracted with it. And then Charlie happened. That whole ordeal of being with him, of trying to fix something that was not in her hands, and then shutting down to almost everyone because of what she went through.

The moment she heard again about Alex, that silly little crush reappeared the moment she saw Alex in court. She was supposed to be preparing for her own court, but she had been curious to see Alex working, and boy did she not disappointed. She was not sure if she was entranced in the way Alex moved around the courtroom or the way her voice sounded so serious and defying at the same time, but when it came to the victim, it was so comforting and delicate. She had been 5 min late that day, and she cursed Alexandra Cabot for it, though she knew it had been her fault. And the day she heard about Alex dying? Her heart had broken into a million pieces, she had mourned a person she barely even knew, and the fact that Branch thought it was a good idea to have Casey replacing her, made her feel even sadder and a bit upset, because no one could replace Alex.

Thinking back on how both of them had so many chances to get to know each other, but the two of them were shy to even say a hello, made Casey figure out that life could change in an instant and most of the times life was not fair, but it could also give you second chances if you really looked at the bright side of it all. So she laid there in her bed, staring at Alex moving around her room talking on the phone and wishing she had more time with her. Alex’s words replayed in her mind as she looked at her; I cannot just come back, Casey. I don’t want you to wait for me. Even with Connors behind bars, they had no idea if Alex was out of danger and they couldn’t risk it, but they also didn’t know how much longer this could last.

“You’re awake.”

Casey looked up at Alex and offered a small smile. “I heard you on the phone.”

Alex sighed softly as she went back to bed, moving close to face Casey. She placed her hand on Casey’s cheek and stroked it softly. “I’m sorry, I should’ve taken the call in the living room.”

“It’s okay.” Casey smiled. “So…you have to go on Thursday, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Alex nodded softly as she bit her lip.

“You really can’t tell me where you’re going?”

Alex shook her head. “I don’t even know myself.”

Casey sighed softly as she nodded. “It’s for your own safety.” She whispered softly as she looked at Alex, trying to hold back her tears.

“I’ll memorize your number and he won’t know that I’m calling you.”

“Alex.”

“No.” Alex snapped as she took a deep breath. “They can’t take more away from me. Not you. Not when I just got you.” She whispered softly as she rested her forehead against Casey’s.

“We cannot risk this. Hammond would kill me.” Casey huffed a chuckle.

“Over my dead body.” Alex grinned.

Casey scrunched her nose and shook her head. “Not a good joke, Cabot.”

Alex chuckled softly as she kissed her nose. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Casey sighed. “I just wish we had more time.”

“Me too.” Alex smiled. “Hopefully this ends soon.”

Casey nodded. “Hopefully.” She sighed softly. “Okay. We’ll have schedules so he doesn’t know you’re calling me. We need to be safe with all this.”

“We will.” Alex smiled. “I just want to at least be able to hear you once a day.”

Casey felt her eyes watering again, nodding softly. “Me too.”

Alex sighed as she leaned in and kissed her lips softly. “It’ll get better.” She whispered against her lips. “I’ll come back.”

“You better.” Casey smiled sadly, placing her hands on Alex’s waist to pull her closer to her, kissing her lips softly.

********************

Casey was biting on her pen as she tried to focus on the file she had in front of her, but her eyes kept going back to her clock, staring at it as if that was going to make time go faster. Alex was supposed to call her 30 min ago and she hadn’t heard anything from her since the day before. They had a night call since Casey had been busy all day between arraignments and trial and Alex knew that if Casey didn’t answer the first time, it was because she was busy in court or with the squad, so the next chance was at night, which it was both their favorite times to talk. But today, Casey had been in her office all day long, so of course time felt longer since she had been sitting there for hours, and Alex was nowhere to be found and she couldn’t risk calling her. She sighed as she dropped her pen for the third time, rubbing her face as she felt the stress taking over her.

 The moment the phone rang, her hand flew to grab it, almost spilling the, still full, coffee that she had just beside the phone, only to groan as she heard Elliot’s voice in the other line. She hadn’t noticed that Olivia was just walking into her office, snapping to Elliot that she couldn’t get a warrant unless they had a good reason for it, and she was not about to risk having trouble with Petrovsky just for a gut feeling and no valid reason. She hung up and her face went back to her hands, completely ignoring the fact that Olivia had walked into the office and now stood right in front of her.

“Tough day?”

Casey looked up at Olivia, a hint of fear in her eyes but relaxing as soon as she saw the woman. “You could say that.” She sighed. “Thought you’d be with Elliot.”

“Ah, no. Fin is with him, I’m here to try to convince you of getting the warrant.” Olivia grinned as she sat down.

Casey scoffed. “Guess you heard what I just told Elliot.” She grinned as she looked at her.

“Casey, are you okay?” Olivia said softly as she tilted her head.

Casey shrugged. “Why would you ask?”

“I’m not trying to be mean or anything but…you look a bit distracted today and more stressed than normal.”

“Just a lot of paperwork and reading to prepare for trial.”

Olivia hummed. “So, has nothing to do with something else.”

Casey shrugged as she shook her head. “Not really.”

“So, it has nothing to do with the fact that Alex hasn’t called?”

Casey felt her heart stopping for a moment as she stared at Olivia. She looked at her as if she had just discovered her biggest secret, which technically, it was sort of a big secret since the whole squad swore that Alex had left that same day when she won the case, and Casey never mentioned a thing about Alex staying in her apartment for 3 days, or anything about what happened between them. So Olivia suddenly mentioning her made her feel a bit terrified because somehow, she knew that either Branch, Cragen or Olivia would be the first ones to know if anything happened to Alex.

“Why would you ask that?” Casey’s voice lowered, almost cracking as she felt her throat going dry.

“I heard you the other day.” Olivia offered a small smile. “I didn’t mean to hear anything but…you left your door a bit open, and I happened to hear you saying Alex’s name. And then, 2 days ago, you excused yourself at the precinct and when I went to find you, you mentioned her again. Unless you’re holding out on me and met another Alex, I like to think that you’re referring to Alex Cabot.”

Casey sighed as she looked down at her hands that had now come together, fidgeting with her fingers. “Yes, it is Alex Cabot.”

Olivia nodded. “Care to tell me what’s going on?” Casey looked back at her with a hint of doubt. Olivia smiled. “C’mon, Case. I did hide for a whole year that Alex was actually alive.”

Casey huffed a chuckle and nodded. “Right.” She sighed softly. “Alex…we had our moments…when she came back to replace me. The day she left…she actually went back to my apartment. She stayed with me, for 3 days.”

Olivia raised her brows. “So, you two are-“

“Not that we had time to disclose what we were but…” Casey nodded. “Something happened between us. But she had to leave.”

Olivia nodded. “And you have no idea where she is.”

Casey shook her head. “She calls me, we talk, but she doesn’t exactly disclose where she is or anything about her new identity. We just…keep each other company.”

Olivia smiled softly. “I knew those looks you two gave each other back when she first came back were not nothing.”

Casey rolled her eyes playfully. “Yeah well, it took us a while.”

“Certainly.” Olivia chuckled, but then her smile faded a bit. “You don’t have any idea when this will be over, do you?”

Casey shook her head as she looked away, feeling her eyes watering. “No.”

Olivia moved to the edge of the chair and leaned onto the desk to grab Casey’s trembling hands. “I’m sure she’ll be back, Casey.”

Casey hadn’t even noticed she had started trembling until she felt Olivia’s hand on hers. She looked back at her, a tear rolling down her cheek. “What if she doesn’t?”

Olivia sighed. “I’m sure she’ll let you know.”

“I’m afraid that she’ll regret everything that she said to me and that at the end…I’ll be here waiting and then she never comes back.” Casey bit her lip as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

“If there’s one thing I admire from Alex, is that she keeps her word. And I’m sure as hell that whatever she said to you, she’ll keep it.”

Casey nodded softly as she smiled. “I sure hope so.”

********************

Casey laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling while her cellphone laid on her stomach. She didn’t know how long it had been since she’s been in this position, but one thing that she was sure of is that sleep was nowhere near to come. After finally giving up on work, she had decided to go to the batting cages for a while to distract her mind, it’s been a while since she had been there, so she knew it’d definitely keep her busy and it’d also make her feel at least a bit better. But then, coming back to her apartment made her feel down once again. She knew she couldn’t keep this going, it had been a full year already since Alex had left, since the daily calls started, but it was draining. There was a point where she got mad with herself because they had only spent 3 days together after confessing their feelings for each other, which if she really thought about it, they hadn’t actually talked about whatever was going on with them, they just made sure to show their love for each other without actually saying it.

But Casey knew…deep inside her, she knew. Since she saw Alex walking into her office, she knew that stupid little crush was back and stronger than ever. Those small moments they had together while preparing for trial, the stares, and small touches, it was impossible for Casey to not feel that way, she knew it was pretty obvious that she had heart eyes for Alex in every moment, which made it a bit harder to focus on her task but also knew that this case was important for everyone, so she had to put her best posture and keep going. And then, seeing Alex back had made her go back to those feelings; foolish girl thinking that she could get over it but then Alexandra Cabot dared to show up again and steal her heart one more time, and she wasn’t even mad about it. She knew it’d happen over and over again as long as Alex was present. Casey had no space for another person, and she didn’t want anyone else, she wanted Alex.

Her hand unconsciously went to her neck and grabbed onto the small diamond that rested against her neck. There were times when Casey wore nothing other than earrings and sometimes a simple necklace if she remembered to put it on, but the last night Alex had been there, she gave Casey the necklace that she was wearing. Casey had tried to tell her no, but Alex kept pushing her to keep it. Casey laughed softly at the memory, feeling tears rolling down her cheeks as she recalled that night.

“You know, I’ve worn that necklace more times than I can count.” Alex chuckled softly as she played with the small diamond, the necklace now on Casey’s neck. Her head resting against her hand as she looked down at Casey.

“Which is why you should keep it.” Casey smiled as she looked at Alex.

“It’s now yours.”

“You know, I’m pretty sure they’ll notice it’s not actually mine if you’ve used it so much. Plus, me wearing something so expensive? Please.” Casey grinned.

Alex rolled her eyes playfully as she grinned. “You’re so funny.”

“The best.” Casey chuckled.

Alex smiled softly as she looked at it and then looked at Casey. “It looks beautiful on you. And it’s my promise that I’ll come back.”

Casey felt her heart beating a bit faster at Alex’s words, smiling softly as her hand moved to lay on top of Alex’s, taking it away from the necklace and bringing it to her lips.

“Ms. Cabot…you’re too cheesy.” Casey smirked.

“You know what, I take it back.” Alex laughed along with Casey.

Casey bit her lip softly as she smiled. “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

Alex smiled and leaned down to kiss Casey’s lips.

Casey snapped out of her thoughts when she felt her cellphone vibrating in her stomach, rapidly grabbing it, and answering the call. “Hello?”

“Hello pretty girl.”

Casey smiled softly and sighed in relief. “Hi.”

Alex chuckled softly. “Did you have your phone in hand already? You answered pretty fast.”

“Well, I kinda have been waiting all day for a pretty blonde girl to call me, but never happened.”

Alex chuckled softly. “I’m sorry. I had some stuff to do.”

“Oh? Ms. Cabot had a busy day?”

“Believe it or not, I did. I went grocery shopping and if I happened to get the phone out, one of the guys would’ve told Hammond that I have a cellphone with me.”

Casey nodded. “Makes sense.”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve called earlier.”

“You know that I love when you call me at night.” Casey smiled softly. “Helps me sleep.”

Alex stayed quiet for a moment, a faint sigh could be heard. “Helps me sleep too. I somehow imagine you’re here.”

Casey grinned. “Cheesy.”

“Don’t even.” Alex laughed.

Casey sighed softly and stayed quiet for a moment. “Alex?”

“Yes?”

Casey bit her lip softly. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Case.” Alex cleared her throat. “But uh, hey tell about your day! I’m sure the squad got on your nerves once again.”

Casey chuckled. “You wouldn’t even imagine.”

********************

Casey slammed the door behind her and threw her bag to the floor, not caring where it landed or if it hit something. Tears rolled down her face as she tried to calm her breathing. This was not happening. This was definitely not supposed to happen. She fell to the floor as she sobbed uncontrollably, her whole body feeling heavy and her chest feeling like it was about to explode. How could she let this happen? What was she supposed to do now? She kept hearing her phone vibrating in her bag, but she was in no condition to answer it, she didn’t want to talk to anyone, no matter who it was. This stupid system only showed that even when people tried to do the right thing, it was still not enough, and you’d get punished for it. A punishment for doing the right thing, but the bad guys got away with it no matter what. And now, she was suspended for 3 years. 3 years. For a stupid fucking brady violation.

And the person that she believed would have her back, was actually the person who stabbed her. Lost perspective? She didn’t. She just figured out that if she had the power to not let the bad guy win, then she’d do anything to do exactly that. But she didn’t think it through. She didn’t think of the consequences that could happen. She’s known people that had done this before, and they still have their license. Hell, she was so lucky that she had only been suspended and she still got to keep her license. She still stood by her words when she said that she didn’t want this job if justice wasn’t served, but maybe she meant it a little too much that now she was in this situation.

Life gave you second chances? Fuck that. She was naive to believe that. She got everything wrong. Either life hated her so much or things were just not meant to be. Not only had she lost the chance to do what she loved but she also lost the person she loved. Almost a year and a half since she last heard from Alex. She had simply stopped calling, she never said anything. Did Casey do something wrong? She didn’t know, but Alex had vanished once again and this time, she had no way of contacting her. What was she supposed to do? Call Hammond to ask? He’d kill both Alex and Casey if he knew they had been talking. But what if it was Alex who got tired of just calls? Maybe she had made the decision that it was better to just leave it there and not say anything to Casey.

But why would she do that? Why would she just leave Casey like that? What happened to the promises? To every one of their conversations? Had they meant nothing to Alex? Had Casey been a simple distraction for Alex until she found something else to do? Until she found someone new? Maybe that was it. Maybe her biggest fear came true, and Alex had finally figured out that after all, that promise was useless, and she’d never come back. Maybe she met someone, maybe she fell in love and figured out that having a new life wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Maybe she was already out of Witness Protection, and she had decided not to tell anyone because she had someone new in her life. But Casey was now sure that Alex was out of her life. She was gone. And there was nothing Casey could do, other than cry and mourn Alex once again even if she was not entirely gone. Now that she needed her the most, she was gone. She wanted nothing more than to find her, but what was the point in doing that? She’d only waste her time once again and she’d only get her heart completely shattered. Casey was alone. Completely alone.

********************

“What were you thinking? Did you really think we wouldn’t find out?”

Alex scoffed. “You didn’t for a whole year.” She snapped as she looked back at Hammond.

“We don’t know if you’re completely safe, Alex. What if someone tracked down the calls and came to you?”

“She didn’t know anything. She didn’t know where I was, we just talked. I needed someone to talk, I didn’t just want to be locked in the house again without doing shit or talking to anyone.” Alex shrugged as she shook her head. “Connors is in jail. I am not that important anymore for someone to want to kill me.”

“You still needed to be safe!”

“At what cost?! To have a normal life?! I have no life here! I was robbed! I lost everything!” Alex cried out as she yelled. “Do I need to remind you that I couldn’t even go to my mother’s funeral?! Only Olivia and Elliot knew I was alive, my whole family thought I was dead. I left after trial, I couldn’t even say goodbye to the people I cared about. You expected me to just go back and come back and lose that again? I was not going to let you take her away from me.” She felt her blood boiling as she spoke while tears rolled down her cheeks.

Hammond shook his head. “I’m sorry, but we cannot risk it.”

Alex laughed darkly. “Do you think I won’t try to contact her?”

“You won’t. Because you perfectly know that if you try, you’re also putting her at risk.”

Alex furrowed her brows. “I’m not.”

“Alex…you were a target after you tried to convict someone. Novak convicted Connors and went on to win the case. We don’t know if he had any other contacts, don’t you think that they’d also want to go after her? They tried to kill Antonio for a second time before he went to testify. Why would they stop?”

Alex looked away as she sobbed. She knew he was right. And she knew the risk of the calls, but this never crossed her mind. She was right, one way or another, there could be a possibility that not only was she at risk, but Casey could also be at risk and if they knew she was connected to Alex, they could take revenge or do anything to get Alex or to hurt her. Nothing had happened in a whole year, but Alex knew better than to be a fool and believe that it wouldn’t happen again.

“You cannot contact her again, Alex.”

Alex stayed quiet for a moment, looking back at him. “I know.” She then whispered, her chest feeling heavy as she knew it was now over, and there was nothing else she could do.

********************

“Are you sure I can’t come with you?” Casey looked at Alex as she finished dressing up.

Alex turned to look at Casey and offered a small smile. “I’ll be fine. I need to return the car and Hammond will meet me there. I don’t want you to come back alone.”

Casey bit her lip softly. “You know I didn’t mean that.”

Alex sighed softly as she walked back to the bed, sitting right in front of Casey and grabbing her hand. “They’re waiting for you to go back. You have a life here, Case.”

“I can just drop everything. They’ll find someone else.”

“Case.” Alex placed her other hand on Casey’s cheek, noticing her teary eyes. “I can’t let you do that.”

Casey looked down at her lap and closed her eyes to avoid the tears. “I know.” She whispered softly.

Alex moved a little closer until her knee met Casey’s. “It’ll be over before we know it. Maybe I’m able to come back before time, we never know.”

Casey nodded softly as she looked back at Alex. “I just wish we had more time together.”

“I do too.” Alex smiled and leaned in, kissing her lips softly. “I wish I hadn’t been a coward and I had talked to you before.”

“We were both cowards.” Casey chuckled softly.

“We’ll recover that time. Someday.” Alex smiled sadly as she kissed Casey’s forehead.

“This is not fair.” Casey whispered softly.

“I know, it isn’t.” Alex sighed.

Casey looked up at Alex as tears rolled down her tears. “Please, come back to me.”

Alex stared into green eyes and smiled softly. “I will.” She leaned in again to kiss her lips. “I’ll come back.” She whispered against her lips and kissed her again.

Alex opened her eyes as the subway came to a stop, she grabbed her bag and stood up to get off. She looked around for a bit, seeing that even if it was a bit late, the place was crowded, she thought that maybe they were going back home, or some were returning from their jobs. She remembered the times she took the subway to go back to her apartment, that apartment that she now didn’t recognize. It was her first week back in New York, and even if she was afraid to walk around the streets of New York alone, she needed to familiarize herself with the city again, if she decided to stay here after all. At first she didn’t know where to go, she just walked and walked until she chose to grab the subway. She had stopped by the courtroom, curious to see the place she spent most of her days in, she had even hoped to see familiar faces but that’d be too much to ask for. She even thought about stopping by the precinct and to another specific place but…she didn’t think it’d be a good idea.

She walked into a small bar that was a few blocks away from her apartment, sitting by the bar and asking about the usual drink that she always had after a tough case. It felt so familiar, yet so different. She hummed as the liquid hit her throat, missing the taste of it since all she ever had back ‘home’ was either beer or tequila that she bought, she barely went to bars, she barely went out as it was. She finished her drink and asked for another, smiling at the bartender. As she was about to get her wallet out to open a tap, she looked at her right side and saw a figure sitting at the very end of the bar, her heart dropping for a moment as she recognized it. She recognized her. Just in time the bartender placed the drink in front of her, she looked at him and asked if she could cover the drinks of the person at the end of the bar. She gave him her card and smiled before she got up and grabbed her drink. She could finish her drink and run out of the bar, and never look back again, but she couldn’t do that again, she could run away when she was just back. When this was her chance.

Was this even a good idea? What if she really didn’t want to see her or talk to her? Alex was 100% sure that Casey hated her at this point. She never called again, not even a message, but she had her reasons and she hoped that Casey would want to listen to her. She stood there by her chair, drinking her drink, and smiling softly as she studied Casey’s face. She had matured so much, her hair was back to its natural color, but she still looked as beautiful as ever. But there was also something that had changed; she looked…sad, exhausted, that light in her eyes that she loved was now gone. Was this her fault? There could be other reasons for sure, but Alex could be a reason behind this, and she hated herself so much for it. She noticed the bartender taking the drink to Casey and explaining that her tab was now covered. Casey looked up to try to find the person and that was Alex’s cue to walk to Casey; it was now or never. Casey’s eyes finally fell on Alex, she noticed the surprise and confusion in her face, maybe a hint of anger. Alex offered a small smile as she sat beside Casey, placing her drink beside Casey’s.

“Thought you could use a drink.” Alex smiled.

Casey stayed serious and quiet for a moment, confusion washing over her face as she looked at Alex, her eyes studying Alex. “Is it really you?” She whispered almost to herself.

Alex’s heart broke at her words, nodding softly. “It is me. I’m back.”

Casey took a deep breath and looked around the bar, almost as if she was looking for a camera or something as if this was a whole joke. She couldn’t get any words out when her eyes went back to Alex’s, she was speechless, her whole body trembling. She was confused, that’s all she could figure out. She felt anger, happiness, sadness, everything at once, but the only way she could describe it at the moment was that she was completely confused. Alex’s heart broke a little at the sight of Casey, maybe this wasn’t the right way to do it, she could’ve called first and not just show up like this, that in her defense, she didn’t know she was going to find Casey in this bar, though she knew Casey’s place wasn’t too far away from here. She saw how Casey grabbed the drink and finished it all, groaning a bit as she placed the glass back in its place. Alex sighed softly as she dared to place her hand on Casey’s hand.

“Casey.”

“No.”

Alex furrowed her brows. “I know-“

“I cannot do this right now.” Casey shook her head as she cried out, staring at the empty glass.

“I can explain. Please, I-“

“Not here.” Casey looked back at Alex and bit her lip, getting up from the chair and taking her hand away from Alex’s. “I’ll meet you outside, I just…need a moment.” She grabbed her purse and left some dollars on the countertop, exiting the bar right after.

Alex sighed heavily as she looked at the bartender and asked to close the tab. She finished her drink and thanked the bartender, grabbing her card and putting it back on her purse, offering a small smile before she exited the bar too. She stood by the door for a moment as she saw Casey facing the street. She felt bad for doing this to her, she knew this had been a bad idea, but she couldn’t just leave the bar without saying anything. She slowly walked to her and extended her hand but put it back down as she stared at Casey. It had been clear that she hadn’t been comfortable with Alex touching her hand back in the bar so she would keep her distance.

 “Casey?” Alex whispered softly.

Casey looked back at Alex, her eyes red and puffy. She sniffled and nodded softly. “Let’s uh…let’s go to my apartment.”

The whole way to Casey apartment, Alex tried to focus her eyes on Casey, trying not to be the paranoid person that she had become in the last few years, she knew they were safe, that she was safe, but she still couldn’t help but feel a bit scared as they walked. Alex had planned to go for a drink or two and then call a cab to take her home, but if Casey wanted to walk, they’d walk. As for Casey, her mind kept spinning around, not sure what she was really doing. She had never really planned what she’d do if Alex did come back at some point. Without Alex noticing, she kept looking down at her hands, trying to find a sign of a ring or something, but nothing was there, which made part of feel relieved by this, but she was also slapping herself in her mind for even looking for something. She was supposed to be mad, she wasn’t supposed to do this. She should’ve left her back at the bar, why would she even accept to talk to her? But god, she so wished she could just wrap her arms around Alex and hug her, she needed her hugs more than anything.

Once they got to Casey’s apartment, Casey closed the door behind her and sighed softly as she rested her head against the door, mostly preparing herself for whatever was coming. She turned to look at Alex, who only stood a few feet away from her, waiting for Casey to say anything or move, whatever she was going to do, Alex would literally follow. Casey couldn’t help but look up at her up and down; it’s like she had not changed at all, she looked just the same. Her hair had grown a bit more, she noticed she had made some layers which made her look so beautiful. Her glasses had changed, even her clothing had, which was so weird to see her in a pair of jeans and a leather jacket…but she looked beautiful. It made Casey feel a bit ashamed of her appearance, she knew that lately, she has not looked her best and it made her overthink a bit what Alex must be thinking about her, but she pushed back those thoughts. She looked away as she bit her lip, looking at her kitchen.

“Um…would you like to drink something? I have…some wine. Orange juice. Water.”

Alex cleared her throat as she shrugged. “Wine would be fine.”

Casey nodded softly as she went to the kitchen, putting her purse on her couch before she passed Alex, and opened her cabinets to find the wine, suddenly forgetting where she had placed it. Alex placed her purse on the couch just like Casey and followed after but stopped at the kitchen island, not being able to tear her eyes away from Casey. The place felt so familiar, she couldn’t help but smile as she looked around. Not much had changed, one or two things here and there, but still felt like Casey. She looked at Casey again when she placed a glass in front of her, pouring some wine for her. Casey poured herself some and then placed the bottle right beside it. They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them saying a word. Alex had so much to say but she was not sure if it was right for her to start talking or just let Casey do the talking for now, her anxiety slowly increasing as she could tell Casey was now more upset than confused. Or maybe sad? Alex couldn’t quiet tell.

“Wanna sit on the couch? So…we’re a bit more comfortable.”

Alex nodded. “Sure.”

They both headed to the couch with their glasses in hand. As they sat down, Alex took a small sip for courage and then placed the glass on the small table in front of her, Casey mimicking her actions. They once again stared at each other, Alex taking the chance to study Casey’s face again, smiling a bit as her eyes dropped to her neck, noticing the necklace she had given her still on her.

“You still have it.” Alex whispered as her eyes returned to Casey’s.

Casey looked down at the necklace and smiled softly. “I never really take it off.”

“Did they ever ask you about it?” Alex grinned a little.

Casey looked up at Alex and smiled a bit. “Munch and Huang noticed first. Olivia did too at some point. The others were oblivious.”

Alex chuckled slightly. “I figured those two would notice first.”

“You want it back?”

Alex furrowed her brows as she stared at Casey. “What?”

Casey shrugged. “I mean…you’re back. I thought maybe-“

“I told you it’s yours. It was…my promise that I’d come back.”

Casey nodded. “And you did.”

Alex smiled a little. “I did.” Casey bit her lip as she looked down at her hands, Alex couldn’t help but stare at her lips. “I always wanted to run my thumb over your lips so you wouldn’t bite it.” Alex paused as Casey looked back up. “And then kiss you.”

Casey felt her heartbeat raising a bit at the confession, her cheeks going slightly red. “It’s a thing I do. I don’t do it consciously.”

“I know that.” Alex smiled.

Casey looked back down at her hands and furrowed her brows. “Why…why did you stop calling?” She whispered softly.

Alex sighed as she looked away, trying to remember what she had practiced before. “Hammond found out.”

Casey shot her head up. “What?”

Alex nodded. “One of his guys…I didn’t notice he had walked into the house, and I was back in the patio, talking to you. He told Hammond that same day and he came to my house the next.” She shrugged. “We had a bit of a discussion.”

“Did he take away the phone?”

Alex shook her head as she looked back at Casey. “No.”

“Then why didn’t you call? Did you really just listened to him and decided it would be a good idea to not call me and not even let me know that you wouldn’t do it anymore?” Casey’s voice broke slightly as she felt her eyes getting teary. “You just stopped.”

“I couldn’t…I-“ Alex bit her lip softly as she looked down at her hands. “I didn’t want to listen to him. I was not going to. I was just going to agree and move on, but he knew. And he talked to me and…I had to listen.”

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t put you at risk, Casey.” Alex looked back up at her, a hint of fear in her eyes. “He told me that anyone could trace the calls if there was anyone out there. He didn’t want to tell me to not scare me, but they found someone that was related to Connors. You convicted him, what if he came after you?” She felt her lip trembling as she spoke and her eyes getting teary as she stared at Casey. “I couldn’t let them get to you, Casey. And he didn’t even tell me after days. But he told me I could put you at risk. I didn’t even care about me anymore, but I couldn’t let you get hurt. Not again.” She took a shaky breath. “I could still see you…with bruises. You barely being able to walk. I couldn’t let that happen to you again and me…not being here. Not being able to know if you were okay.”

Casey didn’t notice her tears already rolling down her cheeks, wanting to look away from Alex so badly but not being able to. “Alex.”

“Cragen told me you were okay. You were fully back to work and…you were safe.” Alex shrugged. “I just needed to make sure you were okay.” She whispered softly as she wiped away her tears.

“Alex…I could’ve taken care of myself. I could’ve told Olivia and Elliot, so they could’ve been alert if something happened. Olivia already knew that we were talking.”

Alex furrowed her brows. “What?”

Casey sighed. “She…she heard me once or twice and she didn’t say anything until one day she came to my office and asked me. I knew better than to lie to her, so I admitted it, but she never told anyone.” She shrugged. “I guess Cragen and Liv were good at keeping secrets, huh?” She smiled a bit.

Alex huffed a chuckle and nodded. “I guess so.”

Casey sobbed quietly as she looked down at her hands. “I needed you.” She whispered softly.

Alex tilted her head as she swallowed. “I know, honey. But I-“

“I’m suspended.”

Alex furrowed her brows. “What?”

Casey let out a shaky breath as she looked back at Alex. “Brady violation. I-“ she shook her head. “I tried to do the right thing and…everything ended differently than I expected. Judge was Petrovsky…defense was Donna…” she closed her eyes for a moment as she recalled the moment. “Donelly…said I lost perspective.”

“When did that happen?”

“Over 6 months ago.” Casey shrugged. “I uh…I’m helping Mary Clark with some cases. By that I mean…research, clerical activities. Just simple jobs but you know…I’m not running out of money. Guess she felt too bad for me that I got suspended and I’m back under her wing.” She chuckled sadly.

Alex moved closer to Casey and grabbed her hand, bringing it to her lips. “Casey…I am so sorry. I should’ve been there for you. I was an idiot for vanishing like that.”

“I get it.” Casey looked up at her and smiled sadly. “I now get it.”

“That’s still not an excuse.”

Casey sighed as she placed her hand on Alex’s cheek, wiping away her tears. “I forgive you, Alex.”

Alex let out a shaky breath that she didn’t even know she was holding. “You don’t have to. I mean-“

“But I do.” Casey bit her lip softly as she shook her head. “I cannot lose you again, Alex.” She took a deep breath as her tears rolled down her cheeks. “I was upset. I…I didn’t understand what had happened, I thought I had done something wrong or that…that you just figured out you couldn’t do this anymore.”

Alex shook her head. “No. I wanted to call you every single day. I wanted to come and find you, but they didn’t let me.”

“Now you’re here.” Casey whispered as she smiled.

Alex nodded, turning her head slightly to kiss Casey’s hand on her cheek, her hand going on top of it. “I am. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Casey smiled. “I’d actually kill you if you dare go somewhere.” She chuckled softly.

Alex huffed a chuckle as she smiled. “I can’t. I won’t.” She tilted her head. “I want to keep my promise…and I want us to try this.”

Casey’s face softened. “Try this?”

“Us.” Alex smiled. “I want us to…to get to know each other again. I want us to go on dates. To…you know try this whole relationship thi-“

Casey interrupted Alex as she placed her other hand on Alex’s cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. Alex gasped as she felt Casey’s lips against her but placed her hands on Casey’s neck to keep her in place, kissing her back softly. Alex felt more tears rolling down her cheeks, she felt so overwhelmed about everything that was going on, but this definitely calmed her anxiety down, knowing that Casey really meant it and she really forgave her, and that’s all Alex had been hoping for. Hell, she would’ve accepted a friendship if anything, she just needed Casey in her life -well maybe she wouldn’t have entirely accepted the friendship because of how she felt about Casey, but she would respect the boundaries-. Both women couldn’t help but smile against each other’s lips, breaking the kiss for a slight moment before Alex brought Casey’s lips back to hers, not wanting the kiss to end. They finally separated as they tried catching their breath. Alex smiled softly as she rested her forehead against Casey’s.

“I love you, Casey.”

Casey pulled away enough to look at Alex, a surprised look on her face. “What?”

Alex’s eyes widened as she stared at Casey, swallowing hard as her hands left Casey’s neck. “I- uh. I mean- fuck. Casey. I-“

Casey chuckled softly. “You know that you’re cute even when you’re a bundle of anxiety?” She raised her brow as she grinned playfully.

“What do you expect me to do? I…I told you I loved you and you’re making fun of me and-”

“And I love you too.” Casey smiled as she ran her hand through Alex’s hair.

Alex sighed in relief as she smiled. “You do?”

Casey nodded. “I do.” She smiled. “And, by the way, I do agree on going on dates, maybe updating each other a bit more on each other’s lives but…why waste more time, Alex?”

Alex smiled. “I mean…I did drop the L bomb after basically trying to say that we could take things slow, so. I broke my own rule.” She shrugged as Casey laughed.

“You’re cute.” Casey smiled as she pecked her lips softly. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” Alex smiled as she placed her hands on Casey’s back but then pulled them back quickly.

Casey rolled her eyes playfully. “Alex…it’s been over 3 years. My ribs are perfectly fine. You don’t have to be careful anymore.”

“I’d still be careful. I still don’t wanna hurt you.”

“I know you wouldn’t hurt me.” Casey smirked softly as she placed her hand on Alex’s chest and pushed her slightly, so her back was resting against the couch. She then moved to straddle her waist, wrapping her arms around Alex’s neck. “And what if I don’t want you to be careful?”

Alex gulped as she looked up at Casey. “Well, that changes things.” She grinned as she placed her hands on Casey’s waist.

“It does.” Casey smiled before she leaned down for another kiss, but this time with more passion.

********************

“Anyone know who’s out temporary ADA?” Fin asked as he looked at Elliot.

“How about one back from the dead?”

They both turned to look at Casey who was already smiling and taking her coat off. “Casey Novak. You’re back.”

Casey shrugged. “Alive and fairly well.” She sighed as she smiled. “Alex and I are gonna share some cases, but…I am.”

Olivia smiled softly as she walked to Casey and hugged her tightly. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

Casey smiled softly as she pulled away from the hug and looked at Olivia. “I’m happy I am.”

“Well, we have our two favorite back.” Much said as he patted her shoulder.

Casey nodded. “Thank you for the warm welcome. But, I think we have a case to work on?”

“Just got here and you already want to start working? Eager much, Novak?”

Casey smirked as she turned to look at Alex. “I don’t think you have ever minded that, Cabot.”

Alex grinned as she kissed her cheek softly. “That’s a secret.” She whispered in Casey’s ear and then chuckled as she looked at the rest of the squad. “I need to steal her for a bit but promise I’ll bring her back.” She grabbed Casey’s hand and pulled her to the elevator. Once the doors closed, she pinned Casey against the wall and smirked. “First day back and you already want to tease me in front of everyone?”

Casey shrugged. “Is that wrong?” She smirked as she pulled Alex close to her by the collar of her coat.

Alex shook her head as she chuckled. “We’ll see how you like my teasing later.” She whispered against her lips as she kissed her, but once she heard the doors opening, she pulled away and winked at Casey.

“Do you think Liz would like to hear that we’re gonna be working together?” Casey grinned as they walked out of the elevator hand in hand.

“I think she’d like if we let her know we’re together in my office before she walks in on us again.” Alex laughed, pulling Casey close to her and Casey laughing with her as they walked out the precinct. 

[mutable-manifestation]

The Heart of the Matter Ch. 6

Chapter 1 (Parts 1-3), Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

So this took forever. The whole ‘hey dude ur dead btw’ convo fought me something fierce. I deleted like three versions. RIP

***

As soon as they clear the ground into open air, Danny flies them - invisible and intangible - straight to the heart of Gotham.

He could more than likely make it to the Fenton portal fast enough to avoid being traced beyond ‘somewhere in Illinois,’ but the point of running isn’t to escape.

He wants the Green Lantern to follow.

He isn’t sure about Batman and his allies, isn’t sure where he stands on the Anti-Ecto Acts or if he even knows they exist, given the GIW’s relentless efforts to keep what happened - what still sometimes happens - in Amity Park buried.

He’s less sure after seeing the surety with which they almost sent Jason away to….

He shakes his head.

If they could be convinced to help, all the better. If they truly cared for Jason they’d do a good enough job beating themselves up over it later.

Not that he wouldn’t still be sending them Jazz’s way to have a talk about respecting boundaries in non-emergency situations rather than steamrolling them just because an ally or friend sounds like they know what they’re doing.

But before all of that, he wants a chance to get Jason up to speed first.

And to get some ecto in the guy, but given the way his core feels, the betrayal-fest he just phased in on, and his somehow near-complete lack of knowledge about what he is, he doubts he’s going to just accept eating mysterious, neon, glowing sludge without an explanation.

He zips through a Malmart and snags a large hoodie and sweats - he’ll pay them back later - and ends the flight by landing them in the bathroom of a crowded coffee shop.

No one should notice the two of them appearing out of nowhere when there are so many other people to draw attention, and hopefully the crowd will deter the Lantern - and the Bats - from causing a scene.

Or at least, a scene beyond the one that would already be caused by their mere presence in the place.

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

Jason only takes his eyes off of Jordan when he’s jostled from a sudden drop. He looks up just in time to see batarangs sink into the wall just above space-ice-crown-guy’s head.

He follows their trajectory back to see Damian unsheathing his blades.

Nightwing and Black Bat are already airborne, and lunging towards them.

A strange sensation washes over him. Crown-guy doesn’t move this time, unbothered by the swinging limbs and grasping hands headed their way.

The pair pass right through them as if they aren’t even there.

Jason feels betrayed and furious and wrung out all at once; he just wants to leave.

And then they do, horrifying green baseball bat close behind as crown guy throws them straight at the ceiling.

They sink into-and-through the earth, and they’re in the sky far above the manor before Jason even has a chance to do more than take a shaky breath.

Then they’re heading for Gotham.

Wayne Manor is twelve miles from the city’s border.

They’re in the heart of Old Gotham inside two minutes - after stopping by an Upper West Side Malmart to…steal clothing?

He’d be concerned about Red Hood being seen flying around with some random meta - about being too much of an easy target in the open air, flying in a mostly straight line - but the two of them are barely visibly, mere outlines of twisted space, like the distorted air above the heat of a flame.

He can barely make himself out, and the people they paused right next to in the store had appeared to notice even less.

When they do stop, it’s in the bathroom of a crowded coffee shop that is - frankly miraculously - blessedly empty.

Crown guy gently but swiftly sets him on his feet - hand on his shoulder just until he’s steady - and shoves the stolen clothing into his chest with a simple ‘here’ before Jason has a chance to say anything.

Then a ring of light appears around his waist, splitting to slide both up and down like some kind of scanner.

Where it goes, crown guy changes.

His build, his facial structure, the cut of his hair - all the broad strokes stay the same. What changes are the details.

Lazarus green eyes are replaced by a vibrant blue that better matches the now-absent crown - it still feels a bit cool, standing near him, but he’s not sure he’d have noticed if he wasn’t looking for it.

Impossibly white hair becomes a deep black - now matching the unchanged eyebrows - and the ears curve where they’d once been pointed.

His skin is paler like this - like he’d spent most of his life indoors, hiding away from the sun - the freckles now a light tan. As though the colors had traded places.

He lands lightly on his feet as the transformation ends, standing just slightly shorter than Jason now that they’re on even ground, and his physique is lithe but muscular; a swimmer’s build.

His clothes are the starkest difference, in Jason’s opinion: otherworldly fabrics and colors swapped out for simple blue jeans and a contrastingly dark red shirt and shoes.

No sign of the cape.

No hint of that otherworldly glow.

Unless you count the sparkle in his eyes as he raises a pointed brow and coughs.

Jason mentally berates himself for staring so obviously. He knew how to be more subtle than that.

Outwardly, he points to his mask.

“Great plan with the clothes, no-more-crown-guy, but they won’t exactly cover this.”

The guy just smiles and shakes his head.

“It’s Danny,” he snorts. “And you can just shove the mask in a pocket or something. I already know who you are, Jason Todd.”

The guy - Danny - snaps his hands up in surrender the moment Jason reaches for one of his guns.

“Easy,” he says, voice still relaxed. Soothing. The aura of strength-safety-protection-calm unchanged. “You being Red Hood is none of my business. I’m not here for Red Hood, I’m here for Jason.”

“What, need an inside scoop for the next article on ‘Watching the Waynes?’ Or is this a ransom thing?” he sneers, hand firmly on his gun as he closes the distance to loom threateningly.

For all that he’s glad to be out of the batcave, that doesn’t mean this guy is an ally; he won’t be swayed by some meta emotional manipulation. Bringing them to such a crowded location could be as much a threat as it could a reassurance, given the knowledge of his vigilante nature - a building full of eyes to make Jason feel better?

Or a building full of hostages?

“No,” Danny denies calmly, matter-of-factly, expression unworried despite the sudden decrease in personal space. “Someone told me you were in danger, and I could help you, so I did. I can also help you with the fact that you’re starving-”

“I’m not-”

“-and I can tell you why you’re so scared of Green Lantern.”

Jason is very willing to hear him out at that. Maybe he shouldn't be. He wants to stay suspicious; he will stay cautious.

But....

He has to know.

He has to know what's going on before it drives him crazy.

Crazier, if you ask his 'family.'

And doesn't that just burn? How quick they'd been to ignore his feelings when he didn't have any concrete information to back them up. How it hadn't taken more than a promise of maybe help for them to trust Green Latern.

Help with something he'd already gotten mostly under control.

He knows it scared them; how much he'd changed when he came back. How long he'd spent letting his anger take the driver's seat.

But he died. And then he came back to find his killer was walking around fresh as a fucking daisy. Jason was entitled to a little anger, in his own humble opinion.

Maybe he'd gone a bit far, but things had finally started going back to normal. He'd almost started to forgive them for not avenging him. For replacing him. They'd even started working together again, more and more often with every passing day. Jason had worked on reigning in his anger instead of letting it take the reigns, controlling the Pit Rage instead of sinking into it.

It was a hard transition to make; hate cradles you, as they say. But he tried.

Maybe he had some relapses occasionally, some outbursts here and there, but he was making progress.

But they had been willing to throw him at the mercy of someone that terrified him for reasons he didn't understand the second they offered maybe a 'solution' to his 'green little problem.'

As if it wasn't mostly 'solved' already.

As if they hadn't been working on it for years now.

As if he wasn't capable of making his own damn decisions.

Mind made up, he takes breath, takes a step back, glances at the door - which he very quickly locks when he realizes how much they’ve been playing with fire - and drops the hand from his gun.

“Why bring us somewhere so crowded?”

“Your pals are less likely to attack us if we’re surrounded by civilians and not doing anything wrong. Plus, background noise. As long as we’re relatively quiet we’re unlikely to be overheard or bothered,” he answers, then points at the abandoned stolen clothing on the floor, a brow raised. “But if it’s all the same, I’d prefer to explain more when we’re not in a bathroom.”

Jason stares at him for another long moment.

Someone jiggles the handle and knocks.

“Fuck it.”

He throws on the baggy outfit, grateful for the drawstring - which is the only thing keeping the pants up - at least the excess fabric covers his shoes enough to be less obviously Not Normal (™).

He whips off the mask and shoves it in the pocket of the hoodie - which hits him upper-mid thigh.

Seriously.

‘This guy is pants at guessing sizes.’

It takes a lot of inner strength to avoid facepalming when he realizes his unintentional pun.

Once dressed, Danny wastes no time opening up the door to leave, and he follows him out and into the coffee line, ignoring the wide-eyed look on the face of the guy who’d knocked.

They grab coffee and snag an outside table - even more background noise with all the traffic, Danny explains as they sit.

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

“So, Danny. Who, exactly, sent you to ‘help’ me?” Jason asks, leaning back in his seat.

Danny snorts at the theatrics, taking a sip of his own drink before he answers.

“He didn’t send me, he just told me you were in danger. I’m here because I want to be. But his name is Clockwork, the ghost that watches over the timestream.”

Danny sighs.

“We probably don't have a lot of time before Greenie and the Furries catch up, and they’ll need to hear a lot of what I have to tell you,” he says. “But, the basic - and more personal - details which only you really need to know-” he holds up a finger “-my parents have always been obsessed with ghosts and made it their life’s mission to open a portal to the afterlife - which they call the ‘Ghost Zone.’”

A second finger joins the first.

“They succeeded when I was 14, except they didn’t manage to make it turn on because they miswired an emergency off-switch on the inside to have an accompanying ‘on’ button that needed to be activated before it would work.”

A third.

“A friend dared me to go in and I, being a dumb kid, did. Then promptly tripped and hit the on-button and got electrocuted half to death. I say ‘half’ because in the midst of me dying the portal turned on, and the ectoplasm bonded to my living DNA and reached a sort of balance. This turned me into a halfa - a being that is half-human and half-ghost. Half alive and half dead. A human form and a ghost form.”

A fourth, Danny studiously ignoring Jason’s bewildered blinking.

“Halfa’s, due to the nature of our existences, are exceedingly rare. The first that I know of was created in an accident 20 years ago. I was the second. The third was already a halfa when she was created, being a clone of me - long story. The fourth, that I know of,” Danny leans forward, fingers curling back over to leave the hand pointing at Jason. “Is you.”

Danny can see the roiling mix of confusion-comprehension-horror-denial-fear-anger building up in him - anger the one that appeared to be winning - so he rushes to explain, holding his hands up placatingly - deja-vu.

“Clockwork only told me about you, like, an hour ago. He told me about how you didn’t know you were a halfa, how there’s barely enough ambient ectoplasm in this city to sustain you, that what is here is kind of garbage, that you don’t know how to get more - or that you need more. Or what ecto is - it’s like carbon for ghosts, I guess? Like living people are made of carbon but food is too?”

He squints. Shrugs.

“Ghosts are made of ecto and need it to be healthy. As halfas, we need both. There’s a lot more to ‘how to be a halfa’ but that’s the most important thing right now given I can literally sense how ecto-deprived you are. Your ecto-signature is literally so weak I could almost mistake you for a blob ghost, which is incredibly not-healthy. I nabbed a thermos from my fridge on the way here, so like. I know it probably sounds sus and your experience with green liquids-” he notes Jason tense back toward anger from where he’d been moving into confusion territory “-is probably historically bad, but I promise it’s safe. I’ll even drink some myself to prove it if that helps.”

A beat.

“Green liquids.”

It’s not a question, but Danny answers anyway, reaching into his chest to pull out the thermos, ignoring the strangled noise Jason makes and the aborted movement from where he’d begun to stand before crashing back down and staring as he uncaps the cylinder and pours a little of the ectoplasm into the cap before sliding the rest towards him.

“Ectoplasm!” Danny chirps, downing his like a shot only to find Jason staring, mouth slightly open in horror.

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

Jason has known Danny for less than five minutes, and the guy has already said and done the most unhinged things Jason has ever seen anyone do.

In five. Minutes.

Here’s the thing; Jason hates everything he’s saying.

That Jason is still dead.

That he needs to start drinking lazarus water.

That there was some time guy out there stalking him (as if he needed another nosy bastard hanging over his shoulder. He was just starting to barely-kind of-sorta tolerate the ones he knew about).

That Danny died in his parents’ basement because they were experimenting with lazarus water.

Jason had barely begun to process the insane shit he said when the guy shoves his hand through his fucking chest.

For a moment, he was fully convinced he was going to rip out his heart or something.

Instead, he’d apparently just been using his chest cavity as a storage location for a thermos of lazarus water.

Ya know, as you fucking do.

In keeping with his general vibe of ‘one-insane-thing-after-another-without-pause’ he immediately pours himself a glass and downs it like a fucking shot.

It hasn’t even been 24 hours since this nightmare started and Jason thinks he might be going prematurely gray by now (no the white part does not count, he died when he was 15, Tim).

Finally, mercifully, the guy stops talking and/or doing things.

He closes his hanging jaw, noting the unchanged blue of the guys’ eyes.

Danny is still calm. In control. Unaffected by a bit of eau de lazarus.

Jason takes a steadying breath, bracing himself for the smell of decay and mildew and blood that the waters always carry with them…and gets something completely different.

His eyes snap down to the still-open thermos laid before him.

Looking closer, he notes the lack of bubbles. The color is the same, but the glow itself is somehow brighter. Softer.

It doesn’t smell like lazarus water.

It smells like chamomile tea. Like the lavender cookies Alfred used to make post-patrol sometimes, trying to incite them to go to bed sooner rather than staying up at all hours.

It smells delicious.

He can feel his mouth water, and his stomach growls loudly, suddenly.

He’d had that oatmeal less than two hours ago, but he suddenly feels like he hadn’t eaten at all.

He sips his coffee instead, staring down the container of pure temptation, straining against the urge to pick it up and chug.

Danny watches on, silent, patient. He looks hopeful, Jason thinks, but not expectant.

Not that he couldn’t just be a really good actor. And just because the lazarus water smells good doesn’t mean it’s safe. Doesn’t mean he should just go for it.

Even if it does smell like chamomile tea and lavender cookies.

Alfred’s lavender cookies.

Which he’d never been able to resist.

‘He drank some,’ Jason thinks as he picks up the thermos. ‘He’s still fine,’ he tells himself. ‘If he wanted to he could’ve just dropped me directly into one of the pits. If he wanted to hurt me he could’ve phased poison directly into my bloodstream, probably.’

The not-quite-lazarus water tastes just like it smells.

Jason wants to chug the whole canister, but he has enough self-control to take sips instead, letting the flavors play out on his tongue.

No hint of almonds.

No odd textures.

Just chamomile and lavender and bliss.

Three sips and a solid ten seconds in and he still feels fine - no feeling faint or frothing at the mouth. Instead, he feels lighter.

Warmer.

Calmer.

Ravenous.

He chugs the rest, tension leaving his body, nerves settling, the hunger he hadn’t known was there until the scent first hit him abating enough to be ignored.

He takes a moment to look at the empty cylinder and reflect on the fact that he just voluntarily drank lazarus water.

Except not really. Lazarus water is vile; even Danny had said the ‘ecto’ he’d encountered was 'garbage.'

'What, did Ra's forget to install a damn pool-filter or something???

He shakes the thought from his head and looks back at his…rescuer? Danny only looks relieved; noticeably more relaxed than the apparently false-calm he’d been projecting before.

Jason chews his lip in thought. Frowns.

“Okay. I have many questions, comments, and concerns about…everything that just happened, to be honest. But before anything else, I want answers about Green Lantern.”

Danny nods, expression grave.

“Let me tell you a story….”

***

Fun Fact: Ectoplasm smelling like wild stuff is fun, but also it’s everywhere in the zone. Ghosts have to live in it & smell it/smell like it all the time. Sooooo….

In this AU I’m going with: ecto smells like ranch 2 (lime & batteries) to humans bc they can’t process it properly.

To ghosts, ectoplasm smells like the thing they want the most at that moment. Right now, Jason wants home - as it was when it was safe - so the ecto smells like something that reminds him of that.

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

Next time: Back at the batcave! If that scene doesn’t stretch too long, also reunion! Or at least Jason pov of being pissed when they have the audacity to want to talk!

Tags!

@skulld3mort-1fan @kyrianclawraith @jesimilu @bleuyellow93 @ocearnawrites @undead-essence @violet-catsarelife @sunsetdew0101 @tsukihimeyfan @the-legal-shipper @spideypoolalways @mariendall @jesus-camp-the-sequel @jotaroslooseeyebrowhair @akikoyuii @mrowsters @do3y @aikoiya @joaniejustwokeup @wwwwyamd @fox-sama97

[feraltuxedo]

Saving Face

New fic alert! My contribution for this year's @fandomtrumpshate auction is live - a five part human AU featuring author Crowley and faceblind bookseller Aziraphale.

Saving Face by FeralTuxedo E, 1/5 chapters Summary: Bookseller Aziraphale has never had much of a green thumb, but when radio host A.J. Crowley's new book about houseplants arrives at the shop, he makes an effort to sell as many copies as possible. His job is on the line, after all. And a mysterious redheaded customer with a penchant for vandalism isn’t helping.

I was prompted by @comicgeekery to write a meet-cute get together fic in that setting and with Aziraphale's prosopagnosia complicating things. Since I have the condition, too, I was all over that idea. You can check out an excerpt from the first chapter below the cut:

Abandoning his mug of tea, Aziraphale stepped out onto the shop floor, where the redhead was perusing the display table with the new arrivals.

‘I wouldn’t get that one if I were you. Dreadful slog all throughout the second half and the killer couldn’t be more obvious if she walked around with a bloodstained knife in her hand.’

The man’s sunglasses flashed at him as he looked up with that mixture of delight and apprehension that had baffled Aziraphale for weeks now. Every time this particular customer sauntered into the shop, nerves barely concealed behind the swagger, he appeared rather more interested in the shop assistant than the books he was half-heartedly browsing.

It had taken a while for Aziraphale to acknowledge the flirting, even after Newt had made several allusions to it. But by the time he’d summarised every single Bond novel to the man, noticed him hanging onto his every word, only for him to off-handedly comment that he’d already read them all, he’d cottoned on. Which was for the best, or he would have been more than irritated by what Gabriel no doubt considered a colossal waste of his shop staff’s time.

‘D’you read all the books you sell?’ the customer asked now, mouth twitching at the corners.

‘Goodness, no. If only. That would be the quickest way to get my notice handed to me.’

‘Right.’ The man’s eyebrows shot above the stark line of his sunglasses, surprise evident on his sharp features. ‘Isn’t this your shop?’

The absurdity of the idea made Aziraphale laugh.

‘Mine? Oh no, far from it. I am but a humble shop assistant.’

He tapped the name badge pinned to his chest. The man didn’t look at it, but fumbled with the book in his hands.

‘Right, sorry. Just thought… ‘cause you’re in here all the time…’

‘I’m the only full-time staff member,’ Aziraphale explained. ‘Everyone else is part-time, except for the manager, and he works upstairs.’

He pointed at the ceiling, beyond which Gabriel sat in his first-floor office, presumably doing very little. Aziraphale preferred it that way. Once or twice each day, he would descend the stairs into the staff room to make a snide comment about sales figures or the correct way to lay out a shop window, and then disappear again.

‘Though, if I might be so bold as to admit, with him very much busy with his accounts—’ Aziraphale put the last word in air quotes— ‘I’m mostly left to do as I please. Which is for the best, really. If my manager was in charge of the displays, you’d see nothing but How to Win Friends and Influence People. I’m sure it’s the only book he’s ever read, not that it’s done him much good.’

The man’s laughter rang through the shop bright as a bell. Entirely charming. Encouraged, Aziraphale took a step closer and looked back over his shoulder to make sure Newt was not lurking in the doorway to the staff room. He gathered all his resolve, and to his own surprise, his smile was as steady as his voice when he spoke.

‘I was wondering, actually, if I might take you out for a coffee. There’s a lovely little place just around the corner, and I can take my break as early as in half an hour. I just need to let my colleague know. The thing is, I’d love to talk more about books with you. Or anything else, for that matter.’

The man stared at him through dark lenses, a deep frown forming beneath his widow’s peak. Well, that wasn’t at all a good sign. Had Aziraphale misread the signals? Was he being a creep?

This moment of building panic was interrupted by Newt, who stomped onto the shop floor with an armful of new releases.

‘Was it you who ordered a whole box of Yelling at Plants by A.J. Crowley?’

Aziraphale, grateful for the distraction, whipped around to relieve Newt of some of the books precariously balanced in his grip. They were bound in a striking black and green cover, with the title embossed in gold. Eye-catching.

‘Yes, I did. How exciting, I didn’t realise they’d already be here. We must clear a space for them, maybe over here?’

He bustled over to the large table in the centre and directed Newt to dump the pile of books on top of it. Prime real estate. As soon as the shop was empty, he’d make it look all nice. And then sneak a look at the book itself. He had been rather looking forward to this one.

Newt regarded the books with a shake of the head.

‘How on earth are we meant to shift thirty copies of a gardening book? Are you actually trying to get us both sacked?’

‘Don’t be silly. This is not just any gardening book. It’s A.J. Crowley’s literary debut.’

This statement was only met with confusion.

‘You don’t know him? Yelling at Plants, every Saturday morning on Radio 4?’

Lovely way to wake up, with the silky voice of A.J. Crowley coming through the airwaves, much less choleric than the name of the show suggested.

‘My nan listens to Radio 4,’ Newt said derisively.

‘Your nan clearly has better taste than you.’