#Actually like four or so people ghosted me during That Month so it could happen again

[festeringmoons]

For the past two Wednesdays I’ve run into two people who ghosted me a couple years ago in entirely different situations this is actually so funny

[misty--nights]

I'm working on another Dead Boy Detectives fic rather than work on my actual college stuff and it's got me thinking bout Niko and luck. Spoilers for the whole show, of course.

I find it fascinating how Niko keeps stumbling upon all these situations that seem like they have nothing to do with anything, only for her to find the key to whatever problem they encounter next in said random situation. It's a pretty consistent, too, that she seems to walk a line between bad and good luck. Like something bad will happen to her, only for that to be immediately offset by something really good that she found by chance. It's honestly kind of wild at times.

So, when we first meet Niko, she's being possessed by parasites that want to explode her, which doesn't seem very lucky. Except, that somehow the girl who moves across the girl just so happens to be with a couple of ghosts who can save her. Just in the nick of time, too. And at first that doesn't seem like that big of a deal. It's what the boys do, right? It makes sense they saved her just in time because that's what they do, and that's the kind of show this is. But this bad luck / good luck thing keeps happening to her until the end of the show.

In episode 4, she goes with the gang to the lighthouse and goes off on her own to talk to the gift shop lady. She doesn't find what it is that is drowning the people, but she does find information about the Washer Woman and about Lilith, which at the time seems to her and the others like just random information. She then goes to find the red sea glass and gifts it to Edwin on a whim, without knowing what it can do for them. She just finds it, like it's nothing, when later we see Tragic Mick spend so much time by the shore looking for one, and we see how hard it is. And I know they say in the show that only those who really need her can find the Washer Woman, but out of all four of them, Niko doesn't seem to be the one who needs the Washer Woman the most, as we see when Crystal is the one who receives a personalized riddle thing. Which, again, is something that will be super important later and Crystal gains that knowledge thanks to Niko just stumbling upon the key to finding the Washer Woman on accident.

Then, in episode 5, she just happens to stumble upon Jenny's secret admirer and manage to set up a date with them. Now, I know. I know Maxine is actually a stalker that ends up trying to kill Jenny, bad luck. Except nothing really happens to her there? @carpediemma has a post where she says that the floor was most likely dirty because she promised Jenny to clean the floors for a month if the date went wrong and Jenny was sort of banking on it being bad. With Niko's track record with luck, I think that is very possible. Again, bad luck / good luck situation. The date she sets up is ruined because Maxine tries to kill Jenny, but because she made the bet and Jenny fully believed the date wouldn't work, Maxine slips and fall.

Episode 6 might be a bit of a stretch. Technically, it's Crystal's decision to go to Tragic Mick's in search for some way to get rid of David, but it's thanks to Niko that she actually gets the heart gem thingy. So, bad luck there, because the gem takes away all of Crystal's powers. However, and this links back to episode 4 again, it's thanks to her finding the sea glass that eventually Crystal has the way to start discovering her real abilities.

In episode 7 she stays with the Night Nurse while Charles goes to hell and Crystal goes to find David. She starts reading the Night Nurse's book as a way to find something about her dad. Nothing she finds there would be useful for contacting, seeing or bringin him back. However, she does manage to stumble upon the exact passage she needed to buy Edwin and Charles some time after they get back from hell. And yes, maybe you could say that she read the whole book during the time Charles was gone, but I doubt it. We don't know how long exactly it takes Charles to find Edwin and return, but we do know it can't be that long, because the Night Nurse keeps insisting she can't keep the doorway open for long. I think at most he would have been gone 40 minutes, and that's me being generous. It's enough time for Crystal to confront David and come back. In any case, I don't think it's enough for her to carefully read the whole book front to back, no matter how good her reading comprehension is, specially if she was looking for something specific, like something about where her dad ended up in. I think it's more likely that she just found the page with the loophole she would need by chance, read it, filed it in her memory for a "just in case" and continued looking for what she wanted.

Finally, in episode 8, we have the whole Lilith thing that was set up in episode 4. She finds about her and files it as an irrelevant detail, until she hears Tragic Mick talk about Esther's deal and tells Crystal how she can contact Lilith, which ends up saving Crystal and the boys at the final confrontation. Besides that, though, there's the whole bear figure that Tragic Mick gives her and the explosion at Jenny's shop. In the explosion, Esther takes Charles and Edwin (bad), but neither her nor Jenny, the two living people in the shop at the time, are really injured in the commotion (good.)

And then the bear thing. In episode 7, she hears his story and tells him how they found the Washer Woman, and he can't find a piece of red sea glass of his own. Even though he is really desperate for a way to find her. (which, again, it's odd Niko is the one to find the Washer Woman when she wasn't that in need for the Washer Woman's assistance. The whole group was, but it was Niko who found her, but anyways). He gifts her the bear figure as a way to thank her for trying to help and they move on from that. And she accepts it and goes to Esther's place with Crystal, convinced of the protection of the bear, and then dies to save Crystal. Except she doesn't really? She's fine at the end, in some sort of frozen land, with Litty and Kingham, and by the way she holds the bear figure, it's implied that's what sort of saved her, even if she is no longer tied to the mortal plane.

I don't know, there was no real point behind this, just something I've been thinking about for a while. I think if someone has a shot at helping Tragic Mick return to sea, it's her, because she just has the luck to find solutions she wasn't even looking for. And I'm convinced if she ever makes it back to Port Townsend, that's just what she would do. On accident, but still. That's just the kind of character she is to me.

[erikahenningsen]

hi gwen!!! how was the barrett concert?? i hope you had a good time! if you were willing to share any details id be super grateful, but i totally get it if not. regardless, sending so much love and hope youre having a good one!!

It was extremely enlightening and Barrett really got personal and opened up a lot, which really surprised me. I took audio of the whole thing and am happy to share so you can listen to the full stories, but here is an overview:

She talked about ghosts and the paranormal a lot. Like, a LOT. Many stories about monsters inside her and talking to dead people. Actually was kind of concerning? She said she was afraid to go to sleep. Like girl are you good??

Barrett told a story about failing statistics in college three times and then failing the midterm on her fourth try. Her professor called her in to her office and Barrett said she was playing Maureen in Rent and her professor went to see her. Then they met again later and Barrett’s professor gave her the answer key to the final so she could pass LOL. Her professor said to shout her out in her bio if she ever made it to Broadway so Barrett did when she was in Lysistrata Jones.

Barrett talked about what happened when she left Heathers but it was very vague and she didn’t name the show directly. It seemed like she wasn’t going well mentally and got really overwhelmed and quit (she explicitly said in another story that she had never been fired from a job) and she heard a bunch of rumors about why she left and they weren’t true.

Idk if you or anyone from the Broadway days remember the Great Barrett Disappearance of 2019, but she was out of Mean Girls for four or five weeks and we had no idea why. Barrett shared that she had a severe depressive episode and couldn’t get out of bed for a month. Lorne Michaels called her into his office to check on her, and encouraged her to go to a psychiatrist. Barrett was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD and started seeing a therapist.

Barrett said she lived with her mom for a couple years during the pandemic and then lived in LA for a year and also worked on a TV show for a couple years and it was really good for her to step away from Broadway (and live theater generally) and kind of find who she is without it. It sounded to me like she isn't interested in returning to the stage (at least anytime soon) but is happy and doing well.

[toshidokii-writes]

i'm melting in your hands, go on, make your demands

a price x oc smut that i just finished like two weeks ago, this is my first time ever writing smut so please be kind :')

also on ao3 18 + content!! minors do not interact! words: 9352 ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

⋆｡‧˚ʚ☀️ɞ˚‧｡⋆

Six months. That’s how long Spencer’s torture had been going for.

Okay, that was too much, even for him. His “torture” was constant flirting and his torturer, Captain Price. A broad shouldered, gruff, strong bear of man that Spencer has wanted to climb like a tree since he first laid eyes on the older man maybe ten years ago. 

He’s always been too repressed and, frankly, nervous to ever make an actual move. Off handed flirty comments here and there, but he made those to everyone. Then, one day six months ago, Price had started making his own little comments. Flirtatious words spoken over comms where everyone could hear, said to Spencer specifically, words meant to fluster and shut the younger man up and they always succeeded.

But Price didn’t stop at reciprocating to shut Spencer up during missions. No, then it escalated without Spencer even initiating it first. Looks of interest in warm blue eyes, a piercing look Spencer knew was only for him. The young man doesn’t want to think about how that look makes him feel. 

Six months of torture later, it was Valentine's Day. The one day a year that people are allowed to freely love; he could see that with Siren and Ghost, a bitter jealousy that created a sense of distaste in the back of his throat like old coffee. Spencer knows that it isn’t fair of him to be jealous, that Siren and Ghost both deserve to be happy with each other, that he doesn’t deserve to interfere. Knowing and understanding don’t stop the feelings.

So here he is on Valentine’s Day, sad and jealous and alone, pacing his room trying to decide if he should take Johnny’s offer of going on leave with him. A half empty suitcase sits on Spencer’s bed, most of his civvies and fancier clothes thrown around from his indecisiveness, the soldier himself dressed only in gym shorts and socks. 

A knock on the door of his quarters made his ears perk. Who was knocking at this hour? John Price’s voice almost startled him when he started. “Wasp, can we speak, perhaps in private?”

The sound of his captain’s voice both soothes and excites the younger man, the deep baritone of Price’s voice sending a thrill down Spencer’s spine. He debates pretending to not be in the room or asleep, but Price has already heard the young man’s pacing steps around the room stutter to a stop. He bites his bottom lip in thought before sighing and resigning himself to whatever happens. 

Spencer scours the floor of his messy room, throwing on a random t-shirt before his sock-covered feet pad over to answer the door. He opens it slowly, peeking out from behind it and blinking owlishly at the older man. Wasp smiles softly at Price, raising an eyebrow and hoping desperately to hide both his nerves and excitement.

“What’s happened?” He asked, the accent trilling off his tongue. His voice is soothing and sweet, like honey to Price's ears despite the raspy edge to it. “Is there something on?”

“No, no.” His boss’s words soothed him somewhat. “Nothing’s on, mate, no need to worry so much.” Price leaned against the doorframe, a whole four inches taller than the younger man and still taller even when he leaned over. 

It was hard not to be intimidated by him… but let's be honest, it kind of turned Spencer on. He found himself waiting for his words, blinking up at the man coquettishly.

"Take a walk with me." Price offered, it was simple, something personal and light. 

Heartbeat fluttering in his chest, Spencer’s soft smile widens slightly. "Sure. Where to?"

Price doesn’t respond with words, instead just grinning at the young corporal and motioning him to follow. Spencer huffs and rolls his eyes at the older man’s unnecessary secrecy and pushes his captain out of the doorway to change into something more appropriate.

He steps back out of his quarters, now dressed in pastel pink velvet pants, a heart stitched into one of the back pockets, white ankle boots on his feet. He wears a simple white t-shirt with pink heart shaped sunglasses resting on top of his head even though he knows the sun has already set. He looks around, finding Price leaning against a nearby wall, a lit cigar between his fingers. The captain looks up when Spencer steps out, smiling softly at the young corporal.

“You look great, handsome.” The compliment made Spencer blush. “Are you ready?” 

God, the corporal thought, he’s such a dilf. He, almost too eagerly, went to walk by his side as they started to leave base. Most of the soldiers still in uniform paid them little mind, they were used to Spencer’s outfits as he commonly left base with the rest of the Task Force for karaoke nights at the local bar that’s popular among off-duty officers. 

His thoughts went momentarily to Siren, would she be jealous if she saw him with Price? Confidence flooded his veins and left his core feeling guilty, but all of that disappeared when Price’s baritone invaded his ears when they were safely off of base and out of earshot. “I believe we’ve had a little…” His boss seemingly fought for his sentence. “Chemistry, I hope that’s the right word, lately.” Yes, lately… literally the last six months. Spencer keeps his slightly bitter and overly sarcastic words to himself, snorting at Price’s words. “Lately? Feels like it’s been much longer, sir.” The young man says, playful with his words, trying to keep the mood light as the two walk from the base. He briefly thinks about the fact that he has no idea where Price is taking him, then realizes he doesn’t particularly care. Spencer decides to stop thinking about it too hard, the young man too curious to refuse the captain’s offer. Price chuckles lowly, his voice comforting in Spencer’s ears, filling him with the same warmth that invades his brain whenever he gets praise from the older man.

Wasp grins cheekily up at his captain as the older man raises an eyebrow at the corporal’s snarky words. Price blows cigar smoke from one corner of his mouth, making sure to turn away so it doesn’t blow in the other man’s face. 

Spencer stares as the older man blows out the smoke, eyes locked on the way Price bites down on the end of the cigar. He chokes back a whine, face flushing red as he quickly snaps his head down to stare at his feet.

Price turns his head to look at his underling, the swift movement catching his attention. “You alright?” His voice sounds concerned but there’s a knowing spark in his eyes.

Spencer nods, still not quite meeting the captain’s eyes. “Just peachy, cap.” He sweetly says while batting his eyelashes in false innocence, sharp grin a contrast to his pretty eyes. “So, do I get to know where we’re goin’ yet or is that information still classified?”

His boss's chuckle was like music to Spencer's ears. "You hungry?" He asks, taking another puff of his cigar. 

Spencer briefly considers his options, before remembering that he’s not caring right now, that’s what he’s doing. “I could eat.” He responds, vague and non-committal, trying desperately to hide his wants and hopes for how this night will turn out. He pines for this man, his bloody fuckin’ captain, and that is a terrifying realization to have while being taken out for dinner by Price, just the two of them.

Ignoring his tone, John leads him, almost instinctively, to an old steakhouse. Putting out his cigar, the man opened the door for his underling, looking down at him with blue eyes that seemed to speak too many words for Spencer to understand. "I used to come here a lot when I was a lad." Saying this made him sound older than he actually was. 

What a fuckin' dilf, The thought, once again, entered Spencer's thoughts. He shakes his head as if to physically remove the thought before speaking. 

“You say that like you’re about to keel over or somethin’. Aren’t you only like thirty-seven?”

‘Eyes are the window to one’s soul,’ goes the famous quote, Spencer heard this as his boss turned his blue gaze to him once more. “I might.” He jokes, his small laugh making Spencer’s stomach flip. “After you, Mr. Marsh.” He says before Spencer steps through the door and he shut it behind them. Wasp raises an eyebrow at Price as he walks into the restaurant, standing awkwardly in the entranceway. He doesn’t really know what this is, doesn’t know what the captain wants from him. The young man’s breath hitches in his throat as Price takes his hand, pulling the corporal into the steakhouse proper. He stares at their joined hands as the older man pulls him along towards the hostess booth, brain practically rebooting.

John doesn’t let go of Spencer’s hand until the two of them are seated at a table, a fact that the raven haired man is very aware of, instantly missing the warmth of the other man’s hand. Spencer slides into the bench of the booth, placing his chin in his hand and looking out at the other tables.

Slowly, he notices something about almost every other patron in the restaurant, it’s all couples.

The realization hits him like a ton of bricks, his freckled face flushing red as he thinks about how the two of them look. Like a decorated military man and his young trophy husband. 

Christ.

Looking at the menu, Spencer observed Price from the corners of his vision. He got so invested in just watching the older man that when the waiter finally got there and asked what they wanted, Spencer had no idea.

Another one of Price’s signature knowing looks flashed in his blue eyes. “Two steaks and a pint of beer for each, please.” He smiles at the waiter, making Spencer feel a twinge of jealousy roll down his spine as he glares at the waiter without even realizing. 

Price, however, does realize and raises his eyebrows at him with a small grin on his face. It makes Wasp flush in embarrassment and look away, flustered not by his own jealousy but by the fact that he was caught for it. He turns away and places his head in his hand, pouting to himself about being silently called out. He hears the older man’s deep chuckle and chooses to ignore it, turning away to avoid the captain’s gaze. He huffs quietly, looking at the menu of specialty drinks that the restaurant offers. Spencer doesn’t drink much, but the young man knows he prefers the drinks that don’t actually taste like alcohol, preferring sweet or fruity flavors.

He stares at the picture of the frozen margarita longingly, desperate for the burn of the tequila and dull ache of the frozen slush. It sucks that he’s feeling like this, jealous and bitter about things he cannot change and taking it out on a poor waiter who simply got a smile from the older man. The fact that it hasn’t even angered Price is another thing, the older man seems to enjoy the jealousy that shows on Spencer’s face and he isn’t sure how to feel about that. 

Spencer orders the frozen margarita.

He sends the pint of beer back when the waiter brings it out, a sharp grin on his lips that makes a look of fear flash on the waiter’s face. The corporal stirs his frozen drink with his straw, sipping on it happily as Price stares at him, a disbelieving yet amused look on his face. 

"I'm sure you know why we're here?" Price asks, a look in his eye that tells he is not asking a hypothetical question. It makes the young man tilt his head, eyebrows scrunching up in confusion. He has an idea of why they’re here, but he doesn’t want to say what he thinks.

Instead, he simply shrugs, playing dumb to avoid embarrassing himself anymore than he already has tonight. “I’m not entirely sure, captain, would you care to enlighten me?” He says, innocent and sweet as he takes a bite of his mashed potatoes. “Or am I supposed to guess all evening?”

John chuckles lightly, looking at Spencer with a warmth that the young man isn’t quite sure he’s earned.

"Why don't I show you exactly what I mean?" That knowing tone, one that Spencer had heard all evening. However, this time it had a hunger; a not-so-hidden desire laced around the edges and tied up in a bow of pure desire. 

Spencer blinked owlishly at the older man, nodding slowly in agreement. He doesn’t have any words, simply full of want as he tries to go back to eating his food. Price grins sharply, throwing a few pounds on the table before standing and pulling Spencer out of the booth and towards the entrance.

He expects Price to walk them back to base, where most people were either asleep or on leave, where no one would see them. A private thing. Spencer expects to be hidden away, locked behind a closed door with the curtains drawn, with no intention of letting what was happening become a public affair. Instead, he’s dragged to a very nice hotel and that scares him. It scares him, maybe more than being hidden away ever would have.

Yet, he’s finding it hard to tell whether the heart beat pounding in his ears is from the fear, or if the fluttering in his chest is only catching up with the blush spreading up his neck and face. His face feels hot, and his breath is hitching, despite never being winded by walking this fast in the past. He follows Price without a second thought, content to let the older man lead. It’s second nature at this point, for John to lead and Spencer to follow so he doesn’t have any complaints as he’s pulled down the road. 

The warm inviting light beaming from glass windowed doors does little to quell the growing heat Spencer feels on his skin. A doorman, a pretty thing in his own right, holds the door for them. The Irishman can barely hear the uniformed man’s greeting to them both over his heart thumping in his ears as Spencer follows his apparent lover inside. Inside, the floor is a waxed marble the likes of which Spencer felt he was barely able to afford the sight of. And that was the least extravagant thing about the decor. Everyone inside, both behind the check in counter and sitting in the foyer ahead of them, was wearing clothes that must have cost what the Irishman made in half a year's time. The warmth only spread as he felt overly spoiled with such in over the top place. John, however, barely spared the extravagances a lingering glance. Instead, his attention remains almost solely on the younger man beside him. Spencer could feel the warmth of John’s hand on his back as he’s encouraged onward. Soon after, hot breath caressed the shell of his ear. “Sure you’re up for this, lovey? You’re lookin’ pretty red.” Are the teasing words that fall from the older man’s lips, making the corporal’s face heat even further as he nods mutely, flustered and inexperienced with this kind of thing, in more ways than one.

Price studies the young man’s expression for a moment, a teasing grin on his lips as he takes in the flushed face of his subordinate. “Alright then, as long as you’re sure.” He responds, an air of playfulness lacing his gruff voice as he grabs Spencer’s hand in his own and pulls the corporal to the elevator. It’s a silent ride up, Wasp busying himself with staring at anything other than the man beside him. He stares at his boots, picks his nails, messes with his hair while staring at his reflection in the metal of the elevator panel, anything to not make eye contact with his captain.

Price isn’t sure why Wasp is so nervous, so fidgety. The young man is normally pretty flighty, unless on the field, but this is different. This is nerves and Price doesn’t know what to make of it as the elevator chimes and the doors slide open. He takes Spencer’s hand once more, gently guiding his corporal like he has for years. The captain stops at a door near the end of the hall, haphazardly swiping the keycard given to him by hotel staff. 

Shutting the door behind him, John Price’s eyes were solely for Spencer’s. It’s a heady feeling, the older man’s eyes piercing through his soul as they barrel into the hotel room with needy fervor and Spencer isn’t stupid, he knows that he’s once again a rebound for a man that Siren has used and left behind. He can’t help but feel that that doesn’t really matter right now when Price’s warm hands are once again touching him, grasping at Spencer’s hips, heat seeping through his thin white t-shirt.

John’s rough, calloused hands slide up to rest on the young corporal’s ribs, squeezing lightly as he presses his lips to the man’s neck, beard scratching at his pale skin as the captain trails hot, open-mouthed kisses up his jaw towards Spencer’s lips. The scratchy texture of Price’s beard makes the young man whine, a short sound from the back of his throat. It makes the older man pause for just a moment before he moves back down to Spencer’s neck, wanting to hear the sound again. The captain nips sharply at the spot connecting his neck and shoulder, pulling a sharp gasp from lips that he bites down on to muffle the noise. 

Price huffs a breathy laugh against his neck, raising one of his hands towards the young man’s lips. The captain uses his thumb to pull Spencer’s bottom lip out from between his teeth before pressing an achingly soft kiss to them, kissing back down along the young man’s jaw. “I want to hear you, darlin’, no hiding.” Fuck, his voice. The sound of it makes Spencer whine softly, head tilting back and hitting the door behind him.

"That's a good boy." Voice so low that the corporal swore it seeped into every pore in his body like lotion. 

The words send a jolt of molten need down his spine, and Christ, he needs to get his issues in order. His breath hitches in his throat, Price’s hands sliding under his shirt and urging it over his head as the older man backs him up against the edge of the bed. Spencer blinks hazily before getting the idea, arms raising to help get it over his head. It’s tossed to the ground haphazardly and where it lands is a problem that he doesn’t exactly have the time or patience to deal with. 

Impatient and calloused hands roughly grab at the button of Spencer’s velvet pink pants, his boots already tossed off before they even made it to the bed. Price’s knee forces the young man’s legs apart, one hand resting on the inside on his thigh and the other on his hip, thumb rubbing on the fabric there. His pants are unbuttoned and unzipped quickly, boxers peeking through the slot. The captain pulls down Wasp’s pants, hissing through his teeth at the sight of the young man’s boxers, drenched with need. Spencer turns his head away, face flushed red with embarrassment as he lifts his hips to help get his pants the rest of the way off.

Noticing his subordinate’s sudden self-consciousness, John places a gentle and calloused hand on Spencer’s jaw, a reassuring touch. “So pretty for me, dove, so needy and desperate.” The captain rasps out, voice rough and lips pressed against the young man’s hip. Spencer glares down at the older man, making Price grin sharply and nip at the soft skin of the corporal’s hip. The hand on the young man’s jaw moves down to the inside of one of his plush thighs, the other hand teasingly squeezing at his hip. It’s a strange sensation, but not an unwelcome one. It makes a shiver run down his spine, thigh tensing under the older man’s touch.

He lifts a knee to hit the older man in the stomach, not hard just enough to feel it. John grunts, head snapping up to glare at the corporal. Spencer pouts down at the captain teasingly, batting his eyelashes innocently.

“Don’t tease, sir. I’ve never done this before and you’re being mean to me?” The young man says, though he’s clearly not very put out if the sharp grin on his lips is anything to go by. The words, though they’re said playfully, make the captain hesitate for a second, a small moment of clarity cutting through the lust filled haze that fogs Price’s mind. He looks up at Spencer with wide eyes, genuine concern for his subordinate written all over his face. 

That’s what the nerves had been about.

John licks his bottom lip, hesitance evident in his expression. “Are you sure you wanna do this with me?” The captain asks, worry and apprehension laced throughout his rough baritone voice. “First times are a big deal, kid.”

The young man’s nose scrunches up, a mix of disgust and annoyance on his face. “Don’t call me kid when you’re about to fuck me, old man.” He says, playful despite his feelings towards Price’s words, “And yeah, I’m sure, it’s not like anyone else is offering to fuck me anytime soon.”

Price huffs a laugh at Spencer’s words and his obliviousness to his own appeal. “You tell me if anything I do makes you uncomfortable. Got it?” The older man orders, tone an odd mix of care and commanding, ever the doting superior officer he’s always been to the young corporal pinned below him. Wasp nods automatically, used to silently letting the captain know that he understands. “Need to hear you say it out loud, ‘m not doing this without your consent, Spence.”

The young man huffs a sigh at that, seemingly put out at having to speak when he’s this flustered and needy. “Yes, captain, I’ll tell you if you injure me with your massive penis.” He snaps out, snarky and irritated in a way he’s never seriously been with Price before. It makes the older man eyebrows raise like a disapproving superior which Wasp seems to cow under for a moment before John softens out, pressing his lips against the young man’s neck once more in an effort to soothe the young man’s nerves. “It’s not just about not wanting to hurt you, love. If you don’t like something that I’m doing you need to tell me.” The captain murmurs, lips brushing against the soft skin of Spencer’s throat, nipping gently at his Adam's apple. 

The young man makes a face like he’s confused, as if he didn’t expect the soft treatment from the older man. It makes Price’s heart ache for Spencer and how he’s been treated before. The captain puts a hand on the corporal’s jaw, brushing his thumb gently against the skin there, comforting the young man as much as he can in the moment. 

“Do you actually want this, Spencer? We’re not doing this if you just think you have to.” John whispers against the corporal’s skin, soft and reassuring. It makes Spencer stutter to a stop, breath catching in his throat as he thinks. 

He does want this, doesn’t he? He’s wanted it for the last six months, but the moment he gets what he wants he chokes up and chickens out. It’s not like him, Wasp doesn’t hesitate so why is Spencer? It’s driving him fucking crazy that he’s nervous and it hits him that that’s what this is, nerves and that just drives him even crazier. He opens his mouth to say something, anything to make Price keep making him feel good but nothing comes out. He doesn’t know if he doesn’t know what to say or if his voice is failing him. For the first time in his life, Spencer Marsh has nothing to say for himself. 

“I-I don’t…I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” The young man chokes out when he finally gets his voice back, tears pooling in his eyes. It shocks Price, for all his being emotional the captain had never seen Spencer cry. The corporal doesn’t sob, it isn’t a loud cry of despair or anything like that. It’s a quiet thing, fat tears rolling down his pretty face as he sniffles softly. “I want this, I want you so much, but I…I’m scared and nervous and I don’t know why.”

John looks at him with a gentle look on his face, of sympathy or worry, shushing Spencer’s quiet sobs softly. He cups his subordinate’s face with calloused hands, brushing away tears with his thumb. “You said this is your first time, right? It’s ok to be nervous, love, it’s normal.” The older man murmurs between them, voice a low and comforting rumble.

Spencer shakes his head, looking around the expensive hotel room that Price has procured just for this, just for them. His eyes flit about the room, looking anywhere but meeting Price’s own. “No, not that, well I guess it’s a little bit of that, but you’re just…being so nice to me and I’m worried that I won’t be any good at this. That it’ll be bad and you’ll end up hating me or something, I don’t know…” He whispers, voice soft and nervous in a way it never usually is. Spencer’s voice is naturally gentle and sweet, but this is different. It lacks the confidence that the older man is used to hearing in it, it’s scared and insecure. 

John is suddenly reminded how young and inexperienced Spencer is compared to him.

The captain breathes out a quiet laugh, warm and rough hands a comforting weight as one cups the young man’s cheek, wiping away stray tears that roll down his face. The other hand goes back to wrapping around Spencer’s waist, a steady presence that helps to calm the corporal’s erratic mind. “I wouldn’t hate you over bad sex, sweetheart.” The older man chuckles, “And I’m bein’ nice to you, doin’ all of this for you because I want to. Not whatever silly reason your brain is tellin’ you.” 

Spencer bites his bottom lip with hesitation, turning his head away for a moment before turning back to face Price with a look of determination in his eyes. The young man takes a deep breath before slowly leaning in, pressing his soft lips to the captain’s own. Price takes it in stride, a warm feeling going through him at the contact. He pushes into the kiss, hands moving grasp at the corporal’s hips and pulling him into his lap. 

The young man takes the lead, laying one hand on the captain’s chest and one hand winding up to the back of Price’s head. Tugging gently on the spiked hair resting just above his neck, Spencer bites down on the skin of the older man’s neck just hard enough to leave a mark of his own on his captain’s skin. He rolls his hips down into John’s still clothed crotch, craving the friction and desperate for the feelings conversation to end. The corporal pants open mouthed against Price’s neck, looking up at him with half-lidded eyes dilated and full of want. 

“Christ, got your feelings out of the way quickly didn’t you, sweetheart?” John teases, eager to set their dynamic back to some kind of normalcy, voice strained with need as he takes in the pretty fuckin sight Spencer makes. He cups the younger man’s jaw, guiding his head away from the captain’s neck and slotting their lips together in a passionate kiss. His grip on the corporal’s jaw tightens slightly before moving his hand to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. It’s uncoordinated, a bit sloppy. But it’s alright cause it’s Spencer. He can get away with being messy; if anything it’s a good look on him. And Price’s there to guide him. Helps him set a steady rhythm, figure out what he does and doesn’t like. Slow but firm kisses, lips pressed against each other leaving little room for negotiation or breath and while Spencer is inexperienced, his eagerness more than makes up for it.

Price’s calloused hands move down his subordinate’s body, one grasping at his hip and trailing up to his chest. The captain rolls the pad of his thumb over the young man’s hardened nipple eliciting a short huff of pleasure from his otherwise occupied lips. His other hand slides under Spencer’s ass, lifting him into his lap. It only lasts a second before John lifts Spencer up slightly, pulling his already unbuttoned pants further down his legs until he can pull them off fully, throwing them off to the side just like his shirt before resting him back down again. 

The captain takes in the young man’s nearly naked form, the scars across his chest and body, some from surgery others from his years of military service. Price’s hands rest on the corporal’s hips, breathing out a huff of desire at his plush thighs. A smirk crosses the older man’s lips, leaning up and pressing his lips to Spencer’s neck, hot breath fanning his skin. He grins at the dark patch on the young man’s boxers, lightly pressing the rough pad of his thumb against the corporal’s clothed clit, rubbing teasingly. His back arches slightly, a soft gasp of pleasure falling from his lips. Price chuckles lowly, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. 

“Sensitive, aren’t we, love? Does it feel good, my fingers against your needy cunt?”  The captain asks, voice low and seductive as he lays Spencer on his back against the expensive sheets of the hotel bed. He hooks his thumb in the young man’s panties, looking up for approval. Spencer nods, his pretty face lightly flushed red with both desire and embarrassment. Price pulls down the corporal’s boxers agonizingly slow, revealing his glistening pussy, dripping with need. The older man presses a gentle kiss to his subordinate's soft stomach and Spencer assumes it’s meant to reassure him as the kisses move down his body. 

He’s proven wrong when the captain presses his lips to the young man’s aching clit, watching with a smirk as his hips buck up once uncontrollably, head pressing back against the pillow. Price nips at the skin of the corporal’s inner thigh, grinning when Spencer squeaks at the sharp feeling, pressing hot open-mouthed kisses to his creamy skin. The captain wraps his lips over the sensitive bundle of nerves, teasing his tongue over it.

Spencer lets out a surprised moan at the feeling, hips arching up and pressing his needy cunt further into the captain’s mouth. One of his hands shoots down to grip at the sheets, the other reaching to grab at John, not really looking where and hitting his shoulder. Price chuckles softly, looking up at the young man and taking in the pretty red flush on his face and chest before laying an arm over his hips. “I’ll get you what ya need, love, just be patient. So pretty for me, aren’t ya Marsh?” The words are nearly growled out, low and breathy against Spencer’s skin. It makes the corporal whine, a mix of embarrassment and need ringing through him at the words. The praise bounces around in his mind, preening at it like he didn’t receive enough attention as a child. He hits the older man in the shoulder softly before dropping his hand back down.

“I’ve been patient for six months, captain. Lucky I lasted that long, patience isn’t exactly my strong suit.” He’s well aware that the bite in his snarky words is undercut by the whining tone in his voice, higher pitched than normal and reedy as he complains.

 Price rolls his eyes at that, a small grin on his face. “You should have more patience, dove, you’re a sniper for God’s sake.” The captain tries for chastising disapproval, but it lands more around reluctantly amused, like he’s trying not to find the words funny. John watches as Spencer opens his mouth to retort, but doesn’t give him the chance, wrapping his lips around the young man’s clit. His callous roughened hands grasp at the underside of the corporal’s thighs and pull him closer. The young man makes a noise in the back of his throat, hips lifted off the sheets with the captain’s hands grabbing at the soft skin of his thighs, running his tongue over the young man’s slick folds. It’s an overwhelming feeling that Spencer doesn’t, can’t describe. He makes a choked sound as Price gently tries to ease one of his fingers into the corporal’s tight entrance, shuddering before desperately trying to relax around the intrusion. He must succeed as low murmurs of praise that he can’t even comprehend are mumbled against his skin.

It's unbelievable, the way it makes him feel, it’s unlike anything he’s ever felt before. Spencer lets out a surprised moan, hand shooting out to grasp at Price’s brown hair and pulling without thought. John groans lowly, the vibrations of it making the young man’s legs shake as he gasps at the pleasure of it, two of the captain’s thick fingers curling inside of the corporal’s cunt. A soft and breathless murmur of fuck falls from Spencer’s parted lips, he barely registered he had even said it before the thoughts were gone again. His back arches further into the older man’s touch, hips bucking as he desperately tries to chase the electric pleasure that shoots down his spine. His mewls and cries become breathier, high pitched and reedy as he rapidly approaches his release before the pleasure is cruelly ripped away from him. An anguished cry falls from his lips, a pout on his face before he fixes it. His eyes fly open and he looks down, leveling Price with an almost venomous glare. It makes the captain chuckle to himself, a near patronizing pat to the young man’s flank, a grin on his face. Maybe it's a little mean, an orgasm would have definitely helped with the stretch that’s coming, but the captain can’t help being possessive in a way. He wants to feel Spencer’s first orgasm around his cock — where he needs to have it. 

 “Come on, sweetheart,” Price mumbles, more to himself than to the young man as he lifts Spencer by the small of his back and practically tosses him towards the head of the bed. It makes the corporal let out a surprised laugh, backing up until he reaches the headboard. He isn’t discreet with his looks, biting his lip with desire as he watches the captain undress. Fingers fumbling with his belt until he can force his slacks open impatiently, pulling his hard cock out of his boxers instead of taking them off. It makes the young man feel a little better about how needy he’s been, knowing that the other man wants him just as much. Spencer tries to ignore how that makes him feel, being wanted this much by a man he’s wanted for years. 

Price climbs onto the bed, crawling towards the headboard where Spencer lays. The corporal nearly squeaks at the sight of the older man’s hard cock, the tip flushed and leaking as he places his hands on the young man’s waist. The captain notices the look on his face, bright red and nervous. John can’t sit here and say that it doesn’t make a smug feeling wash over him, syrupy and warm like honey.  

Christ, will that even fit? 

The thought cuts through Spencer’s honeyed mind like a knife, grounding and breaking the bliss floating around his thoughts. He hears John chuckle quietly like he’s trying to hide it from the young man. Fuck, did he say that out loud? “It’s ok, ” The captain starts, cupping Spencer’s jaw with a rough hand and leaning close, “I’ll make sure it fits, love.” He whispers into the young man’s ear, voice raspy and charged with a growl that sends shivers down the corporal’s spine. 

He looks up at Price with half-lidded eyes, buzzing with nerves and excitement. His back arches off the bed, pressing his tummy against the captain’s own as the man’s fingers spread Spencer’s slick folds. Another of those calloused fingers is pushed in, a slow and careful pace being set as the corporal tries to relax around the intrusion. He breathes shakily and purses his lips, scrunching up his face as he attempts to stave off the feeling of almost pain that those three fingers cause. He cries out with a mix of shock and pleasure as John curls his fingers, hitting that spongy spot inside the young man’s sopping cunt that makes him gasp and his walls clench tightly around the digits. He whines low and soft, the sound being pulled from him like he’s just an instrument being played to perfection. “If you don’t fuck me in the next minute, I’m going to kick you.” Spencer growls out, the needy way his hips roll and buck into the older man’s touch swiftly undercutting the tone of his threat. Price raises an eyebrow, looking up and meeting Spencer’s eyes with an amused smile at the sight of the other man’s pouting face, his threat completely useless now. The captain huffs a jokingly irritated breath, curling and twisting his fingers just enough to make Marsh buck and swear at him. 

“Don’t be a damn brat, you’re gonna let me prep you or we’re not doing this,” John says roughly, “Understood?” It’s an empty threat and if his mind wasn’t fuzzy with need Spencer probably would’ve realized it. As it stands, he whines and huffs, hands bunching up the sheets underneath him and moaning as the older man’s fingers pick up their pace anyway. His breathing is ragged and panting, walls clenching as he rolls his hips down desperately but is denied again. The young man groans in annoyance and throws his head back against the pillow, eyes and face scrunched up while Price chuckles at his dramatics. 

John presses an achingly gentle kiss to Spencer’s cheek before grabbing onto the meat of his thighs and spreading his legs open. The captain holds one of the young man’s thighs, his other hand wrapping around the base of his cock and gently guiding the head to press against the young man’s dripping entrance. “Gotta breathe through, lovey, it’s gonna sting a little.” The words are rasped against the skin of Spencer’s cheek, the corporal taking deep breaths to try and calm the nerves that threaten to override the pleasure he’s feeling. The tip of Price’s cock pushes inside without much issue, the young man feeling a little sting that makes him wince. It feels weird, good he thinks but also weird, thoughts swirling in his mind without reprieve as the captain pushes his cock about halfway in and then stops. He looks up at Spencer, eyes scanning the sniper’s face for any signs of pain or discomfort. Finding none, he thrusts as gently as he can, burying his cock fully into the young man’s cunt. 

Spencer cries out at that and looks dazedly up at the ceiling, looking through his captain for a moment. It doesn’t hurt, something he immediately conveys to Price, it’s just…so much. John gives the other man time to adjust, struggling not to fuck the young man’s brain out right away. The corporal breathes shallowly, trying to adjust quickly to the feeling of being completely filled to the brim. Price groans lowly and presses his forehead against Spencer’s shoulder, hips making aborted little motions that make the other man choke slightly. He looks up at his captain and gives him a nod, needing more despite the overwhelming sensation of the moment. 

Price starts slowly, not wanting to push too far and wind up hurting the corporal. It takes a bit before Spencer adjusts fully to the feeling, small whines that are a mix of pleasure and discomfort before he begins to rock his own hips up, eager for more of this new experience. He pants open mouthed as the captain continues to slowly thrust in and out, his thick cock stretching the sopping wet walls of the young man’s cunt. Tears prick up in the corners of Spencer’s eyes simply because of the intense sense of being hollowed from the inside out by his captain’s large shaft and he whimpers needily. “Faster! Fuck, I need more, please god!” The corporal whines dramatically, a pouty tone to his slightly raspy voice as he digs his heels into the small of John’s back. It makes the other man smirk and chuckle deeply “You can’t help being a little shit can you? Such a needy brat.” The words make Spencer pout more, hitting Price on the shoulder with the heel of his palm and narrowing his eyes into a dramatic glare that he doesn’t truly mean. John grins, not at all deterred by the false anger on the young man’s face and leans in closer, warm breath fanning on Spencer’s skin. “Tell me Marsh, were you this much of a brat for Siren? Or maybe you were this way for Soap? Or am I just special, getting this bratty little attitude all to myself?”

Spencer groans and arches his back, head pressed into the pillow beneath him as he glares up at the ceiling. “Maybe I’d tell you if you went faster.” He growls out, not at all threatening with how much he’s pouting at being denied what he wants. Price barks out at a laugh, pinching the corporal’s waist to make him squeak as payment for being such a little shit. He does start thrusting faster though, not immune to how cute Spencer looks when he pouts. John knows that the young man has him wrapped around his finger, but right now, in this moment, he doesn’t particularly care. Not when his cock is being squeezed so tightly by the young man’s gummy walls. The captain moves his hand from the young man’s thigh and uses both hands to grip Spencer’s hips and lift him slightly, then slamming him back down onto his cock. 

Spencer chokes on a squeal, back arching off the sheets. He babbles mindlessly for a second before the captain stops again, an embarrassed and flustered look on the corporal’s face. “N-fuck, not funny, prick.” He stumbles out, trying hard to sound angry but he just sounds like a desperate little slut. John presses a hand to the pudge of Spencer’s tummy with a smirk before leaning down and pressing a wet kiss to the young man’s jaw. “Ask nicely, bird, and maybe you’ll get what ya want.” It’s a challenge and Price knows from experience how easy it is to rile Marsh up with taunting words. This is different from running drills with him apparently, given how the words make Spencer pout and huff as though not getting his way is the worst thing in the world. John stops moving completely, looks down at the corporal and raises an eyebrow, smirking as the other man avoids eye contact. The captain waits, taking in the rise and fall of Spencer’s chest as he pants, watching the young man squirm as he wars with his need and his dignity. 

Spencer mumbles something out, so quiet Price can’t even begin to try and understand what’s being said. He snorts and motions for the other man to speak up, getting a pout before a huff. “Fuck me faster, captain, please. I need it, please.” Is what he gets, whined out in an overly high pitched voice that’s meant to annoy the older man. It doesn’t get the expected reaction, Price’s nails dig into the soft skin of Spencer’s hips. His own hips begin thrusting faster almost immediately and it makes the corporal choke out something that sounds like a mix of a laugh and a moan. 

“That’s what gets you? God, I should- fuck, should’ve used that voice months ago.” The young man snarks out, voice wavering even as he continues to be a brat. He opens his mouth to say something else, but it ends in a moan as Price thrusts deeper than he had been before. It leaves Spencer near breathless and it feels as though the older man’s cock in his throat, filling him completely and making the bratty words die on his tongue. John’s chuckle is strained, finding amusement in the corporal’s blissed out face, as his hips slam against Spencer’s own. The melody of slick sounds and skin hitting against skin fills the room along with Marsh’s mewls and Price’s low groans. 

Spencer’s gasping moans raise steadily in pitch, his hips raising and meeting the captain’s thrust, his nails digging into John’s shoulders. The pure bliss he feels drowns out everything else around him, everything else real or in his mind is silenced by the intense feeling of Price’s cock sliding against that perfect spot deep inside his cunt. It’s overwhelming, how much he’s feeling right now, he can feel the expensive sheets tight in his hands nearly tearing the fabric as he flounders for purchase. The young man is hazy with the pure need racking his brain, pussy clenching around the captain’s throbbing prick. 

The corporal whines and his legs kick out without thought, getting so close to his release and all of a sudden, it’s just shy of not enough. He complains blearily, words running together as his brain struggles to catch up. Spencer hears that low rumbling chuckle once more and then it feels as though he’s being electrocuted. He wails as his legs shake with the force of his orgasm, arms wrapping around Price’s shoulders and dragging his nails down, red marks quickly being etched into the older man’s skin. 

John groans as Marsh’s slick cunt tightens almost painfully around his shaft, listening to the garbled moans that fall from his subordinate’s lips with each brush of his fat cock against the young man’s spongy walls. His thumb continues to rub at Spencer’s clit sporadically, reveling in the way his pussy clenches each time from the oncoming overstimulation. 

The captain pants as he thrusts deeply, slower now that he can see the sensitivity setting in. It's a pretty thing to take in, watching the young man's back arch off of the sheets and nails digging into the skin of John's shoulders. His eyes are squeezed shut, eyebrows and nose scrunched up as he mewls with a mix of pleasure and discomfort. The older man lets out a breathy moan against the corporal's skin, biting down just to see as the skin bruises under the force and leaves a mark. He gets the reaction he wanted. The corporal’s eyes nearly roll back and his legs shake as his pussy clamps down, spasming as he cums for the second time. It’s somehow just as overwhelming as the first time and yet not at the same time, it just makes him choke out a sobbing moan, ripped from his throat before he can stop it.

Spencer gasps heavily, desperately pulling air into his lungs as Price pulls out suddenly, the shock of it making him squeal. Thick ropes of cum splatter onto the young man's stomach, warm and stickier than he'd thought it'd be. He lets out a small noise as his head hits the pillow behind him, panting softly and trying in vain to get his eyes to stay open. His eyelids flutter and his vision is hazy as he comes down from the monumental pleasure he’s just experienced, watching blearily as the captain stands and walks to the bathroom, running a hand through his hair and tucking his now softening cock back into his pants. He hears the water of the sink running, the sounds of John moving around the lush hotel room.

The young man gasps instinctively, quiet and slightly weak, when he feels the warm wetness of a face cloth against his stomach. The captain carefully and tenderly wipes Spencer down, pressing soft and gentle kisses to the plush skin of the corporal’s thighs as he cleans him up. He mumbles something to the older man, his words slurring together in a jumbled sentence that Price can’t even begin to understand. 

“Is that so, sweetheart? Never thought about that.” John teases, a deep rumble of a laugh escaping him when he feels Spencer kick him weakly on his side. The captain moves to clean the room, picking up the young man’s clothes, but stops short when he feels the other man tugging at the sleeve of his shirt. A pout plays on the corporal’s kiss bruised lips as he makes a half-assed attempt to pull Price onto the bed, his other hand skirting under the older man’s shirt to pull it over his head.

“I’m going to hit you if you don’t come cuddle with me.” Spencer says teasingly, a tired grin on his face as he tries to sit up, tugging Price’s shirt over his head. The captain huffs, trying to look annoyed but ending up somewhere between amused and fond. He lazily shucks his pants the rest of the way off and slides into the bed, wrapping his arms around the corporal’s waist. He listens to the young man’s breathing even out, quickly falling asleep. It makes John feel a little smug, to know that he knocked the stamina out of a man a decade younger than him.  

He watches Marsh’s face soften out as he snores softly, moving the young man’s arms to wrap loosely around his own shoulders. Price sighs to himself, an ache in his chest as he wishes there could be something more. He knows that Spencer wants more and he wonders if he does too, but knows that at least right now he can’t have that. The captain takes his phone and sets a silent alarm, laying his head on the soft and expensive pillow, running his fingers through the young man’s hair, looking down at the corporal laying on his chest.

Spencer wakes to sunlight streaming through the soft linen curtains, head pounding as he slowly sits up with a groan and rubs the sleep from his eyes. He blearily looks around, noticing his clothes neatly folded on a plush armchair, boots on the floor. He smells coffee and notices a large to-go cup from the corporal’s favorite local cafe. It sends a pang of hurt through him as he stands from the bed, finally fully noticing Price’s absence from the room. He walks over to the pile of folded clothes and picks up the neatly folded note that rests on top. The words are written in familiar rough handwriting, very obviously from his captain.

“Had fun last night, doll. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Spencer’s lips twitch down in a frown, anger and sadness swirling in his chest in a storm that threatens to consume him whole, threatens to drown him in a hurricane of pent up feelings and emotions for years. 

He sighs, taking deep breaths instead of destroying the hotel room so they send Price a fee like he so desperately wants to. 

That would be immature, he’s learned that from experience. The young man showers quickly, not wanting to spend too long looking at the marks left on his body by the man who left him the morning after taking his virginity. It’s not like anyone else has ever stayed with him for long either. He couldn’t fault Price for that, can’t fault him for leaving, but god does he want to.

He dresses in his clothes from the night before, hurriedly making his way back to base, head down in shame as he walks into the building. He power walks through the common room, trying to make his way to his dorm before anyone sees him. It doesn’t work out like that, why would it go his way for once in his goddamn life? Spencer hears a familiar voice call out to him, a teasing wolf whistle that makes tears well up in his eyes. He turns, trying to appear as though nothing is wrong, but the damn is already creaking and spilling over even as he puts on a brave face. 

“Wasp! Same clothes as yesterday, yeah?” It’s Johnny, a rough and rich voice with a heavy Scottish accent that almost always fills Spencer with warmth. The Scotsman has a teasing grin on his face, blue eyes sparking with amusement as he sits on the common room couch, apparently he hadn’t left yet. ���Did’ya finally get lucky?”

The corporal watches as the sergeant fully takes in the look on his face, his own face falling and becoming tight with concern as he stands from the couch and walks towards Spencer. The young man chokes on a sob that he can’t hold in anymore, tears rolling down his cheeks freely even as he tries to stand as rigidly as possible to keep them from doing so. Johnny’s warm hands grab onto Marsh’s shoulders, pulling him towards a more private place, knowing how hard Spencer works to not let others see his emotions, to not be seen as weak. 

Spencer brushes off the other man’s concerns and gives dry, short responses that he knows are just going to frustrate Johnny. Bits and pieces of the real story fall out of his mouth in between. He watches the space between the Scotsman's eyebrows crease with concern, a pang of guilt lining the corporal’s thinking.

“Oh, I just got stood up, it’s nothing.” Johnny says not to bullshit him, he knows the corporal had been gone since last night. It makes Spencer both irritated and feel warm, that the sergeant had noticed his absence in the short period of time. It also makes him feel bad for putting off taking the other man’s offer of a place to stay on leave. He debates for a moment, biting his bottom lip in thought before wiping his eyes and taking a deep breath. 

“It doesn’t matter, Johnny, I’ll be grand in a few.” Spencer sniffles out, watching as Soap debates asking more before dropping it, to the corporal’s gratitude. He throws his phone and keys down on his dresser, Price’s note falling out onto the floor. The corporal panics silently as he watches the sergeant pick it up, easily recognizing the handwriting and looking up at Spencer with an aching pity in his bright blue eyes. 

Spencer looks away, embarrassed and knowing that Johnny will easily piece together what happened. The young man snatches the note out of the other man’s hands and shreds it to pieces in his own. He huffs a heavy breath before running his hand through his hair, the festering anger surfacing before he stamps it down to never be seen again. He looks up at Soap who raises an eyebrow, an attempt at normalcy, but Spencer can see the concern and pity underneath. 

“Is that leave offer still on the table?” The young man mumbles out, tucking a piece of his messy hair out of his eyes. He watches Johnny slowly grin and chuckle before he pats Spencer on the head with a surprisingly gentle motion, his hand calloused and rough from his line of work. 

“Course it is, bonnie.” It’s a chipper and genuinely happy tone that Spencer doesn’t expect, a fluttering building in his chest as he looks up at the other man with a soft smile. He huffs out a small laugh, pushing Johnny out so he can pack. He closes the door with a grin on his face, giddy and excited and feeling like he’s wanted for him and not what he can do. 

It’s the first time he’s felt like that, he’s going to chase that feeling, desperate to know how much of it he is allowed. 

[writingshushf1]

Lover - chapter 3

Summary: the next 4 minutes have decided your whole life.  

Rating: +16

Warnings: unplanned pregnancy, intimacy (but not sex)

Word count: 3.5k

Note:  hey! sorry for not updating, I moved, uni started so I was basically studying, eating and sleeping, now that I adjusted into my routine- IT’S BACKKK! i hope yall enjoy it! don’t be a ghost reader! (also available on AO3.)

masterlist

(BEGINNING OF) JULY, 2024.

It’s been 6 weeks that you and Mick haven’t seen each other, it was the start of the break of the season, so he would be around a month with you. It meant you could actually talk to him about what happened between you two. That week, you scheduled a doctor’s appointment to know the sex of the baby, so then you would transform your office into a nursery.

The german would be back in a tuesday, so you made sure your appointment was going to be after that, to at least give the chance of him deciding whether he wanted or not to be in. It was a week after the ideal time to see the gender? Yes, but you didn’t actually care, probably on the last ultrasound, the doctor saw it’s sex, but you told him you didn’t want to know yet, because you were waiting for your friend to be back from his work trip and he was one of the most important people in your life. Seb also came to Monaco with Hanna, both of them wanted to be there for you, like your parental figure and you loved the idea, Mick even offered his spare room so they wouldn’t need to go to a hotel.

After a few hours on Tuesday, he messaged you after arriving at his apartment, although you wanted him to invite you, maybe it wasn’t the moment yet, to see him and act like nothing happened. You were working, thank God they still wanted you - at least until the baby was born, so all the paperwork you were avoiding last week now needed to be sent and approved by your boss. Everything was making you stressed, so you stopped for a while and layed on your bed, putting your hands on your bump and feeling little movements, still very subtle, if you weren’t alone, you wouldn’t be able to feel it; in two weeks others would be able to feel them kicking, because it would be stronger. Out of the blue, you heard your phone ringing, so you picked up to see Mick’s number.

“Hi…” You said softly.

“Hey… I… Can you come over? I’m feeling a bit lonely and Seb will arrive in the middle of the night, so I would love to have someone keeping me up.”

“Why will he arrive in the middle of the night and not during the morning?”

“Oh, the flight had problems, so they cancelled it and got an earlier flight, because the other available he wouldn’t be able to arrive on time for the appointment.”

“I’m going, give me 5 minutes.”

When you arrived, the door was already open and an anxious Mick was waiting for you, he looked at your belly, impressed by how big it was and then at your boobs, blatantly staring at them until you were too close for him to disguise. He hugged you gently, kissing your forehead.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

You looked at each other for a few seconds before getting in and sitting on the sofa together. He let you lay your head on his lap, while you stayed in silence for a couple of minutes and the sound of the tv filled the space.

“Your bump is so big.”

“I know, right? 22 weeks.”

“Already? God, we’ve known each other for that long?”

“15 weeks, which would be almost four months, yeah.”

“I don’t know, it looks like we’ve always known each other.”

“Yeah… I don’t know, Micki, maybe we just clicked.”

You turned on your side, watching the random tv show, you felt his hands run through your scalp, caressing it; the affection was making you sleepy, even starting to softly snore. You heard him laughing at you.

“Sorry, I’m always tired and every chance I get to nap, I’ll do it.”

“It’s okay… I know you get tired because of the baby, but it was a bit funny that you just fell asleep within minutes.”

You laughed and looked at him again, sitting up dangerously close to him. One of Mick’s arms was around your waist, while the other was on top of his leg, almost on yours; slowly your hands were up his chest, with your face almost touching each other. You shouldn’t be doing this, it wasn’t the time, on the other hand, he was there for you, always. When you were about to kiss, his alarm rang, so you backed off from one another and he saw the time.

“We should get going to the airport, Seb and Hanna will arrive soon.” He said, getting up.

Frustration ran through your body, but you ignored, also getting up and walking behind him towards the garage from the building. You were feeling cold because you forgot your coat at your house, because when Mick messaged you, the last thought was going to get something to make you warm, he normally did that. The blonde noticed you shivering - even if it was summer, Monaco at night could be chilly, seconds later he was giving his coat to you and you felt drunk with his perfume exhaling from the jacket.

The ride till the airport was nice, mostly quiet, a consequence from your actions earlier - and you were napping for a part of it. He woke you up by lightly tapping on your shoulder, which initially you turned your body to the other side, then he tapped again, starting to talk about how you two would be late to see Sebastian, that made you wake up instantly. You waited for an hour till they arrived, the couple looking very tired, but that didn’t stop them from hugging both of you.

“Your bump is so big, honey!” Hanna said, touching it. “You said it was 22 weeks, right? Wow.” She smiled. “I know you weren’t into it in the beginning, but you do look beautiful, the pregnancy glow is working very well for you.”

“Right? The only thing I have to do regularly is to put lotion on my bump because it’s growing too fast and it’s stretching the skin.”

“That’s normal, I’ve been there three times.”

“Let’s go, girls?” Seb intervened. “I’m very tired and you two must be too.”

The ride to Schumacher’s apartment was silent, you let Sebastian sit on the passenger seat, so you and Hanna were in the back. Most of the trip you were sleeping, so was the blonde woman. Mick felt bad to wake you up, because he knew you waited on your feet for the German couple, so he took you into his arms and left you in his bed, taking off your shoes and the jacket, covering your body with a blanket before he showed the others where they would be staying. After they were settled, he put his pyjama - which consisted in only wearing boxer shorts, and laid next to you, however, he didn’t touched your body, seeing that your bump was big and he was afraid of hurting it; although, a few minutes later you were somewhat hugging his body as a result of not having your pregnancy pillow with you; the blonde liked that and tried to stay in the same position to not bother you.

It was 9am and you were up, in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone. Schumacher smelled the pancakes and walked in, still with his sleepy face.

“Good morning…” He smiled, putting his hands on your waist, laying his head on your shoulder. “Do you need any help?”

“Uhm… Yeah, wash the fruits, get the syrup and the honey, make the table…” You said, flipping a pancake.

“Ok. Coffee, tea and juice?”

“Yeah.”

You two were doing the breakfast when the German couple walked in, looking Mick and you together, talking and cooking together.

“They look like us when we were younger.” Hanna whispered.

“Yeah, they do.” Seb kissed his wife's forehead. “They look good together.”

Then you noticed their presence, blushing a little and pretending they didn’t see how you two were acting to each other. The four of you sat down to eat. Mick and Sebastian were talking while you concentrated on eating, considering you were doing that for two instead of one.

….................................................

It was the time for the ultrasound and you were there waiting with the other three for the doctor to start.

“Do you have any guesses on the baby’s sex?” The doctor asked.

“No. Not at all, I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that, being completely honest.” You said, looking at Mick, hoping he would say something.

“No one else?”

“I think it’s going to be a girl.” Seb said to support you, putting his hand on your shoulder.

“Maybe a boy.” Hanna added.

“Let’s see if the… The patient's parents are right.”

Vettel didn’t correct the doctor, even though you weren’t father-daughter, he knew you would need some figure to be there and you internally thanked him for that. You couldn’t pay attention on the images, because all that was passing through your head was the image of a happy family, where Sebastian and Hanna were the future grandparents - or almost that, waiting for the result, while the dad of this kid was also there to be by your side, which it would be Mick. You noticed that the younger blonde was squeezing his hands together like he was holding himself from being closer to you.

Schumacher’s head was restless, all of his thoughts were running around at once, making him distracted from what was happening during the appointment. Fidgeting his hands to not get closer, looking around to not get nervous and if someone entered the room, they would’ve bet he was the father just from his actions.

“So…” The deep voice from the doctor awakened Mick from his trance. “It’s a girl! Congrats.”

“I knew it!” Vettel smiled, kissing your head. “You need to think about names! I had an idea for her room.”

"You always knows! It's not fair." You said to him. Vettel had guessed all of his kids when Hanna was pregnant.

“Congrats, schatz!” Hanna also walked to be by your side.

The younger German smiled, secretly holding your hand. “I would love to see a mini you running around.” He whispered.

Later that night, you and Hanna were making dinner while the boys were adjusting the nursery for the baby. You often walked there, to see them dirty with paint, talking in German and laughing. This was a night that you never thought would happen. On the other hand, you were so happy that it was, having them being there for you when you need the most, being this “non” conventional family that it’s better than you’ve ever asked for. When dinner was ready they changed their outfits to not stain the house with the paint. The four of you sat on the table, mostly filling the silence with small talks while you appreciated the delicious lasagna that Hanna made.

“I thought about a name…” You said, having the three pairs of eyes on you after that.

“Do tell!” Mick looked at you, curious.

“Okay… I liked the name Sophia. Is it a common name? Yes, but it’s pretty…” You took a sip of your juice.

“It’s a beautiful name.” Sebastian smiled.

“I think this should be the one.” Hanna completed.

“You sure?”

“Of course! It’s beautiful and… It's just… Clicks, you know?” Schumacher looked at you, his piercing blue eyes could see you through.

After the dinner, the boys offered to clean the kitchen, so you two went to the balcony to relax, no conversation needed. You loved that, the fact that Hanna became your second mom and was supporting you in this journey, the way she knows you to the core and tries to be a sort of grandma/auntie to the baby - now with a name to call, Sophia, that would probably get called Sophie as a nickname. She looked at you sometimes, smiling and taking a sip from her drink, maybe she was proud of you.

An hour later, you were back to Mick’s apartment since the German couple was staying there and you were asleep in no time again, but this time in his room. Sebastian and Hanna were in the spare bedroom, getting ready to sleep and the younger blonde? On his balcony, making a phone call.

“Mama. Hey.” He smiled. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too, lieb.”

“Seb and Hanna are here! I think you knew, right?”

“Yes, of course! How are things going? Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine! Really good time.” He looked at the streets, emptier than usual.

“And your friend? Does she know the sex of the baby?”

“It’s a girl… Seb somehow got it right.”

“Oh! Say that I’m happy for her.” She laughed. “He always does, Mickey.”

“Yeah… It’s going to be Sophia.” His tone was vague, like he wasn’t paying attention to the conversation.

“You want to talk about something, don’t you?” She knew him all too well. “When you’re not focused that means you want to talk about something.”

“Well… I’m in love with her.” He confessed, sighing out loud, which called Vettel’s attention while he was going to grab a bottle of water, then he stayed to see what Mick was saying. “But she’s…”

“Pregnant with someone else’s child. Yeah, schatz, it’s somewhat complicated, but not the worst.” She said “You should follow your heart, okay? Your dad would say that to you too.”

“I know, mama, I know.” He sniffled. “It’s hard, people judging that I’m taking a big responsibility into the growth of my career.”

“It is hard, it’s a child that we’re talking about and you're young, however… You should do whatever feels best to both of you, or better… The three of you.”

“I’ll, I promise.”

“And remember what your papa always said, private is private.”

“Yes, you know I follow this as much as I can.”

“By the way, come to visit us! I’m missing my baby boy.” She laughed and so did he. “And bring the girl, I wanna meet her. To see if she’s worth it.”

“Mama!”

“Just to make sure, sohn.”

“Okay. Danke, Mama.'' He smiled. “See you soon.”

Then Sebastian appeared on the balcony, scaring Mick.

“Sorry, I heard a part of your phone call with your mom, I know I shouldn’t have done it.”

“It’s okay, really… I would love an uncle Seb moment right now.”

The older German hugged him, running his fingers through the youngest’s hair while he breathed calmly, enjoying the comfort.

“It still hurts a little when she mentions dad.”

“Oh, liebling, it must suck sometimes… But she knows about things, that’s why she says it.”

“I know, I know.” He looked at his mentor. “Changing the subject before I start to cry… Mom said I should go and see them and bring… You know who, with me.”

“Really? Did Corinna listen to me? I’m flattered.” He chuckled.

“You gave the idea to her?”

“Maybe I did.” Vettel's unforgettable cocky smile was appearing.

“Why?”

“You admitted to her and yourself. You’re in love. You want her to be part of your family, then why not introduce her to them?”

“What if they don’t like her?”

“They will, I know they’ll.”

“But if she doesn’t want to go?”

“I’m sure she does want to meet your family because it is an important thing for you and she would do everything for your happiness.”

“And I would do the same for her.”

“See? You’re on the same page, but refuse to admit that to each other!”

“It’s because of the baby.”

“I know, on the other hand, does it really matter? She won’t go to the father of Sophie for anything, that means she’s single and obviously wants you. Maybe if you do think it’s better and can handle it, you can wait till the baby is born to start something and if you won’t go to try something, both of you will regret that.”

“I know… I hate that I know all of this but the courage doesn’t seem to get into my head.”

“It’s okay, you can go slowly, but always make sure to have conversation, that’s the most important thing you could ever have.”

“Thank you, Seb.” He breathed out, like a heavy weight was lifted off from his shoulders. “I needed a sign to come back to reality.”

“I will always help you and try to guide you to the best decisions.”

“That’s what a mentor does!”

They chuckled and walked to their respective bedrooms. Meanwhile, you woke up from the noise that Mick made when he entered the room, sitting on the bed and waiting for him to get into his pyjamas and lay on the bed.

“Sorry I woke you up.”

“It’s okay…” You felt the baby move. “Actually, do you want to try to feel the baby moving?”

“Oh.” He was taken by surprise with your idea. “Yes, totally. Can I feel it, already?”

“You? Barely, I can feel it more, however, we can put our hands on my bump and wait. Also we can talk to her in hopes that she will move to the sound of our voices.”

He sat behind you, letting your back against his chest and laying his hands on the top of your belly after you rolled your shirt enough to show the bump.

“From which week can I feel it? Like, actually feel it?”

“Week 24. In two weeks.”

“Wow, it’s close.”

“Yeah.”

Both of you set your hands on your bump, slowly caressing and talking in a lower and softer spoken tone, so that the baby could listen - from this week, the baby can hear the parent’s voice. It was an intimate moment that would never do with him unless both of you were deeply in love. That was showing to Mick more obvious signs that both were on the same page, which let him be more sure of what he was going to ask next.

“Go to Switzerland with me. Let’s spend a week or so there, meet my family, spend time together where there won't be any cameras or people surrounding us with questions.”

You stayed quiet for a while, it was a big information to deal with.

“So…?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure… I was just concentrating on Sophie.” Then she moved abruptly. “Wow, that was a big move, little girl, too early for that.”

“Maybe she agrees with my offer.”

“Shut up, Mick.” You laughed, moving his hands around for him to feel it still moving.

….........................................................

During the morning, Sebastian woke you up to go shopping for the baby nursery related things, he was more excited than you were, which was the cutest thing to watch. You two were walking down the store hall, looking through cribs.

“You’re going to be her godfather, right? And Hanna, her godmother.”

“Is this a request or an order?”

“Both?”

He laughed, getting closer and stopping at a colourful crib and looking at it.

“I will.” He smiled. “Everything for you.”

“Good! Maybe she’ll call you Opa.”

“I’ll love that.”

You kept looking at things for the whole morning, buying a crib, outfits, decoration, more paint and some cloth diapers. The choice for the style of the room was rainbows, sunshine and rain, like summer. Mick and Hanna got scared on how many things you have bought for the room, they didn’t let you do any effort, just sit and see the room gaining life. When the room was finished it made you cry, it was beautiful, the love put on that little room was overbearing.

“We should put paint in our hands and put it on the front of the door.” You said. “I want this memory to be part of Sophie’s life.”

You had five different paint colours, so everyone could have one. You chose purple, Mick chose red, Sebastian chose green and Hanna chose yellow, probably in the future you would do her hand in blue.

“When it dries, I will write our names below.”

Later that day, you and Mick took the German couple back to the airport, they needed to be back at home for the kids. You cried again, because you weren’t going to see them anytime soon, so the moment was emotional.

The ride back was silent, none of you wanted to say a word, however, it was okay, the silence was comfortable. You went to his apartment, the paint was still wet and the smell made you feel a bit sick, so of course he would let you crash at his place for the night. Both of you sat on the sofa, now alone, no conversations going around, just you.

“We need to talk.” Schumacher said, fidgeting with his hands.

“We do.”

“Can I start?”

“Sure.”

“So…” He sighed. “My feelings lately have been bothering me, because they’re too much. When I met you, I thought I had a new friend that found out that was pregnant and I would be the annoying uncle… However, things haven’t worked well. I developed feelings, big ones and I tried to suppress them, because Sophia is someone else’s and I couldn’t take this place and you were… And is currently overwhelmed by everything changing so fast. But we kissed, made out and it felt amazing. I was caught up in this, Max even mocked me for it. And again, we set it out as a friendship, when we clearly are more than this. We sleep on the same bed, cuddle, you put my hands into your bump to feel her. I am confused about everything, because… I want to be yours, but I know that maybe you won’t be ready for it.”

You stood there, his words were like a sharp knife cutting into your chest, you didn’t know how hurt he was. He breathed out, chuckling and sobbing at the same time, looking down.

“You don’t feel the same, right?”

That took you out of your trance.

“Hey! Hey! Calm down… I disassociated, this was a big confession…” You held his face. “I have one to make it too.”

“Please, say it.”

“I also feel the same. It’s more than a friendship. I didn’t want to drag you with me because I knew that you would go all down for being a father figure and I don’t want that. You have a bright future and it’s too early for that, especially when you’re not the biological dad.” You felt tears falling off your face. “And what will people say about you? I’m worried about that too.”

“I don’t care about them, schatz.”

“But I do.” He wiped your tears off. “I like you and want what’s best for you only.”

“The best for me is to be with you, if you want to.”

It took you a few seconds to answer him.

“I do.” Both of you breathed out at the same time, like a weight was lifted off your shoulders. “We can go slowly, only making it official after Sophie’s birth, okay? Avoid telling anyone other than our family and closest friends. Right now, we don’t have an official label, we’re getting to know each other, is that good for you?”

“If this means that I can kiss you, I’m fine with it.”

He got closer to you, closing the gap between your lips; the kiss was salty due to the tears that fell from your face, it was slow and tender, like he was afraid to step in too much.

“We could take a shower together.” You suggested.

“For someone that wants to take it slowly, this is…”

“It’s not sexual! Oh God, you’re so horny.”

“Always, babe, always.”

You laughed, slapping his shoulder.

“It’s to create a bond, intimacy between us. When I’m in labour, you will see my body, so you should get used to it. Probably you will help me to shower and I’ll always be messy in the postpartum period, those times will be the hardest and it will probably be after the season is over, so you will be home to experience everything.”

“Okay… Let’s go then.”

You got your pyjamas and towels, going to the big bathroom. The undressing was awkward, none of you wanted to stare at the other, like it was a crime to do it. He turned on the shower, walking in with you.

“You’re so beautiful.” He hugged you from behind, bringing your body into the hot water. “Let me take care of you.”

Then he took the shampoo, putting on your hair and massaging the scalp slowly, leaving a trail of kisses in your shoulder. After he washed out, Mick put conditioner on your hair, carefully passing through your strands, while you relaxed with the attention. Soon, he grabbed the washcloth, putting the soap on it and passed through your bump, then shoulders, back, and legs, not getting close into parts of your body he didn’t know if he was allowed to touch.After the relaxing shower, when you were just wearing panties, he walked with you to the front of the mirror, grabbing a moisturiser and staying behind you.

“I remember you talking with Hanna, about having to put lotion because the skin is stretching.” He put the mixture into his palms, soon with them in your belly, moving around carefully. “I researched about it. Looked some tips and bought this one for you, it said it could help with it.”

“Oh...” Your heart melted with his softness. “Thank you, Schumi.”

“No need to thank me, it’s a treat for you that I’ve been saving it.”

Later, both of you were laying on his bed, cuddling while watching a movie, when he broke the silence.

“So… Are we going to Switzerland then?”

“Of course. I know how important it is to you.”

“Then I’ll get everything ready for us.”

[bweeeb]

OLD FRIENDS

Charlie Gillespie × reader ( Y/n Pitella )

I know no one remembers anymore, but these days I miss the vibe of 2020 and Charlie

Summary: Charlie and the reader haven't spoken since Julie and the Ghosts was canceled, but someone does something about it.

Five years. Five years ago, I found everything that made me the happiest girl in the world. Four years ago, I lost that happiness. I probably sound like the most dramatic person in the world saying that—sorry. Of course, my family will always be one of my greatest joys. Mom and Dad have always done everything for me, and Bella and Léo made me believe I could handle everything I was being exposed to, even though I had no experience at all. But still, it’s impossible not to feel my chest tighten with longing when I think about those who welcomed me during the first few months after Dad had to return to Brazil. Kenny accepting me into the show was one of the biggest turning points of my life when I was just sixteen, and I’ll probably never forgive Netflix for canceling my show.

I had the best six months of my life alongside wonderful people, and that became even clearer when the pandemic hit. The way we stayed connected through video calls, lives, TikToks, interviews, and stories made the monotony and worry of that moment much more bearable. But, of course, after the pandemic passed, the distance between us became a big issue. Plane tickets were expensive, everyone had their own schedules, and then the cancellation of Julie and the Phantoms happened. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much—especially since I couldn’t even be on that stage when Kenny announced Netflix wouldn’t renew our show. Life went on, just as the Earth keeps spinning around the sun, and that’s okay.

My eyes drifted up from my phone, and all I found was my sister staring at me.

" What? " I asked, watching her climb into my bed and throw herself on top of me a millisecond later. " I feel like eating pistachio cookies " she mumbled against the pillow resting on my stomach. “Then just go downstairs, walk up the street, turn left, and buy the pistachio cookies ” I said, and she huffed. Bella is always too lazy to get anything from the shops just up the street from my apartment, and today was no different. “Bella! You’re not ordering cookies and paying double the price through an app when the store is right there.” “I know! I know. Maybe I’ll stop by later when I leave.” “Oh no, you won’t. I wanted you to bring me one too.”

“Well, tough luck,” my sister teased, making me huff without actually getting mad. I turned back to my phone, and a new post caught my attention, accompanied by a familiar voice in the audio. “Hmmm, Charlieeeeeee,” my sister groaned, teasing me, only to get a slap on her arm from me. “Shut up. I’m not buying you cookies after this,” I replied. “Come on. Look at the way you’re staring at him.” She turned and sprawled out beside me, resting her chin on her hands. “I’m just trying to listen to him sing. If you could kindly stay quiet, I’d appreciate it.” The song, apparently called "RODEO," was written by him, and I could almost feel my body combusting along with my mind. Charlie’s voice had always been one of my favorite things in the world since I met him. So much so that, during the time we shared an apartment with Owen for filming, he would hold me in his strong, long arms when I felt homesick, worried, or just plain cold—because, man, that apartment was freezing as fuck—and sing me to sleep. Not that I had a favorite, but Charlie became my best friend, and it was impossible not to cry when we filmed our last scene together, knowing it was the end. “You were in love with him once,” Bella’s voice snapped me out of my head, and I laughed. “I’m pretty sure you two were in love, actually.”

“I was sixteen, living with him, and he played my romantic interest. I won’t deny I had a crush on him, but it was an illusion. I love who he is, obviously. But you all need to stop thinking there was some romance happening.”

“Oh, please. I have eyes. Have you seen the videos of you two? You have! I’ve never seen anyone’s eyes light up like yours did.”

“Yes, I’ve seen them, and I lived it. So thank you, but there’s no need to say more because I treated him, and he treated me, like anyone else. Owen and I were just as close.”

“But you didn’t have the same chemistry with Owen. You and Owen almost never slept in the same bed.”

“Because he had a sort-of girlfriend, and I respect my friends.” Bella rolled her eyes, put her shoes on, and looked at me with mockery. “You’re blind.”

“I’m not blind. I haven’t seen him in five years.” “But you look at him like you’re about to cry.” Bella narrowed her eyes as if challenging me. “Because I miss the best friend I had once.” I got up from the bed, narrowing my eyes back at her. “Then talk to him.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Why not?” “Because I said so!” Our playful argument shifted into something more serious. Bella seemed genuinely intrigued by my hesitation.

“That’s not an answer.” “Of course it is. I’m not texting someone who’s perfectly fine on their own.” Silence hung for two seconds, and then it was too late. Bella grabbed my phone from the bed and ran off, doing something I couldn’t see. “Bella! No!” I yelled, chasing her around my apartment.

“You don’t even have his number? What?” Her voice was pure indignation. “Americans and Canadians don’t use WhatsApp, you idiot.” All my 21-year-old maturity vanished in that second.

“And that’s why you don’t have any of your foreign friends’ numbers? Please. You have SMS.” Bella gritted her teeth, and I let out a loud sigh. “Isabella, put the phone down.”

“Why? Give me one good reason.”

“Your life is a good reason. I suggest you don’t.” “You know what? I’m going to buy cookies. Be right back.” Before I could stop her, Bella pressed the elevator button and closed the doors quickly. Did she seriously just steal my phone?

I rushed to the back exit, but it was pointless. She’d already be halfway there, and there was no way she’d be waiting for me at the cookie shop. So I sat and waited. She wouldn’t do anything crazy, right?

Right?

Wrong.

Half an hour later, she returned with a terrifying smile and a pistachio cookie for me.

“He thinks you should text him.” She shrugged, giving me a smug look.

“What did you do?” “You didn’t log into anything? Computer?” “Mom has the computer because I lent it to her, and you know that.” I clenched my teeth as she laughed. “Don’t worry; I only posted on your Daily account.” Sure, I’d created the unofficial account to talk about a million irrelevant things, but not that.

“Looks like Charlie and S/n need a reunion, don’t you think? @CHARLES_GILLESPIE 🙏😨👀”

The caption sat atop a picture of Bella making a hilariously exaggerated face. "Seriously?" "Delete it if you want."

"Now that roughly 10,000 people have already seen it, yeah, that’ll help." I said, rolling my eyes and deleting the post anyway, knowing full well it was already out there. "Weren’t you going home?" "Are you kicking me out?"

"Yes!" "Okay, okay. Sorry for meddling. I even brought you a cookie as a peace offering—look at the bright side, he answered. Bye, see you tomorrow." As soon as she left, I threw myself on the couch, getting up and pacing around more times than I could count. "Damn it." I muttered. "Fuck, Isabella." What was I supposed to say now?

It had been so long that I had forgotten your name saved in my contacts , cute.

CHARLIE BEAR🧸

— heeyy, she should text me little Pitella. — It's ridiculous how long we haven't spoken.

Of course, Bella didn’t even bother to answer his response to her story. Seriously?

— Hey! How’s it going? — Sorry about that! my phone was stolen for half an hour 😬. — Not cool at all.

That was good, right? Solid? As soon as his reply came almost immediately, I groaned, feeling my anxiety tighten every nerve in my body.

CHARLIE BEAR🧸

— Can I call you? Or is it a bad time?

The moment I sent my confirmation, my phone rang. Running my free hand through my hair instinctively, I realized how absurd that was—he couldn’t see me, after all. "Hey, stranger." His voice found me, warm and familiar, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, some of the tension dissipating. "Well, hi."

"How are you? It’s been so long, this is insane." Charlie had always been like that—bright and exuberant—and it was impossible not to let my smile widen.

"I’m good! Just trying to make better decisions. What about you? How have you been?" "Good, you know. Trying to make the world a better place and take care of what we’ve messed up." " Yeah, I’ve seen your trips—they look amazing." "I try to live a bit of good in every place I visit." "Classic Charlie Gillespie effect." I closed my eyes tightly, only reopening them when I heard his soft laughter.

"You’re not wrong. So, tell me—I heard you’re in the cast of some big movie? That’s incredible." "Yeab! It’s a book adaptation. I just hope people won’t be disappointed." "You could never disappoint anyone, beau. " words stretched the smile on my lips further. What was happening? "I try…" I kept it simple, hearing his deep sigh on the other end.

"I’m glad Bella posted that, you know?" He shot it out casually, and I adjusted my position on the couch, hugging my knees to my chest.

"I didn’t mean to bother you like that; she literally stole my phone. She’s seventeen but acts like she’s ten."

"Relax. She didn’t have a Charlie Gillespie at sixteen to keep her entertained." He bragged, and I burst into laughter. "You’re still so full of yourself.''

"I’m realistic." "And very, very arrogant." "I miss you. You know that, right?" His words hit me softly, and my smile turned bittersweet.

"It’s almost a crime that we’ve gone four years without a proper conversation." I whispered, hearing his agreement on the other end. "I still don’t understand why you never accepted moving here and staying with me. You know you’ve always had a room here. Koa would love you here. I would love you here."

"Charlie, you travel too much, and you know I’d drive you insane. I work too much, and I talk too much."

"I loved when you’d speak Portuguese to me." His words carried a chuckle from my end as memories flooded back—the nights he couldn’t sleep and would crawl into my bed, asking me to ramble in my southern-accented Portuguese until he drifted off. It was like soothing a baby.

"We haven’t spoken in four years, and you’re already nearly convincing me to abandon my life in Brazil." His laugh followed, accompanied by what I could imagine was his signature smile.

"I really do miss you. And don’t let the others hear this, but you’re the one I missed the most during this time. You were so soft to cuddle at night—you ruined me for everyone else." He said it like it was casual, but my lips pressed tightly together. What was happening? "I’m sure plenty of girls have kept you just as warm as I did, Charles."

"But none of them were you." His quiet murmur had my teeth sinking into my bottom lip. What was this? "Uh… okay. I’ve been thinking of traveling, but I’m not sure if I’ll have the time off. Maybe I could swing by?"

"Please do."

"Okay! I…" My gaze darted to the clock, my lips pressing tightly again. "I’ve got to go, but let’s keep in touch, please. You’re important to me." I whispered, feeling the vulnerability seep into my tone.

"Go ahead. Just don’t disappear again, please."

"Of course." I replied, and just as I was about to hang up, he called out.

"S/n."

"Yeah?"

"You’re important to me too, okay? Stick around." With that, the call ended, and I was pretty sure my neighbors could have reason to complain about the muffled scream I let out into the couch cushion.I felt sixteen again, back when Charlie first hugged me to sleep in that cold apartment. The circumstances were different, but the emotions were just the same.In the end, maybe Bella wasn’t so wrong to steal my phone after all.

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Begin Again: Chapter Four | Spencer Reid

Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist!

Chapter Four: Swimming Pool Kisses

<< Chapter Three

Pairing: Spencer Reid x OC!Charlotte Morris

Warnings: talk about murder, kissing, making out

Author's note: I don't know if I like it, but hey, it's here. Based off things that have actually happened to me.

Words: 2.6K

“I-It… I dated him, right after high school,” Charlotte started, her eyes nervously flitting towards Spencer. “I-It was just a couple of months and I didn’t see him after that. I-I–” she stuttered and stumbled, barely making proper sentences. 

“Charlotte–” Morgan cut her off, which was when she realized every single one of them was staring at her. 

“What?” she asked, chuckling nervously. 

Hotch’s brows raised. “Name, please, Charlotte.” 

Charlotte’s eyes flitted towards Spencer and back to the big boss, nervous to tell them. Nervous to tell him. “Uhm, Bradley Logan…” she mumbled, fidgeting with her Las Vegas bracelet, her eyes focused on the charms. 

“You dated Bradley Logan?!” Spencer asked in disbelief as her eyes slowly moved up to his face. “You actually dated the guy that used to bully me in High School?” 

She felt tears prick in her eyes. “Yeah, it was dumb. I-I was dumb. We had just graduated and it was summer and it was hot and I was experimenting and one night, at a party, Brad was there and one thing led to another and we hooked up. We kept hooking up and nights together turned into days together, right up until the summer was over and I moved to New York to study but then my scholarship fell through and I had to fend for myself, having me end up in Hartford, Connecticut, working as a maid in a hotel and–” She stopped herself when everyone was staring at her with that look in their eyes that told her she had lost them. “Thing is, when I broke up with him – I-I didn’t really? I just packed up and left, and I suppose he’s still a bit… bitter about that?” 

“A bit bitter?” Emily scoffed. 

During her rambling, Penelope had been typing away on her computer. It took a few seconds before Hotch turned to the blonde and with one simple, “Garcia?”, it got the technical analyst started on her tangent. 

“Bradley Logan, born and raised in Las Vegas. Has some DUI’s on his name as well as one count of domestic violence. According to his socials, he has been dating around and let me tell you, if you put these lovely ladies in front of you, Charlotte, you’d think you’re looking in a mirror,” Penelope looked over at the hotel’s manager. “His last girlfriend – excuse me, fiancée – broke it off just a few weeks ago. They were set to marry but then she cheated on him and that whole thing went bust.” 

“That could be the stressor,” Rossi pointed out. 

Hotch nodded his head. “His fiancée, she was a blonde with green eyes, too, I guess?” 

“Ding! Ding! Ding!” Penelope imitated a bell. “All of his girlfriends were perfect copy-pastes of our lovely Charlotte. Guess someone has a type.” 

JJ chuckled. “Or a weird obsession.” 

“How long were they together?” Derek asked his coworker. 

“Three years,” she replied. 

The young man nodded his head. “So, he gets cheated on, gets reminded of his sordid breakup with Charlotte and wants to take revenge for being the first woman breaking his heart by killing people in her place of work,” he theorized before nudging Spencer. “What are you thinking, Genius?” 

“Yeah, yeah. Sounds good,” Spencer replied absentmindedly. When he looked up at the blonde next to him. “I can’t believe you dated Bradley Logan…” he mumbled, shaking his head. 

“Yeah,” Charlotte sighed. “I wasn’t – I wasn’t right in the head back then.” 

“He does fit the profile,” Emily muttered, breaking up the conversation between the old pals. 

Looking back up at the technical analyst, Hotch nodded. “Where is he now, Garcia?” 

Before she could answer, the curly-headed Latina burst into the meeting room, completely out of breath and her face white as a ghost. The scene caused Charlotte to perk up, worry seeping within her. 

“Val? What’s wrong?” she asked. 

“It’s Room 304… There’s someone in there…” The words came out into a whisper, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear and exchange worried glances. 

The team quickly slid their chairs back and got themselves ready, donning their bulletproof vests. Charlotte was frozen, staring at them in pure horror. She didn’t know what to do. Everyone was moving, all of them in a rush. For once, she actually felt the way her parents took her for; useless. 

Everything went by in a flash. One second, they were in the meeting room, and the next the team burst into Room 304 and apprehending Bradley Logan. The look he gave her when Spencer pushed him through the lobby with his hands cuffed behind his back sent shivers down her spine. She hadn’t seen Brad in fifteen years and suddenly he was murdering guys to get her attention. 

Her eyes didn’t stay on her ex too long as they drifted to the man walking behind him. If she thought he was attractive before, his attractiveness had doubled by the way he moved and held Bradley in place to escort him out. 

“Fuck, that’s hot,” she muttered under her breath. 

“I know,” Val sighed. “And I’m not even attracted to men.” 

Charlotte chuckled before heading out the door and meeting the BAU team outside. They had just put Bradley into the cop car, ready to jet off to jail. Smiling half-heartedly, Charlotte joined by Emily’s side. 

“I wanted to say thank you for dealing with this so swiftly,” she started with a sigh. “Why don’t you stay another night and allow me to make you guys a good meal… To thank you…” 

A smile landed on Hotch’s lips, a rarity for him, she had noticed, before he nodded his head. “Yeah, that sounds nice, actually,” he said. “Thank you, Charlotte.” 

“Cool. I’ll see you guys tonight in the ballroom at seven.” She snapped her fingers, almost doing finger guns, but stopping herself just in time so as to not embarrass herself. 

The team nodded their heads, all of them smiling thankfully as they watched her walk back inside. Charlotte felt a little weird after everything had gone down. On one hand, she felt as though she needed to stay strong so she could open the hotel again as soon as possible while on the other hand, she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. 

“Hey,” the familiar voice of Spencer Reid caught her attention. Charlotte turned around to face him. “You all right?” 

She offered him a tearful smile. “I-I’m fine, Spencer. Thanks.” 

Before she could turn away from him, he grabbed her shaking hands and held them. Simple as that. He just held her hands to stop them from shaking and it almost felt as though he was holding her together. 

“It’s perfectly normal — and even healthy — to start shaking or trembling immediately following a traumatic event,” he muttered. “It’s how the body releases or discharges the extra defensive energy that gets “stuck” in the body during a traumatic event.”

Furrowing her brows, Charlotte looked up at Spencer. “Why are you citing facts to me?” she chuckled. 

Spencer opened his mouth, but closed it again when he didn’t find the right words. It resulted in a few weird sounds coming out before actual words tumbled out. “I-It’s something that I do. People-Some people find it incredibly annoying, so I’m sorry to–” 

“No, it’s fine. I like that.” 

A smile befell his lips as he looked into her green eyes. His thumb grazed the little Las Vegas charms on her bracelet. He gazed down to the piece of jewelry and turned her wrist upwards and played around with the little charm of the Las Vegas skyline. 

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Just something to remind me of where I’m from,” she replied with a shrug and shook her hands out of his grip. “I have to go and clean up the meeting room, so I-I’ll see you tonight at dinner, yeah?” 

As Charlotte stepped away from him, Spencer simultaneously took a step, too. “I’ll come and help.” 

There wasn’t much Charlotte could do but let him help her. At first, they moved around the meeting room in silence. They slinked around each other, apologies flying through the air as they nearly bumped into each other. It wasn’t until a few minutes in that Charlotte broke the silence. 

“I read your dissertation, you know,” she told him, which caught his attention. A chuckle rolled off her lips when she noticed his surprised expression. “I read everything you wrote or were mentioned in. Reading about what you had been up to kept me a little connected to Las Vegas while I wasn’t doing too good.” 

Spencer tried to bite back his smile. “Oh,” he said, a weird sense of pride bubbling up inside of him. 

He didn’t quite know what to say to that. His brilliant brain short-circuited. All this time, while he was obsessing about her and remembering her almost daily, she was thinking about him all the same. 

“Yeah,” she whispered, almost cursing at herself for getting so open and vulnerable with him. There was so much more she wanted to tell him, but she didn’t know how or if it was even the right thing to say. All she knew was that she felt at ease with him. She felt stronger, more confident, just like she did that day when she stood up for him. “Well, anyway. I’m gonna go chain Thomas to the kitchen tiles so he can make us the best dinner of all time,” she then said and walked out of the meeting room, leaving Spencer alone. 

For a while, he just stood there and watched the doorway she had disappeared from. His heart was full and happy, even after what had transpired with his high school bully and his high school crush. She was being honest and open with him, something he never thought could even happen. 

“Welcome to your very own, super-mega-deluxe Hartford Hotel dinner,” Charlotte announced ceremonially as she opened the double doors to the ballroom. Together with Thomas, Yanisha and Valencia, she had decked out the space with one big round table in the middle, set with their finest dishes and lit by every single candle the hotel owned. 

“Courtesy of Tommy, Nisha, Val and Lottie,” Val added with a smirk. 

All of them had dressed up, too. They had turned their thank-you-supper into a fancy dress meal, which Charlotte absolutely loved. She loved how they had put in the effort, no matter how little sleep they had gotten over the past few days. 

“This is amazing, Lottie,” Penelope gasped, too occupied by the sight in front of her, she didn’t even notice the nickname had slipped out. Charlotte had noticed and she felt a little flutter in her stomach. 

“Let’s start with a toast,” she then said as they took a seat and reached for the glass of champagne Yanisha had filled up for all of them. “To the best BAU team to ever exist and to catching yet another bad guy.” 

“And to Charlotte and her team,” Hotch quickly added, raising his glass, too. “For hosting us during the case and for hosting us tonight.” 

A chorus of “cheers” echoed through the ballroom, the starting signal for their delicious meal, prepared by the best chef in all of Hartford. He had made two different dishes, one vegetarian, one with meat. Just to be sure and so people could choose which one they wanted. 

It turned out to be the best way to finish up a case. With conversation flowing as smoothly as the wine. By the time they’d had their dessert, everyone was already pretty drunk and the volume of the music had been turned all the way up. 

At one point, Penelope, Val and Charlotte had gotten up on the small stage at the back of the room with Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood blaring through the speakers, the girls singing along loudly and rather off-key. 

It made for great entertainment, though. 

“D’you know what would be great right  now?” Val sighed and Charlotte knew immediately what she was going to say. “A dip in the pool.” 

Charlotte pressed her lips together to keep herself from smiling. This had happened before. More than once. She almost said no to her best friend until JJ and Emily agreed to the Latina’s sentiment. 

“Oh my God,” JJ all but groaned. “That would be so good!” 

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte moved to the bar and reached for the key she had left behind. “Fine – follow me!” she said overly excited and guided the overly excited and confused agents down to the basement where the hotel’s spa was located. 

“Holy shit,” Emily chuckled as she took in the sight before her. 

The blue light of the swimming pool reflected on the ceiling in rippling waves. There were a couple of saunas, a jacuzzi and some deckchairs around for the ultimate relaxation of the guests. Charlotte was pretty proud of the spa. It was something you didn’t find very often in the hotels in Hartford. 

“I didn’t bring my bathing suit, though,” JJ told them. 

Chuckling, Charlotte untied the knot in her wrap-dress and let the fabric fall off her shoulders, leaving her in her underwear. Valencia, Yanisha and Thomas were stripping too, something they had done many a time before. “Neither do we. Come on, it’s fine! We’ve done this so many times before.” 

As Charlotte went to get the towels and bathrobes for everyone in her underwear, she didn’t catch Spencer’s baffled expression. It was only when she returned and found everyone in their underwear jumping in the swimming pool but him that she let out a chuckle. 

“Close your mouth, genius. You’ll catch a fly.” She patted his cheek with her free hand before dropping the towels on one of the lounging chairs. Once she had both hands free, she turned towards him and loosened his tie. “Come on,” she whispered. “Join in on the fun.” 

It didn’t take a lot of convincing for Spencer to join all of them in the pool. At first, the group participated in their usual pool games, like taking turns in Morgan’s or Thomas’ neck to push one another off or a competition to see who could hold a handstand the longest. A heap of teenagers in adult bodies. 

But then the group started to divide. Some of them went into the jacuzzi, others decided to try the saunas. Only Spencer and Charlotte stuck to a corner of the pool, wrapped up in pleasant conversation about Las Vegas and their life. 

“I used to have the biggest crush on you after you saved me,” Spencer admitted sheepishly. 

Charlotte let out a charmed laugh at the confession. “You did?” She ran her fingers through his wet hair, pushing it out of his face. The movement and the closeness of the woman caused Spencer to falter. 

His hazel eyes flicked from her green orbs to her pink lips and back. “Yeah. I think I still do, actually.” It came out in a mumble as though his lips couldn’t handle anything more. 

“Good,” Charlotte whispered, her eyes falling back to his lips whilst hers curled up into a smirk. 

“Yeah?”

“Very good, even.” 

And without any warning, Charlotte diminished the distance between them and kissed him. Startled, Spencer quickly recomposed himself and placed his hands on the sides of her face, holding her in place or needing something to hold onto for his own sanity. He was quick to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue across her lips. 

All of it felt so right. 

This was where they were supposed to be. 

Everything taglist: @calamitykaty @n0wornever @wanniiieeee @unnowhatthisistbh

Criminal Minds Taglist: 

@boimlers-gonna-boim @samsbirks @tinaasthings @dysphoricsanity @love4lando @elenamoncada-ibarra @r-3dlips @magstheslayer @astess @sylvcaplath @tillypettitt @mordechaisworld @ssameadows @spikedhe4rt @spencers-bookworm @littlemissaddict @kirbybean

[ownerofthisaccount]

Hello again everyone! This was probably not the next part you hoped for but I hope I can explain well.

@raisans-art has made some really good AUs, such as the Human Illusion Au. One of them is the Chimera Emmet Au where Emmet is captured and experimented on, turning him into Agee after being fused with his Pokémon. Those who watched episode 4 of Fullmetal Alchemist are getting flashbacks

Well, they made a quick sketch of if Ingo was the one turned, called Chei, and I made a drawing for that afterwards because I have enjoyed both designs. As a child I loved transformations and stories of experiment or body horror, so that’s probably a factor. I later drew a mini comic for it detailing how the first night would go down, as well as a side comic of ghost Emmet. I made hints that a part two would come, and even released a WIP of one of the images. Well…I can’t say it won’t ever happen, perhaps months later, but I don’t think I will finish it right now(most of the betas were deleted anyway, either on purpose for space or by accident because of fat fingers). I have Aspergers, and I can hyperfixate on things. This can be for weeks, months, years, even forever in a couple cases. Chimera Emmet happened to be one of those(the twins are still an interest, but I got into several AUs based on them because of it) and I been seeing it since it’s early stages when Emmet was still himself in there. I just didn’t have the courage to fanart it till Chei came out as I love both but lean more to drawing Ingo. I have really enjoyed drawing the two and seeing their interactions, how this bad end line would go, and mentally thinking up things. It was also nice to see other people’s excitement over this and sees their asks created more drawings and pieces. Not recently I’ve been feeling the start of the interest drop. I hate when this happens because you love the thing but you can feel yourself slowly drift from it and it…sucks. I have the outlines ready to be draw but not the push or energy to complete it. I did managed to finish one, being a drawing of the remaining four Pokémon and Pels going to Juniper and Drayden, but unfortunately this was one of the ones that got accidentally deleted and I can’t recover it(which was possibly another push). On top of that I have actually started doing commissions, and being these and the two projects I’m working on(my graphic novel and my favorite list), Ive been a bit drained myself. I have betas for a couple though that were detailed enough to be salvageable, so I won’t put them to waste.

This was supposed to be Chei reading the floor apology made by Agee, anxiously waiting for a response.

This one was supposed to be Ingo’s spirit sensing something wrong, while Agee comforts a weakened Chei while they think of a way to escape.

And my personal favorite, Ingo’s spirit panicking while Emmet’s spirit starts trying to piece together what happened while wishing he was still alive because Chei and Agee would make for an interesting double battle duo(even in death he thinks of battle strategies)

It saddens me to not have full pictures to share, but I won’t leave you empty handed. I’ll share what I was thinking up if I made the final two parts: so after the first night, Chei wakes up to find a poorly drawn apology on the floor from Agee, who still feels guilty for hurting their friend(and shocked when they see Chei is healed) by accident. Though not fully forgiving yet, Chei accepts the apology and slowly starts being less cautious around Agee. Eventually this comes to head when Agee protects Chei from a threat(most likely the scientists) which fully gains the latter’s trust so the two begin to become friends. During this the remaining four mons meet up with Pels(given this Au has mostly the same beginning, Pels still tagged along and escaped the scientists during the chaos that was capturing Ingo) and reluctantly decide the best course of action is to try to tell others, as they feel with Pels with the they could possibly convince someone. Ingo and Emmet’s souls are in limbo, not having moved on due to the circumstances of their deaths(I headcanoned in my ghost Emmet comic that he couldn’t move on until he knew that Ingo was alright and moving forward, so here the two likely wouldn’t till they both pieced together what happened and got justice for the experiments) watch as time pass and the fusions truly become family. However Ingo senses something is amiss and sure enough Chei is growing weaker. Unlike Agee, Chei is an unstable fusion due to the damage before the experiment. Agee colors dull in these bad conditions but Chei’s body and especially souls struggle to handle it, and start to unravel. Agee refuses to let his buddy die and decide to work with Chei to try to escape. That would’ve been part two. The final part would’ve been Chei and Agee combining their moves(multi train style) to break through the glass and begin and escape. They start breaking out everyone and fighting back the scientists when Chei grows too weak to fight and Agee protects him. Before they can be detained, Rescue arrive with the remaining Pokémon, Pels, and the humans fighting to incapacitate the scientists. Chei is wary around them since trust issues, but Agee is grateful for their help and lifts Chei onto his back to carry him. Once the scientists are defeated. The others help Agee out getting everyone outside where the chimera lays Chei down. The fusion would’ve curled up under a tree with Agee and the others by, leaving it ambiguous if Chei was getting better and healing, or peacefully passing away in a nicer area that wasn’t a cell. The final frame would’ve been the twins, now satisfied the experiments were freed and given justice, walking off into the afterlife together. Not a perfect story but I had fun with it. Now…I did prepare something to give you a nugget anyway:

And here it is! Marshrill design was recently released and as someone who loves and theorize the twins becoming Pokémon, this was certainly up my alley and I had to draw at least a quick sketch. Hopefully it makes up for no huge comic update.

But anyway, final huge props to @raisans-art again and I hope you all still enjoyed this. Thank you all, and have a great rest of your day

[starrystar]

Described!

58

Minty aqua alcohol ink background:

It turned out my math was wrong. I was never quite clear on volume and cubes vs. squares, which one led to me accidentally getting a mile of mulch delivered that was larger than my car. 

Bob was actually a seventh the lump he used to be.

Dr: That’s very good!

SB: Woohoo!

We booked my surgery for right before New Years. I just had to get through twelve more weeks of chemo.

59

Orange background with kind of a burnt gray happening at the bottom. 

The nurses were right. Taxol was easier. It was also much more annoying.

RN: You’ll want to ice your hands and feet for an hour during treatment to prevent neuropathy. 

SB: Oh. Joy. 

RN: It’s much better than it was in the old days. Everybody got neuropathy back then. 

SB: …yay?

60

Bright spring green watery background. 

I ordered special socks and gloves off Amazon that went in the freezer. 

I had been playing video games on my switch during chemo. Now I had enormous ice mittens strapped to my hands and could just about grip a stylus well enough to turn pages in an eBook. I am an avid reader, but it is surprisingly difficult to find a really gripping book every week for three months. 

SB: I just want a story that’s more interesting than being poisoned right this minute. Is that so much to ask? 

It didn’t help that I started getting excruciating abdominal cramps during the taxol. 

Note: Apparently this is a rare but known side-effect. Figures. Weirdly, still not as annoying as the ice mittens.

61

Lavender swirly background. 

In addition to cramps and ice socks, weekly chemo meant weekly lab work and weekly doctor appointments. DR: I feel like I just saw you. 

SB: Same here. 

My husband couldn’t get a day off every week, so I had to start getting rides from friends. I really really hated that. I know they didn’t mind and I know they were happy to help and I know they knew I was grateful, but I felt needy and helpless and I hated it. 

62

Bright aqua background.

Also all my nose hair fell out. For the record, no one appreciate the amount of work nose hair does. Gnats flew up my nose on three separate occasions. SB: I am in hell.

I also had a permanent low-level nasal drip.

SB: All these years and I had no idea how much wicking action those little hairs were doing. 

Note: Nose hair is the unsung hero of the human body.

63

This background looks a bit like a light orange rocky shore with a dark orange sea washing up on it, in abstract. 

My eyebrows finally gave up the ghost. They lasted four months. It was a good run.

SB: See you next year, guys. 

The taxol made my heart rate spike if I tried to do anything excessively athletic, such as standing up or walking across a room. People who walk regularly have better outcomes. I think that may be because if you can walk, you’re doing better anyway, but I did a slow half-kilometer circuit of my local park four days a week just in case. I played Pokémon Go a lot. 

SB: To think that I once considered myself woefully out of shape…

Note: Heart rate increase is ALSO a known side-effect.

64

Purple swirly background.

After every infusion, they cleaned my port with something that filled my nose with the smell of industrial cleaner. One day I encountered the smell in the wild.

SB: This is deeply unsettling and I don’t know why? I get that smells are really primal, but I’m not this upset during chemo!

A friend finally explained it to me….

Friend: It has nothing to do with being upset. Your body knows that smell comes with horrible physical disruption. On a very primitive level, your cells are screaming “That was poison! Don’t eat it again!”

Note: Apparently the mechanism is that the cleaner goes into your blood, blood goes immediately to your lungs, the cleaner aerosolizes there and floods your nasal passages. For me, it was like Dire Windex.

65

Pale yellow background with small lime green spatter. 

Unfortunately, knowing why didn’t make it stop. I could actually feel the trigger sinking into my brain. 

SB: But if I know why it’s happening, I should be able to prevent it from getting lodged in there, dammit!

It turns out that understanding the mechanism of trauma doesn’t actually fix it. 

SB: Reality is not well-organized. 

66

Gray background with unusual swirls of light and dark gray, but shot through with watery red. The effect is like drips of blood in a tray of ice chunks. 

Despite the ice, I started to get neuropathy anyway. 

It was worst in my right food, which weirded me out. SB: Why isn’t it symmetrical? 

RN: It usually isn’t. 

SB: It feels like it should be. 

Eventually it felt like permanent pins-and-needles in both feet. 

SB: Oh, I am really not a fan of this.

But at least it wasn’t my hands. 

67

Shades of brown show through with lines of gold, like a dark rocky cliff face. 

Doctor pinkeye was paranoid about typing becoming painful, so we lowered the dose. 

DR: I used to work in a town with a lot of musicians. Hand neuropathy was their greeted nightmare. As God is my witness, you will be able to keep writing books. 

SB: Oh good. I’m not actually cut out for anything else. 

A friend sent me socks that said “Fuck Cancer” on the soles. I wore them proudly to chemo. A month later I realized that I put them on the wrong feet every time and had been proclaiming myself a “cancer fuck.” 

(Mind you, the nurses probably thought it was funny.)

Tune in next time, when we finish chemo at long last!

The Saga of Bob! Part 7, I think!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

When last we checked in, Tumor-Bob had shrunk considerably!

Apparently this is a rare but known side-effect. Figures. Weirdly, still not as annoying as the ice mittens.

Nose hair is the unsung hero of the human body.

Heart rate increase is ALSO a known side-effect.

Apparently the mechanism is that the cleaner goes into your blood, blood goes immediately to your lungs, the cleaner aerosolizes there and floods your nasal passages. For me, it was like Dire Windex.

(Mind you, the nurses probably thought it was funny.)

Tune in next time, when we finish chemo at long last!

[just-somedude]

Do you think it’s possible to find two perfect doms? Mine was amazing… I always thought he was too good to be true, and it turns out he was. No one has ever put so much time and effort into understanding my mental health struggles and finding the best ways to help me cope from afar (we were long distance). He could tell when I was having an episode even before I realized myself and immediately went into action to help me through it. He was so god damn perfect it’s physically painful knowing he betrayed me. I got to know his daughter, he collared me and we had daily tasks and rules for me to follow, it was the real deal. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was, until I wasn’t. He ghosted me for 4 months, made me think something terrible happened. I have abandonment issues from past trauma, and he finally started to heal those. Then he disappeared, only to come back 4 months later telling me he broke his phone, he got hit by a car and had spent time in the hospital and lost all access to his apple ID so he had no way of contacting me. And like the lovesick, needy, heartbroken sub I am, I forgave him instantly. We were so good for a while, i had even improved as a person and he took immediate notice of that and praised me for it. Promised me forever, collared me again and fixed my broken heart. Guess what? Ghosted, again. I thought, oh, maybe he broke his phone (he has a genuine tendency to do that, I’ve seen it first hand). I gave it a few days, and then I started to worry. I opened snapchat one day only to see an account recommended to me that looked suspiciously like him. After some digging, I found out he had been cheating on me the entire year. I found his instagram account where the day after he disappeared four months prior, he posted he was single and “someone should change that” and “feel free to message him”. Then found out that during the dates he was “in the hospital” he was actually fine and celebrating his daughters birthday. He has a whole Facebook account dedicated to kink, and I saw that he just collared someone new. When confronted, he just blocked me on every possible place of contact. I don’t know what made him come back after 4 months, and if he intended on doing the same thing after he got bored of his current sub because he knew I’d always take him back. I’m going through the mourning phase, grieving a relationship that was so real yet so fake at the same time, wondering why I wasn’t good enough for him to stay. After assuring me time and time again that I am enough, that I’m perfect for him and he can’t wait to be with me forever, how could he just leave? I don’t understand. I’ve considered just dropping the idea of a D/s relationship all together, but after having him, I can’t have a normal one. It just won’t be enough. Yet I can’t stop comparing people to him, ugh. Is it possible to find someone new? I feel like I missed my one and only chance and won’t get someone who will want to help me like that, without me having to ask. I’m sorry this is so long, it feels good to get off my chest. Post this or not, this made me feel better. 😊

Never, ever think someone being a douchebag is your fault. You did nothing wrong, the man you met is manipulative. It's good that you're out of it, but horrible it happened to you. You will be able to find someone better some day, I guarantee that

[gffa]

Last time I went about five months between doing a set of STAR WARS fic recs, this time it’s only been three months! Hurrah! It helps that, as always, this fandom puts out an incredible amount of excellent fic, so I feel like I’m never hurting for fics I want to yell about and shove at people, which is something I continue to appreciate as it often feels like so much of the world is such a huge tire fire. It helps to be able to find fics to retreat into, to have fun with, to express joy and creativity with, and so many of the authors in this fandom are just so good at this! To the point that these sets sometimes take awhile because there are always more fics I want to add, until the post starts threatening to be overly long instead of a decent length–in my defense, no seriously, you guys are just too good! Also, I forced myself to stop at 69 fic recs, because yes I do think it’s funny. (Nice.) STAR WARS FIC RECS: PREQUELS RECS: ✦ a comedy in four acts by jesuisdeux, obi-wan & dooku & yoda & qui-gon & cast, time travel, 4k    This was what time-travel is: staring at the dark sockets of skulls everywhere your gaze lands on. Being haunted by ghosts long gone. The apprehension of the slow yet sure approach of the inevitable which is sending chills down your spine. ✦ No Rest for the Weary by Peach_Bitters (peachybitters), obi-wan & anakin & jedi & ocs, 61k    Needing a break from life at the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, visit a Jedi AgriCorps settlement on the Midrim planet of Helia. There they encounter new friends, new enemies and have new adventures, all while attempting to navigate their sometimes turbulent relationship as Master and Padawan. ✦ Stars of Tatooine by Be_Right_Back, ahsoka & kanan & mace & rex & obi-wan & cast, 10.5k    After the end of the world, Ahsoka more or less kidnaps a child, has to air some old grievances, and tries to find whatever peace the universe can still offer. All paths in the Force lead home, eventually. ✦ Festival of Light by dendral, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & rex & cast, 8.7k    During his first year at the Jedi Temple, Anakin learns that even the Jedi celebrate holidays. ✦ the master, the padawan, the Force by skatzaa, depa & caleb, 1.4k    Caleb expects things to be different after Master Depa takes him as her padawan, but really, it feels like nothing really changes. ✦ desecrate my lungs by loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & padme & cast, 16k wip    Time-travel fix-it in which Mustafar haunts Anakin decades after it happened and years before it would. ✦ Grace by dismantlingsummer, obi-wan & anakin, 2.3k    Shortly after Mustafar, Anakin realizes what he has done. He finds Obi-Wan to beg for death. ✦ Fifth Migration by wrennette, yoda & mace & obi-wan & ki-adi & yarael & coleman & plo & palpatine & cast, 2k    How about an AU where the Sith’s Grand Plan accounted for everything -everything that is, except the fact that the Jedi temple is actually an very ancient spacecraft and the second word got to the Jedi about there being clones on Kamino, all Jedi are called back inside and they take off immediately? Just imagine the dear chancellor’s face… ✦ fill pages with scribbled ink by magneticwave, obi-wan/padme & sabe & mace & quinlan & cast, 9.8k    A year after the Invasion of Naboo, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi is invited by Queen Amidala to return to Naboo and participate in a rite known as the Night of Fireflies. Things kind of snowball from there. ✦ Mind Your Words by Peach_Bitters (peachybitters), obi-wan & anakin, spanking, 7k    Obi-Wan reminds Anakin that there are consequences for careless behavior for young Jedi on missions. ✦ (you taught me) the courage of stars by grumpyhedgehogs, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cast, 5.1k wip    Ahsoka Tano flees after a warrant for her arrest is issued, but not before receiving aid from an unexpected ally. (Ahsoka proceeds to go on a road trip filled with a bunch of strangers who all say the same thing: Obi-Wan Kenobi is much more than he has ever appeared to be.) ✦ they faked it (guess everything’s complicated) by katierosefun, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 4.5k    Ahsoka temporarily loses memories of the events of Obi-Wan’s fake death. To help with the healing process, Anakin and Obi-Wan have to pretend that they’re okay. ✦ programed to dream by ghostwriterofthemachine, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, body horror, 1.3k    The spaceship Comet-rider is the fastest, most efficient vessel in the galaxy, and is crewed by Separatist-funded pirates. Anakin Skywalker is missing. Unfortunately, these two things are connected. ✦ Unpleasant Truths by hellowkatey, obi-wan & anakin, 2.1k    Obi-Wan and Anakin are stuck in a room with one another while waiting for truth serum to wear off. ✦ moment’s silence by skatzaa, obi-wan & owen & beru & luke & leia (pre-obi-wan/beru-owen), 2k    Owen had long since resigned himself to trouble, whenever Beru got that particularly stubborn set to her jaw. ✦ hold gently and let go by shatou, obi-wan & anakin (pre-slash?), 1.7k    A troubled Anakin comes to Obi-Wan to discuss attachments. ✦ sun child by Ro29, obi-wan & anakin, 2.1k    (or; sometimes being so tied to the Force causes problems, Obi-Wan helps his Padawan as best he can) ✦ A Dinner Out by Peach_Bitters (peachybitters), obi-wan & anakin & cast, 1.6k    Obi-Wan can’t get his young Padawan to eat much, so he tries something new. But trying something different has unintended consequences. ✦ Shades in the Desert by loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & luke & owen/beru, 10.8k    Not even from a certain point of view did Darth Vader kill Anakin Skywalker. He wished he did, but the specter of the Jedi’s light escaped before he could finalize his fall to the dark. Meanwhile, Anakin is raising his son on Tatooine. ✦ somewhere along in the bitterness by CallToMuster, obi-wan & anakin, major character death, 3.8k    It was probably the twelfth day floating alone in space that Obi-Wan and Anakin realized no one was coming for them. ✦ Songs for Little Jedi by soft_but_gremlin, mace & younglings, ~1k    The initiates are having nightmares, so Mace sings a lullaby to comfort them. ✦ atmosphere level by softredscrunchie, obi-wan/satine & qui-gon, 1k    As a joke, Satine tells Obi-Wan she thinks Mandalore is flat. He doesn’t take it well. ✦ on sith holocrons and misunderstandings by billowypants, obi-wan & anakin & mace & yoda & cast, de-aged!obi-wan, 7.2k    or, de-aged!Obi-Wan has the same Force bonds as adult Obi-Wan, and he does not react well. ✦ Perseverance & Resilience by loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin, 1.1k    In the aftermath of Naboo, Obi-Wan realizes he needs strength to protect his new Padawan. Growing up, Anakin needs peace. ✦ A Delicate Balance by Peach_Bitters (peachybitters), obi-wan & anakin & yoda & jedi, spanking, 9.6k    As Anakin’s skills grow, so too does his penchant for getting into trouble. After a training mishap, Obi-Wan struggles with his role as Anakin’s master. ✦ mirror, mirror by CallToMuster, obi-wan & anakin, 5.4k    Obi-Wan has been rescued by Anakin after being rather embarrassingly kidnapped on the remote planet of Ilnuria during his investigation of rumored kyber crystals deep beneath the planet’s surface. …But is all as it seems? ✦ Mace Windu Appreciation Week by Redminibike1, mace & obi-wan & anakin & ponds & cody & jedi & cast, 12.5k    Set of unconnected ficlets for Mace Windu Appreciation Week, because he deserves it :) ✦ begin again as a quiet thought by skatzaa, obi-wan/quinlan, d/s, ~1k    Cool, smooth leather touched his jaw—gloves. Because of course Obi-Wan had thought of that as well. ✦ Drunken Lullabies by Siri_Kenobi12, obi-wan & anakin & siri & quinlan & aayla & garen & bant & ferus, 6.5k    “Do I really have to go to this thing?” Fourteen year old Anakin Skywalker dramatically sighed. “It’s sooo boring!” ✦ heaven knows how I love you by the_13th_battalion, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 1.2k    Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka are stranded on an unfamiliar planet overnight. They spend their time exploring the community- and maybe they get a little closer to each other along the way. ✦ A Reckless Padawan by Peach_Bitters (peachybitters), obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, spanking, 3.9k    When Ahsoka upsets Anakin with an act of reckless disobedience, it falls to her grandmaster to help her see the error of her ways. OBI-WAN/ANAKIN RECS: ✦ Too Hot by secretsolarsystem, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 4.8k    Too Hot: A game where two players kiss without stopping and without touching each other. If one player touches the other, that player loses. The winner gets to do whatever they want to the loser. ✦ Nostos by intermundia, obi-wan/anakin & padme, NSFW, 17k    Or, how Obi-Wan and Anakin discover that there are many ways to come home. ✦ to touch the light, darkest by treescape, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 1.9k    Obi-Wan begins to fuck Vader back to the light ✦ encode by loosingletters, obi-wan/anakin & padme & handmaidens & cast, 26.3k wip    Instead of being accepted into the Jedi Order at the age of 9, Anakin Skywalker became a ward of Naboo. ✦ Hunting the Homeward Light by GreenQueenofClubs, obi-wan/anakin & mace & ahsoka & shmi & padme & cast, 31.9k wip    When Anakin Skywalker was nine, he left his whole life and mother behind to follow Qui-Gon Jinn to Coruscant and the Jedi Temple. When Anakin Skywalker was twelve, he left his whole life and Master behind to follow Mace Windu to the Outer Rim and away from the Jedi Order. When Anakin Skywalker was twenty… ✦ use my body to break your fall by tennessoui, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, sith!obi-wan, 44.7k wip    Obi-Wan Kenobi is too good at being a Sith Lord general of the Separatist army. The Jedi Council approaches Anakin with an offer he can’t refuse. These things are, actually, related. ✦ Over and Over by obiwanobi, obi-wan/anakin, 1.4k    “I love you,” he blurts out, loud and impossible to miss. Obi-Wan blinks once, twice. And freezes. The first time Anakin tells him is a mortifying experience. ✦ Exceptions by rinverse, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & mace & quinlan & cast, NSFW, modern au, 23.4k    Young and brilliant, Anakin is the mind behind JEDI Tech’s latest innovation. Obi-Wan is the company’s perfectly composed Director of PR & Marketing. And last night, they were just two strangers at a bar, looking for something quick and easy. But life had other plans when it crossed their paths again the very next day. ✦ Here There Be Dragons by Ghost_Owl, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, 10.1k    Anakin knows why he can’t shift into his animal form like every other Jedi. It’s because he doesn’t want to, it’s because he’s had a vision of what he would become, and he doesn’t want it. ✦ Waiting in a Sea of Stars by Peach_Bitters (peachybitters), obi-wan/anakin, ~1k    Stranded in deep space, Obi-Wan and Anakin wait for rescue. ✦ Tristitia by JSwander, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, sith!obi-wan, 5k    An alternate timeline where Palpatine focuses his attentions on Obi-Wan Kenobi instead of Anakin Skywalker after the attack on Naboo. ✦ Prompted - Chapter 11: Communication, What Communication? by intermundia, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, modern au, mobster au, 7k    a 7k obikin PWP that is somehow a prompt mashup of a mobster au, an accidental sugar daddy au, with a soupçon of an anakin never left tatooine au, and a pinch of qui-gon was anakin’s dad au ✦ who a person truly is cannot be seen with the eye by RexIsMyCopilot, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, spanking, 3.6k    Anakin purposely avoids doing what Obi-Wan tells him to do. ✦ Prompted - Chapter 12: Potidaea, 432BC, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, historical au, 4.3k    Here is a short smutty scene inspired by all those classics asks, Alcibiades praising Socrates in Plato’s Symposium, and this vase c.490-480 B.C. depicting standing, face-to-face intercrural intercourse between a bearded man and a youth, which as far as we can tell was the most common and accepted position for it in Ancient Greece. ✦ Prompted - Chapter 13: Minikin and Tiny-Wan by intermundia, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 5.4k    Happy May the Fourth! In honor of this happy day, I have written the fluffiest, crackiest, vanilla-flavored smut imaginable. Based on long discussions on discord with tomicaleto about her adorable Tiny AU. ✦ to hold until brightness by treescape, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 1.4k    Obi-Wan feared that it drew out the darkest in him, to bring Vader to these flashes of light, but it was a trade he would make again and again without hesitation. ✦ May Be Found, If Sought by ghostwriterofthemachine, obi-wan/anakin & mace & quinlan, magical academy au, 2.3k    In which Quinlan, Mace, and Obi-Wan teach Non-Traditional Magical Philosophy in an institution rampant with academic snobbery and discrimination, something dark is stirring in the nearby forest, and no one is ever prepared for Anakin Skywalker. A small story about first meetings in magical academia. ✦ infinitely varied by loosingletters, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, modern au, 2.2k    Also known as Obi-Wan and Anakin teach a tiny program called A.H.S.O.K.A. how to be something more than lines of code via the power of linguistics. ✦ recipe for disaster by tennessoui, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, modern au, 9.8k    When Ahsoka tells Anakin she doesn’t want to learn piano anymore, Anakin is heartbroken. He doesn’t care about the instrument, obviously, but he’s practically in love with her teacher. Obi-Wan offers up a solution to their impending separation, and it’s not dating like any normal person would suggest. Instead, he’s gonna teach Anakin how to cook. Except Anakin’s a pretty well-known chef, and Obi-Wan is absolutely awful in the kitchen. ✦ Pretty Kitty by GayCheerios, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 2.2k    “Master, you always take such good care of me,” Anakin says, a little chirp coming after his sentence, as his thumb rests on Anakin’s plump bottom lip. ✦ As One, Into Eternity by Pseudonymoose, obi-wan/anakin, force ghosts, 3.1k    Death comes, but the man who was, and is, and will be Anakin Skywalker is not gone. And in the Force, he will never be alone again. ✦ does he make you laugh? by y0u_idjits, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & cast, fusion fic, 3.6k    “Tell me it’s not about screwing the guy who’s screwing your husband.” ✦ Rotten Work by secretsolarsystem, obi-wan/anakin, 2.8k    Obi-Wan: I’ll take care of you. Anakin, with bloodshot eyes and a broken back from hours of terrible posture: It’s rotten work. Obi-Wan, who needs to bathe this man for his own sanity and health: Not to me. Not if it’s you. ✦ afterimages by shatou, obi-wan/anakin, 1.3k    Mustafar is nothing but a bad dream. ✦ understanding is honoring the truth beneath the surface by RexIsMyCopilot, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, 7.3k    Anakin asks Obi-Wan to take control. ✦ The strongest stars… by Tomicaleto, obi-wan/anakin & beru & cast, NSFW, 7.4k    The war’s end seems to be close, with everyone looking forward to it. And when Anakin is doubting himself the most, an unexpected visit arrives at the Temple. ✦ home has a heartbeat by izazov, obi-wan/anakin, 5.6k    Or: Anakin and Obi-Wan are together, but there are still some things left unsaid between them. ✦ turn back now (i’m haunted) by tennessoui, obi-wan/anakin & padme & quinlan & ahsoka & cast, modern au, ghosts au, 25k wip    Anakin Skywalker’s house is haunted. Luckily for him, Padmé knows a ghost hunter. Unluckily for him, it’s the hottest, most english-professor ghost hunter he’s ever seen. And extremely unluckily for him, he’s starting to get the feeling he understands maybe ten percent of what’s actually going on here, not to mention what’s at stake. ✦ game plan by treescape, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 11.2k    Or, Vader keeps capturing Obi-Wan during the Wars. Obi-Wan keeps escaping. It’s kind of a thing. ✦ Provocation by ToolMusicLover, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 4.9k    Or: Obi-Wan and Anakin attempt to navigate their complicated relationship with barbed words and wilful ignorance. It wasn’t going well. ✦ Languages by Crowgirl, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 6.5k    So Anakin pulls out a map and makes a list. REBELS RECS: ✦ The Scent of You by ambiguously, kanan/hera & cast, a smidge of nsfw, 2.9k    Everything changes after Malachor, and Kanan has trouble finding his balance. ✦ Heard It in a Love Song (Can’t Be Wrong) by ambiguously, zeb/kallus, 2.7k    Kallus can’t quite figure out what makes Zeb tick, but he keeps trying. ORIGINAL TRILOGY/MANDALORIAN RECS: ✦ A Discussion of Choices by Peppermint_Shamrock, luke & mace, 2k    Mace Windu has traveled the galaxy since the fall of the Republic, keeping out of the Empire’s sight and teaching where he can. Upon the request of a ghost of an old friend, Mace finds himself instructing Luke Skywalker, who is still reeling from the truth of Vader’s identity. ✦ staring down the barrel of the hot sun by magneticwave, luke/din & obi-wan & grogu & mace & cast, 25.7k    “Gone to a Child of the Watch, the Darksaber has,” Grand Master Yoda announces in his creaky little voice. “Peace, there is not, and yet peace, there must be.” ✦ Released by Peppermint_Shamrock, cody & rex & luke & cast, 6k    Nearly two and a half decades late, Cody’s chip is finally removed. Adjusting to having his mind returned to him after so long takes time, and Cody struggles with questions of his purpose of the past, present, and future. Fortunately, he does not have to struggle alone. ✦ A Tatooine Rainstorm by skatzaa, leia & luke & shmi, 1.7k    Leia meets a ghost. ✦ Dealing with the Darksaber by Peppermint_Shamrock, din & bo-katan & cara, 1.3k    After her recovery, Bo-Katan contacts Din to challenge him for the darksaber. Din is still very much not interested in the whole affair. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Graveyard Siblings (4)

I am sorry for not posting in a while. School is a total bitch. Here is part 4 of a fic that is not a fic.

[Masterlist]

(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)

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Tall Marinette.(I admit I might be projecting a little here.)

One day, she took out something from someplace high and the whole family realized that ‘holy shit when did you get so tall?’

Bonus if Jason comes back from a long mission and had a wtf moment because she was wearing 6-inch-heels and met his eyes with them on.

“Pixie?!”

------

You know how Bruce has the identity of Matches Malone to infiltrate the Gotham Underground.

While Jason does the drug deals more street crime stuff, Maria uses an excuse of being the representative for Red Hood excuse to mingle with the rich people who does crime on the side (Penguin), she uses it to go to black market auctions and buy some of the lost miraculouses which got into the hands of black market dealers.

Jason knows about it and acts as her ‘bodyguard’ anytime he can or sends one of his henchmen to be one with a death threat if she gets a single scratch on her.

Bruce is unaware of this. Or is he?

------

Mari helps with running WE since she is a little less busy with the vigilante side of things.

It started with Tim panicking about deadlines and Mari offering to help, to Bruce and Tim bullying the board to have her as co-CEO.

She has to be that and head of Afterlife. So she is very busy. Doesn’t know about what comes next….

------

Somehow the class comes to Gotham for a trip. It has been 3 years since her death.

Mari has changed her appearance since the day she left Paris. She has highlights in her hair after a ‘sibling bonding day’ with Jason. Her hair is kept short for convenience and not in pigtails. Along with her tall height and more confident aura, she is almost unrecognizable.

She rides a motorcycle too.

The class waits in the lobby for the tour and in walks this badass woman with aviator sunglasses, leather jacket and designer clothes which was all MT brand, making a lot of people swoon.

She takes off her glasses and walks past the class. Checking stuff on her phone and sipping coffee in her other hand.

She seems familiar but they couldn’t figure out why. (All except Chloe, Alix and Felix who are snickering in the background.)

Lila sees her and comments on how she must be a criminal with the way she dresses. (Lila internally freaks out because were her eyes messing with her? Because she looked a little like Marinette. Also jealous of the new arrival for stealing all the attention.) Alya takes the bait and calls security to ‘arrest’ her.

They just laugh. The class doesn’t understand, speaking in confused French.

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

“I am Maria Todd-Wayne, also known as designer MT. CEO of Afterlife and co-CEO of the very company you are in. I am allowed in here. Don’t judge a book by its cover.” she said in perfect French.

“But Lila told us you can’t speak French.”

“Who?”

“Lila Rossi, your friend. She told us that you and MT were dating.”

“Me dating myself. Okay I love myself because self-love is a thing but that is a whole other level. MT are my initials. Anyone who has a brain could have figured that out or at the very least do a Google search. I am not sure where your friend got that notion.”

“Hey, Bean, come on. We have a long day ahead of us.” Tim reminded her.

“Goodbye but cease the rumours or you would be escorted off the premises.”

As they rode up the elevator, “Tim, why are they here?”

“They are the lucky winners of the Wayne Enterprise Young Prodigies Contest. Why, Maria?”

“Lucky, huh.” She muttered under her breath. She might as well tell him. They are the Bats and they will find out anyway. “They are from my old class, the one you know…”

“Oh. Want me to send them back? I can do that if they are making you uncomfortable.”

“Nah. Too much to deal with. And it is unfair to send them back over a petty grudge. Besides, I could have some fun.”

“Anything that Bruce and I should be worried about?”

“I swear no killing. Just because Jason came back from the dead, hell-bent on killing. Doesn’t mean I am too.”

“Cool, just don’t do any property damage or traumatize our employees.”

“I might need you to erase some footage later and tell Bruce about this.”

“Some brownies, my favourite coffee cake, the ‘special’ brew and you have yourself a deal.”

-----

So basically she just showed up around where the class was ‘by coincidence’.

Talk to a few people and take them out of earshot of the rest of the class.

End the conversation by saying a few things only they and her would know. Insides jokes and secrets. (I pick her old childhood friends like, Nino, Kim and maybe Sabrina)

Uses Trixx to turn into a walking dead version of her 15-year old self and disappears as they freak out about how she knew that secret/story.

Freaks them out further by appearing again in front of the whole class and pretending not to know their previous conversation.

Mari manages to get Lila alone.

I should also say that Lila thought that her curse was making her see MT as Marinette.

It terrifies Lila when she finds out that MT is actually Marinette, not dead but alive after all this time and apparently living the high life she wanted. This fact made the Italian swell up with jealousy.

“I hope you are not lying about me again, Lila Rossi. Like you always do.”

“What do you want with me? I swear I didn’t say anything else about you.”

“Aw, Lila. Don’t recognize me?”

Maria flickers and Ladybug is in her place and later, the Marinette that appeared in her bedroom and back to normal.

“You! How? Why are you here? Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“Why not? I mean you did take away nearly all my friends, my parents and made my life a living hell. If you think about it, I am just repaying you the same favor. How are the others? Treating you well?”

“What did you do to me, you bitch?”

“I just put a curse on you. The ghosts of your past will haunt you until you stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop Lying, Liar. They all feed and grow in power from your lies. I wonder what would happen in a few years if you kept this up.”

“You think you can get away with this. This is war and I have already beaten you once.”

“Oh Rossi. This isn’t a war. It’s a death sentence.” With that she disappears.

Lila tries to tell her class that MT is actually Marinette. She is met with crazy looks. Some of them look like they want to believe her but don't because they don’t want to look crazy too.

Oh. Adrien wasn’t on the trip because his mother didn’t want him to go to the crime capital of America although the crime rate has gone down a little due to Hellbat curing some of the city’s bad energy..

Right after Lila told the class about MT, Scarecrow came to steal some Wayne tech and the class got caught in the crossfire. So later, it was brushed off as Lila seeing things due to the fear toxins.

-----

Joker made the mistake of kidnapping her. Once was enough to never try that again.

(It involved the use of nearly all of the Miraculouses, old and new. He was thoroughly humiliated at the end of it and his picture by the time Hellbat was done with him was on the Batfam’s Christmas Card. Like I said she doesn’t kill but making them beg for death was okay.)

It coincided with Jason’s Birthday and the video of the incident was ‘the best birthday present ever.’ The uncensored version was watched at the next undead siblings bonding day. Damian included.

After hearing a few rumours about what happened, most criminals were glad for Hellbat’s rare appearances. (which happens once a month and during really busy time of the year)

There was a time where Penguin was carrying out one of their plans and when Hellbat showed up, all of their thugs surrendered instantly. (No Batman did not pout at the fact that this French girl was more imitating than him.)

Scarecrow used his newest batch of fear toxin on her during the first year after she died.

He was astounded to see her still standing and she later proceeded to beat the crap out of him while being under the toxin’s influences.

He has tried to stay out of her way since then.

She saw Scarecrow as Hawkmoth and said a lot of things in French which scared everyone because she said it with so much hate, anger and in a very menacing tone that everyone is like ‘I am not touching this.’

It took Red Hood and Nightwing to restrain her from further beating Scarecrow up.

He was one of the people who sympathised with the Joker after the Incident.

The next was Riddler being so arrogant in his plans and managed to get Hellbat and Spoiler into a death trap.

“You know I have a few regrets in life. And my final one is that I got captured and am now going to get killed by a walking fashion disaster.”

“Hey! I made this myself. I will have, you know.”

“You have a brilliant mind but no sense of fashion at all. When I get out of here, I am going to burn that thing with you in it, for your crimes against fashion.”

“What is wrong with it?”

Cue a lot of roasting of Riddler’s costume and Spoiler adding more fuel to the fire.

They manage to escape while Riddler is crying on the floor, having an existential crisis.

The thing was no one knows why Riddler was silent the entire week after encountering Hellbat and crying when anyone mentions it.

They now think Hellbat is the scariest one in the Batfamily, second to Batman and tied with Black Bat/Orphan.

The few who find out what really happened in the warehouse that night. Blackmail material on the Riddler.

Three ( four if you count Penguin) of Gotham’s biggest villains of the Rogues Gallery scared of Bats’ newest addition. Hellbat was not someone they wanted to mess with.

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Magic crisis stuff. Like a world ending event thing. Dr. Fate says they need the Miraculous jewels but the last mention of them had been in Paris a few years ago and had vanished since then.

Costantine looked at Batman. “You know who you have to call.”

Batman calls Hellbat. Who hasn’t been introduced yet to the JL.

“Ah. Bats. Not that I question your authority or anything but how can your newest ‘ward’ help us?”

She takes off her helmet and reveals her face and more importantly, her earrings.

Tikki comes out of her hiding place.

“I am the current Guardian of the Miracle Box and wielder of the Ladybug miraculous during Hawkmoth’s reign in Paris a few years ago. Any other Questions?”

“Oh great Guardian. Tikki. It is an honour to meet you.”-Wonder Woman, who else.

“You too, Princess Diana. Pass on my regards to your mother.”-Tikki

A huge face-off and the big evil is defeated.

WW asks abt HM and gives a horrified face at the end of her story. Nearly everyone who eavesdropped on the conversation was.

"Forgive me, Guardian for not aiding you in your hour of need.”

“It’s okay. I understand that there are other crises, world-ending ones that JL have to take care of. I am better now. Mostly.”

“I doubt it with those revenge schemes I found lying around. But she is getting there with her therapist.”-Batman

“I hate you, Dad.”

“Did you just call him Dad?”

“No….”

“Do you see me as a father figure?”

“I see you as a nuisance with how nosy you are with my personal business. So you are more of a bother figure.”

“I see you as part of the family too, Daughter.” (Got that reference anyone?)

“Jason was the one who adopted me.”

“Legally you are adopted by me.”

Maria with Pikachu surprised face because nobody told her that. “My life is a lie.”

-------

(Part 5)

[trainer-sean]

@prof-peach HELP, I'VE PULLED INTO BEING AN ASSISTANT BY A PROFESSOR JUST BECAUSE I MENTIONED HOW MY FRIEND THOUGHT I'D MAKE A GOOD PROF., FOR THE PASS MONTH IVE BEEN STUCK IN PALDEA, IN THE GREAT CRATER, AND FOR SOME REASON IM THE ONLY ONE WITH A SINGLE AMOUNT OF SENSE WHO'S ACTUALLY COMING UP WITH PLAUSIBLE THEORY AND RESULTS! I JUST HAD TO GIVE A LECTURE!!!! I'M NOT EVEN A WILLING ASISTANT, I DIDN'T EVEN FINISH MY GYM CIRCUIT BECAUSE I GOT BORED AFTER BADGE 5 AND DECIDED TO EXPLORE BEFORE HEADING HOME!

HALF THESE GUYS AREN'T EVEN TRYING TO KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE, THEY JUST RUN IN TO STUDY THESE PARADOX POKEMON, A GOOD MAJORITY ARE EXTREMELY AGRESSIVE AND WILL KILL!!!! AND THEY ARE ACTING SURPRISED AND UTTERLY IMPRESSED WHEN I COME UP WITH THE MOST OBVIOUS OF OBSERVATIONS, LIKE WTH?! THEY DIDNT EVEN BRING ANY BATTLE READY POKEMON, OR HIRED ANY TRAINERS TO HELP SUPERVISE!!!! IM THE ONLY ONE WITH A TEAM THAT CAN FIGHT!!

BARELY A QUARTER OF THEM EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE RETRIEVAL AND DELIVERY FACTORS!!!!! THATS LIKE A BARE MINIMUM FOR PROFESSORS TO KNOW SO THEY CAN DEAL WITH POKEMON.

HALF OF THEM ARE TREATING MY LIKE A CHILD WHEN I AM A 22 YEAR OLD MAN WHO ACTUALLY KNOWS HOW THE KEEP HIMSELF SAFE AND NOT GO RUN UP TO A VERY MUCH FERAL SCREAM TAIL. I'VE GIVEN TWO LECTURES, ONE TO THESE UTTER IDIOTS ABOUT THE R&D FACTORS AND A LECTURE ABOUT MY FINDINGS ON THE GREAT CRATER TO THE STUDENTS ARE THE ACADEMY?! THIS ISNT NORMAL, WHY ARE PEOPLE ACTING LIKE THIS IS NORMAL, IS THIS THE ACTUAL NORM FOR POKEMON TRAINERS OR SOMETHING?!

(-This guy also tricked him into signing a contract saying id be assisting with an investigation on the Ultimate weapon in Kalos, along with Reflection cave and some other things in Kalos, which is why I ended up saying I'd probably talk about those in the future during my lecture, cause im probably gonna be roped into doing another one in the future. He didn't even do in malice, he straight up said to my face it'd be good for me, and that I had alot of potential to be a great professor, which is flattering, BUT I'D LIKE CONSENT BEFORE THESE THINGS HAPPEN, thing is hes spoken of highly by Professor Juniper, both of them. We're thankfully gonna be monitored by Prof. Sycamore and one of the elite four during these trips, honestly worried what we'll find, Reflection cave was closes off for a reason, and everyone's avoiding the town that the ultimate weapon is located like the plague. Honestly, when this contract is over, I might just see about going over to you guys to intern if I'm just going to be drawn into Professor work like this again. Terastalization works on humans, Ghost type here, very freaky! I kept seeing these shadowy silhouettes walking by, and it was weird being crystalline and see through, also, those hats are completely optional, like, I was uncomfortable with the weight, didnt want it, and the hat just Dissolved in to particles? Also, kept being harassed by the five kids that went down into the Crater and didn't face criminal charges due to the Service Clause that was made when pokemom training became popular for the sake of having a Crime deterent, Florian and Juliana kept asking if I had seen any more Miraidon and Koraidon like the ones they have, more Specifically, the ones Ai Sada and Turo had when they were controlled by the Paradise protection protocol, because they are extremely territorial and Agressive, glad they are at least worried about the team studying the place, Nemona keeps asking me for battles, obsessively at that, Arven was asking about finding any Herba Mystic, which yes we did, but we can't just let these be used by the public with out proper study, observations are promising but we need a proper lab, he looked very nervous when I told him that, think he some how got some and used them, his mebostiff is particularly looking well for its age and scars it has, Penny was honestly the only one I could comfortably be around, she was asking about my sylveon, we even traded some care tips, I also told her some tips for her Jolteon I learned from care for my dads Jolteon. Though, Florian and Juliana seem to know a thing or two on calming P. Paradox pokemon, they must've them when the first went down.

The Paradox pokemon can't have come from a full of time machine, due to multiple reports, even entire community sightings of Dialga and even multiple Celebi arriving at a location and destroying some seemingly random building, which those builds apparently had scientists attempting to preform experiments, primarily on time travel, so we know that Legendary pokemon would not allow something that can disturb the flow of time like a Time Machine exist, the Tera Crystal is a outlier due to not being more like Space travel, jumping from one branch of the tree to the other, rather then traveling down the branch and traveling up the other, something Palkia seems to not take offense too.

(- for Retrieval and deliver factor,

The Words of Prof. Sean: Area Zero And Paradox Pokémon.

I've been seeing lots of miscommunication and misinterpretation on Area Zero and the Paradox pokemon, and I wish to fix this. I'll start of the history of the location and work from there for those unfamiliar with the topic.

Area Zero:

The Great Crater of Paldea is a massive Crater with a unique and expansive ecosystem in the center of the Paldea region. Once to believed to store of massive hidden treasure due to the Ancient Kings greed, many expeditions were sent down into the Crater, later to be called Area Zero by Professors who went to study the phenomenon and ecosystem. Many instances of bizarre looking pokemon many believed to not even be pokemon were found inside, but they all shared a few common trait, they resembled known pokemon, they didn't have any findable evolved or pre-evolved forms, some appeared to be more primal looking versions of pokemon, while others looked like robotic, sci-fi escue versions of pokemon to the modern eye. They all seemed to be in some form hostile, not only the the Expedition teams, but the other pokemon that lived in the crater themselves. Also in the Crater were multiple strange relics, and copious pillars of crystals, even trees and other things seemed to have the crystal grow on them from the ground up, these plants seemed to actually be vastly for hardy then others, being able to shrug off swings of axes and even the strongest of pokemon attacks. These crystals would later be the main key to producing Tera Orbs, and the key to preform the Terastalization phenomenon in battles, which helps something preform to its best. There are other examples of this phenomenon's uses I'll get into at a later point. At the very bottom of the Crater is a cavernous biome where the Tera Crystal seems most copious, and a odd species of pokemon seem to come from, a oddly flower and crystal like pokemon with the rock/poison typing, called Glimmora. I would not be surprised if this pokemons origins is interconnected with the Tera Crystal's origins. These Tera Crystal's also seems to randomly grow from the earth all around Paldea, as Tera Raid Dens, with Terastalized pokemon inside, but will randomly generate and degenerate day by day, but the pokemon inside them don't seem to come from Paldea at all, as environmental Census and blood tests reveals none of the pokemon caught from Tera Raid Dens have zero relation to pokemon of their species all around the region, they've also been found to lack any memory before the Raid Dens generation, no ones got a clue what happens to a pokemon in a Raid Den that Degenerates, as both disappear without a trace. There are still many mystery around the Great Crater, but Professors have only been given minimal study time of the Ecosystem at a time by Paldea's Government.

Primal Paradox Pokemon:

Too start, Paradox Pokemon are odd forms of pokemon that seem to randomly appear in Area Zero, other wise known as The Great Crater of Paldea. We've given classifications for the two types, Primal Paradox and Cyber Paradox.

Primal Paradox pokemon are more primal versions of existing pokemon, do not confuse this for me saying they are prehistoric versions of modern pokemon, as they have zero fossil records anywhere in the word, the closest they have are Bones, simple bones dated at the latest, 1,000 years old. The most common trait among Primal Paradox pokemon are predator Yellow eyes, and a unique ability that activates in harsh sunlight, this ability seems to boost their highest stat, the Cyber Paradox pokemon have a similar ability that activates on Electric Terrain, but we'll get to that later. P. Paradox pokemon are very much carnivorous, but, like all pokemon, they can easily sustain themselves of berry's happily, but they tend to be more aggressive. P. Paradox pokemon seem to not adapt to less aggressive and lethal fighting as easily usual pokemon that are caught do, meaning its best to train them easily and help them tone down their aggressive behavior long before battling becomes an option. We've found that Calm and Friendly P. Paradox pokemon are a rarer sight, but are findable, We've also discovered that these Paradox pokemon are immediately targeted by other members of their species, they likely precieve such behavior as weakness and attempt to beat it out of them, or just kill them if they don't learn. P. Paradox seem to naturally live by Might Makes Right Version of Survival of the Fittest, which is why they seems to have a harder time learning to pull in their aggressive behavior when caught. This is a Rare sight in most modern day species. Some seem to exhibit traits professors such as Kalos' Sycamore believe would be associated with Mega evolved forms, a prime example is Roaring Moon, which appear to be Primal Paradox Salamence, and show traits of Mega Salamence. I'll likely go over Mega evolution and its working in the future, but for now I'll explain how these traits seem to present themselves in Paradox pokemon.

Mega Evolution brings out the latent potential and and activate Deactivated and inactive genes in a pokemon, allowing them to reach a higher evolved form of themselves, and when I say evolved, I mean darwinian in nature, Sceptile has been on its way to evolving into Dragon type for the last couple of generations, and is believed to become Dragon type in the future, meaning Mega Sceptile is what regular Sceptile will become far into the future. The life style of P. Paradox pokemon has allowed these pokemon reach that level of evolution. I would like to note that due to living with Paradox pokemon in general has lead to many species in Area Zero to become hostile and aggressive to anything unfamiliar, such as humans.

Now for their Origins, the Tera Crystal seems to have multiple traits and abilitys, such as amplification of ability, but its appears to have something akin to dimensional jumping, not time travel like many people believe. All the paradox pokemon are traveling from the Present of separate time lines.

Its also of note that due to their life style, Paradox pokemon in General have strength on the level of lower tier legendary pokemon.

Cyber Paradox Pokemon:

To start this part off, NO, Cyber Paradox pokemon ARE NOT ROBOTS, they have merely evolved into a state of being mechanical and technical like. I'm make this shorter than the Primal Paradox section due to covering those points already. Cyber Paradox pokemon come from a Timeline where pokemon evolved into more Mechanical like forms, but they still need to breath, eat, drink, and sleep. Many seem to develope advances abilitys comparable to human tools and equipment, Iron Bundle, the Cyber Paradox of Delibird, has a Sphere on its tail that functions as both a weapon, and dimensional storage bag much like Trainer Tech bags company's like Silph Co. Makes for the public. They seem to evolved for maximized efficiency, even developing to smaller sizes compared to our timelines counter parts of them. The least changed of them seems to be Iron Jugilous, who seems to look like to have just taken on a form machine like form of Hydreigon, while the others have become more specially adapted versions of their counterparts. They also react aggressively to foreign life, but will calm down much quicker when they realize that said life is not a danger. And in cases will assist them and protect them from Primal Paradox pokemon. This seems to be the reason why P. Paradox pokemon have not driven the normal population of Area Zero to extinction. Iron Valiant seems to be both Gardevoir, and Mega Galade for some odd reason, likely the original evolution of having two separate specialized forms wasn't efficient enough, and adapted the two forms together, seemingly, Galade's Potential was the most efficient, so there are only minor traits of mega Gardevoir. Genetic tests have shown it can actually shift between genders at will. They also mostly lack the ability to show emotion, they do have emotions, but they lack most facial features to show them, they also come off as standoff ish due to their robotic appearance, which is why many actually believed them to be robots, rather then pokemon.

A fun fact for those Shiny lovers out there, Shiny Cyber Paradox pokemon are pure Chrome in color, like an unpainted prototype.

The only two Paradox pokemon that have regular named Registered in the pokedex are the two Paradox forms of Cyclizar, Koraidon and Miraidon. Though Miraidon does have a standard Paradox name in Iron Serpent.

Tera Phenomenon

The Terastalization Phenomenon affect both biological life and machines, amplifying their abilitys and capabilites. This allowed a pair of higher functioning AI to break free of their programming and have their own desires, these were the robotic copies of Prof. Sada and Turo, who sadly passed away from injures gained from taking the attacks of Agressive Koraidon and Miraidon when they tried to attack a pair of Calm and Friendly Koraidon and Miraidon. These two AI actually wanted to end their templates work, and shut down a machine the two professors believed was a time machine they made, however they were designed to be a self defense protocol for the machine, which was also powered and enhanced with Tera Crystals, they ultimately sent themselves through the machine to the two separate timelines, from what we've learned from the child of Prof. Sada and Turo, Arven is to be believed, it also appears that the AI felt guilt for their templates actions of abandoning their child for a dangerous obsession. It would appear that Koraidon and Miraidon are on the upper scale of lesser legendary pokemon, similarly to the likes of Zekrom and Reshiram.

So ends my lecture, I hope to see you all again soon. And remember, entering Area Zero is a Punishable offense unless given legal permission.

Note for those who may be curious on connected between the Great Crater and the ultimate weapon of Kalos, there is likely a chance the Tera Crystal is the direct shot from the weapon, while mega stones and and like were stray 'shrapnel' while the blast fell from the sky, this theory may be supported by the Reflection cave and its strange mirrors that people have found seem show different places and pokemon in the reflection, and on occasion even open like portals and send something through, which has recently lead to the cave being closed off from the public when what we now believe to be a Thunderous Thearian form came through, but unlike usual Thunderous, this one was more aggressive even by its usual standards, and had markings similar to Primal Paradox pokemon as well as much bright yellow eyes then the normal, plus the in ability to turn into the regular form of Thunderous. We now have theory that the kami trio, or more accurately the Cardinal Quartet, their alternate forms are actually some variation of Paradox forms the pokemon seem to be able to take on, as the mirrors that have been found that are said to allow the four to enter these forms are the same material as the Reflecting caves crystals.

[raineydays411]

You will remember my name

      Part 2 of Ember

A/N: Hello everyone! I’m so stoked y’all liked my first fic! I really appreciate all the love and support you guys have no idea. (This might have to stretch to three chapters lol)

Tony Stark X daughter!reader

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Tonys pov

A tense silence filled the halls of the Avengers tower. It’s been a week since Y/N left the tower in tears. It’s been two days since anyone has seen the girl to think of it.  The first few days it was thought the girl was just staying with a friend while she cooled off. But after the third day, a bad feeling settled in the stomachs of the heros. By the fourth day, they asked some of Y/Ns closest friends. 

No one has seen her.

Pepper called her aunt, Pamela Isely, but the women said that the last time she spoke to her god daughter was a week before this whole mess happened. 

By the time the week was over, it was concluded that Y/N Stark was missing. 

Tony Stark was not a perfect father. He knew that, of course he knew. I mean, he didn’t exactly have the positive male role models growing up other than Jarvis. He knew he wasn’t going to be a perfect father. He just never thought he’d screw up this badly.

He found out he had a daughter four months after the Battle of New York. He had gotten the news that an old fling of his had died during the attack. leaving behind a daughter. Feeling bad for the kid, he began to set up a college fund for her, as he knew what it was like to lose someone in a tragic way. At first he thought nothing of it, just simply seeing it as a good deed. But then one night, during one of his restless nights, he began doing the math and figured out that the age of the girl was just about nine months off from when he had...met her mother. Needless to say Pepper was shocked when she woke up to Tony passing out.

After a few minutes of being yelled at by Pepper and another hour of coming to terms with this discovery, Tony made plans to find the girl.

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Y/n pov

After explaining your situation with your father to the boy, you realize that you still didn’t know his name. Turning to him you ask for it. 

“Oh, my name is Daniel, Daniel Winston.”  You snort as you realize the irony of this ghost boys name. 

“You mean to tell me that your name is Daniel, and you’re a ghost with white hair??” He glares at you for a second then a small smile creeps on his face, “Well, despite the circumstances, it is kinda funny.”  You hum in agreement and let a comfortable silence take over as you try and figure out where you are and if you’re even in New York.

“Hey Danny?” You ask, “Where are you from?”  

“Bludhaven, I was walking home from school when I was taken. Why do you ask?” 

“Because” You reply,” I was taken from New York.” A heavy silence falls over you both as you realize that you’re both unfamiliar with your surroundings. There weren’t any markings to indicate where you were. The base was nestled in a corner of abandoned buildings that looked like factories. The sky was dark and you couldn’t see any stars. There was a strange scent in the air that you chalked up to air pollution. You both continue walking when you see a building with its lights on. 

“Danny, that’s the only building so far that has any lights, we should go check it out.” He looked hesitant, and he wasn’t wrong to be. The building was an old shoe factory, it was dark and looked as if a sneeze could take the whole thing down. Whoever was in there probably wasn’t good company.

“ Are you sure you want to go in there?’ Danny's voice full of doubt, “Maybe we should keep going till we actually get into town.” While his idea was the more logical one, you were starting to get tired, blowing up a building with freaky ghost powers takes a lot out a a young girl.

“I think we should go, I need to rest up and we don’t know how far the town will be. We don’t even know what town this is.” And with that, you start to make your way to the building, a hesitant ghost trailing behind you.

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Tony's POV

Tony realizes locking himself up in his lab really isn’t going to help find his missing daughter. He just can’t believe he screwed up this badly. His own child, thought she wasn’t loved. He did that to her. A rage filled his body as he angrily swept everything off his work table. The clatter of wrenches and pens filled his ears as he stared at the wall.

The sound of the door opening caught his attention. He turned to see Steve Rogers walking in with a box of chinese food and a stern face. Quietly, the blond man took a look at the state of the lab, shook his head and placed the food on the table.

“We picked straws to decide which one of us had to come convince you to come out.” Steve said breaking the silence between the two men. Tony said nothing as he continued to look at the wall.

“You know, you have some nerve to lock yourself away.” Tony jerked his head over and stared at the man . “ What did you just say?” 

“You damn well heard what I said.’ Steve shot back. “ Your daughter is missing. She disappeared into thin air. And you’re in here doing what? Throwing your tools around?” 

“Are you going to lecture me?” Tony said in a bored voice.” Because of you are, i want to take notes” 

“You know this is your problem. You don’t care.” Steve said angrily. “ You don’t care that your daughter is missing. You don’t care that for eight years, the longest conversation you’ve had with her was when you were introducing her to this team.” Steve stood up from the table and walked back to the door before Tony could say anything. “It’s been a week Tony. She’s been missing for a week.  We need to find her.” He walked out without another word.

And again, Tony was alone. Alone with his thoughts, and alone with his regrets. Then he realizes, if he wants a chance to make up all those years, he’s going to need to find you first.  

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Y/n POV:

Getting into the factory wasn’t too hard, considering you can just walk through walls now. The real hard part finding someone to help, as there was no one in the building. In fact, the only living thing in the factory was the surprising amount of vines and greenery over taking the space. 

“hey, Y/n.. maybe we shouldn’t be here...” Danny whispered, ‘” this place is creeping me out.” 

“D, you don’t have to whisper, I’m the only one who can hear you.”

 You answer as you look around, the room you were in seemed like an office of some sort. Then you noticed something.

“Danny, those vines...they lead out of the room” 

And with that you start walking towards the door, but before you can make it you hear loud voices, two women from what you can tell. 

“....mmy you can’t keep doing this to yourself....”

“i....never let her go with him....”

You can’t hear what they’re saying, you take a step forward and accidently step on a vine. 

“wait...there's someone here.” 

Oh shit. You look at Danny in surprise as there was no way these people would have known you were here.

Then suddenly, the room of plants came to life. Vines started thrashing around, searching for the intruder. 

“WHAT THE FUCK” Danny yelled as a vine goes through is body. “Y/N lets get out of here!” In your panic, you forget you can literally turn into a ghost, so you look for a window to get out of. Before you can climb, a vine suddenly wraps around your leg and pulls you out of the room.

“Y/N!!” 

You thrash as you are pulled down the hallway, around corners, and painfully down stairs. You scratch at the floor, desperate to find something to cut the vines.  Then your eyes start glowing. Your skin melting to a pale blue. You blast through the plant as you start floating upwards. You shoot the plants around you with a blue mist like energy.

“What is that?” “Aye whatta you doing here?”  Wait. You know that voice.

Looking up, you get distracted and a vine wraps around your body, restricting your movement. You struggle for a while till you hear it. 

“Y/N?” You stop and look up. You change back to your normal appearance, shocked.

“Aunt Pam?!”

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TONY’S POV

After Steves not lecture, Tony got to work. He had FRIDAY look for anything suspicious in and near New York. By doing that, he found out that there has been an influx of missing people ranging from ages twenty to fifteen. They were going missing from three specific cities: Bludhaven, Gotham, and...New York. Seeing this had Tony's heart sink. He ran into the conference room where the rest of the team was conducting their own investigation. But before he entered, he stopped to listen to the teams conversation.

“How can she just...disappear into thin air..” Sam said in a sad voice. The rest of the team sat in silence. 

“Maybe we missed something. There has to be something there.” Natasha said with a desperation no on has heard from her. “It’s been a week Steve, she wouldn’t just leave like that.” And that when Tony decided to make his presence known.

“Maybe she didn’t” He said making everyone jump, “There has been an increase in missing person cases in the cities of Gotham, Bludhaven, and New York. All around the same age as Y/N.”

“So,you’ve decided to step up” Clint said sarcastically. “Where have you been this past week Stark?”

“ Look I know I haven’t been the best parent” Tony said.

“that’s an understatement”, grumbled Clint.

“I love my daughter. I hate the thought of her not knowing that.” Tony finished looking around the room to see the disapproval of the team.

“Fighting isn’t going to find her.” Wanda said quietly. “We need to work together.”

“Wandas right.” Steve said, “FRIDAY ,can you find any abnormal activity in any of the cities?”

“I did a widespread search specifically in the Gotham bludhaven and New York areas. A building in the indrustrial area in Gotham spontaneously collapsed. When authorities searched through the rubble, they found bodies of thirty out of the ninety reported missing people.”

“Was there anyone matching Y/N description,” asked Natasha anxiously.

“FRIDAY bring up the missing kids files”

A long minute went by, and all the files uploaded. The Avengers were all on edge as they flipped through the thirty files. They were relieved when they realized that Y/n was not part of those thirty kids.

Tag list: @big-galaxy-chaos

[attemptinghaikyuu]

Fake Dating: Tsukishima

A/n: This bastard could literally push me into the ocean, in which he’d still be the saltiest thing around, and I’d be like “wow... I love him..”

G/n reader

Tsukishima Kei

You’re childhood friends with him right alongside Yams

And I don’t know what these little kids were bullying you over but after going in for a punch and getting shoved back, Tsuki stepped in

He taunted that the kid couldn’t handle the hit you gave him and after the group ran away, you just sorta followed Tsukishima

You’re friendship took off from there

Sticking to a group of three: you, Yams, and Tsuki did everything together

Such as! Shit talking people like no one’s business :3

OKAY, jokes aside! It’s an awesome friend group

You three have weekend movie nights where you’ll either watch Jurassic Park or bake

Tsuki’s really good at making sweets

Yams and you try to do it like him, but it’s never as good

He’ll tease both of you about it

Don’t worry though, he still eats what you two make because he cares and appreciates all the work you both put in to try to get it tasting good

He’ll also always help if you’re struggling in school

Tsukishima will laugh and say it’s sad you couldn’t figure out that concept in class, then he’ll have a two hour study session to help you understand it😐

He’s the worst no he’s not

You swing by their practice to get little pointers on homework sometimes and Tsuki will immediately help you out

The first time you did this, Hinata screamed and had to be held back from throwing a volleyball at Tsukishima’s head

Hinata was having flashbacks to painful tutoring sessions with him

Specifically sessions where Tsuki would only explain things once before telling him he was on his own

The favoritism is great

Tsuki really saw you and Yams and was like “Ya, I’d kill for them.”

During one of your impromptu visits to your friend’s practice, Noya and Tanaka start complaining about how they don’t have girlfriends and you can just tell Tsuki’s heard this a thousand times

Yams is ignoring it like the champ he is✊

But when after a few minutes have passed, and they’re still talking about it... and are getting louder and closer, you can just tell something bad is gonna happen

And it does, when Noya gets so into his rant about cute girls, that he jumps right into Tsuki

Noya... you can’t rolling thunder your way outa this one

You spare a short glance to your other friend who similarly to you, is sporting a grim look

Turning back to Tsuki, wondering if you need to save Noya’s life, you jump when an arm wraps around your shoulders

“Speaking of dating, you should understand that some people are already in relationships and would rather not hear your sad droning on about not being in one.”

Your brain literally does not connect with what Tsuki has just said for a solid minute, and so the look on your face is the most unconvincing thing ever

The team is shocked and unsure what to believe

I mean, Tsuki looks very serious and even a little smug, but you’re looking like you’ve been slapped in the face

Tsuki picks up on your uncertainty over what he just said

Grabbing your hand, he explains that neither of you had planned to tell anyone for awhile

So finally getting a grip on the situation, you turn to the team and give an easy smile, leaning into Tsukishima’s side to sell his lie

Noya and Tanaka are in an uproar over the apparent dating status of their junior

Suga congratulates the two of you and soon after practice picks up again

Not without pissed off tears from the two second years who had caused this though

Tsuki looks very satisfied from that smh

Yams pulls you to the side and you try to figure out what the heck you should do with him

However, Tsuki already has a plan and he explains it to you on the walk home from volleyball

Whenever the team are around, specifically Noya and Tanaka, you’ll act like a couple

It’s kinda crazy and you’re not sure about it

But you do want to do something for your friend, so you’re decide to go with the unconventional idea

Yams is laughing his ass off watching his two friends fall into the weirdest routine possible

You find yourself wrapping yourself around Tsuki in hugs whenever you spot his teammates

You’ve also started the habit of dramatically calling out to him anytime you see him with someone on the team

Tsuki knows you’re messing with him and so now he’s doing the same, except slightly quieter

Neither of you are super into lovey dovey nicknames, maybe it’s having known each other for so long or you and Tsuki just not being those kinds of people

You both have a ton of embarrassing and high key rude names you call each other instead~

But you start to look forward to hearing him call them out

It had always been you, Tsuki, and Yams before

And while Yamaguchi was still your best friend, things were feeling different lately

Tsuki was starting to spend a lot more time with just you, and there were times when he’d get this soft look in his eyes

You kinda liked it

But it’s not like you were gonna tell him that

In fact, it felt like things were getting a bit out of hand

Was it not wrong how your heart had started skipping a beat when your friend gave you silly head bonks?

Weren’t you using him? You were just supposed to pretend to date him. These feelings blossoming inside your heart we’re ruining your friendship with the person who had always been there for you...

It had been four months since the whole thing had started and you just couldn’t do it anymore

Avoiding Tsuki made you feel like a genuine monster

His look of hurt when you ignored him and left him behind you, choosing to instead look down and keep walking to class

He tried to talk to you during lunch, but when he saw you weren’t going to budge, he backed off with a scowl and concern written all over his face

This lasted for a couple weeks; in which your days consisted of ignoring Tsuki, talking to Yams, and trying to ignore his questions as to why you were ghosting Tsuki

It was frustrating telling Yams that you wanted space, and the dam that had been building up in the time you had been stewing in your feelings, was finally bursting

“I just need to get things back to normal!” You shout, turning your back from your friend, not noticing the second person who had walked up

“I let it get out of hand, it wasn’t supposed to- I wasn’t supposed to feel that way.” You sigh, putting your face into your hands

An awkward pause later and Yam asks hesitantly “What way..?”

“Argghhh! I wasn’t supposed to feel like I was actually dating him! I wasn’t supposed to like him like that!!” You sigh again, pulling yourself up, intending to leave as quickly as possible now that everything was out in the open

“You seriously avoided me for that?” You feel a gentle bop on your head, “Y/n, did you actually think I didn’t feel the same?” The hand on your head was ruffling your hair now

Turning your face upwards, Tsuki’s eyes and slightly blushing face meet yours

Yams laughs lightly, patting his back, and you hear his quiet “finally~” as he retreats to the school building

Turning your attention back to Tsuki, uncertainty leaves you questioning what you’re supposed to do

He notices tho

Taking your hand with a tsk, he gives you a smirk “I can’t believe you’re making me do all the work in this relationship..” and then with unsureness you barely ever saw- added “if you want it to be a relationship.”

A giddiness warming you, one that had been missing in the time you spent away from Tsuki, you replied with an easy smile and leaned into his side enjoying the matching smile that spread across his face

[anabsolutetrainwreck]

got my devotion || h. styles

sequel to ‘i can hate you sometimes’

warnings: mentions of sex & alcohol

word count: 2k

summary: you and harry work through your first argument as a couple...

part one.

“So, are we meant to believe that all of a sudden you don’t despise each other?” Sarah asked, her eyes flicking between Harry and yourself.

Harry shrugged, “Despise is a strong word.”

Sarah sent him a bored look, “Don’t act like you haven’t moaned about Y/N before.”

Suddenly, Mitch said, “Maybe it was more of a ‘I like you so I’ll pretend I hate you’?”

You looked between the three of them, shifting uncomfortably. Harry’s hand was resting on your lower back as the two of you sat opposite Sarah and Mitch. The night Harry and yourself had shared a few weeks ago was nothing but beautiful. And, for the most part, all of your friends had been supportive at the news of you and Harry’s sudden shift in relationship. Most people felt the same way about the pair of you: they secretly like each other. It had been somewhat of a running joke within the group that you and Harry were secretly in love. But it’s not like anybody ever expected to end up here: being presented with the news that you and Harry were somewhat of a ‘thing’. “Exactly,” Harry nodded, pointing at Mitch in agreement.

Sarah sent a cautious look towards the two of you. She sighed, as if giving in, “I mean, I am happy for the two of you. I just don’t understand how it all seemed to switch so suddenly? Like, why now? After so long you finally decide to act on however you felt before.”

The four of you were sitting at a restaurant in central London. It was fancy, fancier than anything you’d known growing up. But as soon as you’d become involved with Harry’s circle of friends (having met Sarah on a night out) it became somewhat of the norm for you. You’d worked hard not to let it get to your head, still enjoying the simplicities life had to offer. One of which, which you were sure you were truly witnessing for the first time, was love. Sure, you’d been in love before. There was the ‘first love’ with a boy named Ben, who you were sure you were in love with. It had lasted half a year maybe, but you were sure you’d felt heartbreak when it had ended. Then there was Ethan, which had been enjoyable while it lasted, but you both knew it was never anything long term. But that had been love, a love that wasn’t too hard to get over, but love nonetheless. You even still spoke to Ethan occasionally. Then, of course, there was all the minor ones in between, which hadn’t developed into anything more than dinner and sex. But this - what you had with Harry - you were sure was on the route to something wonderful. Some, perfect blossoming love. That, if it wasn't meant to last a lifetime, would certainly break, not just your heart, but you as a whole in the process. “I don’t know,” Harry shrugged. “But it just felt right the other night.”

Sarah looked to you. You had been terribly quiet during dinner. It was unusual, Sarah thought, you were often bubbly and eager to bounce off everyone during most conversations. In fact, she was sure Mitch had said more than you had. She was waiting for you to say something, but she was only met with: “What do you want me to say?” you sighed. 

“Just explain it to me, Y/N,” replied Sarah. “I’ve been subjected to four years of your rants about how much he irritates you. And now you’re acting as if none of it’s ever happened.”

“Look, I don’t know, okay? It just happened, and in the moment it felt right.”

“But it doesn’t now?” she said quickly. And it was then you realised she was just worried about you. Both of you. Your face softened and Harry’s tight grip on your thigh loosened. It was clear you were both just scared she wouldn’t accept whatever was going on between the two of you. But no, she just wanted the best for the both of you. You shook your head, “No, Sarah, it feels great.”

“Okay...” she trailed off; she was accepting that maybe, just maybe, you were both happy with each other. “Then I’m happy for you.”

Her frown moulded into her wonderful smile as she took a sip of her drink. And then the food arrived and all of the uneasy tension slipped into cheery chit chat.

Gradually, the more nights out you and Harry spent together as a couple amongst your friends, the more natural it began to feel. The very first one left you feeling terribly out of place. Sitting beside Harry, his arm hung over the back of your chair, the tips of his fingers lightly tracing little patterns on your arm, was a foreign feeling to you. But it was one you treasured. You got to laugh at his jokes openly now and send adoring looks his way. 

For a moment, it felt like you were flying so high there was no way you could come back down. 

But then the first argument came. It came two months into the little ideal world you and Harry had built for yourselves. It had spiralled from something completely harmless. Something that shouldn’t have sparked an argument in the first place. And all of a sudden, you felt as if everything the pair of you had built up came crashing down around you. And, being frank, it was terrifying. You’d been nothing but happy for two months with Harry by your side. You feared that he’d relapse and put up his cold front with you again. What if, after all that had happened, you fell back into despising one another? 

He’d been round at your house, the two of you spending the evening cuddled up together. Benny had been asleep in front of the fire, twitching occasionally. Usually, cooking together (a glass of wine or two in your system) was the highlight of your week, but neither of you felt like it that particular evening. A pizza between the two of you. That was all it was meant to be, and yet it evolved into something so much more. You told him you’d pay for it - it was only a little less than £20 anyway. He told you’d he do it. But as you explained that he always paid for meals, he interjected saying something about him being the one that ‘makes the money anyway’. You scoffed, that had pissed you off. And in hindsight, you knew he didn’t mean that in a malicious way. Yes, he definitely made more money than you, but that didn’t mean you didn’t make any. You could most certainly pay £20 for a pizza. 

From there, it had spiralled into a full-blown argument. You told him exactly so: that you made enough to support yourself and he should just let you buy the pizza. Looking back, you felt rather foolish for getting so worked up over a takeaway. But it was more the things Harry said; you could see the egotistical boy seeping through his tone. To cut the gruesome details, it resulted in Harry storming out of your house. He slammed the door shut behind him, waking Benny up with a harsh jolt. 

You felt worse after this argument than any of the ones you’d had with Ben or Ethan. But then you’d never felt this strongly for someone before. A bigger argument with any of the others couldn’t have hurt you more than a minor one with Harry did. You were hopelessly devout to him. 

For the next few days, he didn’t say a thing, nor did you. Not to each other at least. You went out for drinks with Sarah, Charlotte and Ny. It beat drinking alone in your home with Benny, who, at the end of the day, wasn’t a great conversationalist. The three women sent apologetic smiles to you as you ranted about how much he frustrated you. And, as you were groaning about him, you began to realise that none of what you were saying was true. He didn’t frustrate you to no end, not even close. Every couple went through their rough patches - their ‘stormy days’ as Charlotte liked to put it. “Couples all have their stormy days, but remember Y/N, the sun is always going to come back out again,” she’d said. 

The four of you had burst into a fit of stifled giggles, realising you’d all had one too many gin and tonics. But Charlotte’s little metaphor was actually quite useful, and in your tipsy state you had the sudden urge to apologise to Harry. He was ready to apologise too, but you were both perhaps the most stubborn out of your friendship circle. So it was a case of who was going to give in first. But, surprisingly, it was Harry.

You were lying in bed, nursing the ghost of a hangover that was pounding at your forehead from the night prior with the girls. Cuddled into your crisp sheets, you desperately needed some sort of medication, whatever you could find in your bathroom, and a glass of cold water. The sound of a knock at the door was enough of an excuse enough for you to drag your stiff body from bed. Benny followed you as you trudged downstairs. You swung open the door and Harry was stood there sheepishly. Sighing, you opened the door further to allow the man into your home.

You didn’t say a word; you didn’t want to let on how relieved you were to see him. He followed you through to the kitchen as you poured yourself a glass of water. Taking a sip of the cooling liquid, you turned to look at him. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. 

It felt so nice to hear his voice in such a gentle way after the last time you’d heard it. Because he was a generally quiet and calm man, it was such a shock to your system to hear him shouting at you. “It’s okay,” you grumbled. 

“It doesn’t sound like it is,” he sighed.

“No, Harry, seriously I’m not angry at you anymore. I’m just a bit hungover, is all,” you informed him, trying to sound as polite as possible.

“Did you go out last night?” he asked, his face softening

“Yeah,” you shrugged. “Just with Charlotte, Ny and Sarah.”

“Do you want me to go get you some aspirin or something? I can just run down to the shop, if you want. I’ll be like five minutes,” he said, getting ready to leave before he’d even given you the chance to say anything. 

“It’s okay. There’s some in the bathroom.”

And before you knew it, he was back with the half-empty box of aspirin. After taking a couple, Harry began talking again, “I really am sorry about the other night. It’s just… I’m so desperate to spoil you. Paying whenever we buy food feels like the least I can do.”

“Honestly, it’s okay,” you smiled. “I was just worried you hated me again.”

He placed his hand on your cheek and you couldn’t help but laugh, “What’s funny?”

“I’m having a moment of deja vu,” you chuckled. 

He smiled cheekily, “Yeah? Well, there’s a couple of other things we could do that might give you deja vu.”

You snorted, “That’s the least enticing line I’ve ever heard.”

“Oh, give me a break, I’m trying. Did you seriously think I hated you?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged. “I was just paranoid. I really enjoyed what was happening between us and I was just afraid it was ending.”

“I wouldn’t want it to end, love. I’m completely devoted to you.”