#And obviously the solution is just to pray for her so I’m gonna do that and trust it to God

[herbofgraceandpeace]

😅

[naminethewriter]

Logan Lost

A while ago, @thecrowslullaby sent me a horrible challenge to start a cooperative story with the prompt

"What do you mean you misplaced [them/him/her/etc.]"

While it was intended to only be the start, I had a solution in mind, so I thought why not share that! So here is my version of the story but here is the last addition to the original thread.

I also made it a Loceit story, a little thank you to Crow 💛💙

Here on Ao3

“What do you mean you misplaced Logan?!” Janus exclaimed, staring disbelievingly at Remus who shrunk a bit under his gaze.

“I wanted to show him my new castle so we went to the imagination. I took the lead and told him about my process, you know he likes to know the steps, but when I turned around he was gone! I went back the whole way calling for him but nothing!”

“So you’re saying he’s on your side all alone?!? How many monsters do you have roaming around out there?!”

“He should be fine! All my creations know he’s not to be harmed, same as you!”

“What about injuries! Tripping hazards! Cliffs! Spikes! You have those everywhere!”

“Well, what do you want me to do?!”

“Find him obviously!”

“I tried!”

“Try harder!”

“What are you two yelling about??” Janus grimaced for half a second before turning to face the other twin with a forced smile.

“Nothing important. Remus simply… misplaced something that’s rather dear to me on his side of the Imagination. I was just asking him to retrieve it,” he hissed, glaring at Remus, daring him to say anything more specific on the matter.

“And I was telling him it’s not that easy,” Remus shot back, pouting a little. Roman looked between the two warily.

“Must’ve been something rather important to you if you yell like that,” he commented. Janus simply shrugged, not willing to say anything else. “I could help look if you tell me what it is.”

“As much as I appreciate your kindness, my prince, it is my understanding that you are not very welcome on Remus’ side and constant monster attacks would be more distracting than helpful, I’m afraid.” Roman frowned.

“Remus can just tell them off, right?” He turned to his brother. Janus stared pointedly at Remus but he didn’t need to worry.

“I could, but I’m not gonna. It’s too much fun. Plus I don’t think I could stop myself from stabbing you in the back when you least expect it.” His grin was wide and made Roman shudder.

“Fine, fine. Don’t say I didn’t offer. Good luck to you then.”

“Thank you. We better be off then. We wouldn’t want to miss dinner and make Patton worry.” Janus moved to grab Remus and pull him toward the portal but Roman spoke up again.

“Wait! Have either of you seen Logan? I can’t find him and I need his input on the next script.”

“I haven’t seen him since breakfast,” Janus said, trying to stay composed.

“Remus?” A pause and Janus prayed that Remus could keep his impulses under control.

“Haven’t seen him in a while,” he chirped finally. Technically the truth, Janus thought before again pulling Remus toward the portal.

“Sorry we couldn’t be of help, Roman, but we must be off now. Good luck on your search!” he called over his shoulder, shoving Remus through the gate and quickly following after before Roman could protest.

***********

The search was long and filled with bickering. The worry for his boyfriend had Janus on edge and Remus still didn’t understand what the big deal was. His side of the Imagination was great! Logan should be fine. But if Janus was going to be snippy with him, he was going to shoot back. Maybe just because he thought it was fun.

After one and a half hour Janus held up his hand, causing Remus to slap his own over his mouth and stopped him mid-rant. He growled to show his displeasure but Janus just shushed him.

“Do you hear that?” Indeed, there was noise coming from deeper in the woods, off the path they were currently walking on. Voices. Still unable to speak, Remus hummed in acknowledgment. Janus, as if he just noticed what he had made Remus do, let him drop his hand.

“Let’s go see,” Janus said before carefully stepping through the underbrush. Remus simply strut forward, stepping into thorn bushes and sharp stones without even flinching. Janus rolled his eyes but let him take the lead. It didn’t take them long to find the source of the voices.

Logan was sitting on a large tree trunk, notebook in hand and fiercely scribbling something down. Across from him lay a gigantic… creature. Janus couldn’t even begin to describe it but a large portion of its body disappeared overhead into the trees as it was wrapped around several pines close by. He might guess that Remus had been inspired by Chinese dragons initially but whatever had added afterwards to make it look like it did he had no idea. Logan seemed entirely fascinated by it though. His hand never stilled, continuously writing down information as he asked question after question and intently listening to the creature’s answers. Neither seemed to have noticed their approach. Janus stopped, cautious of the creature but Remus sauntered up to them without hesitation.

“Poodle Noodle! What are you doing with our nerd?” Janus knew of Remus’ naming convention but still the silly name surprised him. The creature – Noodle apparently – turned its head towards them.

“Your highness,” it said in greeting, its voice carrying a sense of old wisdom. “What an honour to meet you once again.” It dipped its head in a way that Janus could only assume to be a bow. Remus waved them off.

“Don’t be formal, it’s gross.”

“Very well. I came across your ‘nerd’ observing a swarm of spiderflies. I thought it better to warn him not to touch them.” Janus sighed, turning to Logan who looked properly embarrassed, cheeks tinted red.

“Darling, did you wander off to research Remus’ creatures again? We agreed you would not go alone.”

“I apologize,” Logan said, adjusting his glasses and nervously fiddling with his notebook. “I saw something move in the corner of my eye while we were on our way to the castle and I only intended to stop for a moment to see what it could have been. I must have unintentionally followed it and when I realized I was for off the path. I was trying to find my way back when I came across the colony and that’s when Mx Noodle came by and offered to answer some of my questions.”

“I was going to escort him back once his curiosity was sated,” the creature added. Janus massaged his temples. Having both Remus as his best friend and Logan as his boyfriend could be so stressful. Their impulse control was nearly non-existent, he really wondered if he could leave them alone with each other anymore.

“That was very kind of you but I’m afraid his curiosity could never be sated.” Logan had the decency to flush an even deeper red before clearing his throat and getting up.

“I guess it would be better if I returned with them for now but I enjoyed our conversation immensely, Mx Noodle. Thank you for your time.”

“I did so as well. Please feel free to come visit again. His highness knows where to find me.” With another bow towards Remus, the creature slithered away, deeper into the woods though it took about a minute until its tail appeared from the treetops and subsequently vanished after them. Janus sighed again.

“Another incident like this and I will not allow you two to come here unsupervised. Or chained together so you can’t lose each other.”

“Kinky~” Remus grinned. Janus just rolled his eyes before grabbing his boyfriend’s hand.

“Come on. Roman was searching for you and it’s almost dinner time.”

“Alright.” Logan followed without complaint but spoke up again a few minutes into their trek. “I apologize if I worried you. That was not my intention.”

“I’m aware. But please be more mindful in the future.”

“Of course.” Janus squeezed Logan’s hand still grasped in his own and his boyfriend smiled slightly before squeezing back.

[thefanficmonster]

Corpse Infested

Corpse Husband & Reader (Gender Neutral)

Warnings: Mentions of dysfunctional family, Family problems, Swearing

Genre: Humor, Comfort, Platonic fluff, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: When your friend disappears for a long time, seemingly having lost interest in what fueled the most passionate fire in their life, you cannot not worry about them. Even if you wanna give them space, you will reach out, you will offer your help. You will tell them they always have you to rely on and talk to.

Requested by Anon. Hi dear! I’m really sorry it’s taken me so long to complete and post your request, but here it finally is! Hope you come across it and if you do I hope you enjoy the read! Love, Vy ❤

For me, it’s never hard to find things to do. I’ve constantly got things on my mind and tasks to tend to, keeping me occupied and my mind focused at all times. I think that comes with living in a home as dysfunctional as this one. I honestly can’t recall a time when my parents got along nor can I think of a time where there was at least one second of peace while the two are both present in the house. It’s always a warzone up there. I’m saying up there because I tend to live out of the basement of their home. I know living in your parents’ basement is considered a peak loser point, or the bottom of the bottom, but you’d have to believe me when I say - I wasn’t always like this. In fact, I only recently came back to this hell-hole and boy do I regret it. I mean, it was a decision forced upon me by circumstances. Trust me, I tried every other option there was. When my dorm was to be closed down and demolished, we were given a notice to start planning our next move about a month early. You can bet I immediately started looking at places but my very tragic and miserable budget didn’t allow such a purchase. No rent was adequate for me and my near-empty wallet so my second option was moving in with my best friend who was also not in the greatest of situations but I thought I’d give that a shot too.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t work out. She lived in a tiny apartment with her boyfriend and his best friend at the time, so four people in one apartment was a nightmare. Still a lesser nightmare than this one but a nightmare nonetheless. Some unwanted and downright traumatizing events chased me out of that place after barely managing to pack my stuff. Therefore, finding myself on the streets again, I had no other option other than the obvious and least liked one: moving back in with my parents.

Making money during my first year of college hasn’t been easy. Working two jobs at once and also streaming video games on the side was what my time was filled with all throughout the first semester but then this damn pandemic started and now ruined everything for me. I had things going for me, I was slowly getting my life together and now it has all fallen apart yet again. The places I worked at closed down due to quarantine and I haven’t been able to steam, not only cause I’d be the victim of my parents’ comments but also cause my terrible home life would be exposed to all my fans and viewers. It’s not like I could cancel out the commotion going on right above my head, it’s a livestream and this house’s walls are cardboard thin meaning all the arguing I hear almost 24/7 will serve as background noise for my streams.

I haven’t reached out to my friends or fans to inform them of this which I feel slightly guilty about but I’m really not looking forward to having to lie to them, just as much as I’m not looking forward to having to tell them the truth so instead I’ve picked silence which is probably either worrying them or driving them insane. Either way, I’ll make my comeback soon.

Well....not very soon by the looks of it...

I have to gather the money, then I have to find a place, then comes the packing, moving out of here, moving into the new place...oh God, there’s so much to it that I don’t even wanna think about. Just that thought that I’ll be inactive for that long makes my stomach turn. Streaming’s where I’ve been channeling all my negative emotions, turning them into something positive and entertaining with the help of my friends.

Speaking of my friends, I should probably put emphasis on how amazing they are. Basically the older siblings I’ve always wished I had. I’m the baby of the group, the eighteen year old freshman in college, powering through life the best they can cause they are constantly getting tripped up by inconvenient occurrences such as this one for example. I tend to have the gang poke fun at me quite frequently - all lighthearted and with good intentions obviously - but they are also the ones to get super defensive if anyone gets the balls to talk shit about me. They’d never allow me to be the victim of any smack talk or online rumors and ‘cancel culture’ or whatever the hell people will come up with to leave others restless and wondering if they did something shady a decade ago. Well, to be fair, I didn’t even know about the concept of social media a decade ago and I’ve never been one to post much but I still have a protection squad in case anyone decides to come after me.

Little do they know the people I need protecting from are the very people that are supposed to protect me - my parents. Luckily, they don’t venture into to basement very often if at all and I have my own exit to the outside world so I don’t have to run into them unless I absolutely have to. The only time I emerge to the surface of the house - aka the ground floor - I do so to leave my share of rent money on the dining table and I usually do it when they aren’t home or when they’re asleep - that happens often with how many bottles they each knock back on the daily.

*sigh*...at least I don’t have to talk to them, right?

Anyhow, remember how I mentioned I always have things to do? Well, right now I’ve tasked myself with rifling through the large boxes containing random stuff I found in one of the basements down here to see if there’s anything I could possibly sell online. For starters, I’d like to hope there aren’t any severed body parts in here because this was one shady-ass basement before I moved in and un-creeped it a bit so I wouldn’t have to become an insomniac due to the paranoia of there being a homeless person down here with me or some paranormal entity. Regardless, old basements tend to be, apart from haunted, also filled with junk no one would find valuable despite it actually being worth something after all. That’s basically what I’m hoping to find at the moment.

As I dig through the contents of the first box, the YouTube playlist I have put on on my phone cuts off causing me to furrow my brows in confusion for a second before my ringtone pierces the silence the lack of music created.

I quickly mute the ringing and take a look at the Caller ID to see a name I never thought would pop up on my screen as an incoming call - Corpse. I, as well as many of our friends, know that he’s not the biggest fan of talking to people on the phone so this is rather surprising. Still, I pick up the call in case it’s not a mistake and an odd chance that it’s somethin urgent cause Lord knows Corpse doesn’t call people willy-nilly. 

Thank God it’s quiet up there at the moment.

“Hello?“ I try my best to cover up the confusion in my voice but I can only assume I didn’t do the best job considering Corpse replies with a slightly awkward chuckle.

“Surprised you, didn’t I?“ He asks, getting my cheeks to redden a bit, “You can’t blame a guy for calling after up and disappearing on him and on the whole internet. Where’ve you been?“

I open my mouth to respond when I hear the sound of glass breaking a shouted curse from upstairs.

Oh for fuck’s sake!

“Um...you know, places?“ I’m aware the answer isn’t only nonsensical but also sounds more like a question, but I can hardly focus on that right now. I’m too buys praying to an entity I don’t fully believe in for the situation above to not escalate.

“Uh, is everything ok over there? Where even are you right now?“ The teasing tone to his voice is all but gone at this point, replaced with deep concern, having obviously heard the commotion that did the exact opposite of what I prayed for - escalated.

“Y-yeah, it’s ok. It’s just another Thursday, you know.“ I attempt a small laugh but it’s blatantly miserable, “I moved back in with my parents when they announced the quarantine so that’s where I’m at now. They’re not the quietest of folks as you can tell so...“

“I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! I HOPE YOU DIE“

Oh crap, here we go.

“...So I can’t really stream a lot...or at all.“ I mutter, cringing with all my might, “But it’s only temporary! I’ll get back in the saddle as soon as I find another place to stay.“ I don’t dare mention how long that’s gonna take me, it’ll be too disappointing and depressing for the both of us. “So yeah...um...thanks for showing concern but there’s really nothing to worry about. I’m ok, everything’s ok, things are just...a bit off the rails, but I’ll fix em no problem. Like I always do!“ I attempt to sound as cheerful as possible with little success due to the overwhelming anger I feel towards those people upstairs and the gut-wrenching nostalgia for the world of streaming I can no longer be a part of because of them. Actually, I put the blame first on the pandemic and second on my parents - if it wasn’t for Covid I’d probably still be in my dorm!

“Hey...um, I think I know an affordable place where you can take up residence. Only if you want to, of course.“ He sounds hesitant but I easily overlook that as excitement bursts throughout my entire being at the sound if an escape being offered to me just like that. Had I known I’d find the solution to my problem in the very people I spent time avoiding because I was afraid of their pity, sympathy and judgement.

“Oh please, it could be a rat and roach infested shoe box and I’d go running to it. How much is rent?“ I ask through a gasp of hurried laughter that’s a result of my inability to contain said excitement. Listen, I’ve been sitting here in Hellsburg for three months now and haven’t gotten a proper shuteye during that whole period, whatever Corpse is offering has to be better than this misery.

“Rent can be discussed once you move in...“ He trails off, “And it’s not rat nor roach infested but there’s a slight issue...“

“Which is?“ I’m honestly expecting the worst: in a bad neighborhood; faulty wiring with a high chance of being electrocuted; faulty piping with a high chance of flooding; people have died there; things get randomly moved around in the middle of the night etc. However, I don’t voice any of them to avoid getting laughed at for my wild imagination.

“Well, uh, it’s corpse infested.“ He says a little awkwardly, causing me to let out an inaudible sigh.

So my ‘people have died there’ guess was on point, huh?

“People have died there, huh? Well, I can turn a blind eye to that as long as I don’t find their bodies in the closet or meet their spirits at 3AM.“ I attempt to joke, now second-guessing my eagerness to accept the offer.

Corpse bursts out laughing his ass off at my statement, getting me to furrow my eyebrows in confusion and wonder what I said was so funny - it was a poor attempt at a joke, it in no way deserves that sort of reaction, barely a chuckle in my opinion.

“You’re golden, Y/N, I swear.“ He says once he forces the laughter to subside, “I meant corpse infested as in Corpse Husband infested.“ He breaks out in another fit as my brain slowly starts connecting the dots.

Oooohh he’s asking me to go live with him

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait, hold up for a sec. Are you aware of what you’re offering me? I mean, we’ve never met IRL, you barely know me and....and for all you know I could be the serial killer in this situation!“ I have no idea why I’m pushing my luck, don’t ask. I just don’t want him to make a decision he’ll later regret, I guess. “Like, I could kill you in your sleep!“

“Would you?“ He asks confidently, silently stating he already knows the answer.

I roll my eyes, “Of course not! But...” He cuts me off.

“Great, the offer stands on my end. I’m not a noisy nor nosey roommate so I suggest you start packing. If you choose to live in that hell-hole over living with me, I’m sorry but I’ll be hella offended, just so you know.“

Corpse sounds like he’s about to hang up on me, a decision already made, so I hurry to stop him. “Wait! What about rent?”

“Fuck the rent, pack your bags.“ And just like that, despite my efforts, he hangs up on me.

Well...this is a chance of a lifetime that I know refusing would lead me to not only remain stuck here but also put me in the hugest loser bin. There’s also the fear of being Corpse’s burden which I’ll try my best not to be - I mean, I’m a super independent person and Lord knows that if this offer came any other time or from any other person, I would’ve declined asap, no discussion.

But streaming

But sleeping properly

But having a normal life again

Yeah those are most certainly the reasons I get up and go into the closet in search on my emptied suitcase. Time to fill it up again, I guess. This time with a smile on my face and excitement fueling each and every movement of mine.

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[ginazmemeoir]

Bhaiyyaaaa story plej

here you go. it's about how sibling rivalry leads to slavery, gambling/betting can indeed destroy your life, and following what people say by the word is indeed a good thing cause words be sneaky.

yes this is the story of Garuda, the Emperor of Birds, King of Eagles, Destroyer of snakes and poison, Vahana of Vishnu.

So we start with Kadru and Vinata. Both sisters, and both married to Rishi Kashyap along with their 21 other sisters. And both of these, were involved in a bitter rivalry. The kind of rivalry where you ruin your sister's date cause she used your lipstick without asking you, and then the other sister shreds your PhD thesis. This is the shit I'm talking about.

And then one day they got into a typical desi aunty squabble : who's children are better? THEY WEREN'T EVEN PREGNANT THEN. So Kadru asks Kashyap for 100 children, sparkling like molten gold, draconic in features blah blah blah basically she asked for snakes, or nagas as children. All nagas in the world are her children. Vinata on the other hand asked for 2 children, both mightier than Kadru's children. Kadru laid 100 eggs, and Vinata laid 2. (WHY DID THEY LAY EGGS. WHY?)

Anywho Kadru's eggs hatched pretty soon, and her thousand children sprang forth. These included Ananta or Sheshanag, the thousand headed snake which controls the flow of time, on whose hoods the earth stands and on whose coils Vishnu rests; Takshaka, the Second Naga King, who poisoned Arjuna's grandson Parikshit; and Vasuki, the Third Naga King, who is coiled around Shiva's neck and whose daughters Uloopi and Sulochana were married to Arjuna and Meghanad respectively. So you can guess Kadru's children were pretty legendary. Meanwhile Vinata's egg were just... there. They didn't hatch. They didn't glow. You couldn't make an omelet out of them because they were the size of a car or something like that. So Vinata grew restless and cracked an egg open one day, and out came Aruna, the gender fluid god of dawn (you might also know them as Usha, the goddess of dawn). And they were EXTREMELY strong and angry and had no body from the waist down, because they were born before their time. So they cursed Vinata, saying she would be enslaved someday (sheesh. cold).

And the fated day came during a holiday. Kadru and Vinata were taking a walk down the beach when they saw Ucchaishravas, the King of Horses. He also breathes fire, can fly, is as white as moonlight, has ten heads, and can eat meat. Vinata looked at him and said, "Just look at him, I bet he's shinier than all the pearls and moons" and Kadru, in her normal behaviour and contradicted her by saying, "Nah bitch, look over there, he has a black strand in his tail." Vinata obviously said no to which Kadru said, "Wanna bet? Loser and her children would be slaves to the other for eternity." And so in such high risk situations - you say yes even though you know your sister's a dirty cheater. Kadru knew she had lied, and also knew she couldn't lose, so she ordered her children to coil themselves around Ucchaishravas' tail to make it look black, to which many replied "Nah mama ya big liar" to which Kadru replied "Nah you ungrateful brats I curse you to be burnt alive in the future with your entire subspecies". The rest of them got in line pretty easily then.

Both of them came the second day, and obviously. Ucchraivas' tail hair was black since the snakes were coiled around it. And poor poor Vinata was reduced to Kadru and her children's slave. And her son, Garuda, a half man-half eagle, was born into slavery.

Garuda hated the way the snakes treated him and his momma. One incident includes a teenage Garuda (big as a mountain now) carrying all the snakes on his back and flying across the ocean, while Kadru sat on his momma's back as she swam. In a fit of rage, he flew too close to the sun in an attempt to kill all snakes by burning them. Kadru immediately prayed to Indra, King of Gods and god of rain and thunder, who has always been a friend of the nagas, to protect them, and so he covered the sky with dense clouds.

Now came a time when Garuda became fed up. Enough is enough, slavery is evil, and plus the snakes made SUCH a huge mess. So he asked them what he could do to free him and his momma, to which the snakes replied, "Bring ussss Amrit, the nectar of immortality." Great. So all you have to do is steal the nectar of immortality, stashed in the most secure location in heaven, wrestle gods, and give it to some evil noodles. Garuda obviuosly said yes.

On his way to heaven, he ate a huge ass elephant and turtle, who were locked in an eternal battle. Not relevant but seemed like a neat thing to add.

Garuda arrives on the gates of Swarga. He breaks 'em open, and flies in, defeats all the gods, no sweat, steals the Amrit and flies away. On his way, he is intercepted by Lord Vishnu, who says "Dem noodles are too powerful. You can't make them immortal." to which Garuda replies "Don't be afraid mysterious alien. I have no intention of letting the bastards have it." because you see dear reader, the nagas told Garuda to bring them the Amrit. They never told him to let them drink it. See, following everything by the word is so fun.

Garuda reaches down, and places the Amrit-kalash in front of the snakes. The Nagas immediately freed him and his mother from slavery, and when they slithered closer to the amrit, Garuda advised them to go and have a bath. "You must be so tired from waiting," and the greedy bastards slithered away to bathe. When they returned, the amrit was gone. So was Garuda. In desperation, they started licking the ground where the amrit pot was kept. Since the ground has graced the amrit, it acquired some of it's regenerative properties, hence snakes are able to shed skin. But even that was too strong for them so the grass blades slit their tongues into forks.

Garuda went back to Swarga to return the amrit, when Vishnu again intercepted him and said, "You have the amrit this entire time and yet you didn't want to drink it?" to which Garuda replied, "No. I wanted to free momma and myself. Also this smells a bit weird." "I require your services young man, as wingman and transport and minion." asked Vishnu, to which Garuda replied "Mmkay, but I ain't gonna be beneath you. I also gotta be above you" for which Vishnu invented his flag and emblem - the Garudadhwaj - a flag with Garuda's picture on it. Yes it is a scrappy dumb solution, but Garuda decided to go along with it, cause you're now protected by a really powerful god.

phew that was TOO long. Garuda also got his revenge since now he and all his progeny were allowed to feast on snakes and were immune to any and all types of poison.

Garuda is also the national emblem of Thailand and the state of Karnataka in India.

[midnightmoonkiss]

Oh oh oh what if mermaids go into heat AFTER finding their life partner. Like she’s heard of them and they’re apparently kinda painful, but they’re a seasonal thing more than a monthly thing. So maybe Deku finally commits and is okay with being just hers and they finally fuck, but then a few months pass and idk spring rolls around and she’s MISERABLE and thinks she’s dying at first. Shes also snappy and moody and keeps pouting at him to bring her fruits.

“Princess, you know how you get with fruits, we agreed that you have to wait until we’re anchored.”

“Deku. I need. Fruits.”

“And I said, not happening. Sorry, princess.” He leans in to kiss her forehead but she just rolls over and huffs at him. “Alright, bratty.” He grabs her ankles and pulls her to the end of the bed, picking her up slightly by her arms so they could look at eachother. “We can’t keep doing this, what’s wrong, Princess?”

She’s still pouting and squirming, but the way he’s looking at her so seriously, so sternly.. Her face flushes and she finally understands why she’s been so moody and upset. “I... I can’t tell you..” she whispers. What if he found her so weird? Humans clearly don’t have these kinds of things, why would he be okay with this thing about her? “I-I’ll be better, I’m sorry for being mean.” She tries to pull from him but he just holds her tighter.

Obviously he wouldn’t hurt her, but he knows whatever it is has been hurting her and he wants to help. “No no, tell me. You can tell me anything.”

She looks down between them and chews her lip, adjusting to try and look smaller. “I’m.. i think I’m in heat..” she whimpers.

-🧜‍♀️

“Heat..?” He’d be curiously confused, green eyebrows furrowing as he thought about what the hell that could mean.

Had he heard of such a thing before?

When the sun was out, he bathed in the heat, and sweat, but nevermind that. Could that be what she meant?

She was... hot?

The ship was sweleting hot and therefore caused such an intense mood shift?

She was a mermaid, and the waters were much cooler.

Perhaps the current temperature was.. too much.

He didnt understand how that warrants such a mean mood for so long, but alas. Women eluded him. Especially women who happen to be mystical creatures.

He was just a rum drinking bastard, what did he know?

“Do you.. want to go for a swim, then?”

His smile was genuine, hands holding her own, praying such a solution would help.

“Since you’re hot?”

How could he possibly know heat meant... that.

—

PLEASE LMAO THIS MAN HAS NO IDEA WHAT A HEAT IS 😭 AAAA POOR GIRL GONNA HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT OR SOMETHING..

Then get dicked down🤒

[cutie1365]

A Kid from Queens Part 21

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Info: CA: Civil War Era. Tony Stark enlists his daughter to find the web slinging spider in Queens.

Word count: 5.4k

Warnings: 18+ content, smut, language. (I had aged up Peter so he’s 18.)

A/N: Flashbacks in italics as usual :) I know it’s been forever, motivation is hard to come by these days. This is the longest thing I’ve ever written, it’s long enough to break into two chapters but I know I haven’t uploaded in a while so Merry Christmas lol.

Any and all feedback is much appreciated! Please please if you could just leave a little message of things you like or what you want to see in the future it really helps.

Masterlist linked in my bio. Taglist in the reblog.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Y/N! Y/N! Over here!” You heard your name called as Happy opens the limo door. He extends his hand to help you to your feet.

“Stark, look over here!” The paparazzi screams were almost deafening as Peter exited the car after you. His mask hid more of his features while yours left little to the imagination, they knew who you were already, so no point in trying to hide it.

“Behave.” Happy pointed a stern finger at you.

“Don’t I always.” You feigned offense as your hand clapped over your heart, he raised a brow as your mouth turned up into a smirk.

“Goodnight Happy.” You chuckled, turning and stepping onto the red carpet leading to the venue.

“Who are you wearing?” You heard different questions screamed in your direction. This was a charity gala after all, not the fucking Oscars. Who cares who made your dress?

You slipped your hand into Peters, trying to calm him. This had to be overwhelming, all the cameras in your face, screaming anything they can to get you to look their way.

“Dr. Stark!” One voice called, gaining your attention. Few people addressed you with your appropriate title. You turned to see a young woman, who didn’t look like she’s been on the job for very long. She was holding her own though, against all these ruthless reporters. You thought you saw The Bugle among them.

“Dr. Stark, Glory Grant from the Times.” She smiled once you looked her way. You took a step closer to her, nodding at her to let her know you were listening and she could continue, “Can you tell us why this cause is important to you?”

“Of course, every child’s life we can save is like an investment into our and their future. They’re going to be the ones to take over the world someday. Who knows who will be the next Einstein, or Madam Curie...” You began with a smile.

“Or Y/N Stark,” She smiled. You laughed, shaking your head humbly.

“If we can do our part in donating and relieving some of the financial burdens off of their parents then it’s worth it. This organization not only helps families and children currently fighting cancer, but it helps look for a cure. A permanent solution to help end this disease.” You spoke from your heart.

“Thank you so much Dr. Stark.” She smiled as she scribbled the last of your words onto her notepad.

“Are you new at the Times Ms. Grant?” You asked, taking another step closer to her and the barrier between the two of you.

“Yeah, I just started.” She smiled nervously.

“Can I borrow your pen?” You asked, and she handed you her pen and pad.

“That’s my work number. If you’d like to be added to the Stark Industries press board, give me a call. They’re the first ones we call about press releases and announcements.” You spoke as you scribbled it down, handing it back to her with a smile.

“Thank you so much Dr. Stark, but why are you helping me?” She furrowed her brows.

“Because it's a man's world, and we can help change that, one woman at a time,” You said, causing her to laugh, “You’re the only one here to actually address me by my title and not ask me about my outfit. I see a bright career ahead of you.” You nodded to her as you took a step back towards the middle of the carpet.

“Enjoy tonight,” she smiled, beaming at the new opportunity. You winked at her as you took Peter’s hand and led him along the carpet and up the stairs towards the venue.

“That was nice of you,” He squeezed your hand.

“I mean it’s effortless for me, but it will help kick start her career. I got this kinda third eye about people.” You smirked.

“That’s not a real thing.” He shook his head with a laugh.

“Sure it is. It’s not always perfect, but sometimes I can just tell when people are destined for something great. Like you, from the moment I met you I knew.” You turned towards him, taking his other hand in yours.

“You knew what?” He titled his head in confusion.

You leaned in to press a chaste kiss to his lips, forgetting you were at the top of the stairs and still in full sight of all the photographers. You saw the flashes but you didn’t care. Peter’s identity was safe with his mask, and you wanted the whole work to know how happy he made you.

“That you’re a good person, and you’re gonna do big things.” You beamed up at him as you pulled away from the kiss, turning to lead him inside.

“So what else can this third eye tell you?” He asked curiously.

“It’s kinda like a gut feeling, to trust someone or not trust them. Like fight or flight, something’s not right kinda feeling. I just trust my gut, ya know.” You shrugged.

“I think I know exactly what you mean.” He said, and you turned to him with a raised brow before remembering your conversation from a week ago.

“Oh that’s right, like your spidey senses.” You chuckled, making sure to keep your voice low.

“My what?” His eyes went wide.

“You said you can sense when something bad's gonna happen. Although mine isn’t as specific and can’t be attributed to a radioactive spider.” You chuckled, walking to a secluded corner of the ballroom.

“Shh someone could hear you.” He whispered, you smiled, shaking your head, knowing everyone’s always drunk at these sorts of things.

Turning to face Peter, you raised your hands to straighten his bow tie. Your mind wandered to how great he looked in his suit. The feeling of butterflies swirling in your belly from the moment you saw him step through your door a few hours ago had barely worn off.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Wow,” you both muttered as your eyes landed on each other. You’d never seen him all dressed up like this. He looked good, really good. You gulped, trying to push the dirty thoughts from your mind.

His hair was slicked back, not the mess of curls you were used to. He looked so grown up. You could almost picture him commanding a Stark Industries board meeting or standing at the end of an isle. Wait- slow down Y/N, jesus.

He looked so natural, so dapper, and then he turns and gives you that signature goofy smile- there he is. It brought a smile to your face. How did you get so lucky? How could you have landed a guy as great and handsome as Peter Parker. Were the girls at his school brain dead? You would think everyone would want him. Kind, sweet, intelligent, respectful, and Christ he cleans up well. He was everything you’d ever dreamed of.

Have you just been staring this whole time? Jesus, Y/N say something, he’ll think you’re crazy, you thought.

“Are you ready to go?” You asked, trying to compose yourself. He only nodded, still not able to formulate words.

You were wearing red. His red. No- not his red obviously, but the same color of his suit. And god he loved it. He felt like you were wearing a piece of him. Like he had marked you, you were his.

“You look...” He trailed off, his eyes still wide. He cleared his throat and smiled, trying to compose himself. You could almost hear his internal monologue urging him on - Come on Peter, keep it together..., “You look... God Y/N. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” You blushed. Of course that wasn’t the first time someone had told you that, but coming from Peter it felt different, “You look so handsome. Not your usual kind of suit, huh?” You smirked, causing him to chuckle as he pulled on his sleeves.

“I have your mask.” You smiled, still admiring him, holding the mask out to him.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Why doesn’t your mask hide your identity?” Peter asked, as the two of you watched more and more people file into the ballroom.

“Because people will know who I am anyway, and I’m not hiding.” You explained.

“How will they know?” He furrowed his brows, you shook your wrist in response.

“I don’t know anyone else with a custom blaster built into a bracelet. I’m also on the younger side, and pulled up in a ride with Stark Industries plates, so it wouldn’t take a genius.” You smiled, starting to recognize a few faces of regulars as you people watched.

“Do you always wear that thing?” He asked, holding up your wrist and examining it.

“No, I’ve got a watch for day to day wear that does the same thing. Dad may not give me a suit, but he won’t leave me completely defenseless. And it has come in handy.” You trailed off, remembering the not so fond memories of the last time you used it. Your ribs still ached if you thought about it long enough.

“Let’s hope you don’t have to use it tonight.” Peter said, craving one normal night without having to be a hero.

“Someone would have to be very ambitious to attack this place, they’ve got security out the wazoo.” You brushed off, praying tonight would go well.

A hush fell over the crowd as the charity president walked onto the stage and welcomed everyone. You felt Peter’s hand slip around your waist protectively as everyone pushed a little closer to the stage to hear. This part was pretty standard, basically a little speech to kick off the  night, a thank you for coming, and who to make all checks out to. Music filled the ballroom as the band began playing after the applause for the speaker died down.

“I’ll get us something to drink.” Peter nodded off towards the open bar.

You nod as he walks off and turn to admire the ballroom. Your eyes soon land on a familiar face.

“Dr. Strange,” You smile, greeting him.

“Dr. Stark,” He nods. You’d met a few times at these sorts of events. You hadn’t seen him for a while though, and there were rumors of an accident.

“How are you Stephen? I haven’t seen you since...” You paused to trying and remember, “Was it that benefit for the hospital a year ago?”

“Had to be, I’ve been... traveling.” He stated ominously. You glanced down to see the long thin scars along his fingers.

“Well it’s nice to have you back.” You smiled.

Peter now rejoined you at your side, slipping a drink into your hands- non-alcoholic of course, per May’s request. His other hand found its way to the small of your back.

“Peter, this is Dr. Stephen Strange.” You introduced him.

“Peter Parker,” He smiled, shaking the doctor’s hand. Something you couldn’t describe flashed over Peter’s eyes as they shook hands. Like a gut feeling he couldn’t quite place. For some reason his spidey senses were going off.

“Enjoy your evening, I need to check in at work.” Strange gave a curt nod and smile as he said his goodbyes. As he walked past you he dropped his voice to a whisper and spoke into your ear, “I like this one much better than the last.”

“Me too,” You whispered back with a smirk.

“So... how do you know him?” Peter asked curiously as the doctor excused himself to call the hospital.

“We run in the same circles, it’s a lot of the same people that come to these sorts of things. His hospital donates a lot of money to these causes and when he pisses off the board they send him to represent them as punishment.” You explained.

“This is a punishment?” Peter asked, dumbfounded.

“For a neurosurgeon it might just be,” You laughed, shaking your head, “I’m surprised he’s here.”

“Why?” He furrowed his brows.

“I heard he was in an accident not too far back. A bad one. I didn’t know he had gone back to work. Hmm...” You looked off to where the man had disappeared to.

“Care to dance, Parker?” You changed the subject, taking his hand into yours and placing your drinks onto the nearest table.

As the song changed to I Only Have Eyes For You by The Flamingos, he held you in his arms, swaying slowly. You were lost in him, hours could have passed, or seconds. As your bodies were pressed together you felt a sensation you could only describe as home.

“So has it been everything you dreamed it would be? These stuffy formalities for rich people to get drunk and spend money.” You chuckled as you looked up at him.

“It’s beautiful, but I guess, I mean it seems so glamorous from the outside.” He shook his head.

“Sorry to burst the bubble for you. It’s a little less Gatsby, and a little more, middle aged businessman doing coke in the bathroom.” You quipped.

Peter’s head immediately whipped towards the bathroom door where two men were emerging, one rubbing his nose.

“No way...” He looked back to you with wide eyes.

“You’d be surprised.” You chuckled.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

After a little more dancing and mingling you and Peter made your way out onto the deserted balcony.

“Are you cold?” He asked, as he leaned onto the railing next to you. You were hiding it well but he still sensed it.

“A little.” You chuckled, cursing those spidey senses for giving you away.

Peter slipped off his coat and placed it over your shoulders. You thanked him as you turned to admire the moonlit lake below you. It was so quiet and peaceful, untouched by the party going on just on the other side of the glass doors.

“Did you have a good day?” Peter asked.

“Perfect.” You looked up to him and smiled, and you meant it.

“Um, so, Happy told me that you don’t like to celebrate your birthday but,” Peter began to speak, nervously. Your eyes grew wide, how in the world did he know it was your birthday? That was the one day you liked to keep private and out of the press. Only the Avengers, Pepper and Happy knew when it was. “I wanted to give you this. Everyone deserves at least one present on their birthday.”

“Peter you didn’t-” You shook your head, before he cut you off.

“I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. And don’t worry, Mr. Stark swore me to secrecy so I won’t go announcing it to the world.” He reassured you as he reached into his pocket to pull out a little box.

“I know it’s not much, and I’m sure you have a million other fancy things, but I wanted you to have this.” Peter opened the box nervously, revealing a necklace. It was a single pearl and diamond dangling from a silver chain. Simple, but beautiful. “It was my mothers. Aunt May said that my dad gave it to her on their wedding day.”

Your jaw dropped slightly and your hand went over your heart.

“Peter, I-” How could you accept this? It was probably one of the last bits he had of his mother and he was just giving it away? You knew how much they meant to him, and he’d been through so much. With losing both parents so young and then his Uncle Ben not that long ago. Tears began to pool up in your eyes. Did he really care about you that much to part with something this important?

“Are you sure?” You asked softly.

“Of course I am. She would have loved you. She would have wanted you to have it.” Peter spoke, slipping the necklace on you as a single tear slipped down your cheek.

You turned back to him with a smile, he gently rubbed his thumb across your cheek to wipe the tear away. He didn’t know what to say- actually that’s a lie. He knew exactly what three words he wanted to say, but he thought it might be too soon and he might scare you. He absolutely didn’t want that. So he just smiled at you as you leaned in to kiss him.

You pulled away and wiped your tears, trying your best not to mess up your makeup.

“Thank you Peter.” You sniffled, chuckling at how silly you were being.

“Happy birthday.” He beamed as you heard the band strike up a slow song inside. He extended his hand to you, “Y/N Stark, can I have this dance?”

There was that goofy smile again, causing you to giggle as you placed your hand in his. He pulled you close, you rest your head on his shoulder as you both sway to the music. And for once in your life, everything was perfect.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

After everyone had said their goodbyes and they ushered you out of the venue, you and Peter began your short walk through the park to the Plaza Hotel across the street.

“Tonight was like a dream,” You said, as you swung your intertwined hands slightly.

“Haven’t you been to a million of these things.” Peter chuckled and shook his head.

“Yes, but I’ve never been to one with someone I love and it’s a very different experience I’ve learned.” You spoke, causing Peter to stop.

You turned to face him as you noticed his wide eyes, not believing the words that just came out of your mouth. It took him a minute to process. One, that meant you loved him. And two, that meant you were never in love with Thomas, since you’d been to these events with him before.

“Ok, you’re kinda scaring me now Peter,” You laughed nervously at his awestruck state.

“You love me?” He asked, and you answered with a nod and a smile.

He placed his hands on either side of your face and pulled you into a sweeping kiss.

“Am I dreaming?” Peter asks, pulling away, looking for any sign on your face that this was all some sort of joke.

“I sure hope not,” You chuckle.

“I love you too,” Peter beams at you, pulling you into another kiss.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

“Woah...” You and Peter both mutter as you push open the door to your hotel room. Now this was fancy. You felt like you were in a room in Buckingham Palace.

You both walked around, inspecting the room as you dropped your coats. You saw your bags in the corner that had already been brought up. You ran your hand over one of the pillows on the huge California King sized bed as your lips morphed into a smirk and an idea popped into your head. You clutched onto the pillow with one of your perfectly manicured hands as you spun around, whacking Peter with it.

“Hey!” He yelped, eyes growing wide at what you’d just done.

“Come on Parker, let’s see what you’ve got.” You tossed him another pillow from the bed with a smirk.

“O you’re gonna regret this,” He stalked towards you. You kicked off your heels and jumped onto the bed, standing up on your knees.

He swung his pillow as you ducked, it just missed you. You took the opportunity to whack him again. He looked at you with wide eyes, thinking, How had he missed?

“What? Couldn’t see that coming, bug boy?” You laughed. Taking those few seconds to gloat had proved fatal as you felt his pillow attack your side.

“Oof,” You feigned pain as you dropped backwards until your back hit the bed.

“Are you ok?” Peter asked, worried, thinking he’d really hurt you. With his super strength he was never sure.

You waited until he was kneeling next to you to jump into action, according to your plan. You jumped up, pushing him back onto the bed as you straddle him, grabbing your pillow and smacking him a few times.

“Ok, ok, you win!” Peter cried out, forfeiting.

“Yes!” You threw your pillow up in the air in victory. Peter looked up at you, still on top of him with your hair now a mess, hanging all around your face. He cherished the genuine smile on your face. All he wanted to do was kiss you, you looked so happy.

You crawled off of him and back onto the floor where you extended your hand to help him up. As he placed his hand into yours and rose to his feet, you didn’t notice his left hand reach for the pillow. Before you knew it, there was a pillow lightly thrown in your face.

“Peter!” You squealed through laughter. He knew you were about to retaliate when you reached for your own pillow on the bed. But he was faster, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you away.

“Come on, truce?” He asked as you struggled against his arms.

“Fine, truce.” You said, shaking his extended hand as he let you go.

“Hungry?” You asked, reaching for the room service menu on the desk and flipping through it.

“Starving.” He said, reading it over your shoulder.

After you had called in the food, you walked over to explore the rest of the room.

“They said it will be about an hour.” You told Peter, as you pushed open the door to the bathroom.

“So what do we do til then?” He asked, but you didn’t hear him.

“Jesus, look at the size of that tub.” You exclaimed, and Peter came over to your side to get a look at it too.

“Wow,” He said when his eyes landed on the giant clawfoot tub, “Um we definitely have to use that.”

You turned to face him with a smile.

“Really? You’d wanna do that?” You asked, who knew Peter Parker was a sucker for bubble baths.

“Absolutely. And do they have those big fluffy robes like in the movies?” He asked, excitedly, like a kid on Christmas.

You walked over to the closet and pulled the doors open, revealing two robes as described. You pulled them out and presented them to him.

“Cool...” His eyes lit up as he felt the material between his fingers.

You started to run the water, adding bath salts and bubbles, knowing it would take a while to fill the whole thing. Your things had already been brought to the room before you got there, so you got to work taking off your makeup and letting your now messy hair down.

You tried to reach for your zipper, as your body cried to be released from this skin tight dress.

“Hey Pete,” You called, and he strolled in the bathroom, now only wearing his dress pants and no shirt... and the butterflies were back. God how could he look that good, you stared shamelessly.

“You called?” He smirked, breaking your train of thought.

“Oh um, can you help me with my zipper?” You blushed, knowing you’d been caught.

“Mhm, turn around.” He instructed, before his fingers found the metal pull tab and he slowly worked it down, revealing more and more skin.

“There you go.” He smiled, placing a kiss on your shoulder, his gentle action nearly making you swoon. “I think the water’s ready if you want me to turn off the tap.”

“Yeah, yeah go ahead.” You nodded. You watched him turn off the spout and slip off his dress pants until he was just in his boxers. He folded them and set them aside before looking up to you. You were still holding your dress against your chest to keep it up, as the back gaped open and the thin straps slipped down your arms.

“Do you need help with that?” Peter asked, pointing to your dress, thinking you might need help taking it off. You thought you could manage, but on second thought you might need help. It was a tight dress and your stylist had helped you into it. You only nodded in response as Peter moved behind you. He gently helped you slip your arms through the straps and pulled the fabric down your body. He gave the fabric a quick tug as it struggled to get past your hips. You were now exposed in front of him. The dress was too tight for you to wear any sort of undergarments. He took you in for a moment before shifting his attention respectfully to the red indentations down your side from where the seams of the dress dug into you.

“Does this hurt?” He asked, gently rubbing his fingers down them.

“Not really,” You shook your head. He reached out his hand to help you into the tub without slipping.

You sank into the warm water as Peter dropped his boxers and joined you. Your eyes went wide at the size of him, and you looked away, a blush slowly crept onto your cheeks.

He must have noticed because the next thing you knew, a splash of water was hitting your face. You looked back to him in shock, he was sitting back laughing. You flicked your hand through the water, splashing him back.

You moved to do it again, but he grabbed your wrist, stopping you. You knew it was a good idea, if the two of you started going at it again like in the pillow fight, it would lead to a mess and an expensive clean up bill.

“Do they always book rooms this fancy for the galas?” Peter asked, taking in the room once more.

“I don’t know, this was the first time I’ve accepted it.” You shrugged, following his gaze up to the gold crown molding and chandelier.

“Really? I thought you did this all the time.” Peter assumed.

“No, I don’t make it a habit of jumping into tubs with strange men.” You joked.

“That’s not what I meant, and I’m not a strange man, I’m your boyfriend.” He teased as he pulled you towards him. You chuckled and placed your lips onto his quickly before pulling away.

“Say it again.” You smiled. He furrowed his brows for a moment before smiling.

“I’m... your... boyfriend.” He said slowly, placing a kiss on either cheek between words, his lips landing on yours after his last word.

He now had his arms around your waist, pulling you close as your lips collided. When you broke apart for air, he looked down at the necklace around your neck and smiled.

“This is a dream right? I’m dreaming.” Peter shook his head with a goofy grin, not being able to believe his eyes.

“Does this feel like a dream?” You asked, taking both of his hands and placing them onto your breasts. He responded by crashing his lips onto yours, he groaned against your mouth as he pulled you closer.

“It’s nice to know you dream about me Parker.” You quipped with a smirk as you broke apart for air. He chuckled at your cockiness.

“All the time, baby.” He replied, and the pet name rolled off his tongue before he even realized what he said. God you almost melted at the sound. It was your turn to crash your lips against his and let out a moan as his hand traveled down to squeeze your ass.

A knock at the door pulled you both apart as you stared at each other with wide eyes.

“Room service!” A voice called, causing you both to let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding in.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

The two of you sat at the dining table, both in your white fluffy robes with nearly dripping wet hair.

“God this is so good.” Peter said, stuffing his mouth.

“Mm, I know, I didn’t realize I was this hungry.” You said, doing the same. Who knew fancy hotels made burgers and fries this good.

You picked up a fry from your plate, waving it at Peter.

“Ready? Catch.” You said as you threw it across the table as Peter caught it in his mouth.

“Ok your turn,” Peter said, tossing one of his. You leaned to the side, nearly missing it, but catching it in your mouth. You thrust your fists in the air in celebration, causing Peter to chuckle.

The two of you ate and talked, before cleaning up.

“Ugh, I’m so full.” You groaned, falling back onto the bed, rubbing your full stomach, causing Peter to laugh.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Peter asked.

“Oo yeah, we should probably get out of these robes though.” You said, moving from the bed, not wanting to get it all wet.

“Here,” Peter said, moving to his duffle bag and tossing you one of his t-shirts. You slipped it on as he slipped on some boxers and hung up your robes. You glanced down at the Midtown Tech logo and smiled. The fabric fell down to the middle of your thigh.

“I like seeing you in my clothes.” Peter smiled as he approached you sitting on the edge of the bed and pulled you into a chaste kiss.

“Cafeul, soon all your sweatshirts are gonna go missing.” You said, making him laugh.

Peter sat with his back against the headboard, and motioned you over to him. You crawled across the bed and laid into his side as he wrapped an arm around your waist, keeping you close. He held the remote in his other hand, scrolling through options on the large screen.

“Have you seen this?” Peter motioned towards the screen.

“That’s my favorite movie.” You chuckled, smiling up at him as he immediately pressed start.

Peter absentmindedly played with your hair as the movie went on. As the credits rolled a few hours later you leaned up to face Peter.

“Thank you for today. As birthdays go, I gotta say this may be my best yet.” You spoke genuinely.

“Well it’s not over yet.” He stated after glancing at the clock on the bedside table.

“It’s not?” You smirk, as he pulls you closer.

“I think we were interrupted earlier.” He said slowly, a blush returning to your cheeks as you remembered the events that took place, or almost took place in the bathtub a few hours earlier.

“I think you’re right.” You whispered back, as you climbed onto his lap as his lips intertwined with yours.

You’ve kissed him before, that wasn’t new, but this time something was different. There was a hunger you couldn’t quite describe. His hands began to roam your body, trying to take in every inch of you. A strong arm wrapped around your waist, lifted you, and laid you down onto the bed as Peter now hovered over you.

You gasped at the sudden movement before smiling as Peter lowered his lips to yours once more.

“Y/N,” He said, making you stop and open your eyes, worriedly. Was he ok? Was this too much?

“I’ve never...” He began, nervously.

“That’s ok Peter, we don’t have to-” You tried to reassure him, but he shook his head.

“I want to, God I want to. I want to make you feel good.” He said, his hand traveling up your shirt and resting on your waist.

“Are you sure?” You asked, not wanting to push him into something he wasn’t ready for.

He nodded, muttering a yes as he brought his lips down to you once more, before pulling away.

“Are you?” He asked, making sure this wasn’t one sided.

“Absolutely.” You smiled, taking in the sight of him above you, reaching up to gently move a curl that was falling onto his face, brushing his hair back with your fingers.

And for the first time in your life, you realized why it was called ‘making love’. As much as the phrase made you cringe. As much as you hated when people said that, that was the only way you could think to describe what you and Peter just did. It was sweet but passionate. Peter was gentle yet ruthless in all the right ways. You figured it out together, through the giggles and moans. And as first times go, it was perfect.

For one night you got to be kids. Of course you were adults, just barely. But the two of you had more weight on your shoulders than most adults would ever have. You had responsibilities, that the safety of the city and the world depended on. But for one night, you got to be normal, you got to be kids. For one night you were free, and you cherished it, because neither of you knew how long it would last.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! 

TAGLIST in Reblog

[hatchetfieldtheories]

Return to Hatchetfield-Town - TGWDLM Part 3

Have I been putting off this part because of sad Bill? Maybe.  Or is it because of all your amazing Ridiculous Hatchetfield Theory submissions? Yeah, you were right the first time.  I just can’t deal with sad Bill.

We left part 2 of the TGWDLM rewatch where the Scooby Gang had turned up at the spooky mansion, which can only go well, and we come back in part 3 as they’ve left the tied up resident bad guy alone with the one person who has a weakness for said bad guy.

Links to previous parts

It’s Ted loving time and I make no apologies for it.

Am I the only one who saw the scene with Ted and Charlotte and immediately got sent back to MAMD’s Joey and Sally?  It’s so good seeing Joey and Jaime acting opposite each other like this again, they both bring the same amount of chaotic brilliance.  

I have no jokes to make for this, I just needed a gif of the “slap” here.  Beautiful.  Iconic.

Here we see a bit of the true Ted, the Ted we see in Time Bastard.  He’s an idiot sure, but its obvious he is actually a hopeless romantic who really cares for Charlotte, underneath an exterior of “sleazeball”. 

When I originally read what happens in Time Bastard I will admit it didn’t really fit with the image I had in my head of Ted.  Ted is first and foremost played for laughs.  He’s selfish and arrogant and funny.  But rewatching TGWDLM, especially with Time Bastard in mind, you do see where Joey let’s Ted’s façade drop.  You see it at a greater extent later when Charlotte dies and Ted goes off on one to Bill.  But you also see it here (I’m sorry Ted fans):

Serious gifs, who is she?

Now. What’s happening in this next little scene? Are we ready for some tin foil hatting?

What do you want Charlotte?

Continuing our theme of characters explaining what they want in clear and certain terms, Charlotte starts praying to God, then Sam wakes up.  Was Sam waiting for everyone else to leave before “waking up” in order to target Charlotte?  Or were Charlotte’s prayers answered by an Eldritch being with the capability to control the Creedy Chorus?  Later Sam says that he “saw god”.  

In Black Friday, Linda attempts to issue in the “birth of a god.”  God is certainly a word the Devil Dolls are happy to attribute to themselves.  Somehow I don’t think it would have mattered if they had gone to a Methodist or Presbyterian church.

Opinion time: Tied Up My Heart is a full on rock bop and deserves way more praise and acclaim. You could have told me this song was from Rock of Ages and I would believed you.

“Don’t you twust me” – serious Wiggly vibes there Sam.

This is kinda catchy Sam!

In part two we briefly discussed when Hidgens became infected, and there is some theories that believe he was infected from the moment he touched the blue brain goo, leading to Show Stopping Number happening.

Charlotte was infected the minute she touched Sam’s brains.  Like Hidgens, it happened slowly, but its very clear it had begun to take root in this song.  Tied Up My Heart is to Charlotte, what Let It Out is to Paul.  They both find themselves dancing without meaning to, they both begin to hear the music.  I’ve mentioned previously that Tied Up My Heart is the only song in which there is an offstage chorus, which would be strange unless for the first time we’re hearing the show as Charlotte is hearing it – she’s beginning to hear the rest of the Hive.

 The only difference between Charlotte and Paul is their wants during these pivotal numbers.  Paul is trying harder to fight the song because his want is to destroy the meteor.  Charlotte isn’t able to fight the song because her want is Sam… and the song is giving her that. 

I think this is the part of the musical where most people pause and proclaim… what the hell am I watching. Which, you know… valid.

Can anyone tell me what foreshadowing is?

Ted just casually predicting the ending of the show.  Take out the head and the whole thing falls down – an historically inaccurate statement in the proceedings of Hatchetfield’s apocalypses.

Exhibit A – Taking out the meteor does not stop the hive.

Exhibit B – Sending a Nuke into the Black and White does not stop Wiggly.

I don’t know what Nerdy Prudes will be about but heads up to the characters – maybe don’t try and destroy the root of the issue as your solution.

Obviously there is a lot of story in Emma and Paul’s discussion here, a lot of which gets unpacked and revisited in Forever and Always, but I’m not really going to delve into the specifics of it here.  My biggest take away from this conversation is that Emma explains her past, and her intentions for the future, but at no point is it ever clear what her want is. 

In a musical where character’s are killed because they want something, is it any wonder Emma is the one who survives at the end?  She doesn’t have any big, ultimate want.  She’s jaded and tired, until the end… when what she wants is for Paul to have survived.

This shows a clear distinction between how Pokey and Wiggly operate (and the others, but we’ll discuss them when we get to Nightmare Time.)  Both of these Bothersome Brothers use wanting as their tool of chaos but in very different ways.

Pokey wants you to want something, in order to tempt you with that in order to destroy you.

Wiggly wants to find holes to fill with exaggerated, artificial echoes of a want.

The new game at Toy Zone – Bop Ted

Does anyone else forget for a bit how amazing Jaime’s voice is and then finds themselves entranced when Join Us and Die happens?  I’m sure there is some lore in this song but I’m far too distracted.

If we refer back to our Violence over Time chart from part two of the rewatch you will see we have now fully arrived at the point where the Hive has stopped trying to just entice everyone with fluffy feelings before murdering them, and are now just resorting to “we’re gonna kill you and it’ll hurt a lot.”

I know there is plenty of discussion regarding whether Hidgens is good or bad, infected or not infected etc – but none of that matters.  What matters is he makes the same crappy puns I make in inappropriate situations and I think that’s beautiful.

“The Charlotte you knew and loved was gone the minute a note came out her mouth.” – Snape’s back with the foreshadowing again.

Hidgens then proceeds to subject our heroes to a very intricate test to find out who is human, and who is the musical Doppleganger (one of the AJ Holmes fans there).  I’ve seen Moana once, and I became obsessed with the bioluminescent crab so I don’t remember any of the other songs apart from Shiny.  This is a problem because the only other song I know from Moana has now become Paul’s version of whatever it is he is singing. I refuse to believe there is any other version of that song.

“Their tactic is to hide amongst us, and as their numbers grow, they become more bold.” – yes Hidgens – we’ve all seen the chart.

Acting Masterclass with Corey Dorris

Bill gets a phone call from Alice, she’s stuck at Hatchetfield High and her girlfriend and the other kids have become singing and dancing zombies.  Is this a prequel to High School Musical?

Its worth noting that Alice has locked herself in the Choir room – Hatchetfield High’s number one place to hide when things are going badly - x

Look what happened Nightmare Time.  

Corey Dorris’ face pulls on every heart string I possess.  Not Your Seed is a fantastic song, with some superb singing by Mariah, but the heart of this song is Corey.  Bill is a broken man from the moment he echoes Alice’s words that Grace Chastity is a Nerdy Prude. And the voice crack!

Small warning here for a very brief discussion about suicide. If you want to skip past scroll to the next gif.

The song is an attempt to bring Bill to the Hive, but I think the plan from the start was to push him to shoot himself. Bill wants his daughter back, he wants her to be a part of his life, but unlike with Charlotte, where Hive!Sam attempts to convince her he’s not really dead and wants her, Hive!Alice uses Bill’s want to break him further and further, swinging between Alice’s love and disdain for her father.  This isn’t an attempt to lay a trap and kill him when he falls in it, it’s a blatant push towards him killing himself.  The Hive only picked up the gun because Paul was there to stop him.

I also find the mirror of this moment to later in Watcher World very fascinating.  We obviously know Pokey and Blinky are brothers, and I wonder if the set up leading Alice to point a gun at Bill in Watcher World is Blinky’s twisted humour, echoing what he knows happened in another timeline.  A horrible joke that would be lost on Bill and Alice in that timeline, but very recognisable to all of us Watchers.

Once again the Hive could have easily killed Paul, but they don’t.  They make a big song and dance (get it?) out of how the guns not good enough to kill him with and then they start singing at him just in time for the army to turn up.  The Hive had no intention of killing Paul yet, though obviously they can’t let him know that.  Paul has been chosen as their Hero.  He’s got work to do.

Hatchetfield High Homework

Just the one this week, I’m currently doing an Ask series where I attempt to make ridiculous sounding Hatchetfield Theories make sense.  You can find them by searching Ridiculous Hatchetfield Theories.  Go and have a look and follow the wonderful people sending them in.

When the rewatch returns, we get our first peep into the world of PEIP.

[troldrik]

ALRIGHT SO ME AND @xofie WAS GOING INTO A DEEP DIVE ON THE GUYS PINS IN THE LAST EPISODE, AND WE CAME TO A SOLUTION THAT WE THINK IS PRETTY SMART.

this post is gonna be long, sorry for that.

so, alex is wearing a cross pin, over where his heart is supossed to be.

reggie (altough it’s a very unclear picture) is wearing a rose pin, which you can see clearer when watching the actual episode, after they poof into calebs club the second time.

luke has what i think is a bird, i’m not too sure but we’re going with bird. it could also be an angel or a butterfly.

alex’s pin

so obviously a lot of people have linked alex’s parents’ homophobia to christianity. and that does make a lot of sense. the gold necklace alex wears through the whole show, could have been a past carrier of a cross too. after he came out, and his parents didn’t accept him, he removed the cross from the necklace, but kept the chain itself.

the reason he may keep the chain, could be because he’s still processing it all. he’s not ready to fully let go of his parents, so he keeps the chain. maybe he’s still confused about his own beliefs in god, because he was taught that being gay sends you to hell (although god is SUPPOSED to love and accept everyone, as long as they’re good people) (i’m not christian so i don’t feel like i can speak fully about that though) so alex struggles with the connection between his religion and sexuality.

the first time julie properly meets the boys, she sticks a cross through alex, where his heart was. and the cross is also where his heart is supposed to be.

the molinas are obviously religious too. they pray before eating, and they have crosses around the house. Tìa sends a little prayer when speaking about julies mom, Rose.

the Patterson’s are religious too, in ‘unsaid emily’ you can see crosses on their walls. (seen on the pictures)

luke’s pin

if we look at the pin as a bird. in ‘Now or Never’ they sing ‘we’ll still fly’ and ‘keep dreaming like we’ll live forever’ which could be a metaphor, since they DO die, but they live on as ghosts. therefore, they sorta ‘live forever’. they don’t cross over, they don’t get destroyed by calebs jolts, and they don’t join calebs club. they just... live on.

i’d say the same thing is said if it was a butterfly, since yk, butterflies fly too. but butterflies get reborn, going from caterpillars to the actual butterfly. that could be the guys going from alive humans (caterpillar) to ghosts (butterfly), so they live on in a different form.

now, if we look at the pin being an angel. the boys could be like guardian angels for julie, helping her through rough periods of her life, and making her feel safe.

reggie’s pin

i saved this one for the last, because this is the most interesting and important one i think.

so, when the boys arrive and play at calebs club, reggie is wearing a rose pin. when they play stand tall at the orpheum, it has been replaced with a dahlia pin. so what if the rose pin could have been Rose Molina? and if julie was the dahlia? during the show, dahlias have a rather important role, and are seen multiple times.

Rose sends julie signs through dahlias, her mom’s favorite flower. when julie was speaking to her mother before she played the orpheum, this lady came by and handed a dahlia to julie, which she took as a sign.

when reggie poofs into the scene during stand tall, he isn’t wearing the rose anymore. he’s now wearing a dahlia pin instead.

this could have been a sign that julie has moved on from her mother’s death (ofc she’s still grieving, it’s still her mother that she lost). when the rose left, Rose left too, and julie had moved on. she has the guys now, and she doesn’t need rose to look over her anymore.

so basically i think that reggie wearing a dahlia pin now, meant that julie had moved on and she didn’t need her mom as much, as she had the guys now.

[jeonqquk]

laundry | jjk [ep.4]

pairing: jeongguk x reader genre/tags: assistant!jeongguk, regionalmanager!reader, crack, fluff, shitty in general rating: 13+ word count: 2409 words

30 minutes after Jeongguk’s mouth inspection for a crown, you walk out of your office again, happy to see that everyone else is still silent and no drama has taken place. “Gguk can I talk to you for a second?” Said boy looks up from his desk, confusion evident on his face as you call him for the second time that day. Nevertheless, Jeongguk gets up and follows you into your small office, hands behind his back as he walks cautiously into the room he was never afraid to enter without your permission before. You don’t spare him a single glance after having requested him to come in with you and turn left before sitting at one of the chairs near the potted plant opposite your desk. Jeongguk sits diagonally to you on a chair against the glass. You sigh, getting ready to speak as Jeongguk looks at you with a curious gaze. Exhaling loudly, you smile at Jeongguk “Wow! This is tough.” You talk mainly to yourself and bend forwards, hands landing on your head in a gesture of irritation.

“What is?” you look at Jeongguk with wide eyes and throw your head back, hand massaging your forehead as you passionately act. “How do I tell you this?” Jeongguk doesn’t understand and just looks at your suffering state before he leans in closer, nodding encouragingly. Your breathing turns heavier before Jeongguk worriedly places a hand on your shoulder and you finally gather yourself. 

“I just got off the phone with Namjoon.” Jeongguk exhales sharply, hand falling from your shoulder as his mouth falls slightly open. His hands come up to rest on his thighs as his tongue darts out to wet his lips in a probably nervous action. His breathing visibly halts and you rub your hand on your face. 

“And….he demoted me.” Jeongguk sputters, eyes going wide as his face turns slightly angry- genuine or not, you didn’t care. “No.” he grits out and your eyebrows are raised, an indication that you were equally as pissed. “You know what the craziest part is?” Jeongguk gulps audibly and you continue, “He demoted me to your job and now, you’re apparently the regional manager.” 

Jeongguk tries his best to hide his glee, he really does, but it’s hard to fake a frown when he’s figuratively jumping on top of the desk. His eyes go wide and he throws his head back, blowing out as a sign of disturbing shock. He stares straight ahead and doesn’t look at you, in case he bursts out laughing. 

“He said that you should expect a call from corporate. So now you’re gonna be acting as regional manager.” you get up to hug him and he hesitantly does the same. “Wait, aren’t you angry about this, though?” You look at him with a bright smile, “No! This is so good for you. I should go back to sales anyways.” 

Jeongguk finally lets himself laugh freely, thanking you for the congratulations as you drag him out. “I’m the Assistant Regional Ma-” “Assistant to the Regional Manager.” he corrects and you clench your jaw, nodding forcedly. 

The office doesn't look very happy about it, “Hello everyone. I have some good and bad news. The bad news is- I’m going to be replaced by Jeongguk as your leader. And that is also the good news.” you hear the audible groans of people, Soojung getting up in annoyment “Why does he become the manager?”

Jeongguk is unfazed by everyone’s unenthusiasm and continues smiling and waving his hand like he’s some diva. “Because he was the second highest ranking position.” your answer is curt and Soojung storms off into the ladies room. Jeongguk walks back into the office with one final glance at all the disgruntled employees. You follow him.

Sitting on a chair, you watch as Jeongguk sits down at his (your) desk and bounces lightly on the swivelling chair, as if testing it’s cushioning. He nods to himself and you can only watch with angry eyes as he moves the things around. The rubber ball and mug that said ‘World's Best Boss’ going into a tray along with some papers.

When Jeongguk looks as if he’s finished, he sits at his chair and you get up, flashing him a fake smile, “Well, I guess it’s time for me to turn over the keys to the famous Sebring.” Jeongguk, who’s smiling at something on the desktop, doesn’t even bother looking at you “No, thank you.” He seems to have acquired a new sense of superiority, fake promotion that you were giving him stroking his already huge ego. 

“It’s a corporate lease, Gguk. You’ve earned it.” you’re getting annoyed by the second and his carefreeness does nothing  to calm you down. Still, you attempt at making a natural face when he says “No, thanks” again. 

“What?” you’re pretty sure that he’s thinking of himself as your boss now, obviously, but you never thought that he would reject your car like this. “Not my style.” You’re boiling form anger on the inside, trying to control all the rage bottling up inside of you. 

“But you said you liked it, you’ve always admired it and-” “That was before. I’m thinking of getting something German,” He leans back in his chair “something with a decent gas mileage.”

Your jaw drops in a mix of shock, anger and humiliation because never had you expected these words to come out of Jeongguk’s mouth so easily. “Plus, that convertible is a ridiculous choice for this climate.” He makes a disgusted face, and you’re practically seething at this point, and you’re able to feel the smoke coming out of your ears as you stare at the side of Jeongguk’s face who seems to be too invested in whatever the screen was showing. 

“Take it back” Jeongguk’s goofy smile is replaced by a confused one, “No.” Your jaw clenches, muscles contracting as you glare at Jeongguk, closing your eyes for a split second before opening them again, and you keep your hands on the edge of the desk in a vain attempt to calm yourself down. 

“What did you-” “That’s my car!” Jeongguk begins but you cut him off, all the manners your preschool teacher had taught you flying right out your head as your furious self screams at him, all the employees looking at the closed room at the sudden noise. 

“Yes,” Jeongguk beings uncertainly, but you lose your composure finally, spilling the truth that you knew about his secret meeting with Namjoon. “I know, Jeongguk. I know, I know.” You walk around the table, and Jeongguk turns his chair to see you coming closer to him. “Know what?” 

“Namjoon called me about your little meeting.” you can taste the venom in your words, the unadulterated poison that comes from your mouth even surprises you but you don’t stop. “I know what you did. You fucking backstabber.” 

Jeongguk’s aghast by your cruelty, standing up in fear and moving back, as far as he could get from you in this small office. He’s shaking from fright at this point, as your head throbs from the fact that all you could see right now was red. 

“I know what you did.” Jeongguk shakes his head, weakly trying to defend himself but his face gives it all away, his guilt-ridden face turning pale and lips quivering. “The Sebring’s cool-” He does all he can to save himself from your wrath. The sight must definitely not be too pleasant to witness as Jeongguk walks backwards until he’s in front of the desk and you’re in front of him, the view clear from the glass through which everyone was staring at you two openly. 

“I made the whole thing up.” your voice grows colder, scarier by the minute and Jeongguk notices this, his eyes glossy from fear that you would go hard on him. Jeongguk’s breathing gets heavier by the minute, yours too but it’s out of the rage in you that you probably look like a bull right now. 

“How dare you? How dare you, Jeongguk?” Frankly, this was not what you would have expected from such a hardworking and dedicated employee, but everyone’s inner demon came out at some point. Jeongguk kneels down in front of you, hands together as tears form in his eyes. In any other situation, you would've sympathised with him, upset that such a dear friend had to go through any kind of pain. 

Right now, though, you scream profanities at him, anger spilling out in the form of swears no one could think of as the rest of the office watches, some with pitiful faces for Jeongguk and others looking shit scared. “Don’t fire me. Please don-” Jeongguk is literally begging you, pants getting dirty from kneeling on the carpet and your vein pops as you shout, “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fire you right here on the spot.” You half-sit on the chair, eyes red as you stare Jeongguk down, his gaze pathetic and wavering. 

The scene must look terrible. But you don’t care, the solution to everything seems violence and the sight of Jeongguk just angers you even more. 

“I have excellent sales numbers!” he yells and you roar back, “Not good enough!” Jeongguk looks pathetic, a mess at your feet and you swipe your hair back roughly, face probably cherry red. Everyone else is staring at the scene, glancing sideways at each other in pity. 

In the corner, Yunha sits, unable to look at the scene because she knows exactly what’s going on, and regrets ever putting the idea of Jeongguk becoming regional manager in his head. Her eyes well with tears and she rushes out, her exit so discrete that not one person notices her. 

Jeongguk covers his face with his trembling hands, sobbing loudly as you try to gain your calm demeanour back. He pulls at his hair, bending down and going into a praying position at your feet. “Please! I’ll do your laundry for a month- for a year.” He tries bargaining as you stand fuming, “I have a laundry machine.”

“Y/n. I’m sorry. Anything.” Jeongguk is bawling his eyes out, face on the carpet as he watches his entire career fall into pieces in front of him. He looks heart-breaking and you feel bad only for a second before replacing the sympathy with rage once more, “Please? Please?” he pleas and you shake your head, struggling not to burst into tears yourself. Why. You don’t know.

“I don’t know if I can trust you anymore.” His head is still on the carpet and normally, you would’ve told him to get up from such a vulnerable position but you’re not even looking at him now, as the annoyance takes over your entire being. 

“You can’t, you ca-can’t.” the way his voice breaks has you biting your lip in hopes of not breaking down right then and there. What he did was unacceptable, yes. But everyone made mistakes, some graver than the others and you find yourself asking yourself why Jeongguk couldn’t be given a second chance. Tonguing your cheek, you look around and glance at the other employees who are all sat with sad faces. 

“But I promise I’ll never betray you again. Ever. What can I do? What can I do, Y/n?” he hiccups and you stand still, trying to collect all your thoughts as you take in a deep, deep breath. Even the emotionless Soojung watches with pitiful eyes as Jeongguk tries to get out of being fired. 

You exhale deeply and Jeongguk, whose back probably starts paining from bending so much, raises his hips, going into a mountain position with his head still in between his arms. It takes him a while, all the crying having made him weak. Jungwoo, the ever so caring worker also watches with a judging gaze as Jeongguk shifts around, not looking up once. His ass raises and falls many times as he tries to find a comfortable position while still trying to look regretful. 

“You can get up.” You roll your eyes and speak without looking at him, “What?” Jeongguk still doesn’t look up in case he heard you wrong. You blink in annoyance and speak again louder this time and hopefully clearer because all the shouting previously had most definitely been good for your throat. 

“Get up,” Jeongguk raises his head slightly from the floor first and then picks himself up with his muscly arms. You catch a peek at his purple underwear but quickly divert your gaze, making a face after. Jeongguk stands up to his full height and if it weren’t for the slight saliva pooling at the corners of his mouth, you would’ve wanted to slap him. He looks, to an extent, funny and you swallow a giggle, surprised at how quickly your anger had vanished after thinking rationally about the situation. 

“And you can hug it out, bitch.”

You open your arms in the slightest and Jeongguk notices this, face turning from upset to happy in a matter of seconds. He wipes his tears with the sleeve of his blazer and you try smiling at him, a gesture he returns with the same amount of enthusiasm. 

Jeongguk shuts his eyes for a fraction of a second, nodding to himself in appreciation and abruptly pulls you into one of the most bone-crushing hugs you’ve ever been suffocated in. And that was saying something- your arm once went limp when Daehwi hugged you after a week of him being in Philadelphia. 

Jeongguk shuts his eyes, his hot breath fanning your neck and you try not to think much about it, or show any reaction to it and try to wrap your arms around his bulky form in return. “Thank you so much, Y/n.” He mumbles into your hair and a shiver runs down your spine as you clench your hands. His arms around your waist are unmoving and tight, and he only withdraws them when you start to feel your waist paining from his ironclad grip and tap his arms. 

He moves back and you send him another smile, more natural this time and he giggles back in return, but you're still not completely over it yet. You have two more things for Jeongguk to do before completely forgiving him and you know that as humiliating one of them will be, you won’t fully forgive him until he agrees.

previous

thanks for reading! this is probably the longest laundry chap so send in feedback and your thoughts about this chapter!

[crygimethydgoode]

Lover’s Fantasia Chapter 1 (Crystal Methyd x Gigi Goode RPDR12) Cruel Summer

no rules in breakable heaven 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32286397/chapters/80027176

June 28th, 2021

Amsterdam

It was a fresh start. And it was exactly what Gigi needed after finally starting to feel like herself, finally seeing the sun without her smile. It was a new city bustling with new people and new experiences. It was perfect timing too. Soon after Biden was sworn into office, vaccines were being rolled out. By spring Gigi was fully vaccinated, she could finally go out with her friends and feel the sun beating down on her skin. Her best friend had just won Drag Race, and in late May they celebrated with a trip to Mexico. Gigi was performing again, living again. She breathed in the fresh air that was once masked with a piece of cloth. Everything was finally going back to normal.

Well, almost everything.

Because some days Gigi still went to Venice Beach to sit alone for a moment, allowing herself to bask in the almost nostalgic feeling. Allowing herself to feel that ache in her chest she had fought so hard to push down the past year. But she knew that feeling wouldn’t last, so she’d leave, telling herself it was for the best. Then the sun blinded Gigi through her curtains early one morning when she got a call from Jaida Essence Hall and Michelle Visage offering her a gig for the summer in Amsterdam. And Gigi couldn’t help but hope. It was Hunter who ultimately convinced her to go.

“It’ll be good for you,” he said. “It’s new. It’s nothing she’s… touched.” And Hunter was right, so that night they booked a ticket to Amsterdam. Gigi was excited, she really was. What could be better than spending nearly three months with Jaida and Michelle while they prepared for the iconic Amsterdam Pride? It was the perfect opportunity.

So why did Gigi’s chest ache as she made her way through customs? She decided to ignore it, which was something she had gotten used to doing. The Schiphol airport was much different than LAX. It didn’t have the same white interior and harsh lights that always caught Gigi in her worst moments, no, this airport was different. It was modern, but not artificial. With plenty of art, places to sit, and excitement. It was enough to make her nerves settle.

Gigi’s eyes scanned the horizon through the large windows, and if she squinted she swore she could see Amsterdam, her home for the next few months. She saw The Man in the Clock and quickly took a picture, captioning it “surprise!” before sending it to her story. She decided to keep Amsterdam a secret from the fans, mostly because she couldn’t promise that when the day came, she would be able to get on the plane.

“Don’t be dumb,” Symone said to Gigi as they walked into the airport, Hunter trailing behind. “This is a good thing, Gigi, you’re gonna realize it as soon as that plane takes off.”

So Gigi boarded the plane, not wanting the last time she saw Symone for a while to end in a fight. And she made it to Amsterdam, but now she wasn’t exactly sure what to do from here. She decided going to baggage claim would probably be a good start.

As Gigi walked to the baggage claim, she decided that Symone was right, and this really was the best thing for her. It had to be. She stood waiting for her suitcase when a flash of color caught her eye. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach, hoping her eyes were just playing tricks on her. It wouldn’t be the first time. Sometimes she’d see a head of curls on the street and her heart would skip a beat, and the sensible part of Gigi’s mind would remind her that they were worlds away.

Gigi assumed it was just her wishful thinking and continued to look for her suitcase and waited for the tightness in her chest to go away. But then the flash of color Gigi had seen came into full view. A hot pink suitcase covered in various stickers with a leopard print scarf tied around the handle. Suddenly her heart shot up from the bottom of her stomach into her throat. Gigi blinked a few times, trying to wake herself up from this nightmare. ‘It couldn’t be,’ Gigi thought. ‘There’s no fucking way.’

“Excuse me, pardon me,” a small nasally voice said. ‘No. Nope. This can’t be happening. This cannot be happening. Fuck this. It’s not her, it couldn’t be.’

“Excuse me, thank you- Gigi?”

Fuck. Gigi took a deep breath and grabbed the pink suitcase, as well as her own. She turned around.

“Hi,” Gigi said.

“Hello?”

Summer 2019

Drag Race

Gigi paced around her hotel room, deep in thought. It was her first day off after the first challenge. Gigi had been stuck in her room all day, just expected to sit around and do nothing. Just expected to ignore the longing in her chest for her friends back home. Hunter, Symone, Rosy, Marko, who were just a short car ride away, technically. But Gigi was locked in her hotel room, being told to enjoy some time off. In solitary confinement. What a way to celebrate the fact she had just nearly won her first challenge of Drag Race, placing in the top two of the very first challenge. Gigi was on cloud nine, relieved that she made a good first impression.

And that the judges liked all the helmets.  

But Gigi was so lonely, all she could do was lay in bed and watch weird daytime television. She tried to watch the shitty soap operas but they were just so boring and corny, she couldn’t stomach them. She didn’t have anything to work on, anything to read, nothing. She even attempted to work out, jogging around the tiny hotel room. That lasted for thirty seconds.

Gigi knew the obvious solution. One of the first things she had noticed in her hotel room was the conjoined door, which led right into Crystal’s room. Crystal Methyd. Probably the weirdest person Gigi had ever met. Not just because of her crazy bright drag, clown makeup, and outrageous but perfect amount of jewelry. No, she was shocked by how drawn she was to Crystal. She really was unlike anyone Gigi had ever met.

When Jackie asked Crystal if she was a fashion queen or a comedy queen, and Crystal just responded with “Fashion queen, comedy queen, I’m a TALENTED queen,” Gigi was completely fascinated by her. And then she actually got to talk to Crystal and get to know her a little bit, and Gigi knew in a heartbeat that Crystal was special. She was bright, sociable, and funny. But also really quiet, drawn into herself. Gigi couldn’t quite decide what it was, but Crystal had something the other girls didn’t. She needed to be her friend. So Gigi came up with a game plan.

She obviously couldn’t just knock and say she was bored like a loser. What if Crystal didn’t want to be bothered? What if Crystal hated her already? No. Gigi had a feeling Crystal just wasn’t that kind of person. Maybe she could ask to borrow sewing supplies, saying that she wanted to polish up one of her runway looks. And then she would just... charm Crystal into having a conversation with her? That could work. It’s not like Gigi had many options.

So she walked to the door that went into Crystal’s room. “Go before you’re ready bitch,” Gigi said to herself. She took a deep breath, raised her fist to the door, and before her screaming mind and pounding heart could stop her, she knocked. She could hear rustling coming from Crystal’s room, probably her crawling out of bed.

‘Do you have a big sewing needle? Do you have a big sewing needle? Do you have a big sewing needle?’ Gigi said over and over in her head. And then, before she was ready, the door swung open, and there she was. Crystal Methyd. Gigi’s breath caught in her throat and she prayed Crystal didn’t notice.

Crystal’s mullet had been put into two messy space buns on top of her head, little tendrils of curls framing her face. Gigi could tell that Crystal had hastily shoved her glasses on; they were lopsided, slowly slipping off her nose. There was only one word to describe the person who was standing in front of Gigi, being engulfed in an oversized One Direction concert T-shirt. Adorable. Her game plan flew out the window, and she was left there, speechless, looking like an idiot. What did she want again?

“Hi,” Gigi blurted lamely. Crystal’s face split into a grin, and Gigi could tell she was trying not to laugh.

“Hello?” Crystal asked in her sweet voice. Maybe it was her soft appearance. Maybe it was the fact that Gigi was too bored to care. Or maybe it was Crystal’s kind smile and bright eyes that made Gigi immediately relax. This was just Crystal. The same dork who had a One Direction tattoo on their chest in Arabic. She’s just... Crystal.

“I’m so fucking bored,” Gigi sighed, letting herself smile.

“Oh my GOD, me too! I thought about knocking on your door but I didn’t wanna bother you. Do you wanna come in?” Crystal offered, stepping to the side. Oh. That’s it? That’s all it took?

“Yeah,” Gigi grinned and stepped into Crystal’s room. Gigi’s heart was still pounding, her stomach still felt like it was in her throat. And there was Crystal, already climbing back into the bed, beckoning Gigi to join her. It felt like… it felt like Gigi was truly seeing Crystal for the first time. And her heart was still pounding. It felt good.

Amsterdam

Gigi had imagined what it would be like to see Crystal again for the first time, she had thought of scenario after scenario. Maybe she would enter the Werkroom for All Stars and there Crystal would be standing, a bright grin on her face. Or maybe one day they would be randomly booked for the same gig and they’d bump into each other backstage. Gigi also had wondered what it would feel like to see her again. She expected it to feel like a punch in the gut, or maybe like she was drowning, gasping for air while trying to find the right words to say. But as Gigi stood in the middle of the Schipol Airport looking into Crystal’s brown eyes, the only thing she found crashing over herself was a wave of relief. Crystal was still... Crystal. For some reason, Gigi assumed Crystal would be different, or maybe Gigi assumed she would feel different. But she stood there and felt as the familiar fire began to burn in her chest.

“What are you doing here?” Crystal asked, a slur of emotions ridden on her face.

“I-”

“Oh good, you found each other!” Jaida’s voice called out. Gigi and Crystal’s heads both whipped to see Jaida and Michelle Visage.

“Welcome to Amsterdam bitches, it’s about to be the best summer ever!!!” Michelle ran to them, giving them each a hug, Jaida following suit. Gigi felt like she had just been slapped in the face, but she put on the best grin she could, and Crystal did the same.

“Look at us, top three reunited! I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since Drive n’ Drag,” Gigi’s breath hitched in the back of her throat and she hoped no one noticed.

“Totally,” Crystal said, voice falling flat.

“So excited.” Gigi managed a smile. Jaida cocked an eyebrow.

“You two okay?” Michelle asked. Gigi was anything but okay.

“Yeah. I just got to go to the bathroom before we leave,” Gigi said. She heard Jaida and Michelle questioning Crystal as she walked away.

“She’s probably just jet-lagged,” Crystal shrugged. Gigi walked faster. She rushed to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

“Fuck,” Gigi exhaled, fumbling for her phone, not exactly sure why. Who would she even call? If Gigi told Hunter now, the rest of the day her phone would be blowing up with messages. Besides, it was around 6 AM in LA, Hunter wouldn’t even be awake for another few hours or so. Gigi decided to just splash some water on her face, hoping she didn’t worry Jaida and Michelle too much by running off.

And Crystal.

God, what could Crystal be thinking right now? Gigi took a deep breath and stared at herself in the mirror. “You got this.” And with that, she walked out of the bathroom, head held high.

“Y’all ready?” Jaida asked.

“Ready,” Gigi nodded. With a loud whoop, Michelle and Jaida started towards the exit of the airport, Crystal and Gigi trailing slightly behind. After a short walk through the parking lot, they arrived at Jaida’s rental car. Gigi put her suitcase in the trunk and tried to ignore Crystal, who was clearly watching her. Jaida was driving, Michelle had taken shotgun, which meant Gigi and Crystal would be sitting in the backseat together. Great.

Crystal and Gigi sat in their respective seats. They didn’t lean in and talk to each other, they didn’t slowly find themselves inching closer and closer until their shoulders were pressed together, they both just busied themselves by looking out the window at the flatland that seemed to go on forever. Luckily, the drive was only about twenty minutes into the city. They made some light conversation, but it was clear that Crystal and Gigi couldn’t match Jaida’s and Michelle’s energy.

“Oh! There’s this long-ass tunnel coming up. No, Michelle, I’m not talking about your throat,” Jaida said. Gigi tried to see Crystal out of the corner of her eye. She had a worried expression on her face. ‘It’s not my problem,’ Gigi thought to herself. ‘ It’s not my job to make sure she’s okay.’

Gigi knew that. But that didn’t stop the sick feeling rising in her stomach as the tunnel appeared in the distance. She bit the inside of her cheek, Crystal shifted uncomfortably in her seat as they entered the tunnel. “Weee fuckers!” Jaida cackled. Crystal forced an uncomfortable laugh.

“Can we put on some music?” Gigi folded. Crystal visibly relaxed.

“I thought you would never ask!” Michelle said, handing back the aux cord. “Who wants it?”

“Crystal, you want it?” Gigi said, trying to sound as neutral as possible. Crystal just nodded, plugging her phone in quickly. Before they knew it, the car came out the other side of the tunnel, being filled with sunlight once again.

“Oooh, ladies we are getting close! I’m so excited for you guys to see Amsterdam. You’re gonna love it here,” Michelle said after a few more minutes of driving.

“Wait, how close? Because I have something very important I need to do,” Crystal laughed. God, Gigi missed Crystal’s laugh. She had almost forgotten the way it could fill and brighten the room.

“Well this is our exit, so do what you need to do, girl,” Jaida said, taking the exit. Gigi waited, wondering what Crystal could possibly have planned. Suddenly, in the distance, the tops of roofs appeared as the busy highway turned into a bustling street full of cyclists cutting through the road, causing Jaida to scream. The buildings changed from modern, glass exteriors to faded brick masonry.

Citizens and tourists alike walked the cobblestone streets freely, other people driving didn’t blink an eye at the cyclists who truly ruled the streets. Everyone was going at their own speed, each person had their own tempo they went to. It was refreshing, seeing everyone just doing. Gigi was almost emotional, this was still her fresh start despite… everything. She could actually see herself calling this place home.

Just then, she heard it. “Boom, Clap” by Charli XCX started playing out of the car's speakers, and Crystal was wearing a shit-eating grin. Gigi tried desperately to force back her smile, but couldn’t. They turned down road after road, slowly finding their way into the heart of the city. It was fucking gorgeous, it almost felt like they had gone back in time as the vintage buildings captivated them completely. Gigi felt the excitement rise up in her chest, she couldn’t stop grinning. She stole a look at Crystal, who to her surprise, was looking back. A feeling rose within Gigi, hope, maybe. And then Jaida slammed on her breaks, causing everyone to lurch forward in their seats.

“DAMN IT’S LIKE THE VANS ALL OVER AGAIN!”

Drag Race

Once all the queens had gotten out of drag, they were escorted to the vans, which brought them back to the hotel. Gigi soon found that one of her favorite parts of being on Drag Race was oddly the van rides to and from the studio. It was about a fifteen minute drive in the mornings, but a 45 minute drive when they had to go through heavy L.A. traffic. But Gigi enjoyed it. She liked sitting with Crystal, just shooting the shit. Sometimes all the girls would make up stupid road games to pass the time, which annoyed the hell out of the driver.

But most of the time, Crystal and Gigi were off in their own little world, foreheads nearly pressed together, hushed whispers about whatever stupid random thing they were talking about, two giggling messes. But things were different tonight. The challenge was Snatch Game, and Gigi was going through a whirlwind of emotions. She had just WON Snatch Game, which was totally unexpected but meant everything.

But she had also gotten into her first “TV fight” and it wasn’t as glamorous as she had expected. If anything, she just felt like shit for coming after Heidi’s makeup out of nowhere. Yes, she looked cracked, but Gigi wished she had just kept her mouth shut.

BUT SHE HAD JUST WON SNATCH GAME.

‘I’m not just a fashion queen anymore, bitches,’ Gigi thought gleefully. And then her attention turned to the queen who was walking to the vans slower than usual, head cast down. The night had been so hectic, Gigi had only been able to talk to Crystal a couple of times since the runway. Poor Crystal. If Gigi had a bad night, it was nothing compared to hers. Crystal’s Snatch Game didn’t go so well. At all. It was shit.

No one but Gigi had really understood it. While Crystal’s Poppy was accurate, the judges didn’t find it funny. Gigi thought it was amusing. Entertaining? Well,  at least her performance wasn’t as bad as Aiden’s or Britta’s.

The queens climbed into the vans, all going to their unassigned assigned seats. Gigi, Crystal, and Jackie sat in the way back, Crystal in the middle. Gigi couldn’t help but smile as Crystal slid in next to her, shoulders knocking together.

“Hey,” Gigi whispered, tilting her head to look at Crystal. She just gave Gigi a sad smile, resting her head on her shoulder. Gigi’s stomach immediately dipped, her whole body on fire. ‘Is my heart really beating that fast?’ she thought, feeling the pounding against her chest. She prayed Crystal didn’t notice. If she did, she gave nothing away. She just nuzzled her head closer to Gigi’s neck, letting out a sigh. Gigi could practically feel Jackie smirking at them, but couldn’t be bothered to care. She loved these van rides for a reason.  But they couldn’t know that. So Gigi just gave a soft chuckle and leaned into Crystal. “You good?” She whispered. Crystal gave a small nod.

“‘M just tired,” Crystal murmured. The vans took off, and they were immediately stuck in L.A. traffic. Within five minutes Crystal was fast asleep. Gigi allowed herself to relax for a moment, just thinking about the person that was practically sleeping on top of her. Things with Crystal were... interesting. It was weird how fast they clicked. The minute Gigi had built up the nerve to knock on Crystal’s door, they had become nearly inseparable. Of course they were close with the other queens, but Crystal and Gigi had each other on lock, painting next to each other, working on their challenges together, riding in the vans together, always.

And nearly every night since had been spent in each other's hotel rooms; practicing the lip syncs, sewing costume pieces together in silence, or just talking about everything and nothing. They were just there for each other. Within the span of two weeks, Crystal had become one of Gigi’s favorite people in the world. Gigi couldn’t help but wonder if the feeling was mutual.

Suddenly the van hit a huge bump, causing everyone’s heads to smack the ceiling.

“Did you hit a fuckin dog?!” Gigi heard Jaida ask the van driver. With a soft laugh, Gigi turned her head to see Crystal was awake now, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“We hit a dog?” she whispered, still half asleep. Gigi chuckled and shook her head.

“No, it was just a bump,” she replied. Crystal let out a breath, laying her head on Gigi’s shoulder again.

“Your snatch game was so good,” Crystal muttered dreamily. Gigi could feel her face beginning to heat up, but tried to keep her cool.

She’s just Crystal. Just Crystal.

She’s just... Crystal.

“Thank you,” Gigi replied softly. She wasn't sure why, but something gave her the nerve to reach for Crystal’s hand, giving it a light squeeze. Crystal laced their fingers together and didn’t let go.

“I’m just so happy for you. You’re killing it, Geege. You’re gonna go all the way,”

“Yeah well, I’m not going anywhere without you. So you better do good next week. I need you,” the words came out of Gigi’s mouth before she could even think to stop herself. Crystal raised her head, turning to look straight into Gigi’s eyes.

“You will not see me in the bottom again,” Crystal said, a determined look on her face. And Gigi believed her.

“I know.”

The vans pulled up to the hotel, and everyone was escorted to their rooms. Crystal and Gigi said a quick “goodnight” in the hallway in front of the producers and went into their respective rooms. And then Gigi heard it. Her knock. Gigi opened her conjoined door and there Crystal was, looking like she was holding back a shit-eating grin.

“Was my Snatch Game really that bad?”

“Crystal...” Gigi trailed off. And they both burst into laughter. And it was nice.

Amsterdam

It was nice to laugh with Crystal again, nice to feel carefree and happy with her again, driving through the streets of Amsterdam as Jaida and Michelle pointed out a few of the clubs.

“You bitches aren’t ready to see your apartments! We’re all in the same building, Jaida and I are a floor below you,” Michelle said excitedly, turning back in her seat as Jaida turned down a narrow road.

“Y’all are on the top floor. Michelle and I didn’t wanna go up all those stairs. Sorry bitches!” Jaida cackled unapologetically. So not only did Gigi have to spend two months in Amsterdam with Crystal, she also had to live right next to her.

‘This is fine. Amsterdam is still my fresh start. This is fine. I will be alright,’ Gigi repeated over and over in her head until Jaida parked on the side of a busy street, her car parallel with one of the many canals in Amsterdam.“See that coffeeshop?'' Jaida pointed at a tall building across the street that was much wider than the other ones. There was a coffeeshop on the bottom floor, the storefront painted bright turquoise. All along the windows were tiny versions of all the different pride flags waving in the wind.

Looking through the windows Gigi could see walls covered in art as people sat in booths, passing joints around with dazy grins on their faces. And Gigi couldn’t help but grin too. “We’re living right above it! Pretty good gig, right?! Me and my girl Michelle tiptoe down the stairs every night, we smoke a little, laugh a little, and stumble up into our beds. You two are gonna love it, I know,” Jaida explained as everyone helped unload Crystal and Gigi’s suitcases. Gigi could tell Crystal wasn’t paying attention, looking around the city in wonder.

Jaida and Michelle started to cross the street towards the apartments, but Crystal was still standing in the same spot, watching the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam.

“Crystal,” Gigi called, not wanting to cross the street without her. Crystal’s head snapped in Gigi’s direction, and she immediately ran towards her, suitcase in trail.

“Sorry. Thanks. It’s just all so...” Crystal trailed off as they followed Michelle and Jaida into the apartment building.

“I know,” Gigi muttered, giving Crystal a tight smile.

“Right,” Crystal said, her voice barely above a whisper. They walked up a narrow stairway behind Jaida and Michelle. After climbing four long flights of stairs, they finally stopped. The four stood on a small landing, barely fitting. There were two doors across from each other, the one on the left labeled 28, the one on the right 27. “I want 28!” Crystal blurted, eyes wild. Gigi had to hold back a laugh.

“That was your apartment anyway, dipshit. Michelle, if you wanna give Crystal a tour of her apartment, I can show Gigi around hers,” Jaida said, and pulled Gigi into her apartment. She looked around at the narrow but long room. Immediately to the left, there was a door that led to the bathroom. Gigi stood in front of the door, looking at the small kitchenette before her, knowing she would never use it. But there was a small table with four chairs that Gigi immediately knew she would use to organize all of her drag stuff. To the right, there was a huge bed with fluffy white pillows and a matching comforter. And right next to the bed was a door that led outside.

“THAT’S RIGHT BITCH YOU GOT A BALCONY!!!” Jaida exclaimed as she dragged Gigi outside. She was immediately blown away by the sight. The balcony overlooked a small canal, jutting over the water. There was no road, just another set of apartments on the other side. But to her right, Gigi could still see the main street where Jaida’s car was parked, tourists and dutch folk alike going in and out of the small shops and restaurants. “And you get to share the balcony with Crystal! You two will have fun out here,” Jaida winked at her. Gigi saw another door right next to hers, which she guessed led to Crystal’s apartment. Conjoined balconies. Cute.

Jaida walked back inside, leaving Gigi no time to dwell on it as she went in after her. “Anyways, not much of a tour, there’s not much to see, but I just wanted to help you get all settled in! At like, 7, I thought we could get dinner? Go explore the city a little?” Jaida stood at the door, a glint in her eye. She knew.

“Yeah. That’s great,” Gigi replied easily. Jaida opened the door, and Gigi couldn’t help but stop her. “You left out some key details when you invited me here, Jaida. I didn’t know Crystal would be... joining us,” She tried to sound as casual and pleasant as possible, but she gave Jaida a pointed stare.

“Oops must’ve slipped my mind!  SORRYBYE,” Jaida winked and practically ran out of the apartment. And Gigi was alone.

“Fuck,” she said out loud. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!” Gigi collapsed onto her bed and immediately took out her phone to FaceTime Hunter. “I don’t care if you’re sleeping, bitch, pick up,” She whispered, waiting to see Hunter’s face. He finally answered, still in bed. Gigi could see Marko’s sleeping body next to him.

“Geege it’s so fucking early whaaaaat,” Hunter groaned. ‘Oh just you wait bitch,’ Gigi thought. No matter how miserable she was, she couldn’t wait to see Hunter’s face when he found out.

“Guess who’s joining me, Michelle, and Jaida in Amsterdam?” Gigi said in a false cheery voice. Hunter just looked at her for a moment, and she could see the realization slowly dawn on his face.

“No.”

“Hunter...” She said, feeling the familiar tightening in her throat.

“No,” Hunter said again, and Gigi was surprised to see tears in his eyes. Fuck.

“Yeah,” Gigi said lamely, now trying to fight back her own tears. She had almost forgotten just how shitty her situation was. Almost.

“Gigi...” Hunter whispered, hand clasped over his mouth.

“Hunter...” Gigi’s voice cracked, and fuck she was crying again.

“A whole year of progress, of you finally... finally being your old self again. It’s all-all gone. And those assholes didn’t even tell you?!” Hunter was pissed now, getting out of bed and pacing around the darkroom.

“No, but it’s okay! I’m still me. This is still my fresh start, I can do this. She doesn’t matter,” Gigi said fiercely. And she wanted to believe herself so badly. But Hunter didn’t look convinced. And she wasn’t either.

“Gigi... what are you gonna do?” Hunter asked, still shell shocked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I guess just... keep my distance? I don’t know, Hunter,” Her voice cracked.

“Hasn’t the universe put you through enough?” Hunter implored, desperately trying not to break. Gigi had also forgotten how hard everything had been on him. How he was left to pick up her broken pieces.

“I guess not,” She answered lamely. She just looked at Hunter for a moment and watched as he took a deep breath, collecting himself. And then he went into momager mode.  

“Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do. You are not going to be alone with Crystal. Ever. You have worked on yourself way too much to throw it all away for her. Okay? If you feel like you’re gonna do something stupid, call me. I don’t care if I’m sleeping, I don’t care if I’m at a rager. I don’t give a shit- Fucking call me. You can’t do this again Gigi. We can’t do this again,” Hunter ordered Gigi, giving her no room to object. And she easily agreed, even though a small, secret part of her didn’t want to. Not long after Hunter hung up, going back to bed. As Gigi stared at the ceiling, she knew she was utterly fucked. After all, when had Gigi ever actually listened to Hunter?

Drag Race

When Gigi heard a knock on her door, she wasn't exactly surprised. Crystal had been coming to visit every night since the Political challenge. And every night Gigi dreamed in screaming colors. At first, she tried to blame it on the excitement of being on Drag Race, but Gigi knew she was just lying to herself. She opened the door and of course, Crystal was there. Her mullet was pulled up into a top knot with a scrunchie, a mischievous grin had taken over her face, one hand behind her back. Needless to say, Gigi was ready to say yes to whatever Crystal had in store.

“What’s behind your back?” Gigi cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, I told you I was saving a joint for my first win...” Crystal sang, revealing a joint and lighter in hand.

“Oh my fucking god,” Gigi laughed, a rush of excitement crashing over her.

“I figured if we turn on the steam-fan-thingy in the bathroom and smoke in there everything would be fine, right?” Crystal asked. It was a bad plan. Definitely a bad plan that could get them both in trouble. But Gigi couldn’t be bothered to care.

“I’m in,” She grinned.

“Okay, we have to go to the vending machine first though,” Crystal said, and then “I already begged the producers to let us go together, be thankful it’s Annie and Noelle babysitting tonight.”

They walked down the long hallway, visibly excited. Gigi leaned against the side of the vending machine, peering at Crystal through the glass as she punched in item after item.

“Are you a peanut butter gal? I kinda am. It’s not my first choice but also not my last choice, you know? God, I wish they had Swedish fish...” Crystal kept on rambling about candy, but Gigi couldn’t hear over the pounding in her chest. The artificial light shone in Crystal’s face, and Gigi had to force back her smile. As she got lost in Crystal, Gigi couldn’t help but feel as if she was breaking out loud, the way she never did. “That should cover it,” Crystal said, arms full of snacks. The smile Gigi was forcing down shone through. “What?” Crystal asked, looking shy. Gigi smiled.

“Nothing. Come on, let me help,” she said, taking some of the snacks. They went back into their respective hotel rooms before Gigi entered Crystal’s room through the conjoined door. Crystal turned on the fan, it was a little annoying, a little loud, but didn’t matter at all to Gigi. Crystal threw all the snacks in the tub, and Gigi saw the lightbulb in Crystal’s head.

“I just had the best idea-”

“One step ahead of you,” Gigi laughed lightly, already going to sit in the bathtub. Somehow, their legs ended up in a tangled mess, but neither of them moved. Gigi grabbed the joint and cleared her throat. “This joint is being smoked tonight to honor the one and only Crystal Methyd’s first win!” Gigi said. Crystal cheered for herself. “I will now do the honorary lighting. Miss Methyd, if you would.” Crystal held the joint between her lips. Gigi had to hold her breath as the flame reached the joint. Crystal inhaled deeply then exhaled through a grin.

“Finally!” Crystal laughed, passing the joint to Gigi. She took a hit, sending all the smoke into her lungs then back out. They passed the joint back and forth a few more times until Gigi could feel the familiar buzzing in her chest and the tingling set underneath her eyes. She found herself giggling as she watched Crystal take another hit, coughing as she exhaled.

“Okay!” Crystal coughed. “First impressions of each other, go!” Gigi took a second to think. She had replayed the first time she met Crystal in her head over and over, but it was hard to put what she felt into words.

“Uhm... I remember you walked into the werkroom, and I thought ‘What is this thing-’” Gigi started. Crystal immediately started laughing, shifting to face Gigi. “And then you introduced yourself, and you talked about your One Direction tattoo, and I... I don’t know, I feel like I immediately could just be me around you. You were just... I don’t know. Yeah,” Gigi finished. Crystal passed her the joint.

“I thought you looked like Kelly Mantle at first. And I absolutely thought that you were going to hate me,” Crystal laughed. Gigi’s jaw dropped.

“Crystal-”

“I’m sorry.”

“You thought I looked like Kelly-“

“It was the hair-”

“-Mantle? Bacon dress girl?”

“Only for a second! And she’s a VERY talented Drag Queen!”

“Why would you think I’d hate you?”

“Because you were like... pretty. Not pretty, you were stunning. And stunning people sometimes don’t like me or don’t understand my drag. I don’t know, I just thought you’d hate me. People do,” she shrugged. Gigi didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know. You just made me... nervous? Then I heard you knock on my door on our first day off, and I got so excited because I just really wanted you to like me,” Crystal giggled, but there was weight behind the words.

“Crystal Elizabeth Methyd, there is no world where I could ever hate you,” Gigi said. Crystal looked at her differently for a second.

“Did you just call me Crystal Elizabeth Methyd?” Crystal chuckled. Gigi didn’t even realize she had called her that.

“Yeah...?” she said. Crystal just burst out laughing.

“I love that! That’s my name now. Crystal ELIZABETH Methyd. I sound fancy!” Crystal giggled.

When Gigi got the call saying she made it on Drag Race, this was the last thing she thought would happen. She didn’t think she’d find herself opening up one stitch at a time to Crystal. Yet as the smokescreen faded in and out of view, legs tangled, something screamed from within her. Crystal took a hit, then exhaled the smoke onto a piece of chocolate.

“Gigi, look! I made you an edible!” she laughed. Something screamed from within Gigi, and it screamed “This is exactly where you should be.” They finished the joint and ate all the snacks while swapping stories and laughs back and forth. Gigi learned a lot about Crystal, she learned about Get Dusted and all the work Crystal did for the drag community in Springfield with her friends. Gigi couldn’t wait to meet all of them. She also learned about Crystal’s fear of tunnels.

“Like, there’s cars above you, and you’re just stuck and I get all claustrophobic… it’s just not good,” Crystal explained. Gigi loved learning about Crystal, she loved watching her eyes light up as she praised her friends back home, about everything she accomplished with the Get Dusted girls. And Gigi loved as Crystal listened to her long-winded life story that she had definitely already told her before. But Crystal paid close attention, gasping in all the right places, listening intently. Hours had passed without either of them realizing it.

“Shit. It’s probably three by now,” Gigi groaned, rubbing her tired eyes. Crystal sighed.

“This is my least favorite part of the night,” she said. Gigi cocked an eyebrow. “Saying goodbye.” And again, Gigi saw a light bulb appear in Crystal’s brain. “You could stay the night!”

So Gigi crawled into bed with Crystal and tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She dreamed of Crystal in the glow of neon signs, her hair, her glasses, her hands, her. When Gigi woke up, the silence of morning couldn’t be louder.

Amsterdam

At some point, Gigi found the motivation to get out of bed and stop moping, worrying about how she was going to avoid Crystal all summer. But Hunter was right. She could do this. Why would she ever be alone with Crystal anyways? All she had to do was lock herself in her apartment. Never go out on the balcony. Always make sure she was with Michelle or Jaida. Gigi could do it. And if she ever felt like she couldn’t, she would just FaceTime Hunter. She could do it easily.

But still. A small part of her didn’t want to.

Gigi shoved that intrusive thought down real fast and got changed for dinner. At 6:45 Jaida and Michelle came knocking on her door, and soon the group of four was off to dinner. Gigi had no idea where Jaida and Michelle had taken them. All she knew was that the booth was way too cramped, her arm nearly brushing Crystal’s. She thought this would be the worst part of dinner. But really it was Jaida and Michelle’s lame attempts at small talk.

“So. Crystal,” Jaida began, looking at her expectedly. “Why did I hear a little rumor that Widow is babysitting your cat?”

“Um... because she is,” Crystal giggled awkwardly. And then they were right back to that awkward silence. They soon finished up their meal, and Gigi didn’t look at Crystal the rest of the night,  knowing she couldn’t. Knowing it would unlock something too strong. Something she couldn’t just push down and forget. But then Crystal was walking on the edge of a canal, arms spread, trying to balance. Fucking idiot.

Gigi found herself slowly inching closer to Crystal, knowing she was tipsy and stupid. She noticed. The minute Crystal could feel Gigi’s presence, her head whipped to look at her. And then she stumbled. In a flash, Gigi’s arms flew out, one hand clutching Crystal’s elbow, the other one pulling her by the shoulder. Crystal stumbled into Gigi, but at least she didn’t stumble into the canal. Crystal regained her footing, quickly pulling away from Gigi after muttering a lame “thanks.”

Gigi’s mind was going crazy, her heart was pounding, her body on fire. That was the first time she had touched Crystal since... that was the first time Gigi had touched Crystal in ten months, just short of a year. It was all too much. That was the first time she had seen Crystal in a year. The first time she had spoken to her. She had been cut off from Crystal for nearly a year with absolutely no contact, just trying to forget about her. Could Gigi really do this? She thought she could. She hoped this would get easier.

“Y’all wanna smoke before bed?! I think it’ll be magical,” Jaida turned. Crystal hummed in agreement, Gigi just gave a silent nod. They soon made it to the coffeeshop they lived above and walked in. The inside was decorated with all kinds of weird shit. There was no specific lighting source, just a bunch of random, probably thrifted lamps scattered across the shop, casting different shades of light across the floor. There was a bookshelf filled to the brim with books and magazines. Gigi swore she could see the Harry Potter series next to some old Playboy magazines. One wall was covered with vinyl records that had been painted over. Every record was different, painted by different Dutch artists. Gigi’s favorite was a sunset over the desert, a car driving past with a U-haul trailer attached. She knew this would become one of her favorite spots in Amsterdam.

Crystal, Gigi, and Michelle sat at a table while Jaida went up to buy two joints for them to split. She came back shortly, an excited grin on her face.

“Just a little nightcap ladies,” Jaida sang, and Gigi had to chuckle. At least she had Jaida. Jaida put the joint between her lips, lighting the end of it. Gigi watched the top burn away as Jaida deeply inhaled. As she blew out her smoke, Jaida gave Michelle a lazy grin and passed it to her next. Soon Crystal had the joint, taking a hit.

“Blow O’s!” Jaida cackled as Crystal obliged. Gigi fought back a smile. And then Crystal passed her the joint. It fit easily between Gigi’s fingers, but she was confused. All she saw was the back of Crystal’s head. It was turned, looking down at her phone. And then she realized. Crystal wouldn’t look at her. And all Gigi could think was, ‘What have we done to each other?’

Eventually, they finished passing the joints around and followed Jaida through a side door that led to their apartment building entrance. Gigi gave long hugs to Jaida and Michelle on the third-floor landing, not caring that they had blatantly lied to her about Crystal being there. It wasn’t worth it. And maybe this would end up being a good thing. She hoped to god it would.

Crystal didn’t say goodnight, just ran up the stairs and went into her apartment without a word. Gigi didn’t know how that made her feel. Relieved? At least she wouldn’t have to say an awkward goodnight to Crystal. Yes. This was good. No Crystal is a good thing. So why couldn’t Gigi stop thinking about her as she got ready for bed? Why couldn’t she stop replaying everything over and over in her head? Seeing Crystal for the first time since...

Gigi was supposed to be okay without Crystal. She thought she was. She had gotten better in L.A. It didn’t hurt every time she thought about Crystal, just more of a dull ache. Gigi had let herself let go, move on to a life without Crystal. And she was hoping that she could do the same thing in Amsterdam, despite seeing her every day. But it was only day one. And all she could think about was Crystal.

Crystal at the airport, Crystal in the car, Crystal walking along the canals, Crystal passing Gigi the joint, refusing to look at her. Her mind was all just... Crystal. And she just wanted to forget. But that was impossible. Crystal had found a way to burrow into the deepest depths of Gigi’s brain, refusing to leave. Did Gigi really want to let go?

How do you let go of someone when you’ve spent the last year desperately wanting them? When you’ve spent the last year replaying every moment together over and over in your head, wondering what you could’ve done differently, wondering where it all went wrong. How do you let go of someone when for so long, it was the last thing you wanted to do? How do you let go of someone when your heart is screaming at you, begging you not to, no matter how much you know you should?

As Gigi brushed her teeth, she heard Crystal opening her balcony door and stepping out onto it. She peaked out the window and saw her lighting a joint, sitting in one of the chairs. A year ago Gigi would’ve joined her on the balcony in a heartbeat, complaining that Crystal hadn’t invited her in the first place. Now Gigi was just utterly... confused. How do you let go of someone when she’s right there on your shared balcony, and all you want is to just be with her, no matter how much she might hate you?

‘Maybe I should call Hunter. He’ll stop me from doing anything stupid.’ But Hunter was worlds away, and couldn't really do anything to stop Gigi. A part of her knew this was coming. She knew she’d cave eventually and try to talk to Crystal. Why? Why did Crystal have so much power over her, still? And why was Gigi trying not to smile as she heard Crystal coughing outside? Even when things were so different, even though everything had changed, Gigi couldn’t help but admire Crystal, who was now just scrolling on her phone, lazily holding the joint between her fingers. Absolutely wasting bud, if Gigi may add.

Gigi’s feet started moving before her mind could scream at her to stop, going before she was ready. Her hand slowly went to the doorknob,  just hovering there. Was it worth it? Was she going to throw it all away for Crystal? All the tears, all the talking, all the driving, the countless days where she forced herself to get out of bed, knowing she would forget about her someday? All the days where Gigi really had forgotten about her? When she felt like she could finally breathe again? Gigi felt that familiar burning in her chest. And she knew. There’s no way to let go of Crystal Methyd. Not when Gigi swore two summers ago she never would.

LAX

Gigi felt the knot forming in her stomach when she passed the sign that read “LAX 5 MILES AWAY.” Crystal had the same sad smile on her face as Gigi. It was really about to be all over. The summer of competing, crying, laughing, smoking, sneaking into each other's hotel rooms, lingering glances, and shy smiles. Why did it have to end like this? In Hunter’s Jeep, Rosy blasting “ Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift, all the windows down, letting the music rumble through the speakers and through their chests. Crystal and Gigi’s shoulders pressed together even though there was plenty of room in the backseat.

Why did it have to end at all?

Hunter took the exit, and Gigi started to feel sick. Crystal was supposed to have one of the vans bring her to the airport, but couldn’t refuse a ride with Gigi, Hunter, and Rosy. And Gigi hoped that Crystal accepted the ride because she too, couldn’t stand saying goodbye just yet. Just yet.

It was bittersweet. Of course, Gigi was happy to go home and be with her friends and family, but she couldn’t shake the sense of dread ringing throughout her body.

“You want us to drop you off at the front, Crystal?” Hunter asked.

“I’m gonna go in with her,” Gigi blurted, knowing she couldn’t say goodbye... just yet. Crystal looked at Gigi, beaming. “I don’t think Crystal could drag five suitcases around an airport by herself.”

“Oh sure,” Crystal murmured, nudging Gigi slightly. Crystal didn’t notice Gigi blushing, but Hunter did, sending her a knowing look in the rear-view mirror. Hunter found a parking spot after about ten minutes of looking around.

“It was so nice meeting you, Crystal! I absolutely adore you my fellow Aries,” Rosy said, grabbing Crystal’s hand and giving it a parting squeeze. Gigi caught Hunter’s eye again.

“I’m sure we’ll talk soon, but it was really nice meeting you,” Hunter said.

“Thank you guys so much for giving me a ride, you’re literally the best,” Crystal said. And so she and Gigi dragged the suitcases out of the Jeep before walking into the airport together. It was packed with a lot of people going home after spending their summers in LA. Gigi didn’t dare look at Crystal, scared she would see right through the brave face Gigi was trying to maintain despite the tears threatening to fall. Gigi watched from a distance as Crystal checked in and got her ticket, breathing slightly shallow. She knew what was coming next, she wasn’t stupid, this was always inevitable.

“All checked in!” Crystal tried to sound her usual cheery self, but Gigi could hear the sadness in the back of her voice.

“So this is it...” Gigi said, looking anywhere but Crystal. Crystal grabbed Gigi’s hand.

“I’ll see you soon. I promise,” Crystal said, voice cracking slightly. Gigi chuckled, tears stinging her eyes.

“Don’t cry cause I’ll start crying,” Gigi said, blinking back her tears.

“Geege...” Crystal put her hand on Gigi’s face, her thumb gliding across Gigi’s face. Chills ran down her body.

‘don't go, don't go, don't go’

“You have to go, you have a flight to catch,” Gigi said, composing herself quickly.

“I know, I just-”

“I know.” Gigi looked Crystal in the eye, who had tears streaming down her face. “Believe me, I know.” Crystal threw her arms around Gigi, and Gigi held on. She held on so tight her chest felt hollow. It was inevitable. There was nothing Gigi could say to make Crystal stay, she knew that. But that didn’t stop her from trying.

“You could just stay for the weekend, you know?” Gigi said into the hug. Crystal hugged Gigi tighter.

“I can’t, I gotta get back home to Paul and Tictak,” Crystal whispered.

“Paul?” Gigi asked, though the pessimist in her already knew the answer.

“My boyfriend,” Crystal said. The knot in Gigi’s stomach burst, now feeling empty and gutted, utterly hollow. Of course. Gigi pulled out of the hug.

“Oh. Well, um-”

“He’s just very um- private. He asked me not to talk about him on the show... And then it... just never came up I guess,” Crystal said, sounding slightly guilty. Crystal shouldn’t feel guilty, she owed Gigi nothing. Gigi knew that. She kept repeating it.

“No, I get it. I just uhm-”

“Shit, I’m sorry I got to go through security or I’m gonna miss my flight. I hate goodbyes. I hate that this is happening-”

“It’s okay, Crystal,” Gigi gave Crystal’s hand a final squeeze. “We’re gonna see each other soon, remember?” Gigi said. Crystal’s lip was trembling, she nodded quickly.

“Yeah. I’ll see you soon,” Crystal said. And that was it. Crystal walked away. Gigi couldn’t bear to watch as the person who completely captivated her left to go be with someone else. And Gigi just hoped she could smile long enough, just until Crystal turned back over her shoulder, finally ripping her gaze from Gigi. She waited, a painful smile on her face that made her cheeks ache, waving Crystal goodbye. Goodbye, for now.

Alas, Gigi didn’t bother wiping the tears streaming down her cheeks as she walked back to Hunter’s Jeep.

“Hey!- oh god she’s crying,” Rosy said, getting out of the car to wrap Gigi in a hug. She immediately started crying in Rosy’s arms. Hunter stood, a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“You really like Crystal, don’t you?” he asked gently, which made Gigi hurt even more. She tried to answer, tried to form a sentence, tried to say it’s just a crush or we’re just really good friends but she couldn’t admit that, not yet, so instead she said.

“She has a fucking boyfriend.”

And as Gigi stood in the middle of the LAX parking garage crying in Rosy’s arms, she only thought one thing. ‘I will not let go of you, Crystal Methyd. I will not let go.’

Amsterdam

Gigi’s hand landed on the doorknob, and she knew Crystal heard it. ‘Go before you’re ready bitch,’ She turned the doorknob, and felt the warm summer air on her face. And there Crystal was, looking up at Gigi with a dumbfounded expression. “Hi,” Gigi said softly, smiling at Crystal. She watched her visibly relax, returning the smile.

“Hello,” Crystal grinned, putting down her phone.

“We should probably talk about... everything.”

[sapphiretsuki]

Road Trip Gone Right? <M>

Keeping my promise to myself here and writing. I am a heathen and start with a goal of like 1.5k max, but somehow I end at 4k. I’ll keep trying. T_T Also, in line with my self challenge I am again writing for a fandom outside my comfort zone. Loosely edited because its 1am and I’m tired :]  @channiesmixtape​ Thank you again for your undying support, ilysm <3

Pairing: Felix x Y/N

Warnings: Uhhhhh, smut, oral, voice kink if you squint, nothing major really. Condoms. (safe sex is good sex too)

cr. to google for the lovely pic 

It was the dreaded season of traveling and for whatever reason your school had decided that they weren't going to allow anyone to stay on campus over break. It was your tradition to bask in the quiet whilst all the other students went home and to friends and on trips, but not this year apparently.  As if the universe were conspiring against you, your mother had also decided this was going to be the year that all the family, including by extension your best friends family, were all going to gather and celebrate the new year. Whatever. Why people wanted to celebrate that time was passing as it always did was beyond you, but that's how you found yourself in the front seat of your longtime friends car. Felix seemed just as dejected as you about the long drive and the mandatory mingling that was going to occur.

You and Felix had been quite the pair for as long as you could remember. You were about 7 when you met and you had saved him from some punk on the playground who thought being a little shithead was the way to be impressive. You kicked the little fucker in the shin and before you could follow through with a punch he was frantically scooting to run away. When you turned to check on what you thought was an adorable little girl you were met with a starry eyed Felix and he'd been your sidekick from that moment on. As fate would have it, he ended up being your next door neighbor.  Gazing at his profile now while he was driving it struck you that at some point he'd grown to be quite masculine and incredibly striking. He always had been beautiful to you, but these days there was something more and you just couldn't put your finger on what it was.

Shaking yourself out of your thoughts, you reached out to turn on the radio. Maybe music would help whatever this feeling was. It was probably just anxiety over the long drive and the anticipation of being subjected to people you didn't get along with very well. You were unique and not quite the cookie cutter image of perfection that the rest of your cousins were and they never wasted an opportunity to let you know. As if sensing your thoughts, Felix's deep voice broke through the thoughts again, "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked. "Huh? Oh. It's nothing really. Just thinking about the cousins and wondering what brand of hell they'll try to subject me to. I haven't seen them since I started college you know."

His laughter rang out through the car and made you feel a bit better. "I'm sure that no matter what they try, you're still far smarter than them and a hell of a lot stronger too. Try not to worry Cheeks." At the mention of your special nickname you couldn't help but smile. A bit precocious growing up, and definitely the most vocal of the children, you'd earned the title of cheeky which had in turn affectionately turned into the nickname Cheeks. As much as you were dreading this visit, it made you feel infinitely better that Felix was going too. Not that he had any choice either. Just as you had become fast friends at a young age, your families had become some sort of hybrid family through strong friendship.

You must have finally relaxed enough to fall asleep at some point because you awoke with a bolt. There was a loud bang and Felix slammed on the breaks. "Shit, what the hell was that?" He put the car in park and turned the hazards on before turning to you and telling you to stay put. He pulled out his cellphone and turned on the flashlight before stepping out of the car. You anxiously watched him walk around the car and disappear as he squatted down. You were praying he hadn't hit some woodland creature because from the looks of it you were in the middle of nowhere and that was a very real possibility. You jumped as he tapped on your window. "Can you pop the trunk for me? We appear to have a flat." You nodded and unbuckled your belt and climbed over to the drivers side to hit the latch for the trunk. As you sunk back into your seat you could hear him digging around in the trunk. A flat wasn't so bad. Sure it wasn't ideal, but at least there would be no dead animals or screwed up undercarriages right?

Just as you were coming to terms with a small hiccup in the journey you heard another bang followed by a few expletives that made you quirk an eyebrow. That was unlike Felix. You were the one with the foul language problem. If he was cursing something must be terribly wrong. Curiosity getting the better of you, you snatched the keys out of the ignition and stepped out from the vehicle. "Whats going on short stack?" you called out as you approached the visibly frustrated man. "The spare has a crack in it. My roadside assistance doesn't have anyone that can help. They'll reimburse me, but we're going to have to call a tow and probably find somewhere to spend the night since I'm sure there isn't a garage open at this hour." Well shit. This was going to be a pain in the ass. "Okay, which part do you want me to start looking up? How about you figure out the tow situation and I'll see if theres a motel or something. Where are we even anyway?" you asked trying to laugh at the circumstance you found yourself in.

Two hours  and a ride on the struggle bus with cellular service later you found yourselves in the lobby of a motel that made you feel like the star of a horror film. You were in some backwood town with a population of almost no one and there were nothing but trees for days. The receptionist or owner or whoever she was seemed friendly enough, but she also reminded you of a walking corpse. Her bony hand deposited a key into your palm and with a toothless grin she rasped out your room number. You thanked her and went to collect Felix and your bags and hightail it to somewhere with a lock on the door. This whole evening had made you feel uncomfortable and all you wanted was to sleep so morning could come and you could be back on your way. Funny that there was something that made you feel worse than spending time at home, but here you were.

Juggling your bag and the room key you were having trouble making the key go into the lock. A warm hand stopped yours from shaking and suddenly closer than you remembered him being, Felix silently took the key from you and ran his fingers over the back of your hand before inserting the key into the lock and opening the door. He gestured for you to go in first and continued to hold the door open as you pulled yourself together and stepped into the room. Feeling around on the wall you found the switch and flipped it. As the light flickered on, yes flickered, because your life obviously needed to resemble a horror movie down to the last detail you let out a groan as you looked around. There was only one bed. It was rather small also. You weren't sure it even qualified to be called a full. There was absolutely no way that you were going to have either one of you taking the floor though. You'd definitely indicated two beds at the desk, but something told you this wasn't a problem with a solution. The place was so ancient they still used key locks, and the lady downstairs looked like she came from 1900 directly. You turned to Felix as he was dragging your suitcases in to break the news to him.

"Looks like we're going to be revisiting our childhood tonight shorty. Theres only one bed and like hell either one of us is sleeping on the floor." His head snapped up from what he was doing to shoot you an incredulous look. "Y/n, I'm far from short anymore compared to you and that," he says pointing in the direction of the bed, "is not a bed. That's fit for a large child at best." You wondered what had him so obviously upset, but you chalked it up to the frustration of the situations that seemed to keep arising. "Felix, believe me, I realize this is less than ideal, but it's what we've got. We both have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, you especially, so we're just gonna have to suck it up and do what we gotta." You said placing a hand on your hip and turning your other palm up towards the ceiling in a gesture of both sass and nonchalance. "I'll see if theres a pizza joint or something in this town, why don't you go take a shower first? It'll help take some of the tension off." He nodded and went towards the bathroom while you dove into trying to get a signal to see if you could figure out food.

Miraculously after the fight of the century with your service you were able to locate pizza. Even better was that they delivered. Downside of the size of the town you were in was that the person on the other end of the phone knew exactly who you were, and described you as 'that poor stranded couple'. Well whatever, food was becoming more necessary by the minute since you'd relaxed a marginal amount and your stomach felt like it would eat itself. You were giddy with excitement and digging through your purse for some cash when Felix reappeared. You didn't notice him at first but when you looked up and there he was in nothing but a pair of low slung sweats with a towel hanging around his neck you let out an audible gulp. He quirked an eyebrow at you, but before he could question what your problem was, you snatched up some clothes and stuffed some money in his hand. "I'm amazing and pizza should be here any minute. I'm gonna go shower now. You don't have to wait for me to eat." You said to him as you brushed past and quickly made your way into the safety of the bathroom.

Once you shut the door, you placed a hand on your chest to calm the beating of your heart. What was wrong with you today? Sure it had been a while since you'd seen Felix shirtless. And wet. But it had never affected you like this before ever. It was like you were discovering that he wasn't the person you'd known most of your life. Just when had he gotten so toned? His lithe body was beautiful and always had been, but when had it also been appropriate to describe him as manly? Stepping into the scalding spray of the shower you prayed that you were just hungry and tired and it was making you crazy. Washing with a speed you normally reserved for things you disliked, you scrubbed away the filth of the day. Wrapping a towel around yourself you rubbed some of the fog off the mirror and after toweling your hair out as much as you could, ran a brush through it. You rubbed your skin vigorously and put on your tank top and realized you'd forgotten your panties. Laughing at the luck you'd had today you just shook your head and pulled on your pajama pants.

When you returned to the room the soft light and sounds of the TV accompanied Felix and his pizza. Belatedly you realized there wasn't likely to have been any sort of plates or anything to use and cursed yourself for not asking. Oh well, things still could have been far worse today so you were gonna stuff your face and call it a night before the bad luck that seemed to be following you around could claim any more of your energy. You plopped unceremoniously on to the bed next to Felix and snatched up a piece of pizza. As you took a bite you let out a moan at how delicious it was. "Really y/n, sometimes I think you'd be happiest with food in your hands at all times." Felix said, chest rumbling with laughter. Your face suddenly felt like it was on fire and you were oddly embarrassed even though this exact scenario had played out many times before. "I just love food and am hungry enough to eat a cow right now short stuff." You huffed out indignantly. Still slightly laughing Felix reassured you that it was fine and he was only making an observation. You felt jittery and nervous still even though you'd checked off all the things you thought were the culprits so you decided to initiate bedtime.

"I think we should get some sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow and we still have a lot of miles to cover." Felix seemed to mull over your statement before he nodded his agreement. He began to box up the remainder of the pizza and you went to brush your teeth. Making your way back to the room you heard Felix's phone chime and picked it up from the dresser it was sitting on to hand it to him. You weren't being nosy but you saw a name that made your blood boil a little bit. It was one of your catty cousins and now you were wondering what the fuck he was doing talking to her of all people. Unable to help yourself you spat out at him, "What are you doing talking to her?" As soon as the words were out you couldn't believe yourself and your hand flew up to cover your mouth in embarrassment. "You know what, I'm tired, never mind,  disregard my craziness, I'm just gonna lay down. "As he stared at you with wide eyes, he responded anyway. "They occasionally text me trying to snoop I think. I just stored the name so I'd know to ignore because I made the mistake of answering a message once before." Well now you were feeling a whole lot more awkward. Deciding that there was safety in silence you simply nodded and laid down in the bed.

Getting under the covers you scooted as far to the side as you could. You weren't sure how you were going to handle being that close to Felix's shirtless body with the maelstrom going on inside your head but you were just going to have to try. Sliding under the covers and in turn being closer to you than you thought was explicitly necessary he pulled the blanket up over you both and whispered to you, "Good night Cheeks." His deep voice laced with a tired rasp sent a shiver down your spine and it hit you then like a bolt of lightning. Holy shit, you were in love with your best friend. Your best friend turned you on. Holy shit, what the fuck. Sleep was probably going to be a problem with your heart hammering away in your chest. Staying as still as you could so as to not draw attention to yourself you mentally went over all the signs trying to figure out when the hell this had happened. You thought Felix was asleep and you turned to look at him. His breathing had evened out and his plush lips were slightly parted. The moonlight coming through the window cast a soft light and made the smattering of freckles on his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose look exceptionally gorgeous.

With his eyes still closed he shocked you when he began to speak. It was as if he could sense your restlessness even though you weren't moving at all. "I can feel your eyes y/n," he drawled and you went rigid. "Not to make things weird, or weirder, but I thought about you when I came last night." Now it was your turn to give the wide eyed stare. He cracked one eye and looked at you and slowly started to grin. "Y-you did?" you squeaked out. He turned to face you and it's not like you had anywhere to run, the bed was so tiny. You were close enough to feel his breath ghost over your face as he continued, "I thought I might have been imagining things but it seems you're just as affected by me Cheeks. You were calling me short stack still so I was a little unsure, but if you could have seen how hungry you looked earlier and I'm not talking about food." You should have known it was going to be a short lived secret but you were reeling that within such a short time of you realizing you had feelings and physical attraction he was calling you out on it. Felix had always known you better than you knew yourself sometimes.

What he didn't expect was that you wouldn't put up a fight about it. He was prepared to spell it out for your stubborn ass if need be, but you saved him the effort and planted your lips on his. You kissed him with all the hunger he described moments before and pulled away, chest heaving. "How long? How long have you known that we could have been doing this? How long have you been thinking about me when you cum?" You shoved him so he wasn't on his side anymore and climbed on top of him before he could do a thing about it. Looking at his face you were searching his eyes as if they held the answers. What you found instead was a look of lust so dark you couldn't do anything except seal your lips to his again. He didn't fight back and instead placed his hand on the back of your neck to turn your head slightly. He licked your bottom lip seeking entrance and you obliged. His plump lips felt so soft on yours and as his tongue swirled with yours you unintentionally found yourself grinding your hips into his as you let out a moan.

Felix also let out a groan at the friction and decided he'd had enough. He flipped you so your positions were switched and you found yourself again marveling at how manly was now how you'd describe him. Caged in between his arms he leaned down and nipped on your throat. Practically growling in your ear, his voice sent shivers down your spine. "I'll show you exactly what I was thinking about when I came if you want me to y/n." If you had been wearing underwear they would have been absolutely ruined. His voice was already one of your favorite sounds in the world, but right up in your ear making lewd suggestions had you feeling like you were coming unraveled. He placed open mouthed kisses along the column of your throat and reached to tug on your shirt. He pulled it up and helped you take it off only removing his mouth from your skin long enough to get it over your head. He continued down your chest and down to your hip where he hooked his fingers in the band of your pants. You lifted your hips so he could pull them down. "Well well, Cheeks, I never thought you'd go without panties, but that certainly makes things easier on me. He took a moment to appreciate your beauty and you found yourself feeling shy. He trailed a finger down your stomach and began to lightly tease your pussy until you were squirming with need. Just when you thought you couldn't take the teasing anymore he slid a finger into your slick folds and then into you.

"A-ah, Felix, more," you whined out. You were so turned on it was practically unbearable. He seemed pleased at your request and inserted another finger and started pumping in and out at a slow pace. He curled his fingers upward and began rubbing circles on your clit with his thumb as he picked up the pace. You began to feel the curling heat and tightening up in your stomach and knew you were going to cum. He could feel your walls clenching around his fingers as he brushed past your sweet spot with every pump. Just when you thought you were about to completely lose it he pulled out and immediately attached his lush lips to your clit and sucked on it. Your orgasm washed over you like a waterfall and he held your stuttering hips in place as he worked you through your high. Feeling like the personification of bliss you reached down and ran your fingers through his hair. He kissed his way back up your chest and you pulled his face to yours to taste him.

"We're not done just yet, y/n. I still haven't shown you everything I was thinking about when I came." You had just barely come down from your high but you felt as if you could cum all over again at his suggestion. He reached over to the nightstand and retrieved his wallet and pulled out a condom. As he went to tear the foil you placed a hand on his wrist, "Can I?" You asked. He allowed you to take the packet from him and he pulled off his sweats. As his cock sprang free you were absolutely stunned. He was so much bigger than you thought he'd be and now you were wondering where he hid that and how it was going to fit. You grabbed at his dick and gave it a squeeze before rolling the condom down his shaft. He moved to lay you back down and lined his cock up with your entrance. He slid the head through the slippery remnants of your earlier undoing and every time he brushed your clit you twitched with need. Finally, finally he started to slide his cock into your warmth. Slowly at first, giving you plenty of time to adjust, he inched inside until he was all the way in. Buried to the hilt he stilled so you could get used to his size and then began to pump in and out of you. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he began to pick up the pace.

He set a brutal pace and you gasped and panted. Your erotic voice was making him impossibly more turned on. As he thrust into you your cries of pleasure spurred him on. He shifted slightly and pulled your legs up so they were over his shoulders. The change in position allowed him to go deeper and with every pump he fully dragged across your g-spot and you felt the familiar ache starting to build again. He continued to thrust and reached out to rub one of your nipples. "Ahhh y/n. You look so beautiful. Look and the way your pussy just devours my cock. This is exactly, ah, what i was thinking about while I got myself off." His voice, and the pure filth coming out of his mouth were enough to send you over the edge. Your walls clamped and spasmed around him and you came on a cry of his name. "Ah F-Felix, fuck." His rhythm became sloppy as you rode out your high and soon he was spilling his release with a loud groan.

You were both sweaty, panting messes. As he began to soften up he slipped out of you and removed the condom. Tying it off he tossed it in the direction of the garbage can before returning to you and the bed. He wrapped you up in his arms and kissed you on the forehead. Before you could even get a word out his phone was chiming again. You gave him a look that said he should check it and so he grabbed it. It was your cousin again and you were struck with a brilliant idea. You knew it was probably partly them snooping like he thought, but there was also the knowledge that they were jealous of your relationship with Felix. "Lemme see your phone," you said with a smirk. He shrugged and handed it to you. You opened the camera and snapped a selfie of the two of you. Her message was some ‘what are you doing’ type thing so you sent the picture and then powered his phone off with a satisfied smile. He let out a little laugh at your antics and from your position with your head on his chest it was the best sound in the world.

Waking up much later than you intended, and certainly more sore, you reached to check the time on your phone. You were met with the family group chat notification count being astronomical, and also  a notification from your favorite cousin. It read, 'I know that was you bitch'. With a smile you turned the phone towards Felix who was wondering what besides him had you so smiley this morning. You were rewarded with his eye smile and morning voice telling you, "You're something else Cheeks, but damn I love you."

[staywritten]

Over&Over│Seo Changbin│II

Over&Over│ Chapter II

Synopsis: Loving Changbin was either than breathing, but why was it so hard to accept that he can love you just as you love him. Why do you always questions your own self worth. What were you supposed to do when he went on an arranged marriage meeting?

Genre: Non idol au, fluff, angst, hurt comfort, smut

Word Count: 2k

Part I

It’d been two days and anytime the lingering thought of telling you about this stupid arranged marriage meeting came up he shot it down. He’ll just be gone for a few hours, he’d reject the girl properly and return home to your arms. 

His eyes softened as he watched you sleep, brushing your hair out of your face. He pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I gotta go to work Baby, I’ll be back later tonight” 

You stirred in your sleep and pulled him into a hug. “I’m gonna miss you”

He kissed the top of your head softly “I’ll miss you more” he pulled back to look at your sleepy face. “Tell your parents I said Hi”

“I will” you gave him a lazy smile as he crawled out of bed to finish getting ready and heading out for the day. This was gonna be the hardest couple hours of his life. At times like this he wasn’t Seo Changbin, he was a rep for his parents company. His actions were no longer his, and the repercussions were heavier. Money, jobs, investments, future business deals were always at stake at investor meetings and even though this was under the guise as a marriage meeting the weight was the same. 

He smiled reading your text message, wishing him a good day at work. His sister smirked looking over his shoulder. “Aww she’s so cute, see I told you she’d understand if you were honest” she nudged him. 

“She doesn't know and we’re not telling her. Don’t bring this up again” he slipped his phone back in his pocket and straightened his tie. 

“Wait… you didn’t tell her?” she grabbed his arm to stop him from walking into the restaurant. 

“And do what? Hurt her and make her spend all day worrying for nothing? I’m gonna refuse it so it doesn’t matter”

She sighed and started walking “As your older sister, I feel like I need to warn you. Do not under estimate a woman’s intuition. ”

He silently followed her inside the restaurant thinking back to you. The guilt weighing heavily on his heart. 

You spent the day with your parents helping them garden and just relaxing at home. It was a nice change of pace. Your mom washed the dishes and looked over to you. “You should bring home all of the leftovers for Changbin, he really liked my soup the last time he had it”

“I will” you put away the clean plates. “He’ll be excited when he gets home”

She smiled and nudged you “You two have been doing ok right?”

“Of course we have” you laughed. “Changbin is perfect, he’s kind and sweet and caring… I really love him”

“...” you glanced at your mother seeing that look on her face. Her smile becoming a little tight as she considered saying something. “Mom, please just say it, I can see you overthinking about this”

“Well…. I love Changbin too he’s very sweet but his family is nice to you right? They haven’t tried to do anything to you?”

“What do you mean?” you set down the dish rag and leaned against the counter. 

“Honey it’s just...I have no doubt that he loves you dearly. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, but it’s just I don’t want you to forget that there is a class difference between you. He’s the young heir to a conglomerate worth billions, and the only son at that...and you...well you’re a bartender...I find it hard to believe that his family is ok with just that”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “Is that how you feel?” you crossed your arms over your chest. “Do you think I’m not good enough for him?”

“I didn’t say that, I just acknowledge the class difference. I’m fine with it, I know that you have bigger aspirations and goals and the bartender thing is just in the meantime but does his family know that? Are they ok with that? Is Changbin serious about being with you or is he just playing around before his family marries him off to some rich heiress.”

“Mom.” you frowned. “His family has been nothing but kind to me. His mom sends us fruit, I have lunch with his sister once a week” you looked down, hugging yourself. “I’m not ignorant...I know there’s a class difference...I worry about it anytime I cook for him and worry that it’s not good enough, or anytime I do his laundry and worry that it’s dry clean only or-” you stopped yourself as tears gathered in your eyes. “I know I’m not good enough, and I just sit and pray that he doesn’t realize...I try so hard to keep up with him and I-” 

Your mom pulled you into the warmest hug, rubbing your back. “Shhhh Honey it’s ok….It’s ok” You buried your face in her shoulder, holding on to her. 

You weren’t gonna lie to yourself, you’d been trying to find Changbin’s flaws since he wandered into your bar and won your heart. But it’s been years and he was perfect, he was just so genuine. However your flaws were always so prominent. You didn’t have the same rich taste as him, you weren’t the best cook, you came from working class parents. And the worst part about it was you knew that he was out of your league and for some reason he loved you despite that, so you lived in constant fear that he might notice your insecurities. Your constant jealousy of all of the beautiful woman he had to work with. 

It was tiring. 

Loving him was becoming suffocating, loving someone so much more than you could ever love yourself was terrifying. Loving him made you jealous, loving him made you possessive, loving him made you needy.

And what if he grew to hate that part of you?

When you finally got home you were exhausted, it was emotionally exhausting destroying your self esteem over hypotheticals. Part of you knew you were just in your head but it didn’t make it hurt any less. 

You looked over at your phone to see it ringing and your co-workers name on it. You furrowed your brow and answered. “Chaeyoung What’s up?”

“Hey I’ve been trying to call you all day”

“I was visiting my parents, there’s not much signal over there, what’s going on?”

“Earlier today I was picking up a few boxes of wine, from our distributor. You know that really nice restaurant in Gangnam”

“Oh yeah, with there expensive ass wine, what about it?”

“While I was there and I saw Changbin”

“It was probably for work, he had a lunch meeting this afternoon”

“Oh thank goodness” she laughed “I was gonna tell him off and everything because he was with a woman but I guess it was for work?”

“He usually goes with his sister to them, she’s the CEO”

“You know now that you mention it I did see a woman that kinda looked like him while I was waiting for my order- But he was having lunch with another woman”

“I trust Changbin” you laughed. “But thank you for calling me”

“Of course, I’m just glad it turned out to be nothing, well I’ll let you go. See you at work tomorrow.”

“See ya” you hung up and looked up to see your front door opening and a very tired Changbin walk in. His eyes softened as he saw you. “Hey welcome home”

He slipped off his shoes before handing you a large bouquet of flowers. “I’m sorry I’m late...I’m sorry I missed lunch with your family” he kissed the top of your head. “I sent some flowers to your mom too”

“They’re beautiful…” you set them down in the kitchen as he wrapped you in his arms, burying his face in the crook of your neck. “I missed you so much” As you hugged him, you stopped for a moment. The lingering scent of a perfume was on him. Your nose was always sensitive, especially when it came to perfumes. The notes, fruity and sweet. His sister never wore perfumes, she had pretty sensitive allergies and this wasn’t her style at all. You took a step back to look at him. “Binnie…” he peered up at you, his usual warmth seemed to be clouded in something. 

If there as one thing working in a bar has taught you it was how to read people. It was like a sixth sense. And there was nothing but guilt on his face. 

“I missed you” he held your face and pulled you into a kiss. His lips coaxing you into deepening it. He continued walking backwards, never wanting to break the kiss, his hands desperate to hold you. Your back hit the mattress as he climbed over you, he pulled his blazer off and loosened his tie.

But there was something about how he touched you that was different. 

He was almost too desperate, not like he was when he was just needy and wanted you but this felt like he had to prove something to you. Like he was trying to overwrite his guilt. 

You had no proof he did anything, and part of you wanted to think it was just because of your own insecurities. But you just had this feeling you weren’t crazy. You were almost never wrong reading people. You’ve seen a lot of infidelity at your bar and you’ve seen the aftermath of the guilt. And there was just something about this. 

You pulled back, pushing your hand against his chest stopping his kisses. You gazed into his eyes and took a deep breath. “Were you with another woman?” You sat up, giving yourself just a little space on the bed. 

His eyes widened as he pulled back, his pupils darting a bit too much. Like he was thinking. “I had that meeting this afternoon, Noona was there” You’d never seen your boyfriend look so panicked before.

“And only her?” And there it was again, that look on his face while he tried to come up with something. Changbin never lied to you, but he was so obviously trying to hide something. “You smell like her… You smell like another girl, it’s not like you to get that close to someone during a meeting that you come home smelling like them…”

“I...Yes… My meeting was with a woman…” he sighed “I’m sorry for hiding it, I just didn’t want you to worry”

“I’ve never complained before… I don’t understand why you had to hide it”

“You never complain…. That’s the problem, if something bothers you, you just deal with it, and I didn’t want you to have to do that again” his voice, holding something much heavier than the weight stemming from this argument.

“And your solution to that was to hide it from me? I understand the sentiment but you didn’t need to. I’m fine. Hiding it makes it seem worst, it’s not like it was an arranged marriage” you tried to laugh it off, to show him that it didn’t bother you. That you weren’t the clingy insecure girlfriend plagued by jealously. 

And you thought it worked for a bit. You smiled and laughed until you saw how his head fell, how his shoulders slumped, how he fiddled with the cuffs on his shirt. “Are you kidding me?” you pushed away from him. “You seriously went on a-”

“I told her no” his voice desperate as he reached for you. 

“Don’t touch me” you pulled your arm from him. “You went on an arranged marriage meeting, and hid it from me? And tried to turn this on me?” you stormed out of your bedroom.

“I just didn’t want to hurt you, I didn’t want you to worry-”

“You didn’t want to hurt me? But you went to meet another woman with the prospects of marriage?” you grabbed your jacket and your phone.

“Where are you going? Baby please talk to me don’t-”

“Don’t.” you warned him as you slipped on your shoes. 

“It’s late, please just stay here lets talk about this.”

“Talk? Now you want to talk? Let’s talk about how you lied to me and hid this from me? Let’s talk about how you didn’t want to hurt me because you realized I was insecure and then proceeded to do the very thing I was scared about? If it didn’t mean anything why lie?”

“I’m sorry, I messed up I-”

“Save it, and if you come after me you’ll never see me again.” you slammed the door as you stormed out. 

To be continued….

» Next►

I’m sorrrrrryyyy only one more chapter left. This chapter was mostly plot and angst

Masterlist

∘Tags List:

@skzsprinkles @tophuphu @hugs4chan @channieboyo @tonfilm @soobinssmile

[astraeal]

new updated playlist for fáelán because she’s a more dimensional character in my mind, and as such her playlist needed to reflect that! see below the cut for me gushing about the organization for this playlist, or just listen to listen 🥰🥰

Act I. Home

Her relationship with her home – the Pallid Grove, the place she was born and came from – is changing as she’s discovering more things about it. As it is, we the players and Fáelán the character, don’t know a whole lot about it. So it’s shrouded with mystery, even as she’s getting hints and memories unlocked with the help of the Luxon, and I wanted to secure that just...slightly “off” feeling of the Pallid Grove. It’s the sight of such horrible divine influence – both positive and negative – and the people inside haven’t left for hundreds of years in the aftermath that it has this almost...closed door, on the inside looking out feeling to it. Is that from fear? Safety? Community? Paranoia? I wanted to explore that. 

Big Houses – Squalloscope

“In the circle around the kitchen table/I say my "amen" because I feel blessed/Secretly hoping while joining hands that you can't feel my trembling fingertips” 

This too Shall Pass – Danny Schmidt

“But deep inside/When every cell divides/Well, it sets upon the rule that states/Self-interest is divine”

Liability – Lorde

“You're all gonna watch me/Disappear into the sun”

Shrike - Hozier 

“Remember me love, when I'm reborn/As the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn”

Act II. Selection Side A (Luxon Love Letters) 

At some point in her life in the Pallid Grove, Fáelán starts getting this pull from the Luxon. It leads her to Rosohna, but before that there’s an indeterminate amount of time that passes between when she left the Pallid Grove and when she arrived in Rosohna. This movement is dedicated to that journey, the part of her life that she doesn’t have any memory of, because somehow all alone she crossed the entire Wildemount continent and had absolutely no idea how she did so. It’s important to note that neither do I, the player! It’s a complete mystery. But the only thing she remembers from that time is the incessant need to be near the Luxon, and that was her only driving force. So while some of these are “love” songs, they’re also songs to the Luxon. It’s those conversations with this entity that’s pulling her closer, from the weariness of a long travel (1000 Nights) to the doubt cast by not getting a ton of answers (Games), that remain with her even now. 

1000 Nights - FRENSHIP

“There's a bulletproof bond/Between meaning and you”

Heaven/Hell - CHVRCHES

“If none of this is real, then show me what you feel/'Cause I can't tell”

Games – Tessa Violet

“And I long to take you at your word, but then/All along you're hiding even when you're by my side”

It’s You – Ali Gatie 

“I'm hurting inside/I'm so scared to fall in love/But if it's you then I'll try”

Act III. Arrival

This encapsulates really the most recent ~50 years of her life, about how much she remembers after her journey. In these brief songs, we see how different she is from her old “home”, her old space of the Pallid Grove. Things are different, she has a higher energy now, she’s in a place where she has her new mom and her new brother and the Luxon. With that connection satisfied, she feels like she can take on the world! In a lot of ways, this is the highest energy of the movements, because she’s feeling. Feeling both good and bad things, but she’s alive and she’s feeling and her powers have begun to manifest the more she devotes herself to the Luxon and the Lucid Bastion and the Dynasty in general. 

Up To Something - Naaz

“Don't want to hurt them/But this is who I am/Chasing ambitions/Making my own mistakes”

Capsize - FRENSHIP

“Drop tears in the morning/Give in to the lonely”

When You Were Young - The Killers

“You sit there in your heartache/Waiting on some beautiful boy to/To save you from your old ways”

Wild Things - Alessia Cara

“I lose my balance on these eggshells/You tell me to tread, I'd rather be a wild one instead”

Act IV. Selection Side B (Conscription)

Obviously, she can’t remain in the temple forever. And as tensions rise with the Empire, she gets selected to join the Xhorsquad party, by the Taskhand himself. In obvious ways, this is another way that the Luxon has chosen her to represent something that it believes in, and also another way for her to serve her Dynasty. But it’s dark and scary and far from the comforts of home. She doubted herself a lot, doubted her abilities and her place in the team and her morals when surrounded by people who have definitely killed before in their lives while she’s lived in the Lucid Bastion. 

The Sound of Silence - Pentatonix

“And in the naked light I saw/Ten thousand people, maybe more...And no one dared/Disturb the sound of silence”

Only If For A Night - Florence + The Machine

“And the only solution was to stand and fight/And my body was bruised and I was set alight/But you came over me like some holy rite/And although I was burning, you're the only light”

Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine

“And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope/It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat”

Freaking Out - A R I Z O N A 

“It's stupid, but I'm better off and I'll stay quiet/'Cause I pushed away all the ones that hold me close”

Act V. (Dis)Connection

The most current act, the one she’s playing out right now. She’s beginning to emotionally connect and respond to the people around her, and beginning to understand that not everyone you spend a lot of time around is going to be exactly like you. But she’s still privileging the needs of others above the emotional needs of herself, with some small exceptions. Recently she’s let in Tanvir and Bird, two of the three that she feels closest to, and they know more about her than other party members. And after they began the process for consecution, she now feels even closer to Tanvir. They were the only two to leave the Heart in tears, after all. But, as she’s used to being the person who channels the Luxon to help others in need, she’s trying to keep her own emotions at bay. How that will work out, we’ve yet to see! But as indicated by those final two songs...she’s going to have to talk about it sooner rather than later. 

Saturdays (feat. HAIM) - Twin Shadow, HAIM

“When we dance in the dark in the room where it all gets real/I know you know how it feels/Saturdays/When the moonlight hit up your face and let love spark”

Too Much - Carly Rae Jepsen

“Trust the, trust the feeling/It's hard to get to know you/But I'm down”

Someone New - Hozier

“I wake, at the first cringe of morning/And my heart's already sinned/How pure, how sweet the love beneath it yeah/You would pray for him”

Crush - Tessa Violet

“I wanna touch you but don't wanna be weird/It's such a rush, I'm thinking wish you were here”

[artemuerto]

Solider up, Little Fox or Would you stop asking people for marriage?

Pairing: Thomas Shelby & Patricia ‘Kitten’ Braden. Alfie Solomon/Kitten 

Trigger Warnings: SPOILERS FROM Breakfast On Pluto. Mentions of the movie plot. Kitten is a Shelby. Tommy is a very overprotecting brother. Alfie is smitten.

Autor Note: I saw a post weeks ago and after finally watching Breakfast on Pluto couldn’t help but go back to it. I’ve been having such a Kitten feels lately, i just want her happy. Here’s the post if you are interested.

Solider up, Little Fox.

—1—

“Would you stop asking people for marriage already?” Thomas stormed by the doors calling for attention as the rest of the family sat easily around the rooms. Arthur and John were playing cards while Ada walked gingerly with her baby in arms lulling his to sleep; aunt Polly came from the kitchen followed by a confused Alfie who had been chatting business with the woman over tea when all commotion was heard. The family stood still curious about the voices heard, they could all effortlessly decipher Tommy’s voice with his usual stress, the raspy command and need for order and solution what they could not recognize was sultry, silky, sulky voice that answer him in whispers with such sweetness and longing that almost broke their hearts.

“But he said yes, Tommy. He said yes to me. He said he would marry me.” The voices were shifting away and with them silent was all they had. Thomas’ steps weren’t loud nor heavy but carried a swift of determination into whatever plan he was webbing in his head. Ada was the first one to react hugging her baby as if Tommy would go into the room any time and cause a scene wit his anger.

“What the fuck?” Alfie questioned to no one in particular, only sharing the mutual sentiment between the habitants of the house when Polly moved to seek the truth, only to be cut short by his nephew who finally appeared in front of the family.

“I’m gonna need whiskey, scissors and towels.” The Shelby brother walked out and shortly came back with a different order. “No. Not whiskey, she won’t like it.” Thomas looked for his aunt and said. “Bring water. Lots of it.” By the mention of an unknown woman in the house, brothers and sister shared a train of thoughts with possible outcomes but surely went up to aid their brother. Alfie stared almost impressed by the undisturbed dance they all played while following orders and achieving perfection.

Opening the door from Thomas’ room, Polly expected the worst. A wounded animal, a lost child, a dragged bullet and teared skin, a robbed foreign girl, a mobbed call-girl or even a soon-to-be mother virgin; what Polly failed to see was the possibility of a face similar to his nephew sitting inches from Tommy himself, cover un bruises and splashes of blood. The woman almost dropped what she had on her hands.

“Dear God.”

The girl was in bad shaped, had she been escaping an assault? It looked like it. Thomas cooed over the blonde girl as the young one cried softly from the pain.

“I told you not to believe him, didn’t I?” Thomas’ scolded while cleaning her face washing away traces of kohl and lipstick.

“How could I not, Tommy?” She sounded so hopeful. “He was perfect in every way.”

A perfect scumbag, he wanted to say but instead he reproached. “I see that now.” Soon after forgot his anger as the young girl seemed to feel better. “No matter what happens, love, you promised to call me.” Tommy remind her of her last spoken words and if it weren’t for lucky tips from his boys, Tommy would probably never found out of her situation.

Polly made herself note by clearing her throat.

Finally, they realized they weren’t alone and the girl looked ashamed of her state.

“This is what you asked for, Tommy.” Polly left her supplies near the bed and having one last look to the girl she could put together the puzzle of her mind full of questions, Polly spoke without really meaning to.

“Patrick?” The young one hid behind Tommy’s form while answering Polly in whispers.

“That’s not my name. I’m Kitten.” Thomas continued cleaning the girl’s face but was shortly stopped by Polly who rushed to help the girl herself.

“Oh, darling—” Polly’s relief kindness was unexpected but so appreciated.

Polly remembered Patrick. Well, no, not Patrick. Kitten. Polly remembered Kitten, in fact, she has never stopped thinking about her, praying a God she didn’t truly believe in for the safety of her, now, niece; always wondering what had been of their lives when Thomas failed to tell her anything. She imagined if she was worried, Tommy would have thought of her thousand times more. It was his twin sister after all.

The rest of the Shelby family wouldn’t remember her. Arthur and John were soon sent to war along Tommy and even Patrick was meant to go but manage to slipped from the War’s fingers and had, what Polly thought was a peaceful life, but now seeing the black and blue marks on her skin, she doubted Kitten had an easy life at all.

“Are you sure it doesn’t hurt anymore?” Polly asked after they all have fallen silent in her care and Kitten nodded quietly not meeting her eyes. The woman faced Thomas instead. “Everybody is worried and they might not say but they all have questions. Nobody has seen her but it won’t be long before they come barging and demanding answers. You’ll have to make introductions.” The Shelby brother said none, taking her aunt’s words and sat next to his twin sister.

“It’s alright. They’ll meet her later.”

—2—

Later was dinner time.

Tommy had spent all afternoon cramp in his bedroom sharing the sheet with his sister, watching her sleep, talked in dreams and lazily blink once sleep left her out of its reach. Kitten told him of his life in the big city that swallowed people, told him about her friends and her adventures. The assistant of a magician and the not-so-successful career as a band show girl. Kitten had purposelessly left out her tranquil week behind bars and her resurrect petition of marriage to one of the guards that help her, Kitten supposed her brother wouldn’t be so happy about it, counting how they meeting in finding each other went few hours back.

“I even slept in a small Kingdom, Tommy, I tell you the truth.” She talked about her odd jobs of dancing and singing silly songs that made her laugh until she got fired for being in a fight. Kitten wanted to keep talking, she wanted to talk for hours, she even wanted to tell her brother on how she had found their mother, how happy and healthy the woman looked but her tummy had other ways of thinking.

“Someone is hungry.” Kitten giggled and hid her face against his chest right before Tommy made her dress up to meet the family.

“Solider up, Little Fox.” Tommy used to say to her when she was too scared to try something so she sought for his help.

Tommy stared with a marvelous feeling of awe as his sister fixed her reflection on the mirror. Her hair was soft and curly, her lashes long and dark only sparkled up her eyes in colors they shared, her rosy cheeks remind him of old forgotten happy winters of playing in the snow and warm beverages beside the windows, before the war and her lips made of fading cherries. His sister was a vision.

Kitten took his hand such as many times before and together they entered the kitchen. Polly seemed to be reading yesterday’s paper just to do something with her hands, John and Arthur were nowhere to be found and Ada was slowly eating after putting her baby to sleep. Thomas protected her sister with a silent and threatening stare letting her sit at his chair. Polly encouraged her to eat even in small bites while Ada couldn’t stop staring but wasn’t feeling brave enough yet to go over Tommy’s looks and say what she wanted.

“Tommy, can I have a glass of water, please?” The blonde girl avoided the other two and searched for her brother’s guidance. Tommy replied with a half smiled and short lived kiss on her forehead, the affection rare enough to make Ada wide up her eyes in surprise. The youngest Shelby snapped.

“Who are you?” the accusation was cleared as the morning air, however, before Tommy could order Ada to leave it, her sister answered.

“I’m Kitten, love.” Her bright hopeful eyes struck Ada off, the girl seemed so innocent, almost naïve in her trusting stance but her smiled was cheeky and lovely.

“I’m Ada.” Kitten nodded and finished her food under her brother’s watchful stare. Once again Kitten stole their hearts, still not saying how she and Tommy had met other than from meetings in London, but Ada’s suspicions were soon forgotten with each passing moment. Ada thought right before going to sleep that maybe a person like Kitten was what her brother needed in his life.

Polly couldn’t help but cry as Kitten reprised her story to the woman much as he had done with her brother hours prior. Polly cried and hugged Kitten hard enough to smothered her in short breathes; Kitten felt embarrassed when Poly took her hands and kissed them softly asking her to never leave them again or to at least check in once in a while, come to visit or simply stopping by a weekend for tea. She would do anything; Polly will do anything for her niece. Thomas refused to leave them alone, he would not leave her sister out of his sight, not even for a short while after so long and Kitten was more than happy to bask in the attention, he had missed her family but feared their reaction, not many of her past experiences had been good.

Tommy left in search for a bottle of whiskey and Kitten waited for him surrounded by nothingness when a slow motion of walking caught her attention, the girl turned around expecting to find her brother but instead found a rough looking man, 

—3—

“You´re not my brother.” The girl said as Alfie walked into the room. He obviously wasn’t. Alfie had left after the commotion of the girl arriving the Shelby house, he had seen how everybody moved fast and steady to pleased Thomas on whatever was he needed at the time, later he found out, it was a young girl who has Thomas Shelby solely attention; she had to be so bloody damn important if the man was willing to see him on a different day, under a different moon that is.

“No. I’m not.” The girl stared at him with fierce curiosity that made her blink lots of time on a row. Later she remembered her manners and came closer, extending her hand to reach for him. “I’m Kitten.” The girl smiled sweetly and Alfie could admire her fully. Her long, soft and silky golden skirt, moved in waves drawing her silhouette, Alfie could see her knees after she took a seat, her hands so smooth to his touch had a spark of color in her nails and her blouse of baby pinks and frills. Kitten was an absolute beauty.

Tom was on his way back when he heard it. Alfie’s laugh. He rushed over to see what was the occasion, he had told Alfie they would continue business elsewhere but wasn’t surprise to see the man in his house, what was a surprising sight was the man laughing head tilted back, reaching out for his sister while Kitten finished her story.

“I swear to you, mister Solomon. It was an incredible show.” She smiled with fondness as the memories of touring and crowds and cheap beer filled her mind. Kitten stood as a slow song started to play on the radio. “This was my friend’s favorite.” Alfie felt a rush of overprotected need, as the girl danced alone in the middle of the half lighted kitchen telling him stories about the person who loved that song and their everlasting friendship. Alfie offered Kitten his hand and soon they both began to dance, Kitten laughing at the rough touch of his beard and he apologizing for it. “Oh, but I assure you mister Solomon. I like it.”

Tommy was about to leave. He wouldn’t trust anybody with her sister but he could trust Alfie to keep her safe for the night for a short while after he fully came for her to sleep for the night, or so he thought when he heard Kitten asked her trend mark obnoxious questions for —apparently— every man on earth.

“If I wasn’t a transvestite terrorist, would you marry me?”

Then Tommy said:

NO.

[bae-science]

⬤,#,ʃ

⬤: being called soft things like baby, sweetheart or honey

#: shaky hands

ʃ: fingers running through sweaty hair

Vanessa sleeps with her phone under her pillow, at first.

The default alert noise made by the Dexcom G6 sensor when detecting high blood sugar is the highest E note possible on an electric keyboard, chosen specifically to wake up the wearer even in REM so the high can be corrected. Vanessa would know. It’s the single most annoying fucking sound in the entire fucking world, and no matter how many times she’s heard it over the years, it never fails to pull her from a good night’s sleep to blearily stumble out of bed and stab herself at two in the fucking morning. The precise, ear-splitting pitch that automatically plays at full volume is the absolute bane of her fucking existence, and Newt better hurry his ass up and develop an artificially grown pancreas, or one of these nights, she’s gonna throw something. Other than her pen. And that’s usually on accident. Usually.

She didn’t get her hands on a CGM until she, Karla, and Hermann were bunking up together, and even then Hermann had turned the study into a bedroom, so she and Karla took the real ones. Waking someone else up during the night with an alarm was never a problem.

Then, of course, she and Karla began sleeping together (both in the sense that they shared a bed, and Vanessa was finally getting to top both of their brains out), and suddenly Vanessa had a whole other person’s night’s sleep to think about.

The solution ended up being to place her phone squarely under the center of her pillow, then sleep directly on it so any noises were only audible to her ears. She would hear the telltale beeping of a high or low alert, carefully extricate herself from the bed, and deal with the problem while steadfastly praying it didn’t wake Karla. She and Hermann had already dealt with enough issues sprung from her diabetes. What kind of a girlfriend would Vanessa be if she dragged Karla awake every time her blood sugar decided to ruin her beauty sleep?

It was already a small miracle Vanessa had somehow managed to get Karla as her butch. She wasn’t pushing her luck.

It’s of course the first one in years that dips into the forties that Karla wakes up for. Obviously.

Vanessa is living just her best possible life, braced against the kitchen counter with one eye screwed shut as she tries to steady her hand enough to measure out exactly 1/4 a cup of orange juice. She wants an entire bag of pretzels dipped in an entire tub of Nutella so badly she could cry. Or just a soft pretzel. Or salt and vinegar chips-- actual fucking potato chips, not french fries with British language disease. Although actually fries would do in a pinch.

She swallows hard and tries to get the numbers on the side of the measuring cup to swim into focus. This is not a productive line of thinking. Yes, Vanessa’s at like 45 right now, and yes it feels like she’s about to pass out and/or scream if she doesn’t clean out the backroom of a Dunkin’, or possibly a grain silo, but she’s still going to try and go back to sleep after this, and lying in bed unconscious with more than ten grams of uncovered carbs in her system is going to wake her right back up in two hours at 238. And that will just top this night with one helluva fucking cherry.

Vanessa remembers without a hint of fondness the lecture on insulin sensitivity she had been given by her endocrinologist back at sixteen. Oh, regular exercise makes a little hit you harder? Well you won’t believe what hiking through jungles and climbing through the ventilation systems of people who thought the Trail of Tears was a soft solution will do!

She fumbles for her phone and slides open the Dexcom app. There isn’t even a number anymore, just the word “LOW” in all caps. Vanessa does actually want to cry now. Her limbs feel like they’re made of melting jello, sweat pouring down her back in waves of heat. The inside of her chest feels like it’s shaking alongside every other part of her body, hands refusing to stay still long enough to make an accurate pour.

A bit of juice sloshes out of the bottle and onto the counter, and Vanessa winces at the thought of having to clean that up as well. A whore in church would offer her a fan right now. 

The strange, cottony feeling in her ears muffles the footsteps from the doorway until a hand on her shoulder makes her jump. Or, at least, she would jump if the idea of any sort of movement were a remote possibility.

“Nessa, darling, are you alright?” Karla asks, her fingers cool and dry against Vanessa’s burning skin. Language, English or German, doesn’t feel doable right now, but she gives it a go.

“‘M good, jus’ low,” she says in what’s probably heavily slurred, but her tongue feels like it weighs a hundred pounds and her brain resembles the state that arrives only with six consecutive shots of tequila. She gives the measuring cup another squint and misses the rim by several inches. Fuck.

“Your blood sugar?” Karla guesses, voice pitched low and blessedly soft. Vanessa nods. 

“We are not living, laughing, or loving tonight. I would kick so many fuckin’ babies square in the goddamn chest for an entire cylinder of cookie dough. I want a lobotomy.” These three sentences don’t make sense following each other, but Karla seems to understand anyway. She moves her hand to guide Vanessa’s into setting down the orange juice, then away.

“Please, love, let me; we’ll need a towel anyway at this rate.” She takes the carton, nodding and interrupting with, “One fourth a cup, I know,” when Vanessa begins to speak. 

Karla hands her the cup and Vanessa gulps it down, coughing slightly as some of it gets caught in her throat. Her hands are still shaking as she lets it drop back onto the counter, but Karla encircles her arms around her and carefully helps her to the floor.

Without thinking twice, Vanessa leans her head on her shoulder, letting out a long, pinched breath through her mouth as Karla winds her fingers through her hair. Her nails, blunt and neat, scratch lightly at her scalp, the other arm tight around her shoulders, one hand splayed across her arm.

“I know it’s rather necessary, but I quite like it when you don’t wear a bonnet to bed,” Karla murmurs into the top of her curls. “It’s like your hair is perfect for short nails.”

“Hhng,” Vanessa manages, the sweat on her skin beginning to cool. She shivers and leans in closer to Karla’s warm, blissfully average body heat. The words force themselves out on instinct. “Sorry I woke you up. It’s s’posed to be quieter.”

Karla turns her head to look at her quizzically. “What do you mean? You were gone for almost twenty minutes, and the bed was cold, so I got worried. Your alarm’s never woken me before.”

“Well I sure hope so. I know it’s, like. Annoying.”

Vanessa feels something twist in her stomach, and even though she knows Karla of all people would never pity her, perhaps only succeeded by Hermann, this admission of her limitation’s existence still fills her with discomfort. It’s unspoken, but known just under the surface, like a persistent itch. Acknowledging the negatives of this-- that the prevailing ideas it’s “not a huge deal” and “thriving not despite but because” are utter fallacy and crafted lines-- feels like a betrayal of some sort. That she’s doing it all wrong.

“What’s annoying,” Karla says gently, “is waking up to a cold bed and my girlfriend stranded in the kitchen over 1/4 a cup of orange juice, when I could quite easily and willingly help her. Have you been doing all this yourself this whole time?”

Vanessa nods, tracing her bare toes back and forth across the faux-wooden flooring. “I mean. Yeah.”

“Oh, darling.” Karla pulls her closer. “Please, please don’t take this as patronizing, but you always could have asked. I know how unpleasant these things are for you, and if there’s anything I can do to make it easier, I want to know. I’d be quite a dreadful girlfriend if I didn’t.”

Vanessa turns her head further into Karla’s shoulder, breathing in the clean, ginger scent of her soap; the warm pillow-smell from a few hours of sleep. “You don’t, like, have to. Like I said, I’ve been doing it myself.”

“But you don’t have to. I’m here; I’m willing. More than that, actually-- if, or I suppose when, this happens again, I want to know so I can be there for you.” She brings a hand to Vanessa’s cheek and cups it, turning it up to look her square in the eyes. “Please, Vanessa?”

Vanessa can’t last two seconds against Karla’s huge, brown doe eyes. She gives a tiny sigh. “Okay. If you want to.”

“I do.”

“Then I want measuring cups with bigger numbers. You always leave your glasses on the bedside table.”

Karla ducks her head and chuckles into her hair. “Yes, yes, you’re right. Leave your phone next to them, then. Then we won’t forget.”

Vanessa doesn’t. She also doesn’t sleep with her phone under her pillow anymore. Bad for your sleep habits, actually. And, y’know. Karla asked her not to.

[jaeknightorbats]

Tunnel Caprica [M]

Pairings: Baekhyun x Sehun (SeBaek) 

Ratings: NC-17

Genre/AUs: Smut, dark romance, slice of life

Description: It was a normal day for convenience store worker Byun Baekhyun when Sehun—a wealthy looking man—entered the store, only getting overdosed by drugs afterwards.  It was the encounter that would change Baekhyun’s life. It was the encounter that introduced him to a world that should never exist in this already problematic world. 

Warnings: Graphic sexual content, substance use, drug overdose, alcohol, and strong language

Chapters: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (NEW!)

Synopsis: Tunnel Caprica connects two cities under the huge and long mountain ranges of the country Ioca [a-yo-ka], making it one of the longest tunnels in the world with a distance of nearly 40 kilometers. However, people choose to drive the 3-hour long pass than driving through the tunnel, because driving through the tunnel can be claustrophobic—an hour drive with nothing but repeating images of the never ending tunnel. But through the tunnel also hides the entrance to another world that Baekhyun is yet to find out.

Part 1

Word count: 3.9k

Just a single response—a single response that could make everything better.

Or could make matters worse.

It had not been long since his girlfriend replied—five hours outmost. But five hours felt like a day to him. Getting used to quick replies, it’s making him crazy as to why he wasn’t getting any response even after sending her messages and giving her calls.

She’s mad.

He couldn’t help but think, and it’s making him weak. He doesn’t like anyone getting mad at him, especially if it was her.

Ple—

He stopped typing. He shouldn’t bother her, she’s at work. He shouldn’t annoy her. She must be annoyed. He wasn’t at work—it was his rest day, leaving him alone with his thoughts and his phone. Nothing worse than that—overthinking.

He dug his face on to his phone, praying to the gods to make a miracle for him.

He waited, and he waited. Still got no response.

Maybe staring at the screen would make a difference. He stared at every icon he could see, scrolled from side to side.

Why am I lying to myself?

Nearly 30, he was, but he could be still naïve at times. He was a high school dropout with divorced parents.

What divorce? They have no money for such things, his parents only lived separately, and things were too confusing for him. He ran away from his home at the age of 17, and started to find ways he could live on his own. Things never worked out for him, still broke at the age of twenty-nine. He’s renting a small, cheap apartment, and he had a third-hand car that needed constant maintenance. He worked at a convenience store near where he was staying, only a 15 to 20-minute walk.

Byun Baekhyun considered himself as a good-for-nothing, and was only working to survive. The only thing that was making him somewhat happy was his girlfriend’s affection. Now, the person giving what he wanted was mad at him.

He took a deep, hopeless breath as he dropped his head down to his table from where he was sitting. At the brink of losing hope, his heart jumped when his forehead felt the vibration of the table coming from his phone.

He didn’t check from who it was, and immediately clicked the notification and read the message.

Disappointed, he was, when the text message was from his carrier, reminding him that his phone bill’s due was approaching.

This girl, now this. His grip to his phone loosen, feeling weak—he could hear his heart beating. He felt like he was losing his mind.

A picture of his wallet flashed through his head, remembering exactly how much money he still had before his next pay. $43.05.

His phone bill usually cost $45.

He didn’t want to double check his wallet, it was too heartbreaking for him. He recently spent most of his money buying his girlfriend a nice dinner and a new phone—a phone she didn’t like that’s why they’re in a fight. She wanted an iPhone. He couldn’t afford such phone. He himself was sticking to his 3-year-old phone. As long as he could send his girlfriend a message, he was fine with any phone.

He pressed his eyes closed, thinking what should he do to pay his dues and to make his girl happy. His feet couldn’t stop tapping—he couldn’t think of a solution.

“Money can’t buy happiness?” he muttered to himself. “Bullshit.”

He stood up from his chair, threw his phone to the sofa just to release some stress—even a tiny bit. He needed a break.

He started walking circles in his small place, thinking of different things how to earn enough money to, at least, pay the bills.

Baekhyun never turned his head so fast when he saw his phone screen flashed from his peripheral view, hearing the vibration from the sofa. His feet dragged him fast towards the sofa and his hand grabbed the phone.

Disappointed again, it was from his friend, Park Chanyeol.

Im coming 2 ur place.

Baekhyun felt so pissed. He was hoping it was from someone better—his girlfriend. “I don’t need you to come,” he muttered to his phone.

Subsequently, a rapid knuckle impatiently knocked on Baekhyun’s door. It paused for a quick while, then started knocking again.

Baekhyun already knew who it was. He stomped his way to the door to stop the noise.

The grin on Chanyeol’s face faded, cocking his brow after he saw Baekhyun. “What’s with the face?” He made his way into Baekhyun’s place without permission and went straight to Baekhyun’s living room.

Baekhyun followed Chanyeol with a glare as he closed the door. “What are you doing here?”

What a stupid question—Baekhyun realized immediately. Chanyeol only visited Baekhyun for one thing, and one thing only—sniff drugs.

“I’m telling you, bro. You should break up with Yuri. She’s just using you,” Chanyeol said as he was pulling out his cheap snuff set from his jacket, placing it on the glass coffee table afterwards.

Chanyeol already knew what was bothering his friend, especially when Baekhyun made a face like what he was wearing. Nothing else bothered Baekhyun but women. Sometimes, Chanyeol knew Baekhyun doesn’t know how to straighten his priorities just for the sake of a woman.

But Baekhyun doesn’t like anyone minding his own business, so Chanyeol only watched him be stupid.

Baekhyun ignored him, and changed the topic. “Hey, when are you going to take home your shot. It’s taking a lot of space on my fridge.” He only had a mini fridge, it could only fit a few drinks and few foods.

“For as long as I don’t need it,” Chanyeol blatantly replied. “I don’t want my mom seeing that, she’ll start asking questions.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You already said that.”

Chanyeol still lived with his parents since he spent a lot of his money on the things he liked to snort.

Baekhyun pulled a chair on the dining table, and watched his friend do his thing.

Chanyeol carefully released a portion of his powered drug from a tiny airless balloon on Baekhyun’s table. Chanyeol pulled his wallet out and took a card to collect the scattered powder on the table and made a thin line with it. He licked the remaining powder that was on his card. Then, took his already-rolled-up bill from his kit. His nose made a loud noise as he snorted the powder. He twitched both sides of his nose and sniffed again, just to make sure his brain received that well. His eyes slightly became watery from the mild burning sensation that went through his nose. He cleaned the white dust excess on the table with his finger and brushed his gums with it—every bit counted.

Chanyeol sighed, satisfied, as he rested his head on the sofa.

“What was that?” Baekhyun asked.

“Heroin.”

Baekhyun was still a traditional man. Drugs never interest Baekhyun. He’s tried a pot, but it was never for him. He’s seen people around him done it, and he didn’t like what it did to them. Besides, these substances cost too much.

“By the way,” Chanyeol lifted his head up and pointed at Baekhyun, “I told boss you’re gonna take my shift tonight.”

Chanyeol also worked at the same convenience store, that’s where they met each other.

Baekhyun reacted, “What?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you. I have some business tonight.” Chanyeol winked mischievously—obviously planning something sketchy.

Baekhyun thought he’d have his rest day for himself.

Then, Baekhyun remembered his bills and his girlfriend.

Maybe he needed that shift.

“Breaking news: Kang Sunmi filed a divorce. The fifteen year old allegedly—“

Snapping fingers diverted Baekhyun’s attention from the television back to his manager who was in front of him. The manager pointed his pen to Baekhyun and said, “That news will stay for a while, customers don’t.”

Baekhyun nodded lazily.

It was past 3AM. He was on his second cup of coffee but he still felt drowsy, his eyes wanted to close itself. He’s not used to night shifts unlike Chanyeol, who could do any shift at any time of the day. Baekhyun still had an 11AM shift after his shift at 4AM. He’ll have less time for sleep, but a little more money for him. He needed every cent.

Less than an hour left.

There weren't many people at the store, so he was pissed off at his boss for being such an uptight motherfucker.

He couldn’t wait for his shift to end, he missed his bed. But he missed his girlfriend, Yuri, a lot more. She was still ignoring Baekhyun’s call and messages, making him miserable. He didn’t know how to make her notice him again.

I’ll pay her a visit after my shift. I’ll be there before breakfast, before she leaves for work. She’ll be surprised, see my effort and sincerity, he thought.

The idea washed away his sleepiness in a snap. He got excited to see Yuri’s face again. Baekhyun hoped she would forgive him and give him a kiss or hug.

His brain cells started to work actively, thinking of what things he should say.

How should I apologize?

Thinking of what he should do.

Should I text her first or knock straight away at her door?

Should I buy her a chocolate?

No, maybe hotcakes. She loves hotcakes.

He was alone with his thoughts, distracted by the challenges of love.

The bell on the top of the door rang when somebody pushed it open.

It woke Baekhyun up from his thoughts, his instinct greeted the customer who got in. “Good evening.” He, then, realized it was already early in the morning. He corrected himself, “Morning, sir.”

They were trained to greet anyone who came in the store.

Baekhyun watched the tall man take big steps as the man walked in, not even turning his head to Baekhyun’s direction. The tall man vanished from Baekhyun’s sight as he passed by the tall shelves.

Baekhyun had seen different types of people enter the store when he took night shifts on some occasions. There were people in pajamas buying food for breakfast, or maybe for their late night snack. Guards, drivers, and night shift employees buying coffee. Normal looking families who were on a trip buying snacks. Bunch of drunk teenagers wearing cropped tops and/or bomber jackets who came from a party buying cigarettes, or water for their friend who kept throwing up. People of any age wearing tacky clothes who were obviously on drugs—he could tell it from their teeth—buying lighters. Some people looked dangerous, he dared not to judge the things they buy, but they were usually alcohol and cigarettes. And, some men buy condoms.

But Baekhyun had never seen a person walk wearing sunglasses. Who wears sunglasses late at night?

What was also striking was the man was wearing an obviously expensive black coat. It was beautiful how vivid the color was; it was the blackest of the black he had ever seen. If the man came from a party, it must be a fancy one, might be a ball, or a fancy wedding of a multi-millionaire. Baekhyun thought the man was lost. The man should have asked his butler or driver to buy things for him.

A pair of heels started to echo his ears—it got louder as it got closer.

Of course, he has matching Italian shoes.

Even the most decent shoes don’t make a sharp sound like that.

Baekhyun turned his head to the man’s direction as the man got closer to the counter.

The man stopped in front of Baekhyun, still holding on to his items. He slightly lifted his head and scanned his eyes around the top shelves that were behind Baekhyun.

Baekhyun noticed the man was wearing a high-end brand of sunglasses. The way the light reflected on the black frame and on the black lenses, it was something else. His skin glowed as the light met his face, showing his healthy and almost poreless skin.

“Do you have anything besides Jack Daniels?” the man started to speak.

Baekhyun turned around and scanned the shelves himself. He knew the man was looking for something hard. “We have Johnnie Walker. Red, black, and double black.”

He rarely drank such expensive alcohol, but he enjoyed the scotch he recommended when he tasted it.

The man scoffed. “I’d take the bourbon.”

Baekhyun nodded and stretched his arm to reach the box of Jack Daniels.

The man placed his item on the counter. Baekhyun scanned the box, and the cotton balls that the man placed.

“Is that all?”

The man looked down at the front of the counter, turned his head from left to right, searching for something. He finally reached for something that caught his interest. He lightly threw the item on the counter

“That’d be all,” he said as he revealed a part of his side body under his coat, reaching his back pocket for his wallet.

“$27.14,” said Baekhyun after scanning the box of condoms—the ultra-thin one.

The man took another item in front of the counter the moment it caught his attention.

Baekhyun scanned a small bottle of lubricant. “$38.54”

The man initially took a hundred-dollar bill out from his wallet but he put it back. He extended his arm, slightly revealing a shiny silver watch under his sleeve, and gave three 20s instead.

The man looked at Baekhyun and said, “Keep the change.”

Baekhyun's eyes slightly widened, his lips curved upward. He couldn’t be happier, he needed every cent of money he could get.

It must be his lucky day.

“Thank you, sir!”

The man cocked both of his brows as a response while he put the smaller items inside his coat and carried the bourbon by the hand. Then, Baekhyun watched the man leave the store.

Baekhyun couldn’t stop grinning as he put the change on his wallet after he cashed in the payment.

“That was a nice watch,” he muttered to himself. It was like love at first sight when he saw the man’s watch. It was still at the back of his head.

Baekhyun looked at the store’s watch.

Ten minutes left before 4:00.

He started to fix his things at the staff room. Removed his tacky uniform under his white shirt, and wore a cozy jacket. He bid his goodbyes to his co-worker and manager and left the store at 4:05AM.

Cold wind blew on his face, making him shiver. He dug both of his hands on the pocket of his jacket, and started to walk across the almost empty parking lot.

He couldn’t spot a single person around. Few vehicles, yes. It was still early. The area of the city he’s in wasn’t exactly the busiest.

Baekhyun put a smile on his face. “I’m gonna buy hotcakes. I’m gonna see Yuri.” He felt excited. He tried to paint the look on Yuri’s face when she saw him at the front of her doors.

“We’re gonna have breakf—“

A long honk of a car distracted Baekhyun from walking. He turned his head where he heard the noise, but he couldn’t see anything—it was too dark, and the parking lot was too huge.

He turned around, checking if other people were around. But he was alone.

It was still honking, it wouldn’t stop. There was panic in Baekhyun’s eyes, his heart started to pound hard, he was nervous. Other parked cars seemed peaceful. His eyes searched everywhere, but he seriously couldn’t see anything. He started to walk hesitantly where the loud beep was coming from, he was unsure.

Silence.

Baekhyun’s ears rang and felt deaf after the vehicle stopped honking. But he was still worried. His feet wouldn’t move, his mind went blank, his ears still ringing.

Then, a tiny, orange light suddenly emerged from his sight from where he was walking to. The light was from inside a car. He could see tiny silhouettes in it.

He started to walk forward, but still hesitant. He turned his head from left to right to check if there were other people besides him. He was still alone.

The light got closer and closer as he walked nearer.

“HEELP!”

A loud screech of a woman alarmed Baekhyun, putting him to a stop.

“HEEELP!”

Baekhyun ran as fast as he could to the light, to the woman’s voice who cried for help. He saw the woman looking in his direction. Baekhyun was having a hard time to breathe because of the cold wind blowing against him, but he ran faster after he saw an unconscious man next to the woman.

Baekhyun panted heavily when he finally reached the vehicle. Him and the woman looked at one another with panic in their eyes.

“HELP!” The woman cried while she was shaking the man on his shoulders.

Baekhyun shifted his look to the man—it was the man who tipped him earlier. He was unconscious.

Baekhyun opened the door. “What happened?!”

The woman was in a state of panic, she didn’t know what to say. She was only worried for the man.

“Have you called 911?”

The woman blinked. “Are you fucking crazy?!”

Baekhyun looked around the vehicle. He saw a spoon, an elastic band, a syringe, a dust of power, and cotton balls. Baekhyun suddenly noticed the man had his sleeve rolled up.

“He fucking OD’ed?!” He concluded after he saw the things around them. The man got overdosed by some drug.

The woman didn’t know what to say. Her eyes were shaking—she was unsure if she should trust the man.

“You must call 911, or he’ll die!” exclaimed Baekhyun.

“No, no, no. Please don’t call them!” the woman begged.

Baekhyun knew if they called 911, they'd go to jail after he regained his consciousness because they were doing illegal drugs.

“Fuck,” Baekhyun cursed, he knew the woman won’t change her mind—he had met a lot of people on drugs, so, he somewhat understood. He removed his jacket, dropped both his bag and jacket on the concrete.

He stepped up to their high SUV and searched for the recliner lever of the man’s seat. But he couldn’t find it. “Where’s it?! How do you recline this fucking seat?!” Baekhyun yelled at the woman.

The woman jumped in panic, “Fuck.” She pulled something behind the seat of the man she was with to recline the seat.

Baekhyun lent his face to the man’s face to feel and listen if he was breathing. He wasn’t. “Fuck.”

“Don’t fucking die on me, Sehun,” the woman begged, pulling her hair. Her eyes began to tear up.

Baekhyun held the man’s face upward. He’s going to perform CPR.

He had his face close to the man, then the woman spoke. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Do you want him to fucking die?!”

Baekhyun exhaled all the air from his lungs and passed it to the man. He pumped his chest with both of his hands intertwined.

No response.

Baekhyun performed another around. He gave air, pumped the man’s chest.

Still, no response.

Baekhyun performed another, and another, and another round.

“Fucking shit. Don’t die on us, man.” He kept pumping his chest, sweat was breaking on his forehead despite the chilly climate.

The man wasn’t breathing.

Then, Baekhyun remembered his friend, Chanyeol. He remembered that he had Chanyeol’s adrenaline shot in his fridge.

“Fuck.”

Baekhyun carried the man on his shoulders and transferred him to the back of the car.

“What are you doing?!” The woman freaked out, confused. She followed them behind the car.

“Keep giving him CPR. I have something in my place that might help.”

Baekhyun went in front of the car, fixed the seat, and started driving. He drove as fast as he could to his place, he had the hazard lights on, he didn’t stop at any red light, he kept honking the car on every car that was on his way. Every second counted. The man could die at any moment.

They reached his place in 3 minutes.

Baekhyun carried the man on his shoulders and ran as fast as he could to his door steps.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened. His keys were in his bag.

He left his bag in the parking lot.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This isn’t happening,” he muttered to himself.

“What? What’s happening?!” The woman freaked out while she held the man’s face behind Baekhyun’s back, trying to wake the unconscious man.

“Fuck,” Baekhyun panicked. He didn’t want to let the woman know. She’d make him freak out more if she knew.

Baekhyun searched his pockets. He was starting to feel the weight of the man on his shoulders. Baekhyun gulped. Then, he felt the bulk in one of his pockets. It was his wallet. He remembered he had a spare key in his wallet.

He immediately took his wallet and searched for the key inside his wallet.

It was the biggest relief of his life when he felt the cold brass meet his finger. It was his key.

He opened the door, then carefully placed the man in his living room.

“Keep giving him CPR,” he ordered the woman as he ran as fast as he could to his mini fridge, and took a package on the top shelf.

He ran back to the man. His hands were shaking. He had read the instruction of how to use the shot countless times when he had nothing to do with his time and when he attempted to throw it away because it took a lot of space. Chanyeol had also told him how to use the shot once or twice just in case Chanyeol got overdosed himself. But Baekhyun still read it, just in case he read it wrong before.

But he was shaking, his head couldn’t think straight. There was an unconscious man in front of him.

“Fuck this shit.”

He’ll have to trust his memory.

He opened the package, and there was a tiny bottle that came with a huge syringe in it.

“Rip his shirt open,” Baekhyun commanded the woman as he tried to inject the 6-inch needle to the bottle with his shaky hands.

Baekhyun breathed heavily. He held his hand high over his head with the syringe, focused on the man’s chest. He had to inject the shot hard enough to get through his ribcage to his heart—to make his heart pump again with the adrenaline shot.

Baekhyun’s breath got heavier and heavier by the second.

Just a single response.

Baekhyun held his breath and stabbed the man with the needle.

A single response that could make everything better.

The man arose from his position, making a loud noise as he inhaled every air his lungs could get as he came back to life.

In a shaky voice, breathing rapidly, the man cursed, “Fuck.”

Or could make matters worse.

To be continued...

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Tunnel Caprica: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 (NEW!)