#I am an absolute champ at overthinking things

[foxounderscorecube]

Can't stop thinking about how the whole point of the "Hydrogen Bomb vs Coughing Baby" meme was that obviously a coughing baby is powerless in comparison to a whole H-bomb because I honestly thought that Coughing Baby was a symbol of widespread pestilence and that both were representations of things that could severely impact life as we know it

[survivor-trinidad-and-tobago]

Episode 6: "you joined a Zoom call with two people who look fucking identical, did you not think people would connect the dots?"—Kolby

In this round: Lexi is medically evacuated; Zee finds an idol; a tribe swap switches things up again, bringing 3 tribes back down to 2; Raffy's soul leaves his body during Celebrity; and Zee thinks Raffy has a vendetta against her because he shared the absolutely shocking revelation that AJ and Zee are, in fact, identical twins

Soca Confessionals

Astyn

Champ

NEW TRIBE YAY! I’m so sad that Lexi got medevacted, I know she would’ve been an easy number for me going forward, but she left me 40 TT dollars so SLAY my social game! Raffy said that I’m very good at playing dumb LOL honestly I’m just a ditsy person in general. I would’ve loved to make a big move on Raffy had Lexi not got medevaced :( Honestly idk where I stand with him but he is probably coming after me so oh well. As long as I make it to merge, I feel pretty okay in my position. I’ve made good enough connections to know a lot of information and not be a threat. Everyone knows that Zee and AJ are sisters now and that’s so funny because I called it day 1. Also the fact that Kaleigh gave me her vote and now she doesn’t have a vote is so slay omg I love her she’s so sweet and I got her back 100%. Kolby Eman and I have an alliance that I feel really solid in and im assuming we are going to tribal so hoping for a good ole blindside

Eman

At first I was afraid. I was petrified. BUT I SURVIVED

And I was excited to continue working with Tony & Kolby.

I even confessed it to the VL how excited I was about it.

SO OF COURSE there was a twist and another swap.

So, I've still got Kolby.

And there's Champ who's been like boats passing in the night with me.

And Astyn who's already messaged me, so I've gotta see what they're all about.

And Jack seems nice.

And of course Raffy on who's good side I need to remain.

And then Lexi the enigma.

We'll see.

I've already revised my celebrities list a few times trying to be less esoteric. (It originally included Missy Copeland, Angela Merkel, and Mao Tse Tung)

--

Life comes at you fast.

First, thank God for Champ! I've wanted to work with her since day 1 and now we're finally there. She called me right after the challenge and we totally bonded and agreed that we need to bring Kolby in on things and I think we're good. A strong 3.

Where things get interesting is that Astyn and Jack have also expressed an interest in working with me. And from Jack I learned that he and Raffy don't have a vote next tribal.

So basically Kolby, Champ, and I could control the vote if we wanted to. Presuming that whomever we target either feels confident or doesn't have an idol.

I was feeling on the bottom with this shuffle and I don't anymore. This could get interesting.

Goat or GOAT?

--

PEE ESS

If it seems like I'm a little obsessed with my extra vote, it's because I am.

This is my third game and my very first tangible advantage and I've only been watching Survivor since the actual debut (see also: I am OLD) and I'm determined not to squander this, so in classic Survivor fashion, I will be overthinking everything associated with it.

Kolby

Jack

Raffy

My tribe is the worst. I don't want to be here. Apparently everyone and their mother on this tribe has no grasp of pop culture. I'm writing this as we are losing this challenge. I don't wanna be dragged out for another 30 minutes just to lose. Please someone end my suffering all of these people are getting on my last nerve with this challenge. From not knowing who Dracula is to Jack showering in the middle, I've had it up to here. I'm over it.

Calypso Confessionals

Zee

Ok hello hello, welcome to Zee tries to write longer confessionalssssss. I've been hella tired since that movie challenge, and I feel like I mellowed out A LOT. Let's recap a little bit here, I put my entire Calypsussy into the Movie challenge, like hardcore. I'd had the idea of the Wes Anderson style trailer since Thursday, when they put the challenge on hold, so that babey was SIMMERING, until they restarted the challenge(which I didn't even know if they'd do, honestly). Did I sort of take over the challenge when I woke up? Sort of. But I didn't steamroll anyone or anything. I'd been asleep at least 7 hours when the challenge was dropped, and nobody said a thing about it, so I copy pasted suggestions from the host chat, and gave a vague idea of the plot, which was kept vague until I edited. Middle of my day friday people said they liked the idea, so I asked for clips, and Champ and I called because she said I was the only one working and putting out ideas, and she felt bad lol. So she and I decided to be the "stars" of the movie trailer, and we shot a bunch of stuff, and then I gathered clips from everyone, and I shot my own clips for TWO DAYS, since I missed my bus home and stayed over at my friend's house. Then I edited all day Sunday, wrote the voice over and had to expand on the vague one line of plot I'd kept, but in the end it turned out great and we won first place even though we didn't have an advantage! I had a creative vision and I would have been damned if I didn't see that shit through.

As far as round four goes I didn't really do much, I woke up to having been sat out of the challenge, which seemed like a pretty fun challenge, but it's alright I guess. They did discuss it without me, but also they wanted to just lock everything in which is super valid, and it meant I HAD to participate in the next challenge, which is dope. We ended up getting first place again I think, which is very slay, and Astyn got a perfect 8/8! I do keep getting nothing from my idol hunt, which sucks, and Sally fucking swindled me out of 5TT$, like ma'am, please.

Round five was FANTASTIC, and I really think helped me bond with the team a little more. I also(and this might come back to bite me later) told Champ about the fact that I got the read reciepts on disadvantage from a hunt and not the excursion, and she said she was shocked bc the way I wrote it, it seemed legit, so maybe if she thinks that, so does everyone else I originally told. Again, I'm realizing I probably didn't need to tell anyone I got anything bad, but I did feel at the time like if I said I got nothing, nobody would believe me, but anywho now Champ knows. But I'm really hoping she and I stay allies, because we talked and bonded a bit more through being put on the same tribe in the swap, so hopefully that works out for us. Other than that, Champ and I called at 10pm my time, and began to practice Codenames because we both hadn't really played before, and didn't really know what to do. Colin and Jack came in a bit later, and the four of us played until the time of the challenge, which was at 3am for me, so my brain was definitely off by then. Somehow though we managed to pull through and secure second place, probably in part thanks to the five hours spent practicing lmao. At one point Colin and Jake(who were on a team opposite Champ and I) gave the hint meat, and so we went with wings, walrus, and pie. We probably would have(technically) tied with Soca, had it not been for the fact that when Jake gave the hint of body, I went with Disease instead of wings. But regardless, Jake Colin and I stayed on the call until the results were announced(Champ went to go watch survivor with her dad, mega slay) and we were all relieved to be safe from tribal. Trinica did give us shit for walrus meat though lmao, but it's the only thing Frikkie wants to eat so.....

With the Maracas Tribal, I wanted to stay up for the challenge to drop, since I know everyone talks about it without me lmaoooo. SO I set an alarm for 12:45 and plopped myself down to sleep. After some Zs, I woke up to see we had been SWAPPED AGAIN. My little heart cannot handle this, but upon waking up I realised that this actually could be exactly what I need for my black widow brigade plan, since I'm making allies with the ladies across tribe lines, though it seems like we're running low on those. BUT KALEIGH AND I ARE BACK TOGETHER ON ONE TRIBEEEEEEE. I woke up to the alarm at almost 1am and that was the first message I saw. Sadly Champ got taken to another tribe, I'm sending her all my luck, since I know she might need it. Kaleigh and I plan to call later today to update each other on everything, and I can't wait to hear how it's all been going for her. Do I trust anyone still? Oh absolutely not, but I am vibing with everyone. Alex IS on our tribe again, which makes me nervous because I don't really trust him because of his bio, but still I'm interested in this challenge. I put a lot of gay Icons(plus David Tennant) in my celebrity list, I also Included Jenna Ortega for Wednesday if we need one worded answers for round 2. Thank god it's at a decent time. I hope we win again, and I feel like we might, but I also sucked ass at that song challenge a bit back, so we'll see. I need to update my idol hunt document, but now that Kaleigh is back, maybe I can get some info from her again...we'll see.

--

"How the fuck did none of you know who DRACULA was. NOBODY. Anyway, WE WON AGAIN. And I found an Idol last idol hunt, but it's no big deal I guess. It's nice to have it but I feel like this idol is going to be like one of those stickers you get but never stick anywhere because you're afraid that it'll be in the wrong spot or be ruined and besides you think it's really pretty anyway, so might as well just keep it. Anyway we slayed so hard in the Celebrities challenge that multiple people on the other tribe asked if we could end it early out of mercy. Lexi got med-evaced so Soca isn't going to tribal, so idk what's going to happen there, or what they're doing, but we're at thirteen players now, which means a merge could be close, and I'm ready for it. I don't know what I'd do in the merge, because I try to put my whole ass into these challenges, and if I can win them, why wouldn't I? The only problem is that doing so would put a huge target on my back, and then the one time I don't win, people would immediately target me as a huge threat. Unless.....if I just win win win, then I have this idol, and I can use it on myself if I don't win, kind of like a safety assurance. But if I did that, I'd have to keep winning until almost final three, otherwise if I lost another one after using the idol, they'd just get me out then.

I'm interested to see who still wants to ally with me when the merge happens, because it would appear that Raffy is out to get me. To get to the bottom of this, let's flashback to last night when Kaleigh and I called to catch up after the challenge. We talked a lot about some mostly pointless stuff just like life, but we also talked about what was happening on the tribes we got put on. Sadly I didn't have much to say, since my tribe was veeeery quiet, and we kept winning so we didn't really have any drama. It's going to be interesting going to tribal though, especially with people who have already been to some. It's like watching an action movie with a war veteran, you're like "ooooh explosion" and they're like "[grizzled war voice]you wouldn't understand the sacrifices I've had to make to survive". I also have no idea if I can trust anything Kaleigh says, for all I know she could be lying to me about practically everything, that's the problem with this game, I don't fully trust anyone. Does Kaleigh know that I told a fib unrelated to the game in the beginning? Yes she does. Does she know WHAT it is? Nope, all she knows is that it was pointless, and started as me not wanting to correct people. She told me she wrote in all her confessionals about how much she missed me, but again, I have no way to know if this is true or not. Anyway, back to the point. She told me that Raffy told Alex, who told Steven, who told her, that I'm related to AJ. So it would appear that Raffy has been spreading this information to make people more wary of me and my game. Which is also a bit annoying because AJ has been especially harder and stricter on me than she is with anyone else, she even marked me as unemployed instead of a student in the bio in the beginning. She's extra hard on me because she doesn't want people to think she's playing favorites, and judging by the fact that I didn't get a winner's pick yet, I'd say her favorites are in other places. Regardless, there's no FRIENDLY reason for Raffy to spread this info, so it would appear he's out to get me. I would however like to use some of his own words and sentiment against him come tribal, if I'm asked a question about the rumors, because I know last game he and AJ had mild beef bc she kept saying he knew the host, and that he had hosted before and knew a lot about the games and was a challenge threat, and he could see those because tribal council there was posted and everyone knew what went down on the opposite tribe's tribals. I'll use his words of(vaguely) "I want to be judged for who I am in this game, and how I play here, and not for anyone I know or how I've played in the past." you know, something to that effect.

Oh also it's kind of random but Kaleigh and I have decided to conduct an experiment on Alex, since we both agree that the way he's acting in DMs seems very tailored to the way each of us talk, and kind of seems like a persona of himself that he's putting on specifically to charm us. Which makes us(or at least me) nervous, because of the info that he put IN HIS BIO. I still can't get over that, man revealed his entire strategy in his intro post, and nobody seems to have noticed lmao. Anyway, to test our theory, I've decided to start saying yassssss a lot in my messages with him, and see if he takes that and starts using it too. Because I already use a lot of double or triple letters, and he's been using it too, but ONLY with me lmao. So yeah, that's a little bit of fun we've got going on now."

Alex

Okay, a very successful 24-hours. We finally took first in an immunity challenge so I'm steadily raking in the TT$, and me and Michael worked SO well together in Codenames which has fiiinally helped us start talking more. I liked his vibes immediately so I wish we could have been talking throughout the entirety of our time on Soca 2.0 but better late than never. I've still got the rest of Soca Elite with me, too, which rocks. Colin already, reached out, which is cool, since he and Zee are the only in's to find out what was going on over at Calypso. I'm wondering if Zee worked some magic to rebuild trust from that first summit or if I can kind of play their information off of each other. I at least feel like I'd be secure were we to go to tribal. Less certain of what could happen over on Soca 3.0. Soca 1.0 still has a majority but with Kolby and Eman being sequestered from everyone else, Raffy and Champ's history, the Calypso 2.0 of it all, and not knowing anything about Jack or Astyn, I feel like there's the potential for some shakeups. Fingers crossed I make it to merge, I think things are going to just keep getting more exciting.

Colin

this swap has breathed LIFE into my game, I'm so grateful for it.

it's a little scary not knowing very many people on the tribe. Michael and I were both on OG Calypso, Zee and I were on Calypso 2, and then I know Steven from prior games, but then everyone else is new to me. But everyone is pretty active and I'm having great conversations!! It's giving me a lot more energy in the game, feeding off of everyone else's vibes.

I need to get some allies on this side, as all of my existing alliance is on the other tribe. I'm looking at Zee and Alex rn, they seem like great allies. Strong players are good to have on your side.

With us crushing this round's immunity, I think we just have to survive one more round till merge, so I'm feeling confident!!

Here are my tribe first impressions that no one asked for!!

Alex - kinda my fave. Very easy and fun to talk to. I wanna get close with him, he's someone I wanna get to know better. Kaleigh - loving the energy. haven't gotten to talk to her much, but I think she'll be someone fun. Michael - was pretty quiet on OG Calypso and didn't get a chance to get to know him before the first swap. I think he's a bit more active now, but I don't really have too many thoughts about him in the game as of rn Steven - in general, I would die for Steven. he's great and super nice. i value every game we get together because he's such a genuine person. i think we're two very different players so we usually don't get paired together strategically, so we'll see what happens in this game! Tony - seems really nice!! maybe kind of an underdog in the game. a wildcard mayhaps. Zee - a force to be reckoned with. She's passionate about the game and the challenges specifically, I know she's always going to give her all. Definitely a valuable ally to have but idk how far I wanna go with her yet.

Tony

And just like that I’ve reunited with so many folks from my previous tribe! It’s a bittersweet reunion seeing that Eman and I were split up :( but I trust that she is playing a strong game on the other tribe. Now that I’m here I gotta make sure that I’m pulling my weight given that I sat out of the last challenge. No telling what’s gonna happen next!

Michael

Not going to tribal again so the game is pretty stale. Tony and I are going to work together. I also entered an alliance with Alex, we need to pull a few more people. I also need to let Tony know about Alex. I just think nothing is really going to pop off until the merge, which I hope I'll make

Steven

Kaleigh

welp we had another swap. by some miracle?? or just a twist of fate, alex & steven & i are all still together, but on calypso now - michael too, though he still hasnt talked game to me. ZEE IS BACK. which i am v happy about. then we have colin and tony. raffy is on the other tribe. which is JUST FINE WITH ME! we had our little celebrity game today and we fuckennnn DOMMMINATED it was so fun and also kind of sad/hard to watch raffy going like “ok, the original vampire. like, you think of a vampire, that’s this.” and his team being like “oh! uh! twilight! edward…edward cullen! robert pattinson!” and literally not get it at all, and then on my turn i get dracula and go “Transvylania, vampire” and like my whole tribe in unison immediately goes DRACULA. LMAOOO LIKE DAMN i could feel raffys frustration in that moment. um ya so they did a mercy ruling in the 3rd round bc we were so far ahead. their team actually requested it lmao sheeeeesh. but then no tribal bc lexi was medevaced. that looks so ugly written down.

i talked w zee after the challenge and we caught up, got a bunch of info, feeling v solidified in the bimbo alliance. also talked to steven tonight. zee and steven both said they thought we’d merge @ 12, and what choice do i have but to believe theM? LOL i’m not doing any research on that! i messaged w tony briefly last night, asked him how his experience was on maracas, he rly dodged it and was like “the vibes were off with nick and tanner.” like, my brother in christ, we all know exactly how off the vibes were. they are gone! this is not helpful! obviously it seems like he and eman and kolby must be TIGHT, but he didn’t say shitittt and apparently alex asked him today about the excursion and he was j like “haha excursions are not my fave!” WHAT?! LMFAO WHAT ARE YOU DOING MY GUY!!!! like, what MUST be ur only solid alliance (eman and kolby) aren’t here! you gotta share info to build trust and get in where you fit in! like i get feeling like ur vulnerable and being uncertain about who to trust, and also… plz trust me :)

anyway, i feel very solid with zee now, and steven and alex as well. i don’t know what da fUUCK is gonna happen once we merge. maybe i’ll try to talk game with michael tomorrow. idk. oh i told zee that raffy told steven that she and aj are siblings and she is soooo pissed, UNDERSTANDABLY! like truly he did not need to share that info, even tho it seemed (based on what zee said) that someone else had asked about it and been thinking it. so anyway she is like ok raffy’s gotta go. she said she’s gonna try to fake ally with him once we merge, which, like, good luck girl… but if she’s successful in faking an alliance and then voting him out that tribal will be extremely delicious. she also said champ will totally work with us, which i believe! tho champ and raffy played together last season… also steven said raffy said that champ is good at playing dumb, which i’m like, what are you even talking about? like pretending to be a bad player? idk. i am getting a LOT of info from both steven and zee tho so that’s sick and like, maybe will help me out later. like raffy telling steven that aj+zee are siblings absolutely destroyed any potential game he had with zee, who actually seemed eager to work w him before hearing that LMAOOOO SORRY RAFFY MAYBE YA SHOULDA PRETENDED TO WANNA WORK W ME!! but ya zee said too that colin and raffy were in an alliance w astyn andddd drea so i know colin and raffy are allied, and i think zee was feeling good about colin and potentially working w raffy but i think that might not be the case anymore.

ok so my only strategy in this game so far is to win as much as possible (duh, and my teams are crushing it) and to do as many phone calls/video calls as possible bc that is truly the easiest way to tell if someone’s bullshitting AND it’s the best way to build trust and get info bc ppl just looooooooove to chitty chat. god yunno i will say it’s not ideal that alex+steven see zee as a big target and zee thinks alex is like playing a rly good game (is he?). it’s not ideal that my two alliances are gunning for each other. gonna have to fix that. i’m not even CLOSE to being ready for zee to go. who the hell has the idol(s)?? also kinda offended i havent been a winners pick since round one?!?!??!?!!?! who’s gettin those?!

[twilightdruig]

help?

pairing : george weasley x fem!reader

summary : “hi i’m your neighbor and while i know we’ve never spoken but you’re a single parent of two and my sister recently died leaving me to raise her infant and i have no idea what i’m doing, help?” au

warnings : swearing , mentions of character deaths , fluff , au where george lives alone with his two children in a cottage near the burrow , au where fred and cedric live.

words : 2.6k

a/n : this is my first fic so it’s probably gonna be shit (as you can probably tell i’m not good with titles either) but yeah hope you enjoy :> and i might do a little part 2 on this soon

holly l/n was loved by multiple. a sweet hufflepuff student who was favored by all the teachers and students. her sister, y/n was a scary and intimidating gryffindor who hung out in the library.

ever since the battle of hogwarts death eaters have been imprisoned in azkaban. but, that didn’t mean all harm was gone.

now here y/n l/n was, standing in the heat of the summer, her nephew connor l/n mourning the death of a family member.

the service was beautiful. a few hogwarts students came including luna lovegood and neville longbottom and professor sprout and professor flitwick decided to pay their respects. headmistress mcgonagall sent her condolences through a letter as well.

conner wasn’t old enough to go to hogwarts yet. there was no one else for holly to leave connor with. her husband, ronan died during the war, all connor’s grandparents died and the only appointed godparents were holly’s best friend cedric diggory and her sister y/n.

cedric diggory was now teaching first year flying at hogwarts and is married to cho chang.

y/n was currently doing nothing with her life. she wanted to live alone in a cottage, reading, stitching, picking apples and getting drunk on fruity cocktails. but now? she had to take care of her sister’s spoiled son.

y/n hated children more than she hated the people in her own hogwarts house. more so, she didn’t know how to take care of them.

she had to enroll her nephew in hogwarts, teach him basic life skills and other stuff like that. there goes her life goal on being that cool stoner aunt that hates love and children.

—

“shit, connor!” y/n exclaimed as her 3 year old nephew accidentally ate a ton tongue toffee made by the joke shop in diagon alley owned by the weasleys.

“sorry aunty y/n”

she was never close to the weasleys. all of them, stereotypical gryffindors, loud and chaotic and always the main characters.

the only thing she knew about them is that one of the twins live next to her. y/n didn’t know how to shrink his tongue and thought it was quite the convenience that he lives next door. he was a single dad with two daughters, maybe he could help her control her nephew and technically her adopted son, now.

she sighed. “put on your coat, we’re visiting our neighbors, ok con?” the little boy nodded in response

—

went the small cottage came into view, there were two little girls picking flowers on the front yard and a tall red-headed man on the porch watching them.

“hey! weasley!” she yelled with a small smile as she approached the small gate.

“l/n? what are you doing here?” george asked

y/n gestured to her nephew who was holding his now 3 foot long tongue. “he accidentally ate one of your products and i’m not entirely sure how to fix it”

“right, right” he laughed “come on, connor right? i’ll reverse that”

y/n felt a tug at her oversized cardigan. she looked down to see two identical ginger twins.

“hi there!” one smiled.

“hello!” y/n tried to sound as nice as possible. looking back at her teenage years she remembered laughing at kids who fell of their brooms their brooms when she’d watch first year flying. she remembered laughing at seamus finnigan when something blew up in his face. or when she’d laugh at any kid accidentally getting hurt.

“these are for you! they’re pretty just like you” the other twin exclaimed.

“i’m charlotte and she’s billie” charlotte giggled.

“how do u know our daddy?” billie asked

“oh! um, we went to school together and i live just next door” y/n replied

“do you know our uncle freddie?”

“i know all your uncles and your aunt ginny, aunt hermione and uncle harry. they were all famous when we were in school”

“wow!” they both exclaimed

george and connor came back out. “look aunty y/n! my tongue’s normal again!”

“aunty?” george questioned. “holly. she died quite recently.”

“oh! i’m so sorry. i heard about her. yeah. i believe mum sent some flowers for the service”

“yeah we received them”

“i’ll see you around?” george inquired

“yeah, yeah. and i might need some parenting advice? you knew how i was back at hogwarts”

“i am flattered, dear l/n”

“oh hush. and they get along.” she pointed to the three children running around.

“they do. and yes, i would love to help you tame that little rascal” george laughed.

“thank you, george. really.”

“i’m just next door, yeah?”

“yeah” y/n smiled “come on, connor. we’re going home. but we’ll definitely be seeing these lovely ladies soon.”

“bye pretty lady!” y/n heard two young voices call after her

“daddy, who was she?”

“is she gonna be our new mommy?”

—

george and y/n had been hanging out for the past weeks. he had given her advice on taking care of connor and how to deal with children. they also spent time talking about family and their time back at hogwarts. she was told about the attack of death eaters at one of his brothers’ wedding and how his daughters were named after his brothers bill and charlie.

a knock at y/n’s door interrupted her reading.

“oi, l/n!” she heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door.

“weasley” she muttered.

connor recognized george’s voice and the twins’ giggles, he decided he would take matters into his own little hands. connor knew how stubborn his aunt was at the young age of seven.

“hi billie! hi charlotte! hi uncle george!” the little boy squealed.

“hey there, con!” george ruffled his hair while billie and charlotte ran over to y/n.

connor and the twins were two years apart. connor was going to hogwarts the next year. no doubt would he be trouble to professor mcgonagall but everyone knew they were always her favorites.

“aunty y/n! uncle george brought cookies!” connor yelled excitedly. y/n was never the type to bake or cook. she did try to but it always ended in almost burning the house down. she usually fed connor fruits or store bought food.

“you didn’t have to” y/n responded while taking the plastic box.

“oh yes i did” he teased “i heard you’ve been starving this poor little fellow”

“daddy didn’t bake those cookies” charlotte stated “grandma did” billie continued

“oh” she smirked at george then turned to the twins “tell your grandma i say thanks!”

“uncle george! i wanna show you something outside! the twins can come too!”

“connor, what are you gonna show them?” y/n grumbled.

“your paintings! they’re amazing” her nephew jumped.

“paintings, eh?” george smiled “okay, let’s go, champ. see those paintings of your aunt.” the two scurried outside, two redheaded girls following after.

y/n groaned and fell back into the couch, finishing her book.

—

it’s been a few days since george and the twins came with cooking to y/n and connor’s cottage. she wanted to throw connor a little surprise birthday party.

connor has loved the twins and george so much, he thinks of them as blood relatives. y/n decided to call up cedric and cho to look after connor while she’d do some errands.

the two arrived exactly on time as y/n was preparing to go out. she had on a simple cardigan and loose denim pants.

“ced! cho! hi, how are you guys?” y/n greeted as she saw her old friends apparate into the cottage.

“hi y/n!” cho greeted “hey nerd” cedric snickered.

she sent cedric a small glare before connor jumped at the two.

“uncle ceddy! aunty cho! you’re here” he shouted.

“yeah buddy! your aunt’s gonna run some errands and visit your uncle georgie?” cedric winked at y/n. she had been owling cedric about george and how he’s been helping her with connor.

“are you going out with uncle george?” connor asked, eyes twinkling.

“i don’t know, actually. i might check him out next door.”

“george weasley?” cho teased.

“yes, cho,” y/n rolled her eyes “but on that note, i have to go”

“bye, connor! behave okay?” she crouched down and squished his cheeks.

“bye, ced! cho!” her voice faded when she dashed out the door.

—

y/n passed george’s cottage to see if he actually might want to come with her and do errands.

she was standing outside the small gate, hesitating. ‘maybe he was busy’ ‘he wouldn’t want to do errands with me’ ‘maybe he would if i told him it was for connor’s birthday’ she thought. y/n didn’t know why she was overthinking her choices. the first time she was standing right outside the gate she bursted in and demanded george to fix whatever happened to her nephew. now, she was nervous. her palms were sweaty and clammy.

she pushed herself in and walked to the front porch. she knocked a few times and was met with a head of messy brown hair.

“hermione?!” she squealed

“y/n!” hermione jumped to hug her old friend.

there were overlapping voices in the background and when they pulled away she was met with multiple mops of ginger hair, a head of blonde hair and another with black hair behind hermione.

“l/n?” ginny weasley asked, quite shocked what she would be doing outside george’s door.

“oh! did i interrupt something? i am so sorry!” she said feeling a bit nervous.

“oh! you must be the dearest y/n george keeps talking about!” an old woman she thought was mrs. weasley approached her from behind her children.

“hi there!” y/n said feeling a little embarrassed she might’ve barged in on a family reunion.

“ah! l/n? i have heard of your family! muggle-borns right?” arthur weasley joined his wife.

“uh, yeah!” she pursed her lips “i am so so sorry i interrupted! i should go. tell george i’ll swing by next time”

“oh it’s absolutely alright, dear” molly reassured her.

“george! there’s a really pretty girl! get your arse out here!” fred yelled to george who was probably inside the house.

“is she here?” charlotte and billie ran to the door.

“hi girls! tell you dad i was here yeah? say i’ll come by next time” most of the weasleys came back in. she took it as her time to go on with her day.

“oi! y/n! wait up” the voice she recognized as george’s called after her.

“george, hey”

“where’r you off to?” george pointed to the small bag that was swung over her shoulder.

“errands. connor’s birthday is coming up so i thought i’d prepare something for him. first birthday without his mum, you know”

“his birthday’s coming up?” george looked as excited as a child on christmas morning.

“yeah. why?” she smiled

“you’re talking to one of the best party planners there is. you also did talk to another one of them… i think”

“fred?”

“oh yeah”

“i wanted to ask if you wanted to come but seeing as to your family is in your house… i’m gonna take a wild guess and say you aren’t available right now” she giggled.

“maybe if you went another day” he said sympathetically. george really wanted to go and prepare connor’s party with her. he treated him like his own and boy did he remind him of how fun it was to be a kid. he loved his aunt so much it was adorable.

“george. seriously, it’s okay. spend time with your family” she laughed.

“yeah, yeah. i’ll see you when you get back” he waved.

—

connor’s small birthday gathering was in full swing. y/n became acquainted with george’s siblings. bill, charlie, percy (whom she was actually friends with back in hogwarts), fred, ron and ginny. hermione was a very good friend of hers and so was harry. she recognized fleur from that day in the cottage as beauxbatons triwizard champion.

connor had quite a bunch of guests for his birthday. cedric, cho, luna, neville, fred, percy, ron, harry, hermione, bill and fleur and their little victorie. of course, billie and charlotte helped george and y/n fix up the party. mr. and mrs. weasley sent a small cake for connor when they heard about y/n not knowing asingle thing about cooking.

fred offered to take care of the twins and connor while george and y/n ran off somewhere. the two found themselves near a small creek. y/n explained how the cottage was where she’d go off exploring and the only person who knew was holly. she was overjoyed when her sister got the cottage she used as a hideaway.

george was surprised when there were lights and blankets and everything. the soft sounds of running water was calming.

the two were pretty intoxicated when they sat down; stumbled onto the picnic blanket. y/n was sober enough to not spill her deepest darkest secrets. george on the other hand…

“have i ever told you how pretty you are?” george mumbled next to her. y/n only snickered and blushed.

“um, can i hold your hand?” he continued, taking a look at the girl next to him.

“sure” she winked.

“you know” he started again “i actually fancied you a bit back in school”

“yeah?” she rolled over to her side “i wonder… what did you like about me?”

“i don’t even know. my heart just felt so full with you. still does, right now, holding your hand, under the stars by a stream.” he had this glint in his eye when he looks at her.

“hey,” she brushed some hair out of his face “these past few months have been great. and you’re a huge help with connor. you know i’ll always be there for you, right?”

“yeah darling,” he yawned “yeah”

“wait, george!” she sat up “no. don’t fall asleep!”

“fuck” she groaned before falling back down on the blanket.

“i think i love you” she whispered.

—

morning rolled around and they were still lying somewhere in the forest behind the cottage. some childish chatter and laughs were heard from where they were still sleeping soundly.

until, a red ant bit y/n and george’s intertwined hands. “ah shit!” y/n woke up from the bite. her yell also woke up the sleeping man next to her “what?! what happened?” he jumped.

“oh. did i wake you up?” she asked.

“no. it’s honestly no worries” he said “but i do have a killer headache”

“an ant bit me” she muttered, wanting to scratch it.

“hey, no don’t scratch! i’ve had a lot if experience with insect bites” he explained “want me to kiss it better?” he teased.

“oh, ha-ha” she rolled her eyes but blushed.

“we should probably head back” he checked his watch while standing up.

—

“ah! there the lovebirds are!” fred exclaimed.

everyone was cleaning up from last night. there were children running around while chasing balloons and each other.

“yeah,” george started “we, um, fell asleep”

“sure ya did” this time ron teased the two.

“i’m gonna clean up here,” y/n offered “you guys should go home. you know, get some rest”

cedric gasped “y/n l/n! are you kicking us out?” he said in mock offense.

“technically, yeah. i doubt connor got any sleep”

“maybe we should,” fleur said with her accent “victorie was very excited for the party she is very worn out”

george snuck behind y/n “i think i love you too” he muttered under his breath. he wasn’t sure if she heard it. she did.

“i’ll see you later, y/n!” he yelled “come on, princesses, we’re going home. we’ll see connor and y/n later”

connor and the twins hugged while y/n said thank you’s to all the guests.

maybe it wasn’t such a bad decision to ask for help.

[dameronology]

tea and whiskey {jack daniels x reader} - 6

summary: despite his best efforts, it appears as though you're completely slipping through jack's fingers. it appears as though he has no choice but to put everything out on the table in a last ditch attempt to keep you by his side. {series masterlist}

warnings: swearing, mentions of drinking, mentions of death

this one's a bit of a rollercoaster, but i promise it's fun <3

- jazz xx

You'd told Jack that things between you were fine.

They didn't feel as much.

You had meant it when you'd said it - it was just that the more you thought about it and the more you pondered on your concerns, the more worried you became. Did you even know Jack Daniels at all? His mysteriousness had been attractive at first but the closer you got to him, the more you found yourself wanting to hold him at an arm's length until you had your answers. When the situation between you had been a co-workers-with-benefits affair, it hadn't mattered so much. But now, you'd agreed it was something more intense, something more meaningful. Was it unfair to think that you deserved to know a little more? To get a more substance than just it's fine, trust me?

Whilst you hadn't wanted it to get in the ways of things, you couldn't help it. It hadn't changed anything the first few days after your conversation about where you stood, or about his seeming vendetta against Ginger, but the more you thought about it, the more it got to you. It had been almost 2 weeks since then, and you'd spent most of the second one lying to him. Telling him you had to call Eggsy, or your mum, or that you had to work late to get some paperwork done for Merlin.

Tonight had been no different - it was a Friday, the last six of which you had spent at Jack's. You'd given him some ridiculous waffle about timezones and reporting to the Kingsman. He had seemed to believe it; if he didn't, he'd chosen not to comment on it.

You were sat in your shared office, heels kicked to one side and feet propped up on the table. There was a glass of wine in one hand and your phone in the other (you were exchanging memes with Eggsy), and an episode of the The Crown playing on your computer. It was a nice way of getting your mind off of the situation with Jack, and the fact that you had a mountain of Calahan-related paperwork.

"So, this is the important meeting that you ditched me for?"

You froze at the sound of Jack's voice. He was leant against the doorway, arms folded over his chest and a look on his face that didn't seem too far off of pissed. Your first instinct was to lie, but the urge quickly faded. What was the point? He'd already caught you in one. Might as well just rip it off like a band-aid.

"I lied."

"That's clear as fucking day." Jack shot back. "Am I boring you all of a sudden?"

"Jack." You sighed. "I just needed some space to think."

"I thought we were good?" His brown eyes fell to the floor. "What's with all the lying? I admire your brutal honesty."

"I was only brutally honest with people I didn't mind hurting." You paused your laptop, pulling your feet down from the desk. "I care about you and I don't want to hurt you-"

"- I have pretty thick skin." He cut you off. "Be honest - you have my blessing."

"I thought I was okay with how intense things were getting," you began. "But the more, I think about it, the more I'm not sure."

Jack's face fell. "That's why you've suddenly been distant these past two weeks, huh?"

"Yeah." You nodded.

"What brought this on?"

You were silent.

"I know." Jack sighed. "It's the thing with Ginger, isn't it?"

"Not just that." You said. "You asked me to trust you and I agreed to, but I'm not sure I do."

"What have I ever done to make you not trust me?"

"Nothing, but that's my problem." You replied. "This is all on me."

"It sure as hell is." He sniffed. "If you want space, I'll give you space. Just don't count on me to be here when you get back."

--

The tension in Champ's office the following morning was almost fucking suffocating.

The poor man had no idea what had gone down between the two of you. Heck, even you were struggling to understand it. You'd got yourself into situations before with your tendency to overthink, but this one might have taken the cake. Relationships - or whatever the hell you and Jack had going on - had never been your area of expertise, and you had no idea how to navigate your situation. It had seemed like a good idea to act on your doubt and be honest with him, but now you were just worried that you'd ruined it.

"You two are making excellent progress with your mission to get Calahan." Champ said.

"Thank you, sir." Jack nodded.

"We need to discuss the matter of when you catch him."

"I appreciate your faith in us, but if we catch him, rather than when we catch him might be a little more realistic." You replied.

"I'm not certain of many things, but I am absolutely sure that you and Jack have this in the bag." Champ shot back. "And when you do, I'm afraid there is only room for one name on the arrest forms."

You sat up in your seat. "What do you mean?"

"I know that you two have made a completely join effort in this matter." He began. "But as far as Interpol, and every international agency has seen it, only one person's name can be on the paperwork."

"But we can both take credit, right?" You urged. "Surely, they can recognise us both for our work."

"I'm afraid not, Percy." Champ sighed. "The paperwork can only be processed under one name-"

"- why?" Jack cut him off. "I mean, why, sir?"

"Traditionally, only one agent would go into the field, to keep the casualties as low as possible." He explained. "Things have changed in practice but on paper, things still stand."

"So what are we meant to do?" You asked.

"You'll have to decide between yourselves who gets that recognition." He replied.

"Right." You murmured and stood up. "Thank you, sir."

Champ gave you a nod. "And you, agent. I'm sorry it has to be this way."

Me too, you thought.

You stalked out of Champ's office, Jack hot on your heels. If things had been a little tense before, they were going to be strangling now. The cowboy was already hurt by your revelation from the night before, and now, that was only going to get worst, because there was no way in hell that you were about to give the reins over to him. You'd make it clear from day one that your job came first, so that shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone.

Heels clicking loudly against the floor, you sped up slightly in an attempt to lose him. It had been foolish, though, because before you could sprint into the ladies' room, Jack grabbed you by the arm and pulled you to the side.

"Lying to me and running away from me?" He asked. "You're breaking my fucking heart, baby."

You swatted his hand away and puffed out your chest. "I'm taking credit for Calahan."

Jack thinned his eyes at you. "We should talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about." You said. "I chased his ass all the across the Atlanic and I've been working on this project longer than you. Personal feelings aside, it makes sense."

"It sounds like you're saying you've done most the work."

"That is what I'm saying."

"I've done most the physical work." He shot back. "The chasing, the jumping over walls, the field work."

"None of which you could have done without me."

"Is this because of what I said last night? Are you mad?" He asked.

"No, I'm mad because you know how much this means to me!" You shoved him. "A win like this is all I've ever wanted. You know that!"

"It means a lot to me too!"

"I am putting my name on those papers." You snapped. "I've spent my whole life living in the fucking shadows at Kingsman and I'm tired of it. This is my win."

"With an attitude like that, I don't blame the damn redcoats for wanting to keep you in the shadows."

Your mouth fell open. If that had come from anyone else, you could have dealt with it. But Jack? The man who had always encouraged and loved your fire? The man you'd opened up to about how suffocated you felt at Kingsman? It was though he'd thrown your trust right back in your face.

"Wait, I didn't mean that-"

"- fuck you, Jack."

--

Drinking was, essentially, the thing that had gotten you into this whole situation in the first place. It was this very bar, in fact.

It was beyond you why you'd gone to Jack's favourite cowboy bar to simmer; probably because it was the closest thing you could get to actually being in his presence right now. Which was quite funny, because if you were in his presence, you no doubt would have decked him right there and then. His stupid fucking words were playing on a loop in your head, and it felt like a punch to your gut every time they circled back around your pre-fontal cortex.

You could have called Eggsy and vented to him, but that would involve recounting the whole story to him. He'd want to whoop Jack's ass for going near you in the first place, and eject him into outer space entirely for his petty jab. God, you missed your best friend.

Despite your anger, you hadn't even drank that much. Maybe a beer, or three - way below the amount you needed to even get tipsy. Drunken rage barely did you favours at the best of times, and right now was definitely the worst of times. It was just that sitting in a bar was a much better alternative to wallowing in your pity, alone in your larger-than-life apartment.

You sighed and took another sip of your drink, glancing over at your phone. There were three texts from Jack; a please call me, a I'll explain everything and a I fucked up, I know. You couldn't help but snort - what reason did he even have for talking to you that way?

With a twenty tossed on the bar and an empty glass, you shrugged your jacket on and began the walk back to your apartment. The air was cold and everyone was rushing around you to get back to their own respective homes. You had never wanted more in your life to go back to yours - your home in London. The one filled with pictures of you and your family, with memories of dumb sleepovers with Eggsy and late nights with your favourite films.

"So you're stalking me now?"

You could't muster up any other words when you saw Jack waiting by your door. Apparently his ignored texts and calls hadn't been a big enough sign.

"I didn't know where you were." Jack murmured.

"I was out." You shoved your way past him. "You can go now."

"We need to talk."

"Not right now." You groaned. "I'm tired, no thanks to you."

"I don't like when things are like this." He continued, following you inside as you unlocked the door. "I can't stand the idea of you being mad at me."

"So why do you do shit that makes me mad?" You shot back.

Jack sighed, leaning against your kitchen earlier. "I shouldn't have said what I did earlier. I was hurt-"

"- you were hurt?!" You snorted in disbelief.

"It fucking killed me when you said that you didn't trust me, sugar." He admitted. "I get why. I've been holding a lot of stuff back from you and I...I don't think it'll excuse my behaviour, but it might at least give you a reason."

"Okay." You murmured.

"I've barely told anyone this, but I trust you." He reached out and took your hands in his. "It's a lot."

"Jack, you don't have to-"

"- I used to be married." He cut you off. You froze at his words. "Her name was Georgia, and we'd been in love since high-school."

"I..." you trailed off. "Used to be?"

"She was killed in a shoot-out during a robbery." Jack's voice wavered slightly. "She was pregnant at the time. I lost two people that day."

"Shit." You murmured. "I'm sorry, Jack."

"It's fine." He replied. "Not your fault, sweetheart."

"Who else knows?"

"Ginger." He said. "She was a friend of mine, long before we were at Statesman. Georgia's best friend, too."

"You're trying to protect her, aren't you?" You glanced up, eyes meeting. "By keeping her out the field?"

"It's a shitty excuse." He half-heartedly shrugged. "She's all I have left of Georgia. The only person who really shares my pain."

Jack was right -- it hadn't been an excuse, but it was an explanation. You couldn't even begin to get your head around the kind of pain he must have felt then, or even the kind he felt now. You'd had weeks worth of deep conversations and late-night talks but he had never, ever even remotely mentioned Georgia, or his unborn child. You couldn't blame him for that. Not in the slightest.

You were struggling to find the words, really. A thousand new layers had just been added to a man you were already struggling to understand.

"That must be a real weight on your shoulders."

"It is." Jack nodded. "But it lifts slightly when I'm with you."

"Really?" You asked quietly.

"Completely." He countered. "That's all I've wanted my entire life -- to feel again, and I do with you."

"That's deep." You tried to crack a joke, to lighten the mood.

"Even if this ends when you go back to London, I'm still grateful." He continued. "You gave me that, so I should give you what you've always wanted."

"A real-life Batmobile?"

Jack snorted, despite the emotional atmosphere. "Your name will have to go on those papers. It should never have even been a question."

"Jack, I-"

"- that's all there is to say." He shook his head. "There'll be other arrests and missions, but I'll never find someone like you."

Without anything to say, you placed your hands on either side of his face and pulled him into a kiss. That in itself said everything you needed to- thank you, I'm sorry, maybe you don't suck that much, etc. The entire conversation marked a definitive shift in your relationship, and even though it was one that neither of you could quite work out, that didn't matter. You'd thrown yourself back into the deep end, even though you'd been so hell-bent on breaking to the surface just hours earlier.

There was no doubt that it would only complicated the whole let's not fall in love promise you'd made -- but that was something to worry about later, right?

taglist: @b0nnyzz @xremember-me-notx @somenerdyuser @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol @javisjeanjacket @phoenixhalliwell @no-droids-on-sunday​ @paintballkid711​ @waatermelon-sugaar​ @hepburnwritess​ @haileyybird​ @xjaywritesx​ @jabbajambler​ @the-mandalorian-clone-lover​ @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky​ @welcometothepedroverse​ @wickedmuse​

[makeste]

I just wanna enable you to talk more about Katsuki so. top 5 (or 10, or however many you feel like) Bakugou romantic ships? not like number 1 will be a surprise but hey ;p

ah, shipping. the perfect topic with which to take a breather from leg puns and the quirkless!Bakugou debate. nothing controversial about ships lmao.

disclaimer: these are literally just my favorite Bakugou ships, as asked. I have few to no NOTPs, and I’m not anti-anything, nor do I have any opinions on whether or not any of these will or should become canon (as it really makes no difference to me, since I ship them all platonically as well). basically I have no skin in the “shipping somehow has winners and losers” game. I’m just here for the emotional energy and the lulz and the character development.

anyways this is a top six because I couldn’t bear to leave either of my two favorite rarepairs out whoops.

BakuDeku - like you said anon, not a surprise lol. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; for me, these two are the core of the series. honestly it sometimes strikes me as ironic that this ship is so often written off as abusive or unhealthy or toxic, because I often find myself thinking that roughly 90% of all of Bakugou and Deku’s problems could be sorted out just by them communicating with each other. and I don’t mean just their own specific relationship problems -- I mean all of their problems. Bakugou is having an emotional crisis about something? have him talk to Deku. Deku’s overwhelmed by a problem and way overthinking it? have him talk to Bakugou! they balance each other out, is the thing. when one of them veers off course, the other is the compass to steer them back on track. that’s the power of rivals!! and aside from that, this relationship is just so complex, and I am weak for absolutely all of it. it’s just this perfect blend of push and pull and friction and trust. it’s the type of ship where the two of them have such a strong connection that it’s like gravity; they can’t help but orbit the other, even when that orbit is sometimes unsteady. it’s just such a powerful bond and just... guh. I have way too many emotions about it so I am just going to STOP NOW and move on to the next ship.

TodoBaku - so by now we have reached a point where pretty much everyone in class 1-A is an expert on handling Bakugou, and ngl, it’s my favorite thing ever. but what makes the TodoBaku relationship so especially appealing is that Shouto is completely unafraid to just step right up and declare his friendship to the entire world. Todoroki “I’m calling it like it is” Shouto, who, after giving the matter careful consideration, correctly judged himself and Bakugou to be the closest of friends, and thus decided that they should intern together and he should introduce him to his family and get his sister to cook his favorite foods. and the entire time, Bakugou is all “please no one listen to this delusional freak, we are not friends at all,” even as he proceeds to get himself involved in all of the Todoroki family drama, and saves Shouto’s brother’s life, and learns all of his sister’s recipes, and presumably cries himself to sleep at night wondering how he could have let this happen.

Kacchako - what I like about Ochako’s relationship with Katsuki is that she’s one of the few people who’s not afraid to call him out on his shit. she’s not just warmly tolerant of him like some of the others; she has expectations of him, and will unabashedly express her sound disappointment if he fails to be the person she knows he’s capable of being. I feel like Ochako has no patience for him taking his sweet time with his character development, and is just “goddammit young man, just sort your shit out with Deku already and go back to being best friends like you both so clearly want, and while you’re at it please try to treat other people less like garbage”, and various other things that are all true but that he of course hates to hear, but TOO BAD lol. anyway so I love that, and I love that she’s just as stubborn as he is. and I also love that there’s genuine, mutual respect between the two of them as well. never forget that Katsuki is the one who first brought out Ochako’s homicidal badass side. anyway so they basically complement each other very well, and I have my fingers crossed that one of these days Horikoshi will decide to actually have them interact with each other again because damn.

KiriBaku - Kirishima, on the other hand, is warmly tolerant of Bakugou, and openly admiring of him even, but it tends to be in a way that brings out Bakugou’s best qualities. Kiri just has this way of bringing out Bakugou’s confidence in himself. like, he’s very good at saying precisely the right words to make Bakugou grin that smirky little grin of his, the one that’s all “oh yeah, that’s right, I’m a badass.” and seeing as Bakugou, for all his pride and bluster, is surprisingly prone to having mini crises of confidence, this is a valued skill that I’m very grateful to Kiri for having! and what’s nice is that Bakugou is very good at returning the favor, since Kiri is prone to crises of confidence as well. the little flashback right before Kiri unveils Unbreakable for the first time is one of my favorite moments in the series. when this ship is firing on all cylinders they really bring out the best in each other. and also they are both dumb bros which is an extremely undervalued dynamic. I love it when Bakugou is all “HEY KIRISHIMA LET ME BLOW YOU UP A BIT” and Kiri is just like “YEAHHHH!” heh.

KamiBaku - and now for the first of the two rarepairs! first of all I would just like to state that I absolutely cannot fathom why KamiBaku is a rarepair to begin with, unless it’s simply because everyone is already too obsessed with the previously mentioned ships. but at any rate it’s a damn shame, because the cuteness of this ship is off the fucking charts, and right now it’s all just going to waste. what I adore more than anything about this ship is the way Bakugou tolerates every single fucking thing Kaminari does and LETS HIM GET AWAY WITH IT. he lets him call him “Kacchan.” he lets Kaminari manhandle him into various getups (the A Band shirt; the Santa outfit) on multiple occasions while putting up absolutely no fight. he basically allows him an almost unprecedented level of closeness, which Kaminari proceeds to BLATANTLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF at every turn seemingly unchecked! and he is the all time champ at tricking Bakugou into participating in social interactions (tying the ribbon to his foot during the Christmas gift exchange, telling him he won’t get any food at the New Year’s feast if he doesn’t help cook, etc.). he just loves him and wants him to be included. honestly this one of the most adorable relationships in the entire goddamn series and I am tired of it being slept on. the people deserve more KamiBaku dammit.

IidaBaku - last but not least, a relationship between two people who I’m pretty sure have only actually interacted with each other a handful of times, and most of those times involved them shouting at each other! ah, yes. the stick in the mud and the delinquent. god’s natural enemies. except that in this case the “delinquent” is a star student who tutors other kids and goes to bed every night at 8:30, and the stick in the mud once hatched a legitimate plot to kill a man. what I am trying to say is that these two are actually WAY more alike than they would ever care to admit, and I’m kind of obsessed with it?? this is one of those ships where all it would take is one well-applied trope and the possibilities are endless. you could literally just pick one out of a hat. fake dating, roommates, only one bed, undercover as lovers, WHATEVER. and not only does this have the potential to be the most hilarious ship in the history of time, but it also has potential to be disarmingly, shockingly sweet, I shit you not. there are a couple of little moments in the light novels that I absolutely adore, where they’re each taking care of the other with the other having absolutely no idea. Iida makes about four attempts to tuck Bakugou in during the forest training camp arc because his covers have fallen off and he doesn’t want him to catch a chill, and Bakugou unknowingly returns the favor by preventing Iida from stumbling across the preparations for his own surprise birthday party before the others are finished getting ready. by shoving Iida into an elevator and ordering him to go back to his room with absolutely no explanation given lmao. anyway, but the point is the potential is definitely there for cuteness and chemistry and mutual respect while arguing nonstop like an old married couple.

so there you go! honestly Bakugou somehow has chemistry with just about everyone in his class, which is super impressive for someone with the personality of a rabid wolf spider. god bless him.

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 12

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 10,649

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

There was no way.

No. Friggin'. Possible. Way.

Rayne was bonkers. Off her rocker. Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. A couple screws short of a toolbox, a few cards shy of a full deck, and several fries scant of a Happy Meal.

She was just… wrong. She had to be. The very idea was outrageous. Laughable, even. There was just without a doubt and quite simply no way.

No way that Lea had a crush on me, that is.

I mean, come on! All I'd ever done was make a complete bumbling idiot out of myself in front of the guy! I'd kissed him before uttering so much as my very first 'hello' to him, chucked a phone at a wall in front of him for no apparent reason after spouting off nonsensical gibberish, sat on him without even the slightest bit of a heads up or forewarning - which to be fair wasn't really my fault, but still! I could go on and on with this list, but I'd rather not as it was just depressing me at this point.

Had a crush on me? Please, he probably just saw me as a total trainwreck of a human being by now and was merely half curious, half terrified to see what would next be pulled out of the bag of crazy that was me. So no, he absolutely did not have any sort of feelings even remotely resembling… that. Not at all. Not towards me.

...so then why did I now find myself hovering outside the mall, trapped in a heated staring contest with my pale reflection in the glass door as arriving and leaving customers gave me weird looks, the very idea of so much as taking one more single, solitary step over that threshold and into the food court seeming utterly impossible to me?

It'd been a couple days since the now infamous (or so it was in my head, at least) Friday night out. A couple of days which I'd thankfully had off from work, giving me some much needed time to recuperate from all that stressful social activity. By the grace of some benevolent deity up above, not to mention my magnanimous, boundless mercy, Anna still lived. But she hadn't got off without a long, stern, and particularly mind-numbing lecture from me, as well as a promise from her to keep me stocked in a lifetime supply of Triple Chocolate Mallowpuffs by way of recompense. She wasn't completely off the hook yet, but it was a start.

During my downtime, I had given little to no thought to Rayne's musings - aka unhinged ravings of a madwoman. Oh sure, the stray ghost of her words might have flitted across the back of my mind once or twice. But whenever they had, I'd simply banished the silly notion with a soft chuckle and a shake of my head.

Which is why I wasn't quite sure what the big deal was now, out of the blue, here, at the entrance to Dusk Town Center, right before my first shift back since the night at the bar. Why in my brain, her words had cranked up from a barely audible whisper to a full blasting, thundering roar played on loop. Why the idea of facing Lea now just all of a sudden seemed so…

...intimidating.

...ugh, this was stupid.

I was being stupid.

It wasn't like I was some third grader in the schoolyard afraid of catching cooties from a boy. I was an adult, damn it! An adult in the adult world with an adult job leading an adult life! So I could handle any such feelings, or more specifically lack thereof, like a goddamn adult!

He did not have a crush on me.

He did not.

With that, a newfound determination filled me. Eyes hardening, chest puffing up, and shoulders squaring, I grabbed the door handle, yanked it open with more force than necessary and marched into the food court with my head held high.

...followed immediately by flipping a one-eighty, dashing back outside and around a corner to hide, pressing my back against the wall with one hand over my hammering heart.

Well done, champ. A for effort. Did a real bang up job there, eh?

I took a few seconds to regain my composure and fortify my resolve. Then I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, straightening up to my full height once more. Alright, take two. Giving myself a firm, reassuring nod, I walked back inside again.

It was there, seated at a food court table roughly halfway between Pizza Planet and Ice Palace, that the reason for my initial retreat could be spotted. Lea was hunched over what looked to be a textbook of some sort, with papers covered in messy scrawl strewn about every inch of the round dining surface. He was gnawing a pencil between his teeth and agitatedly ruffling his hair as flipped to the next page. I don't know why I had given into my knee-jerk reaction to run from him the second I'd seen him. He was so engrossed in whatever he was working on, I highly doubted he'd even noticed me walk in. And I was strongly suspecting he'd probably continue to fail to notice me if I just strolled straight on past him to the Ice Palace to prepare for the start of my shift.

Which is exactly what I was going to do.

Or at least, that'd been the plan anyway.

But something stopped me. A sort of… stubbornness that abruptly flared up within me. I wanted to settle this right here, right now. Prove once and for all without a doubt that Rayne was in fact a total loon and that he definitely did not see me as anything more than just a friend. I still had a few more minutes before I had to clock in, so now was a good a time as any.

Seizing the opportunity before I could overthink things and lose my nerve, I made a detour and headed straight towards where Lea sat. Arriving at his table, I pulled out the chair across from him and sat down heavily, burdened with great purpose.

Alright. Phase One of the Mission Not A Crush complete. On to Phase Two.

Which was…?

Good question. Was actually... still kind of, sort of trying to figure that one out.

Potentially a greeting of some sort would be a good place to start.

As Lea glanced up and became aware of my presence at last, I began, "H-"

He leapt out of his seat and bolted, knocking several loose papers off the table in his wake.

I blinked.

...see? Not a crush.

Not if he was running away in fear at the very sight of me.

As well he should. I was a very fearsome vision to behold, after all. My mere visage redefined the very essence of horror, did it not? Look upon me and tremble, puny mortals, for I-

"Ow! Hey, quit it already!" a voice that sounded suspiciously like Xion's pulled me from my thoughts.

Turning my head towards where it'd come from, sure enough, there Lea was with the girl in tow. Literally. He was dragging Xion over to the table by one of her ears pinched between his fingers. The two of them pulled up to a stop in front of me, Lea scowling as he released her and she stumbled a few steps forward. With a tiny hiss of pain as she rubbed the abused lobe, she glanced back at him. He simply crossed his arms and started tapping his foot, clearly waiting for something.

Xion looked at me now with a guilty frown, folding her hands together just below her waist and bowing her head. "Please forgive me, Elsa, I am so very, very sorry. Sorry for tricking you-"

Lea cleared his throat.

She hastily tacked on, "-and for conspiring with Anna-"

He did it again, louder this time.

"-and, uh… for manhandling you into my car-"

A third time.

"-and…" she pursed her lips to one side, squinting up in thought, "...and for not driving with the comfort and safety of my passengers in mind-"

Once more, with feeling.

"-and for, ah… providing… less than optimal seating arrangements to you throughout the whole experience?" Xion ventured, glancing back at Lea. He rolled his eyes but gave a shrug, which she seemed to take more or less as a sign of his grudging acceptance. Her eyes then fixed on me once more, "I meant no offense, but sincerely apologize if I embarrassed you or made you feel uncomfortable in any way."

...this… I had not been expecting.

I just stared blankly at her for a second. Then I realized she was patiently awaiting my response. "Oh! Um," I gave a tiny awkward laugh, "that's okay. We're fine. Totally good. Don't, uh… don't even worry about it."

Her face immediately lit up with a relieved smile. "Thanks, you're the sweetest!" Then she gave Lea a dull look. "Satisfied? Can I get back to my job now?"

His eyelids drooped, but he sighed and waved her off. She ran past him, blowing a raspberry in his direction as she went. He plopped back down into his chair at the table, pinching the bridge of his nose as he grumbled, "Kids these days, I swear."

"Thanks," I smiled at him, "that was really very thoughtful, but you didn't have to make her do that. It wasn't necessary."

"Somebody's gotta teach the lil twerp good manners and respect," he leaned back in his chair slightly, scratching a spot behind his ear. "Her parents certainly never did."

Humming a soft, noncommittal noise, I then looked down at the clutter littered across the table. "So what are you up to? What is all this?"

"Decided to take my lunch break to try and unravel the enigma that is," he held the textbook up, showing me the cover, "Intro to Calculus. It's being a real pain in the ass though. Honestly, who needs to know all this crap? Evil math genius super villains, that's who! Shit, I'm just looking to run a lil shanty of an ice cream parlor by the sea, not trying to calculate how to blow up the sun or anything," he tossed his pencil down against the open pages of the book.

I rubbed a knuckle along my lips as I felt them tug up at one corner. "Not math's biggest fan, I take it?"

"Not my strong point, no, but usually I can get by. Unfortunately, I caught some kinda bug a couple weeks back and had to miss a few days of lectures. Asked the teach what I missed, but he's a royal asshole. Just brushed me off, telling me to talk to his TA instead."

"And the TA?"

"Mini asshole in the making," he scoffed, snatching up a small stack of sheets from the table to wave about. "Just handed me his photocopied notes for the days I was out sick and told me to figure it out. They're useless though. I can't read his chicken scratch. A big test is coming up on all of this too that's s'posed to be a huge chunk of our grade, so I really need to wrap my head around this junk."

"Maybe I can help. Let me see." I moved closer, shifting over to the seat beside him. My shoulder brushed against his as I leaned in, spotting a piece of paper sticking out from beneath the textbook on which it looked like he'd been trying to (unsuccessfully) work through some of the chapter's exercise problems. "Derivatives, huh?" I murmured, picking it up to take a closer look. Then I pointed to the first equation, "This one is almost right, you just forgot to conjugate the binomial. It's an easy mistake, anyone could've made it."

"I, uh…" he trailed off. I glanced over at him, realization just now smacking me like a ton of bricks at how close our faces were. Boundaries, Elsa, boundaries! Dropping the paper, I quickly pulled away, spine banging firmly against the back of my seat. Clearing his throat, Lea picked up the sheet and glared down at it, "Damn, I thought I did that!" After a couple seconds of scrutiny, he grabbed his pencil and started furiously erasing his work before jotting in new numbers, his knee jiggling restlessly beneath the table. The scratching of the graphite stilled almost immediately however as he looked over at me, quirking an eyebrow. "...weren't you an Art History major?"

Reaching for my ponytail to self-consciously pluck at a tendril, I said, "Well, yeah, but I'm pretty good with numbers too. You're in luck, Calculus was just about where I called it when it came to college math courses. I mean, I took the class a couple years ago, but a lot of it's still pretty fresh in my brain. I'd be happy to work through more of it with you, but..." I frowned up at the giant clock hanging over the food court entrance. "My shift's about to start."

His eyes followed my gaze and he grimaced. "Crap, I need to punch back in myself." He rose to his feet, slamming the book shut and swiftly gathering all his stuff into one big, crumpled heap. His gaze shifted to glance at me out of his peripheral. "...you working tomorrow?"

I stood as well, tipping my head to one side. "No, but then I'm back on the schedule for the next three days after it. Why?"

"Good, I have it off too." Things more or less together now, he picked the sloppy stack up and tucked it under one arm as he slid the pencil behind one ear. "You think maybe you could help me cram for my exam? Say…" he looked away, rubbing the nape of his neck, "...my place around noon tomorrow?"

My eyes widened a fraction. "Oh! Uh… yes. Sure. Of course! I don't already have plans, so I'd be glad to. What are friends for, after all?"

Note the keyword here: friends. Cuz that's what we were. Period.

The huge smile that broke out across his face now all but blinded me. "Thanks, El, you rock! I owe you big time for this! I'll treat you to an absolute mountain of your favorite ice cream, which is…" he paused, narrowing his eyes for a second before snapping his fingers and pointing at me. "...Goofy Parfait? No, too basic… Double Crunch? Nah, that's not it either. Eh, I'll figure it out sooner or later! I'm closing in, I can feel it!" He started jogging backwards towards the Pizza Planet. "Anyway, you can get my address from Raindrop! S-" He bumped into a plastic chair, stumbled for a bit before catching himself as another paper flew loose. "Heh… meant to do that. See ya tomorrow!" He waved then turned and sprinted off to avoid clocking in late.

I raised my hand, my fingers curling in a tentative wave back, "Yeah… tomorrow…"

So that, apparently, was Phase Two of Mission Not A Crush.

Go to his home and prove it there.

Perfect.

What could possibly go wrong?

A lot.

That was the answer you were looking for.

A lot could go wrong.

Starting with-

"Ahhhhh!" Rayne squealed��yet again as she turned the steering wheel, making the car take a right down a side road. "I can't believe my baby's going on her first date! It really is true, they grow up so fast!" she gave a mock sniffle as she reached over to pinch my cheek.

My left eye twitched and I swatted her hand away. It was a mistake telling her. But Lea had told me to get his address from her. And of course the second I'd asked, she had insisted on driving me there. Should have seen that one coming a mile away. I sighed, "I've had dates before. It's kind of hard to wind up engaged without going on a few dates first. Not impossible, mind you, but hard. And it's not a date, I'm just helping him study for a test."

"Mmmhmmm, sure," she gave me a knowing smirk, "and I'll bet you get all dolled up in a new dress like this for all your other not-a-dates."

"Please, I bought this secondhand in a thrift shop for ten dollars, I hardly call that getting dolled up," I rolled my eyes before looking down at myself.

As it turns out, yesterday had been payday. Meaning my first check, hallelujah! I think this officially made me a bonafide adult. And seeing as how my wardrobe was limited to my work clothes, a couple of hand-me-downs from Rayne that she no longer wore, and that one outfit I had, er… shall we say "borrowed" during my whirlwind escape on my wedding day, I had felt some clothes shopping had been in order after I got off shift yesterday. But working at an ice cream shop in the local mall doesn't exactly have you rolling in the big bucks, as one might imagine, so I'd quickly discovered that a used clothing store was a dirt poor girl's best friend.

I'll admit that I had lucked out a bit with the sundress I now wore, given that it'd come from the bargain bin and had even miraculously fit like a glove. It was a pastel blue with tiny, faded white polka dots, its gently billowing skirt falling to just below my knees. Triple spaghetti straps held it up at the shoulders and it had a sweetheart neckline with embroidered, white lace trim. It was high waisted, with ribbon weaving up the front of the bodice segment and a loose bow tied at the small of my back. Paired with my usual ankle boots of course, because really, who had the munny for more than one pair of shoes? Not me, that's for sure! But the best part? Stockings. Blessed, blessed stockings! My legs could die happy now.

So was it a new dress? Yes, but that was more so to do with my distinct lack of other options than anything else. And, okay sure, the thought had crossed my mind that this was the first time Lea would be seeing me not in Ice Palace attire, so of course I'd wanted to look at the very least, erm… presentable? Yes, that was the word. Presentable. Was that a crime now? I think not!

"Well I think you look cute enough to eat!" she declared before waggling her eyebrows at me. "I'm sure that's what Lea will be thinking too."

"Oh my god, Rayne!" I huffed, hiding my face in my hands and slouching down into the car seat.

I don't know a lot about having friends, but I wonder if they're exchangeable. Like, if you can return them to Ye Olde Friend Shoppe and get store credit that can go towards the purchase of a new gal pal, one that's not delusional and won't take sadistic pleasure in teasing you mercilessly. Yeah, that'd be super-duper nice right about now.

"We hath arrived!" I heard her gleefully announce, feeling the vehicle come to a full stop.

I peeked out between my fingers to see we were now parked at the curb beside a long, colorful row of what looked to be duplex apartments. As I lowered my hands completely, Rayne suddenly seized my chin and jerked my face towards her, studying me with eyes squinted. My brow furrowed, "...what are you doing?"

"Hold still." My jaw still trapped within her iron grasp, she reached for her bag in the backseat, hand noisily rummaging inside for a few seconds before pulling out a light brown makeup pencil. "I wanna make those adorable freckles of yours hella pop so that boy really goes all weak in the knees."

"Ugh!" I yanked my chin free and snatched the pencil away from her, rolling down my window and chucking it outside the car.

"Hey! Those aren't free, you know!"

"Tack it onto what I owe for rent," I grumbled as I closed the window again.

"Whatever," she huffed before she started taking off her jacket. "Take this, will you? It's chilly out, I don't want you to get cold."

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I gently pushed the proffered garment away, "I'll be fine. The cold never bothered me anyway, you know that."

She shrugged, tossing it into the back. "Suit yourself, but don't come crying to me when you catch your death out there." I reached for the door handle, but stopped as she said, "Hold it, c'mere." Oi, what now? I slowly turned my head to cock an eyebrow at her. She licked the pad of her thumb and wiped it across my cheek, "You got a lil schmutz."

I couldn't get out of the car fast enough, staggering onto the sidewalk and whipping around to slam the door shut behind me, nostrils flaring as I narrowed my eyes down at her.

She lowered the passenger window again, gracing me with a sly grin. "Have fun on your study date, sweetpea!"

"It's not a-" The engine roared and she cackled as she sped off. I stamped my foot and crossed my arms, lips twisting sourly. "...date."

It wasn't! That was in fact what I'd come here to prove, after all. That there was no crush and this was not a date. She'd see. I'd show her. Then we'd see who got the last laugh. Ha!

As I turned to face the line of apartments, I realized I had no clue which one was supposed to be Lea's. Rayne had never given me a unit number, just told me she knew exactly where it was and would take me there. I would hope that this one coated in a dingy cherry paint that she'd dropped me off directly in front of would be it, but with that girl's sanity track record lately, I couldn't be sure that was a totally safe bet. Still, I had to knock on one of these doors, so this one was as good as any to try first.

Running my hands down my dress to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles and sweeping my braid forward over one shoulder, I puffed out a slow breath and put one foot forward. Then, after a pause, the other. Then the other. Eventually, I was climbing the three steps that led up to the door and coming to a stop in front of it.

Then I hesitated, gnawing on my lower lip.

Smoothed my dress again.

Fidgeted with my braid some more.

...I was running out of ways to stall.

Inhaling and exhaling once more, I brought my fist up to the door, preparing to initiate Phase Two of Not A Crush. And came to an abrupt halt, my knuckles a hairbreadth's away from the wood.

Because now we came to the second thing to go wrong.

That being me realizing I had absolutely zero idea of how to accomplish Phase Two.

In fact, what the heck was I even doing here? I struggled with regular one-on-one social interactions on any given normal day, even when I didn't have an ulterior motive to worry about on the side. How on earth had I fooled myself into believing I could handle it, this, here, now, while juggling a stupidly self imposed secret mission as well? This was a terrible plan! What the actual frick had I been thinking?! Did I know myself but at all?!

...you know what? I'm leaving. This was already too much and I hadn't even gotten past the friggin' front door yet. Sorry to bail, Lea, but you're a smart lad with a good head on your shoulders. I have the utmost faith in your ability to navigate yourself through the trials and tribulations of Calculus all on our own. Peace, I'm out!

Spinning on my heel, I rushed back down the steps and beelined for the sidewalk. The walk home wouldn't be short. And I hadn't been paying attention on the drive over, so I wasn't even sure which way I should go. But psssh, minor detail. I'd just pick a direction and if it was meant to be, I'd find myself on my own doorstep sooner or later, right? Right. Now this was a plan I could get on board with. This, I could-

"El?"

I froze mid-step with a wince, gritting my teeth.

Fudge.

...should I just make a run for it?

Probably not. Pretty sure he was way faster than me with those freakishly long legs of his.

Putting on a shaky smile, I stiffly turned back around to see that front door now open with Lea standing on the threshold, giving me a quizzical look.

And it was just hitting me now as I looked at him that this wasn't only going to be the first time he was seeing me out of work clothes, but the first time I was seeing him out of his too. He was wearing a long, untucked button up that was a deep purple plaid and sleeveless, with a black tee on underneath and a black, loose hoodie vest that hung open over it. His legs were clad in dark, dark red skinny jeans, accompanied by tall black boots on his feet. His hair had been pulled back into a stylishly messy ponytail with a few spiky bangs poking free and of course he was sporting his usual guyliner. Though was it just my imagination or was there a bit of an extra swoosh to those wings at the corner of his eyes today? Probably just my imagination.

He… cleaned up pretty good.

...I mean, not that I pay attention to stuff like that or anything. Ahem, anyway!

"Where ya going?" He moved one step down the small set of cement stairs, grinning slightly. "You know that's the wrong direction, right? Living room's this way."

"...it is?"

First thing to blurt out of my mouth and we're off to a simply superb start here.

"Oh! Y-yes! Of course it is! I… I knew that! But, ah…" I took a teeny step backwards. "...I forgot something at… at home!"

Yeah, my backbone.

"That's it!" I laughed weakly and there was another shift back of my feet. "So I was just going to, you know…" I jerked both thumbs to the right, "go get it! Then… come straight back. Here. To your place, uh... o-of course!"

He frowned, looking down the street before glancing back at me. "You were gonna walk? Isn't that kinda far? Tell ya what, let me go grab my car keys and I can swing you back by your place real quick."

"No!" I threw up my hands, rapidly shaking my head. Drat. Thwarted. "N-no, that's… that's fine. And you know what? It's... not actually all that important. Really! Turns out I, um… I don't need it after all."

Looks like it was just time for me to grow a spine instead.

"Oh. Okay then, if you're sure," he shrugged before heading back up the steps and walking inside, holding the door open wide for me and smiling big. "Come on in. Mi casa es su casa!"

"Th...thanks," I managed to squeak past the anxiety squeezing my throat, making it hard to get words out. Taking a deep breath, I clenched and unclenched my clammy hands before clasping them together in front of me just below my waist. Then I rallied, if only just barely, and got myself up those stairs and inside, hearing him shut the door behind me.

The room I'd stepped into was open and rather spacious. To the right seemed to be the living room, in the middle of which stood a long coffee table, a couple of armchairs, a well-worn plush blue sofa covered in far too many pillows (all of them mismatched) and a large rug checkered in various shades of red. A giant dark wood entertainment center took up one wall with a large flat screen in the middle. The shelves surrounding it were mostly filled with books and DVDs, but there were a few odds and ends to decorate it as well, such as a couple of red frisbees sporting sinister-faced fireball decals in one cubbie, while in another sat a framed chart of what looked to be the lunar cycle.

To my left was a dinette space with its table already buried underneath a textbook and a mound of papers, and further to the left beyond that lay the kitchen. The two rooms were separated by an island counter wedged between a pair of thick square columns, the one furthest forward having a skinny door in it that was currently closed. Behind the dinner table and further back in the apartment was an open arch leading into a small corridor - more of an alcove, really - with two doors on the back wall and two more at either end of the hall.

"So..." I began as I glanced around, fingers already fiddling with the tip of my braid, "this is your casa?"

"Yup! Let me give you the grand tour." He all but bounced into the sitting area, arms dramatically flourishing in his best Vanna White impersonation. "The living room! Top of the line and comes with all the deluxe amenities you could ever dream of, including a couch as ugly as sin and a rug old enough to be your father!"

I snorted into my fist, biting back a tiny grin as I felt some of my tenseness beginning to fade, if only by a smidge. "Fancy."

"You like that? Well then prepare to have your mind blown." He darted over to the left side of the apartment now, presenting it with another theatrical sweep of his hands. "Dining room! And get this, you're never gonna guess… a kitchen!"

"Wow, dining room and kitchen? Amazing, you really do live in the lap of luxury here. My my, how the other half lives."

"I try not to let it go to my head. And check it out," he moved to the column bearing the small, inset door and pushed it open, revealing cramped shelves full of foodstuffs, "comes complete with itty-bitty pantry space!" It really was tiny. Could Lea even fit in there? Leaving the door open a crack, he then moved into the hallway, smacking a hand to the back door on the left. "My room." He pointed to the door at the right end of the hall, "Bathroom." Then the one at the left end, "Closet."

Nodding, I looked to the only remaining door directly to the right of Lea's bedroom. "And that one?"

He shook his head and waggled an index finger, "Oh-ho no, you don't wanna know what horrors lay beyond that door."

I quirked an eyebrow at that, one corner of my lips twitching upward. "Is that where you hide all the bodies then?"

"How'd you know?" He'd said it with such dead seriousness that for a second there, I started to get nervous. Then he snerked and chuckled, folding his arms beneath his chest as he leaned a shoulder against the inside of the archway. "You really are too easy, ya know that? Nah, that's just where I keep my household Saïx."

My head tilted. "...what's a Saïx?"

"Two for one deal, roomie-brother combo."

"You live with your brother? That sounds nice... not a lot of people do that after highschool."

One of his shoulders bobbed in a half-shrug, "Half-brother if ya wanna get technical, but yeah. We grew up in the foster system and had to put up with a lotta crap. Learned fast the best way to survive was for us to stick together. I guess old habits die hard. But I don't see him all that much anymore actually."

"Oh?" I frowned at that. "Why not?"

"I'm a creature of the sun, he's a child of the moon. Total night owl. His job keeps him up all hours and he sleeps all day. Nowadays I really only see him during breakfast which is his dinner and vice versa."

My eyebrows knit together. "What's he do for a living?"

Another bounce of the shoulder. "Hell if I know. He works remotely, so basically just locks himself up in his room all night glued to his laptop. Rox and Xion sometimes do take a late night though and caffeine up before dropping by to drag his ass outta his hidey-hole n' make sure he gets some fresh air every once in a while. The kiddos are convinced he's a vampire at this point, swear up and down that they've even seen him hiss at sunlight. But I know that's just silly. Totally ridiculous." Here he paused with a smirk. "Cuz he's obviously a werewolf."

A smile tugged at my lips. "Obviously?"

"Yup! All the clues are there." He struck up a finger. "Crazy obsessed with the moon." Up went a second one. "Likes his steak so rare, it's still mooing. Classic sign of lycanthropy." A third digit joined the other two. "And here's the real kicker: dogs? Love him."

"Wow," I laughed softly. "Well then, with such irrefutable proof, hard to argue that logic."

"Thank you," Lea bowed his head. Then he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the dining table, pulling out a chair for me. "On that note, shall we?"

I nodded, taking the offered seat and reaching for one of the pages of notes. "Sounds good. Let's get to it."

"Bueno Volcano?"

I glanced up from the open textbook before me, blinking once at Lea before my eyelids drooped. "No, I do not believe the derivative of F evaluated at X as H approaches zero is… Bueno Volcano."

Another one of our flavors of ice cream, as you might've already guessed.

He was staring at me with a completely straight face while wearing his pencil like a moustache. Removing it with a gentle harrumph, he leaned his chair back onto its hind legs, "C'mon, El, we've been at this for hours now. I need a study break."

I sighed through my nose, inserting a worksheet into the book to save the spot before shutting it. "Fine." I was kind of getting stiff from sitting still for so long. Stretching one arm over my head and arching my back to work some of the kinks out of my muscles, I asked, "So, Bueno Volcano… final answer?"

Lea's seat wobbled precariously and he had to grab the table to keep from falling over. Ruffling his hair with a sheepish laugh, he then visibly mulled for a second before shaking his head, "Nah. Spicy veggie ice cream is just weird. No one's into that junk."

"You'd be surprised," I hummed a chuckle, planting an elbow on a small stack of papers and resting my cheek in my palm. "You're running out of options. You sure you haven't guessed it already?"

"Positive. I'm getting warmer though. It's on the tip of my tongue now, I can practically taste it!"

I raised a brow at him. "So what's it taste like?"

He slapped a hand down to the table with a smile, declaring, "Victory!"

"...I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that flavor," I deadpanned.

"Bah, don't get cute, you know what I meant," he bopped my forehead with his pencil and I flicked it away. Then he tapped it to his chin as he eyed me thoughtfully. "...so why Art History?"

Um…? Where had that come from? Besides out of left field, that is. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged, twirling the pencil between his fingers now. "Just something I've been curious about… why pick that as your major? Why stick with it until you graduated if you weren't feeling it? Why even start it in the first place?"

"I, uh…" I averted my gaze, hands rushing up to toy with my braid. Answering those questions would involve bringing up my parents. And that was a whole other can of worms that I wasn't sure I was particularly ready to pop open just yet.

"Ooo, I'm sensing another secret." Grinning, he scooched his chair over closer to me now, bumping his knee into mine. "Don't worry, I know information isn't free. So how 'bout another trade? Tit for tat. Quid pro quo. One o' mine for one o' yours. I'll start." Then he was lifting up his shirts.

And I, in turn, was turning beet red and slapping a hand over my eyes.

Jeez, this guy did not know how to keep his top on!

"I've had stitches!"

...oh.

My fingers tentatively parted and I saw that he'd only raised the layers of fabric by a few inches, revealing a jagged scar wrapped around his side just above his right hip, big and gnarly, but also old and long since healed. I was kind of amazed I hadn't noticed it the first time he was shirtless in front of me. Then again, he had been drenched in ice cream at the time which had most likely covered it, and I had been a little preoccupied with spazzing out and using my hat as a makeshift censor bar.

"What happened?" I breathed, lowering my hand.

"Saïx happened." I gaped up at him and he released the hems, letting them fall back into place as he batted a hand, "It was an accident. We were only kids at the time. But turns out a chainsaw? Not a toy."

I spluttered, "A ch-chainsaw?!"

"Pssh, it's no big deal, was only a lil one. It'd have to be for an eight year old to be able to lift it after all," he brushed off with a snerk.

Fixing him with a flat look, I muttered, "You and I have two very different definitions of 'no big deal.'"

"Trust me, it looks a lot worse than it actually was. Poor Saïx though, he thought he'd killed me and the little dweeb couldn't stop bawling his eyes out at the hospital. I think he cried more than I did that day, which is funny cuz I was always the bigger crybaby of the two of us." Lea smiled as he relaxed back into his chair a bit, interlocking his fingers behind his head, "Yeah, we were one screwed up pair o' brats. It's no wonder no family ever wanted to keep us monsters, we were a handful to say the least." Then he nudged my shoe with the toe of his boot, "Alright, your turn now."

I glanced away, pursing my lips to one side. Then I locked my gaze back on his with a tiny smirk. "I've shoplifted."

His eyes widened and his head rocked back a bit as he blinked at me a couple times. Then he was narrowing his gaze, "Okay, one, no fair, you know what info I wanted."

I let my shoulders rise and fall, "You just said a secret for a secret. Never specified I had to answer your earlier question."

The rolling of his eyes was his only retort to that before moving on, "Two... you? Shoplift?" He gave a snort. "Does not compute. What was it even, a stick of gum? Some change from the Take-A-Munny-Leave-A-Munny tray?"

I lifted my chin a hair and inspected my nails, feeling a bit too pleased with myself. He'd thought he'd had me pegged. Well, I'd shown him. There's more to me than meets the eye, bucko. "Some clothes. These shoes," I slightly lifted one of my feet, presenting the left ankle boot. Then I paused for dramatic effect. "...a phonebook."

"A…?" he gave me a blank look for half a second. Then he burst out laughing, throwing up his hands, "Look out, we got ourselves a badass here! Behind that sweet, innocent face lurks the sinister mind a hardened criminal and cunning master thief! Best be careful or she'll come for your sticky notes and wall-hanging calendars next. Pfffft, a phonebook. Why? Just… why?"

Crossing my arms, I gave a derisive sniff. "I had my reasons."

Now he cocked his head to to the left, a sly curl twisting his lips. His interest had been piqued. He looked down, studying my shoes with a low hum. "...those still look kinda new. So your lil foray into the world of the five-finger discount had to of been pretty recent. I'd say… maybe a month ago, two tops."

I stiffened.

Oh no, I'd said too much.

I hastily pulled my feet back under my seat, as if to hide any further evidence he might gleen from them. "Speculate all you want, you're not getting anything else out of me."

"Oh, I see how it is. Tough nut to crack, eh?" His eyes crinkled as he leaned in closer to me, propping his elbows on his knees and tucking one arm behind the other. "Am I gonna have to go all good cop, bad cop on you now?"

...okay, cheeks, what's the deal here? I know you're still on red alert from the false alarm with the shirt earlier, but come on, this was nothing to be stoking the coals over! I cleared my throat, turning my head to one side, "No, it's just… that's a whole other secret, is all."

Lea straightened up in his seat, both eyebrows reaching for his hairline. "You mean you want another one outta me?" He shook his head with a grin, rising to his feet now. "Damn, El, you drive a hard bargain. I need to rack my brain to come up with something else good for ya. I'm gonna grab a soda while I'm at it." He winced as he made his way over to the kitchen, "...and I'm just now realizing I've been a totally crap host this whole time. Did you want anything to drink?"

"Just a water, please?" I asked, soon hearing him clinking cups around followed by the sound of a running faucet. I looked down at my lap, tucking in my lower lip as my fingers tangled into the tuft of my braid. I don't know why I was still thinking about it. I'd successfully sidestepped the question and he'd let me off the hook without me giving any sort of explanation for now. And yet, it still lingered at the back of my brain… prickling, needling, until-

"It's because I was a coward." The words were out before I'd even realized it.

He looked up, blinking at me from across the island counter. "Pardon?"

"...why Art History," I clarified softly, my hands going to my lap now to clench slightly at the fabric of my dress. "Because I was a coward, too afraid to go against my parents' wishes. They… said it would be necessary in order to make me more refined and cultured for my eventual role as… as a wife to any potential future husband I may have had. And I just… It seemed… easier just to go along with what they wanted."

"Woah," I heard him approaching again and watched out of the corner of my eye as a glass of water was set down at the table beside me. He retook his seat, a can of Kupo-Kola now in hand, "Remind me again, what era we living in? Coulda sworn we'd left the Dark Ages behind a few centuries ago." My gaze rose to meet his, a wilted attempt at a smile tugging my lips. He cracked the can open with a satisfying fizz before taking a sip. "So then, what did you want?"

I frowned. "What did I…?"

"Say you'd flipped your folks the bird and done your own thing. What would you have majored in instead? If you'd even major in anything at all. Just… what did you want?"

My brow furrowed as I processed for a few heartbeats. "...I'm not sure, actually. Guess I never really thought about it." Then again, no one had ever really asked before. Not even me to myself.

He huffed out a laugh through his nose. "Sure ya have. Everyone has interests, dreams... and hey, you were a kid once. What did you wanna be when you grew up?"

"I…" Trailing off, I squinted towards the ceiling as if I'd somehow find what I was seeking somewhere up there. Unfortunately, no magical, clear-cut ceiling answers divining the secrets to my soul revealed themselves unto me. Drat.

What were my dreams and interests? Did I ever even have any? How pathetic was it that I had to ask myself that? That said however, my mind did strangely keep circling back around to that conversation I'd had with Rayne a few nights ago. I began slowly, "When I was younger, I… did like taking part in musicals. Nothing huge, mind you, just for school and summer camp, things like that."

"That's still something though!" he nodded, face lighting up as he took another swig before putting the soda down. "And didn't I tell ya you should get into singing?"

Eyelids drooping, I gave a tiny scoff. "It's nothing, just a stupid, childish fantasy. My parents were quick to squash any such silly notions as I grew older, saying no daughter of theirs was going to be a failed singer or two-bit actor who never made it. It's not a job that's suitable for-"

"But whoever said anything about turning it into a job?" he cut me off, tipping his head to one side. "I mean yeah, that's one option, but it could also just be a hobby. You know, for fun. You could take a class or something, just to check it out... they offer drama courses at my university. Oh, and I know a couple people from the local community theater, I could check with them for you! Why not give it a shot?"

I grimaced, one hand shifting to rub my elbow. "I don't know…" Being on a stage again, performing in front of an audience, just... all those people… the mere thought already had me feeling the chill of anxiety clawing its way up into my chest.

"Look, I'll talk to those theatre friends of mine and also get you a catalog for next semester's courses. No pressure, but just so you have the information, ya know, in case you get curious," he smiled.

...I guess it wouldn't hurt... And I had to admit, a teeny part of me was drawn to the idea. However, a much bigger part of me shriveled up in dread and made my stomach churn and knot up. "...thanks, but I don't think that's really-"

The loud, groaning creak of a door opening suddenly pierced the air. Lea paled as his head snapped over to the left towards the hallway, his eyes going round. Then he facepalmed and hissed out through grit teeth, "Fucking hell, not today!"

Puzzled at his reaction, I started to follow his gaze, "What are you-?"

His hand abruptly grabbed mine, immediately drawing my attention back to him as he whispered urgently, "Don't move. Don't even breathe."

What the…?

Despite my rising confusion, I did as I was told. I heard a slow thud, thud, thud of footsteps approaching, felt movement behind me as something brushed passed and kept lumbering along. Was that… Saïx? If so, why then did it feel like we were reenacting a scene from a Jurassic Park movie with him the T-Rex and we the scared humans trying to hide in plain sight by going stock-still? I heard the steady footfall muffle now, presumably by the living room rug which is where it'd sounded like he'd been heading. Lea relaxed a little and I took it as a sign for me to do the same, now tentatively turning in my seat to glance over my shoulder.

Across the room stood a man with his back to us. He was tall, but I think Lea still may have had him beat by an inch or two. Long blue hair fell down well past his shoulder blades, bangs a chaotic mess on top - most likely bedhead if, like Lea suggested, the guy had been sleeping all day. A black tank top hugged his torso with grey camo sweatpants beneath it and feet bare. He'd come to a stop directly in front of the far wall and was now just… staring at it.

Knitting my eyebrows together, I whispered, "What's he doing?"

Still keeping his voice down as well, Lea said, "Sleepwalking. Something he's done all his life, but it's been months since the last episode, so I was hoping we'd be in the clear today."

"Oh." I cocked my head. "...shouldn't we wake him?"

"No," he said quickly and with as much emphasis as he could muster in his hushed tone. "He goes totally berserk if you do. Believe me, it is not pretty. Best just to stay out of his way and let him do his thing. He usually only wanders about for a few minutes before he heads back to his bed. Just-"

He hastily cut himself off as Saïx chose that second to whip around and face us. His eyes were closed and between them, a faded scar in the shape of an X slashed across the bridge of his nose. Lea's hand still on mine, I felt his grip tighten as Saïx started ambling in our direction. "Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it," I barely heard Lea chanting under his breath, watching Saïx like a hawk as he drew ever nearer.

He came to a lurching halt once more, this time next to the dining chair across the table from us. Lea scowled at him, muttering, "You're gonna do it, aren't you, you slumbering jackass? You're gonna play musical goddamn chairs." As if on cue, Saïx pulled out the seat and sat down. Watching him, it was almost eerie the way he seemed to look directly at us even though his eyes remained shut the whole time. A second later, he was rising again and moving counterclockwise towards the next chair closer to me. As he plopped down once more, Lea growled, "Damn it, of course. Of. Fucking. Course you are, you big, dumb, sleep deprived- shit, move!"

Lea leapt to his feet, yanking me up and out of my chair with him just as Saïx was about to yet again take a seat, this time on top of me. Lea backed up a few steps towards the kitchen island, me still in tow and our fingers now interlaced, his other hand miming pulling a zipper over his lips to me while his unblinking gaze never left his brother. A few seconds ticked by before Saïx was up and on the move again, his knee banging into Lea's chair, making the redhead cringe slightly. However, this only seemed to give Saïx pause for a beat before it too was sat upon.

I felt a tug on my arm and Lea started pulling me along, gingerly sidling over to circle the table in an attempt to put it between us and Saïx as we watched him stand back up and move onto the next seat. Then the next. And the next. He did this a few more times, with us all the while continuing to sneak around so as to stay opposite of him. At last, he seemed to lose interest in the dining area, turning his back to it and making his way into the kitchen.

Lea's eyes darted over to his bedroom door. Then to where Saïx had disappeared behind a column. Then back and forth a few more times. Then he murmured, "C'mon. My room. He always stays outta there."

I reached for the textbook with my free hand, "Just give me a sec to-"

"No time, leave it!" he hissed, making a run for it, giving me little choice but to stumble after him or be dragged. We were almost there, his door was just a few more feet away, but then-

"Motherfu-" Lea quietly choked out as Saïx reemerged from the kitchen directly into our path. Immediately putting on the brakes, his feet scrabbled and skidded until he had shifted into reverse and backed up against the square column at the end of the kitchen island, yanking me backwards with him. He flattened himself against the surface and I did the same as Saïx shambled by hardly centimeters in front of us. Saïx then came to a stop once more, this time taking up post in the small corridor right smack dab in front of Lea's room.

Lea released a barely audible sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then, still maintaining a whisper, "Bad Saïx! Bad!" He flicked his hand in his roomie's direction a couple times, "Shoo! Shoo!"

Saïx, seemingly unperturbed, didn't budge.

...this had to be… without a doubt, hands down… the weirdest social visit I'd ever been to.

Another minute passed of Lea unsuccessfully trying to persuade Saïx to get lost. Finally however, he did decide to move… straight towards us.

"Crap." Still leading me by the hand, Lea bolted around the corner and back into the dinette. The table, the chairs, the island, everything blurred past us. It was all happening so fast and before I knew it, Lea was jerking me into a hiding spot with him. And where, one might wonder, might that be?

Do the words 'itty bitty pantry space' ring any bells?

This, at least, solved one mystery. Lea could, in fact, fit in here. Not only that, there was even enough space left over for one (1) awkward Elsa to go in there with him. It was however, hrm... a rather tight squeeze, to say the least.

"This door opening in is really shit design," Lea grumbled, back pressed against said door and unable to close it as there was, quite simply, not enough room to do so. Not with us in the way anyhow.

He'd released my hand by now and I currently stood opposite him, my own spine uncomfortably pressing into the shelves of canned goods behind me. The gap between us was virtually non-existent to the point where every breath I took had my chest brushing up against his. Of course, that cinnamon scent of his that I was becoming oh so familiar with at this point was present and accounted for, invading my senses. And was it just me or was it getting a bit on the warm side in here? Poor ventilation. That had to be it. Yup.

I had no idea where to look. His face? Out of the question! Not in here, not this up close and personal, nope, nu-uh! I'd just have to settle for what was right in front of my nose.

Why good day, Mr Man Boob! We really have to stop meeting like this. Still looking as stately as ever, I see… wait! Oh gosh! What am I doing? I can't be staring at his frigging man boobs! That's just… just so unseemly! ...or is it? Is it technically okay for me to get an eyeful of man boob? If so, well that's a bit of a double standard now, isn't it? Better to be on the safe side and shift over to your charming neighbor here.

Hello there, Mr Bicep! Looking real good, real fit… have you been working out? Well whatever it is, it's doing wonders because let me tell you, you look nice enough to-

...ahem, readjusting focus once again, now landing on, um... Mr Collarbone! Yeah, Mr Collarbone here seemed innocent and harmless enough.

I think.

Clearing my throat, I asked, "So… he doesn't ever come in here during one of his episodes, right?"

"Never." I heard some shifting that I think was his head turning to look out the door, where there had yet to be any further movement. "...almost never."

"...how reassuring."

And silence reigned once again. This was so uncomfortable. I was dying. Come on, Elsa, say something else! Anything to break the stifling awkwardness! Say something… something nice! Yeah, like a compliment! Tell him… what a lovely home he has! No, too generic. Comment on the… smallness of his food closet! No no, jeez, that wasn't even a compliment. Point out the… stateliness of his man boobs! …oh dear god, no! Dang it, Elsa, why are you so bad at this?!

"So, uh... what's a nice girl like you doing in a pantry like this?"

I blinked. Then, somehow, I finally found the courage to look up at him. He said nothing else, just gave me a tiny half-grin and a wink. And just like that, all that tension inside me cracked, shattered, and started to melt. Slowly but surely, a smile stretched at my lips and I gave a soft snort.

How did he do it? How did Lea always seem to know just what to say to put me at ease?

Shaking my head, I murmured, "I bet you use that line on all the ladies."

He hummed a low chuckle and made no other reply, just continued to stare down the few inches that separated us. Gosh, his eyes really were just the most beautiful shade of green, weren't they? Out of the corner of my peripheral, I saw his hand slowly rising until it hovered just beside my cheek. There he paused… hesitated… and then-

Clunk!

A sudden noise from outside and his hand had seized my shoulder tightly while his other shot up, pressing an index finger to his lips. I nodded and we both peered out into the dining room, waiting. We heard Saïx before we saw him, that very distinctive thud, thud, thud of his footsteps drawing nearer. Then he plodded into view, pulling to a stop right outside the doorway and just stood there. Neither of us moved a muscle, remaining frozen like statues and holding our breaths as we watched and silently prayed.

After what felt like an eternity but in reality was probably only ten seconds, he started walking again, lumbering off out of our line of sight. We both exhaled and slumped, listening to his footfall fade. Then there was the blessed sound of a door creaking open followed by it clicking shut.

"Is that it?" I asked hopefully, voice still a whisper.

"Should be." He cautiously poked his head out to look around. "I mean, sometimes he gets crafty for a sleeping dude and will just open and close doors without going through them, but it's rare."

Good enough for me! I slipped out of the pantry and crossed the dinette, coming to a halt next to the sofa where I started to stretch a bit. Ahh, taste that sweet, sweet air of freedom! Whew, I had been starting to get a bit claustrophobic in-

"Look out!"

At Lea's warning, I spun around. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the apartment, there Saïx was again, heading straight for me!

And I, being the total dummy that I am, decided to pick the absolute worst time (aka now) to have a total deer in the headlights moment. My body was just not responding. Hello, legs? Anyone home? Now would be a really great time to jump out of the way! ...huh. No reply. Feet? Come in, feet, old buddies old pals! Saïx's getting real close here so if you could just, ya know, get a move on, that'd be swell! ...radio silence from that corner too. Well shoot, I thought as I squeezed my eyes shut, I guess this was it. The end of the road. The final curtains. Goodbye, cruel world. So long, and thanks for all the-

An abrupt force suddenly barreled into me from the side, pushing me out of Saïx's path at the last second and sending me tumbling over the arm of the couch where my back hit the seat cushions, decorative pillows flying everywhere. As my brain scrambled to catch up, I gradually became aware of the fact that there was a large weight on top of me, pinning me down. Warily, I peeked one eye open. Then the other. Then I blinked once. Twice. Then my face erupted into an inferno.

Because that weight on top of me? I'd figured out what it was. Or rather, who it was.

Lea.

He must have thrown himself at me, knocking us both out of the way of danger and onto the sofa. And thus why he could now be found hovering over me, his hands on my wrists, holding them down to either side of my head as he propped himself up, his hips resting between my legs. His head was currently turned to the left as he watched over the backrest of the couch, probably tracking Saïx's movements. So engrossed was he in this that I don't think he was aware of the rather compromising position we were in right now.

Unlike me, who was very, very aware.

I just stared up at him, unable to move, unable to think. My face grew hotter and hotter by the minute as my heart thundered in my ears. My breath hitched and my mouth grew dry. But the weird part? I… wasn't panicking. Oh sure, all the classic signs of panic were there, but that wasn't it. That wasn't what I was feeling. What was it then? This strange, alien emotion I felt invading my chest as I gazed up at him, making me feel all…

...kind of, sort of warm and fuzzy?

...wait.

This wasn't-

I wasn't-

Dear lord, it couldn't be I-

"There!" Lea puffed out a sigh, his shoulders sagging in relief. "I actually saw him go back into his room just now, so we should be safe for real this time. Sorry 'bout all th-" The words died in his throat as now, at long last, he looked down at me. And you could all but hear the click in his brain. He froze, eyes wide. There was a long stretch where neither of us said or did anything. Then abruptly, "Shit, s-sorry!" He quickly released my wrists, shooting up onto his knees and hastily crossing his arms, jamming his hands into his armpits. "I didn't mean to- That is, I- This was just- This isn't how it-"

In his rush to stand, he slipped and fell off the couch, banging his head against the coffee table. I gasped, sitting up and reaching for him, "Are you okay?"

In a flash he was back on his feet, rubbing the fresh sore spot and blurting out, "Yup, no, I'm good! Just dandy! Just a small concussion, no biggie, nothing a bandaid or-" once again, the coffee table got the better of him and he stumbled backwards over it. He managed to catch himself however and chuckled weakly, "Heh… who put that stupid thing there? Anyway, I'll just go, uh, get myself patched up... in the bathroom! Yeah, be right back!" And with that, he practically blurred across the apartment and straight into the restroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

...well then.

I think that answered that.

Mission Not A Crush.

Because I think we can all agree now that Lea clearly and quite obviously…

...did not have a crush on me.

I mean, come on, did you see the guy? He couldn't get away from me fast enough! All but tripping over himself to put as much distance between the two of us as he could. Probably desperate not to give me the wrong idea. Well message received, loud and clear.

However, this did complicate things a bit now though.

Because even though he didn't have a crush on me…

...I was now pretty sure I had a crush on him.

Author's Notes: Ahhh, this chapter… in which it's probably never been made more clear how really bad Elsa is at reading social cues from others xD Also, always love me a good ol' "hey, look, we're trapped in a tiny cramped space together" scene, that's my crack yo :3 But on another note, now Elsa's gone and done it… she caught feelings, the lil fool! Something she's never had to deal with before, so this should be fun xD Minor Fun Fact: Saïx's middle name in this is Isa, just like how Lea is technically our redhead's middle name as well. But unlike Lea, Saïx actually likes his first name so that's what he goes by. And we'll have a real appearance from Saïx in later chapters, not just sleepwalking zombie Saïx xP Another Minor Fun Fact: the stuff about the chainsaw was supposed to be a reference to Saïx's claymore from the video games - chainsaw is just the closest thing I could come up with xD And for those unfamiliar with this bit from the manga, there's a point where Saïx attacks Axel with his claymore and leaves him wounded right where Lea's scar is in this chapter, so another teeny lil reference, weeeee! Another ANOTHER Minor Fun Fact: Lea's outfit, if you didn't recognize it, was based on his outfit at the end of KH3! Elsa's outfit… was not based on anything, it just sounded like something I thought she'd look cute in xD Also this chapter marks the start of me regretting a little bit making this story only Elsa's POV. I mean, how fun would it be to write all the things going through Lea's head right about now? xD Alas, I'll just have to leave that up to your imaginations, dear readers!

Next chapter, what will Elsa do with these new fledgling emotions of hers? Is it really a crush? Or is she simply confused in all the whirlwind of excitement that just happened? Will Lea ever pass his exam? COULD the derivative of F evaluated at X as H approaches zero actually BE Bueno Volcano? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[justaaveragereader]

Hello👋! Welcome to my Chaotic Corner😁!

Welcome to my blog of absolute clownery and fics! For the basics I’m 24 a proud ‘99 baby, but I feel like I’m boarder lining 105. I go by she/her pronouns and you can call me Syd!

Who do I write for? Currently just Ateez but I’m working my way around to writing for other groups. Ateez is just my ult group!

My sun is a Gemini, moon is Taurus, and my rising is Aquarius. What does that mean? I have no damn clue. So if you know about astrology…please give me some insight. Only thing I know is Gemini has multiple sides to them…let me know which personality you would like me to surface for ya 🤗😀!

INFJ-T

Kpop Groups?

I’m a multi stan! But Ateez is my Ult💙! My biases are Yeosang, Jongho, Mingi and Yunho .

Also love me some Skz! My biases are Binnie 🐷🐰 , Seungmin in the buildinggg, and our fav baby bread I.N.!

I am getting into Svt and I’m already up to my neck in biases🤭. Jun, Woozi, DK, and Seungkwan

BTS, TXT, there just are so many groups and so little time😭!!!!

Just Stuff🤪

My favorite overall tv show is The Golden Girls (if you like this show please…message me😭 lets be friends), some others are Bobs Burgers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Anime…(if I was to name all them off..it would take me a while💀 but if you like anime👀👀 let’s talks I’m always looking for anime friends😚).

I love cheese😗, it’s the MidWest in me😅! Pepperoni Pizza, Steak, Pickles, Chicken Nuggets…Those are foods/snacks of the champs.

My fav genre of music is anything rock, soft rock, pop rock, grunge, I also like hip hop, pop, r&b.., my music category is HUGE. But rock will always be my #1.

For being a introvert I talk a lot. Especially if I’m comfortable with you. I will possibly talk your ear off! So if you can carry a conversation? I love you cause we will be talking for daysssss!👏

I’m really really friendly I’m just super shy plus I’m a overthinker so when making friends I wait for the other person to make the first move👀.

If you got dark humor…👀Hello Best Buddy! Ummm..Let’s be friends👏! With times like these…dark humor is how I’m making it in life.

I love Lord Of The Rings😭! I cried while watching the second movie.

I was named after a scary movie character!

Some of my favorite anime characters are Fuegoleon from Black Clover, Sesshomaru from Inuyasha, Alfonse from Full Metal, Rengoku and Sanemi from Demon Slayer. Just to name a fewwww

I love love loveeeee Studio Ghibli! Howls Moving Castle? Classic. Who doesn’t love Howl and Calcifer? My Neighbor Totoro? Ummm yes tf 💁‍♀️! Kiki’s Delivery Service? I was convinced all black cats could talk like Jiji as a child.

I curse a lot 😅…so if you are sensitive to cursing…close your eyes and act like it never happened😗.

The Queen Of Sarcasm👑 !

I love reading fics where the author goes “he ran his hands through y/n long luscious hair.” Mean while me and my shaved head are sitting here like 😱!

[coldcomputersoul]

Marco vs. the Forces of Love Episode 4: 3’s & 7’s

Summary: It’s a hoot and a holler when Marco and Janna have an affair. Meanwhile, an unknown force is causing malfunctions on all magical devices on Mewni.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil belongs to:

© Daron Nefcy

© Disney Television Animation

[theme song]

ACT I

[The episode starts at Sensei Brantley’s dojo. Marco prepares himself for his final exam while Star and Jackie watch him among the crowd]

Sensei Brantley:

[Holding a microphone] Is this thing on? [touches it to see if it works] Alright… Ehem, Ladies and Gentlemen of all ages: Welcome to all you to the graduation ceremony of the Trank Hill Plaza dojo, where these young men will prove themselves to all of you in the noble art… of Karate. [gong sound effect]

[The crowd cheers to the students as they make a reverence to their sensei]

Sensei Brantley:

For most of them, it’s been a long way of pain and suffering to get into this point. Lots of broken bones, running noses, both physical and psychological scars that will probably haunt them for the rest of their mortal lives, but nonetheless… They’re here. For they are survivors, brave warriors ready to leave the comfort of the dojo that watched them grow as the martial artists in front of you. Each one of them a hero of its own story. A story that keeps going as they learn more about themselves and...

[As Sensei Brantley recites his speech, Jeremy starts makings faces to Marco which he retaliates by doing faces to him as well]

Sensei Brantley:

...therefore, this journey is really about the internal growing, the personal maturity that these students have reached over the years. And today… [wipes a tear from his eye] is the beginning of a whole new chapter in their lives. Please give them another round of applause. They truly deserve it.

[The crowd cheers for the students once again]

Star:

[dancing] Woo-hoo. Go Marco, go Marco, it’s your birthday, it’s your birthday!!!

Sensei Brantley:

Thank you all. Before we begin with our final demonstration, I would like to introduce you to a brand new tradition in our dojo [walks towards some red curtains on the wall] a tradition that from this point forward will be a staple for the future generations to come… I present to you: THE WALL OF FAME!!!

[Sensei Brantley pulls out the curtains to reveal a giant wall full of empty picture frames]

Marco:

[with stars on his eyes] It’s beautiful.

[Marco imagines his face on the wall as it’s displayed to the public]

Jeremy:

Hey Marco...

Marco:

What do you want?

Jeremy:

I just wanted you wish you good luck and that I can’t wait to see ourselves together on that wall...

Marco:

[raising an eyebrow] Uhm… Thanks… [thinking to himself] Wow, it turns out that Jeremy isn’t as bad as I thought...

Jeremy:

Yeah, I mean: Just imagine how awesome I will look next to your face all squashed against the floor after your inevitable failure. [laughs]

Marco:

[thinking to himself] ...or he’s just as bad as polio.

Sensei Brantley:

...and now, without further ado. Let’s begin with the test. BRING OUT THE PROPS!!!

[A couple of students bring a table with a bunch of empty glasses of wine and a green bottle on the center]

Sensei Brantley:

For your final exam: You’ll kick this bottle out of the table using the Triple Butterfly Kick. Now: See the white line in front of you? [points at a line placed a few feet away from the table] That will be your starting point. The rules are simple: If you cross that line, you fail. If you touch any of the glasses, you fail. If you touch the bottle but don’t manage to kick it out of the table, you fail. The students who fail will gonna have to repeat another year. Got it?

[Marco gets nervous and starts to shiver as he watches the distance of the table. Cut to Star and Jackie talking to each other]

Jackie:

Wow, the test looks tough. I hope Marco can get through it.

Star:

What are you talking about? THis is a piece of cake for him. I mean, remember when he broke the record at the swimming test a couple of weeks ago?

Jackie:

Yeah, but this is different. Karate is a whole new level of physical challenge.

Star:

Well, I guess you’re right. But I know that Marco is capable for this...

[Cut to Sensei Brantley ready to start the exam]

Sensei Brantley:

[checking on the list] Alright, we’re gonna start by alphabetical order: JEREMY BIRNBAUM, You’re first. Come on...

Jeremy:

[to Marco] Now, prepare to see a real expert on the job. And who knows, maybe you’ll learn something...

[Jeremy makes a reverence to Sensei Brantley and gets on position as the song “Jeremy is Awesome”starts playing on the background. However, as soon as he jumps to make the kick, loses control and crashes against the table in a very anticlimactic way. The crowd softly cheers out of pity]

Sensei Brantley:

Oh, tough luck Jeremy, but don’t worry: Because in the noble art of karate, there’s no winners or losers, just new experiences to makes us stronger every day as we keep going. Better luck next time.

[Jeremy stands up and angrily walks away]

Sensei Brantley:

Alright, the next student on the list is: MARCO DIAZ, go ahead dude, you can do it... 

[Marco makes a reverence and gets on position]

Marco:

[thinking to himself] Okay Marco, you can do this. Just don’t be nervous.

[Marco takes his time to focus while everyone in the audience just watches him in suspense. He takes a deep breath, walks a few steps back from the starting line and proceeds to jump and spin in the air like a ballet dancer. He manages to kick the bottle out of the table without touching the glasses, but just for a few inches. Finally, he lands on the floor and gets acclaimed by everyone in the audience]

Marco:

[opening his eyes] I… I did it?

Sensei Brantley:

[hugging Marco] Congratulations Marco. I knew that you could make it.

Marco:

Uhm… Sensei?

Sensei Brantley:

What?

[Sensei Brantley notices that everyone is watching them sharing a hug, so he lets him go and proceeds to continue with the next student]

Sensei Brantley:

Anyway… Our next student on the list is GOMEZ DURHAM… or something...

[Later that day after the exam, Marco talks with Sensei about today’s performance while everyone in the audience are leaving]

Marco:

I just don’t don’t know how it happened. At first I was like all nervous thinking that I would fail just like the other times, but then I closed my eyes and… I felt it, the spirit of the warrior was inside me just like you said it, so I let myself go and… the moment I’ve noticed, I’m already on the floor in one piece.

Sensei Brantley:

That’s what I’ve been trying to teach you all these years. You overthink things too much dude. Sometimes you just got to go with the flow.

Marco:

I’ll never forget it. Thank you for all your dedication to me Sensei.

Sensei Brantley:

Don’t mention it.

[They make a last reverence to each other before Star and Jackie show up to congratulate Marco]

Star:

[hugging Marco] Oh Marco, I’m so proud of you. I mean, you finally graduate from karate.

Jackie:

And just when I thought you couldn’t be more awesome, you make another perfect performance [grabbing Marco’s arm] You never cease to amaze me. 

Marco:

[blushing] Uhm, girls please. You’re embarrassing me in front of Sensei.

Sensei Brantley:

Oh, don’t mind me. I’ll just gonna go back to my office so you can spend some quality time with your private cheerleading team... [winks at him]

Marco:

What? No, no no, it’s not what you think. We’re all just friends right here.

Sensei Brantley:

Yeah right... See you later champ.

[Sensei Brantley walks away to his office leaving Marco, Star and Jackie alone together]

Marco:

Well, that was close...

Star:

Yeah, I think I should stop hugging you like that for a while. It’s getting kind of awkward to explain to everyone else. I mean, it’s not like we’re officially dating or anything.

Marco:

Yeah, I suppose...

[Marco has a flashback of him and Janna making out which makes him feel guilty around Star and Jackie, so he tries to hide it by avoiding eye contact with them]

Jackie:

Marco… about what happened...

Marco:

[interrupting her] No, wait. You don’t don’t have to apologize. I’m the one who overreacted.

Jackie:

No Marco, you were absolutely right about us and what we did.

Star:

[shrugging] It’s true. We won’t let it happen again, promise.

Jackie:

Me too. And from now on: Truth will always come first.

Marco:

Uhm… Yeah, about that...

[Marco looks at Jackie smiling at him, but doesn't know what to say]

Star:

Anyway… Shouldn’t we be celebrating Marco’s victory by now? [grabs them by the shoulders] Because I had a thing or two in mind that we can try.

Marco:

[raising an eyebrow] What kind of things?

Star:

[smug face] That’s a surprise for later.

Jackie:

[smug face] Oh, I like where this is going.

Marco:

If this is what I think it is, I’d suggest to go to my place this time. After all, my parents won’t be at home until tomorrow, so... 

Jackie:

Mmmm... taking the lead, huh? I like the way it sounds.

Star:

[smiling] I agree.

[Cut to Marco’s house at 2:00 AM. Star and Jackie are sleeping in Marco’s bed while Marco is at the kitchen making himself a sandwich and a glass of water. Then he goes to the living room, sits on the couch and turns on the TV]

Female TV Reporter:

[in front of a school] ...and according to our primary source, the number of victims now have increased to 15 students on what it’s the fifth case of school shooting on this year so far. The school’s principal have declined to comment on the issue.

[Cut to the News Anchor]

News Anchor:

Thank you for that report Diane; On the international front: The government of North Korea has once again reappeared on the public sphere after the of citizens of Aomori, Japan reported a nuclear missile with a korean flag that overflew the city at 42000 ft above the ground. Our foreign correspondent, Veronica Cooper is on the scene… How is the situation there Veronica?

[Cut to Veronica covering the event in front of a group of protesters at the streets]

Veronica:

It couldn’t be more chaotic Hank. Just a few hours ago the citizens of Aomori formed an angry mob to protest against the mayor, accusing him of attempt to gloss over the incident when he infamously referred to the claims of nuclear threat as “overreacting”. It seems like the citizens...

[In that moment, Marco’s phone starts ringing. He watches and sees that is a call from Janna so he answers it]

Marco:

[yawning] Hello Janna.

Janna:

[o.s] Hey Marco, what are you doing? Something naughty I suppose. 

Marco:

Not really, I’m just chillin’ out watching the TV. Nothing special so far.

Janna:

[o.s] Really? because I assumed that you would be doing… you know...

Marco:

Well, If you really wanna know: Star and Jackie are sleeping in my bed right now...

Janna:

[o.s] Wow... Now that escalated quickly, isn’t it? 

Marco:

I guess… By the way: What do I owe the pleasure of having you on the phone?

Janna:

[o.s] I’m glad you asked, because I was thinking if maybe we can go out, like… one of these days you could sneak around from Star and Jackie so we can spend some quality time...

Marco:

Quality time? As if… going on a date or something?

Janna:

[o.s] Not exactly what I had in mind, but … Sure, a date would be nice.

Marco:

Sounds tempting, but right now I need to evaluate my options. Just between you and I, Star can be a little… uhm… how can I put it? 

Janna:

[o.s] Sticky?

Marco:

For lack of a better word.

Janna:

[o.s] I understand. It’s okay...

Marco:

But as soon as I find the perfect moment, I’ll let you know. Promise.

Janna:

[o.s] Are you sure?

Marco:

Hey, don’t forget we made a pinkie swear. You don’t just break a pinkie swear.

Janna:

[o.s] Okay… so I guess I’ll talk to you later.

Marco:

Don’t bother. I’ll call you back.

Janna:

[o.s] You do? Uhm, I mean… sure. I’ll wait for your call.

Marco:

[laughing] Yeah, you do that.

Janna:

[o.s] Well, I’m hanging up. By the way… I’m not wearing any clothes right now.

Marco:

[blushing] Huh?

Janna:

[o.s] Goodnight Marco.

[Janna hangs up the phone while Marco just lay on the couch staring at the the ceiling]

Marco:

[sigh] I’m truly the worst.

[Cut to next day at Marco’s house. Star is in front of her magic mirror trying to call her mom]

Star:

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Calling Mom.

Mirror:

Calling Dom.

Star:

No, not Dom. Mom!!! [sigh]

[A random guy named Dom appears on the mirror’s surface]

Dom:

What’s going on? Who are you?

Star:

Sorry sir, there’s something wrong with my mirror. I was trying to call my mom.

Dom:

Oh, don’t worry. This is like the tenth time this has happened to me so far....

[Star finishes the call, and clears her throat before trying to call again]

Star:

Okay Star, you can do this... Mirror Mirror on the wall. Calling MOM.

Mirror:

Calling Mom.

Star:

Ugh, finally...

[Queen Butterfly finally appears on the mirror]

Queen Butterfly:

Oh, Star… I’m so glad you called...

Star:

Mom, what the heck is going on? I literally spent 20 MINUTES trying to contact you and the mirror’s signal just… bounced all over the place.

Queen Butterfly:

I’m afraid our worst fears got confirmed. Remember those malfunctions that the Magic High Commission were warning us last week?

Star:

Yeah...

Queen Butterfly:

Well, it turns out that everything they predicted became true. Just three days ago, The Queen of Pixtopia sent me a message telling me that 90% of their magic dust has just vanished and now they only have enough power to maintain the royal emergency lines at work.

Star:

But what about  the Commission? Isn’t their job to fix these sort of problems?

Queen Butterfly:

They’re too busy taking care of issues on other dimensions. The crisis is escalating to levels we didn’t thought it would be possible?

Star:

[concerned] Does that mean I’m in danger too?

Queen Butterfly:

I’m not really sure. Did you noticed something strange or unusual about your wand lately?

Star:

I don’t know. Wait, just let me check. 

[Star searches the wand on her room and find it under a pile of magazines. She opens it and notices that the unicorn that charges the wand has changed into a black stallion with red eyes]

Star:

Okay… this is unprecedented [shows the wand to her mother]

Queen Butterfly:

Just as I suspected. This crisis is affecting non magical dimensions as well.

Star:

What am I supposed to do?

Queen Butterfly:

Tomorrow I’ll send a couple of guards to take you back to Mewni for a routine inspection...

Star:

Wait, tomorrow?!!!

Queen Butterfly:

Is there a problem?

Star:

It’s just that... I was planning to spend the day with Marco… as… [whispering] in a date.

Queen Butterfly:

Well, you’re gonna have to leave it for another day Star. As the future ruler of Mewni, you need to learn to set your priorities straight.

Star:

[sigh] I know.

Queen Butterfly:

Good, Tomorrow we can discuss this with a little more calm. Now I must hang upt before the signal goes off again.

Star:

Okay mom, bye.

[Queen Moon finishes the call as Star watches her wand in dead silence. Cut to Marco watching TV on the living room while Star approaches him]

Star:

Uhm, Marco...

Marco:

What’s up Star?

Star:

I know we were planning to have a date just you and I, but… something happened on Mewni and...

Marco:

[concerned] ...something happened on Mewni and you need to go, right?

Star:

I’m so sorry Marco. I was looking up for this day for such a long time, but I just can’t neglect my responsibilities so...

Marco:

Star: You don’t owe me any explanations. Just do what you need to do and stop worrying about it.

Star:

Really? Oh thank you for understand. I’ll make up for it soon, I promise.

Marco:

Oh, Star… it’s fine. We can have a date other day. I’m glad that you’re starting to take care of your duties as a princess. [hugs Star while she just blushes and hugs him back]

Star:

[whispering] I love you Marco.

Marco:

[whispering] Me too Star. Me too.

[Star goes upstairs to her room. As soon as sh leaves Marco picks up his cell phone to make a call]

Marco:

Janna...

ACT II

[Cut to Marco at the park along with with his bicycle waiting for Janna while looking at his watch. Janna shows up on a green mountain bike]

Marco:

What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you an hour ago.

Janna:

Sorry Marco. I’ve had some pending business to attend with my parents. Also, a brainless bimbo driving an Acura nearly hit me on the way.

Marco:

Really? Sorry about that. I didn’t know.

Janna:

It’s okay. This isn’t even my bike anyway.

Marco:

And whose is it?

Janna:

I don’t know, I just stole it two hours ago.

Marco:

Janna...

Janna:

Just kidding. It was a gift from my grandma mr. righteous.

Marco:

Right… So where are we going?

Janna:

I thought you’d never ask.

[Cut to Mewni where a group of peasants are waiting in line while Queen Moon along with the Magic High Commision perform a routine inspection. Star arrives while Ruberiot along with Foolduke and Mime Girl are leaving]

Rhombulus:

Next...

Ruberiot:

[slightly annoyed] Ugh, thank God it’s over. This whole thing was SO pointless. I mean, I don’t even know how to use magic, I’m a musician for crying out loud.

Foolduke:

Well, magic works on mysterious ways, so you can’t never be a hundred percent sure.

Ruberiot:

Oh, trust me. I know all about it.

[Cut to Star talking to her mother while the commision is at work]

Star:

Wow, look at this line. It’s like the entire kingdom is here.

Queen Butterfly:

That’s because they’re all here Star. It’s important to be as cautious as possible. Remember: magic can affect everyone on different levels, not just their users.

Omnitraxus:

[checking on some guy] This person it’s clean your majesty.

Star:

When it’s gonna be my turn to be checked?

Queen Butterfly:

Checked? Oh, right. The wand. I’m sorry Star, I forgot. This is taking us longer that we expected.

Hekapoo:

Don’t worry your majesty. I’ll take care of princess Star.

Queen Butterfly:

Did you finish with the reports like I told you.

Hekapoo:

I’m all done with those my queen. Rhombulus will take them to your office.

Queen Butterfly:

[watching the long line] Okay, you can do it.

Hekapoo:

[to Star] Follow me your majesty.

[Hekapoo takes Star into a room upstairs where she checks her and the wand using a metal detector and a pair of gloves]

Star:

Is this gonna take too long? I mean, not to be rude or anything, but I have some things to do and...

Hekapoo:

I need to run a couple of tests. Just relax and read a magazine or something...

[Hekapoo opens the wand and sees the black stallion with red eyes]

Hekapoo:

Since when your wand have been like this?

Star:

It started last week. I guess...

Hekapoo:

[taking notes while testing the wand] Interesting...

Star:

So… what’s going on?

[Hekapoo just keeps taking notes in silence while ignoring her. As she finishes, she gives the wand back to Star]

Star:

Well?

Hekapoo:

I have no idea.

Star:

No idea?! What kind of answer is that? I thought you would figure it out by this point.

Hekapoo:

Normally I would, but this just goes beyond any phenomenon that I’ve ever seen.

Star:

Does that mean I’ll never be able to make magic again?

Hekapoo:

I’m not quite sure yet. Here... [gives the wand to Star] See that statue over there? [points at a Statue of King River]

Star:

Yeah...

Hekapoo:

I want you to use a Narwhal Blast to blow it up...

Star:

Okay… [gets in position] MEGA NARWHAL BLAST!!!

[The spell manages to blow up the statue without a problem]

Hekapoo:

Well, at least we know the wand is still functional...

Star:

Does that mean we’re done?

Hekapoo:

Mmm… Yeah, we’re done. You can go now...

Star:

Finally...

Hekapoo:

Just… one more thing...

Star:

[sigh] What is it?

Hekapoo:

Relax, it doesn’t have to do with magic. It’s about Marco.

Star:

Marco?!!! [As soons as she mentions him, Star gets nervous and starts shivering] What do you wanna know?

Hekapoo:

[blushing] I know it’s none of my business, but… Are you still a thing?

Star:

A thing? You mean like… boyfriend and girlfriend?

Hekapoo:

[staring at the floor] Yeah...

Star:

Why do you ask? Do you like him too? I-I Mean… Do you like him?

Hekapoo:

No, no no… I’m just curious because last time I checked you were pretty close and...

Star:

[interrupting her] Yeah, totally. We love each other and we’re still dating, so… he’s totally unavailable now. I’m sorry.

Hekapoo:

[looking disappointed] Uhm. okay. I was asking because I was hoping that... 

Star:

Well too bad because he’s my boyfriend. That’s the way it is, bye. [leaves the room in a hurry]

Hekapoo:

[staring at the floor] Bye.

[Cut back to Marco and Janna at the cemetery]

Marco:

Oh yeah, I remember this place. This is where we fought Ludo that one time.

Janna:

...and Star and I tried to invoke Bon Bon the birthday clown.

Marco:

Not exactly my happiest memories, but...

Janna:

Speak for yourself, I had so much fun slapping your butt that night.

Marco:

Get outta town.

[Janna laughs a bit while Marco just smiles]

Marco:

Has anybody ever told you that you look very cute when you laugh?

Janna:

I know what you’re trying to do. Just keep it in your pants Romeo.

Marco:

I’m serious. Why can’t you accept a compliment? 

Janna:

I’m not like other girls. You’re gonna need more than just chivalry and pretty words to get me. 

Marco:

What about last week at the janitor’s closet?

Janna:

Oh, so you still remember that time? You boys are so obvious...

Marco:

Hey, you’re the one who dragged me...

Janna:

And you’re the one who went with it.

Marco:

And your point is…?

Janna:

You’re unable to take the first step unless someone else pushes you to the edge. Just like what happened with Star and Jackie.

Marco:

[raising an eyebrow] Oh, You think so?

Janna:

Well, we’re all alone here and you didn’t even attempted to take my hand or...

[before she could finish Marco takes her by the shoulders and gives Janna a passionate kiss on the mouth which she reciprocates]

Marco:

So… What are we talking about?

Janna:

[blushing] Uhm… I...

Marco:

Case closed.

[Cut to Marco’s room. A portal opens and Star comes out looking for Marco]

Star:

Marco. I’m home, we can have our date now. [she notices Marco isn’t there] Huh, I guess he’s at the living room.

[Star takes Marco’s dimensional scissors and goes downstairs to the living room, but she  finds Marco’s parents making out at the couch]

Star:

Hey guys...

Mrs. Diaz:

Star?!!! [they stop making out]

Mr. Diaz:

[with kiss marks on his face] What are you doing here? I mean. We thought you wouldn’t return until the evening.

Star:

I made it as quick as a I could. You know where Marco is?

Mrs. Diaz:

He must be at the park. He took his bike so...

Star:

Okay, thanks… [she summons cloudy and quickly leaves]

Mr. Diaz:

So… Where were we? Oh yeah [they keep making out while laughing]

[cut to Star arriving at the park. She searches for Marco everywhere but she can’t find him]

Star:

[getting out of Cloudy] Marco? Where are you? [she calls for Marco, but he’s nowhere to be seen] Maybe he left… I wonder if I… [she looks at the wand and remembers the all seeing eye spell] I know shouldn’t use it, but...

[Star uses the the all-seeing eye spell to find where is Marco and sees him on the cemetery along with Janna]

Marco:

[o.s] Hey Janna, come and check some of these tombstones.

Star:

[raising an eyebrow] What is he doing with Janna? [she summons Cloudy and flies to the cemetery]

[Cut to Marco and Janna checking the tombstones. Marco finds one that that says: R.I.P. Rosie Palms (1967-2015) “always giving a hand to the ones who needed it”]

Marco:

[laughing a bit] Well, this is just rich.

Janna:

[o.s] Hey Marco, come over here. I found something cool.

[Janna takes Marco to an abandoned shed with a bed in the middle of the forest]

Marco:

Uhm, no… Just no.

Janna:

Oh, you gotta be kidding me. You have the guts to grab me by the shoulders and kiss me without any warning but you chicken out at this point?

Marco:

I’m not chickening out. I just don’t wanna do it on an old shed that’s probably full of mold and dirt.

Janna:

What are you, a germaphobe?

Marco:

No, It’s called common sense. Have you ever heard about it?

Janna:

I’m sure there’s nothing inside that Star can’t treat using her wand...

Marco:

Oh no, no, no, no, no… I don’t let Star use her wand on me anymore. I already learned that lesson the hard way. [he remembers the tentacle arm for a second]

Janna:

How about a deal? 15 minutes inside and I’ll let you touch my breasts. 30 minutes and anything goes...

Marco:

Forget about it. I don’t care what you say, there’s no way that I’m going inside that... [cut to Marco and Janna inside the shed] I’m losing my mind...

[Cut to Star arriving at the cemetery using the scissors just a few moments later]

Star:

Now. Where are they? [Star searches for them and while checking at the tombstones] I don’t get it, what is Marco doing with Janna? They’ve never been THAT close before. Or maybe I was wrong and they are… nah, it can’t be… Marco would never do something like that, right? Although she always looked like she wanted to be closer to him but… [sigh] and... I’m talking to myself out loud again. I really need to stop doing that.

[In that moment she hears some noises coming from the forest, so she hides behind one of the tombstones. She sees Marco and Janna laughing while talking to each other]

Janna:

...and when the milk came out of his nose and fall over Brittney’s dress and she was like… [impersonating Brittney] YUCK!!! BOYS ARE SO GROSS!!! I’ll never forget that day.

Marco:

Me neither. That is like… on my top 10 of funniest moments ever. Poor Alfonzo though.

Janna:

Yeah, but you have to remember that he’s lactose intolerant, so that was the best outcome. For him at least.

Marco:

I guess you’re right.

Janna:

Not to mention that she was wearing new shoes as well.

Marco:

And since then, she avoids wearing new clothes at school.

Janna:

Yeah, but it’s not like anyone really cares...

Marco:

Yeah… [beat]

Janna:

So… Can I have a second round?

Marco:

What? You wanna do it again at the shed?

Janna:

No, I don’t like to repeat myself. Maybe we can do it over a tombstone this time.

Marco:

Do it over someone else’s grave? Now that’s just too far. Even for you.

Janna:

I was kidding. Jeez.

Marco:

Oh Janna…

[They start making out next to a tree while Star just watches them very upset]

Star:

[thinking to herself] That BITCH!!! [she keeps watching them while grinding her teeth] So do you wanna have Marco to yourself, don’t you? Well… [close up to her eyes] I’ll give you what you want Janna Banana.

[Marco turns around for a moment. Star hides herself before he can see her]

Janna:

What’s wrong?

Marco:

Nothing. I thought I’ve heard something. Maybe it’s just my imagination.

Janna:

Maybe it was the ghost of Rosie Palms.

Marco:

Don’t joke about dead people. They can hear you.

Janna:

Maybe. But that’s the fun thing about cemeteries.

Marco:

What a creep… [they keep making out]

[Cut to the Diaz Household at night. Marco arrives and goes upstairs to Star’s room]

Marco:

[knocking at Star’s door] Star? Are you there?

Star:

[o.s] Yeah, come on in...

[Marco opens the door and sees Star practicing with her wand]

Marco:

Uhm, hi.

Star:

[stepford smile] Marco… Hey buddy, how it was your day? Lots of fun riding your bicycle? 

Marco:

Yeah. It was fun. Listen, I’m sorry for getting late. Time flies when you have fun riding curves, you know, he-he...

Star:

Oh, I can imagine it.

Marco:

Yeah, but I wanna make up for you. This was supposed to be our day and I should’ve get earlier...

Star:

Oh, don’t worry about it. The whole thing took it longer that I thought anyway.

Marco:

Still, I want to compensate you.

Star:

Well, now that you mention it: Jackie and I were planning to have a picnic this next sunday and I was thinking if you can prepare some sandwiches.

Marco:

I would love to. And I can make some lemonade too.

Star:

Good idea.

Marco:

Then it’s settled. I’ll make the lunch for three.

Star:

Better make it for four. I have the feeling we’ll be very hungry.

Marco:

Got it. Good night Star.

Star:

Good night Marco [as soon as Marco leaves the room, she makes a phone call] Hey Janna, how’s it going?

[Marco goes to his room and finds his dimensional scissors on the desk]

Marco:

[holding the scissors] This is odd, I don’t remember leaving these over here...

ACT III

[Cut to Marco, Star and Jackie having a picnic on a knoll at the park]

Jackie:

[eating a sandwich] Mmmm, these sandwiches are pretty good.

Star:

Thanks Jackie. It was a collaborative effort.

Marco:

No it wasn’t.

Star:

You should also try the lemonade… [she opens the picnic basket and serves some lemonade to Jackie]

Jackie:

[tasting the lemonade] Wow, this is great. You guys really outdid yourselves this time, seriously...

Star:

Oh, you really think so?

Jackie:

Absolutely...

Star:

[stepford smile] It’s our pleasure..

Marco:

Whatever...

Jackie:

Do you wanna play a game? I brought some cards.

Marco:

[rubbing his hands] Alright, count me in...

Jackie:

What about you Star?

Star:

Uhm, I think I’ll pass. I’m not really good at those type of games...

Marco:

What are you talking about? We play poker together all the time.

Star:

Yeah, but I’m not like… “in the mood” if you know what I mean...

Marco:

No, I don’t know what you mean...

Star:

Besides, I just remembered that I need to do something right now and I have to go for a moment.

Jackie:

Funny, you didn’t told me anything when we talked by the phone.

Star:

It’s a… It’s a surprise. Yeah, that’s right. Just wait right here and have fun.

Marco:

[raising an eyebrow] Uhm, okay?

Star:

Okay, bye. [she leaves the scene in a hurry]

Marco:

Mmmm...

Jackie:

What’s wrong?

Marco:

Have you noticed that she was acting a little… strange?

Jackie:

You mean more than usual?

Marco:

Yeah...

Jackie:

Well, now that you mention it: She sounded a bit anxious the other day. Is everything okay between you and Star?

Marco:

As far as I know, we’re still on good terms.

Jackie:

Maybe it’s a Mewni thing then...

Marco:

Probably. The other day she went to Mewni and didn’t look very pleased, but anyway… Are you ready for some poker?

Jackie:

I thought you’d never ask. [she shuffles the cards and starts a game]

[Cut to Star meeting with Janna at the bench]

Star:

[stepford smile] Janna. I’m so glad you find you here.

Janna:

Uhm, you’re the one who called me. What’s the deal?

Star:

Deal? There’s no deal, I just wanted to see one of my best friends on earth, that’s all.

Janna:

Mmmm, I don’t know. Your instructions were very specific.

Star:

Oh, don’t over-analyse things. The important thing is that you’re here.

Janna:

You said you wanted to show me something.

Star:

Oh right. Now I remembered. Follow me.

Janna:

Okay.

[Cut back to Marco and Jackie playing poker. So far, Marco needs a 3 to complete a Four of a Kind hand but he has a 7, while Jackie needs a 7 to complete a Flush, but she has a 3 instead]

Marco:

[thinking to himself] Wow, even at poker she looks calm. Or maybe she’s about to win and is expecting me to make the next move… Nonetheless I need to be cool and project confidence.

[Jackie notices that Marco is looking at her so he looks the other way while blushing]

Jackie:

What happen?

Marco:

Nothing, I was just… looking at… uhm... your hair.

Jackie:

My hair?

Marco:

Yeah… It looks slightly different.

Jackie:

I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is my usual hairstyle and… oh, maybe it’s because I used a new hair conditioner to make my hair look brighter. Is that it?

Marco:

Uhm, yeah. Now that mention it: The green strip of your hair looks brighter.

Jackie:

You know, you’re the first person to notice it. You’re a great observer Marco Diaz.

Marco:

You look great… I-I mean… You always look great, it’s just that… You look particularly great today and… I like what you did with your hair… it’s [he blushes as he tries to come up with something to say] I like your attention to details. [he looks the other way]

Jackie:

[blushing] Well, I’m glad that you think so. He-he [she looks the other way too]

Star:

[o.s] Hey guys, I’m back, and look who I’ve found...

[Star shows up with Janna which makes Marco gulp out of awkwardness while Janna reacts the same way, but tries to act cool]

Jackie:

Janna, what a surprise.

Janna:

[poker face] Yeah, what a surprise indeed.

Star:

Isn’t it great? Now we're all together hanging out like in the old days.

Janna:

Yeah, I just remembered that I had an important compromise that I… [she stands up and tries to leave but gets stopped by Star]

Star:

Oh, please don’t go yet. What about a game of poker?

Janna:

I’m… not a big fan, I’m more into chess.

Star:

But poker is a lot of fun once you give it a chance. Come on, don’t be a quitter.

Janna:

Uhm… Well, I guess a short game won’t hurt any...

Star:

Splendid. Let the game begin.

[Jackie shuffles and deals the cards again while Marco and Janna try to avoid eye contact as they play]

Marco:

[to Star] Do you have a 4?

Star:

[smiling] Go fish.

Janna:

[thinking to herself] What am I gonna do now? I need to get out of here as fast as I can before...

Star:

[to Janna] Do you have sex with Marco?

Janna:

[shivering] What?!!!

Star:

I said: Do you have a 6 on your hand?

Janna:

Oh, I get it… Uhm, go fish.

[they keep playing for a while as Star keeps winning every game]

Star:

Well, what do you know? I won again.

Jackie:

Wow, for someone who claims to be bad at poker, you certainly have some tricks up your sleeve...

Star:

I have my moments.

[In that moment, Janna notices something suspicious about the cards]

Janna:

Wait a minute. [checks the whole deck] These cards are marked.

Marco:

Star...

Star:

Oops. You got me.

Jackie:

Star, this isn’t fair game.

Janna:

Yeah, what do you try to accomplish by cheating, huh?

Star:

Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing Janna Banana.

Janna:

[poker face] What do you mean?

Star:

Oh, you forgot about it. Well, maybe this will help you to remember...

[Star pulls out her phone and shows a photo of Marco and Janna making out in the woods. Marco, Jackie and Janna react in shock]

Marco:

[panicking] Oh, crap...

Star:

By the way: The ghost of Rosie Palms sends her regards...

Marco:

Star, look… I can explain.

Star:

[with tears on her eyes] How could you do this to us Marco. I mean, don’t you have enough with two girls? How many chicks do you need to hump to be satisfied?

Marco:

What happened was… you see… she approached me that day when you...

Janna:

Oh, so you’re gonna put all the blame on me now? So brave...

Star:

And as for you Janna: I can’t believe you would be capable to do such thing. I thought you were my friend...

Janna:

Cry me a river. The only reason I pretended to be your friend is to get closer to Marco.

Star:

Well, no wonder why he considered you nothing but a creep.

Janna:

And what makes you so high and mighty? You treat Marco like a servant half of the time. It’s obvious that he prefers to be with someone else, but you keep getting on his way because you’re a control freak and a complete sociopath.

Star:

Mind your words Janna. Remember that I have the wand.

Janna:

[sarcastic tone] Oh, the wand. I’m soooo scared, I mean what are you gonna do? turn my arm into tentacle monster?

Marco:

Uhm, girls?

Star:

Maybe I will turn you into a narwhal so I can blast you against the wall over and over. What do you say about that?

Marco:

Uhm, girls?

Janna:

Bring it on blondie. I’m not afraid of you, or your cute little toys.

Marco:

Girls, please. We can talk talk about this...

Star:

I’ll give you toys. [holds the wand]

[Star and Janna aggressively stare at each other while Jackie just watches concerned and Marco tries to prevent a brawl]

Jackie:

[getting in between] Alright girls, there’s no need to get violent. I’m sure we can reach an agreement if we just sit down and talk...

Star:

Talk? With this traitor? Uh-uh, no way.

Janna:

Perhaps because your oversized ego gets in the way...

Star:

Or maybe... it’s because Marco likes me better and you just can’t accept it.

Janna:

Sure. He likes you SO much than he can’t decide between you and Jackie.

Star:

That’s none of your business.

Marco:

[raising his hand] Can I say something?

Star & Janna:

NO!!!!

Star:

Your problem Janna is that you’re a sore loser. Marco doesn’t see you as his girlfriend so you seduced him to get your way.

Janna:

Sounds like you know a lot about being a sore loser, otherwise you wouldn’t use that weird eye spell to spy on Marco and Jackie on their date...

Marco:

Wait... what?

Star:

B-but, how did you know about...?

Janna:

I’m not really a heavy sleeper, I saw you that day [cut to the moment Star used the all seeing eye to spy Marco and Jackie]

Jackie:

Star, is that true?

Star:

No, I mean, yes,but...

Janna:

If anything, Marco should avoid you at all costs.

Star:

Oh yeah? At least I don’t steal things from him of stalk him like a creep, and let me tell you...

Marco:

[thinking to himself] Aw man, this is getting ugly. I need to get out of here.

Star:

...and that’s why I’m the best girl for Marco.

Janna:

Sure, keep making noise babyface. You sure are gonna win if you cry harder.

Star:

[breaking glass sound] What did you just said to me?

Janna:

I said: Keep making noise baby...

[before she can finish Star tackles Janna and they start a fight, but Jackie once again gets in between and attempts to stop them]

Jackie:

Come on girls please... fighting each other won’t solve anything. It will makes things worse.

Janna:

You’re right. We should let Marco decide once and for all and finish this nonsense...

Star:

I agree. So Marco, which one of us do you like...? [she notices that Marco is missing] Marco? Where did he go?

[Cut to the underworld. A portal opens and Marco comes out and finds himself on a bathhouse for male demons and supernatural creatures]

Marco:

The underworld? but I didn’t wanna come here.. [looks at the scissors] What’s wrong with these scissors? [Marco takes a look around and sees a bunch of demons wearing nothing but towels] I need to get out of here...

Tom Lucitor:

[o.s] Marco?

[Marco turns and sees Tom wearing a towel]

Marco:

Tom? What are you doing here?

Tom:

[panicking] Uhm, it’s not what it looks like, I was just… IF YOU TELL STAR ANY OF THIS, I WILL…!!!

Marco:

[sigh] I don’t have time for this… [he uses the scissors to open another portal and leaves]

[Cut to Hekapoo at her house trying to mold new dimensional scissors, but for some reason the scissors turn defective]

Hekapoo:

Oh dang it. Well, let’s trying again... [she throws them into a pile of defective scissors]

[in that moment, someone knocks at the door, so she goes to open it]

Hekapoo:

Now who could it be at this hour? I swear if it’s you once again Rhombulus, I’m gonna rip apart your… [she opens the door and sees Marco] Marco? Oh, what a surprise...

Marco:

Hi Hekapoo. How are you?

Hekapoo:

Uhm, fine… I mean, it’s been kinda boring since you left, but… It’s cool. What brings you here?

Marco:

Long story. I just needed a place to calm down for a moment.

Hekapoo:

Troubles in paradise?

Marco:

Something like that... [beat]

Hekapoo:

Well, come on in and have a sit. I’ll bring you something to drink.

Marco:

You don’t need to bother. I’m just...

Hekapoo:

Nonsense, you’re my guest and I’ll attend you whether you like it or not. [looks for something to drink]

Marco:

As you please. By the way: How is Nachos?

Hekapoo:

[serving a drink to Marco] He’s fine. He’s been riding around all by himself. He’s pretty much a free spirit, so I’ll let you go, but he always returns.

Marco:

I’m glad to hear that, I was worried that we would feel alone without me. And... how about you?

Hekapoo:

Well, it’s been a busy week I’m telling you. Some unknown force it’s been soaking almost all the magic from Mewni and causing all kinds of problems. Just now it started to affect me as well. I can’t clone myself nor create new dimensional scissors properly.

Marco:

That sounds pretty bad.

Hekapoo:

Tell me about it. And considering that now Lekmet is dead, my work at the Magic High Commission just doubled down. [sigh] I’m sorry if I’m bumming you with my problems, I just needed to let it out of my system... [she drinks and sits next to Marco]

Marco:

It’s okay. To be honest with you, lately I haven’t been in the best mood either.

Hekapoo:

You wanna talk about it?

Marco:

You see: I… have some serious romantic issues.

Hekapoo:

Did you... fight with Star?

Marco:

Something like that. Let’s just say we’re not on the best of terms right now.

Hekapoo:

[raising an eyebrow and smiling] Oh, Really?

Marco:

I’m sorry, I can’t go into any more details. It’s too complicated to explain and...

Hekapoo:

It’s okay. You can stay at my place as long as you want. At least until things calm down back home.

Marco:

Do you remember that time passes differently on your dimension, right? 

Hekapoo:

Of course I do you silly human, my point is: Mi casa es su casa.

Marco:

It is very kind of you, but I think I should be going...

Hekapoo:

Wait… I mean, it’s been awhile since our last encounter and… I was hoping that we could catch up. Earth isn’t going anywhere after all.

Marco:

Mmmm… I guess I can stay here for a couple of days if you don’t mind.

Hekapoo:

That’s great. Come here, I’ll take you to your room. [she grabs Marco’s hand and takes him to a giant room with a king-sized bed]

Marco:

Wow, this is… a pretty spacey room. It’s certainly bigger than mine.

Hekapoo:

You should see Queen Butterfly’s bedroom. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. Now if you excuse me...

Marco:

Where are you going?

Hekapoo:

It’s a surprise. Just right here and I’ll be back in a moment. [she leaves the room]

Marco:

Okay… 

[Marco starts exploring the room and finds some magazines and a few “toys”, which makes him blush as he takes them]

Hekapoo:

[o.s] Okay, I’m ready...

[Marco turns back and sees Hekapoo wearing black lingerie, which makes him drop his jaw as she walks towards him]

Hekapoo:

Enjoying the view, fleshwad?

Marco:

Uhm, I… Ah, mmmm...

Hekapoo:

I know I usually wait 16 years to do these things with you, but… I was wondering if maybe we can make an exception just this one time… for old times sake.

Marco:

Hekapoo, I…

[he tries to talk but gets distracted by Hekapoo’s boobs so he looks the other way]

Hekapoo:

You’re speechless right now. That is so cute. Just follow my lead.

Marco:

[blushing] Uhm, okay.

[Hekapoo kisses Marco on the lips and hugs him. He quickly reciprocates and grabs her hips as they keep making out]

MARCO VS. THE FORCES OF LOVE - EPISODE 4: 3’s & 7’s

[tatianawrites]

séverine 006

Sunday, September 29th

Friday, she leaves work late. Again. Painfully late, she’s champing at the metaphorical bit, more than ready to leave. Things have gone poorly this week for her employers. That means opportunity for her, though, a likely chance to move up within the organisation, and this is the primary impetus behind the late, late nights she pulls for a week.  Any meeting she can edge in on, she does. Any report she can help file, she does. The more she knows, the more dangerous she is. 

The more danger she’s in.

And so she likes it.

But then there’s Diego, saying they need to work together, soon, always something off the radar with him these days, unofficial, so she finds time and it is Thursday night when they end up on the roof, by the couch. I used to be a degenerate here. She reads this situation like he’d flat out said it -- let’s -- but they don’t; as ever, it’s the tension as much as anything else that keeps them gravitating towards each other.

On Saturday, she’s out of office, she’s at a cabin on the beach. She is letting herself simmer in need, wondering what might have happened had she taken a single step towards that filthy couch, when her phone gives that special chime and her heart drops into her stomach. This is supposed to be a retreat from work, but, then, this is not a summons she can ignore.

Tʜᴇʏ ɢᴏᴛ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ. Aʟʟ ʜᴀɴᴅs, Mᴏɴᴅᴀʏ.

That night, looking over the waves, drinking wine, she knows:

Change is coming.

They will absolutely have need of her, and she will absolutely be available for them.

Which means Sunday, then, is her last chance for some time. She sends Boo the message shortly after sunrise: This is reckless of me, but…

But.

If not now, when?

… I’ve rented a little beach cabin for the weekend. Would you like to come out for the day, or dinner?

When it seems he’ll take her up on it, she knows he knows what she’s offering. No ratty couch you’ve fucked meaningless faces on. I demand better.

She thinks, overthinks, what she’ll wear. How she’ll greet him.  Whether to play at being demure. How gently to encourage him. Whether she ought to abandon pretense at all -- he surely will -- and the thought is enough that she allows herself a moment to fantasize. His rough hands, his tense body, his quiet lips, how they could share not a word of conversation all day but if he said her name, once, she’d fall apart.

An oversized button-down. Lazy, loose, over her bikini top -- the one that fastens in the front. Linen shorts, breezy and airy and light, with the waist that ties. Easy, all of it. He’ll see that.

She is almost embarrassed by herself.

But this is her last chance, for awhile, and they’ve toed this line for so long she’s half mad with it.

She will be fine so long as she does not think of Emma.

Because, she understands, this is a victory for the other woman: Emma remains in the picture, she has not faded away at all but only tightened her grip on Boo. Séverine reaching out like this is a weakness, and she harbours only a few illusions that Emma will not find out.  For all she knows, Emma might well be standing alongside Diego as he browses wines, or indeed might have been the person responding to her DMs; it has happened before. 

Séverine will pretend not to care.

And she continues to pretend not to care as the hours tick by, the sun crests in the sky, begins its lazy descent, and she makes lunch for one, and tries not to look at her phone but tries also not to look at the pathway descending to her little cabin, so when he has neither shown up nor said a goddamned word by sunset, she is trembling, incandescent with rage.

Surely he wouldn’t do this. Surely he wouldn’t ghost her. Surely he must be dead in an alley somewhere.

She polishes off the half-bottle of wine she has left. She has made barely a dent in the dinner she prepared.  Potatoes wilt, butter congeals in the creases of corn. She wraps herself in a cardigan and reaches for a book, starts tea, reminds herself that none of this, with him, has ever mattered.

Her work matters. Cutting the head off the snake matters. This lust? It does not matter.

She is in the cabin’s immense, luxuriant bed when Diego finally reaches out: I’m sorry. I am safe. Something came up.

And while she ought not to reply, while she ought to throw her goddamn phone across the room, she can’t help herself: a single word, as careless as she can manage: Ah.

For months now, when he has called for her, she has come to him. For months, when he is in need she drops her work and finds her way to his side. Time and time again they say to one another, I trust you, and perhaps this is her fault, showing a vulnerability to him, needing him not for work, but for selfish indulgence.

She turns her phone off entirely.  So it goes.  This is not the first time she has been let down; this is not even the first time she has been let down by someone in the bloody DAF.

Tonight, she will sleep; tomorrow, she will return to work.

And she will let that be her escalation.