#I have enough energy to sit at a table not enough to do anything elae | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

saradiasz · 4 years

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Pairing: Lin Manuel X Reader

Note: Hi, this is my first Fanfic here, i hope you enjoy it!

Warning: Cursing, Teenager Lin, Lin's accent in Spanish, Smut, Fluff, Lin's baby pictures.

Word Count: 5.001

1998- Summer Vacations

I can't wait to meet my new neighbors, it's pretty lonely here since Cameron that lived nextdoor had to go to live in another country with her parents, she was my best friend and maybe my only one, she said that we will still be friends but...it's different, she's going to find new ones and I'm going to be here alone as always...Fuck that, I have to focus on the new neighbors now, maybe they have a daughter...Well, nobody compares to Cam...Ok, ok I'm forgetting that for now. Anyway, my mom is baking a cake to the neighbors when they arrive, I'm so nervous and anxious for...some reason, so I go downstairs to talk to my mom and see if the cake is ready.

— Hey mom, how it's going there? — I said looking to the oven and seeing the chocolate cake inside.

— Right on time honey, I'm going to take it out in 5 minutes, wanna help me with the frosting? — She said giving me a spatula that i take with enthusiasm.

— Sure mom. — I smile to her and she start to pouring condensed milk slowly in the wipped cream that I was stirring.

After that she put the frosting on the fridge and take the cake of the oven and put it on the table to rest, we talk for some time about nothing important until the cake was cold enough for the frosting. Is between spread frosting on the cake and put it on a plate that we heard a knock at the door.

— Can you see who is for me Y/N?

— Sure. — I said with a bored face, it's impossible that anyone liked to host people at your door, impossible.

I open the door and I see a latin little man, or a big kid... I'm not sure yet, he is wearing a Star Wars t-shirt way too big with large, large pants that another person could fit there with him comfortably, there's a hat laying on his head too, very fancy. He just stay there starring at me with his big brown eyes and then say:

— Hi I'm Lin son of the new neighbors, my mom is throwing a party tonight and she's inviting your family, nothing fancy just some foods and a lot of dancing, there's none dress code or those shit, we just want to have a good time with everyone and make new friends. — He said in one breathe with a lot of hand gestures, impressive...He dresses like a kid and talk as much as one.

— Okay. — I said slowly. — I'm gonna say to my mom, actually she's baking a welcome cake for your family, we can take with us tonight then.

— That would be perfect, thank you so much. — He said gesturing with his hands again. — Bye. — He turn around and go in the way to the next house as I close the door.

— Okay, mom you won't belie... What are you looking at? — She look at me with a weird smile and say:

— He likes you honey, did you saw the look on his eyes and how he was literally throwing words at you? — She said giving me a malicious face.

— What are you saying, of course he don't like me, we talk for 2 minutes...Well he talked for 2 minutes I just listened. — I said rolling my eyes.

— Well, think what you want, and about the party...we are definitely going, so find a good dress.

— Why mom? Let me stay home, please. — I said with fake tears in my eyes.

— I know you, don't fake a face for me, we are going and period. — Damnit, she know me too well.

— Ugh, okay okay.

After we both get ready, I take the cake and we go to Lin's house, i can hear music from a far, we get there and knock, a woman full of energy open the door and hug me and my mom tightly at the same time what almost caused a cake accident.

— Wepa, I'm so happy you maded, come in, come in. — She said with a heavy accent and then pushed us into her house.

— And we are very happy that you invited us, I baked a cake for you, take it. — My mom said giving her the cake that was in my arms.

— Mas no precisava, you didn't need too. I'm going to place this with the rest of the food, thank you...I don't even asked your name honey, what am I thinking... — Own, like mom, like son. She said as fast as Lin did before.

— It's Y/M/N and what's yours? If I may ask. — Okay, so I'm probably gonna be here for a while, it's always like that when my mom finds another "talkative" mom.

— It's Luz, and this is your hija? Uh tan hermosa... — She said giving me a look — Lin has a good taste...

— Mama, ¿Qué estás diciendo? Excuse us ladies — A blushed Lin appears of nowhere almost screaming and then he leaves with his mother.

— That was... — My mom start thinking in a word.

— Freaking weird? Yeah, I know. I told you so, if you excuse me I'm going to find food. — I go right to the place that's probably the kitchen, there's some latin people talking, probably Lin's family or something, I found a table with some snacks in the corner and go straight to them taking one bowl of... something that I don't know what it is but tastes good. I go to find somewhere safe to eat alone, what's not very complicated since they don't unpacked almost anything, I go upstairs and enter a room with some furniture, I turn the light on and then sit on the floor behind some boxes trying to hide for a while. I really didn't wanted to came here in the first place, don't get me wrong, the people aren't the problem, I am...I just don't like parties, and parties with my mom are even worse. The door opens interrupting my monologue about how much I hate parties. I see Lin talking on the phone entering the room like a thunder, closing the door and laying on the carpet.

— Tú no entiendes, ella es la cosa más linda que yo ví en toda mi vida...obviamente no consegui hablar com ela Carlos, I'm too shy for that... — He finally realize that I'm in the room and say almost choking on the phone. — Oh fuck, yo tengo que ir bye. Hi, what're you doing here? The party isn't in my bedroom. — He said with a...smile? Or he's dying?

— Your what? Oh I'm sorry I was just... scaping for my mom, I didn't realized that this was your room. — Oh fuck, of course it's his bedroom.

— It's okay, it's nothing yet actually just a bunch of boxes and I relate with the mom thing, my mom drives me crazy sometimes too. — He opens a beautiful smile, I never took a deep look at him but he's not that bad actually, even kinda cute with a goofy smile.

— Mothers hun. — We both laugh looking at the floor.

— Did you understood what I was talking on the phone? — He asked nervous.

— Not even a word. — He's relief came hard.

— Oh, nice.

— What you were saying, though? — That's really weird, he start to panic.

— Ah, uh...porn — That's a bad liar over here my friends.

— Sure...

— Yeah. — Awkward silence, yummy...

— So...

— What's your name again? I don't think you never said to me actually. — He said with a question mark all over his face.

— Well, you never gave me the chance. — He start to blush because of my words and then he whisper an sorry. — It's okay Lin, and my name is Y/N at your service sir.

— Yeah, this name suits you. — He said now smiling.

— Do you want some? — I said pointing the bowl to him. — I don't know what this is but is pretty damn good.

— Sure. — He said taking some of the bowl and then sitting next to me, his leg touching mine. — It's tostones, basically fried plantain, it's a Puerto Rican thing, well latin thing but this one my aunt brought from Puerto Rico. — He said with his eyes glowing.

— You used to live there?

— No, actually. My parents came to here and then they meet on college so i was born here too, but I love Puerto Rico it's my happy place you know. — He said with a half smile.

— That's so sweet Lin. — His eyes finds mine and we stare each other for a minute, but then I look away...This boy is like...affecting me?

— So, did you want to get back there? It's dinner time. — He stand up and offers me his hand.

— We really have to? — I said forcing a sad face.

— Of course we do, but if you get uncomfortable I promise that we can stay here okay? — His hand still waiting for mine.

— Okay then. — I take his hand leaving the empty bowl behind, we get out of the room still holding hands, until I see my mom, in that moment I go crazy and i walk in her direction leaving Lin.

— Hm, very strange that you were together inside a room, did you wear protection honey? I don't want a...

— MOM, we were just talking. — I said interrupting her before she said something even crazier.

— I'm just saying...Well, let's go to get dinner, this are really nice people doll you're gonna love them. — She said leading me to the backyard where a big table was full of food, hell yes, that's what I'm talking about, don't like parties who?

I sit with my mom by my right side, Lin appears and sit in front of me, after everybody was at the table we start to eat, people asking food, pouring juice, telling jokes, Lin's look finding mine between conversations, was all really nice, I even forgot why I was so worried at the first place.

We are at home now, I'm looking at the sky from my window, there's a lot of stars and is a full moon day. The curtains of the other house in front of my window opens all of sudden, of course Lin's window is there, how I didn't noticed that? He don't seems to see me, what makes sense since my lights are off, he's shirtless and writing something on the desk that places below the window, there's a lamp on the desk and the only thing that's on at the room. He seems so relaxed, his mouth is moving fast what means he's probably singing, maybe writing music? I don't know but it's a beautiful view, wait...is this creepy? I'm feeling like a stalker right now, i try to hide but he see me for my own despair. He smile and wave his hand to me, I do the same with a Awkward smile. Crap, I'm so dumb...he take a paper and write "Hi, can't sleep either?", i write fast in a old piece of paper a big "No", he smile and write another thing and then show me "Meet me in 10?" Oh fuck, why he want to see me? he's totally going to report me to the police for harassment. I raise my thumb to him and he closes his curtains, I look at the mirror and remember that I was in my pajamas but who cares, I go downstairs slowly so my mom couldn't hear me, the door make a noise when I open it...damnit, hope she didn't hear this, I close the door and turn to Lin's house, he's standing right in front sadly with clothes now, wait, why am I disappointed? He has a little smile in his face until he reaches me.

— I'm sorry, I wasn't stalking you I swear, please don't sue me...

— What're you talking about? — He said confused, crap crap crap, a thousand times crap, I fell my cheeks hot so I close my eyes so I won't be able to see his face.

— Nice pajamas by the way... Wait, are this pineapples? — He said with a stupid smirk on his face.

— Oh shut up, you're wearing Star Wars clothes all day and I never said a word about it. — I try to say this mad but my smile wins the battle on my face.

— Yo, Star Wars is a classic but I never see a movie about pineapples. — Why do I didn't changed my clothes again? Right, laziness.

— Uh, rude. — I hit his arm weakly.

— Au. — He smile and take my hand. — Let's go, we can lay down in the garden and look at the stars and...talk.

— Okay Yoda. — He laugh a little as we go to the background of his house.

We lay on the ground with our bodies almost touching, the stars really look beautiful tonight... He turn his head in my direction...We both know what's going to happen but the wait make all better, I turn to him and his laches are beating slowly, the light of the stars make his face glow, he put one hand on my face and start to make little circles around my cheek and say that my eyes are more shining than the stars, his face is literally one inch far from mine. I'm the one who kisses first, his lips are soft and warm, he put his hand in my wrist and push me closer to him, his tongue is touching mine now in a sweet kiss, we end the kiss but we stay closer as possible.

— That was unexpected. — I said breaking the silence.

— Well, not for me. I was hoping to do that since I meet you. — He says letting small kisses on my face.

— So my mom was right this time. — He goes a little far laughing.

— I was that obvious?

— I don't think so, but in the moment you walked away she said that you liked me, what I thought that was craziness until now. — I said with one hand in his soft hair. — No that I'm saying that you like me i just... — He stop me pressing our lips together.

— Mothers hun... — He said quoting me and then opening one of those beautiful smiles.

The sun is rising when we go back to home, I say a last goodbye to him from the window before jumping on the bed, my back are in pain but I don't care...This was one of the best days of my life, I sleep and my dreams are full of dancing and laughing.

I wake up with a knock at my door, I look to the clock next to my bed and it's almost 12 o'clock, after a little battle against myself I get up and open the door, Lin is with a big smile in his face, the large clothes now are just a cargo shorts and a light white shirt showing his shoulders and a lot of skin, so much skin...

— Good morning Sleepyhead. — He said still smiling.

— How you're up after last night? And smiling... — I said outraged giving room for him get inside.

— Actually I barely sleep, no i can't get inside. Your mother only let me in when I promised not to enter your room.

— Of course she did, by the way what are you doing here? — I ask him. — No that I didn't liked, I do, I really do. — I said fast.

— Really? — He's cheeks are turning red, how he can be this cute?

— Yeah. — I get closer to him and I let a little kiss into his lips.

— So, I was thinking that we could go to somewhere today, I know a place in the woods that's perfect for do absolutely nothing, it's not far so we can walk a little bit and since you didn't eat breakfast, we can do a picnic and no one else goes there so we can stay together in peace. — He said showing me the basket in his hand.

— That sounds perfect, I just have to take a shower, I see you in 30? — He nodd his head in affirmation and I kiss him more deeply this time.

— See ya. — He said in the middle of the kiss and then goes away...God I could live in his lips forever...

I take a quick bath and go downstairs, Lin is talking to my mother, he's drinking a cup of coffee and they're... Laughing? Weird...I say a hi to my mom and we go to Lin's place. It's really a perfect place, there's a lot of trees and a little lake in the middle, we rest on a big towel under a tree for some time, we eat a lot, it's a perfect afternoon...

— Thank you Lin, this is so nice. — My head is resting on his shoulder.

— You know what would be nicer? — He said standing up and slowly taking his shirt off and running into the lake direction. I take my dress off and follow him with a goofy smile on my face. We jump into the almost warm water together, he start to splashing water in my face and I do it back, he came closer and kiss me, his shy hands are laying in my lower back, i surround his waist with my legs and I feel something getting harder under his belly, he stop the kiss looking at me with his big eyes, his laches are moving fast.

— I...it's... — He tries to talk but he doesn't have words for this.

— Shhhh, kiss me Lin. — I whisper into his ear and he does what i ask, then i take his hand and guide him to where we were before.

— I never done this before. — He said with his voice shaking. We lay on the towel and I kiss him, i run my hand through his wet soft hair and feel them between my fingers, meanwhile his hands is caressing my back, making little circles.

— We don't have to do it if you aren't ready yet. — He's looking at me with those big brown puppy eyes, I'm losing all control that i have. — I never done this with someone that i just meet either, but you're making me crazy without doing anything.

— I want you, i just don't know...how... — He gaze up avoiding my eyes with his cheeks all red now, did i mention how cute he's with red cheeks?

— Hey, look at me. — I said touching his face and making he look at mine — I'll not say that i didn't do it before, but i can lead you...if you let me. — He don't say anything, just came closer and kiss me taking all the breath of my lungs.

— Okay...— He said more whispering than really talking.

— If you want to stop anytime just say, okay? — He nodd his head in confirmation. I stay on top of him and take my bra and throw in the floor next to us, he look at my breasts with his eyes wide open then look to my face like he was asking for permission, what was really cute, i take his warm hands and put them in there and he squeeze very softly, i feel him getting even harder under me, i kiss him urgently like i never kissed someone before, he turn our positions and now he's on top of me going down to my lips and kissing my neck and collarbone, a little noise come out of my mouth when i feel his lips on my nipple pressing it softly and letting small kisses. I hear he saying all the time how soft my skin is and how sweet i taste in his mouth, our underwear go out of our body in some point.

I said that i would lead him but he's doing a great job from himself, driving me crazy with all the wait and his kisses in my body, i can feel everything, every part of our body that's touching, every drop of sweat that roll in our body. The beautiful things that came out of his mouth are like a melody, i never felt so loved when i feel him inside me, filling me whole.

— Am i hurting you baby? — He ask with the most beautiful face of concern.

— Just a little, but it's normal don't worry my love. — He nodd and then lay his forehead in mine starting to move inside me, our bodies colliding softly, his lips is barely pressing mine, he's not moving fast what make all feel even better, he's saying how gorgeous i am and i how i make him feel the luckiest guy in the whole world for let him be with me in his arms, my name come out of his mouth like a poem, we are moaning together and it's together that we come too, my eyes are out of orbit, i can't feel anything else than the goosebumps all over my body, he's head is resting in my chest and he's hugging me tight in his arms.

— You're so amazing Y/N...I'm really happy that my first time was with you. — He said softly looking deep in my eyes after we recover and lay on the ground side by side with our bodys tangled. — I never felt like this before for anyone else.

— Me neither Lin, i love how you make me feel... — I said and i feel the cold wind in my naked body what make me shiver for a moment but Lin hold me closer to his body. — I think we should put our clothes on and go back now, it's starting to get cold and the sun is going down, my mom will kill me if I get home late.

— Yeah, let's go doll. — He said throwing my clothes on me and getting up.

At home i take a shower but Lin's taste and smell are still in my body, i still can feel his arms wrapping me. I touch my lips remembering of when he was kissing me slowly, savouring my mouth. I think about check the window just to see if he's there but before I came into a conclusion my mom calls me for dinner. It's 9am when i sleep, all that i didn't slept the night before mixed with all the "exercise" from the afternoon make me sleep 10 hours uninterrupted. I get up really excited for the day, the sun is rised and it's a beautiful day, i take a quick shower and go catch some breakfast before knock at Lin's door.

— Good morning mom. — I said almost singing.

— Good Morning honey, why you're so happy? You're never like this in the morning. — She said looking at me suspiciously.

— I'm just happy mom, i can't be happy anymore? Jesus

— Of course you can, but it's strange. Let me guess, Lin is the reason of your happiness? — She ask smirking for me.

— Maybe, why? — I ask drinking my coffee

— Nothing... i like him, he's a very good boy and he's super respectful and I think he really really likes you.

— I really like him too mom...

— I can see, your eyes glow when you talk about him, i'm really glad that you found each other honey. — She said cupping my face.

— Me too mom, i have to go now. — I kiss her face and go out listening to her voice saying for me not to came home late. I knock at his door and his mom open for me.

— Good morning Mrs. Miranda, is Lin at home?

— Good morning Y/N, he's in shower but come in, you can wait for him here, and don't call me that, I'm just Luz for you— She said all too happy, probably Lin told her about us.

— Okay Luz. — She guide me to the couch, i look around and everything is in place, just one or two boxes in the corner now, the decoration in very happy with a lot of color everywhere. — This is so pretty Luz.

— Thank you, i really liked how turned too. Come here let me show you a thing. — We get up and she show me trophys and some papers that belongs to Lin, there's some more things but are from a girl, maybe a sister? He didn't told me he had a sister. She takes a big album and we sit on the couch again, that's the good stuff, the blackmail material.

— This is when he born, tan precioso. — She show me a photo in white and black with a baby Lin in it, so cute. — I never thought that he would became this writing machine that never sleep properly, i blame his father they're exactly the same. — She show me a lot of another photos, in graduations, in piano recitals what apparently he was really good at, in family reunions. He appears when we're almost done, he smile when he see me but then he panic when he realize that his mom is with his kid album.

— Mami, i can't believe you're embarrassing me again. — He said hiding his face with his hands.

— I'm just showing to her como tú eras pequeño e precioso mi hijo. — She said standing up and pinching his red cheek, then she put the album where it was before and go out of the room.

— Stop laughing at me. — He said with the most adorable angry face when i start to laugh. I stand up and kiss his cheek as he touch my back and bring me close pressing his lips against mine. — What are we going to do today baby?

— Movie? My mom's going to shop what will probably take a while so we can watch it in my house. — He smirk at me. — God, you barely discovered sex and you're already addicted? — What i said make him laugh loudly.

— I'm sorry, so...just a movie. I will just say to my mom so she won't be crazy that I'm not home — He kiss my cheek and go talk to his mom.

After we fight for 10 minutes we finally agree in watch the Ghostbusters, we both have watched it one hundred times but it's just too good. My mom finally go to work and we go to the kitchen to do popcorn and take some snacks. After that we lay on the carpet to watch the movie.

— You never told me that you had a sister. — I said playing with his hair in my finger, his head resting in my lap.

— I thought that i did, anyway she's the best, she prefer to be in our aunt's house for the summer, that's why she isn't here.

— I always wanted to have a sister, but my dad died when I was young and my mom never was the same.

— I'm so sorry Y/N. — He said cupping my face.

— I'm okay now, was a really long time ago. — I put my hand over his. — What about your father, why i didn't meet him yet?

— He's in New Jersey for work, he'll probably be here in the weekend, I'll make sure that he meet my girl. — He said pressing our lips quickly.

— Your girl? You didn't even asked me yet. — I said throwing a popcorn in his face.

— I have to? — He said confused.

— No, but it won't harm if you do it.

— Okay, Okay. — He said sitting in front of me and taking my hands, i can't believe he'll really do that. I burst into laughter

— I'm just kidding...

— Shh... I'm concentrating. — He put a finger in my lips and then clean his throat and start...rapping?. — I know I'm not much but my heart belongs to you, even more when I remember of that afternoon, baby I can't take you out of my mind, here holding your hands i ask you, will you be mine?

— You just made that out of nowhere? Cool

— It's that a yes?

— Of course it's your dummy. — I said jumping into him kissing his lips, the popcorn that was in my lap spreads to everywhere.

I never thought that I would find love in such a young age and so fast, but i couldn't imagine my life without Lin, he's the only man I loved and will always be, and the felling is mutual by what he say every morning that we wake up together, side by side, i never felt so loved in someone's arms before and i hope this felling last until the day I die. This is the end but not our end, we'll last forever.

#lin manuel miranda #lin manuel x reader

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bittysvalentines · 6 years

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You Shine in What I Am / Mas Brilhas No Que Sou

From: @aceinhyperspace

To: @sailorsav

Fic Summary: When Whiskey turns 18 years old, he receives his Gift. But what is he supposed to do with Love? No Content Warnings. General tags: Gen (no pairing); Asexual Whiskey; Eric Bittle; Magic Au; Message: I was so happy to see that I got your gift! Your magic AUs are some of my favourite fics and when I saw that Asexual Whiskey is your jam, I just KNEW what I was going to be writing about. I hope you enjoy!!

Connor knew what love was long before he knew he was ace. It was six year olds holding hands and twelve year olds sneaking kisses because they wanted to be grown up. It was the women in movies, pining after men and demanding roses. It was his teammates in the locker room, talking about bases and the girls they wanted to hook up with after games.

Connor knew that love was something physical and scary and frankly, he wanted no part of it.

Thankfully as everyone in his grade crept closer to their 18th birthdays, the “plant boy” jokes wound down. There was much more interesting news as people got their letters.

“I can’t believe Lauren got metal-bending and I got nothing,” Adriana complained one day at lunch, sprawled on the floor of the hallway outside their 5th period class.

“You know the Guild doesn’t actually call it metal-bending.” Whiskey said into his sandwich.

Adriana rolled her eyes so violently, her head moved as well, dragging her tightly coiled hair across the linoleum. “Ugh, you nerd. That’s not the point. Pretty white girl, I wear bows even on days where there’s no football games, Lauren. She gets to manipulate metal, Connor Whisk. Me-tal.”

“We don’t get a choice, Adri. And frankly, I’ll be thrilled when I get my letter and the Guild tells me ‘Hey, Connor, you’re off the hook. Go play hockey and don’t worry about accidentally setting your college dorm room on fire with this super exciting new superpower you manifested.’”

“Give Peder a break. He’s doing much better now.”

“Yeah, whatever, Adri.”

That evening when he got home, his mother was already at the kitchen table, Skyping her sister in Brasil, hands elegantly shaping the lump of clay spinning on the wheel.

Connor loved watching his mother work- ancient techniques interacting seamlessly with her magic. Her deep brown hands skimmed the edges of the vase, feeling for form sleeping inside the unshapen material. She once told him that her Gift was so much more than moving dirt around. From the rock beds lining the back of their desert home to the red dust she could sweep away with the movement of her hand, Ana Maria Francisca da Silva Whisk saw potential. She saw the shape of things that had been and were meant to be.

“I think I always knew,” She told him a couple years ago, combing her fingers through his hair, loose and chestnut colored, like his father. “Your avô had a farm when I was little. He couldn’t keep me out of the animal pens! He and my mother would lose sight of me for a minute, and they’d find me pelado como Adão e Eva-

“Mãe!”

“-sitting in the middle of the pigs, covered head to toe in mud.” She laughed and laughed.

That day, Connor didn’t feel much like laughing.

“Mamãe?”

“Si, meu amor?”

“Do you see anything in me?”

“O que você quer dizer?” His mother stopped the wheel and looked directly at him. Her eyes were dark, warm.

“I guess…” He stopped, unsure of the words. “I guess I’m worried.”

“Your letter?”

“Sim.”

She took a deep breath, the fine grey dust covering her hands loosening, gently floating to the floor. “Is that it?”

“I don’t know. I’m just ready for highschool to be over. Jake decided to spend all of bio making uncreative jokes about cellular reproduction. And how my gift would be to clone myself.”

“Meu amor, when we spoke about you coming out, I did tell you to be prepared. People can be cruel.”

“Okay, but I thought you meant that about the bi part, not the ace part.”

A small smile flickered across his mother’s lips. Her hand reached out to touch his cheek gently. “I just want things to be easy for you.”

“Eu sei, mamãe.” Connor sighed. “I guess I wanted to know that I’ll be something more than the weird kid.”

“Meu filho. You are so much more than I can tell you. I get glimpses of the man you will be and can only be proud.”

“Ugh, gross mom.” Connor complained, his voice rising in pitch, swatting her hand away.

“Ah! Sem graça! Deixe seu mãe dá amor quando ela pode. Amanhã você vai ficar uma homem grande!”

“Mom!” He ran off, and his mother tossed bits of clay at his retreating back.

-------

Connor had to fight to open his eyes the next morning.

His eighteenth birthday. The day he would receive his Gift.

His feet couldn’t even lift off the ground as he drug himself down the hall towards the kitchen.

Please don’t let it be clones. Please don’t let it be clones.

It wouldn’t be clones, Connor reasoned with himself. His whole family had natural gifts or no gifts at all. If he was lucky, maybe he’d be like his father and oldest sister, who got to live life normally. That way he could focus on hockey and school and not worry about things exploding like Peder. His oldest brother’s pyrokinesis was the coolest thing ever for approximately five minutes.

He stood in the doorway, the glass door separating the kitchen from the rest of the house an immovable barrier. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t do this.

“Meu amor, vem aqui,” his mother called gently from inside. Her black eyes, sometimes so disarming, were as soft as he ever had seen them. Using all of his strength, he turned the handle and stepped inside.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, his mother stepped forward and wrapped him in her arms. “Voce ‘sta pronto?”

“Nunca.”

“Whatever it is, you can always decline, okay? There is no shame in that.” Her chin rested gently on his shoulder. When had he gotten so much taller than her? She’d always been a towering figure in the family, carrying them through.

“Okay.”

She stepped back, pulling the letter from her work apron. He took it with trepidation, carefully tearing the seal and unfolding the heavy paper.

After a few moments, most of which the words on the page didn’t register, he spoke.

“I… I think... the Guild sent the wrong thing, Mamae.”

“They’re just messengers. You know they have no control over what manifests.” His mother responded, hands already buried in the clay lumped on the wheel of the kitchen nook. “Deixa eu ver.”

His mother’s hand left gray fingerprints on the paper, but she didn’t seem to notice as her eyes scanned the letter.

“Amor.”

“Yes, mom?”

“Nao, not you amor. Amor amor.”

“I think it’s a mistake.” Connor whispered. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

Love magic.

For him.

Connor Whisk, asexual extraordinaire, whose longest relationship was with the Shane Doan jersey pinned lovingly to his bedroom wall.

Love magic.

“Connor Silva Whisk.” The letter gently thwapped across the back of his head. “I raised you better than that. Now, if you don’t want it, that’s your decision to make. But what can you do with love? That is a very stupid question.”

Fast forward six years and behold: Whiskey, collegiate hockey champion, in possession of a liberal arts degree, bartending license, and a certificate in business administration, still has no idea.

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

The day that Whiskey meets Eric Bittle, the lights go out.

No, seriously. The lights are actually out.

“I’m so sorry! That just, happens sometimes? I’m workin’ on it. Oh Lord. There is nothing worse than these delicate wire light bulbs, one short and they’re toast! I am so sorry. You know, they make LED versions of these now? Not that I’m telling you how to run your business but-”

Whiskey only stares at the man in front of him, blonde and tanned from the summer sun, already on his knees gingerly picking up shards of glass with his bare hands, words running at a thousand miles an hour.

Poetry, early readers, maybe a teacher? Needs something smoky to drink… whiskey… no, red wine. I have the perfect Zin in the back.

His quick scan of the other man’s desires only takes a second or two. His needs sit close to the surface, close enough that he was probably on his way to ask Whiskey himself.

“If you want to help, at least use a broom. I don’t need to clean up your blood too.” Whiskey says from behind the bar.

The young man freezes, hands already filled with glass. “Well, I suppose that would make much more sense.”

“Yeah, probably,” Whiskey says. He reaches out with a metal bucket. “Here.”

The glass clinks as it’s dropped into the bucket.

“I really am sorry about that. I’m Eric. Eric Bittle. I live up on the third floor. And uh, I have a gift for electricity. Well. Usually. Sometimes unfamiliar systems don’t react well to my emotions. Have you read that fantastic book by Derek Nurse? That’s what caused this whole mess in the first place.”

“Connor Whisk. People call me Whiskey.”

Somehow, even after their disaster of a first meeting, Eric becomes a staple of Whiskey’s bookstore-slash-bar. Most nights find Eric in the corner sofa, a glass of red wine in hand, grading papers for the kids he student teaches.

On a slow night, Whiskey sits next to him, reading through new releases he wants to stock.

Eric’s head hits the back of the sofa.

“Why can’t I just become an electrician?”

Whiskey snorts. “That’d be too predictable. Also, you clearly adore children. You’ll make a great teacher.”

“You’ve never seen me with a child in your life, Connor.” Eric groans.

“Trust me, I just know.”

Not that Whiskey was ever planning on telling him how.

------

The day that Whiskey meets Jack Zimmerman, the lights go off again.

This time metaphorically.

It’s a busy Wednesday night, which puts it right between a quiet Saturday and an overwhelming Monday. Ford and Tango from upstairs are arguing over a game of scrabble; Ransom laughs at them from above his post-rotation beer, hand on Holster’s knee. Dex and Bitty are finishing a diagram of the best way to rewire the bar lights to save energy while still providing ample lighting. Nurse helps stack chairs after his poetry reading. A couple other folks float in and out of the store, occasionally stopping to ask a question. And Whiskey is hovering around all of them, making sure everyone is satisfied.

The seating area is small, so when a stupidly handsome man wearing a godawful black tracksuit walks in, everyone notices.

Grad student… maybe? He’s here for history? Queer Theory? Well, he’ll get more of the latter, but he’ll see that out soon enough. No alcohol. I’ll make some tea in the back after I check in with everyone.

“Excuse me?” Eric leans forward, bridge of his nose crinkled in interest.

“What?” Whiskey asks, picking up the empty glasses on the low coffee table.

“You just started talking about Queer Theory and tea?” Eric says. “I wasn’t hallucinating was I?”

Dex shakes his head. “Nope, I heard it too.”

Whiskey’s stomach drops. “Uh, nothing, just restocking the shelves.”

“If you say so.” Eric is completely unconvinced, but is too polite to push the subject in public.

Yellow.

The echo of desire floats from among the shelves. The new customer’s hands rest on a book, the cover a bright canary, and Whiskey smiles.

With that, he leaves Eric to his drink to help the customers that are reclining against the bar.

About 5 minutes later, the customer had taken a seat at one of the couches in the reading corner, setting the book on the coffee table between him and Bitty.

“Do you mind?” Whiskey, hears him ask. Bittle’s face is flushed.

“Not at all! On second thought, let me move my mess so you don’t have to be competing with… whatever this book is-” Eric waves animatedly at the pile that had been forming in front of him.

Whiskey barely restrains himself from snorting.

Bittle hurriedly shoves his work into a stack and then escapes to the bar counter, “Good Lord, it’s a good thing that man dresses like a russian mobster because if he paired his face with nice clothes, it’d be over for the rest of us.

Ford, two seats down, snorts into her coffee mug.

“This is a small shop, Bits.” Whiskey laughs, “Careful with the volume.”

“Honey, this is New England. I travelled 3,000 miles to be unabashedly loud and gay. This is a queer bookstore for God’s sake.”

“You can say what you want, just know that the object of your unabashedness can probably hear you,” Whiskey says.

They look over to the man in the corner and sure enough, his eyes are on the both of them, a deep furrow in the middle. The intensity of his gaze and the concerned frown on his lips seem to indicate anger. But Connor feels something else.

It hadn’t been the book.

Oh.

OH.

Yellow.

It smells like Quebec in the summer (had he ever been to Quebec?), and feels like a long car trip, singing into the wind, stealing ears of corn from the farmer’s field, grilling it over a campfire at night. There is expensive whiskey and cheap beer on his lips, elation.

Yellow like the afternoon sun reflecting against the pond in winter. Blinding and exhilarating, flying with no sense of direction and no hope of stopping.

“You.” Whiskey whispers.

He can’t hear if Eric responds, his head still filled with desires not his own. It takes him another moment to come into the present, shaking his head subtly to remove the extra noise.

“Connor? Are you alright?” Eric says, gently laying a hand on his arm.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just caught up for a moment.”

“You sure?”

“Just a side effect. I try not to go that deeply but some people suck me in.”

“Oh I knew it! You are a telepath!” Eric whispers excitedly. “Did I tell you my PawPaw once-”

Whiskey cuts Eric off, running an embarrassed hand through his hair. “No, no. I definitely can’t read people’s minds. But, uhhh. I can see what they… love?”

Eric’s eyes widened. “My Lord.” There’s a reverent sparkle in them that Whiskey can’t explain. “You have a Love Gift. That’s something special. Much more special than electricity.”

Whiskey rolls his eyes. “Sure. Really special. I can’t do anything but tell what drink someone wants before they order.”

“It’s a real shame you think that way, Connor.” Eric shakes his head. “Well, now I know how you’ve managed to draw us all here like flies to a sty.”

“Isn’t it flies to honey-”

“Think about it. All of us were floating around, not from the same place or backgrounds. Some with gifts and many without, but now we’re here. Together. That’s because of you.”

Eric saunters back to the couch, oblivious to the distress rising in Whiskey’s chest.

“Hey, Ford. You mind watching front of house for a second?” Connor manages to say before he loses his breath completely, slipping into the back room before receiving a response.

The phone is clammy in his hands, but, like clockwork, she picks up on the second ring.

“Amor?”

“Mom.

“Que está acontecendo, filho? Você ‘tá no trabalho?”

“Mom, I did it again.”

There’s no sound on the other end of the phone for a brief moment. When his mother’s voice comes back on the line, he feels his breath release.

“Okay, I can talk now. Tell me everything.”

“Well, there’s a group of people that come to the store a lot. And I like them, mom. I like all of them. But Eric-”

“That’s the Southern boy, right?”

“Yes Mom, but Eric found out about my Gift today. And he said that everyone is here because of me. It’s my fault. It’s like college all over again.”

“Did he say he didn’t want to be there?”

“No but-”

“Did he say anything about being in love with you- romantically I mean.”

“No, that’s not-”

“Then this doesn’t sound anything like what happened back then.”

Connor takes a few deep breaths. “Mom, I don’t know what to do with this Gift,” he barely whispers into the phone.

A few more seconds pass.

“This may not be my place. You are a grown man now and can make your own decisions. But my love? You need to get your head out of your ass.”

Whiskey stops, shocked. “What?”

The voice on the line is firm, like the earth she manipulates. “I am your mother. I would give you the world, make it kind and easy. But I can’t. You told me, all of seventeen shaking years old that you were bisexual and ace and I let you make the choice to tell others on your own. You received your Gift and kept it on your own. And then when you transferred out east and graduated and started your own business- you did that on your own too. If you want to live the rest of your life away from others, separated by your fear, that is a choice you also make on your own.”

A deep sigh breaks the tension across the line and when his mother speaks again, her tone is gentle.

“I am here for you now, whatever you need, but that won’t always be true. What happened in college was awful, amor. Love magic is a powerful, dangerous thing. But you are not that scared young boy anymore. You are building a new home with new people. And that requires you to love, filho. Love. Love yourself and others and let them love you too.”

Whiskey feels the wet lines running down his cheeks before he realizes he’s crying.

“Thank you mom. I love you.”

“Eu te amo também. Agora, faz uma decisão. E chama-me mais frequente, eu sinto falta da sua voz.”

When Connor comes out of the back room a couple minutes later, he does so with his Gift wide open. And the hearts of the people in the space are so bright, he can’t even see the lights.

#whiskey #fanfiction #bittysvalentines #bv2019 #omgcp

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hundredbillionbottles · 8 years

Text

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Baked Beans, Spam, Spam, Spam and Spam

It was puzzling on Thursday morning when a knock rapped on my bedroom door. I am usually the first in the house to get up and through the shower, so the notion that someone would be knocking on my door whilst my towel was still tied round my waist seemed absurd. Ridiculous. Who dared to disturb me in the midst of my morning dry-off? I tentatively opened the door to the wide smiling face of Frasier, the head of secondary at el colegio and long-term friend of the George family. To the immediate right of him, a knight in a claret sweater, stood my Dad. I had known he would be coming out to visit for quite some time - in fact, he booked his fights to Colombia almost six months before I booked my own – but it was still fairly surreal to see him in the flesh, I guess because our frequent, almost daily, conversations over facebook messenger regarding the state of Wolves and the quality of Colombian bananas compared to those in Tipton made it like he was already here. Such is the power of social media nowadays, the power to instantly transport messages across an ocean without the use of bottles, that perhaps the impact of seeing someone in person and shaking their hand or giving them a hug is somewhat diminished; the typing of someone’s thumb, spelling out all their written mannerisms and epigrams, can be enough to transport them into the room.

But the initial queerness of his spacial existence passed, and it was great that he was actually in the room, sitting on my bed and discussing the booming Tipton fruit industry as I got ready for work. The next two days were really quite cheerful. Taking Dad round the colossal school site and to la tienda on Friday evening was like reliving the awe of my first week here all over again. He seemed as dumbstruck by the Colombian friendliness as I was. I also found great joy in introducing him to all the people I’d met, from the other gap students to the teaching and admin staff who regularly attended Staff Friday Football. Being able to partially overwhelm Dad with a staggering list of new names to remember made me acknowledge how lucky I had been this past month to meet so many kind and lovely people, who still embodied their refreshing positivity in their every eccentricity despite the dawn of the wet season. Indeed, the laughter inside la tienda was perhaps even more raucous amongst the rustling of everyone’s damp and stuffy waterproofs, like a force that compelled the lashing rain out into the street and away from our merry plastic tables.

The dreary downpour did appear to affect us all for the most part of Saturday, however. Vitamin D levels were low in the camp, and I hadn’t eaten an avocado all week so so too were my serotonin levels. Aside from Stephen and Ela flawlessly constructing a moose mask from paper in the morning, it was a severely unproductive day. I had hit the bleak anti-equilibrium between crushing boredom and not wanting to do anything at all, and so I did nothing at all but it required an exhausting effort. It was nice to catch some downtime with Dad and Livvy, the new arrival to La Casa De Gap who, in fairness, could have used the rest after her 36-hour journey from Fiji.

We grabbed some tomales from the café down the road, which Dad generously paid for, and then essentially waited around until the evening. The Post-Pay Day Night Out. The big one. The gap squad was complete and we were now all Colombian millionaires. The world was our oyster as we got in our taxis to Usaquen, a Bogotá borough abundant in bars and restaurants, so abundant that Dom had christened it ‘Boozaquen’. ‘The world was our oyster’ is a creative writing cliché which implies a sense of endless opportunity and excitement, an accurate description of the general vibe after we’d finished our pizza and sangria, psyched up to throw some shapes at the illustrious ‘Armando Records’ club. However, as we ventured further into the night, the world became our oyster in a much more literal sense, in that it was a huge disappointment which was hard to swallow. Only having reached the front of the queue for the club, hyped to dance like morons, did we learn that it was a special over-23s only night. Over 23s only. I beseech thee: what the fuck? Needless to say we were all completely baffled as we resigned ourselves to beers at the BBC. I tried to retain a positive outlook on the night, to channel the ‘Save The Night’ manifesto invented by my good friend Charlie back in Nailsea, but in vain. I was simply overcome with what-the-fuckness, and I often found myself drifting off into lamenting thoughts of my friends in England who had been seshing it up in Wetherspoons five hours before.

In the car home we seemed all but defeated. I stared out the window while George’s neck dangled sleepily over his seatbelt. But somehow, upon arriving home, almost magically, the night was saved. I can only assume Charlie had woken up in Nailsea in a cold sweat, having sensed our low vibes, and had telepathically bestowed us all with an energy to defeat the disappointment, because at 3am we were out in the garden, dancing to Take On Me in the rain. We came to dance and we would not be denied. And we talked about creativity and the thrill of performing, ignoring the cold and the fact that I had to be up in a few hours’ time. Eventually we carried ourselves and our bare, muddy feet into the living room and watched Bob Ross. And as he gracefully slapped his brush about the canvas, creating impossible landscapes in the way that only Bob Ross does, the night was saved. The day that proceeded it had distorted in my mind from mediocre to as pure as titanium white.

The next day Fraser took Dad, Ela, Livvy and I on his customary outing to Monseratte, the Gold Museum and the Fernando Botero gallery, a trip I had undertaken before but not with Dad, who was fascinated by the experience and really seemed to enjoy himself. It was nice to see him. It was nice to see him that excited. It was nice to quote Monty Python’s ‘Spam’ sketch on the cable car ride up Monseratte. It was nice to play a traditional George-esque game of ‘I Don’t Spy’ on the taxi ride on the way home. It was a nice day. It’s not a very descriptive way of putting it, but I feel it’s the best way to sum it up. I had fun and I smiled for the whole day; is that not what nicety is?

Over-23s only though. Seriously, what the fuck?

#travel #bogota #colombia #monseratte #Fernando botero #bob ross

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