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missmarveledsblog · 2 days ago

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Never doubt the Matchmaker ( jake seresin x reader )

Summary : nat phoenix trace was well known by her friends and coworkers as being a excellent matchmaker although jake seresin thinks it all bullshit till he finally let her set him up and jake learns never to doubt the matchmaker ...

warnings : goofy , fluffy , miscommunication sort of rom com feel to it , picture doesn't describe the reader just cover art i started making for fics

Natasha trace was a woman of many talents , she was strong , determined , and calculated . all good qualities that made her one of best female pilots but she also had another talent one that didn't even remotely have to do with the navy and it was her match making skills . when she disclosed the information it got laughs , didn't bother her she laughed along with them . then one by one it would start off joking then hinting to outright asking. first it was fanboy then bob then javy then rooster. only one she didn't get asked by was payback giving the man was already married and jake who still thought it was all crock . she didn’t really concern herself with what bagman had to say the results spoke for themself . fan boy was living with the barista she set him up with , bob was married to the animal shelter volunteer , javy was still going strong with the yoga instructor while rooster only began seeing the nurse it was still good and boy was he already gone . the results spoke for themselves as always but jake still a skeptic , still ready to shoot it all down of course .

“ he’s just afraid of finding the one is all “ rooster laughed .

“ i mean i don’t doubt your skill but hangman finding the one is a bit far fetched “ bob shook his head amused in the constantly denial of the match making but in fairness they all were til she did her thing.

“ don’t worry bagman i wouldn’t subject any woman to deal with you “ phoenix rolled her eyes .

“ because its not working i mean rooster would fall in love with a rock” he countered as the brunette exclaimed out a “ hey “

“ why does it bother you so much , you feeling left out , a little lonely “ she taunted .

“ never lonely phoenix i can get a girl to keep me warm at night any time” he winked taking his shot potting the ball .

“ why don’t you let her set you up then “ bob suggested .

“ he’s right you think it’s fake then prove it “ javy added .

“ ain’t you suppose to be on my side here?”

“ come on man what have you got to lose” rooster smirked .

“ you know what i’ll bit just to show you i’m right” he crossed his arms looking to the female pilot.

“Fine i’ll set you up bagman “ nat shook her head .

It had been weeks since the whole agreement in the hard deck and jake constantly being the one to let her know the fact . then like an angel to answer all there prayers she found the one , the one that would have jake seresin eating his words . then one day during lunch jake was looking at text of details for a date saturday . he promised to give the woman a chance , knowing full well it would end like all his dates do and that part wasn’t so bad . He’d gotten the womans number striking up a conversation , she could least do that only thing was when he asked for selfie she would reply later , later never came then it was “ i forgot next” which didn’t fill him with much fate but still keeping his word he continues to chat . saturday he was on the beach a regular tradition now playing dog fight football as the guys asked about his date.

“ i mean we text but no selfies so not promising “ he called as nat shook her head.

“ she hot bagman not that it matters “ she rolled her eyes .

“ all chicks say there friends are hot , i’m just being honest” he smirked .

“ not al about looks “ rooster pointed out .

“ says the guy with the hot nurse girlfriend , you telling me if she wasn’t attractive to you in the smallest bit you would be with her ?” he asked .

“ yeah because of the person , she is” .

“ again not that it matters but y/n is a hotty and well able to handle you “ nat scoffed .

“ yeah we’ll see about that phoenix”.

When he got home still texting his date asking her what she was going to wear so he would be able find her . all he got back was long red dress probably something a grandma would wear he didn’t know why but that was what he thought . then he got ready thinking the worse as time got closer , like it was set up in a different way , a ploy for phoenix to get back at him and set him up with some lady that had twenty cars the generic mad woman crossing his mind . he could slip out early that was for sure although javy was telling him it would be ok also agreed to call with fake emergency. He was glad he agreed to meet somewhere else because if this was a trick least there would be no witnesses that was for sure . checking over least he looked good as he looked down at his dress pants that fit snugly on his legs of the light blue almost whitish blue shirt that made his chest and arms look great . he was ready to prove natasha trace wrong and make a lady happy to get the jake seresin experience . he was sure it was going to be a disaster , some sort of catfish situation even though he had yet to she her face expectations were not high. He stood outside the bar it was classy place so who he thought he would meet would stand out a mile off already building an image of some desperate woman . parking and taking one look at his phone both message one to tell him she was at the bar and another from javy to have good time but he was also on standby if needed . heading in there was one woman at the bar in a red dress , long that stopped at her shins , her long legs crossed with a pair of black open toed heels , spagetti string straps as she looked around she was gorgeous. Maybe if his date failed he could ? .

She couldn’t believe she let natasha trace do her whole match maker thing knowing how it was going to fail , from texting the guy it was ok nothing special didn’t seem like he was into it either so least she wouldn’t be the only one who was going to go into it with less expectations , plus she could only imagine what she was going to meet not that she didn’t find nat’s flyboy friends attractive because they were but they lacked a little something . she herself worked as a mechanic not as glorious or as dangerous as the navy but she and nat bonded over being in a male dominated area even still she was confused as the receptionist . now here she was sitting waiting for some stranger when she could be in her shop finishing the shit ton of cars that needed to be fixed but maybe a few drinks would be ok , help take the busy week off her shoulders . one so busy she kept forgetting to send a selfie and then she thought it would be more fun to keep the mystery going . she text him to let him know he was at the bar barely flickering her gaze when he text to say he was outside well here it was.

“ showtime “ she winked to the bartender downing the drink waiting for whatever disaster that was coming her way .

“Erm y/n “ the southern drawl clear his throat she turned to raise her hand.

“ over here” she smiled ok , so he wasn’t tragic looking maybe it was shallow but hey he was gorgeous blonde so she wasn’t complaining .

“ well darling nice to meet you “ he beamed , he’d give nat this one she was the hotty at the bar .

“ jake? Nice to meet you too “ she held her hand out almost swallowed in his own , lifting it to his lips and kissing her hand .

“ what are you drinking ?” he nudged .

“ just beer , southern boy huh” her own accent coming out more as she talked .

“ austin born and raised , you ?” he took the seat noting the slight disappointed glance of bartender since he came over.

“ dallas , would you like to go sit down and get some food because i for one am hungry ?”

“ lead the way beautiful whatever you want it on me “ he beamed holding his hand out and letting her take him anywhere and it would be anywhere damn she was like a siren luring him to sea . following the sway of her hips like they were personal hypnotizing him and maybe they were , pulling the seat out putting the full gentlemen charm because shit she had him hooked with her body already .

“ so jake from austin what made you ask nat for her skills “ she asked looking up ever the gentlemen pulling her chair out and pushing it in for her as she looked up through her lashes at the blonde .

“ honest answer?” to which she nodded . “ honestly i wanted to see if she was good as other say kinda a skeptic but maybe not so much “ he winked as her head tipped back and wondrous sound of her laugh came out.

“ oh my god same i only agreed because she set my cousin up with ostrich , duck some bird dude “ she laughed .

“ rooster?”

“ YES ! i haven’t met him yet but my cousin ironic dove is singing his praise then when she told me she got a perfect match not gonna lie since your being honest and all but i said no for while stuff at works been well hectic “ she shook her head.

“ what is you do , you never said in your texts plus you owe me a selfie or two “ he teased .

“ a mechanic actually while other girls where playing with barbies i was playing with tools and hotwheels i’m only girl of a bunch of boys so i guess when i wanted to be one of them safe to say my mom was little let down to say the least “ she chuckled .

“ i’m only boy of bunch of girls i’m second born though “

“I’m the baby , i’m actually working in a shop owned by my two older brothers and top at my job not as exciting as being a aviator for the navy though” she winked .

“ nah i’m impressed least i know if my truck ever has trouble i know who will take care of it for me” he smirked leaning forward honestly he hated how much he was going to be hearing nat gloat because he was already hooked this woman was perfect although she was a decade younger but fuck she was making him feel like a teenager.

The date was good he laughed a lot she was funny , she seemed interested in knowing him and kept the conversation light nothing was felt pushed or awkward . it was perfect date he hated he would have to tell phoenix as much he didn’t want that night to end , they even made out in the back of his truck so why was it two days after the date and everything was radio silent . only thing that he was told was she got home safe and would contact him again . he never had that much fun on a date especially one that didn’t end in sex , he wanted to be respectful , he also didn’t wanna text and come off desperate so he was wondering what hell went wrong . maybe he could ask nat and swallow his pride at the fact she was good but clearly not good if he was ghosted .

She wondered what went wrong did she come on too strong , did he not like her . the date was perfect and yet she never got text back after she told him she got home safe . it was all good even making out in the back of his truck til he stopped it now she was slightly annoyed he ghosted her . burying herself in the overflowing work she could of been doing instead when the familiar sound of an engine . to see natasha trace coming her way all smile probably ready to hear about how it all went .

“ i’m mad at you “ y/n huffed tying her hair up before diving back into the hood of the corvette that needed dire attention.

“ what did he do ?” she groaned now holding the coffee she brought like a peace offering instead of an early celebration .

“ ghosted me , i thought we had a great time , even made out in his stupid truck and boom nothing even when i offered him to follow me “ she grumbled looking up .

“ wait what javy said jake had great time i was here to rub it in both of you “ .

“ well i’ll do that rubbing in your matchmaking skill ain’t all that .. but i love you and you didn’t know this was gonna happen so i guess i ain’t actually mad at you… my vagina might be “ she laughed finally taking the coffee.

“ i’m gonna find out what going on cause something is not adding up “ nat brows furrowed as she head off ignoring the protest that came from y/n mouth .

She couldn’t make sense of it , according to javy he was smitten like really smitten so what the hell was going on . she knew y/n was younger than jake by ten years was that it but then she was thinking jake would date younger than himself maybe not that gap but again it didn’t seem to bother him . it wasn’t even to do with the match making anymore ..ok maybe it was could that be it , he was ghosting y/n in his own need to be right. Now she was pissed as she drove a little faster , parking her car and storming down the halls. She didn’t even look at the guys when she got to jake staring up , eyes narrowed and hands on hips .

“ what is your problem how come your ghosting y/n , she said she had a great time with you and what is it your need to be right because that fucked if you don’t like her least be a man and tell her “ she gritted .

“ what are you talking about , she ghosted me nat she should grow up and tell you the truth “ he scoffed .

“ she looked upset although she wouldn’t show it … she thinks you don’t like her she offered her place ?” nat said even more confused .

“ believe it or not i was being a gentlemen because i actually did like the her.. The date “ he corrected pulling his phone out to show the fact he ended up texting her couple times .

“ oh you stupid man , it concerning your still flying that not her the name is similar but you’ve been texting another woman no wonder she didn’t answer … idiots “ she scoffed as jake looked at his phone he didn’t even realize that name was still in his phone he just saw the first three letters and was currently cursing the device in his hand . it all connecting in his mind only for rooster to say it all out loud.

“ shit you actually ghosted her after all” .

“ where she work cause she not gonna believe me if i text her now ?” he asked chasing after nat who honestly was done with life at the moment.

“ if i tell you , you gotta wear a shirt that says i was right for three nights of my choosing in hard deck ?” nat mused even though she was gonna help him either way but didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun too .

“ you know what i’ll let you have six , come on “ he pleaded ready to dart out knowing he’s morning was free .

“ don't make me regret this “ nat smirked texting the address . “ make sure you check the right message “ she called as he ran off flipping her off .

he didnt know what it was but he was hooked on this girl like some sort of spell was cast on him . he usually didn't bother texting after the fuck boy tendency was strong he knew it himself but shit he was so disappointed and turned out to be his fault his fuckboy ways or some sort of self sabotage . already losing something so good before it even started he wanted to delete all the contacts in his phone maybe change his number start a new leaf. He was just hoping he wasn’t too late as he got into his truck nat sent another message telling him the coffee and baked good peace offering to bring as well as his size maybe he would wear the shirt an extra night for that. It was a race for what he didn’t know but he wanted to find out.

She was tired but finally she gotten on top of the overflow of repairs ones even her brothers were impressed she managed to pull of maybe the frustration of being ghosted was working in her favor , she was ready to grab her coat and head out .

“ hey kiddo truck coming in can you sort this while i sort something in the office” her brother mikey called .

“ you gotta be shitting me i’m heading out deal with it yourself” she scoffed.

“ do it and i’ll give you rest of week off and next week paid and overtime?” he said holding phone to his ear .

“ fine after this i’m out for a week and half “ she rolled her eyes throwing her things down tying her hair up .

“ yeah she going i think a date would be a good payment huh trace” he chuckled heading into the office.

She was huffing and puffing but hey time of and extra money she could be happy with , what she wasn’t happy with was a tall blonde aviator standing by the truck .

“ we’re closed”

“ says your open “ he nodded to the neon sign.

“ busy should of called a head.. Or do you have a phone?” she scoffed hand on her hip , burning hole in his head with the fiery gaze she had on him .

“ can we talk please ? i got your favorites here” he held up the container.

“ you could of talked to me before , my brother is in there i will not hesitate to get the bat from his car “

“ hear him out … heres your stuff and thanks for screwing up so i can get a date with nat “ mikey called placing her stuff at the door before heading in and locking the door .

“ traitor “ she mumbled taking her bag and only see her car keys missing . “ son of a bitch “ she grumbled . But it wasn’t going to get her down no come hell or nothing she would walk her ass home . so she did turning out away completely not even sparing the blonde a second look or care if he was following her or not.

“ come on please let me explain “ jake called.

“ explain nothing if nat sent you here tell her it’s all good “ she waved over her shoulder not only was she pissed she was no embarrassed thinking he owned her explanation . which he did but one of his own violation and not one her friend force him to make . she heard his booths hitting the asphalt , she could hear the panting behind her shaking her head she kept walking .

“ come on please”

“ you ghost me , i practical ask you to sleep with me i thought you were doing the whole gentlemen thing but turned out you just didn’t like me which is fine i mean not everyone gonna like me but shit when are guys gonna be honest and be like look i ain’t feeling it or some shit “ she snapped not caring about the group of guys walking by .

“ dude you blind “ one commented as she just groaned walking past them all .

“ hey hey i did want to ok and i was trying to be a gentlemen , i wanted to take you in backseat of the pickup if i could “ he yelled only instead of the group of guys passing it was a group of elderly women .

“ pig “ one scoffed as they hurried passed.

“ i thought you ghosted me ok …i maybe even worse asshole to admit that i was texting the wrong number because the names were similar which i’m going to have to text that person the same thing cause i’m pretty sure she married now” he winced as she finally stopped walking .

“ you want me believe and if i did it worse that it was a mistake dude it ok we didn’t click i mean i thought we did … oh shit “ she said as he held his phone up showing her the messages her name but the contact was similar . “ is it safe for you to be flying “ she asked .

“ yes i made a dumb mistake but my eyesight is fine “ he snorted shaking his head nat previous statement .

“ so you didn’t ghost me ?” she blinked up slightly still trying to piece the new information slightly relieved since lets be real being ghosted is never fun .

“ i didn’t ghost you be a fool to , if your in a forgiving mood since i cleared it up would you maybe wanna go on another date ?” he stood not the usually confident or cocky way he was used to he was almost shy when asking a definite new feeling that he would ( would not ) out loud .

“ i guess since you got me a week and half off work i could least do that “ biting her lip , wanting to kick herself at the urge to twirl her hair in her finger like some smitten school girl .

“Well then lets get going “ he winked wrapping his arm around her only for the same group of guys from before walking by looking barely 16 .

“ dude kiss her “ one not so hushed whisper yell .

“ man i was gonna ask her out” another whined.

“ y’all watching this whole time ?” she snorted while jake was looking like the cat that got the cream having her at his side .

“ tiktok was done … if things don’t work out with old man heres my number” the guy winked as jake took the piece of paper instead .

“She wont need it son “ was all jake could say leading her back towards the shop , back where his truck was least if her brother was doing him the solid he could have a small drive thru date . he was new to it all actually wanting to see the one person actively and exclusive ( not that he told her , he wasn’t bradshaw ) but he was willing to show it in future . He also learned never to doubt nat and her matching making skills again well how could he went he was going to be wearing the visual proof .

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archiveof22048 · 1 day ago

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oceans and engines | michael kaiser sfw | fem!reader with she/her pronouns, swearing

he sees footprints on the sand, he smells the salty air of the sea, and he feels the coldness of your hand, who drags him along the bleakness of the beach. even as he closes his eyes, knowing that he trusts you with where you're leading him, he can still hear the huffing of his breath, trying to keep up with your pace, he can still feel the waves crashing around his bare feet, and he can still taste your expensive chapstick on his lips, as cold as they may be.

"open your eyes, mihya."

and so he does.

the sky is still as it was: desolate and devoid of blue, overcast, and sad. the sea is cold, vast, neverending.

immediately, he tenses up, and he thinks maybe he should have listened to you when he peeled off his jacket before you left his car in the parking lot (it's not even his own car, nor his own jacket, but he hasn't the heart to tell you). he's jealous of you, with your hands tucked in the pockets of your jacket, all bundled up in your layers.

then, you scream.

"the fuck was that?" he asks, his voice raised.

"i'm letting go," you say, just a bit louder than his question. you've got this smile on his face that begs for him to kiss you again.

he scoffs. "of what? you don't even have anything to let go of."

"just shout, mihya!"

and so he does.

"FUCK!!!!!!!!"

you laugh. "yes, that's it! just scream!!!"

"goddamnit!" he screams into the sea. "fuck you, dad! fuck my life! agh!" he kicks the sand, but the sand is wet and hard to kick up, so he gets even more frustrated, and he kicks harder. it splatters on the ground like blood.

again, you giggle. "look at you, soccer player. kicking up anything you see."

he rolls his eyes, but he's half-smiling. "you're lucky i left the soccer ball in the car or else i would have kicked that shit in your face."

"but then i would have a broken nose, and i wouldn't be pretty anymore," you quip, pouting.

he marches over to you, as shouting into the sea had migrated him away from where you are standing. he cups your cheeks gently. "whatever. as long as your lip's not busted, or else it'd be pretty hard to kiss you, huh?"

"jeez mihya, you're so clingy today," you tease as he leans into you, burrowing his face into your neck. he claims it's warm, but you can feel the cold touch of his lips right on the base of your neck. all you can do is wrap your arms around him, and you keep your giddiness to yourself by planting your feet in the sand (if you bounce your knees, he'll remind you of how excited you were when he returned your feelings for him).

"teach me something," he mumbles, dodging your tease.

you rub your hand over his back. "what would you like to learn today?"

"i dunno, just anything."

"but that's what you always say!"

"math, then."

you scoff. "i can only teach you so much math! i'm still learning geometry!"

he laughs. "isn't that just triangles and stuff?"

you pull away from his grasp, still holding onto his hand. your fingers are interlaced. "yeah, well... it's hard to explain."

eventually, you decide to review the vocabulary list that you learned in school the past week. you sit down on the sand, taking off your leather bag and pulling out your school notebook, and he sits down next to you, resting his head on your shoulder.

after reciting your fifty words for the week, you close your notebook, and you sling the bag over your shoulder. "well, that's vocabulary for you," you conclude.

"interesting," he says. "now i know what the word 'philosophy' means."

the both of you stand up and dust off the sand from your legs and behinds. he takes it as an opportunity to rub your behind, borderline caressing your ass, and you turn around and smack his hand away.

"mihya!"

"must've been the wind," he jests, giving you his signature half-smirk.

you look at your wristwatch. "ah, mihya. it's five after."

he rolls his eyes. "whatever. he's not going to get back 'til way later, anyways. gonna go gamble whatever money we have left."

you tuck your hands into your pockets, smiling sheepishly up at him. "well, let's at least start walking back to your car in case he does come back earlier than you expect."

...

he puckers his lips.

"give me a kiss before you leave."

rou've got one foot out of the car, ready to be dropped off in front of your house, while he holds onto your left wrist, stopping you from leaving. he looks like he really owns the car he stole: he grips the steering wheel like he's driven the car a million times, and his slouched posture is to show he's not afraid of wondering whether you're going to kiss him or not.

you close your eyes and smile while you lean in.

"i love you, mihya."

"i love you, too."

then, you leave the car and that is the last time michael kaiser sees you before he becomes famous.

...

"she's beautiful, kaiser."

kaiser looks up from his phone.

it's alexis ness, his teammate, who takes a seat next to him on the bench of bastard munchen's locker room. he's being awfully nosy right now, peering over next to kaiser, taking a look at what's on his phone screen.

"my stupid phone from five years ago has the shittiest quality," kaiser dejectedly states. "you can't even see her eyes clearly."

"but you have a new phone just last year," ness points out.

kaiser scoffs, and he starts rubbing his phone screen with the bottom of his shirt, pretending like it'll do something to clear up the photo of you. "yeah, and transferring all these pictures of her fucked up the quality."

ness hums in understanding (he doesn't get it). "well," he begins to pry, "who is she?"

kaiser's smirk that appears on the field, ness notices, is cold and haughty. it is angering, irritating, and would make any opponent of his shudder and scream. it identifies the emperor of the field, and it is an expression that rules over all.

yet, this smile of kaiser's is unlike anything ness has ever seen during his years of knowing him. kaiser's piercing blue eyes immediately soften, and only the corners of his mouth are lifted up in a smile- it's gentle, bittersweet, and humble. ness feels like he's intruding into the depths of kaiser's heart.

"she's my girlfriend."

ness stands up in shock, and he can't help but clutch the back of his head to accentuate his surprise. "you never told me you had a girlfriend, kaiser!"

kaiser can't help but laugh. "you never asked!"

"well, what does she do?" ness asks curiously.

kaiser hums in thought. "hmm. well, when she was in tenth grade she said she wanted to become a writer. dunno if that's changed, though."

it takes a second for ness to process his answer. "you... don't know what she's doing?"

"well, she's probably studying in university right now. can't say for sure what she's learning."

again, ness is confused. he furrows his brows. "are you saying you haven't talked to her since five years ago? since you joined bastard munchen?"

kaiser looks down in what could be described as shame. ness isn't really sure what he'd call it, but it is definitely not pride. it's such a foreign look on kaiser's face, no expression like ness has ever known kaiser to make.

it becomes increasingly difficult for kaiser to defend himself. so, he resorts to a different tactic: he begins to show ness different photos of you. "oh," kaiser says in fake surprise, "look at this picture of her."

it was a struggle to plan dates between the two of you, but on the rare occasion that you and he could hang around your neighborhood, you'd take him to your favorite ice cream parlor. during this particular date, you and kaiser challenged each other to see who could finish their ice cream cone the fastest, but it ended up as a default win for kaiser as you had accidentally knocked over your ice cream and it landed straight onto the ground.

ness is immediately drawn to the exaggerated faux frown on your face, coupled with happy eyes. he looks over your expensive outfit, and then down at where you're pointing in the image: the melting ice cream on the ground.

he laughs. it's a short "haha," and he isn't sure whether it's out of pity, or if he's trying to play it cool for the delusional kaiser, or if it is genuinely a funny picture. but, he looks past the phone in front of him and looks at kaiser, who has this expression that borderlines ignorance and pure joy.

"funny, right? she's so clumsy, i swear," kaiser says, swiping through more photos on his phone. ness cannot help but notice the softness in kaiser's eyes; how unfamiliar it is to see this boy so vulnerable. "take a look at this one."

after screaming at the beach, kaiser let you take control of the music in the car on the way back to your house. thus, you were granted access to his phone- shoddy, yet reliable. it was probably not the best for taking quality pictures, but pictures were memories, nonetheless.

it was a selfie of the two of you, with you sticking your tongue out and holding a peace sign, and kaiser with his eyes laser-focused on the road. he's got his left hand on the steering wheel and his right on your thigh. as casual as the photo was, ness already knew the intimacy of your relationship.

as kaiser pulls back his phone, ness watches kaiser's expression once more. he looks at his phone like he's in love. kaiser's peculiar smile, unfamiliar to his face, was born from the feelings he held for this girl that he hasn't talked to since he was whisked away in the world of soccer.

"i wonder if she watches my games," kaiser wonders out loud. "i mean, i must be that famous to be appearing nationwide, right?"

ness is taken aback by the sudden change of tone. "u-uh, yeah, for sure, kaiser."

kaiser is pleased with ness's answer. then, he goes back to his phone, swiping through more photos, and consequently chuckles. "oh my god, i forgot i took this video. look at this, ness."

the quality is so bad, but at least he can hear your voice.

...

you're holding onto his soccer ball.

your back is turned to him, and you're dragging him along by holding onto his wrist. his other hand is holding his phone, recording you.

"we're almost there, mihya," you call out from over your shoulder.

his hand holding the phone swats away tree branches, and occasionally dried up leaves crinkle beneath his feet.

"jeez, are you gonna kidnap me or something?" he asks from behind the camera.

then, it suddenly comes into view.

it's an open field. it's just pure grass for miles and miles, and for some reason, it's all trimmed.

the camera pans onto you, and it's slightly shaky. you hold up your hands in defense, and you exclaim, "i didn't cut any of this grass, by the way! i just found it like this, and i wanted to show you. so you can play soccer to your heart's content..."

you drop the soccer ball and begin kicking it around. you've picked up some tricks from him.

"there's no goal post though, i hope you don't mind..."

then, the phone drops.

he calls out your name. "i love you."

"i love you too, mihya."

"i love you more!"

"you better make it big, okay? i didn't show you this field for nothing."

"well, you better watch me, alright?"

"i'll always be watching!"

"shit, wait, where's my phone?"

#blue lock x reader #michael kaiser x reader

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usmsgutterson · 1 day ago

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We Could Leave The Christmas Lights Up Til January - S.R x reader

I am typing this authors note and feeling like the friend who's like "ITS CHRISTMAS" from the like. middle of the month forward when I'm actually the friend who reminds you how close it is to christmas or the new year bc I don't want to face that knowledge by myself and suffer well with others.

This was written as a through-the-years style fic. It'll have fifteen chapters which will correspond with the og fifteen seasons of criminal minds (I have not watched seasons sixteen or seventeen, please do not judge me lol) and three scenes per chapter, one set in November, one set on or around Christmas, and the last set at some point after it. The reader is also a fiber artist but if stuff relating to that comes up, I will make a note of whichever terms I need to.

Fic type - this is largely fluff!

Warnings - the reader in this has a slightly similar, but also somewhat dramatized version of my family dynamics bc I wrote this whenever the knit projects I was working on frustrated me and when writing the dynamics it just HAPPENED, but then I edited it so that the dynamics wouldn't hit SUPER HARD if I ever reread it. Otherwise, booze is mentioned a bit, and there is swearing present bc I apparently am incapable of writing a fic without dropping an f'bomb.

When you leave the office that night, it's half-past seven on a Friday in November. You and the rest of the team have the weekend off, and while Penelope and the others had gone out for drinks, you'd gotten back from a case in Miami that morning and had said no to the offer when she'd made it.

You had really just wanted to get home, if you were being honest. You told her you couldn't swing it because of plans already made with someone else, but Garcia didn't need to know that those plans were a glass of wine, Loops 'N Threads Classic Cotton and a crochet hook to work up some dishcloths in lieu of anything too expensive for your aunts christmas gift, or that the someone else you had plans with was your DVR so that you could catch up on the five episodes of Prison Break you'd missed because of the way that cases and work had been piling up.

She also didn't need to know that the wine your mother had given you would have a spot, or that after you were caught up with Prison Break you'd probably order and eat your way through an entire pizza from Antonios while watching a documentary about lemon sharks. Your Friday nights were your own, and even though you adored everyone on the team, you would seldom give up your Friday night ritual of doing a craft while watching whichever cable TV you needed to catch up on or whichever one the network of your choice had been running a marathon of, even if giving it up meant giving up dinner, drinks, and laughter amongst yourself and the rest of the team.

So, as you and Spencer are heading out—Spencer had declined Penelopes offer but hadn't specified his reasons as to why—he looks at you with a knowing sort of smile.

"Crocheting and Antonios?" he asks, quirking an eyebrow.

You nod once, lips pursing just a little while you mentally ready yourself for any oncoming judgement. "Mhm," you nod. "I have a bottle of red I wanna drink, so it'll be a tipsy crocheting night, I think."

"That sounds fun," he says. "Enjoy it."

"What're your plans for the night?" You ask. You've been with the team since six months after Spencer had joined up. You'd joined, under Hotch's wing, at the age of nineteen where Spencer had joined up under Gideons when he was twenty.

He shrugs. "I was thinking about calling my mom, seeing how she's doing," he says. "I try to call her at least once every so often and I do my best to write, but—it's just—"

"Maintaining those kinds of relationships isn't that easy," you nod. "I mean—my parents just live in my hometown so the circumstances are different, but I get it, even if it's to a lesser degree."

You don't really talk to your parents, and they don't really talk to you, and it's been that way since you went to the FBI Academy when you were eighteen. You came to DC after being hired by the BAU and they stayed in Maine, and things have been like that in the five years since you left the state.

"Your mom came around recently, right?"

You nod. "She was in town for a bit, but she came down while we were working on a case so I only got to see her a few times before she was heading back to Maine." She'd come up at the start of October, while you were working a case out of state, and she'd left six days after you'd returned from the case. In that time, you'd seen her at breakfast, lunch and dinner on three separate days. She'd left you the wine as a gift because she hated red and needed to pass it off, but you loved red wine so it was fine.

"Was it a good visit?"

"It was—well—it was fine," you laugh.

"That's the nicest way to put it?"

"Calling it fine is me being stellar," you laugh again. "Being kind, being gratiuitous, even. It was less than fine, but it could've been worse, and other visits of hers have been by miles."

Your relationship with your mother has been somewhat contentious since you were a teen, but she comes down once every few months and unless a case or something better comes up, you usually try to book Christmas off to spend it with your parents and sisters in Maine. This year, a bigger part of you than not is hoping that Christmas is disrupted by a case somewhere completely out of Maines reach, like Nevada or California or even the likes of Alaska, which has got to be some snowy hellstorm in the wintertime, though you can't say.

"You gonna go down for Christmas?" Spencer asks, laughing a little. He knows some of what your relationships with your family are like—knows that you and your mother have a difficult time finding common ground, knows that you and your father don't get along but have found some weird little middleground where you can exist without screaming at each other. He knows that you and your older sister are sort of friendly but only really mildly close, and that you and your other older sister don't talk often and see each other even less than the sparing conversations you have throughout the year—and he always looks at you kind of pitifully when your mother gets brought into the conversation, but there's been less and less pity as the years have passed, more sympathy.

"I don't want to," you laugh. "I really, really hope we get a case in Nevada or somewhere that even my mother wouldn't be able to justify asking me to drive down to Maine from. Like—I'd love it if we got a case in Alaska the day before Christmas Eve, honestly. I know it's not gonna happen, but—Christmas with them, my aunt, and my uncle? No. I can't subject myself to that without a whole lot of booze."

Spencer laughs, shakes his head a little bit. "You'll be fine," he says. "I won't hope that a case comes up at Christmas, but if one does, I'll buy you a victory tea."

"Why?"

"Because I know you love your family—you're hardwired to love them—but you hate Christmas with them, and I don't really like the thought of you being where you don't want to be because of family ties and guilt."

You laugh. "If it gets too dreary, promise you'll answer my call?"

"Yeah," Spencer nods. "Of course, but what if I call you first?"

"I will answer so quick," you laugh again, shrugging. "Seriously. Whether it's you or Hotch, I will take literally any excuse I can get to slip out from whichever room I'm in to the back porch just so I can talk to someone who isn't my aunt for a few minutes."

"Looking forward to that," Spencer says.

You smile, turning away as you do to hide it. It feels like an awesome ending to a mediocre day and you're grateful for that.

When your phone rings at five o'clock something along the lines of five weeks later, it's Christmas Eve. You've spent the last couple of hours alternating between cheap screw top rose and a jack and coke, occasionally swapping both options out for a hot chocolate that you spike with kahlua and a splash of baileys, and when your phone rings, the sound of it is a welcome reprieve.

You tuck a mug of boozed up hot cocoa into your right hand, answering the phone with your left as you dismiss yourself out to the back porch, standing amidst snow that's, by that point, a couple days old. A fresh coat is due to fall any day now, but by the time it does you'll probably already be back in DC.

"Hey," you greet. "How's Christmas on your end?"

"It's good," Spencer answers. "How is it on yours?"

"It's amazing."

"You've been drinking?"

"Jack Daniels, cheap rose, and the occasional spiked hot chocolate," you laugh a little. "It's making everyone more tolerable."

"Thats good," Spencer says. "Don't forget to drink water, though. It'll make you less hungover tomorrow morning."

"Yeah," you nod. "I've drank plenty of water—hangover headaches are fuckin' awful, and I don't feel like dealing with that tomorrow morning. A headache on top of dealing with my aunt? I couldn't put myself through that kind of torture."

"How've things been with you and your mom?"

"So far I haven't done anything to piss her off yet, which is surprising," you laugh. "Normally she's leaping down my throat the second I do something like use a tone that she thinks is amiss or defend my dad where she doesn't agree with him. I'll say something stupid and she'll yell at me before midnight though, I'm sure."

"Try to be a little optimistic," Spencer says. "I mean—just—take it easy. Don't do anything too nuts, okay? I know you well enough to know you have Prison Break on one of the DVRs in that house, and I also know that you know your own limits. Don't push yourself past them."

"I won't," you say. You know yourself well enough to know that you're probably lying, but you brought your needles and a skein of yarn so worst case you can just knit and keep your mouth shut, hopefully not miscounting any of your stitches in your drunken state. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay? I get in around ten on boxing day too, so—coffee?"

"Coffee," Spencer says. "Merry Christmas, Y/N."

"Merry Christmas, Spencer," you respond, hanging up the phone thereafter. You stay outside for another few minutes, drinking your hot chocolate, watching the sky and prolonging the time between then and your next interactions with your relatives.

Eventually, when you go back in, you're met with a sly look from your aunt and a suspicious look in your mothers eyes, while your father and uncle chat about current events and your sisters are busy in a game of Uno.

"You got a boyfriend?" Your aunt asks, her smile cheeky.

You grimace. "No!" You say, beelining for the kitchen and the bottle of Barefoot brand zinfandel. "No—it's—it isn't like that. A friend had planned to call and I didn't say no."

"Oooh, a friend," your mother teases. "That's quite vague, Y/N."

You nod, finishing the last sip of hot chocolate in your mug and rinsing it out, setting it in your favored corner of the kitchen counter and reaching for the wine glass you'd left in that same area.

"Intentionally so," you laugh. "You two are so nosy. I love you both to bits and pieces, but—it's not anything like what you're thinking. The friend is a coworker."

You reach for the bottle of zinfandel and pour an amount that just barely skirts the edge of avoiding being obscene, putting the cap back on and leaving it on the counter along with the rest of the alcoholic companions that will reside on the countertop until at some point tomorrow, when the drinks are switched out from booze and beer to soda and water.

"You two will be an item in five years, I guarantee it," your aunt says. "Seriously. You don't be vague about someone with your family unless there are feelings there, Y/N."

You laugh a little more, taking a sip of your wine and debating rummaging through the fridge to find the brownies that you'd hidden in the back of the fridge for when the drunken cravings kicked in.

"I've been vague with you people about women coworkers," you retort. "I've been vague about mentors who are older than Dad. I'm vague about lots of things."

"You should open up," your uncle says. "Nobody likes a closed off little snowflake who wants to appear mysterious."

"Trust is earned," the older of your two sisters retorts. "You have to trust people to want to open up to them."

"Do you not trust us?" Your mother asks, looking at you with pain in her eyes.

Not like I did when I was a kid, you think. "I do! I just—work life and family life are two separate things to me. If I were as open as you guys want me to be, telling you work stories and funny office anecdotes, you'd all want to hear less about my job."

"Being an FBI agent can't be that hard," your uncle retorts.

"You say that as a man who's never watched someone you love like a sibling get shot at," you retort. "You've never seen someones body missing parts, or seen someone who narrowly evaded a serial killer shaking with grief and with survivors guilt already starting to manifest. I love you all, but not one of you understands what it's like, and I wouldn't wish you did across a thousand lifetimes."

Nobody knows what to say, but the look in your eldest sisters eyes is clear—she's proud.

"Well maybe you should work in a different area," your aunt says.

"I wouldn't trade my job or my coworkers for anything," you respond. "The plus sides make up for the drawbacks tenfold."

Things go a little quiet after that, and you eventually grab the bottle of Zinfandel and retreat back out to the back porch, not caring how cold it is.

You stare at the sky for ages, drinking your way through the entire bottle of zinfandel as you do. You're half asleep when your phone rings again, and you pick it up as you make back inside, figuring the rest of your family had gone to bed as well.

"Hey," Spencer greets. "Just calling to check in again."

"Hi," you respond. "Everyone else has gone to sleep, I think—nobody is in the kitchen or the living room, and if I don't hit the hay I'll be dead on my feet tomorrow morning."

"Do you have any sports drinks around?" Spencer asks. "The elctrolytes in them will help replenish the potassium and the salt that you lose after a lot of drinking. Bouillion soup also serves the same purpose, and water is basically universally known as the one thing you should consistently drink between alcoholic beverages."

"My mother gets a twelve pack of the fruit punch Gatorade, puts it in the fridge and normally will make the drunkest of us chug a bottle before we conk out, so I'm gonna grab one and then chug it and head to bed. Thank you for calling to check in, Spencer. It means a lot."

You head for the fridge and keep to your word, opening it and grabbing one of the gatorades.

"It's no problem," Spencer says. "I've know you—how long now?"

"Four entire years," you laugh, closing the fridge and pressing your forehead against the metal door of the freezer on top of it. "Oh, God. Four years of working at the BAU. That is a surefire way to make me feel old."

"How old do you think you'll feel when you've been working there for a decade?"

"Absolutely, positively, ancient," you say. "Oh my God—thirty three? That is not an age I can picture. Asking me to picture that while I'm drunk feels like such a low blow, Reid."

"How about twenty-eight?"

"I'm starting to think you just like the sound of my voice," you retort, laughing a little as you compose yourself just enough to turn your phone onto speaker and set it on the counter. You lean against the counter and take the screw top off of your gatorade, sighing a little. "Are you asking me if I have a five year plan, Dr. Reid?"

"Yeah," he says. "Yes is the answer to both your statement and your question."

"Well, in five years, I'll be twenty-eight," you start. "I'd like it very much if I were still on the team, and if I am, that means nine years at the BAU. I'm going to get better at knitting and finally stop knitting things for people who don't offer to buy the yarn or otherwise compensate, I think. I make things free for ungrateful people too often. Maybe even adopt a kitten or take in a shelter dog. Fuck—Reid, I can't really even decide what I'm going to do in the next five minutes, let alone the next five years."

You chug the gatorade as you think about it—a bigger apartment would be nice, one that's closer to work would be nicer still. One with a good view of the city, maybe a library or a liquor store within walking distance, if not a Michaels or a Joanns.

You've always been more of a cat person but you have a ridiculously insurmountable softspot for greyhounds and pitbulls, so if you thought you could take in an animal in the coming years, you would have the knowledge and the background to give them a good home.

You'd maybe want to change up your hair color, if the drunken opportunity presented itself. A change in appearance feels like the sort of thing a person finds necessary at the age of twenty four, in the last year before the brain fully develops and stuff starts changing bit by bit.

"I think I'll still be on the team," Spencer says. "I know it. I love what we get to do everyday, Y/N. Helping people? Saving lives? We do good. We're good people."

"What else do you think about the next five years?" You ask, your voice quiet.

"I think I'll still be living in my same apartment, and that I'll still bicker and get into prank wars with Morgan," Spencer says. "I think I'll still play chess against Gideon on the jet home, and I'll still love to learn anything I can. I know for sure I'm still going to be trying to get you to watch Dr. Who with me, though I hope you agree to watch it after five years of attempts at cajoling you to."

You laugh, and the air takes on a somber kind of tone. "Maybe," you say. "Not likely, but maybe, Reid. Look—I'm going to go to bed so that I can just deal with tomorrows probable hangover head on, but thank you for calling me not once, but twice tonight. I really needed some company that wasn't a little bit of an asshole."

"Yeah, of course," Spencer says. "I—well—merry Christmas, Y/N."

"Goodnight, Spencer," is how you bid him adieu, hanging up the phone thereafter. You throw the gatorade bottle into the recycling and head off to the room you'd claimed, turning the tv onto a low volume and falling asleep with The Muppet Christmas Carol beginning to play in the background.

"How was everyones Christmas?" Garcia asks, practically buzzing with excitement as she comes out into the bullpen. Spencer is leaning against your desk, the two of you talking about nothing in particular when she comes around, and Garcia looks at you with a happy grin. "How was Maine?"

"It was Maine," you shrug. "Snowed. A lot. In turn, everyone in my family drank. A lot."

"Oh," Garcia shakes her head. "Too many people and too much booze is God awful."

You shrug. "My parents, my sisters, and my aunt and my uncle hardly felt like too many," you say. "And the amount of booze in which I indulged hardly felt like too much."

"You had a lot," Spencer retorts, looking at you skeptically. "I got a text Christmas morning, if memory serves—"

"A text to thank you for being so nice," You fire back, cutting him off. "Totally not asking you for hangover cures. I would never."

Spencer shakes his head, laughing slightly. You grin, taking a sip of the tea he'd brought you that morning.

"Yeah," he says. "I didn't get a text asking for the ultimate hangover cure-all. I guess I must've remembered it wrong."

Your grin widens, and you nod. "Guess so. How were things with your Mom?"

"They were great," Spencer says. "I had a good time."

"I'm glad," you respond. "Your mother sounds pleasant."

"She is," Spencer nods. "I'd hate to spend more than an hour with yours though."

"She's comin' here in June," you fire back, leaning back in your chair as your grin morphs from grin to smirk. "Be careful for the next six months, Reid, or I'll invite you to dinner with her, myself, and my father."

"That sounds like some form of mideval torture," Derek fires, laughing. Spencer shakes his head.

"Not if Y/Ns there," he murmurs. You take another sip of your tea to avoid seeming flustered to the rest of the team, and Spencer sighs when JJ comes around. You sit up in your chair, already anticipating her next words.

"We have a case," she says. "A series of deaths in Witchita. Briefing room in ten!"

You and Spencer exchange a look. There are only a few days left of it, but it looks like the last of 2005 is due to be a whirlwind.

#criminal minds #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader

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my-halo-is-a-little-broken · 18 hours ago

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Now, let me preface this by saying I only really have FB to keep in touch with family and friends, so I try to cultivate it to have my interests on my feed, and Arcane is currently one popping up a lot.

And, uh, some people have "interesting" takes 😬 like, there can be valid criticisms of the show and how it handled some things, but these feel reach-y or even completely miss the point.

1. I don't think the show is trying to say "magic (power) makes disabled people evil." What I do think it is trying to say is that when you get a taste/knowledge of what life could be like when you're more able/powerful, it can be intoxicating and misleading. Viktor genuinely thought he was making things better, and he thought he saw how he could get there, so he took it, in an "ends justify the means way." He tried convincing Jayce to work with him. He didn't truly want to align with Ambessa until he felt he had no other choice. Other examples we see of power infecting people are littered throughout the show. Cait, Jayce, Ambessa, Mel, Silco, Singed, Heimer. Power infects and can twist people.

2. Yes, it did feel hollow at some points. But I don't feel they were saying what the person thinks they were saying. Jayce even essentially says that the Zaunites have no reason to trust them, and he basically begs them to work with Piltover because he knows the destruction that awaits them. It wasn't just "defending the oppressors way of life." A literal apocalypse could happen. It's defending everyone's way of life. As for the "Savage Brown Hoardes" bit, the only people of color we really see of the Noxians are Ambessa, Kino, and Mel, 2 of which prefer talking and seeing fighting as a last resort. Everyone else is (seemingly) white. Maddie is white, Rictus appears to be white, and what we see of the Noxian soldiers, they seem to be white. Even if we go farther and look at the Noxian champions in LoL, a good chunk of them seem to be white. As for the faceless communism metaphor, while I can see it, this was a legitimate threat to Piltover, Zaun, and the world as a whole. Communism is a boogie man in our world, yes, but it wouldn't lead to the *literal apocalypse*. That's more capitalisms' style. And there's plenty of distrust and anger between Pilties and Zaunites, even if we don't get to see as we would have liked. A good chunk of the Zaunites don't join the battle until late because they *don't trust the Pilties* but realize that this isn't going well and will end badly, so they decide to help. We see that Sevika, despite being on the council, doesn't trust the Pilties, and they also don't trust her! Coming together to save the world doesn't mean that all the issues are erased. It simply means they were put aside for the moment. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

3. Yeah, they fumbled on keeping up Zaun vs. Piltover, but the Medarda war didn't come out of nowhere. In the 1st season, we have Ambessa trying to encourage war. She's a WARLORD. War within her was coming, one way or another. Mel always stood in opposition to her, even if she loved her and tried to reason with her. Ambessa was always going to be one of the main antagonists and major plot points. Look at her song. If you want something outside of season 1 that points to that there was always going to be war. "No war, no peace 'til I lead them all". She does what she does for her family's gain, yes, but also for herself. She didn't show up to Piltover to visit Mel, ever, until word started to spread. It reflected badly on Piltover, on the council, on Mel, which in turn reflected badly on the Medarda name and *her*. "I can use who I want, and I taste what I please". Ambessa isn't above doing whatever she sees fit to get what she wants/feels is right. She will always try to get what she wants, and what she wanted was war with Zaun. War within Zaun weakens Piltover, which is already partially under a Medarda's control. We've seen that Ambessa takes over places and conquers them. It's never confirmed, but it's not a stretch to make an assumption here that she wanted to bring Piltover and Hextech under Noxus' (hers) control, and what better way to do that than weaken it's defenses and strength? She made Piltover "stronger" but only by putting herself in control of Cait, her puppet, who she, despite not being from Piltover, made Piltovers leader.

4. I don't think this was Jayce saying that Viktor needed to stay disabled. I myself am disabled, granted not like Viktor is, but I didn't feel this was Jayce saying that. To me, this was Jayce telling Viktor that it's *okay* to not be perfect. That it's okay to be disabled. Not that it's a good thing to be, but that it's not a horrifically bad thing either. Jayce *loves* Viktor (platonically or romantically, your choice, but they're soulmates no matter how you slice it). We see Viktor go from a mostly confident and sassy young man to a shell of himself who believes he's unworthy of standing next to Jayce even though they're partners. Viktor was never unworthy, no matter how his disease progressed, and that's what Jayce is trying to emphasize. Jayce is telling Viktor, "You are loved, I love you, and nothing will ever change that no matter what you think." It echos Jinx and Vi in a way. Jinx thinks she's unlovable, bad luck, but Vi doesn't. She'll never give up on trying to help and love her sister, and the same way Jayce will never give up trying to save and love his partner. Jayce isn't telling Viktor he should have stayed disabled. He's telling him that his disability doesn't make him less of a person and who he is, that perfection does nothing but hurt when it requires impossible standards.

#arcane league of legends #arcane #arcane season 2 #arcane spoilers #arcane series #jayce arcane #arcane viktor #league of legends arcane #viktor arcane

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bibiznbyler · 2 days ago

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Had an idea for an anderperry epilogue AU where neil is a ghost watching over all his friends for the past 10 years, but everyone is on vacation for the holidays except for Todd, so he's alone at Neil's grave this year.

And Todd, still filled with grief, a decade later, visits Neil and sobs for a while. Now, it isn't out of the ordinary for Todd to visit but never before has he cried except the 1st year after. Maybe it's because he's by himself this time (or so he thinks)

But here is is on the tenth anniversary wailing into the cold, hitting the snow defeatedly before leaning against the tombstone. And Neil, loving as always, tries to comfort him by reaching out, when suddenly Todd flinches.

He feels a warm touch on his shoulder but there's no one there. Tears well up again at the thought his friend is coming to visit him.

Neil frowns deeply at the sight, and continues to rub his friend's back.

Todd freezes. Quietly, he whispers, his warm breath making a light fog in the cold.

"N-Neil...?" He questions into the still air.

Neil perks up quickly, and quickly taps his friends back quicker.

Todd swallows, hot tears flowing slow but steady. "No way..."

He pauses. "I miss you Neil"

Neil of course can't speak, so he just gives his friend a hug. The warmth consumes Todd's torso and he chokes out a gasp, wiping his tears, hugging his friend back where he imagined he'd be, based on how their hugs used to be.

Neil was elated. His friend knew he was there! Even though Todd can't here him, he still whispers into his friends ear, "i miss you too Todd"

He squeezes Todd closer. Todd can't feel the pressure, but he can feel the increased warmth.

Todd speaks again, "I have so many questions- I mean... how are you? Good? Bad? Have you been here this whole time? I-" Todd stops. "Oh," his eyes somehow fill with more tears. "You can't respond."

He bits his lip to stiffle a sob.

"God, I miss you so much. We never even... I never..." his voice breaks. He sobs into his knees as Neil's warmth stays present, and rubs his friends back.

Todd continues, "i never got to say goodbye... you didn't even write a note, you didn't even call, i mean you..." Todd sighs deeply. "It's just not fair... we were only boys, Neil. Our whole lives ahead of us... I know your dad was..." he trails off.

"But couldn't you hold out until you turned 18? Or tried to run away together? I wouldve gone with you, you were my best friend, I-"

Todd stops when he feels the warmth leave his body for a second and is replaced by a hand-sized heat on his cheek, persumingly Neil attempting to wipe a tear. Todd wipes it himself.

"I'm sorry, Neil. That... that we were too young... to save you from it all. That you felt like that's all you could've done. Im sorry we weren't there that night. I'm sorry we didn't try harder to fight your dad. I'm so, so sorry."

Neil smiles weakly, when he gets an idea. He stops touching Todd, who instantly becomes cold. Todd panicks. "Wait- please Neil! Don't go! Im sorry if I made you mad, please! I cant do this alone! I can't-" he stops when he notices a single divet in the snow, and then another.

Foot-shaped. Neil had begun walking instead of floating. Todd got up slowly and followed, questiongly, glancing back at his friend's tombstone.

Neil leads Todd to his car.

"I'm not ready to leave," Todd frowns deeply, before seeing the craziest thing: writing. The heat from Neil must be to turn the fog on the windows to droplets of water.

Neil's handwriting: narrow and tall, slanted to the right.

'I'm doing good. I've been watching over all of you, mainly you and Nuwanda,' Neil stops to laugh and continues writing.

Lower on the car window, there's a large 'I miss you' written out, followed a few seconds later with a smaller text: 'a lot.'

Todd stares for a while.

Neil draws 2 hearts at the bottom which he then follows by 2 drawings of stick figures holding hands, which he writes ''til death do us part haha' underneath.

Todd finally smiles, a large grin on his face, before it falls slightly. Neil mirrors him.

Todd sighs heavily before speaking.

"You know... back then... I... I liked you..." Todd looks down shamefully. "Like, a crush"

Neil writes quickly, and todd glances up.

Written neatly as always, there is a small 'me too.'

Todd's eyes widen and they moisten for the 10 millionth time that day.

"Do you think... if you never... you know, do you think we would've realized our feelings? And... do you think we would've been together secretly or something...?"

Neil thinks about it.

'Yes. I know it.'

Todd notices the way there extra emphasis written on the "know," and smiles lightly. Exhaling softly, Todd asks something.

"Would you kiss me?"

Neil freezes. Over the many years he has accepted many things about himself that he tried pushing down in his adolescence. But the fear somehow was still there, maybe at the other ghosts lingering with the occasional loved one. He slowly leans in, before getting a boost of confidence.

Todd feels the instant warmth, about 5 seconds and he's elated, as he shuts his eyes and imagines Neil.

Todd feels the absence and presses his lips together before speaking again.

"I can't wait until the day we meet again. It will be a long time but I hope you'll wait for me?"

Todd watches as the letters appear in front of him, on the next window over.

"I'm with you every day. There is no wait, even if you can't see me. I am always with you at home, in town, at work. More than I see anyone else. You were-" he crosses out 'were,' replacing it with, "are my best friend. I'm there when the gang is together, laughing and making jokes at the same time as someone else and pretend that you all are laughing with me. So, I hope you wait for me."

Todd grins. "Of course."

-----

And so on and so forth blah blah blah. Also ignore that i wrote this in like the present tense idk why i did that it lowkey feels weird lol

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jkl-fff · 3 days ago

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Ford, solemnly: Now that we're free ... Please don't hold it against Dipper that he locked us in a room together to try to make us get along.

Norman: I wasn't going to. Like, I'm not thrilled about it, but I'm not mad, either. Just mildly annoyed. It's another one of his antics. But why does it matter so much to him?

Ford: *sigh* Dipper reminds me of my younger self in a lot of ways. Good ways and bad ways. We both have a tendency to be ... obsessive and get swept up in our own excitement, for example, even to the point of being irrational despite our minds being practically hard-wired for analytical thought. And neither of us deals well with perceived rejection or betrayal.

Norman: But I didn't reject or betray him. I only said that I didn't really like you.

Ford: Yes, but like I said earlier, we're both very important to him. He sees me as a mentor and maybe ever as a role model, he sees you as his best friend--

Norman, surprised and pleased: H-he said that? He called me his "best friend"?

Ford: He's hasn't used that exact phrase, but you don't need 12 Ph.D.s to figure it out. The point is, we're both very important parts of ... of his life, of his psyche, of who he identifies with and how he sees himself. I imagine he perceives someone not liking either of us as not liking a part of himself. Hence a perceived rejection.

Norman: ... Yeah, I guess I can see that. It makes no sense, not really, but also it does sorta make sense for Dipper. He once spent a whole afternoon trying to concince me that I should like Wes Anderson, even though I just don't.

Ford: *shrug* I did say we can be irrational despite being so analytical ... I'm glad you're not mad at him. Please reassure him of that. By all means, be firm with him about not locking you in rooms and such. I'm not saying to put up with shit--Oh, damn, can I say shit in front of a child?

Norman, wryly: I won't tell a fucking soul if you won't.

Ford: Ha! Well, as I was saying, don't put up with his shit. But please reassure him this whole ... episode hasn't changed anything between you. You're still friends, even when you don't agree. I think that would be ... would be very good for him. It'll help him grow up into someone who doesn't remind me of my younger self.

Norman: ... Do I have to give the gun back now?

Ford: No, you can borrow it for the day. Have fun, just don't shoot any people or any animals or any property that I personally care about.

Norman: Cool! But ... *sigh* Okay, why did you say that thing just now about it being good for him? Gonna bug me 'til I understand.

Ford, wistfully: ... Do you know how many friends I've had in my whole life? Truly close friends, who I felt I could be truly honest with about who and what I am?

Norman, taken aback: Uh ... This isn't about you being probably bisexual, is it?

Ford: What? No--Well, maybe, I guess--

Norman: Is it going to be about Dipper being probably bisexual?

Ford, exasperated: It's about isolation, you spikey-haired ... child. I 've had 3. One was my brother, who I turned my back on because of anger, resentment, and self-absorption. I got so swept up in obsession and feeling betrayed by him over an accident, that I let it cost me my only real friend at the time. One was McGucket, who I pushed away because of obsession and a need to be a genius and a pioneer of science. I got so swept up in feeling like he was rejecting me over ... Oh, it hardly matters now, given how unstable I was. The point is, it cost me the only real friend I had again.

Norman: And the third one?

Ford, haunted: ... That was Bill. Who did actually betray and reject me--who never actually was my friend, for all that I believed he was at the time. But that didn't exactly help my fear of betrayal and rejection, as you can imagine. And all of it happened ultimately because my own obsession and tendency to be swept up in my own excitement drove me towards isolation.

Norman: Which you don't want to happen to Dipper.

Ford: Yes. I understand he also has struggled to make friends over the years, only really having Mabel for so long. Isolation again. But you Mystery Kids, with you in particular as his best friend, Norman, have helped him so much by genuinely befriending him. That's helping him learn to be more ... more grounded and more stable and ... and good. More good--better, I mean--than I was. Which I want. I want him to be better than I was. So ... yes.

Norman: Yeah.

Ford: *nods* Good.

Norman: *nods* Great ... I'm, um, gonna go blast something now.

Who knew all it took to solve your personal grievances was giving a small child an unregistered high-tech firearm?

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