#I wanna put her in a Pringles can and shake it so hard

[foibles-fables]

We laugh about the Grumpy Noodle Rangshi Scene (because it’s genuinely SO charming)—but when the language of Rangi’s anger is juxtaposed with this dialogue from a previous chapter, it becomes…kind of soul-rending.

What is Rangi deeply afraid of, to the point where avoiding that fear has become a central motivator for her? Being Nothing.

………what does she call herself to Kyoshi during their argument?

🙃🙃🙃

[midnightfangz]

You know. When i started playing skyrim, i expected to get stuff like exploring a vast open world for hours, long and useless fetch quests, a handful of funny glitches here and there, a decent storyline.....

In a way, i got all of that and yet. It gets boring pretty quickly and the worldbuilding is kinda lacking so i padded out the lore w my own headcanons and interpretations in the more important parts to entertain myself, but uh.

Is the intense and long lasting Cicero obsession supposed to be a part of the whole playing experience, too, or

[hearmeoutno]

Chapter 6: The Dive

Buckle up for 2.9k words about 2 freaks in the forest and then 2 freaks in the water. Enjoy!

___________________________________

(0:55)

"Where were Eddie and Mackenzie when this happened?"

Jason is sitting in Reefer Rick's house, a towel around him and shaking from the cold water.

"Wha... Wait, what?"

"Eddie and Mackenzie? You said you saw both of them near the lake."

"Eddie, he... He was in the... in the boat, like I said. Mackenzie I think she euh... she was just walking along the shore but euh... she took of running."

...

(Original dialogue)

"Did you get it?

Eddie comes back from his mission to a Walkie Talkie, proudly holding up his catch.

"Of course I did Mackie, what do you think I am? A rookie?"

Both are smiling, finally they can get back into contact with the Hawkins crew. they can almost taste the supply of beer and cigarettes.

"Thank fuck for oblivious builders!"

"

...

(9:26)

"Not to be a wimp, but can I maybe sit in the car for this visit? 'Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck."

"It'll be fine"

In a packed car on your way to 2 wanted freaks isn't a fun ride, but it sure is an adventure.

"I just can't Stand to see those dull eyes if Eddie's break again. I really, really can't. Plus I don't want my clothes to smell like smoke! It's so hard to wash out."

"At least Eddie can drink himself into feeling better."

"That's what my mom does"

Way to kill the mood, Maxine.

...

(11:16)

"We have also identified two people of interest. Eddie Munson and Mackenzie Ryans. We encourage anyone with information, to please come forward"

Maybe there's no good news this time

...

(Original dialogue

"Hey Eddie, try to contact them, will you? I'm fucking starving. Tell them to hurry the fuck up."

"Yeah, have patience."

Eddie grabbed the Walkie Talkie, pressing the button.

"Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler?"

"Eddie, holy shit. Are you guys okay?

"Nah, man. Pretty... Pretty goddamn far from okay. Mack fucked up her whole leg or so meth-"

Mackenzie limps to Eddie and grabs the radio out of his hands.

"No I probably sprained by ankle, my knee is practically non-stop bleeding. Hey can you guys bring pringles? And hurry the fuck up?"

"Where are you?"

"Wow, thanks for the sympathy Dustbin, we're at skull rock, hurry."

"Hold tight, we're coming. We're coming!"

As Mack puts the radio down, she sees Eddie sitting with his head in his hands.

"Sorry, didn't mean to rip it off you like that... Hey are you okay?"

"No Mackenzie, of course I'm not fucking okay! Look at us! We just slept under rocks in between empty bottles and cigarette buds. We just stole a radio from a building site. You can barely fucking walk and our only weapon is a kitchen knife!"

Mack leans her head against the rock while Eddie is doing his speech. She knows he's not okay, she isn't either, but at least she keeps up a good spirit!

"I am fucking know Edward, but don't just wallow in self-pity. If you wanna survive you're not making it by complaining. We need to focus on either getting out of the situation or dissapear completely. I rather choose the former, so we can still have a normal life but you're not making it any easier now!"

Eddie goes to sit at the opposite side of Mack, silently judging every single word she just said and straight up giving her the silence treatment.

...

(31:32)

"You just can't admit you're wrong, you butt head."

Mack jumps down behind Steve and Dustin, not such a smart idea with her ankle, but finally seeing someone else that mopey-Eddie is worth the pain.

"The hair is right, Chewbacca. Total butt head."

"Good I thought you were a goner"

Dustin gives Mack a hug. Even though it doesn't seem like it, Mackenzie and Dustin are actually pretty good friends. Whenever Eddie decides he doesn't like school that day, her and Dustin talk about all sort of things and hang out practically all day. Sometimes she even drives him home after she stays and watch Hellfire.

"Eddie's right there, if you miss him. Wouldn't surprise me if you don't."

She smiles as she points to the rock construction and examines Steve's face to see his reaction to Eddie being alive. Rather, more relieved and happy that she thought he'd be. But hey, she told Eddie Steve was into him!

"You got the goods Wheeler?"

"Right here, Ryans"

Nancy hands Mack the bag, and she starts ruffling through the bag while Robin sets the six-pack next to her. She grabs 2 beers and the Marlboro's, and limps over to Eddie. She sits down next to him and opens his beer before handing it him.

"Hey sorry about that thing earlier"

Lighting her cigarette she can finally get her nicotine intake up.

"Oh fuck yes! Wheeler you're a savior!"

Who knew that nicotine withdrawal could make you almost orgasmica-like scream when you get the kick back.

Eddie takes a swig of his beer, and another, and then another before looking at Mack who is laying on the floor, cigarette hanging out her mouth.

"It's okay, you were kind of right. But that's the most recognition to being right I'll ever give you."

Mack sits back up, patting Eddie on his back and smiling.

"That's the real Eddie, glad to see you're back."

As they're laughing together, friendship restored, Steve keeps looking over at Eddie. He doesn't know what that guy is doing to him, but hell would he lie if be said he didn't love it. If he didn't love him.

...

(39:31)

"When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh..."

"Walkie Talkies aren't good swimming vests."

"Yeah basically. And then uh, I did the thing that we do now apparently, we ran."

"Technically I ran first though Ed, see we had an escape plan to meet here. Me going by foot and Eddie being the sailor he was meant to be."

As Eddie and Mack were telling their story, again, Dustin keeps pacing left and right.

"Do you know that time this was, Eddie? The attack?"

"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was. My Walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked."

He throws his watch at Nancy who *gracefully* catches it and reads the time.

"9:27."

"Same time our flashlights went kablooey."

"Which means what exactly."

"That coincidence, Steve-o, isn't always a coincidence. But that it can be... I have no idea I was just trying to make a joke but it's going nowhere is it?"

"No not exactly, good try though, Mack."

Looks like Steve woke up from his staring contest, with Eddie's body, with some sass.

"It *means* that that surge of energy was Verna attacking Patrick."

"Well, we're one step closer. We know how Verna attacks."

"And where he attacks from."

"So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart."

Wait, is Verna a vampire? Whatever, Mack can't focus on the group bickering around her. All she can think of is why the fuck Dustin is still pacing! Like can, he stop for 5 seconds.

"Right, yeah, okay Velma, great discovery, but Dust there for the love of Bowie stop walking around it's making me seasick!"

"Boom! Bada... bada... boom. I was right. Skull rock was north."

"Chewie were trying to stop a vampire slash monster slash D&D villain here, no time for petty revenge!"

Steve rolls his eyes and sighs, getting ready to scold Dustin.

"This is Skull rock. Okay? You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now."

"Yes. And no."

"Oh my God."

Steve covers his face and sits down next to Eddie. He's really not in the mood for some stupid argument right now.

"This worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'. It was correct when we got in the car on Curlt. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass wrong."

"Dustin, dear, you're telling me that a contraption that's been around longer than all of us combined, a contraption that uses nature, physics and science is wrong. How can a compass be wrong if you're not actively rubbing it between magnets, breaking it in the process?!"

"Except it isn't broken Mack. Magnets do affect a compass by giving off a stronger electro magnetic field. So the needle will deflect towards that power. Either there's some super big magnet here, or..."

"There's a gate"

"Sinclair we're in the middle of a forest! What's the purpose of a gate here? And Dustin, you lost me at magnets."

"But, we're nowhere near the lab?"

"But what if, somehow, there's another gate? A gate that we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful."

"Snack-size gate."

"How? Why?"

"Okay why are we talking about gates and fences, what the actual fuck."

"No idea how, Steve. All I know is that something that is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because we'd have Verna. And a shot at freeing Max from this curse"

Mack stands up, cursing at the pain shooting up her already bandaged foot, and leans on Eddie's shoulder for support.

"Okay what the actual fuck is going on. We're talking about magnets, and gates and labs and who knows what and somehow that's related to Verna? Someone for the love of god explain!"

"Remember that other world under Hawkins? That gates are these slimy things you go into and then you're in the Upside Down, or that other world."

"Thank you, Buckley! Finally! So euh... what now?"

"You guys are still wanted, we can't just give for a hike in the woods!"

"This steel capsule might be the key to saving Eddie, Mack, and Max."

Mack looks down to Eddie who she's still leaning on.

"What say you Eddie the Banished?"

"I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you..."

Mack slightly snickers at that last sentence, imagine Eddie being straight. But yeah anyway.

"I think I'd be a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire... the Shire is burning."

As Dustin is happily jumping up and down, Eddie stands up while keeping his arm under Mack's to give her some support.

"So Mordor it is."

"Hey I'm not fucking walking this, Stephen I hope you have a good back."

"What is Mordor?"

Steve mumbles while helping Mack on his back. Eddie running back to grab the Walkie Talkie and his flask.

...

(57:05)

"Dustin? Can you slow down? Dustin?"

Mack has now transferred back and forth between Eddie and Steve's back, her ankle is getting better but who would enjoy a free piggyback over walking?

"I think we're getting close."

As Mack steps off Eddie's back near the shore, Eddie prevents Dustin from falling in.

"Watch your step, big guy."

"Oh man, you gotta be shitting me."

"Did we just run around Lover's Lake the whole day?"

"This is confounding. "

"There's a gate in Lover's Lake?"

Mack sits down, ready to just give up on life honestly.

"Whenever the Demo gorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Verna's the same way."

"Yeah, only one way to find out."

Eddie leads them to the boat he escaped him, luckily still in one piece knowing his excellent sailor abilities cough, cough.

"Easy. I... I said easy man."

"Sorry, handsome."

Mack smiles at Eddie's pathetic attempt at shooting his shot. But hey, its it's definitely an attempt.

Robin uses Steve and Eddie as a railing to get in the boat and so does Mack. Eddie and Nancy follow soon. Dustin tries to get on too, but Eddie stops him.

"Hey, hey, hey, you try to sink us? This thing holds four people top, okay?" (Just imagine they have a bigger boat)

"It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble."

"You keep an eye out! It's my goddamn theory."

Yeah, he's not taking any of this.

"Dustin c'mon, you're giving me a headache dude. Just listen to Nancy."

"Who put her in charge?"

"I did."

"Yeah Robin did dude, listen to your elders."

Mack and Robin high five, they became much better friends while Mack was on Steve's back. She is so chill!

"Compass."

Reluctantly, Dustin gives Nancy the compass and stands there looking at them with a major frown, then Steve throws a backpack at him.

"Hey, there you go."

"Ow... You said four!"

"Sorry."

As they drift away Mack is feeling like annoying some people.

"Don't forget, bedtime at nine and don't forget to brush your teeth!"

Mack and Robin laughs as Dustin gives them the finger. Robin stands up and waves at him.

"Miss you already!"

...

(1:03:34)

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Slow down, guys."

Eddie and Robin stop the boat, and they all look at the compass, which is turning around like crazy.

"That guy's really having a party huh?"

Dustin's voice can be heard over the Walkie.

"Guys what's going on? Come on guys, talk to me."

"Robin you answer."

"Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'aah!'"

Steve starts taking off his socks and shoo while Mack is snickering at the noise Robin made.

"Woah Stevie, I appreciate the offer but I'm not really into that. I know a friend that may be interested."

"Mack, somebody's gotta go down there and check this thing out. Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then... it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?"

"Are you always this cocky? I mean I guess there's gotta be a reason why haring's in your name, right?"

"Haha, very funny Mack."

Steve stands up to continue undressing whole Eddie nervously looks away.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I do not wanna go down there."

As Steve takes off his shirt, how can Eddie NOT look at him like come on! This is torture for the boy! He *tries* to distract himself by wrapping Mack's flashlight with a plastic bag for Steve, but it doesn't exactly work.

"Go get 'em, Tarzan. And don't break my flashlight, how else would I survive?"

"Hey, good luck"

Eddie says as he hands Steve the flashlight, taking a quick glance and lighting a cigarette, and that's when Robin takes his lighter.

"Gross."

"Come on Rob, give us at least something! We're the ones wanted for murder!"

"Mack you can't keep using being on the run from the cops as an excuse!"

"Oh fuck off Robin"

And just like that, Steve is down. Everyone's sitting there and waiting anxiously for Steve to return.

"Is now a bad time to tell you guys I can't really swim?"

"And just when I thought you can't be stupider Mackie."

"Hey we're all gay here, can any of use even swim?"

"We're... all gay here? I- I'm not, not that I have a problem with it of course."

Mackenzie awkwardly looks at the water, of course Nancy isn't gay what the fuck was she thinking. But, Robin does look her in the eyes and nodding with a wink afterwards. Relieved, Mack sits back up, looking at the few stars in the sky.

"Where we at wheeler?"

"Closing in on a minute."

"Okay..."

Steve practically jumps out the water, out of breath.

"Oh Christ!"

"I found it."

"Steve where's my flashlight?"

"You found it?"

"I found it yeah. I found it."

"Stevie don't tell me you lost the flashlight!"

Robin grabs the Walkie, relieved that Steve is alive.

"Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate"

"It's pretty wild, it's more of a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big."

Right when Mack was about to smack him across the face for losing her flashlight, he gets pulled under water.

While everyone is yelling for Steve, Eddie and Mack are losing their goddamn mind!

"What the hell was that, man?"

"Nancy, really, what happened?"

"Jesus!"

"We're gonna, we're gonna die, WE'RE ALL GONNA FUCKING DIE!"

For some reason, Wheeler is gonna dive in like it's a hot summer morning!

"Wait! You're not going in there, are you?"

"Just wait here.

"No, Nancy!"

"I'm telling you we are doomed!"

Everyone seems to want to die tonight because Robin is moving to sit on the edge of the boat.

"What are you doing? She said wait."

"Yeah, I heard her."

"She's in charge!"

"Are you kidding me? I made that shit up."

AAAAA Robin's gone. As Eddie and Mack are screaming in anger, not even making sense, the boat starts rocking back and forth.

"I'm telling you Munson, if I drown I'm taking you with me you fucking ass ho-"

Splash, both of them in the water. Mack takes out her trusty kitchen knife and after a slight panic attack, she swims down after Eddie. Or rather, she swims to her death after Eddie. To her death into an orange glowing earth hole.

________________________________________

Another long one for you guys, thank you so much for reading this far.

wanna know what happened before? Here's the other chapters! :)

Ready for more? Well you're lucky I don't know how to cope with loss!

[artificialqueens]

Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, 10 (Branjie) (and background everyone) - Ortega

a/n: omg HIIIIII hihihihihi i’m SO SORRY for the update gap fam, i started back at work and have been crAzy busy ever since! however i tried to make this chapter one that was worth the wait…….insert one thousand eye emojis if ya know what i mean. hope u enjoy!

fic summary: Strictly Come Dancing enters its 18th series and its producers, after being goaded by a rival dance show on its inclusivity, commission it to be an all-female cast. Unlike Akeria who’s just here to bone her potential dance partner, dancer Vanessa is ready to act like a professional.

And then TV presenter Brooke Lynn walks into the rehearsal room.

***

20th November 2020

Vanessa is giggling as Akeria sits with an enormous plastic bag of snacks in front of her on the hard plastic train table. She’s looking at them with the long-suffering eyes of a wearied mother, casting her hands over them as if she doesn’t quite know where to start. She finally picks up a bag of chocolate buttons, stands up in her seat and yells out into the train carriage.

“Okay, whose are the buttons?”

“Oh! Those are ours. Thanks, Kiki,” Jan stands up from the two-seater she’s got beside Jackie and behind Vanessa and Brooke, leaning forward over them to grab the snacks.

“Strawberry laces?”

“Mine!” Crystal cries happily, leaning over Gigi from the table seat they’re sharing with Jaida and Yvie opposite them. She snatches the sweets out of Akeria’s hand and follows it up with a thank you.

“Barbecue Pringles- wait, that’s Yvie’s,” Akeria immediately cuts herself off, leaning over the aisle of the carriage and handing Yvie the tube.

“I’m nothing if not predictable,” she shrugs, ripping off the plastic covering and the paper on top to grab a crisp and then offer one to her dance partner.

“Tangfastics?” Akeria yells out. There’s a pause where nobody claims them. Akeria gives a long-suffering roll of her eyes and yells a little louder. “Tangfastics?!”

Vanessa watches Monique give a jolt in the two-seater she’s sharing with Monet. “Shit, sorry Keeks, that’s ours!”

(Vanessa suspects that Monique’s delay in hearing her snack might be because of the way Monet’s got her hand resting on her thigh and had been whispering something to her moments before, but she’ll park that for now, use it to make fun of her at a later date.)

“God damn, stop gazin’ in Monet’s eyes for two whole seconds,” Akeria teases her, to a hoot of laughter from the other girls and a glare from Monique herself.

“Can’t help it that they’re so dark and intoxicating,” Monet pipes up with a dramatic gesture. Asia yells at her to shut up from over her headrest. A little further down the carriage, Vanessa can see a businessman shaking his head in despair.

“Gigi, that’s your fruit platter,” Akeria hands the tub across the aisle, already able to tell the model’s choice of snack. Vanessa silently takes the bags of Starbursts and chilli heatwave Doritos that she’d asked Akeria to pick up for her and Brooke respectively. “Whose are the Haribos?”

There’s another silence. Vanessa has to hold in her laughter at Akeria’s growing frustration. “Girls, I swear to Jesus, y’all cannot send me to the shop to grab all your motherfuckin’ snacks and then not claim ‘em! Who ordered the goddamn Haribos?!”

Asia blinks suddenly, looks up from her phone and tugs Akeria’s sleeve. “Bitch! Those are ours, we got them! Sit your dumb ass down!”

The girls all roar with laughter as Akeria sheepishly sinks back into her seat. Vanessa can’t help but give a little bounce in her seat from excitement because they’ve made it; she’s off to Blackpool with a girl that likes her back, her two best friends, and the rest of the dorks they’re sharing the competition with. They’ve got a Cha Cha Cha this week which they’ve practised, polished and perfected, and Vanessa can feel a little bite of excitement to the cold air which makes her think maybe…maybe this week it’s their time to get a few more tens and perhaps be top of the leaderboard this week. She’s confident, and she knows Brooke is too. They chatted through their thoughts about the week ahead when Vanessa walked Brooke to the tube station the night before, and her heart still gives a little excitable thud when Vanessa remembers the way they’d stolen a kiss in the dark just beside the entrance.

Whatever it is they are feels like one of the fairytales Vanessa used to watch when she was little on VHS tape, the ones she used to rewind the moment they were done to go all the way back to the start. She and Brooke are still focused on the competition obviously, so for now they’re still content with stealing kisses behind the scenes of It Takes Two, going for dates that aren’t really dates and are more mid-rehearsal lunches, long and lingering goodbye cuddles where Vanessa rests her head against Brooke’s chest and wishes she was going home with her instead of to her own empty flat. It’s nameless and exciting and a bit of a foray into the unknown, only Vanessa knows it’s not really so much of an unknown because she trusts Brooke, she knows she likes her back and how much she’s devoted to her. It’s the way Brooke nuzzles against Vanessa’s hair and mutters a compliment about how talented she is, or the way she’ll stop mid-kiss to just murmur about how beautiful Vanessa is against her lips, or the way she links their pinkies together midway through a rehearsal break and shyly comment on how lucky she is. It all makes Vanessa’s heart feel huge and light and fast in her chest, a helium balloon filled with butterflies.

“Guys! Train selfie!” Crystal cries suddenly, jolting Vanessa out of her daydream. Vanessa leans onto the middle of the table to squeeze herself into shot and yelps when Brooke tugs her back.

“You just totally Mike Wazowski’d me!”

“Oh like anyone could miss you in any photo, fuckin’ lil miss beanstalk bitch!” Vanessa teases her, the girls all laughing in response.

“So funny that half your fans think you’re datin’. You two fight like cat an’ dog on the daily,” Asia rolls her eyes and snorts. Vanessa feels her body spark with electricity as Brooke takes her hand under the table and squeezes it a couple of times in secret.

She feels guilty as she looks to Akeria who’s raising her eyebrows at her, still very aware of her crush. It’s not that Vanessa has kept things secret from her and Monique intentionally. It’s just that she and Brooke have been so wrapped up in each other and their rehearsals, not to mention the fact that they haven’t had a girls’ night in forever. Vanessa resolves to tell them this weekend, having to bite back a smile as she thinks about their potential reactions.

“Guys, get in the fucking selfie already! My arm is hurting!”

Vanessa leans back into Brooke’s chest and feels something in her ribcage blossom as Brooke puts her arms around her in a hug for the photo.

The train starts moving and all the girls give an excited squeal of delight which makes two old ladies a few seats down look at them all suspiciously. There’s a flash of recognition in their eyes after a second and their attitude changes, judgemental eyes becoming kind. Vanessa wonders if it will ever fully sink in that she’s ‘famous’, a public figure. Right now it just feels as if she’s going on some big mad girls’ weekend away with her second family and a girl she really fucking likes.

The evening is mostly taken up by the train ride, all the girls having rehearsed during the day and trundled their suitcases to the train when they were done. Yvie vlogs, Crystal and Gigi chatter excitedly, and Akeria and Asia bicker about who’s eaten the most buttons. Vanessa and Brooke for their part hold hands underneath the table, share little smiles that speak both volumes and a thousand words, and flirt just enough to make Vanessa’s heart beat out her chest but not enough to arouse suspicion. All the while they speed past towns that she’s never heard of and will never visit, blurs of green and grey shrouded in the dark of the Autumn night sky.

The train doesn’t go all the way to Blackpool so they have to change at Preston, which Vanessa knows nothing about other than the fact it’s got a train station. The girls find the platform for their connecting train and mill about, stopping once to take photos with an adorable little Strictly fan who can’t be more than eight years old. Vanessa chats away with her way more than the other girls do because the little girl’s dark hair, nut brown skin and huge brown eyes make her miss her own little cousins back in Puerto Rico. She asks her about school, and if she dances, and what she wants to be when she grows up.

When the girl replies, “a dancer like you”, Vanessa almost tears up.

She tells her not to give up on her dreams- because it’s what eight year old her would’ve needed to hear- and then waves her and her Mum goodbye. By the time she’s finished chatting and she turns back around, Brooke is waiting for her with a little smile on her face.

“What? What’s that look for?” Vanessa laughs a little. She wants nothing more than to wrap her arms around Brooke’s waist in a hug but the platform is busy and the other girls could see them.

“Nothing. Just you’re really cute with kids.”

Vanessa smiles bashfully, looks to the ground. When she looks up again Brooke has come a little closer to her. Vanessa pouts as she very gently threads the tips of their fingers together, the closest they can come to holding hands in public.

“I wanna kiss you so bad right now.”

“Let’s do it,” Brooke giggles quietly, a little sparkle in her eyes. “Let’s just start making out and watch how the girls react. Yvie would put it in one of her fucking vlogs.”

“Storytime- my Strictly co-stars just kissed?” Vanessa jokes, and Brooke wheezes a laugh which in turn makes the other girls turn round. Vanessa immediately drops their hands as Asia eyes them both with suspicion.

Brooke looks back at her and Vanessa can feel her pulse speed up at the adoration that’s in her eyes. “You look so good today, let me take a candid that’s not really a candid.”

“A plandid,” Vanessa shrugs back, then screws up her face. “I look like shit though. I sweated all my makeup off in rehearsal, my skin’s all dry from that train heater an’ I’m wearing sweatpants I’ve owned for six years.”

“Still cute though,” Brooke winks, and Vanessa tries to suppress a smile as she relents, shakes her hair out and looks down the platform. She’s surprised to find the train making its way up the tracks and after a second she leaps back, grabbing her suitcase and Brooke’s arm and yelling to the other girls.

It’s only when they’re on the train again when she gets an Instagram tag and realises that Brooke managed to take the photo, and she has to admit she doesn’t look too bad. She’s confused, though, when she sees what Brooke has captioned it.

bhytes: sls 🧡

Vanessa looks quickly at Brooke before tapping out a message to her.

V: what’s sls mean??? x

She watches Brooke’s reaction in real time as she receives the message. Her eyes widen a little and a pink blush appears on her cheeks, almost as if she’s been caught at something. Vanessa watches her fingers hover over the screen, typing against the air as she tries to figure out how to reply. Eventually, Vanessa’s phone buzzes again.

B: Oh I meant to type sis!!!! Silly typo x

Vanessa narrows her eyes- she’s not buying that for a second. Sure enough as she goes back to Brooke’s Instagram page there’s a small “Edited” beside her caption, and it now reads what Brooke had just told her she’d allegedly meant to type. Feeling a little guilty for snooping, Vanessa scrolls through the comments- there’s one from Yvie already, and another from Jackie, and some from Brooke’s friends and colleagues of course, but eventually she reaches the fans.

branjie2020: SHE EDITED IT IM-

strictlybranjie: Brooke we see u girl

brookelynnbites: not little mix secret love song…………

Intrigued, Vanessa looks up the lyrics and instantly she knows why Brooke had been shy with her. Now blushing herself, Vanessa puts her phone face down on the table and loses herself in thought. She thinks about the lyrics. Why can’t I say that I’m in love…it’s just a song, Brooke probably just meant the sentiment generally, but still. Vanessa can’t help but wonder if maybe they could make something of whatever it is that they are, a fling between two members of a TV show. Maybe they’ll be together when this is all over, and maybe…well. Vanessa hasn’t told anyone that she loves them like that since Kameron, and it would be a big deal if she said it to somebody else again. She’s not falling for Brooke yet; that would be ridiculous, especially given that they’ve not even so much as seen each other naked, but all Vanessa knows is that she really likes her, cares for her so much that it almost scares her, and whenever she’s around Vanessa feels as if she’s levitating.

Vanessa puts her jacket over her lap and wordlessly takes Brooke’s hand underneath it. She doesn’t miss the smile on Brooke’s face when she squeezes it reassuringly.

They all eventually reach Blackpool, the windy seaside weather and the sound of the seagulls greeting them as soon as they’re out of the train station. Their hotel isn’t far from the Tower Ballroom and Vanessa’s glad that they’re not staying at some run down B&B although the BBC, always eager to cut costs wherever they can, has booked them all in with each other in twin rooms. Vanessa isn’t mad about that. Admittedly after that moment they had in Brooke’s dressing room last Saturday she’s been thinking ever since about how she could engineer some form of sequel. She’s narrowed it down to finding an excuse to crawl into Brooke’s bed at night, bullshitting something about it being too cold in her own and how it would be so much warmer if they just slept together. That’s if she needs to be subtle, of course. Knowing how Brooke had practically slammed her against her dressing room door last week there’s probably not going to be much need for subtleties.

“I hope you don’t snore,” Brooke laughs, rolling her suitcase out of the lift and onto the carpet of the hotel corridors. Vanessa lets out an incredulous snort.

“Bitch! Do I seem like the kinda girl who snores? I’m insulted.”

“No, that’s true. I need to worry about you talking in your sleep instead. The loudest girl in the fucking cast,” Brooke laughs, Vanessa kicking a leg forward to knock Brooke’s suitcase off-balance as revenge. Even though it wobbles on its wheels, Brooke is undeterred. “I’m going to be trying to get to sleep and just as I think I’m drifting off all I’ll here is…AN’ FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!”

“Shut up,” Vanessa giggles, giving Brooke a push as they both arrive in front of the hotel room door. Brooke presses the key card to the pad and walks in first, and Vanessa is too busy struggling with her case to gauge her reaction at first. That is until Brooke turns around from the spot she’s rooted to in the middle of the room.

“Oh.”

Vanessa frowns. She doesn’t really know why Brooke’s grown so awkward and quiet all of a sudden until she takes three steps forward and can see their room properly.

‘Oh’ is right. Because there, in the middle of their room, is a double bed. No, not double. King-sized, a king-sized fucking bed that’s probably the size of a small country village and is just for the two of them. All Vanessa’s plans go out the window because this is…new, and unknown territory. A quick makeout session in Brooke’s dressing room is one thing but the two of them haven’t even stayed over at either of their flats yet, they’ve never shared a bed in any context before. Vanessa bites her lip.

“Well…” Brooke says finally, trails off. Vanessa realises that she’s not going to finish her sentence.

“Um. I can go down and get ‘em to change it?” she offers, regretting it as soon as she’s said it because despite it all being new territory she’s not exactly opposed to it.

“No! No, it’s fine,” Brooke says- a little too quickly, Vanessa thinks, which causes her to suppress a smirk and try not to let her thoughts get carried away. “I mean, we’re both adults, it’s fine. Plus it’ll probably be comfier, right?”

“Yeah. Sure, right,” Vanessa nods and agrees, trying not to seem too eager.

It’s late by that point, so the pair of them unpack, trying to chat easily but the elephant in the room shaped like a king-sized bed is still very much present. Vanessa showers before bed and changes into her pyjamas, a little embarrassed at how scruffy her small black cami top and mid-length bottoms are. When Brooke comes back from her own shower, though, already changed into her pyjama set, Vanessa’s mouth dries up. She’s dressed in a matching set made up of a little pink satin shirt and shorts, the black cording at the hem of which is only drawing Vanessa’s eyes to Brooke’s thighs and not at all helping the bed situation.

Brooke clearly sees her looking and raises an eyebrow. “Cute, right?”

Vanessa snaps out of her daze. “What?”

“The pyjamas. They’re from like…Asos or Missguided or something? One of them,” she replies, hopping into bed and under the covers on the other side. Vanessa inches away from her a little, careful not to make their bodies touch because this is different to dancing and it’s not as simple as just being able to wrap her body around Brooke’s or make some stupid move because there’s no performance high or adrenaline or alcohol, it’s just…them. The pair of them in the same bed with the silence of the room surrounding them and the dark of the night outside hidden from view by the blinds Vanessa pulled down. As Brooke gives her a quick kiss and leans over to her side of the bed to turn the light off, she gives a quick look back to Vanessa.

“Night, babe.”

Vanessa gives a small, nervous smile back as she says goodnight. They shuffle under the covers to get comfortable and the silence falls again. Vanessa should say something, do something, reach out and take Brooke’s hand or lean in again. But everything is new and different and the time just isn’t right and she has no idea if Brooke even wants to go there with her yet, so instead she closes her eyes and attempts to sleep.

But in the morning, things are different. The moment Vanessa stirs she can tell there’s something in the air. She blinks open her eyes, the sun peeking through the slats of the blinds already too bright. That’s not it, though. That’s not what’s different.

And then as she gains a little bit more consciousness it hits her like a ton of bricks.

Brooke’s leg is thrown over her thigh, her arm around her waist, and her body is pressed up against hers. Vanessa feels a little tingle flash between her legs. For one thing, it’s cute that Brooke’s sought Vanessa out to cuddle during the night- whether she was asleep or awake for that decision Vanessa doesn’t know, but it’s nice either way. But on the other hand, Brooke’s little satin shorts have risen up to expose most of her thigh, and it’s not helping Vanessa think rationally right now.

Slowly, Vanessa starts tracing soft patterns on Brooke’s arm in a bid to wake her up: little figures of eight, then her name, then love hearts because if Brooke’s asleep she can’t work out that that’s what they are. Brooke’s leg shifts against her, and Vanessa can feel a heat against her thigh which she can’t decide whether or not helps or worsens the situation she’s in. Just then, she feels Brooke’s thumb give a little movement, a small stroke against the skin of Vanessa’s stomach where her cami top has risen up during the night. When her thumb moves again, Vanessa knows she’s woken up.

Neither of them have spoken yet and Brooke’s still stroking at her stomach, so Vanessa shuffles back in her arms just in case she’s still half asleep. She hears Brooke give a stifled yawn on the pillow behind her, hears her breathing shallow out. She’s awake, so Vanessa can take things up a gear. She moves her fingers from her arm to Brooke’s thigh, keeping her touch light and gentle as she traces a little patch of skin just at the outside. She feels Brooke shift against her in response, tries not to think too much about her thighs or what’s in between them because she knows she’ll overwhelm herself, flip round to straddle her and end up begging her to make her come apart. This moment is good. It’s gentle and tense all at once, the pair of them just touching and teasing each other, a mutual understanding even though nothing’s been said. This is different to last night- there’s no awkwardness, there’s no tentativeness, there’s just Brooke’s body wrapped around Vanessa’s and there’s only so many places that situation can lead.  

Vanessa feels Brooke press a small kiss to her shoulder blade and it makes her heart flutter, a hummingbird caged in her ribs. Brooke’s fingers trail a little higher to stroke under the material of her top and Vanessa feels herself melt. She wiggles in Brooke’s lap, knowing how it’ll drive her crazy given the amount of comments the girl’s made about how much she loves her ass and how completely obvious she’s made it. In response, Vanessa feels Brooke sigh against her neck, kissing it once, twice, three times.

Vanessa feels her resolve cracking so she traces a little higher on Brooke’s leg, decides to break the silence. She tries to keep the smirk out of her voice but it’s hard when Brooke bucks against her thigh again. “Good morning.”

Brooke gives a little whine against her neck which makes Vanessa press her thighs together, raising her own hips in an attempt to gain some sort of friction. “Morning.”

Vanessa presses her lips together in a suppressed smile, her next move falling into place in her head. “Y’know, I think I’m gonna get up an’ start gettin’ ready.”

“No,” Brooke whines, the arm around her waist pulling her closer, and Vanessa can hear the pout in her voice. She feels Brooke rub against her thigh again and it’s almost impeding her ability to think straight at this point.

She’s having fun winding her up though and she knows she’ll be able to have Brooke begging for her if she keeps it up, so she attempts to turn around a little to face her. She can’t really manage it, but she doesn’t mind too much. She just wants to see Brooke’s face when she delivers her next line, keeps her tone light and ever-so-slightly mocking. “Why not, boo?”

Vanessa decides to shuffle round, can hear Brooke whine in frustration now that she no longer has something to grind against. When she sees Brooke blushing, biting her lip with her hand now pressed between her thighs, it’s the hottest thing Vanessa has seen in probably years.

Brooke’s still not answered- instead she’s trying to shuffle close to Vanessa, presumably to kiss her, but Vanessa’s enjoying her moment of being in charge, so she lays her hand against Brooke’s chest to stop her and narrows her eyes. “Uh-uh. You gotta tell me why I shouldn’t leave this bed.”

Brooke only blushes harder, and Vanessa’s knocked for six. Brooke is actually shy. This confident, stone-cold goddess is getting embarrassed at the prospect of talking dirty to Vanessa in bed.

Vanessa’s brain is hotwiring.

“Don’t go quiet on me, princess,” Vanessa murmurs, bringing her other hand down to stroke at Brooke’s exposed skin again, this time against the visible strip of her inner thigh. “Can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me what it is.”

“Please…kiss me, fuck-”

Brooke’s barely got the words out when Vanessa bridges the gap between them, meets Brooke’s lips with her own and kisses her softly and gently. She knows Brooke wants more, knows she’s getting herself worked up beside her but Vanessa’s enjoying having the power for now because knowing Brooke it won’t be long before she tries to take it back. When Vanessa pulls away Brooke is pouting, all disappointed that Vanessa’s lips are no longer on hers. Vanessa hears Brooke give a little gasp and then a whine as she takes her hand, the one Brooke’s grinding against, brings it out from between her thighs and places it by her side. There’s an unspoken rule between them that Brooke’s not allowed to replace it.

“Please, ‘Ness,” she pouts, and Vanessa would find it cute if her hands weren’t trailing up and down her waist. Brooke paws at her, needy and desperate, stops to rest her hands on her ass.

“You’re so polite. Such a good girl for me,” Vanessa praises her, kissing her pouty lips and delighting in the way Brooke moans against her. Vanessa strokes her hair with the hand she’s not propping herself up with and she can tell Brooke wants it somewhere else.

“Please,” Brooke says again, her eyelids heavy and her pupils blown. Vanessa feels herself give a small laugh.

“I don’t know what you want, baby.”

“You know what I want, fuck,” Brooke whines, her eyes fluttering closed. She thuds her head against the pillow in frustration, grabs at Vanessa’s ass in an attempt to pull her closer.

“You want me to touch you?” Vanessa murmurs, and Brooke nods her head frantically in response. She trails her hand down Brooke’s neck and down her chest, stops when she sees Brooke’s nipples poking through the satin fabric of her pyjama top. Vanessa bites her lip as she flicks her thumb against one, squeezes her thighs together for the hundredth time when she hears Brooke let out a moan. She teases her slowly and gently, can feel her own breathing deepening as Brooke writhes against the sheets. Brooke’s hand drifts from Vanessa’s ass to the waistband of her own shorts and Vanessa stops touching her, moving her hand to her wrist instead.

“You want me to just sit and watch you touch yourself? Sit here on the bed with you fuckin’ yourself with your fingers instead of letting me fuck you instead?” Vanessa asks her, making sure to keep a warning tone to her voice as she draws away. Brooke whines, instantly ripping her hand out from between her legs and pulling Vanessa close with it instead.

“No, baby, I’ll be good.”

“You gonna be good for me?”

“Uh-huh.”

Vanessa feels sorry for her at this point so she lies on her side against the mattress, tucks herself in beside Brooke and traces the skin just above the waistband of her shorts. Brooke is letting out a litany of whines as Vanessa inches her hand under the material, stops and presses a gentle finger against Brooke’s slit. Vanessa feels herself gasp as she feels how wet she is already, slick against her finger and dripping on the inside of her thighs.

“Fuck,” Vanessa whispers, leans in to kiss Brooke’s neck. She’s managed to find herself an actual Aphrodite and she’s never felt more religious in her life. She tilts her head as she slides a finger up to brush against Brooke’s clit, eliciting a gasp from Brooke who bites her lip and squeezes her eyes shut. “What would people say if they knew that Brooke Lynn Hytes, confident, boss-ass, sex-on-legs bitch, turns into a lil’ whiny, bratty, needy princess when she wants to come so badly?”

“Vanessa, please,” Brooke practically sobs in response. Her hips lift high off the mattress as Vanessa rubs little circles against her. Vanessa desperately wants to feel how wet she is again but she’s wondering if she can wind her up even more, so she moves her lips up to whisper in Brooke’s ear.

“Remember when I sent you that message by accident?” Vanessa asks, her voice a low murmur. Brooke hisses in response and Vanessa sees her grab a fistful of the duvet.

“Shit, you know I got myself off to the thought of you lying in bed all wet and needy after you had that dream,” Brooke gasps out, and Vanessa’s eyes fly open in shock. If Brooke didn’t have her knees bent and propped up then she would probably straddle her thigh and try to ride it until she came because God, the idea that Brooke touched herself thinking about her in the morning and then came into the studios and acted as if it had never happened with her afterwards is just too much. Almost as a reward for the information Brooke’s just given her, Vanessa slides a finger inside her and hears Brooke moan in response.  

“Y’know you were the girl from the dream,” Vanessa drops her lips down to Brooke’s neck, kissing it hot and slow as she slides a second finger into Brooke and presses the rest of her hand gently against her clit. Brooke gives a gasp that’s almost sacrilegious.

Brooke is writhing beside her, frantic and desperate and frustrated and Jesus fucking Christ if Vanessa couldn’t just come from the sight of that alone. “Tell me. Tell me what happened.”

So Vanessa whispers in Brooke’s ear about how she’d kissed her, how Brooke had told her how much she’d wanted her, how Vanessa had begged her to touch her and how Brooke had got her off through her underwear, and she hears Brooke gasp and moan and whine in response to each new revelation. Vanessa fucks her gently with her fingers and Brooke is so wet around her that it’s sending her into a frenzy herself. Suddenly, Vanessa has an idea.

“And you told me you thought I would taste good,” Vanessa tells her, tipping her head up a little to gauge Brooke’s reaction.

“Fuck…want to taste you so bad,” Brooke pleads.

All her shyness seems to be gone now that she’s riding Vanessa’s fingers desperately, and even though Vanessa thought shy Brooke was cute, this version of Brooke- the Brooke that knows what she wants, the Brooke that’s loud and vocal and messy- is her favourite. Vanessa gently removes her hand from between Brooke’s legs, ignoring the nearly apocalyptic whine Brooke lets out in response to the lack of contact, and takes Brooke’s hand from where it’s still digging into the duvet. Vanessa shifts a little, spreads her own legs as she guides Brooke’s hand between them, and her heart is almost beating out of her chest as Brooke eagerly brushes two fingers over her, hears her gasp as her fingers slide up her slit easily from how wet she is.

Brooke’s fingers feel like heaven as they push softly inside her, pumping gently, and Vanessa’s moan is cut off by Brooke’s lips against hers. Brooke’s kisses are slow and wet and she teases Vanessa’s tongue with her own as Vanessa bucks her hips underneath her. For a moment, her plan to make Brooke come is thrown into disarray as she thinks maybe she could just lie here and let Brooke tease her and finger her until she does instead.

“Oh my fuckin’ God you feel so good,” Vanessa whispers out in one breath, the way she sounds so broken already making her blush and bite her lip. Brooke’s gaze is dark- she’s watching the way Vanessa bucks her hips up to meet her fingers as they slide out of her, greedy and desperate just like Brooke had been.

“So wet and I never even touched you,” Brooke whispers, the little bit of awe in her voice sending Vanessa into the stratosphere. “You got this worked up over me?”

“You should see how good you look when you wanna come so bad,” Vanessa murmurs back, turning to watch as Brooke takes her fingers and wraps her lips around them, slides them into her mouth and sucks on them.

Every single time Brooke does something new Vanessa thinks it’s the sexiest thing she’s ever seen, so the fact that Brooke’s no longer touching her isn’t helping at all. Brooke’s a goddess though and she wants to worship her properly so Vanessa leans over her, doesn’t even bother trying to manoeuvre around the waistband of Brooke’s shorts this time and instead just trails her fingers up Brooke’s inner thigh, moves the material to one side and teases her again with her fingers. She rubs gently against Brooke’s clit and can hear her breathing coming in short gasps, knows she’s close so Vanessa kisses her, deep and fiery and hot, then murmurs against her lips as Brooke’s hisses and whines get increasingly louder.

“You know once you come I’m gonna let you do whatever you want to me.”

Brooke gasps and Vanessa watches her eyes roll back into their sockets. “Fuck, I’m gonna get you back for teasing me so fucking bad you won’t be able to sit right for a week never mind fucking dance- ah!”

Brooke’s reacted to Vanessa pulling her hand away. Vanessa’s making sure her eyes are dark, giving Brooke a warning. “Is that trash talk, or are you gonna be good for me?”

“Please, Vanessa!” Brooke nearly yells into the room, and Vanessa thinks that perhaps she’s put the poor girl through enough so she replaces her fingers, works Brooke’s clit until she’s gasping beside her, little shudders racking her body.

“‘Ness, I’m gonna- ah!”

As Brooke comes, Vanessa crashes their lips together, and the sound of Brooke’s muffled whines gives her a better high than any drug ever could. When she’s sure Brooke’s finished Vanessa leans back against the mattress, exhausted. Her left side is practically numb from propping herself up, her neck is tense and her right hand is aching but fuck if that hadn’t been the best sex of Vanessa’s life and she hasn’t even come yet.

“You good?” Vanessa asks Brooke once she’s got her breath back. Brooke is on her back, her eyes wide and staring up to the ceiling, her hair plastered all over her face and her chest shiny with sweat. Vanessa watches as she moves her mouth once, twice, trying to come up with something to say and failing.

“I don’t have any words,” she finally says, and Vanessa bursts out laughing beside her. Brooke giggles, then suddenly scowls, reaches behind her head for her pillow and thumps Vanessa with it.

“Hey! What the fuck was that for?”

“You were so mean!” Brooke half-pouts, half-laughs and she leans over Vanessa, cages her in with her arms. Even after sex she still looks incredible in her pyjamas, and Vanessa finds herself rubbing her thighs together, trying and failing to find something to rut against. Brooke obviously notices this and Vanessa watches the little flash in her eyes as she grabs Vanessa’s wrists, pins them above her head in one swift motion.

Vanessa almost dissolves.

“You know I’m used to being in charge, right? That was very out of character for me,” Brooke cocks an eyebrow at her. Vanessa smirks back at her, anticipation building low in her stomach at the thought of Brooke bossing her around and roughing her up a little.

“Well then maybe you need to put me in my place.”

When Brooke straddles her, leans down and meets her lips in a kiss, Vanessa feels as if she’s made entirely of embers and flames. She pulls away and Vanessa realises that she’s tugging her pyjama bottoms off so Vanessa brings her knees up to her chest to help make things easier. Once they’re off Vanessa’s heart crashes against her ribcage as Brooke takes her legs and spreads them apart quickly, her palms holding Vanessa’s thighs down. As Brooke leans between her thighs Vanessa tangles one hand in her hair, her heart rate rising in anticipation as she feels herself throb. She waits for the contact of Brooke’s tongue, tipping her head back against the pillow.

It doesn’t come. Instead, she hears Brooke’s voice.

“You know, maybe I’m tired now after you played with me so much earlier. Maybe I just need to go back to sleep.”

Vanessa brings her head back up in shock and looks at Brooke’s face. She’s got a glint in her eye and a smug smile on her lips and Vanessa has never wanted to kiss the smirk off her face more. As much as she thinks the girl is a goddess, there’s no way she’s giving her what she wants that easily. “Uh-uh. I ain’t beggin’ you, Brooke.”

Brooke raises her eyebrows lazily, lightly scratches her nails down the insides of Vanessa’s thighs and in turn making her rapidly regret her last comment because she knows she’s going to be yelling Brooke’s name in probably a matter of minutes once she puts her mouth on her. “That’s some awfully big talk from someone who moments ago was trying to grind against air.”

“But I know you wanna feel how wet I am an’ hear what I sound like when I’m about to come,” Vanessa whispers, bucking her hips up because Brooke’s touching every little bit of her except the place she needs the contact most and it’s starting to kill her very slowly. “You want me ridin’ your face.”

Vanessa sees Brooke blink slowly, the composure and power she’s just built up wavering just a little. Then she makes eye contact again, presses kisses up Vanessa’s inner thigh that make her feel as if she’s burning up.

“Yeah,” Brooke murmurs against Vanessa’s skin, punctuating her sentence with kisses. “But I also know that I want to hear you beg me for it, and you’re not going to come until you ask me nicely.”

“Fuck,” Vanessa whines, letting her head thud against the pillow. She regrets teasing Brooke so badly. Actually she doesn’t at all, but her behaviour is coming back to bite her and it’s not fun. She’s shocked into a gasp as Brooke licks up her slit, the contact gone almost as soon as it’s there. “Brooke, baby, c’mon, this ain’t fair.”

“Is it not? I think it’s perfectly fair,” Brooke laughs softly and traces patterns into her inner thighs that make Vanessa want to scream. “I had to be a good girl for you, now you have to be one for me.”

“Honestly you could be doing whatever you want to me right now an’ all you want is for me to say fuckin’ please?” Vanessa hisses, frustrated and incredulous and ready to fucking explode.

“I want you to be good for me. Good girls use their manners.”

As if to drive her point home Brooke kisses up her thigh and then licks against her again, too much and not enough all at once. Vanessa needs Brooke’s mouth and her tongue and her lips and so her resolve cracks all too quickly like a sheet of ice.

“Okay, okay, okay, God fucking damn it…please, Brooke.”

“Can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me what it is,” Brooke replies instantly. The bitch is using Vanessa’s own words against her for her own gain and it’s infuriating Vanessa as she bucks her hips in the air, writhes against the mattress.

“Want you to use your mouth, fuck, please.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

All at once Vanessa feels as if she’s been shot out of a cannon because when Brooke’s tongue finally licks at her clit slowly and gently Vanessa thinks she’s ascending to heaven at about a million miles per hour. When Vanessa brings her hand back to tangle in Brooke’s hair, Brooke takes her wrist and holds it down with one hand, putting her even more in control. Vanessa can still use her hips though and she does exactly what she said she was going to do- rides Brooke’s face as her tongue brings her closer and closer to the edge and makes her even more wet than she’d been in the first place. Vanessa would probably feel embarrassed at how much she’s writhing and whining and moaning underneath Brooke if her mouth didn’t feel so fucking perfect, and with every flick and swirl of her tongue Vanessa feels more and more like a raging fire that needs to be put out.  

“Brooke Lynn, fuck, you’re gonna make me fuckin’-”

Brooke’s nails dig into her thighs as Vanessa comes with a loud cry, the blaze burning her up finally extinguished. Vanessa sinks back into the pillows and Brooke simply relaxes with her head against Vanessa’s stomach. It makes her wish that they could just spend all day in their hotel room and learn each other’s bodies, figure out everything the other likes in the space of a single day.

“Wish we didn’t have to get up,” Brooke sighs against her skin, presses a kiss to her stomach which makes it flutter. Vanessa smiles lazily, laces their fingers together which makes Brooke smile in turn. Brooke’s voice is soft as she keeps talking. “So was that, um…good? For you?”

Vanessa starts giggling, gives Brooke a gentle kick with her foot. “Jesus, dare you to sound any more like a 19 year old boy who just lost his virginity.”

Brooke gives an offended cry, plants her lips to Vanessa’s stomach and blows a giant raspberry against her skin that makes her howl with laughter and curl in on herself like a woodlouse.

Vanessa fights through her laughter. “Oh my God okay, okay! I’m sorry. Of course it was good, fuckin’ amazing. The whole fuckin’ buildin’ prolly knows how good it was, think I damn near yelled the place down.”

“Not entirely great for the whole keeping-us-on-the-down-low thing, though.”

“I guess you’d know, havin’ just spent a decent amount of time on the down low,” Vanessa wiggles her eyebrows and causes Brooke to yelp a laugh.

Charmed by the other woman’s reaction, Vanessa gently slides herself out from underneath her and steals the duvet to wrap around herself as she crosses the short distance to the window and pulls the string on the blinds to open them up. She smiles as she’s greeted by the seafront view: the sea icy but blue under the sunny November sky, the golden sand of the beach, the little rattle of the tram that’s making its way along the waterfront. The smile is still on Vanessa’s face as she turns to take in the sight of Brooke still splayed out on the mattress. She’s got that post-sex glow with the light hitting her toned skin and her hair all messed up around her face like a scribble of a halo.

Vanessa feels a tug on her heart, a longing even though she knows Brooke is hers.

“Welcome to Blackpool, baby. Let’s get those tens.”

[cupidmarwani-archive]

CISHETS DNI //

Just because Eddie can’t enjoy the day doesn’t mean he’s going to take it away from his son. He’d do anything for Christopher, that’s no secret or surprise, and if that means spending the evening dealing with his flashbacks alone, he’s more than okay with that. Christopher deserves to have fun like everyone else- he deserves good food and a bottle of soda and a blanket spread out on his school’s football field while he watches their firework show. Buck agreed to take him before Eddie could even ask because he always knows. At some point, he’s going to have to do something about how much his heart aches every time Buck does something that makes their lives better without a second thought.

“It’s not a party without s’mores,” Buck says seriously, throwing a bag of jumbo marshmallows into the cart. They’re going to be eating at the school when they go, not long into the evening, but the s’mores are a treat for when they come home after the fireworks are over. Buck said this morning that it was important that Eddie get to be a part of something today, and hip-checked him as he flipped a pancake. “I promise I’ll teach you how to make the best ones, Chris.”

All the supplies, including skewers, are together, which makes the grocery trip a little easier. Unfortunately, however, that’s the seasonal section, which Eddie would do anything to get out of. It’s too much. The flag is printed on everything, from paper plates and napkins to apparel with a silhouetted solider on it, alongside a cursive “God Bless the Troops.” Eddie kind of wants to buy it just to light it on fire, but that’s a waste of money and time. Burning things isn’t going to erase his trauma or his anger. He glares at a hat emblazoned with “USA.” It reminds him of the recruiters at his school who promised that college would be so much easier after he served. 

Buck glances at him as he considers a bag of candy. There’s worry written all over his face, but it’s gone almost as soon as it appears, and Buck says they need to go to the snack aisle right away. Christopher nods seriously and walks alongside his cart, fast enough to get them away, but slow enough that Chris has no trouble keeping up. At the very end of the aisle, however, something catches Eddie’s eyes. Ear plugs. They’re probably not that great, since they’re $5 on an impulse buy rack, but they’re better than nothing, so Eddie throws them into the cart as well. It’s not a big deal. Buck doesn’t make it one.

Most of the people in the store are dressed patriotically, wearing red white and blue if not outright flags. Shiny head pieces sway with the motion of their walking, flag patterned shorts stand out bright against the mostly beige color scheme of the floor and walls. It’s a little too much. Eddie pointedly doesn’t look at any of them, instead watching Christopher debate the merits of getting pringles instead of ruffles.

He flinches when something touches him, only to realize a moment later that it’s just Buck. His hand is light on Eddie’s hip, just touching as a way to bring him back to the moment. He’s safe here. These people don’t understand, but it’s not up to Eddie to make them, and he’ll be back home in twenty minutes, anyways. He’ll spend a few hours with his boys and it’ll be fine.

For the rest of the shopping trip, and probably the day, he’s quiet. It’s hard to put his feelings into words. Everyone is celebrating the country, regardless of the flaws inherent to its system, and using the military to do it. With them, Eddie is still the pawn he was overseas. Participating in a game he didn’t want to play, hurting people and watching his friends die for a cause he doesn’t know anything about, and left with bullet wounds in his skin, PTSD, and the faces of soldiers who will never open their eyes again. There’s nothing he could say that would feel enough to express all that in a succinct, non-confrontational way, so he processes it to the best of his ability internally. Frank would be proud. He doesn’t engage with those who give him and his clear stormy disposition a look, nor does he look at the red, white and blue mass-produced cupcakes that Chris begs him for. He says no, but mollifies Christopher with the promise of licorice.

The checkstand line is long, so Eddie picks Christopher up and holds him on his hip. He’s getting a little big for it, doesn’t usually give in to being carried anymore, but walking around the store can take a lot of energy and he’s clearly getting tired now. It makes Eddie feel a little better, too. He’s at home, he has his son, and he has Buck, who insisted on footing the bill for the snacks since “I promised Chris we’d get them, and you paid for the tickets to the school show, Eddie.” It’s almost alright.

But then they’re paying, the checker bagging up their snacks and making polite conversation. She doesn’t work late nights, which is when Eddie usually has a chance to do his shopping, so he doesn’t recognize her off the bat. She’s friendly enough though, laughing at a joke Buck makes until she picks up the ear plugs from the belt. With one look at Christopher’s child-size crutches in the cart, then at him in Eddie’s arms, she smiles in that patronizing “oh a special kid” way. 

“The fireworks too loud for you, sweetie?”

“They’re for Daddy,” Christopher corrects cheerfully,

She gives Eddie a weird look, but doesn’t comment on it. instead, she finishes up scanning their items and returns her attention to Buck. “Your total is $34.67, would you like to round up to $35 to support our troops overseas? Every five dollars sends a home cooked meal to a soldier in Iraq.”

Buck looks at Eddie, the way he always does when it comes to these things. They talked about it, once. How most active-duty military funds are a scam. Eddie shakes his head. 

“They don’t allow non-rations. Don’t.”

The checker seems irritated now.

“What’s your problem, man? Do you like, hate America?”

Buck jams his card into the reader to finish this interaction quickly. 

“I hate people profiting off the images of soldiers, who are usually just cogs in a machine that serves to hurt innocent people because the government said so.”

Now the person in line behind them decides to join in, and Eddie wishes he could have just kept his mouth shut for once in his life. But that’s not the way he was raised, and this is a touchy enough subject to send his self control out the window. 

“The troops fight for your freedom, son. Show some respect.”

Eddie turns around and narrows his eyes at the old man, wearing a tacky flag shirt. He feels a little cornered, can���t wait to get out of here, but he also knows exactly how satisfying it’ll be to open his mouth, 

“I’m a fucking vet, man. I know what I’m talking about. You wanna talk about respect, I served overseas and nearly died getting my friends to safety more than once. Shut your fucking mouth.”

Chris cheerfully pulls dog tags out of his own little striped tee shirt. Eddie gave them to him shortly after they moved here, as though it’ll erase their painful connotations. Christopher has always thought they’re cool, and shows them off gleefully without really getting how tense things are at the moment, 

“He has a silver star,” Chris adds smugly. 

At that, Eddie leaves before things can escalate more. He needs air. His chest is hurting and this is exactly why he hates going out today, of all days. None of these people ever know what they’re talking about, what they’re really glorifying. What their fucking fireworks are doing to everyone they allegedly care so much about. 

A few minutes later, Buck joins them. They sit there quietly on the bench for a while before Eddie decides to get up and go to the truck. He doesn’t need to defend himself, he thinks bitterly. Buck isn’t mad, Christopher isn’t mad. But it still sucks that this always happens when he says no to donating to those bullshit projects. 

In the truck however, Buck holds his hand over the center console, and gives him a reassuring smile that helps his shoulders feel a little less tense.

[derpyslurpy-da-derp-master]

All the personal asks plz

Alrighty then!

1. Any scars?

Mhm, pretty much all the scars I have are burns. One is from burning the side of my arm on an iron my mom had  standing upright that I brushed against trying to reach something on the counter behind it and I’ve got one or two other scars from my culinary class on my hands from trying to put a tray in the oven and bumping it on the rungs above the ones I was putting it on. I burnt my hand day one of actually cooking. Yes I’m a disaster.

2. Self harmed?

Absolutely not. One, I’m too scared of pain, and two, I have uh… An unpleasant history involving someone else threatening self harm to make me do what they wanted, so… It’s a really sore spot for me.

3. Crush?

I honestly have no idea.

4. Kissed anyone?

Nope

5. Coke or Pepsi?

Neither they make me physically ill

6. Someone you hate?

There’s a LOT of assholes at my school but the person I hate the most is probably my dad for reasons.

7. Best Friends?

Mhm! I’ve got a handful on this site but my IRL best friend is @theansweris-a. She doesn’t really get on tumblr anymore but if you’re reading this I love you friendo and have a good day! :D

8. Have you ever done alcohol or drugs?

hahaha fuCK NO. I’d rather not get addicted to something that can and will kill me and throw my money at people to sustain it. If someone offered me either I’d probably flip them off whilst slowly backing up and getting tf out of there because NO.

9. What’s your dream job?

Author/Illustrator with some VA work and Video Game directing on the side.

10. Ever been in love?

I have. It was with someone I didn’t have a chance with and who would be an absolutely awful lover to me since we weren’t compatible emotion-wise so I let it go. It was hard, but I did it.

11. Last time you cried?

Last Sunday trying to explain to my mom why our preacher and the church we go to has completely fallen out of my favor for it’s very loud blatant ‘LGBT people are bad abortion is evil insert other white conservative stuff here’ ‘cause she doesn’t know I’m LGBT+ (and it’s going to stay that way) and I was trying to explain to her why I would never say invite my LGBT friends to church because they would be mercilessly persecuted by people who call themselves followers of God then spit in his eye by doing the exact opposite of everything he’s asked of them. Yes I still feel really strongly about this.

12. Favorite color?

Cyan!

13. Height?

How coincidence, I just got it measured today! 5′6, FINALLY OFFICIALLY TALLER THEN MY MOM MUHAHAHAHAHA

14. Birthday?

November 17th!

15. Eye color?

Milk chocolately-brown

16. Hair color?

Dark brown

17. What do you love?

this is so open ended hjkfjfjkhgkjh okay then I love girls, video games, anime, writing, drawing, reading, and animals.

18. Obsession?

My top 3 in order of obsession; Kill La Kill, RWBY, and Kingdom Hearts.

19. If you had one wish, what would it be?

For every single illness, disease, syndrome, disorder, and so on to have a cure. From Cancer to Asthma. Both because I have so many incurable diseases/disorders and because I know there are people out there who have things so much worse than me in that department.

20. Do you love someone?

I love all my mutals, friends, and most of my family including extended family. 

21. Kiss or hug?

I’ve never been kissed so I don’t know anything about how that would be so I’d say hug because I love hugs!

22. Nicknames people call you?

Derpy, Slurpy, D-Slur, Resident Cinnamon Roll (That’s my actual nickname on a Revue Starlight discord)

23. Favorite song?

this is like asking me to pick my favorite child uhhhhh… This Life Is Mine by Jeff Williams, it just means a lot to me.

24. Favorite band?

i know no bands by name

25. Worst thing that has ever happened to you?

….Okay, uh, this is gonna be really hard to decide because a LOT of bad things have happened to me. I’ll go with the more physical choice because I’d rather not dump too much of my emotional baggage onto yall. One time I was being prepped for surgery and they needed to get the IV in. (for the record I’m shaking pretty badly right now from thinking about this) They had to stab my arm with what they called a ‘Bee sting’ (it wasn’t a bee sting it goes almost down to the bone) that had numbing stuff in it and they were trying to find a vein they could put my IV in but they couldn’t find one (okay now i’m typing really fast so I don’t have to think about this for long) and they kept stabbing my arm over and over again. The thing is I have a serious phobia of needles that sends me into panic attacks, I’ll go lightheaded I’ll lose my hearing and so on. So I was trying to put a brave face on despite my parents not even being there but they would. not. stop. They didn’t give me a break. It was one stab then another then another then another. I was having a full blown panic attack, I was almost crying. Then they seemed to get it. They left me for a bit and my parents came in. My arm started swelling. They HADNT got it. My arm was being filled with whatever my IV was. They came back in with the beesting. They started stabbing me again but on the other arm. I couldn’t keep a brave face anymore after thinking they were finally done. I started to cry and sob and the panic attack I had that day was the single worst I have ever had. It got worse. They missed a vein entirely and instead hit a bundle of nerves. My hand started involuntarily twitching as pain unlike any I’ve ever felt before or until now wracked my arm. I had actual trauma from this, the night after the surgery I kept feeling ghost pains of the stabs in my arms, I had to sleep on my stomach with my arms wrapped around my front just to make them go away. I’m still extremely traumatized of this to this day. I never want to have surgery again. I never want an IV again. 

Okay that got away from me there I’m sorry I kinda was having a panic attack while writing that. Anyways moving on.

26. Best thing that has ever happened to you?

This is gonna sound cheesy but meeting @theansweris-a. She’s the sweetest and kindest person I have ever met in my entire life and I feel so incredibly lucky to call her my friend, though knowing her she’ll see this and reply with ‘No U’ because we always end up in a shouting match of ‘YOU ARE A WONDERFUL HUMAN BEING’ ‘NO YOU’RE A WONDERFUL HUMAN BEING’ 

27. Something you would change about yourself?

I definitely would lose weight. Not because of societies bullshit but because I legitimately want to lose weight so I can actually get strong and build up some muscle, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO OPEN GATORADE BOTTLES GODDAMNIT

28. Ever dated someone?

Nope, I’m closeted and have no interest in even pretending I’m straight by dating a guy, I mean I know some genuinely nice guys (all of them dorks) but they’re all just my friends though they are massive goofballs and I love them very much. (Entirely platonically)

29. Worst mistake?

I… Don’t think you guys wanna know that. It’s nothing bad its just depressing and I don’t wanna be more depressing then I already have been.

30. Watch the movie or read the book?

Depends on which is better, like I’d rather watch the Chronicles of Narnia than read the books because the books are honestly terrible but I’d rather read Percy Jackson than watch the movie because the movies are incredibly unfaithful to the books.

31. Ever had a heartbreak?

Yeah… 

32. Favorite show?

Kill La Kill!

33. Best day of your life?

My cheesiness never ceases but the first time I actually hung out with @theansweris-a IRL at the mall. I remember being SO excited for it but also nervous that how easily we talk to each other wouldn’t translate into real life and I remember spotting her walking up and practically shouting her name before running up and giving her a big ol’ hug whilst crying happy tears (I know i’m sappy shut up) and then when we were let loose to walk around we quickly discovered that we clicked almost immediately and incredibly well it was just the best thing ever. Like, in that one day alone we spent six hours in that mall just chatting and buying stuff and having fun and we left the mall with like three different inside jokes despite it being our first time meeting in person since we first met. Hi my name is Derpy and I’m a big ol’ sap.

34. Any talents?

I’m pretty good at writing, I can type really fast, and I can play the harmonica.

35. Do you wish you could ever start over?

Absolutely not. Things are the way they are for a reason, and even though I’ve been through a LOT it’s because of all that that I’m the person I am today and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.

36. Any bad habits?

Yeah, I’m a nail biter.

37. Ever had a near death experience?

Yes actually, when I was 3 or 4 we took a plane to California to visit some relatives and I almost walked out of the air hatch one the way out, I remember this vividly even though it was a long time ago. If it wasn’t for the flight attendant grabbing me before I fell out, I wouldn’t be here today.

38. Someone I can tell anything to?

@theansweris-a and @my-words-are-light, they’re both really good listeners and have helped me through a lot of stuff.

39. Ever lost a loved one?

My Great Grandpa Ritch died shortly after I was born, there’s a lot of pictures of him smiling and holding me while in a hospital bed and hooked up to oxygen.

40. Do you believe in love?

Oh absolutely, 100%. I mean if you know me you already know that I have just ABSURD amounts of love in my heart and I genuinely believe that it exists.

41. Someone you hate/Dislike?

Wasn’t this already a question?

42. Are you okay?

Mostly, yeah. I have some stuff to work on but I’m honestly at the best i’ve ever been!

43. Relationship status?

I’m a Single Pringle