#I’ll make the hubs drive me to work on sat

[nerdierholler]

We’re supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow on Friday. In some places this would not be a big deal. This is a shut-most-things-down snowfall around here except I have to work Friday and Saturday and we almost never close for weather. In fact Saturday is supposed to be a really busy all-hands-on-deck day because it’s a special event weekend we’ve been planning for months. Yay…

[sinclair-annie]

Song of the Dawn, Part One, Meeting Aurora

WARNINGS: CHILD ABUSE, MINOR CHARACTERS DEATHS, CAR ACCIDENT

WORDS: 2100

Thank you @the-slasher-madame​​ for helping me bounce ideas!

Lester was almost sick at what he saw, which was saying a lot, considering his job in roadside cleanup.

 He pulled his truck off to the side of the road, directly behind the flipped car that was resting on it’s roof. The passengers in the driver’s and passenger’s seat were deceased by the looks of them, their bodies a bit battered, but he knew that his older brother could work wonders on them.

 Just as he was going to head off again, he heard something that made his blood run cold.

 A young child crying, soft and frightened.

 Immediately, the man threw himself to his stomach and peered into one of the shattered back widows. To his relief, he saw a (very much alive) girl, still strapped into a car seat with visible bruises and cuts littering her tiny body.

 “It’s alright, Imma get ‘cha outothere,” Lester soothed her as he wriggled himself inside the car. Taking out his trusty Bowie knife, he began to cut the seatbelt that was keeping her safe.

 “Alright darlin’, you’re gonna fall, but I’ll catch you, alright?” Lester asked her, smiling kindly at her as he made the last cut. True to his word, he (successfully) caught her and prevented her from hitting her head. She reached out with her little arms, grabbing a plush bunny from the seat next to her and that little toy seemed to calm her down tremendously. She went limp in Lester’s arms as he whisked her off to his car.

 After buckling her in and rolling down the window to allow a gentle breeze to blow in, Lester all but dove into the driver’s seat and gunned the motor. He caught himself glancing over at the quiet child every few seconds, concern clouding over as he rushed her to Ambrose.

 When he came to the road leading into the tiny town, he groaned, pulling over to the side and getting out- in his excitement of getting to Bo, he’d completely forgotten that he’d need to change his tires over to hub caps.

 He was grumbling as he sped through the task, glancing over into the widow every few seconds to check on the little girl. The second he flipped the last hub cap, he was diving back into the truck, making full speed to Bo’s shop.

 The drive felt like it took a lifetime, but it took ten minutes to arrive at the mechanic’s shop. Lester screeched his truck to a stop and leapt out, all the while yelling for his eldest brother. He was opening the passenger door when the eldest Sinclair practically swaggered out from the basement of the shop, a cigarette clenched between his lips.

 “Bo, her parent’s didn’t make it- had to cut her out of the wreckage,” Lester was babbling as he carried the lethargic child over. “Look at her- she can’t be much older than… what, seven or eight?”

 Bo took one look at the girl and cursed under his breath, throwing his cigarette to the ground and stomping it out.

 “Goddamnit,” he muttered, taking her from his younger brother and jerking his head towards the House of Wax. “Get Vincent and have him help you with cleanup.”

 “I can do it myself- Vinny can tend to her. No offence, but he’s more of a doctor than you are,” Lester argued before getting into his truck and peeling out of Ambrose to clean up the accident.

 The girl whimpered softly as Bo took off towards the Sinclair home. He felt something tugging at his chest and when he looked down, he saw that she was weakly gripping at the front, her tiny hands lacerated and caked with dried blood.

 Bo practically barged into the house, gently depositing the girl onto the couch in the living room before leaving the room for a minute to shout for Vincent through the trapdoor in their dad’s office.

 “Alright now sweetheart- what do you say to a bath?” Bo murmured, once again taking her into his arms and bounding upstairs towards the bathroom.

 He sat her on the toilet before turning to make up the bath. After making sure the temperature wouldn’t burn her, he turned and began to help her undress.

 Bo finished peeling off her shirt and frowned at the scars that crisscrossed her body like roads on a map. He gently traced a nasty looking scar that disappeared behind her back and looked up at her.

 “Who the fuck did this to you, sweetheart?” he gently demanded, noticing her slight recoil at the F bomb that he just dropped. Note to self- don’t say the F bomb around her.

 He pulled off her jeans and had to restrain himself from throwing something. More scars covered her legs, some of them were recent. Bo couldn’t help the horrified expression on his face as he took in the battered girl fully. He could feel his twin’s shadow lurking behind his back as he took mental note of what he would have to put ointment on and bandage up.

 “Vincent, do you see this?” the eldest Sinclair demanded, lifting her into the tub. “Thank god her parents were killed in that car accident. Lester found the car flipped on its hood- had to cut her out.”

 Vincent also came into the bathroom and knelt next to the tub, ready to help his brother. He handed Bo what he would ask for- washrag, soap, shampoo, conditioner.

 As she was washed, her injuries became even more evident. Bruises from where the car seat had stopped her from hitting the seat in front of her crisscrossed over her chest and small cuts on her arms that looked to be from relentless scratching were among the most noticeable

 And when Bo finished washing her face, he cussed softly under his breath as he took in the red and purple birthmark that stretched over the entirety of the left side of her face. She tried to hide her face by tucking her nose into her elbow, giving the man a peek at her underarms, which were also marked by abuse. He reached out with a hand and gently cupped her cheek.

 “Hello there, beautiful,” he softly crooned, smiling at her. “You needn’t hide from me- Vincent here-” he nodded over towards his twin. “Also has a birthmark of sorts.”

 At his words, the little girl’s eyes brightened and she turned her attention over to the silent artist. She reached out her arms, as though asking him to pick her up.

 “Go on, Vince- I’m done washing her,” Bo urged. “Imma gonna go and find her a shirt or something to wear until Lester gets back with the luggage.”

 Vincent nodded before turning his attention back to the child. He removed the drain stop and picked her up out of the tub, intending to set her onto her feet and get a towel. Much to his surprise, the girl wrapped her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

 Vincent froze in surprise- what could he do?

 “Damnit, looks like you found yourself someone to care for.”

 Vincent spun and saw his brother leaning in the doorway, wearing a calm smirk. He held up one of Vincent’s old shirts, helping his brother to maneuver his koala- like little human that he realized that he would need to carry.

 The girl pointed to the sink, where she had placed her bunny. Vincent had his hands full, so Bo collected the toy and handed it over with a playful bow.

 “There we go,” he murmured, grinning at the little giggle that she let out. “There’s that beautiful laugh!”

 Vincent could feel the girl’s bones from where she was pressed up against his chest, and that concerned him greatly as he made his way into the kitchen, his mind set on getting some food into the little creature that Lester rescued.

 Vincent sea her down on the counter, not wanting to take his eye off of her for any reason. He relaxed when Jonesy, the family rescue dog, trotted into the room and made a beeline towards the girl. With a little squeal, she slid off the counter and onto the floor, where she happily began to play with the pit bull mix.

 Vincent smiled under his mask as he turned his back to her to warm up a can of soup- he didn’t want to feed her anything too rich and end up with her being sick.

 As he worked over the stove, he could hear Jonesy licking the girl’s face and her giggling in return. He smiled underneath his mask as he got a bowl and spoon out. He glanced behind him and saw that Jonesy had positioned herself in between the back door and the girl.

 Good girl, Jonesy, he thought as he filled the bowl with the meal and carried it over to the table.

 Vincent was smiling as he set the bowl of soup and spoon on the table before turning to the two friends on the ground. The girl perked up slightly at the scent of soup and stood on wobbly legs. Jonesy padded alongside her as she tottered her way over to the chair that Vincent pulled out for her. When she had settled herself, she reached for the spoon in Vincent’s hand.

 Instead of letting her feed herself, Vincent dipped the spoon into the bowl and soup and held it up to her mouth. She opened her mouth and took in the first spoonful.

 Vincent continued feeding her, noticing that Jonesy was sitting next to her chair, looking ever diligent and loyal to the newcomer. He noticed that her birthmark, which looked like paint had been splattered over the right side of her face, did in fact look like a bruise at first glance. But now that he was closer, the color was inconsistent with bruising.

 At the feeling of Vincent’s eye on her, the child turned and hid her nose in the crook of her elbow. Vincent’s eye crinkled in concern at her bashful attempt to hide her face from him. He set the spoon down and raised his hands to his mask to remove it.

 Once he had done so, he tapped her arm two times before retreating back once more, taking up the spoon once more and sitting back to wait for her to come out.

 When she recovered, she took one look at Vincent and jumped out of her seat to crawl up into his lap. And then she did the last thing he ever expected from her- she placed a gentle hand on his scarred face.

 Her careful fingers tiptoed across the expansive plains of angry red, avoiding the hole where his eye would’ve been, gently caressing his cheek with a whisper of fingertips. A gentle hum exited her month as Vincent caught her eyes and smiled at her. She flashed a shy smile in return, pulling back and settling in his lap.

 She was mostly asleep by the time Vincent had finished feeding her. He stood with her cradled in his arms and began to make his way upstairs to get her situated in his old bed; since he spent most of his time under the House of Wax, he didn’t sleep in the house much anymore.

 Halfway up the stairs, the child dropped her toy bunny. Vincent paused, wondering if he could chance grabbing the plush while still holding the girl. Before he could come to a discission, Jonesy swooped in and picked up the toy and looked up at her master.

 Vincent only nodded down at the dog before continuing to his old room. He stepped inside, a small smile on his face as he pulled back the blankets and tucked her in. Jonesy jumped up onto the bed, rotating to drop the bunny at her head before resting her head on her stomach.

 Just as he was leaving, the little girl spoke.

 “My name is Aurora.”

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[twoflipstwotwists]

Becky Downie has missed out on an Olympics before. In a 13-year gymnastics career, which has seen her win 14 major medals, she felt the heartbreak of watching a home Games from the sidelines in 2012. But this time is different, she says.

On Monday, her shock omission from the Tokyo 2020 team was announced, and she now says she can “never forget” the turmoil she endured from British Gymnastics during the selection process.  She also hints that her treatment was influenced by her decision to speak out at the culture of abuse within gymnastics, suggesting she was “made to feel not welcome” at the sport’s training hub at Lilleshall after going public.

In an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport, Downie describes the last few weeks as "the hardest of her life". She had thought things could not get worse than 2020: Olympic postponement, the fallout after she joined whistleblowers to speak publicly about what she described as "normalised" abusive training environments, and her father's time in intensive care battling Covid-19.

But last month tragedy struck when her brother Josh, 24, died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition while playing cricket. It was news Downie says "you never imagine receiving". To make things worse, she received the devastating call on the eve of the final Olympic team trial, while apart from her family at a hotel in Cardiff.

"I got a knock on the door after midnight, and my first thought was it must be drug testers," Downie says of that night. "I was half asleep, completely dazed. The coaches came in and when they told me [that Josh had died], I thought, am I actually dreaming this? There are really no words to really describe it. There were a lot of tears. It was the longest journey of my life, getting back to be with my family in Nottingham."

Sat in her living room in Nottingham now, Downie still has a look of disbelief on her face as she describes the events of the last few weeks. Condolence cards are placed around the room to mark how raw and recent her family's grief remains. Mounting more pain on top of that seems unimaginable, but the blows have kept coming.

Just two months ago, she was on top of the world after executing what she believes is a world leading uneven bars routine. At 29, she felt in the form of her life. When she posted a video of her routine online, major champions were applauding her in the comments, even the legendary Nadia Comaneci. Downie believes the routine put her in contention for a gold medal.

But last Friday her appeal was denied, and British Gymnastics confirmed she would not go to Tokyo. It is less than two years since she won a stunning silver medal at the World Championships - a competition that counted as a trial for the Olympic squad - but somehow she has failed to make even the three reserve spots for Tokyo. Though Downie has wished all of the gymnasts selected the best, she remains baffled by her exclusion - especially because she “met all the criteria” and her trials scores put her top of the rankings in bars.

British Gymnastics have defended the decision, saying they are focusing on medals in the team event, and that Downie's specialism in bars posed a "risk" to this strategy. But it has caused uproar, with a petition calling for an independent review of the selection process receiving 25,000 signatures in the last five days. Beyond selection though, Downie says what hurts the most is the way she believes the decision was made and how she was treated in the process.

After missing the final trial due to bereavement, Downie and sister Ellie were given another opportunity by British Gymnastics to compete for their spot on the team 10 days later. Though Ellie elected not to do so, Downie made the brave decision to take up the offer.

"I know that Josh would want me to, he wouldn't want me not to try," she says. What followed though, was a process where she alleges British Gymnastics lacked "any element of compassion".

They did not allow her to compete at her home gym in Nottingham or at the national centre at Lilleshall. British Gymnastics then rejected a venue she and her coach proposed and instead suggested she return to Cardiff - a six-hour round trip from her home and the very place she had learned of her brother's passing.

"That's the part that hurt me most. I refused. Why would I want to go back there? I don’t think that should have been asked of me at all."

Another venue was confirmed instead, and though British Gymnastics emphasised their intention to replicate as closely as possible the environment that the other gymnasts had competed in in Cardiff - for the benefit of fairness - Downie says it was her that was put at the disadvantage.

New obstacles included British Gymnastics failing to book her training slot at the chosen venue - a basic thing that all of the athletes had for their trial - which saw her make a 90-minute trip and have to plead with the Leisure Centre to remain open. She also had an existing dispute with the governing body because they refused to allow her to use equipment at the trial which more closely resembled that being used in Tokyo. As a bars specialist, this meant she couldn't perform her highest difficulty routine. "It's like telling Lewis Hamilton to get in a Ferrari and drive - in a sport of small margins, and high performance, equipment is always a factor."

Actually competing in the trial, while still reeling from the death of her brother, was "the hardest thing I ever had to do", and she describes national coaches walking past her wordlessly while she “sobbed uncontrollably”. But afterwards, she and Ellie walked out of the gym with "not a doubt in our mind" that she had done enough.

"If I can perform in that environment, which was harder than any Olympic final would ever be, I’m really proud," she says.

But, according to British Gymnastics, it was not enough. Knowing now that the team event was the priority in selection, she believes her exclusion from the team was already a foregone conclusion before her trial.

British Gymnastics "categorically" denies the suggestion that the trial was a "tick box" exercise, and say they trust that selection was decided purely on merit, but Downie is unconvinced. To add insult to injury, she was given a 48-hour deadline to appeal the decision, falling on the day of her brother's funeral.

"It makes me feel sick that they treated me like that," she says. "It hurts me to know the things I had to miss. Picking the flowers for the funeral whilst I was away trialling, a tribute for my brother at his cricket club, which happened when I wasn’t even given a proper training slot. I missed that, for what? There’s so much that was hurtful.

"I'll never forget that. And no amount of apologies will ever make that okay."

Downie and her sister were two of the only current British gymnasts to speak out about abuse in the sport last year, which triggered an independent review commissioned by UK Sport and Sport England. When she was left out of the squad on Monday, lobbying group Gymnasts for Change called it a "sinister warning" being sent by British Gymnastics to whistleblowers.

Does Downie think this outcome is a result of her speaking out? "It's very hard to say... But I definitely know that there has been a big behavioural shift towards me and Ellie, since that point, from certain individuals, decision makers. We’ve gone down to Lilleshall and been made to feel not welcome.

"I have been told by a person of significant importance - in the national team environment - that a lot of coaches do not agree with what we've done. Maybe I did open my mouth a year too soon, I'm not sure. If this is the sacrifice [an Olympics] then this is the sacrifice, change needs to happen. I’m proud of what I did and I don’t regret it."

Tokyo was meant to be her final bow, but now Downie has spent her first week in months out of the gym.

Downie is adamant though that she is not done with gymnastics. Despite the heartache and hurt caused, her love for the sport remains strong.

"It’s hard for me to think, can I be selected for a team ever again? I do know I want to carry on, because I want to show that routine. I haven’t done two years of work to sit on the sofa. There’s a World Championships this year. They certainly don’t have control over my final chapter. I know I want to compete again on my terms."

But the dream of Olympic gold is gone: "I genuinely believe that we could have done it. I think I had a shot at being the first female Olympic champion Britain has had in gymnastics."

[prettywordsyouleft]

The Cowboy - Part 13

Summary: Leaving the city for a rural area called Blayne seemed simple enough. Your task was to convince the people to agree with selling their land for a resort redevelopment. But once there, you soon realise that your city ways are entirely different to theirs. Winning their trust was going to take some effort, and when you start to fall for a local cowboy, you wonder if you really needed Blayne more than the city life after all.

Pairing: Jung Jaehyun x female reader

Genre: cowboy au / drama / romance / if you squint there’s some enemies to lovers up in here.

Warnings: Jung Jaehyun is a cowboy, need I say more? (a bit of angst and drama, and it sometimes might feel like you’re reading a Nicolas Sparks book, so I’m told lol)

Word count: 2450

Preview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

“This is crazy!”

Glancing at Natalia next to you in the car as you neared the border for Blayne, you grinned. “I thought you grew up on farms?”

“The kind near the city. Nothing like this. There’s just a whole lot of land out here.”

“I would ask if you want me to turn around and take you back, but after travelling for this long, I want to just be done from being in this car.”

Laughing, Natalia craned her neck to use the side mirror. “I think the truck behind us might find that a little burdensome too.”

“I’m amazed that truck of his made it to the city and back.”

“Aren’t you glad Jaehyun came for you?” she wondered, and you couldn’t hide the genuine smile that spread out your lips immediately. “You’re smitten!”

“You’ve seen him. How could I not be?”

“Blayne’s livestock sure are made of fine specimens,” Natalia teased, and you laughed heartily.

“They do claim to have the best pigs in the nation, but I’m not so sure if that relates to all the men they have, Nat.”

“Well, the two I’ve seen…” She trailed off to kiss her fingers. “Total chef kiss.”

“Avery is single, too.”

“I never asked.”

“You didn’t need to. I could see the wheels turning from here.”

“Do you reckon he’d want a country Belle or-”

You grinned. “For Avery, I think he likes women in whatever way they come.”

“That doesn’t speak much for my chances.”

“Why not, Miss Natalia?” you chimed, and your best friend swatted your arm. “He didn’t even refer to me like that when I met him. Should I be sad?”

“Stop trying to snatch my cowboy away from me. You already have your own.”

Suddenly the truck signalled its horn behind you and you glanced up into the rear-mirror, noticing the indicator of the truck now on. Turning your attention to the side of the road, you couldn’t help but laugh at that gas station you had gone to all those months ago appearing again.

You didn’t need any gas, but it seemed Jaehyun’s truck needed the pit stop. Getting out of your vehicle, you noticed the smoke coming out from under the hood. Walking over to Jaehyun’s side, you gasped noisily. “Looks like it’s finally died on you.”

“She’s not dead,” he grumbled, running a hand through his hair agitatedly after popping the hood. “She needs water.”

“And a retirement,” Avery added on, leaning on the side of Jaehyun’s truck whilst shaking his head. “You and your stubborn ways.”

“I’m not giving up on her,” Jaehyun announced, and you frowned with the level of emotion you heard in his tone. He groaned. “Though, I think I might need to leave her here tonight so she doesn’t overheat further.”

Avery nodded. “I’ll go sort it out with Mick inside the station.”

Kicking the tire gently, Jaehyun turned to look over your shoulder, not quite meeting your eye. Stepping in and placing your hands on his hips, you shot him an encouraging smile. “We’ll come and pick your truck up tomorrow.”

“We?”

“Well, I’d offer to tow it, but my car won’t handle that. I’m sure Avery’s truck will, though.”

“I’m starting to feel nervous,” Jaehyun confessed, and you blinked curiously. “At your return. People are going to talk.”

“I hope they’ve been talking up a storm. And that they are still willing to talk even when I’m there. Nat and I will rely on that talk to get things moving.”

“You’re so certain about this,” he observed, and you nodded once. “Why?”

“Because this is my project. I invested a lot of my time and energy into Blayne and found the deficit too glaring to just forget about it all when your Dad ordered me to leave. Further, I can’t just stop loving you either. You and I still have a lot to discuss.”

Jaehyun nodded thoughtfully, his signature lopsided, dimpled grin appearing. “You’re a formidable woman, Miss Adaptable.”

You didn’t make a big fuss about sitting down for that chat right away once you were back in Blayne. There was a lot to be done, especially around your new residence. You weren’t staying on the Jung’s property this time, even though you wished nothing more than to wake up in your bedroom at the homestead.

Instead, you were the first guests since 1983 to inhabit the inn.

“You sure there’s no ghost stories associated with this place?” Natalia queried as you both ate breakfast in the kitchen a few days after your arrival.

Grinning at your best friend, you shrugged. “Who knows? But if there are any more co-inhabitants here with us, they ought to pick up a broom and give things a good sweep or dusting.”

“We’ve been clearing cobwebs for days. How is this town going to be a hub of change, Y/N?”

“Nothing worthwhile comes without any effort, Natty. This place is kind of charming if you put aside its outdated décor.”

“Charming, you say,” she mentioned, pointing to the dripping tap in the kitchen. Even if the room now sparkled as best as it could from your combined cleaning, you still had repairs that were pressing.

“It could be very charming,” another voice mentioned, and you grinned at Avery’s cheeky appearance. “Sorry for intruding. The back door’s always been easy enough to get in through.”

“So it’s not just your cousin who’s good with getting in and out of places they shouldn’t be.”

“Where do you think I learned it from?” Avery admitted with an easy laugh, and after sending Natalia a wink, he placed a toolbox up on the countertop. “Leaky tap, huh? I guess I ought to fix this for you before it drives you nuts.”

“Will you?!” Natalia asked, graciously smiling in his direction. “It’s not the only one needing repairs, admittedly.”

“It’s a good thing I ran down to the hardware store a town over for some new faucets then, isn’t it?”

“Where’s Jaehyun?”

As he looked for the right tool, Avery answered. “On the ranch.”

“He okay on his own?”

“Sure, if you call being in the company of my grouchy uncle after us leaving Blayne last week caused him to get behind in work, being okay.”

“I actually have to go see Mr Jung today,” you announced and smiled at the pair who stopped staring flirtatiously at each other to look in your direction. “It’s time to get things rolling, don’t you think?”

“Will you be okay?”

“If Jaehyun’s handling his father, then I think I’ll go assist him. I’m half at fault here.”

“I don’t agree entirely with that, Y/N.”

Natalia agreed with Avery. “You aren’t at fault at all.”

“There’s a lot of things I want answers to and a whole lot of information I will need to pass on to him now that I’m here to work on the redevelopment of Blayne for housing.”

“He has a temper.”

“That much I’m aware of already, Avery,” you replied with a grin, picking up your coffee and raising it in a gesture of farewell. “Nat, you stay here and help point out the areas for Avery to work on.”

“Sure, I can do that,” she answered and turned to mouth a thank you at you.

Chuckling as you stepped outside and over to your car, you stopped when you saw Dorothy crossing the road towards you.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Everyone said you were back, but I didn’t believe it until these eyes of mine saw it in person!”

Taking her hand fondly, you cocked your head to the side. “Did you truly think you could get rid of me that easily?! I have work to do here!”

“Are you staying in the inn, Y/N? I’ll make sure to send my Jacob over to help with anything you might need repairing. Lord only knows how that place is holding up.”

Pointing to the building you had just departed, you smiled. “Avery is inside fixing some taps already.”

“Really? Well, he didn’t wait long. I thought everyone was instructed to stay put until Old Jung stopped punishing his boy for bringing you back.”

“Is that how everyone is seeing it?”

“Did I speak out of turn?!” Dorothy asked with a gasp, and you shook your head firmly.

“Not at all, Dorothy. I’m grateful for what you just said. Do let everyone know it was June Jung who I called in regards to returning to Blayne about, however. She’s the one who let me and my best friend into the inn, after all.”

“June?! She’s never the type not to follow along with her husband’s word!”

Shaking your head again, you patted her lower arm. “There’s a lot to Mrs Jung that Blayne folk seem to not know about.”

Greeting June when you arrived at her home shortly after, you grinned brightly at her. She laughed. “I was worried after a few nights in that inn you might decide to leave.”

“It’s nothing like the homestead, but I can see with some effort put in how it can help with our plans.”

“He’s not exactly thrilled.”

You nodded. “I doubt your husband is.”

“But he is listening. I told him to wait for you in his office. He gruffly headed in there five minutes ago.”

“I won’t keep him waiting then,” you assured June, smiling again before taking the same pathway you had a couple of weeks ago.

Inhaling a deep breath, you pushed forward into the office, Mr Jung looking up at you. You smiled politely. “It’s nice to see you again. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m Y/N, Blayne’s new town building specialist.”

Mr Jung ignored the hand you held out to him and cleared his throat but didn’t answer. Deciding to take his silence as not a complete refusal, you sat down across from him and pulled out the proposal you had drafted up for this meeting. And without any hesitation, you launched into it.

He didn’t interrupt your speech, even picking up the copy of the plans you had placed on the table midway through and flicked to the page you were talking about. By the time you reached the end of your planned speech, you were a mixture of relief and curiosity.

You had no idea what Mr Jung was thinking.

Heaving out a breath when you were finally done, Mr Jung nodded softly. “Very well.”

“Is that all?” you asked, and Mr Jung stared over at you. His gaze didn’t make you uncomfortable, rather, vulnerable. It was as if he was trying to pick a way into your brain and figure everything out about you.

Sighing when he didn’t seem to find whatever it was, Mr Jung looked out the window. “My family has been here for generations.”

“I looked into it when initially setting up here,” you confirmed, and he smiled swiftly.

“I suppose you know about my wife then.”

“I do. I believe it’s why she’s been supportive of my stay here.”

“She tells me that you remind her of herself. I don’t entirely see it, though I’m aged and weathered now. My son, however, he’s young.”

“We don’t have to discuss Jaehyun if you are going to berate and accuse me of-”

“My son is the next generation of the Jung family line. He’ll inherit this ranch when I leave this earth, and I hope his children in the future continue to help Blayne remain a fair and happy community. When June and I found we couldn’t have any further children, where I come from a line of ten, I foolishly believed if I shaped Jaehyun from an early age to take on this place, we would continue a successful line. My parents entrusted this ranch to me, the only son. Perhaps if I had daughters too, I would have softened. But I only had one child, and I was too harsh.”

“Why did the fire happen, Mr Jung?” you asked softly, and the man rubbed at his face before leaning back in his chair.

“I told Jaehyun he couldn’t ever leave Blayne. That kid is something else. He always has been. He’s good with the cattle, he’s even better upon a horse. His school got him into rodeo early on, and I thought it would only shape him to have a competitive streak to help our ranch. The first time I saw him do a run, I knew there was more to his riding, though. But he was only twelve then. Teenage years would come, and I assumed he would choose new interests, or feel the weight of the work around the yard. Jaehyun didn’t let go of the barrels and would train even at night if he had to. He never failed to do his chores first, and I grew exasperated that I couldn’t find a way to stop him.”

“As a parent, shouldn’t you encourage his pursuits?” you pointed out, and Mr Jung nodded loosely.

“I was real proud of my boy. He had more trophies and rosettes in that bedroom of his than he had anything else. When he got scouted, he was beaming from ear to ear. I was selfish. We didn’t have anyone to take his spot here if he was going to be away. My father preached to me about how this ranch has been handled by Jung hands for decades. What you assume I did next is correct.”

“You took him out of barrel racing.”

“I thought it was for the best. And then he ran away from home. He caused trouble for a few families here with their kids following him. Avery was almost sent to boarding school because May was worried Jaehyun corrupted him. I had a township to maintain the peace with too. So I took the wrong approach with Jaehyun and cornered him further.”

“Why a fire, though?”

“I told him his only place on earth was Blayne. He said he wished Blayne would stop existing. I didn’t think he’d actually do anything about it. But he broke into the theatre that night, and the fire quickly took hold of our town.”

You merely sat there, trying to battle through Jaehyun’s past anguish and understanding the father who carried deep remorse for his actions.

Mr Jung noticed and smiled sadly. “I tried to take the blame. After all, I had driven my son to choose that path. But the people knew better. So my only approach to Jaehyun, who was racked with guilt, was to use that to hold him here. He’s never thought of leaving or doing anything else.”

Mr Jung stared at you with an indescribable expression. “Until you arrived, Y/N.”

_________________

Part 14

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[mcwriting]

The Marriage Project (9)

I’m back with anotha one! Sorry it’s taken so ridiculously long! I’ve been soooo busy that sitting down and writing or even formatting has been such a challenge. Please enjoy this chapter!

*also i watched Cherry and Tom was so good in it I’m- that film messed me up a lil bit but like it was so good. Also I’ve loved Ciara since btr and now I’m just insanely jealous and love her even more ugh 

Story Masterlist

Word Count: 2333

Warnings: Some language? I can’t think of anything else

% approximately the 3rd week of October %

Friday evening, the volleyball team arrived at the town regionals were being held at, about an hour away. You were staying in a hotel again, and as before, Julia was your buddy.

After having spent the evening laughing and having fun, your whole hotel room group was about to head up the stairs.

“Hey, y/n. Do you mind staying back for a minute?” Julia asked.

“Oh, sure. We’ll meet you guys upstairs,” you called to the other two, who waved back nonchalantly and continued walking. Julia and you went back to some empty seats near the lobby.

“What’s up?” you asked, smiling.

“Well… Sam told me he caught you and Tom yesterday and I just wanted to ask you about it…”

Your smile faltered.

“What’s there to talk about? I told him that Tom sprayed me with water so I got back at him by soaking the back of his shirt. There’s nothing more to say.”

“Well, yeah, he told me that but he also mentioned that you stayed for dinner? And met Nikki’s parents last weekend? Not trying to imply anything, but I didn’t meet their grandparents until Sam and I had been dating for like 6 months.”

You were getting annoyed, considering this was the second person in two days to ask you about Tom.

“I didn’t just meet them over nothing! Nikki took my senior pictures at the same time as Tom’s and wanted to do them there. I was just tagging along for the ride.”

“You know he’s also coming to state next weekend, right? If we pass through tomorrow?”

He is?

“Uh, no I didn’t. Doesn’t he have football stuff to worry about? It’s also Halloween next weekend, like he’d miss out on the big party.”

“They have a bye next week. Sam is going to come and I guess Tom is taking him, but Nikki might come too? I’m not sure. I guess you’d better ask him. Anyways, I just wanted to clear things up since there were all those rumors today,” she said, starting to get up.

“Wait, wai- Rumors? I never heard anything. Like about me?”

“You haven’t heard? I guess one of the freshman girls who has a massive crush on Tom was stalking Nikki’s website last night and saw some pictures of the two of you. A bunch of people think you’re dating now.”

You felt yourself pale.

“Oh no, and she changed one picture after Tom asked her to. Do you know what the picture was?”

“Something about him carrying you..? I never saw it, why?”

“Great. Now everyone is going to think she changed it because a secret got out or something. Ughhhh I just wish this stupid marriage project had never happened and I would never be in this mess.”

Julia looked at you contemplatively for a moment.

“Think of it this way, you and Tom are friends now, right?” you apprehensively nodded. “If it weren’t for that project, you two would still be fighting all the time and you wouldn’t have had the incredible Nikki Holland taking your pictures. Everyone can just get over themselves, you know?”

You snorted, then grinned.

“Yeah I guess so. You know, you’re annoyingly wise beyond your years,” you stated. “Now let’s get back upstairs. We have a long day ahead of us.”

%

Placing first at regionals meant two things: you were going to state, and everyone was congratulating you again when Monday came.

They also kinda looked at you funny when Tom high fived you in the hallway as he passed by, but you had decided to follow Julia’s advice and stop caring about the rumors people were spreading. 

Once the morning announcements ended, your calculus teacher stood up, a small paper stack in hand.

“Okay, everyone, since I’m your first period teacher and homecoming is next week, today you get to cast your nomination votes. Y’all know the drill: three guys, three girls for king and queen. Try to make it fast, we have a lot to do today.”

She walked around handing out half-sheets of paper with six lines on them. You and Tom immediately looked at each other.

“We nominating each other?” Tom asked before you could.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” you joked, filling out the sheet with both of your names and four others.

In home ec, you sat next to Tom cutting fabric for yet another project you had to do together, thinking about something Julia had mentioned.

“Hey, I gotta ask you something. Is it true you’re going to the capital this weekend for our state tournament?” you asked.

“Oh, yeah. This is our bye week and I promised Sam I’d go with him and mom. Plus, we can work on the project when you’re free.”

“You do realize that’s like a four hour drive, right? I mean it’s Halloween this weekend. Wouldn’t you rather make an appearance at Johnny’s big blowout?”

“Eh, it won’t be that great. I mean his place isn’t even that big and it’s in town. There’s literally no way it won’t get busted within the first half hour. The homecoming party at Tyler’s however… that’s gonna be insane.”

“Okay Johnny’s trash party aside, you really would rather spend your one free weekend of the season four hours away watching girls play volleyball then at home doing… whatever it is you do. And please don’t tell me you watch the ‘hub in your spare time.”

“Come on, y/n I’m not an animal. Even without the tight uniforms volleyball is really cool.” 

You backhanded his arm at the comment.

“Plus, I don’t need any videos to get myself off,” he added, smirking.

“You disgust me.”

“You know you love me.”

“Hmm. Debatable,” you shot back dryly, earning a chuckle and shoulder bump from him as you finally cracked.

%

At lunch, your friends were discussing the Halloween party when you sat down.

“Okay we really need to figure out what to wear this weekend, and we’re not going as playboy bunnies like Daisy and all her group,” said one girl.

“Well I say we dress as frat boys. It’s funny, not super sexual, and we all know half the guys are going to rush next year,” suggested Caroline.

“I like it, but what if we went a step further and dressed as dads. You know, hawaiian shirts, khaki shorts, socks and sandals. That would be hilarious. What do you think, y/n?” said Alexis.

“Sorry ladies, I won’t be there. We have state this weekend at the capital so as always, we’re driving down Friday after school. I will be at Tyler’s homecoming thing next weekend. Also, I do really like the dad thing, but I vote y’all do Guy Fieri.”

“Wait why is that literally genius,” Alexis said as the others agreed. “Of course it would suck to take your idea without you even getting to do it.”

“You guys really think I care? Just credit me in your insta captions. I’ll make the team put ribbons with flames on them in their ponytails Saturday.”

“Okay now we have to do it,” a different friend said.

“Hey, at least you won’t have to worry about Tom. I’m sure he’ll be at the party,” Caroline said. You wrinkled your nose.

“Yeah about that… His brother’s girlfriend is on the team so he’s going, too. I’m the one that’ll be seeing him instead of you guys but whatever. We’ll need to work on our project anyways.”

“Don’t you think that’ll fuel the fires people are already spreading about you? A good portion of the school thinks you’re secretly together now,” added the first friend from before. 

“People are going to believe whatever the hell they want. I honestly don’t care anymore. Oh! By the way, did I tell you guys that some freshman was the one spreading shit about me Friday? The nerve those kids have,” you said.

“Wait, what? It was a freshman that was trying to tell everyone y’all are together? Ugh why would anyone believe them?” Alexis asked, incredulous.

“I know, right? Apparently she’s like obsessed with Tom or something. She must have a backwards way of thinking if she believes spreading fake rumors will make him want her. Jokes on her when she has to see us together on homecoming court. He’s just as likely to be voted as I am, maybe even more.”

The group all laughed and continued talking about random things, and you mentally wiped the sweat from your brow now that the conversation was shifted from you and Tom.

%

You were nervously bouncing your leg before calculus Friday morning. You’d gotten to school early to make certain you would be there for the announcements, which is when they would be releasing the list of nominees.

Tom came in a couple minutes before the bell, hair still wet from his post workout shower. Usually he blow dried it, and he obviously noticed you looking at his curls, your knee bouncing anxiously.

“Got out of the weight room late so I rushed over here. What are you wired up about, princess?”

“Do I really have to tell you? Homecoming noms.”

“You’re actually nervous about that? Everyone knows you’re already at the top of the list.”

“Uh, no, that’s you. After everything that’s happened the past few weeks, there’s no telling how people feel about me.”

“Oh you’ll be fine. I know it,” Tom finished. You wanted to disagree with him further, but then the bell rang and announcements began. After the general daily stuff, they got to the part everyone was waiting for. 

You were on the edge of your seat. The disembodied voice began with the underclassmen’s court nominations, eventually working up to the senior king contestants.

“Alright, first up in the running for kings we have… Tuwaine Barrett!”

Tuwaine was a cool dude. He played basketball and was in theatre. You were happy to see him nominated.

“Next up we’ve got Harrison Osterfield!”

Ugh. I’d rather abdicate the throne than end up against him.

“And finally for the boys, Tom Holland!”

A small cheer went up in your classroom as people congratulated Tom and patted him on the back. You gave him a high five.

“And now for the ladies. First on the list is Zendaya Coleman!”

Ah Zendaya. You were never that close, but she was always nice when you’d had classes with her. She was way taller than you, a star player on the basketball and softball teams. Not to mention she was insanely gorgeous. This was already some stiff competition.

“Second, we have Daisy Ridley!”

And of course another likely contender. Daisy, who was planning on going to that evening’s Halloween party as a playboy bunny, was a cheerleader. She didn’t fit every aspect of the cheer stereotype, like the fact that she was actually really smart, but she definitely wasn’t the nicest person either.

“And finally, your last nominee for homecoming queen is… y/n y/l/n!”

It took a second to fully process that it was you they were talking about until there were people cheering you on like they’d done for Tom. He reciprocated the high five.

“What’d I tell you princess? Or shall I say queen.”

%

Tom was leaving football practice after the bell when a few of his buddies appeared next to him to walk across the parking lot.

They were talking when Tom saw you all loading the bus, and you sent each other a wave.

“Damn, y/n’s not gonna be at the party tonight? That’s rough, she always has the dopest costumes. ‘Least you will. What are you going as?” one guy, Jake, said.

“Did I not tell you? I’m going out of town. Won’t be there. I totally would’ve been Spider-Man though,” Tom explained.

“Wait you won’t be there tonight either?” another, Chris, asked. “You’re gonna miss out on some major exposure for homecoming votes.”

“Oh yeah, right. I’m pretty sure things are in the bag for me. I’ll just be gone tonight and tomorrow. Promised Sam I’d go to the volleyball thing with him.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You. Are going to the capital. Which is four hours away. At the same time as y/n. Am I hearing this right?” Jake asked as they finally reached their cars.

“Oh shut up, man. It’s not like that. Yeah we’ll be at the same place this weekend but whatever. We’re cool with each other now.”

“Cool? Is that code for ‘I want to make out every time I look at her?’” interjected Chris. He and Jake gave each other a look and laughed.

“Ugh, no. I’d kiss a salmon before I kissed y/n. I just meant we’ve come to an understanding and are somewhat friends now.”

They both looked at him funny.

“So you mean to tell me that there’s nothing going on between you two? Yeah right. We’ve all seen the way you look at her at games,” Jake said suggestively.

“What is up with you and everyone else at this school thinking there’s more to the story?! We are fake married for a school project and are nothing more than friends. You’re crazy to think otherwise.”

“Who are you planning on asking to the dance?” Chris asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

“What? What do you mean? I haven’t even thought about it.”

“I’m asking who you’ll take to homecoming. It’s y/n, isn’t it?”

“No. No, it’s not, because I haven’t asked anyone.”

“Would you go with her?” Chris continued, pressing in.

“I mean I guess so. If we’re voted king and queen then it’ll basically be an obligation.”

“And if you’re not?”

“Dude why are you asking all these questions! If she isn’t queen then I’ll go with whoever is. If I’m not king, I’ll just go solo and see what happens. Whatever, though, I need to get home. I’ll see you guys Monday,” Tom finished.

He walked off to his car, where his brothers were impatiently waiting.

%

A/N: Thanks for reading! Again, sorry for my inactivity but I’m hoping that writing will be a little easier as one of my classes was a half semester and I’ll now have a little more buffer room to write!

My asks and messages are always open!

Send a message or ask if you’d like to be added to my permanent or series taglists so I can verify you’ve been added!

Story tag list: @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @l0lmk, @primadonnasdream, @bookworm06, @thenoddingbunny-blog, @agentnataliahofferson, @spider-babe, @stxfxniexreads, @justafangirlduh,

[limeyartspinningtales]

TBB: The Light Is Gone

Episode 1, Part 1

Summary: Following a narrow escape from Kamino, the Bad Batch go in search of a lost pilot on a hazardous planet. But are they truly alone?

Word Count: 3.5k words

[EP1, P2] [EP2, P1] [EP2, P2]

------

There was silence in the darkness over Kamino. Within the cold vacuum, the Havoc Marauder rocketed out from the planet’s surface, no sound from the ship’s thrusters as it careened up into the open freedom. While tailed by defending ships, these were pulled away back towards the planet’s surface, or otherwise clipped down by another pair of ships that fell into the Marauder’s wake. One by one, each of the three vanished into hyperspace, and were gone. The emptiness remained.

Tech’s focus was everywhere. The ship’s controls, the navigation hub, checking the Marauder’s vitals for any sign of damage in the dogfight they’d escaped. His hands practically blurred as he clicked across the ship’s deck and ensured everything was right. Echo and Hunter sat over by the communication’s centre, Echo dialling in the frequencies of the two that had aided them. He could still feel sweat trickling down the back of his neck, heart throbbing in his chest from remaining adrenaline after that narrow escape. But his expression remained neutral, if his brow scrunched up in ensuring their communications were secure.

“Come in Fennec, were you able to get out?” Hunter spoke. After a moment of crackling speakers, the bounty hunter’s voice came through.

“Of course. Your other friend is a good hand to have in a dogfight, I barely got scratched,” she replied. “Now unfortunately I can’t be too long on niceties, I will need my payment.”

“We’ll meet at the rendezvous point on Ord Mantell in four cycles and hand over the credits there, clone’s honor.” While the easiest way would be for Fennec to get the payment via Cid’s, Hunter had no wish to implicate her directly with the Bad Batch on the off-chance that Fennec was hired once again to go searching for any members of the squad. He could hear a grumble of distaste over the comms, as Fennec clearly didn’t like his decision. 

“Alright. But if you ghost me, then I will come after you again,” she replied, almost with a hint of a joking tone over the comms. Echo pulled a grimace off his face, turning back to readjust the frequency for the next ship.

“How’re we doing, soldiers?” Rex called through. “Did you all get out alright?”

“All intact, for the most part,” Hunter replied. “We got our man out, without the chip.” 

“Good, that’s very good.” Rex’s relief was clearly audible, despite the static. 

“And how’s our other friend?”

“I can assure you, she’s taken on worse missions in our lifetime. We’re all just glad we’re out in one piece, and so are you all.”

“Thanks, general. We owe you one.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll call it in soon enough. Rex out.” The comms went dark and quiet, as Echo sat back from the hub. Looking over his shoulder, he glanced over Omega and Crosshairs. The former was sat guard over the latter, keeping a watchful eye on his condition the same way she’d done so with Wrecker. Going back to Kamino had been a troubling experience for all of them, going back to a place that had been home and now felt like a hollowed shell. For Omega, it’d been worse. Hunter had ached over going back on his promise to her, but his insistence that he wouldn’t let her be taken away from their group (their family) had given her the courage to join them in the task. It’d been a necessity after all. Too long had they left Crosshair in the Empire’s hands, watching as their brother was pushed through near destruction like any other disposable clone. Because that had been all they were, in the end, throughout the war. No matter how much each clone lived and lived, they’d been the fodder. But the Batch would be damned to watch their own fall apart. 

It’d been a clutch decision, a little too late in Echo’s mind, but once the goal was kickstarted then it was just a matter of rolling through and smashing down Kamino’s door to rescue Crosshairs. Too much had happened in the space of a few hours - Rex’s surprise appearance despite initially being reluctant to help, Nala Se assisting in removing Crosshair’s chip - and Echo wouldn’t be surprised if the whole team needed those four days before the rendezvous simply to unwind from the sheer chaos of it. Then again, every other day and hour was dunked in chaos. It was how their merry squad worked best.

Getting up from the communications hub, Hunter stepped the narrow space over to the bunk-bed. His brother had been so far away, it felt like a miracle that he was here on their ship again. The various scars littered Crosshair’s face, the burn mark from Bracca being the most prominent of all even now that half of it was covered by the bacta patch from removing his chip. Despite being unconscious, Crosshair still seemed to retain a scrunch to his face either in pain or disdain. The former was understandable. The latter brought an ache to Hunter’s chest. He sat down next to Omega, glancing over Crosshair and her in turn.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked.

“...Better, now we’re away,” she replied, voice hushed. “I think Nala Se wanted to talk to me, back there.”

“Did you want to talk to her?” Hunter kept his tone gentle, not wanting to pry too much. 

“No. I didn’t,” Omega muttered, her own tone dropping to bitterness as she tucked herself up smaller. She didn’t look back at Hunter. He didn’t press any further. Instead he rested a hand on her shoulder, giving a small squeeze before getting back to his feet. Wrecker took his place instead, leaning against the bunk as well. 

“How long d’you think it’ll take for him to get better?” he asked, much less to Omega and more an open question to the ship.

“Unsure. It took most of us approximately five minutes or less to wake up after our surgeries,” Tech explained, taking a pause from the flight controls. “You were suffering much more from the chip’s effects at the time, and you awoke some few hours after your surgery. Crosshair has been under the chip’s influence for….a very long time.” Regret fell into the normally neutral and methodical words Tech provided. 

“We don’t know,” Hunter summarised. “We just have to wait.”

For a moment, the ship lapsed into a hush, background to the humming engines and electricity buzzing through the lights. Then the communication’s hub began to ping. 

“Huh. It’s Cid,” Echo murmured, dialing into the frequency and letting words flash up on the screen. Not a direct call, but a general message with coordinates attached. As he read through the message, Hunter joining him to read as well, his face wrinkled up in disapproval.

“What’s she want now?” Wrecker grumbled.

“Got a job for us,” Hunter explained, and was unable to get much further before Wrecker exploded, “Already?! We only just got Crosshair back!” 

“Wrecker’s right. Crosshair’s still unconscious, and we don’t know when he’ll wake up,” Omega chimed in, hopping down next to Wrecker. “Shouldn’t we be waiting for him to recover instead of already picking up jobs?”

“Yes, already. We just pulled some very thick strings that Cid provided us. It’ll make sense that she’ll want any debts repaid as soon as possible, and I’d quite like to stay in her good books while one of our team is worse for wear,” Hunter explained, although his weariness broadcasted he was unhappy with the situation as well. “And maybe it’ll provide us an opportunity to stay out of the Imperial radar.”

“What’s the job in question?” Now Tech was getting curious as well, letting the ship continue on autopilot while heading over to the communication desk to read the message as well.

“Pick-up job. Cid got an emergency broadcast from some pilot that crash-landed on a planet near where we are. We go rescue the pilot, maybe some of their cargo, easy job,” Hunter said.

“It’s never an easy job though, really?” Echo snarked. 

“We can always hope.”

-

The Marauder pulled out of hyperspace a few clicks away from the planet, allowing just enough time for Omega to get a good view of their destination before they began to descend. Certainly a smaller planet, from above it seemed to be nothing but thin clouds and murky clouds and dark dots mixed into the clouds. Even from high up though, those dots seemed sharp and dangerous. Much of the planet itself was blotted out into shadow by the moon that hung surprisingly close to it. 

“Making a descent to Cavas now,” Tech announced. “Everybody best strap in securely, it’ll be bumpy.” Without much further persuasion, the rest of the Batch got to their seats, pulling down the heavy restraints to keep them secure. Wrecker made sure that Crosshair wouldn’t roll out of the bunk during descent, fixing in strap restraints before finding his own seat. As the ship began to shudder with the shift from space to atmosphere, Omega held on tight to the restraints while trying to peer out the viewport. At first it was only clouds, a jarring shift from vast black to milky yellow and grey. Then something huge and narrow flashed by the viewport at a terrifying speed. Another object appeared and disappeared just as fast, and Omega could feel the ship tilting in short sharp movements as Tech wove around the obstacles. With the clouds beginning to thin out more, all could now see that the Marauder was dancing around massive rock spires, needles that punched out from the ground far below and into the sky. It was no small shock that some of the structures reached so high up and yet so thin, rapier points attempting to drive into the small gunship. 

“I’ve heard the descent was risky here but I never quite realised-” Tech cut off his sentence as he turned the ship once more, narrowly avoiding another spire. “- how risky.”

“Ship!” Wrecker pointed out beyond the viewpoint and the clouds, as a looming shape far larger than the spires rapidly materialised from the fog. With a grunt of effort, Tech sent the Marauder down in a harsh descent, knocking most passengers backward and sending the ship’s gonk droid sliding past Omega, Hunter and Echo with panicked “Gonk!” warblings. For a moment they could glimpse the cruiser fly overhead, pinned in the air by a series of spires that had torn the underbelly apart and left it rusting. But then everything was a blur of motion as Tech steered the ship in through the spires, beginning to move closer towards the planet’s surface. With the clearing of clouds, more spires loomed into view, including ones that had been hidden just below the cloud layer itself. And with the spires were more ship ruins, crashed and ripped open and crumpled across the rocks below.

“We’re close to the emergency broadcast source,” Hunter called over to Tech. “Bring us around somewhere safe to land!”

“Understood. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

TGRANG

The ship shuddered to the left as something briefly impacted the right wing. Tech sucked in a sigh and muttered, “Shouldn’t be a problem.” 

“What happened?” Echo managed to hide most of his nervousness, but not all.

“Wing got clipped by something, possibly one of the rock formations. I’ll check it when we get on the ground,” Tech reassured him, calling back over his shoulder. Mumbling reassurances of his own to himself, Echo pressed his head against the back of his seat as best as he could and closed his eyes.

The rest of the flight down to the ground was thankfully less harrowing, beyond the sharp turns Tech needed to make to avoid the spires. As Hunter stepped down from the ship to the ground, the phrase “needle in a haystack” turned over in his head with a sourness. Not only were they searching for a ship in a ship graveyard, but the rest of the haystack included large rock needles. Taking a few steps away, he began to scour over the area they were in - a decently sized empty space for the Marauder to have squeezed into, surrounded with metal debris and rock walls. Down here on the ground there were various canyons from which the spires ended up sprouting from. The wall heights ranged from waist-level to several Wreckers tall, and with the degree of wreckage around then it wasn’t simple to judge whether there was stone or not beneath a pile of junk.

“This place looks a lot like Bracca,” Omega said as she joined Hunter. “Do you think the Scrapper’s Guild will be out here too?”

“Unlikely,” Tech spoke up, taking a moment to detour from checking the ship’s damage and instead pulling out his holo-pad. “Cavas doesn’t go under the overall list of junkyard planets that the Scrapper Guild and other such tend to use for taking apart wreckages. Specifically it is a ship graveyard, due to the number of lost ships that end up on it.”

“So there must be survivors from the crashes. Any towns, cities?” Hunter questioned.

“Negative. While Cavas has a breathable atmosphere, no-one has settled properly here due to its barren status. And even if attempts were made to make it more habitable, such as terra-forming processes, these would be ultimately impossible due to the proximity of its moon.” Tech pointed up to the sky’s horizon. While difficult to make out at first, eventually the curve of the moon itself could be spotted against the dull pink-grey of the sky. 

“How so?” Omega prodded further.

“Daytime here lasts only for two hours. After which, nighttime lasts for sixteen. Nothing would be able to grow.” With that, Tech put away his holo-pad, all intel having been provided. “Unfortunately there’s nothing much else to provide. Reconnaissance missions have been led to investigate this place but as you can tell, it was too dangerous and costly when most missions resulted in nothing but losses.”

“So even if there are previous survivors, they’ve probably already been rescued or died out here from the cold,” Hunter suggested with a grim understanding. “We’d best be on our way to find our pilot then. The emergency broadcast should lead us right to them. Tech, Echo, you two stay with Crosshair and the ship. We don’t want something to happen to Crosshair after we just got him back.” 

“Got that right, sir,” Echo replied, glancing back at the ship with a small relieved smile. Despite the stress and fatigue, there was that one undeniable sensation shared silently between the clones - relief. They had their brother back after all.

“Wrecker, Omega, come along with me,” Hunter went on, beckoning for Wrecker to follow after him as Omega was already keenly walking by his side. “It’s daytime so I reckon we’ve got time enough to scout for an hour before needing to get back before nightfall. Let’s go find our lost pilot before something out here decides they’re its next meal.”

The further the three of them walked away from the Marauder and the sound of Tech working on the ship, the more the noise seemed to slowly seep away until the sound of their footsteps walked alongside them. With the shape of the canyons and the piles of debris, every sound they made was deadened instead of echoing, making the muffling sensation even heavier. The routes that the canyons provided were a maze of themselves, sometimes resulting in needing to scramble over a smaller pile of debris to avoid having to circle around it and potentially lose the path to the broadcast’s source. Often Omega found herself glancing up and around, at the spires twisting into the air and the numerous shipwrecks around. On Bracca these wrecks had maybe some sort of sense of order. Here the ships were left haphazard to ruin. There was far more range here as well - cruisers, gunships, freighters, shuttles - with massive ships left hanging in the air as if the moment of their impact had been caught in time before it could hit the ground. States of disrepair varied as well, with some ships only just rusting over, while the shards of metal and detritus scattered everywhere suggested the ship they’d belonged to was long, long gone. 

How long had people been crashing on this planet? Why hadn’t Cid given them any warning, if this was a place that people rarely seemed to come back from?

“I really don’t like this place,” Omega whispered. “I can’t hear anything.”

“Like, you’re deafened by something?” Hunter questioned, looking confused.

“No, there’s nothing out here. Nothing’s making any sounds, except for us. Listen.” They all slowed to a stop and listened.

Silence.

No animal, no bird, nothing made a sound. Even the breeze that Hunter could feel against his cheek didn’t carry noise. 

“I really don’t like this,” Wrecker murmured, slowly lifting his blaster defensively. “What if there’s some kind of ambush set up here?”

“Well, we’ll have to deal with that if we find it,” Hunter replied quietly. It was hard to lift his voice louder in the heavy silence. “Just keep your eyes peeled, stay aware for any signs of movement, or any-”

CLANG-cl-clangclang

Spinning on his heel, Wrecker turned the blaster in the direction of the noise and began to fire, teeth gritted. It took Omega pulling on his arm for him to pause and lower his weapon, watching as several streams of debris began to pour slowly down the pile he’d been shooting at. 

“....If anyone’s here they had to have heard that,” Omega said. “Even if the sound here isn’t working right.”

“If we’re lucky, then maybe our pilot will come and search for us,” Hunter commented.

“And if we’re not lucky?” Wrecker asked.

“Then it won’t be our pilot searching.” Trooping on along the path, Omega took a moment to glance back at the spot that Wrecker had fired at. Although she suspected it’d simply been a piece of the ship finally falling away, she wondered if something (or someone) had been there. Especially now with the itching feeling of being watched crawling up her neck.

-

“....well, kriff.” Tech’s dead-pan tone after a long silence jerked Echo out of his thoughts. 

“What’s the matter?” he asked, getting up from his perch on the Marauder’s steps. 

“The good news is that the rock didn’t penetrate too deep into the ship itself. Otherwise it may have punctured our fuel storage and we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Tech replied, his hand on top of a sheet of metal that had been peeled off the ship about as neatly as peeling a jogan fruit. Echo held back a wince.

“And what’s the bad news?”

“I can put it back together without any issue. But to get it into place, I need Wrecker to push it into place,” Tech said. His gaze flicked over Echo, down to his hand, then to the cybernetic attachment on his other arm. “Or I could just try to do it myself.”

“Oh come on, I’m not some brittle shiny,” Echo scoffed. “I could lift more than you on any day.” 

Tech let out a sigh, pulling off his goggles and rubbing down his face. The clinical neutral expression slipped and tiredness blinked through for a moment. 

“I know, I know, I - ugh, this place is getting to me,” he admitted. “I keep feeling like something’s breathing down my neck, or creeping up just behind me. It’s making me feel on edge.”

“I know what you mean.” Echo did, his sympathy was more than genuine. He allowed his words to rest for a moment before getting to his feet. “I’ll check on Cross. Let me know if you feel like we can try pushing that into place.”

“Much appreciated,” Tech replied, turning back to the exposed ship’s interior. Turning about, Echo stepped into the Marauder, heading over to Crosshair’s bunk. Despite everything, despite the slightly catastrophic descent into Cavas and despite Tech and Echo’s bickering outside, Crosshair seemed utterly asleep.

“....Considering how long we made you wait for us to come and get you, I feel like it really is only fair that you make us wait for you to wake up,” Echo commented softly, even though the joke fell flat as it left his lips. Failing a brief moment of joviality, he allowed the more somber mood into him, leaning against the wall. 

“I’m sorry you had to wait. I’m sorry for all of this, for all they’ve done to you. I hope you’ll be able to forgive us,” he murmured. “....Maybe you’ll just be able to sleep through this mess. You deserve the rest after all.” Tilting his head forward slightly, he began to head back to the exit and to Tech.

“....And what mess would we be in this time?”

[lgbt-that70sshow]

Eric and Buddy: Part 3 of 3

A few disclaimers: This is a first draft. I abandoned the project a while ago, so it has only been revised for grammatical errors. It is not my most well-written work and I do not intend to make it better. I am simply posting what I had written before I decided not to continue the project. I figured that would be better than letting it sit untouched in my Google Drive. Also, it will end in a weird place. There really is no conclusion.

Weeks later, it was the day before Valentine's Day. Eric sat with his arm around Buddy on the couch. Hyde was sitting in his chair and Donna was in the lawn chair.

"So, Buddy, do you want to go to dinner with me tomorrow?" Eric asked.

"Like a date?" Buddy asked with a grin.

"Yeah. Like a date," Eric said.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Buddy said. He kissed Eric on the cheek.

"Wish I had a date," Donna said.

"I'd love to be your date, Donna," Hyde said.

"No," Donna responded shortly.

"Yeah, I figured. It was worth a shot. You could come and hang out with me and Raquel," Hyde said.

"Oh hell yeah. I love hanging out with Raquel," Donna said.

"Who's Raquel?" Buddy asked. He had a mischievous grin on his face, a look Eric had become familiar with. It meant Buddy knew something, or was figuring something out.

"She's this chick I went out with once and now we're kind of friends. She and Donna hit it off when I introduced them to each other a few weeks ago," Hyde said.

"Yeah, she's really cool," Donna said.

"Uh-huh. I gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow, Eric," Buddy said. He patted Eric's knee, then stood up and left the basement. Eric moved up to the top of the couch, resting his feet on the cushions.

"Guys, tomorrow I'm going to officially ask Buddy to be my boyfriend," Eric said.

"In a public place?" Hyde asked.

"Well, like, after dinner in his car," Eric said. Donna and Hyde nodded.

"Let us know how that goes. Wanna come to the Hub and meet Raquel?" Hyde asked.

"Why not?" Eric said.

~

Soon, the three of them were seated at the Hub with a blonde girl wearing a leather jacket. She was their age; Eric was pretty sure he'd seen her smoking behind the gym during class.

Currently, they were in a conversation about cars. Raquel was saying, "I mean, just because I don't wear dresses and I know how to fix a car doesn't mean I don't like to be told I'm pretty."

Donna grinned. "It's like I'm reading my own journal. Well, I think you're pretty. I think you're really pretty."

"I think you're pretty too," Raquel responded. Eric and Hyde exchanged glances. Eric was definitely bringing this up with Donna once they had a moment alone.

"So, do you guys have plans for tomorrow?" Raquel asked.

"I'm going out with my… friend," Eric said.

"I told Fez I'd go cruising with him," Hyde said.

"I don't have plans. Why? Do you wanna hang out?" Donna asked.

"Yeah! You wanna meet here?" Raquel suggested. Donna nodded. They solidified their plans, then Raquel got up to use the bathroom.

"She definitely likes you," Eric said once the bathroom door was closed.

"What? Really?" Donna asked. "Well, I don't even know if I like women."

"Donna, man, you two were acting more couple-y than Jackie and Kelso," Hyde said. That was a slight exaggeration, but whatever.

"Huh. Well, I'll have to think about it," Donna said.

~

Only Buddy, Eric and Donna were in the basement. It was just after lunchtime and Buddy would be heading home soon to get ready for his and Eric's date. However, Buddy wanted to find out what had made Donna so fidgety.

"Donna, what's up?" Buddy asked.

"Um… Can I ask you guys something?"

Eric and Buddy both nodded.

"How'd you know you liked guys?" Donna asked, blushing a little.

"I liked Buddy," Eric said. "It kinda just… yeah."

"I never had crushes on girls and I always had strong feelings about guys," Buddy said.

"I think I might like girls. Like, just girls. Sorry, Eric," Donna said.

"It's fine," Eric said with a shrug.

"Yeah, we support you, Donna. Eric, I have to go get changed for our date, but I'll pick you up at six, okay?" Buddy said. He pecked Eric on the lips and left the basement.

"He's definitely gonna say yes when you ask him to be your boyfriend," Donna said.

"And you definitely like Raquel," Eric said.

"Yeah, I think I do," Donna said with a smile.

"Still best friends?" Eric asked.

"Always," Donna said. They high fived and laughed.

~

Eric looked over at Buddy from behind his menu. The Vineyard was very expensive. Eric had been planning to pay for them both, but now he wasn't sure he had enough money. He knew Buddy was rich, but he didn't want to rely on that.

Buddy seemed to read his thoughts. "We can split the check."

"Yeah, okay," Eric said.

They were startled out of their conversation by a shrill, demanding voice a few tables over.

"Michael, stop playing with your food!"

Eric looked over and saw Jackie and Kelso seated at a table not too far away.

"Oh, great, Jackie and Kelso are here," Eric said.

"That's fine. Pretend it's just us," Buddy said.

For a while, Eric was able to tune them out. He focused on Buddy and worked up the nerve to do what he was going to do after the date. Then, about halfway through, Kelso came over and sat with them.

"Kelso, why are you here?" Eric asked.

"Jackie's bein' mean to me," Kelso whined.

Eric looked over at Jackie, who was sitting with her arms crossed and glaring at Kelso. Eric turned back to Kelso.

"We're kind of like…" Eric lowered his voice, "...on a date."

"Oh! Really? I'm sorry," Kelso said.

He made no move to go back to Jackie.

"Kelso, shouldn't you leave?" Buddy asked.

"Trust me, I'd rather third wheel you guys than deal with angry Jackie," Kelso said.

The rest of the date was spent with Kelso. About ten minutes after he had sat with Eric and Buddy Jackie had stood up and left. Eric and Buddy left as quickly as they could, not offering Kelso a ride home.

Soon enough, Eric was sitting in the passenger seat of Buddy's car outside the Hub. Buddy had turned on the radio and put on Queen.

"Buddy, I really like you and I, um… I was wondering if you wanted to be my boyfriend?" Eric asked nervously.

Buddy smiled. "I'd like that. As long as you're my boyfriend, too."

"Yeah, of course," Eric said.

"Cool." Buddy leaned in and kissed Eric. When they parted, Eric was smiling dopily. Buddy looked over Eric's shoulder. "Is that Donna?"

Eric turned and saw Donna's red hair. He couldn't see her face, though, because she was kissing a blond girl that must have been Raquel. When they parted, Eric's suspicions were confirmed.

"Good for Donna!" Buddy said.

"Yeah," Eric said.

Donna spotted them. They both waved from the car. She took Raquel's hand and started walking towards them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Donna asked.

"I just asked Buddy to be my boyfriend. He said yes," Eric said.

"Nice!" Donna said.

"So, what's the deal with that kiss we just saw?" Buddy asked.

"I asked Donna out," Raquel said.

"I said yes!" Donna said with a grin.

Raquel gasped. "You know, if you guys are together and Donna and I are together, we could go on double dates and stuff. Like, we could be your beards."

"That would be good. We had to convince a couple people at the Vineyard we were brothers because they said they wouldn't serve two men on a date," Eric said. He would have to get accustomed to stuff like that.

THE END

[the-fiction-witch]

Goo

REAL LIFE: SCANDAL COUPLE: TBS X READER RATING: FUNNY + FLIRTY AF

"What are we doing today?" Thomas asks sat on his sofa sipping tea out of a mug shaped like the death star

"We are going to be nice to you" y/n smiled as she came from behind the camera with tea and a small packet of biscuits

"Are we?" he asks glaring at her a little confused and taking a biscuit from her

"Yes we are Thomas" she smiled fixing her hair

".... I am suspicious" he says trying to dip his biscuit in his mug however it was far to big to go into the mug "Ooh." He sighed sadness flooding his face apron discovering he couldn't dunk his biscuit before snapping it in half and dunking it

"Why?"

"Because why are you being nice to me?"

"I can't be nice?"

"Yes But it worry's me" he sighed

"we are going to make you lovely and relaxed" she smiled

"... You're not even going to comment on me being gross?" He asks eating his now tea soaked biscuit

"..... No I won't" she sighed sipping her tea "with your crunchy tea"

"I knew that wouldn't last long" He says

"I am not good at being nice"

"You are not" He sighed "What are we doing anyway?"

"Do You remember being a child?"

"Vaguely yes"

"Do you remember a advert that plaid on Tv when we where kids?"

"... I remember alot of ad's that plaid when we where kids"

"well we weren't really kids we would have been... teens"

"Teens? like pre teens or older teens?"

"Mid Teens"

".... ish, I remember little from that time. I spend most of it locked in my room"

"I remember you bassicly went in your bedroom as a pre teen who looked really fucking young and then came out when you where like nineteen where yeah you still looked young but you've voice had broke, you grew a bit, like you actually looked more like a teen" "I did, I didn't want anyone to see me at that time, especially you"

"why not me?"

"Because I had a crush on you at that point" "Did you?"

"Yeah? you didn't know that?"

"No"

"Yeah, I had a massive fucking crush on you at that age"

"I did Not know that" she giggles

"You knew, I've told you that before" he says "To be fair you where like a little poodle skirt girl who worked for your dad in a vintage car garage, that I also worked at. I was going to end up with a crush on you at some point"

"was the me being bi helping a bit with that?" "Yes! I watched you make out with Jake and then immediately go make out with linsey. that was amazing"

"Did you ever wanna see me  naked?"

"I was seventeen? So.... yes" "The tits?" "Tits where making a very compelling argument at that age" "do they still?"

"Ehh" He shrugs "Kinda, it's less fun because I now know you don't give a shit"

"I really don't, there just breasts, I have boobs, you have boobs."

"You've very much okay with it"

"My logic is, you can lift your shirt up show your boobs and nips, I do It I get arrested and that's fucking mental"

"It is" he says "I would not complain about you taking your shirt off" "The face" she smiled rubbing his chin "shut it"

"Didn't you make out with my girlfriend at that point?"

"I did, your eighteenth birthday party"

"That was werid.... But very arousing" "What me and your then girlfriend making out in front of you?"

"Yeah, pretty sure I'd had a sex dream about that" He says sipping his tea

"Then or yesterday?" "Both" "Hey issy, how you doing, wanna come over and make out in front of thomas again" she waves

"We don't even date anymore"

"Still, just have like a party of all your old girlfreinds"

"Ohh god!"

"and I'll snog all of them"

"Even Gzi?"

"Especially Gzi, she's fucking hot"

"Yeah..."

"You fucked up"

"That I did" "I'm very off topic, anyway! The product that was on constantly like every other ad break, I will point out it was... On the verge of an infomercial, like if it had been a minuet longer it would be an infomercial not an ad" she explained

".... I remember two of them" "The one you where never allowed to have"

"........... Jelli bath!" He gasped

"Hold up! say that again"

"Jelli bath"

".... Thomas brodie Sangster you are from fucking south London don't you dare said bath in that way"

"what? it's what the product is called"

"The product?"

"Is Jelli BAth

"But on Sundays you have a ?"

"Bubble Bath"

"Thank you" she smiled "what was the other ad you remember?"

"The weird moulding gunk"

"Ohh yeah, what was that called?"

"No idea, I do not remember I just remember the kid in the ad putting the orange goo on the dinosaur skeleton and making it into a big dinosaur" he explained

"Yeah I remember that, But Jelli bath? you remember this?"

"I do"

"good"

"We are going to go bathe in it" he asks sipping his tea

"Yep"

".... are we bathing together?" He asks

"Yep"

"On camera?"

"Yep"

"We're gonna be naked?"

"Do you wanna be naked?"

".... Well of course I wanna be naked sweetie darling"

"Thomas! stop fueling the fire!"

"I'm sorry, are we gonna be naked in this stuff though?"

"No, we will have swimsuits on, becuase.... internet" she says "we as always will do a version where we are naked that will be on my porn hub channel as usual" " as usual? when have you filmed us naked?"

"When aren't I filming you naked?"

"that video's not on there is it?" he whispered

"what video?"

"Are you filming?"

"Uhh, No I pasued" she says touching the remote for her camera but it still filmed "what video?"

"THE Video"

"What video?"

"........ The Video" He says "You know the one I mean y/n"

"No I don't be more specific?"

"The sexy video we did the other month?"

"The sex toy one?"

"No"

"The linqure one?"

"No, you know the one I mean, sugar"

"we make a lot of sexy videos"

"The... one in my bedroom" he whispered

"Oh no, thats' saved on my hard drive"

"Ahhh good," he says

"Ohh I didn't pause the camera, it's fine sally will cut it" she says  "Lets go make the bath up"

"Ooooohh.... bath time together"

"Oh shut up thomas"

"wait who's bathroom are we using?"

"yours"

"Oh no" he says "should I have cleaned it?"

"when did you clean it last?" she asks he simply sips his tea sheepishly "Thomas?"

It then cut to the bathroom with the bath already run the two in swimwear

"why did I agree to this?" He sighs

"Because I'm not ordering Pizza unless you do" "I'm an adult. I can buy my own Pizza"

"But do you wanna ring the man to order it?"

"..... Lets do this" He sighed

"throw in this bag of stuff" she says "Then wait for goo"

"Who's going in first" "You"

"why me?"

"You're bathroom"

"You're Idea"

"You're more naked then I am"

"You're video" "Get in the tub Thomas"

"You get in the tub"

"Fine! How clean is this bathtub?" she asks going to climb in

"Uuuuuuuuuhhhhh...."

"A day?"

"Uhhhh"

"A week?"

"Uuhhh"

"Have you jizzed in this tub recently enough It will be an issue for me Thomas!"

".... Maybe" he says "How long does it live?"

"Four days"

"No your good"

"are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure,"

"Okay" she says climbing in

"Just don't touch the bottle on the side" he says from off camera

"whoa whoa whoa what why!" she yelped

"No reason"

"No fucking tell me why can't I touch the bottle" "You'll be fine"

"Thomas.... answer the question"

".... just don't mess with it"

"Okay, Okay... I'm really freaked out now" she says as she sat in the water

"If you are that worried about getting into my bath because I might have done something, then why do you let me have sex with you?"

"Ughhh thomas!" she gasps

"You literally let me cum inside you like twenty minuets ago"

"Stop fuelling the shipping fire" she yelled throwing water at him "Shut the fuck up and get in the tub"

he sighed and climbed in the bath the other side of her "Hi"

"Hi"

"we're having a bath together" "yes we are" "This is a weird Thursday"

"It is... is this what you thought you would be doing when you woke up this morning thomas?"

".... No. But I've known you long enough to know better then to expect Normal days"

"Right lets throw in some goo" she says opening the packet and letting the powder drop into the bath

"Ooooh it's already getting thick"

"The water or your dick Thomas?"

".... both"

"Blue Gooo! It's called Blasting Bloo"

"I remember it being called bloo lagoon or something once"

"I think it was, but they must have changed it to be more friendly" "I think Blasting bloo is way more suggestive"

"that's just because we are sat in a bath together Thomas"

"Maybe"

"Ohhh I don't like this, It feels weird, I don't like want it on my butt and such"

"Nnnnnoooooooo" He complained as he felt the goo the water had now turned into "I hate this, I don't wanna be in this"

"I also don't like this but you know the deal"

"what deal!"

"We stay in this for ten minuets"

"or what?" "Or I'm filming sexy Halloween costumes with you"

"I will sit" he sighed bundling himself in the corner  "do you wanna get out and go eat ice cream?"

"Yes, this shits gross"

[themenof--birmingham]

Lucky

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Requested?: Yes- ohnogirlhere- Maybe you can write something about fan girl who was given the opportunity to play in Peaky Blinders and fall in love with Cillian and he had same feelings for her?

Warnings: none

You had been waiting weeks for this moment. Ever since you got that video call from the head Producer of your favorite show, Peaky Blinders, you were ready. There weren’t many things that happened in your life to consider yourself lucky. Ever since you entered that fanfiction contest and won, you finally felt like your luck was turning around.

What’s better than a cash prize? Getting a fully-paid round-trip flight plus hotel accommodation close to the set of Peaky Blinders. Oh, and not to forget...getting to cameo in an actual episode? Your inner fan-girl was on full alert.  

The moment the plane wheels skidded to a stop, your anxiety and excitement went through the roof. You had to keep pinching yourself to remember what was happening.  

While you had gotten the trip for 2 persons, everyone around you had other pressing things to deal with, leaving you to travel alone. Lucky enough, when you told the production company about being alone, they decided to take the difference in money and get you a bunch of Peaky Blinder merch instead!

The cab ride to your hotel went smoothly. When you checked in and made your way to your room, you felt yourself relax a little. The room had two queen-sized beds. While you lay down in one, the other was stocked with the merch. You chuckled to yourself, wondering how nothing could top this feeling.

A little later in the afternoon, you got a call from the production office advising that they were sending a car to pick you up and bring you to the studio. The moment the phone call ended, you rushed to take the quickest shower of your life and change into a fresh outfit, ready to face anything.

The car was there, just as they said, and the drive over was quiet and simple.  

The moment you stopped, a representative came over, greeted you warmly and began guiding you to the hub of other producers and directors.

You kept looking around, waiting to catch a glimpse of any of the actors you came to admire. Your biggest crush was, of course, Cillian Murphy who portrayed the infamous Thomas Shelby. You were familiar with so much of his work, but you really wanted to see him in his full Shelby outfit.

After an hour or so, the same greeting rep sat down with you and went over the script. She pointed out your lines and helped you get a sense of the part they wanted you to play. You listened intently, not wanting to be the reason the shoot got extended. You were determined to make this work, just so you could sit back and watch the rest of the production.

As the rep stood up, ready to take you over to Hair and Make-up, she noted, “We’re in a bit of a rush today, so I’ll introduce you to the cast after your shoot is over.”

You smiled, already bubbling with anticipation.

-

You emerged on the set, dressed and ready to perform. This was your first acting opportunity, but you felt as though your life depended on it.  

The moment you stepped foot in front of the camera, a member from production was there to guide you to your mark. You stood with a few other unknown faces as you waited for the main cast members to arrive.

The first to show was Joe Cole and right behind him was Paul Anderson. Your inner fan-girl erupted with glee but you held out until the main star emerged.

He didn’t take long; Cillian Murphy dawned his Shelby cap and approached. When he saw the camera, his kind face turned into that of Thomas Shelby. You stood and watched him in awe. Your heartbeat echoed in your ears as you admired the older gentleman.

The scene started and ended quicker than you expected. You mustered up your courage to say your lines and then when the director called “Cut!” you released a pressured breath.

The other members dissipated and headed to prepare for another scene.

You headed back to Hair and Make-up to remove your outfit and make-up. Surprisingly, the room was empty. Quietly, you changed your clothes and grabbed a couple of make-up remover wipes.  

You were so focused on getting every last mark off your face that you didn’t hear the door behind you open.  

“Oh, my apologies,” a warm, oddly familiar Irish voice greeted you.

You turned to face the person and gasped slightly when you came face-to-face with none other than Cillian Murphy.

He still wore the Shelby cap but now he was walking towards you. “Didn’t mean to startle you. Just came in to get my phone.”

You watched on, awestruck, as he reached around you to get his phone from the counter.

He stood up straight once more and met your gaze. “Are you new here? I haven’t seen you before.”

Finding your voice, you replied, “Y-Yes. I’m just here for one scene. I won this writing contest so here I am.”

He chuckled at your discomfort but went on to say, “Well, I’m sure you did well. Today’s schedule been going quite fast.”

“Well, I just hope I don’t look like a complete fool.”

He chuckled once more and noted, “Impossible. You’re far too fetching to be seen as a fool.”

Holy crap. Did THE Cillian Murphy just give you a compliment? You weren’t prepared to respond to that.

Catching himself, he hurriedly said, “Hey, so this may be out of line, but a few of us are going out for drinks after today’s shoot. Would you perhaps like to join us?”

“Yes!” you said, a little too fast in retrospect.  

He laughed and his grin reached his eyes. “Excellent. You can show me what you wrote that won you the contest. I’m sure it’s riveting.”

You scoffed and replied, “Well, it was fanfiction so I'm sure you’re not going to be too thrilled about it.”

“Nonsense. What kind of fanfiction?”

You took a breath before responding. “It’s a story about an original character planning her future with Tommy Shelby while facing off with Alfie Solomons.”

“Did you fashion the original character after yourself?”

You blushed. “Maybe.” You nodded shyly, smiling at him.

Cillian cleared his throat before speaking again. “It’s quite loud in a bar. Would it be alright if we discussed the story after? Maybe we can get something to eat and chat.”

“Just us?”

He nodded and replied, “Yes, just the two of us. It’s not every day you meet a gorgeous contest-winning author. I’m intrigued.”

“Alright then. What time should I meet you?”

He extended his arm and said, “Give me your number; I’ll message you the details.”

You awkwardly held his phone in your palms, not wanting to drop it by accident. Once your information was entered, he smiled and tucked the phone away.  

“I didn’t even get your name.”

“It’s Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N.”

“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Y/N. I’ll see you later?”

You nodded and he turned to leave. Alone once more, you let yourself squeal and jump up, thoroughly amazed that you pulled off an entire conversation with Cillian.

All that was left now was to prepare for the night’s events. You were thrilled beyond compare. There was nothing that could top this euphoria.

[rinari7]

@slytherintothedragonsden​ and @ciara-jane​ Many many thanks for the topic suggestion! And I have other reports I’ll have to do, so I’m saving the other topics away as well for those! :3

All right, buckle up folks! By popular demand, we're talking about bicycle gears!

This will probably be more information than any average consumer wants or needs to know, but I had to make it report length, so my apologies! But I'll try to be concise, and I'll do my best to keep the maths to a minimum for those of you sensitive to such things. ;)

The term "gear" or “speed” in this particular context refers to a particular arrangement of toothed wheels, disks, or shafts that translates torque generated by either a motor, someone’s pedaling, or a combination of both, into the physical speed of the bike on the path. Put more simply, a “gear” is a particular “translation” of turns of the crank arms to turns of the back wheel.

So people have more of an idea of precisely what I’m referring to, here on a modern utility/mountain bike chain drivetrain and gear setup:

1. crank arm

2. chainrings

3. front derailleur

4. chain

5. rear sprockets (together also called a cassette, that are attached to the hub of the rear wheel and drive it)

6. rear derailleur

The first bikes only had one “gear” — the pedals and crank arms were affixed directly to the wheel hub. One crank arm revolution equals one wheel turn, one wheel circumference traveled. Incidentally, this is also why penny farthings became a Thing, as ridiculous as they looked and as dangerous as they were — people wanted to get farther with one crank arm revolution, and they were only really limited by the length of their legs and from what height they were willing to risk falling.

Still, gear-less bikes were less than ideal. Issues getting up a hill? Too bad, get stronk. Want to go faster? Pedal faster, lazybones. :P

For the people with a little more common sense or a healthy fear of heights, the “Safety” bicycle (coming to stores near? you in 1886!) got rid of such stupid things as an enormous front wheel, and sat the rider much closer to the ground. More importantly for the development of our modern bicycle transmission, it sat the rider in between the two wheels and used a chain to transfer torque from the pedals to the rear drive wheel.

(For the less physically gifted… physics-ly gifted? torque is force applied over a distance that makes something turn. However, distinguishing between torque and force is more an issue of pedantry and math-ish nerdery than any real key to understanding.)

In the early days, some people came up with the bright idea of putting two different sized cogs or sprockets on the opposite sides of the wheel. Two gears! Too bad you had to stop, get off, remove the rear wheel to flip it around, secure it again, and then get going again in your new gear. This only really became a Thing in racing, where the difference in speed mattered enough to justify that whole song-and-dance.

How does a different-sized rear sprocket make a difference in speed? I’m so glad you asked! (Warning: maths ahead, but I’ll try to make it painless.)

Y’all remember levers, right? (Excuse the terrible Microsoft Paint drawings I made at 11 at night, please.)

You can apply less force at the end of a longer “lever” and have the same effect as if you’d applied more force to a shorter lever. Mathematically, the equation is: F1 x l1 = F2 x l2.

(In the diagrams, F1 is the force of gravity pulling the box down, and F2 is the force exerted by the person, l1 the blue length and l2 the red length. They were originally color-coded like most of the bolded stuff but tumblr didn’t feel like working with me there.)

Now let’s take a look at the rear (driving) wheel of a bicycle. (Proportions exaggerated.)

Y’all see it too, right? Like, uh, either way the torque the chain applies to the sprocket (the blue side of the lever) is on the less advantageous side of the equation (smaller than red), but the larger gear offers a less-bad ratio.

So, why would anyone use a smaller gear? More force actually applied to the wheel on the road is better, right?

Not necessarily. If you’re moving forwards at a good clip, you’re good. If you apply too much force, there’s also the risk of the wheel slipping and losing traction on the road.

Also, I picked the icons I did for a reason. Notice how the larger gear has more teeth? That means it takes a longer length of chain to tug the larger gear around one complete revolution.

What if your chainring has only half as many teeth as your rear sprocket? The teeth are the same distance apart, same chain. That means you have to complete two revolutions of the crank arm to move one rear-wheel-circumference forwards.

There’s an equation for this, too: transmission ratio i = teeth of chainring ÷ teeth of rear sprocket = radius of chainring ÷ radius of rear sprocket = rotations of rear sprocket ÷ rotations of chainring. Any of those three possibilities will get you the same answer.

Note here that the lever principle applies to the pedal and chainrings as well.

In this case, a smaller chainring works in our favor, transferring more torque to the chain and thus to the rear wheel, but less speed.

If we put both of these aspects together, we have the combination small chainring + large rear sprocket giving us the maximum transmission of force from pedals to the rear wheel, but not much forwards speed. Conversely, the combination large chainring + small rear sprocket gives us a lot of forwards speed, but not much force — if we hit a hill we’re going to have a hard time.

Practically speaking: most bikes have two or three chainrings (controlled by the left gear shifter) and between 6 and 10 rear sprockets, though the trend is shifting back to one chainring and many rear sprockets in the super-high-end systems. (Also, with the advent of pedelecs and electric auxiliary motors, most people are now just switching the motor’s boost level instead of shifting chainrings).

To make things more concrete: my bicycle has 8 rear sprockets and 3 chainrings, in bike lingo 3 x 8 gears or speeds. I could say 24-speed, technically, but realistically there’s some overlap in there between different sprocket-chainring combinations, and some combinations I would realistically never use, like small chainring + small rear sprocket, or large chainring + large rear sprocket (not to mention that those kinds of extreme gear combinations can exacerbate chain wear).

On your gear shifters, the thing to remember is: if pedaling is difficult, shift down, to the lower numbers on the left and right displays. The indexing (assigned numbers to cogs) is nicely uncomplicated that way.

I’ve sprung forwards a bit historically, but hopefully that answers the questions of “what even are bike speeds and what do these wizard numbers mean?”

I’ll cut the history and rambling a bit short at this point: in 1930 the predecessor of modern chain-driven gearing systems, the Vittoria Margherita, was invented, and in the 1950s the basic design of modern derailleurs and chain gearing systems popped up, and has stuck around ever since. Shimano did a thing in the 1980s, designing hubs, cassette, pedals, chainrings, front and rear derailleurs, and most components of the drivetrain to specifically work best with the whole set of their parts, which… uh. Like, good that they offer a well-performing, smoothly-designed system, but locking you into buying only their stuff if you want your thing to work right? Not a huge fan. (The corporate side of bikes is. Uh. A whole thing. A whole-ass other ramble.) And now there’s electronic and wirelessly controlled gear shifters, but that’s most of the major developments in gear shifting.

The first widely available transmission system that could be operated without, uhhh, stopping and taking your bike partially apart, was actually an internal gear hub, invented by William Reilly in 1898. It had two (2) different settings. Eventually someone invented the luxury of three-speed hubs!

Internal gear hubs have a different construction, but the principle of the gears are the same: different-sized cogs translate the torque of the chain into more wheel rotations or more applied force to help you get up that damn hill. Nowadays there’s even 14-speed internal hub gears, and an interesting gearbox concept (Pinion is the company) that does the whole translating-through-gears at the bottom bracket and crank arm, entirely between the pedal and chain, instead of between chain and drive wheel.

There’s actually an interesting debate to be had on chain gears versus internal hub gears — they’re both good for different things. Vaguely, internal hub gears are less maintenance-intensive, since most of the mechanism is protected from the elements, but they’re heavier (not the choice of racers). Though you can shift gears at a standstill, you can’t shift if you’re putting much force in the pedals and getting the rear wheel out is a bit more complicated with a hub gear system, if you have a flat. Chain gearing systems are the choice of competitive bikers, generally more efficient at transferring power and offering a broader range of gears.

Hopefully I haven’t offered too much information, or an overwhelming amount. If y’all want clarification on anything, just poke me. :3

Sources:

- I have a 500+ page textbook on all things bicycles. “Fachkunde Fahrradtechnik,” 7th Edition, from the publisher Europa-Lehrmittel if y’all wanna look it up

- Seriously, I’ve been learning this stuff for like 9 months at this point. Theoretically and practically. And I’ll be taking a whole-ass apprenticeship midterm next month. At some point your own education should count for something.

- Also, simple physics.

- A few Wikipedia pages for random references, in particular pertaining to the history of hub gears (and “oh shit what is the thing called in English” moments).

- https://evelo.com/pages/history-of-the-bicycle for a few historical tidbits

- https://bikeradar.com/features/when-were-bicycle-gears-invented/ for more histoical tidbits

- Pictures and icons from Wikimedia, specifically (x) (x) (x) (x), commentary and colorful drawings by me

[ironmansuuucks]

Want Me to Want you

dewey finn x reader 

bonjour all!!! here is a lil smutty drabble i completed today! it’s just about Dewey desperate to get home to his girl after a long week at work. I’ve just tagged the usual’s so i hope yous don’t mind!! i hardly read over this again so apologise if there are a ton of mistakes lmao, hope you enjoy!! lotsa love xx

warnings: smut, swearing, unprotected sex

picture not mine

Friday at last. One of the longest weeks of his life. Dewey sighed relief as he closed up the after school music hub he ran for the kids. As he was locking the door his phone dinged. Slowly turning the key in the lock he pulled out his phone to see an iMessage notification from his girl, y/n. He took the key from the door and stuffed it in his pocket as he opened the message, revealing a photo. He felt heat rise within him as he stared at the image you had sent him. You had been sitting on your knees in front of a mirror, brand new set of lingerie on with a faint red light in the background coming from the rock salt lamp he had bought you. Dewey had to stop himself from letting out a low groan. He could already feel the tent rising in his jeans, shifting himself on the spot uncomfortably.  He scrolled down which brought up the second image you had sent, with the most amazing view of your ass in the mirror, the lacey black thong making Dewey squirm on the spot. The caption read “you on your way? I’m waiting for ya;) x”. Dewey licked his lips, replying with a speed. “you fucking tease, I’ll be there in 10” smirking.

He almost sprinted to the car, his eyes shifting to make sure no one was around to see him fix himself through his trousers, pulling at the fabric, “y/n you’re killing me man” he pained. As he scrambled to get the car key from his pocket, he dropped them in the rush “fuck” he cursed as he picked them up, thrusting the key into the lock and twisting it. He jumped into the car and slammed the door shut, starting the ignition.

All he needed was a few miles to get him to you he thought as he looked at the tank gauge. He had just over half, well more than enough. As he started to drive, the radio cracked on. All he needed was three songs to get him across town to you. The first song he heard was Harlem Shuffle by the Rolling Stones. A fucking classic and one of his favourites.

As he impatiently waited at the red light, he couldn’t stop thinking about you. Your body on his mind. Running his hands up your thighs, squeezing, as his lips worked rhythmically on yours, whispering in your ear you are mine… green light, foot on the floor. Go.

The setting sun cast a warm glow in Dewey’s van. Illuminating his eyes and hair. He knew the glow would radiate the bedroom and if he gets there on time it would shimmer along your skin. Glistening as he ran his hands all over you, guiding you. Fuck he was almost sweating. Almost there.

He hurriedly pulled up outside your apartment building, the van’s breaks screeching. He was impressed that he didn’t get pulled over for speeding. He hastily fell out the car and shoved open the complex door, darting up the stairs. All he could think was you and that fucking lingerie. He needed you. He needed you bad.

His knuckles rapped the door harshly, his head spinning. You slowly opened the door, wearing very, very little, but a smile on your face, paired with the most captivating bedroom eyes. Dewey cursed “fuck” as his eyes roamed your body. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, his hands instantly around your waist, his lips capturing yours. He kicked off his shoes and started leading you towards the bedroom, not taking his hands, or lips off of you. “welcome.. back… babe” you managed to squeeze in in-between kisses. Dewey groaned “your hair.. needs to.. come down” he replied. You giggled, reaching for your bobble and pulling it out, shaking you head to make it fall down. Dewey’s hand went straight to the back of your head, and ran his fingers through your hair.

“did you miss me?” you teased as you looked at him, smirking. “you have no fucking idea” he replied, pushing you down on to the bed.

He was right. The sun made your skin glimmer in the warm, sunset light, seeping through the window. He quickly undone his jeans, kicking them off before joining you. He crawled up, in between your legs, running his hands up your thighs, soft and smooth, until he got to that black, lace thong. “fuck y/n you’re so beautiful”. You giggled lightly, enjoying the praise.

Dewey was above you now, you ran your hands through his messy, worked-all-week hair, knowing he needed some release from his stressful week. He smiled down at you. “you have no idea what you do to me” he spoke, low and dark. But his eyes were lit up, sparkling in the light. There was nothing but love and lust in those eyes. His hands ran up to your ribs, softly,

You pulled him into kiss you, “show me then” you teased. “yes ma’am” he replies, smirking into the kiss. He moved his hand to your bra strap, as you arched your back, and unhooked it “we won’t be needing this”. You pulled up and off his Black Sabbath t-shirt, “or this” you replied. Dewey smiled and leaned down to kiss you again.

He ran his hand over your breast, lightly nipping your nipple, which elicits a deep moan from you. Dewey smirks, moving his mouth, kissing and nibbling on your neck. “missed this so much” he almost whispers into you. It had been a long week, especially since you hadn’t been able to see one another.

He moves his hand down further, snapping the waist band of your panties against your skin. You squirm underneath him, needing him as much as he needed you. He rubbed your clit a few times over the wet fabric. “so good baby” he cooed as he kissed you again. Dewey then moves your panties to the side and glides his thumb over your entrance, before slowly sliding his finger in. “ugh.. Dewey yes”.

Dewey could feel his cock twitch in his boxers, impatiently waiting. Continuing to kiss you, he moved his finger a few times before adding another one, curling them inside of you. Moaning into him you ran your hand along his back, lightly dragging your nails, the heat inside of you building “fuck, yes.. uhh”. The moaning was music to his ears. What he had been waiting to hear all week.

Once you were ready enough he removed his fingers, you already feeling empty, but not for long. Dewey pushed down his boxers and let his cock free, springing up and hitting his abdomen. He used his hand to pump it a few times, leaning back down to kiss you. You took over. Removing his hand and using your own to stroke him up and down, jerking slightly. “ugh, that feels so good babe.. I’ve missed you so much” he praised before kissing you again. “you ready?” you looked at him, he nodded eagerly and sat up slightly, lining himself up against you. He moved your panties over again before slowly beginning to push himself into you, groaning as he does so “fuck y/n.. you’re so tight”. You moaned, adjusting yourself to his size, filling you up.

“that’s me pretty much all in babe”. You nodded and pulled him down to you, kissing him as he slowly began to rock his hips, pulling out then pushing all the way back in. “faster dew…” you breathlessly ordered him. Dewey moved himself at a faster pace. Running his hands over your body, leaving bite marks down your neck. You clenched around him, causing more friction for you both, moaning in harmony.

“ba-babe turn around..” Dewey pleaded. You kissed him once more before he pulled out quickly, using his hands to guide you as you turned around, letting him take you from behind. You quickly put yourself in the doggy style position, pushing your top half down on to the bed. Dewey got up onto his knees and wasted no time thrusting himself back into you, smacking your ass, making you moan in pleasure.

He closed his eyes in gratification as you grinded back against him, his hands placed on your ass, squeezing. “holy fuck.. uhh such a good girl” he glorified. You could feel the familiar tightening of your abdomen and you knew you were close, and Dewey could feel you begin to clench around him. He pushed you hardly against his dick, long and deep thrusts, helping you to climax. “fuck dew.. i-im cumming” you moaned. Dewey was just as close “m-me too babe”. As the words left his mouth he felt you flutter around him which pushed him over the edge, both of your breathing ragged and yous reached your high, as Dewey filled you up.

He pulled out of you and collapsed on the bed next to you, panting. Neither of you spoke for a few seconds, regaining your breathes. You looked over at him. The sunlight dancing on his skin, illuminating his eyes. He looked back at you, smiling “I missed you this week”. “yeah I can tell” you tease as you scoot closer to him, wrapping your arms around his neck. He reciprocates and runs his hand down your waist and lightly squeezes your ass, then kisses you as you giggle. Finally he had his girl in his arms.

“I love you so much”.

tags: @thewolfisapartofmysoul​ @paxenera​ @heknowshisherbs​ @missihart23​ @little-miss-shy-goth​ @large-unit​ @demonwifey​

[sweetfogarty]

Three’s Company (Sweet Pea x Reader; Fangs Fogarty x Reader)

Summary: Sweet Pea has always enjoyed being watched when he gets intimate, but lately he's been wondering what it would be like to do the watching, and so, in the depths of the university library, he watches you have sex with Fangs Fogarty.

Word count: 5.1K+

WARNINGS: SMUT, 18+ only.

Author’s note: This was written for @riverdale-events‘ Kink Week 2019, under Theme Three (Across the Universe (of Paraphilias)). Enjoy!

MASTERLIST

The university library was quiet and cold, the stark overhead lights enough to give anyone a headache, let alone if they were hours deep in Shakespeare exam revision like you were. Your head was pounding, and as you looked longingly at your three empty coffee cups that adorned the table you were working at with Fangs, you realised the caffeine probably hadn’t helped your throbbing head.

It was late December, and with most students having left to return home for Christmas, you felt like one of the only students still slogging it out ready for your exams when you returned to your studies after the new year rolled in, and you were grateful that Sweet Pea and Fangs had agreed to stay for the extra few days before taking the long drive back to Riverdale with you.

You glanced across the table and caught Fangs’ eyes- he looked just as miserable as you did as he sat with his head against the headrest of his seat, staring at the ceiling. It was getting close to 11pm, and you’d been here since the late morning, telling yourselves that if you worked that bit harder, you could take more time off over Christmas and not feel guilty.

Fangs wasn’t himself after a long day at the library; he had faint dark circles under his eyes and his hair wasn’t styled in its usual quiff, but instead it sat messily across his forehead from running his hand through it in frustration.

You eyed Fangs carefully for a few more moments before slouching back into your seat with a loud sigh.

“You giving up too?” He asked from across the table, tearing his attention away from the ceiling towards your dishevelled form. You nodded reluctantly, pursing your lips together in response, shifting in your seat so that you could lean forward against the table on your elbows. Usually you’d be the two pushing each other to carry on, but right now both of you had resigned yourself to being done for the night. “Good, because I feel like an earthworm and there’s only so much longer I can spend looking at your ugly ass and this textbook before I go certifiably insane.”

You laughed from your chest, flicking your middle finger up at Fangs with a grin. “You wanna know something?” You asked, not caring whether your study partner would say yes or no, having the full intention of telling him anyway. “Firstly, you’re a dickhead. Secondly, this system is complete bullshit. We sit in classes for hours and spend even longer doing homework and making stupid notes on why Juliet is the sun, amongst other shit, for there to be literally no guarantee of a job. To be honest, I played myself, because they say that university ‘opens doors’, but the only damn doors I’m knocking at are all locked.”

Fangs looked at you profoundly, a smile playing at the ends of his lips as you groaned and slumped further against the table. “You need to get laid,” he mused, tidying up his notes and closing his textbook. “Speaking of getting laid, where’s Sweet Pea? Has he decided to ditch us already in search of a better life outside of the library?”

“He’s slacking, clearly,” you laughed with a shrug. “But he did text me half an hour ago saying he was on his way.”

“30 minutes ago?” Fangs asked confusedly, his voice booming in the silence that you’d been sat in. “You can literally see the library from your house, is he lost? Maybe all this studying has killed the last of his brain cells.”

“No, I’m not lost, you asshole,” Sweet Pea replied, appearing between the stacks of books with three coffee cups balanced precariously in his hands. “But maybe I’ll keep your coffee for myself now- I need it to replenish all these brain cells I’ve lost listening to your dumbassery.”

“I take it all back,” Fangs grinned, reaching out for his coffee which Sweet Pea pulled just out of his grasp. “Your brain is not completely dead, and there may be some hope left for you. Now, give me my coffee.”

Sweet Pea ducked, placing soft kiss to your forehead before handing you a warm take-away coffee cup. “A hot chocolate for you, because you clearly don’t need any more caffeine, angel,” he nodded towards the ornamental coffee cups with a playful smile. “And Fangs, you’re lucky that this coffee isn’t a gesture of good will, but is in fact a bribe, because I need help with my Macbeth essay.”

Fangs grabbed his coffee, taking a sip and exhaling a satisfied sigh at the taste. Sweet Pea had gone to the good coffee shop a few blocks in the opposite direction from campus, which explained why he was late.

“As much as I’d love to help as a thank you for this, I’ve mentally checked out for the night. I will help you tomorrow though,” Fangs smiled, clutching his coffee a little tighter. “But for now, I don’t want to hear any more talk about education, it’s making my brain ache even more and I want to enjoy this beautiful drink without being reminded of the guilt I’m ignoring about not studying right now.”

“You know, I might just drop out and sell pictures of my feet online,” you mused, sipping from your hot chocolate which was still impressively warm considering the distance Sweet Pea had travelled with it. “Or I’ll start a career on Porn Hub. Porn must be easier than this, and at least I’d have an actual job.”

Fangs snorted into his coffee, whilst Sweet Pea cocked an eyebrow, eyeing you over the brim of his cup with a dark look you knew all too well. “If you ever, and I mean ever, need someone to star in your videos as ‘young stud with a girthy cock’, I’m your man.”

Fangs’ widened eyes flicked between the two of you with a look of concern clearly adorning his face. “That was genuinely the worst thing you’ve ever said, Sweet Pea, I think you’ve put me off my coffee,” he groaned, setting his empty cup down on the table, huffing and crossing his arms over his chest dramatically. “Can you two just go home and bone already? I don’t know if I can do another session in the library tomorrow with this unresolved sexual tension distracting me from the heights of Shakespeare.”

Sweet Pea looked between the pair of you sat at the table. You were doodling in the back of your notebook with your coloured pens that you’d been using to make notes with earlier, and Fangs had regained his original position looking at the ceiling, pondering whether the library life was worth living anymore. The longer he stared, the more his idea seemed plausible and reasonable. Long nights in this dusty, quiet corner of the library surrounded by shelves of books, had zapped the life out of you both, and he wanted his best friends back on their top form for the Christmas festivities that were bound to take place back in Riverdale.

Once, during a game of drunken truth or dare, right at the beginning of your relationship with Sweet Pea during the dating stage, you’d admitted that you’d fantasied about what it would be like to be with Fangs, and Sweet Pea knew Fangs thought you were attractive, so the perfect storm was brewing.

Sweet Pea had always enjoyed the thrill of being watched during sex- you’d found that out when he asked you if you’d be willing to let him fuck you in the window of your dorm room during your first year of college. You’d been hesitant at first, but after some thought you’d agreed. That night was one of the most electric nights you’d ever had, and that night you saw a different side to him that you’d craved ever since.

It was a few weeks later, after some drinks at the Wyrm during the Easter break, that he’d suggested the idea of him watching you with someone else. The idea had come to Sweet Pea one night, and he hadn’t been able to shake it since. You’d been intrigued by the idea of your big brute of a boyfriend stepping aside to let you experiment with someone else for both of yours’ pleasure, considering he was protective at the best of times, and a little jealous at the worst, and so you agreed with little hesitation. If he wanted it as much as you did, you were willing to oblige.

It was now, in the depths of the top story of the library at the quietest time of year, that he saw an opportunity arising.

The library had become even quieter than it was when he’d arrived with the coffees and hot chocolate- nearly all the students were at home with their families and the staff were at the front desk, five floors down, moping about how they were still working so close to Christmas in this godforsaken place. The chances of you getting caught were slim, but the thrill made him want it even more.

It was now or never; an opportunity as golden as this would never arise again, and Sweet Pea hoped that you two were feeling wild enough, in your library haze, to agree.

“Guys,” he swallowed, pausing momentarily as he waited for your attention. “You both need a study break, right? I’ve got an idea, but you both have to trust me on this.”

“I trust you.” You smiled, putting the caps back on your pens as you sat up a little in your chair, interested at what was going through Sweet Pea’s head.

“I wouldn’t trust you as far as I could throw you, you fat lard, but I can feel myself getting closer to death with every second I spend in this chair, so I’ll bite,” Fangs shrugged, knitting his hands in his lap, though both of the knew that he trusted Sweet Pea with his life.

Sweet Pea laughed dryly as he took your hand and squeezed it gently. He was nervous to even present the idea to the two of you, and even more nervous to hear your reactions to it, but he knew he had to be confident to get you to agree. After finally steeling his resolve, he stood and made his way towards the corner of the library that held the old Law Reports from the 1800s. It was a corner that was not only notoriously quiet, but it was also out of the view of the CCTV cameras that were dotted across the ceiling, making timed rotations to ensure that students weren’t doing the exact thing Sweet Pea was about to propose.

“Why are we going over there?” Fangs asked loudly, causing Sweet Pea to whip his head around and shh him with a glare. “All this dust is going to send me into an asthma attack, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s asbestos over here ready to give me lung disease.”

The library lights weren’t as bright over in the farthest corner of the library, blocked out by the ceiling high bookshelves, the majority of the light came in through the windows from the streetlights a few floors below. The yellowish hue made the boys’ skin look like caramel, but also highlighted the dust and cobwebs that covered the untouched, cloth bound books.

“He has a point, Sweet Pea,” you whispered as you came to a halt in a corner you were unfamiliar with, dragging your finger across a shelf before blowing the dust off the tip. “What are we doing over here? I thought you were giving us a study break, not a tour of the library.”

Sweet Pea paused, shoving his hands in his pockets as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Do you remember what we talked about over Easter?” He asked, placing a hand on your hip as he waited for a response. When you stared at him blankly, he sighed before continuing. “I said I wanted to watch.”

A grin spread across Sweet Pea’s face as you realised what he was referencing, and you almost choked on your words trying to comprehend his offer. “You want to watch, now? Here?” You asked. “With who? Fangs?”

“Wait, what are we doing right now with Fangs?” the shorter Serpent asked, looking between the two of you, his eyebrows furrowing. “What are you watching? What’s happening here? Why are we speaking in code?”

“Fangs be quiet for a second, please,” you told him. He held up his hands and turned his attention to Volume One of the 1876 American Law Reports, busying himself whilst you tried to work out what was going through Sweet Pea’s mind. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious,” Sweet Pea nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear that had fallen into your face. “There’s never going to be another opportunity like this, we both know it, doll. Do you still want to try?”

“Well, yeah,” you nodded enthusiastically, peeking over Sweet Pea’s shoulder at Fangs who was surprisingly engrossed in an ancient looking book. “But only if you’re okay with it.”

Fangs snapped his book shut, sliding it back into the lonely alcove before brushing his hands off, sending dust into the air around him. “If you’re okay with what, Sweet Pea?”

“You fucking my girlfriend.”

Fangs swallowed, blinking dazedly and fiddling nervously with the rings on his fingers as he rocked back and forth on his feet, wishing he’d never asked. “I don’t want to sleep with you,” he started, turning his attention to you, but fumbling over his words when he saw a slightly offended expression take over your usually kind face. “I mean I do. I mean… oh god I don’t know what I mean.” He ran his hands through hair, chewing on his lip awkwardly. Once he finally noticed the two of you grinning at him with a glint in your eyes that was anything but innocent, his heart stopped hammering as fast and he dropped his hands to his sides, a warmth spreading across his skin. “You’re gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but you’re Sweet Pea’s girlfriend and I’m not gonna do him dirty like that. I may be a snake by name, but not by nature.”

“But it’s not doing him dirty because we bothwant it,” you smiled, placing a hand on Sweet Pea’s chest as he snaked one around your waist, squeezing you tightly into his side. You gave Fangs an encouraging smile, softening your gaze to something more sultry. “Please Fangs, just say yes. For me?”

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Fogarty, we both know I’m not a sharer, so this is it. She wants you, you definitely want her too, and I’m playing nice- it’s a no brainer.”

Fangs studied you two for a moment, arm in arm, staring at him with a hopeful look in your eyes, as he tried to make sure that you weren’t playing some kind of elaborate prank on him, before he sucked up his confidence and answered you.

“Okay, okay, I’m in.”

A wide grin wove over Sweet Pea’s features as he detangled his arm from your form, turning you to face him in the process. He ducked his head down, kissing you softly with a hand on your cheek. “Keep it quiet- we don’t want anyone up here knowing what’s going on and ratting on us to security. I want this to last,” he reminded you with a hungry smile, gently pushing you towards Fangs with a slap to the ass. He settled a few feet away, leaning against the windowsill with his back and elbows, legs crossed lazily beneath him.

You knew Fangs wouldn’t make the first move, out of respect for Sweet Pea and their friendship, as well as his friendship with you, and so slowly you approached him. Something was different now; the air was thicker, hotter and full of an unspoken tension. After a few steps, you were face to face with the boy you knew so well, and he looked divine. “Can I touch you?”

Fangs nodded, a softened but excited look adorning his face. “Please.”

Goosebumps prickled up your arms as you snaked them around his neck, your fingers tangling into his hair like second nature. You knew there was a chance of you being caught, despite the fact that the library looked like a ghost town and that you were buried deep in the shelves, and the thrill sent a warmth between your legs. Despite the danger you wanted to savour the first few moments of this new experience and so your touches were soft and gentle, as if it was forbidden.

“You can touch me too,” you smiled, scratching his head in a spot that made him purr. “I’d like it if you did.”

Fangs threw a glance towards Sweet Pea, an unspoken look exchanged between them before he carefully settled his hands on your hips, squeezing them and pulling you closer to him. You let out a content sigh, pushing yourself against him as he dipped his head, stopping when there was a hair’s breadth between your lips.

You took a few moments to simply look at each other as his breath fanned across your face and he tried his hardest to hold back before he knew he wouldn’t be able to anymore. His honey-eyed look of adoration made the pit of your stomach stir, but the longer he stared, the darker his gaze got, and finally the stir in your stomach turned into a growing warmth between your legs.

He traced your jaw gently from your ear to your chin with the tips of his fingers, following the curve of your bottom lip with his thumb. With a fervency that almost knocked the air out of your lungs, he kissed you, clutching at your cheek with one hand whilst the other snaked around your lower back, hand creeping under your top and stilling, splay against the warm skin. Your back arched with the curve of his hand, feeling a warmth bubbling within you as you stood, your frame flush against Fangs’ muscular form.

Sweet Pea watched carefully as the kiss took place, noticing how your fingers tugged at Fangs’ hair and how he melted against you as you did so. He shifted against the windowsill, trying to get a better look as your chests pressed together and your hands dropped from Fangs’ hair, to his neck and shoulders. You let out a whimper as his hands moved to your ass, skimming all the curves of your body down on the way and squeezing it through your skirt. Sweet Pea grinned in response, his bottom lip coming between his teeth as he adjusted himself in his jeans, pleased that Fangs was finally getting into his stride.

“Touch me more,” you mumbled against the column of Fangs’ throat as you pulled away to catch your breath. “I want you to touch me.”

“Touch her,” Sweet Pea interjected from where he was stood with an eyebrow raised. “We’re in public, so we’re on borrowed time.”

With that in mind, Fangs found some determination to take control of the situation. He dipped his hand downwards and beneath your skirt, pushing the material of your lavender coloured panties aside to rub your clit with the tip of his pointer finger. The grin on Sweet Pea’s face widened as your knees buckled beneath you and you clung to Fangs’ shoulders to hold yourself upright.

“Holy shit,” you moaned quietly, letting your head fall back and your mouth hang open. Fangs’ lips attached to the newly exposed skin, leaving wet kisses along your throat. You felt him smile against your skin as he elicited another whine from you, the high-pitched noise coming out louder than any of the other noises you’d made before.

Fangs’ hand came across your mouth as he kissed up your throat, leaving purpling marks as he did so. Fangs sucked forcefully on your pulse point and nipped at the skin above the vein, making you buck against him involuntarily as you writhed in his grasp. Your arms erupted in goose bumps and your toes curled inside your shoes, another whimper finding its way out of you, but this time caught by Fangs’ hand across your mouth. “Be quiet, princess,” he told you as he nipped at your ear. “Or this whole thing is over, and I’ll leave you wondering what I could have done to you.”

You nodded keenly and pushed yourself into his fingertips on your clit, your own hands reaching down to fumble with his belt and jeans.

Sweet Pea stepped a little closer as Fangs pressed you up against the windowsill, fisting your skirt into a bunch up around your hips, his lips reconnecting with yours in a bruising kiss. You dragged your fingers down Fangs’ arms, following the curve of his biceps, your gaze dropping downwards when he removed his fingers from your clit. Your eyes scrunched tightly shut as he slipped two fingers into your opening, his thumb replacing where his finger was before, rubbing lazy circles on your sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Take your shirt off,” he murmured against your lips with a commanding tone in his voice, pausing for a brief moment with a grin twisting at his lips when he saw your eyes widen. “Or are you too scared we’ll get caught?”

You shot him a defiant look, glancing over at Sweet Pea who was watching you with a look that was filled with mirth and an interest to see whether you would comply with Fangs’ challenge.

You shot him a wink before you pulled your top off, revealing a lacy lavender bra that matched your panties. You pushed up onto your toes, bringing the swell of your chest up towards Fangs’ face, a playful look in your eyes as your hands cupped your breasts.

“Like what you see?” You asked, with a purposeful lust in your voice, lips pouty and eyes innocent.

Fangs hummed in agreement, using his free hand to pull the straps off your shoulders and the cups down. He ducked his head downwards, taking a nipple in his mouth as he sucked, his tongue rolling across it and his teeth gently biting at the sensitive bud. Fangs looked up at you through his thick, black eyelashes, curling his fingers inside of you, a dirty look engulfing his face as you let out a strangled whine and a blush flushed across your chest and neck, settling onto your cheeks.

“Fuck, Fangs,” you moaned through gritted teeth, trying your hardest to stay quiet as your fingers threaded through his hair, brushing the stands that had fallen into his face away. “Take your trousers off, please.”

With his free hand, he pushed down his jeans and boxers just enough to free his cock, you hand immediately running down his chest and taking it into your grasp, rolling your thumb over the tip, eliciting a hiss from him. Slowly, you began to stoke him, watching as his face contorted into something filled with ecstasy and he groaned against your chest, sending a bolt of electricity straight to where his fingers were fucking you.

He pulled his lips away from your breast with a lewd pop, standing back up to full height, thrusting into your hands, frustrated at how agonisingly slowly you were stroking him. Fangs’ forehead dropped against your shoulder as he pressed butterfly kisses to your collarbones, whispering profanities against the rosy skin. Between his hand working between your legs and the kisses against your sensitive skin, you could feel a knot forming in your stomach with both ends of the rope being pulled, ready for it to come loose all at once.

“Fangs,” you whispered breathlessly into his ear, causing him to shudder. “Pull your trousers down some more, or are you too scared we’ll get caught?”

Fangs’ head snapped up, his gaze meeting yours, a challenging look weaving its way across your face as your head dropped to the side, waiting for his next move. “Touché, your wish is my command, angel.”

You whined at the loss of contact as Fangs removed his hands to pull his trousers and boxers down further, clenching your thighs together to try to emulate the sensation, but it was nothing compared to the magic that had been coming from his fingers.

Confusedly, Fangs’ attention was drawn away from you as he felt a tap on his arm, looking around to see Sweet Pea holding out a neat foil packet. He nodded in thanks, shooting his best friend a smile as he rolled the packet between his fingers.

Sweet Pea stepped back, nodding back at Fangs in response, returning to his spot at the windowsill a few panes up from the window you were at. His demeanour was relaxed as he leaned against the wood of the window frame, his tongue caught between his teeth in anticipation of what was to come.

Fangs didn’t want to rush the moment, and had you been in private he would have done all sorts of nasty things to you that he knew would make you weak at the knees, but he was acutely aware that you were in public and that with every second that passed, the more likely it was that security would sweep the floor and discover the two of you wrapped up in each other with Sweet Pea watching, so, as you pressed butterfly kisses to the column of his throat, he rolled the latex condom down the length of his cock that was thick with lust.

As Fangs guided his cock between your legs, you met Sweet Pea’s gaze over his shoulders, both of your eyes pooling with lust. His bottom lip was sore and swollen from biting it as he watched you, and you could clearly see the bulge in his trousers, pushing against the jeans and tenting the material. He was clearly aching to be touched, and you knew that after this was over with Fangs, your night would continue with Sweet Pea. The smirk on his lips confirmed your thoughts and you moaned into Fangs’ shoulder at the thought of it, your hands weaving around his wide back, ready for what was to come.

“Fuck me Fangs,” you whispered, your breath ghosting the shell of his ear. “I know you’ve thought about what it would be like, so fuck me.”

A groan rumbled from the deepest part of Fangs’ chest in response. You were right- he’d thought about it late at night before, wondering what it would be like to find himself between your thighs, to hear his name rolling off your lips like silk, and now it was finally a reality. He knew he shouldn’t think about it, but there was something so enticing about you. You were the forbidden fruit, and he wanted a taste so badly.

With his cock at your entrance, he slowly sunk in, wanting to remember what that moment felt like forever, but his thoughts quickly vanished into nothing and he could only focus on how tight and warm you felt around him. He stilled for a few moments, breathing deeply as he attempted to control himself from ravaging you there and then, before beginning to thrust at a controlled pace.

His hand dipped downwards, fingertips working small, neat circles on your clit quickly as he thrusted, watching your face become a picture of bliss. With one hand on his back and the other splay against the glass, you pulled him against you tightly, wrapping a leg up and around his waist to steady yourself and let him get closer. You wanted to feel as much as of him as you could, in case you never got the chance to again.

Fangs’ free hand came around your throat, squeezing a perfect amount of pressure, thumb and fingertip curving upwards to press into the pressure point just behind your ears, dizzying you in way that made every movement he was making feel so much more intense, the sensation electrifying every nerve in your body.

Fangs’ thrusts began to pick up speed as he felt himself grow needy, chasing a release, his muscles tensing beneath your hands every time he thrusted into you, each one becoming more bruising and intense than the last.

The exhilaration of getting caught by security or being seen through the window along with Fangs’ movements overwhelmed your senses, and you could feel yourself come undone as you met Sweet Pea’s gaze over Fangs’ shoulder through your hooded eyes, your nails leaving crescent moons in Fangs’ caramel silk skin and your knees buckling beneath you.

You kept your eyes locked onto him as you came, and he cursed under his breath, running one hand through his hair whilst adjusting his jeans with the other, the material feeling increasingly tight as he cock grew thicker with every second that he had to watch. In that moment, it wouldn’t have been hard for him to come over and intervene, wanting to have his way with you too, but he remained leaning against the windowsill, waiting for Fangs to finish before he approached.

It didn’t take long before Fangs joined you in ecstasy, his chest heaving, and hair matted against his forehead which glistened with afterglow.

After a few moments, Fangs pulled out, knotting the condom before pulling up his trousers and handing you your top. It was quiet between the three of you, and before he could step away, you pressed a sweet kiss to his lips as a thank you.

Sweet Pea’s approach had been almost silent and unnoticed by the pair of you. He placed a hand on Fangs’ shoulder, shaking him in a brotherly manner with a smile twisting at his tips, before pulling you in for a heated kiss which left you feeling breathless.

“I really fucking liked it,” he mumbled against you lips, grabbing your hand and guiding it to his bulge. “That was unbelievable, holy shit.” Sweet Pea let out a rumble of a groan as you squeezed his bulge, his eyes darkening and his gaze becoming something dangerous. “If you’re finished studying for the night, we can go back to my place. My roommate won’t mind, hell, after that, he might even join in.”

Fangs’ head snapped up at the inference, his cheeks flushed and skin looking like honeyed in the light. “Fuck yeah he won’t mind.”

[19mrs-barnes17]

As Long As I Can Get -  Chapter Two: Fairfield

Summary: Y/N Fairfield has spent the last 10 years pushing past all the hurt and putting all her focus into her career. A familiar face back in town threatens the peace she found. [prompt: Small Town Lovers AU]

Part: 2/5

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader (AU)

Warnings: at a hospital, mentions of death and abandonment

Word count: 3,198

A/N: It’s been a wild week but here it is, chapter two! Enjoy! Special thanks to @wxntersoldiers​ for beta reading.

~

“Y/N? You think you could pick up my shift tonight? Missy is running a fever and I can’t get ahold of my mother to come take care of her.” Holding the phone away from her face Y/N sighed heavily as she rolled out of bed.

“Of course Dawn, just call in for me and tell them I’m on my way would ya? Thanks, it’s no biggie. I’m happy to help, let me know how Missy is doing later.” Hanging up the phone she’s up and changing in a flash, quickly moving across her apartment and back. 

Within 6 minutes she’s in her scrubs and locking her apartment door, rushing down the stairs and out the front in another 3. She slides into the driver's seat, buckles in, and on the road to the highway in record time. 

This was becoming a routine every week, someone would have an emergency and she’d be asked to pick up the slack. Her regular shifts at the ER in town kept her busy through the day, but her Thursday or Friday nights were often filled up by favors and desperate calls. She had a limit though, each person could only ask her one favor a month and she would cover one emergency. But when the emergencies came she could tell when they were real or just another masked favor. So by now the only emergency usually came from a mother whose kid was hurt or sick. 

Pulling into the employee parking lot, she exited her car and speed walked into the building, making her way to the sign in at the station. She prayed this would be a tame night and that Dawn didn’t have any difficult new patients because she was far too tired to argue about something that she was more of an expert on. 

Covering for Dawn was usually not too bad, most of her patients typically being older and gentle folk who treated her like a loving grandkid. Always gave her some nickname, rarely ever calling her nurse or even her name. All of which was fine by her.

Being a nurse hadn’t always come easy for her, remembering all the medications, the proper doses, the schedules, and how to do every aspect of her job was a lot to take in. But the moments in which she connected with a patient were the reason she got into the specific role in the medical field. Well that and her father.

Most of her family had joined the field, all three of her brothers had either become paramedics or a physical therapist. Her mother was the chief physician at the ER in Brightbarrow and her father was a private care nurse typically working with elderly or terminal members of the town. On a few occasions he had brought her along to see his patients, acting as a distraction for those who were living with severe pain. Through these visits in her childhood she began to realize how she enjoyed helping people who were hurting, and giving them a sense of peace for a little while.

One college degree later and she was back in town applying to work in the ER, her scheduled shifts hardly ever including weekends unless someone needed a cover and she was the only one who could spare the time. Her work there was routine, but here at this hospital outside town? She had found some gentle souls that brightened her day.

“Oh my, is that you Sunshine?” Claudia was sitting up in the hospital bed, remote in her hand to flip through the limited channels. “What a lovely surprise.”

“How are we tonight? Take our medicine okay today?” Claudia smirks and nods, the crinkles in the corners of her eyes forming as a flicker of mischief shines in her eyes. “Mhhmm.”

“I have somethin’ for ya sunshine. Made it yesterday when they let me do some crafts.” Claudia reaches to the table rolled off to the side of her bed and picks up a bracelet with rainbow thread. Y/N walks over to the woman and allows her to gently tie off the multicolored bracelet around her wrist. “There, perfect size.”

“Thank you Claudia, that’s awfully kind of you.” A smile is shared between the two before Y/N motions for her to hand over the remote. “Now how about we shut this off and I read you a little something so you can doze off, sound good?”

“Only if it's that one you told me about, the one with the little guys.” Y/N chuckled at the description but nodded in agreement nonetheless as she powered down the television and left to get her novel. 

“Alright get comfy now.” She waited for Claudia to adjust her bed and helped her with the pillows before cracking open the small book and beginning the tale. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

“Ah that’s what they were, that’s right. Hobbits.”

At the end of her shift Y/N was exhausted and ready for bed, doing her best to keep wide awake on her drive back by playing her dad’s favorite rock station. Thankfully it did the trick and she made it into town without issue, turning down the volume and switching stations as she made her way through the town like she’d done a million times before.

Turning onto her street she was perplexed to notice a man walking the sidewalks this late in the night, his movements slow and steady. The closer she got to him the sooner she realized she knew exactly who the man was and she had some theories about what was keeping him up so late. Pulling to the side of the road she exited her car, slamming the door shut behind her before glancing up to meet the gaze of a man she hadn’t seen in ages.

Bucky Barnes stood across the street staring at her like he’d seen a ghost, his features painted with something along the lines of guilt or sorrow. The man was frozen in place by her, his eyes watching as she raised a sleepy hand to wave at her old friend. To her surprise he waved back and yet he didn’t move a muscle as she turned away from him to head to bed. 

The next morning she woke late, the Saturday sun shining through the cracks of her blinds stirring her from her sleep. Her stomach grumbled, craving some of Winifred Barnes’ cooking ASAP. Instead of driving she opted to walk over there, let the sun and the exercise wake her a little more.

Winnie’s Diner was the town staple, the place that every person went at least a few times a week. It was the kind of business that had become the heart of the town, the comfort and hospitality center. If you wanted to get a feel for the town you didn’t have to look any further than this diner, it was where Y/N had gotten her first job. She had one of her first dates in a corner booth and had been stood up in another. This building was a hub of memories, good and bad.

“Hey Y/N! Have a seat. I'll be right with you girl.” Becca was zooming around the place in a graceful hurry, placing plates and clearing tables as she went. “What can I get ya?”

“A coffee, a biscuit, some bacon, and an update. Please.” She watched as her best friend shook her head with a reluctant nod before dropping off the order. 

Once the coffee was poured she told her brother she was taking her 15 and slid into the other half of the booth. Y/N sat patiently, prepping her coffee as she waited for Becca to collect her thoughts.

“He’s back for good, got a job working for Thomas Geldin constructing those new homes over by your parent’s house.” Sipping her coffee Y/N did her best not to allow her emotions to betray her. 

“What changed?” 

“Not sure. He seems different, like his load is heavier. Almost like he was when Daddy died, just emotionally cut off and distant. But he is making an effort to get closer and he comes in here every day for his lunch break. Which is in a few minutes now.” Y/N coughed, nearly choking on her coffee as her eyes went wide. 

“Sneak.”

“Hey don’t look at me, you two just are fated to dine at the same time.” Becca smirks before rushing off to grab something to eat before her break ends. 

She hadn’t actually spoken a word to Bucky since he came back to town, and yet he suddenly lived across the street and worked by her old home. Now he would be here within minutes and she would once more feel compelled to initiate conversation, but she wouldn’t let herself. If he wanted to talk he would approach her, not the other way around. 

He arrived the same time her food did, his eyes scanning the room to presumably locate his sister but freezing on Y/N who sat before her. A mixture of emotions flashed across his features rapidly before settling on a guilt ridden expression. Bucky approached the booth, his sister pausing to greet him and casting a wink over her shoulder before speeding away. Standing before the booth he shifted his weight nervously as he seemed at a loss for what to say. His eyes are no longer able to maintain contact and he casts them to the empty seat.

Don’t invite him. Don’t invite him. It took all her strength to refrain from being polite, her eyes never leaving him as her gaze intensified.

“Mind if I join you?” Her heart dropped, she was expecting a simple hello or quick apology and not a full on meal with the guy. She nodded her head, refusing to take the bait just yet as he slid into the booth.

“Here’s your usual James.” Becca slid a plate with a steak and cheese melt and fries onto the table before rushing off again. She was pushing him, Y/N knew that his mother and the older townspeople were the only ones who used his actual name. To everyone else he was Bucky. 

“I’m sorry about not keeping in touch, there’s been a lot that I had to work through the past 10 years.” God she could hardly believe it had been that long since he left, an entire decade had passed by without him. “Can we start again?”

Once more she had to use all her might to restrain herself from instantly agreeing and forgiving what he had done. She didn’t understand why he cut her off so quickly and completely, their friendship wilting through high school and fading in the decade following. But she knew why he had become so emotionally reserved, after watching his father wither away slowly and gradually lose the ability to even function Bucky had begun to close himself off from everyone. He smiled less, got into more trouble with other kids, and barely made it enough to enlist. 

Sure she had missed him dearly and knew he had suffered greatly, probably even worse after his service, but she couldn’t risk getting too quickly attached again. Not when she knew how much his leaving her behind tore her apart. 

“I’ll have to think about it.” She could see her words striking a nerve within him, his appetite diminishing. “But I’d like to.”

His eyes snap up to meet hers, relief flooding them as he gazes at her fondly. Y/N wanted desperately to forget it all but she knew that proceeding with caution was the best course of action. She would let him have the opportunity to rectify his past mistakes, but it was up to him to take it.

“City noise or quiet town?” He knit his brow and gave her a perplexed look before taking a bite of a fry. “Pick one.”

“I’m not sure I have a preference anymore.”

“But you had one.”

“City noise.” She shook her head with a small smile, curiosity overtaking her careful approach. “Drowned everything out.”

“Patty’s coffee or city coffee?”

“Patty will forever have the world’s best coffee. No one in New York believed me, kept saying European coffee was where it was at.” 

“I’m going to move on before I get so offended I bring her coffee to New York.” Bucky laughed lightly, eyes crinkling shut as he shook his head at her. The sound warmed her heart and she could already tell this was going to be hard not to fall into. 

His break eventually comes close to an end and he has to rush back to work but leaves a napkin with his phone number behind. She shook her head at the gesture, he knew full well that she and Becca were very close friends and she could have gotten his number from his sister. One point to him for ensuring she had it. 

Becca was off at 3 so Y/N spent her time walking around the book shop, glancing at summaries and running her fingers over the spines. Her mind was far too crowded to pick anything out, focused on how she was going to make it through this renewal of friendship after so much pain. This place usually put her at ease, the sight of the full shelves and atmosphere calming her active mind. But today her mind had won and so she wandered around town until she had nowhere else to go but home. 

A knock sounded on her door an hour or two later and an exhausted Becca made her way inside to fall onto the couch and groan dramatically.

“I take it we’re getting pizza from Toni’s tonight?” This catches the attention of her best friend who suddenly perks right up.

“And wine.” Y/N opens her fridge door and pulls out a bottle, holding it up for Becca to see and receives a nod of approval.

“Pull up netflix and I’ll order the pizza.”

Several glasses of wine and pieces of pizza later the two are sitting on the floor going through a shoebox full of old memories. Memories of their friendship. 

“Oh remember this?” Becca holds up two ticket stubs, one to their high school dance and the other to see a Panic! concert. 

“We showed up in full formal wear, not thinking to pack another outfit to change into.” Y/N dug in the box and produced a photo of the two from that night, Panic! at the Disco tour shirts over their dresses. “I can’t believe we didn’t get caught until your mom saw the shirt in your laundry.”

“Almost the perfect crime. Kind of dumb of us to pay the money for the ticket when we never even went to the dance though.” The two fell into a fit of giggles and struggled to compose themselves. “We were not the best planners apparently.”

“Are you kidding? The College Bar Crawl fiasco?” 

“Oh Jesus, yeah we really should have thought through where we were going to end up staying the night. Next time we do something, we need a fully thought out plan.” 

“Agreed. It’s too dangerous for us to do any less. We might end up in Europe and somehow married.” Becca falls flat on her back as laughter bubbles through her, her head turning and spotting another box under the bed.

“What is this?” She slides the box out and removes the lid before Y/N can stop her, her fingers gingerly sifting through the contents as a smile tugs at her lips. “Oh, you’re a sentimental sap.”

“Gee thanks.” 

Inside were pictures of her, Bucky, and Steve throughout the few years they were all together. She instantly gravitated toward them when she moved to town at 8, sick of being the new girl and ready to settle into a place. They stuck up for her when she was mocked by some older kids, Bucky and Steve became her dearest friends in only a few years. 

There were more photos of her and Steve together, seeing as he was the only one out of the two boys to keep her in his life. Pictures of them at his prom, no girl seemed to see past his physical change and so he invited her. She remembered how her parents felt about that night, so proud of who they thought she was choosing to be with. A boy who was going to college, who had aspirations but remained loyal to his town. One with a kind heart and a gentle soul. She knew what they expected from the night, but they never understood that she and Steve were simply good friends and nothing more.

The photos of her and Bucky begin to dwindle around when she was 13, the year after his father died. Slowly Bucky grew apart from her and Steve, more the former than the latter. Something after her birthday party that year changed everything and she began to lose him piece by piece until he finally enlisted and left altogether. 

She held a photo of the two of them between her fingers, eyes tearing up at the sight of their smiles. It was the day of her party, when she could still make him smile and forget about his troubles even if just for a moment. Bucky had both arms around her torso, his head resting on her shoulder and a bright smile on his face. Her cheek was against his face, hands and arms resting on his forearms with a dopey big smile stretched across her face. 

“I swear I could kill that boy for what he did. I get losing touch while overseas, but cutting you out of his life while still in the same small town? That’s just cruel.” Becca sighed and took the photo from Y/N’s hands, placing everything back in the boxes before sliding both back under. “And to think I used to believe he liked you.”

“That would have made things worse.” 

“C’mon let’s forget about that punk and eat some chocolate.” Y/N leaned into Becca as she was held by her, sighing deeply. “You’ll always have me, and Steve. That boy would rather dive face first out of an airplane than ditch a friend.” 

“Ain’t that the truth.”

After Becca left Y/N spent some time cleaning up after their roller-coaster of a night. Her body was tired but her mind was far too active to rest. Thoughts of what she lost sticking in her brain as she watched out the window as Bucky exited his townhouse and began to walk aimlessly in the night. She almost wanted to join him, not speaking just walking.

Instead she readied herself for bed, lying under the covers and staring out the window at the stars. Her mind traveled to something Bucky once told her about his dad and how if he found the North Star then he would never be alone, because someone else was always looking too. 

And she knew exactly who that was.

~

Tags: @asphalt-cocktail​ @qtmeryr​ @broken-hearted-barnes​ @cantnkrusshedevil​ @gstran18​

[tsaomengde]

So, it's been a month, and I have finished Cyberpunk 2077. Time was I would have chewed the game up and spat it back out in less than a week, but now I have children and a house to run. I'm not here to talk about the conditions of its release, the human cost, the et cetera. I'm just here to give my thoughts on the game.  If you want a spoiler-free review, here it is: thanks to my mother-in-law for buying it for me for Christmas. If I'd paid money for it I might have been disappointed. As it was, I had a perfectly fine time. Spoilers follow. (Also spoilers for Witcher 3, which is more than five years old now.)

Let's get this out of the way: should the game have been more progressive? Well, yes, but here's another question: what the fuck is cyberpunk even supposed to be? After all, initially, punk itself was created to sell leather jackets and records, and its defining trait was being subversive. It wasn't about being progressive, just offensive, about bucking whatever Standards there were. It's been refined, and redirected, but there's a reason 'Nazi punk' is a thing.

I personally wasn't expecting this game to be a bastion of progressive thought just because it has the word 'punk' in it. They should have done better by people who wanted to play trans or nonbinary characters. They should have done better with a lot of things. But they should have done those things because that's just what we should expect as people who engage critically with media, not because the game has the word 'punk' in the label. Was I sitting there shaking my head at the fact that V can work with the police? No. You're a mercenary, you go where the money is. The game wasn't advertised as an Antifa 2077 simulator, it was advertised as an RPG where you play the role of a merc who will do pretty much anything for that cash.

Here's the other question: is it cyberpunk? I say no. Cyberpunk as a genre is about human beings trapped in exploitative systems which commodify everything, even our bodies, and the lengths we have to go to in those systems to remain human - or not. The game has a lot of stuff in it showing this commodification and exploitation of everything, including our humanity, but it doesn't really have much to say about it. There are no significant choices in the story about how many pieces of yourself you're willing to cut away for power. Fill up every slot with cyberware or play as natural as possible, makes no difference at all to the story or the endings you get.

So it’s not really cyberpunk. That’s fine, a game can not be a thing and still be good. What’s the story, then? The story is about V (who is supposedly you, but they definitely are a distinct entity unto themselves, this is not a blank-slate Bioware situation) and Johnny Silverhand, and who is going to end up occupying the brain they’re forced to share for a while because of an experimental personality-upload chip that gets lodged in there too good to remove. Johnny Silverhand is an asshole version of Keanu Reeves, and I happened to really like his performance. A lot of people didn’t. That’s down to YMMV. Having finished the story and gone online to read about the endings I didn’t get, I feel that it’s… fine. They give you a decent number of ways to address the issue. I was more invested in the side stories with people like Judy and Panam than I was in the Big Plot, though I definitely warmed a lot to Johnny and Rogue near the end.

I never got the Big Feels, though. Like, Witcher 3? I agonized over the amazing chemistry Geralt had with both Yen and Triss, and had serious debates with myself over who to romance, because I may be a slut, but I’m ethical, dammit. I got big sad when Geralt found Ciri, thought she was dead, and just collapsed in on himself. I got even bigger sad when Vesemir died, and felt very vindicated when I murdered the dude that killed him. All of this from a game whose predecessors I didn’t even play! Cyberpunk never hit the same highs for me.  The most invested I ever was in a mission chain, by the way, was the one where the plot goes full Ghost in the Shell with memory editing and "what is a personality really" and truly vast conspiracies, and then the chain ends and just kind of peters out and you're back to all the other stuff that isn't Ghost in the Shell.  So that was... not great.

What about the *game* part though? Is it awesome? Does it suck?  I mean, the game is also fine. The gunplay feels alright, alright enough that I definitely regretted my initial desire to be a katana ninja person and went pretty hard into guns by the end. I give it credit for the systems being robust enough to support that kind of mid-game playstyle pivot.  The melee is deeper than it’s been in other games, but uh… look, I’m pretty sure Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 had better-feeling melee combat, and that game came out over 23 years ago. Might have something to do with the fact that you had an option to switch to a GODDAMN THIRD-PERSON CAMERA. After seeing the story and playing the game and doing the stuff I am prepared to Pronounce on this, and my Pronouncement is that the first-person camera definitely is more immersive, particularly given the story they wanted to tell, and perhaps you should stick with it during cutscenes if that’s your jam, but Goddamn, give us the third-person mode for melee. Anyway, the game, yeah. The stealth is cookie-cutter basic. The hacking minigame is dumb, and the hacking itself is useful, but underwhelming.

What about the vehicles? What about them indeed? I got a motorcycle from one of the first side quests after the world opens up and never used anything else. Everything drives like shit, but at least the motorcycles let me weave through traffic and get those rare glimpses of the toon I spent an hour carefully creating. Of course, most of the time, she would look ridiculous, since you have to continually equip whatever latest thing gives you the most armor, and there’s no transmog, so it’s only at the very end of the game where you *maybe* stop looking like an extra who wandered off of the set of a quirky indie film about near-future hip-hop dancers.

What about the city? Yes, it’s an enormous open world and it’s crazy detailed and there’s so much to do and so many icons to visit, but look, they didn’t need to go this hard. They could have told this story without a GTA-style open world. They could have told this story with Deus Ex-sized hub areas. Perhaps then the game wouldn’t have taken eight Goddamn years to make and destroyed so many poor Polish game developers’ lives.

I’m a thousand words in and I feel like I could write several thousand more, but let’s wrap it up. Here it is: did the 64.6 hours I put into the game entertain me? Yes, but I was ready to be done well before the point of no return, and still I kept hitting up all the side character stuff because I was invested in them. Am I going to play it again? Not right away, no. I’ll wait and see what DLC they drop, what bugs they fix. I have other games to play, and other things to do. And most tellingly, for this past month, I have never been doing real-life adult stuff and just been thinking the entire time, “I could be playing Cyberpunk right now.” I would play it when I sat down and felt I had sufficient time for something more involving than a run in Hades or Slay the Spire. It did not get hooks in me the way the Greats have done.

Cyberpunk: not a whimper, but not a bang either.

[lilacmoon83]

Mysterious Fathoms Below

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 9: A New Life

The years passed quickly, as David excelled in his job of a bail bondsman, alongside Cleo Fox. She had been in the business a long time and was immediately amazed at his uncanny ability for finding people. Unfortunately, without much to go on, they had yet to find the young boy he was really looking for. And as the years passed, he knew that young boy was probably nearing adulthood by now, as was his own daughter.

For the most part, they had settled nicely into the Land Without Magic for a second time. They settled into a small coastal town in Maine, with a house on the water and fairly secluded a few miles from the nearest town. It allowed them plenty of time in the water, while maintaining their lives on the mainland.

David was successfully running Cleo's east coast operation, while she ran the west coast operation out of Portland, Oregon. He traveled some to assist her with difficult cases, but was home most of the time, much to Snow's and his children's liking.

Since they settled down almost six years ago, the kids had settled as well. They were a normal family to everyone in town, traditional and tight knit and no one was any the wiser about their magical secret. The kids loved their school and had lots of friends. Snow loved working at the local daycare with small children, caring for them and teaching the preschoolers, while David worked in Cleo's office she kept there as the hub for the eastern seaboard. Their reputation was good enough that those from bigger cities often sought them out to find people instead of the firms in the cities.

That afternoon, he arrived home to find his family playing in the water on a warm, sunny summer day. It brought a smile to his face, as he watched their older children play in the water. Emma was almost eighteen now and he could hardly believe it. Ben was fourteen and the twins, Hunter and Rose were twelve. Perhaps the most incredible vision though was his wife, as she sat in the surf, her brilliant white mermaid tail splashing in the water and her long raven hair cascading down her back. He watched the way her beautiful face lit up, as their youngest ones swam around in the shallow water with her. Their cherub faces made his heart soar as much as hers did, as their three-year-old daughter, Astrid, swam around her mother and their baby son, Jackson, clung to Snow while splashing in the water. A lot of people thought they were crazy for having seven kids, but neither of them would change it for the world. A large family is what they both had always wanted and it was all the joy they could have imagined and more.

"Daddy!" Astrid called, as she flipped her lilac colored tail and swam toward the surf.

"Look Jack...Daddy's home," Snow cooed, as their son called out to him too. He smiled and looked around. When he saw that no one was around, per usual on their small property, he shed his shirt and walked into the water, before removing the pendant around his neck. His red tail appeared and he put his arms around Snow, as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

They were unaware though of the photos being snapped of them from afar…

~*~

"Okay...yeah, this sounds like a big job though. I'm going to need to call in my partner to help. The fees will be significant," Cleo said, from her office in Portland.

"This one has skipped bail twice and has stashed some really pricey watches from Phoenix in Portland. Your fees will be covered and you'll be well compensated," the man assured.

"Okay...I'll be in touch," she replied, as he ended the call and then made a call to David.

~*~

"Well...there's my favorite family," a woman said, as they entered the town diner that evening. Her name was Betty and since they had come to town, they had been her favorite customers. She loved children, so naturally, she got excited every time they came to the diner. She always made sure the large circular booth was available for them to sit in and promptly fetched the highchair for little Jack.

"Thanks Betty," Margaret, as she was known to the town, said, as she put the baby in the highchair.

"I see you lot when swimming again today. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were all half fish," she mentioned. Snow and David shared a secret smile, while the kids giggled.

"We do love the water…" David agreed, as they failed to notice the two men spying them from another table.

"I'll get your orders in right away," she said.

"Are you sure?" one man said, as they observed the attractive couple and their brood of equally attractive children.

~*~

"I'm telling you...I know what I saw. The kids...they walked into the water and then they had tails. The parents...they removed something from around their necks once they were in the water and then they had fish tails too," the other man said.

"You sound crazy," the first man accused.

"I know...but I snapped some photos and they're developing right now back in my darkroom," he said.

"Fine...let's go. If you are right...then we are looking at a fortune to the right buyer," he replied, as he looked at the family.

"A family of mermaids...we'll be swimming in money," he said deviously.

~*~

Their food was delivered promptly and they enjoyed their meal together as a family. As they were finishing, David's phone rang and he answered.

"Hey Cleo…" he answered.

"Portland, Oregon?" he asked, as he listened to her.

"Okay…we'll see you there," he replied, as he hung up the phone.

"You have a case?" Snow asked.

"Yeah, this time all the way in Oregon. It's a big payday," David replied.

"That's so far away," she mentioned. He smiled.

"I know, that's why she suggested that we make a family trip out of it. We can drive across the country and then you and the kids can have fun in Portland while I'm working," he replied. She smiled.

"Oh, that sounds perfect!" Snow gushed.

"Do they have an ocean in Portland?" Hunter asked.

"They sure do. It's a different ocean and a bit further from the city, but we'll find it," he promised, as the kids all got excited at the prospect of a family trip together.

~*~

Neal watched the cops at the corner and cursed inwardly. He had really done it this time. The watches he stole for a quick profit had backfired. He thought that skipping town in Phoenix was enough to take the heat off, but it had caught up to him in Portland. And now he was trapped. He was going to need some serious help escaping to Canada without being caught and right now, he had no means to do so. That meant laying low for a while and hoping they didn't find him.

Since escaping Neverland and landing in this new place, things had not been good. He avoided the system, not wanting anything to do with any foster families and had been living mostly on the streets for the last few years. He stole to get by and hated it, but it was the only way to stay alive. Sometimes, even Neverland and dodging Pan was better than this land. He went the other way and hoped that found a way to escape soon or he would be going to prison for a very long time.

~*~

He had been convinced by the photos and now he and his new partner watched the family pack their van for a family trip.

"Did you get a hold of your boss?" the portly man asked.

"Yes...and the Madam was very interested in the photos you took. She wants them," the thin man replied.

"Then we're going to have to follow them. Looks like a family trip," the portly one said.

"Don't worry, the Madam is wiring me the funds for anything needed. She wants us to bring them to Seattle once we have them," the thin one replied.

"Well…I heard they're headed for Oregon. That won't be far to go once we get them," the portly one said.

"Then this will be the beginning of a beautiful partnership, Jasper," he said, addressing his new partner.

"Indeed it will, Horace,"

~*~

"Well...we're all packed and ready," Snow said, as she came out of the house with the baby in her arms.

"Okay...and I've got the route all mapped out," he said, as they shared a kiss. He smiled at her, as she put the baby in his car seat and buckled him in, before they both got into the front seat.

"Wow...you plotted out all the beaches along the way," Snow gushed, as she looked over their route.

"Of course...we may have to drive there, but I made sure there will be plenty of water time for this family," he replied, as they kissed again, before he put the van in gear and they began their journey…

[singledarkshade]

New Circumstances

Part Five

 (Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four found here)

 “I don’t like this.”

Miranda watched Rip pace the room they’d been given in the base, while she sat on the very comfortable bed they, unfortunately, wouldn’t have time to test before the mission.

“Rip,” she said softly, “It will be fine.”

He gave a soft snort, “Risking your safety on a woman we stole from.”

“Darling,” Miranda stepped into his path, “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do,” he frowned.

She caught his arms, holding him to face her, “Then trust that I know what I’m doing.”

“I should be with you at this party,” Rip said.

“Thawne knows you,” Miranda reminded him, “He’ll know instantly that something is wrong if he sees you. Even if he recognises me, he doesn’t know we’re together. Accompanying Ray, it will just seem like a coincidence.”

“I still don’t like it,” Rip said.

Miranda wrapped her arms around his waist and rested against him, “I am trusting Agent Baxter and Danvers with your safety, Rip. And the three of you have the most dangerous job retrieving the data.”

“Promise me, that you will be careful,” Rip whispered, “I can’t lose you.”

Looking up at him, Miranda smiled and brushed her lips to his, “I will be careful and stay beside Ray at all times.”

Pulling her close Rip held onto her, the worry not leaving him.

 “What can I do for you, Mr Hunter?” Gideon asked sharply when Rip walked into the base’s hub.

Rip frowned, “I’m here for an earbud.”

She stood and moved to one of the shelves, taking one of the communicators Cisco had created which she handed him with the same blank expression.

He placed it in his ear and waited, nodding when he heard the tones she sent through.

“Can you hear me?”

Gideon looked up from her screen, “You’re coming through. Do not lose the earbud and try not to immerse it in water.”

Rip nodded again before he started out. With a sigh he turned back and walked over to where Gideon was working.

“I’m sorry if you’re angry with us,” Rip stated, “But it was just a job, we were hired to steal the information from you.”

“And the sex?” she stated sharply, “Were you hired to do that?”

Rip grimaced, “The original plan was you would never have seen us again after the bar, but Miranda liked you. She knew you’d be upset when you lost the data so wanted you to have at least one good memory of the night.”

Gideon let out a laugh of disbelief.

“It wasn’t personal,” Rip added.

“It sure as hell felt it,” Gideon stated sharply, “I fell asleep with two people who I’d spent several hours in the most intimate way and woke up alone, dumped in my own room then discovered I was robbed. I would have felt less violated if I’d never saw you again after the bar.”

Rip stared at her not sure what he could say.

“I accepted this job because it was a chance to stop people like you,” Gideon continued, “This is my team, Mr Hunter, I am in charge. If you do anything that puts any of them in danger, then you will also wish you’d never seen me after the bar.”

   Rip walked towards the wardrobe room annoyed at himself for trying to talk to Gideon. He knew Miranda felt guilty for the game they’d played with the other woman, and he wanted her to understand their side. He should have known better.

They’d agreed to work with these people, and he wanted Miranda to be comfortable here. She deserved to have more than just him around her, to have friends she could spend time with and be normal.

Stepping into the room, Rip stalled and stared at the woman before him. Miranda turned and found him standing there.

“Well, will I do?” Miranda asked, turning to show off the full effect of her shimmering blue cocktail dress.

Rip stepped closer, “You are utterly beautiful.”

“I knew I kept you around for a reason,” Miranda chuckled.

He smiled at her, before shaking himself, “Alright, promise me that you will stay with Ray. No matter what.”

“No matter how pretty or fun someone may look,” Miranda grinned mischievously, “I promise,” she said before she added, “You promise to stay with the rest of the team and be careful.”

To ensure he didn’t ruin her makeup, Rip took her hand and pressed a soft kiss to where her wedding ring usually sat, now bare as she wasn’t allowed to wear it on the mission.

                                 *********************************************

 “Alright, everyone,” Cisco said in their ears, “We are parked in the agreed rendezvous spot. Ray, Miranda, we’ve got your comms and the camera on. You can head in.”

Turning to the man at her side, Miranda slid her arm through his and they walked into the party. Miranda took a breath trying not to worry about Rip, along with their two new colleagues, as they broke into the offices above them.

“Mr Palmer,” Eobard Thawne appeared, “How wonderful you came tonight.”

Ray nodded politely, “Of course. It’s for a good cause after all.”

“Reverse Children Suffering is a charity I believe in,” Thawne gave a nod, false sincerity in his voice before turning to Miranda, “And who is this lovely lady?”

“This is my dear friend, Miranda,” Ray introduced her.

Thawne took Miranda’s hand and kissed it, “How wonderful to meet you.”

“And you,” Miranda stated softly.

Thawne kept a hold of her hand, “It always makes my day when such beauty lights up my party.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Cisco said in Miranda’s ear and she forced herself not to laugh.

Miranda gave a sweet smile, take her hand back, “You are too kind, Mr Thawne.”

“If you’ll excuse us,” Ray wrapped his arm around Miranda, “We should make the rounds.”

Thawne nodded, “I hope you will honour me with a dance later tonight.”

Giving him a smile, Miranda was relieved when Ray moved her away before she had to answer.

“I take it you never dealt with him,” Ray murmured.

Miranda shook her head, “No. Rip always ensured I was kept from any of the people we were hired by. He never wanted me exposed to them.”

Ray smiled slightly as they walked round the room, “Overprotective?”

She gave a fond smile, “He is. But I wouldn’t have him any other way.”

As they moved further around the room Ray frowned, “I hope they’re doing okay.”

“Rip knows what he’s doing,” Miranda said, hoping she sounded confident.

   Rip led the two women into the offices of Thawne Industries. He’d read their files and watched them train earlier, both appeared to be competent and he just hoped that they were once in the field.

“I’ve accessed the security system,” Gideon’s voice came in his ear, “All the alarms have been disabled. Go now.”

Rip forced himself not to ask if Miranda was alright, she knew how to deal with people in these situations, her foster father had put her in them often. She was also with Ray who was well known and high profile enough to be safe.

“Rip,” Alex said softly, “Which way?”

“Along the corridor,” he told her, “Second door on the left. You take the server room and get Gideon online to erase the information, I will go to the office and find the original flash drive.”

Alex nodded, “Gideon, we’ll be in the room in ten seconds.”

“I’m waiting,” the reply came.

Rip glanced at them, “I will see you both at the rendezvous point.”

“You better,” Eve told him before she and Alex started for the server room.

Once they were away, Rip pulled himself up into the ventilation shaft and began to climb to reach Thawne’s office. He’d slipped in this way many times, to both steal things and to provide things he’d stolen.

Dropping into the office, Rip took a deep breath and moved carefully around the room, locating the flash drive in the top drawer. Part of him wanted to cause much more damage to Thawne’s systems because he was someone who did so much damage.

“Rip,” Gideon’s voice came in his ear, “Do you have the drive?”

“Yes.”

“Then get out now,” she ordered.

He hesitated, “I…”

“Out now,” she ordered again harsher, “That was your mission. No changing the plan. Not this time.”

Wincing at the rebuke, Rip sighed, “I’m on way back.”

“Hurry up.”

Ensuring he left no trace, Rip slid back into the shaft and made his way out the building. Avoiding all the guards easily, Rip made his way to the mobile lab that was sitting and knocked the moment he reached it.

Cisco opened the door and allowed him inside.

“Let’s go,” Cisco called closing the doors behind Rip.

“Wait,” Rip said, “Miranda and Ray?”

“Were at the party,” Eve reminded him, “They’ll leave as soon as it’s respectable in Ray’s car and meet us back at the base.”

Grimacing he took a seat, as Gideon began to drive them back to the base.

   Gideon parked the mobile lab in the base and allowed everyone out. Once the entire team had left her alone, she let out a long sigh of relief.

“You did well,” Joe West said, as she got out the van surprised to see him waiting for her.

“I didn’t realise you were here,” Gideon said softly.

Joe smiled, “First mission, quite an important one, I thought it would be a good idea to stick around and see the outcome. It was a good one.”

Gideon sighed, “It will be once Ray and Miranda return to the base.”

Joe grinned, “Damn I wish I’d found you first. You would make a great agent, but I prefer you as this team’s leader.”

She gave him a small smile, “I think we were very lucky in this mission that Rip knew the building well enough to get the team in and out. We won’t always be so lucky.”

“Take the wins when they come,” Joe told her, “Otherwise you won’t have anything to celebrate.”

Gideon chuckled, “I will. As long as you continue to help me.”

“Deal,” Joe nodded, “Come on, I’ll make you a tea while we wait for Ray and Miranda to return.”

Nodding Gideon allowed him to lead her upstairs.