#Terra could absolutely use that coffee

[silvertherogue715]

hello! Me again I’m curious on how Sofie and Mercury met one another? I know I’m one of my other asks that you said the two’s relationship(while still in the works) is romantic and I’m curious as to how that came to be. Also that one little comic with Sofie thanking Mercury was adorable and the cat eye expression on mercury’s face made me laugh. I am also curious about Sofie’s standing in the au what does she do? Either way I might just have to come back with some coffee for Terra next ask lol I hope you’re doing well! Thank you

Short answer:

How Sofie and Mercury met:

After separating from the Stardroids, Mercury met Sofie (24) for the first time after her little sister Penelope (7) tried to save Mercury from a moving car. Both ended up getting saved by Sofie instead. Mercury returned the favor later by guiding a very lost and scared Penelope back to her big sister. 

Mercury and Sofie met several more times after that, completely by coincidence, and he eventually decides to stick around.

Sofie Miller:

Sofie is a supporting side character in the AU. She’s Minx’s long-time best friend and big sister figure. She works as a tailor with her mother in America, and helps raise her little sister, Penelope (7). Sofie is usually away from where most of the drama happens (Japan).   Long version below

How Sofie and Mercury met:

While I have yet to create a scene sketch for this, the conditions leading to Mercury and Sofie’s meeting is largely a result of Mercury separating from the other Stardroids, leaving him stranded on Earth. Why? Certain conditions in the story (avoiding spoilery infodump) lead him to believe his best course of action was independence–he wasn’t super close with them, anyway–even becoming an occasional threat to his former brothers in the future. Conflicting interests and whatnot.

Anyway! Mercury meets Sofie through her little sister, Penelope, several months after separating from the Stardroids. My (simplified) main thought of how this interaction would go is something along the lines of:

Mercury roams the NET and real world of the city Sofie lives in hunting Negative Energy Crystal (NEC) shards while keeping a low profile.

While traveling around the city in cat-form, he gets chased into the street by a dog. Penelope spots him and tries to grab him to stop him from being hit by a car, only for both Mercury and Penelope to get snatched out of the way at the last second by a very startled Sofie.

Mercury later returns Penelope’s good will by guiding her back to Sofie when she gets separated from her big sister. Penelope thanks “Mr. Jelly” (because he’s squishy for a cat) for helping her, and he leaves. 

Shenanigans ensue, and Mercury runs into Sofie several more times before deciding (for plot reasons) to stick around. Although that’s technically their “first” meeting–Sofie meets Mercury in his 'Stardroid' form later in the AU.

Additionally, The Stardroids, unlike most other Navis, are not bound to the NET in this AU, and can actually easily travel in and out of it as they wish.

Sofie Miller    

Sofie is Minx’s long-distance best friend and big sister figure, and has been for over a decade. Both girls met around 10, and Ra Moon helped them keep in contact after Minx moved away. 

Sofie is an incredibly hard working individual who had to grow up fast to help her mom run their family tailor shop and raise her little sister. As a result, she is very calm-minded, practical, and patient (she wouldn’t be able to stand Mercury otherwise). 

As far as what she does in the story: Sofie is a supporting side-character. Minx–who is more of a main character in this AU–highly values her input and follows her advice when appropriate. She and Minx are absolutely found family–Minx adores and idolizes her, and does whatever she can to help her out, like offering her contracts to collaborate with Minx for work*. Found family is a huge theme in this AU!

More specifically, she is very much Minx’s rock during the end of Arc 1 and beginning of Arc 2 (4 Arcs total so far) after Ra Moon is “destroyed” and the Stardroids appear. Although Sofie does not live where most of the action takes place (Japan), that does not prevent her from having a decent impact on the story–especially when Mercury shows up. To Sofie, Mercury is Minx on crack.

*(Minx works for IPC’s video game department, creating and selling custom style chips that mirror video game character clothing/accessories/weapons from IPC games. Sofie creates real-life models for some of these, which is used as a reference for the tech/chip team)

[adminbryantsaki]

Welcome to the Multiverse Part 2

I Do not own the Marvel Cinematic Universe or anything related to the series. It belongs to the Walt Disney Company. I own the Four sisters though. If this isn’t your cup of tea, blend of spices, or brew of coffee, move on. Reader discretion is advised.)

TW: MCU Spoilers, OCs, destruction, war,

WC: 1,849

Within the walls of a very secure vault under a house, the six Infinity Stones glowed in the darkness within separate cases. All of the sudden BOOM, and a wall fell through, a tall, slender woman stepped over the rubble and into the vault where she grinned at the sight of the glowing Stones. The light of the Time and Mind Stones illuminated her face to reveal an angular face with high cheekbones, thin lips, and beady black eyes that seemed to radiate absolute greed when she saw the Stones.

“Those foolish sisters left all the Stones open for the taking. Guess I’ll just keep them safe for those sisters. They are such a thorn in my side. I’m glad that they up and disappeared with no trace. Stupid of them to leave the stones here though.” Lamina spoke.

One sunny afternoon, just after training with Doctor Strange, Ren and Azar received a letter

From their home universe informing them that their Infinity Stones had been stolen by their arch nemesis, Lamina, and was currently wrecking havoc on their home world. Azar later showed this letter to her sisters after summoning them from the other sanctums and they decided to go back home, so they could save their universe.  Ren was upset about this as she worked hard to help make a better universe for her sisters, but she stormed off to her room and began to pack. Terra went after her and leaned against the doorway. “You know why we must go back. Lamina will tear our world apart piece by piece with those Stones.” Terra spoke as Ren walked past her and out the door. “I know, that’s why we’re going back. We must stop her and get the Stones away from her and locked up again so we can come back and keep learning the Mystic Arts.” Ren spoke and carried her bag down to the main lobby where Dr. Strange was talking with Azar and Zephyria when he looked up to Ren and gestured for her to come over. “I have told your sisters this and I’ll tell you now. The four of you have done so well in your training that you are ready to move on. Go back home and save your world. If you wish to visit this world, then you may do so, but leave your Stones in your universe.” He spoke. Ren was shocked, thinking they still had years of training to do. But the sorcerer in front of her was right. She and her sisters needed to go home and stop Lamina. Ren nodded and turned to the wall, where she assisted Terra in opening a portal back to their home, back in their house. Once the portal was open, Azar and Zephyria went through first before Ren and Terra followed and Ren closed the portal, cutting off their connection to the World of Heroes.

Ren took a deep breath and turned to the dark grey walls of their home and the empty pedestals where their six Infinity Stones once stood. The pedestals had been smashed to bits and there was a hole in one of the walls just past the pedestals that looked over the crowded city that seemed to be burning below.

“We’re too late.” Zephyria spoke as she saw the destruction that had been wrecked on the city. “No, look up, Lamina is there with the Stones. She’s using them to cause all this destruction.” Azar spoke and pointed to a figure levitating in the sky above the city. “If we can do anything, we need to use our skills in the Mystic Arts that we have learned these past few weeks. We need to bind her down and take the Stones back, and always keep them on our bodies, Incursions be damned.” Ren spoke and put her necklace on that had two empty places where the Time and Soul Stones would be. Azar had a pair of gauntlets that would hold the Reality and Space Stones, Terra had a headband that held the Mind Stone, and Zephyria had a bracelet that held the Power Stone. All the slots for the Stones were empty, but the sisters gathered their courage and followed Ren who charged out of their home and created a glowing shield to help her float in the air and sped quickly to where Lamina was causing destruction all over their home. “LAMINA! STOP THIS NOW AND HAND THE STONES OVER TO US! THEY DO NOT BELONG TO YOU!” Ren bellowed. Lamina paused what she was doing and turned around to face Ren who was seething with every fiber in her being. Lamina was a tall and slender woman who looked like she had one too many plastic surgery operations to try and achieve the ultimate vision of beauty. She didn’t achieve that at all. She looked like a skeleton with flesh wrapped around the bones and a metal armor that was skin tight and showed every part of her bony body. Across her chest was the Infinity Stones in this order: Reality, Soul, Mind, Time, Space, and Power. Her face had twisted into a frown at the sight of the young women in front of her. “Took you long enough to realize that your world is in danger. Where did the four of you go anyways?” Lamina asked. “None of your business. Just hand the Stones over and we will leave you alone.” Ren spoke. “Now why would I do that when I’m only just beginning to have fun?” She asked as she plucked out the Reality Stone and spun it around in her gloved fingers. Azar’s eyes widened and lunged forward at Lamina, trying to get the stone away from the villain. Lamina caught her and pulled her hand away, chuckling at Azar at her failed attempt to get the Stone away from her. “You all should know by now that I’m not going to give these beauties up so easily. I plan to wipe this world clean and remake it to be more beautiful, and no longer such an ugly, grey world that it is now.” She spoke.

Yes, their world did look grey and lifeless. But it wasn’t ugly. There were things of beauty to be seen within the small cracks of the city. Clearly Lamina was blind to these other forms of beauty as she was too focused on her own self-image to even notice them. “You’re wrong.” Zephyria spoke quietly that only her sisters could hear and Lamina caught a whisper of her voice. “What did you say?” Lamina hissed, lunging at the girl, and pulling her up by her hair. “You’re wrong. Our world isn’t ugly and lifeless. You only think that because you took too much time on your own self worth and never thought to look at beauty in the small things. You only focused on the grand picture and how your ideals would fit into it. When you didn’t fit in, you went to more drastic measures, altering your body until you look horrendous and like a skeleton fit into a skin suit without the organs, muscles, and fat, and even planned so that when my sisters and I left to learn how to defeat you once and for all is when you chose to strike. Taking what isn’t yours to try and unnecessarily change the world into what you think is ‘right’ and ‘beautiful’. You shouldn’t do that, but I can’t change your mind, and I’m sorry for you.” Zephyria spoke and smiled as someone approached with the cops. “Lamina! Give up! You are surrounded with no escape. Turn the Stones back to their rightful owners and come with us peacefully!” The chief of police called through a loudspeaker at the villain who glared down at them before looking back to Zephyria who had a smirk plastered on her face. “If you decide to not give up the Stones and turn yourself over to the police, you’ll only make yourself look uglier.” She told her. Lamina snarled in defeat and floated down to the ground, pushing Zephyria away from her and into the arms of Terra who felt safer on the ground during this fight an held her wrists out to the police. “Alright, you have me.” She spoke in defeat. “You must hand the Infinity Stones over first. We cannot trust you to not use them against us.” The chief spoke. Lamina hesitantly turned to where Ren and Azar were landing next to Terra and Zephyria she plucked each of the remaining Stones and floated them over to the sisters who took their respective stones back into their jewelry.

Once the sisters had the Stones back, a cop took Lamina under custody. Everything seemed to be going easy, almost too easy. Lamina had been taken away in the police car and the sisters were heading back into their house to begin cleaning up and helping with fixing whatever other destruction that had been caused due to Lamina’s control over the Stones. They had put the Stones back on their pedestals for now as they contributed to the cleaning up and repairing of their city. But once those operations were over, Ren wanted to go back to Dr. Strange and ask if they could still train under him as she knew that they hadn’t trained for long enough when the threat had risen-up in their world.

Ren went to the same wall where she would open and close portals to other dimensions and opened one to the New York Sanctum in Earth-616 where she found Dr. Strange sitting down across from his fireplace with a cup of tea and a good book. She stepped through the portal and approached Dr. Strange. “If you are here to ask about furthering your training, its not needed. As I told you and your sisters before you left to save your planet, which you did an excellent job. But you finished your training. There is no need for any of you to come back.” He spoke. Ren felt hurt and crestfallen. She turned to go back through the still-open portal and go home. But she was stopped by Dr. Strange who stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. “But, I had a talk with Wong and the other Sanctum Leaders. We decided that the four of you should help us by gathering information on Kang the Conqueror and any other threats to our universe that seen like an issue to us so we will be ready for anything.” Dr. Strange spoke. Ren lit up and thanked him before running back through the portal to home to tell her sisters the good news.

The End.

[justicerikai]

Charisma House - Superhuman Sharehouse Story “Charisma” - #19 Fumiya and Iori

Please read alongside listening to the drama track on Youtube.

Iori: Amahiko-saaan~

Amahiko: Ooh.. ueeh? Iori-san!? Are you alright!? You have some horrible dark circles around your eyes!

Iori: It’s nothing to worry about, gimme an order♪ It’s another day for self-sacrifice♪ Contribution♪ Free service♪

Amahiko: But still…

Iori: Ah, you’re drinking coffee. I’ll pour you another cup.

(Iori speeds off and comes back)

Iori: Here you go!

Amahiko: How fast!

Iori: Are you enjoying it?

Amahiko: I haven’t drank yet

Iori: Drink.

(Amahiko takes a sip)

Iori: And?

Amahiko: It’s absolutely delicious, Iori-san. Thank you.

Iori: Yaay~! Is there anything else?

Amahiko: Eeh! No, I can’t…

Iori: Give me orders! Do as you like! Tug on my collar!

Amahiko: Please calm down

Iori: Ah, Saru-chan and Terra-kun! Good timing!

Terra & Sarukawa: Huh?

Iori: I’m telling youuu, there’s no need to worry. I’m seriously fine.

Terra: Really? Even though you don’t look well

Sarukawa: You didn’t sleep did’cha

Iori: It’s okay. Going to bed will only throw my balance off even more. C’mon hurry. Orders, orders

Terra: Hmm, well if you say so, could you go out shopping?

Iori: Of course♡

Amahiko: The bath needs to be cleaned…

Iori: Of course♡

Sarukawa: Wash my shoes

Iori: Of course♡

Terra: You see the toilet is…

Iori: Of course♡

Amahiko: About the entrance…

Iori: Of course♡

Sarukawa: Y’know the roof’s kinda

Iori: Of course♡

Terra: A head spa

Iori: Of course♡

Amahiko: Strip

Iori: Of course♡

Sarukawa: Gimme money

Iori: Sure! I’ll give you lots of it!

PPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Rikai: What are you guys doing again! This escalated too much!

Iori: Rikai-kun, I’m fine with it

Rikai: No way! You know you look awful? And I’m sure you haven’t been resting properly either

Rikai: What is the meaning of this! Are you all trying to get Iori killed?

Terra: Well… He said himself that he’s okay with it…

Amahiko: S-so we just…

Iori: R-Rikai-kun… I seriously have no problems with it… So if there’s anything you want me to do then…

Rikai: No. It has been enough of this slave contract and foolish system so we will be abolishing it.

Iori: HAAAAH!? Hold on!

Terra: Iori-kun… I’m so sorry for all I did…

Iori: He apologied! No no no!

Amahiko: I won’t depend on you anymore…

Iori: No way, this is bad! This is going in a bad direction! How did it come to this!?

Sarukawa: Io, my bad.

Iori: EVEN SARU-CHAN!? No way! This is a slave crisis!

Rikai: Now then everyone, we will not be relying on Iori-san by any means now.

Iori: Rikai-kun, aren’t you the one trying to get me killed!?

Rikai: Order is ALL GREEN.

Iori: It’s not green AT ALL! It’s getting dark before my eyes. I need to work! Contribute! Not rest!

Rikai: Go rest up properly

Iori: Nooo waaaaay!

Rikai: Back to your room!

Iori: WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

(Door opens)

Terra: Ah, Fumiya-kun

Fumiya: Is Iori here?

Iori: Huh? Y-yeah. I’m here.

Fumiya: Sorry to ask but could you clean up my room, I’ll be out for a while

Fumiya: And I’m hungry. Make some food too.

Iori: Fu-Fumiya-san…!

Iori: Yes! I’ll take care of it~!

PPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIII

Rikai: Wait there, Iori-san. I said it was enough

Iori: Grrrr

Rikai: Fumiya-san, I ask you to refrain from relying on him.

Fumiya: Hm?

Iori: Grrrrrrr

Rikai: We’re working our fellow resident Iori-san to the bone

Fumiya: Aah. Yeah we’re using him

Rikai: It’s no good.

Fumiya: It’s not? Why

Rikai: W-why you ask…

Fumiya: Isn’t it really convenient

Rikai: Convenient!? How could you say that!

Iori: Fumiya-saaaaaan!!!

Rikai: Eh?

Fumiya: He’s got a high utility value

Rikai: UTILITY value!?

Iori: FWUuMIYAa-SHUAaAAN!!

Fumiya: I can take it easy with someone like him around

Rikai: I cannot approve of such a relationship. It’s no good.

Fumiya: No good? Why.

Rikai: It’s unhealthy. Corrupt even

Fumiya: Yeah. But human connections are corrupt to begin with, right

Rikai: Hah?

Fumiya: Everyone forms relationships due there being some kind of benefit or merit to be gained from having associations with one other. Those who cannot offer anything are shut out. Even families do so and it happens all the more with strangers.

Fumiya: Motohashi Iori is convenient for me, his utility value is high, so there’s no doubt that his existence is certainly vital.

Fumiya: If he ever were to lose his utility then this relationship might end up severed.

Fumiya: Well, the same could be said about me.

(Iori sounds happy)

Fumiya: Iori? Food

Iori: Eh! Y-yes!

Amahiko: Rikai-san? Everything alright?

(A loud thud is heard)

Terra, Sarukawa, Amahiko, Rikai: !?

Sarukawa: Io!?

Terra: Wah! He collapsed!

Sarukawa: Io! What happened!

Rikai: Iori-san! Are you alright!?

Terra: Did he die!?

Amahiko: He didn’t

Terra: He’s dead!!???

Amahiko: He isn’t

Iori: Fuwaah….

Terra, Sarukawa, Amahiko, Rikai: Eh?

Iori: Sorry. I don’t know what happened but I suddenly felt drowsy

Terra, Sarukawa, Amahiko, Rikai: Hah?

Sarukawa: What the hell you bastard were just sleeping

Iori: I wonder where that came from. How strange

Terra: Geez~ What a scare. We thought you died. Right?

Amahiko: No, no one thought that, Terra-san

Fumiya: Why don’t you go sleep in your room? Never mind food

Iori: Eh… B-but…

Fumiya: You can’t do anything without stamina. Resting up is also part of giving free service I think

Iori: Y-you’re right. Understood. I’ll go rest.

Iori: Everyone, I’ll be taking a short break right now so make sure to make good use of me once I’m back.

Fumiya: Got it. Besides this household would be nothing without you

Iori: Fuuh…Fuuuh….FWuuUWUuUMIYUAAaaSHBUAaAAN~!

Fumiya: ‘Night

Iori: Goodniiight~♪

Rikai: He…He went to rest…

Amahiko: Hm~ Fumiya-san, as expected from you if I had to say, nice guidance play.

Terra: You knew how to pick your words to convince him, since it looks like he went to rest on his own accord

Rikai: You spoke in such a way for the sake of his own, huh…

Sarukawa: Meh

Fumiya: You’re wrong

Terra, Sarukawa, Amahiko, Rikai: Eh?

Fumiya: I only did it for the sake of my own merit, if he doesn’t get proper amount of rest then he could break and it’d be a problem

Fumiya: So you gotta take good care of useful tools

(Fumiya walks away)

Terra, Sarukawa, Amahiko, Rikai: What the hell!

[zeravmeta]

this is the funniest possible combination of people they could have done. This is absolutely the next greatest blockbuster hit organized by Lava and Nian after four nights of coffee induced productivity mania after listening to some Crimson Troupe tunes sung personally by Phantom and drinking Closures own specially made cocktail combined from all the things Kal'tsit injected herself with for a 40 hour continuous string of operations to keep herself functional. Hibiscus walked into the room after they released this poster and saw Lava biting into a brick of Pure Sugar Lump and swallow without even blinking and decided to seal off the rooms lest the insanity reach the outdoors

like Mr Nothing on his own is already superb to pair with another character given his Ultra Instinct style powerlevel hidden behind a guy trying to pass himself of as a dude called Norm L. Manne but then you have Saga who is quite literally one of the Dogs Of All Time who everyone needs to get a load of so she will believe Mr Nothing with a genuine honesty and earnestness that he is entirely unprepared for because he's used to most people thinking hes shady so he will now loudly and proudly showcase his full martial arts prowess alongside another martial arts master. And Saga herself is also great because she follows the ancient technique of Dog practiced only by Ceobe and uncounterable by even the most ancient Feranmut so when Mr Nothing insists that they cannot handle an enemy before them he'll have to sit his ass down and watch as she circle forward autocancels five bar meter ultracombo killimanjaros whatever hegemonic husk of a boss monster was sicked onto them by only the most corrupt and devious of Arts as she turns and says "see what was so hard"

and then Jaye is added to the mix.

And suddenly the two man dynamic becomes a perfect chaotic storm where Jaye, just like Mr Nothing, insists he's just a normal merchant, but unlike Mr Nothing he genuinely means it, entirely unaware that he's casting fucking Judgment Cut on everything that crosses his path. Jaye, with the most serious face ever born from countless hard days of customer service, will insist that what he's doing isn't special as he matches an Emperor's Blade blow for blow. The Emperor's Blade, never having been pushed to such a limit, will give himself into the demonic shards powers and turn into a full on Demon, this newly birthed creation immediately entering the second stage of life (known as death) as Jaye did not finish his attack animation and sashimi'd the demonic entity into a paste so fine it isn't cursing the land around it. And after witnessing such an incredible display, Saga will turn to Mr Nothing and go "See? it's nothing special"

So Mr Nothing, Saga, and Jaye walk into a bar, and all of Terra past and present knew this could not end well.

this trio will be the latest upcoming new buddy cop movie where they have to trace a missing shipment of finball meat. This of course will inevitably lead to a battle against two Gods hailing from Rim Billton with the thickest Aussie accents imaginable, a new Seaborn invasion featuring Corrupted Gladiia, the return of the Sargonian Rangers decked out in new sentai outfits, the full on revival of the Witch King, a Mecha Godzilla type entity made by Rhine Labs, the first ever Kazimierz Major winner on par with Nearl, and a surprise twist featuring a previously thought to be dead character

This movie will be so legendary that Whisperains continuous bouts of amnesia will stop. Full On Stop. because she will always remember this movie

[ticklishbeans4]

Some of Raine's quirks that concerns Eda sometimes is their coffee consumption, their workaholic and one of the weirdest things is the fact they can eat a picnic basket full of Carolina Reapers-The hottest pepper in the world-and not react.

Then there's Eda's quirks including deflecting her trauma with morbid humor, dealing with self hatred (she's trying to get better with a therapist), and she carries a lot of emotional baggage mainly due to her previous relationships. Raine is horrified.

The two of them are trying to do better, Raine and the kids are planning the murder of those exes. Raine is planning to rip apart Warden Wrath, especially when they found out the jerk threatened King and Luz to blackmail her into dating him.

Darius and Eberwolf have started inviting Raine and Eda to come along for spa time. Eda enjoys the hot baths, Raine isn't a fan of massages mainly because they aren't comfortable with being touched by people they don't know, it also reminds them of Terra. Edas really the only one so far who their comfortable.

Eda gets phantom pains from her amputated arm sometimes, Raine applies healing balm and kisses it better.

When they get into silly moods they start fun fights, Eda usually won, although she would get them in a tight spot by cooing at them. Planting soft kisses on their ears and just teasing them mercilessly.

But that's not to say Raine doesn't win, they taser her hips and ribs. They use bard magic by whistling on her neck and shoulders so they just get rid of stress and are having fun spending time together ❤️

They are in love

AH! Sorry this took so long to answer! I’ve been hella busy with life stuff.

1. Raine loving coffee and spicy stuff is awesome and I love it. This poor enby needs to REST tho. Pls Raine you’re doing your wife a concern.

2. EDA YOU’RE DOIN YOUR PARTNER A CONCERN!

3. Warden Wrath had better watch out. If Raine and the kids get him... not even Hettie could fix him.

4. Absolutely yes. She very much appreciates it and gives Raine plenty of thank you kisses.

5. Eda is so soft with Raine when she’s in a silly mood. Cooing, baby talk, soft kisses and nuzzles. Raine is just GONE.

6. Raine loves using their magic on her, it’s so affective and they love hearing her adorable snorty laughter.

7. THEY ARE!!! 

[leam1983]

Major Alexei Belitrov

He's probably my favourite SCP in all of the series canon.

Dude comes from an absolute hellscape where the planet's devolved into general thermonuclear insanity and the only soldiers remaining depend on the work of an extant Hominid species called the Engineers, that's managed to create permanent biomechanical shells for "applicants" joining the army. Where he's from, Communism survived by virtue of being cut off from the rest of the world following an absolute deluge of nukes, and now giant chitinous fuckers that look like the cockroaches from Terra Formars duke it out against one another amidst the blasted ruins of what once was.

One said giant chitinous fucker is taken hostage by a group of US-allied other chitinous fuckers, and then inexplicably isekai'd into the SCP Foundation's version of our timeline. As of the entry's redaction, 2022 is a year that sees the Russian Federation act alongside American and European interests in order to preserve peace in the Middle East, and seems to be marked by a somewhat softer, more logical application of Capitalism. Major Belitrov is first treated as any other SCP, but his appointed examiner begins to develop a kinship with the large Posthuman palooka. They exchange books, talk through an AM radio in a pidgin of German and Russian, and the doc is eventually able to downgrade Alexei to a Person of Interest to the SCP Foundation. This affords him some freedom, which he tries to use in order to put his enhanced speed and strength to use in a world that will never have seen the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

It doesn't quite pan out. He's trapped in his armor, towers over most regular humans, can't hold down a job without freaking his colleagues out and can't eat or sleep in the company of other humans without causing them some concern, so he eventually finds an anomalous Coptic Christian church founded by other biomechanoid weirdoes the Foundation's let on a longer leash than usual. Like any good formerly-Communist Russian soldier, he was initially raised as a staunch atheist, but eventually finds the basics of a spiritual calling, once surrounded by other horrors that want nothing more than a bit of land to tend to and a quiet space to pray in.

Against all odds, the post-apocalyptic Russian ubermensch finds peace in leading prayer circles and in keeping loose contacts with other anomalies and doctors in the Foundation. He becomes a true believer, but always phrases his faith in absolute love and compassion, without an ounce of bigotry or judgement. The massive, exoskeleton-covered brute who could kill you with a single pump of his fist becomes an expert gardener, in attending to things much more fragile than himself.

Eventually, several decades into our future, Major Belitrov now lives as Father Anvil, and dies an old man - at peace with his own tribulations and willing to confront whatever torture awaits him in expiation of his past sins.

I caught The Volgun's reading of his entry last night and damn, this is one Eldritch entity I would've shared a coffee and a sandwich with, for sure. Possibly a hug, even.

[bananablam]

Shadows and Light

A Nightwing Fanfic

Read the previous chapter, Just A Dream, Here.

Pairing: Dick Grayson as Nightwing x Reader

Genre: POV, Story, Fluff

Content: smooching :3, language, knife wounds

Trigger Warning: knife wounds, blood, nightmares...monkeys, if you're Conner.

Note: okay so it was more than 3 days, oof. but I really had to make it the best I could for you guys. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who's been reading, my real life is crazy so it means a lot that you all are enjoying my daydreams. There's a lot of BatBro interaction in this chapter which I absolutely adore to write-but some very soft fluffy POV at the end. Trust me- it's about to go DOWN in this chapter. Also, I proofread a million times but just know I didn't catch everything, idk. Edits are forthcoming. Also-props to you if you recognize the musical I referenced.

Also I hope it's not weird I decided to switch tenses and etc. when writing. I decided that anything from Y/Ns POV should be first person/present tense. Idk. Work with me.

Word count: Approx. 2500

/ / /

On the continent of South America, there lives a bird called the White Bellbird. True to it's name, the White Bellbird sports snow white feathers and a charcoal colored beak with feet to match.

It also has a very distinct call that, unfortunately for one Dick Grayson, sounds somewhat like a pissed off car alarm.

ScreeeeEEE!

Dick groaned and rolled over in bed. Absently, he slapped at the air, trying to silence what he thought must have been his alarm clock. As he finally opened his eyes, he realized that not only was his alarm clock nowhere to be seen, his bed was actually a reclined seat in the BatPlane.

He squinted against the dappled green sunlight streaming in through the jet windows as the previous night's events came rushing back to him. The compound, Terra...the knife, he remembered, as a shooting pain ran through his chest.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty's awake," came Jason's voice. He was perched in another of the BatPlane's leather passenger seats, once again playing his switch. Glancing up for a millisecond, he said, "Oof. Make that Sleeping Ugly. You look like shit."

"Thanks, man," Dick croaked. God, he could use some water. Groggily, he asked, "How long have we been here? Why haven't we left?"

"It's only been a few hours. Tim thought we'd better wait until you had some rest."

Dick looked around the cabin. The jump door of the plane had been left open, revealing the riot of greenery just outside. Besides the calls of various birds, he could hear the chittering of monkeys and what he could swear was a warthog. "Where is Tim?"

Jason snorted. "We're in the middle of the jungle and he finished off the last of the coffee on the plane last night. Where do you think he went?"

"Please don't tell me he-"

"-hitchhiked to the nearest town with a decent cup of coffee?" came Tim's voice. He came walking up the jump door's ramp, weighed down with a full cupholder and a large bag that smelled of heavenly pastries. "I sure as hell did, how do you expect me to fly us back to Gotham without-" he paused, staring at Dick. "Wow. You look like shit."

"We've established this," Dick said drily. "How the hell did you find a coffee shop out here?"

"It was not easy my dude, but sacrifices must be made. Now buckle up buttercup-we were supposed to have this jet back last night...annnnnd nose game decides who has to explain it to Bruce, not it!" he said quickly, whipping a finger onto his nose. Catching on immediately, Dick followed suit.

Jason looked up from his switch. "Wait, what are we-ah, shit."

/ / /

Not too long after, the jet was Gotham-bound. Dick gazed out of the window, hoping Y/N wasn't worrying about him. Between the two days he'd spent at Wayne Manor briefing for the mission, a day's flight down and trying to sleep off this knife wound, he'd been gone longer than he meant to be.

Once they were flying smoothly over the Gulf of Mexico, Tim engaged the autopilot and came to sit with Dick, laptop in tow. "How you feeling?" he said, plopping down in the seat next to him.

"Better."

"Good, cuz I've got something to show you," Tim said, spinning his laptop around so that Dick could see. "I did a deep search of every criminal and government database on the planet, and Terra's goons aren't goons at all. They're actually decorated members of the Travanian military."

"Travania?" Jason piped up. He was in the jet's small galley, pouring a bowl of cereal. "Isn't one of the largest sapphire mines in the world located there?"

Tim and Dick stared.

"What?" Jason said defensively. "The discovery channel was playing while I was in the gym last week."

"Wow. It knows things," Tim said after a moment of silence.

"You're on thin fuckin' ice, Drake."

"Anyway," Dick interrupted, "Okay, so they're in the military. And?"

"Not just the military," Tim continued. "They're all in a top secret regiment. That regiment reports directly to Crown Prince Yahban."

"Crown Prince Yahban?" Dick repeated. "What the hell was Terra doing running around with those clowns?"

"Speaking of Terra, she fucked you up with that ring on her finger," Jason said, peering at an angry red scratch just below Dick's left eye.

Dick touched it gingerly. "Yeah. Pretty sure it was a sapphire, actually."

Fingers flying over his keyboard, Tim nodded. "It was. I did an optical search of the exact stone set in the ring, and it's actually pretty famous-they call it the Azure Queen. Up until a week ago, it was in the care of Arnold's, a very prominent jeweler in Eastern Travania, until it was purchased by-"

"Let me guess," Jason said darkly. "Crown Prince Yahban."

Nodding again, Tim said, "Yup. Bill of sale here says-" He faltered, glancing at Dick. "...says it was set as an engagement ring."

They fell silent. Tim and Jason knew the details of what had happened between Terra and Beast Boy so long ago, and none of them had failed to notice that the sapphire ring had been on her left ring finger.

Dick chuckled sardonically. "What a fucking mess." He did not relish the thought of having to recount all of this to Beast Boy if it ever came out.

"Yeah well, it gets better," Tim said. "That biological compound you found in the warehouse wasn't just any compound. It has an organic base and it contains the smallest nano-tech I've ever seen. It's smaller than microscopic, it's..." he shook his head. "It should be impossible to be that small. It can bind directly to the DNA receptors in someone's body and do whatever it's programmed to."

Jason squinted, twirling his spoon between his fingers. "Speak English, professor."

Tim sighed. "Once this thing is inside someone's body, it can attach itself to their DNA. It can be harmless. Or it can change the DNA completely-possibly making them into a meta. Or it can kill them. And thanks to the nanotech, what it does is completely up to whoever controls the nanites."

Jason whistled. "Woah. Someone's about to be very rich, or-"

"Or very powerful." Dick flopped back into his seat, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Damn it. So what is this secret military regiment doing with this DNA altering substance? I don't even know if I want the answer to that."

"I don't know," Tim said doubtfully. "But...I did do a scan of Prince Yahban's social calendar and he has a gala scheduled for the day after all of the test results are due back to him. And get this, the number of packaged test results is the exact same number of heads of state that are on the guestlist-23. Can't be a coincidence."

"A gala huh?" Jason spun around in his seat, munching on lucky charms. "Looks like we've got a party to crash."

Dick looked down at the stab wound, seeping blood through hastily applied bandages. Though it had hurt like hell, it wasn't very deep at all and he'd had plenty that hurt worse. But if it had been even a couple inches higher...

He wasn't scared-he gambled with his life on a regular basis.

He wasn't afraid to die.

That was just part of who he was. But the thought of maybe passing away without ever telling Y/N who he was, without ever having the opportunity to grow closer...he felt a very small twinge in the corner of his heart that he tried to ignore.

He knew he could ignore it all he wanted. That twinge wouldn't go away until he did what he had to do. Lulled by the sight of the ocean gliding past his window, he began to doze, not realizing that he'd fallen asleep, as visions and dreams of Y/N danced before his sleeping eyes.

He finally jerked awake as Wayne Manor soared into view, monstrous and imposing against the sprawling grounds. The rising sun cast a rose gold glow over the spires and parapets of the main building and Dick realized they'd been flying all night. That was fine by him. He'd needed the sleep. There was something he had to do.

"Hey Tim...How fast can we gas this thing up? There's somewhere I need to be."

The somewhere was Jump City. Flying solo this time, Dick had made the three hour flight from Gotham to Jump City, landing the BatPlane at the top of Titan Tower. Realizing that he'd left the Wingcycle at his own apartment, he decided to make the trip to Y/N's house on the R-Cycle, which he hadn't touched in years.

As he rode through the city streets, cloaked in twilight shadows, he wondered again if he was doing the right thing.

/ / /

Back at your apartment, you're awake. Again. It was the third night this week that you'd either been unable to sleep or had awoken from some horrible nightmare.

"This crap doesn't work at all," you mutter, sipping a cup of chamomile tea. A friend of yours had mentioned that chamomile tea should relax you enough to at least help you begin to drift off. Glancing at the pile of discarded tea bags at the top of the trashcan, you think you may beg to differ.

Rinsing out your mug in the sink, you prepare for another night of tossing and turning. Another night of dreaming about Nightwing getting stabbed, or shot, or abducted, or standing by your refrigerator.

Standing by your-

"Oh my God, Nightwing-" The mug falls into your sink with a heavy clink as you rush into his arms.

He chuckles softly, kissing the top of your head. "Wow-I didn't even get to tell you that I closed the window this time."

"Oh, screw the window, where have you been??" Hugging him tightly, you release him immediately at his sharp gasp, shocked to see blood leaking through his sweatshirt. "Oh my-what the hell happened to you??"

The dreams...the horrible feeling of something amiss...now it all made sense.

"I'm fine, Y/N," he says, pulling your hands away to lay a kiss on your wrist. "Trust me. I get worse than this all the time," he says, swiping his bangs out of his eyes with a rogueish grin. "Oh...but-but not too much worse," he says quickly, seeing the shaken look on your face.

"I don't care what you get, what you're about to get is that wound cleaned up and bandaged," you insist. "You get yourself over on that couch right now!"

For a moment, Nightwing stands looking at you. His body language is that of someone who is used to being in charge. But he can't resist the look on your face-he'd do anything to take that worry out of your eyes. If you needed to give the orders, so be it, he'd follow them. He'd follow you-anywhere.

His heart melted. What was happening to him?

"...yes, ma'am." Unable to resist planting a soft kiss on your cheek, he heeds your instruction.

"Stay here, I'll get the first aid kit." you say, guiding him into the living room. Wincing again, he makes himself comfortable on the couch. Although he won't admit it to you, the motorcycle ride on top of the flight over, has really taken it out of him. He's not at all opposed to the idea of you babying him for a while.

Grabbing the first aid kit from your bathroom, you sit down next to Nightwing, stroking his cheek. "Now sit still. I'll get you taken care of in no time."

He glances down at the first aid kit sitting at your feet, filled with band aids and antiseptic wipes. "What, no chest seals? No tourniquets?" he says, joking in spite of the pain.

"Excuse me sir, this is for minor household scrapes and cuts," you say with a wan smile, "I don't usually use it to treat stab wounds."

You go to work, gently cleaning his chest and washing it with a warm, wet washcloth. His very broad...firm...chest, you think.

"Something on your mind?" He says with a smirk.

Suddenly aware that he's caught you staring, you can feel your ears turning a magnificent shade of cherry. "...hush, you need your rest."

Nightwing's features soften as he watches you, busy at work. The way that life had treated him so far, he wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve you, but it must have been selfless and beautiful, just like you. "Somewhere in my wicked, miserable past..." he sings softly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I just adore you, that's all." He says, smiling. "I couldn't wait to get back and see my girl."

You change the subject quickly, trying to ignore the butterfly ballet in your stomach. He'd never called you his girl before. And that smile of his wasn't helping. "Shouldn't you be at home getting this looked at? What made you come here?"

"I wanted to talk to you...I have-" he grunts in discomfort as you pour a teaspoon of alcohol onto the wound. "...I gotta tell you something. Something important."

"I don't see what could be more important than making sure you don't get gangrene," you answer, shaking your head as you dab on an antiseptic cream. "I pity the poor soul who has to patch you up after patrol."

Flinching a little, Nightwing laughs knowingly. "Yeah, I pity him too."

"Hand me that bandage, please...no, the big one-thanks," you say, tearing it open with your teeth. "So what do you have to tell me that's so important?"

"Well it's...more something that I have to show you."

You finish applying the bandage, carefully smoothing out the corners. "There!" you say, nodding with satisfaction. "Now that should hold you 'til you get home but I'm pretty sure you will need stitches-please don't do that thing where you just take a Tylenol and go to bed."

"Thanks."

With some effort, Nightwing stands up, crossing to the living room window. Outside, the neighborhood is spread out before him, masked under mid-night shadows. He'd been so sure on the way over but now his heart is pounding like a drumbeat. Was this the right thing to do?

Absentmindedly, he runs his fingers over the bandage, the picture of you tending to him so carefully still fresh in his mind. Abruptly, his heart rate slows.

"...Nightwing?" You want to go to him, to hold him, but something stops you. "Everything okay?"

"Actually..." He turns towards you.

You don't know it but you'll never forget how he looks in this moment; standing there in the moonlight, crystal beams illuminating taut muscles. Topping off a lean, lithe frame, broad shoulders fill the windowpane, while dark hair frames aquamarine eyes brimming with secrets.

You don't know it, but your life is about to change forever.

He takes off the mask.

"Actually...my name is Dick."

/ / /

To be continued...

[beepathan]

Since we’re doing charisma house questions for the charisma house tumblr person, can you rank the characters from most problematic to least problematic and state why.

Also I hope you know that I am in no way threading it you to place Terra as least problematic and in no way will throw a fit if you say he is anything but an unproblematic queen 🔪

for the purposes of this ask i am going to be ignoring rikais music video, for hopefully obvious reasons to anyone who has seen it (as it would instantly place him in first)

so lets start off by figuring out what exactly we mean by problematic. is it which character would get cancelled on twitter the fastest? is it which characters charisma is most harmful to themself and those around them? is it just vibes? we need a definition to base our understanding of "problematic" around before we even start looking at the characters.

one dictionary definition of problematic is “unresolved or dubious”, so for the purposes of this analysis i am going to rank them based on their perceived controversial value; i.e., which character would spark the most controversy in an online fandom space. a vriska, if you will.

the least problematic charisma house is sarukawa. first of all, hes a short king, and second of all,his whole thing is really easy to figure out and work around. there isnt any sort of controversy i can imagine going on with him, other than maybe the fact that he might be in a gang and is furry-coded.

for our second least problematic member of the charisma house, i think im going to have to go with terra. what controversy would there even be? sure he inconveniences others for the sake of his own self love, but honestly all its really resulted in so far is being late to coffee, broken mirrors, and... a man jumping out of a window, property damage, displacing another member from his own living space... well, i never said he wouldnt still have some issues. but overall, terra just lives for himself, and i dont think thats going to get him called out. maybe an argument can be made for the moral implications of being straight up in love with your self, but im not getting into that

it shouldnt come as a surprise that i also dont think rikai is problematic... mostly. like i said before, were ignoring his music video for this post, so thats not where his controversy comes in. hes an advocate for order, justice, and safety, so obviously, overall this is pretty good, right? but he also enforces his ideals onto others without regard for their own beliefs, for example, the rikais morning track where he gets everyone up at 5am because he, personally, goes to sleep at 9pm and thats a healthy time to wake up for him. however, not everyone follows that same sleep schedule, so obviously it wouldnt be healthy for them to wake up at that particular time... and that can be applied to basically everything he does. i could definitely see some discourse about the validity of trying to force your lifestyle onto others, especially when you take into account the fact that rikai apologists would absolutely defend him by saying hes autistic (coded) so he cant help his obsession with order. hes a 25 year old neurodivergent minor, how could you say hes in the wrong?!

next up was close between amahiko and iori, and iori wins this one through plausible deniability and having no self esteem. like, hes obviously a masochist, and forcing everyone around you to sign a contract agreeing to use you for everything is clearly manipulative. but! dont forget, some people devote their lives to serving others to cope with the fact that they view themselves as less than human, and an empty shell devoid of anything that needs to be filled with the commands of others! so i could see controversy there, and honestly im so glad charisma house isnt huge here, because i did not enjoy imagining it.

like i just said, amahiko comes out ahead of iori because... i mean. come on... the controversy here is fairly obvious, and this is the website where people weep about kink at pride. absolutely no way amahiko is going to come out of here without a multitude of callout posts and dissertations about how anyone who likes him is problematic. his whole thing is sex! he calls everyone sexy! he stripped at the christmas party! he says thanks when people call him a perv! hes clearly a creep who needs to be contained, thank god terra trapped him in his room that one time... you see what i mean? like, there is absolutely nuance here, and i can get into that some other time, but i dont think the online world would take kindly to the minister of sexy affairs.

now whos in second place? who do we have left? its fumiya. i mean like, his whole thing is... i dont even know. i mean like, just look at him. he lies for fun, he steals, he made everyone ride off a cliff... but most importantly, hes a minor. i dont think i have to elaborate here

this may come as a shock, but ohse is the most problematic charisma house. how?! ray, how on earth is ohse problematic?! hes just a suicidal shut in! yeah, but you have to remember, im looking at their potential controversial value here, and ohse is absolutely ripe for discourse. hes guilt tripping everyone! is he even taking care of his lizard!? we dont need a character whos shtick is that they keep trying to kill themself in 2022! even if he doesnt mean to, his self deprecation is harmful to others! he has blue hair and pronouns!

well im tired now so the end

[phoenix-downer]

Touch Hunger Chapter 1

~1575 words. Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Touch Starvation. Set post-KH3, ReMind, and Melody of Memory.

Summary: After coming home, Sora isn't recovering like he's supposed to. Desperate for answers, Riku and Kairi take him to Aqua for help, and she draws on her experiences to figure out what's wrong.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 

Aqua was surprised to see both her pupil and her fellow master in the castle doorway. The sun had long since sunk below the horizon, and in its place were thousands of twinkling stars. It was late enough for Terra and Ven to be asleep, and she would have been too if not for her bedtime tea.

“Kairi? Riku? What’s wrong?” Clearly something was. Kairi's hair and clothes were disheveled, and Riku had dark circles under his eyes.

“It’s Sora,” Kairi explained. “Riku and I are trying everything we can to help him, but he’s not recovering like he’s supposed to.” She fiddled with her necklace. “I know I’m on a break from my training right now, but we thought maybe you could help?” 

“Of course,” Aqua said softly. 

“Thank you,” Riku said, then gave Kairi’s arm a squeeze. “I’ll go get him.” He took off in the direction of where the Gummi Ship must be parked, and Aqua turned to Kairi.

“Describe his symptoms to me,” she said as she ushered her student inside. “Starting from when he got back.” 

Kairi bit her lip. “He was really happy at first. Couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.” Her face flushed a little and she ducked her head. “His smile is always so beautiful.”

Aqua smiled, remembering how brightly he’d smiled at her after her rescue. “Absolutely.” They were in the kitchen now, and she seated Kairi at the table and put the kettle on for some hot water.

“But there was this sadness in his eyes,” Kairi continued, “and as the weeks went by, it got worse. He started withdrawing from us. He wanted to stick to his room, even when Donald and Goofy tried to visit. And now his mom says he spends hours in the bath or shower when he’s not laying under a pile of blankets.” 

Aqua frowned as she put tea bags in the mugs. It sounded like he was purposely isolating himself. 

Kairi rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know what to do, Aqua. I think he’s depressed, and I don’t know how to help him. He’s seeing a therapist back home, and it does seem to be helping some, so that’s why we’re so confused he’s still acting like this.” 

“Hmmm, maybe there’s something else going on, then. When I first got back, it took me a while to recover from my isolation. I was massively depressed, and that’s not something you recover from in a single day.”

Kairi’s face was very somber as she nodded. “That’s why I wanted to ask you. I can’t really imagine what it felt like, being alone for so long, your only physical contact from creatures or people trying to kill you. But you would understand, and so I thought…I thought we should bring him to you.”

At that moment, Riku rounded the corner, carrying a sleeping Sora. Sora’s face was twisted into a frown, even in sleep, and he was murmuring something under his breath. 

“His sleep isn’t restful?” Aqua asked. She put a hand to his forehead, and while he didn’t seem to have a fever, his skin was sweaty. And yet, he relaxed a little at her touch. 

“Sure doesn’t seem like it.” Riku readjusted his position. “Where do you want me to put him?”

“Maybe the Solar for now? Kairi and I can bring the tea when it’s ready.”

Riku gave her a puzzled look till Kairi came to the rescue. “Oh, she means the sitting room! ‘Solar’ is an old word for that type of room in a castle.” 

“So that’s what it’s called,” Riku said. “I forgot to ask before Terra, Aqua, and Ven went searching for Sora.”  

Once the tea was ready, they brought it to the Solar where Sora was now draped over one of the couches and wrapped in blankets. Riku was lounging on one of the chairs, a watchful eye on his slumbering friend. Kairi handed him a mug of tea, which he gratefully accepted, before settling in with one herself on another chair. Sora’s mug was left on the coffee table in case he woke up, and Aqua set hers down. She had work to do.

She knelt next to Sora and pressed a hand to his heart. He stirred slightly, the tension in his features easing. She frowned. That was the second time he had reacted to her touch like that. A theory was building in her head, and she needed to test it. She brought her hand to his head and gently pet it like she always did with Ven, and a soft whimper escaped his lips. 

“Oh Sora…” she said sadly. Why hadn’t she thought of this before? When she’d first come home, she’d craved one thing more than anything, and Sora must want it too. She turned to Kairi and Riku, for they could help him better than anyone else could. “I think I know what’s wrong.” 

Riku leaned forward. “You do?” 

“Is it some sort of curse or magic?” Kairi asked. “I looked in the spellbooks you lent me, but I couldn’t find anything.”

“Or the darkness, maybe?” Riku frowned and exchanged a worried look with Kairi. “I’ve been monitoring his darkness and I thought it was under control, but—” 

Aqua shook her head. “It’s not a curse or magic. It’s not the darkness either. What he really needs is simply…touch.”

She placed his hand in her hand to demonstrate, and his fingers curled around her fingers. Comprehension dawned on Riku’s face, but Kairi blushed and avoided Aqua’s eyes. 

“Riku, I know you’re not a very touchy-feely guy, and Kairi, I know you’re shy about your relationship, but give him a few more hugs here and there, okay? I think it would go a long way.” 

“This all makes so much sense,” Riku said. “Even when I was in self-imposed isolation I still had people checking up on me, plus I’m not very touchy-feely like you said.” He gave Aqua a half-smile, then frowned. “But Sora is, and he was all by himself for over a year. I think the effects hit him a lot harder than they did me.” 

At this Kairi looked up. “Effects of what?”

“Touch starvation,” Aqua said softly. Kairi looked stricken, so Aqua rushed to explain it wasn’t nearly as awful as the name made it out to be. “It’s when someone isn’t getting enough physical contact. Humans are social creatures, and we have appetites for more than just food. We need touch. We need each other. Even the biggest loner in the universe can’t bear to be completely alone. And Sora is anything but a loner, so I think that’s why he’s taking this so hard like Riku said.” 

Kairi’s eyes misted over, and her lower lip trembled. 

“Riku, excuse us for a moment,” Aqua said. She gently grasped Kairi’s hand and pulled her into the hall, and Kairi burst into tears. 

“It’s not your fault,” Aqua said softly, wrapping her arms around Kairi and holding her close. “You didn’t know.” 

“I thought he wanted his space,” Kairi choked out between sobs. “He withdrew from me and I didn’t want to push him.”

“I know. And he didn’t tell you, did he? So please, don’t blame yourself.” 

Kairi just cried harder. “I’m a terrible girlfriend.” 

“You’re anything but. And like I said, Riku and even his other friends should be giving him hugs too. His parents as well, though teenage boys aren’t given to being touchy-feely with their parents,” she said with a rueful smile. “If I had to guess, Sora’s in that stage where he’s too proud to ask for hugs from Mom and Dad. And he probably worries about being a bother to his friends. When I first got back, I was embarrassed by how…by how needy I was. Thankfully, Terra was as starved for physical contact as I was, so that helped. And Ven of course loves giving us both hugs.” 

“Still,” Kairi said, sniffing and wiping her eyes. “I should’ve noticed.” 

“Sora is the type of person who hides his suffering from his friends in the hopes it will spare them from further pain. He hasn’t realized yet that it just makes things worse.”  

“At least I know what’s wrong now.”

“You do. And it’s easy enough to remedy, thank goodness. Just give him more hugs. Hold his hand. Touch his arm. That sort of thing.” 

Kairi nodded. “Thank you, Aqua.”

“Anytime.” 

With that, they returned to the Solar to find Riku had scooted his chair to Sora’s couch and had his hand on Sora’s shoulder. He could hem and haw about how tough he was all he wanted, but he really was a big softie when it came to his friends.

He smiled at Kairi and Aqua. “He’s been stirring, and I think he’s gonna wake up soon. I’m getting kinda tired, so why don’t you hold down the fort till he wakes up, Kairi?”

She nodded. “Okay.” She took Riku’s place, and he yawned and stretched.

“I’ll be on that couch over there if you need me.” 

“Take one of the guest bedrooms,” Aqua said. “The one you stayed in before. Kairi, you too, your room is always open to you. And for Sora—”

“He’s staying with me,” Kairi said, cupping his cheek. “If he wants to, anyway.” 

Aqua exchanged glances with Riku and smiled. “Of course.” 

With that, she and Riku left the sweethearts alone.

[just-here-for-the-moment]

Paloma, Part I

Series Masterlist - Part I - Part II

Word count: 4100+

Rating: mature, 18+ only

Outline: Statesman!Frankie "Catfish" Morales, Agent Jack “Whiskey” Daniels, and "You" (OC cis/het female reader, Statesman research analyst, code name “Paloma”; age 26; reader is “blank canvas”/no physical description/no use of “Y/N”)

Warnings: fully legal age gap; curse words; references to M/F sex; lots of yearning; a little sprinkling of angst; American readers, please be warned that this piece features the absolutely filthy fantasy of Statesman paying off your student loans in full

You left Kentucky on a sunny June morning with a rolling suitcase, six cardboard boxes, and a heart full of golden light. You were ready for the new challenges of your promotion and the move to New York, but it was still hard to quell the little butterflies that insisted on dancing and twirling in your gut. Statesman HQ was like a beacon that had been calling to you for the last three years, and you were half-convinced that the promotion and the move were a daydream; something that would be snatched out of your hands if you thought about it too much.

It was strange to leave Kentucky, your home since you were four years old. You had been raised in a small town about an hour south of Louisville, and you hadn't had the opportunity to leave until college. Even then you didn't travel very far, just to a dorm room at the University of Louisville, going back to your hometown for every vacation instead of flying off to California or Europe like some of your more glamorous friends.

You had put your time to good use, though. You busted your ass and completed an accelerated program in Criminal Justice that earned you both a Bachelor's and a Master's in one go, with a minor in statistics and data science. The result was a deep and abiding love of research and analysis, with the burning desire to do good in the world.

---

The Friday morning of your graduation ceremony, you emerged from your apartment fresh-faced and giddy, ready to walk the stage and start the next phase: adult life in the "real world." You knew that your life was about to change, but as you juggled the garment bag with your cap and gown and tried to lock your door, you had no idea just how much. You heard a soft voice say your name behind you, and it made you jump and drop your purse, spilling the contents across your doorstep. You turned to see a woman of about 40, with flawless terra-cotta skin and an adorable mop of chestnut hair. Black horn-rimmed glasses framed bright, inquisitive eyes. She immediately bent to help you retrieve your belongings, stammering gentle apologies.

"I'm so sorry! Let me help you get your things. I didn't mean to scare you." She smiled sweetly at you and handed you back your sunglasses and lip gloss.

"No! It's fine, I'm sorry I'm so preoccupied." You lifted the garment bag by way of explanation. "Graduation day! Um, how can I help you?"

"You don't know me, but my name is Ginger. I work for an organization that recruits bright young minds like yours. It's a lot to explain, but if you're interested in a job interview next week, we'd love to talk with you." She handed you a creamy white business card with a Louisville address.

You frowned. "Statesman Distillery? I don't have any experience with alcohol production or marketing. I do data analysis and my degrees are in criminal justice."

"We know. We've been following your research and your schooling for a while." She gave you a mischievous smile, and it looked for all the world like she was hiding something fun behind it, something secretive and intriguing that made you want to know more.

"Please, just give me an hour of your time next week? When you have some time to pay us a visit, just call that number and ask for me. I'm really looking forward to chatting with you."

You thanked her and promised you would call, and then you tucked the card into your bag and forgot all about it for nearly a week. Graduation day was hectic, with lots of relatives visiting and interrogating you about your career plans, and the days afterward were spent attending parties and saying goodbye to friends who were scattering to far-flung places. After you had finished the last of your university-related errands like returning a few library books and picking up your official transcript, there wasn't much left to do except putter around your apartment and take a few days off before beginning a job search. Those student loans weren't going to pay themselves off.

You found Ginger's card in your purse on Wednesday morning and put it on the fridge with a magnet. On Thursday you were so hungover you didn't want to make any calls. On Friday you found yourself at loose ends with nothing planned, so you picked up the phone and dialed. When you reached the switchboard you gave your name and asked for Ginger, and they put you right through. She picked up after one ring, as if she had been waiting for your call.

"Hi! I'm so glad you called me! Can you come by today?" Ginger sounded genuinely excited to talk to you, not smarmy or fake like other corporate recruiters you had spoken with.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I mean, yes, thank you. Are you sure today's okay? I can come next week if that's better."

"No! Please come whenever you're ready. I'm really hoping you'll like what you see."

"Okay, will I need to dress up? Will I be meeting with anyone for an interview? Should I bring copies of my resume?" You wanted to make a good impression, but you weren't sure if this was just something the distillery did casually, like a winery tour, or if you would need to be ready for a formal interview.

"Nope! Just bring yourself! We already know everything we need to know about your qualifications."

"Ah... okay. I'm all yours. I'll see you in about an hour?"

"Perfect! I'll leave your name at the front gate with the guard. Just show them your ID and they'll wave you through."

You said your goodbyes and put the phone down. What kind of data analysis job was even available at a distillery? Market trends? Did they need a criminal justice major for tracking down rip-offs, like people counterfeiting their product? But wait, didn't the government do that kind of thing? The ATF? You shook your head clear of questions and hopped in the shower. You could ask Ginger all of your questions, since she seemed to be so happy to talk with you.

When you arrived at the Statesman Distillery an hour later, you were impressed at the size of the facility. Distilleries were pretty common in the state of Kentucky, with lots of little family companies sprinkled around. But Statesman rivaled the big names for sheer square footage.

Ginger met you in a conference room and offered you coffee, and then asked you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. You didn't think twice about it. NDAs were common in lots of industries, and you guessed that it had something to do with trade secrets, Statesman not wanting to leak information about their whiskey production details. When Ginger began the tour and you walked down a long hallway with multiple sparkling white laboratories behind thick glass, you found it unusual, but not alarming. Cleanrooms, maybe? Something to do with alcohol distillation formulas, probably.

When she ushered you into a large wood-paneled office and introduced you to Champ, the head of Statesman, you thought it was odd. Companies didn't normally introduce new college graduates to executives during tours. Based on the size of the organization, you thought you might meet the CEO or President once or twice a year, maybe at a holiday party or a company retreat. But he was friendly, and he seemed to have already heard of you; his eyebrows raised an inch at Ginger when she gave him your name. He also seemed far more interested in criminal justice and data analysis than you expected for a distillery executive, but you shook hands and answered all of his questions politely.

When Ginger asked you to step into an elevator and it dropped 10 floors, you started to wonder a little. When the doors opened and she walked you to a room with a huge bank of monitors, with screens showing all kinds of maps and security video feeds, you were downright confused. But when she revealed the cherry on top, the fact that Statesman was not in the business you thought they were? That was too shocking. You were sure she was joking. You turned behind you to look for hidden cameras, expecting a prank show host to come jumping out at you.

"This is a joke, right?"

Ginger smiled that sweet, warm smile at you. "No joke. We want you to join the Research Unit, working in the Data Analysis section. You would be keeping our agents safe, helping them make the best decisions possible. And in turn your work could save lives, hundreds of them. Maybe even thousands. What do you say?"

"I... uh... I still think you’re joking. I’ve never heard of anything like this. I… are you sure you want me?"

"Yes, if you're interested. We could use you on the team." She pushed a little slip of paper into your hand, and when you saw the annual salary that was listed, you almost fainted.

"Ginger, this is way too much. I just graduated and this is, like... this is a senior analyst's salary. I'd be able to pay off my student loans in like three years!"

"Actually, we would be paying your student loans off before you start work. If you have financial burdens hanging over your head you could be vulnerable to bribes or extortion attempts from foreign governments or bad actors. We want you clear before you start with us. Think of it as a signing bonus."

"Holy shit! Sorry, I mean... I... Jesus." You looked at her in confusion. "Y'all really want me?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, we really do."

"Okay, when do I start?"

And that had been it, your first "big girl" job out of college. You were welcomed warmly to the Statesman team, and you loved the fact that you did interesting work that had a real impact. The hardest part had been telling your friends and family the required cover story, saying you were doing market analysis until you could find a job in criminal justice somewhere. But since you were happy with your new job and it paid well, none of them pressured you to move on.

During your first two years with Statesman you climbed the ranks, earning promotions and new responsibilities that eventually put you in the seat of Assistant Director of Data Analysis. You had risen high enough in Statesman that your work required a code name, and you chose “Paloma,” a nod to your favorite grapefruit cocktail. You answered directly to the head of the Research Unit, and every report that your team produced was vital. You weren't wasting your talent in some corporate hole, enriching the CEO's salary at the expense of your sanity. You were saving lives, making a difference. Your reports had even been sent to the New York headquarters, where they used them as a model for operations.

And the job had brought you romance, too. One day not long after your promotion to Assistant Director, you were walking out of the conference room, so focused on your phone that you didn't see where you were going. You bumped into something large and solid in a denim shirt, and a pair of warm, calloused hands held your shoulders to steady you. You cursed softly to yourself and then looked up into the most gorgeous pair of brown eyes that you had ever seen. A man with patchy stubble and a well-worn baseball cap smiled at you, eyes crinkling with warmth.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" His eyes looked concerned as they searched your face. You looked at him with wonder. He was so, so beautiful. The smile dropped, and then his brows knitted together into a slight frown. "I said, are you okay?"

You realized you were staring with your mouth half open like some lovestruck teenager, and that an embarrassing amount of time had passed since you first met his eyes.

"Yes!" Your voice was louder than you intended. "Yes, I'm sorry. Sorry I bumped into you. I should have watched where I was going. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. Did I hurt you?"

"Ah, no. No, I'm fine. Sorry. Just distracted today."

"That's okay. Sorry I startled you." He smiled again and squeezed your upper arm.

You could have stayed there forever, leaning into his touch. He let go, much to your chagrin, and then went into the conference room. You made a note to ask someone who he was, to see if you could find out more about him. He wasn't being escorted by a staff member, so he was obviously part of the Statesman organization somehow. Someone would know who he was.

You went into the ladies room, running into Ginger at the sinks. "Oh, Paloma! I'm so glad I saw you. I need to steal your boss for an urgent matter. Can you run his 11:00 meeting in the conference room? I know it's last minute, but I'll buy you lunch later."

Your brain flickered out for a nanosecond. The 11:00 meeting? The conference room? The handsome man? You recovered your composure and smiled at Ginger. "Yeah, no problem at all. Tell him to drop his notes off in the conference room and I'll be there in just a moment."

Ginger smiled and punched your shoulder softly. "Thanks, Pal. I owe you one."

You washed your hands in a trance. Oh lord, this was going to be interesting. You squared your shoulders and met your own eyes in the mirror. You looked exactly like you had this morning, just your normal self. Most of the time that was fine, but right now you wanted to be more glamorous, more devastating. You wanted to absolutely bewitch the handsome mystery man in the meeting. In the absence of some kind of last-minute emergency Hollywood makeup team, you would have to settle for a fresh application of lip balm and a quick scrub of your teeth with a damp paper towel. You flicked a stray eyebrow hair into place, sighed, and headed back to the conference room. Looks weren't important anyway, right? Statesman had hired you for your brain, not your face. And really, you were more interested in showing your boss that you could do well in your new role. So you banished your insecurities from your mind and breezed into the meeting.

"Good morning everyone." You studiously chose not to look at the handsome man you had run into, keeping your eyes on your notes for the time being. You were afraid that if you looked at him you wouldn't be able to tear your gaze away. "The Director has been called away for an urgent matter, so I'll be leading today’s operational planning meeting. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Paloma."

You risked a glance at the handsome stranger, relieved to see that his eyes were on his notepad and not on you. You let out a breath and found your stride, walking the group through the team's findings, the data, the implications, and the desired outcome for the mission. Agent Tequila asked a few cocky, half-assed questions, probing you for weaknesses. Normally that would have irritated you, but today it was a welcome focus that took your mind off the butterflies. You knocked Tequila back in place with a few well-chosen words, and then opened up the floor for questions.

The handsome man raised his hand, and your eyes fixed on how large and thick his fingers were. Oh God, this was torture. "Yes, Mr...?"

"Catfish. Um, can you tell me more about the extraction plan?"

"Yes, absolutely." You went over that phase of the mission, giving all the details your team had gathered about the terrain and the timing. When you were done, Catfish smiled at you, and your knees went weak at the sight of the dimple that appeared. No one else had questions, so you closed the meeting and stood to leave.

Suddenly there was a warm wall of denim at your elbow. "Hey, that was really detailed information. Thank you so much for walking me through everything."

You turned and smiled. "You're welcome. Glad I could help." You fumbled for something to say, trying to extend the conversation and keep him in your orbit for however long you could while everyone else filed out of the room.

"So, um, you go by 'Catfish.' Can I ask why? That's your code name, right? There's not some kind of hidden tragedy where that's the name your parents actually wrote on your birth certificate?"

He chuckled, throwing his head back. The expanse of his thick neck and bobbing Adam's apple did nothing to improve the butterflies. They only fluttered harder, rising higher in your chest.

"It's an old Army nickname, I was Special Forces about a million years ago. Now I'm here on the transport team. I'm a helicopter pilot. When we're not working you can just call me Frankie."

"Ah." You bit your lip and nodded. Why couldn't you think of something else to say? Fortunately, Frankie continued the conversation.

"And you're Paloma around here? I love that drink. Am I allowed to know your real name, or is that classified?"

You grinned and shook his hand, giving him your name. When it rolled off his lips in that deep voice it sounded like heaven to you. You didn't want anyone else to say your name ever again. Just him.

He leaned closer, like he was sharing a secret. “Can I ask you a question? Top secret.” He winked, and you nodded.

“Can I take you to lunch?”

Your heart dropped into your pelvis, and you gulped, hard. “Y-yes. Yes, that would be great. I’d love to.”

---

When Ginger found you in your office at 2:00 p.m. you were staring off into space, smiling blissfully.

“Hey, Paloma. Why did you blow me off for lunch? I came by at 12:30, I was going to take you out.”

“Oh! Oh my god, Ginger, I’m so sorry! I had a date.”

She raised her eyebrows at you, settling down in one of your visitors chairs. “A date?”

“No! Not a date. A, um…” You burst into husky giggles, and then confessed everything to her: the handsome man, the crinkles around his eyes, his dimples and his silly code name, the easy conversation over lunch, and the fact that he had scribbled his phone number down on a sticky note that was now burning a hole in your pocket. You felt like you were 12 again, confiding in your girlfriend about crushes and cute boys.

Ginger laughed and gave your hand a squeeze. “No wonder you forgot about me. I can’t compete with a handsome helicopter pilot!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Ginger. I really didn’t mean to forget.”

“No, it’s okay. But definitely call him this weekend and make a real date. I’ll want details when you take me out for an apology lunch on Monday.” She winked and left your office.

You sat back in your chair and tilted back to look at the ceiling while you considered it. Was it too soon to call him and make a date? Ugh, this was agony. You decided that going by conventional rules hadn’t really mattered to you at any point in your life until now, so why the hell not?

You took a deep breath, trying to puff up your confidence. When he answered the phone on the second ring, you dove right in. “Hi, Catfish? It’s Paloma. Listen, I had a really good time at lunch, and I’d like to see you this weekend if you’re free.”

---

On Monday, you had a whole lot to report to Ginger.

Frankie took you up for a sightseeing flight on your date, and you loved the way he controlled everything; making sure he warned you before any sudden movements, and checking that you weren’t getting airsick or anxious. When the rotors were stilled and you were back on the ground, Frankie reached over to help you unbuckle your harness. Something got stuck, and the agonizing extra seconds of feeling him jostle the strap near your hip made you bold. When it was finally free and he was about to pull his hand away, you grabbed his wrist. He looked at you, alarmed that something was wrong, and you crashed your lips against his, all teeth and tongue and wanting. Frankie was as good a kisser as he was a pilot, and you spent the rest of the date making out in his truck.

The next weekend, you found out that his warm, work-worn hands were also magic in the bedroom. Frankie was adept at tweaking your sensitive spots as gently as the little buttons and switches of the flight panel, bringing you to thrumming heights the same way he did his helicopter.

The rest of the summer passed in heady, humid days and nights like a dream. You loved Frankie’s easy sense of humor and his confidence in the cockpit. But Frankie was less confident about your relationship, voicing concerns about the decade-plus that separated your ages, and whether he was keeping you from dating men your own age. He made self-deprecating comments about being an “old man,” and you reassured him that there was no one you’d rather be with, no one who could sway your attention. You loved using your hands and arms and lips and tongue to reassure him, finding that he had his own sensitive spots that you could manipulate. You loved sending him to sleep with a smile on his face.

But as much as you and Frankie enjoyed the relationship, the nature of his work with the transportation team meant that he was never in town for very long. At the same time, your job was getting more complex, requiring late nights at the office that interfered with your time together. You refused to dwell too much on the fact that you were torn, that you loved your work as equally as you wanted to spend those nights with Frankie.

By the end of the summer, you both came to the realization that it was nobody’s fault, simply a case of poor circumstances, and you decided to end things and remain friends. In October Frankie left Statesman to take a job that relocated him to Florida. You were wistful, and you missed him, but at least it had been an amicable split. At least friends was something. And as sometimes happens even with the best of intentions, the time in between each phone call grew longer, and you eventually lost touch. Last you heard he was spending weekends with his old Army buddies who all lived nearby, and he had a new girlfriend. By February the ache was starting to subside, and by April you were nearly ready to date again.

In May, almost three years to the day after Ginger’s visit to your apartment had changed your life, you were offered the position to lead the Data Analysis team in New York. You jumped at the chance. Statesman located an apartment for you, and from the pictures you were already in love with it. Huge windows looked out over the city, and it was within walking distance of Statesman HQ. Your farewell party was bittersweet. Ginger offered to come visit you, and promised that New York would be everything you hoped it would be. Your team gave you such high praises that you joked that if that’s what it took to hear accolades, you would have left ages ago.

---

Your first few days in New York were spent acclimating to the Statesman HQ, and getting to know your neighborhood. It was strange to find that you could walk or take the subway for whatever you needed, compared to the Midwest where a car was required for everything. Your new team was welcoming, and you enjoyed your new duties immensely. Your first two weeks on the job passed in no time, and you went home every night feeling like you could fly.

And then you hit a wall, in the form of Jack Daniels, a.k.a. “Senior Agent Whiskey.” You knew him by reputation, of course. Ginger had filled you in on his exploits, his overbearing charm, his smarmy flirtations. You had seen him once or twice in passing when he had visited Champ’s office, but you hadn’t actually met him in person.

When you finally did, you almost asked for an immediate transfer back to Louisville. --- "Paloma" Series Masterlist Just-here-for-the-moment’s masterlist

Tag list: @honeymandos @driedgreentomatoes @silverwolf319 @mourningbirds1 @honestly-shite @anaaaispunk @greeneyedblondie44 @spacedilf @maxwell–lord @nicolethered @dihra-vesa @the-queen-of-fools @juletheghoul @anxiousandboujee

[a-square-minus-one]

Honey

Just starting a series of one shots about Gar and Raven falling in love slowly.

“Good morning lovely teammates,” Garfield says, arms raised high in the air as the common room doors open up. He looks amusedly at his friends. Nightwing had stopped in the middle of pouring his coffee, his sleepy, swollen eyes blinking tiredly at him. Cyborg had paused mid chew. Starfire had been in the middle of releasing her hair from her ponytail. They look like a funny little tableau. Changeling chuckles. 

“Sunrise. I thought I’d have to project you into the ocean to wake you up,” Raven says. But she doesn’t look shocked. In fact her eyes are closed and she remains in a semi-meditative state.

“You know today is always a fun day for all of us,” Changeling says, taking his frozen bananas and pineapples out of the freezer. “Rae, do you want me to make you an acai bowl too?” 

“Please” she says, now dropping her feet delicately on the ground. Garfield had already begun making two servings before she responded.

“Coming right up,” he says, humming “La Vie en Rose” to himself. “Are we all packed up for today?” he asks, dumping the purple puree into two bowls. 

“The T-Car is stacked with water balloons, books, goodies, gifts, board games. It’s gonna be a good one this year,” Cyborg says, clapping his hands together. Star exclaims something in Tameranean before swirling in the air and gripping Nightwing in a tight hug. He moves his mug out of the way just in time and smiles into her shoulder. Changeling feels a similar exuberance bubbling in his chest. Similar to the feeling he gets when he’s running in animal form.

It was the beginning of their annual field days. Titans from all over the country came together and visited beaches and parks all over the country for a week to partake in summertime activities with foster kids all over the country. This year, festivities started in Jump City. Seeing as most Titans were orphaned or had strained relationships with their own parents, this week always meant a lot to everyone involved in it.

“Bumblebee says they already landed. Says the beach is packed. Are y’all ready to go?” Cyborg says, looking up from the arm he was reading the message from. Starfire is already dragging Nightwing to the car; Changeling hot on their heels. Cyborg sends an amused smile to Raven who is in the middle of placing her empty bowl into the sink. Cyborg cocks his head as Raven bites her lip, lost in thought. 

“You okay Raven?” Cyborg says. Raven shakes her head, dropping the bowl clumsily into the sink. She looks at Cyborg and nods; he looks to her scrunched up eyebrows. She follows his eyesight and rubs her hands over her brows like she’s smoothing out the crinkles in a paper.

“Yeah, you know me and big crowds. Just a little...loud.” Raven says. Cyborg nods, understanding.

“You can leave whenever you want.” Cyborg says. 

“Yeah. I meditated a little more than usual,” Raven says and starts walking towards the T Car. Cyborg senses that something remains unsaid as he follows after her.

.....................................................................................................................

It’s almost 3 pm when Garfield transforms from a tiger back into his human self and jogs to the snack table. He is having the time of his life.

The Titans are good with kids. There is absolutely no denying it. Starfire is radiant and bubbly. She was excited to make as many light spectacles as the children asked her to. Cyborg is great at football. Aqualad is great at sensing multiple children in the water at once. Nightwing is a skilled gymnast and never ran out of energy. Kids loved rocks and Terra could always find the coolest shaped ones to give out. Garfield likes to think the kids loved him as well. He is a walking petting zoo and ever since he started his acting career, the teenagers like hanging out with him too. And Raven...hmm, he hadn’t seen Raven in a while. Changeling looks around, sipping lazily from the almost empty water bottle he has just picked up. And then he spots her.

In typical Raven fashion, she is away from the crowds. She is heading towards a small girl with two cute afro puffs with pink ribbons. The girl’s face is contorted into a pained expression and both her hands are pressed tightly to her ears. She looks maybe four, definitely not older than six.

“That’s Jordan. She’s new to our group home,” says someone approaching Garfield on his left. Garfield looks at the teenage girl with orange pigtails and a shy smile on her face.

“Hi,” the girl says, blushing profusely as if she said something embarrassing. “I-” she clears her throat. “I’m Becca. A volunteer.”

“Hello Becca,” Garfield says cheerfully, a little amused. “You said the girl’s new?” “Yeah, Jordan came in a couple weeks ago.” “How old is she?”

“Five.”

“And she’s-” Garfield hesitates. He doesn’t want to assume.

“Autistic?” Becca finishes for him. Changeling nods. “Yes, she’s the most loving little girl. She actually loves the Titans. She just hates changes in her routine a little more,” says Becca. As if on cue, Garfield hears a pained screech from the corner of the beach. He cringes and puts down his water bottle. He begins to transition into a hummingbird.

“Wait!” Becca says. Changeling turns to the teen girl.

“Yeah?” he asks. Her blush becomes so severe that it almost obscures all the freckles on her cheeks. 

“Could I-” Garfield swears she squeals. “Could I get an autograph sir?....Please?” she asks looking down at her flip flops. Garfield smiles so widely his cheeks hurt. 

“Of course,” he says, taking the young girl’s clipboard from her. 

“I...um...loved you in that new comedy with Seth Rogan. Me and my mom watched it like thirty times,” she says, still not looking up from her shoes. 

“Thank you,” Garfield says, hoping that the deep gratitude he feels in his heart is seeping into his words. “You are doing amazing work here Becca.” Becca peaks up at Garfield through her lashes, at this point, her face looks painfully red. He chuckles and writes ‘Cute pigtails. Love, Gar.’

“You said her name was Jordan?” Garfield asks. Becca nods. 

“Thank you Becca,” Garfield sings, handing her her clipboard, quickly transforming and flying towards the crying young girl.

Garfield lands on a boulder near Raven and Jordan. He doesn’t want to startle them. He doesn’t make a move, just listens intently for the right time to interject. At this point, Raven has already knelt in front of the young girl who is looking up at Raven with big wet eyes.

“Hi,” Raven says. People have described Raven’s voice in many ways. Monotone. Raspy. Sleepy. But he’s never heard anyone call it gentle. Right now, it’s as soft as the inside of a rose.

“I’m Raven.” Jordan is swaying from foot to foot, tears streaming steadily down her face. “Someone told me your name is Jordan.” Jordan whimpers softly in response, boogers starting to flow from her nose.

“Is it okay if I move your arms?” Raven asks. She is about to move Jordan’s hands from her ears when the girl lets out a heart shattering sob. Raven quickly drops her hands.

“I’m sorry,” Raven says, and Jordan settles down a little. Raven moves a little closer. If it wasn’t for Garfield’s enhanced hearing he wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation.

“You don’t like big crowds do you?” Raven asks softly. “That’s okay, me neither. They can get really loud,” Raven says, placing her own hands over her ears. Raven’s made it clear to the team that she’s an empath but it isn’t really a power people can see. Right now though, Garfield can only see two people who are attempting to see each other on another level. Jordan looks at Raven intently. Tears are still streaming down her face but her full body sobs have quieted down to small intermittent whimpers.

“Your friend Maria-” Raven gestures towards the volunteer about ten feet away. Beast Boy hadn’t even recognized her. “Tells me that you like the ocean. Maybe you and I can float on the ocean together?” Raven asks, getting up and wiping sand off her knees. Raven’s eyes start to glow and suddenly her dark energy forms a solid, raft-like structure. Jordan takes a few fearful steps back.

“It’s okay Jordan, this is safe. We’ll be safe,” Raven says in a very low voice, demonstrating Jordan’s safety by walking onto the raft herself. Jordan looks on in wonder but remains glued to her spot. Garfield figures this is the perfect time to intervene. He transforms himself into a shih tzu and walks slowly over to Jordan. 

“Look Jordan, a dog. Maria says you love dogs too,” Raven says. Garfield didn’t even think Raven recognized he was there the whole time. When Jordan sees the small dog, her hands fall away for her ears. Changeling walks closely to Jordan and nudges at her small palm with his nose. She looks down at Garfield and hums, a small smile breaking onto her face. Garfield feels his body thrum with pride as he snuggles into the young girls legs. She brings two fists up to her now wide smile and squeals loudly. Garfield begins to jump around excitedly, then skillfully leads Jordan onto the dark energy raft that Raven has crafted for them. Jordan squeals again when Raven lifts them off the sandy ground and levitates them over the waves. 

“Eeeee!” Jordan says, swaying from foot to foot as a wave splashes up over Raven’s raft and wets Jordan’s tiny little feet. Garfield runs circles around her. Stopping only so Jordan can rub behind his ears and squeeze him towards her chest. 

And they continue like that for hours, until the sun starts to sink. Changeling wonders more than once, how long Raven can keep this projection going without exhausting herself. Still, it never wavers. In fact Raven occasionally jolts the raft back and forth because Jordan lets out an excited squeal whenever the waves hit her feet. It isn’t until Jordan starts falling asleep, her head falling onto Changeling’s dog form’s back that Raven starts to bring them back to shore. By then, the beach had settled down a little. Many children and volunteers had started heading back home. Changeling turns back into his human form and snuggles the sweet girl to his chest much like she had done before. In an embrace that radiated nothing but affection. Raven let her energy dissolve beneath them.

Maria was waiting at the shore to pick Jordan up. Garfield tried his hardest to move Jordan into Maria’s embrace without waking her up but Jordan shifts in Maria’s arms and wiggles out of her arms. She does a little trott to Raven and squeezes her legs tightly. Raven’s eyes widen, and she places a hand in the space where Jordan’s hair is parted. Changeling swears he sees Raven’s eyes glaze over with tears.

Raven kneels down in front of the girl and places two hands on her shoulders.

“I’ll come see you soon.” Raven promises. Maria scoops the tired girl up in her arms.

“She’s usually never that affectionate with anyone she just meets,” Maria says, smiling warmly at Raven. She places a grateful hand on Raven’s shoulder and walks away.

Garfield feels something catch in his throat as he looks at Raven looking at the departing girl. She’s been curling her hair lately. The curve of her ear poking out from her purple waves of hair is something he never thought he could be transfixed by. Her eyes, still a little wet with happy tears, look even more purple than usual and Garfield is reminded of the posters Rita used to have of portraits of a soft lit Elizabeth Taylor. Raven looks so...soft. Gar swallows past something thick in his throat.

“You were...really gentle with her,” Garfield says, feeling like he needs to fill the silence with something. Raven looks towards Jordan a little while longer before turning to Garfield to respond. He feels a little like he was punched in the chest when the full weight of her gaze lands on him. It’s like a spotlight. He can’t see anything around it.

“You were too.” Raven says. Garfield gets a sudden flashback of Raven reading with Teether, Melvin and Timmy. 

“You are really good with kids,” Garfield says. He’s talking low because he feels like a louder voice would shatter this delicate moment. Raven shrugs.

“All the Titans are,” Raven says and Garfield feels himself shake his head without even thinking about it. The Titans were all good with kids. That was true. When the kids were happy, receptive and energetic. The Titans were great with them. But when they had shut down? Were scared? Tired?

“But you’re...you’re-” Garfield tries to find the words to describe how Raven was answering every single one of the subtle cues Jordan was giving her. Even the slightest twitch of her lip. It’s like she had answers lined up before Jordan even knew what she wanted. Raven was like that with a lot of people. The word empathetic was jumping around his head but it felt too light on his tongue to truly capture what Raven was to the people around her. She was a salve. Healing. Their missing pieces. 

Raven looked at Garfield expectantly.

“Hey baby,” a voice came from beside them. Changeling felt his arm lift and a figure settle under his shoulder. He saw the blonde hair twinkling in his peripheral vision. He felt sticky lips leave their residue on the corner of his lips. Raven looked expectant for only a few seconds more before she greeted Terra.

“Nice to see you Terra. I’m sure you guys have a lot of catching up to do,” Raven said before moving away from the couple to help Cyborg clean.

[jalaluvsu]

Interference

https://beautiful-disasters-sunshine.tumblr.com/post/631749044177403904/what-if-marinette-was-tims-little-sister-who-was

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“Y’know, just ‘cause Kori’s got a baby coming doesn’t mean you can boss us around Robin,” Beastboy whined as he stepped out of the Zeta Tube.

He scoffed at the notion, “That’s literally exactly what I can and will do, you absolute buffoon.”

“Oh, shutup.”

He sighed. There isn’t ever a moment where Garfield doesn’t wish Starfire still led the Titans. The past three weeks have gone by at an agonizingly slow pace, filled with never ending fights between him and Damian. And! Before you get the wrong impression, no, he did not start these fights. In fact, he was practically the one getting attacked!

Really, what’d you expect him to do when Damian insulted tofu during dinner at the Waynes’? Smile and wave?

Laughable.

Garfield will tell you what happened after, whether he’s proud is a matter of who asks. Let’s just say Alfred’s put him on a month-long ban from the dining room at the manor; worth it, nonetheless.

“Beastboy, earth to Beastboy,” He heard Raven chant over comms. Oh, right, the mission.

“Reporting for duty!” he saluted obediently, like the responsible hero he is.  

“Stop standing there and you know, actually read the coordinates I sent to your navigator,” he grinned at her snark as he pulled out his compact. A hefty amount of unchecked notifications was in its wake.

Automated message coupons from the local pizza place at Jump City (hell yeah!)

Missed calls from Terra, he faltered at the offending contact; as if he would respond. The time for that has passed, long passed.

He scrolled down the small screen as he flitted his gaze past the hundreds of junk mail. Ah, and lastly, one lengthy preview of information regarding the mission. The text listed an address along with...enrollment details? Huh.

Garfield glanced both ways before crossing the busy street; him previously being in the too-bright alleyway. 

Okay, see, he knows what you’re thinking. Someone like him- or rather someone who looked like him, would stick out like a sore thumb. Especially in a place like Paris. How common were metahumans here? Probably not as high as the rate in Metropolis, that’s for sure.

There were only so many green colored people, and a good ninety-nine percent was or is associated with heroes (vigilantes, fine) or even aliens. That being said, he was keeping it on the down-low. In Paris, he wasn’t the cool, collected, and most desired by all Garfield Logan. In Paris, he was just Grant Roth. What? It’s a good cover! And he was planning on taking Raven’s surname eventually anyways. (wink wink, nudge nudge)

A few spells and enchantments via Magical Goth Gf ™ prior to his ride in the tubes later; he practically looked uncanny to his appearance before the whole ‘failed experiment injection’ thing. You know, a mop of auburn hair, pale as paper skin, and cutesy little freckles (Blue Beetle’s words, not his) (Okay, maybe it was his too..)

Garfield pulled out his pocketed compact once he safely made it across the street. Now that he gave more than a glance at the address it looked...short. In fact, it was vague, extremely vague. He discreetly looked around for any eavesdroppers and lowered his voice to a whisper as he walked down the 21st arrondissement.

“Uh, guys? Where exactly am I supposed to go?”

He hated not knowing how to do something he was expected to, incredibly so.

“I was hoping you’d dispose of your body there,” he paused, "but since you asked so nicely, we’ll tell you.” Robin chimed in matter-of-factly.

Garfield could practically feel the next set of words. He didn’t know what they were, but they were going to suck. He just knew it.

Raven took a long swig of coffee before announcing the dreaded news, “We’ve signed you up for a foreign exchange student program,” 

Ah,

“You what?!” he shrieked. A couple of onlookers gave him dirty glances, he smiled sheepishly.

Blue Beetle toggled his audio, “C’mon Gar-“ Robin interrupted,

“No names on field!”

 “Shutuuuuup,” he drawled out.

“Anyways, Beastboy,’’ cue pointed glare at Robin,’’ did you really think we’d let you roam around without a leash for what? Three months? In a foreign country of all places?” Garfield could practically hear the smirk in his voice, the fucker.

“I was hoping, yeah!” Damn. He thought he would get away with them actually trusting him here alone, wishful thinking on his part.

He pouted at the idea as he scouted for a place to lounge in.

Raven huffed, “You’ll be living with a host family during your stay at Paris, if it wasn’t clear enough already.”

He froze; what other surprises were up their sleeves?!

“C’mon, be real for a sec. I’m a superhero, I don’t need to go to public school, I don’t need a couple of strangers!” he stressed as he weaved between crowds of Parisians.

Ooh, a bench. He sat with the intent of winning this argument, no matter the consequence. So what if he looked crazy, supposedly talking to himself? Priorities people, priorities.

“Doom Patrol’s strict orders, you know, ‘cause they can’t homeschool you a whole continent away,” Jamie deadpanned.

Garfield dragged a hand down his face. Stupid Doom Patrol, stupid worrying for his wellbeing. “But- it’s a mission!” he gestured rapidly, in clear exasperation.

Jaime tsked, “And? Gotta keep that brain of yours in tip-top shape, amigo!”

“Whatever, man;” he got up to dust himself off, “still don’t know how that’s related to the address on the Seine but- “

“They live there, your host family,” Raven supplied.

Garfield scratched his chin in wonder. Who lives in a body of water? That’s so- Wait. His friends were totally holding out on him!

“You guys didn’t tell me I’d be staying with Aquaman! That makes this ten times better!”

What were the chances that the man himself was in Paris too? They can bond over sea creatures, and Garfield could show him his animal transformations! This mission wasn’t so bad, it wasn’t bad at all. He had an extra skip in his step as he pranced down the pavement.

“Are you entirely brain dead?” Robin audibly face palmed,

”No, you’re not- you know what? Yes, you’re going to be living with Aquaman. At a river. In France,” quiet murmurs along the lines of ‘idiot, and ‘cómo adorable,’ sounded out from his remaining teammates.

“This is gonna be so awesome!” Garfield exclaimed giddily.

He spotted a boulangerie-pâtisserie a couple blocks away. Aha! Time to get him some sweet, sweet, treats. And hopefully, some directions.

“Robin spent weeks doing full analysis on the whole family,” Jaime grinned over the comm.

Raven cut in, “Even though it was incredibly self-destructive, “

Analysis? On the King of Atlantis? Boy, no one was safe from Damian’s wrath.

“Awww. You do care, Robin!” he cooed as he entered the bakery.

Robin gasped, affronted, “Don’t flatter yourself! I needed to make sure you wouldn’t feel obligated to blabber all our secrets, obviously.”

“Better than nothing, I suppose,” Garfield shrugged to himself, but quickly zipped his lips shut once someone came into view.

“The Couffaines are...adequate at best;” he quieted, “well, at least from what I could infer before I was so viciously torn away from my research!” was sniffed hotly.

Couffaines? Was that a code name?

“If I didn’t know any better Robin,” Jaime mused, “I’d think you were taking after Tim, especially with how many late nights you’ve had...”

A beat.

Garfield ignored the squabble taking place in his left ear, opting to chat with the kind looking, lady at the register.

“Hello! What can I do for-“ she looked up from tying her apron,

“Oh! You must be new here; I don’t recognize you,”

Garfield offered his hand, “Hah, yeah! I was just walkin’ around town. I’m Grant, by the way,’’ he silently praised himself for remembering his alias.

She shook it firmly, “Sabine.”

A warm smile was sent his way before she gestured to the variety of sweets on display. His mouth watered at the sight and contemplated his choices, no matter how hard it was.  ‘’What would you recommend?’’ he whispered, completely in awe.

Sabine paused to give him a once-over before lighting up. ‘’Well, you don’t strike me as a tart kind of guy so, how do you feel about chocolate?’’

‘’Love it.’’

‘’Great! My husband just put out some fresh Pain Au Chocolates before you came in!’’ Score. His luck hadn’t completely run out.

‘’That sounds fire! I’ll have that,’’ he exclaimed cheerfully.

She blinked at his wording, ‘’Pardon?’’

What? Did she not unders- Oh.‘’Sorry, American slang. It means cool!’’ he rushed out.

She mulled it over, ‘’Ah, okay. Well, coming right up!’’ Sabine opened the glass in search of the Pain Au Chocolates.

“Don’t ever compare me to that insufferable fool, -“

He snickered, “Your brother?”

Robin fumed, “-you complete and utter nincompoop!”

“Now, now, don’t use big boy words on me,” Jaime taunted.

“I’ll show you ‘big boy’ words-! “

Garfield faux scratched his ear in favor of switching off the comm as he watched Sabine bag the treats. He grinned in thanks once handed to him.

“If that’ll be all...?” She trailed off.

He wasn’t really paying any mind as he took a big whiff of the sweets. His thoughts floated over to a haven filled with a never-ending overflow of pastries. Ah, what’s stopping him from staying here forever? A pat on his shoulder, apparently.

“Hm?” Garfield found the petite baker leaning over the counter with a patient smile.

“Sorry, I totally zoned out! Did you say something?” he rubbed his neck bashfully.

She chuckled, “I asked if there’s anything else I could do for you, sweetie.”

If there anything else she could- Right! Yes, he needed to know where the hell he was staying at. Garfield fumbled for his phone, luckily for him he copied the address into his Notes app.

“Yeah actually! Well, not food wise but, I’m here in Paris for,” he blanched momentarily, “uh, an exchange program; and I have a like host family here, right?” he gestured to his voice; the American accent evident.

She nodded.

He continued, “And I don’t really uh, like, know exactly where I’m supposed to meet them. I was wondering if you by chance knew someone who lived on the Seine around here?” Garfield shoveled a croissant into his mouth.

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

Marinette was a lot of things.

To some she was the sweet bakers’ daughter, insanely witty and clever, granted a bit scatterbrained, but she was your trophy student by all means of the word; to others though, she was someone to be wary of. A classmate’s spew of lies crawling under their skins, itching to be taken into account. Every move watched meticulously, waiting with bated breath for a slip up, for anything to grasp on to.

In simpler terms, Marinette was over it. Over being unable to speak her truth; over being villainized, constantly put under a spotlight. There was already enough on her plate, one of its regulars accumulating to a steadily-rising designer. One of her biggest flexes, if she was being honest; because really, what fourteen year old could say they constructed glasses for the Jagged Stone? Surely not the average bunch.

Oh, and did she mention superheroine? Yeah, she’s a superheroine.

The whole gig was shoved at her face, three months shy of her thirteenth birthday; and by gig she meant a brief guide, a blindingly red polka-dotted suit, a questionable choice of weapon (seriously, a yo-yo?), and an ill-timed partner.

Nonetheless, she worked with what she got. It's kept her alive so far already, why complain now?

She rubbed her eyes with a stifled yawn, ‘’Radiant....Carefree....Dreamy…’’

Marinette slammed the snooze button at the sound of that god forsaken jingle. Christ, she needed to change her alarm. All it did was make her reminisce of her former crush on Adrien Agreste; top teen Parisian model, son of fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste, and current boyfriend of future Olympiad, Kagami Tsurugi. Alas, old habits die hard, and this one was going to crash and burn any time soon; Marinette was sure of it.

A groan sounded out as she flopped to the floor, skillfully ignoring the tinkling laughter coming from her bedside. Ah, who was she kidding? It’d take some sort of absolute miracle to get over him completely. She would end up forever lonely, pining over a taken man, indefinitely getting dropped from position as lead designer for Jagged, friendless, Akumatized, disowned by her parents-

“None of those things are true, and you know it!”

She snapped her gaze up to the floating embodiment of creation, Tikki. Had her friend really thought that, that look could get Marinette to take back her spiel? She looked like an angry kitten for crying out loud!

Her cheeks reddened as she got up and dusted herself off, “Did I say that out loud?”

Judging by the narrowing of the tiny god's eyes, she’d say yes, it was said out loud. Damn, she was not looking forward to a morning lecture about her declining self esteem and her tendency of speaking her mind. Before Tikki could get even a word in, the Just In Case™ alarm for bad mornings went off. She shot the kwami a rueful grin and scurried over to the counter.

“Radian-“ the clock was chucked out of the three story building. Marinette watched from her window as it plummeted to its demise, in a heap of cheap metal and wires. Lovely.

A red blur zoomed to the front of her face, making her go cross-eyed, ‘’Marinette!’’ Tikki frowned shakily, struggling not to smile at her antics. 

She shrugged and skipped over to her closet, in search for acceptable clothes,

‘’What? It was getting annoying! And besides, it’s not like it was worth that mu-!’’ They both froze at the pounding of the trap door.

Ugh, couldn’t they wait to bother her later?

‘‘You better get out of there soon, young lady! I don’t want another call from your school added to the list,’‘ Marinette was going to absolutely combust. It sucked enough that barely any of her ‘‘friends’’ stuck around, but Tom and Sabine? Really? Believing some complete stranger over her? It must be the lack of familial relation that makes it sting a bit less. It must.

She groaned tiredly, ‘’Yes, Sabine.’’

Once the descending pattering of her footsteps quieted, Tikki raced over to latch onto Marinette’s cheek. Her bluebell orbs peered up at her, filled with sympathy for her holder. She shook her head at the silent offer to talk; there’s no time for a pity party. 

The kwami sighed sadly, before pecking her cheek and floating over to rest on her shoulder. Marinette plastered on an encouraging smile, ‘‘C’mon Tikks’, help me pick out and outfit for today! You know how indecisive I can be,”

After some thinking, they’ve come to the mutual decision of something completely out of Marinette’s alley. Instead of her usual pink capris, floral shirt, blazer, flats, and pigtails; she sported a plaid pleated skirt, a tucked in Queen Bee graphic tee, black two-inch heart buckled platform Mary Janes, and spacebuns. Who knew her wardrobe from Clara Nightingale’s on-set music video would come to use? 

She ogled her reflection with a satisfied smirk, yeah, she was hot. 

‘’Holy shit, Tikki, if I was still into Adrien,’’ she whistled, ‘’he’d drop to the floor as soon as he saw this; and that’s coming from me!’’ 

The kwami shook her head good naturedly, ‘’I’m glad you think so. I really like confident Marinette!’’ she nudged her shoulder, ‘’Although, I hope you aren’t doing this for your classmates’ approval...’’ 

She directed her gaze at Tikki; an other person’s approval? Why would she do something for another person’s approv- Oh. She actually wasn’t that far off. 

‘‘Pssh. No, I would never! This is all me baby! The awesome, cool, and Pinterest board version, I mean,’‘ Marinette gave her little friend finger-guns and grabbed her purse. Enough about her, they needed to get to school before she was late again. 

‘‘Get in Tikks’, if we wait any longer I’ll be,’‘ she checked the time on her phone, ‘‘like five minutes late to homeroom!’‘ 

She flitted into the bag as Marinette settled it onto her side. With one last look-over, she was off. 

To say she struggled down the stairs was a complete and utter understatement. She almost died, multiple times. Maybe the platform shoes were a bad idea, a very, very, very bad idea. Marinette clutched onto the railing with an inhumane grip that could rival Alya’s on her phone; and that was telling you something. 

Once she made it passed the death trap, or rather simply a few steps, she grabbed an espresso and a handful of cookies; the former being for her, and the latter for Tikki. She gave a fleeting wave to Sabine and Tom, not that they gave any mind. 

She pulled out her phone, 8:26, she could work with that. Her phone buzzed with a text notification. 

 (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝖈𝖍𝖑𝖔𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 ♥          ɴᴏᴡ

where the fuck are you

Marinette snorted and slid the cookies into her purse. She unlocked the screen and tapped the message icon.

{𝟖:𝟐𝟕}  .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤°   🎀  𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒  🎀   °¤*)¯´★`¯(*¤°•.    

wouldnt you like to know weather boy

.

.

.

{𝟖:𝟐𝟪} (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝖈𝖍𝖑𝖔𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 ♥

wow ur so funny im literally laughing so hard rn 😐

.

.

{𝟖:𝟐8}   .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤°   🎀  𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒  🎀   °¤*)¯´★`¯(*¤°•.  

thank you, thank you, im here all night 🖤

.

 Marinette looked both ways before crossing the intersection, Dupont just about a block away. She chugged her now-cold coffee and tossed it in the recycling bin, ‘’Score! And the crowd goes wil-!’’ the atmosphere suddenly stilted.

‘‘Dupain-Cheng,’‘ she swiveled around, and was met with the putrid swamp green slits shes grown to despise. 

A snarl rolled off her tongue, ‘’Rossi.’’ 

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omg guys so hi. im doing this. im actually doing the thing i said i would do here  cuz im a bad bitch. 3k words i think. sorry for any mistakes i literally wrote this while watching pbs kids LMAOOOASODFWOEB @beautiful-disasters-sunshine idk if u still wanna be tagged when i do this kinda stuff but pm me if u dont <3

[imjustheretoseetheprivateblogs]

Voltron Defenders Prologue

This is my AU of Voltron Legendary Defender. This is me remaking Voltron from the ground up. Hopefully, I haven’t bit off more than I can chew.

-V-

A movie could begin with that view, Lance thought to himself, looking out from his balcony to the bay.

Lance Alvarez had seen more picturesque views than any other human being alive, he liked to think. Of stars, of ancient temples, and beings beyond what his community college education could fathom, but in his mind nothing, absolutely nothing, could compare to a panoramic view of a Cuban sunset. Maybe he was just getting old, he thought, not that he could tell.

With the miracle of alien medicine, sixty was the new thirty-nine. He stretched, taking a deep breath of the cooling air. Yes, he thought, you could definitely start a movie like this.

The tell-tale click of the door opening behind him turned his head.

“Yes?” he asked.

A shock of hair the color of goose down poked through the door, followed by the head of a young man, probably around his son’s age.

“Mr. Alvarez?” he asked, uncertainty in not only his voice but his whole demeanor.

“Yes,” Lance said.

Lance’s visitor opened the door to Lance’s apartment all the way to reveal his cream-colored sweater and slacks.

“You’re…”

He paused, as if trying to figure out just what to say.

“You look different than your picture.”

Lance threw back his head and laughed.

“I’m sure I do,” he said, putting a hand on his stomach, “when you have Tex-Mex at Hunk and Shay’s, one plate isn’t enough!”

Lance’s visitor shifted, looking embarrassed.

“Sorry if I was rude.”

“No, you weren’t. What I did to Keith back on Arus that was rude.”

“Well, actually, that’s why I’m—well, why we’re here.”

“We?”

A young woman with a brown bob and a beret, followed by a familiar floating pyramid, poked her head into the doorway.

“Did you die from embarrassment yet, Daryl?”

The first visitor, Daryl, rolled his eyes.

“No, Lisa, but I appreciate the concern.”

And Lance had to appreciate the banter. It had been awhile since he’d heard some good wit.

“I see you’ve got a rover,” he said, pointing to the robot.

The girl, Lisa, brightened and walked into the room, revealing an all-black ensemble.

“You like it?” she asked, “It’s the latest model. It comes with three times the RAM and a built in translator.”

“I’ll bet,” Lance says, “I was there when the first Rover was made.”

“Get out of here!” the girl said, “you’re not that old.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Lance, “Can I offer you some coffee?”

“Uh, sure,” Daryl said, “just with sugar.”

“I’ll take some, too,” said Lisa, “but put the whole bottle of creamer in it.”

Lance nodded and headed for his kitchen.

“Now,” Lance said, putting a new filter into his coffee maker, “why are you here?”

“We spoke on the phone,” Daryl said from the other room, “We’re here for the interview.”

“Interview?”

“We’re working on a docu-series,” said Lisa, “focusing on your career…”

“Bullcrap,” Lance said, spooning coffee beans into the maker, “You want to know about Voltron.”

For about a minute, no sound came from the living room. After two minutes, Daryl poked his head into the kitchen doorway.

“Are we that obvious?”

“Well, considering I’m an old pro at that, I won’t hold it against you. But I can’t see what you want to know. Everyone’s already covered most of it…”

“But not the human side,” said Lisa, walking into the kitchen, “the side that everybody wants to know.”

“Still don’t see why you don’t talk to Hunk or Pidge…”

“We will,” said Daryl, “but we wanted to get your side of the story first.”

Lance smiled.

“Fifty years ago, I’d have been all over this.”

The coffee maker dinged.

“One of you grab some mugs from that cabinet over there. I’ll pour the coffee.”

Before long, Lance and his visitors had settled in the living room, all three of them drinking from matched mugs, with Lisa explaining the direction.

“…And then a voice over says ‘Terra is my nation. Deep space is my dwelling place, the stars my destination.’

“That’s pretty good.” said Lance, taking a sip of his coffee, “you come up with that?”

“It’s the final line of Alfred Bester’s most famous novel.” said Daryl.

“Never read Bester,” Lance replied.

“Okay,” Lisa said, moving to join Daryl on the couch, “you just start rolling and I’ll just film you while Daryl asks you questions.”

“Chévere,” Lance said, taking another drink of coffee.

“Alright,” Lisa said to her robot companion, “Rover, begin filming in ten seconds.”

“Any place you want me to start?” asked Lance.

Daryl had taken out a datapad, looking down at it. Probably had notes on that thing.

“Why not start at the Garrison? That’s where most people say this started.”

“Sounds good,” Lance said.

“And we’re rolling,” Lisa said, “in three, two…”

Lisa made mouthed the word ‘go’ to Lance.

Lance closed his eyes, thinking back to a time when it felt like anything was possible, when missing earth was nothing but a rough Wednesday.

“I first joined the Galaxy Garrison when I was fifteen. ‘Maybe you’ll be on the next mission to Kerberos.’ was what the ad on TV said. When I was a younger, I thought that would be me. I thought I could do anything…”

Lance looked back out the window of his balcony, up towards the stars he’d traversed in his youth.

“When we’re young, we look people in the eye and tell them we can do anything. That we’re the heroes of our own story, the next leaders, the next Neil Armstrong or Amelia Earhart.”

He paused, gathering his thoughts before turning to face his interviewers.

“But some of us aren’t heroes. Not in the way we think they should be. Voltron taught me that.”

Lance looked up at the walls of his home, walls full of posters and memorabilia. Underneath them were shelves lined with action figures of familiar robot lions, pictures of weddings, births, funerals, artwork, magazine covers, all of it dedicated to what was Voltron.

“It’s only now, when I’m old, that I realize how much I owe to Voltron. And to the people who made it possible.”

Lance looked down at another photo, one that held a special place in his heart, and smiled. Gritty and old, it sat in a cracked frame, showing two young men, one Cuban, the other Samoan. Both of them wore the uniforms of the Galaxy Garrison, Custodial division.

[kid-crashed]

Hi there! I hope I don't come across annoying or anything but I was wondering if you could give us some headcanons for your damijon coffee shop AU? I love your work

THE ABSOLUTE LAST THING YOU ARE IS ANNOYING!!!!!!! I write this AU so I can talk about it! And since this is my story, what I say is law. (I guess that technically means these are spoilers too??) ANYWHOO!!! Here ya go! A list of things that may or may not come up in the fic, and may or may not get a lot of attention if they do!!!

Classic Cold Brew: Canon Head-canons 

Damian is Muslim

Jon will continue to try drinking coffee, and he will never like it

The only jewelry Damian will ever wear is a gold necklace he never takes off, and a “friendship” bracelet Jon makes him

Jon is a little too into Abba

Consequently, Kathy’s ringtone for Jon is Dancing Queen

At one point in time, Jon and Terra rewrite all of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap to be about coffee shops

Damian has never seen a Vine in his life. Jon is going to change that.

There’s a massive scar on Damian’s chest from when he had open heart surgery as a kid

Clark tries to be as supportive of a father as physically possible, but he’s so Kansas Awkward it’s painful

If you leave Jon alone in a kitchen, there will somehow be baked goods when you come back. It doesn’t matter how long you were gone for. It doesn’t matter if you knowingly had baking ingredients in the first place. But they will appear. There is no stopping it.

The reason Damian drinks soy milk is because he is lactose intolerant

Kon originally planned on taking a gap year between highschool and college to help out on the Kent farm in Smallville. Instead he ended up Hawaii for four months. 

There ya go!! As always, thank you for the support! If you have any other question, comment, needs, urges, concerns, bodies to hide, etc. Just let me know!!!

[ansgar-martinsson]

The Best Intentions - Part 23

“Gravlax as a main, Rose?” Ansgar queried, tucking his napkin back into his lap. “I’ll admit I was a bit surprised when you didn’t bring it out with the salad greens, darling.” He eyed his plate with some suspicion, and then flicked his gaze back to the chef, who, much to his admiration, did not deflate at all beneath his criticism.

“You know I’m a fusion chef, Sgar,” she replied adroitly. “Experimental. New takes on the traditional and all that.”

“But still… it’s an appetizer, isn’t it?” He gave Joline a quick wink and a quirk of his lips, out of view of Rose, as if to say, “I’m just giving her shit, she loves it.”

“Oh, yes,” Joline added. “I’ve only had it as a starter before.”

“You’ve been gone too long, mate,” Rose gave Ansgar a dismissive gesture. “I’ve been shaking things up, serving the cured salmon as a main from my kitchen for a year now. It’s been all the rage in Stockholm. Probably beyond.” She stepped forward, and pointed, two-fingered, to the different items arranged on Ansgar’s plate. “See, I served it with a horseradish and cream cheese sauce, peeled new Idaho potatoes - flash boiled, dilled and tossed in organic fresh-cream butter, along with a California white wine pickled beet and red onion salad, and freshly baked rye bread, made in my own stone oven. All of this paired with a crisp, yet sweet Fattoria Casa di Terra Bolgheri Vermentino.”

“Rosie, mate,” Ansgar lifted his fork and licked his lips, peering with feigned impatience up at his friend. 

“Yes,” she replied.

“It looks and smells amazing. I love your cooking, otherwise I’d not have hired you for this evening. Now. Shut up, stop ranting, and let us eat it.”

Rose chuckled. “Yeah, all right,” she said, bobbling her head. She turned to Joline and gave her a small, respectful bow. “I really hope you like it, Joline,” she said, “Sgar here asked me to make for you what I’d make for one of my girlfriends on a second date.” She winked. “And you know, salmon is an aphrodisiac… not that you’ll need it with him around.”

Ansgar growled, forkful of food suspended just in front of his mouth. “Rosie,” he gnarled.

“Yeah, Sgar?”

“Bugger back off to the kitchen, will you? There’s a darling.”

“Salaam,” Rose grinned broadly, gave an elaborate, twirling-hand bow, pressed her hands together in mock prayer, and stepped backwards into the kitchen. 

Ansgar paused with his first bite, surreptitiously waiting for Joline to take hers. However, as soon as his gaze peeled from the Rosie spectacle back to Joline, she had already tucked into a quarter of her fish, and at least two of the potatoes. “It’s good?” Ansgar laughed before finally biting into the first bit of salmon.

“Ohmgd!” Joline mumbled. She chewed and swallowed, smiling. “It’s delicious! It’s amazing!” She pointed back toward the kitchen with her fork. “She’s amazing! Can I keep her?”

“Christ,” Ansgar agreed, laughing. “It is. It’s perfect. It’s perfect, and no you can’t keep her. She’s mine. But don’t tell Rosie. She’ll get a big head about it and expect me to somehow score her another Michelin star on her door.”

“I heard that!” Rose chimed.

“You were meant to!” Ansgar called back. 

***

But the rest of the conversation between Ansgar and Joline went unheard, busy as Rosie and Jacqui, her sous chef, had been preparing the desserts and coffee.

Ansgar found it lovely and strange how comfortable he felt, how comfortable Joline appeared, in the face of a lack of conversation between the two of them. They consumed their meals in pure enjoyment, and in relative silence save for the occasional hum of delight or the acknowledgement of a particularly palatable tidbit, or the sharing of a bite or two across the corner of the table. 

Even better how she’d accepted his hand on her thigh, how she’d switched to her non-dominant hand to finish her meal, all so that she could entwine her fingers with Ansgar’s under the table. Better still how she had kicked off her shoes and brushed her bare foot against the small hairs and the flash of skin above his socks, beneath the cuff of his jeans. 

Their meal was casual, yet sensual. Friendly, yet romantic. Happy. Content.

Secure. Safe. As if the world was reduced down to just the two of them.

At least until Ansgar’s phone chimed in his back pocket. 

“Shit, sorry,” he said, fumbling to retrieve it. He flicked the mute switch on the side. “Damn. I meant to turn that off.”

Joline’s brow furrowed. “Was that… was that Joy Division? That ringtone. It sounded like the first few notes of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.”

Ansgar laughed. “Yeah, it is,” he affirmed. “It’s what I have as a tone for when Magnus texts or rings me. Joy Division’s his favorite band.”

She leaned into him, tucking her leg up beneath her on the chair, her elbow on the now empty, dessert-anticipatory table. “Didn’t you say that your brother and his wife just had a baby?”

“Babies, plural,” he said, glancing at his brother’s text. “In fact, here.” He turned the phone toward her, showing her the photograph he’d just received. “That’s Magnus, looking absolutely shredded if you ask me, holding the twins. Bec must have taken this snap.”

Joline snorted. “Yeah, as if I couldn’t tell that was your brother. You know? That could be you in that picture.”

Her statement gave Ansgar pause. He knew she hadn’t meant it like that, but still. He knew she was referring to the fact that he and Magnus were mirror images of each other, but still. 

That could be you in that picture. That could be you - married with three beautiful children. That could be you, holding the next generation of your family. That could be you, making your sister and mother over the moon with the babies. That could be you - stable, happy, well cared for, well fed and well fucked every night by a woman you loved and who loved you more than anything else in this world.

That could be you. 

That could have been you.

Could it still? One wonders. One hopes.

Could be you.

“Yes, it could be me,” he said at last, trying his best to pull himself out of the slight funk, trying to hide the wash of melancholy that crashed over him, trying to remember just how happy he was in that moment with that woman. With Joline. “I told you I was a twin, and I meant it. Magnus and are truly identical, right down to our matching genetics.”

“Those Martinsson genes make beautiful babies,” Joline mused for a moment, staring at the photo before glancing back up at him, an unreadable expression on her face. “So um… what are their names again? I know you told me, but I uh… I was kind of distracted at the time.”

“I’ll bet you were.” He laughed. “That’s Ingrid Elise,” he pointed to the small pink bundle in the photo, and then to the blue one. “And that handsome gentleman is Axel Gregor. The next A.G. Martinsson to terrorize this world and then some, and I plan to make him my little apprentice, my little mini-me someday.”

“Gregor,” Joline perked. “Gregor? Is… is that what the G in AGM stands for? Is that your second name?”

“Bingo,” Ansgar nodded and winked. “Tell me, what did you think it stood for? George? Gavin? Grant? Giovanni?” The last name he said with a mock Italian accent, his pinched fingers flipping in the air. 

“No,” she smiled coyly and leaned forward, bringing her other elbow up to support her chin as she shifted toward him, into him, her eyes soft and hooded and flirtatious. “I thought the G meant generous, genius, gallant, gentlemanly, and most of all, gorgeous.”

Ansgar’s lips curled and his cheeks went an uncharacteristic shade of pink. He shifted in his chair and brought his own elbows to the table, rest his own chin in the upturned palms of his hands, brought his own lips close to hers, his nose to brush delicately against hers. “You think I’m all those things, do you?”

“I don’t think so, I know so.”

“There’s one G that you missed, though,” he cooed, and slowly moved his hand below the table, insinuating himself between her thighs, his fingers up high and into the crevasse at the top of her legs. “A very important one.”

She hissed at the pressure of his touch on her clothed sex. “Mmmm, and what might that be?”

“G-spot,” he murmured low and heady, a whisper just outside her earlobe. With a sensual rumble from his chest, he flicked his tongue quickly behind the curve of her ear and took a slow, consuming mouthful of the skin of her neck. “And I know exactly where you keep yours hidden, my darling.”

“Oi! Dessert! Come on lovebirds, you can wait!” 

Ansgar groaned, his head falling heavily and comically to Joline’s shoulder. Her shoulder which began to shake with mirth and laughter in a rhythm to match his own. He pulled himself up, grinning like a fool, to find Joline with her hands over her mouth and nose, her eyes sparkling with a hand in the cookie jar child-like mischief. 

“Have your gateau breton with apricot sauce, now, Sgar. Then, you can eat herpeach out later,” Rose quipped. “Listen, if you two keep that up, Jacqui and I may need to borrow your guest bedroom for a fuck of our own.”

Ansgar’s eyes flicked over to Joline’s, gauging her response to Rosie’s signature vulgarity. Joline gave him the same look - wide eyed, unblinking, mouth taut and slightly puckered….

… before they both, as if in stereo, snorted and dissolved into a fit of giggles.

“So are you the new flavor or a new main?” Rose asked quietly between her and Joline. Ansgar disappeared into the media room to set up something for them to watch while Rose served them coffee. Joline suspected that he also excused himself to exchange texts with his brother.

The amount of love, respect, admiration, pride and perhaps a bit of envy thrown in there that Joline saw in Ansgar towards his twin warmed the cynical side of her personality, the realist she claimed. But she witnessed it. Ansgar returned to Sweden and his family’s fold after running and hiding after the dissolution of his marriage. He loved his family beyond anything or anyone else, and that was the splice of Ansgar that Joline favored.

She slid her fork through her lips upside down slowly, raising her gaze from her dessert plate to the attractive chef. “I’m sorry?” Her tongue worked the delicate yet rich gateau Breton along the roof of her mouth.

“I mean no offense,” Rose annunciated clearly, deliberately. “But let’s cut past the outrage and denial and ‘how dare yous.’” She spun the last three words in a high pitched impression of Joline. “Are you a garnish or the real deal?”

Joline slid her ponytail through her circled fingers from root to tip twice before sticking her elbow upon the table and cupping her in chin in her palm. She couldn’t keep the humor from her tone. “Are you asking my intentions with Ansgar?”

“Yeah, girly, that’s what I’m askin’!”

Joline picked up her fork again and poked at her dessert, thinking. Since her very first conversation with Ansgar, she wrestled with a title or relationship with him, how they fit. Two days in and they’d been through so many variations and incarnations. She asked the other woman, “No shit? Absolute truth?”

“Yeah, that’s what I want to know.”

“No bullshit, I don’t know.”

Rose unloaded the chip upon her shoulder and chuckled, sitting beside Joline at the table. “I like you and that’s Ansgar Martinsson all over.”

Joline nodded, rolling her eyes with Rose. “By all means, if you want to defend his honor and threaten me,” she gestured with open palms in front of her, “this is… your dining room.”

“I’ve known him for too long. His roar is bad, his bite is terrifying.”

“Are you defending him or warning me?” Joline genuinely liked this woman, her veiled attempt of protecting Ansgar was entertaining in its respect and pan of the man. “I thought to warn you of that… that was until I realized that you knew each other.”

Rose looked Joline dead in the eye. “He was fucked. over. He deserves someone who can…” She suddenly waved that thought away, feeling that it was entirely too cliché. “Okay, forget that. Just know when to treat him like a man, when to treat him like a baby, and when to pet him like a lion.”

“I’m learning that.

Rose got to her feet again when she thought she heard Ansgar coming back. “Second date, huh?”

Joline shrugged, her voice waivered in uncertainly. “I think so.”

“There’s enough sexual tension there to power the city of lights. How are you not wet all the time?”

Joline crossed her legs under the table. “Who said I’m not?”

Rose laughed. “I knew I liked you.”

Ansgar returned then, shooing Rose back to the kitchen to let him and his date finish their dessert without crude remarks or interruptions. He folded himself back into the seat, taking Joline’s hand once more, kissing her palm.

“Is everything okay? With Magnus and the babies?”

“Yes, darling. No more interludes. I’d like to spend the rest of my night with you.”

Joline scooted her legs toward him, moving closer. She hooked her legs over one of his and leaned in closer. She brushed her cheek along his, feeling the bristles of his beard prickle her skin. She nuzzled her nose to his, breathing him in. She wanted to live clear of questions or ulterior motives. “I don’t know what this is, Sgar.” She angled her head back and sideways, feathering her lips over his. “I’m—“

“Ask me, Joline,” he stated calmly, hiding that he was already bewitched by her seduction.

“I don’t want to put demands on you or create any sense of obligation.”

He fell into her mouth, tasting the summery fresh flavor of apricot along her tongue. He nipped at her, nibbling her like he planned to scoop into his dessert. He almost preferred the taste of Rose’s delicacy laced with Joline. Maybe it was Joline laced with Rose’s dessert. “Ask me,” he repeated huskily.

She retreated a bit, her eyes flicking between his then down to his lips, returning again. She willed him to speak to give her some indication. “You told Rose that… that this is a date?”

Confidently, he confirmed it, no shame and no hesitation. “I did.”

Her hand rested against his chest under the base of his neck. “Is this… Is this a date? Is this more than sex?”

The stampede of his heart that usually pounded in his chest at the thought of entanglements didn’t scare him. He didn’t feel the need to take to the road. Masks or identities had no place in his life now. “I’ve told you, Joline, that I feel happy with you, happier than I’ve been in a long time. Comfortable. Safe. I trust you, with more of myself than I’ve shared with others.”

“Why me?”

“Is there a rhyme or reason for it? Blunt as I can be, you don’t give a shit. You don’t care about material possessions, you don’t care what I do, you don’t care what I have. You accept me as I am without trying to change me. I’m a pompous ass, you let me be that. What you do care about is being with me, close to me as you are now, and getting to know me.”

Despite the seriousness and intimacy of their talk, Joline cracked a smile. “We did this all wrong, you know.”

“I don’t think I’d call any of it wrong.” He heaved the woman into his lap, making her abandon her seat entirely. “I thought we had some fun along the way.”

Joline turned her head allowing him access to her when he combed his teeth along her neck. “I only meant… you asked me to the gala after you met Harold—“

He chuckled against the smooth column of skin. “Is that really the highlight of the afternoon? Your opera ghost?”

“Harold’s important to me, ass… but that wasn’t the point. You asked me to the gala, an actual date, and I turned you down.”

“Would you like me to invite you again, Joline?”

She giggled into another hoard of kisses along the slope between her neck and shoulder. “Well, if you’re only going to sex me up afterwards,” her breath caught when his hand closed around her breast, “I should… should get a date out of it too.”

“Then it’s settled.” He glided his lips down the crease of her clavicle, down, down, down into the valley between her breasts.

“Fuck, Sgar…” She held him to that erogenous and sensitive place on her, reeling at the pounding in her bloodstream and the spin in her head from the spike in arousal. Her fingers dug into his thick curls, the scrape of the coarse hair of his beard along her breast driving past want directly into need.

Hauling the woman up into his arms, he stood suddenly, cradling her knees with one arm and her back with the other. He called over his shoulder into the kitchen, “Rose, bring dessert and coffee into the media room.”

Joline wrapped her arms around the back of his head. “Why are you doing this, caveman?”

“The chair’s a bitch to get around when I want to feel you up.” As he walked from one room into the other, he had another bit of business kicking around his head. “Are you working tomorrow?”

“Well, yes… I’ve this tiny little construction company poking around my main stage and infiltrating my little stage,” she teased loudly. “Not to mention that someone’s trying to electrocute my lead singers and maybe the audience too. And a brand new partner that doesn’t like to let me sleep AT ALL.”

Ansgar unceremoniously dropped the ranting woman onto yet another massive lounge in the media room. He was quick to silence her protests for the physical dumping by blanketing her body with his and stop her mouth with his. He felt her surrender and melt into his affectionate display.

Rose knew enough to clear her throat loudly, more than once, before bringing the desserts in, Jacqui behind her with the coffee.

Joline pressed in beside Ansgar when they righted themselves again, threading her arms through his and laying her head on his shoulder.

“Sneak away for an hour or two tomorrow. For lunch,” he told her, reaching for the remote.

“Tell me why.”

He pressed a kiss against her, “Corporate picnic. I need a date.”

[lyssala]

Day 9  – Plot of Your Favorite Movie

Pairings: Terra & Aqua, Kingdom Hearts

Setting: Modern AU where Terra and Aqua are coworkers who do not get along, but unbeknownst to them, they are actually wonderful friends

Rating: K+

Words: 15377

Notes: Another fic I have wanted to do for ages! Its based off of You've Got Mail and the musical She Loves Me (both of which are based on the same source material). I've always loved the setup for these works and have always wanted to try my hand at doing an au with a similar setup. Also! Its a Christmas fic so Happy Holidays my friends!! (also in case you know/listen to the music, Vanilla Ice Cream was my signature audition song and it has such a special place in my heart, which is why the title is not Christmas related at all LOL)

As always a HUGE thanks to @mimiplaysgames who helped me edit this fic while she was on vacation. She really helped me cultivate the right tone for this fic (because its another sorta rival feelings one) and I can just NEVER thank her enough. She's amazing and SHE JUST UPDATED A FIC YESTERDAY so you all should go read it immediately <3

AO3

He Came to Offer Me Vanilla Ice Cream

Inspired By: Three Letters, Vanilla Ice Cream, She Loves Me (She Loves Me, 2016 Revival Cast)

Dear OftheShire,

I’m so sorry to hear you have to work so much over the holidays. I understand the feelings all too well, unfortunately. My saving grace is that I at least don’t get sick of listening to Christmas music! Customers, yes, absolutely, but hearing All I Want for Christmas for the tenth time on one shift keeps me going strong. I even sing along to the horror of my coworkers. I do love the holidays, and the high consumerism the holiday has turned into can’t take that away from me.

The weather, the music, the smells, the feeling of it just reminds me of being a little girl, hanging up my stocking and double checking the cookies I left out for Santa. I would be so ecstatic when there would be chunks missing in the cookies in the morning that I’d completely miss the crumbs in my dad’s beard! Did you believe in Santa too? (Also totally sorry to be the bearer of bad news if you still believed in Santa D: ) Some people find it cruel to let their kids believe only to then tell them it was a lie, but I have so many fond memories of trying to look for Santa on Christmas Eve and my mom playing along that she saw reindeer in the distance that I never found it cruel. If I ever have children, I think I’d like to share that with them too.

My parents live back in my home state, which, believe it or not, gets even colder than where I live now! I grew up really far north, which is wonderful in every other seasons but winter. Even growing up there can’t get me used to the cold and the snow. They’re actually coming to visit me for the first time since I started Grad school out here for Christmas! I can’t wait to see them. Are you close with your family?

Congratulations on being able to graduate next semester yourself! I still have a ways to go but the fact you’re already almost done gives me hope I can survive myself. What did you say you studied again? It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t seem to recall. That’s probably because I haven’t had my coffee yet, believe me that’s my first stop before class :P

I probably should get on that or I’m going to be late, another long day means multiple cups of coffee (and maybe a few cinnamon rolls).

--

The store was thankfully busy. Not so much for Terra who had to pay much more at attention than usual, but for the store itself. Sure they were the only bookstore in the mall, which helped significantly but at the same time they were independently owned and needed the revenue to keep the doors open.

He looked down the aisle he was standing nearby quickly and had to dodge a few younger kids running to the back of the store where the children’s books were.  One of their hands reached out to pull at one of the books but his friend shoved him to keep moving, making the book launch towards the floor. Terra reached out to grab it, placing it carefully back where it was supposed to go. Granted, judging by the complete disarray of every other shelf it really didn’t matter.

The moment he cleaned this aisle, it was a disaster again. He’d have to leave it for the afternoon when they’d be a little slower; the thought alone made him roll his eyes. That would thrill the afternoon shift lead he was sure.

Terra pulled his phone from his apron pocket, glancing at the clock. She’d be here in about an hour, but that also meant he got to leave soon which was more than enough to get him through the rest of his shift. He knew he should put his phone back in his pocket as he was on the floor; even if he was the lead he didn’t like to do things he didn’t let the kids do. Still he couldn’t resist peeking at his email.

Nothing.

He quickly opened the app just to see if he didn’t get a notification but there were no new messages there either.

“Terra!” a voice crackled so loudly in his hear he almost both dropped his phone and ripped the headpiece from his ear. “Terra, can you hear me?”

He reached up to grab the button hanging on the wire of his headset. “Yes, Sora, for the thousandth time, I can always hear you when you speak at a normal volume.”

“Sorry,” Sora’s voice was sheepish but Terra could practically see the smile on the younger boy’s lips. “I have a return. I got everything set up but I need your approval.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Excuse me, sir?” another voice said nearby but judging by the fact she wasn’t shouting his name it wasn’t one of his employees. “I was looking for something to get my grandson, but I’m unsure what to look for.”

When did this aisle get so full of people? Was the whole store full up again? Had an hour and a half gone by yet?

Terra leaned back hoping to catch the nearest employee he could see who wasn’t on register. Silver hair and blue eyes looked back at him, putting some books back. Terra gestured for him to come over.

“Ma’am, I’m going to have Riku help you find everything you need as I have to assist at the front, is that okay?”

The woman looked a little disgruntled at first but seemed to lighten up when Riku actually stepped into the aisle. “Yes, that’ll be fine. Come with me, young man.”

“I’m sorry,” Terra mouthed when Riku gave a wince but Terra had to keep moving to go finish out the return for Sora before he started yelling in Terra’s ear again. He probably wouldn’t even let Sora use it if he wasn’t always on registers; he was personable and quick, easy to strike a conversation and get the job done.

“Terra,” Sora said again, though this time in an exaggerated whisper. “They’re getting mad.”

Of course they were, everyone was so much more impatient as soon as the Christmas trees go up. He honestly felt that way sometimes too, but the words from his friend’s last message rang in his head. She sounded like she loved Christmas so much, and everything that went into it. For some reason it made him smile at her childlike glow even though all he knew was her typed words and nothing more. She just oozed passion in every message he got from her.

He tried not to think about it too much but it was hard not to; especially when he looked forward to what she was going to say to him next; what he would say to her helped him through these longs days. Terra knew he didn’t quite have a connection with every single person he met, so he was astounded to find that easy communication with her, even though they really never met. No name, no personal identification information, no pictures, just their messages back and forth. Still, it was something special to him.

Terra moved to step behind the register Sora was standing behind; he looked visibly relieved.

“Sorry, about that, Ma’am,” Terra said with a smile, as he leaned in to punch in his code that would let the return go through. He trusted Sora enough to do it right so there was no need to look over it. “You’re good to finish.”

“Thanks,” Sora said, moving back to go about the rest of the transaction as quick as his fingers would allow.

Terra moved to grab some of the books on the back counter that were probably other returns or go backs but really he just wanted to look over the store. There was a small line but with Sora on one and Xion on the other they’d handle registers just fine. Terra glanced around the store, scanning over the other employees scattered around working; if only to make sure everyone was actually working.

There was one missing, and usually it was hard to miss such red hair anywhere. Figures Lea was late. Terra would give Lea a little longer before he called. For the time being he went to place the books back and help on the floor. He had been working here since high school, he knew how to handle both the product and the people, even if he didn’t always characterize himself as a people person. He could still smile and help; though he usually found a lot of people went to the kids to ask for help instead. He apparently looked too intimidating to work at a bookstore.

In the very least, the busy days meant time went by faster. It also made him forget to keep looking at his phone to see if it went off at all. In fact before he knew it, he was turning to stand face to face with the afternoon lead.

“Jesus,” he grunted, taking a step back from her. “Do you have to sneak up on me?”

Aqua was shorter than him, but she was plenty loud; if she wanted to announce her presence she would’ve. Currently, she looked very disinterested in the fact she had to talk to him. Even still, her blue eyes were bright under the store lighting a small smile in the corner of her lips. He knew it absolutely didn’t have to do with him, and probably everything to do with that Christmas spirit she loved so much.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault you were off in your own head like always.”

He decided to ignore that, however, it was hard to ignore that Aqua was the only one who could look pretty under terrible mall lighting. He placed another book on the shelf in front of him. Terra may not get along with her but it wasn’t like he was blind. He knew the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled and how the shade of her eyes was so unique it was almost like the color of the ocean…not that he would admit that to her or anyone for that matter.

“Did you leave a list of what was done today and what still has to be done?”

“Always do,” he grunted, grabbing another book off the ground to put back.

She clicked her tongue, looking around the area. “This place looks like a mess.”

“Oh, did Scrooge happen to forget it’s only a few weeks before Christmas?”

“Cute, Terra, but you’re the one who hasn’t worn a single Christmas color to work, not me.”

He glanced over to her and sure enough she was wearing not only a red dress but green leggings and even a Santa hat over her blue hair. “Remember what I wear every day, do you?”

“Only your lack of any holiday spirit what so ever.” She reached over to push in a book on the bookshelf near his hand, because, clearly, only she could clean the store correctly.

A twinge of annoyance went down his spine. “Maybe if I didn’t have to listen to you nag at me every day I’d feel more festive.”

“I only nag you because if I didn’t, you’d day dream through the whole shift.”

Well, sort of fair; Terra knew he had a tendency to zone out at times but he wasn’t about to admit that to her. Thankfully, Lea chose that moment to scurry in behind the register, nudging Riku out of the way so he could log in and sneak in the back room. To Lea’s credit he almost had it, and Terra probably would’ve let it slide just because Lea was usually pretty creative when it came to excuses as to being late.

“Nice of you to join us, Lea,” Aqua said without turning her head to him as he snuck behind a bookshelf. “An hour late.”

“Yeah, you know, about that-”

“Go get ready for the shift, don’t worry I have a job for you.”

Lea grumbled something but slouched away probably to the back room.

“See you guys!” Sora waved as he headed out with Roxas and Xion both zipping up their jackets.

“See you,” Terra said, raising a hand to wave.

“See you tomorrow, Aqua,” Xion said, turning to wave goodbye herself.

“It’ll be fun,” Aqua smiled back at the kids who were hurrying to the front.

Terra must’ve scoffed too loud because she was looking back over at him. “Does that mean I’m done? Can I go home now?”

Kairi was already logging in on the register with Olette tying her apron around her back. It was still a little busy but they should be okay. Not that Terra was going to offer to stay to work with Aqua; she was such a control freak it was impossible to work with her.

“As long as you left me the list,” she said, walking away from him.

“I hope it’s up to your impeccable standards.”

Aqua wasn’t looking at him at all, not even a glance; she just continued to where the girls were probably going for the list he really did leave for her and to divvy up the jobs for the night.

“Yikes, dude.”

Terra nearly jumped at the sound of the voice right behind him. He turned his head to see way too familiar blond hair and blue eyes, and a toothy grin that told Terra not to trust whatever the next words were going to be.

“You’re really terrible at flirting.”

“Ventus,” Terra sighed, placing the last book in his arms on the correct shelf. “That was not even remotely what was going on. Not even a little bit.”

“Yeah, cause you got that mystery girl right?”

“I don’t…I don’t have anyone, okay.” Though Terra was tempted to pull out his phone to check to see if he had any new messages from the very person Ven was implying but that would only prove his little brother correct, and Terra didn’t need that right now. He did hope she had said something back though. “She’s just a nice person I talk to. Aqua on the other hand, I think we’d murder each other if we had to be in the same space for too long.”

“Whatever,” Ven snorted. “Are you done? I’m starving.”  

Terra glanced back up to the counter; Riku was ringing out someone as Lea was rushing up, hastily tying his apron. Aqua went over the plan with the girls but Terra couldn’t hear a thing. It would probably be strict down to the letter of what they’d have to do knowing Aqua. Ah well, it wasn’t his shift anymore anyways. “Yeah, let me get my things.”

--

Dear Bytheseaside,

I cannot believe there is a person on this planet that actually doesn’t get sick of that song. I’m pretty sure I’ve been sick of it for at least an eternity now. I guess that’s a testament to you though, patient through and through. I appreciate the holidays as well though I wish I didn’t have to work mostly through them all and I’m sorry to hear so do you. Granted I would like to see you singing along to the songs as you worked, I hope there’s dancing too, possibly a hair brush microphone? I’d assume go all out when it comes to Mariah Carey.

I’m so greatly offended that you could ever say that Santa Claus is not real. How could you think that me, a twenty-six year old male, would ever believe anything but that a man went to every house in the world one night on flying reindeer? To answer your question, yes, I did as a kid, so did my younger brother. Before you ask, no I didn’t tell him until he was old enough. He was an innocent kid, very naïve, very trusting, it actually sort of made me want to believe again just by having him believe it so much. I say that because he’s a pain in my ass now. It was fun though, I used to make cookies with him, leave out the milk, write Santa on some gift tags. Now he just makes cookies for himself. Sorry, Santa.

If that didn’t answer your question, I am close to my family though it’s just my brother, me and my dad. We all still live in the same place we grew up in so no drastic change like you had. I even go to grad school in the same town, I’m fairly boring honestly. I’ve traveled quite a lot for vacations since my dad and brother love to travel but otherwise we just stay put in our little town where it snows in the winter but I don’t think it’s too cold. That’s exciting you’ll get to visit with your parents soon! I honestly don’t think I could live that far away from mine, so you have all my respect that you just up and left to go study where you wanted to.

Oh, hey, thanks! It’s still a little surreal honestly. I never thought I’d ever see the end of school, especially at Midwestern where I go. I not only live in the town, but I went to undergrad there too. I’ve seen its buildings enough for my taste. Oh, it’s no worries, I have the joyful career of becoming an English teacher, aren’t you thrilled for me? I thankfully have experience working with high schoolers and they sometimes find me intimidating so I’m hoping that will carry over when I tell them they have to read The Scarlet Letter.

Okay, knowing you, there’s probably enough sugar in any given cup of coffee. I have no idea how you could stand cinnamon rolls on top of that too, but I guess I’m not surprised either. You could rival my brother’s love for sugar. Please don’t end up in a sugar coma before you even get to class :P

--

Aqua hummed as she hung up her jacket in the employee room. It was some mash up of Jingle Bells and Santa Claus is Coming to Town but she couldn’t help it. Christmas was so close now, her family would be visiting and everything just oozed with holiday cheer; especially the bells she clipped into her hair for today’s outfit. Even though she was stuck at work all night she felt warm and light, like nothing could quite get under her skin; she sure hoped it stayed the case considering the closer to Christmas, the ruder customers got. Oh well, she’d meet it with a smile, it was the only way to get through the day.

She tied her apron behind her back, slipping her phone in the front pocket (though not without checking her messages first, though so far it was as empty as it was when she left for work). It was okay, he worked a lot too and always was in school; he was probably as busy as she was. The fact he even made time for a few messages was still enough to keep her good mood up.

Aqua kept humming, glancing up at the written schedule on the board to see who she was working with tonight. Everyone had different strengths so she liked to place jobs with people who would excel at them, and it would make their time go by a little faster when they weren’t forced to do something they hated. It was pretty typical; Kairi, Lea, the twins, Xion, Riku, and….no, wait, that had to be a mistake. She reached up to trace the dates, bringing her finger down to make sure she was reading it right.

The door opened making her turn her head, but the person shuffling into the room only confirmed she was reading the schedule correctly. “Terra?”

“In the flesh,” he snorted, but his back was to her as he was shrugging off his jacket; his way-too-light jacket for this weather, what was wrong with that man?

“Is this a mistake?”

“Wish it was,” he said, reaching for his apron to drop over his head. “I’d much rather be home.”

Aqua pressed her lips together, looking back at the schedule. Well, it was only two weeks till Christmas, she supposed she could understand why they may want to schedule two leads but at the same time, did it have to be him?

She didn’t hate Terra. He was a nice guy, quiet and he was very patient with customers and the kids who worked here; in fact she was pretty sure he had more patience in one fraction of his body than she possessed all together. At the same time though, he was so laid back he let things slide far too much which drove her crazy. She could deal with it when it was just in passing, when he told her what was done all morning so she knew what to fix all night, but working a whole shift together?

She looked up at the future days she was scheduled and had to bite back a groan. For everyday she was scheduled until Christmas they were working together? Okay, she was coming in tomorrow morning to talk to someone about this or she’d likely not make it till Christmas.

“Okay,” she said, turning around to face Terra. He wasn’t looking at her, but down at his phone, scrolling through something. “I assume neither of us care for this arraignment?”

“Fair assessment,” he said, still not looking up.

“Then let’s split up the store. I’ll handle the front half and you handle the back half. Registers will be neutral.”

“What is this?” Terra did look up that time, arching an eyebrow at her. “A war meeting?”

“It’s retail in Christmas, of course it’s a war meeting.”

Much to her surprise he actually smiled at her. Well, he also rolled his eyes and shook his head but still. Terra dropped his phone in his apron pocket, before grabbing a headset to put in is ear, clipping the radio into his back pocket as he walked back over to the door. “Fine, should I lay down a boundary line to make sure no one crosses it?”

“Of course, I’ll give you money to buy the duct tape.”

“I have a brother, believe me, I know how to handle boundary lines.” Terra went to push the door open but it swung open on itself.

“No one can say anything,” Lea said as he walked in, pointing to the both of them. “I’m on time today.”

“Christmas miracles,” Terra said, reaching out to push at Lea’s head before Terra caught the door open, leaving without another word.

“Good, because if you were late one more time I was going to put you on register the whole night just because I know how much you love it,” Aqua said, watching as Lea shrugged out of his long jacket.

“Wait,” he arched an eyebrow as he looked back at her. “Are you and Terra both working tonight?”

“Ah, yeah, seems like the boss wants more hands at night.”

Lea got this grin on his lips, devilish almost, not that the flaming red hair helped. “Oh, this is going to be a grand night.”

Aqua decided not to ask what he meant by that and moved to grab a headset and radio before leaving the room to head to the floor; there at least she could assign the other workers their jobs. She hoped everything went quickly and smoothly. She really wasn’t in the mood to bicker with Terra all night.

Thankfully, he seemed to feel the same.

For the most part it was easy to help customers at the front of the store, keeping an eye on the registers, straightening and restocking when she could. The customer volume was absolutely going up every day so she could understand why there were two leads on the floor but that didn’t mean she was completely happy about it. Though to his credit Terra stayed to the back of the store and helped any customers she sent that way. She knew he’d prefer to be back there as opposed to the front where she got the brunt of the social force.

“Permission to step across the boundary, your highness?”

She looked up from straightening some self-help books to see Terra with both his hands up in defense. “Depends, what’s your business?”

“I would very much like to leave the store to get dinner.”

Was it that time already? Aqua glanced over to the registers where Sora and Xion were busy ringing out. Roxas was probably still in the kid’s section fixing the display she asked him to adjust, Riku was upfront helping someone with the new releases, and while Aqua couldn’t see Lea or Kairi they were probably wandering around somewhere.

“I’ll even throw the incentive to check the back of the store to make sure my standards are as high as yours.” He was watching her but his hands were in the front of his apron, probably fiddling with his phone or something.

“Why do you think we’re so busy?” she asked, pushing another book back into place. “High standards.”

“Oh, yeah, nothing to do with the fact we’re the only book store in the nearest 50 mile radius,” he snorted.

Okay, fair point; not that she was going to tell him that. “Yes, you can go, just tell me when you’re finished so I can take mine too.”

“Oh, she takes breaks does she?”

“Don’t be such an ass,” she said, but admittedly was choking back a small laugh. Aqua would just toss that up to the fact she was still in plenty of a good mood. “Just go.”

“Whatever you say, princess.” Terra gave a vague sort of wave as he walked towards the front of the store until he was completely out of sight.

“Do you even think they know?” Lea’s voice said from nearby, but Aqua didn’t pay too much attention to it, she just went back to fixing the shelves she was working on.

“Oh, God, no,” Kairi giggled. “They would never flirt with each other as much as they do if they knew they were doing it.”

Aqua did turn to look that time, which was the only reason she knew they were talking about her; considering both Lea and Kairi were peering around the end of the bookshelves in that row watching her with near matching shit-eating grins on their lips. Aqua had to ignore the heat that rose to her face that the insane implication she would ever flirt with Terra, or vice versa for that matter. That was absurd. You didn’t flirt with people you could barely be in the same room with.

“No way,” she said pointing towards them. “How many times have I told you both, you aren’t allowed to work near each other. All you do is talk and gossip. Lea, go make sure kids haven’t bombarded Roxas in the children’s section, then go make sure everyone has been helped. Kairi, please start on the other end of this row with me.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Lea said, vanishing behind the shelves.

Kairi was still giggling but she started straightening the books like she was asked. Aqua wanted to ask the younger girl how they got it in their heads that either Terra or herself would ever consider flirting with each other, but at the same time she didn’t want to open that door. Ever.

Aqua’s phone buzzed and her heart leapt up to her throat. She really knew she couldn’t look, and she shouldn’t look, it set a bad example; she wasn’t always as disciplined as she looked though. She pushed her apron pocket open, peeking down at the bright screen with her heart pounding in her chest. It promptly sunk into her stomach when she saw it was just an email telling her about some sale.

“Message from the mystery man?”

Aqua’s head snapped up to see Kairi still looking at the books as she worked on, making them look neat again. It wasn’t a terrible surprise as Kairi tended to work afternoon shifts with Aqua, and she may have mentioned she was talking to someone a few times. “Ah, no, not this time.”

“Do you know his name yet?”

“No, but that’s okay,” Aqua said, taking a small breath before going back to her job.

“Aren’t you worried he’s like sixty years old or something? Or like a murderer?”

“I’m not saying everyone you meet on the internet is good,” Aqua said. “But when you talk to someone enough, you just sort of…know them. I don’t know, I may not know his name or what he looks like but he’s sweet.” She paused. “And he said he was twenty-six so he’s only a little bit older than me.”

“Do you feel like you know him already then?” Kairi asked. She wasn’t teasing this time, genuinely curious.

“Sort of,” Aqua said, a smile pulling at her lips at just the thought of their conversations. “He’s very kind, and articulate. He’s said once or twice people find him intimidating but to me he just seems so gentle, you know? Especially when he talks about his little brother. I know what he likes to do for fun, favorite foods, movies, what he wants to do for a living, and ah…”

“What?”

Aqua paused for a moment, feeling a small bundle of nerves in her stomach again. He mentioned it so briefly in his last message and she had been torn over what to do about it ever since…if she even wanted to do something about it. “He sorta mentioned where he went to college.”

“Was it bad? Oh wait, was it good? Like Ivy League good?”

“No, well, I mean good but…it’s where I go to school.”

Kairi nearly dropped the book she was holding. “Wait, you guys go to the same school and don’t even know it?”

Aqua nodded; it had been about her same reaction when she read that one sentence. He probably didn’t even mean to say since up till then, they never gave away and facts that led onto where they lived.

“You could know him in real life and not even know it.”

“I think I’d know it,” she rolled her eyes. Aqua may not know him at sight, but she was pretty sure from having a conversation with him that she’d be able to tell how he talked, how he presented himself. She still paused, looking over to Kairi. “Should I ask him to meet? Like on campus or something? Would that be too much?”

“I mean, I don’t think it would be too much,” Kairi shrugged. “People meet online all the time these days. It just depends on how comfortable you feel about it or if you like the mystery more than the man.”

Aqua knew the answer to that question. She’d love to meet him, to sit across the table from him over some warm coffee, to see if how she pictured his voice was really how it was, to hear his laugh, see his smile. The thoughts alone made her stomach flip anxiously. What if he wasn’t anything like how she pictured? Would it make a difference?

“I think I would…” Aqua started. “Meet him that is.”

“Then ask him,” Kairi said, standing up on her toes to get a book on the top shelf. “Worst he could say is no and then you’re no worse off than you are now.”

That was a good point. Aqua squatted down towards the floor to fix a few books. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to ask. Maybe he’d like it too. Maybe he wouldn’t but then they could still talk just like they have been. She thought about meeting him so many times before now, ever since she sent that first message a few months ago.

She liked him, more than she cared to admit to anyone but herself. It was silly maybe, but he always brought a smile to her face, that had to be worth something. It had to be worth a risk.

--

Dear OftheShire,

Of course there’s dancing, geez, boy, do you even know me?? Not a hairbrush, no, but absolutely any candy cane shaped object I can find. It’s been described as both a wonder and a hot mess so I take that with very high regard. If you ever wander into where I work I’ll be sure to show you, and probably embarrass you and myself so much you’ll never want to be seen in public with me lmao

That’s right! I forgot you mentioned your little brother before. Well, you sound like a great big brother to play along with the façade, even just for his sake. I don’t have any siblings myself so I never got to share the joy of having to share my room or bathroom with anyone. He seems very sweet, even if you insist he’s a pain in your ass (ps I can totally tell you love him, don’t play so cool :P ) Plus he sounds like he likes sweets as much as me so I can get behind that!

It’s so sweet you’re so close to your family too! So much that you don’t consider leaving them, that tells me a lot about you and how much they must love you too :D Okay, wait, how have we been talking so much and you never told me you traveled! I haven’t gotten to do so very much but I’ve always wanted to. Are we talking like “oh, hey, I just get around the country every so often” or “I’m a damn world traveler and have eaten things you’d never dreamed of and can speak five languages on command”? I mean both are cool, but I need to know which one it is.

Savor it, my friend! Especially as a teacher, cause, hate to break it to you but technically you’re going to be in school for a very long time. High school too? Wow, you’re a brave man! See, you keep saying people find you intimidating, but, like, to me you seem so mellow and gentle? Is it something about you physically? Are you like a seven foot football player or wrestler or something? Also, excuse you, don’t judge my sugar intake, I’m perfectly capable of not dying from sugar intake, :P (More reasons why I love your brother already too)

Hey, so, weird thing. I sort of go to Midwestern too. Small world right! I can’t believe we’ve been talking for so long and we could be in the same class. How weird is that? I was wondering if maybe you wanted to meet for coffee on campus or something? At that little café in the library? Like this Thursday? Please don’t feel like you have to! But I thought it might be nice to actually see each other in person since we happened to actually live in the same town. I can like wear bells in my hair and have a copy of The Hobbit since I know that was your favorite book as a kid so you know it’s me. Just let me know!

--

“I don’t know why I had to come with you,” Ven said as he walked down the sidewalk next to Terra. That statement, of course, was accompanied by Ven’s big grin, meaning he was highly amused that his older brother asked him to come with him to a possible, maybe, sort of, kind of date.

Was it? Terra had no idea, but he’d never claim to be good at picking up on things like that. All he knew was he stared at her message for a lot longer than he should’ve, even stunned that someone as nice as her would actually want to see him in person. It was easy to agree then, to feel excited to finally meet the person behind the words but now that he was walking towards the campus library, the bright lights from the building looming over him, all he felt like was throwing up.

“Even if she was a murderer I’m pretty sure you could take her,” Ven continued.

“I don’t think she’s a murderer,” Terra snorted, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. “Or even a threat.”

“I hate to break it to you, Ter, but you aren’t always the best judge of character.”

That was…fair. “Can’t you be good, quiet moral support?”

Ven clicked his tongue looking up to the building. “If you wanted quiet support you probably should’ve brought like Riku from your work or something. I’m your brother, I’m legally entitled to give you a hard time.”

“I don’t think that’s true. If me and dad both die then you’re legally entitled to my things I guess.”

Ven whistled. “Books, books, and more books I’m so thrilled.”

Terra reached out to shove at Ven’s head, making the younger boy laugh. It was why Terra bought Ven in the first place; if anyone could make Terra not get wrapped up too much in his own thoughts, it was Ven.

“There it is,” he said, pointing to a particularly well illuminated section of the library. It was easy to see through the large windows where students were in line to get a late night caffeine fix or snacks; it was fairly late, he had to wait till he was off work to even come since Aqua already requested the night off and someone had to be there.

“Don’t look so nervous.” Ven nudged Terra’s shoulder. “She already likes you enough to talk to you all the time, this is just without a screen in between. No big deal.” Ven reached for the door handle, but Terra pulled Ven away from it.

“God, what?” he asked, arching an eyebrow up.

Terra knew he was acting sort of childish but he couldn’t help but feel the nerves in his stomach reaching up through his chest. “What if she isn’t even there?”

Ven paused for a second before grabbing a hold of Terra’s arm, dragging him over to one of the side windows. Ven leaned up close to the glass leaving Terra out of view so that way Ven would be the one seen if anyone looked over. “Okay, what did she say she was wearing again?”

He was a good brother. “Ah, she said she’d have bells in her hair, and a book, The Hobbit.”

“You guys are such nerds,” Ven snorted. “Alright, alright, let me…see…” He let out a low whistle that made Terra look up.

“Wait, what? Is that good or bad?”

“I dunno, man, she doesn’t really look your type but she does look like mine, maybe I should go in instead of you.”

It took Terra a moment with his heart nearly in his throat to realize Ven was teasing. “You’re a shit, will you tell me the truth?”

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Ven laughed, looking back into the café. “Alright so, bells in the hair is kind of common around Christmas, but the book would be an easier…way…to tell, ummm…Oh!”

“What? Do you see her?” Terra asked, nearly going up behind Ven to see too.

Ven was quiet for a second, and he wasn’t teasing anymore which didn’t bode well. “Ah, well, she’s your type for sure, but you’re probably not going to like it.”

Terra had no idea what that was supposed to mean. He quickly slipped in next to Ven who nodded over to a table off to the side of the café. Terra saw the book first, fingers tapping on the cover, anxiously, impatiently maybe. Maybe he should’ve known before he even looked at her face, the familiar shade of blue hair, eyes he already knew glancing over at the door when it opened. Hell, he even knew the bells she was wearing in her hair.

He quickly turned around, leaning his back against the window instead. This couldn’t be…it was a joke right? The girl, the kind, funny, compassionate girl he had been talking to for months it…couldn’t be Aqua, could it?

It had to be. He didn’t tell anyone but Ven, who may tease Terra sure but would never do anything cruel to him. Maybe the girl had said something to someone else? Like she was nervous to meet him too so she said something to a friend who offered to wait for her, that friend unknowingly being Aqua.

Terra turned his head to look back in the room to see if anything could confirm that theory. It didn’t though, not when he saw the hope flicker in her eyes every time someone walked in, anytime someone got too close to her table for it to fade away, her fingers still tapping anxiously at book cover.

It was her; there was no one else it could be. How could it be her? The girl he talked to was nothing like the Aqua he was forced to work with.

“Terra,” Ven said, like he was very much doubting that Terra was going to move. “You have to go in there, you know that right?”

“I can’t,” he groaned, leaning his head back against the glass. “If she knows it’s me she’ll just be mad and she’ll never talk to me again.”

“So you’re going to leave a person, that I know you’ve been trying to hide how much you like, just waiting for you cause you found out you really do know them?”

“That’s the problem. I do know her and now I feel like I know two completely different people sharing the same body.”

Ven arched an eyebrow. “Do you though?”

“Do I what?”

“Do you know her? Maybe the girl online is really how she is and you never gave her the chance to be that way around you.”

Terra didn’t like that Ven was making sense. He was barely graduated from high school; it shouldn’t be possible for him to make assumptions like that. “It doesn’t change the fact that if she sees me, she’s going to make me leave. I can guarantee you I’m not the person she wants to see.”

“So what, you’re just going to stand her up? I’m sure she was looking forward to this as much as you were and she’ll leave here wondering why her friend didn’t want to meet her.”

Ven was laying on the guilt there but it was working. Terra didn’t always get along with Aqua but he didn’t hate her, and he really didn’t hate the girl he talked to on the internet; he wouldn’t want either of them to feel stood up.

“Okay,” Terra said, reaching a hand up to run through his hair. “Okay, I’ll go. But you’re getting an ‘I told you so’ if she kicks me out without letting me explain.”

Ven didn’t say anything else, he just gestured to the door. Terra did what he said and opened the door to the café, stepping inside. He tried not to look at her, knowing she was still watching everyone who walked in. He thought he felt Ven slip in behind but Terra lost track of his brother when he did make eye contact with Aqua.

She looked a little confused, like she was surprised he was there. Did she even know they went to the same school? Probably not; it wasn’t like they talked much, especially if it wasn’t work related. He walked over to the table she was sitting at, though he still had no idea what he was going to do let alone say.

“Hey,” he said, which was at least a start.

“Ah, hey,” Aqua said, still a confused look on her face. “I didn’t know you went to school here.”

That answered that question. “Hm, yeah, I do. What’re you doing here so late?”

Her face flushed slightly, she was embarrassed; it wasn’t a look he was used to on her. “Oh, I was just waiting for someone.”

“This late at night?”

“He had to work.”

“He, huh,” Terra said, pulling out the empty chair from the table. “On a date then?”

She flushed again and he did feel bad. He never saw Aqua be embarrassed in as long as he knew her. She always rolled with the punches, and stood her ground; which he did admire about her if he was being honest. “Who said it was your business?”

Terra shrugged, trying to ignore the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach as he sat down. It was a strange mix of still being in shock that Aqua was his mystery girl and the fluttering feeling fact that she wasn’t denying it could’ve been a date.  It was so conflicting and made him sort of want to throw up. “It’s not, I was only asking.”

The door opened behind him and Aqua’s head immediately snapped over to look. She watched the guy walk in but looked away when he made no motion to walk over to her.

“Blind date?” he asked, propping his elbow up on the table. He knew he should tell her, it was cruel to pretend it wasn’t him, but at the same time he couldn’t actually get the words to form in his head let alone come out.

Aqua glanced back to him, like she was surprised he was still there. “I guess you could say that.”

“Friend of a friend?”

“No,” she said, looking down to the book still on the table. “Ah, I met him online.”

Terra whistled. “You keep looking for him, I’m guessing he’s late?”

She hesitated. “It’s an unusual hour, he could be running behind.”

“And didn’t even tell you? Not the best first impression.”

She arched an eyebrow. “He’s actually a very nice person. I think if he’s running late he has a good reason to be.”

Terra felt a slight bit of exhilaration that she was standing up for him, that she thought he was a good person who wouldn’t stand anyone up. Based only on their conversations she actually wanted to see him, she looked forward to it. It only made him feel sicker that she was so wrong without even knowing it. “Sure hope so, better than chickening out.”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” That exasperated tone he knew well, but now he couldn’t stop seeing the softer look in her eyes, her tone in the way she excitedly told him about her days, about how much she loved Christmas.

It would’ve been easy to say, “Yeah, right here” or anything to tell her that he was the one she was waiting for but she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but near him. Despite expecting this was how it was going to be, it hurt. Not just because this was the girl he looked forward to getting messages from, the girl who got him through the long days, that made the holidays seem a little brighter this year, but because something in the way he behaved towards her made her feel like she had to be harsh with him.

Maybe if he had been kinder at work, maybe if he listened instead of writing her off as a control freak, if he understood how she operated, if he was more patient, he would’ve seen the girl behind the screen while he was at work. Maybe he would’ve seen her eyes light up when it was him who walked through the room and maybe he would’ve liked it, loved it even.  

But it wasn’t what happened and now he couldn’t tell her, he couldn’t ever tell her. Terra wasn’t sure he could bear seeing that disappointment in her eyes. It would be easier for her to feel stood up than for him to crush her dreams that her mystery guy was none other than the person she hated.

“Yeah, I do,” Terra said, pushing himself up to his feet.

She was watching him but he couldn’t quite read her.

He leaned forward to tap the cover of the book. “Good choice,” he said. “I always liked it too.”

If she moved to say anything to him, he didn’t see it. He turned around to head back to the door, Ven scrambling off a stool to follow behind. He at least didn’t say anything as they walked in silence to Terra’s car. The disappointment only sunk in harder the farther he got away from the café. It wasn’t even that it was Aqua, that it was always Aqua - it was only in himself.

He didn’t even care to tell Ven ‘I told you so’ at any point.

--

Dear Bytheseaside,

Of course there is, how silly of me to assume otherwise. I appreciate your level of shamelessness in the least but it would take more than that to drive me off I think. Little brother, remember? I can take a lot of embarrassment. Speaking of, he’s alright. He just graduated high school and will be starting college in the spring much to my dreaded realization that time has gone by way too fast for me. Jokes aside he’s a great kid. Smart and generous, also sarcastic and snarky and sometimes I want to kill him but usually I love him. I think he very well could rival your love for sweets. You two would be peas in a pod honestly.

I mean, I can’t speak five languages in the least. Bits and pieces maybe, but not fluently. I have been around this country quite a bit but also places around the world. My dad traveled a lot before me and my brother so he took use when we were old enough. It’s always been fun, and yes, I have eaten things you’ve probably never dreamed of. It’s actually why my brother is starting college late, we had a trip planned for his graduation that interfered with some deadlines.

I can assure you I’m not a football player or a wrestler, I’m actually not really a sports person. I played in high school cause they made me but I never cared much for it. I’m not seven feet tall either, though maybe a little taller than average; maybe that freaks people out, I don’t know. I like to think I’m pretty mellow. You know, I’m not entirely sure you are capable of that. I’d be afraid to ever let you two in the same room, I may come back to find the place littered with all the sweets you two could find.

Wait, seriously? How did we never know we went to the same school? Let alone live in the same vicinity. You can say small world again. But, yeah, I mean, I’d totally be cool with that! I checked the work schedule and Thursday was already requested off so I can’t take it, but I can meet you after work if that’s okay? I’d actually really like it a lot. I’ll look for the bells and the book!

--

Aqua wasn’t sure if it was the cold weather and busy work schedule mixed with finals last week that knocked her out but all she knew was she tried to get up for work and there was just no way. She never called off but she didn’t have a choice. There was no way to open when she couldn’t even move from her bed; she felt like she got hit by a tuck the way her whole body ached, her nose wouldn’t stop running, she could barely eat anything in her apartment. It was probably for the best, all it would be was a day of sulking when she was supposed to be working. At least home she could pull the blankets over her head and pretend there wasn’t a terrible ache in her heart.

He never came.

She waited for hours, and then more time in hopes he’d walk in and recognize her sitting there. He never did. Aqua kept her phone out in case he messaged her that something came up but nothing, not a word. She didn’t know how to feel; if she should be heartbroken that the person she wanted to meet so badly didn’t feel the same. She worried that something happened to him, or nervous she did something to keep him away.

It only just resulted in her crying alone in her bed most the night, then to wake up with a pounding headache and feeling even more terrible. Aqua hadn’t known it was possible. She felt so stupid sitting there, and even more stupid going home alone, and just so sad. He was also so kind, so interested in what she had to say, so engaging she couldn’t understand what happened. He even sounded like he really wanted to meet her. Was it a lie to make her feel better and he never intended to come? That didn’t sound like him; he was always so open and honest. Still, she figured maybe you can’t always know someone just from the internet.

She reached her hand around the comforter covering her, trying to reach for the tissue box. Her nose was raw from blowing it so much but what else could she do but sit here and feel bad for herself? Tifa offered to come over and talk but Aqua just didn’t feel like talking to anyone. She cracked an eye open to look at her phone but no messages.

Clearly the one person she wanted to talk to didn’t want to talk to her.

She was maybe being melodramatic, she barely knew this person outside from long conversations reaching on for weeks but then again, wasn’t that enough to be able to know someone? Aqua groaned as she pulled the blankets over her head. She didn’t want to think anymore. She just wanted to go to sleep and pretend none of this happened. She should’ve never suggested going to meet him.

Except there was a part of her that still wanted to meet him.

Aqua slowly pulled the blanket down to her chest when she thought she heard something. She tried to listen to the quiet apartment, but there was nothing. No, wait…maybe there was something? Maybe she was delusional too? Someone was knocking on her door? Were they or was she imagining it?

Her phone buzzed and against her better judgment she nearly dove for it. The message waiting for her wasn’t anything like what she expected though.

Terra Hale (Work)

               Aqua, your neighbors are starting to look at me strangely. Can you open the door?

She blinked at the screen, trying to make sure she was reading that right. Yeah, they had each other’s numbers because they had to but he never texted her anything that wasn’t work related and even that was few and far between.

               Wait, are you here? Like at my door?

It wasn’t an unreasonable thing to ask, she didn’t even think Terra knew where she lived let alone ever been here before. Granted, he did use her name so it probably wasn’t a wrong number text.

Terra Hale (Work)

No, I’m asking you to open your door because I’m across town at someone else’s door. Yes, I’m standing here. It won’t take long, I know you’re sick.

Aqua knew she wasn’t feeling well but now she felt like she was in some weird alternative dimension. Was she dreaming? She had to be. Still she found herself kicking her legs over the side of her bed to stand up on shaky legs. Should she let him in? She probably looked like a terrible mess; red faced, red nosed, red eyed, not showered, bed head, the same PJ’s on from last night. Yep, he was probably going to tease her and never let her live this down.

She grabbed a thinner blanket off her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders, hopefully covering some of disheveled state. Aqua didn’t like people seeing her less than at her best, let alone someone who didn’t even seem to like her at her best. She shuffled through her small living room and kitchen to the door. It was still chained shut, so she opened it only as far as the chain went.

Sure enough there was Terra standing there. He was still in his work uniform, typical thin jacket on. He had some sort of bag in his hands but his eyes were glancing down at her before looking up to the chain lock.

“I promise I’m not trying to rob you.”

Aqua hesitated. “Are you here because I called off and made you work?”

His face was almost unreadable but he didn’t look mad, or even annoyed. “No, I’m here because Leon said you called off and you’ve never done that in the time I’ve known you so I figured it was serious.” Terra held up the white plastic bag slightly. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She wasn’t sure how much she believed him since he never seemed to care about her wellbeing before but Aqua also didn’t want to leave the poor guy just standing there when he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. She reached up to unhook the chain, pulling the door open.

He stepped in, closing the door behind him while Aqua quickly retreated to the kitchen which was closer than the living room.

“Do you, ah, want any…” She paused to reach her arm to her face, sneezing far louder than she wanted to. “Coffee? Tea?”

“No, thank you,” he said, though she was surprised to see a small smile on his lips. “You should go back to bed.”

“I’m fine,” she said, but her nose betrayed her, sounding gross and stuffy. Great, this was just wonderful.

Terra placed the bag on her counter, undoing the knot on the top. “I brought you some soup,” he said, pulling out a large Tupperware contained that looked full to the brim with some sort of chicken soup. “It just needs to be heated up. It’s my dad’s recipe, real good I promise. He used to make it for me and my brother when we were sick too.”

Aqua couldn’t help but eye him as he placed the container in the fridge for her. “Oh, wow, well thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“It was nothing,” he shrugged, reaching back for the bag. “I also brought some tea leaves, another special blend my dad always gave us. Do you have a teapot or anything?”

“Ah…” Aqua fiddled with the edge of her blanket. She didn’t know what she was expecting when she let Terra inside but this was absolutely not it. “Yeah, on the stove.”

He turned to grab it, filling it up with some water from the sink. While she wasn’t used to Terra being so…accommodating to her, she knew if she asked him to leave he would but she couldn’t find those words. She was more curious as to why he was being so accommodating; especially after how rude she was to him last night. Guilt swirled in the pit of her stomach, making her feel worse than she already did. She tried to tell herself he deserved it, that he was always abrasive at work so what else was she supposed to do? But at the same time, here he was pulling a mug off her drying rack to put near the tea he brought.

He turned the stove on, the clicks filling the otherwise quiet kitchen. “Go on back to bed, I’ll bring you some when it’s done and get out of your hair.”

She bit down on her lip, watching him as he popped open the container of tea leaves. She never really had tea without a tea bag before; she didn’t even know Terra liked tea. Come to think of it, she didn’t know very much about him in the first place. “I’m fine,” she said again, though she promptly sneezed again.

He looked up from pouring the tea leaves into the mug, a sort of knowing smile on his lips.

“I, um…” Aqua was really unsure what to even say. They never had a conversation without bickering before. “I’ll take your shift tomorrow.” She had to pause to sniffle even if it was incredibly embarrassing. “To make up for making you work today.”

“No need,” he said. “You keep your day off, you may need another day to rest and feel better.”

“No, no, it’s only fai-” Another sneeze. “Fair.”

“You’re clearly exhausted and overworked,” he said, sealing the cap back on the tea. “You need the rest and you need to go back to bed.”

“Really, I’m fi…” she paused when she saw him coming towards her. “Fine, I’m fine.”

He hummed like he really didn’t believe her which he clearly didn’t because the next thing he had picked her up over his shoulder.

“Terra!” she gasped, instinctively reaching down to grab him and keep her balance but she was more amazed at how effortlessly he carried her. She should be furious at him for touching her when she didn’t need to be but instead all she felt was a sort of warmth from his body, it was comforting in a weird way. That someone came out all the way just to take care of her.

It was sweet, even though she never thought to describe Terra that way.

He gently placed her down on her bed moving out of the way as she could only stare up at him in surprise. “I’m sorry if I intruded,” he said holding his hands up slightly. “But if I knew anything about you it was that you probably wouldn’t ask for help and were just sitting here suffering alone. I thought I’d help even a little bit.”

It was sweet, it was really sweet. She even smiled a little bit. “Well, thank you.” Aqua kicked her legs up onto her bed as he reached down to pull the comforter up over her. “I take it as a big brother you know how to take care of someone with a cold?”

He sat down on the edge of her bed, reaching over to briefly place his hand on her forehead. “And a fever, yes.”

She rolled her head on her pillow, looking up to meet his blue eyes. Were they always that blue? That compassionate? She didn’t know.

“Hey,” he said. “Did the person you were supposed to meet ever show up?”

Aqua felt her stomach sink at the mention even though it wasn’t an unusual thing to ask. “No,” she said. “He never did.”

Terra clicked his tongue in thought and she was sure something snarky was about to follow. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. You deserve better than being stood up like that. He’s an idiot for doing that to you.”

Aqua felt like she was staring but she couldn’t help it; of all the things she was expecting that was not it. Who was this and what had he done with Terra? Maybe it always was Terra but she was too stubborn to see the boy who lived behind her coworker. “Ah, well, thank you, that’s sweet of you.”

She paused for a second. On any normal circumstances she would never even consider opening her mouth to say what she was thinking to him, but he was here and he was being so nice, and she was admittedly not in her right mind. “Do you think…” she started, biting down at her lip to voice the one thought she couldn’t get out of her head. “Do you think he was there? And he took one look at me and left? Do you think it was me?”

“No,” Terra said quickly. “I don’t think that would ever be the case. You’re pretty, any guy would be lucky to look in and see you sitting there. Maybe something came up and he wasn’t able to tell you, or maybe he was too nervous to show his face. I don’t think it was you.”

Aqua stared at him; she didn’t expect him to say anything like that to her, not now not ever.

“I’m also, ah…” He glanced away, looking over her probably terribly messy room. “I’m sorry for intruding on you last night.”

“Oh, ah, it’s okay.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I was just nervous.”

He opened his mouth to say something but the teapot whistled from the other room. He got up with a slight smile and left her room. Aqua could only watch after him.

This was…a weird day. Seeing this small glimpse of him though…it was just astounding to her; maybe this was the real Terra. Sure he was laid back and didn’t hold the rules as high of a regard as she did, but maybe that was because he was understanding and wanted to give everyone a chance. He never punished Lea for being late, or Sora for mixing up an order, or Kairi for chatting too much but maybe it was because he was empathetic, understanding how and why they did the things they did.

Maybe there was a lot of him she didn’t even know.

“Okay,” he said, coming in with two cups in his hands. “Tea is in the mug though it’s very hot so be careful. Water is in the glass because with a fever, you should stay hydrated.”

The tea smelt so good, herbal spices mixing to remind her of an autumn day. She carefully took the mug from him, the steam and warmth making her feel better already.

He placed the water on her night stand, sticking his hands in his jacket pocket as he looked down at her. “Try and stay in bed and get some sleep. I left the tea leaves out in case you want more and soup is still in the fridge. If you need more or want anything different to eat or anything really, you have my number. I don’t live that far away.”

Aqua looked up at him. She was used to how he looked, how he dressed, his facial expressions, his mannerisms but this time it was like seeing a whole different person. “Thank you, Terra, I really mean it.”

“Any time,” he said, reaching a hand up to wave. “Get some rest.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “See you.”

“Bye.” He gave her a slight smile before turning to leave, the sound of her door closing shut was the last thing she heard of him.

What had seriously just happened? She could barely wrap her mind around it as she sipped on her tea. A part of her still wondered if she was dreaming but as she looked down at her quiet phone she did realize one thing.

At least for a little bit she stopped wondering why her friend hadn’t messaged her about last night.

--

Dear OftheShire,

I do hope all is well and nothing serious happened that caused you not to be able to make it. Maybe there was a misunderstanding somewhere along the way (maybe we really weren’t talking about the same schools?). Whatever the case, I hope I haven’t done anything that would’ve kept you away. I’d feel terrible if I made you feel pressured or scared in any way. All I really wanted to do was talk to the person whose company I’ve been enjoying so much!

I hope this doesn’t change anything between us because I would greatly miss being friends with you. If you thinking meeting in person is a bad idea, I’ll never bring it up again! Things can completely stay the same between us here.

I do hope all is well though. Just let me know so I don’t worry too much about you!

--

It was strange how you could go from barely thinking about someone to go to never getting them out of your mind. Maybe it was because Terra finally stopped distinguishing Aqua, the girl he worked with from Aqua, the girl he really liked online. They were both the same people, and he could see that now clearly. He never bothered to before, but seeing the soft look in her eyes as she asked him if he thought it was her that made her date run away, slipping Xion some money so she could go buy herself a sugary coffee, watching how she helped the seven year old girl pick out a present for her mom, how Aqua sang along with the radio when she thought no one was looking, the grin on her face when she teased Lea for flirting with customers again, it was all the same Aqua.

He couldn’t believe he never saw it before.

The few days she was gone from work to recover dragged on and on. He wanted to check up on her but he didn’t want to intrude, once was enough for his heart that nearly pounded out of his chest the entire time he was there. He hoped she’d text him but she never did. He knew he could respond to her waiting message but it didn’t feel right; not after what he did, not after what he knew. Terra felt terrible lying to her even at her apartment but he just didn’t know what he could say that would make any of this right.

He tried to when she did come back to work but all that came out was asking her if she needed more tea and that the magazines looked like a tornado went through them. Terra never admitted to be very smooth.

No, instead he found himself just sort of lingering around the store, trying to keep to himself or help her and the other kids when they needed it. Thankfully with only one week till Christmas left they were swamped at all times and he could keep busy enough to take his mind off the beautiful girl he worked with, the one who made him so happy without even knowing she did.

How had he been so blind?

“Oh, yes, ma’am, its right over here,” Aqua said from around the corner.

Terra leaned around the end of the bookshelf he was doing a quick stock of to see her walking with another woman to one of the bookshelves that lined the walls.

“It’s a beautiful book,” Aqua continued. “Full of beautiful pictures and descriptions, great for any fan.” She reached up to the top shelf to grab some sort of movie art book but the stock was low and she was a little too short to reach it on her own. “Popular as well,” she chuckled as she tried to strain a little harder to grab it with no luck.

Terra left the books he had in his hands on the shelf, moving over to where Aqua was still struggling. He reached over her head to grab the book with no effort. “Here you go,” he said, passing it to Aqua.

She had turned around to look at him, a little too close, he could feel the warmth of her body against his. There was this look in her eyes, one he couldn’t quite read but it melted into that customer service smile. “Thank you,” she said, turning again to hand the book to the customer. “We have to keep some tall employees here just for that.”

The woman smiled her thanks and went to leave, vanishing in the rest of the crowd of customers. Terra knew he should get back to his own work, but he was frozen when Aqua exhaled, leaning back against the bookshelf as she looked back up at him. “I am exhausted.”

“I know the feeling,” he said, reaching a hand up behind the back of his head.

“You need a break?” she asked a sort of concern wrinkling her forehead. “I can hold the fort down.”

“Oh, no, I’ll be fine but feel free to take it if you need it. I can handle it just fine.”

While before it may’ve ended up in more bickering, now she merely laughed. “I appreciate it, Terra, but I’ll be okay too. I guess we’re better as a team out here anyways.”

He blinked at her, not quite getting what she meant, but she glanced upwards at the top shelf. “Ah, yeah, need those tall arms don’t you?”

“I used to think I was tall for a girl, and then I met you.”

“Ah, what can I say? Born to be a sports person.”

“Were you?”

“No,” he laughed. “I never cared much for playing or watching them.”

She looked at him with that unreadable look again. It wasn’t bad he didn’t think, he just wasn’t sure what was going through her head. “Well, I suppose you do like books better.”

“That I do, obviously.” He found his voice lacking the sarcasm he used to talk to her with, mainly because he really did enjoy talking to her. He thought maybe she felt the same because she was much less abrasive with him ever since he brought her the soup. Maybe it hadn’t been such a bad idea.

She laughed lightly, opening her mouth to say something else but a voice crackled in both their ears, judging by the way Aqua cringed at the same time he did.

“Guys,” Sora whined a little too loudly over the headset. “This customer is angry over a sale. Can one of you come help me?”

Terra reached up to turn his mic on to say he got it but he felt Aqua’s soft touch on his arm.

“I got it, Sora,” she said as she pressed her mic on. “I’ll be right there.”

“Oh, thank Jesus. I think they want to murder me.”

“I would’ve gone,” Terra said. “I know you said you were tired.”

“It’s fine,” she said with the smile he had gotten used to the past few days. “I know you’re not a big confrontation person and I love putting people in their place, especially when they mess with my kids.” She winked at him before going to head to the register.

Terra watched her go and almost pitied the person who yelled at Sora. Almost. Terra moved back to where he was stocking, hoping it would keep distracting him till the store closed and he could get some peace and quiet to clean the store in.

“What happened with you?”

He looked up to see Riku standing at the next shelving unit over. He was straightening but he was also eyeing Terra a little curiously. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You and Aqua,” Riku said, gesturing vaguely in the direction Aqua was last in.

Terra arched an eyebrow. “Are you spying on me, kiddo?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Riku said, leaning over to fix the next shelf down. “More like it’s so obvious everyone’s been talking about it.”

Terra froze. “Talking about what?”

“That you guys actually get along now. Some have, ah, interesting theories.”

“People like Lea and Kairi, I’ll guess?”

Riku snorted and that was enough of an answer. “It’s just you guys used to fight-flirt a lot, like we all couldn’t tell if you hated each other or liked each other but now you guys…I don’t know, seem happy?”

Terra decided he’d ignore the fact the employees apparently talked about his and Aqua’s relationship dynamics (and referred to it as flirting none the less). “Huh, I mean nothing really changed.”

“I don’t think that’s true. Something changed somewhere.” Riku crouched down but looked up towards Terra. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing, I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of you smile so much especially around this time of the year when you’re stuck at work. Whatever it is, I’m glad to see you happy.”

Terra knew something changed in himself, and maybe because of his attitude change, it made Aqua feel better about him but he didn’t think it was that apparent to everyone else. “Well, thanks I guess but nothing’s really changed. I guess we just learned how to work with each other.”

Riku made some sort of noise of acknowledgement but otherwise went back to straightening the books. Terra tried to do the same but he couldn’t focus on what went where. He couldn’t see or hear Aqua but he was so aware of her presence. There was no going back for him now, not when he knew it was her. He knew why she made him happy but the disappointment she’d feel knowing he was the person she was waiting to hear back from was enough to make him look back to his job.

He knew he had to tell her, lying to her only made him feel worse every day. It would both ruin the relationship they had, and the one that was only just growing but he had to make it right to her. She deserved that and so much more.

--

Dear Bytheseaside,

I’m not sure I have words to apologize to you. I could sit here and make excuses all day long but the truth is I have none. I’m the one who chickened out and in the end couldn’t face you. There was nothing you did wrong; I can assure you of that. I’m not quite as outgoing as I may come across and the thought of facing you made me turn away. Then in turn, the thought of facing you in shame of what I’ve done got me delaying in telling you what happened.

I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t trust me to meet again but I still would like to make it up to you. The large Christmas tree in the center of West Town Mall, it’s beautiful you know? I know how much you love Christmas (and hate the cold so this is inside). If you have time maybe the day before Christmas Eve,  I’ll wait for you there. I know you typically work nights so after closing.  I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to show up, but this time I promise I’ll be there. I can’t promise I’ll wear bells in my hair, but I think you’ll know me when you see me.

--

Aqua couldn’t get the nervous buzz out of the pit of her stomach, which meant it was probably bad to be walking back into the store with more coffee for herself, but she couldn’t help it. She balanced the tray and a couple bags of food past some customers who were digging through the bargain bin, more running to grab last minute presents all around her. Thankfully she made it to the backroom without anyone running into her and spilling either coffee cup.

Terra was already sitting at the table, fiddling with his phone. She smiled as the door swung behind her; at least the nice thing about working the day before Christmas Eve was the boss was here all day and she could take her break at the same time as him tonight.

“Ta-da,” she said, placing the tray down on the table. “Surprise caffeine.”

“Bless you,” he said, leaving his phone on the table. “But you seriously didn’t have to get me anything, Aqua.”

“It was nothing.” She waved him off before reaching for one so she could read the markings. “I figured you were as dead on your feet as I was.”

“You’re right there.”

“Just today and tomorrow,” she said, handing him the one marked with nothing but coffee in it. “Then a day off.”

“Yeah, until we have to come back for all the after-Christmas sales.” He took the coffee from her, but his fingers were warmer than she expected, making her jump just a little when they brushed against her hand.

“Optimism, Terra, c’mon now.” Aqua sat down in the chair across from him, thankful to not be on her feet even for a little bit. She brought the warm coffee up to her lips, hoping it would help her lingering exhaustion.

He snorted but he didn’t say anything else as he sipped carefully at his own drink.

“Oh, here, this too.” Aqua grabbed one of the food bags to peek into it before sliding it over to him.

He choked slightly, probably out of surprise. “You’re too much. You know you don’t have to make sure I eat, right?”

She hummed, grabbing her own bag before leaning back again. “I don’t know, you look like someone who would forget to eat.”

It was the strangest thing. Where she once didn’t even like having to share the same space as him, she found herself standing at the café in the mall wondering what Terra would like off the menu. She admittedly didn’t know and had to guess completely, but so far he was drinking the black coffee with no complaints as he peeked into the bag curiously.

“It was the least sweet thing I could find,” she explained, pulling out her own pastry which she made sure was the polar opposite.

It was like the thought surprised him as he looked back up to her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she chuckled, pulling off a piece of her pastry to pop in her mouth. “It’s the holidays, there’s been cookies and pies and cakes galore back here and you’ve never touched any of them. I figured you didn’t really like sweets too much.”

“Ah, well, you’re right,” he said, placing the pastry on top of the bag, a sort of smile on his lips. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

“Of course, we have to survive all this madness together.”

He hummed in response, leaning back in his chair as he carefully ate the pastry she brought him.

Aqua wasn’t quite sure how it happened. She didn’t know how she went from trying to ignore him as best she could at work to actually looking to see if his name was on the schedule with her. Almost just as surprising was the disappointment she felt when they were scheduled separate. Was he always this sweet and kind and she just never saw it? Did she ever give him the chance to understand he just operated on a different level than she did?

She didn’t know. All she knew was she regretted the way she treated him before. Ever since he brought her food when she was sick, she couldn’t get him out of her head. Even going so far as to having the desire to text him for no reason other than she wished she could see him more than just at work when they were so busy and never really got a chance to say much. She did stop trying to always take control of things, knowing that no matter what he was doing he’d do it to the best of his abilities, even if it was a much quieter way than she’d do it. She actually found his presence with her more comforting than anything, knowing he’d be there if she needed it. Aqua didn’t know why, because she didn’t deserve it in the least but it was a nice thing.

Also a very conflicting thing as she was supposed to meet the person she had been talking to for months again tonight.

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

Aqua blinked as she remembered she was still sitting at the table staring down at her food. His was already gone, just crumbs remaining as he went back to his drink. “Ah, nothing important,” she said, reaching to pick at her pastry.

Terra tipped his cup to his lips, gesturing with his hand for her to continue. Did she mention how easy it was to talk to him, too? For all the bickering they used to do, she found conversation with him so easily. He was quiet but always attentive, like nothing she said ever bored him. Why did they used to fight so much? Aqua couldn’t even begin to remember.

“I’m well, I’m supposed to meet that guy again tonight.” The nerves tightened in her stomach just at the thought, making her otherwise delicious food seem unappealing.

Terra arched his eyebrows. “Is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t know,” she groaned, her head falling backwards some.

“Did he at least apologize to you?”

She nodded. “Yeah, he didn’t really tell me what happened other than it was on him, and that he wanted to try for a second chance.”

“Do you think he deserves it?”

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Aqua said, maybe a little too quickly judging by the way her heart leapt up into her throat with Terra’s eyes on her. “I just…I don’t know.”

Terra leaned forward, placing his cup on the table. “In the end it’s up to you. You seemed really upset when he stood you up last time. You have every right not to want to put yourself through that again.”

She hesitated. “Do you think I should go?”

“It’s not my choice to make,” he laughed lightly. “It’s up to you and how you feel. If you still feel like you want to meet this person then go, if you don’t feel like you can trust them after what happened then don’t. Don’t ever feel forced to do something just because you think it’s what other people want.”  

Did she still want to? She knew there was a part of her that did, who wanted to meet the person she had so many wonderful conversations with, who made her feel light and warm, happy even when she otherwise might not’ve felt those things. Yet, there was another part of her who was aware there was a person sitting in this room who also had the ability to make her feel that way, who took care of her when he absolutely didn’t have to, who kept the kids at the store out of trouble because he knew they meant well, who did anything without a complaint.

“You’re right,” she said, bringing her coffee back up to her lips. Their break would be over in any second, and she’d have to go back to work and try to not be distracted…by a lot of things.

Terra seemed accepting enough with her answer as he leaned back in his chair. Granted that didn’t last too long as the door swung open.

Xion had her head popped in. “Boss said break’s up, sorry, guys.”

“It’s fine, be right there,” Aqua said, moving to shove the rest of her pastry in her mouth (that absolutely got a chuckle from Terra). She grabbed her coffee to take with her as she stood; she was hiding it behind the counter, they could pry it from her cold, dead hands.

“Hey, Aqua?”

She paused, turning back to Terra who was standing but not really making any other move to leave. “Yeah, what’s up?”

He looked a little unsure, and for a moment she thought he was going to tell her not to go (or hoped? She wasn’t quite sure). “I’m sorry, about how I’ve treated you in the past. It was, ah, really wrong of me.”

Despite the fact she was about to head back to the floor on one of the busiest nights of the year, she couldn’t hold back her smile at his sweet sentiment. “You don’t have to apologize, Terra. I wasn’t always very kind either, so I’m sorry about that.” She paused for a moment, well aware Xion was probably about to stick her head back in to get them moving. “I’m glad it’s not like that anymore though.”

“Me too.”

Aqua barely had time to register the sort of sweet smile on his lips as she pulled open the door, her head instantly filled with Christmas music and the noise that came with a packed store. She did think about how well his smile fit his face, how sincere he was in a simple apology as she bustled around trying to assist where she could and keep the customers happy. It really didn’t help her choice she had to make, it only made it even harder.

In the end, once the store was cleaned and closed up, she bid farewell to her coworkers and walked down the nearby stairs to the first floor of the mall. She could’ve gone to her car and left, but at the same time she couldn’t abide having him feel the same way she did just the week before. Aqua wasn’t sure what she’d say or what she’d do, if she even felt the same way she did before but in the very least he was her friend and he deserved to be treated with respect.

The tree was so big it reached the second floor of the mall, all filled with garland, ornaments, lights, and bows. It really was beautiful. Usually it was filled with lines of kids coming to see Santa but now it was empty, the lights twinkling and soft music playing over the radio. No one else was there, and she tried not to feel the familiar sink of disappointment.

Aqua moved to walk around the tree, to see if anyone else was waiting around the other side. No one, not even lingering mall shoppers, everyone was gone already. She sighed, reaching to her pocket for her phone to see how long she should wait before leaving this endeavor too. She stopped short when she heard footsteps in her direction.

Her heart was in her throat when she looked up but it really didn’t clear anything up. “Terra?” she asked, as he continued to walk up to her. “Did you forget something?”

He had his hands in his jacket pockets, his shoulders hunched slightly. He had keys so she wasn’t sure why he’d need her if he forgot something in the store but still he didn’t stop till he was standing in front of her. The look on his face was a little unreadable, but he looked more nervous than anything.

It was that moment Aqua realized while she told Terra she was supposed to meet her friend tonight, she never actually said where.

“I know I said you’d know me when you saw me,” he said, reaching a hand up to the back of his neck. “But I realized you never did before, so I suppose I probably should’ve brought bells or something.”

Aqua felt her purse fall off her shoulder but she made no move to get it, she could only bring her fingers up to her mouth as she stared at him. It made sense; it made way too much sense for her to have never seen it before. Everything she knew about her friend she knew in Terra too, right down to how gentle and caring she always thought him to be.

“I’m sorry for lying to you,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that night either. I just…didn’t want you to feel disappointed that in the end it was me.”

“Terra,” she choked. The emotions swirling through her made tears pricked her eyes in a wave of relief that she didn’t even know she was looking for till he was standing there; that the person she looked forward to seeing at work was the same person she waited for each message from. “I couldn’t…I wanted it to be you.”

He didn’t seem to be expecting that, nor did she expect to put her hands on his face, bringing herself up to press her lips to his. Terra recovered from his surprise enough to reach a hand to her face, the other to her back, pulling her in.

She heard the Christmas music playing lightly, the smell of pine and cinnamon, the lights behind her eyes but mostly she felt the familiar warmth he brought her, his gentle hands against her as he kissed her back. For the first time since she met him, both at work and through their messages, everything just felt simply right.