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aliceramblez · 1 year ago

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Dating The BroZone Brothers 🎤🎶

Tags: Gender-neutral reader, Fluff, Some Angst (mostly for Branch lol), Also Broppy isn't canon here, obviously. But I love them dearly so don't come at me!

Follow me @taruchinator for more structured content and/or feel free to leave a request here in asks. Enjoy!

John Dory

We all know this man is a bit self-centered, and that doesn't stop at your relationship.

He'll find any opportunity to show off for you— anything from singing, to dancing, to just his ‘incredible leadership skills that make him the perfect boyfriend!’

He also definitely introduced himself as a member of the old boy band BroZone, which you may or may not have heard of, which may or may not have left him flabbergasted.

Despite all his faults though, John Dory will do his best to be a good partner for you. It's what you deserve, after all!

Keeping you safe from wild creatures, making sure you're always happy because he loves your smile, and also being the overprotective boyfriend who'll square off against anyone who even dares to make you uncomfortable even if they're 10x his size.

Small detail, but he also loves the fact that Rhonda took a liking to you instantly.

“She knows how to pick the good ones,” he'd say with a wink.

Talks about his brothers CONSTANTLY, but always in a way that makes it seem like he doesn't care and that it's their fault the band broke up in the first place. He obviously really cares about them, though.

Some nights, he'll reflect and regret all the stuff he said and did to them, and wishes he could go back and make it right. You reassure him through most of it, trying to convince him that he was young and just didn't know any better.

He stares at you in awe and disbelief because how could ANYONE think that what he did was justifiable? Abandoning his younger siblings all because of his stupid ego and personal insecurities.

“I really don't deserve you...”

Give him some time he's just emotionally constipated.

Also you BET he's gonna show you off to his brothers once they're reunited, so just let him. He just wants the most important people in his life to meet.

You can also expect them to try and embarrass John Dory with stories from their childhood, so be ready to have a good laugh as your boyfriend plots for murder in the background.

Spruce/Bruce

Probably the one who's best equipped to be in a relationship out of everyone in the group.

He is a family man, after all.

Speaking of which, if you think him settling down in the movie and having kids of his own was cute, it really is! But that just indicates that he has a way with children.

If you have a child or younger sibling, expect them to get dotted and taken care of to DEATH by this man.

He may not have been the sensitive one of the group, but was definitely the most reliable of the eldest, so he's got experience handling little trouble makers that come his way.

He still opens a cantina in Vacay Island, which is where you two met for the first time, and so you help run it occasionally whenever you have the chance. And even though you don't go there 24/7, all the regulars just think that you're the co-owner since you're dating Bruce.

You're the one who finds out that he's actually ‘Spruce’, the member of old boy band BroZone. You just happened to stumble upon an old record he kept in his room, and after confronting him about it, he reluctantly confirms your suspicions.

It was hard to recognize him since he was much older now and his body had definitely... grown over the years.

Bruce doesn't like preaching about those days, since he's quite embarrassed of the ‘immature ladies man’ he used to be back then.

But he won't deprive you of them either, since he'll happily share any stories on his misadventures with his brothers, funny backstage incidents, etc.

He misses them dearly and wishes they're all doing okay.

Two words: Hopeless. Romantic.

He's ‘The Heart Throb’ for a reason.

Roses, chocolates, dances— he can do it all!

Bruce will always make time in his busy schedule to spend time with you, taking you on dates to your favorite spots around the island, getting you meaningful gifts, and just overall expressing his love for you in any way he can.

He loves singing to you because it always serenades you and it puts a smile on his face.

People always joke that he's going to propose to you out of the blue one of these days, which always leaves him a flustered mess, but he never denies either.

“What can I say? I might be waiting for the perfect opportunity...”

Clay

Poor baby doesn't know what he's doing but he's trying, okay?

The two of you meet in the abandoned Bergen Golf Course, where you and Viva welcome him with open arms, and everything pretty much plays as in the movie, except that he really likes spending time with you and ONLY you, which he doesn't quite understand?

You're the one to ask him out cause otherwise you'd be playing this back and forth forever. He says yes.

He's never had a partner before, so he's justifiably worried that he'll mess up in some way, or that you'll end up finding him too boring after a while.

This becomes much more apparent after a particular bad night, in which after mumbling incoherently because of a nightmare, you find out that he has brothers and used to be in a boy band.

He doesn't open up about it at first, so you give him some space and reassure him that you'll be there when he needs you. Just give him some time and he'll tell you eventually.

He talks about how he could never be himself, since he was always expected to be ‘The Fun One’, and now he's basically tried to become the complete opposite in hopes of gaining some control over his life.

But he also worries that others will think he's too dull, and that he just isn't interesting enough to be around. Especially you.

You immediately take his face in your hands and look him in the eyes.

“I fell in love with Clay. Not ‘The Fun Troll from BroZone’ Clay. Also, you're fun in your own way!”

He basically falls for you all over again after hearing this.

After that, he becomes slightly less uptight and allows himself to enjoy the little things. You sometimes actually catch him dancing when he thinks no one's looking and you find it's the most adorable thing in the world, even after he realizes he's not alone and wants the earth to swallow him whole.

“Don't mind me, I'mma just crawl in a hole for a while...”

“No, no- Babe, it was amazing! I loved it! Pleaseeee show me more!”

Overall, he's a pretty good boyfriend all things considered.

He's incredibly overprotective of you, and will always give you advice and tools he thinks will be helpful if you're thinking of venturing outside of the Golf Course.

He asks Viva for dating advice CONSTANTLY and she DOES NOT let him live it down. Of course she has good ideas, though.

He'll pretty much do anything for you, even if it means going out of his comfort zone.

Floyd

Another great candidate for being in a good relationship.

Need I explain myself with this man?

His entire personality revolves around being caring and understanding, so he's definitely always on the lookout for anything that makes you sad or uncomfortable and will fix it ASAP.

Floyd is the kind of person who will ask for consent with pretty much anything you do— from holding your hand, to kissing you, to giving you a hug; he will ALWAYS make sure that you're okay with it even if you've given him the green light in the past.

He's not huge on PDA due to his somewhat shy nature, but if you are, he'll try his best to keep up with you.

This doesn't mean he dislikes physical affection, in fact it's his love language. He'll go out of his way to try and sneak in as many hugs as possible throughout the day and maybe a kiss or two if you'll allow it, which of course you do.

You also try your best to get involved in his own interests, because that's only fair after everything he does for you.

It isn't until one day that he sings for you that you compliment him and he nonchalantly comments that he used to be in a band when he was a teenager.

Cue the reveal of him having four brothers and you begging him to tell you all about them.

Which he does, but you can't help but notice the melancholic expression on his face, so you immediately stop him and apologize for being pushy on the matter and that he doesn't have to share anything he doesn't want to talk about.

He only looks at you with a small smile and shakes his head.

“No, I'm glad you asked. I haven't talked about them in years, so I like remembering the good times, even if they're in the past now.”

So he'll go on and on about them, one by one, and go into excruciating detail about what kind of person they are and what he loves about them. He's especially fond of his little brother Branch, based on everything he tells you.

When he gets kidnapped by Velvet and Veneer, you immediately go to Branch for help.

Once you're reunited, you two basically run to each other and hug with tears streaming down your eyes.

“Did they hurt you?!”

“No, I'm okay! Did they hurt you?!”

“Who cares?”

“I do!”

Floyd is then incredibly happy to introduce you to his brothers, who begin to affectionately tease him about getting himself a partner and you happily step in to protect him from any unwanted bullying.

You also tell him that you like the new hairdo, which only causes him to giggle and kiss your forehead affectionately.

Honestly you guys probably have the healthiest relationship out of the whole group.

Branch

I was really debating whether to include him or not since there's many Branch Reader Inserts out there, but I don't wanna leave my baby out so here we are!

You have a classic childhood friends to lovers situation with him, since you've known him ever since he was a member of BroZone, only being about a year older than him.

You'd help him practice for his concerts and would always give him pep talks whenever he felt worried that he'd ruin the show.

You're basically his number one fan— never missing a concert even if it meant dragging your parents with you so they'd let you get in.

The moment the group disbands and Branch is left all alone, you're there for him and wait alongside him for his brothers to return, reassuring him that ‘siblings would never break a promise’.

Cue his whole childhood trauma and him losing his colors, but it's only because of you that he doesn't completely isolate himself from society. He still builds his bunker though, since he's pretty much scarred for life thanks to the Bergens.

Just like with Clay, you're the one who takes initiative and asks him out, and he's just left gaping like a fish because why would you want someone like HIM?

After reuniting with John Dory, he's also dotting you about how big you've gotten and treats you like a baby, which actually irks Branch much more than it does to him.

He makes sure to remind his brothers that you both are grown adults, thank you very much.

Once the band gets back together, you kinda become a manager of some kind and help them in organizing their performances. Branch is eternally grateful and thanks you for staying by his side all these years.

#dreamworks trolls #trolls 3 #trolls band together #trolls branch #trolls john dory #trolls clay #trolls spruce #trolls floyd #trolls x reader #trolls reader inserts #branch x reader #john dory x reader #clay x reader #spruce x reader #floyd x reader #fanfic

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noahsresources · 6 months ago

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SWIMMING STARTERS !

for all the muses who enjoy swimming and the water! action and word prompts can be combined if so desired. for the actions, feel free to swap sender and receiver by adding a +↺!

❝ i didn't know you were so good in the water. ❞ ❝ oh my god, it's so cold! ❞ ❝ the water is so warm, it's so nice. ❞ ❝ ... i can't swim. ❞ ❝ a speedo? are you fucking serious? ❞ ❝ here comes a wave! ❞ ❝ i already burnt my feet walking across the sand! ❞ ❝ do you want me to put sunscreen on your back? ❞ ❝ are you sure you want to swim in that water? it looks kind of dirty. ❞ ❝ i'm so excited, i haven't been swimming in forever! ❞ ❝ wait, i have a swimsuit wedgie— ❞ ❝ that sunburn looks like it hurts. ❞ ❝ i bet i can hold my breath longer than you. ❞ ❝ i think the fish are nibbling on my toes! ❞ ❝ i love going for a dip at night. ❞ ❝ that swimsuit makes you look sexy. ❞ ❝ can you swim to the bottom? ❞ ❝ i'm scared of deep water. ❞ ❝ are you sure we're allowed to swim here? the whole thing's gated off. ❞ ❝ i'm more of a sunbather than a swimmer. ❞ ❝ alright, i'm ready to get out and dry off, how about you? ❞

[ JUMP ] — sender excitedly jumps into the water, receiver following suit [ PUSH ] — sender playfully pushes receiver in the water [ TUG ] — sender tugs on receiver's legs from where they're dangling in the water to get them to join them in the water [ SPLASH ] — sender playfully splashes receiver [ WAVE ] — sender accidentally splashes receiver as they dive into the water [ DIVE ] — sender shows off to receiver how they gracefully dive into the water [ GUN ] — sender starts a water gun fight with receiver [ BOARD ] — sender teaches receiver how to use a skimboard [ RIDE ] — sender gives receiver a piggyback ride in the water ... only to throw them into the water! [ TOSS ] — sender picks up receiver and tosses them into the water [ WAVE ] — sender and receiver ride the waves together [ RACE ] — sender and receiver race to find out who is the faster swimmer [ STORM ] — sender and receiver take a dip in the middle of a rainstorm [ NIGHT ] — sender and receiver take a dip underneath a starry night sky [ SUNSCREEN ] — sender slathers sunscreen on receiver (optional: specify where) [ ALOE ] — sender slathers aloe vera on receiver's sunburnt skin (optional: specify where) [ HOT TUB ] — sender and receiver spend a relaxing evening in the hot tub together [ STARE ] — sender discreetly stares at receiver's body as they take off their clothes in preparation for a swim [ MOMENT ] — sender and receiver swim to a remote part of the body of water to have a quiet moment together [ KISS ] — sender and receiver share a kiss underwater [ HEATED ] — sender and receiver begin having sex in the water

#rp ask memes #rp ask meme #rp memes #rp meme #rp starters #rp starter #ask meme #ask memes #summer meme #summer memes #seasonal #memes #mine #wanted to get this one out before september rolls around and everyone calls it fall lol

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popironrye · 9 months ago

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The Lost Boys

Leisure Headcanons

💋 David 💋

Is a skilled fire arm shooter. (Loves the cowboy aesthetic)

Has his own gun hidden in the cave.

Doesn't get the chance too often, but will ride a horse when the chance arises.

Likes wood carving. Mostly non specific whittling into basic shapes or animals. It helps him relax.

Movie nut! When the boys go the Max's store to fool around, David makes sure to tuck a movie or two that catches his eye in his coat. Tends to watch them alone, all the questions from Paul would just grate on his nerves too much.

I imagine David would be like REALLY good at origami for no particular reason. He doesn't even try, just once the boys do it just because and he's just the best at it.

I don't know if vampires can emerge in water in the lost boys lore, but if they can David loves to swim. Chilling in water clears his mind.

💀 Dwayne 💀

Skater boi! Does a lot of sick tricks, but when you can levitate it's less impressive. XD

Doesn't care for guns, but likes archery. Hammers his own arrow heads. Dwayne and David like to pick a spot in the woods to shoot make shift targets.

A real book worm. Will spend a lot of time just silently reading for hours.

Takes up knitting from time to time. He prefers hand knitted blankets and throws rather then the store ones.

Likes to make jewelry. Made his own necklace.

Enjoys all types of puzzles. Cross word, jigsaw, and brain teasers.

Can sew and offers to sew up holes made in all the clothes the boys decide not to get new ones.

🌿 Paul 🌿

Can play the guitar.

Also likes to sing, and is pretty good at it. Wanted to start a band, but the other boys weren't up for it.

Has the biggest music collection and is always hogging the tabletop/cassette/cd player.

Amateur photography. Just likes to take photos randomly. Some are really artsy.

Got really into tie dye for a while. Although he might have just been high.

When he wants to relax, Paul really likes to stargaze. Laying outside the cave looking at the sky and hearing the waves of the ocean just makes him feel at peace.

When David isn't using the tv monitor, Paul enjoys quite a few video games. He also likes to take on the arcade and carnival games at the boardwalk.

🪶 Marko 🪶

Aside from pigeons, Marko will try to domesticate a number of animals to the cave, including stray dogs, cats, deer, badgers, squirrel, foxes, bats, and even a black bear once.

He in fact did NOT domesticate a black bear, but he did wrestle one.

He does his own patchwork on his jacket.

Like David, he likes to sculpt into wood, but he usually carves patterns and landscapes into more grand pieces.

He's also a skilled painter. Mostly he'll paint murals on sections of the cave David says is ok for him to paint on.

He collects sea shells on the beach.

He'll style the others hair. Especially David who he'll cut and dye in the way he likes best.

🔥Pack Activities🔥

Dart throwing. The bigger the target the better. David and Dwyane are very competitive at this one specifically.

Rollerblading. Put wheels on shoes, what more can you want?

Listening to music. The boys have very wide music tastes and sometimes they cross over and they all like the same stuff. They take turns around the player of their choice to just smoke, drink, and listen to the sounds of the music plays.

Card games. Specifically poker when they're all together. They make things more interesting when they make bets.

And of course motocycle cruising and board walk loitering.

Something that always strikes me with vampires in fiction and indeed with any immortal creature with the high and emotional intelligence of humans. IMMORTALITY IS FUCKING BORING!

I mean, think about it. Imagine you're given all the free time in the world with very little responsibility with no fear of getting sick or tired allowed to do pretty much whatever you want. What would you do? Cause I would go stir crazy. So I came up with these dumb little head canons on how I image the boys specifically would pass the time in their little vampire lives that doesn't revolve around murdering and feeding off of people.

Of course cruising on their bikes come to mind. And there's a couple in the movie we get to see like Dwayne's skateboarding and Marko's fondness for pigeons but I wanted to throw more possibilities out there. :3

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #david tlb #david the lost boys #dwayne tlb #dwayne the lost boys #paul tlb #paul the lost boys #marko tlb #marko the lost boys #tlb headcanons #my headcanons #headcanon #hc #share your thoughts

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samdeancass · 7 months ago

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Jealousy Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Requested by Anonymous

Pairing: Scott McCall x fem!reader

Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst

Characters: Scott, Y/N, Stiles

Description: Y/N and Scott broke up a while ago, but when Scott gets together with Allison, old feelings stir up again, and Y/N becomes jealous.

You had no right to be jealous. You and Scott were completely over —you even ended it—but you hadn't expected him to move on so soon. There he was, once again, walking hand in hand with Allison down the school hallways without a care in the world. A pang of sadness soared through your body as you saw how happy he was; it made you long for those times he was happy with you, for the way he looked at Allison, completely loved up. Each time you see them together, it makes you regret the decision to break up with him a few months ago. You were completely falling for him, and it scared you so much that you pushed him away, and it left you alone, miserable, and jealous. At that moment, you decided to act on your feelings to get him back with a determination that surprised even yourself.

You walked past Scott, and he looked over at you with what seemed like longing. He gave you a small smile, which you reciprocated before heading towards Stiles's locker; he would be the one to help you with your plan. You rounded the corner and spotted him at his locker, getting annoyed with how many books he had crammed inside. "God dammit!" The books spilt all over the floor as he finally managed to place all of his books inside. "Y'know, Stiles, it may help if you kept some of these books in the Jeep instead of cramming them inside here." He closed the locker door and narrowed his eyes at you before bending down to pick them up. "Haha, never thought of that smartass. The school won't let me keep them in the Jeep; something about the stench of dog or something lingering on the pages when I bring them back. I don't have the faintest idea of what they're talking about."

You chuckled. "Yeah, sure you don't. I wonder if it has anything to do with your best friend being a werewolf?" You raised an eyebrow at him, and he shot you a dirty glance as he got up from the floor. "Is there anything particular you wanted, or did you just come here to revel in my misery?" You opened up his locker again as you had memorised his combination and began stacking the books in an orderly and organised fashion. "Well, truthfully, I need your help with something." "Yeah? And what would that be? You never ask me for help."

A slight blush crept onto your cheeks as you took another pile of books. "It has to do with Scott, actually. You're his best friend, and I figured you were my best bet to help me with my little problem." You took the last of the books as Stiles leaned against the other lockers, arms across his chest. "Oh? And what problem would that be?" Closing the locker, a sheepish expression crept onto your features. "I'm in love with Scott. I have always been and need a plan to get him back. Truthfully, I'm jealous of his relationship with Allison. Still, it won't be too hard to pry him away from her; I have a feeling that Scott loves me, too. The little glances he takes when he thinks I'm not looking, he's not very inconspicuous with how he acts." Stiles stays silent for a moment until his eyes light up. "I have the perfect idea. He's really not going to like it when he sees his best friend with his ex-girlfriend, is he? That's really gonna get his blood boiling."

You and Stiles walked hand in hand down the corridor that just happened to be where Scott was residing. He stared at you both with his mouth wide open, completely shocked. You stopped at the toilets opposite where Scott was standing and pulled Stiles down for a kiss, running your hands up and down his back as his fingers tangled in your hair. You both broke free and glanced at Scott, who was staring daggers into Stiles, his chest heaving with anger. You chuckled as you knew your plan was working; you were breaking him. Stiles slung his arm across your shoulders, walked down the rest of the corridor, and rounded the corner.

"Do you think it worked?" Stiles took his arm from around your shoulders and crossed his arms. "Yeah, definitely, he was pissed." Just as he finished his sentence, a fist collided with his face and knocked him to the floor. You looked over, and Scott was seething with anger. He went to jump on top of him, but you got in the way just in time. "Move, Y/N. I don't wanna hurt you." He was staring past you at Stiles, who was slowly getting to his feet and sporting a bloody nose. "No. What was that for?! You can't just go around hitting people, especially not your best friend!" You knew perfectly well why he did what he did; it was all part of your plan. "My best friend, supposedly, kissing you. That's what that was for." "Hey, man. You're broken up. We haven't broken any rules." Scott lunged at Stiles again, but you stood firmly in the way, grabbing Scott by the arm and dragging him to a nearby empty classroom. "We'll be back in just a minute."

You pushed Scott inside and closed the door, locking it. "Just what in the hell do you think you were doing? You can't go around hitting people!" Scott stared at you with both frustration and lust, clearly battling with himself at what to do. Without any words, he stalked up to you, and your lips clashed as he backed you up against the door. Both battled for dominance, but Scott won, biting your bottom lip to gain entrance. He kicked your legs apart and placed his leg in between to keep you firmly pressed against the door. Unable to move, he broke the kiss and stared deep into your eyes, his fingers softly caressing your cheeks. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. Being with Allison just isn't the same as being with you, and seeing you with Stiles awoke something in me. I needed you back; I needed you to be mine again. I know you broke it off because you were scared and you weren't ready, but I'll wait for you, Y/N. It's always been you."

Your heart melted at the loving confession Scott just made. It made you fall deeper for him if that was even possible. Slinging your arms around his neck, you pecked his lips sweetly. "Truthfully, Scott. I regretted breaking it off the first time I saw you with Allison. I became jealous, and I needed to have you back. I guess jealousy makes the heart grow fonder. Stiles helped me with that; that's what you've seen before."

He stepped back from you, gently grabbing your hand and kissing it. "Y'know, you could've just told me how you felt. I love you, Y/N." You looked into his eyes, took a deep breath, and said the three words he never thought he'd hear from you. "I love you, Scott." He smiled widely and brought you in for another soft and sweet kiss before you both headed out of the classroom where Stiles was waiting, practically bouncing on his feet with giddiness. "So? Are we back on?" You and Scott looked at each other, then Stiles, and nodded. "Yes! Finally!" Stiles fist pumped in the air, and you chuckled at his antics before heading out of the school doors to head home.

Your plan had worked, and you were finally back together. Although you did feel guilty about Allison, you couldn't help how you felt about Scott. He was your true love, and you weren't letting him go again.

Tags: @bxoken-heartss @hellomyweirdos @redcoatgirl

#scott mccall #scott mccall x reader #scott mccall imagine #scott mccall fanfiction #scott mccall fluff #stiles stilinski #teen wolf #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf fanfiction #teen wolf fluff

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forasecondtherewedwon · 6 months ago

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get ya thinkin' (that you need me)

Fandom: Twisters Rating: T Word Count: 6028

Summary: Kate, Javi, Tyler, Lily, Dexter, Dani, and Boone—they're all one crew now, and they need funding. Trying to look more responsible on a grant application, they come up with an unconventional solution: two of them should get married. But which two? Javi and Tyler prompt Kate to consider what her friendships could become.

“I know it was me,” Tyler prefaces. “I know I’m the one who said our crew didn’t need PhDs, but…”

“But it might be nice to have one right about now?” Lily guesses.

There’s a collective sigh as they all stare at the screen together. Javi, controlling the touchpad, scrolls down and back up again, like the words might have changed, like this grant application isn’t punishingly particular and hopelessly intimidating.

“If we type it up in the wrong font it gets rejected?” Lily checks, jabbing a finger at the line she picks out of the blur.

Boone shifts and turns to Kate. “You’re doing your PhD, right? How soon you gonna be done?”

Kate gives him a look that asks if he’s shitting her. “Not by next Monday, which is when this application’s due.”

“Fuck,” Javi groans, rubbing his forehead.

“Well, hey, you gotta be good at this kinda thing, Storm Par,” Tyler reasons. “Your old crew had money comin’ out its eyeballs.”

“That was from investors. Highly unethical investors,” he clarifies, with a glance at Kate, who frowns sympathetically. “Private money. We never held a government grant.”

“We need more time,” Kate declares, like just saying that could possibly extend the deadline.

She shoves herself up and away from the motel bed they’re all gathered on the end of. If any of them were responsible adults, they’d be able to admit that they don’t need the deadline to be later, they need to have started working on this sooner. A lot sooner. The trouble is, they’re the furthest thing possible from responsible—at least, not in any way a government grant application would define the term (and, Jesus, does this application ever love defining terms—Definition of Terms is a whole section of the instructions, right at the top). They’re storm-chasers, risk-takers, and no, no one has yet seen fit to bestow upon them large amounts of money to fund their research, so it’s tough to prove they’re a safe bet, a good call, a fast horse.

“The only aspect we may be able to exploit,” Dexter pipes up, “is format.”

“It’s all online, I thought,” Dani says, seated beside him.

“Most of it is, but… could you scroll back up?” he requests of Javi. “Right… there. In the research proposal section, there’s an option for delivery method.”

“Thirty minutes or it’s free?” Boone quips.

Lily rolls her eyes at him.

“No,” Kate says, pacing. “No, it means we might have a better chance if we submit an audio recording of us explaining our research, maybe Javi talking through the data to make the significance really clear. Or we make a slideshow, or film a video.” She pauses to smile. “You guys would be great at that. The point is—”

“The point is,” Tyler picks up, meeting her eyes, “we could convince them on our own terms. No PhD necessary.”

“Though we’d still have to seem stable,” Kate stresses. Everyone nods back at her. “Professional.”

“Who says we’re not professional?” Javi demands.

“Do I need to bring up the pants thing?”

“…No.”

“Everybody in this room knows their shit,” Tyler says.

“Right,” Dani says slowly, “but you can’t say we aren’t… slightly erratic. Not that it’s a bad thing, for what we do. But Kate did say ‘stable.’”

“To be clear,” Kate says, “I’m not telling anybody to quit driving like a total jackass, or making up catchphrases that promote reckless behaviour—”

“Or shooting fireworks into a tornado,” Javi contributes.

“These non-criticisms feel oddly specific,” Tyler says tightly.

“Our roster’s not even stable,” Lily points out. She folds her legs on top of the bland coverlet and the mattress’s springs shriek. “Kate’s only been part of the crew a couple days longer than Javi, and that hasn’t been very long.”

“That is a valid point,” Dexter says.

Kate sighs. “It is. So, I’m asking honestly,” she finishes. “What can we do, by next Monday, to convince some government committee”—she slaps the back of one hand into the palm of the other as she lists criteria—“we are sane, we are stable, we are going to go the distance with this research?”

Into the silence that follows, Javi says, “We could get married.”

There’s another second of absolute quiet before Tyler asks, “Was that an open proposal, or is there a happy couple you had in mind?”

What Kate thinks they’ve probably all been enjoying about the new (or just newly expanded) crew is the lack of awkwardness. Javi’s Storm Par crew was rife with it. While having zero members with a PhD is sometimes a challenge, Kate saw how too many PhDs could be even worse; there was a hierarchy amongst those guys, and if anyone dared offer a suggestion, the rest of them would throw sidelong glances at one another. Kate figured a few of them could straight-up go to hell (particularly Scott), but she still doesn’t know how Javi stood it.

But even that awkwardness was clearly power-based. Javi’s suggestion is different, more personal, and definitely more awkward.

The vibe in the motel room is immediately screwed up. Some people look like they want to laugh, others are frowning in contemplation, and Javi’s just blushing, not looking anyone in the eye. Still, because he’s Javi, he doesn’t chicken out. He tries to make his case.

“You guys heard of Jo Harding?”

“Fuck yeah, I’ve heard of Jo Harding,” Dani announces. “Who in the tornado game hasn’t?”

“Well, she’s an Oklahoma girl, so I was just checking.” Javi shrugs. “Her husband was her partner when she chased.”

“Yeah, but she had a whole crew,” Boone says.

“Yeah, but she also had a husband.”

“Stop mansplaining Jo Harding,” Lily complains, flinging herself backwards on the bed.

“It’s not like having a husband made her a good scientist, or a good storm-chaser,” Dani says.

“I’m not saying that!” Javi protests.

“Yeah, dude, Jo’s husband isn’t the most interesting thing about her,” Boone adds.

“I can’t believe we’ve now spent more time talking about Jo Harding’s husband than Jo Harding,” Lily groans.

“They won the grant!” Javi bursts out. “They won the fucking grant!”

Tyler, who’s mostly just been observing the crew with amusement up to this point, looks at Javi and cocks an eyebrow. “This grant?”

“Yes! This grant! I’m just trying to say they’re a powerful team. Formidable. I’ve read, like, every article ever done on them—”

“Woah, woah, woah. You have? That’s intense.”

Kate glances at Tyler and explains, “He had a crush.”

“Sounds more like an obsession.”

“I admired their work,” Javi says defensively.

“Oh, is that what you were admiring in that one article where you cut across the text and just kept the photo of Jo?” Kate checks, smirking.

“What have I done to you, Kate? Goddamn.”

“Finish your point,” she prompts.

Javi sighs and braces his hands behind him, leaning back carefully so the laptop doesn’t slide from his lap.

“They always talk about how they make each other better. Not that the other person is why they’re good at their job in the first place,” he clarifies, shooting glances at Lily, Boone, and Dani, “but that they look out for each other, stop each other from making stupid decisions, keep each other safe. And yeah, a crew can do that too. A good crew. But a married couple just sells devotion and, and conviction in a different way. All I’m saying is it’s something to try.”

“It’s not an unreasonable proposition,” Dexter allows when it’s clear that Javi’s done. Dexter’s calm, steady voice giving the idea his tentative approval strengthens its merit for everyone in the room. Kate can see it. She exhales.

“Alright,” she says. “Well, we don’t have a lot of time to mull this over before the deadline, but let’s give Javi’s suggestion some thought. And any other ideas you guys come up with. Maybe reconvene on this tomorrow?”

There are nods and murmurs of approval.

The room they’re in is Lily and Dani’s, so the crewmembers not hanging around to chill file out onto the sidewalk that lines the motel. Kate’s just thinking about going back to her own room—well, hers and Javi’s, with matching twin beds in baby-blue coverlets that make her think of the Shining twins—and getting some sleep. They chased yesterday, then stayed up late last night going over the data. They’ve all been eating at weird hours, and now with the stress of the grant application… Kate runs a hand over her face. She can hear Javi and Tyler talking behind her, but she doesn’t think anything of it until she’s unlocked the motel room door and Tyler follows her and Javi inside.

“We need to talk,” Tyler states the second the door’s closed.

“‘We could get married,’” Kate quotes. (Sarcastically, but yeah, she’s beat.) “‘We need to talk.’ You’re both so dramatic today.”

“That’s what we need to talk about,” Tyler says, ignoring her sarcasm.

“What?”

“Getting married.”

Kate gives him a slow blink.

“We just did,” she says. “That’s what that conversation was.” She points in the direction of the other motel room.

“But we need to decide,” Javi says.

“We will. Everyone needs some time to think.”

“No, they don’t,” Tyler says.

“Uh, yes, they do. If they’d either thought it was the best solution or a total flop, they would’ve said right after Javi explained.”

“I know our crew better than you do, Sapulpa—just a fact. Trust me, they had an opinion.”

“Then how come nobody said anything?” Kate asks skeptically.

“Because it isn’t about them,” Javi says.

“What? Of course it is! The grant is for the team. We can put it towards a new drone for Lily and get Boone some more—”

“Not the grant. The marriage.”

“The marriage would be for the grant.” Kate has a bad feeling that she’s started talking to Javi like he’s an idiot, but she’s seriously just not getting it. Why isn’t he just saying what he means? She’s tired.

Tyler laughs. He laughs! She stares at him.

“Come on,” he says, “you have to know why they all clammed up.”

Kate looks to Javi. Javi, the guy she basically ghosted until he showed up at her workplace to drag her back here. Javi, who’s still her best friend, no matter what. Javi, who she really needs to make sense right now.

“They didn’t ask any questions,” Javi says gently.

“Most importantly,” Tyler cuts in, “nobody asked who this hypothetical marriage would be between. You catch that?”

“That’s just because we need to decide whether or not we’re doing it first,” Kate says, crossing her arms.

“You really think that’s why? And not that it’s because of the way Storm Par here looks at you, or the fact that he’s the one who suggested getting hitched? It’s not just a grant application, Kate. There are other stakes here.”

Kate flushes lightly, and when she chances a look at Javi, he is too. Tyler’s not exactly wrong, but he isn’t quite right either; she and Javi go back a long way. They care about one another—which is natural, especially after what they survived. Kate would also be lying if she tried to tell Tyler she hasn’t noticed those looks of Javi’s, that she’s blind to the way his steady brown eyes linger on her when she speaks, find her when she’s still, working out the math for their next planned chase. She doesn’t hate it, that way he has of looking at her.

Javi temporarily saves her from responding. Once he’s made his point, she’s not entirely grateful.

"Me?" he says to Tyler. “Those guys aren’t keeping their opinions to themselves because of some obvious claim I was staking on Kate. I’m subtle.”

The remark is so pointed that it’s no wonder Tyler reacts to it, even as Kate has a private, silent panic.

“I never staked a claim on Kate,” Tyler assures him.

“Sure you did,” Javi argues. “You stayed at her house. You met her mom. You basically poached her from Storm Par.”

“I didn’t need to poach her. She came willingly. And I bet you’ve stayed at her house and met her mom! You’ve known each other, what? Forever? That about right?”

“Well, what about you two?” Kate interrupts, gesturing between the men. “Old rivals, new allies. Some unresolved tension from chasing the same storms, maybe? How do you know the crew weren’t picturing you at the altar?”

While this seems to genuinely bewilder Javi, Tyler hitches his jeans and shrugs. “Wouldn’t be my first rodeo.”

“I just don’t think anybody’s thinking anything.”

“They might not all be thinking the same thing,” Tyler allows her, “but they’re all thinkin’ something. The two people getting married to give us a shot at this grant are standing in this room right now. I guarantee it.”

The three of them eye each other.

“If there’s going to be a marriage,” Javi says.

“Oh, there is,” Tyler says. “You made too good a case for it. Whole lotta money on the line. Seems too logical not to try.”

“Nothing about this is logical,” Kate decides, and goes to brush her teeth in the tiny bathroom.

When she comes back out, Tyler’s gone. She cedes the bathroom to Javi so he can get ready for bed too. They exchange a look as he passes her, but she waves him on, pats his shoulder as he passes. They can talk when he’s ready. Well, maybe not ready, but ready for bed. She goes to her squeaky twin and sits down to wait.

“It’s insane,” Kate says a little later.

They’re lying down, facing each other across the divide between their narrow beds. There’s an old movie playing on the perhaps equally old TV that sits against the opposite wall; they’ve turned the sound way down. The screen’s glow provides the only light. Kate thumps her pillow for emphasis rather than elaborating. She just doesn’t have anything smart left to say on this topic.

“It’s also not,” Javi counters. He’s run out of more sophisticated arguments too.

“So, two of us are really going to get married?”

“Hey, we do crazier shit literally every day. And it’s not, like, real. Whether or not it helps us get the grant, the marriage can be annulled, or they can get divorced, or whatever. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

Kate laughs, and then Javi laughs too. She likes watching him laugh; his smile hangs on for such a long time after he stops. It’s sweet.

“Who do you think it should be?” she wonders.

“I mean, I would do it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I suggested it, right? Gotta put my… I don’t know, my vows where my mouth is.”

“So rational,” Kate notes, sort of joking, though she does also admire Javi’s pragmatism. He’s thinking of the crew, how to look out for them, both by securing this grant and by sparing them the need to enter into this plan which is—regardless of what he says—a little insane. When she thinks of it that way… “I guess I would too.”

“You would get married?”

“Why not? Since it has to be somebody. You’re my best friend, anyway,” she says, sending him a soft smile. “It wouldn’t be like marrying a stranger. Besides, nothing would really change.”

“You don’t think so?” Javi asks earnestly. Which is not the easiest question to answer. But Javi has more to say before he’ll let her try. “You know… I mean, I told you…”

“That you would’ve done anything for me, back then,” Kate fills in. She sees Javi nod against his pillow. She exhales slowly. “Yeah. I didn’t really pick up on that. I just thought we were friends.”

“We were friends. We are. I just felt a little more for you than that. Not that I ever would’ve done anything. You and Jeb were great together. I wouldn’t have been dumb enough to try to come between you, and I didn’t want to. I just sort of quietly…” Javi grins like he can’t help it. “…had this thing for you.”

Kate returns his grin, amused because it’s easier to feel amused than to feel sad. She wants to be able to talk about Jeb, hasn’t let herself in so long, putting herself more than a thousand miles away from anyone else who knew him. Now, it feels so good to hear Jeb’s name in the mouth of somebody who cared about him too. With Javi, Jeb will never be forgotten. Kate will never lose the opportunity to talk about Jeb, to reminisce. Javi will be as respectful now as he apparently was then, keeping his own wants reined in so Jeb and Kate could be happy with each other. Who should she—should either of them—allow to make her happy now? With his caring, trusting eyes trained on her as the light from the TV flashes and shifts, Javi seems like a pretty good choice.

“It’d be more than practical for you,” she acknowledges.

“It would.” Javi sighs. “I thought you’d better have all the facts.”

“I appreciate that.”

“And now you can admit it,” he prompts.

“What?”

“That you got the hots for me too.”

They share another laugh. But Kate can only laugh so long as a reaction to his teasing tone, because, yeah, she kind of has started to think of him in that way since being back here in Oklahoma. She’s been trying to wait it out a little. Part of that’s fear; Jeb was her last serious attachment. She hasn’t been able to love somebody like that again (she hasn’t even really tried to date), too scared that something awful will happen. With Javi, it’s a real possibility that he could meet Jeb’s exact same fate, and there’s no place in the whole world Kate could move to that could get her far enough away from here if that happened.

The other reason she’s waited is that coming back, coming home, has provoked a swirling mess of feelings in her—an emotional tornado, if she’s honest, and it has taken honesty to let herself be hit by the force of those feelings instead of retreating to the mental bunker where she’s spent the last five years. Those winds are still calming. In the meantime, Kate hasn’t wanted to confuse the feeling of being home with a desire to be more than friends with Javi.

“Not then,” he says kindly, when she doesn’t reply right away. “I know you didn’t then.”

“Coming back,” Kate starts, her gaze drifting, “hasn’t been totally what I thought it would be. I’d be lying if I said you weren’t part of that. You’re the same as you were then, but different too. I’d never seen you lead a team before.”

“You surprised those guys listened to me?”

“No, I guess I just wasn’t expecting the way you made room for me. I saw that you were still on my side…

“I always have been.”

“I know,” she promises, meeting his eye. “And you trusted me again, immediately—”

“No reason not to,” Javi says easily.

“There were reasons not to,” she insists. Does she need to remind him of their first chase after she arrived? How she panicked? How she was the reason they didn’t get the third scanner set up and so couldn’t collect data that day? “But you vouched for me. Last time, with our team, you trusted me because I was the head of the project. It felt like you trusted me just as fully this time, even though it meant committing all those other people and all your resources.”

She’s surprised, while she’s being this sincere, that Javi laughs at her.

“I never trusted you just because you were the head of the project,” he explains. “I trusted you because you were you. You’re still you. You’re so you that Tyler’s ready to marry you too, and you’ve known each other less than a month.”

Kate makes a dismissive sound.

“You know there’s something between you,” Javi says. “That man is crazy about you.”

“I think he might just be crazy. It’s well-documented on the internet.”

“He’s always close to you.”

“So are you.”

“Exactly,” Javi agrees. “So I can speak to his motives.”

“We survived an EF4 together. He sheltered me with his body in the bottom of a swimming pool. Maybe we just shared an intense, near-death experience.”

“Is that all?”

Kate deflates.

“No. He is pretty hot.”

“That’s what I thought,” Javi says triumphantly.

There’s more to it than that, but Javi can obviously tell that already, so it doesn’t seem worth saying. Kate folds her pillow in half so she can sit up a little higher.

“Well, can we talk about the look on your face?”

“When?”

“‘Wouldn’t be my first rodeo,’” Kate quotes, badly mimicking Tyler’s voice.

“As if he meant anything by that.”

“How do you know?”

“He’s Tyler Owens! He just says shit for dramatic effect!”

Kate crosses her arms and stares at her friend with amusement.

“Probably!” Javi adds weakly.

“I could see you two married. Fake-married.”

“He is good at what he does,” Javi concedes, “when he’s not being a total jackass.”

“Is that all?” she teases.

She hears Javi’s deep sigh.

“I’ve watched a few of his YouTube videos,” Javi confesses. “He takes off his shirt sometimes.”

Kate sinks back down into bed after that. At some point, half-asleep, she hears Javi get up to use the bathroom. He switches off the TV on his way past, and the light quits flickering across Kate’s closed eyelids.

—

They aren’t chasing the next day, so they decide to stay in town for breakfast at the little diner. Because they’re together so much—hunched over the same screens, crammed into the same vehicles, bunked in the same motel rooms—it isn’t unusual for them to not eat together. Four of them practically feels like a family reunion, but Kate’s glad of the company. She, Javi, Tyler, and Boone grab a booth and flap open their cracked plastic menus.

Javi, seated opposite her and next to Boone, keeps looking at her. Kate can feel it without returning his gaze. When she relents and looks back at him while they’re eating, she sees (as she suspected she would) that he isn’t making eyes at her over his pancakes—he’s watching her with Tyler. She makes a face at Javi. There’s nothing to see! Tyler might be sitting beside her, but he’s intent on dipping his bacon into the yolks of his eggs, laughing across the table at something Boone’s telling him he captured in recent footage of the crew goofing around. Tyler and Kate aren’t looking at one another. They aren’t even touching. Yeah, maybe she can feel the heat of him because their thighs are almost close enough to touch on the seat, but it doesn’t mean any more today that it did yesterday. Javi’s just trying to make it weird, because of their conversation last night.

I could make it weird too, she threatens with her eyes. That makes Javi smile and go back to his pancakes.

After they’ve finished though, when Boone and Javi get into a discussion that quickly becomes so focused that it shuts out the other side of the table, Tyler nudges Kate’s arm with his elbow and jerks his head towards the door.

Outside, Kate takes a breath that doesn’t feel deep enough. It’s dry today. A field borders one side of the diner parking lot, and the wheat rustles crisply. Taking it all in is second nature, requires no thought at all. There’s the windspeed she can guess at when a breeze strokes across her arm; there’s wind direction, determined when a slightly stronger gush sweeps a strand of hair loose from her ponytail; she judges the atmospheric pressure with her sinuses; and she gathers all of this without even looking at the sky. When she does, it’s cloudless, flat as a blue tablecloth.

She looks at Tyler. He’s studying her.

“Just trying to pick up some tips,” he says, before she can say anything.

“And? What’ve you learned?”

Tyler just smiles mysteriously.

“You guys talk last night?”

“Me and Javi?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure,” Kate says. She knows it’s a vague answer, but Tyler will be bold enough to ask for the information he really wants. She’d bet on it.

She turns to face him fully, crosses her arms expectantly.

“Did you decide anything?” Tyler asks. He has his cowboy hat on, but the morning light slants low, making him squint when he looks at her. She circles him a little so he’s not staring into the sun.

“It shouldn’t really be a unilateral decision, should it?”

“Typically, yeah, it is just one person who decides to propose.”

“This isn’t about just one person,” Kate reminds him. “It’s about the crew.”

“I’m aware.”

“Well…”

“Well. Are you guys waiting on a group vote then?” he inquires facetiously.

“I didn’t say Javi and I agreed to get married,” she says, frowning.

“You didn’t say you didn’t either.”

She sighs at how frustrating Tyler’s being. He shifts his feet, making the gravel crunch under his boots. There’s a grit to him too—in how he only seems like he’s going along with this but obviously has something he feels he still has to say, something he hasn’t yet given up on. But Kate has a hard time with waiting. She likes making decisions quickly. Somehow, this—the prospect of marriage—is an exception. More complicated than it should be, if it’s just about securing the funding.

(It’s not. She knows it’s not, especially after talking to Javi last night.)

“I’m better at running,” Kate says quickly. “Lately.”

“What?”

“Than chasing.” She offers a weak shrug, not sure what to do with herself, with her body. Tyler’s so solid, standing here in front of her. So steady in his eyes.

“Do you wanna chase me?” He doesn’t sound surprised, exactly, but his words are less than a challenge.

“Seems like it’s my turn. You followed me to New York and all.”

“I didn’t follow you. Your flight got delayed and I had time to buy a ticket. I went with you.”

It’s true, he did. First, they waited out the delay together. The weather didn’t turn into what it might’ve, so it was only an extra hour. Tyler had time to call Boone about coming to get the truck, and Kate had time to call Javi about the storm warning. Javi hadn’t left the airport yet. Initially, he came inside. A tornado was about the only thing that could excuse there now being two trucks parked in the Drop-off Only zone outside. (That poor man.) They sat together in the chairs by the check-in desk, Kate and Tyler on either side of Javi as the three of them studied the weather data on his laptop, the hard-edged coloured shapes that scudded across dark county lines. As soon as they knew it was nothing, Javi said he’d drive back to get Boone himself, then bring him to the airport to collect the truck. Tyler said he didn’t have to. When Javi insisted, Tyler gave way. That surprised all of them. It was maybe the start of the new team.

In New York, Kate let Tyler come to work with her. Her coworkers were the weather-geek demographic Tyler appeared to have never even dreamed of; many of them were familiar with his YouTube channel. One of them asked if Dani was single. Kate grinned as she stood back and watched Tyler lean into his persona for the fans, into his accent—just the same as she had leaned away from her accent when she moved up here, not wanting questions about where she was from. Not wanting to think too often of home. She stood and watched, and then she went to her boss’s office and quit with as much grace as she could manage after taking a week off on almost no notice. Tyler urged the whole place into his trademark call and response on their way out the door.

“That’ll numb any hard feelings for a while,” he assured her as they took the elevator down to the lobby.

“What hard feelings?”

Tyler frowned at her.

“About losing you. They’re gonna miss the hell outta you, Sapulpa.”

“Too bad,” she said. She didn’t think it was true.

“Too bad is right. You belong to the South, and we’re takin’ you back.”

She wouldn’t let him help her pack up her apartment. What had once seemed fresh to her—the white walls and clean lines of starting over—now seemed barren and sad. She found she was glad to leave it. She didn’t want Tyler to see.

He spent his time in other ways. Took a ferry out to Liberty Island. Ate pizza in Brooklyn, pastrami on the Lower East Side. He got up to the Bronx to watch a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Kate didn’t know how he managed it all. They were in New York for three and a half days. Tyler just beamed and told her his feet were killing him. He still helped her carry all her boxes down the stairs of her walk-up while the train rattled by.

They drove back to Oklahoma in a rental truck. Somehow, Tyler made it take four days, when they probably could’ve done it in two. He bought her an ice cream in St. Louis, laughed as it melted so fast that it ran down her hand.

She guesses this, now, standing in a diner parking lot, is overdue. Even though, like Javi said, she and Tyler have known each other less than a month. It doesn’t feel like it.

“What about you and Javi?” she asks bluntly.

“That could be fun,” Tyler allows. “There are a few more buttons there I wouldn’t mind pushing. Think he’d go for ‘Javi Owens’?”

A laugh bursts from Kate.

“I think you’d be taking your life in your hands if you asked him.”

When Tyler smiles at her, pleased but gentle, she gets it. She got it from them both: they’d get married for the application, probably even find it a lark, but it wouldn’t mean much more than that. There’d be less danger in it. That should be a good thing—a reason for Tyler and Javi to be the ones—but Kate knows it’s also the thing that’s making them all hold their breath. They’re used to this type of crossroad, the three of them, used to tilting their faces to the sky to check the conditions. In the end, they’ll always pick the road that leads them into danger, not away from it.

They both want Kate.

“You don’t have to chase me just because you think you should,” Tyler says sternly. “You don’t have to chase me at all.” His face softens. “I’m standing still.”

She laughs and, incredulous, asks, “Since when?”

“You,” he says simply. “I like Javi, Kate. I do.” But I want it to be me, his eyes say when his mouth stops.

“Yeah.” She knows. She can see that he does.

She and Tyler leave it there, because Boone and Javi are coming out of the diner now. They came in two vehicles and Kate goes with Javi because she knows he’ll let her think.

It’s officially not about the grant anymore. It’s not even about getting married. This is bigger and smaller than that. Kate puts the passenger-side window of Javi’s truck down (an older truck, no Storm Par logo) and leans into the onrush of air. The marriage would be strategic, but a relationship with either Tyler or Javi would be completely real. Real feelings, real expectations, real mess if it fell apart and they kept working together. Which they would; they all love this job too much.

For just a second, Kate shuts her eyes and wishes this wasn’t happening to her. Then she feels silly because, after Jeb, ever falling for another human being seemed astronomically unlikely. She stuck to storms. Had crushes on cloud formations. Made lovesick eyes at the sky when it turned a spooky shade of green. That Javi and Tyler are both ready to be with her seems like a miracle. She’s grateful. She just doesn’t know how to choose.

Javi leaves her alone for the entirety of the short drive. They pull into the motel lot behind Tyler and Boone and drive to the end where the doors of the crew’s motel rooms stand in a line. Dexter, Dani, and Lily are there as they pull in. They’re excited about something; Lily’s practically dancing on the sidewalk and Dani says something to Boone that makes him yank her into a hug.

Kate and Javi spill out of his truck.

“What’s going on?” she asks.

Lily springs towards her, raising her hand to show off a ring that’s slightly too big, slipping up and down her finger as Kate tries to look. Kate’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Dani and I got married!”

“Congratulations,” Tyler says, butting in before Kate can blurt out another What? or When?

“It’s just for the grant,” Lily reminds him, laughing and waving off his sincerity.

“Never thought I’d say somebody married me for the money,” Dani remarks wryly. She’s wearing a ring too. Hers fits better. Kate wonders where they got them, and assumes the tiny antique store on the main strip.

Lily blows Dani a kiss.

“I went as a witness,” Dexter says.

“This just happened?” Javi asks, looking at each of the three conspirators in turn.

Lily shrugs and says, “Yeah.”

“You didn’t talk to the rest of us about it,” Tyler says. Kate doesn’t think it’s quite a complaint, but he seems thrown to have been left out of the loop.

“Oh, like the three of you let us in on whatever you’ve been planning?” Dani demands, pointing out Tyler, Kate, and Javi.

Tyler looks a little sheepish after that.

“Haste was the order of the day,” Dexter says. “It seemed efficient. We can move forward with our application now.”

“Yeah,” Kate agrees, still a little stunned. “For sure. Efficient. Thanks for taking one for the team, you guys.”

“No problem,” Lily says, and pulls her into a hug.

It’s not until later, out at a bar to celebrate the wedding (or the marriage, or their hopes to deceive the government for financial gain, or just their crew, really, who delight in one another’s exploits), that Kate, Javi, and Tyler find themselves at the same table. As if it’s a coincidence. Kate presses the rim of her bottle of beer into her smile.

“Lived to fight another day,” Tyler says over the vibrant twang of music, staring at the rest of their crew as they line dance to and fro across the floor.

It’s so typically dramatic of him that Kate and Javi glance at one another, and Kate has to pinch her nose shut so beer doesn’t shoot out of it when she laughs.

“Owens, I saw you talking to Kate outside the diner this morning,” Javi reveals. “Didn’t look like you were pleading to be spared.”

“You were spying on us?” Kate demands, rounding on Javi. She gives his shoulder a half-hearted shove as he laughs.

“Hey! I wanted to see how things were gonna turn out!”

“I’m pretty curious about how things are gonna turn out myself,” Tyler asserts, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. He gives Kate a significant look. She dodges it, ducking her head with a smile. She can feel the both of them watching her.

Javi reads her right: “Too soon to say, huh, Kate?”

She looks up, letting her eyes slide from one face to the other, incredibly fond of them both. Slowly, she grins.

“Guess you’ll just have to keep watching the weather,” she tells them.

Kate slaps her hands on the table and rises to join the others on the floor.

#my writing #Twisters #Twisters (2024)#Kate Carter #Javi Rivera #Tyler Owens #Kate x Javi #Kate x Tyler #Javi x Tyler #Lily (Twisters #Boone (Twisters)#Dani (Twisters)#Dexter (Twisters)#Twisters fic

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shoukiko · 1 year ago

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hi you know what’s cool? tf2. do you have any equally cool headcanons about any of the characters you want to share?

OH YOU BET I DO!!!!!! Lemme just

*Spits in hands and rubs them together* Lemme just..

My TF2 Headcanons!

I'm just gonna write them down as they pop in my head :3

Scout is really bad at reading, also has really bad hand writing.

Borderline chicken scratch, disgusting!!!

Pyro actually understands what they're doing, they just reallllyyyy don't care and don't see what's wrong with it.

My unhinged pookie bear.

Medic would love to look at your insides.

He's not shy about it either tbh, fuckin weirdo

Heavy is the biggest softie when it comes to romance.

He melts at physical touch

but like

the good kind

Heavy also really likes to read in his free time, it's what makes him so smart and knowledgable on things.

Soldier would pick random flowers he finds outside just to give them to you.

He also doesn't really know how to put his feelings into words so he just ends up yelling things like "I LOVE YOU" or "YOU ARE NICE TO LOOK AT TODAY"

Spy is the type to give you handwritten notes on holidays with a nice wine.

He has cursive handwriting, very very elegant.

Soldier would give handwritten notes too, but...they aren't that elegant

"I think you aren't annoying to be around"

Engineer would play his guitar for you, like alone. You can be in your room and he would sit on your bed and play for you, maybe even sing.

He's a really good singer. Like almost Luke Bryan level

Yes I like Luke Bryan

Engy would be that one dude who asks you to hold the light while he works, then get mad at you when you're doing it wrong.

Demoman has dreads, I do not make the rules.

He's also a jewelry man when he's ot working

He wears rings and necklaces. Very pretty hands tbh

I also like to think he's very stylish when he's not wearing the uniform.

He's not always an asshole either, it's just the alcohol, he can be poliite if needed, but then he wishes he had something to drink.

Snipers RV smells, it just has to.

One day you get so tired of it that you clean it yourself because he keeps forgetting.

He realizes how much better it is, forgets how longs it's been and is really grateful

You'd teach him how to at least keep up after himself and he actually gets better at it.

He still pisses in jars tho...

Spy looooves shoulder rubs, he'd fall asleep if you did it to him.

Bro is pretty fit under that suit, like you'd be surprised by his physique.

I will stop here! If you guys want more please let me know! I have to get to my other asks so I must finish.

#tf2 #tf2 scout #tf2 medic #tf2 spy #tf2 pyro #tf2 heavy #tf2 sniper #tf2 engineer #tf2 soldier #tf2 demoman #tf2 x reader #team fortress #tf2 imagines #shoukiko #tf2 headcanons #headcanons #answered #answered asks

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thezombieprostitute · 8 months ago

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Dragonfly - Part 3

Summary: Steve has just about everything he could ever want in life. He's got you, a baby on the way, and a successful Family. No one would dare interfere with that. Right?

A/N: Reader is female, pregnant. No other descriptors used.

Word Count: ~1.1k

Warnings: Death threats, Implied violence, Pregnancy. Please let me know if I missed any!

Part 2 -- Part 4

Series Masterlist

With the contract burned, you were breathing a little easier. Too bad you couldn't say the same for Steve. The insight from Mr. Smith that Dragonfly after you, not trying to hurt Steve, had him questioning anyone and everyone you'd ever met before. So far nothing had hit. There was only a couple of months until the birth and Steve was adamant that Dragonfly be found before it happened.

As much as Steve wanted to keep you locked up inside you still needed to go out every so often. When you did, the security team was always around and Steve always held you close. As much as you wanted to run free, you could pick up on his stress every time you did so. He was hyper-vigilant, had trouble keeping up with conversations, tensed and drew you close at every loud noise.

Thankfully your pregnancy was so far along that the people he worked with, outside of the Family, figured it was him being overprotective. No one questioned his propensity for pulling you away from handshakes and other physical contact.

One of the older ladies, Mrs. Devereaux, at the fundraiser smiled fondly and commented, “I remember my husband being the same way during my first pregnancy. You've got to love how protective these big strong men can be when they're nervous.”

You chuckled, “he is delightfully good at making me feel safe. You should've seen him during the ultrasounds.”

She coos, “oh, I'll bet he was a big ball of nerves!”

“He was, though he'd never admit it,” you reply. “And you should've seen him when he found out we're having a boy.”

“Oh yes,” she sighs. “My husband was the exact same way. I'm so glad to see you two have such a loving relationship. And that your bear of a husband is keeping you safe.”

“I'm just glad he isn't growling at people who get too close.”

You and Mrs. Devereaux had a good laugh over that before she went to speak to someone else.

Steve pulled you close and whispered in your ear, “if I recall correctly, you enjoy when I growl at you.”

“Exactly,” you smile at him. “At me. You growling at others isn't as fun.” You kiss him before gently hissing at the pain in your lower back. “Still, if you want to get out of here a little early, I don't think we would mind.”

Steve nods and gives his silent signal to his security team that you're getting ready to leave. The two of you say goodbyes as you head out, Steve's far more terse than yours. Anyone who takes longer than ten seconds gets a glare from Steve that has them finishing up their goodbyes quickly.

Steve helps you into the back seat before climbing in himself. Bucky sits up front with Dayton driving. You always feel safe in the car. Steve will do everything he can to keep you safe; Bucky is head of security for a reason and Dayton White is the best driver they've got on the crew. You let yourself breathe deep and relax as you rub your stomach.

“How are you holding up,” Steve asks, rubbing your arm.

“Better now that I'm sitting.”

“I keep trying to make sure we only go to events with seating,” he grumbles. “Still, it's nice to have an excuse to leave early. I don't think we're gonna be able to get that bill passed, regardless of how much time we spent there.”

“I'm so sorry, Sweetie,” you coo, moving your hand to rub his cheek. “I know it would've helped a lot of people. Oh!” Everyone in the car is on alert until you move Steve's hand to your stomach. “Yeah, he's also happy to be sitting down,” you chuckle as your baby kicks where Steve's hand is. “I think he's also hungry.”

“And what is he hungry for,” Steve asks, his eyes never leaving where his hand is.

“I'm thinking ice cream with some of that spicy sweet Tabasco sauce.”

Steve gives you a look but the baby's persistent kicks seem to confirm your choice and he chuckles.

After your ice cream and a long nap, you find yourself in the kitchen again, looking to make some baked apples with extra cinnamon. As you work, Steve comes in and watches you, smiling contentedly. At least, until your back starts hurting again, causing you to wince and look for a chair.

Steve walks up behind you, “there's something I'd like to try for that back pain, if you'll let me?”

“Of course.” He reaches around to your front and slowly, carefully, lifts your pregnant belly. “Oh, Steve,” you moan. “Oh, that helps so much.” Tears form in your eyes from the relief.

“However long you need me to stand like this,” he promises, kissing your cheek. “You know I'll always support you however I can.”

“I know,” you assure. “And you know I'll always do the same for you.” He nods in confirmation, his beard lovingly scratching your cheek.

After a few minutes your cravings get the better of you, “that was wonderful, Sweetheart, but I gotta get the baby some food.”

“Are you sure? I can stay like this for a while longer.”

You chuckle, “yeah, I'm sure you could. But then your arms would be too tired to hold me later when we're in bed.”

“Never,” he jokinglly snaps, making you laugh. He gently lets go and you get back to work on the baked apples.

“Have you given further thoughts to which friends we're naming the baby after?” It's been a major topic of discussion between the two of you. Bucky and Sam have been running their own campaigns for who the baby should be named after. So much so that the Garbage Men have a betting pool for who gets to be the namesake.

“Honestly,” Steve starts, “I'm thinking of none of them. Giving our son a name of his own.”

“A lot of people will be upset,” you chuckle. “But I very much understand what you're going for. I think it'd be good for everyone, especially baby Winston.” Steve arches an eyebrow at that and you giggle even more. “We could also call him Jameson? Being a combination of James and Wilson?”

“That one I'd give some thought to. But it feels more like a last name.”

“Oh I know,” you chirp, “Jack! For the artist who brought us together!”

“I think I like that,” he muses. “We've still got time to decide, but I do like that one.” He stands behind you and loosely wraps his arms around you again. “Hmm. Jack Steven Rogers...”

Part 2 -- Part 4

Series Masterlist

Tags:

@alicedopey; @aryhyuuga; @cynic-spirit; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @jamneuromain; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @ktficworld; @leryg0; @rayofdawnworld; @rebekahdawkins; @ronearoundblindly; @talesofadragon; @texmexdarling

#mob boss!steve rogers #mob!steve rogers #mafia!steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x female reader #mob!steve rogers x reader

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atiny-for-life · 5 months ago

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Xikers Full Storyline Explained - Part 5

Masterlist

위치 (WITCH)

Regarding the title, the Korean means "Location" but sounds like "Witch", making it some clever wordplay they actively utilize throughout the song.

If you played Maze of Choice, the YouTube multiple choice game they released as part of the album promotions (and which I covered here), you will already have an idea of what this MV is about

We open on a ticket booth standing amidst a narrow path colored similarly to the album cover - orange and black

The sign above the booth asks "WHERE IS YOUR LOCATION?", indicating once you're in, you won't know where to go

Junmin then appears, walking into the empty corridor, only for black smoke-like creatures to rush by and make a desk appear right in front of him (you can hear their screech just before his own voice comes in in the song's opening)

Going by his behavior, it's clear he has no idea where he is or any recollection of donning the clothes he's now wearing, which means their memories were wiped before they came here, presumably by TRICKY

With no other option but to play along, Junmin picks up the folded card on the table ahead and finds the words "Do you want to make a bet with me?" in a golden cursive font

Except, there is no way for him to choose: the moment he finishes reading, he's dragged away by an unseen force

My best guess here is this takes place at the same time as Maze of Choice and is showing us the recruitment process they all went through at the hands of TRICKY before they were given their powers in Rockstar

The lyrics seem to support this by telling us "You're already in TRICKY HOUSE"

We see them all in their formal uniforms after this, hair either nicely slicked back or free of product, prim and proper students as Namoo (and presumably the government and society) desires in this corporate-run world where fulfilling your predestined role is all you get to have in life

We next get Yechan's verse where they first use the wordplay of "I know your location (위치) but I'm not a WITCH"

While the others are running through parts of the maze, he's being actively attacked by the black cloud-like creatures who restrain his arms, presumably after he failed to choose the right direction

At the end of his verse, we get the first sign of TRICKY and the dokkaebi's blue fire as he wears his schoolbag and reaches for a falling sheet of paper which ignites upon his touch, presumably indicating he's picked the right one

We next see Jinsik and Hyunwoo in an office meeting room in which all the employees wear white masks

Just like in Maze of Choice and the Bittersweet Preview, we see them navigating this world together, which leads me to assume they were the only ones who already knew each other prior to getting chosen by TRICKY

Going by the lyrics, we can tell they're all going a little bonkers in this maze - constant dead ends, looping back to the start, everyone they come across lies to them, and they keep falling for trick after trick

Huge shout out to the choreography at this point (BBTrippin never disappoints) - it truly is a theatrical performance visualizing the lyrics and if you haven't watched a full live stage yet, you absolutely should - they're crushing it

Following Junmin's lines, we move on to Sumin's rap verse during which one of the dokkaebi's blue flames guides him to a locker through which he enters a new section of the maze

Note here how we transition with the blue flame and now see Sumin in red-white-and-black clothing as opposed to his school uniform (we'll come back to that in a second)

There are more masked workers in this section, all wandering a warehouse full of garment bags filled with clothes kept in shades of red, white, and black

While he's there, it suddenly gets darker and a spotlight finds him before white crumpled up paper falls from the ceiling which reminds me of the end of Tricky House when all the paper airplanes, dust and ghost-like objects were flying around

Minjae, already changed out of his uniform as well, is up next and also finds the garment warehouse where he gets surrounded by the masked employees who seem to capture him and throw him to the ground

Upon hitting the floor, he pounds his fist against it which seems to make the employees disappear, leaving him by himself

And this is when the lyrics first indicate he's actually enjoying this... he thinks it's a beautiful night

The music video has taken a turn: we've skipped to the present and, as we've seen in We Don't Stop, in the present, Xikers have already gotten used to their powers and befriended TRICKY, willingly choosing to live in its world

And that world includes the maze they started out in so, as they switch from their school uniforms to black-white-and-red attire, we can see them becoming a part of TRICKY's world with all the powers which come with it

After escaping, they learned the maze's layout, they know where to go, where to find everyone, how to trick and mess with them - we're now their victims

We see Junmin in his new outfit, his fist still on the ground, presumably after also making the masked people disappear, the floor now littered with clothing items in greens and blues

And we also see Jinsik, sitting in the clouds above the maze (on what we later get to see is a giant pair of scissors with the name 'xikers' engraved on it), free to look down and watch the lost people wander the maze now that he's also all dressed up in TRICKY's colors

They highlight this contrast between then and now in the next shot as well: we see Yujun wander the hallway full of doors in his uniform before we zoom out to Hyunwoo in the present looking at the maze's model, all cool, calm, and collected

The way to escape seems to be to not just follow the blue spirit fire, but to actively entrap one of the orbs, which we get to see Minjae do near the end of the video after our rap-trio's shared verse

One more shoutout the choreography at this point because, after this, they make it seem like Hunter has freakishly long arms through simple visual blocking and strategic arm placement - it's such a neat little trick

We close out with a group performance to the chant of "We already know your location" contrasting the opening question on the ticket booth and further playing with the song title

The final shot is all nine shushing us, index fingers to their lips, as we see their acquired dokkaebi spirit orbs - 10 in total because Junghoon is here in spirit

#xikers #xikers lore #Minjae #Junmin #Sumin #Jinsik #Hyunwoo #Hunter #Seeun #Yujun #Yechan #House of Tricky

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princeescaluswords · 6 days ago

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Teen Wolf Fanfiction Red Flag #2

Standard Disclaimer: These red flags don’t mean that the author is evil or that a reader cannot or should not enjoy the story. I simply use them to indicate that, for readers who are actual fans of the actual show, they might want to be prepared for the transformation taking place in a particular story to veer away from an appreciation of the characters and themes of Teen Wolf and into something that indulges in fanon tropes

My pick for this week when an author claims that Scott can't keep a secret. In this situation, the author usually doesn't go into which secrets Scott can't keep or what the consequences of not keeping those secrets are. When they do, it most likely refers to the supernatural.

The first thing that you might notice is that canonically, of course, this isn't true. Scott keeps several secrets over the course of the show, including keeping his fail safe plan to prevent Gerard from becoming a werewolf and keeping his lycanthropy a secret from his father, an FBI agent who is shown to be good at his job. When he does reveal secrets he doesn't want to, it's not simple or easy. It took Jackson nine episodes to figure out Scott's lycanthropy and Gerard only caught on to Scott's status in Abomination (2x04) because Scott was protecting Boyd. And it's not like Scott's worse than other characters such as Stiles who managed to explode his own series-pilot fib to his father the very next episode or Derek, who sent a newly bitten werewolf to school after knowing some monster killed Isaac's father.

Now, of course, people are perfectly free to emphasize a character's mistakes and blunders. Fanfiction is all about shifting stories to explore different aspects of characters and plots. So why do I feel this trope can be a red flag?

It is used to exclude Scott from plot without consequence. A character makes the decision not to bring Scott into the story's action in a way that doesn't require changing the nature of their relationship. Stiles isn't excluding his best friend from his foray into the supernatural because he's ditching him to hang with the Hales; Stiles is doing it for the best, as Scott can't be trusted. But Scott still has to treat Stiles like they're friends. Derek isn't abrogating his right to tell Scott what to do by keeping him out of the loop; he's simply not willing to have Scott spill the beans to the Argents or anyone else. Derek still gets to tell Scott what to do. (It does not go the other way).

It arises out of the desire to erase Scott's personal autonomy. Authors derive this concept out of criticism of Scott's perceived tendency to reveal the supernatural to others, though they neglect that Scott never agreed to keep anyone's secrets. The supernatural was forced on him, and since he has the right to make decisions for himself, he can tell whomever he wants whenever he wants about his own life, regardless of Peter's carelessness or Derek's threats. He could have picked up the phone at the beginning of Second Chance at First Line (1x02) and called his father the FBI agent. Rich white men don't have the right to force Scott to keep their secrets.

This last one, particularly, is a troubling trend that appears throughout the body of transformational fandom literature. Teen Wolf argued that Scott had the right to make his own decisions about whom he followed, with whom he chose to associate, and how he resolved the conflicts. Parts of the fandom aren't interested in that. They wanted Scott to follow the Hale's and then Stiles's lead, to do what they though was best, and to act in the way that serves the needs of the white male characters they prefer. (I have never seen, and I bet, neither have you, any type of fandom-created content that criticized Scott for not 'staying out' of the Hale-Argent Season 2 war the way Allison wanted him to.) Scott being unable to keep a secret is a popular trope because it's really about Scott not treating the wants and needs of white male werewolves as more important than his own.

#scott mccall #scott mccall defense squad #fandom problems #fandom racism #teen wolf fandom problems #teen wolf fandom racism #fanfiction problems

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ritualofcirice · 6 months ago

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Lucifer's Response (Letter Three, a Lucifer x Reader)

🐑 ♡ Continued thanks to Sycamore for beta'ing, you're the sweetest sweet ♡🐑

You sent a love letter to Lucifer, and he responded.

Teen and Up Audiences, No Warnings, F/M, M/M, Other/M, Tag(s): Love Letters, Fluff, Awkwardness, Gift Giving, Emotional Baggage, Ambiguous Gender Reader, POV Second Person

Find it on ao3 ♡ WC: 801

Chapter 3

Letter Three

With the arrival of your letter, you were more than excited to dig into its contents. Then you were given a box wrapped in hand painted paper and tied up in a pretty bow. There was nothing that could have calmed you down when you received that box. You danced around the room with it like it was your partner in a musical number until you heard a clunk. It was safe to say you decided to settled down after that.

You didn’t want to break it. Whatever ‘it’ was.

It took you three excruciating minutes to peel the paper off of the gift without ripping it, and you folded it with care to put aside for safe keeping. Part of you admired the craftsmanship, while another part of you fretted about the lack of storage you would have if Lucifer kept giving you beautiful things most considered trash.

You did not need to keep the wrapping paper. Was that going to stop you? No.

What you pulled out of the box was a duck. Little legs dangled beneath it as you scooped it up, and you spied a card inside that had ‘instructions’ written across the top. You turned to the letter for any other information, but moreso because you wanted to lose yourself in the words of the person you cared for.

Nothing could compare to him.

‘Dear my darling Secret Admirer, Okay, there is a lot to get through and limited paper. First, I hope the gift made it to you. I’m not sure if they're going to be delivered at the same time, but I hope so. I won't spoil the surprise if that's the case. If they are together then surprise! I hope you like it! I wanted to give you a little something back since that folded paper duck you gave me was amazing. Amazing like crazy amazing. It’s so cute, and I love the googly eyes. I spent the good part of an evening trying to find a fitting home for the tiny thing. Given my last letter, I thought the gift I gave to you would hold somewhat more sentimental value. There are instructions for how to make it work too. I popped them in simple terms, but if you can’t get it working please let me know! Second, I wanted to let you know that your suggestion is most appreciated. I just want to ask again though, what if I’m not who you think I am? I’m not saying no to your offer to meet up somewhere, on the contrary! Just name a place and a time, and I’ll be there! I know we’re getting to know each other, and you seem lovely, genuinely lovely. There’s no problem. The problem is me. Ignore what I said about no problems. It has been a long time since I’ve been out is all. No doubt the culture in Pride hasn’t changed at all either, and a gun fight doesn’t make for a good place to relax! I bet you like your food as blood free as I do. Please tell me you don’t eat people. I might need some time to accommodate to your appetite if you do. Do you want to come over to mine? It’s okay if not, I want you to be comfortable. And again you can pick wherever, but if you want to visit me then you’re welcome. Is it okay for me to invite you over on a first date? I would like it to be a date if you’d give me the honour. I gather that was your intention with the offer. Anyway, I’ll get to my third point. I haven’t done anything like this in a long time. Like a long, long, long time. It’s me all on my lonesome! Still, I want to make this work, and to do that I have to tell you that I'm struggling. I'm not perfect. I need honesty because I don't think I could handle losing someone else right now. Knowing this, please tell me if you don't want to see me anymore. Or even send letters. I’d understand if you didn't want to. I wouldn't blame you. It's not your job to pick up the pieces with me, but you'd have to watch if you were by my side. I wouldn’t want you to step on any shards and hurt yourself. You terrify me because all I want is to meet you. I do. I want to know the face of the person who had the kindness to reach out to me. I love you, and I'm sorry for all of this. As I say, just name a time and a place. Or never. Whatever you choose, I will honour it. You have my word. Kind regards, Lucifer M.’

♡ Letter four ♡

#Ritual_Of_Cirice fanfiction #x reader #lucifer (hazbin hotel)#lucifer (hazbin hotel) x reader #fanfiction

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gauloiseblue · 10 months ago

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A Loyal Dog

Years of dealing with people, he too has developed some kind of intuition. Although it's more about who he can trust, and who is not

But in this case, he can sense a strange devotion from the gardener

He knew people who had blind faith in someone, just like him. And they're both the most submissive, and the most ruthless people he ever met. They're docile when it comes to the person they trust, but when it threatens the person's safety, they won't hesitate to bite

The boy's behavior might be normal for now, but he just feels it in his gut that it's more than that

He mentions the boy to Liv, and she immediately laughs

"Oh, that sweet boy." She chuckles, "He follows her around like a dog. He'd pick the loveliest flowers for her everyday, and she'd tell him to put it in the vase. It's a bit sad that they don't do that anymore, I guess she too keeps him at a distance now."

He learns that they both were close, before the words started to spread. Liv describes that she thought of him as a son, but he didn't seem to think of her as a mother figure

"I told this to her, and do you know what she said? She said, 'I'm glad then, it means he has a loving mother.' I mean, I get it, but he can take it in the wrong way, you know?" She groans, "Not to mention that he already took interest in her long he started working for her."

He raises his brow at her, "Really?"

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure when it started, but his uncle sells gardening tools. She's a frequent in his store before he took care of everything. You said that one day he suddenly knocked on her door right? Maybe he knew her from his uncle."

After his conversation with the baker, his perception of her changes slightly. There's a lot of people who prefers younger people, and it's possible that she's one of them. The distance that they put is just a facade, because behind all that, they do have a feeling for the person. If she's one of them, he won't know what to think of her

Perhaps the reason for it is just because he likes her, and he wants it to be yet another puzzle to solve. That the complexity of her feeling isn't about love, but something else entirely

Nevertheless, he keeps a good relation with her

Sometimes he dares himself to take her out, or simply hanging out in her place

She seems to enjoy his company as well, for a reason that he can match her witty remarks

Maybe it's a privilege to be in their late 40s, where they can be as free as they want, and not hiding anything from each other, knowing that they'll find it one way or the other

He doesn't hide his interest in her, and she doesn't shy away from it, so it's no surprise when they become close in relatively short time

"There'll be a festival next week," He told her one afternoon, "Do you wanna come?"

She pauses, idly traces the rim of her mug with her finger, "Sure, I want to. But Finn has asked me to come too, and I said no."

"Are you afraid that you'll run into him?"

"A little bit." She sighs, "He has a habit of dragging people along, I don't want to walk with him in the crowd."

"You can use me as an excuse." He smiles, "I won't let go of your hand."

She laughs, "You better hold it tight, then." She hums, placing her chin on her palm, "Let's just hope Bonnie sees him first, she won't let go of that boy's hand for sure."

"Bonnie? The carpenter's daughter?"

She nods, "She likes him, so she won't pass up a chance to explore the festival with him."

They both agree on the plan to wall together to the festival, and stay in the adult only place, which is an open bar with a poker table. They jokingly make a bet on whoever wins the most money, with the prize of whatever the winner wants

On the day the festival is held, they both meet up at her place, before heading to the town

It's a common festival, with food stalls and other items being sold at cheaper prices. She can't resist the discounted grapes, and ends up buying a basket's worth of it

Unfortunately, they both meet Finn before Bonnie could find him, and so they play the adult-only card

"I'm not a kid anymore, Mrs. (name), I can handle the alcohol."

"But you can't come with us, we're going to the gambling table."

"I'll stay at the bar—"

"No." She said sternly, "It's not your place to be in. I won't allow it. If I see you anywhere near the bar, I'll tell your parents."

It seems to have an effect on him, as he falls quiet. She keeps the stern expression on her, before she softens up and pats on his head

"Enjoy the festival with the other kids, Finn. I'm sure you'll have more fun with them."

His face shows a disagreement for a split second, but he nods afterwards

He pats on his arm to cheer him up, before they both leave him, all alone in the crowd. He does feel bad for the kid, but the feeling doesn't stay for too long

When they join the poker table, the people around them seem surprised, but excited to see a new face in the game. Though it's mostly aimed at the woman beside him

As they agreed on, they'll only play for 2 hours, with £20 as the start

The thing about him is that he always wins at every poker game, but only when his opponents are men. He manages to outplay the other players until they fold and out, except for her

Still, there's people who dares to challenge her. They'd put their money on the table, and play against them both. But little do they know, they're the fool one on the table

They end up playing for more than 2 hours, and he begins to get tipsy from the beer he's been drinking. It's when he blunders by putting all in

Turns out, she has a 4 of a kind, while he just has a full house king

That's when she grins at him, signaling that the game's over

"Alright gentlemen." She announced as she stood up, "Thank you for the game, it was fun. I know you probably want me to go all in and give it to whoever's the luckiest, but I'll treat you all to a glass of beer, yeah? Sounds good?"

Almost everyone around the table agrees, with a few cheers and claps

After going through the rowdy crowd, they both manage to make it out of the festival, giggling and waking fast on the road

At her home, he sinks into the sofa as the wearin begins to settle. She slips into the kitchen with the basket, and comes back with a whiskey and two glass shots

He groans, "I had enough, I can't drink anymore."

"I'm not forcing you to drink." She said as she sat down, "We're just gonna play a game."

"What game?"

"Truth or drink." She grins, "If you don't wanna get drunk, you should tell the truth."

He snorts, but straightens his back to join the game

"I'll go first." She said, "Do you have kids, John?"

He shook his head, "Didn't have the time for it, and we ended up splitting. Have you been married to someone?"

"No, I didn't have the time for it." She said, which made him chuckle, "Why did you move to this town?"

"A friend of mine once told me about this village, it sounded good, and the land's cheap as well, so," He shrugs, "Why did you come here?"

"To escape from the big city." She replied, "Where's your friend now, John?"

He doesn't want to answer it, so he takes a shot. "Are you an artist, name? A big time artist perhaps?"

Now it's her turn to drink her shot. "Do you plan to move again someday?"

"No, at least not yet. Liked it here." He answered, "What do you think of Finn? Do you know he likes you in a romantic way?"

"One question at a time." She said, "I think he's a good boy, a bit naive though. What have you been talking to Liv about me?"

"Nothing much, just the basic stuff." He clears his throat, "What were you like when you first moved, your entire history with Liv, and then Finn. Do you know he likes you in a romantic way?"

She sighs as she scratches her head, "I know… I wish he'd see me like a mother, or a generous aunt, I don't mind, but then again, we always search for something we can't have, aren't we?" She shook her head, "Do you dislike him, John?"

"Not at all." He smiles, "I have no reason to dislike him, he's a good kid." He then lifts his gaze to her, "What do you think of me, (name)?"

She fell quiet for a second, before she told him, "I think you're just like me. We've been running from the past, until we forgot how to stop running. What do you think of me?"

"I think you're lovely." He replied, "You're like a pretty puzzle that I'd like to solve over and over again, something that I'd like to keep in my pocket, so I could unravel you whenever I wanted."

The alcohol in his blood begins to work, as he gets enough courage to lean closer, reaching out to touch her cheek

She doesn't pull away, but doesn't move either, instead, she asks him, "Do you like me, John?"

"One question at a time." He retorted, "Would you allow me to kiss you?"

To his disappointment, she prefers to take a shot than giving him an answer

"Well, let me ask you again, John. Do you like me?"

"Do I look like someone who'd kiss anyone I didn't like?"

"No, you don't." She lets out a chuckle, "Say, if I were to go to Italy, would you come with me?"

He snaps his head towards her, not prepared for the question. "... What?"

"Do you wanna go to Italy with me, John?"

"I already heard that." He tilted his head, "What's the occasion?"

"I won the bet, didn't I?"

"Oh… that." He rubs his face to sober up, "You're telling me you want to go to Italy with me as the prize?"

She nods, "I always want to travel the world with a partner, and I'd like to know if you're qualified for it."

"All expenses paid?" He jests, but she nods nevertheless, "What if I end up disappointing you?"

"Then I'll stay here for the rest of my life."

He can't help but grin. "It's a big commitment, y'know."

"Didn't you say you want to keep me in your pocket?"

"Won't it be suffocating for you?"

"That's what I asked." She tugs her lips slightly, "Suffocate me, John."

Her hand reached up to touch his, it was cold, pleasantly cold against his skin. His face heated up, as if he's been kissed, but what she gave him was sweeter than a kiss. It was indeed sweeter….

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