#Wave over Wave|Luka O'Rian

[brooklynislandgirl]

Advent Calendar: Day 28 @whosxafraid​

“O’RIAN! Report to the Captain’s office immediately.” The Voice of God crackles across the sickening heat. “Oh, shit, dude,” House says from his perfect position of hiding in plain sight, standing beside the other SEAL. “You forgot to polish the dolphins. I even reminded you.” Luka mutters something about House’s mother mating with dolphins behind a dumpster and straightens. His shirt sticks to his back with sweat and his face is soured by the too-bright sun causing him to squint, the too-dry air clinging to him like saran-wrap made of dust. He grabs his shovel and slings it across his shoulders, then quick-jogs over to the Qwonset that acts as administration. Salutes the man once he’s crossed over into the Captain’s office. His mind races over every conceivable scenario he can think of, enumerating in his mind what possible sin he’s committed. “At ease. We just received TDY orders for you. You’ve got fifteen minutes to shower, shit, and shave before you and your seabag are sitting on the bird that just landed.” “...Sir?” “I know you didn’t just ask me questions, son. Get going.” Hurry up and wait is a game Luka knows well and the wait takes the shape of a lift from Camp to NAMRU-3, then a longer flight to NAVSTA Rota. It isn’t until he’s herded off a chauffeured civilian car that it all comes across as a conspiracy, a second small travel bag added to his seabag, and a manilla envelope gets shoved in his hands, the details of his TDY. One that grants him 48 hours of leave from his post. Signed by the Rear-Admiral, and a note on white unlined paper. The heavy scrawl already familiar if the greeting didn’t give it away. ~ UF, you’re my gift. Make the best of it but I swear to Christ if she isn’t happy when she goes home, I’m sending you back to yours in a box. Seriously though, I had to ask for a favour, something I never do. Just make sure the package in the included bag gets under her tree or by her coffee cup, and play it stupid if she asks about Santa. Don’t think that’ll be hard.

And Merry Christmas, frognuts. R.~ It’s an entire villa that was rented out, decorated beautifully and tastefully in a style that isn’t the happy chaos of his childhood, or the much more manic style he’s seen back in New York. But when he walks in and sets his bag down? She’s standing there, staring at the pool, or the cliff beyond where the ocean is kissing the shore with white capped waves. She jumps out of her skin, clearly not expecting anyone, before she turns. The way she holds her wine glass, it might as well have been a knife. A second ticks by, followed too closely by another as she fixes him with those wide Disney princess eyes. “Lulu?!” A single word drawn out in a throaty gasp. She sets the glass down carefully, its sherry or wine completely forgotten, and before he can even answer, she’s running. Launching herself at him. “LULU!” Arms all but choke him. Legs coil around his hips with the intention of blocking blood flow, and her lips press against his neck. Maybe Christmas is made for miracles, but Riley’s still a dick.

[brooklynislandgirl]

[Beth and Seal] - ❤♡❥ღ💕💘💝💓💌💟💙💚💜💛

Heart Eyes || -

❤: who is more affectionate in public? in private?

There are rules that are expected of service-people and their partners, especially when it comes to being in uniform and on base. Hugging, kissing, holding hands and even holding children are considered acts unbecoming. The only exception to this is a homecoming greeting after deployment. The senior officers understand and might be willing to overlook a hug that lasts a little too long, or a kiss that is just the other side of modest. Luka never had to explain this to Beth like some people do; she was born and bred into the Naval life.

So it is under those auspices that she only hugs him for a few seconds when she meets him at LaGuardia. She has told him a hundred times that she doesn't mind driving to New Port but he always turns her down. Says it makes it easier on him. It isn't until his apartment door closes behind him that she turns and jumps. Arms around his neck, legs wrapped around his waist. Six feet, five inches and two hundred some pounds get toppled back toward the door by five feet and less than half of him as she launches into him, before his bag even hits the floor. ♡: who is the bigger romantic openly? secretly?

People don't understand how difficult it can be when their partner is spending nine months or more at sea or overseas, though Luka does try to email every day, or text multiple-times on his off-duty hours. Phone-calls are much rarer between them, and sometimes with operational security to consider he can't always keep up his end of the conversation, which is where traditional letter writing comes in handy. Somehow, her scent manages to linger on the stationary, and he's yet to find a single speck of the purple glitter of her pen staining his uniform. Sometimes he holds them close to his nose to remind himself of what he's missing, rereads each word a hundred times like they're new. Sometimes he can wait up to a month to reach port, only to find thirty or thirty-one envelopes to greet him when she can't. He lives the details of her life in those lines and he keeps her picture ~laminated against the elements~ taped to the bunk above his own. She'll never know just how much he hates knowing that's the only way he can see her smile every time he wakes up. Nor does he know that half the world away, she's doing the same thing. ❥: who is more likely to plan something big for valentine's day?

"Hey you comin' O'Rian? Doin' drink an' drown in Nonbei Yokocho." "No' tonight, House." He shakes his head. "But bring me back a bucket o' karaage, would ya?" "If I remember." "If." Shore leave in Tokyo is always a good time, but tonight is Valentine's. Which means for the next four hours he's got his hotel room to himself. In forty-five minutes, he showers, shaves, puts on his PT sweats and a tee-shirt. The lights get turned down and the door gets locked. He makes up a batch of his own drinks from the mini-bar but mostly it's room-service coffee, and a few things from what would be considered the snack menu. Props himself on the bed and gets comfortable. Makes sure the camera on his laptop captures his best side. She calls exactly five minutes later. "Aloha, Lulu." "Y'sound tired, luff." "No, jus' long night. But I got sunrise, an' a bottle of wine, an' I got you f' 'least next two hour." They've been planning this for weeks, ever since he'd brought it up and the tilt to her chin says no matter how sleepy she might be, they're having a proper movie date. Especially when he'd confessed to never having seen Casa Blanca before. "D'at ye do. Tell me when ya press play." ღ: who is more likely to initiate hand-holding in public? It isn't jewels or shoes or dresses that catch her magpie gaze. The things that would set him back a year or more but for her is just a whim to indulge and forget. No, what has her periodically catching his wrist, what makes her sparkling eyes widen beyond their already Disney proportions, and sounds that only bats could register? Plants in a nursery at the farmer's market, organic soil potted and ready for transplant. Heirloom tomatoes and hen-of-the-wood mushrooms. Sustainably sourced cotton hand-sewn stuffed animals, the shark and the ray in particular. A frog they can't leave the open air market without her bringing home. Luka smiles over each and every instance, doesn't mind carrying the bags over his shoulder if it means she'll keep holding his hand as she skips back to the car. 💕: who is more likely to make huge declarations of love in front of other people? One of the things that Beth keeps in her hope chest, laminated to within an inch of its life, is the red-vines sign that Luka first made then used to snare himself a nurse-shark. She remembers being in mortal peril of dying via embarrassment seeing him stand on the lawn in front of the hospital doors, waiting patiently for her to see him holding it as high above his head as possible. She remembers the other nurses flocking in around her, each of them first commenting on him, then on the first date proposal. Sometimes she'll take it out and run her fingertips over the encased red candy and she smiles. It's nothing like she'd ever expect and that was why it worked. 💘: who developed a crush on the other first?

Maybe the first time it was really evident that Luka liked her was the time, now lost in the archives of Beth's memory ~had it been a Superbowl party? Some other huge gathering?~ that everyone was sitting around the apartment. Andy and Brian, Corey and Tabby, Martin and Jay, and they'd been playing silly party games but somehow, Beth had ended up with very hurt feelings. She remembers slipping out of the house and making her way down to the beach-side walk. And Luka, in a show of solidarity, or perhaps only wanting to make sure she didn't do anything stupid, had followed her. She remembers telling him she wished she could be a boat. That was the first time she ever recalls him looking at her the way he does. And at the time, she didn't really understand. Thankfully, he had the patience to let her bloom and in that way, proved he plans on being in it for the long haul.

💝: who spends more time (possibly overthinking) what presents to get the other?

Gift boxes sit all around Beth's living room. She more than most has the space to collect them and organise them. And maybe because of her connections, the wives and husbands of Luka's team appreciate her help. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll get their holiday care-packages on time and because of that, there has to be nothing with a short-shelf life or that comes under the list of contraband, including sexy photos of one's spouse or significant other. Gifts have to meet customs standards set forth by both the Military and the host country. Packages have to be addressed properly with their FPO address, down to the full ship designation and which fleet they are assigned to, and so on. Beth understands why a lot of people in their situation tend to wait for their soldier or sailor to come home before celebrating birthdays and holidays. But she also hates the idea of having nothing to look forward to, and so she starts packing another box. 💓: who initiates most physical contact?

As soon as they are far enough away from the idea of Command and Luka has ditched his day-wear for jeans and a tee-shirt, Beth is the first to launch herself into his arms, hers wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist. Fortunately, he's strong enough or she's negligible enough that he can carry her around like some demented koala bear for a good hour. At home, she often tends to dip her toes under his leg or curl up at his side when he's watching something or playing a game. She doesn't need his constant attention, so long as some part of her is directly touching some part of him. She even tries to be the big spoon at night. He has to give her credit though, knowing when she can leave behind impressions of her teeth, and when not to put a single hickey on him. Destruction or damage to military property and all. 💌: who is more likely to send cutesy texts to the other?

One arm exits the cover of her duvet and blindly gropes around for her phone. Once she's taken hold of it, she drags it back under the blankets and squints hard as she can to type in her pass-code and then read the text she has received. Despite the urge to throw the device across the room, she smiles and sends back a couple of sort of sloppily chosen emojis. She's been asleep only long enough to disengage from the world, where as Luka is coming off his watch. Today it's a school of dolphins from the port bow. Yesterday, it was clouds that reminded him of the Cliffs of Mohr. Tomorrow it might be a kiss from inside his rack, if he can get three seconds alone and away from his ship mates.

💟: who spends time reading their zodiac compatibilities?

"Well, Pisces men are ruled by planet of Neptune, known as da God of da Sea, an' dis relates to dreams, delusions, perplexion, an' aspect of da psyche. Cancer women are ruled by da Moon itself, which deals wit' subconscious states of da Mind, varied sentiments, an' is associated wi' discovering one's true self. "He is a person who is very sympat'etic, always tryin' his best to be helpful to oddahs. Apart from bein' too kind and warm-hearted, he is also a creative an' intuitive soul. She also empat'ises wi' her loved ones, showering dem wi' care an' affection. She is emotionally strong but very sensitive, loaded wi' passion an' mood swings." Beth peeks up over the magazine cover, trying to gauge his feelings, or at least how hard he tries to keep a straight face. "Da rulin' element of Waddah makes dem bot' have a wavering mindset, so inspite of t'inking a lot, are not good wi' expressin' dey feelings. Dis makes it difficult for clear communication to take place, which also hampers da Pisces Man/Cancer woman compatibility. Togeddah dey tend to be physically clingy, an' da sex is supposed to be phenomenal; romantic, emotional, an' steamy all a' once." She pauses, then rises and tosses the magazine into the recycling bin. "Yeah, I t'ink it's all nonsense." 💙: who is more protective? They look at each other for several minutes, not saying a single word. The conversation flies fast and loose in a series of meaningful looks, some fantastic eye-sex, and ends with two very different sort of grins. One then points to the other. 💚: who tends to get sick more often? who is better at taking care of the other? Beth has is almost never physically sick though there are days during her meds cycle that sometimes lay her low, and others when her depression is so severe, she can barely stir much less get out of bed. Luka is equally a hearty soul without some of Beth's more delicate issues, but when he does come down sick, it hits him hard. She has never forgotten helping him into the shower to help take down a fever.

💜: who said "i love you" first? or, if neither has said it yet, who is more likely to say it first? It comes to the surprise of absolutely no one that those particular words came out of Luka's mouth, and maybe he regrets them. She doesn't know. She has tried to say them back. Beth feels the emotions that she thinks can only be described by the word but every time she tries, they get caught up in her throat until she nearly chokes on them. So instead, she tries to show him in every way she can. Sometimes, she can manage a quiet but silly little 'lava you'. Riley doesn't think his sister will ever really get over her fear of abandonment and her fear of the L word. 💛: who believes in soulmates? Each will accuse the other of this. They both know it's true.

[brooklynislandgirl]

★ Seal!Luka

Little Every Day Blessings || Accepting

I like you // I lava you // You’re one of my best friends // You’re like family // You are family // I dislike you // I hate you // I’d kill you if I got the chance // I want you to like me // I’m scared of you // I would adopt you // I’d date you // I’d sleep with you // I’d marry you // I’m worried about you // You confuse me // You’re annoying // I pity you // I respect you // I trust you // I feel protective of you // I’d invite you with me to parties // I’d lend you my money // I’d borrow your money // You’re good-looking // I’m suspicious of you // I’m hiding something from you // You’re fun // You’re boring // I’m upset with you // You’re sweet // You’re mean // I’m envious of you // You’re smart // You’re stupid // I look up to you // I think you’re a better person than me // I think I’m a better person than you // I want to apologize to you // I wish I’d never met you // I never want to forget you // I want to get to know you better

[brooklynislandgirl]

Leviathan

[brooklynislandgirl]

Happy Birthday Luv

~*~ After so many years, one of the things Beth loves about Luka is the fact that they're still learning things about each other. This slow unfolding is largely done through the letters they faithfully still send one another at the rate of between four and fifteen, depending on whether he's ship-based or off on one of his black-out missions he's never allowed to talk about. All the hard work he puts into things is rewarded by being able to sleep knowing that she doesn't take him for granted, and she has eyes for no one else. Sure things could be better if they were stationed together but things are as good as can be. One of their latest offerings to each other had come with the confession that the only theme park she'd ever been to was Coney Island, and that it had apparently changed a lot in the eighteen years she's lived in New York. He mentions some parks in Ireland but nothing like they have in America. It's a sweet sharing but she ultimately doesn't give it any more thought as she goes back to a week and a half long set of shifts. When she wakes up the morning of her birthday, she knows something is instantly different, though she can't put her finger on it right away. Her curtains are drawn to block out the light. She doesn't remember closing them. The air holds the scent of wet stone from the shower but the faint traces of the moisture has something familiar but far different than her own soaps and hair products. She can't help but think that maybe something went wrong with Andy's shower and that he used hers. She slides herself off the bed, feet in her slippers, her stolen tee-shirt hanging down to her knees. She pads into her kitchen, and then deafens bat colonies in South America with the sound that gets eventually strangled in her throat. "Mornin' luv," he says as he looks over his shoulder, stirring the cup of coffee he'd just poured himself. His smile hefts the sun on its shoulders and gives that light to her eyes. She hadn't expected him to be home for her birthday. Even less did she expect to find out he took block leave, and that for the next three weeks, he is all hers. She doesn't even find out about til dinner, when they talk over the beautiful macaron decorated cake. Then he presents her with a bracelet themed with her 'aumakua. Says everything new should be blessed. And the first week of that leave is spent in Florida. He says it's her actual gift, spending those days in Disney World, where she can be the princess of all those books she admires. It is something new for them both. And he doesn't lie, their suit is fit for a fairy tale, but even better is the bouquet of wild flowers he brings to her each day. She still doesn't know how he does it, but it's beautiful just the same. They take their time and ride every ride, play every game, enjoy every moment of their sunsoaked, Dole-whip filled days. The nights are quieter, spent mostly in cuddles and and drowsy quiet, dips in the pools and the hot tubs. The last night of their vacation, after a long soak, they take turns showering, and ever the gentleman, Luka offers to let her go first. When he comes out, Beth stands quietly beside the bed, still in her towel, and wearing the custom Stitch ears he'd had made for her earlier in the day. Lights from the fireworks flash across her skin and make rainbow highlights in her hair. He stands there for a moment, head tilted and the unasked question lingering in her eyes. Shyly she returns his smile, and drops the towel.

[brooklynislandgirl]

👌🛌 [ seal ]

Ain’t Exactly like Barry White || Not Currently Accepting

There are some things that Beth’s not even aware of that transpire around her. Part of it is her trusting nature, part of it is the way she processes the world itself. She can hear the neighbours down the block arguing over whether or not the husband remembered to file their taxes jointly this year, and the kids up the street shouting increasingly insulting expletives as a way of ribbing each other. She can hear the background noises from Jay’s coffee shop and the hum of the wires in the walls. What she doesn’t hear is the quiet way the front door opens. She doesn’t detect the faint smell of bus exhaust that lessened over the time spent walking across the street. She doesn’t hear him close the door behind her or really take note of heavy tread -combat boots are a common sound, after all- as he comes to stillness on the rug before the door. She doesn’t see his reflection in the glass of her floor to ceiling mirrors just how tight his tee-shirt is as it spans his broad shoulders and chest. Maybe the desert khaki of his BDU bottoms works just as well as in an urban environment.

Maybe she’s just wrapped up in the that complicated pose she’s been on about in her letters for months. She calls it Bhairavasana, which she assures him means destroyer of the universe. Even as he’s watching, she starts in a one-arm plank form, both feet on the ground, before the lower leg gets dragged up and up until it’s lodged firmly behind her head. Then she lifts her free arm toward the ceiling, and stares upward. All while carrying on a conversation with her sister. “So hones’ly, dunno wha’ I’m doin’ wrong. Like...I don’ put on a mask before bed. I put my hair up so it no get in da way. Wore no kine but one his shirts. Candles for mood lightin’...I even put on dat Shakira song about hips no lie. Teeth all brush, limbs all soft and smell good. An’ still... no kine. I have drop hints like you say, ‘bout cherry pastry an’ stuff. I’m startin’ t’ wonder if you know...he’s mebbe no interest in girls.��

Jay’s laughter can be heard from speaker mode. “Babe, I don’t think...” “No, for reals. An’ mebbe if he is interest in girls, mebbe he’s jus’...maybe it’s jus’ not me he want.”

“Okay so have you just flat out said you wanna sleep with him?” “Yeah, an’ I even aks wha’ side of da bed he want.” “You know that isn’t...oh, Fuck. Look, I’ll call you back. My dad just turned up.” “Oh! Give Uncle Harvey kiss for me.” “Not if you paid me a million dollars. See ya.” The call ends and Beth slowly starts to disentangle herself from her human pretzel shape.

[brooklynislandgirl]

So is it true what they say about SEALS in bed or is he like that deceptively pretty mango at the shop? All pretty on the outside and then you get him home and it's just disappointment ?

Anon-aholics || Accepting {{tagging @whosxafraid for relevance}}

She pulls out her phone, and rolls her eyes to one side before adopting the most angelic smile she can. “Why d’ ya t’ink I go missin’ for seven days every eight or so months? I like t’ call it...Fleet Week.”

It wasn’t strictly what she’d let on for them to believe, and watched as the phone in the stranger’s hands was crowded around by others. The video is only a couple weeks old, when Luka was home and it was the afore euphemistically titled Fleet Week. They had decided to get a couple drinks out before locking themselves up in his apartment where the world could simply not exist for a little while. To reunite and reconnect without intrusion which is the price one pays living with others. He was six into her one, one she hadn’t even finished half of. She’d asked what he’d wanted for dinner. Holding the camera steady, she’d caught his reply. She was prone to do this so they could have little glimpses of each other when when the miles and the days apart got to be too long. She ruined that shirt with the spit-take. Later, Luka ruined a lot more than a shirt.

[brooklynislandgirl]

(seal) LOOK INTO MY EYES

Eye of the Beholder || Accepting

I SEE:

Absolute Conviction  |  Aggression  |  Ambition  |  Anger  |  Anxiety  |  Apathy  |  Arrogance  |  Bloodthirst  |  Bravery  |  Compassion  |  Confidence  |  Conflict  | Courage  |  Darkness  |  Defeat |  Denial  |  Desire  |  Despair  |  Determination  |  Devotion  |  Disappointment  |  Distrust  |  Dominance  |  Emptiness  |  an Enemy  |  Enlightenment  |  Envy  |  Excitement  |  Exhaustion  |  Elitism  |  Experience  |  Fear  |  a Friend  |  a Future  |  Gentleness  |  Greed  |  Grief  |  Guilt  |  Honesty  |  Honor  |  Hope  |  Hostility  |  Ignorance  |  an Illness  |  Insecurity  |  Integrity  |  Intoxication  |  Kindness  |  Lies  |  Loneliness  |  Longing  |  Loss  |  a Lover  |  Loyalty  |  Malicious Intent  |  Mania  |  Melancholy  |  Misery  |  Negativity  |  Overcompensation  |  Pain  |  Paranoia  |  Passion  |  Perseverance  |  Pettiness  |  Pity  |  Positivity  |  Pressure  |  Pride  |  a Purpose  |  Racism  |  Regret  |  Resentment  |  Resignation  |  Resolve  |  Sadness  |  Self-Hatred  |  Sexism  |  Shattered Remains  |  a Shining Light  |  Something Familiar  |  Spite  |  Stress  |  Stupidity  |  Submission  |  Tranquility  |  Trauma  |  Trust  |  Vengeance  |  Warmth  |  Wisdom  |  Wrath  |  a Cry for Help  |  Something Eating Your Mind  |  the Years have Changed You

YOU’RE:

Animalistic  |  Approachable  |  Broken  |  Closed-Off  |  Cold  |  Crafty  |  Crazy  |  Defensive  |  Devious  |  Difficult  |  Disheartened  |  Emotionally Detached  |  Frightened  |  Frightening  |  Genuine  |  Guarded  |  Headstrong  |  Heartless  |  Human  |  Immature  |  Impatient  |  Inhuman  |  Insane  |  Intuitive  |  Lost  |  Mature  |  Noble  |  Patient  |  Pitiful  |  Primitive  |  Pure  |  Reliable  |  Remorseless  |  Reserved  |  Resourceful  |  Short-Tempered  |  Simplistic  |  Sly  |  Soft-Hearted  |  Struggling  |  a Threat  |  Trapped  |  a Troublemaker  |  Trusting  |  Understanding  |  Unique |   Unpredictable  |  Unwavering  |  a Victim  |  Wicked  |  Feeling Vindictive  |  Guilty of Something  |  Hiding Something  |  Lost in Thought  |  Planning Something  |  Scared of Me  |  Scaring Me  |  Someone I can Trust  |  Someone I Can’t Recognize Anymore  |  Someone to Fear  |  Someone Worthy of Respect  |  Weak to Manipulation  |  Weighed by Something

YOU:

Aren’t Being Yourself  |  Belittle Yourself  |  Don’t Want to Hurt Me  |  Don’t Want to Leave Me  |  Drown Yourself in Something  |  Feel Alone  |  Feel Empowered  |  Have a Plan that Involves Me  |  Have No One Else to Turn to  |  Have Nowhere Else to Go  |  Have Seen Some Things  |  Haven’t Been Sleeping  |  Lie to Yourself  |  Lost Faith/Trust in Me  |  Lost Something/Someone Important  |  Need Me/my Help  |  No Longer Believe Me  |  See Me as a Thing  |  See Me as Someone Else  |  Seek to Hurt/Harm  |  Seek to Manipulate  |  Think Highly of Yourself  |  Think I’m Hiding Something  |  Think Little of Yourself  |  Think You Know Best  |  Want to Hurt Me  |  Want to Protect Me  |  Want to Sleep with Me  |  Want to Use Me

[brooklynislandgirl]

~*~ She could smell them almost the instant Andy appeared in her bedroom doorway with the distinctive box. They aren't exactly Leonard's but what they are is an entire half-dozen fresh malasadas. Breathing deeply, Beth could even tell that they are lilikoi filled. There's something earthy, sweet, and floral all at once that even pastry cream can't quite filter out. She pushes back her covers and half imagines herself rising from bed like those in one of those old cartoons, drifting along the air currents of warm, mouth-watering scented bliss, eyes closed in a trance. What Andy sees though is her running over on the tips of her toes, absolutely enthralled by the box. She makes what he might call 'gimme-gimme' fingers and she's just about to lean up and kiss his cheek when he shakes his head. "Don't thank me, your Sasquatch sent them. I don't know how, fucker's on a boat in the middle of not-on-my-watch." Beth blinks. And again, more slowly. "Wha?" But does the question stop her from grabbing one and shoving the entire thing into her mouth, so her cheeks are puffed out like a chipmonk's? No, no it doesn't. "He sent me some shit for you so that it would get to you on time, but this is blowing my mind. I didn't know anyone around here even made this shit. Liliha's the best though." "Bite me, Leonards." Or at least that's what it would have been if her mouth wasn't stuffed with malasada. They grudge glare at one another before at the same time they both agree in unison. "Kamehameha Bakery." Then her eyes narrow again."You said...sent you da kine?" "I'm not supposed to let you have it until he calls." They both know for him to be able to send a call home, he's moved heaven and earth, and probably owes a few favours. It goes unspoken that his rank probably helped.Beth knew going into this whole thing that life would be hard. That she and Luka would not always get to be together to celebrate milestones and anniversaries, that they would go up to a year at a time absent of one another. It is a hard life and takes its toll, which is why it's called service and duty, and why so many relationships end so quickly. Why the one left at home so often seeks comfort and support in someone else, though the service person isn't always spotless in that regard. She knows Andy and Luka are different, but she is too. Having been raised in the life and having so many responsibilities on her own narrow shoulders, she often doesn't have time to miss him in the moment, and it isn't til the end of the day that it hits her how long he's been gone, or how far away and dangerous his life is. "Yeah, okay." So they spend the rest of her birthday doing sibling things, and while walking through Central Park, Andy snaps a couple pictures that are in keeping with the rules of just what Luka is allowed to receive, none of them in any way risque. But the entire time, she's distracted. The anxiety of waiting only mounting as time got closer and closer. Eventually, she's settled at the dining table, laptop set up and ready to go. And while there's skips, delays, freezes, it is when he smiles and wishes her happy birthday that Andy enacts the other part of the plan. He brings her the dessert that was promised, a little snail of vanilla custard ice cream, white chocolate, raspberries, a caramelised brown sugar branch. She blows out the candle for Luka, and they both know what her wish is, even if it isn't spoken aloud. She opens the gift, and immediately puts on the jewelry which sparkles against her tawny skin, purple and sea blues. Luka makes her promise to further still wait until later to read the letter. She agrees, if reluctantly.The rest of the next few minutes are spent making promises and talking soft, inconsequential things. But just before he's cut off, she asks... "How even did'ja sen me malasadas?" He smiles. "Jayden's a roc-" The screen goes blank.

[brooklynislandgirl]

FLOCK

...Of A Feather || Not Accepting

Flock: What is your muse’s family like? How do they get along with them?

There’s a stillness over the house when Beth wakes up but it doesn’t worm its way down into her. If anything it serves only to stoke her enthusiasm. It’s the first day of summer break and Andy promised to take her to the North Shore. Horseback Riding from the resort stables where one of his friends is working, maybe hitting the surf though it’s not seasonally peak conditions, a picnic under the iron wood trees. An entire day to spend together without homework, without some sport or music practice looming in at the edges.

She strips down to nothing, pulls on a bathing suit, covers it with shorts that are long enough to provide protection against leather from the saddle and horsehair. A quick look in the mirror tells her that the braids Andy had put her hair in the night before are still tight, she skips down the stairs and comes bursting into the kitchen. She ends the little run in a mimicry of a haka, her little warrior pose meant to bring a smile to her brother’s face because at twelve, Beth is all scrawny legs, pointy teeth. She barely meets the four feet requirements for most things, barely weighs sixty two pounds. Andy often threatens to keep a car seat in his car.

Unfortunately, Andy doesn’t quite manage to grab hold of her and stop her before any of this happens though his arms are thrown out and he lurches forward.

“Ah, I see the little heathen has finally decided to join us.” The look of joy becomes a momentary rictus, her open mouth frozen, impossibly wide eyes still larger, and there’s a moment where Beth’s heart feels like it’ll pump right out of her chest. The Admiral is sitting at the breakfast nook, steaming cup of coffee just out of reach, glowering at her over the top of his newspaper, immaculately folded and crisp. He rakes her from head to toe with disapproval marring his craggy features.  “What? You couldn’t find coconuts and a grass skirt? Must you parade around in your skivvies in front of your brother? I raised you better than that, Elizabeth.” She says nothing. Doesn’t even flinch when Andy’s hands come down on her shoulders and pulls her toward him until her back is pressed to his body. “C’mon dad, be reasonable. We’re heading up to Turtle Bay today, so she’s just-” “And you. Always defending her. If you’re not more careful, Andrew, people are going to start thinking the worst. Is that what you want?”

Andy sighs and his hands tighten on her shoulders, making half fists. She doesn’t squirm or cry out. If anything, she only tries to make herself smaller, less visible. “I’m just saying you shouldn’t be so hard on her.” The Admiral’s face turns red at the edges. He rises up like a mountain pushed up from the sea. Unspeakable tension fills the kitchen. Andy leans down, his mouth at her ear. “Go next door. See if you can hang out with Steve and Mary.” She nods. Takes off out the back door like a shot.

Twenty minutes later, he calls to her from the McGarrett drive way. Bags are thrown haphazardly in the back seat and Andy is practically shaking with anger. When she slides into the seat and buckles herself in, she looks at him. He only looks out the windshield. His right eye is swollen, his lip is cut open, he’s going to look like hell in another hour. It’s all her fault. And she doesn’t have the words to apologise for it. Instead she reaches across the small space between them and tries to pat his arm. He flinches, jerking away from her before he shifts into reverse and speeds backwards down the drive-way. He doesn’t say a word.

~*~

Beth sips her coffee and her eyes trail out of the window and across the street, watching early morning foot traffic and cars go by. For a moment it could be assumed that she hasn’t really heard his question, she’s like that sometimes. Misses entire snippets of conversation or answers in some non-sense way.

Tapered fingertips tap a rhythm against her coffee cup, something almost tribal. Her full lips purse then pull to one side. When she speaks, she refuses to meet his gaze. “I haven’t heard from my mother since I was ten,” she says eventually. “We have supper every Sunday wi’ da Admiral, when Andy’s on leave, oddahwise I go alone. Already tole ya all about my braddah...an’ Jay... she my hanai-sistah... she owns dis place an’ we been good friends since mebbe ten years ago, when she a freshman at Columbia, an’ my dorm-mate.” Suddenly, she looks to him and flashes a brittle smile. “An’ if ya please no mind, I need t’ excuse m’self for a minute.”

Beth doesn’t wait for Luka to say anything but stands up and saunters slowly toward the back of the shop, needing a moment alone to compose herself. She hadn’t thought about that day in almost fourteen years, but sometimes she can’t shake the feelings that come from old, painful memories. And she doesn’t know how to avoid the topic without raising more questions. As she looks at her reflection she curls her lip.

It’s still her fault.

She’s making the Admiral look bad. She’s letting Andy down. Why can’t she just be normal?

[brooklynislandgirl]

truth serum : if a certain seal asked you to marry him would you? why/why not?

Truth Serum || Accepting

The two busiest nights in Tabby's bar are always Fleet Week and the NYFD vs NYPD baseball game. When the two coincide, it's pure chaos and Beth doesn't know how the other woman can stand it. The firefighter he's currently talking to is a lovely young boy, barely old enough to be in the bar to begin with, and Beth almost wishes she'd ordered something ridiculously large and fruity from Tabby rather than the glass of Coke and a little plateful of carrots. She'd come from the hospital and hadn't had a chance to eat yet and her head is swimming from the heat, cologne, and pheromones that threaten to spill out of the bar and onto the busy street outside. So when the kid asks, and Beth knew he was going to, especially after one of the cops pulled him aside and whispered in his ear, Beth takes a moment and nibbles on her carrot. Would she marry Luka? It wasn't anything she'd considered before. And the answer starts to sink into her belly like a stone. He might want children some day, and that's not something she can give. He has a huge family of his own, even if he doesn't speak to them. And he's as Catholic as she and Andy are. Luka is a gentle soul but in marrying him she's condemning herself to the same kind of life she grew up in, where he's never going to be around as much as she wants, and at any second she could get a chaplain and a notification officer at her door to shatter what life they do make together. Could she live under that cloud of fear and loneliness? Their relationship could go on the way it was indefinitely, not pushed by any rush toward a commitment he wasn't ready for and that she was afraid of. Beth believes in the sanctity of marriage. It didn't matter if Luka is pretty, it didn't matter what his social background came from {though he was certainly from a blue collar situation the likes of which she only knows from television and what she sees streaming through her ER}. It doesn't even really matter what the Admiral might think to some extent, though the man has the power to ruin Luka's life in the worst ways. She's about to give the firefighter an answer that is already threatening to break her heart. That is until there's a murmur in the crowd. There's cheers and back-slapping and greetings all around. And there's Luka, walking in. Head and shoulders taller than most of the other patrons, and even the tall ones still fall a little shorter. He offers polite smiles but green eyes strafe the crowd and she knows who he's looking for. Of their own accord, her lips tremble at the corners until they blossom into a full smile. Her eyes draw in a thousand different points of light until her face practically glows. She stands a little straighter and even the firefighter can see that he's faded so far from her mind that he might as well not exist at all. Her eyes meet Luka's and he starts making his way toward her. Her hand lands on the firefighter's forearm and pushes him a little out of the way. "Yeah, yeah I t'ink I would. An' why? If you only saw wha' I can, you nevah hafta aks." And he's never looked at someone the way Luka does her. She pushes again and into the stream of people until she finds herself standing right in front of the Seal in question. She lifts her arms up. Wraps them around his neck. "Hi."

[brooklynislandgirl]

What’s your wildest fantasy?

A Little Light/A Little Dark || -

Luka is home. And for the next six weeks before he rotates out, she can enjoy his company and not worry about what might be happening to him while he's on duty, or what might happen when he's off. Not that she ever worries about Luka finding 'a bit of strange' as Andy calls it in whatever town rises up around bases, or from other sailors on other ships. It doesn't even occur to her that bunk-mate might not be a euphemism. Neither does Luka have to worry that Beth is going to turn out like the Jersey Devil. First, Beth hated Jersey. Secondly, she wasn't tempted by earthly pleasures on her best day, and she couldn't imagine doing those kinds of things with people she doesn't know. Secondly, it's been three years and Beth hasn't even written to anyone else.

But mostly, it's all in the way she smiles down at his face as his head is nestled in her lap, and she's lazily dragging her nails down his scalp, leaving little furrows through his hair. It's getting a little long, and he'll probably buzz it before the month is out. And maybe she's a little disappointed that he keeps his eyes closed when he asks his question. Slow. Deep. That barely half-awake tone to his voice that really melts her bones.

Never let it be said though that Beth doesn't put up a good fight. She looks away from his face, eyes going toward the window of his apartment over looking the same street as hers. The lights over there are dim, and she can imagine the same soft instrumental radio on the stereo that she's playing here, where beer or whiskey replaces wine. "Oh, dat's easy. M' biggest fan'asy revolve around O'ahu. Jus' bein' back home. Sun slowly risin' ovah Pūpūkea. Every kine still as da waves drift in an' out." She mimics the motion with her hand, though one parts ways with his hair to fall onto his chest, just over his heart. "An' jus' when every kine turns gold an' da first swells really start going, pick up my board an' race across da sand, launching into dat immaculate water. Followed of course...by Da Admiral. Who wipes out on a rip tide and gets pulled undah, leavin' his board afloat cause he too stupid to lissen to me when I tell him put his leash on an' he get suck out to sea where Search an' Rescue cutters nevah find his body which got sucked along until he was deposited at da bottom of Marianas Trench an' became ono grindz for da dwellers in da deep."

Truthfully, that is the thing that Beth really does fantasise the most about, the different ways that the Admiral is murdered ~justly~ by the ocean, a truer and more loyal and loving a mother than she's ever really had. But Beth also knows that's not what Luka was asking and she can't help but to laugh a little. "Jus' playin', ya know. Okay so...for reals. Uhm." She tucks her lower lip back over her lower teeth and flicks her tongue across it a couple times, steeling her nerves. Letters from Beth are almost always sweet and can be read as platonic by anyone who doesn't really know her. Phone calls are similar, and there's always a little demure shyness when he's with her in person. As she absently considers her answer, her hand begins to drift southward down the broad expanse of his chest, and stops only when she reaches the washboard of his abs. "So dere's all dese movies, right? Where at da end, da sailor come sweepin' in and dey always officers, right? An' da girl always has dis manual labour or menial office job. Anyway, here he come wearin' his Full Dress whites, usually wi' da sabre...an' yes, I know dat's only f' officers....but he come sweeping in an' scoop her up an' bridal carry her away from whatevah she was doin''...wi' da cheers an' applause of her coworkers. An' den she usually reach up an' take his lid off an eiddah wear it herself or waves it around while try f' kiss him. An' I'm alla way dere, ya know. I want dat too. But den I wan wha' comes aftah, ya know? Get t' da car or truck. Struggle f' get da door open. "Alla'while, tearin' an' scratchin' an' pullin. Try to get as much flesh as can, because if can....can. Da feel of cool leather seat on bare back skin. Scrunchin' up skirts until dey pool around hips like multi-coloured cotton candy. No can wait t' get under-kine off. Just rip it, pull it aside or whatevah. An' I'm gonna be honest, Lulu, I wan....I want dat moment of almos' animalistic ruttin', because da passion is so ovahwhelmin' an' no one cares if someone see 'em li'dat..." Her hand begins to curl into an involuntary fist, dragging her nails across his belly. There's a little catch in her breath and a shiver pulses through her that cannot be politely ignored, especially not with the way her pulse begins to race. She clears her throat. "Uhm. Yeah. Dat."

[brooklynislandgirl]

What’s the most annoying thing about sex?

A Little Light/A Little Dark || Accepting

"All'a it?" She tries to keep a serious face, she does. A little tilt of stubborn jaw, her mouth drawn into a grim line, brows dipping down between her eyes. And she manages to make it convincing for a whole maybe five seconds before the corners of her mouth twitch, her nostrils flare with an inward breath, before her nose wrinkles where the corners of her eyes meet it and she can't help the laugh that comes pouring out of her. She shouldn't be teasing Luka like that, it's not really fair when she is sure the question is asked in earnest. She can hear it in the rough timbre of his voice, the way the words seem to pile up in his throat and only come out once they've been gathered like gravel in a river bed. She can see it in his eyes, the way they darken and slide away from her face almost entirely once she does laugh, and in the reddened tips of his ears, the splotch of angry colour spanning the back of his neck, one of Luka's give-aways that he's become uncomfortable, embarrassed, upset without anger or ~in some cases~ reason. And that in turn takes some of the wind right out of her because she didn't mean it to be hurtful. Beth has had a long standing difficulty with the topic, with the action, with everything related to it, and she can't lie, she feels terrible for him. Like somehow she has lied. Even if it is one of omission, though she thinks she mentioned it in the first few letters sent tentatively between then-strangers. So that he didn't get any expectations or his hopes high if that was what he was looking for; a relationship with full and mutual physicality. And their journey together to even get to this place they're in now has had some meandering roads. Luka the man of flesh and blood almost seems different than the one in letters ~which keep her on tenterhooks, anxious that they arrive as soon as they can, from all the foreign ports that he isn't really supposed to talk about, that instead come with APO addresses almost as familiar to her as childhood phone numbers~ even though he isn't, and that's mere imagination rearing its inconvenient head in the back of her mind. It has been a slow process. Getting to know him in bits and pieces. Having a patchwork quilt of a relationship where he's absent more than he's home. And Beth knew what she was signing up for when she chose to begin their relationship in earnest. She had been literally born to this kind of life, groomed to marry into the Navy, to be an officer's wife in the way her mother had never been. At least that last bit was according to the Admiral's often stated rants over the years.

And in the space of ~she taps her fingertips one at a time with her thumb out of view~ five years, she's finally arrived at a place where she sees that he's more than just handsome. That parts of her she thought was broken have come together and allowed her to take her first few forays into adult human attraction, but she can't say that it is entirely without reservations, and without a heft bundle of prettily strung together nerves. But none of her attempts seem to have gained any kind of traction, or at least gone in the right direction. Entirely and utterly her fault, and she knows it.

So maybe that makes her voice a little more gentle, her face softened by compassion, why she reaches out and lays her hand not on his leg, but his forearm. After all, touch never lies.

"Bein' hones'? I t'ink mebbe mos' annoying kine is how everyone seems t' make such a big deal out of it. All dese questions like...who ya doin' it wit. If ya doin' it. Are ya actin' responsible wi' prophylactics? Gay-straight-inbetween-not interest. Is onna TV an' movies. Wha' is normal, wha' is kinky. Even young keiki now-a-days like ten, eleven year old... sendin' pictures t' each oddah. Is really jus'...overwhelmin', especially when ya get ta be my age an' nevah got it figured out, ya know?"

One slight shoulder rises and falls like ancient empires only a little more slowly. The weight on them is that of an entire world.

"An' I guess... if ya filter all dat oddah stuff out... I... I mebbe always believe I'd be married before I need worry about it. Will it hurt? Wha' if I don' like it? What if all da bits don' line up proper? So I guess, whenevah I t'ink about it...I jus' get scared. Like petrified about doin' it all wrong. About jus' everyt'ing. An' one t'ing I know from my job is...if ya so wound up ya no can relax...den it gonna be bad, regardless of da oddah person's patience an' experience, because ya goddah be in da right mindstate t' do it. Den it jus' becomes dis giant echo-chamber of anxiety an' ya know. Sometimes I wish...you mebbe would jus'...storm da beach, I guess...is da right euphemism. Mebbe don' let me get a chance t' ovah-t'ink it. But even dat seems entirely unfair, puttin' alla heavy liftin' on you...so...I have no idea, Lulu."

[brooklynislandgirl]

What are the things that I want to say Just aren’t coming out right? I’m tripping on words You got my head spinning I don’t know where to go from here

~*~*~

I keep dreaming you'll be with me And you'll never go Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore

[brooklynislandgirl]

What do I think is the best way to seduce ur muse?

i’ll be taking my crown back. Thanks.

Drink The Honey || Accepting

“Okay, Okay. Jus’ don’ wear yaself out. Ya goddah save some dat energy f’ me, Lulu.”

[brooklynislandgirl]

[X] (which ever verse or all if u like lol)

Photograph...Picture Of...|| Accepting

Bonus: