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twinklelilstarkey · 4 years

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Secret - Rafe Cameron

[Requested]

Words: 3.9k+

Type: Fluff & Smut

Summary: Pogue!Y/N and Rafe have been dating for over a year and she has been keeping it a secret ever since.

Warnings: Fem!Reader. Quite bad writing, if you’re expecting an amazing smut, I’m sorry in advance. Mentions of Alcohol. Mentions of cheating (Sarah & Topper). IF YOU ARE MINOR, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS!!

DO NOT REPOST, REWRITE OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORK!

Part 2

Imagine how your life would be if you were a pogue and worked at a restaurant part time (which also does cater for many events in the island) yet dated a member of the richest family in the whole Outer Banks.

Now, that would be the big talk of the island, right?

Unless they didn’t know a thing.

And that is your reality. Nobody knows that you date Rafe, and you’re quite proud of how you two have been able to hide every single interaction.

Yes, there were very close calls a few times, but there was never once a day where you two were close to being caught.

Working as a waitress and caterer for most of the Cameron’s events was always a good enough justification for the two of you to be talking. So, nobody suspected a thing.

Not even Sarah. And not only are you insanely close (which is also bad for your friendship with the pogues), you don’t even know how many times you’ve slept over.

She never cared enough for her brother to know who sleeps with in his bed, so that worked in your favor as well.

“Wait, mom” You say while dragging the white box over in the back of your family’s car, “Weren’t we supposed to take the sliders in two boxes instead of a big one?”

As your mom studied you while deep in thought to check if you’re right, you lean on the side of the car as your phone starts to vibrate on your back pocket.

You pull it out to check who it is, and you decide to ignore it since it’s JJ asking if there’s any scraps from the food you’re taking to the Midsummers’ event.

“I think Rose told me yesterday by the phone that it could be one box” Your mom says, “We just have to be careful so that they don’t ‘look smushed’”

You grin at the sight of your mom air quoting the Rose’s words with a small annoyed look. Not that your mom doesn’t like Rose. She can’t, she’s her biggest client. And also gives amazing tips at the end of each event. But she is indeed annoying.

“That’s fine then” You say while shrugging.

“Can you go grab the last box while I go through everything?”

“Yeah, of course”

You run back in the house and go in the kitchen to get the last white box filled to the top with food. You don’t even know what you’re carrying sometimes.

You do have the curiosity to peek and check the delicious, yet cold food that your mom and her coworkers prepared. But ever since you tried to peek at the deserts and instead you saw a bunch of uncooked marinated meat. You never had the desire to do it again.

The disappointment was just too big.

You close the trunk once the last box is well put away and secured and walk all the way back to the driver’s seat.

“You have all the lists with you, right?” You check with your mom before driving off.

“Yes, Y/N. I will not forget them again”

(…)

“Rose, my dear, how are you?” Your mom asks right as she spots the blonde woman standing at the front of the mansion.

“I’m great, how are you?” Rose answers with a slightly less excited tone.

You jump out of the car as two men start walking towards it to help carrying everything to the back, where the event is going to take place.

“Y/N, I didn’t even see you there” Rose says as you open the trunk.

You look up at her and give her a small smile, followed by a whispered ‘hi’. You tell the workers where to take the white boxes with the desserts and you grab one with the raw meat (to be grilled later).

“Sarah is in the back, helping with the last decorations, if you want to go talk to her” Rose tells you as you walk past her, and you give her another small smile.

“Thank you”

You walk in the mansion and start to make your way to the backyard, finding Sarah standing on top of a ladder.

“Y/N!” She shouts as you walk out to stand beside her ladder, “What’s in the box?”

“Just… You know…” You start while looking up at her, “Food”

“Oh, come on! Let me just peek!”

“Nop”

You walk away from Sarah as she almost throws herself off the ladder to reach you faster. You make your way over to Heyward, Pope’s dad, but also one of the best cooks in all the rich events.

“I brough you the meats” You say with a playful tone as you’re close enough for him to hear you.

“Thank you, sweetheart” He says with a smile, finding what you said quite funny.

“Oh” Sarah says as she gets close to you, “It’s raw meat? I almost fell off of there and ran this whole backyard for raw meat?”

“Yes, Sarah Cameron” You say with a smile, “You sure did”

Once Heyward is done with storing the meat close to the griller, you turn back to the house, in hopes to get back to work, and Sarah lays her arm over your shoulders.

“How’s your day going?” She asks you.

“Going well, even though I would’ve preferred to stay home and watch a show on Netflix” You admit as you walk up the porch, “What about you?”

“It’s going great, I’m actually excited to this year’s Midsummers. Are you going to stay here the whole night?”

“As a worker, yeah”

“What? But I want to have some fun with you” Sarah says, sounding deeply saddened, “Can we at least share a drink? Like the old days” (old days aka last year)

“At the back, with all the waiters. Sure” You say with a smile.

Sarah groans loudly beside you as you keep walking towards the front door to look for your mom.

“Where’s the rest of your family?” You ask Sarah.

“Getting ready at home. Dad’s going to get here later than everyone since Rose still has to go home and change. Rafe, I believe, is coming in with the guys. And Wheezie… I have no idea, honestly”

“Oh okay”

“Why? Are you choosing me over one of my siblings?” She asks playfully.

“I mean…” You start, making her glare at you, “Wheezie is superior out of all of you”

Sarah gasps loudly but soon erupts into laugher as she almost chokes in her own spit. Once she regains her energy and composure, she speaks again.

“At least you didn’t say Rafe”

You breathe in at her words, holding back any physical way to show your distress over them and smile a bit.

“Yeah”

(…)

Two hours went by and the once empty mansion is now filled with all the rich families from the island. You have spent most of your time checking on all the boxes of food and other things, such as the small bags that each guest will take home (filled with seasonal dried flowers and overly expensive snacks).

Rose has always been a fan of these small bags, which means that she’s also overly obsessed with them being perfect and just like she imagined them.

And yes, you are just one of the caters, but since your mom is friends with Rose, your services are also brought up and offered in conversations many times as a ‘thank you for choosing us’.

You’re quickly surrounded with people wearing expensive, yet beautiful, dresses and suits.

Some of them mistaking you for a waitress and requesting drinks, in which you answered with a ‘sure’ before running to nearest waiter.

You’re wearing a white t-shirt tucked in your light purple cargo pants (color picked by Rose). The logo of your mom’s business is printed on the back of your shirt. And even with that, it still makes you stand out as much as the other colorful guests.

“Take this to the back, please” You hear someone say to the team of waiters behind you.

You snap back to reality and restart counting the bags laying on the table. As soon as you reach the last five, a wave of clapper fills your ears.

You look over your shoulder and the Cameron family walks down the white porch confidently.

Your eyes travel from Rose, all the away over to Wheezie, admiring the floral dress that her mom had chosen for her.

Rafe walks out behind Sarah, his eyes glued to the ground, ignoring the clapping around him (probably finding it an exaggeration). You hold your gasp at the sight of how amazing he looks, and before you could admire him for any longer, your mom screams for you.

“Y/N” Your mom calls, and you look back at her, “Can you give your opinion on something?”

You walk over to her, looking at the many drinks that are stored with the marinated meats.

“Don’t you think that this way too much alcohol for just the food that we’re doing out here?”

“Yeah, but Heyward might need more than we think” You say while shrugging, “You know how he is with his recipes”

She nods before answering.

“I’m starting to think his big secret ingredient is just alcohol. We’re just too drunk to taste it”

You roll your eyes at your mom’s dry joke and she chuckles at your expression.

“Sarah! Hi, sweetheart” Your mom says, looking at the person behind you.

“Hi, Mrs. Y/L/N. How’s everything going so far?” Sarah asks with a smile, being as cheerful and nice as your mother.

“Going great. You look amazing, by the way”

“Oh, why, thank you”

You stay in the middle of the conversation for a little bit more and your eyes travel through the guests, trying to see if someone needs something.

You find Rafe leaning back on the railing of the porch while talking to Kelce, Topper and two other friends; he looks somewhat entertained, which surprised you.

“Can I steal Y/N for a minute?” Sarah asks.

“Of course, she has done so much work so far. She’s free to go” Your mom answers.

Sarah pulls you by the hand with her to the middle of the party and starts taking you inside of the house.

“I need to tell you something very important” She says to you.

“A new gossip?”

“No. A new update in my life”

You two walk faster up the porch and you slow down, letting go of Sarah’s hand, when Kie notices you.

“Hi” She says with a smile.

You two share a small and quick hug and Sarah stands by you awkwardly, not wanting to disrupt your moment with her ex best friend. Kie looks her way and her eyebrows lift in annoyance.

“Will you be working all night?” She asks and you nod, “That’s a bummer, I wanted to hang out with you more”

“Me too. Once I find another free time tonight, I’ll try to find you”

“I’ll wait for that” She says with a smile, “Now go, I’m sure she needs to talk to you”

You look back at Sarah, who isn’t even bothering enough to give the dirty look back, and you grab her hand again, as a way to say, ‘let’s go’.

You two walk past the guys, that didn’t even notice you (or at least that’s what you think), and go find somewhere quiet to talk.

“Please don’t judge me for what I’m going to say to you” She starts, “It’s something very recent and unexpected”

Once you nod, she blurs it all out.

“John B?” You ask with a confused look, “You’re dating John B?”

“Not dating-dating” She corrects, “We’re… something”

“So, almost dating” You conclude, and she sighs, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just shocked. But why now? Didn’t he work for your dad for years?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t exactly know him at the time” She explains, “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

“Of course not,” You say, and she sighs in relief. “But, Sarah- What about Topper?”

“I’ll break up with him”

Those words hit you like a train almost. Over the year you’ve been dating Rafe, Topper and you have started an amazing friendship. He would always help you find excuses when you would be almost found with Rafe, or something of the sort.

And one thing you know about him, is how much he actually cares for Sarah.

Not that you want to pressure Sarah into continuing a relationship with Top just because you’re friends with him. Of course not. You just think he deserves a good explanation on why everything is going on, and not just a simple ‘I don’t want to date you anymore’. And Sarah is extremely bad at that.

But yeah, you don’t know what is going on in their relationship, therefore, you can’t judge Sarah’s actions all that much.

“You won’t tell him, right?” Sarah asks you, snapping you back to reality, “I know you two are friends but, I want to be the one telling him”

“Of course. I won’t say a thing”

(…)

“Y/N!” You hear someone scream from behind you, “I’ve missed you”

You look at the person, to find Topper, exactly where he was previously with Rafe and Kelce. But this time, he’s only with Kelce.

“I’ve missed you too” You say with a small smile, walking towards them, “Where’s Rafe?”

“Getting a drink, I think”

Topper lays his arm over your shoulders and pulls you in closer to him.

“How’s the event going for you?” He asks.

“Fantastic” You sarcastically answer.

“It’s not going that well for us either” Kelce adds, “These events are always so boring”

You agree with him with a nod and someone appears next to you, Rafe. You eye him up and down, admiring the suit that was chosen for him, and he looks down at you.

“Shouldn’t you be working, Y/L/N?” He asks teasingly and Topper chuckles beside you.

“Fuck off, would you?”

A smile appears in his face and he looks up to look through the large amount of people.

“Where’s my sister?” He asks when looking back down.

You look at him confused.

“Drinking somewhere, why?”

“Inside?” He asks and you look at Topper and Kelce even more confused, trying to find some answers for his questions.

“Yes?”

“Can you show me?”

You blink at him a few times in silence while looking at him and slowly nod. You lean way from Topper and start walking towards the door you just walked off.

“Have fuuuun” Kelce sings and you look back at him.

Something in your mind clicks and you feel like the dumbest person alive. You look back at Rafe and he’s straight up laughing at your dumbfounded face.

“Oh my god” You whisper to yourself and keep walking.

You two walk back inside the room, filled with a lot of waiters chaotically working and some richer parents having their drink in the silence.

Some look up at Rafe and recognized him. They tried to start a conversation, which never goes past ‘hi’, but nothing that they’re used to getting for the young adult/teen rich kids.

His eyes stay glued on the ground as you two walk, sometimes carelessly looking up at your ass, which looks marvelous in those pants.

“Upstairs” He says so low that you almost don’t even hear him.

You two walk quickly up the stairs and as soon as you start making your way to one of the many empty rooms in the mansion.

Rafe’s arm circles your waist and pulls you against him as he holds your face with his other hand, pressing kisses all over your face.

Your giggles fill the hallway, echoing through the walls, and he makes a turn so the two of you enter a room. As he struggles to open the door, you turn around in his arms and smile up at him. He smiles back and pushes you in the room.

The door closes behind him and your lips touch right on that same second.

Right outside of the door and at the top of the stairs stands a lost JJ, looking for Sarah so he can finally give John B’s little note.

Or should he say Vlad?

They’re weird.

Rafe pulls your t-shirt from inside your pants and his hands attach to your skin under it. Goosebumps erupt through your skin as his cold skin touch yours. You get rid of his bowtie in a quick tug and start unbuttoning the first buttons of his dress shirt.

JJ walks through the hallways, kicking the ground in boredom, and looks at all the closed doors.

Should he peek inside each one?

But there are so many.

Rafe’s expensive blazer hits the ground and he picks you up once you pull away from the kiss. He sits you on top of the desk and pulls away to help you take off your shoes.

As they hit the ground loudly, your hands clasp into his cheeks and you pull him for another soft kiss.

Rafe smiles into the kiss and pushes you to lay down on the desk. He throws the unused notebooks, pens and blank books onto the ground, making you chuckle at his desperation.

JJ lifts his head at the loud noise and looks through the closed doors confused.

What in the hell was that?

“JJ?” Kie asks and JJ jumps at the sudden sound.

“Jesus Christ” He says while laying his hand over his chest.

“What are you doing here?”

He can’t tell her that he’s here to give something to Sarah. Especially that that something was given to him by John B.

“Uhm… Looking for…” He starts, itching the back of his head, “Pope and Y/N”

“Oh, Pope is with his dad in the backyard and I’m also looking for Y/N”

JJ nods at her words while biting the inside of his cheek and Kiara continues to stare, expecting him to say something else.

Once you unbutton the last button of his shirt, your hands move over to Rafe’s abs and up his chest softly. His kisses on your neck are slow and loving, his hands do most of the work, getting rid of your clothes.

As the zipper of your pants is heard, he moves up to kiss your lips again. His hand slides in your pants and underwear and you moan into the kiss.

“Why are you up here?” JJ asks.

“Looking for Y/N?” Kie answers.

Didn’t she just tell him that?

“Right. Of course,”

Rafe’s finger moves in circular motions over your clit and you moan louder as he does it. He pulls away from the kiss and smirks down at you as he also moves his hands away.

As you were getting ready to protest your distress, he grabs the top of your pants and tugs them down with your underwear.

Once they hit the floor, you ‘help’ him unbutton his pants and they easily fall down when past his thighs. You lick your lips and Rafe pulls you back to your laying position.

“As much as I would love you if you did that. We don’t have much time” He whispers into your lips and you nod.

Your shirt had fallen down from you sitting up, so it covered most of your naked body, but Rafe was quick to lay you back and get a grip onto your hips, bringing them right to the end of the table.

You gasp loudly at the feeling of his boxers against you and before he stands up, he moves down and presses a wet kiss on the inside of your thigh.

He stands back up and you wrap your legs around his hips so he can come closer. He smiles down at you and positions his hands on top of the elastic of his boxers, making you bite your lip at the simple sigh of his bulge.

“Maybe we should go check downstairs, this is empty” Kie says, noticing that JJ won’t say anything else.

“How do you know? All the doors are closed”

“Well, I don’t see Y/N closing herself in a room when she’s working” She says, “Let’s go”

JJ nods and as soon as Kie turns around, he starts following her back to the stairs.

On half of their back down, Sarah appears, very much to JJ’s relief but Kie’s annoyance.

“What were you two doing upstairs?” She asks.

“Nothing you deserve to know” Kie answers.

Sarah rolls her eyes and continues to go up the stairs as Kie mocks her voice and movements while making her way down them. JJ uses their hatred to his advantage and in a quick movement shoves the small piece of paper in Sarah’s hand.

“Oh fuck, Rafe” You moan out loud, back arching in pleasure as Rafe hisses out loud.

Rafe thrusts into you once more, slowly picking up his pace. His eyes move from down to your face. He brings one of his hands up and covers your mouth, before speeding up.

You moan into his hand and grip into his wrist, closing your eyes.

“Open your eyes baby, come on” Rafe says in a deep voice and you do as told.

His hand moves down over your neck and as soon as he wraps his hand around it, a malicious smile grows on his face.

“What is this?” Sarah asks to JJ.

“Vlad told me to give this to you” He answers, winking at her and running off to follow Kie out of there.

Sarah opens the piece of paper confused yet excited and smiles down at it.

She continues to walk upstairs discreetly, planning on just to go check on her makeup in the bathroom before going to see John B.

And as she continues to make her way up the stairs, her big and white flowy dress is noticeable enough.

“Fuck-” Rafe whispers and your grip intensifies on his arm.

The pleasure was getting easily out of control for you, and as soon he lifts his other hand off your hip and brings it down, starting to play with your clit. Bringing you over the moon.

“Rafe- Clos-” You try to say out loud but fail horribly with not only the pleasure but also the pressure on your neck.

“Come for me, baby”

His words were literally the only thing that you needed, his hand moves away from your throat and covers your mouth, letting air back into your lungs but isolating your possible sounds.

The pleasure hits you with an amazing strength, erupting all through your body. Your eyes roll back with the intense feeling and Rafe groans loudly at how tight you feel.

Sarah walks down the hallway without a care in the world, in hopes that she’ll find the bathroom, she had found last year, quickly.

“Sarah! What are you doing here?!” Topper shouts from the other side of the hallway.

She looks back at him, annoyed expression over her face at the unnecessary volume.

“Do you have to scream?!” She screams back just as loud.

Rafe groans against the crook of your neck as he comes off his high, the only thing you two could hear was both of you heavily breathing.

Your fingers run through Rafe’s hair as he places sweet kisses from your neck to your lips.

“What are you doing up here?” Topper’s voice sounds from the hallway.

The two of you quickly sit up as a reflex and look at each other with widen eyes.

You are fucked.

- - - - -

Quite literally. I’m so sorry that this smut is so trash! I’m actually trying, I promise. I’m just not a natural, I guess.

#rafe cameron x reader #drew starkey x reader #rafe cameron imagines #rafe cameron imagine #outer banks rafe

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dorki-c · 4 years

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Fuck him up (if he hurts you)

Characters: Dabi, Fem.(Reader), Toga, Mr. Compress, Giran

Relationship: Dabi and (Reader)

A/N: Hey! I’m finally done with this one! Whoop! Whoop! It took a little while but I’m glad its done because to be honest...I really enjoyed writing this, but, I have other things that require my attention. Also! Happy belated bday Dabi!

As always, PLEASE REBLOG AND LIKE! (ALSO COME JOIN MY VALENTINES EVENT, ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS CLICK HERE!)

TW: Threatening, Swearing and Cheating

Does anybody know the stages of getting over your cheating significant other?

It all starts out with denial- how bittersweet that filthy fucking word is-, although it doesn’t last long, when once you managed to eat at least five tubs of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream whilst watching the last show of some shitty soap opera, the next stage comes to bite your ass, anger- also known as throwing or burning your exe’s belongings that they left; however, I prefer burning it (they won’t be able to sell it if they come back).

Once those first two (rather tough) stages fly pass, this third one was like hitting the jackpot for me, but probably not for you, as the mental gamble caused lots of sexually frustrated people to bargain- to play the dice, you shall, but even gamblers don’t use the ‘third time is the charm’ as its utter bullshit- and then--!

OH GOD, HERE COMES FIVE MORE TUBS OF BEN & JERRY’S ICECREAM! THIS ONE IS A REAL KICKER! SOMEBODY HELP ME! THE LIVING ROOM IS FUCKING FLOODING WITH DEPRESSION- Yup, that was you five tubs of ice cream ago, maybe some chocolate might help…

At last, when the cleaning crew arrived, and you managed to accept- with the sunshine glowing down on your skin after four long stages of shit- with the fresh thought of buying a couple dresses that you saw on sale from that one adorable itty bitty corner shop.

But I’m not like that.

And here’s why in (you guessed it) 5 stages.

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1. Discovery.

Rolling their shoulders backwards, a blanket fell backwards as a tall silhouette ghosted from the bedroom door that they left open.

When the bathroom light blinked to life, (y/n) faintly heard the screeching of the door shut on itself. Though, she knew her beloved boyfriend had to go to ‘work’, what she didn’t know was who made his phone ping at 7:15 in the morning.

Scooting over to the opposite side of the bed, blankets stuck to sweat-ridden skin as they coiled around her legs similarly to a snake and ensnared them to stay stuck and stationary. The plush pillows tried to lull her back to sleep. However, (y/n) wasn’t having any of it.

Reaching out to grab Dabi’s phone- even if he didn’t give you permission- the time was as you predicted, though the contents of his notifications bleeping up was something you didn’t predict. The background of his lock screen was something to behold as it was a picture of your concentrated form doodling in a sketchbook whilst a pale white cup stood beside two fresh slices of cake.

Shakily revealing the messaging app, there was around four or five unknown contacts, all listed under the people’s numbers.

Though one of them caught your eye.

Opening the chatroom, your free hand clutched the blankets.

Dabi is going to regret making you break the way you did that morning.

(He has no choice in doing so.)

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

2. Kicking the asshole out.

“Toga…? C-can you come over, please.”

The TV presented the small-town news that had little to no intervention though that didn’t mould the female into a wish less mess where a gentle hand went to work and smooth out ensnared knots. “Are you okay now, (y/n)-chan?” You never heard Toga murmur before, but that’s the perks of being alive now.

(Y/n) released the trembling bubble of air out of her lungs and into the atmosphere, readying herself for that front door to open. Shaking your head to respond to Toga’s question, a small huff was released out of the other female’s chest.

The blonde female knew why you still weren’t okay.

Whoever walks through that door will have a profound effect on whatever will happen to (y/n).

However, with the slight nudge of her friend’s hand pinching the side of her sensitive waist, a yelp was released in surprise whereas the blonde villain giggled at the reaction. “Your so easy to scare, (y/n)-chan!” Toga loved to tease you, but in this time frame it wasn’t to make you feel uncomfortable but rather the opposite.

She wanted to make your thunder stricken heart rumble with rage in an unknown and bizarre way- but to also remind that you weren’t alone-, though, you had this bubbly and extra crazy best friend who brought over too many sweets for your stomach to handle alongside the annoyance that you hadn’t noticed Dabi’s strange and desolate nature.

As Toga picked up another opened bag of candy (I think they were ‘eclairs’), unwrapped the golden covering as the crinkling plastic fumbled like sparks dancing across the fingers in a tantalising rhythm. In an attempt to grab the bag, Toga was about to throw it across the room so you could get off her because, and I quote “You’re killing me with your weight!”, how lovely that compliment is for somebody who’s blood is like a glacier falling apart after a storm chipped the exterior and revealed the icy truth underneath.

And may God cover their eyes, as that chilling sharp edge at the tip of the glacier crumbles under Mother Nature’s will (so does the female when the familiar screech of the door revealing whoever is walking through reaches her ears).

Sluggishly dripping back onto the couch where at least three of the seven stocked up with fluff blankets- wrapped around drooped shoulders- had slid onto the floor, Toga made an effort to pick them up and stuff (piling) them next to the drowsy (y/n).

“I’m home, dollface!” A familiar voice hollered.

When both of the female’s heard that voice, there was no turning back to the past.

(Y/n) glanced to a duffel bag next to the couch, then glanced towards the teenager’s sinking rage as the blonde’s lips started to slip into a scowl.

A step almost turned into two, however, was held back by the puffy eyed female. “C-c-can I handle this…please?” They whimpered.

Toga really needs to gain a resistance to (y/n) cuteness when she’s sad.

Grabbing the duffel bag, two slippers shuffled (real smooth) around the couch to enter the hallway that led to the front door. Exactly where Dabi was about to take off his shoes.

“I recommend not taking your shoes off.” The pair of blue eyes looked up in confusion. “What? So, I can’t take off my own shoes in our home?” It sounded like a tease, but what if there was another meaning behind it?

Dabi, however, knew that familiar look of sharp-edges eyes where the glossy swirling of a singular emotion led to- and his teasing didn’t make the situation, he’s found himself in, any more light-hearted.

“This isn’t your home anymore,” Hissed (y/n), where (the fuck) did she get that attitude from?

“Who told you that you can throw me o—” The heavy duffel bag clutched in (y/n) clammy hands thud against Dabi’s chest, where his feet slid against the front door’s matt- his legs trembled at the impact the bag had on his chest- along with the rising cough that caught up to him after fleeing from a hero.

“Nobody—told me what to do.” Another sniff ensued, “But, I figured out the truth.” An eyebrow twitched upwards in anticipation as his hand bawled against his hip.

“Then tell me, what’s this big ass ‘truth’ you figured out?” Retorted the male with turquoise eyes watching her head droop towards the ground to hide something.

Raising it after a momentary pause, she glowered “You’re a bloody cheater, Touya.” When tears stained the red canvas again.

“Oh, so this is what it’s about…” Voice as nonchalant as shallow murky river water, “Do you even realise why I did it?” Rolling his eyes, two fingers wormed their way towards a special ring on her left hand before it hit the ground.

“I don’t want to know why.”

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3. Jealousy

It was sudden, quick, and loud how Toga came into your (lonely) apartment.

Bang went the door against the wall and crash went the multiple shoes from the shoe cabinet as they thudded against the floor.

“(Y/N)-CHAN! I HAVE GOOD NEWS!” Her shout was louder than the moans you would usually make when it was a pleasurable night with your (new) ex, however you shouldn’t dwell on past relationships.

Only moving your eyes slightly from the book gripped tightly in your hands, Toga sauntered over holding a suspiciously large bag, this only led one ping-pong ball bouncing back to another ping-pong ball within the crevasses of your mind.

Placing a ripped piece of paper in the book, it snapped shut, “Who did you kill?” questioned (y/n)- knowing that when Toga finds something, she will resort to violence, no matter the cost-, however the sweet smile presented as a defence for whatever action she committed was enough dull your concern.

“Not telling ya!” Then getting a knife out- wait, where did that even come from-, Toga stabbed into the black plastic bag and tore it open with many- I mean tons- of clothes sliding out of the bag and becoming a miniature avalanche in the small space that is your living room.

“…H-how?” Sputtered (y/n), Toga replied: “Big sis’ Mags let us borrow some of her clothes!”

(Y/n) can only imagine how Toga managed to convince Magne to let her borrow some clothes off her, and by clothes, (y/n) could only assume its short skirts and dresses.

“But!” Added Toga, “we have to wait for Mr.C to pop up!”

Great, even Mr. Compress knows about your breakup with Dabi.

“Fine.”

Sitting pretty on a kitchen chair, a small brush lightly dabbed a small hint of colour against the rooftop of your eyes. “Why are we doing this, again?” Murmured the relaxed female as a small dress laid boringly over the torso where it edged closely to showing the backside of her thighs.

Chuckling in response to her inquisitive comment, the villain grabbed liquid eyeliner, although it was smacked out of his hand and replaced with pencil eyeliner matched with a scowl from his subject.

“Liquid eyeliner is cursed, don’t get that shit near me.”

“My, my, even somebody as classy as I wouldn’t offensively smack such an object—”

Oh boy, here we go again.

“Shush, I could easily get Big Sis Magne to beat your ass if you use that tone with me, sir.”— “Oh heavens no! I think Magne would pick my side out of the two of us!”— “Oh really now?”— “I believe—”

Another door slammed open and in stormed Toga in a confident catwalk down the hallway just to profoundly exclaim; “NOPE! SHE’LL CHOOSE ME AS THE CHOSEN ONE!”

Cue the laughter.

Before the sun was ready to roll itself out of the closet, the patchwork villain made his way under the thick cover of darkness to a certain broker’s office.

Pushing it open to let the light of the office room scream in his eyes before he even had the chance to speak, the older male that greeted him, offered him a seat.

“Hey Dabi, what brings you here to my humble abode?” Giran spoke out as the glistening cup of coffee placed in front of the wanderer reflected the light into its murky brown ripples. “I need you to trace this number to its origin, and quick.” Anxiously sliding his phone to showcase your number, the broker twitched his brow upwards.

“First and foremost, where’s the cash?” A thick wad of yen slammed against the table.

“Happy now?”— “Very much so!” Scowling at Giran’s happy chirp, the broker worked his magic on the burner phone to effectively trace the number back to your location, where Dabi soon enough made his way towards the destination you were at.

He doesn’t know why he’s doing this…

Nor why he still keeps the ring…

However, he knows what he’s going to say next.

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

4. Anger

Simmering and low crackles of something in the kitchen of your apartment awoke the female from her drunken slumber.

What was being made and why does it smell so familiar? The waft of the meal being created swarmed the first stimulant within the hungover mind of yours truly as the wavering warmth rustled around your legs in an unspoken persuasive whisper to stay in bed.

However, curiosity killed the cat and also brought it back.

Two feet tapped the floor in alerted silence.

Tiptoeing across the room, a hand clenched the side of the doorway when two eyes surfed the surroundings outside of her den.

The sizzling stopped, with a small snap of fire going out.

At the same time this happened, it was then when she figured out who was in her kitchen: Him.

Him, with his tall stance that could make for a ladder to climb on or him with his broad shoulders that look like they were bricks squished underneath his skin, where his paired raven hair familiarly spiked up.

“What are you doing here?” If it wasn’t for the delicious food he was making, then you would’ve killed him on sight. A lacklustre glance at the female, he uses one of her spatulas to move the bacon from the frying pan onto a plate with plump golden coloured scrambled eggs.

“You were drunk, I brought you home, and am now making your hangover breakfast.” Placing the plate next to your arm resting against the counter, with another glance in your direction, Dabi made a finishing blow in the words of: “Since you can’t cook for shit.”

Oh boy, he knows you too well to expect your immediate reaction: anger.

From the built-up rage that started to stack up from days of unrest (and being bloated because of the several tubs of Bens & Jerry’s ice cream), it all started to splutter out of control.

“Oh-- So now your fucking attacking me after the shit you put me through?”

“Why should you know?” (Y/n) turned sour at his comment, “’Why’ I should know?!”

From the nearest counter, there was an empty glass. You took advantage of the potential weapon held it up ready for it to slam against the ground.

“(Y/n) -- put the glass down.” Warned the patchwork male.

With the tips of her ears feeling ever so hot, it felt like the pressure escalating within her ears caused only for her protests to be heard even through the pause of silence.

“(Y/n).” A small twitch of one of his feet made (y/n) flinch backwards. “Com’ on, I know you don’t want to hurt me.” He took another step toward, her grip tightened on the glass cup.

“Do you even know why I’m here?”

“No,” Moving her hand higher, Dabi took another step forward, (Y/n) took another step back, “And I don’t want to kno—” Blubbering a bit of salvia as the female attempted to speak, though it was incoherently heard through squished cheeks.

“Listen, for fucks sake,” Electric blue eyes pierced into your soul like a spear, it’s quite hilarious: You once loved those blue eyes of his, you once worshipped the feeling of his eyes raking down your nude body before- as they took in the sight of pleasure squirming and tightening underneath those diligently flexible fingers-, but those days are over.

He can worship your goddamn forgiveness if he’s going to restrain you like this.

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

5. Forgiveness

“That’s what happened.”

Two legs of your own were crossed over each other like two birds of a feather.

“Are you being honest with me?”

His hand tapped the table as he sat across from you.

“Yes, I’m being honest.”

Breathing inwards and releasing a slow, practiced breath. She glanced at the male’s awaiting expression.

“Okay…”

Biting his ruined lip, the raven-haired male let out a breath of relief.

“Will you forgive me?”

She wishes she could.

“I’m not so sure yet…”

Dabi looked to the side to see (y/n) with both of his eyes.

“But, I’ll give you one last try.”

Taglist:

@glitterfreezed, @in-this-house-we-stan-izuku, @haredabi, @orenjineki

JOIN THE VALENTINES WRITING EVENT HERE!

#tw: swearing #TW: Cheating #Fem! reader #dabi mha #dabi x reader #dabi imagine #dabixyou #Dabi lives rent free in my mind #mild yandere! reader #dorki talks like a dabi simp #dabi lives rent free in my mind #villain x reader #bnha x reader #bnha x y/n #bnhaxyou #mha #mha x reader

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aesthbaby · 4 years

Text

You’re Not Alone

Summary: Angst story where Reader and Emily make a discovery after getting into an argument

Pairings: Emily Prentiss x reader (no gender is identified but it is stated that the reader is lgbtq+ and with Emily)

Request: @millipop18 this one

Warnings: Cursing | Arguments | Talk of homophobia

Wordcount: 1.5K

Masterlist

64. “Yell, scream, cry, please, just say something, anything.

67. “If you don’t want to talk about it then say so. Don’t lie and pretend to be fine when you clearly aren’t.”

“No, I don’t think that.” You’re defensive, and rightfully so. You fucked up and the evidence is written all over Emily’s face, you didn’t mean to hurt her. She damn near snapped on the spot right after you said it. You tried to defend yourself but of course Emily has a point, she always has a point.

“Why did you say that?” She doesn’t sound angry, she kind of sounds hurt.

“I said it without thinking, I didn’t mean it like that.” You and Em randomly decided you wanted to get tacos from the new place down the block after work. Everything was going fine until you ran into Matt Simmons and one of his kids. No idea which one it was, he has a shit ton.

“Well,” She trails quietly. “Did you mean it?” She stops what she’s doing and turns around to face you. Her dark eyes are pouring into your soul and its actually really intimidating to see. “Did you?” She repeats when you don’t answer.

“Did I what?” You’re distracted, you knew you shouldn’t have said that in front of her. Or at all for that matter of fact because it was so unlike you.

She puts down her phone and stiffens her expression. “Did you mean what you said?” Your mouth opens and closes without anything coming out. She scuffs and brushes past you; hitting your shoulder in the process. Shit y/n think! You stand there for a second, fidgeting with your fingers, and trying to find the right words. “Its a simple question, really.” She’s wearing her monotone voice and clenching her jaw.

“No...” You whisper like you’re afraid of your own voice.

Your girlfriend sits on the bench and moves to take her shoes off. “Y/n,” She spits your name out like gum, effectively getting your attention. “When Matt asked me who you were, you interrupted me and said...” She looks to you to finish her sentence but you stay quiet. “Of course.” She mumbles. “You told him, and I quote, “I’m just an old friend visiting the city.” Emily never really “yells” at you but its pretty obvious when she wants to. “What was that?” Her voice is rising. “Friend?!” Her eyes lock on you like prey and this is when you notice her anger is replaced by glistening tears. They’re barely there and Emily wouldn’t dare let them fall. As quick as you notice them, they’re gone again. Emily Prentiss does not cry.

“Em...I-” You’re anxiously clinching the collar of your shirt while trying to get the words out.

“You told him you were my friend...” She looks back down in defeat and it breaks your heart a little. You hear her sniffle and it just adds to the sadness building in your heart. When she looks at you again, her eyes are clear and her face is basically emotionless.

“Emily, baby, I am so sorry.” You sit beside her and gently lay your hand on hers.

She turns to you and asks, “Why?” That’s all she says.

Excuse me? Is what you wanted to say out of sheer shock. Obviously you said this instead: “I don’t know, Em. It just came out.”

“Right,” She nods to herself and then stands in front of you. “Y/n you and I both know this is very unlike you. I mean you’ve hesitated before when it came to telling people we’re dating but I-”

“Woah, when have I ever hesitated to tell people we were dating?” That one really threw you for a loop.

And she looks surprised that you even said anything. “Point being, I can’t help you if you don’t help me.”

The word “huh” was on the tip of your lips but you pushed it back. “Em, I’m okay.” You place your hand over your heart while speaking. “You’re the one who...” Your through suddenly feels dry.

“The one who’s...what? Upset?” You almost want to nod at that but decide against it. “But I’m not the one who said we were just friends.” Why is she talking to me like a unit chief? “And despite my current feelings, I know you.”

You swallow that information like a lump in your throat. “I’m okay.”

She sucks in a sharp breath. “No, you are not and I’d like to know why?” Is this what Reid feels like when the team talks to him? I feel like a child during a negotiation. Confused. You were just about to defend yourself when she spoke again. “Is this about your family?” As your expression, she moves on. “Do you not like Matt? Would you prefer it if our relationship was more private?” She pauses before asking the next one. “Is this about me?”

“What? No! Jesus Em I have nothing against you or us.” Its like the more emotional you get, the more neutral her face becomes.

“Then what is it y/n/n?” She takes your hands in hers. “What. Is. It?”

“I fucked up, I realized that as soon as I said it.”

She lets out another puff of air. “God what is up with you today? You never keep stuff from me. You’re the one who made this stupid rule about always telling the truth even if its undesirable and boring.” Gezz I didn’t think it was that bad of a rule. “If you don’t want to talk about it then say so. Don’t lie and pretend to be fine when you clearly aren’t.”

“Oh here we go again with the bullshit. Don’t fucking profile me, Emily.” You stand and head to the kitchen. “Don’t open that box.” As you reach towards the refrigerator handle, her hand stops you.

“What happened?” She’s practically begging you to answer her.

You give in. “I got a call yesterday. I thought I recognized the number but when I picked up the phone the voice sounded fake. Like it was run through an app. They said I should be more careful about flaunting my sexuality.” The words spilled out so quickly you didn’t know how to stop them.

She was stunned, mouth ajar.“I had no idea. When did this happen?”

“Last night. I didn’t really care at first because I thought it was one of my old friends, exes, or something like that. It wasn’t until we were out that it felt like we were being followed. So when we saw Matt I panicked.” The apartment is filled with complete and suffocating silence. Em is looking at you like she suddenly has no idea who you are. “Em...” You take a step to her while she takes one back. “Baby...come on.” She don’t respond, or move, speak, nothing. “Talk to me Em, please.” Nothing. “Yell, scream, cry, please, just say something, anything.”

You haven’t seen her look this concerned since the time you ran smack dead into a wall in the middle of the night. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice is so quiet.

“Because I can handle myself, I was fine up until a few hours ago. It freaked me out. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” You step to her and wrap your arms around her waist. “I just couldn’t tell you.”

“Yes, you could have. You’re not alone anymore y/n/n. You have to tell me about this stuff. You’re not the only one affected by it.”

“Shit. Babe I’m sorry I didn’t think about it like that.”

She strokes a piece of your hair near your forehead. “Its okay. I’m more upset with myself for not noticing sooner. I do this kind of stuff as a living, you’d think it come natural.”

You pull her flush against you. “I really fucked up this time.”

She laughs at that. “You did, but don’t worry. Tomorrow you will come to work with me and I’ll have my team look into it. For now,” she kisses the top of your head. “You should eat and then tap out for the night. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”

You give her a confused expression. “What do you mean?”

“First we’ll have to go over that call with Garcia, consult with Reid on the wording, hire Derek as a body guard, come out to the entire team about our relationship, and of course we’ll have to get a dog.”

“I like the dog part.” As if on queue Sergio comes out of the bedroom and sits at your feet. “Sergio’s kind of boring.” Despite whispering the last part, Sergio still meows at it.

Em untangles herself from you to pick up her cat. “Y/n doesn’t mean it Serg.”

You lean in to the cat’s small ear. “Yeah I do.”

“Come on babe, lets double check the locks.” The brunette and her cat leave the kitchen to cover your ass.

When she comes back, she’s empty handed. “Where’s the feline?”

“My arms are only for you.” She opens her arms for you.

You walk into the embrace and god does it feel good. After a moment of pure bless you speak. “I’m scared, E.”

“We’re gonna be okay.” She pulls you even closer. “You’re gonna be okay.”

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･**･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*˚✧₊⁎ ⁎⁺˳✧༚ ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟ･*:.｡.｡.:*･'･*:.｡.

Taglist (Like my Emily taglist to be added, or you can send me an Ask located in the top right corner of my profile. You can also ask to be removed if you’d like)

@iamyouknow-yours @mortallythoughtfulgurl @spencerreidistoocute @andreaxxg13 (sorry this tag isn’t working for some reason) @vivianabakshani @garcias-batcave @davidrossiismydad @ssacandi-ass-prentiss @criminalmindsmoodrn @miidguardian-exe @thestrawberrygirl @lisztomaniacalice @aaron-hotchner187 @fanfictionfangirl04 @mys2425 @afuckingshituniverse @nomit16 @rabid-wild-misfits @justaghostmonument

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vivithefolle · 4 years

Note

Love isn’t a Deus Ex Machina thing, it’s literally the core theme of the series, hence why Love Magic exists

Love Magic is never a concept at any time in the series. It’s only about “Lily Potter’s spell”. But what’s so special about Lily Potter? What’s so great about her? She did the thing any halfway decent mother would do for their child: she gave her life for them. Molly would’ve done it for any of her sons. Narcissa would have done it for Draco. Mrs Granger the nonentity would have done it for her daughter had she not been lobotomized instead. Lily Potter’s sacrifice isn’t anything special. It’s only special because Rowling decided so, because the Plot needed it to be.

Love isn’t a Deus Ex Machina thing? Then how come Quirrel conveniently burned to death at Harry’s hands? How come Harry had to live at Privet Drive because reasons so he could be abused so naive readers like you could feel very sorry for the poor widdle orphan and pat themselves on the back because wow, aren’t you special for feeling sorry for the poor widdle orphan?

And I didn’t misunderstand Harry. I literally explained him to you

If you don’t like him, I don’t care. Just stop giving his uniqueness to other characters

And you literally showed me exactly why you don’t understand him.

Harry’s superpower isn’t teh special uniqueness of his luuuurve, or the absolute pure pureness of his heart, it’s that he has FRIENDS. Friends who’d die for him, friends who’d sacrifice themselves for him, friends who’d do anything for him. THAT’S the power of love, not some bullshit ~special pure pureness of the heart of Harry Christ our lord and savior~. Harry isn’’t unfailingly kind or uniquely loving or whatever the shit. Harry is a run-of-the-mill teenager who has such obscene luck I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he was conceived under the influence of Lucky Potion.

You just showed me you’re a member of the Church of Harry Christ and I’m not interested in joining. Dear God I thought I was too attached to fictional characters but wow am I glad I’m not at your level.

Also one more thing: “tortured” someone?

Sure. A painful stunner is DEF torture (that’s legit all his Crucio did; it acted as a painful stunner. It threw Carrow backwards and hurt him while it did. Crucio isn’t even close to that when performed properly)

............ you... you fucking little hypocrite.

You filthy, lying, little bitch cunt of a fucking hypocrite.

Remember when I said the next person who’d try to lie to me to pity poor wee widdle Hawwy would be sorry? You pathetic little piece of shit. If you’re so in luuurve with your precious cuntfuck of a camera archetype you’d accept EVERYTHING about him, wouldn’t you? Haha, but noooo. “Oh wee poor Hawwy only used a painful stunner :)))))))” you fucking little bitch. Oh you accuse ME of trying to “make Hawwy not special :(((” but you... YOU... Hahahaha sorry everyone. I have a slight aversion to people blatantly trying to gaslight me. You may find me getting a little bit angry if you happen to trod on this trigger of mine.

Let’s see that again shall we? Open your eyes and your chakras, bitch, we’re going for a ride.

“It’s not a case of what you’ll permit, Minerva McGonagall. You time’s over. It’s us what’s in charge here now, and you’ll back me up or you’ll pay the price.” And he spat in her face. Harry pulled the Cloak off himself, raised his wand, and said, “You shouldn’t have done that.” As Amycus spun around, Harry shouted, “Crucio!” The Death Eater was lifted off his feet. He writhed through the air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain, and then, with a crunch and a shattering of glass, he smashed into the front of a bookcase and crumpled, insensible, to the floor. “I see what Bellatrix meant,” said Harry, the blood thundering through his brain, “you need to really mean it.” - Deathly Hallows

If I could reach through my screen to force you to look at the relevant bits, I would. And I’d also slap you in passing. Yknow, just so you think twice before being a stinking fucking hypocrite again in the future.

Now, let’s do some actual literary analysis that isn’t your ~wah hawwy puwe of heawt luuurrrve~ diarrhea you’re still trying to paint my poor innocent blog with.

Now let’s see that PaInFuL sTuNnEr in detail:

He writhed through the air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain

In bold so you can see it very well. Admire the curve of each letter, the angles and the lines. And most of all, interpret the meaning of each and every word. Watch how he’s compared to “a drowning man”, do you know how excruciatingly painful and distressing it is to drown? How the air fills your lungs as you claw desperately for the surface, trying to find something to cling to, anything, the feeling of your lungs filling with this foreign substance you cannot spit back out? The feeling of fading away as all your oxygen is consumed by the futility of your hopeless flailing, your muscles losing their strength, your panic dulling as you slip into unconsciousness and water claims yet another victim...

Of course, drowning people don’t thrash and howl in pain. Because all they’re focused on is trying to BREATHE. But Amycus’ focus isn’t on trying to breathe. Amycus is only focus on Harry’s Crucio and the pain it’s bringing him.

But sure Anon. A pAiNfUl StUnNeR. Fuck you.

and then, with a crunch and a shattering of glass

Now I’m aware Dummywood has made you believe that glass can be traversed easy without any consequences but real glass doesn’t work like that. Real glass takes some force to shatter. Real glass shatters into hundreds of tiny pieces that embed themselves into your flesh and skin, kinda like... oh! Kinda like that glass chandelier that fell on Hermione, once. After she herself was Crucio’d if I remember well. Hmm, by whom exactly, I have it on the tip of my tongue...

“I see what Bellatrix meant,”

Ah yes. By the woman who tortured to insanity Neville’s parents and whom Harry is literally acknowledging as having taught him this particular lesson.

Harry himself is TELLING US HE LISTENED TO BELLATRIX’S ADVICE. ON FUCKING TORTURING PEOPLE. But “a PaInFuL sTuNnEr He’S aN oRpHaN :’‘‘(((((”. Fuck off. Fuck off, Anon. Fuck off and learn to fucking read.

Ah but I got ahead of myself! We’re not even CLOSE to the point!

he smashed into the front of a bookcase and crumpled, insensible, to the floor

So Amycus gets tortured - or, as Anon astutely put it, pAiNfUl StUnNeR - smashes through a sheet of glass, and gets knocked out.

Hmm. Now if Harry just took out a knife and brought it to Carrow’s neck, he’d be worthy of being called Bellatrix’s faithful apprentice.

And now I’m gonna quote one of my Quora answers again because my followers deserve better than to see me completely lose my mind at some anonymous cowardly cunt trying to lie to my fucking face.

On the topic of Harry’s Crucios:

This could mean that Harry is scarily proficient at casting Crucio, that Amycus has low pain tolerance or that he was knocked out when he fell, but regardless of the meaning, IT’S NOT GOOD. EVEN IF IT’S A DEATH EATER, EVEN IF HE PROBABLY DESERVES COMEUPPANCE - IT’S NOT HARRY’S JOB TO GIVE OUT SAID COMEUPPANCE.

(Like, can I please remind everyone that Harry is supposed to be the Jesus Christ of his story? In the Bible we never have Jesus Christ torturing the pharisees or any of those who didn’t believe in him. Just… you’re telling me Jesus “Peace and Love” Christ would torture people… what the hell, Joanne?)

“I see what Bellatrix meant,” said Harry, the blood thundering through his brain, “you need to really mean it.”

…………………….. Um. Harry, what the fuck are you doing???! He’s taken Bellatrix’s advice! He actually relates to the insane sadistic terrorist! He is capable of using a curse that literally requires sadism to work!

(Again, when someone tells me “Jesus Christ”, “sadism” isn’t the first word that would come to my mind.)

At least there’s some sort of reaction. “the blood thundering through his brain”. But that’s a very… nondescriptive reaction. Is it the “adrenaline pumping in my veins” blood? Is it the “holy shit what have I done” blood? Is it the “I could get used to this” blood?

We don’t know. We’ll never know.

Alright, skipping to the part that interests us -

She struggled to pull herself together. “Potter, that was foolish!”

Eh, I’d have said “tactically unsound” (what if Amycus wasn’t knocked out), “monstrous” (that’s Bellatrix’s favourite curse you’re using, Harry), “insane” (re: Bellatrix), but yeah, I guess “foolish” would also cover it.

“He spat at you,” said Harry.

Ever heard of Disproportionate Retribution, Harry? A few fascists regimes all over the world were especially fond of it.

Then I’m skipping over the one thing that causes the most outrage because I’ll go back to it soon, just let me finish with this:

“[…] but don’t you realize — ?” “Yeah, I do,” Harry assured her. Somehow her panic steadied him.

I guess we can imagine that McGee is saying “don’t you realize what you’ve just done?”

Harry “assures” her he realizes. Harry knows. Harry has just used the literal goddamn Torture Curse and he’s totally cool with it. Or, if he was uncool with it, now he’s cool with it. Because “her panic steadied him”. So seeing McGonagall panic makes Harry think “yeah, using Crucio was the right thing to do”.

Well then! Onwards then, Dark Lord Potter! First it’s just one Crucio, then it’s just three, then it’s just one little murder of one lowly little naysayer, then it’s only a little more murder…

And now we’ll go back a smidge, because how are we supposed to react?

How are we supposed to reconcile the idea of Harry, who’s supposed to save us all through his Power of Love, with the Harry that has just tortured a man into inconsciousness?

Even if that man was a Death Eater, Harry is supposed to be the Christ-like figure. He’s supposed to be love and forgiveness incarnate. Heck, not a hundred pages later he’ll offer forgiveness to freaking Voldemort! He forgives Draco Malfoy, he forgives Albus Dumbledore, he forgives Severus Snape!

So how do we reconcile Harry Potter The Forgiver with Harry Potter The Torturer? Tell us, O Author! Tell us how to navigate the murky, twisted depths of human morality!!

“Potter, I — that was very — very gallant of you — […]”

…

…………………

………………………………………………

That was… gallant?

Gallant?

Wait, doesn’t gallantry imply some form of honor?

As in, not taking your opponent by surprise -

Harry pulled the Cloak off himself, raised his wand…

As in, facing your opponent head-on instead of hitting them in the back -

As Amycus spun around, Harry shouted…

As in, not torturing your opponent???

He writhed through the air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain

That’s… unless the definition has changed, nothing about this is gallant…

Let me just -

(of a man) polite and kind towards women, especially when in public

showing no fear of dangerous or difficult things

Alright, so, Amycus isn’t a woman, so Harry can’t, by definition, be “gallant” to him.

Still, being “polite and kind” to a woman didn’t involve “torturing someone who disrespected her”, last time I checked. Punching an asshole harrassing her, definitely *pats Ron*, but torturing that asshole… no, just no.

And well, I guess casting Cruciatus is a difficult thing to do… and Harry didn’t seem very afraid to do it… that’s not supposed to be a good thing, but apparently, now it is…?

What made that

As Amycus spun around, Harry shouted, “Crucio!”

more gallant than

“What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!”

After all, they’re the exact same thing. Torture. Inflicting tremendous pain upon someone for the heck of it.

Why do people lose their heads over Harry using Crucio, when they seem to neglect the fact that Draco Malfoy cast it?

Well, easy enough - Draco Malfoy is an evil little cockroach. The guy wished death upon people, he bragged about the fact that his Daddy dearest was a terrorist who killed people. It’s not too surprising that an evil little cockroach like him would find it acceptable to torture someone he considers “not human”, isn’t it?

What’s more surprising however, is that the hero, Harry Potter, who has been subjected to the Torture Curse, whose only use of the Torture Curse previously was when he felt distress and pain unlike any other, that Harry Potter whom is supposed to be a hero and some sort of role model, would actually manage to use said Torture Curse even though it requires real sadism to actually work.

And what’s even worse is that Harry Potter casts that curse, that literal Torture Curse, and instead of being rightly horrified, instead of being terrified by the boy’s use of such a heinous spell, instead of saying “alright Harry, you’re not doing this again, ever, right?”, instead…

Instead McGonagall calls Harry “gallant”, instead of telling him off for using such a curse. She briefly calls him “foolish”, but it doesn’t register, really, since she ends up calling him “gallant”.

That’s what angers people. That the Torture Curse is the most horrible, awful thing you can do to people… unless you’re Harry Potter, in which case it is a little “foolish”, but mostly “gallant”.

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

But of course, little Anon over here isn’t angered. Because little Anon is a faithful devoted member of the Church of Harry Christ Our Lord And Saviour. Little Anon can say enormities like A pAiNfUl StUnNeR and believe it with the whole force of their little Anon heart, because uwu Hawwy speshul orphan pure lurve uwu.

Little Anon, please get the fuck out of my blog and never, ever come back. I’m sure this arrangement will be beneficial for everyone involved.

#vivi answers #ask #harry potter #harry potter series #crucio #cruciatus #cruciatus curse #bellatrix lestrange #hp meta #lily evans #lily potter #tw: drowning #harry potter critical

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danny-williams · 4 years

Text

in sickness and in health

set immediately after s8.6, because i think Danny being worried about Steve’s health is literally the most married thing ever

1. change his diet

It doesn’t happen overnight. It doesn’t happen overnight because Danny knows that it can’t happen overnight - otherwise Steve will notice and all of his efforts into our sneaking the SuperSEAL will go to waste because he and Steve will fight, and Chloe made it very clear that he and Steve fighting was not good for Steve’s health.

Even if it significantly improved Danny’s mood everytime he got Steve riled up. His serotonin levels could take a hit for a bit (he’d just finagle more time with Charlie from Rachel).

It takes a lot of back and forth, and a promise to let Kamekona buy into their restaurant (currently un-named because he refused to have an italian joint named Steve’s) but Kamekona finally agrees to reduce the amount of butter he puts on his shrimp.

“But only for Steve’s plate bruddah,” he says, a frown on his face, “I’m not changing my recipe for anybody else. This is prime shrimp you’re messing with here - I hope you know that. This shrimp won me awards.”

Danny grimaces, “Technically, Chef Morimoto sabotaging your competition won you that award, but we’ll go with your version of things. As long as you keep this from Steve. I do not need him knowing that I’m messing with his food.”

“You got it bruddah.”

Everything else after that is slightly easier. Even with Junior home, Steve still comes over to Danny’s a lot - so Danny starts shopping smarter; buying low fat food and including more greens in his diet.

The jersey in him is crying, weeping for some good grease - the kind that slithers off the meat and onto your fingers, but he reminds himself it’s for a good cause. Besides, it’s not like he isn’t still eating good food - he’s just eating it less.

That’s not a terrible thing.

2. to do list

He’s in his office, finishing up the last reports of the drug bust they made earlier that day - when there’s a sharp rap on his door. Danny looks up to see Steve standing on the other side, clutching a piece of paper in his hand.

He waves him in, and Steve slams the paper against his desk. “What are you, some sort of caveman? Did they not teach you how to politely put things down in the Army -”

“ - Navy - “

“Why do you gotta,” he gestures at the paper, “now my ink is all smudged.”

Steve ignores him, which is par for the course at this time, “What is this?”

Danny looks at the paper, and then back at Steve, “What do you mean, what is this? How should I know? You’re the one that brought it in.”

Steve points at the paper aggressively, “Look at it, and explain to me what it is.”

He smoothens out the paper, “It’s looks like a to-do list. Are you getting old babe? Do we need to take you to an eye specialist, maybe get you fitted for some glasses? Reading goggles?”

“Danny I don’t need -” Steve cuts himself off, and honestly, Danny is really enjoying how worked up Steve is about this whole thing, “I mean, what is it doing on my desk?”

Danny bites his lips, spreading his hands out wide, “I don’t know maybe you uhh, maybe you decided that you needed to make a list, make sure you know everything you had to do for today. Did you hit your head or something during our drug bust today? Maybe get a concussion - lose a couple of braincells?”

“I didn’t write this Danno,” Steve says in a frustrated tone, “Lou sure as hell didn’t write it, Tani’s too new to even think of pulling something like this - and we both know Jerry doesn’t have the balls for this kind of thing. That just leaves you. So I’m gonna ask you again, what is this doing on my desk?”

“Okay look, we’ve both been really busy with the restaurant right?”

“Steve’s.”

“No, not Steve’s because I’m still undecided on the name - but the point is, we’ve both been busy. So I thought you might you know, benefit from having a list of things that we had to do for it. So that you could plan your day better.”

Steve opens his mouth and shuts it again, furrowing his brows at Danny.

“And that’s all this is? Making sure I keep up to date with the restaurant?”

“That’s all it is babe.”

“You’re up to something,” Steve grabs the paper, pointing a finger at Danny accusingly, “I don’t know what you’re up to - but you’re up to something.”

“Just making sure our restaurant doesn’t fail!” Danny calls after him, but waits until he’s out of sight to pull open his drawer and pull out the pile of unfinished to-do lists.

He’s going to have to be sneakier about them this time.

3. less bickering

Danny ponders over this one for a while, mainly because Steve expressly told him not to change. It would defeat the whole purpose of sneakily managing Steve’s stress if he notices, so Danny’s careful about it.

Mostly because after her day with Steve, Chloe pulled Danny aside and gave him enough of a scare to last him ten lifetimes.

“Look,” she’d said, “I don’t mean to tell you how to manage your relationship with your partner. From what I hear, you guys have been together for close to seven years, and I’m sure you worked out some sort of rhythm. But from what I can see Detective, you fight him on everything.”

“What do you mean I fight him on everything, I,I, I let him drive my car, I let him eat at my house, he even sleeps at my house on occasion - and what do I get for it? I get shot at and almost killed three times before lunch.”

“You guys don’t have an easy job, I agree. But I don’t imagine that for the Commander, someone who’s come from the Navy and is used to absolute obedience, that it’s easy when you question even his smallest actions.”

She had a point, which is Danny is now trying to figure out how to organically stop fighting with a man he literally punched just hours after they met.

“Okay here’s what’s going to happen,” Steve says, just as they pull up at the suspect’s house. They’re chasing the kidnapper of a twelve year old girl, so everybody’s a bit ramped up, especially Danny. He hates cases with kids. It makes it easier to take a backseat and give up control to Steve on this one.

“I’m going go through the front door,” he gestures with his hands, “Lou, Danny - I want you to get the back. Tani? I want you out here, in case our perp tries to make a run for it?”

Danny has to physically swallow back the words on the tip of his tongue, because asking Steve if they should wait for back-up would be questioning his actions - and Chloe said that was bad for his health.

Steve gives him a look, like he knows that’s something’s wrong - but before he can say anything there’s shot fired inside the house and everything goes to shit.

Danny and Lou turn the corner as quick as possible, just in time to see someone run outside the back entrance and jump across the fence.

“Lou, get back to the truck, see if you can cut him off like that,” Steve jumps after him, panting into his ear-piece, “Danny?”

“Right behind you buddy,” he says, even as he aims and shoots at the two guys who wander out behind their perp, clearly looking for him, “our friend over here had company over.”

Thankfully, there doesn’t appear to be anyone else coming out of the house, and when Danny makes his way in - 12 year old Danielle Rodriguez is tied to the radiator, shivering despite the constant sweltering heat that is the fine island of Hawaii.

“Hey hey,” he swings his gun behind his back and lifts his hands up, “my name is Detective Danny Williams okay? I’m with Five-0. I’m one of the good guys. Now how about I get you out of this and back to your parents?”

Later, when they’re back at HQ and Danielle has been reunited with her teary-eyed parents - Lou mutters to Danny, “so how come you didn’t ask Steve to wait for back-up?”

“I’m trying something new.”

4. well bred social behaviour

“Danny!” The door swings open, even though Danny is fairly certain that he locked in, but he doesn’t reach for his gun, because there’s only one person on this entire island who walks into his house like they own it.

“In here!” he calls out, and sure enough, Steve walks in a couple seconds later with coffee and a brown bag.

“Are those malasadas?” he asks, reaching out for the coffee in one hand, looking up briefly from floor plans to ensure that there’s contact between his palm and the coffee cup, “Did you bring me malasadas?”

“No I bought myself malasadas, but since I’m generous I’ll give you one or two.”

“What’s this?” he asks over a mouthful of malasada, peering over his shoulder and Danny bats at him because he’s dripping sugar all over the plans, “Is this Steve’s?”

“For the last time, we’re not calling the restaurant Steve’s I don’t know how many times I have to go through this with you. But yes, to answer your question, these are the tentative plans that our interior decorator drew up for the restaurant.”

“Interior decorator?” his voice comes out all muffled, and Danny sends him a withering look, “You’re disgusting you know that? Can you finish chewing before you talk? Please? Is that too much to ask for?”

Steve swallows obnoxiously, and grins at Danny. He’s got cream on the edge of his mouth, and it should disgust Danny - instead he’s thinking about leaning up and licking it off.

“Thank you, for the coffee by the way,” he says instead, “I appreciate it. That was a nice thing to do.”

“You’re welcome,” Steve replies, and Danny can hear the surprise in his tone, but he resolutely ignores it - instead pulling Steve into a conversation about the booths.

5. sex

There’s probably a code of conduct somewhere, Danny muses, that involves something about not having your ex-girlfriend spy on your partner. Well, spying might be a bit extreme.

He and Melissa split months ago, because it was clear after two disasterdly Valentine’s Days, that it just wasn’t working between them. Her exact words were, and he quotes, “You’re never going to love me the way I love you. Not when Steve occupies all the real estate in your heart.”

She wasn’t wrong, was the thing, and after they’d gotten past the initial awkwardness that the fact that Danny was in love with someone that wasn’t her - they actually fell into a good friendship.

It helped that Melissa didn’t know a lot of people in Oahu except Danny, and that their relationship had been a lot like a friendship in the first place. Except with more sex.

Like a lot more sex.

Honestly, given that Steve was the reason they broke up, Melissa was surprisingly gamely when Danny asked her to stay in touch with Lynn, and let him know how things were going with her and Steve.

(He thinks it’s pity, but he doesn’t actually ask because then she might actually answer)

“They broke up,” Melissa says with little fanfare, over their weekly coffee, “Lynn won’t tell me much. But they split about a week ago. Guess she got tired of waiting around for him too.”

It might also be the fact that Melissa is convinced that Steve is just as much in love with Danny as Danny is with him, nevermind the fact that Steve has never showed interest.

“What do you mean they broke up?”

“I mean they’re over. Ended things. Done.”

“Huh,” Danny says, over his coffee, trying to figure out the best way to convince Steve to let Danny take him out for a guy’s night to get over Lynn without revealing how he knows that Steve needs a guy’s night to get over Lynn.

In the end, he doesn’t even have to be all that sneaky about it, because Steve comes to him - asks him out for drinks; so all Danny really has to do is play the dutiful wingman.

“I’m sorry about you and Lynn,” he yells over the music, after the alcohol has sufficiently loosened his tongue, “you guys were good together.”

“It was never going to work out,” Steve yells back, and gives Danny a significant look, “bit like you and Melissa.”

“How do you - how do you know about that?”

“What you think that you and Melissa are the only ones who engage in pillow talk? Lynn talks too, on occasion. When we weren’t you know, busy with other stuff.”

“Other stuff?” Danny chuckles, “Is that what we’re calling it now? You can say sex Steve. This must, must put a damper on your whole two or three days a week thing. Oh wait no sorry, how many days did you say it was? Five?”

“I’ll have you know,” Steve says, staggering on his feet as he and Danny stumble outside the bar, “that me and Lynn had a lot of problems. But sex wasn’t one of them.”

“Well -” he furrows his brows, and stops suddenly, pulling Danny close to him, “Sex might’ve been one of them.”

“What happened? You need tips in bed? Smooth dog?”

“I am very good in bed!” Steve says, affronted, “It was not my skill that was the issue here.”

“Then what was it? No come on don’t clamp up on me now, I have to hear this. What was the issue?”

Steve turns bright red, “I might’ve - I might’ve said the wrong name in bed, a couple of times.”

“Babe, you are unbeatable. No really, you are. First you, you leave the engagement ring that you were going to give Catherine just lying around - then you take off with Catherine in the middle of a romantic dinner, and now you’re yelling her name in bed? Buddy I’m surprised she didn’t break up with you sooner.”

Steve’s giving him this look, like he can’t for the life of him understand what Danny’s saying. “No it wasn’t Catherine why would you think it’s Catherine. No it was - “

And that’s about as far as Steve gets, because a second later, he’s retching their dinner all over the side of the road.

+ 1: love him

They’re all out on his lanai: Danny, Tani, Junior, Kamekona, even Duke’s made it out - and Steve’s got the grill set up just a couple feet away from the chairs. Half his attention is on the grill, the other half is on Danny - the way he’s stretched out on the old chair; loosened from the beer he’s been nursing, and smiling at something Tani said.

“Keep an eye on that meat,” Lou says, startling Steve, “I don’t want my dinner burning.”

“I’m not gonna burn your dinner Lou jeez, have a little faith. When have I ever burnt your dinner before?”

Lou looks over at Danny, and back at Steve with raised eyebrows, “you’re a bit distracted today. Forgive me if I’m cautious.”

“He thinks I don’t know what he’s doing,” Steve says in lieu of a response, “but I found his list the other day. All the things that stress management specialist said, Chloe or whatever her name is - he’s got it all written down. He’s driving himself crazy, worrying about this thing.”

“Have you ever stopped to consider why he’s so worried?”

Steve turns to Lou with a frown, “it’s not that hard to put together Lou. He’s worried about my health. I get it, I am too - but I’m not running myself into the ground thinking about it day and night.”

“Look man, I’ve been with you guys for a couple of years now, and let me tell you something about Danny. Now I’m not pointing fingers or any of that, but I’ve seen that man care about a lot of things - but nothing the way he cares about you Steve.”

Steve opens his mouth to reply, but Lou just holds up his hand, “you didn’t see him Steve. The day you got shot? The day you almost died? You didn’t see him that day.”

“Danny was - he had broken ribs, and scratches all over his face. They told him to land the plane in the water did he tell you that?”

Steve shakes his head silently.

“The people in Air Control or whatever you want to call them, they told Danny that his best chance at survival was landing the plane in the water, swimming to shore. But he knew that landing the plane in the water meant that you might die, and it wasn’t a chance he was willing to take. He didn’t even stick around long enough to watch you get taken in for surgery, he was already on his way out looking for the sons of bitches that shot you up.”

“And I’ve never seen anything like it Steve, I’m telling you - I didn’t know he was capable of that kind of violence. There was this one guy, their ring leader, who managed to limp his way over to the helicopter. When me and Kono got there, Danny was standing over him with his gun out, and he had this look on his face - I was worried if I stepped in, he might shoot him just to get to this guy.”

“And after all that was done, he marched right back into that hospital, barrelled right past all of us, and offered up his liver. There wasn’t even a second’s hesitation. Apparently he’d already had the blood-work drawn up, in case anything like this happened.”

Lou claps him on his shoulder, “I love you man, I do. But I don’t love you the way Danny does. I don’t think anybody does.”

“Would you -” he gestures at the steaks, “would you watch over the grill for me? Just for a bit. There’s something I gotta do.”

He doesn’t wait to hear Lou’s reply, just stalks over to Danny and grabs him by his elbow - hauling him up.

“Hey where are we - why’re we going inside, you Neanderthal I was in the middle of a conversation what’re you tugging me around for like I’m some sort of -”

The rest of Danny’s sentence gets lost against Steve’s lips, as Steve turns him around and braces him against the nearest vertical surface. His mouth is already open, which Steve uses to his advantage; pressing his full weight against Danny and licking into his mouth; memorising it with his tongue.

They break up with a wet sound, and when Steve opens his eyes, Danny’s pupils are blown black.

“What was that for?” Danny whispers between their lips, and Steve half smiles at him, “that was me saying thank you. I know what you’ve been doing, trying to manage my stress for me. This is me saying thank you.”

“Huh,” Danny slides a hand around his neck, squeezing, “Why don’t you run that thank you by me again one more time?”

Fin

#my writing #mcdanno #hawaii 5 o #steve mcgarrett #danny williams #developing relationship #5+1 #danny is worried about steve's health #fluff #taking care of each other

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flamingo-writes · 4 years

Text

You Get Me — Satori Tendo x Reader

Summary: Being friends for a very long time allowed you to better understand the enigma Satori Tendo is. And after a series of messages, you know something´s wrong with your best friend. He crashes at your place to talk about what´s been troubling his mind for a while now.

Posted: 05.01.2020

A/N:

I can´t believe from the number of guys I love from HQ, my first HQ fic had to be Satori (considering that I cry every time I think of Asahi and that Oikawa also makes me go ajdskjfskjfs, but Satori is the one I relate to the most. We are both one and the same ToT)

Also, I´m experimenting with something new. Something I´ve never done before sjddjkfa I´m so nervous idk why, I shouldn’t be. Fry attempts: adding texts screenshots to imagines.

And with this, I add Haikyuu!! to the list of fandoms I write for. Enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Word Count: 2.2 K

Warnings: fluffy fluff fluff with no warnings that I can think of.

Years and years of friendship with Satori Tendo allowed you to better understand the weird enigmatic mind he had. And of course you would. Weirdos usually got together, and the both of you being basket cases of your school, you ended up becoming friends from a very young age.

And because you knew Satori Tendo better than anyone, you knew this was bad news. Something had happened to him, and that instantly stung in your chest.

For someone who always had a poker face, and rarely cared for what others thought of him, he cared deeply for his friends. That being said, the only opinions that got through him were those coming from the people he cared for. He was a tremendously emotional guy, however, only you got to see that side of him.This series of messages was a cry for help. "I need to talk, and I need to be heard" they said.

Just like he had threatened, 20 minutes went by and he rang the bell at the door. Opening the front door you found your best friend talking with the pizza guy. He grabbed the pizza, thanked him and walked towards the entrance.

"Yo, [Name]-chan. I paid half the pizza. I would've paid all of it but I ran out of money" He said greeting you with one of his trademark sassy smiles.

"Yeah, don't worry. actually the pizza was going to be on me, but you were a step ahead" You chuckled awkwardly as he patted your head, scratching your scalp gently.

"As I often do~" He sang.

Tendo walked inside your house making himself comfortable. You paid the rest of the pizza plus the tip and went back inside. Tendo was lying on the couch, already engrossed in his new manga. You sighed closing the door behind you and walking to the kitchen.

Grabbing two glasses, you filled them with cold water from the fridge and returned to the living room.

Without looking away from the manga, Tendo reached out to grab the glass. In a swift move, he sat up straight and drank half the glass.

"Re-fre-shing!" He sang "Thanks!"

"No problem" You sat on the ground in front of the couch as your friend put the glass on the coffee table and lied back down on the couch.

You knew better than to ask Tendo what was wrong. He was your best friend, and he rarely kept things from you. And he was well aware that you knew something was wrong. It was best to just let him talk when he was ready.

"So," he began after a few more minutes of silence. "You know how some people seek fame and power?"

"Greedy people"

"Exactly" Tendo said, closing his manga and sitting on the couch "The volleyball team is quite popular around school, you know that. The best way to get people to know who you are is by either getting in or by hanging out with us"

"Why does this sound familiar to Mean Girls" You giggled moving from the floor to the couch, sitting next to your friend.

"Because it is" Tengo hissed. "Ah, what a great movie…" he sighed. You stared at him, smiling gently.

"Is this a story about betrayal?" You murmured before taking a sip of water.

"I broke up with her" Tendo said flatly. You noticed the change of tone and how he refused to say his former girlfriend's name.

"What? You did?" You said not as surprised, since you could tell they were soon to break up. "Why?"

"She's one of those greedy people. Although I wish I'd realized earlier…"

"Tendo-kun" You whispered.

"There wasn't something quite wrong, but things didn't feel right. And then, I realized she wasn't what I was looking for, plus she didn't correspond to my feelings"

"Oh, dude… I-I'm"

"Don't say you're sorry" Tendou cut you off "I don't need that negativity in my life. Besides, she wasn't entirely happy either"

"What do you mean?"

"She said I spend too much time with you. And that I rarely make time for her. 'It's either volleyball or [Name], but its never me, is it?' she said" He faked a high pitched voice as he quoted her.

"What did you say?" You asked.

"That you do like me for who I am, and not because I'm in the volleyball team"

"Didn't you have feelings her?"

"In the beginning I did. I truly did. But she's right. I prefer to spend time with you than with her" Tendo sighed casually as you felt your heart skip a beat and looked at him.

"When are you going to realize that you like her" Tendo's girlfriend had told him minutes before the break up. However, he already knew this. He also knew that eventually the two of you would end up together, it was just a matter of time.

You stared at him, as he kept reading. Unsure of what to say next, what to do next. You looked around the room, looking for inspiration or some sort of enlightenment to act. Then, your eyes set on the pizza.

"Pizza?" You asked.

"I was wondering when you were going to bring that up. Yes, please!" He cheered

He grabbed a slice and took a huge bite. A sudden silence grew between you two as he ate his pizza.

After a few bites, he continued talking. You followed him and grabbed a slice for yourself.

"I normally don't care for this kind of shit" he whispered between bites "I don't know why it's affecting me so much right now"

"Because you cared for her…" You sighed looking at him in the eye "Your smug little ass for once cared for someone else" You smirked and took a bite from your pizza.

"Don't say it like that!" He said in a high pitched voice "I care a lot about you. And I care about my teammates" He said ruffling your hair and scratching your head softly. "Girls can be so mean sometimes" He sighed loudly.

"Yes they can" You answered covering your mouth with your hand as you chewed.

"But not you"

"I try to be a decent person" You said after swallowing the bite and looking at the slice in your hand.

Something in your gut felt uneasy, and it was hard to pinpoint what exactly. You felt sorry for Tendo, for breaking up with his girlfriend, since Tendo hardly had feelings for someone to begin with. And now that he did, she didn't like him as much as he did.

At the same time, a guilt swirling around your stomach. Guilty for feeling relieved that he had broken up with her. Not that you were jealous of his now ex-girlfriend, but you were a bit possessive of him. He was your best friend. He was your go to person whenever you wanted anything. He was your greatest confidant. And knowing how some girls were the jealous type, the idea of having his presence limited made you feel insecure and lonely. After all, it wasn't precisely easy for weirdos like you to make friends. And Tendo was the perfect weird to match yours.

"You're the most decent person I've met. Even though you're a little bit weird" You chuckled, broken away from your trance of spiraling thoughts, and looked at your friend, meeting his stare.

You felt that familiar warmth endearment tickling your gut. You usually avoided thinking about how much you liked him. But in times like these, in which he smiled at you, it became hard to breathe and hard to ignore your repressed feelings.

"You think I'm weird?" You chuckled leaving your half eaten slice back in the box. "Do you not know my best friend? He's the weirdest of them all!"

"He must be a cool guy" He said looking at you attentive to your answer.

"Oh, he is. He's the coolest, actually. I am so very grateful that I met him. I am even more grateful that we became and still are friends"

He was taken by surprise. He knew all those things, but he had known them through actions. A series of memories gathered ever since your childhood that proved how much you cared for him and how much you fought to keep your friendship afloat despite going to different schools for a while before you both made it to Shiratorizawa.

However, for the first time, he actually heard those words. Moved by the sudden change of tone. Going from playful to sincere real fast, had him feel an urge to hug you and never let you go. From the two of you, he was usually the emotional one who always exaggerated his emotions through words. You were usually the quieter one who simply made happy noises or sobbed silently while clinging to him.

"Thank you, [Name]" He said resting his head against yours, not sure why he was containing said urge to wrap his arms around you.

"Let's stay weird" You said leaning into his touch, gently rubbing your face against his.

"For eternity, you and me"

"Against the world"

A brief silence flooded the living room, as you kept rubbing your face like a needy kitten. Tendo, with his eyes closed, savoured this moment of peace. It felt just like when the two of you were still kids. Weird forms of affection like face rubbing and making weird noises back and forth as if you were talking a language of your own.

"You get me, don't you?" The redhead broke the silence.

"Better than anyone" You answered.

Tendo began rubbing his face against yours now. The both of you, back and forth, Your cheeks pressed together, as the two of you very ridiculously rubbed your faces together, just like you would do when you were kids.

"Hmmm, that's nice" You giggled, feeling the flashbacks coo you gently.

Your noses began touching gently as you continued. Eventually, Tendo stopped rubbing his face against yours, but he did not pull back. He stayed there, his forehead against yours, the tip of his nose brushing yours.and his eyes, for once, didn't look like those of a bird of prey. The usual analyzing eyes he had were now replaced by a much tender stare.

Both if your faces, rather close together. And the velvet silence rising up the tension. His eyes, inviting, capturing yours. The anxiety building in your belly as you wondered if it was okay for you to lean closer.

Not wanting to waste your chance, you did. Closing your eyes as you gently pressed your lips together. Tendo gasped briefly before giving in the kiss. He kissed you back, as you shyly locked your lips with his.

Despite being your first kiss with him, Tendo wasn't being shy at all. He'd been secretly waiting for this moment. And now, he was savoring it. He wanted to be closer to you. With one of his hands, he put them on your hips and gently pushed you into the couch.

You followed his lead, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, bringing him closer. Your mind seemed to turn off with the excitement overflowing in you. He positioned himself on top of you, between your legs. Kissing you slowly, passionately. You wondered if he kissed his past girlfriends like this. The thought alone made you jealous.

He stole your breath with every teasing brush of his tongue against yours. With every time he gently bit your lip. The weight of his slender body on top of you made your blood get warmer and warmer as you lost focus of the world.

At least until he broke the kiss. You panted loudly, trying to catch your breath. Tendo remained closed to you, smirking proudly with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"[Name]?" He said resting his head on your chest and snuggling his face underneath your jaw.

"Yes?" You sighed still breathless.

"Hypothetically speaking" He said "if I were to ask you to be my girlfriend, what would you say?"

"I'd say yes" You answered at once without a second thought. Tendo smiled at this sudden answer. "Hypothetically speaking" you added.

"Follow up?" He asked once more.

"Shoot"

"Why would you say yes?"

"Because..." you stopped, while staring at the ceiling for a brief second before speaking "...you get me better than anyone else. We're both different kinds of weird. And I don't want your fame or popularity. I decide to hang out with you because of you. I don't need anything else, and I don't want anything else"

Tendo giggled and brushed his face against your neck, giggling softly. You blushed, your face getting instantly hot, wondering if you had sounded like a fool. However, before you could Ask, Tendo spoke once more

"My hypothetical girlfriend is so weird. She's clever though, and has a way with words. She always has the best answers, and you know what?"

"What?" You asked shyly as Tendo leaned up, resting his weight on his elbows against the couch.

"She's my girlfriend now" He giggled, bumping the tip of his nose against yours before stealing an innocent peck from your lips.

#satori ten #satori tendo x reader #satori tendou #satori tendō #tendo satori #tendo x reader #satori x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu!! imagines

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is0gild · 4 years

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Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 14

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 5,299

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

I consider myself a pacifist. A live-and-let-live sort of person. I wouldn't hurt a flea.

"Oh Anna? Precious baby sister of mine, apple of my eye, fruit of my heart… would you come over here for a moment? I want to show you something."

When it comes to Anna however…

"Yes Elsa? Dearest big sis, uh… pop-tart of my soul, chicken nugget of my… nose. Might I first ask what precisely it is that you wish to show me?"

Anna I would hurt. Especially when she royally deserves it.

"My fingers wrapping around your throat and squeezing. Hard."

"Ya know, as fun as that does sound, I think I'll pass."

"Come here, you little-" I snarled, dropping the sugary-sweet facade and making a lunge for her over the couch that she'd been keeping between me and her. She squeaked and jumped backwards out of my reach, nearly toppling over Rayne's coffee table but with a flail of her arms, barely managed to stay upright. I banged my fist against a cushion, narrowing my eyes on her and huffing through my nose. Then I bolted to the left and Anna immediately took off to the right, staying ahead of me as I chased her around the sofa a couple times. From the kitchen, Rayne, Riku, and Lea observed silently from their seats around the dining table as they munched on some popcorn.

The two of us came to a stop after a few laps, still (much to my annoyance) on opposite sides of the couch. Panting to catch her breath, Anna snapped, "I dunno why you're so frigging mad even, I was only trying to help!"

"Help?!" I scoffed, placing my hands on the backrest of the sofa, my fingers crushing the pillows. "You nearly gave Uncle Weselton a heart attack and killed him!"

She looked away, razzing her tongue. "Eh, I woulda been doing the world a favor."

"Anna!"

"What?! The old geezer was fine, wasn't he? Only blacked out for like a minute tops! Then he was back up and marching out of the place in a huff all," she lifted her nose into the air and her voice got deep and snooty in her best impersonation of the Duke as she stabbed an index finger up high, "when your father and mother hear about this, young lady, there will be a reckoning! You hear me? A reckoning! Blah, blah, blah, my nose is too big and my combover looks like hamster roadkill!"

My eyelids drooped. "...his exact words."

"Oh yeah, verbatim."

Growling, I suddenly vaulted over the furniture-turned-barricade in an attempt to catch her off guard, but she was ready for the surprise attack. In the blink of an eye, she'd turned, bounded over the coffee table and darted into the bathroom, slamming the door shut in my face just as I got to it. I jiggled the knob, but it was already locked. Banging both my hands against the wooden surface, I yelled, "Dammit, Anna, you can't hide in there forever!"

"I can and I will!" her voice came back muffled from the other side. "I got running water in here, baby! I can stay hydrated, shower… just you watch, I'll survive in here for years!"

I crossed my arms, scowling at the door. "And what, pray tell, are you going to do for food?"

There was a long pause. Then, "...Floss! That's right! I'll slurp it up like spaghetti! Shampoo will be my sauce and crushed-up toilet paper will be my meatballs!"

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I grumbled, "You can't eat toiletries, Anna."

"Try and stop me!"

I twitched. Then I reeled an arm back, zero-point-two seconds away from breaking the stupid door down through sheer force of will alone, but a hand on my elbow brought me up short. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw it was Rayne. She greeted me with a small, gentle smile, "How 'bout we have a seat and cool off for a second, huh sweetpea?"

Her soft but firm grasp on my arm pulled me towards the kitchen, my feet dragging while I glared back at the bathroom door as I was taken away from it. When we reached the dining table, she put her hands on my shoulders and pushed down, forcing me to take a seat in one of the chairs.

Right next to Lea.

Which had the unfortunate side effect of reminding me of his existence. That he'd been here this whole time, watching me spend the last ten minutes or so trying to murder my own sister.

"Oh gosh, you must think I'm a crazy person," I groaned, burying my face in my hands as Rayne took a seat on my other side.

I heard him chuckle and I peeked out between my fingers to see him flashing me a grin. "Not at all! I actually kind of like seeing this side of you, El. It's fun!"

For a guy who'd just had it sprung on him that he was my boyfriend and one true love, he was taking it with a surprising amount of ease and good humor. That is, once he'd gotten past the initial shock, of course. In fact, now that he knew what was going on, he even seemed to find the whole thing funny. I wished I could laugh so easily at this big mess Anna had put us in.

Speaking of the little brat, as soon as the Duke had stormed out of the mall, she'd made a pretty hasty retreat herself, saying she'd see me back at my apartment. I think she'd hoped Rayne would keep me from slaughtering her. Unfortunately for her, it seemed my roomie was less interested in keeping her alive and more so in just watching the live entertainment unfold in her own living room.

Lea averted his gaze now, rubbing the nape of his neck, "So… a fiancé, huh?"

Oh. Right. Then there was the fact that he was just finding out about all of that too.

Feeling a tiny blush creep up into my face, I quickly hid it by looking down at my fingers fidgeting in my lap. "Uh… no. I mean, yes. I mean, not... anymore, that is. More of an… ex-fiancé now."

"That's good." Even as the words were leaving his mouth, he stiffened and winced, tacking on hastily, "Just cuz… ya know, sounds like a relationship you, er… didn't wanna be in! So it's good you got out of it! That's all, heh!"

"Yeah, I suppose." Sighing, I shook my head, "In any case, I am so sorry Anna dragged you into all of this. I don't know what she was thinking! Only trying to help," I repeated her words with a roll of my eyes, "ha! Her help," air quotes, "was a total disaster. A trainwreck, a catastrophe! We're talking the Titanic meets the Hindenburg! We're talking-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay, really!" Lea placed a comforting hand on my arm. "I don't mind. And I'm sure it's not all that terrible."

With a grimace, I said, "You don't understand. It was already bad enough that this is how my parents found out where I disappeared to and what I've been doing. But now Anna's made things a thousand times worse! I can't put off talking to them anymore. Now I have to go see them and, on top of trying to make them understand why I ran away, I have to explain that Anna was just making things up and-"

"Or," Rayne cut me off, reaching for the bowl of popcorn in the center of the table, "you could just, ya know…" she tossed one into her mouth with a shrug, "...not."

I stared at her blankly. "...I'm sorry, what now?"

"You heard me."

"You want me to lie to them?!" I asked aghast as I tugged at my hair, still in its ponytail from work.

"Well, not so much lie as…" she paused, pursing her lips to one side for a second before her eyes lit up, "as let them believe something that is not wholly true and just not correcting them!"

I gaped at her.

Apparently, Anna's lunacy was contagious now.

"...this is insane. Riku, tell your wife the words that are coming out of her mouth are insane."

He choked on the puffed kernel he'd just popped into his mouth. Coughing and thumping his chest with a fist, he then waved his hands back and forth in front of him, "Oh-ho, no, I'm staying out of this. I'm just here for the snacks." I narrowed my eyes at him and he shrugged. "What, it's not like I'm going to disagree with the future mother of my child."

Lea sniggered and made a whip noise with the accompanying hand motion. Rayne chucked some popcorn at his face while Riku merely raised a glass in his direction, "Damn right, and happily so."

"Come on, this is serious!" I turned my frown on Rayne, "In what possible universe does letting my parents think I ran out on my wedding to be with some random mystery guy help this situation even remotely?"

She smirked, "Think about it, boo. Your uncle has probably already told them by now. The damage is done. In fact, it might do more harm than good at this point if you tried to backtrack and tell them you deceived them by-"

"That I deceived them?!" I shot up to my feet, crisscrossing my arms over my chest and swiping my hands out wide in opposite directions, "No, no, no, this was all Anna! She was the one to make it all up, I had nothing to do with it!"

"Why then didn't you tell your uncle that before he left?" she cocked her head, arching an eyebrow at me.

I blanched before glancing away, my fingers absently drifting up to tangle themselves into the tip of my ponytail once more. "Well, I… that is, he just left so... so quickly! I didn't have time to, uh... a-and he was so mad, I couldn't get a- I mean, I was still getting over the… the shock of what Anna had- and then I was just so relieved the Duke was o-okay that I just didn't even think to-"

"Mm-hm," Rayne's eyelids drooped. "Sweetie, if you can't even explain yourself to me, how do you hope to even have a snowball's chance in hell of making a case to your parents?"

I collapsed back down into the chair with a heavy thud and slumped forward, elbows on the table and fingernails raking into my scalp, "Oh gosh, I'm an accomplice. I'm complicit in Anna's harebrained scheme. This is my nightmare."

I felt Rayne's hand patting me on the head. "There, there. It's not the end of the world. And as… misguided as Anna's attempt to help was, she may have actually done you a bit of a favor."

I looked up at her incredulously. "How?"

"Alright," she propped her chin in her palm, "say you went to your parents right now and told them the truth. There is no other guy. You're just not in love with your ex and don't want to marry him, plain and simple. What would they do? Accept it and be happy for you?"

"Of course they-" my eyes widened as the words died on my tongue. Then I was slowly shaking my head, "...no. No they wouldn't. Actually, they'd probably still try to force me to marry him."

She wrinkled her nose with a frown, "Thought so. Cuz there's no obstacle right now. Nothing standing in the way except a measly thing like your feelings. And in the silver-spooned world you come from, I imagine feelings are a luxury."

A heavy sigh escaped me, "More or less."

"But thanks to Anna, you now have a big mountain of a bad-boy boyfriend-shaped obstacle that makes it a lot harder for them to argue with. Ta-da!" she swept her hands out in a flourish towards Lea, whose head rocked back as he blinked.

Scratching a spot behind his ear with a tiny laugh, he said, "Oh c'mon, Raindrop! Bad boy? I dunno about that. Maybe a year or two ago..."

"Yeah yeah," her hand batted the air dismissively, "you've turned over a new leaf or whatever, but her folks don't know that! And with that wild red mane of yours and all that guyliner, you can still easily look the part. We don't need some nice-guy goody two-shoes who looks like he'll just let Momma and Poppa Fryse walk all over him. We need someone who'll scare 'em and make them back off and let Elsa live her own life."

"Exactly!" Anna's voice suddenly rang out and we all turned in our seats to find she'd crept out of the safety of the bathroom at some point to stealthily eavesdrop from behind the couch. "That's what I was friggin' trying to explain before you so rudely- eep!" she yelped as I stood up from my chair. Then she all but blurred back into the restroom, banging the door closed behind her again.

Damn right, you better run, twerp.

But she couldn't escape my righteous fury for long. The little punk had to be brought to justice. To do that however, I'd need to lure her out of hiding first.

...and I knew just how to do it too.

A wicked smirk tugging at my lips now, I turned and stomped across the kitchen, calling out loudly, "I'm too angry to keep talking about this right now! I'm taking a walk to clear my head!"

Reaching the front door, I opened it before slamming it shut again with me still inside the apartment. I spun back around to face the others, holding an index finger up to my lips.

Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting Annas.

My eyes darted over to the bathroom door. It didn't budge. Clever girl, not being so quick to fall for the oldest trick in the book. After a few seconds of zero movement from the target, I then twirled my finger to the other three, gesturing for them to get conversation rolling again as I used my other hand to quietly slip my shoes off.

Taking the cue, Lea's gaze drifted from me over to Rayne, "So, uh… what are we thinking here? Just put on a lil show for Mom and Pop, one and done and we're out?"

"That might not be enough," she replied as I gave them all the thumbs up before swiftly sneaking past them back towards the living room, my bare feet silent against the floor. "Think about it. Sounds like Elsa's deranged grunkle hired someone to follow her for days. For all we know, her shadow might still be keeping tabs on her at the old coot's request. If you two don't look and act like a googly-eyed couple twenty-four seven, then the jig is up. He'll know Anna made up the whole thing. No, I think what we need here is a long con. To sell this, you two are gonna have to be all lovey-dovey out in public, around the mall, everywhere and at all times."

I'm sorry, we have to what now?!

I stumbled, but managed to steady myself and stay upright, thankfully all still without making a sound. I whipped around to glare at Rayne. She grinned and winked back, waggling her fingers at me in a sly little wave.

My murder list now officially had two names on it.

Rayne was just lucky Anna was more of a priority at the moment. I'd just have to deal with my evil roomie and the inane turn to this whole conversation later. Heaving a soft sigh through my nose, I turned my back on them once more and finished stealthing my way towards my bedroom. Once inside, I closed my door most of the way, leaving it open a sliver of a crack for me to peek out through.

And now the deadly hunter hides in wait for her prey to boldly but unwisely venture forth into the open once more.

"I dunno," Lea rubbed a knuckle to his chin, "would people buy that? I mean, we haven't exactly been acting all couply up until now. Wouldn't it be weird if we just started to randomly out of the blue? Especially considering the story's that she apparently ran out on the wedding to be with me."

She shrugged, "Easily explained. Clearly, Elsa was just worried about word of her torrid affair getting back to her ex. She didn't want him to feel like you two were just flaunting your love and rubbing his nose in it. She was trying to keep it on the DL for the sake of his feelings. But now that the cat's out of the bag, there's no reason to sneak around anymore. You two can now sing your love from the rooftops for all the world to see!"

My left eye ticked.

There would be so much killing before this day was done.

I'd paint the walls of this apartment red with the blood of my sister and my best friend.

I was pulled from my homicidal yet decorative thoughts as I heard a tiny, almost inaudible creak beyond my door from somewhere off to the right. I held my breath. Could it be? Had the mouse braved leaving her hidey-hole? Given my sight into the living room was very limited currently, I had no visual on her yet, so all I could do was wait and hope.

Riku chimed in now, "Honestly, I don't even think most people will be all that surprised. Sora and Kairi actually even had a bet going on between them. He thought it wouldn't be long before you two start dating."

"And Kairi didn't think so?"

"No, she thought you already were."

There! Anna slowly tiptoed into view as she made her way towards the kitchen, her back to me and head swishing to and fro with every careful step she took. Probably sensing a trap, but unable to spot me so deciding to risk it.

Little fool.

Silently pulling my own door open just enough for me to slip back out, I started creeping up behind her.

Lea snorted, "Alright, but some people know for a fact we were never dating. Take the kiddos for example. You think we're gonna be able to pull the wool over their eyes? Maybe they should be let in on the secret."

"Nope," Rayne leaned forward, folding her arms together on top of the table. "This shouldn't leave this room. If the wicked grunkle does still have a tail on Elsa, what if they start discreetly asking questions around the mall? Trust me, the less people know you two are only pretend dating, the better. Besides, you so sure that's what Xion and Rox think? Is it really so hard to believe you were keeping your blossoming romance a secret, even from them? I mean, come on, don't forget what happened on Elsa's first day of work now."

I froze mid-step a few scant inches behind Anna now, my eyes growing round.

Fudge.

Lea cleared his throat into his fist, eyes darting about. "I'm... not sure I entirely know what you're referring to."

I sure as heck did. And without a doubt, he did too. He was probably just trying to be a gentleman.

Rayne, on the other hand, had no such decorum.

"Oh really?" she smirked. Feeling the blood draining from my face, I started swiping my hand back and forth across my throat, rapidly shaking my head at her. Rayne either did not see or did not care. My guess? The latter. "Then allow me to refresh your memory." Now I started gesticulating wildly for her to cram it, my arms frantically but silently flailing about like a mime caught in a blender. Still Rayne pressed on, "You. Her. Lip-locked in the food court within ten seconds of first laying eyes on one another. Ring any-"

"They did what?!" Anna screeched out in glee.

Great. Now Anna knew about the Kissadent. Something I hadn't wanted her to find out about. Like, ever.

My fingers curled, strangling the air in Rayne's direction. Then with a muted growl, I stomped my foot against the carpet.

It wasn't loud.

But it was enough.

Anna spun on her heel with a gasp, blanching at the sight of me. Her eyes flicked towards the bathroom before trying to make a break for it, but I jumped in front of her, blocking her escape route. She then held up her hands and started backing away as I slowly stalked towards her. A nervous chuckle escaped her, "Now, now, Sis! J-just remember that-" the back of her leg bumped against the couch and she fell over backwards onto it. Recovering quickly, she scrambled up over its backrest, crash landing to the floor on the other side. Back on her feet in a flash, she continued in reverse towards the kitchen, "-that you love m-me!"

As I climbed over the sofa after her, she took the opportunity to drop down, scrabble under the dining table and pop up on the other side, putting it between me and her. I gave her a sickeningly sweet smile as I leaned forward, placing my hands on top of the table. "I also love piñatas. Love smashing them open and spilling their rainbow, candied guts across the ground."

Anna gulped. "But you… you couldn't really just, ya know… kill me… r-right?"

"Oh no, I couldn't just kill you… first I'd draw and quarter you, flay you alive, dip you in liquid nitrogen, snap every frozen limb off your body one by one, and then I'd kill you."

"Shit, El, remind me never to get on your bad side," Lea laughed.

Right? Who knew I could be so murdery? Crud, do I need to see a therapist?

Whatever, no time to think about my worryingly homicidal tendencies right now. I had a little sister to eradicate.

I charged around the table towards her. She shrieked, booking it and we circled the kitchen a few times. However, I was gaining fast. Soon, sweet sweet vengeance would be mine. Just another few seconds and-

"Alright, that's enough!" Rayne suddenly shouted, rocketing up out of her chair. Anna hid behind her and my feet skidded to a stop in front of my roommate. "Do I have to separate you two? Put you in opposite corners of the room to stare at the wall and think about what you've done?"

"She's the one who started it!" I snapped, glaring at Anna.

Her mature and oh so dignified response was to blow a raspberry at me over Rayne's shoulder.

My nostrils flared and I lunged at her. However, I was brought up short by an abrupt burst of pain in my upper ear. Took me a second to realize Rayne was pinching it with a scowl. And her other hand? Giving one of Anna's ears the same punishment. "Okay, seriously, you both need to stop. Now. Otherwise I'll… I'll send you to your rooms without dinner!"

Anna rolled her eyes, "Pfffft, you can't do that, it's not like you're my- ow, ow, ow!" I took it Rayne had squeezed her ear harder.

"Oooo, busted!" Lea snerked at us.

Rayne's death glare landed on him. "You want a piece of this, Red?!"

He paled, tossing his hands up in surrender.

Mama Bear Rayne had awoken. May whatever divine entity that watched over the universe from up on high have mercy on our poor, wretched souls.

With a huff, she forced us both to sit down, me back in my chair, Anna taking the one Rayne had just vacated. "You two are going to settle this, right here, right now." Anna pouted, crossing her arms and slouching down into her seat while I simply harrumphed and looked away. Rayne sighed, "...Anna, is there something you'd like to say to your sister?"

The silence stretched. Then finally, begrudgingly, "Sorry… for lying to Weaseltown about you and Lea or whatever."

Golly gee, so heartfelt.

Rayne cleared her throat and nudged my shoulder. "Elsa?"

My face scrunched up, but then I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, grumbling, "...sorry for trying to kill you or whatever."

"There! Perfect," Rayne happily chirped, bowing to wrap her arms around both our shoulders and hug us close to her. "One big happy family again! So glad that silliness is now all over and done with!"

Oh-ho, this was far from over.

Just you wait, Anna. I will be revenged.

Straightening back up with a single clap of her hands, Rayne went on, "Okay! Now that we've put that dumb lil spat behind us, we can get back to what's important!" She gestured between Lea and me, "You two going make-believe steady!"

Ugh. How quickly she flipped that switch from angry parent scolding children to utter loon spouting off crackpot ideas. I blamed the baby hormones.

"No!" I stated firmly. "Absolutely not! I am not going through with it! It's ridiculous, I refuse!"

"And give me one good reason why not," she said as she walked over to Riku who took her hand and gently pulled her down to sit in his lap, planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Because it's the stupidest plan ever!"

She scoffed, "I said a good reason. That's just an opinion, and a wrong one at that."

I frowned, gnawing on my lower lip. "Because… because…"

Because I potentially had the warm fuzzies for Lea and I might just completely short circuit if he and I had to act like boyfriend and girlfriend.

But I couldn't say that.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and another thought struck me. I seized it like a drowning woman clings to a life preserver in a hurricane. "Ah! Because Lea hasn't agreed to any of this either!" I declared triumphantly to her before turning to him. "Listen, thank you, it's been sweet of you to humor the nutty pregnant lady this whole time, really, but you can stop now. You don't have to do this. It's okay, we all know you'd rather not."

He tipped his head to one side. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

My gaze averted and I gave a tiny shrug. "Well, you know… you're focusing on your schoolwork at the moment and have that whole… dating embargo thing going on, girls are a distraction and whatnot... I mean, I know it'd only be pretend, but still-"

"Wait, wait, hang on," he held up a hand, blinking a couple times at me. "How do you know I'm not dating at the moment?"

"What, like it's some big secret?" Rayne snerked. "Please, it's public knowledge."

His eyes darted back and forth between us, his brow furrowing. "You two were talking about it? How'd that even come up?"

Abort! Abort! He asks about that which he must never know!

Rayne brushed off, "Don't flatter yourself, Red, it was just girl talk. We also talked about what a cute butt Ventus has!"

I stiffened and scowled at her. "I most certainly did-" I hissed out in pain as she kicked me under the table.

"See?" Rayne grinned brightly.

Not. That was the word my sentence was supposed to end in. Not. I most certainly had not been talking about Ventus's posterior or anyone else's for that matter!

"You wanna run that by me again?" Riku drawled, eyelids drooping at her.

"Shush now, don't be jelly, you know I'll always think your tush is the cutest!" she cooed, pinching his cheek.

Bleh. TMI. Gross.

Lea seemed to be of the same mind as me, if the look on his face was any clue. Shaking his head and ruffling his fingers through his hair, he glanced back towards me, "Anyway… look, if this gets you out of a tough spot, I wouldn't mind. This… wouldn't be a distraction. This is just helping out a friend. I can always make time for that!"

Both eyebrows shot up my forehead. "...you'd really do that? Go along with this absolutely bonkers plan for who knows how long... all just for my sake?"

"Well yeah," he flashed those heart-stopping dimples of his, "I'd do anything for you, El!"

Good bye, oxygen. My lungs didn't need to do a silly little thing like breathing anyway.

"Cuz you're a friend!" he blurted out quickly, scratching the back of his head as his eyes shifted. "And there isn't anything I wouldn't do for… for my friends! Heh!"

Oh. Right. Of course that's what he'd meant.

At ease, lungs. Feel free to return to your regularly scheduled respiring now.

But see? This is what I was talking about. We weren't even fake dating yet and I was already having total core meltdowns at the littlest things he did or said. How could I possibly even hope to function if we actually went through with this whole screwball plan?

"There ya go!" Rayne beamed at me. "Any other objections, sweetie?"

"I, uh…" I wanted to argue. I really did. But I had nothing. Nothing I could say aloud in Lea's presence anyway. And as totally cuckoo as this whole idea was, I had to reluctantly admit that Rayne had made some halfway decent points. Now that I could no longer delay the inevitable and had to talk to my parents, this... would actually make standing up to them a little easier. And as much as it pained me to say it, I wouldn't put it past the Duke to still have someone keeping an eye on me and reporting back to him. So if I didn't want my parents to find out it was all a sham to get them to back off, pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend actually kind of, sort of, in a totally absurd way… made sense? Somehow?

Still, I hesitated. Worrying my bottom lip between my teeth, I glanced around the table. Rayne watched me expectantly while Riku reached past her for some more popcorn. Lea just gave me a comforting smile. As for Anna, she was texting on her phone. Tch, typical.

Taking a deep breath, I massaged one temple with a grimace and a sigh. "...okay. I guess… we're doing this."

"Yay!" Rayne cheered, throwing her hands up into the air.

Dear lord, had I really just agreed to this madness? Really just hopped on board the crazy train with Rayne and Anna? What even was my life anymore?

"Perfect timing!" Anna looked up from her phone with a toothy grin.

I frowned suspiciously back. "What do you mean?"

She flipped the mobile around to show me her screen. "Daddy Dearest just can't wait to see you and meet your new boytoy tomorrow!"

"What?!" I grabbed it out of her hands, quickly scanning her text exchange with our father.

"Yup!" Still looking pleased as punch, she planted her elbows on the table and propped her chin up in both hands. "Don't worry, I've arranged everything! Told him you wanted to stop by your old condo after work and pick up a few things, ya know, your phone, some clothes, stuff like that! Dad'll be there to unlock the door for you since you don't have your key. And Lea, being an absolute sweetheart that knows how to treat his bae right, will of course be giving you a ride. What'd I tell ya? Perfect! What better way for you two lovebirds to make your royal debut?"

Oh god. This was it. It was really happening. There was no turning back now.

What on earth had I just gotten myself into?

Author's Note: Yup, it's the ol' "hey look, circumstances have forced us to fake date" situation we all know and love! It took some doing, a lil bending over backwards and acrobatics, but finally our ice queen has been convinced to get on board with the plan as well, albeit reluctantly xD Dunno what she's so worried about, this plan is BRILLIANT and FOOLPROOF, I tell ya! I mean, it's gotta be… just look at the conniving masterminds who cooked it up xD

Next chapter, how will this lil visit with Daddy Dearest go? Will our leading lady and man make a convincing, lovey-dovey couple? Or could the plan possibly start to unravel before it's barely even begun? Just how long WOULD someone survive on a healthy, balanced diet of floss, shampoo, and toilet paper anyway? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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heartwoodventures · 4 years

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Where the Wind Blows

Falcon’s Nest. A modest hamlet located in the western highlands of Coerthas. A monochromatic world of ice and snow, of gray skies and bitter winds. A far cry from the idyllic, sun-drenched shores on which Heartwood had played mere suns earlier. Now, a trio met at the town’s central aetheryte, informed by a missive that Momori Mori, the odd lalafell who had agreed to help one of their own, had uncovered new information.

Arriving at the aetheryte, Aislinn burrowed deeper into the warmth of her jacket as she cast her gaze about the agreed upon meeting place. Spying Lumarto and Rolanda she wandered over and gave the miqo’te and au ra both a nod.

"Any sign of Momori yet?" she asked.

Lumarto stared at her, his hands brought together to try and retain some warmth. "I think she's comin' around shortly; it shouldn't be hard to spot anyone here at the Nest-- oh, see?" Luma said, pointing towards the welcomed sight.

The lalafell stepped out from behind the Aetheryte. She was lugging over a large, black contraption. Whatever it was, it was producing a lot of noise...and heat.

Aislinn followed his gaze and set sight on the business like lalafell. Her brow furrowed in confusion, however, as to what the woman could possibly be toting along with her. "Ahh." she stamped her feet against the frigid air. The trick was to keep moving, she had learned.

"Hello there. A bit jarring, to go from warm sands to blustering cold." Momori shivered.

"Yes, I never quite got used to these crystals... Glad you made it! What have you got with you there?" Rolanda asked as she pointed at the contraption Momori was lugging along.

"Takes some getting used to, but I'm sure it will feel natural after a while." Luma said, as he approached before staring down at the contraption. "I was just about to ask the same thing; it's radiating... heat? A heater?"

"Oh, this is..." Momori looked side to side. This area was too open for her. "Let's find somewhere more discrete to talk about it, yes? Follow me."

Aislinn slid a questioning glance to the others but then shrugged and followed along.

The lalafell led them down the ice-covered street and then down a darkened alley. Had the trio not been seasoned mercenaries, armed with all manner of weapons and devices, they might have been more concerned. This was the kind of thing that happened to unsuspecting victims in the less-than savory part of town right before they were set upon.

"Much better. Away from prying eyes." Momori slapped the hood of the black contraption. "This here...is an encryptor. Specifically, it will guard the messages that we send with these."

She turned and placed a device that vaguely resembled a linkpearl in each of their hands. It was larger than usual, and contained a lens on the front. Due to its size, it couldn’t fit in a person’s ear, but its clip suggested that it should be worn on one’s clothing.

"So precautions... I understand." Luma muttered a bit, gazing at the object in question before clipping it to the side of his collar; not in the way of his hood or neck. "Rather fancy device, isn't it?".

"Enctor. Sounds.. fancy" Roland clipped the device to her hip.

"Very fancy. You won't find these in the common markets." Momori replied.

Aislinn was clearly intrigued by the premise of the encryptor, turning the offered device this way and that in her hands. She wondered, after all this is said and done, if Momori would let her take one of these apart to see how it works. For now though, she clipped it to her coat.

"Three of you...That's good. A small party won't attract too much attention." Momori hummed to herself. "....Well, first and foremost, they look very nice on you all. Very fashionable."

Aislinn shot the lalafell a dubious look.

“These devices are known as aetheric snapshots. They're capable of recording both visual and aetheric information in high fidelity, which I can process later. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You're probably wondering why I have this.” Momori explained.

"It had crossed my mind." Aislinn replied. "Just what sort of trouble are you expecting us to run up against, here?"

"I suppose asking why you have this is the next step in deduction, yes." Luma stated, looking at the object on his collar before looking back to Momori. "Why do you have something like this?"

“Let's start at the beginning. Red Argos is here, somewhere. And they likely have us outgunned. A frontal assault would be suicide, and that's low on my list of favorite things." Momori began.

"Makes sense." Aislinn nodded.

Momori noddded back. “We don’t know where they’re holed up, what they’re doing in Coerthas, and what...or rather, if, Wyda is connected to all this. While rushing into a death trap with weapons drawn is still your prerogative, I’d propose we instead use today’s outing to collect intelligence, and work towards answers to our questions.”

"So is this based on speculation and not fact? Or is there something to go off of?" Luma asked, raising an eyebrow mildly.

"Fact. Seawolf pirates, members of Red Argos, have been spotted here. Going to and fro, up to no good. They're capable of razing entire villages, so..." Momori looked over the trio in front of her. "A sizeable crew. Not one to tussle with head on."

"Enough for a small squabble but not a full on fight? Sounds reasonable..." Lumarto admitted.

Momori nodded to Lumarto. "Exactly.”

Rolanda shared a look with Lumarto and Aislinn. "I just can't imagine Wyda being involved in something like that. We have to find out what's going on!"

Aislinn nodded in agreement with Rolanda. Despite what she knew of the Seawolf's trouble with missing time, she couldn’t really believe Wyda would be a pirate at any juncture. "No, seems completely out of character."

"Expand your imagination, as it IS a possibility. I would like to debrief you all on what I've uncovered so far. Some good, some bad." Momori countered. "Starting with Wyda. She has yet to say anything pertinent to Red Argos...But I believe her mind is compromised. Did you know she WAS part of a pirate crew? And that she claims to have no memory of this?”

Aislinn tipped her head. "How'd you come by that bit of information?"

Lumarto stared at the group while Momori spoke, resting his hand on his hip while she debriefed them. "Seems like something awful to forget..."

"One hears a lot in Aleport taverns. That, and some had much to say when presented with her bounty portrait." Momori replied.

Rolanda paused. "For my own part, I can only say we met recently and I don't know her past. But she did not seem to have the demeanor of a pirate to me."

Aislinn shared a glance with Lumarto. "I thought we agreed, it's not -her- portrait. For all we know those sods in the taverns are getting her confused with someone else."

Lumarto nodded to Aislinn's point. "Anyone could share a face, but rumors could spread like wild fire."

"True. There is a non-zero chance of her having an identical twin." Momori shrugged. "Just as there is a non-zero chance of Bahamut coming to roast us on the spot! Haha." She chuckled at her own joke, then cleared her throat. "Anyway."

Aislinn gave the lalafell a flat look. There was also a non-zero chance of Momori ending up headfirst in a snowbank by the time this was through. "Fine. Let's pretend she was a pirate. ‘Was’, being the operative word."

"Wyda..." Momori made air quotes as she said the name. "Used to be part of a pirate crew known as the 'Ruddy Hounds,' which disappeared over a year ago. After some matching, I determined that some ex-members of the Hounds are in Argos. These are sea pirates we're talking about. So unless they suddenly got an airship...AND learned to fly the thing..." Momori frowned.

Aislinn shrugged one shoulder. "Suppose that's also not unheard of."

"Or thought there would be no competition in a frozen tundra?" Luma remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, yes. That brings me to my next point. They don't seem concerned in coin, and only in 'booty.' Spoken booty, that is!" Another one of her godawful jokes. "They've kept up their kidnapping habits here. Three have gone missing in Coerthas."

What sort of pirates weren't interested in coin?

"To what end? Ransom? Trafficking?" Aislinn asked.

"If its Coerthas, it could be ransom; trying to take the coin of the wealthy for the exchange of the stolen?" Lumarto suggested.

"Perhaps. Though no victims have shown up in...the markets, so to speak. Nor have they reached out to anyone for ransom. Maybe it's their first time with this sort of thing." Momori stated.

"I'd guess the law is preoccupied, but that would be surprising if it had been someone of high class who had been kidnapped; they jumped at the chance to be saviours then." Lumarto all but snorted.

"No. But I do believe if we find the victims, we'll find Red Argos. I have some items here from the kidnapped victims, if that could help you in tracking them down.” Momori handed Lumarto a dirty sock, a ribbon, and a bracelet. "If somehow you're, like, a bloodhound. Lumarto, none of the kidnapped are particularly rich, which could explain the inaction."

Lumarto stared at the items. "So they aren't of high class... so people like ourselves are going to have to do the work; figures..." Luma said, looking back to Momori. "Do we have any idea of the age of those who had been stolen?"

"Two adults, one child." she answered.

"A family out of their house, mayhaps."

Aislinn eyed the belongings in Lumarto’s hands. "-Were- they related? Do we know?" she asked, looking back to Momori.

"Mother and child. The other adult wasn't related." Momori nodded. "You know what they say. A family that eats together, is..." She stopped. Perhaps it isn't time to joke around.

Rolanda narrowed her eyes at Momori. "No, probably not the time to joke..."

"There aren't many places to hide in Coerthas... it isn't like they can openly hole up in the city..." Luma thought, pacing slightly.

Aislinn shook her head. "No, you're right. More than likely, they're out holed up in one of the deserted villages around here."

Momori coughed. "I would like to bring up the reason I'm here.” Now seemed as good a time as any. “They've stolen an artifact known as 'The Helm' from me. A wheel of six spokes, decorated with six elementally aspected crystals at each end. If you happen to see it, I would be much obliged."

“I wish I could tell you what it does. Unfortunately, it has a reputation for being useless. The Helm was recovered between Doma and the Azim Steppe nearly fifty years ago. It was immediately recognized as being unworkable and incomplete, and thus spent decades as a royal, broken bauble. There are rumors that it was used as a toy at some point. As a flying disc for children.”

Lumarto stared for a moment at Momori. "So we are really going after this 'Helm', while on the side potentially uncovering and helping those who had been kidnapped?" Luma asked, crossing his arms.

Aislinn eyed Momori quietly for a moment. Something about that didn't sound right to her and honestly, she wasn't entirely sure she trusted the lalafell. She spoke neither one way or another on the matter of the 'Helm'.

"Well, it is why I'm here. And the kidnapped are to simply lead us to Red Argos, so that you may free your jailed companion." Momori replied. "The Helm being useless is a boon. You shadn't worry about anything crazy happening, outside of pirates and guns."

Aislinn let go a wry, humorless smile. "Somehow, I've never found that to be the case."

"What will we be doing now then for this? Surely not stand here with frost building up on our feet; do we have a location in mind for a search?" Lumarto said. The quicker they got moving, the better.

“Ah, of course not. But quickly, let me explain these devices.” Momori said, referring to one she held in her hand. “"If you see anything interesting, you can snap a photo of it with this. It can only hold one photo, so make it count. You can also safely communicate with each other, or me, through it. I won’t be joining in person since I’m just a civilian."

Aislinn took a closer look at her device, following along and making sure she understood it before they headed out.

"As for places to start looking, I have two leads. There’s an abandoned settlement that not many pass by - a potential hideout for the pirates. Secondly, herds of Steinbock have been on the move recently. Perhaps being spooked by increased activity from our pirates? It may be worth taking a look at their grazing grounds."

"I'd say the settlement personally... spooked steinbock could be anything from wild life territorial issues or mishaps with adventurers, so I wouldn't see that as anything to jump at." Luma said, glancing at the others. "What are your thoughts?"

Satisfied she understood how to work the new device, Aislinn looked up at Luma. "Can't say I know much about what will or won't spook a steinbock. But the settlement seems like a good place to start.”

Lumarto nodded.

"Why don't you test out your devices? Hope they aren't broken." Momori said.

Lumarto stared down at the object on his collar. "I'd rather not play around with something like this... just assume it does the job right and get down to business."

Unlike Lumarto, Aislinn took a moment to point the device at Rolanda, and hit the button. She had no problem messing with things to see if they'll break.

Rolanda struck a stunning pose when Aislinn pointed the pearl her way.

Referring back to the device, Aislinn gave a thumbs up. "Seems to be in order. Let’s head out."

The trio turned on their heels and left Momori to huddle in the alleyway next to the encryptor and listen for word of their excursion over the linkpearl. The three rode out and arrived at the settlement, finding it just as Momori had stated. The abandoned buildings sat, long frozen. A testament to an earlier time when the land around them was verdant and farmable. Now it lay buried under fulms of snow, likely never to see the light of day again. They landed at its fringes, and almost immediately heard a buzzing sound emanating from their clothing.

"Hello? Is this thing on?" Momori was calling through the linkpearls.

Rolanda slapped the pearl on her hip out of fear as it crackled suddenly to life. Its image shifts to one of pure white. "Dag nabbit.. lousy thing!"

Aislinn scanned the area as she dismounted and waved her carbuncle out of existence. She jolted a bit as the disembodied voice floated from her jacket. Luckily Lumarto responded so she didn’t have to.

Lumarto listened, cocking his head to a side upon hearing Momori's voice. "Aye its on. We've arrived at the settlement; its in tatters."

The Highlander continued to take stock of the settlement, looking for any sign of recent activity.

"At least it'll be hard to cover their tracks in snow?” she offered.

"On the contrary, the constant blizzards would pile their tracks up; so it might be difficult unless they’re fresh." Luma said to Aislinn, taking a few steps towards the buildings and gazing upon the structure.

He was right. Fresh snow covered any potential footprints and fallen items. At first glance, it simply appeared a lonely, cold wasteland. No sign of life or recent activity. But the three fanned out, determined to search anyroads.

With a hum of consideration, Aislinn wandered off towards the buildings on the north side of the settlement.

Rolanda dug through the rubble and found a small can of beans that appeared to be untouched. "Found some beans."

"Beans? Rolanda, focus. Now's not the time to be eating things off the floor." Momori’s voice crackled.

"Was there a fire here earlier?..." Luma spoke to himself, crouching down to gaze at the bottom near one of the doors on the building to the south, looking for any signs of ware-and-tear, or skid marks from the opening.

Across the way, Aislinn put a hand on the door of one of the buildings, it was cold from the outside, obviously. The building was made of solid, rough hewn rock, its door shut against the wind. But she focused on sensing any aetheric signature within. The cold, biting wind and stinging snow made it hard for her to concentrate. Maybe she felt something. It was ever so faint. She strained a bit harder, leaning against the door now but after a few moments longer, she shook her head and finally pushed away. Whatever it was, it was gone now.

Lumarto caught a whiff of gunpowder when he crouched down, wiping away the small layers of frost and revealing a trail of the stuff. "Where does this lead?..." the miqo’te muttered, pressing against the door as he stood up and began to pursue the trail.

As Aislinn moved to turn away from the northern building, she stopped again. No. There was definitely something. But as she glanced across the way, she caught sight of Luma’s form wandering off into the blowing snow. Splitting up in a blizzard when there might be pirates about sat ill at ease with her and so, she made to follow but Rolanda approached and stopped her.

"Hmm, I'm a bit of an expert on beans... and this can seems to be recently sealed, likely from nearby Limsa Lominsa. This could be a bean-clue." the au ra handed the can to Aislinn. "What do you think?"

Hesitating in her desire to follow after Lumarto, Aislinn looked at Rolanda and her beans. "Ahh." she paused and eyed the legumes in question, taking a moment to consider them.

"New....beans?" Momori sounded confused. "A ration by some travelers?"

"Does seem an odd thing to be here. And they look a lot more recent than the rest of this place. But...I can't say whether pirates or some hunter might have left them." the woman said with an apologetic look to Rolanda.

Rolanda nodded. "That conclusion seems logical. Perhaps someone traveled through here that came through Limsa first."

"Bring it back all the same. If it's irrelevant, we can split the beans fourway. Nothing like floor food to fill the gut." Momori advised.

Aislinn passed Rolanda a dry look. "Well...you heard the woman. Bring it along. It's either a clue or floor food." she turned to look for Luma but he was nowhere to be found. Her anxiety had just begun to rise when his voice came over the linkpearl.

"Beans are going to have to wait. You both might wanna check this out." Luma said, awaiting for them to join him.

They found him at the edge of a cliff behind one of the buildings, staring down into the gully below as Aislinn appeared behind him.

"Take a look at this." Luma said, pointing down towards the snow beneath the cliff.

Gazing down at the white snow; something odd protruded from it. Not the solid white of snow, of powder and the like-- an off white, bone. A skeleton had been off the cliff's edge and covered in snow. "That doesn't look fresh... it can't be any of the ones who were kidnapped..." Luma muttered.

"What is it? What's fresh?" With only voice communication, Momori wasn’t able to follow what was happening. "Something juicy?"

Aislinn followed his gaze, confused for a moment as she sought what he was pointing out. But then, all at once it took shape for her. A skeleton against the snow. "Nymeia's Blood." she swore softly. "We need to get closer. Try and see if we can ascertain how long it's been here. And, bring it back, if we can. No one should be left out here like that."

"Lumarto found a skeleton." she said into the device.

"You're right, but mind your step. I found Ceruleum here as well, so anything could be hidden beneath the snow or otherwise; I don't feel like that body is here unintentionally." Lumarto warned her.

"Ceruleum....That's odd. A popular fuel for garlean magitek, but...hm. Go forth with the utmost caution." Momori added.

Rolanda came up behind them, breathless. "Sorry the cold got to me for a moment there. Brought the beans."

With that, Luma carefully got some footing on the slope of the cliff, and slid down; his heels keeping a firm grip on the rock before taking a short leap onto the snow below; gazing just for a moment if there was anything else in question to see before moving forward.

Aislinn nodded in reply to the warning as she pulled a battered gemstone from her hip pack. Tossing it in the air, with a bit of calculated manipulation on her part, it became her carbuncle. She headed down to join Lumarto.

Rolanda pocketed the beans and looked down the cliff face. "Well, no time like the present! HUP!" and with that, began her way down.

"I don't see anything..." Luma said, as he approached the skeleton before kneeling down before it. "Does it look like an adult's frame? Child?" Luma asked, wanting the others’ opinion.

The wind suddenly picked up, revealing more frozen snow coated with a mixture of gunpowder and ceruleum. The way the ice had formed...signs of struggle. It was soon apparent the skeleton was that of an adult.

"I don't think I'm going to be eating these beans now.." Rolanda covered her mouth.

Aislinn knelt down and brushed some of the snow away from the skeleton, trying to get a clearer picture of it. As her hands grazed the bones, that familiar buzzing pressure started in her ears. Aether. A lot of it. She looked to Lumarto and Rolanda. "Ahh...help me move the bones. We'll have to pack them up and bring them back anyroads."

Lumarto shook his head at Rolanda "It's not about eating right no--" Luma paused, the sensation of fire aether causing the hairs on his back to stand on end; his tail to shoot up before nonchalantly returning to a rested state.

He shifted his attention to Aislinn, albeit with something else on his mind. "Wh-- ah, yeah...yeah..." Luma said, staring down at the skeleton and slowly taking bone by bone, his hands visibly hesitating with each time he reached towards that source of aether.

Rolanda nodded and bent down to help. Using her bow to dig out around the bones, she made them easier to pick up.

Aislinn slid a glance to Lumarto. Judging from his reaction, she wasn't the only one who noticed the aether. "You feel that too, aye?" she said, relieved it wasn't just her.

Lumarto stared at her, before quickly looking away to hide his gaze, still shaken. "Aye its... potent; and unpleasant..." he said, gazing down at the pieces of arm bone he had picked up; noticing an odd brand on it.

The aether burned brightest around the wrist bone he held. And the brand. A black mark, a crude symbol of the fire element surrounded by six intricate wings. Additionally, frozen flower petals resembling those of a lily, a light lavender color.

The aether seemed to seethe and he immediately dropped it, taking a sudden step back.

Aislinn startled a bit as the miqo'te dropped one of the bones as if it had burned him. Her eyes dart from him to the bone and back.

Just then, Momori’s voice broke the silence. "Sounds like you guys hit paydirt. Though a skeleton would be hard to bring back. Maybe bring back just what matters for now, and come back for the rest later?"

"Alright, there Lumarto?" Aislinn asked.

She leaned forward, reaching for the bone. Before she even touched it, she felt the aether coming from the strange symbol. "Ahh...this is where it's coming from." she sat back and spoke into the device.

"Right." She didn't like the idea of leaving the remains out here but Momori made sense.

Lumarto looked towards the skeleton and then up at Aislinn. "I'm... f-fine. I'm not good with fire; unpleasant memories..." Luma muttered, as his wobbly legs slowly attempted another step. "There is that symbol on its wrist, and it's almost like that in itself is an active fire crystal. It's important from the looks of it." Luma said, though hesitated in coming closer to the mark. "Can you retrieve it? Sending a picture for Momori would probably be ideal."

Aislinn pulled a cloth from her pack and reached for the bone, turning it about in the snow. "It has an odd symbol. -Burned- into the bone by the looks of it. I can't...done before or after death, I can't say." she said into the device. She nodded to Lumarto.

Rolanda didn’t notice any of this heat that everyone kept talking about. She reached down and grabbed a hold of the wrist bone. "Is this the one we need?"

"Aye, can you carry that back for us?" she asks the Au Ra. Truthfully, she didn't want to handle it either.

Lumarto nodded at that. With the Au Ra not realizing its potential and properties, it would be the safest bet. "Please carry it for us." Luma said without skipping a beat.

"It does not appear to affect me as it does all of you. I will happily transport it if it makes you all more comfortable." Rolanda shrugged.

Aislinn spared her a grateful look before eyeing the rest of the bones. "These...I suppose they'll have to wait."

"Well, if that's taken care off, I happen to have an odd...lead for you all." Momori's voice popped and crackled. "From where I'm at, I just saw an airship fly by. Garlean."

Garlean. Aislinn swiftly lifted her head to the skies.

"Is it headed anywhere this direction? Considering the ceruleum and all." Luma said, looking up at the sky while one hand was on his collar; his right hand gripping his sleeve to try and relieve some of the burning sensation.

"It was seen heading eastward. Odd thing about it, kept flashing in and out of view." Momori reported.

"Are you saying it was cloaking in some way, or hidden by the weather?" Luma asked, taking a few more steps towards the more open part of the cliff, trying to get a clearer look at the sky.

Aislinn looked back up the cliff in the direction of the building she had been inspecting. She couldn't shake the feeling there was something there. No matter how faint. She quietly continued to listen to the exchange between Lumarto and Momori.

"Potentially. If so, then their system must be broken...I was only able to spot it briefly and from afar, so I couldn't tell what they were using. "

"Copy that." Lumarto replied, turning to the group. "I'd say we try and look for things while we leave the premises; there is no telling if they are headed here or not." he said, glancing between the other two. "What say you both?"

"We should make haste to see if we can find this ship. If we can get there quickly, perhaps we can see if it is our culprits." Rolanda said, decisively

"If it was heading eastward from Falcon's Nest, it might head this way. But...I want to look at one of the building's up there. I sensed something coming from beyond it." Aislinn countered.

"I have a whale that can carry me quite swiftly. Perhaps I could take flight and see if I can get a snapshot of this ship - from a distance of course" Rolanda offered.

No one seemed surprised the au ra had a skywhale at her beckon call. Rolanda always had a trick up her sleeve.

Lumarto nodded to Aislinn. "Show us the building, and we'll see if there are any more leads before we get an unexpected arrival." Luma said, then held his hand to his collar, activating the pearl. "We're going to take a look at a lead from Aislinn before returning." Luma reported, turning to Rolanda. "If you could do so quietly and discreetly, then by all means; but don't take risks."

"Whatever you do, be careful. Don't want them pointing their guns at you." Momori voice crackled back in reply.

Aislinn seemed torn for a moment. "Alright...that seems best. But aye, as Lumarto says, be careful."

Rolanda nodded and called her skywhale down from the clouds. "Easy now, Eustice. We have to be stealthy today". She hopped on the back of her whale, and headed back into the clouds in search of the airship.

Aislinn led Luma back across the settlement to the building in question. She trailed her hand along its rough hewn facade as she moved away from the front. Her brow furrowed in concentration, as she tried to focus. "It feels like it's coming from behind the building." she said. "Do you feel anything?" she asked Lumarto as she moved along.

High in the sky above, Rolanda caught sight of the ship approaching from a distance. It appeared to be heading straight for them! She hurriedly snapped a photo with the linkpearl and then headed down to the rest of the party to warn them about the approaching ship.

"It does feel odd around here, I guess this place really does have something about it." Luma said, turning as he noticed Rolanda coming back from her pseudo-mission.

"The ship is headed this way! I'm not sure of its intentions, but I managed to get a linkpearl of it before I had to flee.”

Rolanda's announcement placed a sense of urgency in Aislinn that momentarily disrupted her concentration. "Right...okay. Let's be quick about this. Momori said we're outgunned and I don't want to be caught out like this."

Both Aislinn and Lumarto could feel it. Earth aether. Weak, but present, and foreign to the environment. The source coming from beyond the building, toward the rocky outcropping.

Aislinn wordlessly followed her senses, the world narrowing down to this aether and getting out. As they moved around a boulder, they found the source. Incredibly, it was a child! A young midlander girl, huddled against the rock and shivering.

A child was the last thing Aislinn expected to find. She rocked back a step in surprise. "I..oh!"

"Gods... how long has she been out here for?" Luma said, quickly approaching behind Aislinn before crouching down and getting a better look at the girl.

The girl weakly turned to look at Lumarto, and flinched, scrambling further into the rock. "I-I...you're not...one of them, are you?"

Aislinn quickly recovered and slowly reached out for the child but stopped, realizing that might be perceived as a threat. Instead, she turned to her device. "Momori, I think we find the child that was missing."

"One of them?..." Luma asked, looking at her expression, he finally put two and two together. "No, no no... me and these two were lucky enough to even find you shivering out here." Luma said, crouching down and holding his hand out slowly to the girl, keeping it steady to not show hostility. "Are you hurt? Hungry? Rolanda, get the beans." Luma said, his gaze darting to the Au Ra.

"Nice." Momori pauses. "She's an elezen, right?"

Rolanda pulled out the can. "Ah yes, the groun- uh.. er... the beans! Here you are."

Aislinn looked the girl over. "Ahh...no. She's a hyur."

The girl looked towards the can of beans, then at Luma. "You...you don't look like one of them." She quickly grabbed the beans and immediately tried to pry the can open. As she did so, they all saw it as plain as day. A tattoo. The mark of earth, surrounded by six wings.

Lumarto watched the girl, his heart aching. Being a father, he couldn't help but feel worry upon finding a girl here in the cold. He noticed the mark, and his eyes widened. "Here..." Luma said, carefully reaching for the can of beans and, using a knife from his hip, pried it open before handing it back to the girl. "Slowly-- don't choke."

The girl watched the miqo’te, stars in her eyes. However, despite his advice, she did in fact inhale those beans. As if on cue, a garlean airship touched down at the center of the abandoned settlement. From a distance, the trio could hear the sound of metal armor. “Come! We don’t have much time to find her,” a voice called from the distance.

Aislinn snapped her attention to the sound of the airship. "Right. Time to go." she murmured. She looked down at the girl. "Ready to head home?" she asks gently. "We're here to bring you back."

"I have a whale that could easily accommodate both of us" Rolanda said with a smile.

The girl's eyes widen and her head swiftly turned to stare at the docking airship. "Thass them! The bad guys." Her mouth is still stuffed full with beans.

Lumarto stared at Aislinn, and then to the girl; the state she was in, taking her home immediately sounded like a risk. "You're being... tracked, they are trying to find you?" Luma asked, carefully approaching the girl and removing one layer from his coat; covering the small girl in it.

Aislinn shot a glance at Lumarto. "We can't leave her here and at the end of all of this...." she inhaled. They had to move. Now. Debating the finer points of where the child would go could be done later. "We don't have time."

"I'm not saying to leave her here, but rather get her away before we ourselves get caught." Luma said, staring around at the group before looking back at the Garlean ship dock. "We need to go north like I said, and loop around back to Falcon's Nest."

From here, they could see several figures moving here and there in the settlement. They were searching fervently. Interestingly, there were those dressed in garlean armor mixed in with the Sea Wolves. A detail to be mulled over at another time.

Aislinn nodded quickly along with Lumarto, turning to keep an eye out as she groaned under her breath. "Right. Then are you reading to get away from here?"

"I can take the girl to safety and meet up with you afterwards. I can keep in touch with the link pearls." Rolanda said, calling the whale down once more.

Lumarto turned to Rolanda. "We can use the whale to head north and try to stay low before making our way to the nest; can it fit all four of us?" Luma asked, glancing down at the little girl. "You're going to be fine; we'll keep you safe. Go along with Rolanda and we'll meet with you in a bit, ok? Hopefully that coat keeps you warm."

Aislinn kept an eye out while Rolanda and Lumarto go about securing the child safely up on the whale.

The girl looked unsure, but then caught sight of someone coming around the corner. “It’s her!” Frightened, it’s enough to send the girl scrabbling to get onto the whale. Lumarto hurried after her with ease. Aislinn on the other hand…

Lumarto reached down from the whale to help Aislinn up. "Come on, we have to go now!" Luma stated, clearly not willing to simply abandon her.

The Sea Wolf who came around the corner of the building was Wyda. She was identical. She dashed towards the slowly embarking whale. Fists drawn to attack, sea foam hair whipped back from momentum.

Aislinn was momentarily caught off guard by the sight of the Wyda look alike and for a moment, it appeared as if she didn't even hear Lumarto urging her to get on. After a tense, stunned moment, she waves the whale off, signaling Rolanda to just go.

As the skywhale takes off, several other pirates and those donning garlean uniforms pour from around the corner of the building, ready to back up the Wyda look-alike. They began to fire their weapons at the whale.

The sound of gunfire snapped Aislinn back into motion. Slamming the snapshot function of the device to get a shot of the pirate angrily hurtling towards her, she then turned and ran for cover along the boulders that rimmed the settlement. In a rush, she tossed her battered gem into the sky and launched herself on the carbuncle that popped into existence.

The gunfire hit their mark! Several shots buried themselves in the whale’s belly, and it lurched to the side, losing altitude with a bellow.

"Eustice! nooo". Rolanda cried out. She pulled sharply on the reins, trying to get out of the line of fire.

The girl clung to Luma, holding on for dear life as the creature began to roll. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Aislinn cursed as she saw the great whale listing. Hurriedly reaching into her pack, she withdrew one of her incendiary nodes. Twisting the sphere to arm it, she hurls it down below in the midst of the pack of attackers.

The incendiary blossomed as it detonated, flames shooting forth across the white landscape. It provided a good distraction, and the firing squad below were suddenly more preoccupied with getting out of the way of the explosion. However, they were quick to regroup, and collect themselves, continuing to shoot. But Rolanda had managed to coax the whale higher into the sky, escaping the reach of the bullets below.

"Wow. Whatever you're doing, you better get out, stat." Momori's voice came out deadpan.

This bloody lalafell. Aislinn bit back a retort and simply, curtly answered. "On it."

Rolanda continued pulling up on the reins, aiming to get out of there as fast as possible and head back to safety.

"Head north and keep us under the bridge for some tics, we can't let them see us go back to the nest immediately!" Lumarto called out to the au ra while he held the girl safe.

Despite its injuries, the whale flew quickly through the sky, but they could all hear it...the roar of a magitek engine, somewhere behind them. Thankfully, in the blizzard, the noise eventually faded.

Aislinn and her carbuncle kept themselves in the shadow of the whale, turning back to peer through the blizzard. Hopefully they had lost them for good.

Lumarto sighed, glancing around. "That was reckless; we could have gotten into much worse if we didn't get out of there in time... but now they know a whale took the girl." he said, carefully releasing his hold on the little one. "You alright?" He asked her.

"Lots of people have whales right? ha ha.. ha.." Rolanda looked around worriedly. She hadn't noticed many whales around lately.

The girl opened an eye. “I...I’m alright. Ugh...” She keeled over slightly, in pain, and in conjunction with a strange light emanating from directly below them. The feeling of aether...moving. It was palpable to even those with the dullest senses.

"What the..." From under the whale, she leaned over her carbuncle to stare down below them. Whatever was causing this pressure in her head was strong. She drifted her mount lower to see if she could find the source.

Lumarto held his hand to his head, the other keeping the girl from falling off the whale. "Whatever it is, it's affecting us all... get us grounded."

Rolanda hurried to oblige, banking the whale into a shadowy ravine below with Aislinn in tow. Once back on solid ground, the group made their way out from the deep ravine where it opened onto what must have been, at one time, a lake bed. As they drew closer to the center of this opening...this Bed of Bones, they could see a figure brandishing something circular in its hands. Six burn spots are roasted into the icy floor, and a crowd of other figures - garleans and seawolves alike, are just behind the lone figure.

"What in the devils have we wandered into..." Rolanda whispered, trying to make herself small.

Lumarto gestured to everyone. "We're getting into something deep... lay low. Rolanda, you're the only one without a solid picture; take one here if anything stands out." Luma said, crouching down with the others.

Momori’s voice came out in a hush through the linkpearl. "There was an earthquake just now! And that light...did you see that?"

"I got a picture of the ship, I can replace it if we find something more useful here." Rolanda said, brandishing her pearl.

"I'll try and take one if things seem rather... important. Though any of these moments seem like it." Luma said, keeping a hand near the pearl just in case he needs to snap a quick one.

They watched as the central figure spun the artifact, as though it were a ship’s wheel. Six lights, coming from the burn marks, dart about, then sink into the ground. A moment of silence, and then the wind coalesces, partitioned into even sections of highly concentrated aether.

Lumarto watched as the figure used the artifact with ease; then he recalled Momori's words. Something of a disc, 6 points; it fit the description oddly enough. "I'm going to step closer for a picture..." Luma said, carefully setting the girl beside Aislinn before readying the pearl.

Aislinn watched the strange ritual without having one any idea as to what the purpose may have been. A summoning? But she recognized that artifact. The Helm Momori had described. Apparently not so useless after all. Why was she not surprised? As Lumarto set the girl beside her, she laid a comforting hand on the girl's arm.

From the sections of aether, wind sprites form, and with the unrelenting fury of Llymlaen herself, a great gale of wind blows. It was strong enough to knock the viewing party off their feet. Lumarto had clipped the enhanced linkpearl off his collar, aiming it at the figure as the artifact was beginning to spew aetheric wind around them. He snapped a photo of the impact, of the sprites forming around the group. Just as fast as the photo was taken, the wind shot him back towards his group; slamming against the rock behind them before falling to the snow. With a long exhale, he sighed. "Lets... Lets get out. This is getting dangerous.."

As Lumarto came hurtling back towards them, Aislinn pulled the girl towards her and leaned back out of the way, wincing as the miqo'te made landfall. But as he speaks, she let go a breath. He was battered, but alright. Nodding in agreement she speaks. "Aye, let's get this little one taken care of."

The garlean airship lifted off, and the cloaking device finally kicked in. After much flickering, it disappeared in a blur. Gone.

"Well, that was.. something! Is everyone alright?" Rolanda looked around at her windswept companions.

The girl seemed to be in a daze. She looked especially weak, and at this point was pretty much as active as a sack of popotos.

Lumarto coughed some. "I don't very much like the idea of being battered, so let's try and head back; I need a drink..." he said, offering the lightest chuckle to try and make light of the situation before looking to the small girl. "She needs to rest and a bed... lets return to the nest; carefully this time."

Arriving back at Falcon’s Nest, the exhausted trio found Momori right where they had left her, by the device, donning a headpiece. She turned to the party as they arrived. “Oh. Hi.”

Lumarto held a hand to his gut, clearly worn out a bit before taking a seat on the alley steps. "Gods, that's enough for today..." the miqo’te muttered.

Aislinn North let go a long exhalation by way of reply. She had the girl in her arms, giving Lumarto a chance to rest. She doesn't look like she entirely knows how to hold or comfort a child.

"Good to see everyone in one piece. And...this must be the child you picked up along the way." She makes an odd face at the girl, who is just. Collapsed in Aislinn’s arms.

The lalafell held out her hand. "If you could hand me the augmented linkpearls. I'll need to process the photos you took."

Lumarto held out the pearl, reluctant to budge from his spot. Aislinn knelt down to allow Momori to pluck the device from her coat.

"Thanks all. Hm, that child...You don't suppose you can keep her holed up at Heartwood for now? I haven't the faintest idea who she is, and I don't think she can tell us now." Momori said, observing the child at a distance, as if she were on exhibit.

Lumarto turned to Momo and then to Aislinn. "I'm sure we can, she needs someplace warm and a hot meal; my space at the house should be a decent place. I can feed her when I'm free too." Luma said, holding out his arms to Aislinn. "Give her here; I need my coat back later anyways."

"Good. Now, if there's anything else you need to give to me, I'd ask you to hand it over now. There is much for me to look into." the lalafell said briskly.

Aislinn’s instinct was to try and heal the child but recalling the aetheric brand, she was hesitant to add any of her own aetheric formulas to the mix. The girl appeared worn out. A warm bed and a few good meals should go a long way to helping her recover. She nodded to Lumarto and gingerly passed the child off to him.

“Ah yes, I nearly forgot, this strange bone that everyone said felt warm". Rolanda said as she handed over the wrist bone to Momori.

Lumarto nodded in kind to Aislinn, holding the girl close and making sure she was warm. Clearly he had experience with kids, her face looked pale, but her hands were warming up to the touch a bit. Upon seeing the bone that Rolanda held out once more, he flinched and looked away before making sure once more that the girl was fine.

“Very gross. Thank you.” Momori accepted the wrist bone. She paused. “...I will send payment in the mail after I have reviewed the footage you’ve brought back. Farewell for now.”

Rolanda seemed glad to be rid of the bone and linkpearl both. "Until next time." She glanced down at the child. "Let me know if you need anything for the child."

Lumarto stared at Aislinn, taking a moment to slowly stand as he held the girl carefully. "I'm going to take her back, but any help would be appreciated. I'll pearl you if need be." he said, carefully patting the little one. "See you back at the company."

"I'll head back with you." Aislinn said suddenly, falling into step with him.

Bones, artifacts, Garleans, and one lost child. For the immediate moment, they all had a lot to consider.

#ffxiv rp #balmung rp #ffxiv crystal rp #Heartwood plots #Into the Tempest #Lumarto Wetyios #Rolanda Deschain #Momori Mori #Aislinn North

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indiaalphawhiskey · 5 years

Text

When you see this, post a snippet of your WIP.

Apparently, Louis’ album release news and a new Harry song are all I need to get shoved out of my writers’ block. I love Larry. Bow. - Where one type of discomfort ended, a second set of nerves began. They danced from the tips of Louis’ fingers, up his arms to his neck, leaving his mind whirring, completely wired. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done a reading – thought it may have been sometime in the early months of grad school, when his work was disastrously unpolished and bursting to the brim with overly pretentious, nonsensical metaphors. Needless to say, that day did not go well. Now, Louis couldn’t remember a single line of the assignment he’d read out loud. All he remembered was a devastatingly beautiful, painfully talented, way-too-intelligent-for-him boy in a tattered The Cure shirt calling his protagonist ‘a reject from the dregs of one of Salinger’s primary school papers’. Said boy had graciously offered to take him out on a date as soon as the bell had rung, completely oblivious to the fact that Louis had felt like he was slowly dying from humiliation with every second he stood in that classroom. Still, like the smitten fool that Louis was, he’d agreed. “Idiot,” he cursed at himself quietly, shaking his head as he walked to the podium. He tried desperately to shake off the memory as he stepped onto the elevated platform, No Control’s spine cracking open satisfyingly like a physical reminder of how far he’d come since that class, and that relationship. He looked up and found the crowd had gone quiet with polite interest. Pockets of people beamed up at him, clutching their copies of his book to their chest and balancing themselves on the edge of their seats. At the back of the crowd, wedged in between the book display and a group of men wearing No Control t-shirts, stood Marcel. Louis balked slightly at the realization that he had left his seat on stage and walked into the crowd to… what? Heckle Louis? Even considering their less-than-amicable relationship, that seemed unlikely. And also, whatever. Louis didn’t have the time to dwell on that right now, anyway. He coughed away from the mic before smiling at the crowd. “Good afternoon everyone,” he began, his tone firm but gentle. “I’m Louis William Tomlinson, and I’ll be reading you an excerpt from my best-selling debut novel No Control.”

The audience clapped, a few excited whistles rising above the sound, but Louis kept his eyes on Marcel, using his familiar face as a grounding point. He only broke eye contact to read the familiar paragraph of text before him. “It was hot. Loathe as Zee was to admit it, a part of him had not been expecting it. Or maybe he had been hoping – after all the overconfident drivel HQ had spouted about these state-of-the-art, acclimatizing space suits – that he wouldn’t feel it. Surprise, surprise – he did. It was a different kind of hot though. Different in comparison to what, he couldn’t really tell you, couldn’t… what did the doctor call it? Couldn’t ‘remember’? There was something attached to that word that felt wrong, made his mind feel restless and incomplete. He could see the way the doctor had paled when he’d said it, the way he’d stammered, like he was desperate to snatch the word back from the air and hide it, so Zee would never hear it again. Whatever, Zee thought. The point was, it was fucking hot...” Louis lost himself in his own words, and in the memories attached to this paragraph in particular. He could almost see the garrish purple pen his ex-boyfriend had used, the jagged hatch marks he’d all but stabbed into Louis’ manuscript across long-forgotten sentences he’d hated, the tiny green post-its with stars on them to mark the parts Louis could keep. It made him laugh now, how desperately he’d lived for those post-its. As he came to the last line of the passage, he looked up to find Marcel again. He could see Marcel’s mouth moving, but he wasn’t quite sure what he was trying to say. He peered at him intently, confused. The shapes Marcel’s mouth were making were… familiar. It almost felt like his and Louis’ syllables were matched. Louis’s eyes widened slightly when it finally clicked, the two of them uttering Louis’ last seven words completely in sync: “And, Zee knew, Mars was home now.” Marcel was reciting a passage from No Control… by heart. It took everything in Louis to stop his mouth from popping open in shock, the gravity of his realization still evading him, dancing around his mind just a notch out of his reach. Marcel – Marcel Pain-in-the-Arse-Since-the-Day-They-Met Styles, that Marcel – was a fan. His fan. And not just any old fan, either, it seemed. No, Marcel was a fan with a capital F, a read-your-book-multiple-times fan, a quote-you-back-to-yourself fan. “Oh,” Louis breathed, just shy of bewildered as the full weight of it finally hit him. “Oh.” The gentle round of applause coaxed him back to attention. He smiled softly at the crowd, and then ducked his head quickly to hide the mischievous smile he knew he was wearing, his mind doing ecstatic cartwheels at the thought of how much fun he was going to have with this brand new information. Angela’s voice was like white noise to Louis as she recited her spiel about the mechanics of the Q and A, but he made sure to keep his eyes trained on the crowd even as Marcel slipped back into the seat beside him. Louis counted out three… four… five beats before Marcel noticed the the smug-as-fuck smile on his face. “Why do you look like you stole all the cafe’s muffins?” Marcel asked, his voice wary around the lip of his water bottle. “Mm?” Louis hummed, his smile never wavering. The too-innocent, overly saccharine ‘Whatever do you mean?’ went unsaid. Marcel pursed his lips but said nothing, dead set on pretending he wasn’t the least bit interested, though the flicker of his jaw gave him away. Louis revelled in the taut string of tension being pulled tight and thin between them, his smile widening ever so slightly as the words rolled, honeyed and delicious, off of his tongue. “You’re a fan,” he all but giggled, finally turning to face Marcel. He watched gleefully as Marcel’s flush went from a gentle pink to burning red when he added, “A fan of me.” Louis grinned wide, relishing in the nervous way Marcel’s Adam’s apple bobbed – the only physical sign that Louis had him cornered. Marcel opened his mouth, a tiny, aborted, half-syllable slipping out before a switch seemed to flip, his shoulders going square and strong as he lifted eyes to meet Louis’ gaze head on in challenge. “Your book,” he said, tone bored and flippant. “I’m a fan of your book,” he corrected, and Louis might’ve been inclined to believe him, if only he wasn’t still such a sweet, sweet shade of bright fucking crimson. Louis’ smile turned easy as he shrugged. “Whatever you say, darling,” he sang over his shoulder, making a show of batting his eyelashes, slow, and coquettish, and ridiculous. He chose to ignore the way Marcel’s eyes flickered, fierce and green, but he couldn’t stifle the small zip of lightning the heated look sent up his spine.

#iaw #rival authors AU #Marcel AU #snippet #WIP meme #rival authors snippet

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profiler-in-courage · 5 years

Text

I need to write more of the serial killer angle but Emerson and Gwyn are just so fun

Chapter 4.

So he comes from money, Gwyn thought as she rode in his 1960s sports car.

A detective’s pay certainly wouldn’t cover this and he didn’t seem like the type of man to use his dead wife’s life insurance money to buy a car.

No. He grew up wealthy. Though you would never know if you never saw what he drove.

Was it smart to give a man she had just met her address? No. But she trusted him. So far.

And in any case. She knew how to defend herself if it came to that. The purse she had noticed him assessing had a knife and pepper spray nestled safety within its folds.

One could never be too careful. Especially now.

Gwyn glanced over at him as they weaved through late afternoon traffic. A strand of his hair was coming out of place, curling just above his forehead.

If they knew each other better she would reach over and brush it away. But it was too early for that, though she did have the urge.

Emerson could feel her staring.

“Have you lived in Creekmore long?” he asked.

“Would you consider 33 years long?” she answered.

Emerson smiled, “Not terribly.”

Gwyn looked at him, “You’re funny.”

Emerson glanced over at her, “Am I?”

“Mmhmm,” she grinned.

They pulled up to Gwyn’s apartment complex. It was tucked away on the edge of downtown Creekmore.

“Mine is the bottom one right here. Number 12,” she said, pointing to a brick building with steps leading to a painted white door.

Emerson pulled up along the curb.

“So, what’s my rating?” he asked, tilting his head to her.

She pursed her lips in thought, “It’s rare I give five stars but I would say you have more than earned them.”

Emerson put a hand to his chest, “Phew.”

Gwyn laughed. They sat there smiling at each other for a moment.

“Would you like to come in for a drink?” she asked.

Emerson ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it to the side.

He did want to come in. But he didn’t drink. He also should be getting down to the precinct. There were two freshly dead 15 year old girls after all.

Gwyn looked hopeful sitting there waiting for his response.

Burnham could handle things for another hour or so.

“I’d love to,” he said.

He followed her up the steps and into her apartment.

It was a nice place. Minimal in design. The living room open with the kitchen area. His boots clicked on the hardwood floor.

Emerson noticed multiple abstract paintings adorning her walls along with a few black and white portraits.

Over coffee she had told him she was a painter. He wondered if the art was original.

“Did you paint these?” he asked, pointing to the frames.

She hung her purse on a coat hanger by the door.

“Oh god no. I would never hang my own work up. I’d feel like an asshole.”

Clearly Emerson didn’t know artist code.

“Pick your poison,” Gwyn said, motioning to a silver bar cart along the living room wall.

Emerson scratched the side of his head, “Well actually...I don’t drink. Water would be fine.”

He felt slightly embarrassed.

“If you didn’t want to come in you could have said no. My ego could have handled it,” she chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

Emerson shook his head, “No I wanted to come in. I just haven’t drank in years.”

“I wanted to spend more time with you,” he continued.

Was this weird? Did he overstep a boundary?

He frowned, waiting for an uncomfortable silence that didn’t come.

“Oh. Well in that case I have the best water in town,” she said, spinning towards her fridge.

Emerson smiled softly.

“You can sit down you know. The couch isn't just for decoration,” Gywn joked.

Emerson realized he’d just been standing in the middle of her living room. He took a seat on the cool leather.

He glanced down at the glass coffee table in front of him. Books on Van Gogh and Da Vinci decorated it.

Gwyn sat down beside him, placing two ice waters on coasters.

“You could have had a drink. I don’t mind,” said Emerson looking over at the lonely bar cart.

Gwyn leaned back into the couch, resting her arm at the top.

“I rarely drink, and when I do it’s usually because my paintings aren’t turning out how I want them.”

This was the part where most of her Tinder dates had tried to make a move. Scooting closer to her, outwardly kissing her, touching her leg, men were all the same.

Though Emerson made no advance.

Curious, she thought.

Instead he sipped his water and joined her relaxed posture. He left just enough space between their hands that they weren’t touching.

She concentrated on him as he asked more about her art. What style she painted in, if she sold it, where she sold it?

Was he genuinely interested in her?

She thought he had failed the test when he accepted her offer to come inside. That was always where men failed.

Her previous dates had thought an invitation inside meant something more. When in actuality she was seeing which ones were gentlemen and which ones weren’t.

Creekmore was apparently lacking in gentlemen. This detective however seemed to be an exception.

Art was what Gwyn loved. It was her passion. It was refreshing to be answering the questions of someone who wanted to know the answers.

She told him about her art school, her dropout, her second art school, her internships, and her first commissioned piece. She told him about the first few years of eating Ramen noodles every night and the day she finally sold a painting for more than a year’s rent.

And he listened. She was sure that if she gave him a quiz at the end he would pass.

Emerson watched Gwyn intently as she explained her career.

He watched the way her mouth twitched right before she was about to smirk. The way she talked with her hands when explaining something that had an emotional memory attached to it.

He ran his eyes along her face. Tracing it, then moving down her body to the tip of her black Chelsea boots.

He quickly met her gaze again.

“Now, think you can pass the test?” she asked.

Emerson made a face, “What?”

“I want to know that you were actually listening to all that?” she said, sipping her water.

Emerson held out his hand, motioning for her to proceed.

“Where did I go to college?”

He took a drink, waiting for just a moment.

“New York on your first go-round. Then Vermont,” he said, hiding a smile behind his cup.

Gwyn lifted her head in approval.

“What was my first commissioned piece?”

He smoothed the leather at the top of the couch with his thumb.

“It was an abstract painting. A splatter of pastel colors,” he answered.

“I wouldn’t quite call it a splatter but…” she teased.

Emerson grinned, he liked her more and more with each passing second.

Alright, he passed, she thought.

Gwyn clenched her jaw to hide a smile. She would have to be careful around him.

She realized that for the majority of the day they had been talking about her. She knew little things about the man sitting across from her, favorite book etc., but nothing heavy.

To ask about his dead ex or not? Maybe that was a conversation for another time.

“So Emerson, what makes you happy?”

He rested his chin on his palm, pondering.

What does make me happy? he thought.

“My sister and my niece,” he answered. “They are wonderful. And the only family I have left.”

“Oh?” asked Gwyn.

“My parents died a few years ago, a car accident,” said Emerson.

Gwyn saw the flicker of sadness in his eyes. He couldn’t hide it.

“But my sister and Abigail, my niece, are amazing,” he continued. “I spend a lot of time with them.”

Gwyn smiled tenderly.

“How old is your niece?” she asked.

“Sixteen and she doesn’t let you forget it,” Emerson scoffed.

Gwyn nodded in understanding, “That’s usually how teenagers are.”

Emerson pursed his lips in agreement.

“I um…I actually would not have met you had it not been for Abigail,” he said.

Should he admit he downloaded Tinder at the behest of a 16 year old girl? It was however, the truth.

“Why’s that?” asked Gwyn, tilting her head.

Emerson ran a hand through his hair and set his now empty glass on the coffee table.

“She made me download Tinder. She told me, and I quote, ‘Quit being a stereotypical lonely detective and get yourself a love interest’.”

Gwyn let out a hearty laugh and he began to chuckle as well.

“Well I suppose I might have to thank her one day,” she winked.

Emerson nodded slowly in agreement, the hint of a smile forming.

“Would you like another glass?” said Gwyn, motioning to his empty cup.

He stood, “Actually I should get down to the precinct. I’m sure you’ve seen the headlines recently...”

He hated that he was having to leave. He didn’t want to. But he did have a job to do. An important one.

Gwyn’s face went pale, “Yes I have. To think that’s happening in Creekmore is unnerving.”

She walked him to the door, he paused on the first step, turning to look back at her.

“Would it be too forward to ask to see you again tomorrow night?” he uttered.

Gwyn leaned on the door frame, looking at Emerson fondly.

It was at this moment that he had the urge to kiss her. And it surprised him. She had completely captivated him for the hours they had spent together.

Might want to wait until she answers, he thought.

“Tomorrow night sounds good,” she answered.

He walked the few steps back over to her, leaned his head down and kissed her on the cheek, his lips barely grazing her skin.

“Thank you for the best water in town,” he whispered.

Her eyes flipped up to his, “You’re very welcome.”

Emerson sauntered down the steps, his heart racing. A grin was tearing its way across his face.

#claes bang #these two are distracting me

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caracalfeather · 4 years

Text

WARNING- Cats and Birds is a mob AU fanfiction of the Arcana game, and is not meant for young audiences and is not meant to offend anyone. Some writing choices were made so characters are out of their canon way of acting and thinking. Please do not be offended by character choices made by the authors and content creators, this story was made for fun and in the way we wanted it to be. The story was not hijacked by any of the authors to make any ships or characters overshadow any other. All content contained in this story has been agreed upon and accepted by all parties in it’s creation.

TW- Cats and Birds contains scenes that may not be suitable with some readers, including themes of violence, smoking/drug use, sex, cursing and various other strong themes. Special warnings for scenes will be posted with chapters. Proceed with caution and Reader’s discretion is advised.

It wasn't long after that they arrived home in LA. Rose didn't stay in the house much, instead she walked the grey area, thinking.

A dog was in the park sniffing around, he saw Rose and growled, backing away. It was THE DOG, the one that started this mess.

Rose was surprised, but too tired to be mad. Instead, she kneeled and dug a snack from her bag, offering it to him with a sigh “Hey big guy….”

The dog approached her still looking fierce, almost as if he could smell the mob all over her. As he got closer he sniffed her hand and he caught a whiff of…..his master! The dog barked and took the snack running off.

Rose smiled and sighed, he was a cute guy. She started walking again, following the dog.

Madeve ran down the street to a little cafè and inn. The sign above the door read “Le Paon D’ivoire” Madeve entered through a little dog door in the side of the front door, a little bell jingling as he entered.

Rose looked at the inn curiously and walked in, she was a little hungry anyway. She walked in,smiling slightly as she watched madeve go in.

At the sound of the bell the woman behind the counter turned around and smiled, “salut! Bienvenue! I’ll be with you in a moment!” She turned around and finished the leaf latte art she was making and slid it over to a man who sat at the coffee bar. Madeve barked, “Madeve! Shh! Sorry...he usually doesn’t act this strange.” She wipes her hands off on a towel and smiles at Rose. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh um, just followed this big guy here and got curious.” The Owner smiled. Her eyes obviously looked like she needed a pick me up as she looked around “It's so cute here!”

“Oh thank you!” She smiled, “and I can tell exactly what you need.” She started pulling shots of coffee into a back and blue mug. “Madeve likes to wander but it’s rare that he ever brings people in.” She chuckled. “You must be special.” She stirred a cinnamon smelling syrup in with the shots before adding the steamed milk.

She chuckled and sat at the coffee bar “I..I doubt it. But thank you.” she put some cash on the counter and sighed happily at the smell.

The Owner set the cup and a plate with a croissant down in front of her. “It’s on the house, besides, it looks like you’ve had a rough night.” She leaned over the counter trying to be friendly.

Rose leaned over and put the cash in the tip jar before sighing “Rough few weeks actually. Guy troubles, you know?” She took a sip of coffee and groaned at the taste “This..is way too good.”

She blushed and smiled, “Thank you! Although I can’t take credit….my...friend thought of it. He called it the ‘Cat Call’ . I'll keep it coming. I’ve had my fair share of heart to hearts about men.” She did air quotes when she stated the name of the drink.

How ironic rose thought before looking up at the woman “Yeah? Sometimes i think it'd be best for me just to stay single…”

“Well, I’ve been single for 3 years. I’ve been doing alright. But I’m biased, I’m sure whatever man is causing you weeks of headache isn’t worth it.” She sighed Madeve leaning up against Rose’s leg.

Rose pat his head “Yeah.. but i still love him..before everything started i was gonna ask him to marry me...guess i got my hopes up for nothing.” She finished the coffee and sighed

“If you’ve been together for that long and this has just started happening, it may just be your man working through something really personal. Have you talked to him about it?” She picked up the cup and started another cup.

“Yeah. Apparently a lot happened with his..ex.” She mumbled “He refuses to get help and it was hurting me…”

The owner of the shop nodded, “he needs space. Once he gets over the heartache of his ex, then his mind should clear up and he’ll be ready to seek help.” She slid the cup over to her, before she continued what she was saying one of the guests called to her, “HEY LY! WHY DON'T YOU SING FOR US?!?! It’s such a nice day!” Lyra rolled her eyes and whipped around towards the guests, “BART! You know I don’t sing anymore! And if your band wants to keep receiving free food I suggest you stop bugging me about it.” Bart laughed and waved his hand at her.

And there on her shoulder was a nasty scar. It looked like a bullet had barely grazed her.

Rose looked at the scar for a moment and then looked away, she didn't want to pry, instead she smiled “Um… I sing a little bit. Maybe i could do a little show since you won't let me actually pay?” She giggled and stood.

With a wide smile Ly nodded, “knock yourself out, there’s records by the mic!” Madeve wagged his tail.

Rose walked over and chose a record, going over as the beginning notes of ‘Le festin’ started to play. Upbeat, soft, and a song ilya taught her.

The Owner was impressed by her good pronunciation. The entire cafe seemed interested and smiled. Ly hummed the tune to herself.

After Rose finished, she blushed, her heart aching slightly as she sat back down, embarrassed.

Ly applauded her, “that was impressive! You sounded so amazing!” She smiled and slid another cup of coffee towards her, “have you trained anywhere?”

Bart and his band started pounding their fists on the table wanting an encore….and for Ly to sing.

Rose smiled “No.. My boyfriend taught me french. And the song. He occasionally spoke it.” She looked at the band and laughed “I think they want more!”

“What do you think I should do to bend their will?!” She leaned in close and muttered with a soft laugh. Madeve sneezing in agreement.

Rose giggled “If you have a song, we could duet if you'd like. I enjoy the music.” She glanced at the men and smiled

“It’s been a few years….but I think I remember the choreography to one.” She smiled, “I’ll warm up the crowd, you choose our duet.”

She walked over to the mic and the entire cafe was watching, as she started to sing “Tangled up” commanding the attention of everyone, she moved with a certain level of sensuality. Walking on top of tables, from table to table as if she were born to do it.

Rose blushed and watched her in aw until getting ready for the duet, choosing the show stopping ‘La seine’ song that she’d learned to dance to.

The crowd roared as the song ended, it felt good sinking back into her old skin. Even if it was for just a few minutes. She returned to Rose. “You ready?”

“As i'll ever be.” She smiled and started the music, enjoying herself to the fullest.

Ly harmonized with her, knowing it was all for fun. She was used to being a star, but being in the background making someone else feel good. It was amazing, and Rose was such a good singer.

After they finished, Rose laughed “That was amazing! I have to go but…``Rose dug a card out of her bag and smiled “Keep in touch.” The card read R. Sagena, Caracal den co.

“I will. Come anytime,Madeve really likes your company!” She giggled, “which is weird, he’s usually clingy to me. You must be really special.”

“You know, i'm usually a cat person. But i think he’s an exception.” She smiled and left, driving home with a new smile.

#the arcane game #arcana apprentice #the arcana #the arcane julian #julian devorak #the arcane mc #the arcana julian #rose sagenea #rose the apprentice #lyra the apprentice #mob au #cats and birds

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bestillmyslashyheart · 5 years

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“For fuck’s sake, guys! We’re NOT dating” - Malex (but they are dating)

Happy happy birthday @caitlesshea!!!! (And I’m actually on the right day this time yay!) I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Michael grinned as he looked around the room. Next to him, Isobel and Maria were quickly getting into a heated debate about something that he didn’t understand. He’d tried to follow along but it involved too much psychic-ness for him to process. Watching the two of them get more and more animated as they clearly enjoyed the back and forth was far more entertaining, to be honest. He knew it should be weird, watching his sister and his ex-girlfriend flirt right in front of him but so much of his life was weird that he just brushed it off.

Across the room, Liz and Kyle were trying to be overproductive older siblings to Rosa. Every time Rosa grabbed something to drink, one of her two younger siblings would snatch it out of her hand with a glare. Michael was trying to decide over/under five minutes before Rosa lost it on both of them.

Next to them, Alex, Max, and Cam seemed lost in a conversation about some kind of weapon. Michael wasn’t entirely sure which one, only catching every third word or so from where he stood, but they were all smiling so he assumed it wasn’t a weapon meant to wipe out all aliens on Earth.

They’d gotten rid of that when they’d dismantled Project Shepherd for good. Hopefully, at least.

All of that was behind them now. Jesse Manes, Noah, Max being dead, all of it. They’d suffered through it all and made it out the other side somehow and Michael was insanely grateful. But more than that, he thought idly as he let his eyes rake over Alex’s form, he was grateful that he hadn’t completely fucked over his relationship with Alex in the midst of all the madness.

It had been touch and go there for a while, especially after Caulfield and Michael dating Maria, but that was all in their past. Now, they were friends. Actually, really friends for the first time in their relationship. And it was great. It let them have days like today.

Michael sipped his beer without looking away from Alex. The other man had shown up at his door early this morning and whisked him away on a whirlwind tour around Roswell. Notably, their old haunts. It had been a gorgeous day and Alex had planned a picnic out in the desert where they used to go play guitars, even bringing two guitars with him so they could play together again.

Michael closed his eyes briefly at the memory. It was only a few hours ago but he already knew it was a memory he’d cherish forever.

“Oi!” Liz called as she joined his little group. “Stop ogling your boyfriend.” She teased.

Michael rolled his eyes. The rest of them had taken to making cracks about their relationship lately and it was starting to annoy him.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” He shot back.

Liz gave him a look of disbelief. “Right, right. You’re just ‘friends’.” She made air quotes with her fingers.

“We are.” Michael insisted.

Isobel and Maria both scoffed, finally tuning into the new conversation happening right next to them. Michael glared at them. “We are.”

“I hate to be the one to break it to you, Mikey,” Liz put a patronizing hand on his arm. “You two are in a relationship. Congrats!” She took a sip of her beer while Maria and Isobel nodded and made noises of agreement.

“For fuck’s sake, guys! We’re not dating!” Michael yelled and the room went silent. Michael winced before looking at Alex. He had paused with his beer halfway to his lips as everyone turned to stare at him. He looked at Michael then at everyone else and shrugged.

“We’re not.” He agreed. “We’re just friends.”

Cam snorted. “Friends. Right. Yeah, totally.” She shook her head slightly as she gave them both a mock thumbs up.

“We are.” Alex insisted quietly.

“Uhuh,” Cam answered. “You know what I do for all of my friends? I plan a surprise birthday party just for them even though they have two siblings just so they don’t have to share a party.” Michael’s eyes widened as he watched a blush spread over Alex’s cheeks. He hadn’t known that the party tonight was Alex’s idea. He’d just assumed it was Isobel’s. Or maybe Maria’s. “Oh! And I definitely, absolutely, always plan a super romantic picnic just the two of us in the middle of an entire day of plans with just the two of us because I can’t bear to not spend their birthday with them. That’s exactly what I do with all of my friends.” She glared at Alex as he started to fidget. Around the room, their friends were smiling and laughing. Some tried to be polite and hide it behind their hands but some, like Liz and Kyle, were just outright chortling.

After a beat Alex shrugged again. “Ok fine. Maybe we’re dating.”

“Maybe,” Kyle agreed sarcastically.

“Hey, don’t I get a say in any of this?” Michael butt in teasingly. Except the way Alex froze told him that Alex didn’t take it as a tease.

Michael rolled his eyes and put his beer down on the table before rounding the couch and crossing the room. Alex watched him approach but didn’t say anything or move towards him.

“I don’t remember you ever asking me out.” Michael said softly, ignoring everyone else. “I was kinda hoping for flowers. Maybe some chocolate? You said when we did this for real we were going to do this right. Dating me without me knowing it doesn’t seem right.”

The tips of Alex’s ears turned bright red as he glanced towards the kitchen. Across the room, Kyle sputtered as he tried to hold in a laugh. Michael just raised an eyebrow as Alex took a sip of his beer.

“There uh-there might be flowers in the kitchen,” Alex admitted softly when he put the bottle down next to him.

“Oh yeah?” Michael asked, a grin spreading slowly across his lips.

“We gotta do it right, right?” Alex shrugged one shoulder as he stared at Michael’s lips.

“Right,” Michael agreed softly as they collided together.

He thought he might have heard a whoop behind him as he cupped Alex’s face and felt his fingers in his curls but he ignored it in favor of savoring the taste and feel of Alex’s lips. As the kiss dragged on, he started to hear some grumblings from their audience but he only tilted Alex’s head for a better angle as they kept kissing.

Finally, a shove at his shoulder forced them to break apart. Michael turned to glare at Max, the effect ruined somewhat by his kiss-swollen lips and mild panting, but he thought his point came across. Max shook his head at him and looked away.

“Save it for later. Please.” He begged mildly. “When we’re all gone.”

Michael swung an arm around to point at the door.

“Thanks for coming. Have a good night and drive safe!” Alex told them all as he dug a hand into the waistband of Michael’s jeans and pulled him back in.

Michael was helpless to resist as he fell back into Alex’s arms.

Later, when they finally broke apart long enough to speak, the room was empty, everyone having taken their cue and fled.

“Happy Birthday,” Alex told him softly. He pressed another quick kiss to his lips before adding, “old man.”

“Old man!?” Michael pulled back, offended. “I’m 29!”

“Yeah and I’m 28. Which makes you the old man.” Alex retorted, a grin playing at the corners of his lips. Michael started to object but Alex stole the words right out of his mouth with another hungry kiss.

“Lucky for you, I like older men.”

#malex fic #malex #roswell new mexico #rnm #my fic #caitlesshea

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fangirlinglikeabus · 5 years

Text

i read some non vna dw books a while ago but because i am a Clown i’ve only just finished typing up notes on them...i think my next dw book i’ll make notes as i go rather than just marking the pages and Hoping I Remember. anyway! here’s my thoughts on thirteen doctors 13 stories. i have more opinions on some than others.

A BIG HAND FOR THE DOCTOR

"...Susan, who was possibly the only person in the universe who could make the Doctor smile at the mere thought of her."

awwwwww

didn't really like this one that much - i wasn't too impressed with eoin colfer's characterisation of the first doctor (esp since pre-ian and barbara i don’t think he’d willingly attempt to stop some villains until susan was in danger)

THE NAMELESS CITY

Polly...once described him as looking like an unmade bed.

lmao

...he didn't know exactly what he was, though when he was growing up, he had heard tales of the legendary fairy creatures of the Unseelie Court who haunted Scotland's deepest valleys. He suspected the Doctor might be one of the dark Sith.

HEAVILY vibe with this concept the world is saved by bagpipes.......peak dw THE SPEAR OF DESTINY

"You know what I love about London?" he said, turning to her briefly. She sighed. "I'm sure I can't guess." "It's the only city in the universe where you can drive around in a car that's seventy years old and get away with it." "Who says you're getting away with it?" Jo muttered.

nkdfsjksn

"Fire away!"

"Oh, Doctor, please. Not after that business at the museum."

no doctor is immune to the temptation of a good pun. no matter how inappropriate. actually i really like how jo and three are written in this generally. there's so many good scenes. also, when the doctor asks her why she doesn't know anything about the vikings: "Doctor, we did the Romans. Every year." rip jo

From a distance the Doctor watched as a group of about twenty men loaded the TARDIS on to the back of a large low wagon pulled by four sturdy oxen.

jo: the doctor told me about the perception filter on the tardis so it'll be fine! they won't even spot it. literally the next scene, immediately:

She longed to stand and give this old goat a piece of her mind, but she knew she'd most likely fall over if she tried, which wasn't the effect she was after.

aw jo :(

"Do you know they wash once a week?" "Could have fooled me," muttered Jo.

*desperately resists the urge to write down every jo line in this story*

"I have the ship. And I have the spear. What need have I of you any more?"

the master is betrayed. to the surprise of no-one but himself.

The Doctor held her by the shoulders. "My dear girl," he said. "That is very noble of you. You were right. Your aspirations /are/ the very noblest. But you're wrong about something. Nothing is more important than you."

me, sobbing:

ROOTS OF EVIL

realised as i was reading this that i don't own any books featuring leela.....a crime

"Surprise!" the Doctor said. "You know you were complaining that you missed trees?"

this is actually the cutest thing no-one look at me

She could never understand why the Doctor was so careless of danger. It was a good thing he had her to look after him, she thought, as he opened the TARDIS door and they stepped out together into dim, green light and the earthy, warm-compost smell inside the great tree.

phillip reeve gets the four+leela dynamic. like. he Gets it.

"It will not hurt you," she promised. "It is called a 'scarf'. It is like a cloak, only pointless."

ousdofnsoksfd

"Did it look a bit like a gravel pit? You'd be amazed how many alien worlds look just like gravel pits..."

what is doctor who. without quarry jokes.

"I mean, he's wearing a bow tie!" the Doctor explained patiently. "Ridiculous objects! I wouldn't be seen dead in a bow tie!"

1) says the guy who wears an obnoxiously long scarf everywhere 2) honey, you've got a big storm coming

TIP OF THE TONGUE

there's a scene in this where nyssa and the doctor chill at a diner and they drink chocolate milkshakes together. this is all i care about.

Good Lord, was that celery he was wearing on his lapel?

Yeah We Know

"Are you British?" Nettie said, as if this was the most surprising part of the whole thing.

i mean, fair

He paused. "I don't suppose either of you would be interested in travelling?"

the fifth doctor: hey one of my friends died recently and i abandoned the other one but i really miss having a large crew so i was wondering if you two literal children would like to risk your life travelling with me :)

SOMETHING BORROWED

you'd think given this one is from peri's pov she'd be slightly more central to the plot. ah well.

"That's two storeys up!" I exclaimed. "And I'm in heels." "Well then, you should have worn more sensible shoes, shouldn't you?"

maybe she lives in hope that she won't have to do any running/scale buildings every time she steps out of the tardis. i get that.

"Well, you are the expert when it comes to gaudy," I said, giving a meaningful look to his red-and-yellow plaid coat and green tie.

every six story is legally obligated to drag his coat

The Doctor shook the man's hand vigorously. "Yes, yes. A little different round the edges since our last meeting on Kiri 4, but all the charm and intellect are still here."

i love this bastard.......

"Love? That contrived, chemically driven state of idiocy?"

mood

A clatter of metal was the sole warning I had before a hole in the ceiling suddenly opened, and the Doctor came tumbling down to the floor, landing in an ungraceful heap of rainbow plaid. Nonetheless, he rose to his feet with all the dignity of an Olympic gymnast who'd just landed a perfect somersault.

not to sound like a broken record but i would Die for this idiot

withholding myself from using more quotes to illustrate my unbridled love for the sixth doctor whom..........

"You might regret not helping me with this one day," she [the Rani] called over to us. "Your next regeneration may be sooner than you think."

Huh. I Wonder What That's Referring To

RIPPLE EFFECT

From the look on his face, Ace reckoned that a visit to the Time Lords was something similar to her having to visit the dentist back on Earth.

i mean to be fair.....the time lords are a whole lot worse although in this case the doctor's reasons for not wanting to visit are: (i) they're 'old, boring and judgemental' (ii) they have stupid clothes and a stupid non-intervention policy (iii) they treat him 'like a naughty schoolboy' (can't have that in front of your companion!)

i apparently didn't have many comments to make on this one. um...it was good. i liked the idea of an alternate universe with nice daleks. MOVING ON

SPORE

"They're all dead....everyone's dead, flesh turned to liquid. It moves...There are things! Moving things! They're alive..." Major Platt looked up at the Doctor. "The caller became incoherent after that and disconnected shortly after." The Doctor drummed his fingers thoughtfully against the top of the aluminium folding-table between them. "Hmm...That really doesn't sound very good."

YEAH YA THINK?

"I was at the opera," the Doctor explained, "when my phone went off."

this is his excuse for That outfit. really just copying everything from grace here huh

THE BEAST OF BABYLON

She also didn't yet know that he wasn't a man at all.

yeah cos he's non-binary duh

"So now we're landing on Earth," he shouted, "two thousand years before the birth of Christ..." "Who?" "He was a bit like Sherlock Holmes. Knew the answers to everything. Very good at solving mysteries. Some humans use him to measure time."

obsessed with the implications of this dialogue...

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED COTTAGE

absolutely love the concept of this one...a world created from martha's memories of reading a famous five expy as a child

"What?" Martha said defensively, keeping her voice down. "That's how he was described in the books. Don't blame me. This was 1951. Everything back then was blinkered, sexist, and ever-so-slightly racist. It was a backward time." "Ah, yes," said the Doctor, "because 2007 has none of those things."

vibe with this convo

"Am I lonely?" Martha asked. "You're a particle of dust," the Doctor said. "Of course you're not lonely." "I sound lonely." "Well you're not; you're having a great time."

this conversation where the doctor tells martha to imagine herself as a particle of dust has exactly the same kind of energy as discussions you have at 3am at a sleepover

NOTHING O'CLOCK

Amy looked irritated. She wasn't irritated, but she liked to give him the impression she was, just to show him who was boss.

yeah...

ok the villains in this one are actually really fucked up like. it's been a While since i read it now because i procrastinated on making these notes but they were Good creepy. thank you mr gaiman.

LIGHTS OUT

now THIS is one where the pov heavily contributes to the story...

He turns to look at me with piercing, hollow-set grey eyes, then furrows his impressive silvery brows. "I'm buying a coffee," he says. "For a girl."

so THAT'S why twelve took so long to find coffee for clara......he wasn't buying it on earth. good vibes

TIME LAPSE

i absolutely LOVE the concept for this one, which is that the year 2004 completely disappears from records

A typed envelope reading The Doctor, The TARDIS, Ex-Gallifrey followed by a long string of numbers, letters, and things that probably were letters but looked like they came from about eight different languages.

obsessed with the fact that (i) you can apparently send letters to the tardis, like it has an actual address (mel throwing a message in a bottle into space doesn't seem so unreasonable now huh...) (ii) part of this address is 'ex-gallifrey'

this dude gets rejected. and is so badly embarrassed that he erases 2004 from existence. i promise i'm not making this up.

#laura reads dw books #long post #oof i promise the other one i've got notes for isn't this long.....i just had a lot of Thoughts #aside from eoin colfer's i actually really enjoyed all the stories! would highly recommend this collection

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fluffy-marshmallow-heart · 5 years

Text

Prompt #88-Beckett x Oriana

88. “I know how this goes. First you buy me a drink, then you tell me how pretty I look, and then, at the end of the night, you ask for my number.” Oriana x Beckett

Given to me by @drakewalkerfantasy

Words: 1419

Oriana was sitting at the bar, alone, nursing her martini. It had been a rough day. Her boyfriend cheated on her, and he was also her boss, so being as emotional as she was, she stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her while shouting that she quits.

She couldn’t understand how she missed the signs. He was constantly working late, taking hushed calls and texting. But he was an assistant manager, and he convinced her it was all part of the job. It made perfect sense until that afternoon. She’d gone into his office, with every intention of surprising him with a blowjob. The door was locked, which she considered odd, however, she knew the passcode as she’d snuck in here many times to service him as he worked. She was completely turned on by being on her knees under his desk and blowing him while anyone could walk in or call his phone at any moment. But today, someone else’s ass was perched on his desk, while he ate her out vigorously, the woman’s head thrown back in lust and encouraging him along.

Oriana’s blood had boiled in anger, and she made sure the office heard what a man-whore he was for banging some intern on his desk in the middle of the day. Living in a large city, there were plenty of bars around for her to drown her sorrows, and she was just getting started.

“I’ll have another.” She told the bartender as he came to check on her. He gave her a nod and prepared her drink.

“You’re Oriana, right?” A voice came from behind. She glanced at the man who took the seat next to her.

“Unfortunately.” She responded. She was in no mood to deal with anyone that knew her or wanted to know her. She didn’t know who this guy was, but she could admit he was cute. He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, and broad shoulders, the kind you could just grab onto while riding his cock into oblivion. She shook her head to clear that thought from her mind.

“Do I know you?” She asked

“No, but…you don’t even recognize me?” The man asked hesitantly.

She rose an eyebrow. “If I did, I wouldn’t be asking.”

He stuck his hand out to her. “Beckett Harrington.”

“Beckett Harrington…why does that sound familiar?” She could swear she’d never seen him before, but his name sounded familiar, as though she’s heard it somewhere, and possibly more than once.

She took his hand and gasped slightly as she felt a current of electricity course through her. His eyes widened, and she had the sense that he felt it too. He quickly let go, rubbing the back of his neck, a blush creeping onto his face.

“Perhaps around the office.” He told her shyly.

And there it was. Now she remembered. Beckett Harrington, a rising star in the architectural firm she worked in. Used to work in, she reminded herself. She’s heard his name several times, and not much of it was good. Supposedly he had zero personality, no sense of humor, and held himself in such high regard that he looked down his nose on everyone around him.

“Right. I remember.” She replied shortly. “And why are you here? The day is not finished, and I know you have a tendency to work late.”

She knew this because her now ex-boyfriend raved about him once while she was swirling her tongue around the tip of his dick. Her gaze hardened at the memory. Come to think of it, he’d never pleasured her in his office. He always made excuses after she finished sucking him off.

“I, uh…said I wasn’t feeling well and left right after you.” He confessed, the tips of his ears now red.

Oriana couldn’t help but think his blushing was adorable. “And why did you do that?” She pressed.

“Well…ugh…I heard what happened…”

“Pretty sure everyone did.” Oriana cut in.

“…Right. Well. I know you quit and I…just…wanted to know that you’ll be okay. Most people don’t just quit their jobs like that.”

“Most people aren’t fucking their cheating boss.” She retorted angrily. “And where do you get off, following me here? You work there too, and from what I’ve heard you’ve never even been 30 seconds late, let alone take a sick day. And clearly you’re not sick.”

“I didn’t follow you…it still took me a few minutes to get out the door; you were long gone by then. And I apologize for my intrusion. As I said, I…”

“So then, how’d you know I was at this bar?” She asked, confused.

He quickly turned beet red. “I didn’t.”

“Oh. So, you just randomly walked into the same bar I was, when there’s literally 6 other ones between here and the office, and said you want to make sure I’m okay?” She rolled her eyes. “You are so full of shit. And I don’t have time for it. I’m getting drunk.” She downed her second martini, signaling she wanted a third to the bartender.

“Five. There’s five other bars before this one.” The words just slipped out of his mouth and he squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment.

She turned back to him slowly. “And you know that how…?”

“I, um…I may have just…” He swallowed hard. “I have been down this avenue many times. I know the area.”

Truthfully, he’d popped into each one until he found her. He was very pleased with himself for knowing she’d directly go drink somewhere. He figured most people would do this exact thing in her situation. He wasn’t actually familiar with any of the bars, as he very rarely frequented one. He didn’t know what he would do if he never found her. He didn’t know too much about her. He’d always kept his distance, afraid to introduce himself. Her relationship was no secret. Jason’s affair, however, was. Everyone was shocked by what happened. Beckett had a suspicion that he was cheating on her, as he was always very observant to his surroundings, and the guy had arrogance written all over him.

His eyes inadvertently traveled down along her curves, accentuated by his favorite green dress. Not that he should have a favorite dress on her at all, but he couldn’t help but admire the way the green of the dress brought out the emerald in her eyes.

She sighed warily. “Got it. Listen Beckett, I know how this goes. First you buy me a drink, then you tell me how pretty I look, and then, at the end of the night, you ask for my number.”

A smirk spread across his features as he leaned in to murmur in her ear. “Actually, I’m hoping there will be no end of the night, and I won’t need to get your number until the morning.”

Feeling extraordinarily bold, he reached one hand around her waist and brought his other to cup the back of her neck as he nibbled gently on her earlobe. She gasped at the sensation before he pulled back and cupped her face in his hands. “You know, Oriana, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”

“Do you use that quote on all the girls, or just me?” She joked. She recognized it from a movie she’d seen recently about a zoo. If she remembered correctly, it was based on a book.

“Actually I've always wanted to, but never saw an opportunity worthy of it. I’ve only used it to walk out of that office, walk into this bar, sit down next you, and now to kiss you.” Leaning forward, he saw her eyes sparkling before he captured her lips with his own. She moaned into it unexpectedly, surprised by the tenderness and electricity flowing between them, running her fingers through his hair before he broke the kiss breathlessly.

“And you’re right. I am going to buy you a drink. I am going to tell you how pretty you look, although I would use the term gorgeous. And I will get your number. Just not tonight.”

Oriana stared at him a moment, unsure if going home with a random guy is really a good idea. But then…Jason’s obviously feeling good…why shouldn’t someone make me feel the same? He also clearly respects this guy...it would kill him to know I'm sleeping with his "up and coming star."

“Pay for my drink and let’s get out of here then.” She trailed a finger down his surprisingly hard chest. After all, what’s the worst that can happen?

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