#alright see ya

[egg-emperor]

genuinely so fucked up from exhaustion rn my brain is dead but as always and as will remain forever. Eggman sexy

good night at 8 am

[mfrw-non-canon]

*I curl up and go to sleep*

*you find yourself in a late night walk near some train tracks, it’s a bit windy, you notice a picture on the ground* -@the-torn-soul

*i pick up the picture*

[seirindono]

The Missing Scarf VIII - part 56

Some things can't be fixed that easily.

Like us.

First part | Prev | Next

Ko-fi | Patreon | Comic | Commissions  | To support the comic

[wandixx]

Ghost of fries and Hero of cookies

All work words count: 14 593

Words in this part: 2 224

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay Or Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: First meeting and training discussions Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

Duke was running out of fumes to run on. Last few days would be exhausting if it was just vigilante or just civilian stuff but no, he had to have it both. Because of Arkham break out he had been called in three nights in a row, not for a whole patrol but he couldn't exactly sleep it of during the day like others did, especially not in a week when every teacher decided they need to have test or quiz or what not. Naps meant he wasn't as sleep deprived as he could be but he needed far more. But he couldn't because crime in Gotham never sleeps so he had normal patrol to finish and there were about two ours left.

Would something bad happen if he just stopped for a moment and laid on a roof? Ten up to fifteen minutes. It was a slow day too...

Yeah, no, he deserved a moment to rest and if something disastrous was to happen in the meantime he would shame other Bats for not giving him enough time to sleep.

It certainly said something that he found gravel covering this roof to be quite comfortable. He set a timer for ten minutes and let himself close his eyes.

When loud screech of timer jolted him awake, he was suddenly fully aware that he wasn't alone anymore. He sat up a little too quickly.

"Oh, you're awake," white haired girl around Damian's age chimed, sitting cross legged just few feets away from him. She wore something that could only be described as an unholy mix of lab safety hazmat and skintight workout jumpsuit, white and black. When had Gotham gotten a new vigilante? "Good, I just returned from snack hunt," she added, gesturing at a big textile bag lying next to her. Duke didn't have enough brainpower to do anything more than ask.

"What?"

Girl shrugged, take out from BatBurger in her hand.

"You look like you have a bad day if not few days, so I've got you my cousin's bad day combo or at least closest thing I could. BatBurger burger isn't as good as NastyBurger but you certainly have better fries," as she spoke, second take out bag, 1 quart bottle of energy drink, juice bottle of same size and pack of convenience store brownies joined greasy paper bag sealed with a sticker.

"Is your cousin a speedster?" Excuse Duke, it was a totally valid question, he saw with his bare eyes both Wally West and Bart Allen when they visited Manor. Noone else would be able to stomach the amount of food they inhaled during their stays.

"Nah, we're not that fast or that hungry. Though I think I may get closer to speed of sound," So, clearly a meta if white hair and weir aura that let his eyes rest weren't enough indication "My cousin when he has bad few days he often forgets to eat so this combo has to help with there too. But I'll steal your fries of course."

Duke was not going to look gift horse in teeth, so he grabbed one bag and tore it open. There was classic combo with bigger fries and NightWings inside.

"Thank you..." he trailed off, hoping that girl would take a clue and introduce herself but she didn't. She just drowned her fries in ketchup and started munching. She had her own juice.

"My cousin always said that each part of this combo has different purpose," she explained instead, slightly muffled because of fries in her mouth, "This" she gestured towards fast food meal "is to sooth your stomach. This "she tapped energy drink "is to sooth your brain and kick it back online. This "she raised bottle of juice, "is to sooth your taste buds because energy drinks are war crime against them and this "she nudged brownies "is to sooth your heart because Ancients damn it, this day is awful and you deserve it. At least that's what he told me when I had day bad enough to deserve that," she shrugged, licking ketchup of her finger. Suddenly she froze "You aren't allergic, are you?

"No, I'm not," he confessed bewildered.

"Good"

For a long moment they sat in silence, devouring food the little girl brought. Duke distantly wondered if this was how night shift spent their snack breaks. It felt nice.

He was finishing his part of brownies when girl spoke up again.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah" he was a little surprised to realize that it was true. He'll have to note down what she put in this 'bad day combo'. "Thank you"

"Don't mention it," she shrugged with general gesture of dismissal, "You're one of my cousin's favorite heroes because you're vaguely his age and handle Gotham alone during the day and I quote, "she did honest to God air quotes at that" 'As only hero in Amity-' which is a lie by the way, Val is doing great and even if he suddenly got problem with how she feels about his alter ego, he still has Sam and Tuck even if they're usually more of moral support. And I helped when I visited, so no, he isn't only one. Anyway as he said 'As only hero in Amity, my heart goes out for anyone who deals with this type of bullshit so Dani if you absolutely have to prank heroes, leave them out of it, especially Signal, he can't be older than Jazz, he doesn't need any more mess to handle.' All aliens and lanterns are also off limits because he is a space nerd. But you aren't space related so I'm like 80% percent sure he has celebrity crush on you," she slurped more juice, unbothered.

Duke was thankful he wasn't swallowing anything because for sure she would choke. He took split second to consider addressing... this whole situation and choose not to. He was not ready to be anyone's celebrity crush.

"Your name is Danny?" he asked instead.

"Dani" she corrected" with an I"

"Ok. It's nice to meet you Dani-with-an-I," She giggled, nodding her head slightly.

"It's nice to meet you too Signal"

Duke stood up, stretching a little. Dani joined him after hastily putting all the trash in her bag. She was a little higher than expected.

"I have to get back to my patrol"

"Cool," she drifted back a bit, making him realize that she was floating a few inches above the ground. She fixed her bag on her arm.

"Hey, can I hang out a little bit more? My cousin will go green out of jealousy when I tell him," she added with a mischievous smirk but Duke could tell there was more to it. He took a moment to consider it, which apparently made girl nervous "I can be invisible the whole time, like before," she offered, disappearing in the meantime. He could still tell where she was, because of her heat signature and other waves she excluded but for regular people she would be no different than surrounding air.

"Yeah, you can hang around and you don't have to be invisible. Just don't get in my way when I have to actually do some fighting."

She popped back to visible spectrum and pouted like Damian whenever he got benched.

"I can fight, y'know? I stopped mugging on a snack run."

It was ten god damn minutes, how could she get so much food and stop mugging in such a short time?!

Oh, right, superspeed. Still, impressive.

"I haven't seen it-" he started, channeling all Dick-trying-to-wrangle-Damian-into-socially-acceptable-activity energy he could muster "-so I don't know how you fight or even what powers do you have. If we tried to fight together we would trip over each other" It was a bare faced lie, Bat training made sure of that but he knew for fact that if he said anything else, the girl would be mad and probably did her own thing.

Was that what Bruce thought about all of them?

Oh no.

Dani still looked displeased but after a moment of consideration she nodded with a defeated sigh.

Suddenly she straightened like she got struck by lightning and whipped around.

"Wha-"

She just shushed, raising finger to her mouth. Duke did indeed quietened.

"I have enhanced hearing," she whispered "There is a mugging somewhere this way."

"Let's go then," he shot his grapple, waving his other hand at Dani to come with him before he jumped off the roof. He heard the girl giggle as she flew right after him.

"After this you'll show me the coolest gargoyles, okay? Sam asked for photos"

"Okay"

It seemed that the end of this patrol wouldn't be as bad as the start was. Hopefully.

And afterwards he was going to lock himself in his room until sky falls down or he was well rested.

Yeah, that was a good plan.

********

"Hey kid," Signal started, dropping from fire escape to cuff weirdo in clown mask who Dani just fought. He did it deliberately slowly to show her how to do it like he always did. She choose to not be to annoyed at being called kid again and noted to herself to come up with good codename later. All her previous ideas apparently weren't cutting it and she couldn't keep going by Dani because reasons.

"Yes?"

"Who gave you a combat training?" he asked getting up from a crouch and gesturing towards roof. So it's going to be longer talk, okay.

"My cousin," well, Flashes in Central taught her some stuff but it was more rescue and reassure type of deal not punch and kick, Sam tried to get her through basics of psychological warfare in activism, Tucker sweared he would teach her some programming and hacking but never got around to it, Jazz did some emotional training and Val offered to teach her Red Huntress skills when she got back, but yeah, all in all, Danny was the one to show her how to punch people. Even though it was more of 'shit we have to fight, observe maybe, idk' most of the time. She picked some tricks from Vlad too now that she thought about it, not that she planned to give him any credit for it, like, ever. "Why?"

"I have a bone to pick with him," vigilante announced, melting with the shadows. Dani sped as much as she could to beat him to the roof. She was competitive spirit like that.

Unfortunately he was first. She made another note to herself (she was so going to forget them in next five to ten minutes) to train her speed a bit more. She got tips from the guy with the title of The Fastest Man Alive for crying out loud, she shouldn't loose with the person who technically doesn't even have superspeed!

Signal sat cross legged on the gravel and tossed her a healthy granola bar. He kept doing it for some reason.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but almost everything in your fighting technique is horrible. Your cousin did shitty job as a teacher" he started in warm slightly teasing tone. Dani felt attacked anyway.

"It's not like he has any sort of training either," she started, trying to sound nonchalant, rolling her eyes. "Cut him some slack," She bit a snack in attempt to cover her furry. It had chocolate and raspberries, was quite tasty and she was kinda hungry anyway. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how Signal knew it though "Everything he learned is from the trial and error by crashing through a few walls. Quite hard to care about 'technique'. I at least got his mistakes to learn from so don't you dare to speak about him like that!" alright, she lost it, she can admit it. But, Signal might be cool and Danny may or may not like him (she hoped he didn't, Val was much better option) but Gotham's hero had no right to say anything bad about her template. He didn't know anything. He didn't understand.

Signal looked like he was going to say something so she put her ghostly vocal cords to use and growled.

Don't-harm-family/will-fight/ protect-mine/don't-you-dare

She didn't stop to consider how unlikely it was for him to understand her. She crossed her hands on her chest, glaring.

Turned out, growl was enough of the warning. He carefully picked his next words.

"Sorry, it's not the way I should've phrase it," he started, his mouth doing the thing it did when people were embarrassed with themselves but in an uncomfortable, a bit angry way. He understood his mistake, good. She calmed her glare a bit. "I wasn't aware of you circumstances. If you want, I can show you some tricks, Batman is very throughout with his training"

"No, thank you, I'm good" she was still mad. So mad. And she was not pouting.

"Of course you're good but you can be better, more efficient."

"No." Whatever Signal would propose to her, she wouldn't agree. He said mean things about Danny not even a minute before. She couldn't let him have it on a principle!

"I'll give you a cookie after every training," he pleaded "The homemade, tasty one"

Well, that changed things. A lot of things.

"Yes please!"

He apologized anyway.

********************

Second part

I know democratic winner in poll for now is "publish all at once" and believe me, I respect democracy, especially now that I finally have rights to do things, but Tumblr wouldn't let me. Too long or something. So, it'll be in parts, sorry guys. I'll try to post all of the parts this weekend though (or one each day, I'll see).

Yes, I didn't have a name for this fic until five minutes ago, how did you know? It's quite alright though, I think. If you have better idea I may reconsider

[theosdoor]

BFDI:TPOT 1^2: Something Terrible is Brewing

Also Zro x 15 under the cut

[harpoonsnotspoons]

i dont actually feel like waiting. here you go

actually before i leave does anyone want me to drop the link to my playlist

[luckyreds]

The fics mentioned in this post by @lesbiandarvey for the people who want to sample some true vintage winnix

Most were still up, however there were a few I couldn’t find on ao3 or on the waybackmachine😭 it seems the author’s own work has been purged from the internet…the sacred texts…gone🤧

General, Your Tank is a Powerful Vehicle (General, dein Tank ist ein starker Wagen)

Nixon and Winters getting all hot and bothered in the cold snowy front of the Ardennes.

There must be a word

Dick Winters knows something unusual is going on, but he can't seem to find the right word.

nameless PWP

as the name suggests. (the og poster called it the closest thing to porn they had, oh how far we've come :'). )

Rules of the game

(doesn't have a summary, but it's really good, a neat little Harry Pov taking place just after Carentan with hints of Welsh/Winters/Nixon)

The 500-word wintersxnixon New Year’s challenge

as the title suggests, you can find a bunch of short stories here! haven't read them all, but some are pretty neat! (and funny)

In Scorching glass

(also no summary, haven't read this one yet, it's a Nixon character study.)

Boys Missing Shoes

Nix and Winters banter. written from Winter's pov.

[wheresmynaya]

Out of Order Ch.1 | Brittana

A/N - Today marks 10 WHOLE YEARS of our favorite cheerleaders being MARRIED which is crazy! I need everyone to tell me what they were doing when the episode aired. Personally, I cooked a nice steak dinner, displayed calla lilies I bought, drank bubbly moscato lol and watched the episode with my grandma.

Summary: It's Valentine's Week and Santana owns a flower shop. Brittany is her best delivery driver. They've danced around their attraction for one another for months but they're gay and useless. And Oh no! There's snow on the forecast, what could possibly happen?

I returned to being a florist over Valentine's week so ofc I'm throwing Brittana into an flower shop AU. This will be a TWO SHOT! Speaking of shots, if you'd like to throw a couple my in the form of espresso here's my Ko-Fi lol. Cheers! ☕

Available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) & under the cut!

Santana made her way to the front of her shop and flipped the hanging sign on the door to OPEN, signifying the start of the busiest time yet: Valentine’s week. This was her third year since she opened up Snixmade and, true to Lopez fashion, she was killing it!  The number of pre-orders verged on record-breaking, but as a small business owner, Santana wasn’t complaining. At the end of the day, a girl’s gotta eat.

Valentine’s Day landed on a Friday this year, a weekday. While some orders were for pick-up, the number of deliveries nearly tripled with customers wanting to surprise their significant other at work before the weekend. With the impending holiday rush, some customers even scheduled their delivery a day early and that meant more routes for the drivers.

Well, one driver in particular.

Santana loiters by the front window with her coffee mug in hand. To some, she’s observing the daunting, grey sky, trying to decide if the meteorologist she overhead on the radio this morning is full of shit or is it actually going to snow. To others, she’s counting down the minutes until the most attractive delivery driver on the face of the Earth arrives. Santana supposes both could be true, she’s great at multitasking.

“–it’s embarrassing, really.”

“Like clockwork.”

Santana glances to her left and finds her best friend and business partner, Quinn, also staring out the window at the empty parking spot soon to be occupied by a baby blue Kombi. On Santana’s right is one of her best designers, Sugar. At some point during her observations they flanked her, both watching the scene play out with knowing smirks on their faces.

Like clockwork, Santana rolls her eyes at what they’re suggesting. “I’m saving a front row spot.”

Quinn lifts a brow silently, judgmentally.

“What? You know old geezers from the bank will take them if I’m not standing here,” Santana reasons. “God forbid they have to park in the second row like the rest of us.”

“Yet you only do this on Mondays and Fridays,” Quinn says while tapping her chin with her finger. “Hey Sug, which driver does routes on Mondays and Fridays?”

“Funny you should ask, that would be Santana’s future wifey.”

“Is that so?” Quinn responds sarcastically.

“Can we not call her that?” Santana huffs. “She has a name.”

Quinn and Sugar only shake their heads, chuckling.

“Why doesn’t she park around the back? This isn’t a loading zone.”

“Because Santana can’t be bothered lifting the roller door.”

Santana narrows her eyes at the pair talking to each other as if she’s not still standing between them. “No, Santana doesn’t open the roller door because Hank only treated the front of the shop and she does not want anyone busting their ass on the icy ramp. It’s a safety hazard.”

“Okay. That’s a good excuse,” Quinn replies.

Sugar nods. “Can’t do anything to put an ass handcrafted by goddesses in danger.”

Santana cuts Sugar with a glare but it’s void of its usual bite because–

“Hey, those are your words not mine.”

It’s true. Santana did say that.

In fact, she said it with her whole chest because holy hell witnessing the way those Levis stretched around that perfect ass nearly put Santana into cardiac arrest–she just didn’t intend for Sugar to be right behind her when she said it.

“Then again, busting her ass might give you a reason to actually see her outside of work?” Quinn suggests.

“I’ve seen her outside of work,” Santana defends although she knows crossing paths at the grocery store isn’t what Quinn’s talking about.

“Nearly running her down with your shopping cart doesn’t count,” Quinn challenges.

See? Meanwhile, Sugar’s quick to devise a plan.

“Oh my God, yes! I’ll jam the lock so she’ll have to use the ramp, throw down some ice cubes and make it really slippery and bam! Consider that ass busted. Then Santana comes in and like, nurses her back to health! Cook her soup or whatever and like seduce her so she doesn’t file a lawsuit.”

Santana and Quinn both gape at Sugar, but Quinn’s the first to address her ramblings.

“Santana can’t cook, but she does have that ridiculous nurse costume from last Halloween…”

“I can work with this.”

Again, Santana has to break up the conversation happening around her as she turns her back to the window. “One: the tag-teaming isn’t cute. Two: that costume was sexy as hell and you know it. Three: don’t you have work to do? The drivers will be here any minute.”

“God, you’re good,” Quinn notes as the distinct rumble of an engine approaches then shuts off.

Sugar looks around Santana’s shoulder and starts to smirk again. “Like seriously, down to the second!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Santana dismisses.

Quinn snickers. “So you’ve said.”

“For months,” Sugar adds.

Santana does her best to ignore them and keep calm in the face of the two, but her heart is thumping like crazy! It’s her favorite part of the day–or rather, one of her favorite parts of her day so she can’t help the giddiness. She has about thirty seconds; crap, she can’t even check her reflection to make sure she hasn’t got crumbs from breakfast on her face still or make sure her makeup hasn’t smeared or–

The sound of the Kombi door shutting shakes her from the daze.

Fifteen seconds.

“Admit it, boss. You’re down bad,” Sugar throws over her shoulder as she returns to her work bench.

“Oh my God, can you stop!” Santana grumbles but again, no bite to it.

“You have a crush,” Quinn points out for the millionth time. She’s also walking back to her work bench. “I think it’s sweet.”

Santana only shoos them away, cheeks burning.

To call it a crush seems…immature, childish, fucking disrespectful.

Santana was well into adulthood; she thought about things like her credit score, health insurance and ignoring the oil change light on her dashboard. She thought about maintaining her shop’s prestigious record of Best Boutique Bouquets for the fourth year in a row. Santana was a booked and busy businesswoman; the last time she labelled anything as a crush, the word celebrity preceded it.

So, this was not that.

The bells hanging from the top of the entry chime as the front door pushes into them. The sound normally jolts everyone in the shop to attention, ready to help a customer, but not when it comes to the most attractive delivery driver on the face of the Earth. The sound is rhythmic, angelic, the greatest song Santana’s ever heard.

“Good morning!” Brittany greets upon entering the shop. She’s her usually overly cheerful self, which would be a red flag for Santana in most cases–just not this one.

There’s a chorus of Hey Brittany from Sugar and Quinn, while Santana’s momentarily starstruck. Brittany’s wearing her dark denim overalls today, the ones that hug all her curves and makes Santana’s mouth water. How can someone be cute and sexy at the same time, it isn’t possible? Brittany seems to defy logic though.

When those blue, blue eyes land on her it’s followed by a mega-watt smile that makes Brittany’s cheeks bunch and then her arms are up, hands in her hair pulling a mess of blonde into a ponytail. Fingers tangle through the strands and for a second, Santana imagines those deliciously long fingers dancing along her panty line and –

“Ready for it?” Brittany’s asking her.

Santana blinks. “Huh?”

Behind her, Santana can hear a disappointed oh wow and real smooth. She straightens her back, quickly reminds herself that she’s a boss ass bitch and she has rendered many women speechless, too!

“For the week?” Santana clarifies before nodding coolly. “Yeah, you know it.”

“I meant the snow,” Brittany chuckles. “You think we’ll get any? They’re saying a few inches Tuesday night.”

“Oh.” Santana wills herself not to blush, though she can feel her face heating up. “Is it actually going to or are they wanting us to ransack grocery stores?”

“Either way, I’ll be sure to steer clear of you. You’re dangerous behind the wheel of a cart,” Brittany chuckles.

Santana wants to crawl into a ditch and die.

Apparently, she will never live that day down.

“Yeah. Sorry about that,” she mutters with a hand griping the back of her neck.

“I’m only teasing,” Brittany jokes. “You pull the cutest faces when you’re flustered.”

“Right,” Santana brushes off the comment with an awkward laugh. Behind her, she can hear the telltale sounds of Quinn and Sugar slapping each other and giggling–no doubt eavesdropping on their conversation. “Thanks?”

God, she has no game. When did this happen?

Brittany only shrugs before shoving her hands into the pockets of her puffer jacket. She bounces on her toes; nervously or excitedly, Santana isn’t really sure. “Well, I’m glad you’re ready for the busy week. Valentine’s is on a Friday this year, I bet you’re loving that.”

“We’re slammed,” Santana confirms. “It’s really good, lots of return customers.”

“That’s awesome!”

“Totally.”

“So…” Brittany looks around the shop stocked with buckets and buckets of flowers as they slip into a lull. “Am I the first one here?”

Right.

They’re meant to be working.

“Of course you are. Hank’s running behind,” Santana snaps to attention and leads the way to the service desk where she has Brittany’s routes ready to go. She reaches for the thickest pile out of the two and hands it to the driver. “Your furthest trip today is Paloma Heights. It’s a little far than your usual but Greg’s off and I rather you go than Hank.”

“I get it,” Brittany replies while she looks over the routes. “Hank’s the sweetest grandpa I’ve ever met but he’s not very…”

“Efficient?” Santana supplies. “I know, but he fixes up the little things around the shop and he always salts the entry when snow’s expected so none of us slip. How could I ever replace him?”

“I hear you,” Brittany chuckles. “If he would just take the backroads every once in a while, he’d avoid so much traffic. There’s so many apps he could use, too.”

“He’s old school, he has his routine.”

“Speaking of routines…” Sugar calls out but she’s immediately met with a glare from Santana. “Brittany, weren’t you saying you’re available to drive more days this week?”

Santana drops the glare and her brows furrow. When would they have talked about that? Santana practically lives in the shop so she’s in earshot of nearly every conversation.

Unless…

“Oh, yeah! Thanks for the reminder!” Brittany beams and turns her attention back to Santana. “Sugar and I went out for lunch over the weekend and she was telling me about all the deliveries scheduled later this week, so I thought I’d offer my services. Well, more of my services if you need an extra driver.”

Again, Santana’s thrown for a loop.

One: apparently Sugar and Brittany hang out after hours which is brand new news to her! Who knows how long that’s been going on. Two: there’s an opportunity to see her favorite driver more than twice a week.

“That…that would actually be really helpful,” Santana replies.

“Consider it done then!” Brittany beams.

“Are you sure? I know you have your other job.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Brittany assures her. “Anything to help my favorite florist.”

Santana swallows dryly at the title but does her best to stay professional. Many people have called her their favorite florist, most of the time it’s in hopes of getting a discount or just as a mere compliment from a return customer, so she doesn’t read into it.

“I appreciate it,” she says instead. “I’m sure Hank and Greg do too.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Brittany replies with a wink that renders Santana useless for the next seven seconds.

\\

After Brittany’s Kombi is loaded up with her day’s orders, she’s on the road again!

Santana’s day is a little less bright without the driver around but she joins Sugar and Quinn at the work bench to get started on her share of orders. Everyone’s quietly immersed in designing their arrangements, but there’s music playing from the shop’s overhead speakers so it’s not entirely silent.

It only lasts two songs.

“So, we can all agree that Brittany was clearly flirting with Santana earlier. Right?” Sugar asks.

“Oh absolutely,” Quinn answers.

“No. She was only being nice,” Santana reasons but even she doesn’t fully believe that because she–

“–called you her favorite florist!” Sugar points out. “If you were ever unsure that she likes you, that confirmed it!”

“Honestly Santana, she’s right.” Quinn replies, “Unless being useless is actually a requirement for being a lesbian, this is your chance to ask her out.”

Santana shoves a rose into her arrangement and huffs. “What would you know about being a lesbian?”

Quinn rolls her eyes at the jab.

“When would I even have time to go on a date?” Santana asks. “This whole week is practically a write-off, then pack down afterwards, then we have that huge wedding order next week. Besides, do we even know if she’s single?”

“Are you seriously asking that?” Quinn questions.

“What? You can never be too sure!”

“Brittany is definitely single,” Sugar answers easily.

“Which you’d only know because you two have secret weekend lunches,” Santana quips. “And you conveniently didn’t disclose this information to us.”

“I knew.”

Santana gapes at Quinn while Sugar brags about how easy it was to text Brittany to see if she was available to hang out, because it’s super normal to just text someone you think is cool and hang out. It was even easier to plan lunch at this new café because they both hate breakfast foods.

“You can do it too! You already have her number,” Sugar reasons. “Just text her: Hey what’s up, it’s your hottie hot boss. Let’s go out for lunch and gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes.”

“That’s good, she can’t say no because it isn’t a question,” Quinn says.

“Then you two hit it off and you can finally put it on her like that Billie Eilish song,” Sugar adds before she and Quinn starts singing I could eat that girl for lunch, yeah she dances on my tongue.

“Again, Quinn, what would you know about being a lesbian?” Santana contests.

“It’s a popular song.”

“And to others, it’s a lifestyle.”

Santana’s pretty pleased with herself for that one.

Quinn, not so much.

“But seriously, you work hard for this place, boss. It’s time for you to do something fun,” Sugar replies. “And Brittany is right there, clearly interested in you. I think you should go for it!”

“Agreed,” Quinn adds. “Please put an end to the pining, it’s been months.”

“Look, I admit Brittany’s a knockout and we’d totally make a smokin’ hot couple and I’m sure we’d have awesome sex–which I say in the most respectful way possible,” Santana pauses when she spots the two looking at her like she’s finally had a breakthrough. “But she’s our best driver and I don’t want to make things weird by hitting on her.”

Sugar drags her hands down her face and groans while Quinn pinches the bridge of her nose.

“The both of you are so dramatic,” Santana points out.

“Yeah well, you’re hopeless!” Sugar counters.

Quinn’s quick to chime in too. “I’m only saying this because I love you like a sister, Santana, but you’re being such an idiot.”

“For keeping things professional?”

“For using that as your excuse!” Quinn replies, “People sleep with their coworkers all the time.”

“I’m her boss, though.”

“So? Tons of people are into that,” Sugar suggests. “I wouldn’t put it past Brittany to be one of those people either. I totally get a vibe.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t speculate on what she’d be into…” Santana warns.

“Hey, we listen and we don’t kink shame,” Sugar recites.

“I don’t know,” Santana worries. “I’ve worked hard to build an honest reputation; I don’t want to add sleeps with staff to the list.”

“I mean, you wouldn’t sleep with all staff…just her.”

Quinn nods in agreement with Sugar while Santana lets out an exhausted sigh.

She knows she sounds like a broken record, but she really is trying to do the right thing here. Unfortunately, Sugar and Quinn aren’t deterred by her reasoning and the two spend the rest of the day testing her patience. Somehow, after months and months of the same, they actually start to wear her down.

It doesn’t help when her mind starts entertaining their possibilities either.

They tell tales of what her life might be like with Brittany filling her free time, how they’d go on cute dates to the aquarium or the movies or whatever. Brittany apparently knows all the best places to go, hidden gems, since she grew up in the area. They’d do coupley shit like hold hands, take cute pictures together, share goodnight kisses…

Hell, if Santana plays her cards right she might even have a Valentine for once!

But embarrassingly enough, what really gets Santana thinking are the talks of what could happen in quiet normalcy. She wouldn’t go home to an empty house, dark and quiet. It would be warm; it’d have that fireplace kind of glow that seems to follow Brittany. At the end of a long day, they’d tiredly come together, lounging on the couch in comfy clothes and a tangle of limbs. There would be foot rubs and back massages, chicken nuggets for dinner and glasses of wine, and sex, lots of sex…

The more Santana thinks of it, a life like that–a life involving Brittany–sounds better and better.

By closing time, Santana finds herself puttering around the front of the shop again. She keeps busy sweeping up while also glancing out the window at the empty parking spot, not-so-subtly awaiting a baby blue Kombi to take its place. This part is a little harder to judge with the extra stops added to Brittany’s route, but Santana knows she’s never later than 5:30PM.

A quick time check reveals that it’s currently 5:27PM, so she keeps sweeping.

“How many times you gonna go over that same spot, boss?” Sugar teases as she heads for the door.

Santana only playfully swats her with the broom on her way past. “Drive safe, Sug.”

“Sure thing! See you tomorrow,” Sugar salutes before shuffling off to her car.

Santana watches her go, half worrying she’s going to slip in the parking lot with the way she prances between the cars. Sugar doesn’t, much to her relief and disappointment. She could’ve used the laugh.  

“It’s up to 85% chance of snow tomorrow night,” Quinn calls out to her from their shared office.

“Fuck,” Santana grimaces.

“Fuck is right,” Quinn agrees. “Thankfully, we don’t have any deliveries scheduled for the Wednesday. I’ve put a block on it to be safe, don’t want any orders slipping through.”

“Good thinking.”

If they get anything more than three inches, the city practically shuts down so Santana will have to close Snixmade.

There’s no way her little Honda is going to make it through the snow, there’s also no way Santana will make it through the snow. As for Quinn and Sugar, she genuinely cares about their safety so she wouldn’t do that to them either. Maybe they should think of that the next time they give her a hard time about her love life.

But shop closure, even for a day, would put them way behind for the week, Valentine’s week at that. The thought sends Santana into overdrive. They’ll have to get through the remaining Wednesday orders tomorrow in addition to Thursday’s which is insanity when there’s only three designers. Then they’d need to shove all arrangements in the cooler to keep the buds tight so they don’t blow by Friday.

The only problem is, will there be enough room?

Probably not.

Fuck.

In her deep thinking, Santana hadn’t heard the Kombi pull up so when the bells above the door chime, the second favorite part of the day takes her by surprise.

“I’m back!” Brittany announces as she strolls into the shop while twirling her keys around her finger. She’s let her hair down and has shed the puffer jacket she wore earlier which reveals rolled up sleeves pushed up strong forearms.

In her denim overalls and flannel button-up, Brittany looks like a farm girl. Possibly the hottest farm girl Santana’s ever laid eyes on. All that’s missing is a cowboy hat and boots. Are farm girls and cowgirls the same thing?

Now she’s imagining Brittany as a cowgirl.

Wait.

What’s that saying about saving a horse and riding a–

“Long day?” Brittany asks Santana, who’s just staring into space.

Santana clears her throat and smiles. “Sorry. Yeah, super long day. How was your drive?”

“Easy-peasy,” Brittany answers simply. “You made a lot of people very happy today.”

Santana fights a blush although she knows Brittany’s only talking about the arrangements. They typically have that effect; who doesn’t love being surprised with beautiful flowers? But like all things Brittany says to her, it hits a little different.

“Hey Britt! You hear about the snow?” Quinn interrupts as she leaves the office.

“85% chance last I heard!”

“it’s up to 3 inches now!”

“Don’t remind me,” Santana cringes, her mind slipping from her cowgirl fantasies and back into problem-solving mode.

“What’s the plan for you guys?” Brittany asks. “Gonna close on Wednesday?”

“Depends on how much we really get, but honestly, I think we’ll have to,” Santana admits. “Thankfully we don’t have any pick ups but losing a day to prep for Valentine’s Day is a huge loss.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Quinn assures Santana with a pat on her shoulder. “Don’t stress yet.”

Santana lets out a laugh. “Kinda hard not to. We’ll have to do the rest of the week’s orders in one day! Tomorrow. You, me and Sug are fast but not that fast. We need Wednesday.”

“Well, we won’t have a choice if we’re closed.”

“Maybe I can come in–”

“We’ll be closed.”

“I know that and we’ll still be closed. I’ll just finish off what we don’t get to tomorrow.”

“No way. You aren’t driving in the snow, Santana. Your car wouldn’t make it.”

Brittany glances between the two, bouncing on her toes. Again, Santana’s not sure if it’s out of nervousness or excitement. She’s considering pinning this conversation for later when Brittany raises her hand.

Santana and Quinn stop talking, bewildered.

“I could drive you?” Brittany suggests.

Quinn’s eyes practically bug out of her head. It’s a miracle Santana’s jaw doesn’t drop from the sound of the offer. While the two are momentarily stunned, Brittany starts rambling.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude but you were also talking around me so…” Brittany shoves her hands into her overall pockets and rocks back and forth from her heels to her toes.

This time, Santana knows it’s out of nervousness.

“It’s a lovely offer, Brittany, but I don’t think you’re any better off than Santana with your van,” Quinn replies because, well, Santana’s still at a loss for words. “I’d hate for you to get stuck out there, too.”

“I only use the van for deliveries,” Brittany replies. “I have another car, one better for the snow.”

“Oh.” Quinn glances to Santana, subtly gives her a nudge now that the ball’s in her court.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Santana manages to get out.

“Technically, you didn’t,” Brittany says. “I offered.”

“Well, she got you there…”

Quinn’s right.

Brittany’s right.

Santana’s a fucking mess.

“Well…I…you…she’s…I’m…”

“How about you think on it?” Brittany interrupts Santana’s flailing with a damn giggle. “You can text me tomorrow, let me know what you decide but the offer’s there.”

Quinn glances at Santana again, practically rattling from anticipation. Santana swallows thickly, hypnotized by Brittany’s soft smile, drowning in her blue, blue eyes.

“That…sounds like a capital idea,” Santana finally says.

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit!

“Awesome.” Brittany grins widely at her reply. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”

“Okay.” Santana can’t help but smile back, feeling like she’s agreeing to so much more.

“Okay!” Brittany pulls her hands from her pockets and twirls her keys. She heads for the door with a little more pep to her step and calls out over her shoulder, “You guys have a good night!”

“Drive safe, Brittany!” Quinn says.

Santana just watches that glorious ass leave, still reeling from the implications of what she’s agreed to. It takes all by three seconds after Brittany’s exited the shop before Quinn’s squealing.

“I can’t believe this! I can’t believe Sugar missed this! I have to call her immediately!”

\\

The following day, the three florists are knee deep in orders and flower stem trimmings for the majority of the day. They’ve never worked as fast as they have all morning and well into the afternoon, but the hard work pays off when they make a sizeable dent in their stack of orders.

A dent.

Though they’ve prioritized the orders for early deliveries, there’s still a quarter of the stack to go. With only an hour left of their workday, a workday they’ve already extended, Santana realizes they’ve run out of time.

It’s also starting to snow an hour earlier than expected, and it’s coming down fast.

Fucking weather forecasts.

With another glance at the front windows, a glimpse of powdery white coating everything, Santana sets down her cutters and sighs.

“I’m calling it,” she says.

“Good idea,” Quinn agrees. She looks over at the windows too. “Better clean up fast and get out of here before it gets any worse.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Sugar says and jets off to get started.

Between the three of them, they clean up shop quickly. It isn’t the most thorough job they’ve done but given the circumstances Santana isn’t stressed. She wants to get out of there just as quickly, but the remaining stack of orders taunt her any time she looks their way.

Thursdays orders are done so there’s that, but Friday? She’d hope to have all the pre-orders done to make room for the walk-in’s, because there’s always last-minute shoppers on the day. Between that and having someone on register and another wrapping bouquets, how can she make the time to finish off the orders?

She can’t.

Unless…

“You gonna text her?” Quinn asks. She doesn’t have to clarify for Santana to understand. Since Quinn filled Sugar in on what she missed, it’s been all they’ve talked about.

Still, Santana hesitates because…well…she’s nervous, okay? Brittany’s blonde and awesome and so smart, of course she’s fucking nervous! Who in the right mind wouldn’t be?

Which is what she tries to explain to Quinn and Sugar.

…it doesn’t go well.

“Give me your phone, I’ll do it!” Sugar says.

Santana’s quick to stuff her phone between her tits. “Just give me a second!”

“You’ve had several seconds already,” Quinn tells her. “It’s time. Do it or Sugar will.”

Sugar makes grabby hands and starts chanting Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! as if she’s a member of the Swedish Pop sensation ABBA.

“Fucking fine!” Santana huffs and takes out her phone again, scrolling her contacts. Sugar and Quinn rush to crowd her. “No way, back up! I can’t do this with you two gossip girls hovering.”

“Oh my God, she has Brittany’s number saved as Hottest Delivery Driver Ever!” Sugar teases.

“Fuck off!” Santana swats at her, hiding her phone screen because neither of them can be trusted to look. She moves to the corner shelving and peeks at her phone to quickly type out a text:

Hey, it’s Santana! I think I might take you up on that ride if you’re still offering?

Santana zeroes in on the word ride and wonders if she could’ve used a less provocative word or maybe it’s her who should steer clear of the gutter. What word could she have used anyway? All thoughts stop when three little bubbles pop up on the screen and a new text immediately follows.

Totally! Just tell me when and where?

Suddenly, it dawns on her.

Brittany will be coming to her house in the wee hours of the morning to take her to work. Then when she’s done, Brittany will pick her up and take her home.

To her house.

Where she lives alone.

Because she’s miserably single.

Holy shit.

“Quinn, she’s doing it again!” Sugar calls out.

By it, she means gay panicking because apparently; despite having lived out of the closet for year and years, no out and proud lesbian is safe from its wrath.

“Pull yourself together, Lopez!” Quinn demands.

“Seriously!”

“It’s just a seven-minute ride to work.”

“A lot can happen in seven minutes!”

“Duh,” Sugar chirps. “Why do you think it’s called seven minutes in heaven?”

“Oh dear God, I didn’t’ think of that,” Santana worries.

“Sugar!” Quinn chastises before turning back to Santana. “Look, it’s fine…you’re fine…”

“Brittany’s fine,” Santana notes dreamily. “Brittany’s fine as hell.”

“So we’ve established,” Quinn agrees.

“Don’t overthink it,” Sugar tells her. “I mean, this is the perfect opportunity to thank her for such a selfless favor by–I don’t know–asking her out on a date…”

“Sugar!” Santana huffs.

“She’s right.”

“Quinn!” Santana huffs again.

“Hey, it’s just a suggestion,” Quinn reasons.

“Yeah. You do you, boo,” Sugar adds. “You could even put on the sexy nurse costume if you need the extra confidence.”

“I don’t know about all that,” Quinn replies. “But come on, you’re Santana freaking Lopez. You’re the hottest bitch straight out of Lima Heights and–”

“Lima Heights Adjacent,” Santana clarifies. “I’ve told you so many times, there’s a difference.”

“There’s not.”

“There is and you’d know that if you were from the wrong side of the tracks, but you’re not.”

“Ask her out,” Quin says with finality.

Santana lets her shoulders fall, the thought rolls around in her head and bumps into her daydreams of Brittany. They have a point; it is the perfect opportunity to ask Brittany out and she is doing such a huge favor for her. Treating her to a meal is the least she could do.

“She’s thinking about it,” Sugar notes excitedly.

Santana rolls her eyes but can’t fight off the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

[gallawitchxx]

day thirty-one • @gallavichthings kinktober 2024

↳ 31 days of kinks & cards in 3 sentences

WAX PLAY x THREE OF WANDS

By the end of the night, you’re dripping with come and covered in the tri-colored candle Ian insisted on buying at the new sex shop down the block. You’ve survived hours of sensory overload like you’ve never before experienced: the hot sting of the wax, the cool caress of breath blowing it dry, the ache in your balls, the pulse of your prostate, the fullness of Ian’s cock buried so deep your belly bulges, the warm splatter of spunk—yours, a relief, a reward; his, a benefit, a brand. Later, you’ll breathe and bathe, cleaning yourself of all but your filthy memories, but now, you blink and beam, soaking up what you can of Ian’s attention, his praise, and his unconditional, unrelenting love.

[residentrookie]

writer interview game 🫧

thanks for the tags my lovelies i literally loved reading all of ur answers @whorerific @otrtbs @spacexcowgirl @sunfl0w3rmoon (if i'm forgetting someone, and i feel like i am, i am so sorry)

how many works do you have on ao3?

currently 4!!! feeling slay about that

what's your total ao3 word count?

167,842 (eep!)

your top 5 stories by kudos?

i'll be seeing you

are you sick of me? (would you like to be?)

lovesick

starfell lodge

do you respond to comments?

i try to because they geniunely are so wonderful and motivate me so much but i do have a hefty amount sitting in my inbox that need some TLC :(

what's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

ermmm well it's not written yet, but out of the ones I'm currently working on that's probs gonna be ibsy. due to the mcd of it all i fear.

do you write crossovers?

naur <3

have you ever received hate on a fic?

thankfully no bc i'm a sensitive little bitch. but ppl have commented like... weird things before. like in one of my fics, james loves twilight (bc duh) and someone commented just to let me know that they hated twilight. i was like dawg, is this fr the time and place to air that out??

do you write smut?

a ha ha. not yet!

have you ever had a fic stolen?

nooooo thank gawd. unless u know something i don't...

have you ever had a fic translated?

nope! maybe someday, i think that would be real real kewl :)

have you ever co-written a fic before?

no but i do love to ponder this possibility with my friends and then never revisit the idea again...

what's your all-time favorite ship?

RAHHHHHHH ok. fuck. wolfstar. GOTTA BE‼️ (jegulus, my loves, my lights, u are a close, close second)

what's a wip that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

i have a hurt/no comfort wolfstar fic that eats at my liver like that one guy who got cursed. i guarantee u, i will never write it. i was just meant to ruminate on it and never do a thing about it.

what are your writing strengths?

ooooh!! i think dialogue!!! i'm a yapper and i love writing yappers!!! also i lurvvvv a good metaphor.

what are your writing weaknesses?

setting. descriptions. everytime my characters go to a new location i want to actually pass away. like idk there are floors? some walls? maybe a window, if i'm feeling generous? IDK IDGAF I WANT THEM TO TALK TO EACH OTHER AND DO SHIT RAHHHHH

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

PRO! as my darling rose said so aptly, google translate <3 (and occasionally i use my own personal translator @pretentiouswreckingball if she's feeling generous hehehe)

what's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

oooooooh. drarry maybe? yeah. i feel good about that. also i'm intrigued by pandoraxlily.

what's your favorite fic you've ever written?

that's gonna be my best american girl, i'll be seeing you. my first fic, my only longfic, my number one boy. ibsy is my pride and joy and also my curse and burden. but seriously i've poured my SOUL into that fic and i do believe it shows. this feels like a good time to mention that there's a new chapter comin out (tomorrow possibly!!)

OPEN TAG‼️ I'M SO FUCKING TIRED I CAN'T KEEP MY EYES OPEN‼️

[kxkarot]

[rondo-of-darkness]

why does thei remind me of stupws

[theokusgallery]

I just realised I've always thought of fanfics/romances in general where two characters are attracted to each other at first sight unrealistic. Because I am asexual. God I'm such a fucking idiot

[whereismyhat5678]

@oddpizza I hope you don’t mind me calling you over here but since you inbox ain’t open I NEED to express my feelings about your art because MY FUCKING GOD YOUR ART IS SO GOOD

Like HOLY SHIT the colors and lineart I LOVE YOUR SKETCHES is it pen you use for it that shit’s INSANE?? Not only that but the way you draw your characters are JUST SO STARRABLE LIKE CJ is a treat to look at their design is ADORABLE‼️‼️ 💕💕

Don’t even get me STARTED ON HOW YOU DRAW THE FOLLOWING: Peppino, Gustavo, and Fake Peppino BECAUSE OH MY GOD

I LOVE how you Peppino he’s so SHAPED and EXPRESSIVE I NEED YOUR FUCKING TALENT BRO- Not to mention anytime you draw him I can’t help but just hold respect for you YOUR ART IS FUCKING AMAZING‼️💥‼️💥‼️💥

Gustavo is SO FUCKING CUTE in your style when you draw him I’m like:

AND FAKE PEPPINO HOLY SHIT

I ADORE THE WAY YOU FUCKING DRAW HIM. He’s so CREEPY with the mix of COOL I JUST RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH I CLAW MY FUCKING EYES OUT TEAR AT MY HAIR IN THE MOST POSITIVE WAY POSSIBLE JUST SO

I’M NOT EVEN A BIG FAN OF FAKE PEPPINO BUT OH MY GOD????? YOUR ART-

YOUR ART💥💥💥💥

*Inhale*

That’s all I wanted to say your art is amazing and I hope you see this. I’m sincerely sorry I didn’t follow you earlier because you are OOZING talent.

[l3monbunny]

hi guys

[mythos321]

just hit me I didn’t do anything to celebrate 50 followers

in that case, hooray to me having 57 followers!

not a perfect number but eh it’s my current one-

shout out to my first follower that isn’t a block of cheese @godinvent

and also shout out to my most recent follower @sombrathedragon

somehow-