#also i was later kicked out for having a flask but the security guard was pretty chill cos i wasnt resisting

[bi-ftm-on-main]

I made out with a random guy at a club

[peachlolitasevillacourtstuff]

pmatga swap au (chapter 2)

It all starts in the morning at pac's school and his friends, pac as usual he always got up first to eat all his breakfast, this time he saw how his two friends chatted and tasted their breakfast, pac hardly knew that both of them they began their relationship.

"There are these two that would have occurred to you this morning"

he questioned himself, as he saw them the pac communicator started to ring, it was Sir.c who had called them, it seemed to be an emergency.

"GUYS! CALL US AT THE ROUND HOUSE!"

Scream pac towards cyli and spiral

"seriously let's go!"

Cyli said preparing

"Yes, don't forget about me!"

Spiral affirmed rising from his chair, during the direct way to the round house they could notice a large number of ambulances and police investigators, when entering the president's house they noticed much concern especially in the two guard backs of the president.

"What happened gentlemen, something happened with the president"

Cyli asked one of them.

"We do not know how it was, the president was asleep and until we heard a scream, and we intervened in his room and found him in a kind of catatonic state"

I affirm the bodyguard.

"What did they see?"

I ask again

"Obviously to the catatonic president, and if it were not the most terrifying thing, we found in his room a lot of scratches on the wall, as if a lion attacked him"

answered

"a lion would not have been betrayus"

he said clashing his fists pac

"then walk .."

the three went to president spheros, he was next to some nurses and scorers, he said what had attacked him last night, it was nothing out of the ordinary, president spheros had some bandages on his back, where he highlighted the Blood, Pac and his team only thought of one thing. Betrayus.

"Mr. President, are you better yet?"

"Yes for now"

he answered calmly

"Can you say what happened?"

"everything was fast and terrifying, it was like I came out of a movie, while I was sleeping I heard a fluid in my very cold and cutting, at first I thought it was the air conditioning, but I heard a photo break"

"could see what it was"

"Not at first, but I heard a very unbearable noise as if it were nails to the wall, until I heard a murmur in the background"

"saw what his appearance was like"

"Well, he suddenly appeared and attacked me and scratched me, I couldn't identify him, but since he had sharp claws I assumed he was my brother"

"As I suspected! betrayus was the one who did it!"

He said something annoying

"What do you propose to do boy?"

asked the president

"Betrayus has already done too much, but this was too much, enough to hit rock bottom"

"That's the way pacster is spoken!"

"Now let's go to the underworld and kick ass slime!"

Pac and his team said with much encouragement and even began to take all possible weapons and berries against betrayus, they would not let that evil ghost stun them again.

"Good luck, boys"

Sir.c said giving them a thumbs up

"there is no Sir.c"

Then Pac and his team went with the vehicle directly to the underworld to catch Lord Betrayus, on the other hand in the Sir.c round house as he had no more ideas of what to do next, he went directly to his laboratory where he began to Use among all your own things to see what ideas you had for this occasion.

"WAU! WAU! WAU!"

Fuzbits Ladro

"Oh fuzbitz are you hungry little rabbi?"

I ask

"Wau!"

he said shaking his head up and down

"That for me is a yes without a doubt"

"Excuse me Sir.c ..."

said a soft and sharp voice behind him, it was a white sphere with freckles, orange eyes, brown hair and split ends with a certain and little similarity to Lord Betrayus when he was still living.

"cedrick!"

said surprised Sir.c

"Your father has told you a dozen times not to enter this laboratory, what are you doing here?"

I ask

"He'll be fine right?"

"you know that yes son, the cut that tube was not so deep"

he replied with a kind smile

"Okay Sir.c, hello fuzbits and grinder!"

cheerfully greet you

"hahaha, there are these children now"

changing the scene we go to the side of pac and his team already in the underworld attacking and absorbing the ghosts, the ghosts tried to defend lord betrayus as best as possible, but the efforts were very futile.

"WHAT THEY DO USELESS! REINFORCE THAT DOOR!"

I yell at them Lord Betrayus.

"That we try my lord"

said one of the ghosts trying to reinforce the door

"Because that little lemon changes roles"

I beg Dr.Buttocks

"I don't know, just make him leave here!"

"You heard Master Betrayus already! Get that lemon and his team out of our master's room!"

Dr.buttocks deftly reaffirmed, however the efforts of the ghosts turned in vain and pac and his team suddenly entered ready to catch lord betrayus.

"WAAAAHHH! MAMI!"

Cowardly shout betrayus shielding buttlers.

"it's over betrayus! this time you hit bottom on us on the surface"

said pacstar approaching and at the same time devouring Dr.Buttocks very angry

"What do you mean!"

"For a long time we endured your tantrum, and now for attacking our president you will be detained on this occasion and forever"

he said turning into a cap of steel

"HAY! HAY! DO NOT STAY AWAY FROM ME"

I beg betrayus

"no, not today"

He pulled his elongated magnet tongue out of his mouth, and caught Lord Betrayus right there in his mouth, Betrayus was trying to escape, but Pac kept him very much held between his teeth and his tongue.

"now guys"

He said trying to keep Betrayus from coming out, at the same time Cylindra and Spiral were carrying a high resistance flask, when Pac vomited up Betrayus Cylindra's eyes with all his speed, he easily grabbed the floating eyes of Betrayus and put them in the flask, making it impossible for him to escape there.

"This bottle will be impossible to escape betrayus, now if we win"

later after that game won, finally after a long time they managed to do what they think impossible to take as a prisoner lord betrayus rather only his eyes, which were in a jar and right now they were about to freeze him so that the ghostly attacks would not return.

"For bringing peace and security back to the world-pac, and finally capturing my brother's wretched man, I compensate you not only as the hero of world-pac, but also as the guardian between life and death"

the president said, giving a large medal with a gem with the appearance of the planet pac, and thus showing the greatness of pacman to the whole world, and in turn that in the main square of the city they carved a large golden statue in the image and resembling pac, the yellow sphere.

"waaaaaaw .. you are not fascinated by my boy pac saved us all! and now we are free"

Pinky said vulgarly

"yes pinky, you and your fantasies"

he said in mock blinky

"Hahaha yes that blinky joke"

she said in annoyance

"Well now that betrayus has been defeated and locked up again and for life, what are we going to do?"

I question inky

"I don't know, we helped pac and his team for a long time, maybe they will return our bodies .."

said clyde excited

"If that if we go to the round house for our bodies!"

The 4 said, going to where Pac was, in the round house they all celebrated after a long time freeing themselves from the constant ghostly attacks of Lord Betrayus, and today had arrived that day.

"dear heavens, finally that idiot crybaby had that deserved, we didn't even want him here"

said his aunt spheria clapping him

"hehe don't thank me aunt .."

pac river

"Hey auntie now that Lord Betrayus is gone, what are we going to do?"

"I guess they will graduate easily, these ghostly adventures will only be forgotten"

"What do you know about love aunt?"

I ask uncomfortable

"love, well, knowing your mother and Sir.c, let's say that sometimes you become blind, but it is not so bad, at first it is a friendship, but then it becomes more profound, because you ask"

"Cyli and spi, they're dating .."

"seriously good for the 2"

he said rejoicing

"it's okay"

I reaffirm seeing how the two of them rubbed their noses, after that Pac went for a walk among the gardens of the round house without prior notice he saw that the gang of ghosts approached Pac, Pac was not afraid of them because he already knew them.

"Hello blinky, inky, pinky and clyde, what are you doing here?"

"well we were wondering if already .."

Clyde said uncomfortable

"yes what?"

"Our bodies are returned to us, it is that we help them a lot and betrayus no longer controls us, and we no longer have any sense of continuing to do it in the underworld"

"mmmmhh .. I didn't even think about that I will talk to the president"

"oh yes thanks pac! i love you"

said pinky crazy as she tries to kiss him

"HEY! Hey! Pinky not so fast!"

said pac embarrassed

"Leave her there is not going to change our crazy opinion"

I reaffirm blinky

"good, I'll come quickly"

He said going to the office of the president, when he entered, he saw everything calm as he always saw from the window of the president the view of every day, perhaps it feels like this the president spheros every day.

* CRAAACK! *

"WHAT WAS THAT!"

Pac ran to where the noise came from, it came from the president's room when he entered there was almost nothing, he thought that maybe it was a mouse or a lost bird.

"Mr. pacman, what are you doing in my room?"

said the president in surprise behind him

"Wah! Mr. President, would I like to ask you a question?"

"Which boy?"

"well now that betrayus has been detained and forever is a good time for blinky, inky, pinky and clyde ... you know, return their bodies"

"That, I'm afraid that won't be possible boy .."

replied the president

"WHAT! BUT IF I PROMISE THAT BECAUSE NOW HE SAYS NO !?"

"It is simple pac, the gang is not registered in the warehouse, they died at different times, the warehouse was built shortly after my brother died"

"Heavens, I don't know how I'm going to tell you this"

he said discouraged

"Don't worry son, be honest, they will understand ..."

Pac knowing the disappointment his ghost friends will have, he had no choice, he should have told them, but he would not know how they would react to the news.

"Boys.."

"well pac said yes!"

asked the 4 excited

"The truth, I don't know how to explain, the president told me that their bodies ..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH !!!"

A scream was heard coming from not far away

"OH GOD! THE PRESIDENT IS IN DANGER AGAIN!"

Said he taking an ice berry and going straight to the president's room

"NO PLEASE! WHO ARE YOU! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!"

I ask scared stratos

"I've waited a long time for this moment, but I've never seen myself so cowardly in this world"

he added with an evil smile.

[pastellarts]

To the edge of your sky - Chapter 1: The man with the glowing hand

Summary: A terrible explosion brings together a blunt self-righteous Seeker with a passionate nature and a gracious but skeptical rebel mage. As they fight with their allies in the Inquisition to save the world, they will embrace new dreams and discover that where the sky begins, sorrow ends.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23742424

Chapter music: https://youtu.be/uDFpcSc7IcY

----------

Chaos and despair.

Every step she took on the path towards the destroyed Temple of Sacred Ashes made Lady Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast lose her mind bit by bit.

What had happened? Who was behind it?

Why?

Those were all valid and important questions, demanding answers that she would unleash a hunt for. But as her stride brought her closer to the theater of disaster, the smell of burning flesh and debris overwhelmed her senses.

Her eyes moved frantically from the red and black flames to the vast green swirl that lit up the sky, oozing strange magic and terror. A wound so big that tore the heavens apart and shook the ground by touching it with veins of strange energy.

The thick smoke was making her cough. Cassandra covered her mouth and nostrils with a handkerchief to help herself breathe.

Justinia, I got to find her… And Galyan… Oh Maker, was he in the Temple or not?

She had heard nothing so far, not even a single plea for help or a scream. Only the echoes of the footsteps of the soldiers that joined her to scout the area. The all-consuming fire and the shuddering Breach cracklings were crashing her hopes about finding survivors.

A loud crack nearby broke her reverie and she felt a strong arm dragging her with haste as some burning debris collapsed where she had been standing.

"We can't go closer to the Temple, it will fall apart!" Cullen tugged her further away as he tried to catch his own breath. "We stay here and we die as well, come on!"

Justinia. Templars. Mages. All dead.

"Secure a perimeter to the Temple! Take cover! Make sure nobody approaches, it's too dangerous!" Cullen issued his orders to the soldiers and turned to her.

"Cassandra, I fear…" Cullen offered her a flask and she raised it to her lips without question. Whiskey, to clear the smoke in her throat and her mind. "I don't think anyone survived the explosion", he took the flask from her and drank as well.

Justinia. Templars. Mages. Galyan?

They were dead. The whole Conclave was dead.

The last effort to bring peace to Thedas was sabotaged and all she could do was stare at the tragedy and hear the wind howling as it dispersed hope and ashes around them.

A green explosion startled them, followed by a rift opening. By the time they had drawn their weapons, a Terror had already impaled an unlucky archer that stood closer to it.

"Demons! Formation behind me!" Cullen took a defensive stance as a Shade moved towards him. Cassandra snarled and lunged towards the Terror on her own, only to see it phase into the ground. She kept her guard by pivoting in her position. Moments later she heard a shriek and the Terror crystallized out of thin air, pouncing upon her before she could even blink.

"Die, you demon!" Cassandra kept deflecting its hits with her shield until it disappeared once more. Experience kicking in, she let out a powerful shout the moment it reappeared, hoping to taunt the Terror.

"Ugh, die already!"

She charged like a raging bronto, her longsword hitting the legs and torso of the demon, causing it to dissolve back into the rift, which seemed to calm down.

"This is bad. These rifts are all over the valley. We need to keep men here to fight demons as they appear!" Cullen still held his sword as he assessed the situation.

They stared at each other, sharing the unspoken unavoidable conclusion; more people would die to protect the survivors from the demons and anything else those rifts might bring.

There was no time to lose.

"I need to speak to Leliana at once."

And find Galyan

"I will dispatch soldiers at your disposal for dealing with the demons. Update me if you find anything," Cassandra started her jog down to the village. "And Cullen, please be careful, all of you" she addressed the soldiers and the Commander as she turned towards them. "We have no idea who and what we are up against."

She was Cassandra Pentaghast, the Right Hand of the Divine, Seeker of Truth and the Hero of Orlais, and she would bring anyone who was responsible for this disaster to justice. She would behead them herself for crushing Justinia's crusade for peace and reforms, consequences be damned.

Maker help her, she hoped she had the strength to overcome this challenge.

~oOo~

Alexander Trevelyan had not imagined such an outcome when he joined the delegation of the mages as part of the former Circle of Ostwick to the Chantry Conclave. Nobody in Thedas could have imagined it.

Clad in borrowed scout armor with a random staff in hand and afflicted with a headache and various muscle strains, he followed the tenacious Seeker on the snow-covered mountain path that led to the Temple. The two of them along with Solas and Varric had just bid farewell to the missing scouts who had thanked her for their rescue.

"Thank our prisoner, lieutenant. He insisted we come this way."

Prisoner. He had been requested to resolve the dilemma between choosing the mountain path or attacking at the temple, he got the credit for the rescue of the scouts, but he was still her fucking prisoner. Perhaps a distinguished one, since he was allowed to carry a staff. He would play along for now, like he had agreed to do, following her lead and using his magic against rifts and demons. Until his judgment for a crime he had no memory of.

"There will be a trial, I can promise no more."

The Seeker navigated them, warning about slippery parts and falling ice stalactites, offering a helping hand to prevent missteps. And, Andraste preserve him, that bickering of hers with Varric about everything was making his headache worse. Ostensibly the dwarf had been also her prisoner; neither had kept their squabble a secret.

Was it a habit of hers, taking people as prisoners and interrogating them, just to satisfy her insatiable need for justice and penance? The last thing Alexander could recall from his memories before all went black was walking in the Temple. And then things chasing him and a woman in a mysterious form. When he regained his senses, another woman, tall, fierce, unyielding, with her hand on her sword, approaching him like her prey, threatening to kill him if he didn't give her the answers she was looking for.

But his answers had not been good enough for either of them. He had no recollection of how and why a strange green mark had suddenly appeared on his left hand or if it had caused the explosion that killed all those people.

Unable to get any explanations from him in shackles, the Seeker had released him from the heavy chains, pulled him on his feet and dragged him outside through the angry crowd of the people of Haven.

If by any chance they let him live, he would never forget the first time he saw the blinding light of the Breach that expanded till the edge of the sky. Even the worst curses he had heard from the witnesses of his exit from the holding cells could not taint that vision of green doom from his memory.

"They have decided your guilt."

Still, the reactions of the villagers were nothing like the voiceless shrieks from the dead bodies that laid before the gate to the valley. The screams and pleads to the Maker from soldiers that were running to save themselves. His own howls at every strong pulse from that green mark. The rapid explosions that could bring down a bridge and dozen more soldiers in the blink of an eye.

It was so bad that the Seeker had agreed to let him carry a staff not long after his interrogation had ended.

He could not blame her for being in a hurry to face this disaster. From what he gathered so far, she was the only one realizing what was at stake, reacting seriously and swiftly to the situation, unlike Chancellor Roderick who only wished for his execution in Val Royeaux. Her and Sister Leliana.

He could also see the strain on her face. Without question, the explosion did hurt her. She had lost the Divine, colleagues and perhaps friends. And now she had to tolerate the bitter presence of the lone survivor of that tragedy and protect him because his mark could close the rifts. Couldn't blame her, really.

"We need to keep moving." Cassandra urged them on.

His whole body was heaving from the exhaustion, despite the adrenaline rush. The interrogation, the three rifts, the strain and paralyzing pulses from the green mark – things kept happening so fast, taking a heavy toll on his body and mind. He was able to stand more than a fighting chance, but not today.

And he was hungry, so fucking hungry, but like hell he would admit a weakness to her.

"Down the ladder. That's the way to the temple." Cassandra descended and he prayed he could make it down there without collapsing.

"The Temple of Sacred Ashes." Solas commented.

"What's left of it." Varric whispered full of dread.

Maker! He could only gape at the sight before him. Maker help them all…

How did he even emerge from this catastrophe in one piece?!

Alexander observed the strange rock formations that surrounded the ruins. The discussion between Varric and Solas about the circumstances of the explosion caught his ear. If he were to survive this mission, he would like a chance to converse with the mysterious elven apostate in detail about his informed and rather fitting explanations.

"That is where you walked out of the Fade and our soldiers found you." Cassandra approached him. "They said a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was."

The corpses of the victims were still burning, condemned in an endless torture for their sins, for their hopes for peace between mages and templars. They didn't deserve this fate, no.

"You're here! Thank the Maker." Leliana approached from behind with some soldiers.

"Leliana, have your men take up positions around the temple." Cassandra issued her commands. "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?"

"I'm not sure how to even start getting up to that thing." Alexander looked up to the rift, unable to form an effective strategy.

"No. This rift was the first and is the key. Seal it, and perhaps we seal the Breach." Solas insisted.

"Then let's find a way down", Cassandra's gaze locked with his. "And be careful."

They moved further inside, walking through red lyrium, hearing echoes from the fade. A deep intimidating voice mentioning a sacrifice and then a female voice yelling for help.

"That is Divine Justinia's voice!" yelled Cassandra.

"What's going on here?"

"That was your voice. Most Holy called out to you. But…" Cassandra's desperate plea for answers was interrupted by more intense ghostly echoes of the Divine engulfed in red energy and a looming dark figure with glowing red eyes. A flash of white and the echoes disappeared.

"You were there! Who attacked? And the Divine, is she…? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?" Cassandra snarled at him in vain.

"I don't remember!"

Maker, it was futile to prove he was not behind this tragedy. Cassandra could go on accusing him and he could go on responding in every possible manner that he had no memory of any of it.

"Echoes of what happened here. The Fade bleeds into this place." Solas quickly reminded them what was at stake as the soldiers stood around them with their weapons drawn.

"This rift is not sealed, but it is closed… albeit temporarily. I believe with the mark, the rift can be opened and then sealed properly and safely. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side."

"That means demons. Stand ready!" Cassandra unsheathed her sword and took a battle stance by his side. Of course, her primary task would be to protect the prisoner with the glowing hand long enough to close the rift and then throw him away like a rag for his trial.

Damn the Seeker and the Chantry and their modus operandi against mages. Right now, the only thing that mattered was to fight that Pride demon and close the rift. However, if he made it out of this battle alive, he would fight for his freedom and his rights, for justice for the mages. That was a promise.

 ~3 days later~

He didn't mean to scare the elven servant, but he had woken up with a headache and a soreness in most of his body parts. He poured himself some water and grabbed some bites from the food tray nearby. He wasn't really hungry, but his inner mouth felt like stale bread and he wanted all of his senses back up and running at once.

"I'm sure Lady Cassandra will want to know you've wakened. She said 'at once'!"

"And where is she?"

"In the Chantry with the Lord Chancellor. 'At once,' she said!"

The scared servant had run off, probably to alert the Seeker that he was awake. He stretched his limps and tested his walk as he got off the bed after 3 days, if the elf was telling him the truth. Running his hands through his hair, he realized with wonder that they were clean and free of whatever shit had landed on him during the battle with the Pride demon.

Alexander found his armor clean and draped over the back of a chair. Perhaps he could ask what had happened to his robes, if he got a chance. The basin with clean water and a cloth on the desk were another welcome surprise.

Huh.

He picked a note that lied on the desk.

'Patient Observations

 Vain hope: Someone better at this than me takes over before the survivor expires. Notes in case.

—Day One—

 Clammy. Shallow breathing. Pulse over-fast. Not responsive. Pupils dilated.

 Mage says his/her scarring "mark" is thrumming with unknown magic.

 Wish we could station a templar in here, just in case.'

Of course they would wish for a templar to keep an eye on the dangerous mage.

Alexander put on the armor. Time to meet Seeker Pentaghast and get some answers. The Circles were no more and like hell he would put up with a glorified templar ordering him around like a puppet.

He opened the cabin door. Twenty Fereldan soldiers were lining the path starting from the cabin, saluting him with their fists on their chests, surrounded by a small crowd of people.

"That's him, that's the Herald of Andraste!"

"Why did Lady Cassandra have him in chains? Andraste herself blessed him!"

The people of Haven stood in attention, bowing their heads in respect and offering him their blessings as he made his way through the crowd to the Chantry.

"Blessings upon you, Herald of Andraste!"

 Herald of… Andraste?

He kept walking in awe as people commented on his deeds and showered him with words of encouragement, instead of yells and spit. The revered mothers and clerics stood before the Chantry entrance, arguing about Chancellor Roderick and their lack of leadership. A flock of babbling hens, if you asked him, who were foolishly ignoring the imminent danger that was more than visible and were focusing on who would sign their chantry appointments. Barely a week since Justinia and all those Conclave attendants had perished.

Alexander raised his eyes to the sky where the Breach moved like it was about to shallow everything. The images of the devastation in the Temple and the echoes from the Fade were enough to motivate him do his part. He would not ignore this threat. He could not. If it grew, it would literally end Thedas and they were all doomed, mages and templars, soldiers and farmers, humans, dwarves and elves, commoners and nobles alike.

The doors closed behind him as he entered the Chantry and Alexander inhaled long and deep. He would help the Seeker against this threat with every bit of himself, but he would demand respect and fair treatment. And freedom. He was a Senior Enchanter of the former Circle of Ostwick, not some prisoner to be flaunted around from the leftovers of the Chantry. As long as he was the key to closing those rifts, he would be their equal.

After all, he was 'the man with the glowing hand', as Varric had put it and nobody would ignore his only leverage.

The closer he got to the end of the hall of the Chantry, the louder Seeker's voice was booming from inside the room, steady and passionate. So were the Chancellor's yells as well.

"Have you gone completely mad? He should be taken to Val Royeaux immediately, to be tried by whomever becomes Divine."

"I do not believe he is guilty."

Cassandra was facing off with Chancellor Roderick about… him?

"The prisoner failed, Seeker. The Breach is still in the sky. For all you know, he intended it this way."

"I do not believe that."

"That is not for you to decide. Your duty is to the serve the Chantry."

"My duty is to serve the principles on which the Chantry was founded, Chancellor. As is yours."

And she believed him to be… innocent?

 Huh.

Time to join this meeting himself and see what had changed during his long sleep.

~oOo~

Cassandra entered the Singing Maiden and headed for the table with the big comfortable chairs near the fireplace that was thankfully empty. She could use the heat right now. And some warm food. And a good drink. Or two.

Earlier that day, the Inquisition was founded again by her and Leliana, with support from Ambassador Montilyet, Commander Cullen Rutherford and of course the Herald of Andraste. Using the authority granted to her and Leliana by Justinia's writ. Maker help her, she hoped she was doing the right thing.

No. They were doing the right thing. At least they were acting. Because if they didn't, it would be too late. She had no doubt of the latter. No matter what it took.

"Good evening Lady Pentaghast, can I get you anything?" Flissa smiled nervously at her as she approached.

It had been a very, very long day.

 Wine, I should drink wine

"Is there wine?"

Flissa bit her lower lip. "Spiced w-wine only."

"It'll do. And whatever warm food you have."

"Got Fereldan stew and-"

"Stew will do, thank you Flissa" Cassandra nodded.

"Be right b-back with your food and wine, Lady Pentaghast." Flissa hurried back to her post.

Cassandra took off her gloves and leaned back at her seat, taking in the people in the tavern. Recruits, soldiers, a couple of scouts and few villagers were unwinding, unaware of the long way they had ahead of them, of what the Inquisition meant.

A recruit entered the tavern in a hurry and conversed with Flissa. She hoped it would not take long. She had eaten nothing since morning.

Right then, Trevelyan opened the door. He nodded at her and went also to talk to Flissa. Flissa smiled nervously at him and went on rambling about something, delaying further the serving of her meal. Then he replied and Flissa giggled.

Cassandra was starving and those two were flirting with each other.

Maker help her, she wanted to punch something. Or someone.

Their chit chat ended, and the Herald scanned the tavern, looking everywhere and lastly to her. Apparently having a dinner and some wine alone was a privilege. So be it.

"May I sit?" Trevelyan asked in a cordial tone.

Cassandra gestured impassively and braced herself for awkward silence.

"Here is your stew and wine, Lady Pentaghast." Flissa served her and placed an ale in front of Trevelyan as well. "Would you like some food, Lord Herald?"

"Yes please, stew and any roasted meat, if there is any." Trevelyan drank half of his ale at a gulp and wiped his beard with the back of his hand. Despite her treating him like a mass murderer until few days ago, he had been hesitant but considerate the whole day.

"It is a good idea to eat a large meal, you will need your strength the following days as we travel through the Hinterlands." Cassandra said between swallowing spoonfuls of stew.

"I have been a rebel battlemage for quite some time, Lady Seeker. I can survive in the wilderness. Have some faith." Trevelyan regarded her curiously.

The arrival of his meal halted momentarily any reply she could have given him and they dined in silence, accompanied by the chatter around them and the bard's song.

Cassandra leaned back in her chair and studied the Herald. By every standard, he was a good-looking man, with greenish eyes and rich dark blond hair at mid neck length, held back in a half ponytail. He had a beard and his hands were calloused with chilblains. She made a mental note to urge him to find some gloves. No harm should happen to him, his mark was the most important weapon.

Trevelyan finished his ale and turned to ask Flissa for another. Cassandra also raised her glass signaling for a refill.

"Could you explain something to me, Lady Pentaghast?" Trevelyan seemed to ponder on his words, even after her curt acknowledgement of his request. "What made you change your mind about me?"

"What I told you this morning, Herald. Perhaps I am mistaken again. Your actions will show what you truly are. But right now, you are the person we need, that this world needs to close the Breach and restore order."

Trevelyan tilted his head slightly to his left and locked his gaze to hers. He was careful, perhaps too careful, calculating even. She had to pay close attention to everything he would say.

"And I agreed to help you fix this." He lifted his left palm. "You need this, the world needs it."

Their drinks arrived and this time Trevelyan did not devour his ale fast. Perceptive, that one. Patient when he chose to be.

The urge to punch something started to grow inside her again.

"Spit it out Herald, I don't have all night for your musings." Cassandra squinted her eyes.

"The Circles are no more. I take no orders from Templars or Seekers." The Herald leaned forward, pinning her in her place with those fiery green eyes of his. "I will respect any tactical decisions as your equal and will follow you in battle and fight with you and the Inquisition for now, until we close the Breach and find who is behind this. Because you are the only ones that intend to deal with it and I will do whatever I can, you have my word. But after that, I'm gone." He snapped his fingers and relaxed his posture, sipping his ale.

Cassandra had to hand it to him. Few people had the gall to address her with an attitude stripped of fear.

"I hope you keep that bravado for the demons we will encounter the next days, Herald, you will need it." Cassandra finished her wine and got up from her chair. "I gave you my word and sealed our agreement with a handshake and I take my promises seriously."

"I am aware of that and appreciate it. You need to understand Lady Seeker, during the mage-templar war a promise meant nothing, so the past years have made me rightfully wary. But I hope I will be pleasantly surprised for a change." Trevelyan declared.

"Nothing surprises me in the world anymore. Goodnight, Herald." Cassandra said.

"Lady Pentaghast." Trevelyan raised his mug with a tight smile and released her from his glare.

Cassandra left the tavern with a belly full of food and a feeling of terror unbeknownst to her. There was something about Trevelyan that made her fear him since the moment she laid eyes on him. Only a handful of people had managed to flare up that dreadful reaction inside her and she didn't like it at all, no.

After she undressed in the room that she and Leliana shared, she did the only thing she could. She fell to her knees and prayed to the Maker for guidance, for a clear mind, for a heart that would neither harm a man that seemed to be innocent nor fall for any of his tricks and games.

Andraste preserve her, the war they had declared against chaos and despair would be a long one.

[princessamericachavez]

Fjorester Week | Day 1 | AU

“So, tell me again, why am I here?” Beau grumbles, before shoving a fistful of corn chips into her mouth.

Fjord lets out a heavy sigh, glaring at his best friend from the mirror.

“Because you love me and won’t leave me to go face my neighbor’s housewarming party on my own?”

“I don’t love you that much, big guy.”

“C’mon, what’s so bad about it? It’s a party. We’ll work on your people skills.”

“If your people skills are so damn good,” Beau shoots back, “why do you need me to wingman at all?”

“Because I don’t know anyone else there, and there’s gonna be free booze. Also, I already kinda put my foot in my mouth with this girl before, would really appreciate some help to avoid doing it again.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Beauregard sits up on the couch, grinning. “Mister Perfect put his foot in his mouth.”

Fjord turns away from the mirror to ignore the blush crawling up his face and gives his gym buddy a half-hearted glare.

“Oh, c’mon. If you tell me, I’ll go.”

“It’s not a big deal. She’s just... very enthusiastic. I went by the other day to pick up a package that’d been dropped at her place while I was out and she was very nice and she kept asking if I wanted to go in for a cup of coffee or water or something.”

“She was hitting on you, so what? Girls do that all the time, Fjord.”

“They don’t. Thing is... I panicked,” Fjord mumbles rubbing the back of his neck. “I think I yelled something like ‘thanks, I don’t drink water,’ and I ran away. It’s a miracle that she even invited me over today.”

“Oh my god, dude!” Beau chuckles, jumping to her fit. She brushes off the chip crumbs from her shirt and tightens her messy bun over her head. “This girl makes you stupid. I’m so coming with you to see it in person.”

“Thanks, Beau. Appreciate the support,” Fjord deadpans.

Well, at least that’s something.

Before Fjord gets a second to gather his thoughts, Beauregard knocks on the door. Even through the thick wood and the faraway music, he can hear the clacking of heels rushing to the door that swings completely open to reveal the party’s hostess. His next-door neighbor.

Jester is pretty in a way Fjord’s never seen before. Sure, there’s conventional pretty like the girls from tv, and there are hot women in magazine ads, and there are beautiful women in the street’s every day... but something about this girl just throws him off balance. It might be the blue streaks on her short dark hair, or her nearly violet eyes, or her tan skin covered in freckles like a clear starry night out at sea. Or it might just be the way she beams at him as soon as she sees him awkwardly standing at her door, holding a bottle of wine and a grumpy college student.

“Fjord! You came!” She exclaims, and he’s shocked by how genuinely glad she sounds.

“Uh, hi, Jester. This is my friend, Beauregard.”

“Friends call me Beau, actually.”

“Oh! Can I be your friend?! Can I call you Beau?”

“Uh- sure.”

“Perfect! Come in! Come in!” Jester grabs them both by the hands and pulls them into her house with a strength that doesn’t seem to match her tiny size. 

The inside of Jester’s apartment is different than what he expected, and somehow exactly what he should’ve imagined. Sure, it’s very pink and colorful, and lively, but there’s a refined style in the decoration that screams money and taste. It might be the same size as his place, but it feels far more welcoming and cozy.

“Come on! I wanna introduce you to some friends!”

Jester hasn’t let go of either of them. She pulls them along towards the living room, where four other individuals are sitting around and talking. Fjord thinks it’s the weirdest mix of people he’s ever seen in his life. One of them has long purple hair and hippy clothes —real hippy and not whatever hipster stuff kids buy in Urban Outfitters— and he’s giving a card reading to a man with shaggy red hair and an unkempt beard. They both sit on the floor, being watched closely by two women: one tall and muscular, with dark makeup framing her eyes, and one short and scrappy that keeps taking long swings of her flask.

“Hey, everyone! This is Fjord!” Jester has no qualms interrupting their reading. “Fjord, this is everyone.”

“Oh, hey, Caleb,” Beau’s voice catches him off guard before he can even say hello. “What are you doing here?”

“Beauregard,” the redhead murmurs with a heavy German accent as he stands up. “I am here with my friend Nott. She’s a friend of Jester’s.”

“You are my friend too, Caleb!” Jester complains.

“Cool. I’m here with Fjord,” Beau says, pointing at him with a thumb. “Fjord, this is Caleb and that is his not-sister but not-girlfriend, Nott.”

Fjord shakes Caleb’s hand, as he tries really hard not say out loud that Nott sounds like a fake name. The more he looks at the short woman, the more he realizes he might not want to know the answer to that question after all.

Jester introduces the other two people: Molly and Yasha. From the second the woman stands up and comes to shyly shake their hands, Fjord knows Beauregard is a goner. He shouldn’t be surprised when, five minutes later, she’s disappeared from his side to go follow Yasha and her purple-haired friend elsewhere. And so, he is all alone with Jester.

“You know, you look very handsome, Fjord,” she says, as casually as one would comment on the weather. “I mean, I always thought you were handsome, but you look even better today.”

“Oh- uh- hum... thanks, Jester,” he manages to get out, thankful for once that his friend isn’t here to laugh at his flailing. 

“You want something to drink?” Jester asks, and without waiting for an answer she grabs him by the hand again and leads him across the apartment towards a table filled with bottles and sodas.

As they walk, Fjord’s eyes trail down to her small frame. She’s wearing a sundress with a sunflower pattern, the thin straps of which leave her neck and shoulders mostly uncovered. He can’t help but stare at the sunkissed skin and the trail of freckles that makes its way across her shoulder blades.

“What would you like to drink, Fjord?”

“I don’t know, what are you having?”

“A chocolate shake,” Jester shrugs. She says it casually but he can see the spark of satisfaction that crosses her face when he reacts with confusion. “Oh, I don’t like the taste of alcohol very much. I mean, I’ve had some before, but it’s really not fun to me. I like sweet things better. Also, it’s very funny when you are sober and all your friends are being drunk and stupid, really.”

Fjord lets out a loud chuckle. “Yeah, I bet it is. I’ll have a beer then.” Nothing too strong that will make him join the drunk and stupid team.

Speaking of. He turns around and sees Beauregard and Molly already arguing loudly with each other about... something. Music, as far as he can guess by the way they gesture to the vinyl collection in the corner. Jester is watching too, smiling.

“I’m so sorry about that,” he sighs.

“It looks like they are having fun,” Jester shrugs, handing him a beer. “Molly argues a lot with people. That’s how you know he likes them.”

“A’right,” he nods taking a sip. Jester slurps her milkshake and Fjord almost stares at her until he kicks himself into making conversation. “So, Jester, whatcha do for a living.”

“Oh, I’m a doctor.”

“You are?” Fjord’s eyebrows arch, maybe a little too much. He can see a hint of offense cross her eyes. “I mean, sorry, you don’t look the way I expect doctors to look.”

“Why? Because I’m too young?”

“Too pretty,” he corrects, without thinking. “I- I mean- most doctors are, you know, cranky old men.”

“They really are,” Jester giggles. “I’m actually finishing my residency now, and then I will start my specialization.”

“On what?”

“Cardiology. I’m all about the heart,” she says giving him a wink.

“I’m sure you are,” he ducks his head to hide the blush that crawls up his face.

“Come, I’ll show you the house,” Jester gestures for him to follow down the hallway.

Fjord stops by a big framed picture of a movie star. He recognizes the seductive smile, the dangerous curves, the long flow red hair, the old-Hollywood air that no other actress seems to have any more.

“The Ruby of the Sea. You must really like her movies,” he points out, taking another sip of beer.

“I’ve watched all of them!” Jester grins. “She’s my mom.”

“Marion Lavorre is your mother?!” Fjord all but screams. Jester shushes him immediately. “Sorry,” he lowers his voice. “I just didn’t even know she had a daughter.”

“Oh, yeah, well... I wasn’t out very much, you know? My mom was trying to keep me away from all the paparazzi and stuff when I was little, so I spent most of my time with private tutors at home.”

Fjord isn’t sure how to respond to that. He’s not sure if he's jealous of the having a mother part, or saddened by the loneliness she describes.

“It was nice, you know,” Jester goes on, and he can tell by her tone she’s nervous as if she needed to fill the silence to justify her own past. He knows the feeling. “I had a lot of great teachers. I learned how to paint. I made most of the art in this apartment.”

“That’s very impressive, Jester. You’re quite an artist.”

“Thank you!” She grins.

“So why’d you move all the way to the east coast, then? Isn’t your mom in L.A.?”

“Well... it’s a bit of a complicated story, you know? If I told you I’d have to kill you.”

Fjord lets out a hearty laugh at that. 

“Hey, Jester, we are about to leave for the gig, you coming?” Molly announces a while later.

Fjord blinks at him, waking up from the past several hours where he’s enjoyed Jester’s non-stop stream of words. Time’s flown by and when he looks at his clock he realizes it’s past one in the morning.

“Of course we are coming! Fjord, you are coming, right? Molly is a DJ downtown and he’s very very good. Yasha works security in the club, too. It’s going to be so much fun!”

“Of course we are coming,” Beau gives Fjord’s arm a painful squeeze.

“Actually, I- Uh. I’ve got work tomorrow morning and-”

“Dude, you’re killing me.”

“Okay, okay, fine. I guess Beau will kill me if I say no.”

“I will.”

“Yes!” Jester jumps, clapping. “C’mon, everybody! We’re leaving!”

For the third time in the night, Jester grabs Fjord’s hand and pulls him along towards the entrance. 

Fjord meets a lot of interesting people at the club. Most of them he can’t quite put a name to, but he can tell everyone is happy to see Jester. He wonders, idly, if he should worry at all about the many guys tripping over themselves, trying to keep up with jester’s energy, but she holds on to his arm the whole time and keeps sending him smiles sweet as candy.

The only guy she actually seems to pay attention to, a friend from medical school who was apparently covering for her tonight. He looks nothing like a doctor either, tall, lanky and with a mohawk of long pink hair. He’s drinking something that doesn’t smell like tea and smoking something that doesn’t smell like cigarettes. But he’s nice.

Not nice enough that Fjord isn’t delighted when Jester pulls him away to a quiet corner.

“What?” He chuckles.

“I wanna show you something,” she whispers. If he didn’t know she’s been having chocolate milk all night long, he’d suspect her to be drunk. “Do you still wanna know why I came all the way here?”

“Yeah,” he breathes, entranced by the way her eyes sparkle.

With a tilt of her head, she leads him towards a back door. He follows closely. Of course, he does. At this point, he doesn’t know that he can do anything else. They exit to a narrow back alley, Jester pushes him against a wall and for a second he thinks he’s about to get a very welcomed make out session... but then she turns him around and makes him face the club’s back wall. 

There, on the brick wall, there’s a graffiti. It’s big, colorful, filled with sunflowers, jellyfish, a few little dicks hidden here and there. The signature reads: The Little Sapphire. 

“Woah, that’s-”

“Mine.”

“Wait. Wait. Wait. You mean to tell me you are Sapphire?!”

“I am! You see, one of my private tutors, he was an artist, and he told me people called him the Traveler.”

“The Traveler? People say that he’s the new Bansky.”

“Oh, Fjord, c’mon! He’s so much better than Bansky! He’s the best!”

“And he’s your teacher?”

“He is! Well. He was. Until I made this one thing in L.A... I had no idea that it was one of the big mob houses! It got all of the paparazzi attention and they got found out by the cops... So now these guys want me dead and I had to come here to lay low for a little while.”

“Mobsters.”

“Yep.”

“They... want you dead.”

“Kinda, yes.”

Fjord frowns again, feeling his chest knot. He looks at his tiny sunshine neighbor, imagines her in any sort of danger, and feels an old kind of fury burning in his veins.

“So,” Jester sing songs.

“So?”

“Are you gonna tell me what you are doing here? I mean, you are all mysterious. I see you come in and out every day, you work nine to five but then you spend all night out. What’s your story, Fjord?”

Deep breath. Fjord thinks about his past, about the orphanage, about Vandran. He thinks about his nightly search across New York, asking about a Texan sailor gone missing months ago under mysterious circumstances. He thinks about the Serpent mafia and all the danger he would put her in if he shared that with her.

All the danger he would put her in if he shared anything with her. All of the things already clouding his mind...

“I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you,” he grins, leaning closer. 

He can feel Jester stand on her tiptoes, her breath brushing his mouth.

“Hey, Jester! Come back in here! We are singing happy birthday!” Nott shouts from the backdoor.

“Coming!” She shouts back, pulls Fjord back and presses a chaste kiss to his lips. “You get the rest of that when you tell me your story,” she whispers, then runs away and back into the Nein club. 

Fjord stands there in the dark street while his brain tries to process what just happened. 

Oh, fuck him, he’s going to tell her everything. How could he not?

[winterbuttmunch]

Masked Pt. IX

WHOOO I’M BACK MOTHERFUCKERS

It took forever, I know and I’m so so sorry, depression and ADHD are a goddamn bitch. 

Also shoutout to @friendly-neighborhood-lich-queen for reading and helping me figure out my messy af story. thank you elle <3

Come scream at me later, I have some more tidbits that didn’t make it to the story! and some backstory on Mariah I can post if yall want me to! 

So without further ado, here we go!

You were walking towards your favorite hunting ground, having stopped at all your other regular haunts for drinks. It was a club currently called Exposure, though it had changed names several times in the time since you had found. To you and the people who frequented it though, it would always be called the Church. The original owner had spent a small fortune renovating the buildings interior into something hauntingly beautiful, with al grand descending staircase, pillars, and high domed ceiling. You adored it. It’s the only place you worshipped. 

It usually had no cover charge for women, so men lined up hoping to get in and get lucky. Just thinking about it made your toes curl in anticipation. You relished the opportunity to drink and dance until you were slick with sweat and then end the night lost in some strangers bed. You had made your way to the front of the line, pushing through the line and smiling at the bouncer. He winked and mouthed a hello while opening the big carved wooden for you and ushering you inside like a VIP. You stood on the balcony of the grand staircase staring down at the crowds below you, grinning and letting the lights flash on your skin, feeling the bass reverberate in your bones, and breathing in the sent of sweat, booze and sex. 

You fully relaxed for the first time since your session with Daniel. You were ready to shine. You stood tall, with your shoulders back, chin held high and descended the staircase with a regality that caught several people’s eyes. You got to the bottom and looked around fully in your element. You strutted to the bar, swinging your hips, enjoying the eyes you felt on you. You grinned at Lucy, your favorite bartender, and held up Tony’s card between your index and middle fingers. She waved back in reply and got your usual drink. You grabbed your mojito, and sipped while leaning against the bar, looking at the crowd trying to find your prey for the night. When you didn’t find someone suitable, you turned again holding up a hand at Lucy and downed the four shots she brought you in quick succession, before grabbing your last drink and heading off immediately to the dance floor.  You wiggled your way to the center and grinned at the security guards guarding the entrance to your favorite part of the dance floor. They smirked at you while they moved to the side to let you pass.  You blew them a kiss as quickly climbed the stairs until you got the elevated part of the dance floor directly under the high domed glass ceiling. The full moon glinting brightly and it shed light on the dancers. The people around you were cast an ethereal glow that seemed all the more magical with the pulsing club lights. You gulped your drink down, the heavy alcohol leaving a warm sensation in your stomach and threw yourself into a frenzy on the dance floor. You forgot all about everything and just let the music envelop you, dancing without a care in the world.

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

“Sabrina! Hurry. The Fuck. UP! We’re already late!”, Iris yelled while rummaging through the fridge and triumphantly pulling out a half filled bottle of tequila.

“I’m going! I’m going!”, Sabrina stuck her head out the bathroom head and flashed a grin at Bucky who amusedly watched Iris sitting next to him on the couch, take deep swigs out of the tequila bottle. She pointed a ringed finger at Bucky and told her girlfriend, “You gotta make sure that  Barnes’ drinks too.” Bucky snorted, “You know I can’t get drunk, Rina. ‘Sides tequila is disgusting. Gimme a good strong whiskey.”

“Christ, you’re so fucking predictable. Babe, grab that flask in my purse and hand it to him. Bottoms up, my man. I had Nat ask around for some super-soldier worthy booze and she delivered. That should be enough to fuck you up, so I recommend diluting it with some of that ‘disgusting’ tequila.”

Bucky watched suspicious, as Iris mixed his drink with a heavy hand and held it out to him. “Bucky, take the fucking drink, like Iris said we’re already late”, Sabrina snapped, “Besides, my neck is starting to hurt from standing like this.” Bucky just looked pointedly at Sabrina, until she rolled her eyes and marched over snatching the drink from her girlfriend and shoving it into Bucky’s hand. She waited, arms crossed while Bucky just glared at her.  She raised a brow and cocked her head, waiting. Finally Bucky cracked and muttering a quiet curse, gulped the drink down. “Fuck, that was gross guys.” Bucky gagged, “So what does the drink that Natalia gave you do?” “Basically it inhibits your cells from processing the alcohol as quickly as they normally would due to the serum.  For something like, 30 hours? Though it’ll still take a shit ton more alcohol than the average person. It basically breaks down your cells and turns them normal-ish. Something like that. I got a bit lost during the explanation, I just remembered the important parts.” She grinned excitedly at him, to which Bucky grinned and tilted his head back on the cushion. She had been so very determined to have him enjoy himself and relax after the day he had had. “Oh!” She snapped her fingers, “Nat also mentioned that it’ll take like 40 minutes to begin affecting you, so you got some time to kill…” Bucky glanced up as she trailed off, watching her smile turn wolfish as she watched her girlfriend bent over trying to fish out a half empty bottle of vodka from a cabinet. He saw Iris smile seductively back at Sabrina over he shoulder and knew what was gonna happen. 

“Go. Get out. Go have fun somewhere else”, Sabrina mumbled distractedly, waving him off with her hand. 

He stood up hastily, grabbing his jacket and somewhat awkwardly made his way out of the room to the front door, glancing quickly back as he heard someone hit the coffee table All he saw, were the women kissing passionately, making their way into the bathroom. He flushed, and hustled out the door, huffing heavily in the hallway. 

They were not getting out of here anytime soon.

Letting out another slightly louder sigh he put on his leather jacket and walked out into the cool New York night heading towards a liquor store in search of some decent whiskey. If he only had a night to enjoy alcohol and its effects then he was going to drink some good shit. 

While he walked he started thinking back to earlier. About Y/N. His Y/N. God, seeing you again was a kick to the gut. He had missed you so much that there were times, usually when the sky had barely started lightening after another sleepless night, when he felt there was an actual part of him missing. He thought that you were a mirage when you had appeared in the park, that he had wished to see you again so badly that his mind had finally snapped. He had felt his heart start beating faster as he laid eyes on you. You were breathtakingly beautiful, you always had been, and all he wanted was to hold you tight. To murmur your name like a prayer. To press gentle kisses on your skin and just hold you forever. But then he got a good look at you. And his blood ran cold. 

You were still so beautiful but there was a weariness in you he had never seen before. Hard lines of rage on the planes of your face, a sort of coldness in how you held yourself, a sorrow in your eyes. The woman in front of him, she was someone he knew yet didn’t. And so he had reacted on instinct when he had grabbed you. He had wanted to make everything ok. To carry your burdens and help. To explain what had happened with Mariah and go to your old apartment. He just wanted to go home with you. Because home was with you, wherever you were. But he had ruined it; it was over so quickly. And now, all these hours later, pieces of the encounter kept replaying in his mind. How skin soft as silk under his fingers, the icy cold fury on your face, the small tightening of your lips when he called you beloved, the unending turmoil in your eyes, how you felt on top of him… All Bucky wanted was to to fix your problems and be there for you. But, Sabrina was right, he had no right to do that. He had lost that right years ago. From the moment that he started to pull away from you. From the moment that he hadn’t noticed that you were drowning, he had lost that right. 

He heard your giggle grow louder as you walked down the hallway. He put down the magazine he had absently been turning, grabbed your coat and turned to meet you, looking curiously at the very good looking woman towering over you that you were laughing with. He cocked his head, smiling softly as he noticed that you looked a lot more at ease, more at peace. “Hi honey, this is Mariah, the therapist I was telling you about,” you said, mirth coating your voice, “I’ll let you two get acquainted while I go over there to make another appointment and sort out some insurance stuff.”   You walked away as Mariah got closer to him, her predatorily bright amber eyes scanning him up and down. He shifted on his feet nervously, glancing over at Y/N in hopes that she would come over and save him from this uncomfortable situation. He was looking down at his shoes when he sensed the woman, Mariah, about to move, looking up quickly, startling her with her hand outstretched as if to touch him. He angled himself away from her, and looked at her, confused and a little peeved. 

No one was allowed to just casually touch him, just Y/N. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I was trying to get your attention but you seemed lost in your own head”, she let out a shy smile and tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear, “I asked how you are doing? I know Y/N was gone for a while and I know from experience with other couples, that that reintegration back into civilian life isn’t always smooth for either person.” She cocked her head to the side, looking warmly and deeply into his eyes and Bucky felt himself start to relax. He had been having a hard time since Y/N had come back. It felt like she was there but distant and despite how warm and affectionate he was, he felt incredibly alone. He opened his mouth to respond when he saw that Y/N was on her way back so instead he just smiled and held out his hand to Y/N. “Ok, done. Let’s go honey. We can get something to eat and then go back home. Bye Mariah, I’ll see you next week!”, Y/N tugged on Bucky’s hand as she waved over her shoulder at her therapist. “Bucky, wait.” He turned to face the blonde woman who was holding out a thin card, “Here’s my number. If you ever need to talk, at any time of day, just call.” Bucky reached out and grabbed it, letting out a brief smile and following his girl out into the street. 

                                                      *********

Bucky had fiddled a lot with that card in the weeks since Mariah had handed it to him. By now, it was dog eared and worn, and though he had dialed the number but always hung up before it had rung. 

But he had finally hit his breaking point. He was fighting with Y/N again, for the third time in the past 7 days and he couldn’t take it any longer. He  didn’t want to stay out on the cold roof another night, alone. He had to talk to someone.

Anyone. He dialed the number and held his breath as it rung. “Hello?”, a sleepy voice murmured. “Uhm, hi. Is this Mariah?”, he heard a slight shuffling on the other end and only then realized that it was 2:41 a.m. and most people were asleep at that time, “I’m so sorry. I just realized that it’s really late. I’ll call at another time. Sorry.” “No, nononono, it’s ok.” Her voice got more alert as she fully woke up, “Truly. I’m used to receiving calls at odd hours of the day. How can I help you? Would you like to come in for a session?” Bucky paused, unsure, before breathing out, “Yes. Please.” “Ok,” Mariah said gently, “the door will be open, let yourself in. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Bucky made it to her office in record time, feeling desperate to not feel lonely if only for a little while. He silently opened the door, peering around it and making eye contact with the blonde who was looking at him curiously. 

“Uhm, hello, you gave me your card a couple weeks ago and I just… I just finally needed to talk,” Bucky quietly trailed off as he stood in the doorway, fiddling with the card still in his pocket, “I just didn’t know who else to turn to. Or who else to try.”

There was a pause, as Bucky wondered if he should bolt when Mariah stood up and walked toward him, hand extended.

“I thought I would never hear from you,” she smiled as he tentatively shook her hand, “come in, sit down and tell me what’s going on.”

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

They had talked for hours that initial session. All the feelings and doubts he had just bubbled out of him and for the first time in months, he felt like he was being seen. 

Like he mattered. 

Like he existed. 

They didn’t start sleeping together till later, after another particularly nasty fight with Y/N. She had been cruel and he had just snapped. He loved her with everything in him but he was so tired of being shut out. He loved her but he wanted someone who was willing to let him in. 

To open her heart fully to him and let him love every part of them. He had ended up at Mariah’s office that night, after hours of wandering around the city and without any prompting he had kissed her. Instantly, he felt guilt surge through him, he thought he would vomit at her feet, stain her ridiculously expensive red bottomed shoes, but instead he pushed it aside and kissed her deeper, closing his eyes tighter. He had imagined that he was kissing Y/N, even though Mariah’s lips felt different, he imagined that he was holding Y/N’s soft waist, even though Mariah’s was ensconced inside a tight binder, he imagined that it was Y/N letting out the soft moans underneath him, even though Mariah’s were louder and less breathy.

At the end of it right before he opened his eyes, he begged whatever Gods were out there, that Y/N would be under him gazing at him with a loving intensity in her eyes, but instead he opened his eyes and there lay Mariah, her blonde hair fanned out, amber eyes shining in an unknown emotion. She had reached up and kissed him, pulling him to her and rolling him onto his side, twining her legs between his. She had laid her head in the crook of his arm and kissed his chest softly, giving him the affection and attention he had craved for months. In that moment, his guilt subsided and he let himself enjoy the moment. He closed his eyes again, and let her soft kisses and gentle fingers lull him into a soft sleep. 

Bucky was so lost in memories that it took him a moment to recognize where he was. He checked his watch and realized he had been walking around for like 40 minutes. He checked his phone and saw a  missed call from Iris. He clicked on the notification while walking to a store, and grabbing two bottles of whiskey. He paid and made his way outside while he heard Sabrina tell him to hurry his ass up, they were getting pretty tipsy and wanted to dance. The voicemail had just ended when Sabrina’s special ringtone had started sounding. Mildly annoyed, he had glared at her contact picture for a moment before answering. “What the fuck? I had just gotten rid of your last annoying ringtone, Sabrina.” Buck grumbled while trying to unscrew the whiskey cap. “Oh shut up Barnes, BTS is a goddamn gift.” Rina scoffed in his ear, “Besides, I know your password, it’s Y/N’S birthday, so nothing can keep me out. Anyway, where are you? We want to dance!”

Bucky gave her the address, as he took a couple of swigs out of the bottle and recapping it. “Ok, wait for us on the corner we aren’t that far away. Thankfully you aren’t that far from the club we wanted to go to. See you in a bit.” He had just hummed in agreement before ending the call and going to sit on the stoop of building. He drank a little more, letting more memories run through his mind as he waited. He remembered the time there was a spider in the bathtub and he had let out a small scream. You had burst in with his knife, on high alert. He smiled as he remembered how you had collapsed on the floor laughing so hard you were crying, while he grinned sheepishly in a towel.  

He took another swig, feeling the alcohol in the edges of his mind. He remembered the first time you had cooked Sunday dinner for your little family. You hadn’t cooked a day in your life before then, both of you living off of what Buck could cook and take out. You had been researching for days and had started cooking at 6 in the morning. The kitchen a complete mess and you were covered in ingredients with a smear of tomato sauce on cheek. You had been so proud, even though the food a little dry and a little burnt, but Bucky felt his heart swell as he remembered the smile that had stayed on your face the entire night. He remembered how it felt to feel you straddle him at night, your lips pressing open mouthed wet kisses on his neck. How it felt to nip your throat and feel you shudder as your skin became sensitive. How it felt to hold you tight as you moaned his name and cried out in pleasure, clawing his back. He remembered everything and Bucky wished, not for the first time, that he could turn back time. Instead he shook his head to clear it, and looked up to see Iris leaning out of a cab waving at him. He stood and dusted his pants, getting into the cab and finishing his first bottle of whiskey. “I never figured you for a maudlin drunk, Buck,” Iris’s small feminine voice stated. “Chin up Barnes. No sad drunks here. We haven’t let loose in ages and it’s the first time you can do it properly. Besides, the goal is to find someone for you to take home. No one wants to sleep with a sad drunk,” Sabrina said loudly leaning in closer and putting her hand on Bucky’s knee, “In all seriousness dude, Im not letting you drink anymore if I see you start to going your head. As much as I’d love to see you let loose, we both know drinking in that state of mind is dangerous. So I need you to be honest with me, tell me where your mind is at.” “I’m ok. Thank you,” Bucky let out a small smile, “I’m just thinking about Y/N and everything that’s happened. I’m not gonna disappear into my head. I’m sick of being in it. I’m gonna let loose, and I give you my permission to call Steve or Nat if I’m not.” Sabrina smiles back and grabbed her clutch, “That’s my boy. Now drink up, we’re almost at the bar and that entire bottle isn’t gonna fit in the flask I brought you. ” She grinned and watched as Bucky started chugging half the bottle before stopping and letting out a small burp. She handed him the flask and laughed as he tipsily poured it in sloshing it on his dark jeans. “We’re here! Ready to go to Church guys?,” Iris clapped her hands excitedly. Sabrina gave the cabbie some money, grabbed her girlfriends hand and pulled her out of the cab, motioning excitedly at Bucky. “Church?”, Bucky asked curiously. “Yeah. Church,” Iris pointed at the throng of people outside club at the end of the street as they started walking towards it, “It’s an old unfinished church that was abandoned in the late 80’s. It has the original pillars, domed ceiling and stained glass windows. Some trendy hipster gutted the inside and made it into a club. A close friend of ours is the bouncer and told us about it. It’s been our favorite ever since.”

“Hey Tommy!” Sabrina called out to the man in black in front of the doors, embracing him, “Long time no see! How you been man?” “Hey Rina, Iris. I’ve been good thanks. Me and the Mrs. went to the Bahamas for vow renewal ceremony a couple weeks ago. “Oh my God! Congratulations! Give Wren our love, we need to do dinner soon. I’ll call you to set something up tomorrow. Sounds good?”, she moved back as Iris hugged Tommy. Tommy smiled and nodded moving to the side and opening the doors to the little group. The girls grabbed Bucky’s hands and pulled him with them, turning and waving at Tommy as they entered the darkened club. Once inside, they all paused at the top of the staircase, Bucky’s mouth opening in awe as descended the stairs he took in the room. The room was regal and haunting. He trailed, lightly dazed, behind the couple as they made their way to the bar, chattering between themselves. They squealed as they saw a ginger woman waving at them from behind the bar. They had a round a shots on the bar top by the time Bucky got there. He got handed two and downed them without thinking, gagging as he realized it was tequila. He frowned lightly realizing that he was definitely starting to feel the alcohol. His mind was getting a little fuzzy and he was feeling free. Sabrina and Iris were right. 

He really was enjoying himself. Bucky leaned against the bar, and wait and see who approached him. It didn’t take long for a blonde bombshell walk up to him and wink coyly, motioning him to dance. He shook his head softly, all the while letting his eyes roam over her, checking her out. She smiled over her shoulder, and walked onto the dance floor, her hips swung invitingly. Bucky just smiled wolfishly, and went over the bar and signaled the bartender, downing the drink she handed him as he walked over to a giant stone pillar by the edge of the room. 

Another woman came up to him, a complete vision in a vibrant yellow dress with her skin glinting in the lights, and he let himself be led onto the dance floor. She twined her fingers in the hair covering his name and pressing herself against him as she started to dance. Bucky brought her closer, putting his hands right above her full ass as the music swelled around them. The woman pressed her full lips to his neck and he groaned, breathlessly. She nipped and licked his exposed skin as let his hands roam her body. She moaned and smirked, as she grabbed Bucky’s hand, turning and leading him quickly across the dance floor to bathrooms. They were nearly there when Bucky abruptly stopped. His muscles locked down and the woman in the yellow dress was pulled backwards onto the floor. She looked up at him, her confusion morphing to fury as she realized he wasn’t going to help, and stalked off. Bucky didn’t even notice. 

He didn’t even notice because there in the middle of the room, dancing under the full moon without a care in the world, was Y/N.

And without realizing it, he started moving towards you. He was going to… he wasn’t sure what he going to do when he reached you. He just knew that that’s what he wanted. He was almost to the edge of the stairs that led to the elevated dance floor when he veered to the side suddenly keenly aware that he needed a little liquid courage. He pulled out the little flask Sabrina had given him earlier, and took a couple of heavy swigs. 

Feeling fortified, he took a step towards the stairs and felt the room spin in a way he hadn’t since he was teenager, drunk at the small bar near the docks he worked. He steadied himself on a nearby pillar and closed his eyes for a moment.

Bucky realized he was extremely drunk, and he knew that he should go home. He knew that he shouldn’t go to you. That he should absolutely not get any closer to you than he already had. He knew the rational thing to do was to go find Sabrina and Iris and tell them he wanted, no, that he needed to leave. He knew that nothing good could come from this drunken encounter. But still, he found himself climbing those stairs, his blood pounding and his body hot. 

It was instinctual at this point, his need to get to you, like a moth to flame. It didn’t make sense, none whatsoever but that’s what he was going to do. And fuck, he was tired of thinking, he was tired of hiding, he wanted you so bad and he should’ve been better, he should’ve been there for you. He should’ve done more. He shouldn’t have been such a goddamn selfish coward. And suddenly you were right there. 

And you took his breath away.

He stared, dazed, starting forward abruptly when he realized that you were dancing in someones arms. The man was leering at you while you danced on him and the entire sight made Bucky’s stomach ache. 

He had to stop it.

 Bucky knew he had to but had no right but he just couldn’t bear it. He couldn’t handle the sight of the man touching you, his intent so very clear on his leering face. He grabbed the other mans arms and lifted him up and away from you, effectively placing himself between the two of you. The brunette man, that Bucky thought looked vaguely familiar, glared back at him, yelling something at him that he couldn’t quite make out.  Bucky just gave him the best Winter Soldier glare he could, which much to his surprise worked, despite the fact he was sure he was getting more drunk by the second. Bucky turned, clumsily, to face you only to find you looking curiously at him.  He took a small step forward, standing just a few inches away and raised his hand, wordlessly asking for permission. You stared at him for a moment longer before stepping forward ending up pressed against him, and tenderly placing his hand on your cheek and covering it with one of yours and reaching up with the other to stroke his cheek. Bucky stilled, everyone around them vanishing as he looked at you with an intensity that would’ve set the world aflame. He watched as you stretched upwards toward him, entwining your arms around his neck, gently closing your eyes and pressing your lips to his parted ones. 

Tag List:

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[brightlighttm]

FULL NAME: caroline elizabeth forbes ALIAS: care, blondie, prisoner 307, caroline kom skaikru, caroline kom spacekru AGE/D.O.B: 17 - 149; october 10th, 2131 PARENTS: elizabeth 'liz’ forbes (deceased) & william ‘bill’ forbes (deceased) CRIME: caught with painkillers during a room sweep SKILLS: distraction, guns, knives & bow and arrow  POSITIVE TRAITS: optimistic, hard-working & loyal NEGATIVE TRAITS: neurotic, controlling & insecure

BACKGROUND INFO;;

liz was a guard and bill was a council member up until his drinking habits got out of hand and jaha forced him to step down. after this happened, liz took his spot and stayed there until the council ended.

growing up, caroline wasn’t around her parents a lot. both were extremely busy with their positions, but whenever she was lucky enough to be in the same room as her mom and dad, caroline would always be by her dad’s side. the two got along a lot better than she and liz did.

having a guard for her mother and a council member for a father, it was safe to say caroline grew up thinking she was better than most people her age and took pride in saying nothing bad would ever happen to her. however, it did.

at seventeen years old, during one of the many room sweeps, a guard found a bottle of painkillers hidden under caroline’s pillow. she denied stealing it and claimed that she’d never seen it before, but it didn’t matter. the guards took her away as she pleaded for her parents to help her. 

she was put in confinement and had no choice but to wait for six months to pass; when she’d turn eighteen and get floated for her crime. which she had not commited. little did caroline know that the pills were stolen by her father, who had started taking them after being kicked out of the council. he’d always gotten away with it, but on that particular day he wasn’t so lucky. so he had no choice but to hide his little orange plastic flask as quickly as possible. the hiding spot? under his daughter’s pillow. too afraid to say anything and get killed because of his crime, bill let the guards take caroline away, knowing she’d be safe for a few months while he’d try to change jaha’s mind.

he tried and tried, but instead of getting his daughter out of confinement, bill - not really knowing about any of it - managed to secure caroline’s spot as one of the hundred young prisoners who would be sent to the ground within a few days. 

SEASON ONE;;

she is shocked to find out about what happened to jasper and starts fearing the grounders and what they might do to her and everyone else if they attack their camp;

she only takes off her wristband when bellamy uses food as a way to get everyone to do as he says;

her dad sacrifices himself in the culling to guarantee liz’s and the other’s survival and make up for what he did to caroline;

caroline fights the grounders alongside the other delinquents and is inside the drop ship when the button that blasts the ship’s rockets is pushed and incinerates the grounders outside. which means she’s there when the mountain men throw gas grenades at their camp to make everyone - herself included - pass out.

SEASON TWO;;

she likes mount weather (mostly because her spoiled ass missed good food and a proper shower) but at the same time is extra suspcious of literally everything and everyone;

when she finds out clarke managed to escape, caroline feels a bit hurt but doesn’t really blame her for leaving everyone behind;

she decides to try and enjoy being in mount weather instead of overthinking everything 24/7, but then harper goes missing and she knows there’s something shady going on;

she doesn’t get drilled, but has to watch a lot of her friends being strapped down and having a thing thrusted into their backs. it’s not fun and it gives her nightmares for months; 

after everything is over and she - and everyone else - makes back to arkadia, caroline reunites with her mom. their happiness, however, doesn’t last long. liz tells her daughter that bill was the reason why she was put in confinement - and later got sent to the ground - and that he chose to sacrifice himself in the culling. caroline breaks down in tears while repeating, ‘i forgive you, daddy’.

SEASON THREE;;

caroline and liz work on improving their relationship. of course, they still butt heads every now and then, but that’s completely normal when you have caroline forbes for a daughter;

she doesn’t buy jaha’s city of light crap. at all. she thinks he ate one too many jobi nuts and is high as fuck;

but then other people start acting as weird as jaha - raven being one of them - and caroline knows, again, that there’s something shady going on;

in the end, caroline doesn’t take the chip, but liz does when jaha threatens her daughter. 

SEASON FOUR;;

‘radiation, seriously?!’ is the first thing that comes out of caroline’s mouth when she finds out about what a.l.i.e told clarke. but then again, should she even be surprised? ever since they came down, they barely had time to breathe before another bad thing happened;

when she hears through the grapevine that jaha might’ve found a bunker that will be able to save them all, she begs clarke to let her go with them. she mumbles something about ‘four people cover more ground then three’ until clarke gives up and lets her join;

her hopes are crushed when they make it into the bunker and find thousands of toasted skeletons, but, of course, she tries to hide it. puts on her best smile and goes back to the camp where she knows her friends and mom will be waiting;

when they finally find the right bunker, her hopes are renewed and she just knows they’ll make through yet another terrible thing tossed their way;

she asks - or rather, demands - clarke and bellamy to let her come with them to rescue raven. caroline had grown to love and admire the mechanic and there was no way she’d leave her behind. john and emori show up not long after and, together and with hazmat suits, the five of them leave to find their friend;

back in the bunker, much like david miller, liz writes caroline’s name in the lottery to make sure her daughter will have two chances of getting her name drawn. however, when unconscious arkadians start to be removed from the bunker by grounders and caroline still hasn’t returned, kane decides to give her spot to liz;

when clarke says they’re going back to the ark, caroline is shocked. she didn’t think she’d ever go back there, but if that was her only shot at surviving then so be it;

she says goodbye to her mom and tries to sound confident and happy even though she’s secretly afraid. she mumbles a heartfelt, ‘i love you, mom. may we meet again’ to liz before passing the radio to bellamy so he can say goodbye to octavia; 

caroline stays in becca’s lab to help raven, harper, emori and echo set everything up for their launch; 

she gets into the rocket with her heart racing and palms sweating. as the rocket launches, without clarke inside, caroline is in deep silence just like everyone else. expecting something bad to happen with the rocket or the death wave to get them. when nothing happens and they’re somewhat safe in space, tears start streaming down caroline’s face as it dawns on her: clarke is dead. 

SEASON FIVE;;

caroline spends 6 years in the ring with raven, bellamy, echo, emori, murphy, harper & monty. in the meantime, she grows closer to echo, who trains with her pretty much every day and teaches her how to use a bow and arrow - a really shitty one they put together with random scrapes they found laying around -;

when they finally manage to get down and reunite with the others, caroline get some devastating news: her mom has died. during the dark year, liz forbes refused to obey octavia and ended up with a bullet in her forehead. she blames octavia for her mom’s death and can’t stand being around her after she finds out;

at first, caroline finds the whole mom!clarke and madi thing really weird - not to mention clarke had been alive the whole time -, but comes around eventually. she gets a bit attached to madi, even if they don’t really spend that much time around each other; 

so when bellamy decides to put the flame on madi, caroline is extremely against it. no matter what the girl has witnessed or how strong she seems to be, she’s still just a child;

caroline marches with everyone else, not because she forgave the octavia but because she knows that’s her only shot at surviving and she wants to keep on living to make her mother proud;

when hell breaks loose at the valley, caroline manages to escape with some of the wonkru members and return to the dead zone. she tries helping niylah tend to the wounded, but she’s no doctor and fears that she might kill them faster than a gunshot. still, she keeps on trying because they’ve all come so far to die now; 

caroline almost doesn’t make it into the ship. she’s trying to support someone who’s injured pretty badly, which means running isn’t really happening for the two of them. however, when she sees everyone rushing inside the ginormous ship, hope blossoms within herself for the millionth time and that’s what fuels her to all but carry the woman she’s helping and lead both of them to safety;

she attends the meeting where they decide the fate of human race. like everyone else, caroline doesn’t like monty’s plan of using algae. she’s has enough of that thing to last a lifetime. so when raven and shaw suggest cryosleep, she’s quickly agrees. but, of course she knows that, ultimately, it’s up to madi. thankfully, the new heda also agrees and everyone starts getting ready to go to sleep;

before going into her chamber, caroline jokes with bellamy that, when she wakes up, she will be ‘the hottest 34-year-old in the ship’. she then proceeds to give him a quick hug before hopping on what’s going to be her bed for the next ten years. or so she thinks.

[schwiftit-blog]

Can I get a Rick/reader where the reader is a young scientist that stumbles into something Rick had also been working on and they meet because of it? More on the platonic side of possible? Sorry if this is confusing. Love your writing btw!

(Thank you!! Uh, so, I really got carried away with this and its so long lol. Like, 2000 words long. Hope this is what you were looking for though! It got a little fluffy at the end, but still stayed in the sphere of platonic interactions soooo)

The threat of Time Prison as an indefinite sentence scared you half to death. It was rare you ventured out into the galaxies for materials, much preferring to see what you could do with what earth had to offer first. The anxiety of your upcoming mission was a thick sludge restricting your wind pipe, making breathing hard and your hands sweaty. You were shaking as you dressed in a simple set of black gear with two guns at your sides, a backpack slung over your shoulders, and your teleporter in hand. 

You press the launch button and feel yourself disintegrate into thin air, only to be reassembled somewhere else. The sensation was similar to a limb falling asleep and you hated the buzzing that always seemed to linger an hour after teleporting. However, what you were sought after was more than worth it––For you, this would be the breakthrough of the century.

You find yourself in the center of a high ceiling building, alien technology lining the walls. Thick circuits and wires wound and braided were intermingling into a colorful waterfall of loose cables everywhere you looked. There was a deep blue tint to the metal walls, a flashing red light whirred through the spacious room, and you could smell the heavy intoxication of alien and human anti septic. 

You swallowed audibly and rubbed your hands together in an effort to steel yourself. You were here for a reason, you had a purpose, a mission to complete and your fear was not an option. 

You set off quietly into the thresholds of the room, unsure exactly of what sort of intergalactic, high security building you were in. You had found the coordinates with fine calculations, rechecking them several times before setting out on this adventure. The time and location was right, you just needed to find it.

You kept your breath hushed and your actions nimble, scouring the room for what you knew was here: A crystallized athenite otherwise known as  a time crystal. The situation was dire and you were near positive this would crack the code to, well, time travel itself. That was still a working theory of yours, but if the athenite was being this heavily guarded, it would prove useful no matter what.

You find the crystal in a suspended glass case an hour later. It took many hallways and turns, the stealing of a gromflamite guard’s keycard to access several different rooms, but you had finally found it. Your hands were clammy again beneath your gloves as you carefully stalked forward. 

At this point, you were fairly sure you were in the clear. Your heartbeat quickened and anxiety flushed through you like a cold sweat. You were just so close.

After matching your stolen ID to the case, the glass slid away to reveal the crystallized athenite in all its looming glory. It shone like a beacon, the pink light bouncing off the walls and you couldn’t hold back the small sigh of relief as you held it in your––

“S-Shit! Shit! Get the––Get the fuck out of the way! M-Morty! Over there, over there, fuck!” 

You can hear the screaming from down the hall and panic grips your heart. The alarms blare throughout the building not even seconds later and suddenly the place is on lockdown. Its chilling, the facility going dark and illuminated suddenly by only red alarms. You can hear an army’s worth of feet rushing towards you and you whip out your teleporter as soon as you see blue hair round the corner.

You hear the guards shouting a name, Rick Sanchez, over and over.

“W-Who the fu-fuck are you?” The man shouts, anger and frustration and annoyance mingling on his face to produce the world’s angriest grimace. 

There’s shouting and then you blip out of existence, crystallized athenite in hand and the man’s blue eyes boring into your core. When you reappear in the center of your messy apartment, the pulsating crystal in hand, you slump to the floor and almost laugh hysterically at the fact that you managed to pull this off. 

You knew the man from the gomflamite security building was going to pursue you. When you’d caught a glimpse of aged skin and blue hair, you knew the man was from earth and was definitely also in pursuit of your time crystal. It was only a matter of time before the man found you and tried to steal it away. So, you set to working on your new and improved portal gun with a fervor you hadn’t manifested since last year’s college finals.

Within a week you had found several uses for the crystal: Freezing time, hooking it up to your cable box for unlimited channels, and utilizing it on your laptop to find intergalactic sites. However, you couldn’t seem to make it do much more than that in terms of actual time travel.

Two weeks later you were entirely too frustrated. A month later and you were near calling it quits. In a rush of true frustration at the three month mark you set off to finding the coordinates of the blue haired man, hoping maybe by presenting the athenite crystal for him, he’d be willing to teach you what he intended to fucking do with it.

You manifest within the threshold of some small garage. There are gadgets on every wall, lining the shelves and the workbench. Some of the alien technology you recognize, most of it you do not. After all, you were young and had had little exposure with aliens seeing as you were still nervous about traveling between the galaxies. 

You swallow, realizing how horribly this plan could go. Not wanting to intrude on the person’s home much further, you decide to wait it out in the garage until––

Who you believe must be the Rick Sanchez from the facility and a redheaded girl walk into the garage chatting. Rick notices you first, the girl second, both looking equally shocked at your unexpected arrival.

“Woah th-there, who the fuck…” Recognition flits over the older man’s face. 

You pull out the crystal before he can say anymore, effectively silencing him for mere moments.

“My name is ___,” You begin, “And…Well, I’m here with a proposition. Of sorts.”

Rick rolls his eyes much to your disbelief, “Not interested.” He says before you can continue, his tone sharp.

“B-But you haven’t even heard what I––”

“Don’t care. R-Rick Sanchez doesn’t––I don’t do collabs.” He scoffs, brushing you off as if what you’re offering is some crude science fair project.

For a moment you are at a loss for words when the redhead speaks up on your behalf, “Grandpa Rick, you’re being so rude right now. I’m sorry he’s being rude, he’s been day drinking. Look,” She turns her attention to you, “What are you offering? He’s been whining about that crystal for the last month. So, I know he wants it.”

“S-Summer––” Rick shouts, exasperation thick in his voice.

“I’m offering the time crystal in exchange…Like, interning with it. I wanted…What I needed to do with it isn’t working. I realize I need help with it. I’m willing to offer you whatever other useful things my own lab may have to help.”

After that fateful day, you felt you were practically indebted to Summer Smith for life. The discussion had quickly turned into a fierce argument about the likelihood of time travel after Rick asked you to explain what you wanted to do with the crystal. But, eventually, Rick was able to prove that it was, indeed, an impossible feat. Once that was squared away, you two had immediately gotten to work figuring out what information either had in an effort to put your individual talents to good work.

The next step was Rick going through your lab, gathering some of the materials you had. You knew he was taking more than he actually needed, but you recognized his genius as priceless and were willing to part with much of your items in exchange for vast knowledge.

“W-Wait, you’re telling me it took you a week to make that toaster?” Rick asked as he held the kitchen appliance in hand.

You crossed your arms over your chest, “Yeah, what of it? It makes perfectly toasted toast. That takes time and patience to perfect. Its an exact science.”

“Toast isn’t a…It isn’t a fucking science.” He grabbed it anyways and you cocked a brow, “Toast is stupid. Its just…Just recooked bread.”

“If its so stupid, then what are we going to use it for?”

Rick shrugged, “Morty’ll get a––Get a kick out of it once I recalibrate it to make h-his idea of perfect toast.”

Its late on a school night several weeks later when you and Rick decide to call your nightly tinkering quits. The project was coming along nicely, but it was nowhere near completion even with both of your geniuses at hand. 

At some point Rick had convinced you to run to the store for more beer, and by the time the two of you had cracked open the third pack, you had a severe case of the giggles. Rick himself seemed to be in a lighter mood as well and he’d pushed away from the bench and guided you to the living room. 

After a long pull from his flask and hooking up the crystallized athenite to the cable box, Rick had put on Ball Fondlers in an attempt to relax. You sat on the couch, long legs taking up the majority of the couch as you laid your head on the armrest. You were drunk, completely and utterly, and you realized it had been a long time since you’d just kicked back with someone.

Even if that someone ended up being a seventy year old man.

“You know? I did this too. I think this might be the best use for this stupid fucking crystal.”

Rick nodded, passing his flask over to you. You take a small sip and pass it back, lazy smiles on both of your faces.

“Y-Yeah, that means something coming from the girl wh-who thought time travel was possible.” Rick teased, turning up the volume some.

You snatch the last beer and stick your tongue out at him, the fuzzy glow of the tv softening both of your features.

You don’t remember falling asleep on the Smith’s couch, but you do remember a bit of beer being spilled on your face, followed by a string of curse words and a blanket being thrown over your body.