#although i’m not the only grandkid who’s done so

[shoutsindwarvish]

two different rabbis directly to me + multiple places online: jewish imposter syndrome is real and is (to varying degrees) almost a universal experience in one way or another

me, who has been actively practicing for over nine months and taken multiple classes while also being halachically jewish by birth: i am the exception and am an imposter in jewish spaces and should feel bad about it. no i will not elaborate on why i believe this is true of me and no one else.

[glitteredrry]

how to lose a guy in 10 days

hello, welcome to the beginning of my romcom h series where i’m just writing harry in to iconic romantic comedies. now it won’t be verbatim (although some iconic quotes are used), so don’t expect that. it has the same plot though. i hope that you love the start of this series. thank you for reading. 💌

summary: a journalist who is in desperate need of a promotion has only has one simple task, lose a guy in ten days. what happens when Y/N meets a man named Harry that she can fool? Oh, but the only thing is he has his own promotion task to complete…he needs to make a woman fall in love with him in ten days.

warning: fluff, angst, & good ole cheesy romance.

wc: 9.2k (grab a snack)

“I’ve acted batshit crazy with this guy, he’s not budging,” Y/N complained to her friends in her living room.

She was at a loss, her only task for promotion was to lose a guy in 10 days. She wanted this promotion not just to have bragging rights that she did in fact lose a guy, but to be taken more seriously as a journalist.

Living in New York, it was hard to get out of the pool of writing small dating articles. Y/N was over these small sections about topics that weren’t going to change the world.

She wanted something more serious. Perhaps covering world news or something in politics. Her dream of being a journalist surely wasn’t where she is at right now. She wasn’t one of those people who were unappreciative of her opportunity, just a woman looking for a change.

So, when her boss opened up the opportunity of getting to write more serious topics, she was willing to do anything. Even if it was using some guy as a pawn. Sitting with her closest friends sharing a bottle of wine, they talked about her journey so far with the task at hand.

“Well tell us about everything that you’ve done, list it from crazy to out of this world,” Miranda spoke up feeling entertained by this situation her friend was in.

Y/N blew raspberries, “well the least is that I made him take care of these nearly dead roses I bought at the store. I told him that they were a representation of our relationship; if they died it meant he wanted our relationship to die.” She said with an evil smile.

“Once I gave him the flowers I then dedicated a song to him.” Laughter filled the small living room.

“What song?”

“You’re so vain.”

“You didn’t!”

“Even added his name in while I was singing. He looked mortified.” She said finishing off her glass of wine and then going to refill it.

“That’s the least? How crazy did you get?”

”Oh I’ve been terrible, you think that he would have blocked me by now. Listen to this one, we were at a game- oh a basketball game. The game was intense, I mean it might have been the best game of the season. I looked over at him,” she looked at her friend Kendra reenacting what she did.

“And said I don’t think I feel so well. The look on his face was something I’ll never forget. He quite literally looked as if he would have rather told me to go to hell than leave the game, but we left.” She laughed. Y/N knew that the actions were cruel, but she also knew that this would be a great story to tell her grandkids one day.

“What else?” Her friends asked on the edge of their seats.

“Well, a small thing is jealousy. Which I thought guys hated but he just takes it and reassures me. I’ve accused him of dating other girls, and looking at other girls; I’ve made him get into a fight with a guy at a fair.”

“Then right when I was about to have sex with him I called his dick princess Sofia. That didn’t go over well but we agreed on another name. I honestly thought that would have done it. It didn’t.” Y/N said reaching inside their popcorn as her friends just looked shocked.

“I called his Mom too.”

A gasp filled the room because they couldn’t believe how far their friend was going.

“Told him that I cared about having an important relationship with her.”

“And that didn’t steer him away?”

“Nope. Nada. Nothing. He just was okay with it! Sometimes I can just see this look in his eyes that he wants to lose it on me, but he doesn’t.” She said in disbelief herself.

“He will break soon, I feel it.”

“Well, what about today?” Her friend spoke up to ask.

“He plays cards with his friends, it’s my day off.”

“That was before he met you.” Y/N looked over at her friend confused.

“He played cards with his friends before he met you. You need to go, ruin boys' night. There is nothing more that men hate than when their friend's girlfriend comes to crash the party.”

It was as if a lightbulb went up in Y/N’s head as her friend Linda was in disagreeing with it all.

“What’s his name?

“Harry.”

“Harry must be a sweet boy why are you trying to break his heart?”

“He’ll get over me, Linda. It’s only 10 days.”

…

Harry was sitting in his apartment passing around a joint with friends. He had finally gotten the chance to breathe without Y/N breathing down his neck. All the nicknames, baby voices, and constant need for his attention were put on pause.

The Y/N he met on night one was a complete 180 of the Y/N he was currently dealing with. The woman he met was this beautiful woman. Someone who was intelligent and witty, it was someone whom he would have felt bad for making fall in love with him just for his personal benefit. The version he was dealing with now was a demon.

Although she did have her moments where he had a glimpse of the person that he originally met; Like when she would hug him and her fluorescent perfume would mix with his beautifully. Or when they decided to watch a game together in his apartment and she was cheering at the screen with him. She did have her good moments, but then again the bad outweighed the good.

He couldn’t complain much because he needed her. She was his only way of being able to move up at the fashion company he worked for. For him to lead the campaign for the new season of the women’s collection, he needed to get a woman to fall in love with him. Harry told his boss that women love him and that he understood women. So, his boss wanted to challenge that by having only one simple request. Getting a random woman to fall in love with him. He was nailing the assignment since Y/N was still around.

“So, Styles. Do you think that girl is in love with you yet?”

“I’ve got her wrapped around my finger. She’s hooked.”

“Have you fucked her yet?”

“There’s no way that he hasn’t.” One of his friends added in.

“Don’t ask me a question like that. She isn’t a piece of meat.” Harry said in all seriousness. He might have not been trying to date the girl, but he wouldn’t let his friends disrespect her. They all knew what she looked like since she had come up to his job…several times.

“Fine…but have you?”

“Well…no I haven’t.” He said while looking at his hand of cards.

“So, you have to deal with her craziness and get nothing in return?”

“I’m getting something in return, and that’s a campaign.” At his words, keys rattled from outside making all the men at the table turn around.

“Booboo bear,” Y/N called out entering with their cat she got them as practice for their future child in hand.

“Oh, hell.” He said under his breath going to stand as all his friends mocked the nickname while trying to conceal their laughs. Y/N let down their cat whom she named Muffin to the ground.

“Honey,” he said opening his arms as she walked inside them. Hugging momentarily, Harry breathed in her scent that he was becoming all too familiar with.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked breaking away from her and looking down as she smiled up at him. That smile that he was kind of cute…kind of.

“I just happened to be in the area, then Muffin started meowing when I walked in the direction of your apartment. So, I think that she was telling me to come here. She must have missed her, Daddy.” She turned away from Harry to pick up the cat, “you missed your Daddy, sweet girl.” Y/N’s baby voice was on, and the only thing encouraging her to continue was his friends dying of laughter in the back.

“Continue your game. I’ll be like a ghost you won’t know that I’m here. Just dropping off some things.” Pressing a kiss to his cheek, she turned and headed to the kitchen to laugh to herself.

Harry sat back down at the table daring his friends to say another word. Just when he thought that Y/N was going to be true to her word, out she walked with a platter of vegetables no one asked for nor wanted.

“Excuse me, just wanted to bring healthier options,” she looked over to one of his friends who had a wing in his mouth. Staring it down, she took her fingers and yanked it out his mouth, and all of the men gawked at her actions. “Healthy celery, healthy carrot look how yummy.” She said to Harry’s friends as if he was a toddler.

All of his friends looked around at each other not believing how crazy this girl genuinely was.

His friend slowly let her place the vegetable in his mouth and she patted his head, “good boy.”

Harry couldn’t even find the words to say right now. He placed the joint back in his mouth trying to calm his nerves that Y/N was trying to drive through the roof.

Then coughs began to start as she stared down Harry. They progressed from small ones as if she was clearing her throat to overdramatic ones as if she could not breathe. He knew she was being over dramatic, she stopped in the middle of it all, eyeing him down one more telepathically telling him to put it out.. He put it out with a forced smile.

“Thank you, my sweet honeybun.” She cooed.

Then the drama came as she directed her eyes to something across the room.

A blood-curdling scream came from her lips as if someone had stabbed her, making all the men join her not knowing what they were screaming. “Harry, our roses. You killed them, you monster.” Y/N said theatrically moving across the room to hold the nearly dead roses.

“They’re just roses, I can buy you more,” Harry said rushing over trying to calm her. He was not expecting her to have this kind of reaction…well he had planned for this to happen actually. Tomorrow before he came back from work, he had wanted to go buy fresh roses to replace them. His plan failed…clearly.

“What did you just say?” She looked at him with a twitch in her eye. He thought that he could only see something like this in a movie. His mind couldn’t wrap around that this was his life. Out of all the women in the world that he could have picked for this bet, he picked the worst nut in the package.

“These roses were a symbol of our love. Our young, beautiful, festering love. Do you want our relationship to die?” She said with accusation.

“No, honey. I don’t want our relationship to die. Wait-”

“I don’t want to hear another word.” She said huffing as she began to stomp back to the kitchen with the rest of the roses in hand. She took a moment to collect herself. This was slowly driving her to insanity, but she couldn’t help to admit how fun it was to see the different reactions across the room to her antics.

Just as she walked back into the room with a platter full of pretzels, her eyes were on the back of Harry’s head as he motioned to his friend that she was crazy.

Back into character, I goes.

All of Harry’s friends were trying to silently motion to him that she was behind him. As Harry slowly turned around, he watched her slow stride as she approached the table. All of Harry’s friends watched anxiously because this girl was unpredictable.

“Are you saying, I’m some kind of mental person?” Pretzels flew up in the air and came down like confetti. All of Harry’s friends jumped back as they began to vouch for him.

“No, he didn’t say that.”

“He told us he loved you.”

“Right, Harry?”

“I’m in a room full of liars and snakes. If you would lie to me then you would steal from me, and if you would steal from me then you would cheat on me. Are you cheating on me, Harry?” Y/N said with a small fake sob beginning to spill from her mouth. Every man in the room looked at each other confused. It was as if she was flipping through several personalities.

“No, I wouldn’t lie, steal, or cheat on you. Where did you even get that phrase from?” Harry said, going to stand feeling more confused than ever.

“Quite frankly, Harry you would.” She said immediately cutting off her sobs and going back to normal only making the men in the room question her sanity even more.

“I know that you did cheat, I just can’t prove it. First, you let our love roses die, and now I’m a mental person. I don’t want to be with someone who thinks I’m a mental person.” She said moving to collect her purse and the nearly dead roses.

“Goodbye, Harry. I’m the best thing that ever happened to you.” As soon as her back was turned to the men, she smiled. Walking out the door and hearing it shut she felt victorious.

Her assignment was done for good.

There was no way that after that Harry would be trying to come back. Y/N nearly felt bad for all the pretzels that he would have to clean up.

“You can’t let her go, Harry.” His friend spoke up not forgetting about his promotion. Harry on the other hand had the promotion in the farthest part of his mind. He was happy to no longer deal with her shenanigans.

“Let her leave, I’m in hell. I can’t deal with that,” Harry said feeling slight relief at her finally leaving. Her random meltdowns, phone calls, and popping up where he was were over with.

“The promotion.” His friend reminded him. Harry forgot about the task at hand, and he needed that promotion. Jumping up, he began to run out his door. He was wishing on a star right now that he could catch her.

She had finally gotten rid of him.

“Y/N, wait.”

Or so she thought.

She turned her head to see Harry running down the fire escape in search of her. What was it going to take for this guy to leave me alone? She thought. Turning around to face him, she jumped right back into acting mode making her face screw up as if she was pissed off.

“What do you want, Harry? Why are you running back to talk to a mental person?” She asked. Yes, she was acting, but she truly wanted to know why he would decide to come back to find her. Either this guy was falling for her or just like the crazy within her.

“I’m here to apologize. It was cruel of me to call you mental. You just care. I’m willing to do anything to fix it. I messed up. Please, forgive me.” Harry looked down at her with puppy dog eyes that made Y/N’s stomach curl a bit. She felt a slight blush on her cheeks looking at him in this vicinity. It was the same feelings from the first night that they met. Quickly, she broke eye contact trying to push those feelings down.

“I’m not sure that I can forgive this.” Harry watched her lips and how she kept a prominent pout as she said the words to him. It was cute. She was cute. Harry broke himself out of fonding over her and those beautiful lips.

“I’m willing to do anything,” he slowly dropping to his knees on the New York sidewalk, and she couldn’t figure out whether to find this enduring or disgusting. He kept his green eyes on her as he lowered himself to the ground. “Anything, Y/N.”

“Couples therapy?” She asked knowing that there was no way in hell he would agree to that.

“If that will make you forgive me then, yes. I’ll go.” He rose off the ground going to hug her as she twisted her face in confusion as soon as his head was tucked into her neck. Harry breathed in her scent that the wind was trying to blow away, but he could still smell it.

When they broke contact, she looked at him sternly.

“I love you Harrypie, but I don’t have to like you right now.”

With that said she continued her walk down the street until she was able to fetch a cab ride home. Harry watched her disappear in the night, walking back up to his apartment he ended the boys' night. He was left in a room filled with scattered pretzels and a grumpy cat looking back at him. His dreams were filled with a messy girl with pouty lips and a scream that could wake up the world.

…

Couples therapy was hell…well for Harry it was hell. Y/N seemed to enjoy throwing him under the bus at any moment, not only throwing him under the bus but weirdly partnering up with the therapist against him; At the same time, she accused him of trying to sleep with the therapist.

To say the least he left the session with a happy woman, a major headache, and a dent in his wallet. He honestly had a gut feeling the therapist was a fake one she found off the internet. One thing that he wasn’t expecting the therapist to suggest was taking her away for the weekend to go visit his family.

His family was originally from England, but when his Mom remarried they settled in a small town in Connecticut. He felt calm bringing her because Y/N had already formed a bit of a relationship with his Mom. He could tell that Y/N was nervous.

As he turned down the street where he had spent the majority of his childhood, he watched Y/N’s leg shake as the anxiety was creeping down her body. Maybe this was too far? She thought about pulling into the driveway of Harry’s childhood home.

She tried to calm herself with the fact that this relationship was just to get her ahead in life. It was just three more days, and they would both move on with their lives. Once Harry cut off the car, they both climbed out. Harry grabbed their bags to go inside the house. Before they could even step through the door, Harry’s Mom was greeting them with a smile. “My boy,” she called out, going to kiss his cheek.

“Mom this is Y/N. Y/N this is Anne. I shouldn’t even be introducing you two, I forgot that you already have talked.” He said with a smart-ass tone causing Anne to hit him with a small rag she had in her hand.

“Nothing wrong with a little girl talk. Go drop the bags off in your room. Leave Y/N to me.” Harry walked away up the stairs to his room. Anne moved closer to Y/N with a low voice as soon as the coast was clear.

“You know you’re the first girl that Harry has brought home. You’re too are cute. Come on, let’s go introduce you to the whole family!”

Harry’s family was so loving. She loved the dynamic that they had. Anne introduced Y/N to his sister who had much to tell her about the childhood she shared with Harry. Then his grandfather was currently teaching Y/N how to play poker. It was beautiful scenery too with a hidden lake out back.

“When you fold, that means you’re surrendering. Pretty much you’re throwing the towel in before it even starts.” Harry’s grandfather spoke to her.

“Your cards won’t be able to be played.” She was nodding her head trying to wrap her hand around the game's entire concept.

On cue, Harry walked out the back door and immediately found Y/N. He was happy to see her fitting in with his family. He found it cute.

“Look at the poker champion,” his uncle called out making Harry claim the title loud and proud.

“I don’t think you’ll be winning today, Harry. Your girl is becoming a poker pro.” Y/N blushed at Gemma calling her out.

“Is that so?” Harry asked Y/N as he sat down right next to her.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders at him hiding her cards. “I think I can steal that title from you.”

“We’ll see about that. Deal me in.”

With the help of Harry’s family, Y/N just so happened to win over Harry. The night was filled with laughter and accusations of cheating...which she was. Y/N felt something inside of her brewing but she couldn’t tell what it exactly was.

She loved when Harry called her name out each time he accused her of cheating. She loved how he chased her around the backyard when he found out she was indeed cheating. That night she went to sleep with a charming boy, who had a dazzling smile in mind.

…

Today was peaceful. Outside of the city, it felt to Harry as if their energy shifted. His emotions with this girl have been up and down. Right now he felt so infatuated with her that it was overwhelming. He would find something about her each hour that made him laugh harder or smile a bit brighter. They were practically attached at the hip, only separating when needing to go to the bathroom.

Everything was feeling like the first night that he met her. It was something more personal. He wasn’t sure if it was because of them getting to be by themselves or the fact that he had finally brought a girl to his family, and they loved her. He just knew that as of right now he didn’t want to let go of her.

Right now, the pair were cuddled on the couch watching a movie as Harry’s family were running around doing other things. Suddenly, an idea came into his head as he looked at Y/N laughing at a scene.

“Want to go get naked?” He said randomly in her ear causing her to shoot up giving him a wild stare.

Without a doubt, she knew that she was sexually attracted to Harry, but his just randomly saying it caused panic to run through her.

Harry laughed at her reaction purposely teasing her, he watched as her eyes dilated while holding shock in them.

“Sorry, what I meant to say is would you like to go by the lake? We’ll be in swimsuits, I assure you.” Y/N held a hand to her chest blowing out air that she had been holding in.

“Although, if you would like to get naked, I wouldn’t stop you.” Y/N let out that loud laugh that was music to Harry’s ears.

“You’re such an ass.”

“You love it. Are we going?”

“Show me the way.”

…

The cool air hit Y/N’s legs as Harry walked in front of her leading her to the lake. They had a small picnic basket filled with goodies that Harry had decided to pack. Harry turned his head multiple times to ensure she was okay, and she gave him a kind smile right back each time.

They walked down the passageway until they hit the hidden area. Harry turned to face her feeling a bit shy about bringing her here. It was a sacred oasis for him when he would come to visit. It was something that he had to himself since he was a teen. “Welcome,” he said to her as she took in the location.

She never grew up in a small, close-knit town like this. It was a complete contrast from what she was used to. It was always loud noises coming from the city or the busy streets of New York that she had to walk down bumping into people; Here it was silence.

Just the sounds of nature flooding her ears. She felt at peace. “This is gorgeous, H.” Harry felt his face burn. He wasn’t sure if it was because of how soft her voice was while being dripped in pure adoration or because of the nickname she just assigned to him. He was going to just go with the latter.

“Early in the morning, it’s even better believe it or not.”

They sat down their belongings and undressed. While peeling off their clothes, the both of them stole secret glances at each other. Once they were settled in their swimsuits, Harry overlooked her body as her swimsuit hugged her curves.

She was beautiful.

He was beautiful.

His tattoos were melting into his tanned toned skin as she tried not to let her stare linger for too long. “I’m going to head in, you can keep making googly eyes at me.” Harry teased running into the water. This time Y/N was the one to blush. She chased after him not letting him get too far away.

They played innocently in the water, it was childish splashes shared between them, and a game of marco polo. After getting tired of the water, the both of them watched as the sun was gradually setting. Harry was laid across Y/N’s plush thighs as she was snacking on some grapes. As their bodies dried, Harry was in a deep thinking process.

Harry didn’t know how to describe the way that he felt. It was a weird set of emotions for him. He had never had a serious relationship, then when he happens to meet someone that has driven him mad in all of the ways one can imagine; It happens that he is using her for a bet.

He looked up at her as she unknowingly was stuffing her mouth with grapes. “You look like the cutest chipmunk ever,” she looked down at him, as Harry flashed those bunny teeth that caused her heart to throb.

Hitting him playfully, he sat up moving away from her attack. After she finished chewing she began to speak, “they were really good grapes I swear.”

Harry turned his head up focusing on how the sky had become a little gloomy, “Hey, Y/N, I think that we should head out now. I think that it’s going to-” Before he could finish his sentence, the weather did a 180 causing them the laugh at the small sprinkles of water that began to hit them. Sprinkles the turned to hard rain hitting their skin

Quickly gathering their thing, they ran in the direction of his family home as their laughs got lost in the pouring rain. Once, they made it inside they ran upstairs into the bathroom together and locked the door.

“Let me get the shower for you, if you hear someone flush a toilet be sure to jump out,” he laughed to her as he turned on the water. He turned to face her with a smile on his face.

“Who knew things would change so fast,” Harry said with a laugh shaking water out of his hair. Y/N knew that he was talking about the weather, but she couldn’t help but feel emotion spark within her with his choice of words.

This was all supposed to be a silly bet for her to promote to a higher position, she didn’t know that she would have ended up feeling these kinds of emotions about him. She turned from him as guilty tears ran down her face. Harry immediately noticed a shift in the air as she sat on the toilet lid in distress.

”Hey, hey what’s wrong?” Harry cooed kneeling infront of her and moving her wet hair behind her ears, wanting to get a better look at her face.

Y/N looked up at him with red eyes as she tried to explain her emotions without fully giving them away the reason behind her tears. “It’s just this weekend has been so nice, hasn’t it? Your mom is so kind and it’s just your family is so nice. It w-” she cut herself off with a deep breath before she was about to reveal herself.

“My family loves you and I- yes it has been a great weekend. One of the best I’ve had in a while.” Harry moved his hand to her thigh and she looked down at when he was touching her. There was a connection and both of them questioned if the other could feel it.

“A beautiful girl like you is never meant to cry. Can you show me your smile? I love your smile.” Harry spoke to her with a slight rasp in his voice.

“C’mon, you know you want to smile for me.” He said poking her cheek and teasing her as she tried to contain the blush rising on her cheeks.

She showed him a smile…just not the normal one. “That’s a scary smile, I want my girl’s smile.” She pursed her lips before showing her natural smile.

“There we go, think you have some spinach in your teeth though.”

“I do not.”

“You don’t, I just wanted to mess with you,” Harry said laughing as he moved closer.

He wanted to kiss her.

She wanted him to kiss her.

As if they could read each other’s minds, their lips connected in a way they had not before. It was an overwhelming feeling for both of them. They couldn’t understand when the line started to merge.

They both tried their best to keep their lips connected as clothes began to fly off. By the time they hit the shower, they explored each other in the same way how they wanted to on the first night they met. It was the same burning desire running in them, only now they were both in love with each other without fully admitting it to themselves.

…

Saying goodbye was always bittersweet, but it shouldn’t feel like this. After a weekend together like this he wanted it to stay for good, they were infront of her apartment lingering outside not wanting to say goodbye.  

“Well, this is me…” she said not wanting to leave but knowing she would have to.

“I know, kiss goodbye?” She nodded her head wanting the same thing. Pressing a kiss to his lips she moved to move away.

“Bye Harrybooboo,” she said with a laugh using the nickname not to annoy him this time, but just to tease him.

“Bye, honey bear,” Harry teased right back.

Y/N laughed stepping away and walked to the door of her building but stopped hearing Harry shout her name.

“Tomorrow my job is hosting a gala, will you be my date?”

“I would love to. What time?”

“8 on the dot.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

…

Harry looked down at his leather boots while he waited for Y/N to come downstairs. It was finally the night of the gala and he was dressed to impress, not only because he was a representation of the company. He wanted to impress Y/N. He was dressed in one of the suits from the newest collection coming out soon.

Harry waited for her patiently not wanting to rush her but knowing that they were cutting it close. His body leaned against the chauffeured car that he had gotten for them. His nerves were an absolute wreck, he was doing every single thing that he could to distract himself; He fidgeted with each one of his rings and tossed his hair in every which way.

“Hello, Harrybooboo,” all of the nerves fell away before his eyes could even look at her. Just by being able to hear her voice, he felt a calmness.

Looking up at her, he felt as if someone had physically punched him in his chest knocking all of the wind out of him. She was beautiful. He held his right hand over his heart to calm how rapidly it had started beating.

Y/N stood on top of the stairs feeling a bit timid, she had spent all of the time trying to look her best. It was all worth it to see him looking at her as if she was the most prized possession in the world.

Harry observed the yellow silk dress that matched her perfectly. It clings to her body, the body that he had fallen for so fast. Her hair was in an updo showing off her beautiful face. He was completely and utterly gone for her.  As she walked down the stairs he opened the door for her to climb in first.  

“You clean up nice,” she said with a smile before going to greet him with a hug.

“You’re not too shabby either,” Harry said flashing her a toothy grin.

“I’m going to head in, you can keep making googly eyes at me.” She said to him with a teasing smile climbing into the car. Harry laughed at her repeating his words from two days ago.

“Gladly.”

…

The gala was beautiful, and the designs from the upcoming collection were on display. Ranging from jewelry pieces to styled outfits. Y/N was in awe.

She was happy to be here with Harry…although he wasn’t right by her right now. This was still a work event for him so he couldn’t be by her side through it all. They had gotten separated somewhere along the way. She was now looking at one of the styled outfits on display that caught her eye.

“Y/N,” she heard her name called by an unfamiliar voice.

Turning her head, she made out the face to be Harry’s boss from one of her too many visits to his job. “Mr. Bardot, you’re Harry’s boss. Hello.”

“That I am, and you’re his…”

She was never asked this question before, they weren’t technically anything official. It had only been ten days for goodness sake.

“I’m his date.”

“Right, but I’ve seen you lingering around my office more than once. You can’t be just a date.” She swallowed nervously not knowing what to exactly say.

“I guess you could say that I’m more than just a date. Harry and I have a weird dynamic.” She ended her sentence with a peal of nervous laughter hoping that his nosy boss would catch a hint, and go meddle in someone else’s business. Turning back to look at the styled piece, she nearly spits out her champagne at his next sentence.

“Right, I guess things do become weird once you fall in love with someone.” He said nonchalantly.

Turning her head back to him, “l-love? I didn’t say that.”

“Well, that’s what would make it a weird dynamic, right? I mean I’ve been looking at you both since you walked in together. That looked like love.”

Y/N felt as if she was having some kind of existential crisis, it was if she had started questioning everything. She knew that her feelings for Harry were growing rapidly without her even knowing. But love? It was as if everything had come crashing down on her at once.

Even though all the silly gimmicks that she pulled, she had gotten to know him on a personal level. There were real feelings and moments between them. Moments that caused her to have butterflies in her stomach anytime she thought of them. Y/N looked at his boss while she stumbled on her words.

“I think you know deep down. For what it is worth, I believe he feels the same.” With that said he was gone leaving her alone in her thoughts. Swallowing her emotions that were trying to come up, she downed the rest of her drink.

Harry was having a rather sociable night. He’s talked to every important person here that would only further his career. Even an older woman who got a bit too handsy with him. Through it all, he just had one person missing by his side. Harry was on his way to go find her because everyone was soon to be seated.

“Styles,” he heard his name being called. He knew who it was immediately because his boss was the only person to call his last name instead of Harry.

“I met her. The girl is in love with you. Congratulations, the campaign is all yours.”

With that said his boss disappeared into the crowd as Harry stood there trying to process what he had said.

“Y/N is in love with me,” he whispered to himself. Scanning the room for his girl in the yellow dress, his eyes spotted her sitting at a table near the front of the stage.

“She’s in love with me,” Harry said in disbelief. Just as he was about to pick up his heart off the floor and head to her, someone else got in between them.

“Oh, you’re looking at, Y/N.”

He turned to see an older woman watching Y/N along with him. “You know her?” He asked still staring her down.

“I’m her boss, she is one of the star journalists at my company. Right now, I asked her to work on this assignment of making some unlucky guy out there fall in love with her. She had ten days to fool someone, and the stories she has told us are ridiculous. We actually kind of feel for the guy.”

Harry felt his heart drop hearing her boss speak about this unlucky guy. He was the unlucky guy. Her boss kept talking in his ear, repeating all of the things that Y/N had done to him. So, many emotions crashed into his body at once. He felt embarrassed that he was the laughing stock in her life, he felt stupid for not seeing through her behavior then getting played by her, and lastly, he felt betrayed for falling in love with a girl who clearly never felt those feelings.

Walking away from Y/N’s boss in the middle of her talking, he walked to the bar in desperate need of a moment to collect his thoughts.

Little did he know Y/N was across the gala with a smile on her face waiting for Harry as the dinner was about to start, she felt the presence of someone behind her thinking that it was Harry, only for it to be his two friends from work.

“Hey, guys,” she said as they sat down confused as to why they were here.

“Hi, Y/N. We just wanted to ask you something. Harry has worked really hard in the company to finally get where he is; So, if you could just keep playing along with our boss and pretending that you’re in love with him that would be great.” Y/N’s face dropped at his words.

“Yes, he doesn’t need to know anything about the bet. Just smile and convince him that you’re in love.” Harry’s other coworker added in.

Y/N picked up her champagne glass swallowing the remains. She agreed so that they could leave the table and leave her the hell alone.

It was hard to pinpoint one emotion that was running through her body but the main one was at herself. She felt foolish for falling for Harry. All his chivalry, and how she looked at her were all fake. A surge of anger ran through her, ad a person is never more vulnerable than when they’re angry. Anger is only a protective shield to protect the sadness she didn’t feel like showing yet.

It was as if she could feel a burning stare in her neck. When she turned, she could see Harry watching her from across the room. Both of them have hardening stares. Harry’s jaw was clenched as he tried to control himself since this was a work event. Y/N scoffed at him turning away, not even wanting to look at him.

What reason does he have to be mad?

What reason does she have to be mad?

Both of them thought at the same time.

The lights in the room began to dim signaling that it was time to pay attention to the stage. Harry moved through the dining area but ended up getting stopped by the same older woman from before who didn’t know how to keep her hands to herself.

He tried to move away as he heard the announcer introduce the performer for tonight. Just as he thought his night couldn’t get more dramatic, he heard the sweet voice that he is the most upset with right now.

“Yes, let’s all give a hand for this. I’m sorry to impose but I just needed to give a special shout-out to someone. Harry Styles is a hard-working man, a great swimmer, and a real charmer. He cares deeply about his job and is willing to do anything to succeed.” Y/N and Harry stared each other down as if they had become sworn enemies in their short time here.

“I must say, that even though he has many great attributes. Out of all of his many great talents is that he is a hell of a singer. And he has decided tonight to perform for you all. Harry, come on stage and sing your song.” She said with a fake smile as a spotlight found Harry standing in the middle of the room.

Harry couldn’t believe her, clearly, she had found out about his bet and wanted to make a spectacle. He would give her what she wanted. Everyone in the room clapped, encouraging Harry to go.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Harry Styles.” She said with an artificial voice. Adjusting his double-breasted jacket, he moved through the crowd keeping his eyes on her as he walked onto the stage. She placed the mic down on a stool, and began to make her escape. Harry dashed to the stage picking up the mic as she tried to leave.

“Y/N. Y/N don’t leave. You couldn’t dare walk out and not show the world that beautiful voice of yours.” If looks could kill Harry would have passed out on that stage. “Doesn’t everyone want to hear a duet tonight?” The crowd went wild wanting more than ever for the pair to do a song together.

Y/N flashed an awkward smile at the cheers. “Everyone please, give a warm welcome to, Y/N.”

Harry grabbed a mic that wasn’t in use and held it out for her to grab, Y/N wasn’t going to back down at him challenging her right now. So, with a smile on her face, she walked right back up to the stage. As Harry turned to the band asking if they could play a certain song for them.

As the instrumental for You’re So Vain began to play. Y/N was now on stage as Harry nodded his head to the beat. “Oh, that’s nice,” he said on the mic turning to face her.

“You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht.” He said emphasizing his words as he sang. Y/N rolled her eyes at him as she grabbed the free mic from his hand aggressively.

He continued going, taunting her and not really knowing any of the words. This only further upset her because now she needed to correct him. Getting sick of his antics she went to go sing.

“And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner,” she said in a mocking tone really giving the audience a show. Not one that they expected but one filled with drama and tension.

“Harry’s so vain,” she sang into the mic off-key.

“You probably think this song is about you. Harry Styles, you’re so vain.” She dragged out her singing as Harry attempted to talk over her muttering that she was the vain one.

Getting sick of being up here she stopped in the middle to direct her attention to him as if they were in the room alone. The instrumental of the song kept playing as they talked in the mic letting everyone hear them. “You tricked me into falling in love with you. Do you have an ounce of shame?”

“And what did you do? You trashed my place and took me to some fake ass couples therapy so that you, you Y/N could have a promotion. You also made me miss the biggest game of the season.” He said on the mic arguing his side of things.

“Do we hear that ladies and gentlemen, Harry missed a game? I want everyone to know that your sex is lame.” She said in a singsong voice.

“You named my dick princess Sofia,” Harry said arguing back as the audience gasped at the back and forth between them.

“Well, why did you have to bring that up?” Y/N said as the crowd now began to laugh at them. It was a hot mess and everyone was eating up the drama of it all.

“You’re so vain.”

“No, you’re so vain!” Y/N finished off getting sick of all of this back and forth, and threw her mic down to exit stage left.

“There she goes, ladies and gentlemen. Running away, good job, Y/N.” Harry yelled on the mic. As she tried to run through the gala, Harry dropped his mic and immediately ran after her. He wasn’t going to let her get away this easily.

Pushing through the bulky doors of the gala, she ran down the steps trying not to trip on her dress.

Harry was right on her tail, and as he watched her approach the bottom of the stairs he called out for her. “Y/N, just wait. We’re not done here.” He said losing his breath because he just had to catch her.

“No, we are done.” She said turning around. Pointing to him in anger, Harry walked right up to her with a scowl on his face.

“You played me, just to get a campaign. You’re a backstabber!”

“Oh, so you’re innocent? Coming into my life and turning it upside down for a fucking article. Was it worth it?” Harry said in complete anger. He was in love with her, he knew this for certain. Now it all meant nothing. It wasn’t going to go anywhere because she doesn’t have the same feelings as him.

The both of them looked away from each other, Harry had to walk away for a moment gathering this anger inside of him. He didn’t want to yell at her or act this way toward her. He couldn’t help the feeling of betrayal. He didn’t like this feeling. That anger that Y/N started to have was melting down to just pure sadness. Harry wasn’t in love with her. He only had one goal in mind and accomplished it.

“So that’s all I was to you?” Harry said turning around to face her again. Instead of anger being laced through his voice, it was low and full of sorrow. “Just some project to you. Something for you and your coworkers to get a good laugh at?”

“I guess I was just some random girl that you picked out.”

“Your readers are going to love this. What a beautiful twist for you, truly, I hope they love the article.” Harry said with sarcasm dripping in his voice.

“I wonder what the odds are of them liking it, want to bet on it?” She said with a sour tone. Tears began to fill her eyes, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of crying infront of him.

“Bravo, Y/N. Your job was to lose a guy in ten days, and guess what? You just lost him. Congratulations.” Harry attempted to walk away from her for good wanting to have the last word.

“How can I lose a man that I never had, Harry?” With that said she turned around no longer wanting to be here. Harry watched with a heavy heart as the woman that he loved walked away from him for the last time.

…

The last few days for Y/N have been hard. She had ended up writing, and turning in the article wanting to finish her assignment. When she turned in her article, she also notified her boss that she would be resigning. This place no longer served what she needed, and she could see that even though she had completed her boss’ task, her boss wasn’t willing to give her what she had promised. Walking out of the office building for the last time was bittersweet, but it was the next step in her life. Heading to her apartment, she was beginning to pack for her move across the country.

…

Harry had thrown himself into work. Yes, he loved that he had gotten the campaign, but at what cost? It was as if the world was mocking him each time he had to go into his job. Right now, he was giving his opinion on one of the fabrics as his friend approached him.

“Harry, I think that you would like to see this.”

He turned around only to be faced with a magazine. A magazine with his girl right on the front. Well, it wasn’t his girl. She never truly was. Taking it from his hands. He started lipping through the pages, he found her article and began to read it. Once he got to the bottom, what he read shocked him. It was almost as if he could hear her voice.

When I began to write this article, it was to call out all the silly dating faux pas. In the end, I ended up losing someone special to me.

Those same emotions hit Harry. It wasn’t one of anger but what he had initially felt for her. Love. He needed to get to her. Harry refused to go on another day without her because of the mistakes that they both made.

“I need you to look over this, I need to go get my girl.”

Rushing out of his office building, Harry grabbed the helmet to his motorcycle he pulled out of storage to ride trying to get Y/N off his mind. He was thankful that he had it because New York traffic was a bitch. Speeding down the streets of Manhattan. He first arrived at her job hoping that she would be there.

He needed her to be there.

“Sorry, she is not here. Y/N quit two days ago, she is heading to the airport right now to go to an interview across the country.” Her coworkers told him as he cursed himself.

Looking more at her coworker's face he noticed her, “I knew that you weren’t a real therapist.” He said walking away from her and grabbing their love roses that Y/N happened to leave behind.

“She made me do it.” Her friend said smiling at him.

“You owe me money,” Harry called out exiting the building.

He hopped right back on his bike and began his journey to her apartment. Just as he approached her could see her hair as she climbed into the back of a cab. Due to the noises in the city, there was no way for her to hear him calling out her name.

“Shit, I’m not giving up on you,” he said to himself. Revving his bike, he dodged in and out of traffic tracking her cab. Even almost getting her cab mixed up with a sea of yellow cabs. He gained speed as they approached a bridge. Harry could see the silhouette of her head in the back of the cab. Pulling up to the side of her cab, he hit the window, startling her.

“Harry? What are you doing?” She said in disbelief as she lowered her window.

“Pull over, Y/N we need to talk.” He screamed in the wind. He pointed to an area where technically it would be illegal to stop but would make them not stop traffic. Not wanting Harry to die, Y/N kindly asked her driver to pull over. Even though it was an inconvenience, he pulled over. Y/N hopped out of the car as Harry took off his helmet.

“If you’re trying to get yourself killed then you’re on the right track,” Y/N told him crossing her arms.

“Is this true?” He asked in distress holding up the magazine. He needed to hear these words from her. He needed to know that this wasn’t for her to sell some articles and that what she wrote were her true emotions.

“Harry, please. I have an interview-”

“Is this true, Y/N? Please, just answer the question and I’ll walk away forever if you want me to.”

Y/N swallowed her pride and for once put down the shield that she would have normally had up. “Everything that I wrote is real. I would never be that vulnerable if it wasn’t how I felt, Harry.” She said feeling herself get choked up.

“Then why are you leaving me?”

“I need to find a job, Harry. I want to be a journalist, writing real stories with meaning. I can’t do that here.” She said wiping the stray tear that decided to escape.

“I know you have an interview. A journalist like you doesn’t need to travel across the country to find something. You fit in right here. You deserve to be right here. There isn’t a job in New York you could find to love every single part of you.” Harry spoke to her wanting her to see, and understand the talent that she had inside of her.

“Where are you going?” He asked the same question only different this time. Y/N bit her lip because she was at a loss for words. Here was this beautiful soul she had known, and got to love practically begging her to stay.

“I told you it’s the only place I can go if I want to be a real journalist.”

“Well, I think that you’re running away.”

“You can keep these thoughts for the next girl you want to bet on, I’m not running away?” She said going to turn and climb right back in the car.

“Are you going to fold?”

Y/N stops in her tracks.

“If you tell me right now that this, this between us, is a risk for you; And you don’t want to take that risk. I want you to tell me. I need you to look me in my eyes and tell me. Tell me you fold. Because for me, you’re worth every risk. Time and time again I would choose you.” Y/N turned around to face him taking in every emotion across his face.

He wanted this. He wanted them together.

Harry stepped closer to her getting into her space, they were so close yet miles apart. He wanted to taste her lips again. He wanted to breathe in that scent that he fell in love with.

“Lady, what are you going to do? I have places to be.” Her cab driver asked. Harry could look into her eyes and tell that she wanted to say yes. They were worth the risk. His stubborn girl wanted him just as much as he needed her.

Pulling out his wallet, Harry pulled out a large bill and handed it to the driver while keeping his eyes on her. “Take her stuff back to the apartment. She will be riding with me.”

“How do you know what I’ll say?” She asked with a smile dancing on her lips.

“I’m calling your bluff, baby.” At those words, Harry took her face in between his hands, and connected their lips together. He never knew that he could miss a person this much. Y/N was elated at this feeling inside of her. Love was hard and consuming but it was all worth it. She wouldn’t change one thing that happened to lead them to this moment.

Breaking away from the kiss, they held hands as they walked toward his motorcycle. “Look who tagged along.”

“Our love roses. I love you so much, Harrybooboo.” She teased pinching his cheek with one hand as she went to go pick up the roses with the other.

“I love you more, honey. I’m never letting this relationship die again.”

[miracles-and-butterflies]

New AU!!

All about who inherits the matriarch/leadership role after Alma and what that means in the future. Also, in-depth character explorations and analysis.

Don’t we all love a good self-indulgent AU? For writing and art? (Possibly a mini comic or animatic, if folks are interested).

Having done these polls over who should be the leader after Alma, and having heard a variety of thoughts and engaged in multiple discussions, I have been hugely inspired to create multiple new AUs. To explore the possible futures and dynamics and scenarios that arise from having different characters in the leadership role.

I’ll only do a handful, as there would be way too many otherwise - if you take into account every Madrigal individually and then every combination of people working together.

Because she won the recent poll, I believe it is only fair that Dolores is guaranteed to have one of these AUs.

As for who else will be the focus, I’m more unsure. I think all of them have intrigue and I have plenty of ideas for almost every possible combination. Hence why I’m just going to ask all of you (no pun intended): who would you be most interested in seeing? From both the triplets and *all the grandkids? Either individually or a possible team working together?

I’d do another poll and just pick the winners, but there is no guarantee the AU will then get any interaction.

*I say all because Mirabel is included here, although she wasn’t in the polls (due to the fact she’d have obviously won). However, I already have AU where she becomes matriarch - Intertwining Threads of Gold - so this is more for the possibility of her working alongside another Madrigal, rather than individually.

[tanoraqui]

Elros&Elrond superhero anon here, I absolutely love those powers for them, they’re so cool. I mean, healing powers are fairly standard but you’ve got me entirely on board with healer!Elros (although I’m betting that Elros does NOT heal Maglor’s hand after the twins regain consciousness) and I just really love what you’ve done with Elrond’s powers!

(re: this post)

HEALER!ELROS SUPREMACY. And while I’m at it, Elros being the first to (conditionally) trust and even come to love their monstrous kidnapper-cousins, because quicker commitment and greater daring for the unknown makes sense in one who will one day choose to die as a Man; why is Elros always the stabby one and Elrond always the sweet one in kidnap-era fics! supremacy. Elrond is going to end up sweet, okay; he doesn’t need to start there. In the superhero au, when he masters his power of this aura of peace, he’s going to be able to do the “I am one with the force and the force is with me” walk from Rogue One through battlefields, but he has to learn how to maintain that true sense of calm and non-violence.

(Partial credit for the idea goes to @isi7140 btw, for suggesting the Elrond-appropriate twinly mirror to healing be making some sort of protected area a la Rivendell.)

Also ha, yeah, Elros definitely is NOT going to heal Maglor’s hand right there. Maybe, maybe, in several weeks when they’ve bonded a little he’ll heal whatever’s left of the wound as a show of the bond formed between them by then? …or in several months?

What happens in this weeks and/or months, of course, is Elrond and Elros making multiple attempts to escape supervillain captivity and find their mother while Maglor and Maedhros try to figure out who they are, where they came from, and can we ransom them to Doriath for Silmarils? Meanwhile Elwing doesn’t even know her sons followed her through the rip in spacetime; she and Eärendil are…idk if they both got to Earth at roughly this time, or if only one did and the other is off finding Valar in space somewhere, or if they’re BOTH off finding Valar and/or distant mermaid relatives (respectively) in space? NO WAIT, THE TELERI ARE ATLANTIS! PERFECT! That makes Eärwen and her kids’ genetics make so much more sense! So, Elwing ended up in the ocean somewhere, drowning, and is rescued to Atlantis, but she’s trying to find Eärendil who is in space somewhere, meeting gods…

Thingol is the former King of Atlantis who moved permanently to land to marry a minor forest goddess, who shaped herself a permanent material form in order to marry him…the romance… (Sometimes he makes noise about bossing around Atlanteans again and Olwë is like, “um, you LEFT, actually.”)

Yes of course this means that all of Eärwen’s kids, grandkids, etc. can shed their human legs & grow gills in water and turn into mermaids!! Though it gets harder the more they interbreed with humans. Finrod, Angrod, Aegnor & Galadriel can all do it easily. Orodreth, Celebrian and Finrod&Amarië’s Golden Horde have to make an effort and it hurts a little. Finduilas and Rodnor require Musical assistance, though much less than an ordinary human would. (Aegnor marries an alien of some sort so idk what’s up with their kids—probably standard quarter-Atlantean, really, because it’s about magic Music more than genetics. Amarië is also an alien but the Vanyar are only as alien as, like, Vulcans; Andreth is something much stranger.)

[deadlifts-and-deadlines]

Something cool about my neighborhood is that it is full of kids, roughly age 6-10. Ender, who is four, plays with a lot of those kids, mostly nicely, and the kids all usually gather in my in-laws yard to play, because it’s a huge kid paradise. They always gather when school gets out - so roughly when I’m needing to get dinner ready and things done at home, etc. However, it can be frustrating for me because I can’t always go there to supervise, so sometimes I have to just close the blinds and set Ender up with a movie or activity. It makes me feel like a shit mom and like I am actively keeping Ender from his friends. He is and always will be an only child, so I feel that it is important for him to have access to his cousins, who are our neighbors, and the other neighborhood kids. Especially since he’s been acting out lately bc of the puppy.

So - I’m thinking about buying a set of walkie talkies. I want to set the boundary to be my in-laws yard (it is huge) but also include my SIL’s yard (Ender is BFFs with her kids) and then sidewalk to the bike trail, since all the neighborhood kids like tor use the sidewalk and it’s next to the schools so people know to look for kids. I can mostly see all of these areas from my house, but I just feel like a way to contact/check in quickly with the kids would be good and no fucking way am I getting my four year old a phone.

Does anyone have any walkie talkie suggestions? And would you allow your four year old to play semi-unsupervised with cousins and neighborhood kids?

I don’t know if I would normally, but we literally live across the street from my in laws and my SIL’s are my neighbors so I feel like I have a lot of family eyes on him. Usually my in laws are home and in the house when the kids are playing in the yard, but I don’t want to put the sole responsibility to watch him on them every day, although I know that they love having such easy access to all the grandkids - which is why I’m considering the walkie talkie idea. Rules would be you don’t go past the range and if a parent or grandparent calls on the walkie talkie you must answer or you will need to come home. I think in a year it would be a non issue, just want to find a way to get him more kid time while I’m doing boring shit.

[parcequecestnotreprojeeeet]

Hi, it’s me, Fanfic Anon #2. After the comment from the Anon about Manette earlier, and thinking still about all their interviews at the beginning of January, I wrote this piece.

She smiled softly when she saw him standing off to the side of his office, staring out the window after the interview. She knew he wasn’t as okay as he seemed afterwards, knew her sensitive husband, contrary to popular belief, felt things very deeply, especially when it comes to the people he loves.

She knew the answer to what his biggest fear was before the man had even finished asking him the question, after all, she still remembers how inconsolable he was for weeks after his beloved grandmother passed. She was at a loss for what to do, she had never seen another human being in that much pain. She felt like her heart had been torn in two just watching him grieve.

So she wasn’t surprised when he teared up when they asked if he still missed her - of course he did, every single day. That kind of loss doesn’t just go away, a fact she knew first hand probably better than most, the loss of her sister and her family, her niece, her parents, her brother - they all left holes in her heart too. Just like Manette did.

She owed that woman a lot - not just for accepting her and loving her when it seemed like no one else in the world did, but for everything she did to raise her beloved husband. Unlike a lot of women who were threatened by the other important female figures in their partner’s lives, the female parental figures, especially when that partner would spend hours on the phone with them every night before joining them in bed, Brigitte only ever felt gratitude for Manette. And now, a grandmother herself, she understood deeply what that bond was, what it meant. Truth be told, a small part of her hoped that her grandchildren would think and speak as fondly of their Mamie one day as her husband still speaks about his Manette.

Walking into the room, she softly mused, "she would be so proud of you, mon cœur."

"How did you know I was thinking about her?" he asked, slightly stunned.

"You forget how well I know you. How long I’ve known you."

"Mhmm," he hummed non-committally in response.

"Wherever she is right now, I know she’s been watching you closely, cheering you on every step of the way," she smiled as she looped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder since he hadn’t turned around.

"Well how many people get to say their grandkid is the President?"

"That’s not why, and you know it," she rebuked lightly. "Although, of course she’s proud you’re here in this office, proud of what you’ve done for this country, what you have done for the world, what you will continue to do.

"But what I know she’s proudest of is the man that you’ve become. How you are so wise, and kind, and loving; how you are the best husband, father, grandfather to our family; how you are the best friend I could have ever hoped to have had; how you have never lost who you are despite everything around you that could cause just that.

"You know, she always told me, ‘Brigitte, he’s going to be something special one day.’ And I would laugh and then agree with her, before she would say ‘but you know that won’t change anything.’ And it hasn’t."

"You’ve never told me that."

"There’s a lot she told me I haven’t told you," she told him, before laughing at the speed he turned around to look at her. "Just like there were things she told you that you’ve never told me. She was so kind to me, she loved me as if I was one of her own - and I’ve never forgotten that."

"She did love you, Brigitte. She told me once I had finally introduced you two, ‘you’re right, Manu. She is special.’ She had never called anyone special before."

"I’m just glad she accepted me, I know she was your red line like my children were mine -"

"I never had any doubts about it," he smiled before saying more seriously, "she’d be really proud of you too. Everything you’ve done -"

"She’d mainly be happy I manage to keep you fed and on a somewhat normal sleep schedule," she demurred.

"Chérie, do I really need to have this conversation with you again? You’re extraordinary. What you have done as a teacher, as a Premiere Dame, as head of these charities - there’s no one else on this Earth like you."

"How did I get so lucky?" she asked, bring her hand up to slowly stroke his face.

"I don’t know. I ask myself that question every day." They stood there for a moment in the silence, taking in each other’s company as they both were in their own thoughts before he continued, "thank you. I think I needed to hear that today."

She kissed him softly, lovingly in reply.

Hellooo fanfic Anon #2! ❤️

I actually think about this quite often... how she never got to see her grandkid become president. How proud she would be of him. How happy he would be to have her by his side on such important day. But unfortunately, that’s just how life works. And she’s still there every day with him, on his heart. So yes, this one really touched me ❤️

Thank you so much, Fanfic Anon #2! ❤️❤️❤️

[whereareroo]

LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE

WF UPDATE (6/13/24).

We just returned from a road trip. Did you miss me? The road trip included three “Special Assignments.”

During one of the Special Asssignments, I ended up at an indoor trampoline park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Predictably, I didn’t stay for long. For a few minutes, I stood in a corner to make sure that Mrs. Grandmother and Grandkid #3 were comfortable with the place. Then, confident that my team could handle their two hour session, I went next door to the coffee shop to drink tea and read stuff online.

While I was standing in the corner, I was approached by a very thin man in his late 70s. He said: “You look like you’re having a terrible time.” I nodded. He went on, pointing to a 4 year old boy who was playing alone on a small trampoline: “I’m here to watch that little jerk. He’s my great grandson. I have 8 children, 11 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. My wife is a total waste of humanity. For more than 30 years, she hasn’t helped with anything. She doesn’t cook. She doesn’t clean the house. She hasn’t changed a diaper. She doesn’t help with any of the kids. It makes me so angry. I’m waiting for the witch to die. (He used a word that rhymes with witch.) I have life insurance on her. I’m waiting for my payday. I’m tired of being abused.” I decided that it was time to drink tea. That guy has such a sad life. He’s actually hoping that his wife dies soon. On the road, I hear an endless stream of sad stories.

Unlike the grumpy old man, during the road trip we hit two very happy milestones:

1. On June 4th, we celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary. It was a shotgun wedding. We had only been dating for 7 years. That means that we’ve been together for 48 years. The longevity of our marriage proves that there is a God, and that He has a sense of humor. For many reasons, Mrs. Wonderful is the perfect life partner for me. She thinks she got a good deal too. When we count our blessings, we take turns saying: “Where would I be without you?” Of course, we both also frequently say: “Where would you be without me?” Although life is a roller coaster, we are very thankful that our life has been filled with laughter and joy.

2. June 9th was the 15th anniversary of my departure from the practice of law. I had always promised myself that I’d be done on my 50th birthday. I beat the mark by 2 months. I was a good lawyer, and I enjoyed my work. My unique practice was full of interesting people, interesting stories, and various legal/financial challenges. I can honestly say that I helped many people navigate difficult times. I started this blog soon after my departure from the workforce. The blog will celebrate its 15th birthday at the start of September. In addition to my thoughts on a wide variety of topics, the blog recounts all of the fun that we’ve had during the past 15 years. We’re so lucky that we were able to dive into the world when we were relatively young. As I type this, I’m sitting near a collection of momentos from some of our adventures. I see stuff from 4 long distance hikes and 9 long biking adventures. That’s only a small part of the story. If we were only leaving the workforce now, we probably wouldn’t attack some of those adventures. Please remember that life is short. Regardless of your circumstances, there are many ways to put adventure into your life. Promise yourself that you will make room for adventure in your life. Take the necessary time and make the necessary plans. Has anyone ever said that they had too much adventure in their life? No!

From my seat at the kitchen table, I can also see my pile of books for 2024. The first half of the year has been so busy. I’m WAY behind on my reading. Today is a “recovery day” and I have some free time. I’m going to grab a book. Talk to you tomorrow.

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

I’m going to be so immeasurably pissed off if Secrets of Dumbledore was the last Fantastic Beasts film because of a multitude of reasons, but especially:

Autistic!Newt: autism is rarely portrayed in the media, and when it is, 99.9% of the time it’s in a negative way or as some kind of saviour p0rn stuff. Newt Scamander is not only a positive (AND CANON!) representation of autism, it’s the only one in a major franchise such as the Wizarding World, and he’s the main hero to boot. Cancelling the remaining films means we don’t get a full franchise with an autistic hero, which would suck so hard. As an autistic person, I really want to see more of Newt and am beyond thankful for how Eddie has clearly done his research and played Newt so beautifully and respectfully.

Newtina: Even putting aside the fact I’m a Newtina shipper, it would be awful if we don’t get the remaining two films to show how Newt and Tina ended up married with great grandkids and living in Dorset in their 120s. Not being funny but all the side couples have had their time to shine: Jacob and Queenie are now married, and Grindelwald/Dumbledore’s blood pact thing is solved, although yes, there’s also the duel but still, it definitely felt like there was closure of some kind to the romantic side of their story in SoD. Newt is the main character and Tina is (supposed to be, fuck you JK/WB) the female lead as well as his canon love interest/future wife. It’s just stupid to tease them in the first movie and not give any kind of closure or progress to their relationship beyond the literal crumbs in the following two films. It’s long past overdue to let Newt and Tina have some focus and to give Jacob/Queenie / other couples a more background role.

Tina Goldstein: What they’ve done with Tina’s character is disgusting. “She’s busy” - fuck off with your lame excuse for her absence in this film. It’s so painfully obvious Katherine was cut because she spoke out about JKR - and if it’s not that, she’s certainly had a huge falling out with JK/WB because she has done zero promotion for SoD beyond turning up at the London premiere specifically just for the fans (as shown by the hours she spent taking photos and signing stuff, which btw I witnessed in person! I was there!), and when she posted a picture of herself at the premiere, she didn’t mention the film, just shouted out her make up and hair people. She’s supposed to be the main female character, and they’ve delegated her to little more than a cameo. As a Tina fan, it really hurts to see because she’s the reason I fell in love with the first film because I saw myself in her character. I want the last two films just so that Warner Bros can give her character the development she deserves because apart from the first film, her only role in CoG and SoD has been reduced to 1) to be mad at Newt, 2) to go after Credence and then have that plot line dropped, and 3) to turn up at a wedding.

Other Characters: I want to see more of Lally because I fucking adore her! She’s probably my favourite female character after Tina! I want more of Theseus, and more of the Scamander brothers relationship! What happened to Nagini? I want to see more Jacob too, more Queenie, more Yusuf, and I even can’t wait to see any new characters that might appear! (They can keep Bunty tho lmfao her and her actress are trash - and yes, I am allowed to say that because I witnessed VY being shit in person so yeah fuck her)

The Beasts: Umm, hello??? Warner Bros are really going to deny us more of Teddy the Niffler??? More of Pickett??? The Baby Nifflers??? I want to see more Mooncalves, more Fwoopers, more magical creatures! The series is literally called “Fantastic Beasts”, can we PLEASE have more beasts???

The Cast: I just love so many of our cast and miss the days where they seemed to be enthusiastic about the franchise - now the only ones who seem excited anymore are Eddie and Mads (and VY but like I said she’s stuck up so f*ck her) I miss seeing Eddie and Katherine on screen together, I miss the Fantastic Foursome of Eddie/Katherine/Dan/Alison on-screen together. I want to see more of Mads as Grindelwald despite the controversy surrounding his casting. I love Callum and Jessica and Jude, and want to see more of them.

[prettiestvulcan]

pairing: enji todoroki x oc

rating: explicit

wc:

summary: a summer getaway gets heated, in more ways than one.

warnings: none

a/n: part of @delirieum's hot milf summer collab!

She’s always had a dislike for summer. The sticky, humid heat. The influx of tourists, which meant more crime. The increase in her number of patrols. Summer meant more work in near unbearable conditions.

There is one plus to summer, though. It means the kids are out of school, so she gets to spend more time with them. Sure, during the day she’s always on patrol, but then she gets to pick them up from her parents’ house and take them to pick out dinner. They don’t have to be in bed for school, so she can introduce them to her favorite childhood movies.

This summer is different, though. Her parents are taking their grandkids on a vacation and she can’t go with them. Work is having their own week-long mandatory ‘vacation’, which involves flying out to an island for team-building exercises disguised as fun. It’s the first time the agency has done something like this, but her guess as to why is as good as anyone else’s.

“Mommy, do you have to go?” Her youngest asks. She kneels before him, giving him a soft smile.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but mommy has to go because of work.” He pouts, crossing his arms with a frown.

“I don’t want you to go.” Isaac looks close to tears. “I don’t want to go with Nanny and Pappy. I want to go with Mommy.”

“Isaac,” she brushes tears from his cheeks with a thumb. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. Mommy will be back. And I’ll call every night before bedtime.”

“Promise?” He sniffles. She nods, holding out her pinky. He grins, wrapping his much smaller pinky around hers.

“I pinky-promise,” she answers. His tears have started to dry up.

“Okay,” he finally relents. “I’ll go with Nanny and Pappy.”

“That’s my boy,” she ruffles his hair, the curls catching occasionally. He doesn’t seem to notice.

He runs off towards the front door, giggling the whole way. She stands, watching him go with a smile. He’s always been a cheerful kid, willing to do as she asks. She’s grateful for it. However, her eldest isn’t as agreeable. Perhaps being close to ten, she’s just going through a face. She was a fussy baby, though, so something tells her she just takes too much after her father.

“Why do I have to go?” Hazel starts. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

“Hazel,” she reproaches. “I don’t have time to find you a babysitter. Nanny and Pappy already agreed to take you somewhere fun.”

“Ugh,” she groans. “Whatever, mom.” Hazel storms off without another word. She frowns, watching her go. If only there was some way she could make both of them happy. She hadn’t lied, though; the trip for work was very sudden and she didn’t have time to look for a babysitter. It was only through luck that her parents had agreed to take them on vacation with them this year. Perhaps because they were both old enough not to need as much supervision and constant care.

With a sigh, she grabs her suitcase once more and climbs into the taxi. She really wishes she could have given Hazel a goodbye hug, but she knows her daughter well enough to know that wouldn’t have gone down easily. There would have been a lot of yelling and pushing, possibly some kicking. She really hopes Hazel doesn’t regret not saying goodbye.

The taxi drops her off outside the entrance of the airport. She takes her suitcase from the trunk before heading inside. The layout is huge, but everything is clearly marked and mapped. She has no issues finding the check-in for the airline. Finding the gate is even easier, since each gate is in a specific order. She sits down to wait for their boarding time, taking her phone out to make sure there are no calls or texts from her parents. Thankfully, there are none so everything must be alright.

She decides to look around the area from her seat, spotting several familiar faces in the seats around her. They all seem absorbed in their own activities, so she leaves them be. She was never really familiar with any of the other sidekicks, anyway. Being a single parent meant she didn’t have much time for get-togethers, so she was always turning down invites after patrols. They’re always friendly towards her, however, so she thinks they’re all on good terms. They probably understand her hesitance to leave her kids at home with the babysitter longer than needed.

After a while, it’s time to board the plane. It’s her first time flying since before Isaac was born, but she still remembers the drill. Show your boarding pass, get it scanned, find your seat. It’s very straightforward. Everything about the trip so far has been, which is something she’s grateful for. She’s not a huge fan of surprises. Never has been. Although she supposes Isaac and Hazel are two surprises she absolutely couldn’t live without.

Soon, the pre-flight announcements are beginning. She’s surprised to see no one in the seat beside her. It’s nearly a full plane, though she’s not going to complain. It just means she has more room to stretch out. She listens to the pre-flight announcements, turning off her phone as instructed. She takes her in-flight bag off the floor, putting it in the empty seat beside her. She couldn’t quite reach the overhead bin and had been too embarrassed to ask for help.

The plane takes off, bringing with it a slew of emotions. She’s excited to be going somewhere, even if it’s for work, but she’s going to miss her kids. Not being able to see them for an entire week? It’s an entirely new experience for her. She’s been home with them basically since they were each born. She’s been there to kiss ouchies better, to read them stories before bed, tuck them in with a kiss on their foreheads. She’s been there to wipe their tears, to make them smile and laugh. Being away from them will be a new experience for all of them, but at least they won’t be completely alone. She trusts her parents to take care of them, just like they cared for her as a child.

She takes comfort in that thought, relaxing back against the seat. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d been the whole time, but once she relaxes the soreness of her muscles makes itself known. She rubs at her thigh, trying to soothe some of the pain. It works, to some degree. She’ll just have to remind herself to relax and take something for the pain once the plane lands.

She rests her head against the headrest, closing her eyes. Nothing wrong with a nap on the flight. Just as long as the turbulence of landing wakes her, she’ll be fine. She feels herself slipping into unconsciousness….

The island is beyond anything she could have imagined. It’s lush and tropical, palm trees dotted everywhere. The air smells like salt from the sea, but somehow still refreshing compared to city air. Even the hotel is magnificent. There’s an indoor spa! She’s never stayed anywhere with its own spa.

They arrive late the first day, so they’re told to find their rooms and get settled in. They’ll receive instructions the next day, according to Burnin who is giving the orders. She wonders if Endeavor will show or if this whole event is being organized by Burnin. She’s certainly capable of doing it.

She spends the first night unpacking and familiarizing herself with the hotel. There’s so many extra amenities and she hopes she has time to try out some of them. She takes photos of the view from her hotel window, sending it to her parents so they can show Isaac and Hazel. When she’s finished exploring, she retires to her room and makes the promised call.

Everyone is doing great, of course. They also made it to their hotel, which Isaac excitedly informs her has an indoor pool. Hazel is much less talkative, but seems to be in high spirits even if she doesn’t outright say it. She’s glad they’re enjoying their trip so far and hopes they keep up the momentum. When they finish swapping stories, she wishes them goodnight and tells them she’ll talk more tomorrow.

The next day, they all have breakfast in the hotel’s café before convening outside. It’s more upscale dining than what she’d have expected. Once outside, Burnin gathers everyone close before speaking.

“Hello, everyone!” Her voice easily carries across the crowd. “I hope you’re ready for a fun week!”

There are cheers from the other sidekicks.

“Well, have I got a surprise for all of you.” She’s close enough to see Burnin grin. “There’s no agenda for this week, aside from getting out there and having fun together!”

No agenda? She’s a little surprised by that. She thought this was a mandatory team-building trip, not just a vacation. She feels conflicted. On one hand, she’s glad for the opportunity. On the other, she had fully expected the week to be planned out for her so now she’s at a loss.

What does one even do on vacation? It’s been eighteen years since she’s done anything by herself. Sure, she’s taken weekend trips with Hazel and Isaac but never alone. And never somewhere so opulent or tropical. She doesn’t know what to do with herself now.

“Now get out there and have fun!” She snaps back to reality at the sound of everyone’s cheers, before shuffling back inside the hotel. Whatever she wants to do, huh?

She changes into something more comfortable, having expected there to be training. Thankfully, she had thought ahead and packed extra clothes on the off-chance there was any free time. It looks like her foresight had come in handy, as she takes out her bathing suit and coverup. Nothing like a trip to the beach.

She’s surprised that there’s no rigorous training. Endeavor is known for running a tight ship, so this whole trip seems out of character. Then again, ever since his last major fight, something had changed. He’s still just as strict, but he seems almost approachable now. A little more lenient. She’s certainly not as terrified of being called to his office anymore.

She wonders if he’s come on this trip, as well, or if he’s staying back at the office. He could use the trip, she feels. He’s always working so hard. Besides, she swears she saw his youngest in the crowd. If his son is here, surely he would’ve come as well.

Someone clears their throat behind her and she startles, realizing she’s just been staring at the open elevator doors. She shakes her head, murmuring an apology, and enters the elevator. The figure behind her enters, as well, and as she turns her eyes go wide.

“Endeavor, sir,” she hurries to greets, giving a polite bow. “Thank you for this opportunity.”

He doesn’t say anything, just looks at her with a grimace. She wonders if she’s said something wrong before he grumbles something under his breath, inclining his head in acknowledgment. He doesn’t say anything else, but she’s shocked to see him. She wants to comment on it, but the elevator arrives at the ground floor before she can figure it out.

“Ah, Endeavor, sir,” she calls out without thinking.

“Please call me Enji.” She can’t help the eyebrow that raises. “We’re on vacation. I’m not your boss right now.”

“Of course, Enji, sir.” He doesn’t look pleased with the added ‘sir’ so she tries again. “Alright. Enji.” It feels awkward coming out of her mouth. He’s been her boss for the better part of a decade and never once called him by name.

He seems pleased by the amendment on her part, though it’s hard to tell with him. She shifts her weight from foot to foot, trying to figure out why she even called out to him. He waits, turquoise eyes trained on her.

“Would you like to come to the beach with me?” She almost smacks herself with how bold she’s being. Sure, he’s been nice to her over the past few months, but that doesn’t mean he wants to be friendly.

He looks just as surprised by the offer, one eyebrow raised. She purses her lips to keep from saying anything more, waiting on an answer. Her heart pounds in her chest. Finally, he speaks.

“You’re going to the beach?” She nods. “I’ll accompany you. I was headed there regardless.”

She takes in his appearance for the first time, noting the swim shorts. He’s wearing a white t-shirt, a towel slung over his shoulders. She nods to show she understands, eyes moving back up his hulking frame, to find his eyes also looking over her.

Had she just been caught checking out her boss?

Had she just caught her boss checking her out?

The thought brings warmth to her cheeks. She ducks her head down, though she’s sure he’s already seen her blush. She decides to take the lead, brushing past him towards the door. She can feel him follow, after a few tense seconds.

She feels a little silly. She’s too old to be checking out other men, let alone her boss. It doesn’t matter if he’s older; he has his own family. She knows he has at least three kids, though she’s never heard about their mother. He has to be married, though. There’s no way a man like him hasn’t been snatched up.

She tries to push those thoughts aside, instead focusing on walking down to the beach. It’s not far from the hotel; might as well consider it the backyard. The closer they get, the more of the ocean she can smell. She’s not sure it’s an entirely pleasant scent.

There isn’t much in the way of conversation. For her, it’s just too awkward to start one and he’s not exactly known for being chatty. She’s sure he doesn’t find it awkward at all, the silence. But she does.

As she scrambles to come up with something to say, they finally arrive at the beach. There’s a few others on the beach, rainbow color of towels spread along the sand. She tries to find a spot some distance from the main crowd, not wanting to interrupt or intrude.

She expects him to part once they reach the beach, but he keeps pace with her easily. She did invite him to come with, but she hadn’t actually expected him to follow through. Sure, they talk at work about work. But conversations about patrols are entirely different from conversations about life and the weather.

They lay their towels out, red and blue side by side. It’s a little closer than she’d been expecting, but still a respectable distance apart. She hesitates a brief moment before pulling her coverup off, folding it and setting it aside. She has nothing to be embarrassed about.

Hero work has been good to her. Even after two kids, her physique is still desirable. She’s not exactly slim, but she’s muscular enough to hide the chub from two kids. She has very few major scars, the most notable being the faded white scar on her right leg from a piece of metal out of a falling building. She’s lucky it didn’t take her entire leg.

“I’m going to swim,” she announces to her company. He inclines his head, again not saying anything. She leaves him where he’s reclining on his towel, heading down to the water.

She feels more comfortable in the water. It’s cool and refreshing, compared to the sticky heat on the beach. She takes her time in the water, swimming around and floating. She even rides a few waves to the shore before swimming back out. When she’s had enough, she returns to her towel.

Endeavor—Enji, she corrects herself. He’s still laid out on his towel, but his eyes open when he hears her approach. She flops down onto her towel, feeling energized after her swim. She turns her head to face Enji, having felt his eyes on her.

He’s wearing an inscrutable expression. He’s not exactly easy to read, but it looks as if he’s taking extra care not to express any emotion. She offers him a smile, not sure what to do or say. He doesn’t return it, but he does finally look away.

She peers up at the clear blue sky, wondering what kind of exchange that was. She rests her arms behind her head, closing her eyes. It’s a vacation. She’s going to get in as many naps as possible….

She wakes sometimes later, having been shaken awake. She blinks a few times to clear the sleep from her vision.

“The tide is coming in,” Enji tells her. She nods to show her understanding before sitting up. She stretches with a yawn. “Dinner?”

She’s not sure if it’s a question or a demand.

“Sure,” she agrees. “I could go for something to eat.” She stands, grabbing her towel. She shakes off as much sand as possible before slipping her coverup back on.

“We should change at the hotel,” he says.

“Good idea.” She looks down at herself. “A quick shower might be good, too.” She gives him a crooked smile. He nods and she swears she sees the ghost of a smile on his lips.

She feels significantly less uncomfortable on the walk back, perhaps because he’s actually not that scary. He’s just not very talkative. And if she doesn’t think about how he’s her boss, it’s almost like hanging out with a friend. A very new friend. Okay, maybe it’s still a little awkward.

Dinner is a quick and quiet affair. He doesn’t say much and she isn’t sure what to say. When they finish, they bid each other a good night and go their separate ways. She takes the time to call her parents so she can speak with Isaac and Hazel. They tell her all about their trip so far and she shares hers.

“You spoke with Mr. Endeavor?” Isaac seems in awe.

“Yeah, sweetie. I spoke with Mr. Endeavor.”

“Can you get his autograph for me?” She can hear the excitement in his voice.

“His autograph?” She repeats.

“Yes!” Isaac is definitely bouncing on the other end. “I saw him on the TV! He’s my new favorite Hero!” She chuckles.

“Sure thing, sweetie. I’ll get his autograph for you.” It shouldn’t be too difficult. He is her boss and she’s sure he’s used to being asked for it.

“You’re the best, Mommy!” She smiles at that.

“Love you, too, sweetie.”

“Okay, I’m gonna give the phone to Hazel now.” There’s a shuffling noise before she hears Hazel’s voice.

“How are things going, Mom?”

“They’re going well,” she answers. “How are you doing?”

“It’s okay.” She hears Hazel shrug. “Nanny took me to the museum, so I guess it’s alright.”

“The museum?” She prompts. “Which one?”

“The Hero Museum,” there’s a smile in her voice. “It was pretty cool.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” She really is. Hazel is a difficult child sometimes, but her interests aren’t outside the realm of any other ten-year-old. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too, Mom,” Hazel huffs. “I’m giving you back to Nanny now.” More noise as the phone is swapped to another.

She talks to her mom for a few more minutes, just to be sure the kids are behaving. Her mom assures her that everything is fine and to enjoy her own vacation.

The next day is spent much the same: at the beach with her boss. Enji. She keeps having to remind herself. She does manage to get his autograph, explaining it’s for her youngest. He asks about him, and she’s more than happy to talk about her kids.

He speaks about his own children, much older than her own, but there’s pride in his voice as he speaks about them. She can’t help but smile, her laughter coming freely when he tells embarrassing stories about them. It feels like she’s getting to know him and she can’t help but like what she’s seeing.

It’s hard not to find him physically attractive, but she’s old enough to not be distracted by a pretty body. She’s worked for his agency for nearly ten years; she’s long gotten used to the way he looks. But something about their conversations has her reassessing him.

The third day on the island, something feels different between them. He feels warmer, somehow. It isn’t exactly anything particular he does. It’s in the way they lean towards each other when they speak, the way they keep bumping into each other, the way they keep finding ways to spend time together. It’s a combination of all these things that has her heart pounding when she sees him.

She decides to make a move. Either he ignores it or he reciprocates. Either way, there’s no harm done. They’re on vacation. Perhaps she’s feeling a little risky because of it. Away from work, away from her kids, she’s feeling a little more brave than usual.

It’s been years since she last was with anyone. After Isaac’s father left, she swore off dating and catching feelings in general. It was just too much of a hassle. Why now, after all these years, she isn’t sure. Something about it just feels different. Feels right.

They go out for dinner as usual, but she invites him to the hotel bar afterwards. She doesn’t fully expect him to agree, so when he does she’s feeling more confident. They sit next to each other at the near empty hotel bar, drinks in hand.

When she makes a joke, laughing at it while he gives a slight grin, she reaches out to put her hand on his arm. He looks surprised by it at first, eyes going slightly wider. She wonders for a brief moment if she’s overstepped, pulling her hand back, but he quickly grabs it before she can withdraw.

They stare at one another, neither saying anything. It’s like he’s waiting for a signal. She nods. He moves into action, pulling her up from her seat. He keeps their fingers entwined, tugging her along to the elevator.

It’s actually happening, she realizes, as she leads him to her hotel room. She didn’t think this would ever actually happen.

He presses her against the hotel door, mouth hot and heavy on hers. She grasps at his arms, his shirt, anything she can reach to keep herself afloat. She’s quickly giving in, sinking further into his desires. She doesn’t think she wants to fight them anymore.

His mouth moves down to her neck, biting and kissing. She can’t help the sounds spilling from her and just hopes no one in the rooms around can hear her. His hands—big, so big—tug at her dress until she’s slipping the straps from her shoulders and letting it fall to the ground.

His bright turquoise eyes stare at her, wearing nothing more than a pair of lacy underwear. She feels intimidated by that heavy gaze, feels the urge to cover herself.

“Don’t,” he growls as he grabs her hands, pulling them away. “Let me see you.”

She lets her hands fall to the side, trying not to feel so self-conscious. She tries not to think of all the stretch marks across her belly and thighs, on the tops of her breasts. She tries to remind herself that they wouldn’t be here if he didn’t see something desirable about her body.

“Beautiful,” he murmurs, cupping a breast. It fits perfectly in his hand, his thumb rubbing circles against her nipple. She squirms, a moan slipping from her parted lips.

“You too,” she tosses back. “I want to see you, too.” He grins, something crooked and slightly menacing. But he pulls away from her, tugging off his shirt and shorts. She reaches for the last piece separating them from each other, pulling them down.

She can’t help but stare. She knew he was a large man, but it couldn’t have prepared her for how proportionate that made him. Long and thick, red at the head. She wraps her hand around him as best she can, giving a few short tugs, and hears him groan. Will it even fit?

She doesn’t have much more room for thought as he pulls her in for another kiss, tugging her towards the bed. She goes willingly, wanting nothing more than to feel him against her. He nibbles at her bottom lip and she licks at his; soon their tongues tangle together. It’s been so long since she’s been with anyone like this. She hopes she can make it as good for him as it feels for her.

She lays on the bed, situating herself against the pillows. She beckons him, wanting to close the distance between them. He lays himself atop her, balanced by his hands on either side of her hips. He kisses her, sweeter this time. Not as desperate.

He kisses a path down her neck, across her shoulder, before dipping to take a nipple into his mouth. She shudders, pleasure welling within her. She runs a hand through his hair, red strands tickling between her fingers. He hums, licking and sucking her nipples.

“Enji,” she whines, pushing on his head. He chuckles, moving lower. He plants kisses across her stomach, still a little pudgy from her last pregnancy nearly eight years ago. She feels self-conscious about it, but the way he worships her body makes it a little better.

Finally, he’s exactly where she wants him. He wastes no time, diving right into his task. Her head knocks against the headboard, but the brief bloom of pain is nothing compared to the sensation between her legs.

He eats her out like a man starved. A little uncoordinated, but enthusiastic. His tongue circles her clit before flicking it, a single thick finger toying with her hole. She grips the blankets beneath them, unable to stop the noises slipping out of her kiss-swollen lips.

He slips a single finger in finally. It’s as thick as two of her own, but she knows she’s going to need the preparation if he’s going inside of her. She squirms, wanting to clamp her legs shut, but his shoulders keep her spread. She has no choice but to give in to the onslaught of sensations.

And give in she does. Head thrown back, mouth open and spilling profanity with his name mixed in. She couldn’t keep quiet if she wanted to and she can tell he definitely doesn’t want her to keep quiet. That single finger pumps in and out, stretching her, before he adds a second.

It’s almost too much, but she forces her body to relax. She’s soaking, giving him plenty to work with. His spit and her fluids ease the way for that second finger. She moans, pressing down against him. She feels his laughter, a gentle vibration through her cunt.

“Please,” she begs. “Want you inside.”

She’s ready for it. She can handle it. He pulls off, looking up at her, and she can’t help but flush at the sight of him. His chin is wet with her juices, his lips swollen. He shifts up, towering above her, and reaches down to line himself up.

Her mouth opens on a silent moan as he pushes in, stretching her beyond what she thought she was capable of. It’s painful at first, but as she has time to adjust it morphs into pleasure.

“Finally,” his voice rumbles through her. “Been wanting to do this.”

She whines, pushing her hips down and against him. She needs him to move already. It’s been ages since she last got fucked and she’s eager for it. She wants him to pound her into the mattress until she forgets who she is.

He delivers on those fantasies. He fucks into her roughly and with abandon, until she’s moaning his name and his name only. He shoves two of his fingers into her mouth and she sucks on them, drool seeping from the corner of her mouth. She doesn’t even care, too busy with the feel of him.

She doesn’t even care anymore when things changed between them. The only thing she cares about in that moment is coming around his cock. She can worry about feelings and emotions later. Right now, she’s only focused on reaching that high.

He reaches between them to roll his thumb against her clit and she can feel her eyes roll to the back of her head. Just a few circles and she’s cumming hard around his cock. He fucks her through it, fingers shoved deep in her mouth.

When she comes down, she takes a moment to appreciate the fucked out look on his face. The squinting of his eyes as he concentrates, the sweat beading on his temples, and the slack-jawed grunts and groans spilling from his lips.

“Inside,” she tells him. “Come inside me.” It’s a risky request, but she wants it. He does, too, judging by the way his thrusts speed up until he growls and spills inside of her.

When he pulls up, she feels his semen trickle down the inside of her thighs. He collapses onto the bed beside her, but searches for her hand among the sheets. He laces their fingers together and she smiles up at the ceiling.

The mood is ruined by the sound of her ringtone, however. She’s tempted not to answer, but it might be her parents calling about the kids. With a sigh and a silent promise to return, she gets out of the bed to answer.

“Mommy!” Her son, Isaac, shouts from the other side. “Are you coming home yet?”

“Not yet, sweetie,” she laughs. “In a few more days.”

“Awww,” he pouts. “You’re with Mr. Endeavor, right, mommy?”

“Yeah,” her voice is soft with affection as she gazes towards the bed, where Enji is lounging.

“Did you get his autograph for me?” She chuckles, but confirms she did.. “Yay! You’re the best, mommy!”

Isaac hands the phone off to her mother, who updates her on her eldest who refuses to come to the phone. It’s just like Hazel to be so stubborn. They’re doing fine, her mother assures her, and tells her to enjoy her only vacation in eight years. She just laughs, but promises to have as much fun as possible.

When she’s finished, she sets her phone back down on the desk and wanders back to the bed. Enji greets her with open arms and she rests her head on his chest. She listens to his heartbeat, letting it lull her to sleep.

Best getaway ever, is her final thought before she falls asleep.

[sometimesrosy]

Rosy that's fantastic news for your book!! I'm really happy for you. And just seeing "bellarke consum their love and even have grandkids" makes my heart full. Bob and Eliza said tthey were disappointed that 1/the charaters couldn't have kids in the end and that 2/ there was no hope. I totally agree with their interpretation of the end. Some people said the ending was super cool, and inkeeping with the whole show, and somehow hopeful. HOW WAS IT HOPEFUL?? the human race gets wiped out...

People said the ending was “super cool?” How?

Wait. I need to wrap my head around that. What are they looking at that seems super cool?

I actually don’t have a problem of the concept of transcendence that they worked on all season, nor Cadogan, the fake-spiritual, love-your-fellow-man-but-also-sacrifice-them-because-they-mean-nothing cult leader who favored his daughter, used his son, tossed his exwife into the apocalypse and killed Becca because she had power and knowledge beyond him.

Like, that could have been super cool if they’d kept him the villain, the antagonist, but instead they made him the protagonist who was, somehow, right about transcendence as if it wasn’t just another fucking doomsday cult that wanted humanity to end. I mean, it WAS just another fucking doomsday cult that wanted humanity to end, and the aliens vacuumed up humanity and allowed for no dissent. Here, have your perfect happy transcendence...but your body dies, the world ends, and humanity is gone. That is EXACTLY what ALIE did, and she was a villain. Perhaps a well meaning villain, but a terrifying villain.

How did the SAME story, get switched around to being some sort of victory for the state of humanity? How did the end of humanity, no chance to continue on, because they removed their ability to have children and carry on?

Why couldn’t they just fucking stay on The Ring if that was going to happen. At least they could have a small community up there.  But no. Without the info that our heroes brought, they wouldn’t have reached transcendence. 

That wasn’t transcendence. It was judgement day. Transcendence means you have worked your way to a higher state, and yes, it might be condescending and elitist, but you at least worked for it. And it wasn’t really a judgement day because they just took everybody, despite the fact that those idiots were fighting for no fucking reason. It was a PUNISHMENT day for Clarke, one of the only people who was actually TRYING to be better and do better. 

What was cool? The way the aliens brought back the people they cared for? Yes, that was cool. It wasn’t them of course, but some people would be impressed by the alien dressed up in the costume of their fav. I could see that being considered super cool. But honestly... that’s a story line that would have worked better in season 3 and in fact DID work remarkably well in season 3 when Lxa showed up in the COL. And it was ACTUALLY her, not some facsimile.

Was it cool to take away the agency of the hero of the story who we’ve been following for 7 years? Was it cool to erase the personality and motivation of our dual protagonist? Ok. So lets say you didn’t love Clarke or Bellamy. Octavia’s character was erased and she didn’t have a thing to do until the final battle, and then she got a romance that frankly made me uncomfortable but that’s taste. Echo was erased and she didn’t have a thing to do until the final battle. Raven was also erase although she got to be the one to convince the aliens that they weren’t totally awful beings. That was cool, but it seemed like a patch put on top of a story that had failed. The story being about how Clarke saves humanity, and Bellamy saves Clarke, which has been THE STORY FOR SIX YEARS. We spent six years building up a team with these two heroes who have been through so much shit and made the CHOICE to be the good guys, and in the end, Bellamy gives his power over to a charismatic obsessive leader (also happened in season 3 with Pike who was a great character and FAR better than Cadogan and actual sympathetic awful villain who thought he was saving his people while doing evil.) And Clarke actually becomes THE BAD GUY, who loses her sense of reason and commits violence due to loving too much-- a really tired, misogynistic storyline. Give women power and they go crazy. The hysterical woman. THIS DOES NOT FIT WITH CLARKE GRIFFIN. Also, we saw her go through that trauma of fear for her daughter, and she DID NOT GO CRAZY. Ruthless, yes. And then she worked through what she had done and recognized she was wrong and promised not to do that again. I honestly don’t know why she did it again.  Even if Bellamy betrayed her again, it didn’t make sense that she couldn’t work through it.

They had to keep the two characters apart in order have that ending happen. Why? Because Clarke acts as the center to Bellamy and Bellamy acts as the Center to Clarke. This season is the story of the FAILURE of the duo protagonists of the show. They separated them and broke them individually, and this meant they were unable to save the universe. 

Is it cool to make a show about heroes and then destroy them in the last season? But frame that destruction and the end of humanity as a VICTORY and positive ending? Maybe if you hate those characters and humanity and think there’s no hope for us anyway, so lets just burn it down.

Oh wait. I’m trying to figure out what’s SUPER COOL about that ending.

The purple sparkly aliens. Ok. How is that cool? That there’s actually an omnipotent alien out there that has the ability to just snap a whole race of people out of existence or into their big ole stew pot of consciousness.

1. Why? 2. How? 3. Where did that power come from? 4. Who are they? 5. What do they get out of erasing races and basically eating them?

Okay, putting aside the questions about how these omnipotent gods aliens came to be... is it possible they can be see as “super cool?” Let me go through.

1. Omnipotent aliens going through the universe, deciding when life forms were “ready” to be judged and then either wiping them out totally, or wiping them out totally but accepting their consciousnesses into their massive consciousness where they don’t want any “bad” lifeforms, which makes them now a higher lifeform but not at all what they once were. 

Cool/Not Cool. I dunno. Kind of seems like some sort of puritanical god who willy nilly decides if people are worthy of heaven. Will He, Nil He. That’s what that means. If we’re gonna get aliens at the last minute, I want aliens. I want to know who they are and what’s up with them. THAT’S the story. Those alien guys. Instead, the story was about the flotsam and jetsam at the end of humanity, either getting swept up into the god-form in the sky or being pounded to bits on the rocks. The heroes of our story have no say in what happens. They’re toast either way. Oh you mean we can be erased into nothing or erased into your hive mind? The only way this is cool is if you like nihilism. Which, yeah, some people do. NONE of their struggle over the past six years meant a damn thing. None of it. Their beliefs, their sacrifices, their mistakes, their heroism. It al reduces down to whether those sparkly purple aliens like them or not. That’s some bullshit. 

Not cool. 

2. Cadogan. Cult leader from the first apocalypse who conned the bulk of his followers and left them shady shelters that let them die. Kept the good stuff for his “best” followers. Paternalistic, obsessive, ruthless, megalomaniac framing his leadership and personality as “Love for Humanity,” while discarding every human who he deemed unworthy. Including his own family. Actually. Pretty cool.  AS A VILLAIN. Ending up at his cult colony in space hundreds of years later with thousands of years of development in time dilation. Cool. They’re creepy but make some bit of sense. Ok. Waking him up and then making him this fucking GURU who preaches love for humanity but sacrifices 99.9% of humanity all so that he can reach his mythical transcendence which is really the eradication of all humanity.... well, that’s actually cool. AS A VILLAIN. But somehow in the last season, Cadogan turned out to be the one who was right all along, and the story seemed to accept HIS concept that transcendence was the best thing that could happen to them, because humanity sucks and they always fight so they should be erase by paternalistic omnipotent gods. CADOGAN’S choices were the ones that were enacted. Bellamy gave his will to Cadogan and made CADOGAN’S choices, not his own. Never before in all the seasons did Bellamy “need it all to make sense.” He fucking KNEW it made no sense and he didn’t want to make those choices any more. And he did it to be a better person and make better choices and keep his family safe. The excuse they used for our hero to side with Cadogan did not fit. CADOGAN became the protagonist in the second half of the season. CADOGAN made all the choices that furthered the story. Our heroes were reduced to either brainwashed followers or ineffective, hysterical messes, our really not wanting anything to do with anyone’s salvation and just interested in their love life. It left Raven, Echo and Octavia to scramble around in the end and try to convince the purple sparkly gods not to erase them out of existence, just erase them and swallow them. :/ Cadogan as protagonist bringing humanity to “transcendence.”, Our supposed heroes as useless flotsam and jetsam floating around on the wreck of humanity whose choices and actions make no goddamn difference.

NOT COOL.

3. Character Storylines

Clarke’s storyline. NOT COOL. Bellamy’s storyline. NOT COOL. Octavia’s storyline. S.A COOL. S.B NOT COOL. Raven’s storyline. COOL. Echo’s storyline. S.A COOL. S.B NOT COOL. Murphy’s storyline. SUPER COOL. Emori’s storyline. SUPER COOL. Indra’s storyline.  COOL. Hope’s storyline. S.A COOL S.B NOT COOL. Jordan’s storyline. NOT COOL.  Diyoza’s storyline. COOL Gabriel’s storyline. COOL. Madi’s storyline. NOT COOL The grounders. Fucking morons. You really shouldn’t make a whole culture’s choices based around being absolutely too stupid to be allowed to live. EVEN when you get past xenophobia and learn about who they are and why they do things. NOT COOL. The culty people. Cool set up and world building. The society was dumb and had too many plot holes. MIDDLING SHEIDHEDA. NOT COOL. pointless plot device just used to make everyone forget everything they learned from 6 seasons. CADOGAN. COOL AS A VILLAIN. But he was the protagonist. So the ruination of the entire show and universe they created. NOT COOL.

SEASON A COOL OVERALL.  SEASON B NOT COOL. TOTAL SEASON NOT COOL

I think if people think the ending was supercool, they’ve never heard of a deus ex machina, and how that’s a BAD ending that is really just a cheat because you can’t figure out a way to get out of the story mess you made. 

I really hate post apocalyptic fiction that ends with no hope for humanity. JR kept telling us there was hope. I mean narratively, not in interviews, although he did that too, and in the last half season, he switched it around so they wouldn’t have hope, not even just our heroes, but all humanity. It was a bait and switch I did not appreciate. And I’m not talking about ships, I’m talking about the essential genre of the show. 

PS. thanks. I love my book and I hope someone picks it up so you all can read it. It also has elements of Han/Leia and another couple, Brashen/Althea from the Live Ship Traders book by Robin Hobb. They are, however, less traumatized than the characters in The 100. 

[quizzyisdone]

Old, Hammered Shit | Old! Frank Woods Headcanons

A/N: Some headcanons as pertaining to a certain Frank Woods. This is kinda x reader (I mention a S/O a few times). This is set between 2020 - 2030 

Warnings: Mentions of death, some strong language

- In 2021, as we know Woods is 91 years old and presumably living in the vault, where his adoptive nephew (and son), David Mason, occasionally comes and visits. To be completely honest, it’s very surprising to see Woods live to be so old, as most war veterans who have lived a life like him rarely (if ever) break 80.

- Certainly doesn’t act his age, that’s for sure. Even as he’s old and can scarcely move without all the bones in his body cracking, Woods still has the same spirit he had during his prime -- just not the same physical capabilities.

- “I’m 90 going on 45, sweetheart.” He likes to joke to his S/O.

- Definitely the type to make whoever is pushing him to just go ape and run with the wheelchair as fast as possible (short of throwing Woods off) and scare a few passerby with it. Because of this, the wheelchair has been dubbed “The Woodsmobile”

- Sometimes, though, he can be a bit backward in terms of technology. Right before the turn of the century, Woods was pretty with the times, knew how to operate all the latest technology, generally understood most slang, and dressed with the era. Except for the 80′s, Woods fuckin’ hated the 80′s fashion.

- Now? Good luck getting him to part with his damn flip phone, he’s got a ridiculously high score on Snake for fucks sake. Although even getting him to use a flip phone was a fight for David.

- “Why can’t I just call you on a landline.”

- “Nobody uses those anymore, Uncle Woods.”

- “Since when???”

- Absolutely refuses to go on any social media, especially Facebook. “That shit rots your brain.”

- The best grandpa to his grandkids, even if he’s not related to them by blood. To be frank (badum tss), Woods takes the joke that grandparents spoil their grandchildren a bit too seriously. Discipline doesn’t exist around Papa Woods, only candy and ice cream.  

- Even supports them through their phases that he finds to be odd. (”Why’d your daddy let you dye your hair blue?”). But still, he says it looks good on his grandchild, even if he finds it peculiar that people these days are dying their hair crazy colors.

- So you know how we can see in the background of certain cutscenes in Black Ops 2 that Woods has a bunch of kiddy art from when David was little? Yeah he also keeps all the pieces his grandkids have done on that wall too. 

- Even if he’s a little behind the times, Woods still enjoys a lot of modern music, even radio pop. Still wouldn’t know how to operate anything that’s not a desktop computer or a flip phone other than an iPod Shuffle. Y’know, these things from 2007:

- Woods has hours of songs, both old and new, on this bad boy.

- “You know, back when I was your age-” Cue groaning from every single one of his grandkids in the room. 

- Him and his S/O are the cutest old couple in the world. They’re the kind that have never stopped flirting each other and will never be too old to call each other baby or to say I love you. 

- On the topic of S/O’s, Woods would outlive his, even if they were younger by a margin of about 20 years. His S/O died in late 2029.

- You know how when couples have been together for so long, and one of them dies and then the other wasn’t gone soon after? That was true for Woods, there wasn’t much keeping him around at that point, so Woods passed away in his sleep a few days after his 100th birthday in 2030 (Is that even a real year at this point??)

[toraodwaterlaw]

An End and a Beginning

Having survived Minion, Rosinante is reassigned to East Blue, where he and Law will start their new lives. 1700 words, CoraLives!Au, mild hurt/comfort, found family

-

“I’m ready.”

Law was seated on his bed, a full length mirror in front of him and a scalpel in his right hand. Neither was strictly necessary- neither the mirror nor the scalpel- but he insisted they helped. He really only needed to feel out the lead with his powers, not to see anything, but Rosinante could understand how weird it would feel to work blind, more or less. That he could still operate with everything flipped in the mirror only proved what a remarkable doctor he might have been had life been less cruel. Perhaps he still would be. Rosinante certainly hoped. Law would have his whole life ahead of him once this was finally over.

As for the scalpel, well, apparently it worked as a sort of focus for the Ope-Ope to work through. It made Rosinante wince, made the whole thing seem more like a normal operation, but it was infinitely preferable to the sword Law had first suggested using. Apparently the boy already had ideas on how he might use the Devil Fruit to fight. Rosinante had to draw the line at practicing that on himself. It was bad enough Law had to operate on himself.

“Ready,” Rosinante repeated. He nodded and looked down at Law a moment more. He wouldn’t stay. He never did, not after the first time. Law insisted that it didn’t hurt but Rosinante couldn’t bear to see him like that. It looked too close to dying even if it was more like the opposite. “Right. I’ll be guarding the front door like always. Just right out there,” he said, knowing all the while it was more a reassurance to himself than to Law who was seemingly unfazed by the whole process. “If you need me, all you have to do is call for me.”

Law rolled his eyes. “I know, Cora-san.” He waved the scalpel in his hand menacingly. “Now get out of here. You’re distracting.”

Rosinante nodded and promptly tripped over his own feet on the way to the door. He caught himself on the door handle and smiled sheepishly back at Law who only scowled in return. He found his usual seat outside the room with a heavy sigh. One more operation and this would all be behind them.

For as much as he himself had told Law that the fruit wasn’t magic, he’d somehow imagined this would be over with one miraculous wave of the hand. Law would awaken to his new powers, find the lead in his veins and pull it all out in one go. Instead, it had been staggered over the course of weeks. Law had needed to learn how to use his powers and then they’d both found just how much energy it all took. The real delay came, Rosinante would admit, had come at his own insistence. He hadn’t been around for the first attempts at operating, since he’d been held up on Minion while Law went ahead to Swallow. Law himself had been tight lipped about how that had gone but from what he’d gathered from the other boys that had been there, there had been blood loss. Just how much he’d never know. In his opinion, any was too much. 

Rosinante shook his head to get that particular image out of his head. He patted down his pockets until he found his cigarettes. He flicked at his lighter with a trembling thumb and nearly caught his hair instead of the cigarette with the resulting flame. He sucked in deep and let out a long, smoke filled breath. His eyes slid closed. He needed to focus on the positive. This would all be over soon. Already, life was coming back with a flush in Law’s skin. It would be a while before the patches in his skin would be gone completely but sunny Windmill Village was doing a lot to help vitality along. Law was healing. They both were.

He’d have to find a way to thank Sengoku and Garp. Maybe he’d just send food and drink along under the guise of souvenirs. At least Garp was likely to accept. Sengoku was still pretending that sending a Marine Commander to such an out of the way posting was a punishment. Rosinante knew, though, just how many strings the Fleet Commander likely had pulled to get him here. As important as the rulers of the Goa Kingdom might consider themselves, they didn’t really merit a strong naval presence.

“I’m done.”

The voice was quiet and weak enough that he nearly didn’t hear it but he was on his feet in an instant. He gripped the wall to keep upright and then stumbled in through the door. Law was seated just as he’d been before. If Rosinante didn’t know any better, he’d think nothing had happened. He did know better, though.

“Done? All done?”

“That’s what I said, you stupid clown,” came the expected reply. There wasn’t nearly as much bite in the insult as there once had been. Law fell back onto his bed. Rosinante took a worried step forward before he saw the smile on Law’s face. “But yeah, it’s all done. Not a trace of lead left.”

Of the two of them, Rosinante had most definitely been the more optimistic one about this whole process. Yet, here he was, unable to quite believe it. The past weeks had been so hard and the six months before that had been harder still. It felt impossible that they’d both survived it all and now would get to simply get on with their lives.

Law opened one golden eye and fixed it on Rosinante. “You think I’m lying to make you feel better or something?”

Rosinante gaped. The forgotten cigarette dropped from his mouth. He stomped it out with a yelp before anything was burnt. “No!” he insisted. “It’s just—”

How could he explain? But Law was smart. He got it even without words.

The boy sat up. “See for yourself.” He extended a hand and was surrounded in a sphere of shimmering blue. “Scan.”

That blue light intensified and shone in a path that followed the careful sweep of Law’s hand. Rosinante knew from previous experience exactly what Law was showing him. There was nothing. No lead. No lingering illness.

Rosinante’s face split into a wide smile. He could see Law biting back on a smile of his own as he threw himself back down into the bed.

“Told you, idiot. I thought you crammed that fruit down my throat because you believed in my medical skills.”

“I did. I do! But after everything…”

“Yeah. I know.” Law chewed on his lip and a complicated expression crossed his face. Whatever it was about, when it passed, there was only a smile left in its place. “I might’ve scanned three or four times before I called you in. Just to be really sure.”

“But it’s over.”

“It’s over.”

How many times would they have to repeat that before either of them believed it?

Law had let his eyes drift shut again. Rosinante took the opportunity to really look at him. He wondered what changes the next months and years would bring. Law was still rather small for his age. Rosinante knew he was hardly the best judge given he was, as Law would point out, rather larger than average himself, but the boy hardly had the look of someone on the cusp of adolescence. Hopefully without the constant strain on his body, he would be able to catch up with where he should be. Perhaps he’d never be as tall or as bulky as he might have been but only time would tell. Rosinante chose to hope for the best.

And then there was his skin. Amber Lead Syndrome was blessedly unheard of all the way out in a rural corner of East Blue but Rosinante knew Law was still self conscious. Every curious look or question about the white patches made him pull into himself. Although the people of Windmill Village had overall been very kind and accepting, Law would undoubtedly be more comfortable when his skin was clear of any lingering paleness.

Rosinante’s heart swelled thinking of that future. Maybe Law would start to open up more, find friends even. He knew Garp’s grandkids were about somewhere. And that was only the start of it. Law was smart, he was strong, and now he was healthy. The future was practically limitless.

Rosinante threw himself into the bed next to Law, causing the boy to bounce up into the air with a yelp.

“Oi! Watch what you’re doing, you giant oaf.”

Rosinante could only smile. He ruffled a fond hand through Law’s unruly black hair. “We should start looking at what medical training is available. There might not be anything somewhere so out of the way but there’s plenty of time. We can find you the best training. Go anywhere you want.”

Law rolled his eyes. “Give me a few seconds to breathe, would you? I only just finished getting rid of the lead and you’re already planning out my entire future.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll try not to get carried away. But…” Rosinante hesitated. He knew this was a sensitive subject given all the time Law had spent convinced he was going to die. Still, the boy needed to start looking ahead at some point. “Have you thought at all what you might want to do now?”

Law was silent a moment and Rosinante thought he had perhaps pushed too far. Then Law smiled. “I was thinking…” Rosinante propped himself up onto his elbows and waited. Law’s smile only grew. “Maybe I’ll become a pirate.”

Rosinante’s eyes widened. “What?” He swatted at Law, only to be easily dodged as Law hopped over him and off the bed. “You brat! You aren’t going to be a pirate.”

Law threw back his head and laughed as he continued to dance out of Rosinante’s reach. It was a boisterous, youthful thing that the blond couldn’t help but love the sound of. Law was still a brat. He would probably always be a bit of a shit but there would really be time ahead for him to grow. Mature. There was finally a future that both of them could see and Rosinante couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment whether that included Law turning pirate or doing anything else he might imagine.

[echo-three-one]

Hello! I was wondering if you could write a very fluffy Adler one shot please :)

Hello anon. Haahhaha hope this is fluffy because I reread this and I don't see fluff. I hope I never failed you.

enjoy the Adler.

The moment you woke up, you found yourself in a car somewhere very foreign yet the place gave you a wave of nostalgia. You admittedly couldn’t recall how you got there but the persons seated around you seemed to be trustworthy.

“Excuse me? Where are we?” You stuttered, head turned on two windows looking for a place that might give you a sense of familiarity. But sadly, none of the shops and buildings did.

“Berlin.” The lady by the shotgun replied with a smile. The place she said rang on your head.

Berlin, Berlin. It sounds too familiar as you find yourself on a memory flashback. You recently discovered that you randomly get one of these and now start to enter your dream state.

“I don’t want to walk this street again,” You whimpered as you felt the car halt on its tracks and set course somewhere else.

~

You found yourself on the backseat of a car that reeked of cigarette smoke, drunkenly smiling at the blonde man driving the car. He smirked as he saw you in the mirror and you giggled. You never thought that you’d find someone from the same country at this place. It almost felt home.

“You okay back there?” His voice was loud and mesmerizing, along with his bouncy hair and mysterious scars, he was the kind of person who could attract anyone they wanted to, and tonight, you were the lucky one that stumbled upon him.

“Yeah. A little dizzy but I’m fine, Russ.” You replied, holding carefully on the chair as the driving and the dizziness started to get the best of you.

“We’re almost home, Y/N. You could crash by my couch for the night.” He muttered, blowing a puff of smoke from his nostrils.

Russell didn't lie when he said that you're almost there as the car stopped and he immediately exited his seat and helped you up.

While you were trying to climb up the stairs, you tried to mess him up by grabbing his shades and wearing it, giggling as you tipsily stepped on the wooden steps that creaked once enough pressure was placed.

“Now, now, be an angel and give those back to me.” He whispered as the whiff of his cigar wafted through your nose. You were never a fan but whatever Russell had was intoxicating to you.

“Fine.” you giggled and put it back on his face as you obediently walked to his room.

His room was empty and it only contained a traveling bag that looked like it was ready to go. This piqued your interest, making you ask him a question you regretted asking as soon as he set you on his bed.

“You’re leaving?” You asked, a hiccup at the end of the question.

“Yeah. I’m done with East Berlin. We’re headed to Solovetsky tomorrow.” he muttered, removing his jacket and showing off his beautifully sculpted build. Russell always visits the bar you owned and ever since his arrival just a few days ago, he always frequents the place and ends his stressful day with a conversation with you.

Admittedly, he had no romantic intentions blatantly shown towards you, but you could feel him hesitate, almost like there was something hindering his moves toward you. Maybe this was it. He didn’t intend to stay here longer.

“Oh. That’s fun.” You muttered, a tone of surrender on your voice as you can’t help but cry at the thought.

You felt his warm arms wrapped around you as he tried to console you. This could mean that he actually felt guilty of unconsciously leading you on, but without any word from him, you may never know.

As his hug parted, you remained quiet waiting for a word from him, but nothing came out. So instead you tried to bargain just before he exited the room.

“Sleep beside me. Please. If you're walking away, just let me have a moment that I would never forget. Because, in the short span of time that we met, I really wished it would never end.” You begged as he stood there and once again hesitated.

Then he quietly loosened his shoulders and approached you, lowering his guard and letting his feelings go as he reached out for your lips, giving you a kiss you remembered as “the first, the last and the unforgettable”.

~

I hope I never lose you, I hope this never ends,

I’d never walk East Berlin again.

That’s the kind of heartbreak time could never mend,

I’ll never walk East Berlin again.

~

You woke up on a hospital bed, a family surrounded you as you slowly opened your eyes. You’ve seen them before and as your mind struggled to remember their names, you recall that the woman was your daughter with her husband and your two grandchildren.

“Where am I?” You asked once more, your voice croaked.

“In Berlin.” she replied as you smiled.

Berlin was indeed a beautiful memory. Although not all of the memories were good at the time you were last there, It taught you how tough life is.

“We’re visiting the place you and Dad met.” your female grandkid cheered and you smiled at her, holding her hand.

It was because of Russell that you met the love of your life. After he left the next morning, your future husband would rent the place where Russell left and found you sleeping on the bed. At first it was awkward and you never thought of moving on from Russell ever again, but the man was persistent and proved to you that he was capable of loving you until such time that you finally said yes.

[fuck-customers]

Movie theaters aren't open in my city and I'm missing them so here's a throwback fuck managers story from when I worked in one:

Years ago working at a cinema mark, employees were eligible to take posters after the theater was done with them. They had a sign up sheet and you could write down your name with the poster you wanted. Then a Finding Dory poster came in. Everyone wanted it. The movie wasn't even out yet, mind you. This was several months before the release.

Suddenly the poster "disappeared." Immediately they revoked employee poster privileges and then threatened to revoke the few other privileges they allowed us, free movies and free popcorn and soda while working. There were signs posted all over the break room scolding us like we were little kids rather than employees who deserved any level of respect (although this was the way they always treated us so it wasn't surprising). Every week there'd be more threats along with "if the thief does not confess and return the poster, poster privileges will not be returned." The gm once fired a hardworking employee, who'd been there 4 years, over a $1 cup of coffee he'd "stolen" from the *$ branded café we had. Never mind that at real actual *$, employees get free coffee. Never mind that this gm routinely ordered himself a large free lunch every single day valued at $12 (iirc). I digress but the point is that no one was going to admit to taking it and lose their job.

But here's the real kicker. Everyone knew that one of the managers had taken it. She was there once a week for 5 hours. She only had the job for the movie benefits, and was there off the clock more often than she worked. Everyone knew she took it for her grandkids but no one could prove it definitively. But we knew. She was always pulling shady shit like this and using the nearest employee as her scapegoat. So of course she'd love throwing our poster privileges under the bus to give her grandkids something they were too young to appreciate any more than a store bought poster. She could have at least owned it and been like "yeah I'm taking this, you guys can wait for the next one" OR owned up to it privately with the other managers like "actually I took it" but nope. All 120 employees* had to go months being treated like dirt and denied posters because she couldn't behave like an honest adult.

* This was a very large and busy theater so yeah there were 120 of us, and 15 managers, out of which maybe 3-4 actually did any work. The rest enjoyed sitting in the back office watching youtube and complained on the radio whenever we called them to do one (1) thing

[ash-needs-sleep]

Chapter Two: The Hard Truth

Series M.List 

___

 The words that came out of Doctor Yamamoto’s mouth made Katsuki feel like he wanted to throw up. Decades? How many decades? This couldn’t be real. Maybe he was just in one of those dreams that makes it seem like you’re in an alternative universe. Yeah, that much be it, he was just sleeping and none of this was real.

  He was just asleep, Midoriya isn’t an old man with grandkids and Katsuki hadn’t been in a coma situation for many decades. Just a dream.

  A smirk made its way onto the ash blonde’s face.“You know what? I don’t give a fuck.” He laid down in the hospital bed with closed eyes and a smirk. “This is all just a dream. None of this is even real. It’s all just a dumb dream.”

  Doctor Yamamoto looked at the blonde as his eye twitched in annoyance. “Alright then. If this is a dream like you think it is,” Yamamoto took out his phone out of his pocket and turned it on then made the screen face Katsuki. “Tell me the time.” Katsuki groaned in annoyance before opening his eyes and looked at the time on the screen.

  “1:31pm. What? You need new glasses or something?” “No but know you should know that you’re not dreaming. If you were dreaming right now, you wouldn’t have been able to read the time.” Seeing how the male’s expression wasn’t changing from how annoyed he was, Yamamoto took off the stethoscope hanging from his neck and placed the chestpiece on Katsuki’s cheek. From how cold it was, it made him flinch away and place a hand over his check.

  “Believe me now? You’re not sleeping, and everything you see is the new now.” Yamamoto felt his eyebrow twitch with annoyance as he stared at him. Bakugou’s eyes stared at him back. The ash blonde didn’t know what to say- what to think.

   “Alright you sick fucks- am I in that gaming system Dunceface thought I couldn’t do? Get me out of here!” His hands were out ready to use his quirk, a form of expression really rather than wanting to harm someone- he was still a hero, well sidekick but still. Hana let out a yelp of surprise and quickly hid behind Yamamoto.

  The tall man held his hand up to the blond although it did nothing to calm Katsuki down, it made him stay quiet. 

  “You’re not in a game either. I can tell trying to accept this information is troubling which is why we decided to call in a...friend you can say. She should be here soon so for the time being you’ll be here. While you wait, eating should do you some good since you’ve gone too far without it.” Yamamoto looked back at Hana and gestured to set the tray of food on the side table which she quickly did before returning to her hiding spot behind the doctor. 

  Could it be racoon eyes? What if it was earphones? Hell, it could maybe be round face. Katsuki wanted to ask who was coming but didn’t get the chance as Yamamoto and Hana excused themselves and left his room. With a sigh of frustration, he ran a hand down his face before he looked over at the tray holding his food. A growl came from his stomach and he found himself reaching for the tray.

***

  While he ate in silence, the TV having been turned off a few minutes prior, his mind wandered. He didn’t want to believe he’s been out for so long- that everyone moved on without him as they got to live their lives. Oh lord, who was still alive? Who was dead? Did they know he woke up? Would they come? So many questions ran through his head and it was starting to give him a headache.

  The more he thought, the more questions than answers he got.

  Before he knew it he had already finished his food, his plastic spork hitting the bottom of the bowl as he mindlessly stared at it. The coldness of the room didn’t faze him at all despite slight goosebumps forming on his skin. His brain was doing laps as he tried to wrap around his supposed “new reality.” ‘Who’s still alive?’ was a question that just wouldn’t get out of his mind. The thought alone made him shiver.

  He shook his head, wanting the thought to go away with no avail. Katsuki huffed as he set the tray back on the side table before looking at his hands. If he had really been out for that long...could he still use his quirk like he used to?

  A knock made Katsuki lift his head, his eyes stopping on a woman with white hair that was done up in a ponytail, red eyes and wore a yellow dress with white details and a white lab coat. Neither of them said a word, Katsuki’s eyes were too busy focusing on the single horn on her head while the woman looked at him in disbelief. 

  She was old, well, not that old but the small amount of wrinkles on her face made it noticeable that she wasn’t as young as she used to be. Despite seeing her like that, anyone could tell her eyes had the power to hold so many emotions. 

  “Bakugou?...They really weren’t kidding when they said you were out- I almost thought they were messing with me but..” In only a few seconds she had made her way to the bedside and had pulled him into an almost bone crushing hug. “It’s been so long and when I got the call I came as soon as I could-” The white haired female pulled away from the hug and gave him a once over. “Oh my bad, you’re probably in pain. I didn’t hurt you did I?”

  Katsuki just stared at her speechless. No, it couldn’t be. Or could it? It’s… “Eri?” His brows furrowed at her and his face softened once he saw the smile grow on her face. Eri didn’t hesitate to pull him back into another bone crushing hug. Katsuki slowly wrapped her arms around her, almost as if he was scared she’d disappear if he returned a full hug.

  They stayed like that for a bit. It brought comfort to them both. For Eri it was getting to see one of her long lost friends after so long and for Bakugou it was getting to see a familiar face and not having to deal with complete strangers.

  Both of them eventually pulled away from the hug and she grabbed his hands and Katsuki didn’t feel like pulling away his hands from her grasps. “Are you okay?” In Eri’s eyes Bakugou could see the concern pooling in them. “No.” It was a quiet reply and she almost didn’t hear him. But she did and let out a small sigh. 

  “The others will be so excited to see you again after so long… Yamamoto told me how I’m the only one who was told you were out. They didn’t want you to be possibly overwhelmed if everyone was here all at once. Slowly you’ll meet everyone again but for now, I’ll be the only one for the time being that will meet with you.” 

  “What happened that day?” The sudden question asked made Eri go quiet. “We won’t tell you now, our main priority is for you to recover. Baby step by baby step, you’ll be told the full story. Just don’t rush it. Take it as it comes.” Katsuki wanted to groan but couldn’t. Not at Eri, she doesn’t deserve that. 

  “Baby steps Bakugou, very slow baby steps. You can do it.”

  Katsuki Bakugou had never been more anxious and desperate for answers in his life before that moment. 

___

Hey....hey...how y’all doin’?

Okay so I know I said I’d get this chapter out last Saturday but I just couldn’t find that motivation to see what direction I wanted to take this chapter but I FINALLY FINISHED IT! LATE BUT IT’S FINISHED!

Also, should I make a taglist? 

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Melting Ice and Warmth and Words

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Teba x Saki, 8505 Words

I made this fic for @zzariyo for my server’s gift exchange event! Hope you enjoy, I had a lot of fun with it :3

In which Harth is the gay best friend(TM), Teba is a god damn fool, and I become a lesbian for Saki. Also this was slightly based on a post about how Saki threatens Teba with a sword.

This is the tumblr version but check it out on AO3 if you prefer

- - - - - - - - - -

"Historians probably hate you," Harth mumbled, as he tested the weight of his bow. "This is, what, the third time you've stolen priceless artifacts?"

Teba continued flipping through the pages. The sound of rustling parchment melded with the crackling fire behind him. A soothing mix of leather and pine aromas filled the Flight Range.

"It's not stealing if no one knows it exists," Teba countered, not bothering to look up.

"Yet."

He shrugged. "Yet."

Another sigh filled the air, and the two of them went back to their respective preparations. Harth set down his Swallow Bow and went to fill up two sets of quivers, while Teba continued poring through the personal history of a dead Champion.

It had been a day or two since he had found yet another artifact from a century ago. The depths of the Flight Range, and the expanse of the not-so-well-kept records in the library hid all too many secrets, to which Teba had taken full advantage.

This journal was worn, cracked smoky leather showing its fragile age. Although in comparison to its two predecessors—Revali's Diary and The Great Revali's Diary respectively—this journal was in much better condition. Other than by the contents of the pages itself, Teba had discovered you could decipher the chronological order of the diaries based on how sophisticated the titles were. The more extravagant ones being more recent, that is.

The warrior let out a huff after perusing through another paragraph of dark, cursive writing. He continued digging through the pages with an aura of frustration. Harth, ever one to press his buttons, glanced back.

"So if you don't plan to inform everyone else about your latest finding, yet, what exactly are you doing with it now?"

Another turn of the page. "The same thing I've done before. Searching for clues."

A smirk formed on Harth's face. "Hm. You know these days it's hard for you to read a cookbook properly without help."

"Shut up will you, I'm trying to focus."

A shrug, and then a beat of silence; the two of them basked for a moment in the piercing wind that cut through the Flight Range.  The flickering shadows cast by the fire only served to add to the almost haunting beauty that tonight brought. The chilling midnight moon was a barely distinguishable sliver, white against white in the brewing storm. Teba could only long for the soft hammock of his home. Although, it's not like he would be relaxing anyway.

Nearly all hours of the day, if he wasn't practicing with his bow, he was poring through a damn book. It definitely wasn't out of a passion for reading, but more of a desire to spite his superiors.

Elder Kaneli had yakked his beak off about how the "bow of Champion Revali is our last physical connection to our valuable history" and thus was not to be taken out of its chest, ever. So there went Teba's dreams of dissecting it and constructing a masterful bow of his own.

Kaneli had said that a "young Rito like yourself shouldn't spend so much time out in the cold." So there went Teba's desire to devote himself to archery, shackled by the Flight Range's new "curfew," which was essentially a bedtime.

And, years ago, after a teenage Teba had found the very first diary of the Rito Champion, showing it off to the respected elder as quick as he could, Kaneli had beamed in his rocking chair and said, "Oh hoo! We shall get to storing it immediately!" So there went Teba's achievement, gathering dust in a box for a good three weeks before he had just decided to start sneaking into the records at night to pore through it. "Preserve the paper's integrity" his ass, he knew the librarian just hated him for that time his makeshift bomb arrow had caused her tail feathers to smell burnt for a month.

At nearly every turn, there was always something that hindered Teba's progress towards getting clues about how to master Revali's Gale. If that wasn't enough, Kaneli had been nagging him more and more lately about settling down and relaxing. Just a few years ago, Kaneli had been all about training him to be a mighty warrior, but nowadays the elder just couldn't seem to shut up about "exploring new pastimes!"

So here he was, with his new pastime. Reading, like the thrilling warrior he was.

Teba rolled his eyes after skimming through another paragraph. He hurriedly turned through a few more pages, the rustling parchment catching Harth's eye once again.

"So how's the research going? Is it just brimming with inspiring details about how to command the wind?"

Teba chuckled, although there was clear bitterness in the tone. He held up and flipped the journal around, so that Harth could read the contents written within.

"You tell me..."

~The Eighth of Nayru's Moon~

Once again, that little knight has failed to so much as acknowledge my presence. He probably wouldn't know charisma and impeccable skill if it was shoved right into his perfect face— and goddess believe me, I have tried as such.

Just today, I was— formerly assumed alone— at the Flight Range, practicing my Gale, when from the corner of my eye I saw him watching me. His face, an unfortunate yet predictable bland block of carving wood. Even after witnessing my masterful abilities? HA! His dead gaze borders on blindness.

To think, the King is looking to appoint him as the princess' personal guard. I should think someone as unperceptive as he would do better as a cleaning maid. Forget the quick instincts of battle, I'm sure he'd be dead in an instant. He just blankly looks and looks, and stares and stares. All he ever does is stare at me, unassuming... with those striking blue eyes of his.

Too striking. Distracting even. If he dares show his stupid, atrociously awful face at my Flight Range again, I might just have to nip his poorly drawn bowstring myself. Followed by a legendary duel to the death, of course.

Then again, if he for some reason stops by tomorrow, I wouldn't mind that much.

Harth leaned back and gave Teba a smirk. "So, that's a no on the Gale research then?"

Teba let out another huff, snapping the book closed and getting on his feet. "Nothing but boy troubles in this one. He has to have kept more entries out there that could actually be useful to me."

Fiddling with an arrow shaft in one wing, Harth went back to filling the quivers. He let out a laugh. "Ah, I'm sure it's not all useless! At least now you know you're not the only Rito in history who's terrible at flirting."

A scoff. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"That was literally about as straightforward as I could have been with this topic."

"Well do me straighter."

Harth proceeded to have a coughing fit for five minutes.

The sounds of wheezing laughter and less than polite comments from Teba echoed through the Flight Range.

"Hylia, I may not be looking for a wife, but I hope one day I adopt or something just so I can tell my grandkids how much of an idiot you are," Harth finally said, at the end of their colorful banter. "But yes, thank you for proving my point. A Boko skull has a better grasp on charisma than you."

The warrior crossed his wings over his chest, looking away. "Well sorry that I've been focusing on my strengths rather than dabbling in immaturities."

"Remember when you were in the infirmary and you tried to tell that nurse, Saki," he snorted, "You tried to tell her she had nice posture–"

"Shut it. Shut it and quit your grinning before I shove you into the fire and use the arrows as kindling."

Another laugh echoes, and the most Teba can do is narrow his eyes. But after a beat, he perks up and looks back in his direction. "How do you know her name?"

Harth raised an eyebrow. "Saki? Well I don't know, she treated me during that Ice Talus accident a month back. I probably just asked for her name at some point, you know, like a normal person." He shook his head. "Spirits above, Teba, you've probably been in that infirmary more than I have. Have you really not gained the social skills to ask for someone's name?"

He stared at the very interesting and engaging wooden floor, shifting his weight between his legs. "I don't have to answer that."

"Oh, woe is you. Kaneli never gave you a pep talk about how to make friends?"

"HA! I think our conversational topics peaked in the days where he actually encouraged my archery training. Less 'pep talk,' more 'lecture,' nowadays."

"Alright, alright, save your daddy problems for breakfast, Teba."

Teba glowered much in the way a Lynel would to its soon-to-be-dead prey, feeding Harth's amusement.

"Anyhow, you needn't go so hard on the guy, he just doesn't want you to kill yourself, which is especially relevant tonight." He turned around and picked up the now fully stocked quivers. "Now that you've finally managed to tug your beak out of that book," he tossed one to the huffy bird, "Let's go slay some monsters."

Teba's earlier expression morphed into stern concentration, emotion dripping away in favour of a practiced warrior's focus. He grasped one of the arrows and inspected the tip. "Fire arrows? Wouldn't bomb arrows be more effective on monsters?" The night seemed to turn colder to match his more serious tone.

The charcoal feathered Rito slung his bow and quiver onto his back, speaking quickly as he worked. "Not necessarily. We want as much vision as we can, can't risk getting blind-sided by even one of its attacks. Explosions would give even more cover to an already invisible foe." He also mumbled something about how he barely had the income to afford them.

There was a moment of silence as Teba calculated and turned over Harth's words, before putting the pieces together. He gave a confident nod as confirmation.

"So… have you ever slain a Wizzrobe before?" Harth asked.

The warrior smirked to himself, turning towards the exit with bow and quiver. White against white as he stood on the snow covered landing.

"Not yet."

- - - - -

Thunderous sounds in a frozen tundra; it came after the ripple of footsteps.

Jaded peaks weathered grey, the sky couldn’t be distinguished from the land. The snow had pounded harder and harder as they flew, flurries coating the feathered fletchings on their arrows.

Harth landed first, walking around on the open, frigid expanse. Teba did a sweep of the surroundings from the air. Nothing.

The base of the Hebra Mountain Trail— just under the shadow of the South Summit— this was where the last attack was. Hopefully it was where the final one was too.

There had been three travelers total; two Rito, one Hylian merchant. Minor injuries. Most all ran away at the first sign of frostbite. It was normal for the occasional monster attack to come up every now and again, and it just wouldn’t be worth the resources to hunt down every Lizalfos and Bokoblin that happened upon some unfortunate soul. By the time anyone lives to tell the tale, the beast has probably already moved miles from where it was last seen. The Hebra wasn’t exactly the most accommodating of places to enjoy long term.

And so that was the excuse. Save the supplies for bigger threats. An Ice Talus, Hinox… Hylia forbid a Lynel. A Wizzrobe would probably be off dancing in the sunset by now, and thus, no warriors should waste supplies looking for an “unnecessary fight."

Teba remembered scoffing when he heard the news— a scoff apparently so spiteful, that it had earned him a rare glare from Kaneli.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Teba. You won’t be recklessly going off alone to find it, understand? I mean it!”

Teba perched on one of the cliffs, getting a clear view of Harth below, surrounded by white on white on white. Harth turned his head and gave a thumbs up in his direction.

Well, that was one half of the instructions followed. The “stupid” part is still up in the air, though.

Teba unslung his Falcon Bow from his back, resting a fire arrow on the bowstring’s serving. If someone were to look up at where he crouched, they would be greeted by a piercing golden gaze; a pair of cold suns that sent you shivering.

That was the intent, anyhow. A warrior with a gaze like fire. Like lightning, like metal, like suns, like steel. That’s what he’d been told in the past, so he might as well use it to his advantage.

Still… he remembered once how someone had compared them to honey.

“What?” He had been taken aback by the sudden observation.

“Or like butterscotch… I use it a lot when baking. Oh! I’ve seen gorgeous dandelions like it too.” The nurse—“Saki?” Did Harth say?—tended to the wound just below his eye. “You should be thankful the color is so pleasant, the sight is probably what caused that Moblin to miss its mark!” Saki smiled and for the first time, Teba understood what it meant to call something “the sun.”

“Make sure you don’t use those eyes of yours to go looking for more trouble. Or else…” She had narrowed her eyes playfully. Noticing him just staring at her in silence, she cocked her head to the side, curious.

“Sorry, was there something you wanted to say to me?”

Yeah, but I’m not sure what. All he could really notice at that moment was how relaxed her posture was around him. Usually, he was surrounded by his fellow rigid warriors, or the stance of someone that looked in his eyes and saw fire. So…she was a nice change of pace.

Too bad his communication skills could be trumped by a deflated octoballon. Teba's sigh manifested into a small white puff in the cold air. Nevermind that now.

He had to stay focused. Teba would cut no corners when it came to using Harth as bait. However, he couldn’t deny the somewhat pissy mood he was in. No Gale, no practice, no clues, no fights. Sooner or later the village might just strap him into a rocking chair and say it was for the best. What a joke… At least killing off a dangerous creature would help let off some steam— ice? Magic ice…water…arrows… fuck.

Teba rolled his eyes at his own incompetence. Can’t even be a decent wordsmith in my own head. Harth was right.

A sudden flash of movement and his mind immediately crashed back to reality. Eyes instantly trained back to the ash colored Rito on the ground, who had now turned and aimed his bow at the horizon. Not even a second after the movement was made, Teba had an arrow nocked and aimed in one practiced, fluid motion.

Harth had two arrows nocked, aiming towards an unseen target obscured in the haze of snow.

Black against the pale of midnight’s frigid sheet of snow. If Harth could see something, it would no doubt also see him. He stepped forward, Swallow Bow unwavering in the wind

Teba adjusted the draw of his bow, training its angle to match Harth’s movements and ready to release at a moments notice.

The crunch of talons on snow. A small patch of dead bushes just a few paces in front of Harth.

One step.

Two…

Suddenly, an arctic fox dashed to the right and disappeared into the snow.

A draining silence. Steady, freezing breaths condense into puffs of clouds out of Teba’s beak. There was still a knot of tension in his chest, but he could start to feel it ripple out, like a patter of footsteps as a mix of closed off fear and anxiety walked out the door. Still, he didn’t falter his draw. After a moment, he saw Harth put down his bow and sigh. The Rito turned towards Teba’s direction to give him a smile and a shrug.

Harth met his gaze.

Then, the expression on his face suddenly morphed into shock.

Teba didn’t think twice.

He snapped around and let gravity take him, loosing the already nocked flame. The hiss of fire flew and connected with its target with a satisfying crack! Midfall, he could hear Harth shout a much too late “Behind you!”

The fire arrow hit rock, crumbling stones clash against snow. The burst of flame roared like thunder on the cliffside. Although the creature wasn’t hit, the area of effect was still large enough to singe at the tips of cloth.

A pearly white robe that faded deathly blue. The glow of ice and dark silhouette. A shrill cry escaped from the Wizzrobe that had stood, wand in hand, behind Teba’s perch just seconds ago. Even in distress, it wore a chilling grin.

Bastard. You won’t get another chance.

Another flame nocked and loosed with lightning speed.

The creature laughed, as if in pity, and twirled in its step.

Gone.

Teba gave a flap of his wings to stop his momentum. His talons safely connected with the ground, and Harth was at his side at once.

“Are you alright!? Are you hit?!” Harth started to inspect his wing, but Teba continued staring at the sky, “S-Say something, dammit! Teba we need to—”

He held up a wing, the gesture with an unspoken tone of “shut it.” Teba readied another fire arrow and pointed into the air. He whispered.

“Listen…”

His eyes narrowed in concentration, trying to discern sounds from the muffle of wind. Harth pressed back and covered Teba’s blind spot, nocking an arrow of his own.

The wind was unaccompanied. The dead bushes shuddered a tempo.

And then the midnight sang.

Like the pleasant echo of a music box…a lullaby that seemed to twinkle against the brink of night and day. A ripple of footsteps. A sparkle to his left, skipping like stones, as if the wind was water. There was a faint laugh, but Teba was the one to smile.

Gotcha.

The Wizzrobe had barely manifested before the fire arrow flew. A burst of orange connected with its frail arm, and the creature shrieked. Harth quickly turned and fired his own shot, the arrow nearly lodging into its face, but arching low and hitting its torso instead. The Wizzrobe panicked while the two Rito went to reload.

“Go for the face!” Harth shouted as he went to grab two arrows from his quiver. “It’s the only part that’s not protected by that stupid magic robe!”

As if on cue, the Wizzrobe had started laughing to itself, its arms flailing wildly as the flames that engulfed its person suddenly disappeared. It gripped its Blizzard Rod in both hands, starting to twirl with a sickening grin.

Teba aimed for the sky. “Move!”

Harth shuffled back in obedience as fire soared. The arrow crashed into a giant sphere of ice that hurtled from the heavens, shattering into pieces just a few feet above their head.

The impact caused them both to fly backwards, the bow knocked out of Teba’s grip.

Hmm… fuck.

Teba crashed hard, tasting dirt and snow. Luckily Harth was able to get in position to fire an arrow.

Its arc through the air was cut short by multiple more icy spheres hurtling down around the Wizzrobe.

Harth cursed under his breath. While they were far enough away to avoid the barrage of ice magic that would no doubt freeze them with a single touch, it would be nearly impossible to get close enough for a kill. Teba picked himself up and crouched beside Harth.

“How much fire total?”

Harth shook his head and stared at the ground. “I was so concerned with not arousing suspicion…sneaking out to fight was one thing, but—”

“This is no time for regrets. How many fire arrows, dammit?”

Harth let out a huff. “I bought a bundle of five and split them between us. The last fifteen in each quiver are regular ones. Although at this angle I doubt they would be of any use.”

Teba’s eyes sat calculating for a moment. “So I’ve used two. One hit, one miss. And you—”

“I landed the third just earlier on its torso. The forth…” He turned in the direction of the shower of ice. He could see it smash against the wooden remnants of an arrow. “I used just now.”

Hylia forgive the less than polite words towards the spirits that Teba spoke.

Harth gave a nod towards Teba’s quiver, while handing him his Swallow Bow. “Here. I gave the extra to the best shot around. I’ll distract it while you make the last shot count.”

Teba scoffed. “You and I both know you can’t just adjust to a new bow on the fly and expect to be accur—”

“Well if you’ve got a better plan, I’m more than happy to hear it!”

Teba grimaced. Always life and its impossible instructions.

The warrior slung his quiver in front of him, indeed confirming the last fire arrow nestled between the regular ones. He took the Swallow Bow in hand and gave another glance towards the Wizzrobe.

Its earlier spell had stopped now, and it was now skipping all too happily towards them. The ripples of its chiming steps seemed to glow brighter and brighter as it approached.

Tsk. What a gloat. It’s not even bothering to sneak up on us anymore.

Harth gave a flap of his wings and hovered. “I’ll lure it near the base of the mountain trail, and you flank. Do what you must, it’s all you.” He took to the air and began taunting the Wizzrobe, attracting its attention.

Teba cursed. He harshly slung the quiver back around him while taking up the bow. In the motion, a journal dropped into the snow.

“Crap, the…” He trailed off, observing it for a moment. The words on the page it had opened up on caught his eye.

~The Twentieth of Starset Moon~

I hope a Wizzrobe carries me off before I see him again. I envy their magical ability to disappear from sight at a moment’s notice. Maybe then I wouldn’t embarrass myself so in front of Link.

I've always  called my eyes a mere jade. A simple enough descriptive hue, and on occasion it would serve as a masterful segue into a pun about how the best warriors have a gaze that can pierce like stone. But no, he just had to call it, “grass.”

“Actually, I’m fairly certain that the hues of Hyrule’s earthly flora are much lighter than the color of my eyes.” I had said. “Like I previously stated. Jade, or emerald works. Jagged jade if you are akin to alliteration.”

Curse my arrogance as my response only caused him to elaborate. “It’s not just the color” he had said. “It’s like a sensation. I like just looking at fields. To lie in them, and smell, and be in comfort in the grass and outside.” He shrugged like nothing was wrong. “Your eyes give me that comfort.”

Hylia is a cruel goddess to curse us Rito to become round puffballs whenever emotions get the better of us. THANKFULLY, he didn’t notice as he then started to ramble on and on about his—slightly concerning—knowledge about the flammability of plants. How flaming weapons and flint produced different embers. How any fire arrow can become a bomb arrow with enough kindling. How you could tell the flammability of certain flora based on the shade of green. He noted how my own eyes were not the most flammable, so… there’s that compliment, I suppose.

There was a roar in the distance as ice crashed onto the earth. Teba snapped the journal shut again.

The Wizzrobe had cast another spell, a blur of charcoal feathers could be seen dodging the attacks.

Teba stood sifting through his thoughts as quickly as he could. Whatever power above had caused him to stumble upon this entry…he’d have to thank them later when he had the time and the faith.

The idea was obvious in hindsight. If he couldn’t guarantee a shot at a small target, then make the target bigger.

The warrior took the fire arrow in one wing, and the journal in the other. The diary was old and dry, and obviously it had a much bigger surface area than an arrow tip.

So he quickly took the very last fire arrow and pierced it through.

It burst into flames in an instant. It certainly wouldn’t pierce anything, but with the bigger area of impact…combined with a new reckless plan, there wouldn’t be any need to.

He smiled and took towards the air.

“Uhh, Teba???” Harth yelled as he saw his friend approach, flying closer with a flaming book arrow in his beak. “What are you— fuck! Ay! Over here, princess!” Harth tugged at the Wizzrobe’s robe, luring its face towards Teba.

He couldn’t talk with the arrow and piece of flaming historical documentation in his beak, but he cocked his head in such a way to signal to Harth to turn.

“But?! Its face!” A fierce shake of his head in response. “Dammit Teba!”

Harth soared around the creature in a semicircle, avoiding its bursts of ice that make the feathers on his neck puff. The Wizzrobe turned to wave its wand, it’s backside now exposed to Teba.

The warrior quickly unslung his quiver and threw the leather strap around its neck, the weight of the arrows falling on the other side towards its chin.

“TEBA WHAT THE FUCK!?”

The Wizzrobe halted its midair dance, turning in the direction that the new weight had come from. The Blizzard Rod was already starting to glow.

“That’s right!” Teba shouted, as he took the flaming book arrow out of his beak. “Show me that ugly grin of yours!”

He gave one last flap of his wings before letting gravity take him, nocking the arrow on the Swallow Bow. As predicted, he couldn’t fully compensate for the difference in the bow.

Its weight was all different, the string strength was all wrong, the grip was much more loose than he’d have preferred—

Through the haze of snow, and paper, and his own pale feathers, the Wizzrobe’s shining grin greeted Teba in full.

White on white.

He narrowed his eyes.

“Catch!”

The arrow loosed.

The flaming book seemed to soar in slow motion, or perhaps that was just on account of its weight. It arched high, nearly on path to connect with the creatures gleaming teeth, but the strength just wasn’t there and it bowed lower still to the Wizzrobe’s neck.

FWOOSH!

The journal was destroyed on impact, paper glowing and fluttering. The creatures’ attire was set alight, but all it did was laugh like it was an inconvenience. Like a party trick it had already gotten tired off. It started to try and pat itself down, but…

“Let’s see you laugh now, bastard.”

The quiver’s leather wouldn’t catch on its own given its natural resistance. But with the flutter of dried parchment…

All it took was one fiery page, and the arrows caught. The Wizzrobe suddenly suddenly shrieked, but the sound was muffled and cut off by sputtering and the sound of what Teba could only assume was suffocation. The bundle of arrows glowed like a campfire, the flames engulfing the creature's neck and already licking at its face. It attempted to remove the quiver wrapped around it with both arms, tossing the Blizzard Rod into the air in panic, but it was already too late.

The giant necklace of kindling roared in the Wizzrobe’s face, and in seconds, the icy beast was reduced to mist. The wind its grave, as the last of its magical robe rippled in the night.

Teba landed on the ground, eyes bright with unexpected happiness as he cheered.

“WOOOOO! Did you see that!?! I can’t believe that worked holy fucking shit, take THAT asshole.” He shouted into the air with a rare show of relief. THANK YOU Champion Revali and that Hylian knight arsonist! Gods, who knew reading would be so—”

“ROD!”

“Wh—” Teba turned in time to see Harth flapping towards him. But closer still, Teba saw the blur of the Blizzard Rod falling through the air, just seconds away from impacting the ground.

Hmm…

Gravity surely wouldn’t simulate the effects of waving a magic ice wand around, right?

SHING!

Fuck.

A burst of ice exploded from the rod’s impact, Harth slammed into Teba just as he could feel the cold travel to the tips of his wings.

The two Rito crashed into the snow, and Teba was able to taste the delicious flavours of snow, stone, and dirt for the second time. He propped himself up with a wing that was now faintly aching. He had a bit of a coughing fit, as Harth got up.

“Teba…” he trailed off, still in a bit of shock. “Wh…Where the hell’d you get a crazy idea like that from?”

The warrior had the strength to shrug with one shoulder. “New hobby?”

Harth playfully shoved Teba back into the snow as they both laughed.

Teba stared up at the frozen sky. It was already fading blue, the brink of night and day tipping towards a yet unseen sun.

That wasn’t so bad. Just a few arrows, a quiver, a book, and we’ve got justice for our village. If we hurry we can make it back before breakfast and Kaneli’s none the wiser.

Harth stood over him and offered a wing. “Alright, let’s go grab your bow and get out of here. I think I can feel my tail feathers freezing off.”

Teba shivered, reaching out to get up. “Yeah, no kidding. It’s almost like it—GUH!” He crumpled to his knees.

“Teba!” Harth propped up his back as he went to inspect him. He gasped when he saw his wing.

The black feather accents were laced with ice, the very tips of his wing were already starting to become glassy and stiff. Teba held back a yelp as he felt the ice grow further up his wing.

“Oh shitshitshit, that Blizzard Rod still got you.” Harth frantically went to remove a piece of cloth from his armour to wrap it around the ice. “Try to keep that warm. Uh. The mountain lodge is nearby, maybe we can get a blanket? Oh shitshitshit….”

Teba mumbled something incoherent as he felt the ice grow further.

“Guh… We can just keep this incident between us like planned, yeah? Kaneli is gonna be pissed that I blew up his quiver.’”

“Idiot! Get on my back, you could lose a wing!”

“It’s not as bad as it looks. I could probably still fly.”

“Your feathers are snapping off, fuckface!”

Harth tried to get Teba to stand, but stopped when he started to hiss in pain. The cold on his left wing was starting to course through his whole body, and he shivered.

“Ok, ok. Maybe it’ll warm up when I get in the air. I’ll just start flapping a lot to keep the blood flowing. That’s how that works, right?”

“At that rate, you’ll not only be brainless, but wingless too.” A sudden voice echoed.

The boys looked up to see a set of pink feathers descend from the air. Harth’s eyes glowed with both immense relief and confusion.

“Thank Hylia, Saki….wait, what are you doing here, I—”

“Shhhhh…” Saki took out a sword, causing further confusion and shock to come to the boys. “All you need to know for now is that I was by the Hebra Trailhead Lodge when I heard a commotion that I can only assume you two fools caused.” She tried to press the blade against the ice on Teba’s wing.

Teba’s eyes darted between Harth and Saki. The feathers nearly everywhere on him but his left wing started to puff up given how close she was. He could smell a mix of nutmeg and warm safflina from her.

“I…uh…” Teba was rapped in the head with the broad side of Saki’s sword. “Ah! Hey—”

“Don’t move, before I decide on amputation.” Both of the warrior’s eyes widened. “Just joking! Ahaha… for now anyway.” Her cute little chuckle echoed in the air.

Saki finally put down the blade. She shook her head, the curls of her hair bouncing above her shoulders. “It’s already too strong to scrape off.” Harth’s head was turning left and right above them, like a child trying to get a peak of the action. Digging through the satchel on her shoulder, Saki took out a few heads of sunshrooms.

“Hold these, we don’t want that ice magic seeping in any further. It can spread to the blood faster than you think.” Teba’s beak was still agape when he obliged.

The pink colored Rito gave him a soft smile as she tucked a wing under his neck. She expertly flipped the Feathered Edge in her wing, so that it’s blunt side was aimed at Teba,

“Now, if your muscles move and contract any more, it’s just gonna cause any of the ice inside there to snap, effectively paralyzing you. We need to make sure there's no chance of that happening.”

Saki leaned down and pressed her head against Teba’s for a moment, planting the Rito equivalent of a peck on the cheek. “Take that as my premature apology.” Saki said. And that was the last thing he heard before he saw the swing of the blade’s hilt and everything went black.

- - - - -

Teba awoke with the sun in his eyes. He blinked, adjusting his gaze before identifying a blur of pink feathers in front of him.

“—and no doubt they’ve discovered you’re missing by now if she hasn’t said anything already. I’d fly back myself to inform the elders, but…” She trailed off, fiddling with the bandage.

“I could do it. You’ve probably already got your plate full with—gah!” A broad side of a Feathered Edge whacked Harth’s head.

“No. You need to keep that cut warm and toasty and uninfected. This bind won’t hold in those strong winds, and we can’t have the Tabantha skies blowing dust and grime into it.” Saki used her blade to cut the excess bandage on Harth’s neck, to which he slightly gulped.

Teba tried to sit up from where he lay. The Hylian style bed creaked under his shifting, and he muttered something about missing hammocks.

Saki suddenly stood, eyes lighting up to see Teba. “Oh good! You’re awake, let’s see how you’re doing.” She rushed to hold his wing, to which his heart immediately jumped into his throat.

“Saki, I—” Teba attempted to be articulate, but was distracted by the tenderness of her touch, and the sudden sweet smell of nutmeg and vanilla in the air.

“Stop moving your wing, Teba.” Saki examined all sides of his wing with a practiced eye. “I made the elixir in time to counter any frostbite, but you should still rest for at least another hour to make sure all the ice inside is truly melted.”

He couldn’t hide the surprise on his face. “You…remember my name?” It had been a few weeks since he had last seen her in the village infirmary. Usually he only saw the older doctors tending to patients.

“Well of course.” Saki cocked her head and gave him a warm smile. “I remember all my stupid patients.”

“Am I included?”

“Yes, Harth.”

“Nice.”

Teba’s eyes widened when she unsheathed her blade again. So much was happening so fast that surely if he wasn’t coddled in bed right now, he’d be snapping bones from the whiplash.

Saki held the metal near his wing. “The ice on your coat has softened by now, so I’ll just scrape it off,” Her blade gleamed with her bright smile. “Stay still!”

The warrior’s eyes continued to flicker between his wing, the blade, Saki, and Harth. Looking out the window, he saw the crisp blue sky glowing above a now serene and pleasant white snowfield.

“I don’t understand. Where…how long have….” He trailed off, but looked back at Saki. “What are you doing here?”

Saki stopped for a moment. “I…” Her shoulders sagged a bit as she paused. “Well…I know the elders said not to engage with the Wizzrobe incident. But…” She fixed her eyes on his wing.

“I’m a part of this village, and I care about its people. Those who are hurt, were hurt, or could be. I don’t like standing by when I could be helping.”

She looked back up and met his gaze. A pleasant blue that greeted the sun. “You understand, right? ‘We risk our lives everyday, might as well use it for something worthwhile.’ That’s the excuse you told me when I first met you.” She brushed a feather under one of his eyes. “Although, you were half unconscious, so I don’t blame you if you forgot. So anyhow! I stayed here in case any travelers came by with wounds or injuries. Keeps my heart at ease rather than just cooping up at home.”

Saki went back to removing the thin bits of ice on his wing, humming to herself. Teba savored the moment for what felt like a century, heart fluttering every time she glanced up to check on him.

Harth finally quipped in, tone playful. “Guess you’ve pretty much got the same mindset as us “fools,” eh, Ms. Saki?” He kicked back in his chair and crossed a leg over his knee. “Birds of a feather….heh.”

Saki snapped her head around to glare at Harth. “Actually,” the tone could cut steel, “The difference here, is that I had the common sense to not go out looking for a fight. I had the basic logic to understand that fighting a monster on its own turf would be reckless and idiotic. I had the brains to gather further supplies than a mere five fire arrows. And I actually had the decency to inform someone of my whereabouts should anything unexpected happen, rather than having the arrogance to think things would always go according to my own plans.”

She sighed again. “I hate to make Amali worry, but I’d rather stay here to look after you two while she informs someone to come pick you both up.”

Harth shut his trap real quick after that, to which Teba would have probably laughed if he wasn’t also scared of the possibility of getting the same treatment from her.

After a few more minutes, Saki finally finished up and patted his wing. Teba mustered enough courage to speak.

“Thank you…for everything.” He tried to prop himself up in the bed. “I can probably fly back in this condition. Kaneli’s probably gonna kill me twice over if I don’t get back soon.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to piss daddy off,” Harth snickered.

“Fuck off, Harth.” Teba and Saki quipped simultaneously. Teba however, was a bit taken aback by how calmly and sweetly she had spoken. The thoughts were knocked out of his brain when Saki rapped his skull with her blade again. “Ow! Would you—”

Saki pointed the blade at his throat. She was so close he was sure she could hear his heartbeat fast…and it wasn’t just from fear.

“Firstly, no. Neither of you boys will be leaving anytime soon so long as I’m here. You will be staying in bed,” she glared at Harth, but kept the blade on Teba, “And you will be keeping your tail feathers glued in that chair.” Saki turned back to Teba with a sweet smile.

“You will be staying here for the next eight hours, not so much as scratching the tiniest itch on that wing. Then, when someone comes here to pick you both up like I discussed, you will keep seeing me for at least another two weeks so I can monitor your injury. And perhaps when that’s all done, I will think about baking you a pie in celebration of your heroic feat tonight.”

She pressed the Feathered Edge a bit closer to his throat. “However, if this turn of events does not come into fruition…let’s say, if for some completely silly reason either of you decided to leave this cabin and fly home, well. I will just have to make sure to give you a reason to stay bedridden for another month. Do I make myself clear, warriors?”

The boys nodded as quickly as they could.

“Wonderful! I’m so glad we’re on the same page!” Saki's smile and tone was so quiet and sweet as she sheathed her blade once more.

Teba could still feel his heart thumping against his chest. There was a pleasant silence as the lodge was filled with the crackling of fire, and the occasional chirp of a morning bird. He stared at the way Saki’s eyes dazzled like a delicate sky.

Saki clicked her tongue. “Oh you poor thing. You’re still freezing aren’t you? Your feathers are all ruffled up.”

On instinct, the feathers on his neck—and pretty much everywhere else over—puffed up. “UH. Oh! Yeah. Cold. Very cold…yes.” He looked away and started coughing. Saki got up to get something by the fireplace, while Harth did his best to hide his snickering. Teba silently mouthed “help me” to Harth, which only further hindered his attempts to hide a laugh.

The pink Rito flashed one last pleasant smile at the two of them as she made her back towards the door. “Alright, I’m just gonna grab the firewood outside so I’ll be back in a moment. You’ll be alright, right? Nothing’s still aching or anything?”

Even muscle in Teba’s body seemed to melt at the way she curiously cocked her head to the side with a smile. The best he could do was mumbled out his thoughts before he had the chance to think them through.

“With you looking at—after me, I think I’ll be fine.”

Saki chuckled and Teba felt a combined feeling of pride and embarrassment. As she closed the door, Harth looked back at him.

“Very smooth. Quite the wordsmith.”

“Shut it, fuckface.”

- - - - -

TWO WEEKS LATER.

“What do you want?”

The doctor grumbled rudely as Teba did his best to not seem like a complete idiot. “Uh…Saki?”

“You want Saki?”

His mind shifted to a daydream. “Yeah…” Whenever her name was mentioned he couldn’t help but smile, but that fell away when he snapped back to reality. “WAIT, I mean— no. I don’t want— I mean not no, I just didn’t mean it like— I just.” Teba grumbled some more. “Where she is. I want where she is, or… need. I don’t want. I’ve never wanted— I just need the location. Her location, currently. Which is not here. Where is she. Please…”

Teba put on his best smile despite the fact that he felt like his body was suddenly on fire. Perhaps that was a habit learned from the Wizzrobe incident.

The doctor shook her head. “Kids and their incoherent rambling— She's coming back from Slippery Falcon last I checked. Baking another Get-Well-Soon fish pie, I assume.”

“Ah, great! That’s fantastic. Yes. Yeah! Great. Thank you so much, Una—”

“Get out already, Teba. This place is for the sick and injured. Not the…” she glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, “awkward, and alive. Both of which are actually quite surprising to see from you…”

He managed to give a weak mix of a scoff and a nervous laugh before promptly leaving.

Descending the many steps of Rito village, Teba’s mind raced with thoughts.

Just gotta not fuck up one conversation. Just a simple question! Just...quick little hang out...thing. Yeah. Yep. I can do that. She’s seen me blabber worse when I’m unconscious, so what’s one sober conversation. I’ve killed things! Why am I even stumbling over a few words? Tsk. Yeah. I’ve seen monsters and beasts and blood and blades, I've got this. This is doable, I can do this.

He suddenly bumped into a pink colored Rito at one of the turns, and she laughed as she fumbled with the honeycomb and butter held in her arms.

“Oh my! Well, good morning, Teba.”

I can’t do this.

“And where are you off to this lovely morning?” Saki tilted her head curiously, to which Teba’s eyes immediately dilated.

“…uh…I…” Was it just him or were her feathers slightly fluffier than usual? “I just wanted to…say hi.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well.” She gave him a cheerful wave with a free wing, clutching her ingredients close to her chest. “Hi!”

“Y-Yeah. Hi…” Teba just stood there as Saki continued walking up the stairs behind him.

Fuckfuckfuckfuck do something, idiot I don’t have—

“Actually Teba…” Saki suddenly turned back around to face him. He quickly leaned a wing against the railing to seem casual. “If you’re not doing anything right now…do you mind helping me with something?”

Teba felt like he responded just a bit too quick. “Yes! Definitely. I can do that.” He coughed, and held out a wing. “You want me to hold something for you?”

She beamed. “Yes! Come on.” She shifted her baking ingredients in one wing, and used her free wing to hold his. Saki dragged him along as their feathers intertwined. Teba’s soul immediately left the mortal realm and his physical body was left stumbling and sputtering.

“WAIT! I—I DIDN’T MEAN! UH—I MEAN SURE— IF YOU’RE OK—BUT THIS ISN’T—”

“I have something heating up upstairs, so hurry along now.” She spoke quickly, not really having the extra confidence to look him in the eyes. But at this point they could both feel each other’s feathers poof as they held wings.

Carrying a mix of honey, Tabantha wheat, and butter, they both eventually made their way to the public kitchen where a fire was roaring.

Teba started grumbling apologies, but Saki cut him off by shoving a wood spoon and a bowl into his chest.

“Your rebellious nature won’t apply to cookbooks, yes?”

And with that, they got to it. Teba’s mind was still processing the events of fifteen minutes ago so while he stared blankly at Saki, he struggled to do the basic task of mixing.

“Here,” she held his wing and adjusted his grip on the spoon. If she wasn’t a pink Rito she might have blushed. “Try not to fling the batter out the window.”

They both started to gain just a bit more confidence as they continued working. Teba started to tease Saki a bit as he held the bowl with the salmon filling above her.

“What’s one little taste? It’s all gonna be eaten at the end, isn’t it?”

“Don’t you dare, it’s still raw!”

“Just one little dip.”

“If you stick one dirty little feather in that bowl I swear I’ll—”

Teba continued trying to dance around her, but she eventually got it back after a quick whack in the head with a spoon.

The morning flew above them, and the shades of a blue day were laced with clouds of white. The shadows of the hut spun across the floor like a spell. Eventually, the aroma of savoury fish with hints of butter filled the air. Teba grabbed a fork.

“This Get-Well pie was for me, yeah? So let me just—” Saki slapped his wing.

“Not yet, gosh.” She stole his utensil. “You forgot the most important part!”

Saki pressed the edge of the fork on the plain face of the fish pie, giving the little fishy a simple, honest grin.

“There!”

“That’s a bit creepy.”

“What?! No…it’s cute! A joyful little fish!”

“You know that this is just gonna be decapitated by me, yeah?”

“It’s about the sentiment, Teba. Hush.”

True to his word, Teba used a knife to take the first bite, decapitating the little creature. Stuffing his beak, his eyes immediately lit up. The flaky crust paired perfectly with the soft meat, the taste and texture beyond amazing.

Saki tilted her head, curious. “Well? How is it?”

“Mmmbfhbgm. Myeah. Yum.”

She clapped. “Oh I’m glad! I actually ignored the ratio a bit and put a bit more butter, so it’s good that that worked out.”

“What happened to following the instructions and rules?”

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her wings over her chest, playfully. “I don’t know… What happened to that priceless journal from Master Revali that was found to be missing from records a few days ago?”

“Damn. Fair enough, then.”

Saki suddenly gasped. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry I completely forgot about the time. You usually sneak off to practice Master Revali’s techniques by now, don’t you?” She went to grab a napkin. “Here, you can wrap this up and take it to the Flight Range, I didn’t mean to keep you for so—”

Teba went to grab one of her wings. “Hey hey! It’s ok. I’m still supposed to keep off the wing anyway, right?”

Saki scoffed, but didn’t pull away. “Oh, like you’ve been following that…”

“Better late than never?”

“Mhmm…”

Teba finally let go, and they stood in front of each other for a bit. Saki played with the curls of her hair, avoiding his gaze. Teba felt his feathers fluff up again, as he mumbled something.

“Hmm?” She looked up.

“Oh. I…didn’t say anything.”

“Ah, Right.” She looked away.

Fuck.

The warrior struggled to find the right words. In an effort to do anything but stay silent, he went to hold her wing again. Both of their feathers immediately floofed in response.

“S-Sorry. I should have—”

“No, it’s alright.” She kept his grip. “It’s alright.”

They both looked in opposite directions, Teba coughed again while Saki fiddled with her hair. The warrior continued screaming in his own mind, begging for some form of suitable and understandable words to come out of his beak. When he turned to speak, Saki cut him off with a soft smile.

“You know, Teba. You don’t have to say anything.”

His beak opened and closed for a few moments, confused. Finally he settled on his thoughts. “Can I try?”

She nodded. “If you really want to.”

Saki wrapped her wings around his shoulders, looking up at him expectantly. When he looked into her eyes, all he could feel was the embrace of a summer’s wind. It was blue. Cerulean. Perhaps teal, or a comparison of sapphire. There was a romantic simile in the world somewhere that he didn’t bother to find.

This close, he could see her eyes dilate, and count small imperfections on her beak. Teba stood as still as ice, before breathing out a bit in relief. He allowed himself to smile, and held her hips and swayed to some unknown rippling melody. Perhaps for just this moment, he accepted it. His words didn’t matter as his gaze lit up sweet and gold and honey. Finally, as they swayed and danced in warmth, the sun to the sky said,

“You look nice.”