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mphoenix-7 · 7 months ago

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Bitter Allies [Soap x Reader]

Chapter 8: The Cabin: Day 4 (pt.1)

Summary: You try to talk to Soap about yesterday. Key word is try.

Word Count: 4,515

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, swearing, angst, strong language, arguing, mentions of sex, hurtful language

A/N: Another two parter! Enjoy!! Don’t forget to like, comment, and reblog if you wish 🫶🏻 also, see the end of the chapter for Soap’s drawing

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Bitter Allies • Part 8

The next morning, the pain in your chest is still present. Your heart feels heavy, weighed down by confusion and a little regret. The dull ache between your legs is a lingering echo of Soap's rough touch that had split you in half. A constant reminder of last night. You feel raw, exposed, and the desire to talk to Soap about what happened is overwhelming now. As daunting as it seems, you know this conversation is unavoidable. It needs to happen sooner or later.

Pulling yourself upright in bed, you look to Soap’s side of the room and see that he’s gone. You hope for once that he’s around and hasn’t left for a morning run or anything. You don’t know if you can handle waiting for him to get back. Getting changed into the last fully clean pair of clothes you have, you go to look for the Scot.

As you walk into the kitchen, you’re naturally drawn to look out the window. Your heart leaps when you see him. He’d sitting by the same tree he had a couple days ago, looking out towards the water. Taking a deep breath, gathering up your courage, you exit the cabin. The morning air is cool against your skin, but it does little to soothe your nerves.

Each step you take towards him makes your heart beat faster, the anxiety building with every stride. You’re so nervous to talk to him, afraid of how this interaction might go. You had a pretty bad track record so far of turning civil conversations into heated arguments.

As you get closer, you come to realize he has one of his black books with him. It’s opened up, and it looks like he’s sketching something. His eyes dart from between the lake in front of him to his book, pausing between his strokes when he does.

He either doesn’t hear you or chooses not to acknowledge you until you’re about halfway to him. You can see him glance a little over his shoulder as you draw near, but he never fully turns his head to look at you. His gaze just goes back to his book. Even when you’re finally right next to him, he still doesn’t say anything or even look up at you.

“Can I sit with you for a bit?” You ask before you lose your courage and run back to the cabin.

Soap is silent for a couple seconds, and for a moment, you’re worried he’s not going to say anything to you. There’s a pang in your chest at that thought, but Soap finally answers after a moment.

“Sure.” He sighs, seeming to know exactly what you are here for. Then again, why else would you ever come to talk to him?

Slowly, you move to sit beside him. It’s peaceful outside, a stark contrast to how you’re feeling. Not really knowing how you want to start this conversation, you instead look at the sketch he’s currently working on.

“I didn’t know you liked to draw.” You say, watching as he carefully makes each line on the paper. He’s drawing the scene of the lake. Using one of his fingers, he smudges a line he’s just made, darkening his finger with the lead of his pencil.

“It helps pass the time. Takes my mind off stuff.” He shrugs, still offering his full attention to his drawing.

“It looks nice. You’re really good at drawing.”

And you’re being genuine. You’re surprised to say that Soap is really good at drawing. He’s about halfway through sketching the landscape, and it looks beautiful so far. Despite your compliment though, Soap sighs, taking his pencil off the drawing and finally looking at you.

“What do you want?” He asks, making you shy away slightly. You don’t want him thinking your compliment was just empty words.

“I was being serious. Your drawing is really nice. You’re really talented.”

Soap sighs again, glancing back down to his artwork, but not drawing anymore. “Thanks. But I know you’re not out here cause you want to watch me draw. So get to it.”

You’re silent for a long time, watching the side of his face. You were out here to talk to him about last night, but you were nervous. You wanted to ease into it, not just dive right in. Though with Soap outing you on your intentions, you don’t really have a choice now.

“I just wanted to talk to you about last night…” You say slowly.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He answers quickly, making you frown. Of course there was something to talk about. How could he say that?

“Soap, we… we had sex. How is that not something to talk about?”

“Lots of people have sex, States.” He shrugs. You begin to nervously pick at your nails.

“So it didn’t mean anything?” You find yourself asking.

You don’t know what you want his answer to be. You should want him to say it didn’t mean anything. It was just sex and nothing more. But a part of you doesn’t want him to say that. Maybe if it meant something then you wouldn’t regret it so much? Or maybe you really just wanted it to have meant something.

“Don’t you fucking dare do that.”

“Do what?” You frown.

“Don’t you start telling me this meant something to you. That you think this fixes anything between us.”

“It… it didn’t, I don’t. I mean, I’m just sorting through it- I don’t know.” You say quickly, caught off guard by what he said.

“Fucking Christ…” Soap mutters, burying his face into his hands as you begin to feel flustered.

“Can you just-! Just answer my question! So what we did last night didn’t mean anything?”

Soap groans, hitting his head against the back of the tree slightly. “Nope. It was just sex. Something to get rid of all the tension for a bit. That’s it.”

His answer hurts you a lot more than you expect. The sting of his words leaves you momentarily speechless, your mind racing to process his easy dismissal. “Ok.. well, good.” You find yourself saying, looking out across the waters. It’s silent for a few moments before Soap breaks it.

“Hey, by the way, you’re not going to get pregnant, are you? You are on birth control right?” He looks over to you, and you’re staring straight ahead, a blank expression on your face. His voice snaps you out of your thoughts.

“Yeah, no we’re fine. I’ve got a birth control implant.”

You weren’t on birth control for the birth control part of it. It was mostly to help with a hormone imbalance to make your menstrual cycle more regular. But the birth control part of it was nice too for situations like when your teammate randomly decides to fuck you senseless.

Soap nods, his gaze shifting back to his sketchbook. He seems to visibly relax knowing there wasn’t a chance of you being pregnant. “Good. Don’t have to worry about that. Let’s just move on then, alright? What we did last night doesn’t change anything.”

You bite the insight of your lip. “How can you say it doesn’t change anything?” It could be meaningless sex, but to say it didn’t change anything? That was ridiculous.

Soap pauses, his pencil hovering above the page. He doesn't look up, but you can see the tension in his shoulders. "Because it doesn’t," he says, his voice tight. "We had sex. It’s over. We move on."

You shake your head, frustration boiling over. “How can you just brush it off like it’s nothing."

He finally sets his pencil down, meeting your gaze with a hard stare. "What do you want me to say, States? That it meant something? That it was special? It wasn’t. It was a mistake if anything.”

You hesitate, your emotions a tangled mess. "I don’t know… It just doesn’t feel like it was nothing."

He sighs heavily, closing his sketchbook. "Look, it was a mistake. A moment of weakness. We both needed an outlet, and it happened. But that’s all it was.”

You take a deep breath, trying to steady yourself. "I just… Can I ask you something else?” You ask softly. There was still so much you wanted to get answers to.

Soap gives you a hard stare, but he eventually caves. “Sure. Go ahead.” Soap sighs, turning his gaze to look out at the lake. He clearly doesn’t want to keep talking about this with you, but he lets you continue anyway.

“I need to understand. Why did you kiss me? Why now, after everything?”

Soap’s jaw clenches slightly, you make out the slight pulse in his jaw when he does. “Because I needed to blow off some steam. Because we were both there, and it was convenient. Does it matter?”

“Yes, it matters!” You snap, your voice rising. “It matters because I need to know if this was just some spur-of-the-moment decision for you or if there’s something more to it.”

Soap sighs heavily, running a hand over his face in annoyance. “States,” he says, his tone softer but still firm. You can he’s trying to keep his cool. “I don’t have a better answer for you. It was just sex. That’s all it was. It was just a way to release some tension. There’s no hidden meaning behind it. No deeper nothing. It’s better if we just forget it and move on.”

“So that’s it?” You manage to say, voice trembling slightly. “We just go back to hating each other?”

Soap’s eyes meet yours. There’s a flicker of something—regret, maybe?—but it’s gone too quickly to be sure. “Yes, we go back to the way things were, and we forget this ever happened. It’s better that way.”

“How can we just act like nothing happened?”

“We just go about our lives like we did before we fucked. It’s not that hard, States.”

You bite your lip, fighting back tears. “Maybe for you!”

“Oh, don’t give me that shite. You’re a soldier. You know how to compartmentalize. Do it.”

You shake your head, frustration boiling over. “That’s not fair, Soap. You can’t just ignore my feelings because it’s easier for you.”

“I’m not ignoring your feelings! I’m trying not to make things more complicated than they need to be!”

“It’s already complicated! My whole relationship with you is complicated. And now I don’t know what the hell to do! People who hate each other don’t fuck each other.”

“I don’t know what to fucking tell you! I was angry, things have been tense between us for a long time, I wanted to release that tension. So I did. It wasn’t anything. Just a build up of too much tension that needed to be released. And it helped. The sex was good, but that’s all it was. If you can’t wrap your head around that, then that’s your problem, not mine,” he says coldly. “I’ve said what I needed to say. If you can’t move on, that’s on you.”

He picks up his sketchbook up off the ground and stands up, effectively ending the conversation. You continue to sit there, feeling more lost and confused than ever. The weight of his words hung heavily on your heart. You just had to forget it… Move on and act like it hadn’t happened. You regretted it, you wished it hadn’t happened.

Then why couldn’t you let it go?

Soap was more than willing to act like it was nothing. To go back to your normal lives. Though maybe the problem was that you didn’t want to go back. You didn’t want to go back to the way things were. Where you fought constantly and were always at each other’s throats. Maybe you hoped that sex meant Soap didn’t hate you after all. It certainly felt like he despised you even more now though.

The more you thought about it, the more angry you got. He kissed you, he was the one who’d had sex with you, he started all of this. All with the intention of just making himself feel better. No regard for how it might affect you. He really hated you that much? And he wouldn’t even tell you why he felt the way that he did. If you had some explanation, some reason, maybe it’d make it better to accept it, but he gave you nothing.

Feeling a new fire ignite inside you, one that didn’t want to go back, or at least wanted answers as to why Soap resented you, you get up and march after him. He’d been dodging the question every time you asked, but not anymore. If things were going to go back to how they were, you were going to know why he felt the way he did.

By the time you’re up, Soap is already walking up the steps of the porch and heading inside. You follow after him, trying to get to him before he tries to leave again or before you lose the nerve to talk with him.

You push the door of the cabin open and step inside, scanning the small space for him. He’s in the bedroom, tucking his journal away as you walk up to the doorway. As soon as Soap realizes you’re back, a sour look crosses his face.

“Fucking hell, what do you want? We’re done talking about last night.” He says firmly, going back to doing whatever it was he came in here to do.

“No we’re not.” You say as firmly as you can. It comes out a little shaky though. “If last night changes nothing, and if it meant nothing, if we have to just go back hating each other-“

“There is no ‘going back’ to hating each other. We always have, nothing ever changed that.” Soap interrupts, just stabbing another knife into your chest.

“Don’t interrupt me! If you’re going to hate me, that’s fine. But I want to know why you do.”

Soap visibly gets uncomfortable, his shoulders tensing. “I already told you, I don’t need to explain myself.”

“You kind of do. You can't just keep pushing me away, Soap. If you really hate me that much, at least have the decency to tell me why."

“I’m not doing this with you.”

“Yes you are! I deserve to know why you hate me. After everything you did yesterday, I deserve some answers.”

He clenches his jaw, looking away for a moment before finally meeting your gaze again. "Fine. You want to know why? Because you're always so damn stubborn, always in my face, challenging me, questioning everything I do."

Your heart is pounding in your chest. “So, you hate me because I stand up to you? Because I won't just roll over and let you constantly talk shit to me?”

“Yep.” He answers shortly, and you know he’s lying. Or at least not telling you everything.

“Bullshit. I didn’t start doing any of that to you for a long time. You were awful to me since I stepped foot on base. From our first introduction to each other. Was there someone else you wanted instead of me on the Task Force? Do you not like a girl joining your little group? Are you afraid I’m going to out perform you? Is it because the guys like me, and you can’t stand that?”

“We didn’t need you on our team! We were fine before you came along and ruined the entire dynamic.”

“You are literally the only one who thinks that!”

“Yeah, well, it’s not the first time I’ve seen a whole fucking unit crumble because no one wanted to believe me! I will not let you come in and tear everything apart!”

“I’m not going to tear you guys apart! I want to be on this team! I want to be with Price and Gaz and Ghost, and even you!”

“Yeah that’s what Annette said too!”

“Who’s Annette?” You ask, and Soap instantly closes himself off. He’s said too much. Got too caught up in the heat of the moment, slipped up, and revealed something to you he didn’t want to.

“She’s no one.” He says harshly before quickly continuing. “Look, you want to know why I fucking hate everything about you, States?” Soap is slowly approaching you, cornering you against the doorframe. “Oh, where to even start. You’re stubborn. You can’t keep your nose out of other people’s business. You’re annoying as hell. You’re an absolute shite soldier, one I can’t trust to have my back on the field. You’re reckless, you’re a liability, and you have no clue what it means to be part of a team. And don’t get me started on your pathetic attempts to prove yourself. You’re just a suck up to Price and the others. It’s embarrassing. You think you’re tough? You’re a joke. Every time you open your mouth, I want to walk the other way. You’re nothing but a thorn in my side, and I wish you’d never been assigned to this team. You’re weak, you’re useless, and you’re a bloody nuisance. That’s why I hate you, States. Because you’re not worth the dirt on my boots.”

You’re almost in tears as he finishes up. Your jaw is clenched tight to keep it from trembling, and you’re gripping the wood on the door frame so tightly you’re afraid it’s going to rip off. Soap has been a jerk to you in the past, but he’s never been this raw with his words before. At least you finally had an answer. One that felt real. Genuine. And shit, did it hurt.

“We’ve got three more fucking days together, States. Don’t speak to me again during that time. Understand?”

He’s leaning over you, face far too close for comfort. All you can do is nod your head, afraid that opening your mouth is going to make you break down. Soap huffs, his warm breath against your cheek before he pulls away.

“Going out for bit. Gonna be hours. Just letting you know so you don’t worry.” He tells you mockingly before leaving you against the doorframe. You listen for the sound of the cabin door closing before you sink to the ground, sobbing into your knees as you hug them close to you.

***

As Soap leaves the cabin, he can hear you crying inside. Despite all the horrible things he just said, after expressing how much he hated you, his heart tightens in his chest. It wasn’t that he liked saying those things… hell, he wasn’t even sure he meant half of those things anymore. But he refused to let you in. He couldn’t. And you just won’t understand that.

It was all just a mess. Truth was, things had changed yesterday when he had sex with you. The more time he spent thinking about it, the more he realized Ghost was right. He really did just need to fuck you and get it out of his system. For the split second that all the tension was resolved, he truly felt an attraction towards you.

And that scared him.

He hadn’t been expecting that. He thought you’d simply fuck and then have a breather for a moment. He didn’t expect to be rushed with this sudden urge to actually want to be with you.

These next three days couldn’t go by faster. He wanted this hell to be over. This torment to just end. He yearned to go back to how things were before he came here with you. Even if it’d been complicated before, it was better than how complicated it was now.

He listens to your sobs a moment more before shaking his head and heading for the woods. If he stayed a second longer, he was afraid he’d run back to you and do something he was going to regret.

***

You sat on the floor and cried for what felt like hours. Your eyes burned from how many tears had been leaking from them. The skin your around eyes was sore from how often you’d wiped at them, and your last clean shirt was now soiled with tears and snot. It wasn’t pretty…

After a few hours, you really couldn’t cry anymore. You didn’t think it was possible, but you’re sure you’ve run out of tears. You feel disgusting. Soap’s words played on repeat over and over in your head, and you’re beginning to believe them.

Liability… untrustworthy… embarrassing… weak… useless…

You didn’t want to be those things. And you know Ghost, Price, or Gaz would be so fast to dismiss them and reassure you that you weren’t. But they weren’t here, and they couldn’t tell you those things. The only person you had was Soap.

At some point, you decide you’ve had enough of sitting on the hard wood floor. You were a soldier. You know how to pull yourself together and keep going. So that’s what you were going to do. The first thing you were going to do was take a bath. Wash away any remnants of Soap. Wash away the things he’s said to you, the grim, the pain. Take the opportunity to clean yourself now that you felt like you were in a million pieces before you put yourself back together again.

You slowly collect all the things you needed for bathing and head outside. It’s warm. Beautiful as always. You hope maybe the sun will help you grow after feeling like you’ve wilted. You can only hope.

As you step onto the deck, you notice your shit covered boots still waiting outside to be cleaned. You might as well clean those too while you’re at it. Why shouldn’t everything have a fresh start. So you pick those up and carrying them down with you to the waters edge, dropping them in the dirt while dropping your towel on a nice patch of grass.

You strip down, no longer really caring about who is going to see you. You’re far too upset to care at this point. The sun is warm of your skin, but the water is cold. It always is. It’s numbing though, and you’d really like to feel numb for a little bit.

You’re stepping deeper and deeper, feeling an odd moment of calm. The water really is soothing. It’s helping to take your mind off the past three days. You close your eyes, soaking up the sunlight on your face and letting the water hold you.

You’re so deep into your own mind, trying to self soothe, that you don’t hear the silent steps of someone joining you on the shoreline. You don’t hear your boots being knocked over, or see your clothes being stepped on. It’s only when the feet of your unwanted guest step into the water, creating ripples and a plunking sound, that you realize you’re not alone.

An uneasy feeling overwhelms you and you shrink down slightly. “Soap?” You ask hesitantly, your first thought being that he was close by. But when you glance over your shoulder, it’s not Soap. Instead of meeting his angry blue eyes, you instead meet the angry black eyes of a black bear.

You gasp, almost losing your footing as you try to back away quickly into the deeper water to get some distance. There was a fair amount of distance between you and the bear already, but your first instinct was to get away from it.

The bear is sniffling the air, looking right at you. It’s watching your every movement like it’s reading your body language. Trying to decide if you’d be worth going after. It makes a few grunting sounds, which sound so familiar. This must have been the bear that was chasing you yesterday. It must have followed you here.

“G-go away!” You shout at it, not sure if you’re suppose to play dead or not. Clearly this bear knows you aren’t dead, and you honestly aren’t sure if the play dead thing was a myth or not.

Maybe it wasn’t a myth though, cause as soon as you shout at it, it raises onto its back legs and bellows at you. The sounds makes your heart thud harder in your chest, a shiver of fear running all through you. Its teeth look so sharp, it’s claws so long. Panic is starting to overtake you no matter how hard you try to push it down and keep a clear mind.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God… what the fuck do I do?” You mutter to yourself, yelping as it comes down on all fours again.

The bear starts to walk into the water, continuing to sniff the air and watch your every movement. It’s still grunting and growling at you as it slowly stalks towards you.

You’re frozen in fear, almost like you’re hoping it won’t see you if you stay super still, and it will go away. The creature takes a lunge at you, splashing up water before retreating a bit. Testing you. The sudden movement brings you back to the present, and you let out a scream, holding your arms up to shield you from the spray of water.

“Go away!” You shout louder this time and start to splash water towards it in hopes of scaring it off. It manages to make the animal jump and back away, but it recovers when it realizes the water didn’t hurt and starts to come in again.

It lunges again at you, letting out a long roar and getting closer. However, this time it doesn’t back away. Its mouth is hanging open and thick drool is dripping from its chops. It was like drooling at the very thought of having you for its next meal, a thought that makes you shiver.

“Get out of here! Go!” You shout some more. In a panic, you try to make more distance, swimming out a little further. The water was coming up to just under your chest now.

You avert your gaze for a split second to look around for a weapon, a stick or anything to defend yourself with, and the second you look away, the bear charges. You scream again, heart pounding and tears coming to your eyes. It was standing up again so it could touch the bottom of the lake, its arm taking a swipe at you. Luckily you’re still just out of reach.

“Go away! You fucking stupid animal! Go away!” You scream at it, backing up more.

To say you are terrified is an understatement. You’re naked and completely unprepared to fight off something like a bear. You can’t think, your mind still stressed and exhausted from the last few hours. You’re panicking and afraid that you’re going to die.

Then you hear, far off in the distance, a familiar voice. One you’ve never been more happy to hear in your entire life. As relieved and happy as you are to hear him, you hope it’s not going to be the last voice you ever hear.

“States?! States!!!”

***

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replicabetweenblogs · 15 days ago

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19/1/25 CHAPTER 9 RELEASE.

5 endings at 3 different locations you can end up as your companions all split into different sides.. getting lost. Metaphorically or quite literally? What decisions have you made in the past to either bring chaos or calm into your so-called hideout..? Who will celebrate to see the long-awaited dawn, who will weep at the rising insanity of the leader carving down a bloody road to victory, and what painful truths will you finally discover?Where will you end up, who will you save, and who will you be in chapter 9?

133 303 words in total for ALL branches!

Between the 18k and 21k for a single playthrough!

Romance lock-in scenes for Ash and Ha!! Although they are locked behind one of the three exploration branches.

Specialize in your essence! If you are strong enough and are within the right branch for it, you can pick one of the few elements to focus on and develop your essence further.

Death

Angst

Depression

Screaming and crying people all around

Lily with a lighter

"Who gave Ha a gun?"

Two new annoying little brats to look after

The chapter is split between three different greater exploration areas, and you can end up depending on various variables and choices. Only one path contains all the companions while the other two may differ depending on decisions made.

~~ Updated dashingdon link (will be removed by the end of the month)

~~ NEW cogdemos.ink link

~~ Discuss the chapter on the forums!

~~ Coffee on Kofi!

~~Help me improve the chapter!!!

That. Was an unbelievably long road. This chapter is easily the most branchy one. A few WIP scenes are locked, but they are nothing big and I may still decide to scrap those before the chapter gets too overwhelmingly brancy. Aside of that, some more balancing I might have to do still regarding personality traits and stats, but I want to delve deeper into that once I've got more results in on my online feedback form, so right now you may not really notice alotta stat changes throughout chapter 9. But yes. Here it is!!

I really hope the returning readers of RBU will enjoy this one. It's an 130k word long apology letter for the hiatus!! Go and give Ha or Ash a kiss or two, play catch with a fireball with Lily, question your entire reality with Amethyst, and connect some dots regarding the final revelation. Again, I thank anyone who has been around here with me since the start and all the new readers I've been able to tell my story to (and who managed to get through the messy first few chapters). I really hope the long wait was worth this all.

Feel free to report bugs in the forum thread c: and I shall try and fix them asap. Also whenever you suspect of the game pushing you into the wrong branch by checking the wrong variables, or if you see any typos and misgendering.

The ASK box is open! For questions, guides, character asks and etc.

Have fun c: I am hoping to keep this flow going for chapter 10 as well, seeing as the end of RBU is nearing and 10 won't be a very long one. Here is hoping I may actually reach the epilogue before I slip back into a 50 year long hiatus <3

#rbu #replica: between universes #chapter update #if wip #hosted games #creative writing #interactive fiction #cogdemos #dashingdon

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something-tofightfor · 18 days ago

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A Wonderful, Awful Idea / 4

Pairing: Pero Tovar x Female Reader (Modern AU)

Word Count: 7,489

Summary: The final event of the assignment doesn't start - or end - how you imagined.

Help from an unexpected source gives you a chance to make things right ... or at least attempt to.

Rating: M: language.

Author's Note:

Splitting this into 2 parts was the overwhelming winner - here's the first one. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all for sticking with me on this story even when it's been extended by 3 weeks - and a few chapters.

So here I am at 2:30 am with one of those "extra" parts. Enjoy.

The title comes from Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Thank you for reading!

*dividers by @/strangergraphics

Even though the party around you was in full swing, you tuned the noise out.

You’d ridden over with William and Lin, staring silently out the car’s window the entire time. Pero hadn’t picked up the phone though all of you had tried to call. By the time you parked, he’d switched it off, sending you straight to voicemail.

It made sense that he was upset at the thought that you were only agreeing to spend time with him because you were getting paid. It made even more sense that Pero’s discovery of the contract itself was enough to make him believe it was the real one. Even though I didn’t sign it. Even though there’s nothing filled in on it aside from my name.

He’d been in the “backstage” area of the venue when you got there, and the only words he’d spoken to anyone were to confirm that the earpieces were linked, and then to ask if he could handle the behind the scenes duties that day.

Christina’s security had agreed that he could start off that way, but that they’d swap everyone out after a few hours, just to have fresh eyes on the guests. You’d tried to speak to him before the crowd dispersed, but he hadn’t even looked at you. Instead, he’d turned away and headed down one of the long hallways - in the opposite direction.

You’d fought back tears at his dismissal, blindly reaching for - and taking Lin’s hand - until he was out of sight. I ruined it. I ruined everything.

The three of you headed out and into the main party room, finding a table to stand at. Lin didn’t leave your side, her arm protectively around you as she leaned her head against your shoulder. “Do you want me to stay here with you? William can manage on his own, and -”

“No, Lin.” You swallowed hard, closing your eyes. “I’ll be fine by myself. I just need to think.” She didn’t look like she believed you, but didn’t argue when William slid an arm around her waist, stepping backwards and pulling her wih him. “Thank you, though.”

“He’ll understand.” William frowned, eyes on you. “I’ve known him for years, and he’s stubborn, but he’s not … unreasonable.”

“We’ll see.” You laughed, scanning the crowd even though you knew Pero wasn’t going to be visible. “I might have fucked it all up, William.”

“It’s my fault.” He reached up to rub at the space between his brows. “I’m the one that accidentally printed up the wrong contract for your file at first. I should have shredded it instead of just sticking it in the pile of shit I need to get rid of, but I didn’t. If he would have just looked in the folder, he would have seen that -”

“Can’t do anything about that now.” You blinked back tears and then waved them off. “Just go. I’m fine. I’ll go and get a drink and walk around. If it gets bad enough, I’ll call an Uber and go home.” Lin wanted to say more, but instead of speaking, she let William lead her away, both of them turning away from you at the last possible second.

You watched them go until they disappeared into the crowd, and then you also stepped back from the table and headed toward the bar, weaving between people until you were able to get in line. You didn’t want to get drunk, but you thought that something weak would help - and it would give you something to do as you wandered around the party.

Sipping it as you mingled, nodding at people when you passed and even saying hello to a few people you knew, you tried to come up with a plan. Pero likely wouldn’t let you speak to him that night - and you didn’t want to try, because he was there to work. Christina and her team were paying him to complete a job, and you didn’t want to jeopardize that - or her safety.

But the longer you thought about things, the more concerned you got. If he was serious about quitting his job with William, then he’d need something else. And Christina’s offer loomed large in your mind. It would get him out of town. It would get him away from here.

When you caught sight of her stepping out from the back hallway into the party itself, your chest tightened. She looked gorgeous - a thin-strapped, figure-hugging dress molded to her body, the light catching on the shimmering gold and red accents sewn throughout.

It had taken you three years to break through Pero’s defenses based on a mutual attraction, but that had happened with very little interaction between you. If he works with her, even if nothing happens while he’s on the job, it…

You watched as she made her way through the crowd, stopping to talk to people every few feet. Two of her security team weren’t far behind, but they didn’t intervene. If that became Pero’s job, he’d have an opportunity to learn a lot about her without directly interacting. And she - even if he only told her bare minimum - would learn much more about him. It would be inevitable.

Finishing your drink, you set the empty glass down on a table with a few others and then moved to turn back the way you’d come. You were looking for a quiet corner when you heard your name. Of course. Spinning around to face her, you plastered a fake smile on your face and greeted Chrstina, hoping that all she wanted to do was say hello.

“I love your shirt.” She reached out, laying a perfectly manicured finger on your sleeve. “That color is stunning.”

“Thank you.” You didn’t know if she was making fun of you, or just trying to make conversation, but you truthfully didn’t care. “That dress is great, too. And your makeup is…” You trailed off when she frowned, glancing back over her shoulder and then staring at you. “What?”

“Did you and Tovar fight?” Your eyes widened but you didn’t have a chance to speak before she took your hand and tugged you toward an empty table. The men followed you, and you caught a glimpse of William craning his neck to see what was going on, but Christina didn’t pay attention. “I talked to him before, back in the hallway, and -”

“Do you really care?” You spat the words out and then cringed at your tone, immediately apologizing. It’s not her fault. “Yes. We did. There was a misunderstanding about the fact that William put me on their payroll for these last three events and he thought �� he thought that I required payment to be around him. But the truth is that…” You looked down, feeling the tears in your eyes well up again. “I would have - and should have - done it for free.”

“So that’s why he’s suddenly interested in working for me.” She bit her lip, reaching across the table to touch your hand. “I thought he seemed upset earlier but he didn’t…” She said your name again, the sound punctuated by a sigh. “Have you talked to him? This sounds like something you could easily explain.”

“He won’t let me.” You gestured with one hand. “He left me at Lin and William’s, and came right here. He asked to be behind the scenes tonight, probably to keep himself away from the three of us.” You swiped beneath your eyes with your fingertips. “I’m sorry. You don’t want to hear this. Him asking to work for you is exactly what you’ve been hoping for.”

“I can tell my team to make him come out here.” She leaned in, smirking at you. “And then stay close to you. Force him to listen to your -”

“No.” You scoffed. “No he’d hate that. I just need five minutes. I need to explain to him that what he saw isn’t the truth and that I’d never be such an asshole. Maybe after Christmas, I can find a way to do it.”

“It’s going to be alright.” She nodded twice. “Give me one second.” She spun away from the table and headed over to where one of her security guys were. The two talked for a few seconds and then Christina turned back to look at you, waving you over. “Come with me.”

Confused, you let her lead you through the crowd and toward the back hallways. You passed Lin and William, watching as they stared at you, his brows knit in confusion. I have no idea either. You followed her down one of the hallways and into her dressing room, taking a slow look around at the space. “Why am I in here, Christina? What’s going on?”

She turned around to face you, putting both hands on her hips. “You’ll see.” She tapped her foot and glanced at the door. What is she doing? It opened nearly a minute later and you froze at the sight of Pero stepping through it.

“Christina, what do you -” He stopped when he saw you, and you watched his lip curl, the look in Pero’s eyes going hard. “No. I don’t know what she told you, but -”

“You work for me right now, right?” She stepped toward him, hands still in place. He nodded, focused on her. “Then I’m telling you that as part of your job, you will give her an opportunity to explain herself.” She lifted a hand, pointing one finger at him. “You will listen and you will keep listening until she’s finished.”

He reached up, pulling the earpiece from his ear and sticking it into his pocket. “And if I say no?” His voice was low, and you heard the defiance in it. “If I walk out of this room right now?”

“Then you’re in breach of your contract and you don’t get paid.” Curling her fingers in, she sighed and lowered her head. “Look, I’m not asking you to forgive her, that’s up to you. I’m asking you to listen before you make your decision.” She said his name, and then gestured back at you. “As much as I want you to work for me, I don’t want you to do it because you’re running from something.” You saw his jaw flex, but Pero’s expression was otherwise unreadable.

Christina didn’t say anything else, but when she reached the door, she turned to look over her shoulder at you, giving you a nod. Thank you. I owe you.

After she was gone, Pero finally turned his attention toward you, taking and then releasing a deep breath. “I will listen.” He moved to the dressing table and then leaned against it, arms crossed. “Well?”

It wasn’t much, but it was a start, and the fact that he hadn’t immediately left the room gave you hope. What can I even say? “I should have told you that William asked me the day before we went out to dinner if I wanted to be your date for these events.” You moved a little closer, perching on the back of an armchair so that you could look at him. “I should have told you that I signed a contract to work for your company. But I didn’t want you to think that the only way I wanted to be around you was if I got paid.”

He looked away, shaking his head. “I saw the contract. That is exactly what you are doing.”

“You saw the first version of the contract.” Reaching into your pocket for your phone, you quickly opened the email from William and forwarded it to him. “That was the version William considered standard for something like this. But I didn’t agree to that one. Check your email. I just sent you the one I actually signed. I’m telling you the truth. I never would have agreed to that first one.”

He clenched his jaw when he looked at you again, but after a few seconds, Pero reached into his pocket for his phone and tapped the screen a few times. You paused as he looked at the device, watching as he read what you’d sent to him while holding your breath. Will it matter? You hoped so, because you didn’t want to walk out of the room and leave Pero behind, still angry at you.

“I agreed to this because I wanted to. I wanted to spend time with you and I knew that this assignment would force it. I told you that at the beginning. The contract was stupid. But it covered all of our asses in case anything went wrong.” You twisted your fingers together. “Do you want to know what my payment for this is going to end up being?” He looked up and at you, still silent. “The cost of this shirt, a new pair of boots because the heel on the pair I was going to wear to the concert broke, and a haircut that was really only just a fucking trim, but was expensive as shit because I had to pay an emergency appointment fee to get in this close to the holidays.”

You stood up, closing the distance without crowding his space. Pero didn’t move, but the anger was gone from his expression, replaced instead with weariness.

“I’m sorry, Pero, that I made you feel like I only wanted to be around you if there was something in it for me. That’s something I specifically told William - in notes I wrote onto the first contract he showed me - that I wanted to avoid. I just wanted to get to know you, and if I’m being completely honest, the last two dates we went on were everything I could have ever asked for.” You wanted to reach for him, but knew you couldn’t. “I was really looking forward to tonight, and… and whatever happened after tonight, too.”

You closed your eyes, steeling yourself to say more.

“Don’t quit your job over this. I asked William not to tell you what we talked about and what we’d decided. It wasn’t his decision. The two of you have been friends for too long for this to be what ends that. Be as upset with me as you want, but don’t take it out on him.” You took another breath in, releasing it and hating how shaky it sounded. “I know how much your friendship with him and Lin means. I don’t want to be the thing that ruins it.”

He set his phone down on the table next to his hip and then gripped the edge of it with both hands, head tilted to the side as he eyed you. “Why did he ask you?” Him responding to you was a start, as was the tone of voice he used - soft and even, only a hint of venom. “Why you?”

“Lin mentioned it while we were shopping, and then William had me over to sort of … gauge my interest?” You frowned, thinking. “He said that he asked a few other people that you guys have worked with in the past, but they declined.” I shouldn’t say this, it’s just going to hurt him. “They said you were too difficult to deal with, and it wasn’t worth it so close to the holidays.”

That got a small, bitter smile out of him, which faded as you went on.

“And I think they both asked me because they’re not stupid. They know me and they know you, and they could tell that there was something there, even if we hadn’t done anything about it.” You stepped closer, knowing that you had to wrap it up. “And they were right. Everything that I said and did when we were together was the truth, Pero. It was real. It is real. I care about you, and I’m pretty sure you care about me, too, which makes all of this so much worse.”

You took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, giving him a chance to respond. When he didn’t, you nodded, looking down at your feet and then bringing your chin back up. This is it. What you said before you left had the potential to be the very last words you ever spoke to him. And that’s something I’ll have to live with.

“I’m really sorry, Pero. I wish I could go back and do all of this differently. I should have.” Giving him a smile, you nodded. “You deserve better than what I gave you.” There was plenty more that you wanted to tell him; part of you wanted to beg him to forgive you, even though you knew that it would make you look weak. I fucked up and I have to own it. “Goodnight, and have a good holiday.”

You turned away then, heading for the doorway and hoping to hear him say your name or ask you to stop. But he didn’t speak, and when the door clicked shut behind you, you knew it was over. The tears started falling then, and even though you also knew that you needed to move, to get back to the party and figure out how you were going to get home, you gave yourself a second to lean against the door to collect yourself, eyes closed.

He knew the truth - and had seen the contract that you’d actually signed. You didn’t expect forgiveness, but it was important to you that he had access to the relevant information and wasn’t basing his decisions off of assumptions. At least he knows it wasn’t about the money.

You steadied yourself before walking down the hallway and back toward the party, the sound of Christmas music growing louder with each step. And when you re-entered the main room, you saw that the lights had been dimmed slightly, making the twinkling holiday decorations seem brighter and casting a much more festive glow over the entire space.

It was gorgeous - the whole party was beautiful and absolutely perfect for the season, and a quick look around told you that everyone else was enjoying themselves to the fullest. Good. It’ll be good memories for all of them.

You checked your phone, groaning at the realization that an Uber would be at least 35 minutes out, and decided to make the most of the evening, even if you were alone. As you headed for the food tables, you caught sight of Lin and William, the pair wrapped up in each other as they swayed back and forth with other couples on the dance floor.

It made you smile - a legitimate one - and as you joined the short line waiting for refreshments, you tried to push the interaction with Pero out of your mind. I can’t dwell on it. Either he’ll speak to me again or he won’t, but tonight isn’t going to be the night he decides that. There’s nothing else I can do right now.

Taking your snacks and a fresh drink to one of the tall side tables, you put your back to the windows and took a look at the entire crowd, preferring to people watch instead of totally secluding yourself. There were others there by themselves - you watched them walk between tables and greet people, eyed them as they took in the decorations and overall festivities.

You wished you could join them. You wished that you felt even a sliver of the excitement you’d felt that afternoon while you got ready. Not happening. You chewed through a bite of your food, resisting the urge to start crying, and instead focused on trying to find Christina in the crowd. I need to thank her for giving me that chance before I go.

It only took you a few minutes to spot her, the woman laughing with people about thirty feet away, a drink in her hand. You kept an eye on her as you finished eating, turning away long enough to toss your empty plate into a trash can and pick up your drink, the cool surface of the glass chilling your skin despite the patterned cocktail napkin wrapped around it.

As you approached her, you expected to be stopped. But when she saw you, she excused herself from the conversation she was having and sidestepped toward you. “Well?” She sipped her own drink, wrinkling her nose at the taste. “How did it go?”

“Not as well as it could have, but at least I got to say what I needed to.” You lifted your glass, clinking the rim of it against hers. “Thank you for giving me that chance.” She nodded, her smile soft. “I’m really glad we had a chance to meet, Christina. I’m probably going to head out soon, so … good luck with the movie. And with your tour.” Her smile widened as she thanked you, and to your surprise, she then leaned in and hugged you.

“It’s going to be alright.” She murmured the words, pulling back before she spoke again. “You and Tovar will work it out. I don’t hink he’s going to work for me after all.” You hoped she was right, and that her certainty would translate to real life. “I’m going to go and get another drink. This one is watered down as fuck.” That got a laugh out of you - a genuine sound that made you tilt your head back and close your eyes. I needed that.

That conversation done, you spun back toward the bulk of the crowd and decided to see if you could pull Lin aside and tell her you were going to leave. But you didn’t see them from where you stood, even when you rose onto your tiptoes. Shit. I guess I’ll just text her.

You reached for your phone, pulling it out and unlocking it. You had no alerts or missed messages, but you also didn’t have service, thanks to the part of the building you were in - and the large number of people present. Ok, nevermind then. You put the device back and sighed. Going into the crowd it is.

But before you’d taken more than a few steps, the lights went off - and the music stopped.

You gasped at the sudden darkness, your grip on your drink loosening as it slipped from your hand and toward the floor. Whoops. It all happened in slow motion; you heard other people gasping and shouting, calling for their friends and the people they were with. Is something happening? Is this what they were worried about? I hope they can get to -

Your thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of someone crashing into you, the sudden motion causing you to stumble. “Hey, watch wh-” You didn’t get anything else out before you felt a pair of arms go around you, both of you tumbling toward the ground. But as you fell, you sucked in a breath, hands scrambling for purchase on the other person even though you knew that holding on wouldn’t do you any good.

When you hit the ground, you groaned - and so did the other person, their hold on you tightening even as pain radiated through your hip and knee. Someone screamed and you heard a loud crash, and instinctively, you turned your head inward, toward the chest of the person that held you as they rolled, keeping you beneath them. “I’ve got you.”

You gasped at the sound of the voice, and when you realized it was Pero, you clung to him even more tightly, his hold on you unyielding. He should be with Christina, not me. Why is he … The lights flickered back on - first the Christmas ones, which gave you just enough light to see Pero above you, his eyes wide. “Pero?”

His lips were parted, but he didn’t speak until the other lights went on, too, the room brighter than it had been only a few minutes earlier. “I am sorry.” He moved his head quickly from side to side. “I did not realize I was so close. I didn’t mean to knock you over.”

“You came to me instead of …” Biting your lip, you tried to calm your racing heart. “You’re here to protect -”

“I know.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “We need to get up off the floor.” He eased off of you and then reached forward to take your hand. As you rose to your feet, Pero’s grip tightened briefly, and a look of regret passed over his features. “I need to go and check on her.” You nodded, still unsure of what to say, and only a few seconds later he was gone, leaving you alone with your racing thoughts.

He’d come straight to you at the first sign of trouble, which meant that after you’d finished talking, he’d followed you out and into the party. It had been a few minutes since you’d parted ways, and that meant that he’d followed silently, but hadn’t decided whether or not to say anything to you until the lights going out had forced his hand. It doesn’t matter. Either way, he still…

You looked out and over the crowd, most people laughing as they tried to shake off the sudden distraction. No one is screaming. No one is fighting. You brushed your hands over the front of your pants and realized that when you dropped your drink, it had splashed all over them. “Shit.” You rolled your eyes and then looked around again, searching for napkins.

You didn’t want to go far, because you wanted to be easy for Pero to find. And if something’s wrong, he’ll need to find me fast. So you grabbed the nearest stack and began to blot at your legs, listening to the conversations going on around you.

No one was concerned, and if they were, they weren’t voicing it. As the music started again, and people began to get back into the swing of the party, you kept listening, even going so far as to pull your phone out and check to see if anything had popped up.

There was nothing.

But you spotted Lin from across the room and beelined it to her, cutting through the crowd as fast as you could. “Lin! Are you alright?” If William comes for her, he’ll get me out safely, too.

“William took off as soon as the lights came back on. Christina was on the other side of the room, though. I don’t … I don’t think he could have gotten to her.” There was no way Pero could have, either; but you didn’t tell her that. “What do you think happened?”

“I think they plugged in too many Christmas decorations, and the breakers couldn’t handle it.” You waved your hand in the air. “It’s business as usual again, right? If there was something bad happening, they’d be telling us what to do.” She nodded, but you could see that she was worried. I’m surprised William didn’t take her with him, or at least get her out of the crowd.

“I hope you’re right.” She hugged herself, and you put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. “How are you doing?” She leaned into you, resting her head against your shoulder. “With Tovar and everything?”

“Christina forced him to listen to me.” You sighed, letting go of her and moving to stand so that you could look at her while you spoke. “I told him the truth. Forwarded him the real contract. Told him that he shouldn’t quit because of me. He loves working with William, and I can’t be the reason he -”

“You will not be the reason I quit.” You shivered at the sound of his voice, both you and Lin turning toward it. “I overreacted. You and William will not be getting rid of me that easily, Lin-Mae.”

“Good.” She beamed, her shoulders relaxing. “There is no replacement for you, Tovar.”

“William is back with Christina’s team. He sent me out here to get you.” He looked between you. “She will not be coming back out tonight, so we are no longer required.” Oh. We’re done? That’s… a good thing. “Everyone is safe. The power outage was not related to anything dangerous.” Good. That’s good.

Lin stepped forward, clearly anxious to get to William, but after she took a few steps, she turned back to look at you. “Are you coming?” Despite the fact that you’d ridden over with the two of them, you didn’t need to go back the same way. Even though my car’s there. I’ll just get it tomorrow or something.

“I’ll just Uber home, Lin. It …” You trailed off as you watched Pero extend his hand, waiting for you to take it. “Pero?”

“We need to talk. I will drive you.” It felt like a crushing weight was lifted from your chest at his words, and even though you were looking at him, you saw Lin’s smile widen, her excitement almost tangible. “If you want.”

“OK.” Your heart thumping against your ribcage, you nodded. “Yeah.”

It only took them a little while to wrap things up with Christina’s team, and while they did that, you waited with Lin, lounging on the furniture that had been set up in the center of the room. Christina’s was a lifestyle that you didn’t know if you could get used to, but you had to admit that the comfort - and organization - were nice. Especially since someone else handles so much of it.

Lin hadn’t tried to talk to you about Pero. Instead, she went over the things she needed to do for the following day, typing out a list on her phone while you gave her a few reminders and pretended you weren’t still anxious about what was going to happen after you left the venue. You watched Pero out of the corner of your eye, keeping track of where in the room he was - and what he and William were doing.

Christina wasn’t there - and neither were half of her security, so you assumed that she’d already left and was headed home to her own holiday celebration. I wonder if she’s sad she didn’t get to say goodbye.

“They are coming.” Lin murmured the words, pointing. “I think we are done.” You looked up, too, watching as Pero and William headed toward you, the men deep in conversation. It was a good sign, especially considering the way that they’d left things earlier that night. They paused a few feet away and you watched as Pero rubbed at the back of his neck, shaking his head while they continued to speak.

But they parted with a laugh, William reaching out to squeeze Pero’s shoulder before they turned toward you. “We can leave.” William waved a hand in the air. “We’re officially done. There’s still a couple hours of the party left, but -”

“No, we need to go.” Lin stood, smoothing down her dress. “I can start cooking tonight.” She looked between them and then focused on Pero. “Will you still come to dinner tomorrow? We’re going to have plenty of food, I planned on you eating most of it.” That got a small smile - and a single nod - out of him, but Lin wasn’t done. “And you?” She put her hand on her hip. “You’re still -”

“We’ll see.” You briefly closed your eyes, unwilling to get too far ahead of yourself. “I’d like to, but it depends. I don’t want to make anything uncomfortable, Lin. It -”

“You won’t.” Pero said your name, pulling your attention from your friend. “No one has to change plans.” You felt yourself growing more hopeful by the minute, and when the four of you split up - thanks to Pero having parked in the back since he’d arrived early - that feeling remained.

He didn’t take your hand again as you walked through the windswept parking lot, the chilly air making you shiver. And he didn’t speak again until you were both sitting and buckled in, the heater on low as he gave the car a chance to warm up. “We can go and get your car now, or I can take you later. I don’t want to have this conversation in a parking lot.”

You thought for a few seconds and then turned your head to look at him, decision made. “Your house is closer. If I need to, I can take an Uber to pick it up when we’re done, or just get it tomorrow. I’m sure Lin won’t mind coming to get me, it -”

“No Uber. I will take you.” He gripped the steering wheel with both hands and then sighed. “Did you eat tonight? Would you like me to stop somewhere? I don’t know what’s open, but -”

“I’m good.” You resisted the urge to touch his knee as you spoke, instead keeping your hands in your lap. “But if you need to stop, you can.” He nodded and then backed out of the parking spot, heading for the exit. It was important that you let Pero lead the conversation, and you didn’t want to talk just to fill the time. Instead, you reached forward and turned the radio on low, just so you weren’t sitting in complete silence.

While you drove, you tried to figure out where Pero would stop - if anywhere. Most of the places you passed were closed, and you frowned at the sight of the dark, empty buildings. But only a few blocks from his house, Pero pulled into the parking lot of a gas station that also served food. “Do you want anything?” You told him no, keeping your eyes on the windshield. It stunned you when you felt his hand land on yours, Pero asking you to look at him without pulling it away. “I am…” He floundered there, frowning as his eyes narrowed. “Fuck. We should just go back to my -”

“Pero, no.” You settled your other hand atop his. “Go get food. We’re here. You’re hungry. It’s fine. I promise.” He agreed and kept his eyes on you for a few seconds before he swore under his breath and got out of the car, leaving you in the semi-darkness as he strode toward the front doors.

As soon as he was out of sight, you put your face in your hands and took a deep, shuddering breath. It was awkward between you - there was no denying it. But it wasn’t an angry or distant awkwardness. Instead, it was a tense one, both of you unsure what the next - or best - thing to say or do was.

While he was inside, you texted Lin and told her the plan, letting her know that you’d be getting your car later, but that if she needed to move it from the street, she could. You were thankful that you’d given her a spare set of keys to both your house and your vehicle, but you didn’t think she’d ever need to use them. I’m sure our conversation won’t be long. Just … the basics.

She sent back a thumbs up emoji and told you good luck, and just before you tucked your phone back into your bag, a message from Pero popped up.

It might be a few minutes. There is a line.

Smiling, you typed back.

Not surprised, it’s the only place open. Don’t worry about me.

While you waited, you rested your elbow against the window, chin settled on your hand. You hadn’t expected to end the night with Pero. And you’d expected even less for him to have confirmed with Lin and William that spending part of the following day together would be possible, either. That means he thinks this conversation is going to go well. You bit your lip, watching as a woman and a child crossed the parking lot. So that’s something to keep in mind, too.

A few more minutes went by, and you saw a few people walk out of the gas station, though Pero wasn’t one of them. You contemplated texting again, but didn’t want to seem pushy or impatient, and so you didn’t. Instead, you pulled your phone back out and opened up Tao Tei Solitaire, distracting yourself with the game.

Pero pulling the door open took you by surprise, as did the sound of his grumbling while he dropped into the seat and reached over to hand you a heavy bag. “Jesus, Pero. Did you buy the whole store?”

“I figured if I was going to spend as much fucking time in there as I just did, I was going to make it worth my while.” He sighed and then clicked his tongue, gesturing with his hand at the bag you held. “I bought you some things too. I got bored while I waited. If you do not eat them, I will.”

“Thank you.” Resisting the urge to peek, you instead held the bag tightly, biting the inside of your cheek. You were still getting to know him, but you were absolutely certain that Pero’s love language was food. And if he bought me food, then that means he was thinking of me and if he was thinking of me without being pissed, then …

When you pulled into his driveway, Pero opened the garage door and parked there. He got out of the car before you could and then leaned back in, reaching for the bag. Handing it over, you followed him inside and hung back a few steps while he set it on the kitchen counter and then took his shoes off, each motion methodical. “Follow me.” You also removed your boots and then trailed after him and into the living room, taking a seat on the couch - much like you’d done the last time you visited.

Silence followed, and even though you didn’t want to be the one that broke it, the longer it lingered, the more certain you became that you needed to - because he wasn’t. “Pero, I think …” Taking a deep breath, you went on. “I need to tell you again that I’m sorry, both for not telling you what I was doing and for agreeing to do it in the first place. When you asked me to be your fake date after the restaurant, I should have just left it at that. I didn’t need to -”

“You did.” He sighed, shaking his head as he looked down. “And tonight was a perfect example of that.” He gestured to your leg. “If you’d gotten hurt when I collided with you, as a contract employee, you could have gotten medical attention and not been responsible for the cost. If something had happened at the concert, the same would have been true. I should have thought of asking William to put you on the payroll, but I didn’t… because I didn’t want you to think that it was just work for me.”

He looked over at you, giving you a sad smile as he finished. We both had the same thought. “I wouldn’t have.” You held your hand out and he took it, linking your fingers together. “I’m not sure if he still has it, but I wrote a bunch of notes out on the first version of that contract, Pero. I flat out told William that I’d do the job for free if it meant getting to spend time with you. But I knew that having some sort of payment would make it look more legitimate, so that’s why I agreed to what I did.” His thumb moved in a slow circle over your knuckle. “I just wanted to spend time with you. I still do. And now I want that more than I did two weeks ago.”

There was a risk with being so honest with him, especially after the earlier misunderstanding. But I have to try.

“When I saw those papers earlier? And read your name and the amount on the line? It hurt. I was not angry, I -” He paused, thinking. “No. I was angry, but it was more than that.” He scooted closer. “I should not have made the comparison between you accepting this job and women that are paid to date men like me. I am sorry for that, because it is not the same.”

“Pero, you don’t -” He squeezed your hand, his head whipping back and forth.

“No. Let me apologize. I do not do it often, so…” That made you smile, but you only nodded in acknowledgement and waited for him to continue. “I should have trusted you. I should have listened to you and William, given you a chance to explain.” He sighed. “I will next time.”

“Next time?” You cocked your head to the side. “What’s next time?”

“I’m sure this won’t be the only thing we ever fight about.” His lips twitched as he held back a smile, and you heard the shift in his voice from apologetic to hopeful, your lips parting at the sound. “I told you before… I’m not good at this. I’m quick to judge and terrible with trusting people. I do not understand why someone like you who is none of those things would go to so much trouble for someone like me.”

“Because I care about you.” Fuck it. Not touching him is … Reaching up, you cupped his cheek with one hand. “Because I want to.” You paused and considered your next words, inhaling deeply before you released your breath and nodded. Here we go. “Because I want you, and I need you to believe it.”

The confession hung between you, and as you waited for Pero’s response, you wondered if you’d overstepped. I hope not. “We wasted so much time. I wasted so much time.” He looked away briefly, shoulders rising and falling with a deep sigh. “I was so afraid of getting hurt that I didn’t even want to give it a chance to happen.” He leaned in, eyes locked with yours. “It was a mistake.”

“Pero.” He reached up and covered your hand with his before moving it down to encircle your wrist with his fingers. “What are -”

“I am going to kiss you now.” He narrowed his eyes. “Unless you don’t want me to… and I don’t want anything in my way.”

“I want you to.” Your heartbeat was racing, and even though you were certain, your reply came out shaky. “I really want -”

He didn’t let you finish.

Pero leaned the rest of the way in and slotted his lips against yours, his hold on your wrist tightening at the same time your grip on his hand did, too. There was no time to truly enjoy it, though, because he sat back up and sighed, settling your hands against his thighs. “I can take you back to your car now, if you want.” He tilted his head to the side. “I’m sure you want to go home.”

“You trying to kick me out already?” You bit down on the inside of your lip, thinking. “It’s still early, and I’ve got nothing to do until dinner with the Garins tomorrow.” His eyebrows shot up, Pero watching you with curiosity. “After earlier, I wasn’t going to go so that you could.”

“We should go together.” He hummed, nodding. “Your house is on the way.” It is, but…

“Are you suggesting you pick me up tomorrow, or suggesting that we make a stop there tomorrow so that I can change clothes?” Just say it, you’re already halfway there. “Because I’d be open to either, Pero. But these pants aren’t as comfortable to sleep in as my jeans, and they smell like alcohol.”

“You could always take them off.” He smirked then, Pero straightening his shoulders. “Or I could help you do it.” He wrinkled his nose when he finished and then rolled his eyes. “That sounded so much better in my head. Fuck I am bad at this.”

“You’re not.” You stood, pulling on his hands to urge him to stand with you. “It’s actually kind of refreshing to have you be a little awkward about it, to be honest. I’d rather it be this way than have you so confident with your pick up lines that it feels routine.” He looked relieved at that, and when Pero slipped his hands free, you let him, moving yours to his waist. “If you ask me to spend the night with you, I’ll say yes.”

It took him a few seconds to reply. You didn’t know if he was processing your words or trying to make up his mind, but whatever it was, you knew the moment that he’d come to a decision, because you saw the change in his demeanor. “I would like you to stay.” He took a breath, his hands sliding up your arms slowly. “And I don’t mean on the couch.”

“Then you should probably eat, Pero.” You winked at him. “Wouldn’t want your growly stomach to interrupt anything.”

... I think you all know where this is going.

#pero tovar #pero tovar x reader #pero tovar x female reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal character #pero x female reader #pero x reader #the great wall #the great wall fic #pero tovar au #the great wall au #pero tovar masterlist #pedro pascal masterlist #christmas story #pero tovar is grumpy #masterlist #writing

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helenvader · 2 years ago

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Get to know your fic writer!

I have emerged from my writing hiatus, but I'm horribly stuck, so this game might be refreshing. :) I am not the author, I stumbled across it and told myself why not.

Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Do you like constructive criticism?

Do you have your work beta'd? How important is this to your process?

How do you choose which POV to write from?

Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or end of a story?

Do you comment on stories you read?

Cltr+f "blinks" on your WIP & copy paste the first sentence/paragraph that comes up

Link your three favorite fics right now

how does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

How do you write smut scenes? Do you get very visual or detailed? How important is it to be realistic?

How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

Would you ever collaborate with another writer for a story?

Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

Best writing advice for other writers?

Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

On average, how much writing do you get done in a day?

What’s your revision or editing process like?

Do you share rough drafts or do you wait until it’s all polished?

Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

Name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

Do you want to be published some day?

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain?

How do you write kissing scenes?

How do you choose where to end a chapter?

Would you ever write commissions?

Share a snippet from a WIP

If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

Do you take a sadistic joy in whumping your characters, or are you more the "If you hurt them I would kill everyone and then myself" kind of person?

What mistakes do you keep making no matter how many times your beta corrects you?

Do you want to break your readers‘ heart or make them laugh?

How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

What do you look for in a beta?

Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

How long is your longest fic?

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Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily a fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both?

What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

Do you prefer editing as you write, or waiting until it’s finished?

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc)

Does anyone in your personal life know you write fic? if not, would you tell anyone?

Have you had a writer you admire comment on your fic? What was that like?

Why do you continue writing fics?

Thoughts on cliffhangers?

Something you hate to see in smut.

Something you love to see in smut.

Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

How do you deal with writing pressure (ie. pressure to update, negative comments, deadlines, etc.)?

Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

What work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?

When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

What order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?

What scene in [Fanfic Name] took the longest to write? What was difficult about it?

Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of [Fanfic Name]?

Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from [Fanfic Name] story/chapter?

#ask games #get to know your writer

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magickhajiit · 5 months ago

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Boy Wonder No More

Chapter 1

Summary-

Tim Drake has been Robin for years. Its a secret he holds close to his chest. Unfortuanatly for him the truth has a way of revealing itself in the worst moments. And Amanda 'The Wall' Waller has decided Batman's proteges, the Boy Wonder and Nightwing, have more use under her thumb than they do out flying through the dark streets of Gotham.

---------- Also known as Tim Drake and Dick Grayson join the Suicide Squad.

Rating - T

Chalk lines jumble together as Tim slumps at his desk, Shakespeare’s words melt into white noise as he watches the clock, its arms moving with the urgency of a pensioner counting their coins at a store checkout. Either three minutes or three hours ago the clock had struck two. Giving him ninety minutes till the bell screeches in the hall and about four hundred and eighty minutes till he’s flying through the dark streets of Gotham.

When the professor’s clipped voice stops Tim buries his head into his book, his bangs blocking his view of the clock and his pencil teasing the edge of the blank page. The bite of a lead pencil into his skin keeps his eyes from drooping further as he nipples at his inside cheek.

Only a few years separate his teacher and her students, a fact that she compensates for a no-nonsense attitude and a severe bun. Mrs Miller is a newly Wed who just moved from the state of Nevada after studying for three years. Her father’s a big-time banker, with connections in New York, giving her first access to a faculty spot in Gotham State Academy. According to a mixture of private emails and transfer papers courtesy of the Bat Computer. Not that Tim is meant to look, but some stalker-like habits are harder to drop than others.

‘’Timothy Drake.’’ With her non-vigilante background in mind, Tim mentally kicks himself when he starts at the sound of his name. She’s managed to sneak behind him, so close he can see how her chalk-stained fingers have smudged a hint of green onto her dark skin. Hopefully, she rubs it off before her four PM meeting.

‘’Uh- Yes.’’ Subconsciously, Tim splays a hand over his empty page.

Her green eyes don’t flick downward, focusing over his shoulder, ‘’As I just stated these gentlemen are here to see you.’’

Unease running through him Tim follows her gaze, landing on the men in the door. Both are wearing pressed black slacks and ties, their eyes shielded by black glasses. Hints of grey have started to invade the hair of the first man. The second stands inches behind him, looking like he wanted to barge into the room first but was foiled. His form is almost satirical in its stature, the empty doorway space left by the first agent has been consumed by the second. ‘’Right. Sorry.’’ When Tim stuffs his work into his backpack no one speaks up to correct his assumption. The gaze of his classmates burns a hole through his blazer as he walks to meet them, the door closing in his wake.

Despite a warning bell blaring in his mind, he plasters on his best Timothy Drake smile when he asks, ‘’Can I ask what this is about.’’

‘’We need you to come with us, son.’’ The older man speaks first his speckled military-style moustache wiggles as he talks.

‘’Not until I know what this is about.’’ Deep in his pockets, his hand tightened to fists, nails embedding. He pushes a joke past his lips, its intent to disarm. ‘’My parents did warn me about stranger danger after all’’

Moustache man cracks a grin and for a split second, Tim thinks he’s won. ‘’If you tweet any louder than that you might cause a scene. And that’s not going to end well for any of us. Capesh.’’ When the second guy opens his mouth Tim can hear a slight whistle, and when he sneers he flashes empty gums and sparse teeth.

Tweeting. Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe not. ‘’Sorry. I didn’t mean any disrespect I’m just curious.’’ Placatingly Tim raises his hands, taking note of the flintch that crosses the men’s faces.

‘’Curiosity killed the cat you know.’’ The hand that lands on his shoulder propels his body down the corridor, his fingers embedding marks that will likely blossom into bruises before the next sunrise. Just as Tim’s thanking God third period hadn’t yet finished the boy shuffles around the corner, his gaze locked onto the device clutched in his hand. With a teenage sixth sense, he knows to glance up moments before collision. His eyes widen like saucers as he takes sight of Tim.

‘’So it's true.’’ Tim thinks he might take double math with the boy but he’s not too sure. Before he can question and feed that voice in his head warning him the phone plucked out of the boy’s hand, earphones trailing behind, and crushed beneath the heel of a recently polished office shoe. ‘’ Hey. You can’t do that. I have rights.’’

The meaty hand that propels him forward is quickly replaced by a grip on the back of his neck, the pressure almost reassuring. ‘’Stay Calm and don’t struggle. You don’t need to make this any worse.’’ The older man guides him faster down the hall, but not before he sees the giant agent lift the boy a few inches from the floor, held aloft by the lapels of his own blazer. Robin knows at least a few dozen ways to untangle himself from the hold, another dozen ways to drop the agents and be out of the building before their bodies hit the ground. Timothy Drake however knows none.

Bright rays of sun leave him blinded for a moment when they burst through the front doors and only by habit does he manage the following steps without tumbling. Already he knew not to expect to be led to the principal’s office. Whatever this was, was bigger than a detention. Still, the black special ops van that’s rolled up to the school’s front doors is a surprise, as are the armed men surrounding it. ‘’Wait there’s been a mistake.’’ One hand dives into his pocket, digging around he presses the help button moments before his hands are wrenched behind his back.

‘’Sure there has.’’ Gum Guy was back, now forcing him forward into the awaiting open doors of the van. Two armed guards are already occupying the space within, not reacting even as Tim is forced to his knees between them. The chains that are resting on the van’s floor are quickly wrapped around his wrists, keeping his hands at the same level as his knees. As he’s trussed up he puts up a token protest at best, still hoping there is still a secret identity he's protecting. Though he takes satisfaction at hearing a grunt as he stabs backward with a sharp elbow, hitting a softness that promises a stomach hit. ‘’I hope I didn’t ruffle your feathers too much today, birdy boy.’’ The van’s doors slam closed as Tim’s throat runs dry.

#tim drake #my fanfic #dc comics #robin comics #batfam #protective dic grayson #tim drake is robin #tim drake centric #feral tim drake #tim drake joins the suicide squad #tim drake is cardinal #tim drake & dickgrayson #amanda waller #suicide squad #suicide squad fanfiction

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girlonthefireescape · 1 month ago

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Cookies & Christmas Memories (Kate/Yelena)

Thought I'd share a Christmassy snippet from my current WIP (Brought a Knife to a Gunfight). I'd originally planned to post the full story before the end of the year, but I've still got a few edits left and then it goes to my beta.

This scene is from chapter one and rated G. (The full story is rated M.) It takes place on Christmas Day.

Full fic summary for context: "What do you mean you’ve brought the woman who tried to kill you home for the holidays?"

Set post-Hawkeye. After clashing over the number of forks a single person should own (as well as a bunch of other things), Kate and Yelena crash the Barton family Christmas.

(Comes with a dash of angst and a sprinkle of holiday cheer!)

- - -

Cookies & Christmas Memories

Once Yelena’s gotten the hang of it, she's bizarrely adept at sliding a knife under the dough and picking up even the most delicate shapes without tearing them.

"How are you so good at this?" Kate's trees and stars stick to the wood no matter how much flour she sprinkles on the table.

"I'm good with knives. How are you so bad at this?" Yelena cuts out a snowflake. "You need to add more flour."

"I already did that."

"You need to add more flour to your dough, not the table," Lila explains. "It's too greasy."

Kate still struggles, but the extra flour helps. The first batch goes into the oven, and within minutes, the room fills with the sugary aroma of her childhood. December afternoons spent in the kitchen. Her dad's booming laugh when he found her drawing stick figures in the melted chocolate she'd spilled on the counter.

"Aunt Nat said that one summer you kept pestering her so much about Christmas that she put on Christmas music and sang carols with you in July."

If Kate wasn't surreptitiously watching Yelena, she would've missed the subtle flinch at Lila's mention of Natasha. For a split second, Yelena looks lost, a barely-there frown on her face.

"I don't remember that."

Before Lila can ask a follow-up question, Laura gently cuts in. "You were so young, it's unlikely that you would."

Yelena glances at Laura and returns her focus to the task in front of her. She fidgets with the butter knife—they only have one spatula—scoops up her reindeer, and places it on the baking sheet, right next to Kate's snowman.

They mess around with icing and decorations until the sun slowly dips behind the horizon. The kids are still hunched over the table, busy decorating the last of the cookies, when Kate sets the stainless steel bowl on the drying rack.

"Nate, no!" Lila squeaks as a deluge of rainbow sprinkles whooshes onto the table. "Quick! Catch it before it goes on the floor."

They both dissolve into giggles.

The lock of the dishwasher clicks into place. Laura straightens and stretches her arms above her head. She points at Yelena. "I've got something for you."

She disappears into the living room and comes back with a book. "Nat loved this one. I thought you might like to have it."

Yelena stares at the paperback for a good few seconds before she accepts it. "Thank you."

- - -

The full story should be up on my ao3 early in the new year. Happy holidays!

(Photos are mine. Please don't reuse.)

#kate x yelena #bishova #yelena belova #kate bishop #yelena x kate #kate bishop x yelena belova #hawkeye #black widow #bishlova #wrote a thing!

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noboundsforlove · 1 year ago

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Violet Sorrengail’s Second Signet

Her second signet is light. Let me explain.

Let’s start with her first signet, back in Fourth Wing. In Chapter 22, Tairn channels to Violet for the first time. Violet describes it as a “rush of energy” that races down her spine. Then she says “Another wave ripples through me…” and continues “Something within me expands, somehow too big for my own body, too vast to be contained, and pain sears every nerve as I crack open, the sound reverberating through my skull like bones shattering. It’s as though I’ve been split at the very seams of the fabric of my being.” What’s important to note is that it comes in waves and it is painful. She then says “Energy pours in - a deluge of raw endless power…” She specifically describes it as “the energy - the power.” As continuing to course through her veins.

Fast forward to Iron Flame. Andarna wakes up from the Dreamless Sleep at the end of Chapter 37. I’m of the opinion that Violet’s second signet does not manifest until after Andarna awakes (sorry to anyone who thinks the hallucination of Liam [Ch. 35] or Rhiannon’s dagger move [Ch. 29] are a part of the second signet). Andarna is still a bit groggy when she wakes up, so she doesn’t start channeling to Violet right away. She starts channeling in Chapter 48 - you know - the “My house. My Chair. My woman.” chapter.

During this cataclysmic scene, Xaden gives Violet the conduit to hold - this is key, as I think it’s why Violet does not fully realize Andarna has started to channel. I think it starts when Violet says “With the next caress, pleasure and power crest through me, over me, in simultaneous waves that crash again and again. There’s no thunder, no strike, only the hum of energy in my hand that flares with the strokes of Xaden’s mouth and fingers.” Violet’s stream of consciousness continues that it does not end - “only the waves of infinite ecstasy that come without breaking.” She says out loud “I can’t take it” and says the waves come and come with no end in sight. She describes the “searing pleasure” that rips through her. After Xaden floods the bond, she says “I shatter, splintering into a million glittering shards of bliss as I scream out his name. Power and light course through me without burning…” and then says she feels her power crackle through the orb in her hand before settling.

The way Violet describes what she is feeling as endless waves and searing pleasure echoes the scene in Fourth Wing where Tairn starts channeling to her. It is the only spot in the book where she says that “power and light” course through her, and I think that indicates that her second signet is finally present. It’s important to note that in Chapter 40, Felix tells Violet that she “wields pure power that takes the form of lightning” because that is the form Violet is most comfortable shaping it as. I think her light signet will be similar—what she will wield is pure light, but it will take a certain form.

As Andarna reminds Violet in Chapter 53, “signets manifest according to the person wielding.” Violet is, in a metaphorical sense, light. I think her signet of power is associated with her rider heart, and her signet of light is associated with her scribe mind. Violet is outraged by being kept in the dark by her government—she wants the truth to be brought to light. This also applies to her relationship with Xaden—she constantly seeks truth, or light.

Violet is also going to need light to defeat the venin. In Chapter 53, Cat makes a comment to Violet that the fact that she doesn’t carry a torch with her says that Violet hasn’t been appropriately scared of the dark yet. At the beginning of Chapter 61, we get more context as to why Cat might be afraid of the dark—the chapter begins with a quote from Major Edvard Tiller’s Unaccredited Study of the Venin. “Though there is some debate, it is greatly believed that turning venin heightens one of the dark wielder’s senses. It is this scholar’s belief that the one responsible for the death of King Grethwild developed keener eyesight. For not even the best of His Majesty’s royal fliers could see through the darkness the venin hid within to slay our beloved king.” Violet will need light to expose the venin and then wield power in the form of lightning to defeat them.

One thought on the form the light signet could take is that Violet is a luminary. She can amplify dragon fire, and make it hotter. She might need this to be able to forge a tool or weapon out of iron, like the wardstones, the stones found in the wyvern carcasses, the Rybestad chest, or the runed stones that protected the children of the rebellion. After all, Violet is a part of the Iron Squad, and the book is called Iron Flame - perhaps the answer has been sitting in front of us all along. Violet’s second signet may just be her ability to wield iron flame.

#Iron flame #fourth wing #the empyrean #violet sorrengail #tairn #tairneanach #violet and tairn #andarna #xaden riorson #violet and xaden #Iron squad #signet #wyverns #dragons #The empyrean series

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penny-the-pissed-poltergeist · 14 days ago

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This is it, RWBY volume 3 finale, The end of the beginning rewatch thoughts, RWDE/Critical opinions ahead

.The fight between Cinder and Ozpin is really cool, I just wish it lasted longer and didn't cut away from Oz losing. (Also why didn't Oz use the cane nuke he used on the whale here? Not like anyone else could get caught in the blast)

.Kinda weird that we can still see red one Yang's stump, does nobody have medical supplies to at least bandage it? I'd assume not doing that's a bad idea

.Weiss is not just going to let Ruby throw her life away like that

.Jaune is trying to let Pyrrha do that too but Pyrrha thinks she has to...

.I've decided I only like Jaune when they aren't trying to make him a main character

.And then he destroys the one thing he could use to do the one thing he was told to, god damn it

.Something tells me Cinder knew Pyrrha was coming

.I feel like both me earlier and the FNDM in general overstate how well Pyrrha did against Cinder, Don't pretend like she's not getting her shit rocked here

.The way it's cut makes it look like Pyrrha turned her back to Cinder after throwing her shield for no reason

.Pyrrha's death scene is really haunting and effective regardless of how I feel about how her death was handled afterward

.And now we get to the deus ex machina that is the first Silver Eyes activation. I KNOW they were set up before.... with one line 2/33 episodes ago without any other real hint after that if I'm remembering right? (Do correct me if I'm wrong)

.I really don't like bringing up Monty's name because a lot of the time it's either really tacky or being used a weapon against whatever side of the FNDM/HTDM you don't like, but both Silver eyes and everything to do with Raven are the two things I'm 100% sure would have been very different under Monty. I doubt he would've put in what amounts to a "skip cool fight" button.

.Also really cool how they set up a fucking awesome grimm dragon and then have it do almost nothing then half die

.The Doylist reason for the CCT working the way it does is literally just so nobody on the main cast can call Blake or Weiss post split up. I have no idea why else they would set it up that way.

.Seeing them next to each other again really shows how Ruby looks nothing like her dad, Summer might as well have reproduced via budding

.Why does Tai have to leave, personal beef or some shit?

.Qrow, how the fuck did you know that?

.Cinders trail "Leads back to beacon" sounds like a good way to get the heroes to go to the next kingdom but they do anything in regards to looking into it when they get there

.Why is Ruby so shocked by Weiss's dad taking her home, Jacques is a shitty dad but what dad wouldn't rush to get their kid out of war zone full of death monsters?

.You might try to justify the CCT thing with these line about people not trusting atlas but that doesn't really go anywhere.

.Yang reacting to... everything that happened to her is handled really well

.I really wish they didn't just skip past everyone else's reactions to Pyrrha's death and their recoveries.

.Why are RNJR going on foot? Cars and Trains and Ships all exist, why not use one of those.

.Tai can never avoid woman leaving him, can he? First both of his wives and now his daughter.

.Raven, please talk to your Daughter like a normal person

.Weiss: Why is my father 2D (Jacques hits her with his infinitely sharp hand, killing her instantly)

.On one hand, the narrator being the main villain the whole time and her whole speak go so fucking hard, on the other... How is Salem talking to Ozpin? Was she just talking to herself here, then what was the volume 1 chapter 1 narration? Does this mean she canonically the one talking in world of remnant? Am I thinking about this to hard... the answer to the last one is yes.

.Holy shit... the guy called Qrow... can turn into a crow

#rwde #rwby

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strangerstilinski · 2 years ago

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SELENOPHILES OF BEACON HILLS | Teen Wolf Rewrite

Stiles Stilinksi/Original Female Character

chapter one - - chapter two

summary; after an already traumatic evening involving the unfortunate discovery of a gruesome scene, amber is convinced to hike through the woods with her two best friends in search of the other half of a dead body. but it's not as if she could ever say no.. not when stiles looked at her like that.

word count; 11,952

notes; this whole thing was inspired by the throwaway line "two joggers found a body in the woods-" this is the first half of s1e1. i've already completed season one in its entirety but i will be posting them slowly on here. it's 13 chapters in all.

masterlist

c h a p t e r o n e

wolf moon pt.1

All of the craziness started on a Sunday.

The last day of winter break had been stressful enough to start, with the anxiety of having to start up classes again at the front of Amber’s mind all morning. It would be the final semester of her sophomore year. Then, the next year would be crammed with SATs and ACTs and applying to colleges. She knew they would all be one step closer to having to decide what to do with the rest of their lives.

She found it all very daunting.

Since waking up that morning, the girl had restlessly alternated between hiding away in the privacy of her bedroom and lounging in the living room downstairs, unable to find a comfortable place to settle. At some point, she'd managed to chew her nails to the point of bleeding. Pulling her hair back into a braid had become a necessity when she noticed herself picking obsessively at her split ends. Her laptop sat open on the coffee table along with a small stack of paperbacks, from where she had started and then immediately abandoned two different television shows and three books.

After dinner, her irritating inability to sit still had finally pushed her older brother, Jason, to his final breaking point. He'd demanded she go change into exercise clothes and then he dragged her from the house in an effort to release some of her pent up restless energy.

Jason forced her out for a jog through the preserve, and only a measly ten minutes into their run she found herself already with sweat trickling down her temple. She was breathing heavily, slowly falling behind, while her brother continued to run ahead of her with ease.

Amber watched as her brother's lead slowly increased in length, the gap between them growing larger and larger, the sound of his footfalls crunching over leaves and twigs growing more and more faint as she trailed behind. Eventually, upon rounding a long bend in the hiking trail, she realized that she could no longer see him in the distance at all.

With a pause to catch her breath, she bent over at the waist to brace her hands on her knees in an attempt to pull more air into her aching lungs.

Over a mile deep in the preserve, the only sounds that met her ears were that of the breeze whistling as it filtered through barren branches, the odd scuffle of fallen leaves rolling over one another, and her own wheezing breaths of exertion.

When she lifted her head to take stock of where she'd stopped, she found that she'd reached the first fork in the trail. She returned to an upright position, chest heaving as she continued to pant labored breaths, deliberating which path her brother might have taken with hands on her hips.

With a resolved shake of her head, she chose the path to the right. Regardless of which she took, both would eventually lead back to the small trailhead where they'd parked the truck. So, she continued on.

The pace that she settled into could hardly have been considered a jog — if anything, she was moving in a walk with only the exaggerated body movements of a run, but she was tired.

She had only made it a few hundred feet from where the trail split off before she spotted something that piqued her curiosity in a pile of dry brush and leaves at the side of the trail. She slowed as she approached, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead with her shirtsleeve and breathing heavily.

Poking out from the leaves, she could just make out the peculiar shape of a cluster of pale rocks — it almost resembled toes.

A choked combination of a gag and a gasp escaped her. She covered her mouth with the sleeve of her windbreaker as she reached the pile of brush because — It was definitely toes, connected to a foot, which then connected to legs and, well, that was pretty much where it ended because there was only half of a body.

Another gag pushed its way out of her throat, eyes drawn to the clean, smooth cut that went straight through the hips of the corpse beneath the dead leaves. Something had been used to cut them through muscle and flesh and bone. She could see it was a female — the body had been left completely naked.

This had been a person. And they laid on the ground, covered in earth and dried blood, just a few feet from where she was standing. Amber could see dirt caked around the pink nail polish that covered the woman's toenails. Even through all of the blood, she could make out a tiny freckle on the bare skin of the corpse's knee.

She fought back another gag as she finally found her voice, and she screamed.

“Jason!”

Her voice came out shrill. It cracked painfully as she shouted for her brother again and again. She screamed only a handful of times before she could hear her brother yelling her own name in panic as he backtracked and found his way to her on the trail.

Jason's feet skidded in the dirt as he came to a stop in front of where his sister was still standing. Her shaking fingers still covering her mouth as she struggled to keep herself from dry-heaving. His hands went to her shoulders as he checked his sister over for any sort of visible injury. When he found none, his attention turned around them, searching for a threat. His eyes widened when he followed her gaze and caught sight of the body — what there was of one — that sat only a few feet away from them.

Amber distantly heard the call that her brother placed to the Sheriff's Station. She could hear him telling someone about the body and she heard him give directions to their location on the trail, but it was echoed, like she was underwater as she listened to him speak into his phone off to the side of her peripheral vision.

She couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from the corpse. The skin was so pale, it had almost a blueish hue. She wondered, absently, if the person had been out here in the cold before they died, or if that was just what a body looked like after so much blood loss because this person must have lost... So. Much. Blood.

The whole body was covered in in it, gluing dry leaves and dirt to their skin. They had been cut in half. Or, maybe they hadn’t been cut in half until after they’d died. Maybe, Amber thought, it had been something simple. A quick death. Something like a gunshot to the head–

God. She hoped desperately that the woman hadn’t been sliced in half while they were still alive.

It felt like only a minute or two had passed but it must have been longer because suddenly, the bright evening sunlight that had guided her along the trail during their jog was dwindling. It was growing dark and she was being ushered away from the body as officers took pictures, laying crime tape and placing little numbered tents around the scene.

Her brother stood off to the side speaking to the same deputy Amber had just finished with, recounting his own memory of the evening. The deputy nodded and took notes down on their little pad once again, just as they had when Amber had been talking.

Down at the end of the trail, it seemed as if police cars might never stop coming. There were officers making their way up with search dogs now. The dogs barked and ran around, likely on the search for the other half of the body.

She stood off to the side as her eyes flicked from where Jason was speaking to the deputy, to the location of the body, where cameras were flashing and uniformed deputies were moving back and forth in a blur.

Amber felt a hand land on her shoulder and nearly jumped out of her skin. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she spun around to see that it was only Sheriff Stilinski, looking at her with the same soft look of concern in his eyes that she'd seen so many times over the years.

“Amber. I didn’t realize it was you and Jason who’d come across it. When I got the call.. I was out of the house so fast I didn’t think to ask-” He sighed, “You okay, kid?”

The girl took a shaky breath, but nodded. The heavy hand Sheriff Stilinski still had resting on her shoulder felt grounding. While he could never replace her dad, he was as close as she got these days and she was grateful for his presence now.

Over the years, there had been something about the stern, protective, always unwaveringly loving energy that her best friend's father emitted. Somehow, he always managed to make her darkest days just a bit better — it was entirely possible that the ability was simply a Stilinski family trait.

“Yeah. I’m okay. Scarred for life, definitely, yeah. But, okay.” Amber said, feeling proud when the small smile she gave him was only somewhat shaky. “I actually think I might go to Scott's? I’ll call Stiles.. See if they want to watch some movies or something. Just.. Distract myself, y'know?”

Getting Stiles to sit down quietly and watch a movie could be like pulling teeth sometimes. He was constantly jamming his elbow into her waist to get her attention away from the screen, or talking over the action, or pulling out his laptop mid-scene to search the internet for inaccuracies or an actor's filmography in a way that she found endlessly endearing.

It was exactly the kind of distraction she felt like she needed right now.

The Sheriff nodded in response before pulling her in for a tight hug. His hand lingered at the back of her head for a few moments, but then he was releasing her and setting off to talk with a cluster of officers.

“I'd really feel better with you at home where I know you're okay.” Jason told her once they'd closed themselves off inside of his pickup truck.

While understood why her brother was so reluctant to let her go off on her own, Amber was entirely too stubborn for her own good, and Jason inevitably agreed to drop her at Scott's house on his way home, with her promise of getting a decent night’s sleep.

After all, it was a school night.

It was hard to believe that only a couple of hours before, she had been stressed about school of all things. Now, she was fighting off yet another wave of nausea brought on by stumbling across a dead body deep in the preserve.

Well, half of one.

As soon as the vehicle began moving, trees rushing past her window in a dark blur of motion, she was trying to get a hold of Stiles. After two attempts in which the call merely rang through to his voicemail, she tucked her phone back into the pocket of her sport jacket with a frown and a huff. She would just have to wait and see if Scott knew whether Stiles was busy tonight.

Amber had hardly made it two steps into the entryway of the McCall house when Scott came barreling down the stairs, attempting to pull on a zip-up hoodie with one hand and wielding a baseball bat in the other. She opened her mouth to question him but before she could make a sound he shushed her aggressively, pushing her behind himself without explanation as he crept out the front door and onto the porch with an abundance of caution and visible nerves.

“Scott?!” She whispered aggressively, still receiving no answer beyond a frustrated wave of his hand signaling for her to be quiet.

She followed close behind, confused and mildly alarmed as she tried to imagine whatever threat Scott thought that he might find outside. She clung onto the hood of the boy's sweatshirt with one hand as she trailed close behind. Scott held the bat, ready to strike, as the two rounded the porch at the side of the house.

The rapidly dropping temperature over the previous half an hour had the breath puffing out from their mouths in foggy clouds in the dark. Scott relaxed his hold on the bat for a brief second as he peered down over the railing, inadvertently pulling Amber forward with him.

Suddenly, something large dropped down from the roof to dangle in front of them, both teens letting out a scream of alarm. Amber instinctively yanked on Scott's sweatshirt in an attempt to pull him back from the threat, but they both quieted upon recognizing the third scream coming from the person now hanging upside-down from the trellis at the roof of the porch.

“Stiles!” She and Scott both yelled in frustrated synchronization.

“What the hell are you doing?” Scott continued immediately.

“You weren’t answering your phone!” Stiles yelled at Scott defensively. “And.. Okay, I know I wasn’t either.” He added sheepishly when he spotted Amber still hidden behind Scott. “Why do you have a bat?!” Stiles’ voice rose to a shrill level again.

As if only now remembering his weapon of choice was still clutched defensively above their heads, ready for an attack, Scott lowered the bat a small increment before speaking, “I thought you were a predator.” He explained simply.

“A pre-” Stiles spluttered, “Look, I know it’s late, but you gotta hear this. I saw my dad leave twenty minutes ago. Dispatch called. They’re bringing in every officer from the Beacon Department, and even State Police.”

Amber felt her heart drop suddenly into her stomach as if it were made up of lead.

“For what?” Scott asked, his eyebrows scrunching in curiosity.

“Two joggers found a body in the woods.” Stiles explained at the same time Amber’s voice whispered a meek, “We found a body.”

Stiles clumsily dropped down from where he had been hanging upside-down, arms flailing as he fell from the roof and onto the ground below the porch in a clumsy heap of limbs. The boy stumbled a bit before he managed to get his footing and moved to stand upright.

Scott’s head pivoted back and forth between his two best friends, his eyes wide. “A dead body?”

“No, a body of water. Yes, Dumbass. A dead body.” Stiles scoffed, climbing up onto the porch to stand in front of them. He turned to Amber with a furrow between his brows, “Who's we? You found it?” He asked with growing excitement.

“Jason and I.” She supplied quietly.

“You mean like.. Murdered?” Scott interrupted, taking a step back to stand beside Amber instead of in front of her. He seemed to be stuck on the concept of the dead body being dead.

“Nobody knows yet. Just that it was a girl, probably in her twenties.” Stiles said with wide eyes, like he found it all very exciting. Amber was beginning to feel queasy again.

“Hold on,” Scott said, “If they found the body, then what are they looking for?”

“That's the best part.” Stiles started, looking to Amber for assurance, or maybe some assistance in the reveal of the next bit of information. She only managed a deep breath after a moment, feeling truly sick as Stiles finished, “They only found half.”

“It was only half.”

Although they spoke at the same time, Amber's words had come out much quieter than Stiles, hardly a weak murmur. Hand beginning to cramp where she was still clutching tightly onto the fabric of Scott’s hood, she released it to flex her fingers a couple of times.

Stiles reached out a hand to rest on her shoulder, leaning in close, “We're going.” He announced firmly.

“Are we actually going to do this?” Scott asked, looking back and forth between them again.

“No.” Amber got out, though the heavy warmth of Stiles' hand through her windbreaker was already making her judgement fuzzy.

Stiles looked at Scott briefly before returning his attention to her, “How come you're the only one who gets to find a body, huh?” He slipped his hand down from her shoulder to grip at her elbow and cradled it softly.

“I don’t know how great you think finding a dead body was for me, but I assure you, it wasn't nearly as fun as whatever you're imagining.” Amber told Stiles.

He stayed silent for once, maintaining eye contact with her for a long minute. She tried to remain strong, she truly did. Amber broke eye contact to look at his face, her eyes flicking over each freckle and mole dotting his pale skin. Steadfastly refusing to let her eyes fall to his lips or drift back to his whiskey colored eyes, she could literally feel her resolve crumbling with every second that she looked at her best friend.

“I’m never going to be able to talk you assholes out of doing this, am I?” She asked quietly. The pit in her stomach felt as if it were expanding with the intent to swallow her whole as her eyes finally went back to his.

A stupidly sweet smile stretched across Stiles' face immediately as he realized he'd won and his hand trailed lower again, taking hold of her own and giving it a squeeze.

Her belly did a traitorous flip at the feeling of her hand in his own and she heaved a resigned sigh. She really didn’t want to have to find both halves of this body.

“We’re seriously doing this?” Scott repeated, sounding unsure.

“You're the ones always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town.” Stiles said, rifling through his backpack as they climbed out of his cramped Jeep. He triumphantly pulled out a flashlight and clicked it on, illuminating the preserve in a bright stream of light.

“Plenty has happened for me, today.” Amber reminded them, shielding her eyes until Stiles had lowered the flashlight to shine on the ground.

He put a hand at the small of Amber’s back as they ventured away from the Jeep, guiding her forward gently while he lit a path in front of them.

“And I was trying to get a good night’s sleep before practice tomorrow.” Scott said.

Stiles addressed Scott first, “Right, ‘cause sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort. And you,” He said, shining the flashlight at Amber briefly before focussing it back in front of them while they made their way through the trees, “You get to find a body, I get to find a body, right? Fair's fair.”

“I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line.” Scott said, bringing the conversation back around to himself and looking annoyingly smug.

“Hey, that's the spirit! Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one.” Stiles laughed, his hand drifting to grip Amber's hip momentarily before it returned to the safety of her spine.

She reached up to reprimand Stiles with a gentle thwack on the back of the head as they walked, letting her hand fall to his elbow and pulling his arm from behind her, taking ahold of his hand for support instead as they walked. He began to move faster with his long stride and Amber allowed him pull her along while she attempted to keep up on her shorter legs.

It had grown colder still, their breath continuing to puff out in tiny clouds as the three hiked through the preserve, moving as quickly as they could while watching their step over rocks and fallen branches.

“Just out of curiosity.. Which half of the body are we looking for?” Scott finally asked.

Stiles stumbled, his steps faltering as he paused beside Amber, “Huh. I didn’t think about that.”

Both boys looked to her as they continued to move, waiting for an answer.

“You know what? You’ll find out if we find it. I refuse to indulge you both any more than I already am just by being here.” She huffed, taking a step away from the two of them while maintaining her hold on Stiles' hand.

“And, uh, what if whoever killed the body is still out here?” Scott followed up, nervously looking up into the trees surrounding them.

Amber took a hasty step back toward Stiles as her stomach tied itself tighter in knots at the thought, fearfully clutching Stiles' hand tighter in her grip.

“Also something I didn't think about.” Stiles replied.

“It's comforting to know you planned this out with your usual attention to detail.” Scott panted as they dropped to nearly a crawl at a steep incline.

“I know.” Stiles grinned, carefully pulling Amber up with him as they scaled the slippery hill.

When Scott stopped to lean against a tree trunk, she paused and tugged on Stiles' arm to slow him as he tried to keep moving.

“Maybe the, uh, severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?” Scott said between choppy breaths.

Amber shot a brief glare toward Stiles in the dark, rubbing her free hand on Scott's arm in a comforting gesture as he pulled out his inhaler.

They continued on, following the light Stiles shined ahead of them until he suddenly dropped to the ground, dragging Amber down beside him and covering the bright beam shining out from his flashlight. In the dark, they could see more flashlights sweeping back and forth in the distance, illuminating the mist of rain that was beginning falling around them. They could hear search dogs huffing quiet noises between barks.

“Come on.” Stiles shot to his feet and took off before either of them could stop him and he pulled Amber's arm painfully as he took off, not yet relinquishing his grip on her hand.

“Stiles!” Scott and Amber both whisper-shouted at his back.

When her hand slipped from Stiles' as they raced after him in the dark, Amber squeaked unhappily, “Wait up!” She called out iman hushed voice.

“Stiles!” Scott called after him, “Stiles!”

The two moved as fast as they could, trying to keep up with their friend, but he'd gotten ahead of them. Amber huffed when her toe caught on a tree root and she grabbed onto Scott as she righted herself. She was still gripping onto Scott's arms and getting her feet back underneath her when she heard Stiles let out a cut off scream of alarm in the distance, shortly followed by the sound of dogs barking.

He had been spotted.

“Stay right there!” An officer shouted over the sound of the dog barking.

“Shit.” Amber whispered with wide eyes as Scott dragged her along to hide behind a large tree.

“Hang on, hang on. This little delinquent belongs to me.” They heard the Sheriff’s voice announce with disappointment.

“Dad. How're you doing?” Stiles greeted weakly.

“So. Do you, uh, listen in to all of my phone calls?” Sheriff Stilinski questioned.

“No,” Stiles laughed nervously, “Not the boring ones..”

Amber thumped her forehead against Scott's shoulder. “Idiot.” She whispered fondly, shaking her head.

“Now, where're your usual partners in crime? I thought after the night she’d had, Amber would've kept you away from this.”

She felt the heat of it when Scott took a quiet, shaky breath.

“Scott? Scott's home.” Stiles stuttered, “He said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for first day back to school tomorrow, so.. Amber went home and now it's just me. In the woods.. Alone.”

“Scott!” The sheriff yelled out, causing them both to flinch from where they were huddled behind the tree, “Amber! You out there? Scott!” There was a pause during which Amber and Scott looked at one another nervously, eyes wide. “Well, young man, I'm gonna walk you back to your car and you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy.”

Thunder rolled loudly over the sound of the Sheriff dragging Stiles and their only flashlight off into the distance. The mist from earlier had eased it's way into a drizzle during the encounter and Amber shivered violently as the cold rain began to seep into her clothes.

“Now what?” She asked quietly.

“We- Walk home, I guess.” Scott sighed.

They made their way back through the trees in what Amber could only hope was the right direction, arms coming up to attempt to rub warmth into her own biceps as they moved through the rain.

They both flinched and spun around in fear at the sound of an animal howling in the distance. Amber turned to Scott and they looked at one another with wide, scared eyes before they began walking again. Scott jerked and came to a stop again only a few minutes later when they heard a large bird flapping it's wings overhead in the trees, prompting Amber to walk straight into his back. She reached up to push him forward with hands on his shoulders.

“Come on.” She urged quietly through her own nerves.

Eventually, Scott slowed to a stop again and moved to take a puff from his inhaler, his breathing ragged from all of the hiking. As he brought the inhaler to his mouth, Amber heard the sound of twigs breaking, the sound growing louder at it rushed toward them.

Scott yelled, shoving his friend to the side before falling to the ground himself. Amber screamed as she smacked against the ground, scrambling to hide behind a tree as a stampede of deer came running through. She gasped as she watched the deer only narrowly avoid trampling Scott several times before they cleared.

“Scott,” She whispered in the dark, heart pounding in her ears, “God.. You okay?”

“I dropped my inhaler!” He answered frantically, pulling out his phone for a weak source of light as he raked his hands through the leaves underfoot.

Suddenly, he yelled out again and Amber took a step closer to her friend just in time to watch him stumble and fall down an incline, and then he was gone.

“Scott!” She ran to the place where he’d fallen but as she reached the hillside, she tripped over something large on the ground and tumbled down after him.

Twigs snapped and scratched at her skin as she rolled down the hill, scraping at her hips and back as her shirt rode up, the back of her head smacking down roughly on a large rock when she finally came to a stop at the bottom of the incline.

Scott's heavy breathing was loud in the silence that followed as he righted himself.

“Amber?” He whispered, moving through the leaves.

She moved to sit up but her vision swam and she was forced to drop her head back down to the rock beneath her with a painful thunk.

“Ow.” She moaned quietly.

A loud growling sounded close by and they were both immediately filled with a cold dread. She could hear Scott’s screams but couldn’t make herself move. She shivered both from the cold and from fear, her head throbbing painfully as her heartbeat picked up.

“Scott?” She called out after a moment, voice quiet.

His screaming had stopped and she heard the sound of twigs breaking and footfalls running into the distance until she could no longer hear them at all.

“Scott?” She tried once more, finding the strength to lift her head to look around her.

The forest remained silent.

She rolled onto her front, moving her arms underneath herself and pushing up onto her knees shakily, black spots danced in the corners of her vision but the preserve was so dark that it was difficult to tell if it was due to the throbbing in her head or lack of light.

Crawling toward a large tree, Amber moved to lean back against the trunk. She shakily lifted a hand to the back of her head and felt the warm wetness in the hair at her crown. She withdrew her hand and her fingers came back stained dark.

“Fuck.” She whispered into the trees, unsure what to do now.

She must’ve fallen asleep for a few minutes because suddenly, she found herself waking.

She groaned quietly when she felt the sharp pain in the back of her head, the wound immensely sore where she had it pressed against the trunk of the tree behind her. She pried her eyes open and saw a head of dark hair on the person who was knelt down in front of her.

She tried to lift her head to lessen the pressure on her injury, but her head felt heavy so soon after waking, and it lolled to the side instead. The movement stopped when a hand moved to catch her gently by cupping the side of her face. Her vision swam for a slow second afterward while the hand held her head steady.

She could hear a voice but it sounded muffled and distant, like she had cotton stuck in her ears.

“Scott?” Amber rasped softly.

The first thing she’d felt had been the ache in her head, but as she came to, she began to feel other things. She could feel the way her damp clothes clung to her skin as she shivered. Her whole body felt sore from rolling down the hill but nothing seemed to hurt enough to be broken.

The hand on the left side of her face moved to cup her chin and pressed their thumb into her jaw, shaking her head softly. She let out a quiet, unhappy noise when the movement made her vision swim again.

“Spinny.” She complained.

Amber lifted a hand up to reach for the person's face. When her cold fingertips landed on their cheek she could feel a light stubble covering the person’s sharp jawline.

“Not Scott,” She deduced to herself miserably. She widened her eyes at the mystery person comically for a moment in an attempt to clear her vision, “Definitely not Stiles.”

She let her hand drop to the person’s shoulder to steady herself and pulled her torso up to lean away from the rough bark of the tree.

“Your. Name.” The voice repeated slowly, voice sounding clearer to her ears now that the fuzz in her brain was clearing. The hand on her face squeezed softly and pressed warm fingers into her cheek with each word.

“Amber.” She told them.

Her vision was clearer now. As the rain passed, so had the clouds, and in the glow from the moonlight that now shined through the bare trees above them, she could see the person in front of her with minimal double vision — The incredibly handsome person in front of her.

“Your eyes are very pretty.” She whispered before she could stop herself, looking into the palest eyes she’d ever seen. She wondered absently whether they were blue or green in the daylight.

The guy snorted softly in amusement, shaking his head before regaining a stoic expression, “Turn your head so I can check what we’re dealing with.”

His voice was deep and gruff and incredibly soothing. He continued to gently cup her head in one hand as he examined the bloody patch at the back of her skull, his hands the same rough yet soft combination as his voice.

“What seems to be the damage, Mister Doctor, Sir?” She asked after a moment, flinching when he prodded gently at the swollen area.

“Doesn’t look like you need stitches.” He told her, leaning back to give her some space and wiping his hands on his dark jeans, “Don’t think you hit it hard enough for brain injury either, but it’ll probably hurt for a couple days.”

“Yay for no lasting brain damage.” Amber cheered quietly as she shivered, missing the warmth of his hand against her cheek.

“You should get home. Get some rest.” The guy reached his hands out to her again, gripping one of her own and helping her to her feet with a firm grip at her elbow, “You shouldn’t even be out here in the first place. It’s private property, y’know. This isn’t a part of the preserve.”

They started to move through the woods slowly. Amber’s legs felt shaky and her butt was numb from sitting on the cold ground for so long, but her mystery doctor had moved one of his arms around her waist, supporting a majority of her weight as he maneuvered her feet smoothly over fallen branches and tree roots.

“It’s dark and my flashlight abandoned me,” She defended, “Then I tripped. Then I was abandoned again. Jesus, I hope Scott made it home okay.”

She looked to her doctor-helper with wide eyes, suddenly remembering the blood chilling sound of Scott’s scream before he had run away from her.

“There’s no one else in the preserve, now.” He assured her, “It’s just the two of us. So, whoever he is, I’m sure he made it home, just like you should be doing.”

“Yes, sir.” She mumbled reluctantly with her eyes still glued to his face, trusting that if she tripped he wouldn’t let her fall. She swore she saw his lips twitch into a brief but genuine smile before he shook his head, continuing their hike out of the forest.

“Do you have someone you can call for a ride?” He asked, “I didn’t drive here.”

Amber found herself wondering how he’d gotten out to the preserve on the edge of town if he hadn’t driven, but didn’t voice her thoughts.

“I, uh, yeah. I can try.” She decided. She pulled out her phone to see that less than an hour had passed since their run in with the Sheriff’s Deputies. She couldn’t have been unconscious for more than twenty minutes.

Amber sent a quick text to Scott to check he’d truly made it home, but paused before calling anyone. There was no way she was calling her brother to pick her up at nearly midnight, so she pulled up the number she’d called twice earlier in the evening and hoped for an answer this time.

The man beside her guided her over a cluster of rocks with a hand at her elbow as she brought her phone up to her ear and listened to the dull ringing.

“Amber! You good? You and Scott make it home okay?” Stiles greeted, picking up after only the second ring.

“Not exactly.” She muttered, her phone beeping as a text came through and she read the message from Scott.

Just got home. In bed. Need to talk to u and Stiles before school tomorrow.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she read and reread the message. She was glad Scott was safe at home but was he not at all worried about her?

“What do you mean? You guys okay?” Stiles asked nervously through the phone.

Amber smiled at the stranger beside her in silent thanks as he kept her from tripping over another rock.

“Scott’s gone. I guess he’s home now but I’m still in the preserve. I think I’m almost out to the road-” She said with question in her voice. The man next to her nodded silently and she continued, “Yeah, almost out to the road, but-”

“I’m on my way-” Stiles said quickly. She could hear movement on the other end of the line before his keys jingling loudly and the telltale bang of his front door closing.

“Your dad still working?”

“Yeah, I doubt he’ll be home ‘til morning.” He told her as the door to the Jeep slammed and she heard the loud rumble of the car coming to life, “Just stay with me and I’ll find you when you get out to the road, alright? Let me know when you’re out.”

“I can actually see it now.” She said, as the trees began to clear and she caught sight of the pavement ahead of her.

“Okay, okay. I’ll be right there, alright?” His voice was laced with worry and she sighed softly into the phone.

“Stiles, I’m fine, okay? Don’t speed to get to me.”

She heard him huff in response, which meant he was probably already going too fast as he drove the winding roads that led out to the preserve.

The hand on her arm had released her when they got closer to the main road and Amber looked to thank the man next to her but he was gone. She spun in a slow circle as her eyebrows furrowed, thinking that surely he couldn’t have gone far, but he’d vanished.

She looked back to the street after a few minutes and could see headlights shining bright in the distance, reflecting off the telephone wires and the wet pavement.

“Stiles, I see a car coming.”

“Okay, okay, I’m slowing down.”

The car approaching did, indeed slow down until there was a blue Jeep stopped in the road in front of her. Stiles threw the door open and ran from the car as she crossed she street and he didn’t waste a second before he was throwing his arms around her shoulders.

“You okay? I can’t believe Scott left you by yourself.”

His voice was muffled in her hair as he pressed his face into the top of her head. One of his hands trailed up from her shoulders to cup the back of her head and she flinched, whining in pain when he pressed against where she’d hit her head earlier.

“What happened?” He asked immediately, pulling back to look at her. When he caught sight of the red stain on his hand in the glow of the headlights, his eyes went wide, spinning her around quickly to look at the spot he’d touched. “Jesus, Am, what happened?”

“I’m fine, honestly. I’m pretty sure it’s barely bleeding anymore. I tripped and hit my head, but I’m okay. Could use an aspirin or ten, though.”

Stiles spun her back around and looked at her like he didn’t quite believe her, but guided her to the passenger side of the vehicle silently. She climbed inside and he was leaning in to buckle her up before she could begin to do it herself.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” He asked softly, letting his hand linger on her thigh after getting the buckle clicked into place.

“I’m fine,” She promised quietly, flushing under his gentle attention, “Can we just go to your house? If I get caught sneaking in at this point, Jason’s gonna kill me. I’m better off sleeping somewhere else.”

“Yeah, ’course.” He pulled back and gently closed the door before rounding the vehicle and climbing behind the wheel. Turning them around and heading home.

When they got to the Stilinski house, they went straight to Stiles’ room and he closed the door out of habit despite them being the only ones home.

“Let me see your head again so I can get a better look.” Stiles demanded as he approached her.

In the bright light of his bedroom, Amber could now see how dirty she was, her athletic leggings covered in mud streaks and her hands much the same. She could only imagine how filthy her face was. And her hair hair where it was pulled back in a now messy braid.

His hands were gentle as he moved her hair to look at the bump on the back of her head, but she still flinched when he poked at it delicately.

“Sorry.” He apologized from behind her, stroking a hand down the side of her hair.

“It’s fine.” She promised again, “I should shower though. Seriously.”

“Yeah, of course.” He said easily, squeezing her arm before traipsing back into the hallway and to the linen closet, pulling out a clean towel and holding it out to her.

She thanked him and made her way to the bathroom before closing the door behind her. She stripped out of her damp, dirty clothes, undoing the braid in her hair and combing her fingers through it softly. She turned the water on and let it heat up before climbing under the spray. She watched dirt and small bits of leaf trailed down onto the shower floor as she rinsed her hair.

She used the men’s shower products that littered the shower, scrubbing down with the masculine smelling body wash twice. She winced when it stung the tiny scrapes on her hips, and proceeded to gently shampoo around the bump at the back of her head.

When she finished, Amber climbed out and dried the excess water from her hair roughly before drying her body. She secured the towel she’d been given around her tight once she was no longer dripping.

She knocked softly on Stiles’ bedroom door as she made her way back over, not wanting to interrupt him if he was getting changed. The door swung open quickly and Amber jumped in surprise at the sight of Stiles standing in front of her in his doorway, already changed into pajama pants and a tshirt.

He gaped silently as his eyes trailed to where her towel was hooked loosely at the top of her breasts. A small bead of water dripped from the nape of her neck in a slow trail past her collarbones and into her cleavage before disappearing beneath the towel and he couldn’t help but swallow loudly, blinking himself out of his stupor and returning his eyes to the safety of his friend’s face.

“Am I allowed in, or have I been exiled to the hallway?” She laughed when he continued to block the doorway after a few moments.

“Right! Sorry!” He jumped back, opening the door wider and allowing her entrance into the room.

She continued to smile as she stepped past him, a blush rising to her cheeks as she thought about the look on his face as his eyes had trailed down to her chest.

“Can I borrow something to sleep in?” She asked, hand coming up to fiddle with where the towel was secured around her.

“Sure, yeah, what do you want?” He rushed to his dresser and opened a drawer already rifling through it.

“Any tshirt would be good.” She said, biting her lip as she thought about the underwear she’d left in the bathroom. She’d been wearing them on her run earlier and grimaced at the thought of putting them back on.

Stiles triumphantly produced a clean shirt and threw it toward the bed before looking at her, his eyes stuck on where she had her bottom lip pulled between her teeth.

“Would- Would it be weird if I asked for boxers or something?” She asked awkwardly.

“N-No, no I can-“ He slammed the drawer he’d procured the tshirt from and opened another, moving things around aggressively in search of a pair of underwear for her. It took longer than it had for the shirt, but after a minute his hand re-emerged from the drawer with a pair of checkered boxers in his hands and a flush on his cheeks. “Here.”

Amber accepted the shorts, her hand brushing his softly in the exchange and she gulped.

It was hardly the first time she’d slept at one of the boy’s houses, definitely not the first time she’d borrowed a shirt, but there was something significantly more intimate about doing so after a shower — about doing it and not having an article of her own clothing to separate Stiles’ clothes from her naked body.

She toyed with the underwear in her hands, “Stiles?”

“Yeah?”

“I uh, I can’t get changed if you’re standing right in front of me.”

This seemed to startle him into action and he blushed, coughing into the back of his hand awkwardly in an attempt to hide it.

“Right, I’ll go- I’ll get you some Aspirin!” He said before moving around her and closing the door behind him.

She shook her head and took a deep breath, dropping her towel and drying herself one final time before pulling on the boxers, rolling them twice at the waist to get the fit better before she paused, distracted. Curling her fingers into the material at her hips, she had a thought.

Her mind was racing, imagining Stiles’ own naked body beneath the shorts that were against her bare skin, now. The thought sent a flush creeping up her neck and a tingling heat to her gut.

She swallowed loudly in the quiet room.

Stepping toward the bed, she picked up the basic shirt Stiles had gotten out for her. She moved her arms through the holes and was using her hands to stretch it over her wet hair in an attempt to avoid the sore spot at the back of her head when she heard the door open behind her. She quickly pulled the shirt down over her back and turned to face Stiles where he was standing frozen in the doorway with a glass of water in one hand and two Aspirin cupped in the other.

“I- Sorry,” He said quickly, “I should’ve knocked? I don’t know why I didn’t knock.”

“No worries, Sti.” She told him softly as she pulled her damp hair out from beneath the collar of the shirt. She moved to take the painkillers and the water from him with a smile before sipping from the glass and swallowing the pills.

“I also got out a new toothbrush. Left it by the sink. Figured you’d need one.” Stiles told her as he watched her swallow down the tablets.

“God, yeah. Brushing your teeth with your finger is just- Not the same.” She shuddered at the thought, “I’ll be right back, then.”

Grabbing her towel from the floor, she went back across the hallway into the bathroom. The mirror was still clouded with condensation from her shower and she wiped it clear with the damp towel before putting it in the hamper tucked behind the door.

She brushed her teeth quickly, collecting her dirty heap of clothes from the bathroom floor before she made her way back into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Stiles was already standing at the bed, pulling down the blankets and settling into the open side, already armed with the knowledge from previous sleepovers that she preferred to be on the side closest to the wall.

She moved to crawl across his legs to the other side of the bed and climbed underneath the covers, settling down onto her side facing the wall, not wanting to put pressure on the back of her head while she slept. Stiles quietly settled down next to her after switching off the lamp beside the bed.

“You smell good.” He whispered to her in the dark after a moment.

“I smell like you.” She laughed, “I used your shampoo and your body wash.”

“I know.” He said quietly.

She waited a full minute for him to continue, but he said nothing else. She turned to smile into the pillow before closing her eyes and drifting to sleep.

Too soon, morning came and they woke to the sound of Stiles’ alarm clock trilling loudly. Amber cracked her eyes open to find herself on her back, head tilted toward where best friend slept beside her.

During the night, one of his arms had been thrown over her chest, his forearm rose and fell in time with each of her breaths where it was laying across her breasts. He was sprawled out on his stomach, pillow tucked over his head, still sleeping soundly with his pillow muffling the obnoxious beeping.

“Stiles.” She groaned loudly, nudging her friend with her leg beneath the duvet, “Turn it off.”

He woke with a snort, moving to push himself upright with one arm against the mattress and the other where it was still pressed to her chest. He reached out a hand and clicked the alarm off.

“Ow,” She gasped, jerking away when his elbow put the brunt of his weight on her left breast, “Boobs, Stiles. Jesus.”

Stiles’ head snapped around to look at her as he pulled his arm away from where it had been digging into her. His eyes were wide, flicking down to her tshirt covered chest quickly before they traveled up to her sleepy face.

“Sorry.”

She sighed in response, reaching a hand up to sleepily cup the injury with a sleepy frown. It didn’t hurt anymore, the pain gone as quickly as it had come, but she covered the breast protectively for a moment anyway out of principle.

“Uh.. How’s your head?” He asked after pulling his eyes away from where her small hand was touching herself through the shirt. His shirt.

“Better than last night. Probably should take something for it before we head out, though.”

When Stiles crawled out of bed, Amber rolled onto her stomach and smothered herself in the pillow he’d been using, taking a deep breath of the scent under the guise of still being tired. She stayed in bed as Stiles went to shower and get dressed, waiting until he returned before she got up to use the bathroom and brush her teeth.

They stopped at Amber’s house before heading to the school so she could change out of her borrowed sleep clothes and get her backpack.

“Fifteen minutes!” Stiles yelled out the window of the Jeep in warning as she ran inside.

“Time me!” She dared over her shoulder.

She ran upstairs to her bedroom, stripping out of Stiles’ clothes and quickly pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweater within two minutes of rushing through the front door.

Using her hair brush, she removed the tangles from the ends of her long, ashy waves, combing through the top with her fingers until her flyaways settled.

Still rushing, she applied deodorant beneath her sweater with one hand and tossed her books into her bag with the other before zipping it shut and throwing it over her shoulder.

The girl ran down the hall to the bathroom and spritzed herself with the perfume on the vanity, fumbling to collect a tube of mascara and her eyelash curler in her hands before jogging back downstairs.

As she passed through the kitchen, she grabbed two apples from the basket hanging on the wall without slowing and continued on until she was out the front door and back at the vehicle where Stiles was waiting.

“Seven minutes.” Stiles told her with an impressed grin as she climbed back into the passenger side of the Jeep. “I think that’s actually a new record.”

She smiled, shoving one of the apples toward his face. She grinned harder when he automatically opened his mouth wide and sunk his teeth into it to take it from her while he backed out of the driveway.

Pulling down the sun visor, she curled her eyelashes and applied mascara quickly before shoving the items into her backpack where it sat on the floor between her feet.

“Dunno how you can do that in a moving car.” Stiles said through a mouthful of fruit, earning a laugh from her in response.

As she grabbed her own apple from where she’d put it for safekeeping between her legs, she looked over to where Stiles was steering the car with his left hand and shifting gears with his right between bites of the fruit. She ate her breakfast as they drove, her eyes bouncing between her friend’s long fingers where they wrapped around the gear shift and his mouth as he munched on his apple, too distracted to notice her ogling.

Stiles was finishing the last bite as he turned into the parking lot at the school, pulling the car into a spot and shutting off the Jeep before he turned to face the girl beside him. “Scott’s got something crazy to show us before class.”

“What?” She asked in confusion, climbing out of the Jeep and pulling her bag over her shoulders as she rounded the car to meet him, “He just told me he wanted to talk. What the hell’s he got to show us?”

Stiles rested a hand at the base of her neck, above her backpack, and guided her as they approached the school.

“Got bit by an animal last night, I guess.” He told her, “Says it’s pretty nasty.”

“Shit.” She said quietly, eyes scanning the bike rack as they passed to see if Scott was there yet, but not seeing his bicycle.

“Deserves it.” Stiles muttered, his hand gliding from her neck over to her opposite shoulder as he wrapped his arm loosely around her, “For leaving you alone in the woods. Hope he has to get a rabies shot and everything.”

“Stiles.” She scolded, “If he got bit by something, I’m pretty sure it happened before he left me.” She said softly, reaching her hand up to pat his where it was curled around her shoulder, “I heard him yell and then he was gone. He was probably in shock.”

“Yeah, well.” Stiles muttered as they came to a stop outside the front of the building to wait for Scott’s arrival, “I stand by what I said.”

She shook her head at him, appreciating the protectiveness, but more concerned about their other friend at the moment.

Only a few minutes passed before Stiles perked up and was releasing her shoulder as Scott came to stand in front of them.

“Okay. Let’s see this thing.” Stiles said excitedly, bouncing on his toes.

They both watched with rapt attention and leaned in close as Scott tugged up his shirt to reveal a large piece of bloody gauze on his side. The size of the bite was significantly bigger than either of them had been expecting. Amber gasped at the sight but Stiles looked absolutely thrilled.

“Ooh!” He said excitedly, reaching out to touch it before getting his hand slapped away by Amber, the girl pulling his hand back and keeping it trapped in her own.

“Yeah. Woah.” Scott said blankly, pulling his shirt back down, “It was too dark to see much, but I’m pretty sure it was a wolf.”

“A wolf bit you?” Stiles questioned incredulously as they slowly walked down the path to the school building.

“Uh-Huh.”

“No,” Stiles said immediately, “Not a chance.”

“I heard a wolf howling.” Scott looked past Stiles’ body to make eye contact with Amber, “Did you hear it?”

“I mean, I don’t know that it was a wolf,” She said slowly, shrugging and shaking her head, “Sorry, Scott.”

“No,” Stiles repeated, looking at Scott, “You didn’t.”

“What do you mean, ‘No I didn’t’? How do you know what I heard?”

“Because California doesn’t have wolves, okay? Not in like sixty years.” Stiles explained, shaking his head. He pulled Amber and himself to a stop as they turned to face Scott at the staircase in front of the school.

“Really?” Both Scott and Amber asked at the same time.

“Yes, Really.” Stiles told them, his eyes bouncing between his two friends. He squeezed Amber’s hand where they were still connected, “There are no wolves in California.”

Amber took in the information and reached down out of habit to check the time on her cell phone, only to find it missing. The pocket of her jeans decidedly empty.

“Stiles, is the Jeep unlocked? I think I left my phone.”

The boy reached his hands deep into the pocket of his jeans and produced his collection of keys, a tiny green bottle opener bright in the jumble of metal. Amber plucked them from his outstretched hand and rushed off without a word to retrieve her phone, only hearing the beginning of what Scott said next.

“Alright, well, if you don’t believe me about the wolf-“

Unlocking the passenger door, she quickly reached in to snatch the device from where it must have slipped out of her pocket and into the seat on the ride to school.

As she made her way back to the building, she fell into step with the beautiful strawberry blonde beside her as she made her way back toward the building, “Hey, Lyds.” Amber smiled, “How was break?”

“Oh the usual," Lydia narrowed her eyes. “We should’ve hung out, though.”

“Soon.” Amber promised her friend as they approached where Scott and Stiles were still in conversation at the bottom of the stairs, the latter’s voice gaining in volume the closer they got.

“-seriously gonna be the best thing that’s happened to this town since.. Since the birth of Amber Callisto.” He finished, catching sight of their friend and grinning at her cutely, “Hey, Amber, you look- Like you’re gonna walk right past me with Lydia.”

The girls passed by, but while Lydia’s eyes remained focused on the path in front of her, Amber shot her best friends a sweet smile over her shoulder, Stiles’ car keys still gripped in her hand.

“You’re whipped, dude.” She thought she heard Scott mutter before hearing what was definitely the sound of someone being hit followed by Scott’s quiet whine of pain.

Amber couldn’t keep the smile off her face at her friend’s antics, shaking her head as she continued to her locker to collect her things for first period. She turned her head when Stiles passed her locker to get down the hall to his own, her eyes glued to the back of his buzzed head as she pulled out her notebook.

She jumped when Scott stepped into her field of vision and blocked her sight of Stiles.

“Hey, I wanted to talk to you alone real quick.” He said, his hands pulling at the straps of his backpack nervously as he avoided her eyes.

“Sure, what’s up?” Amber clamped her notebook between her legs as she reached into her bag to pull out her chemistry textbook to stuff it into her locker where it could stay until third period.

“I just, I wanted to apologize. For last night. I-I don’t really remember getting home, or cleaning up the blood, or even texting you before I fell asleep. It-it’s all kind of a blur.”

“Scott, it’s okay,” She promised, turning her body to face him as she freed up her hands. She reached up to loosely tangle her fingers in the long hair at the side of his head, “You were in shock, okay? I’m not mad at you.”

“Right, I just, I needed to make sure you knew, y’know, that I’d never leave you behind.”

Amber’s grip on his hair tightened and she pressed up into her toes to lean her forehead against his. “I know.” She told him with a smile, knocking their heads together softly before shoving his head away and pulling back to gather her books for English into her arms.

She made her way to the English classroom and slid into her seat, smiling at Stiles where he was sitting at the desk behind her. She pulled out a pencil and tapped it quietly on her desk top as her eyes skimmed over the words printed on the paper in front of her until class started.

Students trickled in slowly, Scott going to his own seat beside Amber. When only a few empty desks remained, Mr. Anderson stood from his chair and moved to begin writing on the blackboard behind his desk.

“As you all know, there indeed, was a body found in the woods last night.” The teacher started, “And I am sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened. But I am here to tell you, that the police have a suspect in custody-”

Amber whirled around to face Stiles, Scott doing the same, but the former shook his head. The Sheriff hadn’t even returned home by the time they’d left for school that morning, so there was no way for him to have obtained the information.

“-which means you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus which is on your desk outlining the semester.”

Amber turned to face forward again and slouched in her seat as she looked through the paper Mr. Anderson had left on their desks, reading through the syllabus and jotting down notes in the margins as she went. Her attention was torn away only for a moment to lean her head back and see Stiles with a pen in his teeth, using a yellow highlighter on his own paper. She grinned at him from her upside-down position before returning to her notes.

“Class,” A voice cut through the silence in the classroom, the students all looked to see their Vice Principal standing at the front of the room with a beautiful brunette. “This is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make her feel welcome.”

The girl, Allison, was nervously fiddling with the end of the thin scarf she had wrapped around her neck. She smiled, looking at the ground and making her way to the back of the room to sit in the seat behind Scott.

Amber watched as Scott turned to face Allison, pen between his fingers in offering. Both girls’ faces clouded in confusion before Allison smiled softly and took the pen from Scott’s outstretched hand.

“Thanks.”

Amber watched in awe at the way Scott continued staring at the new girl for just a moment too long before turning back to face the front of the room with a grin on his face.

“Are you staying to watch tryouts today?” Stiles asked Amber as he came to a stop where she was standing at Scott’s locker later that day after classes ended.

“Yeah, of course.” She told him with a grin, “Gotta watch my boys make first line, don’t I?”

Stiles rolled his eyes, engulfing her face in the palm of his large hand and playfully pushing her head away as she cackled.

“Can someone tell me how ‘new girl’ is here all of five minutes, and she’s already hanging with Lydia’s clique?” A girl from their English class asked as she came to stand behind Stiles.

“Lydia’s really not so bad. She’s a completely different person when you get to know her.” Amber defended.

Stiles ignored his friend and turned to the girl, “Because she’s hot.” He stated, “Beautiful people heard together.” He flicked Amber on the nose after his statement and she furrowed her brows. She rubbed at her nose before leaving them beside Scott’s locker and making her way across the hall where Allison, Jackson, and Lydia were standing.

“Um, I can’t. It’s family night this Friday.” Allison was saying as Amber reached the group, “Thanks for asking.”

“You sure?” Jackson pushed, “Everyone’s going after the scrimmage.”

“You mean like football?” Allison asked innocently, eyes drifting to Amber and smiling.

Amber shook her head at the girl, about to answer when Jackson’s voice cut in again.

“Football’s a joke in Beacon.” He laughed, “The sport here’s lacrosse. We’ve won the state championship for the past three years.”

“Because of a certain captain.” Lydia added, smiling at her boyfriend.

“Takes a whole team to win!” Amber said sweetly, her thoughts drifting to Scott and Stiles warming the bench for the entire season the year before.

Jackson rolled his eyes at her before returning his attention to the new girl, “Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is, if you don’t have anywhere else-“

“Well I was going to-“

“Perfect!” Lydia interrupted what was likely to be an excuse from Allison, “You're coming.” Lydia and Jackson wandered off down the hallway, leaving Allison stunned in their wake.

“It’s actually kind of fun to watch.” Amber smiled, “I’m going too. You, Lydia, and me can all sit together, if you want. But, if you really don’t want to stay, you don’t have to. Lydia honestly won’t be mad. She doesn’t realize the force behind her own words sometimes.”

“No, I-I’ll stay and watch.” Allison decided.

The two girls caught up with Lydia on their way to the lacrosse field and the three of them settled down on a set of bleachers on the side of the pitch.

Amber smiled and waved when Scott turned to look at where they were sitting, but he paid no attention to his best friend, his eyes glued to the darker-haired brunette beside her. Scott’s gaze was torn away by Coach Finstock throwing a lacrosse stick with a larger net into the boy’s hands along with a new helmet.

“McCall! You’re in goal.” Coach told him.

“I’ve never played.” Amber heard Scott defend, clutching the new stick in his hands.

“I know,” Coach said, “Scoring some shots will give the boys a confidence boost. It’s a first day back thing. Get ‘em energized! Fired up!”

Amber’s shoulders slumped slightly. She knew that Scott had worked his ass off over the last year to try and improve his skills, but he’d never practiced in goal. She was unsure how her friend could attempt to impress the coach if he was being thrown into a new position just to make the rest of the team feel better about themselves.

“What about me?” Scott asked.

“Try not to take any in the face.” Coach supplied, reaching a hand up to slap Scott’s cheek softly before turning to the rest of the players around the field, “Let’s go! Come on!”

Amber rubbed her hands together in an attempt to keep them warm in the cold, winter air of the afternoon. She watched Stiles settle onto the bench, putting his helmet on the ground between his feet. He craned his neck to look for her on the crowded bleachers and grinned when he found her.

Shooting him a thumbs up and a smile, she waved before he turned his attention back to the field. Amber watched Scott make his way into the goal, helmet on his head and the goalie stick clutched in his hands.

“Who’s that?” Allison asked, looking at where Scott was waiting.

“Him?” Lydia asked, “I’m not sure who he is. Why?”

Amber rolled her eyes at her friend, about to cut in when Allison spoke again, sounding self-conscious.

“He’s, just- He’s in our English class.”

Allison turned her attention to Amber in question and Amber smiled at the girl’s lack of subtlety before the whistle blew loudly, interrupting them.

Their attention went to the field and Amber watched Scott in confusion as he clutched at his ears over the thick plastic that covered them. He looked like he was in pain and Amber rose slightly from her seat, debating going over to check on her friend.

Before she could move, another player walked toward the goal, stopping ten yards away and lobbing the ball as hard as he could at her friend. Amber flinched when Scott immediately took the ball to the head. It thunked loudly against the plastic of his helmet before he fell to the ground in the goal. Players on the field laughed at his pain and Amber slumped back to a seated position with a frown, seeing Stiles make a similar movement where he sat on the bench in front of them.

“Hey, way to catch with your face, McCall!” Someone on the field yelled.

Scott began to pull himself up, getting ready for the next player.

“Scott McCall.” Amber finally recovered enough to tell Allison, leaning close to give a small amount of privacy from Lydia. “He’s one of my best friends. Very much single.. Y’know, if you’re interested.”

Allison blushed and smiled, but refused to look at the face of the girl sitting next to her.

Another player ran up on the goal, throwing the ball to the left corner and straight into the net of Scott’s stick.

“Yes!” Amber squeaked in excitement.

Scott looked at the ball he was holding for a moment as if surprised he’d caught it at all.

“Yeah!” Stiles called out after a few seconds had passed, turning to look at Amber behind him for a moment and also wearing a look of pleased surprise on his face.

The third player in line rushed forward, shooting the ball low at Scott’s feet, but the ball was again, miraculously stopped from reaching the goal by Scott’s stick.

Stiles and Amber both yelped in surprise, the latter’s hands going above her head as she squealed excitedly.

Scott proceeded to catch every ball that was thrown at him, letting no goals pass as his friends watched on in amazement.

“He seems like he’s pretty good.” Allison observed.

“Yeah, very good.” Lydia agreed, impressed.

“He’s been practicing like crazy.” Amber supplied, unable to wipe the proud grin off her face.

They all watched as Jackson stepped forward, moving to the front of the line and readying himself for a shot. His feet came off the ground as he launched the ball toward the goal.

Scott caught that one too.

Stiles shot out of his seat when he yelled, his arms outstretched as he spun to look at the people around them, ensuring that they’d all seen the save.

“That is our friend!” Stiles announced loudly, looking toward Amber on the bleachers and pointing to where Scott was standing on the field. She nodded at him with an incredulous laugh.

Scott was good.

#I've posted this on ao3 but I've read so many fics on here lately I thought I should post here too #stiles stilinksi fanfiction #stiles #stiles stilinski x oc #selenophiles #1x01 #*

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thevioletcaptain · 7 months ago

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Hi! I don’t mean in any way to pressure you but I was wondering if you’re planning on continuing your fic “fortress”? I’d love to see it continue🥰 again no pressure I just really like your works!

Hi anon! Thanks for the message :)

Despite the hellishly long gap between updates, Fortress is not abandoned, and I do intend to finish it. It's actually pretty high up on my to-do list right now, and will be the next major thing I post once As A Friend is done.

Here's the order in which I plan to post DeanCas fics/updates over the next few months -- with some vague spoiler-adjacent-but-not-really-spoilery details for anyone who wants them:

Chapters 5 & 6 - As A Friend Roughly 35k words in total, split over these final two chapters. This will see Dean & Cas return to the bunker, announce their "fake" relationship to Sam & Jack, and then [redacted because I'm not giving the whole thing away even though you already know it's gonna be a happy ending].

Chapters 8, 9, & 10 - Fortress Roughly 22k words split between these three chapters. Chapter 9 (the during chapter in which Dean is suffering) & chapter 10 (the after chapter which follows the first days of Dean living with Cas after coming home) have been ready for a while, but chapter 8 (the before chapter, which features Robin's party when they were 16 👀 a party which you might recall was mentioned by Cas during the previous before chapter) has been holding them hostage. So as soon as 8 is ready I intend to post all three at once.

Oneshot - Hearts Beating Life (Into Each Other) Roughly 25k words of canonverse fuck-or-die fic. In which Cas gets cursed on a hunt, and you'll never guess what Dean has to do to save him..... lol. It'll probably get split into two or three chapters for readability, but I plan to post it all at once. This is only one final scene away from being complete at this point, but I want to finish As A Friend & update Fortress before I share it.

Chapter 8 - Isosceles Roughly 17k words, because this fic refuses to let me be succinct. Dean & Cas discuss more almosts, the angels make contact, we find out exactly what Sam said to Dean in chapter 4, Claire [redacted] when [redacted], Mary and Dean bond over [redacted], and the search for Kelly Kline picks up steam.

Chapters 3 & 4 - Empty Heroics Roughly 20k words split between these final two chapters. In which there is bed sharing, a plan is formulated, and Nobody Dies. I realize that barely anyone even read the first two chapters of this fic, but I still really like it and want to finish it off, so it's the fifth thing on my to-do list.

Oneshot - As-Yet-Untitled Shrinking Curse Fic Roughly 10k words of canonverse established relationship PWP. In which they've been together for literally three days when Dean gets hit with a shrinking curse that won't wear off for a year, and comes up with a creative solution to ensure that they can still enjoy the physical aspects of their new relationship despite being small enough to perch on Cas' shoulder.

Chapter 1 - One More Chain Does The Maker Make Roughly 10k words, and the first of five chapters. The whole fic should come in around 50-60k words, and it's canon-divergent from 15.06. Featuring a lot of pining, and Dean working on Jesse and Cesar's ranch. I posted about it here if you want to know more!

The final 5 chapters of Fortress & final 3 chapters of Isosceles will come next -- likely to be about another 30k and 45k respectively, based on current word counts and what remains to be written.

At some point in between all of this I also plan to post some updates to The Coda Project (I've written at least half of each coda up to 1.12 Faith at this point, I just need to buckle down and finish them off in order so I can start posting them again), along with a handful of short tumblr prompt meme ficlets I've written recently -- specifically, those based on the following six trios of emojis: [🧪🧛🏻‍♀️💦], [🔮🛁🫂], [🤠🎶🌬️], [🪼👀🎨], [🥬🍅✨], and [🥶😶‍🌫️🤯], all of which ended up being significantly longer than they should have been, hence the delay in posting them.

...aaaand I realize that this is far more information than you asked for so I apologize. But thanks again for your message, and for reading. I hope you enjoy all the updates when they're posted 💚

#cass says things #replies #anonymous #cass writes fic

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plusultraetc · 2 months ago

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3, 16, 67 for the fic writer ask game!

Thank you for the ask!!

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

Okay so it almost invariably goes like this: the idea strikes; I dump anywhere from 1000-2000 words in a notebook, blank document, or phone note over the course of a day or two; I spend the next x number of months trying to fill in the gaps and rewriting scenes until the words don't make sense to me anymore; and then at some point after that I hit post 😭 I should also add that I work on multiple WIPs at once—as in, split screen on my laptop. I would NOT recommend this process & am in fact actively trying to find a new one that works for me :')

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

A LOT (as usual). There's definitely a pretty clear division between what's on the front burner and what's on the back burner rn, and like. An unexpected response to a fic has really thrown my writing into a tailspin recently? BUT aside from that, I would say I have about 3-4 other WIPs almost ready to post that I'm trying to polish & publish by the end of the year. One of those is the next fic in the Shinsou expansion pack which I can definitely share a bit about!!

The five-second summary is that I've wanted to write Shinsou & All Might interacting properly since 'let the years we're here be kind,' so I did, but then it got a little angstier than I intended. It does however have more Present Mic assisting with Shinsou's hero training, which I've also wanted to write more of for forever, so that's been really fun!

67. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

OOH this is a really good question! I used to avoid prompts and challenges like the plague because I was terrified I just. Wouldn't know what to do with them. Like, shaking the idea brain upside down and coming up empty. But then I participated in the 14 Days of MHA challenge and @/au-roulette and it turns out I actually really love writing prompts! I still think I prefer working on completely independent ideas, but it's a much closer call than I would have thought!

Tysm again <3

#ask #ask game #going to put this in the #liza writes #tag as well for the expansion pack snippet :D

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night-market-if · 2 years ago

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Dev Blog 7/1/23

Hello my reader!

I'm here with a mini development blog for you all. So far I have added to the base game something like 40k more words. This is not including coding. I have also cleaned up some code errors that wouldn't let you get past the Deep, and negated a conversation with Hazel in the last chapter.

All I have left now is a clean up of some minor name codes and the editing of all the NSFW scenes. Then I can have a few people beta it and I can redo the UI of the game.

I would also like to say that the asexual route within the game is going to change a bit. The more I have learned about asexuality, the more it has come to my attention that there are a vast amount of ways that this can be represented. So, I have decided to address this by allowing an option to have a conversation about this with your RO before any NSFW scene. It can be that the MC doesn't like sex at all to the MC not opposed to it when it feels right. I know this is going to not satisfy some people but this is kind of what I feel comfortable writing. I feel like, at this point in my writing career, I just don't know how to approach it in the variation that asexuality actually is. That might change as I continue writing but for now, that's how I would like to keep it.

That being said, the sexuality code in general has also changed. You no longer have a code saying you are attracted to just men or just women. You can flirt with whoever you want without consequence. You can also deny anyone you want without consequence. Instead, I will just be coding in when you choose which RO you wish to explore the Night Market with. Polys will of course come after all of that. I felt this was also a fair representation. If you are someone who does not want to flirt with a certain gender, then don't chose the flirt options for it. It will then not open any of the flirtation scenes. Or, you know, tell Milo and Bella to just back off. :)

Now onto some personal stuff.

I am stressed. I mean, like really stressed. I thought I would have everything done by today and I am not done. Mainly, I feel bad for my Kickstarter backers. I have so much I owe them and everything is only in about the 70% done area. I am so sorry guys. I have been beating myself up over this for a while now when it became clear that this was far more work than I thought. It's crazy to me. I'm absent from Tumblr and Discord at this point and yet I have been busier with work than I've ever been.

I'm also terrified I'm just not doing enough to the base game. Things that I thought would fit great, ended up not fitting at all. Things that I thought would be an easy addition turned out to be way out of the realm of my capability. It's just all been a learning experience where I've felt like I'm letting you guys down.

And at the end of the day? I really just want to write Book 2.

I know I owe no one an explanation. I've just had this weird feeling I've had to battle the last few months where I am feeling like I have to choose between my family life and my work life. And I hate it. My husband took two weeks off work just so I could work like crazy and I am still not done which is bothering me. Which means weekends are sometimes spent not with my kids but instead working away again. And, because we are a split family, it isn't always like I can make up for this time mid week.

I'm not really looking for advice on this. I'm just kind of trying to be transparent. The stress is for sure getting to me and believe me, I am looking forward to this going up on Steam more than anyone at this point. And then I'm sure I'll spiral because I'll be certain somehow barely anyone will buy it. LOL! But hey, at least I just got two more cats to add to my life. They can purr away my stress that night.

That's everything guys. Thank you for being who you are and I promise you, I am taking care o myself. I'm just a stressed person by nature, I think.

I hope everyone else is having a good summer and you all are getting some wonderful reading time in. If you celebrate the 4th, here's to hoping you have lots of good food that day!

With love,

Zinnia

#dev blog #writing #interactive fiction #personal life #the night market

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avengerscompound · 9 months ago

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The Interview - Chapter 24

The Interview - A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Rating: E

Warnings: mentions of racism, family drama

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Melody Danes

Word Count: 2743

Summary: Melody Danes gets the break of a lifetime when as a lowly intern, she’s assigned to write a profile piece on Captain America. Steve Rogers is a hard man not to fall for and as she and Melody get closer and Melody’s career takes off, jealousy leads to sabotage, and the potential to bring her whole world crashing down.

Chapter 24

Melody woke the next day to an empty bed and the sun coming through the window. She groaned and pulled her pillows over her face. If the bed was empty, Steve was up. If Steve was up then Steve had met her parents without him, and god knew how that was going. He was probably cornered in the kitchen, being force-fed while they asked a million questions. She’d have to get up and rescue him, but she needed a moment to collect herself. It was early and there were so many stressors working on her right now. The lingering stress of the hacking. Potentially needing to get a new job. The late-night travel. Now she was here in her family home, a place she hadn’t stepped foot in over two years, to spend time with her parents who she hadn’t seen in person since then.

It was a lot, and she really wished that her boyfriend was still in bed with her so that she could talk it out with him.

She groaned again, rolling over and picking up her phone. She opened it up and immediately was greeted with a tirade of racism about who Steve was dating. She sighed. Today was going to be a nightmare.

She let her phone fall on the mattress and lay there willing herself to get up, or at least fall back asleep. After a while, the second didn’t happen, and she relented and did the first, rolling over and heaving herself up.

It was cold out of the covers. Colder than New York was right now. It wasn’t unheard of for it to snow here during November and she wondered if they might see some during their stay. She pulled on a robe and slippers and went to use the bathroom.

By the time she was heading down to the kitchen, she was feeling a little fresher and slightly more prepared for this.

The scene she’d been imagining ended up being fairly accurate. Her mother and father were sitting at the kitchen table with Steve and a woman she’d recognized from Facebook as her brother’s girlfriend, Kieu. Her father was still in his pajamas, a flannel set with blue and white stripes that looked like it came from a catalogue for old men’s pajamas, paired with a mismatched red robe, green slippers, and a black beanie covering his bald spot. Her mother on the other hand was fully dressed, in a brightly colored wool dress, her braids spilling out over the top of a bright headscarf. Kieu was bundled up more than anyone else in jeans, a long blue cable knit sweater, a black scarf, and a black wool hat. Her long black hair was braided down her back and she held a cup of steaming liquid to her face. Steve was still in his pajamas but he’d pulled on a gray sweater over them. Everyone had plates piled high with eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, and pancakes.

The fire was lit, but going on the temperature, it was a recent occurrence and the two dogs were now lying as close to it as they could get.

Steve saw she was up first and stood. “Mel. You’re up,” he said.

Her parents both jumped to their feet. Everyone stood frozen for a split second and then her parents rushed forward. Her mother reached her first, pulling her into a tight hug and kissing over the side of her face. “Oh, my goodness. I am so happy you are home. Don’t go putting so much time between your visits again.”

Melody stood stiff, patting her a little awkwardly but not pulling away. “Well - we’ll see,” she said, skirting the statement.

Her dad put his arms around them both and kissed Melody’s cheek. “You’re looking well, Mel. We’ve been talking to your boyfriend.” He pulled back and looked at her. “Let me get you some breakfast. It was my turn to cook.”

Melody looked at her mother. “Really, mom? You’re gonna subject Steve to the Englishman’s cooking first?”

She laughed and patted Melody’s arm. “We researched before you all came. I know his parents were Irish. We didn’t want to kill him with spice for his first meal here.”

“And I appreciate it,” Steve said, watching from the table.

“Come. Come. Sit. It’s been too long,” her mother said, pulling Melody toward the table.

Steve kissed her when she reached the table and Kieu stood and held out her hand. She was shorter than Melody and much shorter than Steve, but still had a few inches on her mother. “Hi. It’s so good to finally meet you,” she said. “I’m Kieu.”

Melody took her hand. It was a surprisingly firm handshake that made Melody instantly smile. “I know. River talks about you all the time. And I’ve seen the pictures. It’s good to meet you too.”

She took her seat next to Steve and looked at him. “So, were you getting pumped for information.”

Steve chuckled and shook his head. “No. Well - there’s been questions. But it’s been fine.”

“Mom!” Melody yelped. “Give him a chance to breathe.”

“Oh he did fine,” she replied. “We just want to get to know him.”

Her dad brought a cup of coffee over to her. “How have you been?” he asked as he set it down.

This felt so strange. She wasn’t even sure why she’d done this except that she wanted Steve to be part of her family and this was a step to get there. The thing was; aside from her brother, she’d barely even spoken to any of her family in years. In the two years since she’d been in New York, it was barely more than a brief Facebook message. Before that, she didn’t speak to her parents at all for a full year, and then only on holidays or special occasions.

They had really hurt her. Their rejection of Bobbi had hurt. They were the reason the two women had needed to spend time living out of their car or in shelters while they waited for college to start. Now here they were playing nice and acting like there wasn’t all that pain looming over them.

Melody wasn’t sure that she had a full-blown confrontation in her. Not yet at least. But she could name-drop Bobbi constantly and see what happened.

“Generally pretty good. Bobbi and I moved into a bigger place. Her boyfriend is going to move in too,” she said.

Her parents looked at each other and her father dipped his chin forward. Her mother nodded in return. “How is Bobbi?” she asked.

Melody’s blood boiled, and her eyebrows knitted together. Steve’s hand moved, taking hers and linking their fingers together. “Well, you know Bobbi,” Melody said, her jaw twitching as she tried to reign in her anger. “She’s very resilient. Bounces right back from adversity. She’s got a job in a dinner theater. And some on-camera work. A very nice boyfriend.” No thanks to you.

“That’s so good to hear, Mel,” her father said. “I’m glad she’s got things together.”

That was the final straw. She pushed herself back from the table and stood. “I can’t do this. I can’t. I have to go. Steve.”

Steve stood beside her, moving like lightning as he got to his feet. She was shaking, and the edges of her vision were wavering thanks to the pure white hot rage she felt. “I’ve got you,” he said.

“Mel, please,” her father said.

“Wait,” her mother added, getting to her feet.

She wheeled back to them. Poor Kieu was sitting there like a deer in headlights, her gaze flicking from the people in front of her to the hall, as she tried to decide if she could flee.

“No. I can’t just sit here pretending everything is okay. Talking about how good Bobbi has it. Acting like everything is good. We were living in homeless shelters because of you!” she shouted.

Kieu jumped to her feet. “I’m just…” she pointed to the hall and then quickly scurried off down the hall.

“Honey,” her father said.

“No! No! Don’t honey me. You had one job as my parents, and you couldn’t even do it. All you needed to do was to open your home to your niece when she’d been kicked out. You know her parents were wrong. I know you know that. But instead, you would rather we both be homeless!” She was shouting and visibly shaking. Steve put his hand on her back. It was the one thing keeping her in any way together right now. If River had been sleeping he wouldn’t be now.

Her mother took a few steps closer. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Melody, you have every right to be angry. I’ve gone through so many stages trying to figure out what happened and why I made the choices I did. And the truth was, I was scared to lose one of the only friends I’d made in this town. I tried to blame you and Bobbi for it. But it wasn’t your fault. You should expect your parents to accept you. And I was a coward. I’m ashamed of myself.”

“Do you know what it was like for us? For Bobbi? She couldn’t even go to a women’s shelter with me,” Melody said. “We were sleeping in cars some nights because she was terrified.”

“I can’t even imagine. Karla was so wrong and so cruel for what she did to Bobbi. I’ve always raised you to believe in family and helping out people in need and acceptance, and you did everything I raised you to do, and I failed you,” she said. “I’m sorry, Melody.”

Melody didn’t know what to do or how to feel. She’d been carrying this around with her for so long. Having your child be homeless because you didn’t want to make waves was such a failure. She had this anger in her that she didn’t want to let go. But here they were telling her all the things she’d been wanting to hear. They were the ones that were wrong. They were sorry. This was what she wanted. She’d dreamed about it and played it out in her head over and over.

So why couldn’t she just accept it?

“I just - I - I need some air,” she said.

She didn’t move for a moment and both her parents just stared at her, holding themselves like they were trying to approach an injured animal. When she did break, it was at a run, dashing for the back door and shoving it open.

A gust of icy air hit her as soon as she stepped through the door, but it didn’t stop her. Thick frost coated the deck, and she nearly slipped as she moved to the railing. She was breathing heavily as she tried to stop herself from completely breaking down into tears, and every breath she pulled felt like she was breathing glass.

Steve had followed her out and he slowly approached her. As soon as his hand touched her shoulder she turned into him, burying her face in his chest as she burst into tears. He held her, rubbing her back in slow soothing circles. His body was like a furnace compared to the air around them and she pushed as close to him as she could as she cried.

“You’ve been holding that in for a long, long time, huh?” he said as he held her.

She nodded. Maybe that was all this was. She had erected a dam to hold back her emotions just to survive. And now here she was, with the apology she’d been waiting for and she didn’t need to hold on to it, but she didn’t know how to let it go.

“I don’t know what to do. I’ve been waiting for them to say sorry for so long, and now here it is, and it doesn’t even feel like enough. But I came here. I came here wanting validation. I wanted to have that relationship. It’s on the table. Why can’t I just accept it?” She looked into his eyes, searching for the magic answer that would fix all of this. “They didn’t even reach out to us to say they were sorry. They waited until I was here confronting them.”

Steve cradled her cheek, his palm warm against her chilled skin. “Honey, it’s okay if you need time to process. It’s okay if you decide that you can’t forgive them. But I think you want to. And I think in the long run, for your sake, you’ll feel better if you do. Even if you do and still don’t talk to them again. You want to let this go. You want it off your shoulders. What they did was terrible. They know that. It’s cost them and they have to live with the consequences of their actions. But you survived it. You got through and you thrived. Look at what you’ve done. And Bobbi too. All despite your parents. I know that’s beside the point, but here we are, you’re in the position of power. What you do now, needs to be for you, because they weren’t thinking of you when it mattered most.”

She nodded and hid her face in his chest again. He held her and slowly ran his hands up and down her back. “Whatever you want to do, I’m here to support you, Mel. But do you think we can do it back inside?”

She started laughing and pulled back. “If I go back inside, I’ll have to talk to them.”

Steve shook his head. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

She loved him for believing that. She leaned up and kissed him before moving her hand to his and leading him back inside.

Both her parents stood as she came in. Her mom took a tentative step forward. “Your breakfast is here,” her dad said. “Come in and get warm.”

She walked in and took a seat and both her parents sat down and stared at her nervously. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was going to have to say something.

“That whole thing really fucked me up, you know?” she said. “Not just being homeless, but knowing that being in our family had conditions. You raised me making jokes about me marrying Bobbi. She was over all the time when you all thought she was a boy. Even as a teenager, you let us sleep in the same room. Then she comes out and suddenly she’s not welcome? Not even when I said I’d be staying with her?”

“You’re completely right, honey,” her dad said. “I should have stood up for you both. I should have put my foot down.”

“I need time to let this go fully. I’ve been carrying it for so long. You didn’t even call me, you could have reached out to have this conversation so many times between then and now. If I hadn’t come today would you have said sorry?”

Both of them dropped their eyes. That was as clear a no as if they had said the word.

“Mel,” her mom said.

She shook her head. “I’m allowed to be pissed!” she snapped. “I’m allowed to, mom! I lived in a car because they wouldn’t let Bobbi in the women’s shelter! It’s been years since then and I got nothing from either of you! I want to forgive you. I believe you’re sorry and I want to accept that, but I’ve had to carry this for years. It’s going to take time.”

“It’s okay, Melody,” her father said. “We deserve that.”

She sighed and looked up at them. “I came here because I miss you all. I want things to be okay. I wanted to introduce you to Steve because I’m serious about him and you’re my parents, and even if you still hadn’t realized you were in the wrong, you could see I’d found someone who loved me and I plan to spend my life with. I want to spend Thanksgiving with you all. I want to forgive both of you. But I have a lot of hurt, and currently a lot of stress in my life too. So I might lash out while I’m here.”

Her parents looked at each other and nodded. “As long as you’re here, we can live with that,” her dad said.

// NEXT

#marvel #avengers #marvel fanfic #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfic #captain america #captain america fanfic #steve rogers x oc #fanfic #fanfiction #ofc #smut #the interview

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