#and I'm pretty sure Ortega is suspicious

[pearl-kite]

Gale, baby, honey, you make a terrible villain and I'm pretty sure you are going to have a terrible time here in a couple of days

[achilleanwizard]

Hello?? Please share some of that fic I need to read about Alexander's million dollar budget bad cooking

That is such a good idea! I'm saving million dollar budget cooking for a day when my brain wants something to write

As for the egg white fic, this is all I have so far. I don't know what else to do with it. Warning that it is pretty old, and unedited.

“Are you sure we’re supposed to put that many eggs in?” Ortega asks, leaning over your shoulder to watch as you stir the cupcake mix.

“Yes. I do know how to read, you know.” You hate it when she hovers like this. “It said three white eggs.”

She goes quiet. Julia Ortega is never quiet.

“What?” You turn your head to see her trying not to laugh. Uh oh.

“You mean egg whites.”

“Yeah? That’s what I said.”

“Egg whites are the clear part. You didn’t put the yolk in too, did you?” Now she’s definitely grinning at you.

Oh. That… does make a little more sense, now that you think about it. You were wondering why they wanted you to separate the eggs. Not that you’re going to admit that out loud.

“Don’t worry about it. We already have enough cupcakes to feed an army.” She reassures you, and kisses you on the cheek. Which you promptly rub off.

That only coaxes a chuckle from her, but at least she’s not right behind you anymore. No, now she’s suspiciously close to the chocolate.

“Hey!” You abandon your mixing bowl in favor of following Ortega. “If I can’t eat any until Daniel gets back, then you can’t either.”

“I’m not the one who ate all the sweets we were going to use for the decorations.”

“That’s not my fault.” You cross your arms. Those mini chocolate chips had practically been begging you to eat them. “No one told me anything about baking cupcakes until a few hours ago.”

“It’s your birthday.” The same one she coaxed out of you all those years ago. “Did you think we would just forget about it?”

“Yes.”

“Tough luck. Now help me put frosting on the rest of these.”

Well, there are worse punishments.

[wonda-fhr]

Hey! 🌾 for David 🌿 for Lia pretty please? :)

More snippets for the soft ask prompts. They're getting longer, I'm afraid. The idea of answering them in this way carries me away a bit. (But it's so much fun) 😅 Thanks for your ask 😘

🌾 Describe your OC through the eyes of someone absolutely head-over-heels in love with them. For David

"Ric, we have all these paperwork to fill out and these horrible reports to write, and we'll never get it done if you stare dreamily out the window after every other word, grinning like an idiot in love. Well, I know I'm going to regret this, but tell me what's going on now so we can get to work after this.

As soon as the conversation shifts from work, Ortega's feet land on the corner of his desk and his arms cross defiantly over his chest. "Do I have to apologize for being happy for once? But if you really want to know. We've become closer, much closer, and I'm happy about it."

"I'm happy for you too, for both of you. But are you sure he's still the same guy you fell in love with?" Instead of the expected rational conversation, the rose-tinted glasses jump back into Ric's face and turn his voice in romantic colors.

"He doesn't have to be. I'm not either. He doesn't need to be the same, as long as I know he's the one. And he's Chen."

Accepting that the paperwork will probably have to wait longer, Chen gradually puts down his pen and turns to his friend with a slight sigh. "I may have been too suspicious in the past, but I can't quite get rid of it. I still see someone with too many secrets, who is dismissive, scared and cynical, I didn't expect that this would make you happy".

"You don't know him, not really. There's a lot buried deep inside him, but the closer we get, the more of it comes to the surface. There's so much joy in him, so much empathy, caring. He takes care of me much better than he would admit in front of you, or who do you think took care of me the last time I had the flu? This time I didn't have to ask you to bring me something to eat, did I? I would have loved to stay sick longer.

Did you know how much he loves music? Probably not. You should hear him play the piano, as if he immersed himself in another world with you. That alone would be enough to captivate me forever. When we dance, it is not like in the past when we used to tease each other about who was the more gifted dancer. This is different. As soon as his hand is in mine, we become one, just flowing together and dancing. You can get lost with him in little perfect moments.

We haven't forgotten how to tease, of course, he can do it just like he used to, maybe a little more biting, but less vicious. Not as cynical as you think. It's as if we've found a balance in that as well, which makes us happy. You can have a lot of fun with him when he is in the right mood.

He's such a delicate being. So fragile. You're right, he's scared and that still paralyzes a lot of things in him. But a lightning should execute me if I do not protect him from what frightens him."

"I would feel better if we knew what he needed to be protected from."

"I don't care if it's the whole world. I'll get it done."

With hopes of a meaningful conversation about David's concerns dashed, Chen tosses a pen into Ric's lap. "Okay, wonderful, now take all your reality-free optimism and fill out these papers to make the world a better place."

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

🌿 What way does your OC show that they care without using words? What way do others show your OC that they’re cared about without using speech? For Lia Let's look through Luke's eyes during a conversation at lunch. He knows her a little better than the others.

"Why are you so sure you can trust her? I can understand her arguments, maybe even your cooperation. But why are you friends? She would work with me too, but I think she would hate me anyway. Why do you think she likes you?"

There is actually some concern in the Captain's otherwise confident voice. You know he doesn't trust Lia, but he trusts you, more and more since he understood that your lunch meetings are not necessary for a collaboration. The terrain of lunch is now familiar enough for him to ask you more personal questions.

"Lia is something more than a villain on the rampage, and I trust her completely. No, she doesn't go around pouring her heart out to everyone, giving them hugs, and telling them how great they are. She's not like that. There are other things that tell me that she cares about me. She never brings me the wrong coffee, she knows exactly which drink I prefer in the evening. I think she knows all my habits, but she doesn't judge any of them. She knows the names and the history of my whole family. And when I'm sad because something reminds me of my brother, she has the courage to ask me about it and relive the moment with me instead of just distracting me like my former friends would have tried to do.

We've been through a bit together now. I like to think of myself as a pretty down-to-earth person, nothing gets me upset easily. But when it does, her hand is in the small of my back before I even realize I could use some support. She protects me. Like a shield, she does it so subtly that I haven't noticed it for a long time. She walks through every door before holding it open for me. She takes a half-step in front of me when a situation becomes the least bit disturbing. But she also protects me from decisions that would weigh on my soul, she takes a lot on herself rather than leaving it to me. As a lawyer, you are used to a lot and you are never completely safe, but since she is here, I feel safer than ever.

But you know what the best part is? That almost everybody thinks like you. No one who meets her trusts her because they only see a small piece. I see much more. I am allowed to cuddle her when we are alone. Or hear her laugh and make silly jokes with her. I can even catch her when she falls. And afterwards, I get to have fun with her over stupid questions like yours that only prove you don't have the slightest idea who you're dealing with."

"Ouch, that was mean, but probably a little deserved. Maybe I should take a closer look. If I try to be less suspicious, would I also have a chance to be cuddled by you?" With a charming smile, Blaze strokes back his brown hair with its tantalizing honey sheen. The sight of him doesn't fail to have an effect on you, as the tingle in your body clearly shows, but it takes more than that to make your poker face waver. Unimpressed, you calmly look at your watch. Then you look deep into the eyes of your attractive interlocutor and send him directly onto the slippery ice with the remark, "It depends on whether two hours are enough for you."