#and have to govern that house together and make & eat dinner communally? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

disloopy · 4 years ago

Text

𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞

i wanted to write a college au but i was also horny so this came into existence.

tendou satori

word count: 6199

genre: smut but with a plot??

It was hard to study with your parents constantly bickering in the living room downstairs. Ever since you moved back in with them, you've found it hard to concentrate on virtually anything besides their frequent, yet petty, arguments. Sometimes you'd stay at college late into the evenings under the guise of classes and assignments but really you just hated being around them. The stress of school was already a mounting threat without the emotional toll of your parents' nearly shattered relationship.

Scraping your chair back as you stood up, you decided you'd had enough. You shoved your textbooks, notebooks, and some random clothing articles from the top of your drawer into a bag and ran down the stairs. Your mother twisted her body around to face you from the couch, an eyebrow raised.

"Where are you going, young lady?"

You didn't look at her in the process of yanking on your shoes. "I'm going to Sam's house or am I not even allowed to visit her without you breathing down my neck?" you asked sharply, feeling your heart hammer in your chest. You were fed up. "I'm twenty and under no obligation to listen to the two of you arguing about whatever movie you want to watch just because you don't have the cajones to discuss the real issue!"

With finality, you slammed the door shut behind you and hopped onto your bike, pedaling as fast as legally possible out of the neighborhood. You always knew that the main reason your parents had urged you to move back in with them was to fill the empty void their failed marriage left in the house. At first, even you were convinced that your presence would revitalize their marriage and they'd remember why they loved each other from the start.

However, their own child wasn't enough to give them a reason to put aside their differences and love each other for what they were - a family; a family, you knew, should be willing to sacrifice a part of their individual lives for each other, that's what it meant to be married.

But your parents weren't even willing to confront the problem -- not being in love with each other anymore -- much less work it out. At your age, you were aware of the fact that love wasn't all a marriage needed, there was responsibility and sacrifice and with a little understanding, the love could be rekindled, not just once but multiple times throughout the life spent together. The last thing you'd want was for them to separate and you were quite certain that with a little communication this hellish nightmare could be put past them. They were immature, you concluded. Your parents wanted to ignore it altogether, which would only leave them stumped at this obstacle, growing angrier with each bland dinner and mismatched grocery.

You couldn't take it anymore. Stopping your bike at a nearby convenience store to pick up a few snacks, you texted your boyfriend, Tendo. He was usually around, and usually free -- plus, he lived in a dorm all by himself. It was the perfect escape from your exhausting household. Without waiting for a reply, you journeyed across a few streets to get to the college residence and parked your bike anywhere. It wasn't worth enough to get stolen and even if some desperate thief decided to have some fun, it would only serve as an excuse for your parents to finally get you a car.

After the long and silent elevator ride which seemed to compress you on all sides, you arrive at the seventh floor and felt your shoulders relax almost immediately. You'd been here so many times it was like a second home to you. Tendo's place always gave you the relief you wanted after a tiresome day of school, or your parents, or both.

Struggling to keep the strap of your heavy bag filled with books, clothes, and food on your shoulder, you lightly knocked on the front door. There were sounds of incomprehensible yelling and laughter coming from inside which you thought was strange but not enough to question it.

When there was no answer and you were fed up with waiting, you decided to try the knob which was surprisingly unlocked. So, you entered the house and called out loudly, "Tendo? It's Y/N". Not even a step later, a strong scent of weed hit your nose directly and you winced.

"Y/N?" said a voice, followed by Tendo rolling back in a computer chair, tugging his headset to his neck with the hand that wasn't latched onto the controller, his eyes wide in pleasant surprise.

"Hey," you said quietly, smiling at the sight of him. "I texted you . . ."

"Oh, sorry. I was in a game so I didn't check my phone," Tendo murmured, throwing a distracted glance at his phone on the couch before immediately returning his attention to the screen, his headset back on his ears. "I SAID COVER ME!"

"He's been yelling all match," someone said and you startled, looking back at the couch to see one of Tendo's friends, Semi, sitting cross-legged on the couch, a hoodie covering most of his head and a bong tucked between his thighs. It was unusual for Tendo to have friends over. Even at school, he rarely sat with a large group of friends for long. On weekends, it was mostly just you and him when it could be.

"I swear I'm playing with 11 year olds," Tendo remarked as the screen flashed red, signaling his team's failure. He spun around in his chair and glanced between you and Semi. "Sit down, Y/N, what the fuck. Semi got kicked out of his parents house so he's gonna be here for a while."

You widened your eyes. "You got kicked out?"

The ashy-blonde haired boy nodded, seeming casual as he fiddled with the bong. "They caught me smoking in the basement and said they didn't want me back till I quit," he explained with a shrug. "I miss my drum set but I'd rather be free to smoke, if I'm being honest."

Tendo shook his head, amused. "Get a fucking job, Semi -- then you can pay for half of this place and we can live together."

"Really?" Semi's eyes lit up and he seemed attentive for the first time that night. "I totally should, huh? I can work at some government institute, you know? They'll see that I'm smart since I major in political science . . ."

"Tendo, can I get in the shower?" you asked and Tendo nodded of course. As you were about to disappear down the hall before turning around and feeling blush creep onto your cheeks when Tendo gave you a questioning look. "Um . . . I also . . . Wanted to stay here for a bit. My parents are just really . . ."

"You can!" Tendo said with an enthusiasm that made your heart jump with pleasure. "It'll be fun with the three of us. I'm sorry about your parents though."

The shower was warm and almost therapeutic with the muffled sounds of Tendo's frustration with his team and Semi teasing him about it. You even sat down on the porcelain for a bit, the soothing water sprinkling down on your bare body. When you had finally decided to come out, you found that Semi was eating the snacks you'd brought along with you. Although you were initially doubtful of him staying over with you and Tendo, you quickly grew more open about it. He was normally quiet and serious, but the weed seemed to open him up to being actually friendly and talkative, not failing to make you laugh several times that evening.

"Yo, if you make my girl laugh that much I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Tendo said, throwing a cheeto at Semi's head.

You eventually fell asleep on the couch, Tendo and Semi's voice almost serving as a lullaby. You'd rather hear their weed-inspired symposium in your sleepy stupors than the sound of your parents arguing. Some time that night, unknown to the dizzy you, Tendo had hauled you into his arms and transferred you to the warm security of his bed, wrapping his covers around you, and then wrapping his arms around you.

The next morning, Semi was already gone for an 8am class. Despite sharing Tendo's major, he had registered very late and got the worst schedule a student could ask for. You and Tendo, however, were able to fool around in the bathroom (no, not like that. Tendo spit toothpaste on you), and eat lazy bowls of cereal before heading out, walking under the warm morning sun to get to campus.

When you'd arrived at your own class, Tendo let you know he'd wait for you at the college center after class. You checked your phone while the professor was setting up his stuff. Disappointment settled in your chest at the realization that your parents hadn't bothered to check up on you. You hadn't given them the heads-up that you would be staying over at "Sam's" house and although you declared that you weren't under their jurisdiction, you half-expected a "should we wait up for you?" text from either parent.

You tried to push your dejectedness and self-pity in order to pay attention to your lecture. The anger formed into a kind of resistance, telling you to stay as contactless from them as possible, waiting for one of them to care about your absence, or at least notice.

After class, you stopped by the vending machine to buy Tendo and yourself two bottles of juice before walking with your head down to the college center. You didn't want to see any of your friends or anyone for that matter. You wanted to be alone . . . With Tendo. He knew how to give you the reassurance and comfort you needed without uttering a single word. Sometimes you wondered if he was even aware of the effect he had on you. Did he know how his mere presence could reduce your anxiety? The man was like a remedy.

You spotted Tendo slumped on one of the couches, thumbs tapping away on his phone and you were almost certain he was engaged in a game of COD mobile. Then he seemed to notice you and he lifted his bright red-haired head up, shoving his phone in his pocket.

"Damn bay-bee!" Tendo whistled and you rolled your eyes as an instant reaction to his typical attention-drawing behaviour. "Hot girl alert," he announced, grinning at you.

"Shut up!" you yelled, chucking a juice bottle at him, which he caught with extraneous ease. You would've been surprised if you weren't already familiar with the fact that he, along with Semi, were on the volleyball team of a prestigious high school. He never failed to remind you and always talked about a mysterious "best friend" named Ushijima who he strongly believed would be famous one day.

Grateful that no one was staring at you two anymore, you collapsed next to Tendo, resting your head on his shoulder. He had produced his phone once again and you realized he had been texting Semi. You didn't want to intrude on his messages but you couldn't help catch parts of the conversation. He was going out drinking with Semi later because they had both received excellent grades on one of their tests. This also didn't come as a surprise because although you've never actually seen Tendo studying, he always did well on his tests.

Tendo turned to you. "You can go ahead back to my place," he suggested, twirling his dorm keys around his finger as he handed them to you. You gave him a small smile when he left you with a parting kiss on the lips as you separated for your next class.

You didn't see him again before leaving campus to return to Tendo's house. As you walked, you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach. Why hadn't Tendo ask you to join him? You shook your head, why were you even thinking of such a thing when you knew you hated drinking? But some uncomfortable tug in your chest left you questioning whether Tendo even wanted you at his place. Maybe he had accepted to be polite, or because he felt sorry for you . . . or because he didn't want to say no to you in front of Semi.

The biting thoughts bounced around your head, a reminder that Tendo loved you popping up every now and then to shoot those thoughts into a corner but not doing much to quell your worries.

You spent your evening studying, getting excited only at the occasional text from Tendo, making sure you got home fine, or that you knew you could eat anything in his fridge, or sleep in his bed if you were tired, or play on his PlayStation if you were bored. You did neither of those things, not touching a single thing in his kitchen even while your poor stomach cried with hungry grumbles.

You felt sick to your stomach, opting to switch on the television for background noise as you hugged your knees on the couch. There was an aching fear building up inside of you, fear that you were as unwanted to your boyfriend as you were to your own parents. You knew you shouldn't have been insecure, he'd always been there for you and never gave you a reason to doubt him.

But it had been quite a while since he'd last told that he loved you, sincerely, from the bottom of his heart. A lot could change within a person in that sort of time. And the last time the two of you had sex or even really made out was several months ago before you moved in with your parents. You could blame that on the chaos of school, both of you being in your second-years with exams and pressure to find jobs keeping your heads under water.

Nonetheless, the fear of Tendo falling out of love with you the same way your father fell out of love with your mother still existed and was still very real. You could always untangle this very confusing frustration with Tendo, he'd never shied away from important conversations. However, despite the many insecurities he'd helped you through, this just wasn't one you wanted him to hear.

And maybe you were like your parents in that way . . .

You dropped your head into your lap, feeling the burn of tears in your eyes, your chest tightening under the pressure of the worries you knew had no foundations but still pushed their way into your system. Eventually, your eyes had drooped and your brain was shifting in and out of focus with the screen before you.

Before you could really fall asleep though, you heard the sound of the door opening and Tendo's voice informing you of his presence. You hummed in response and Tendo furrowed his brows at you, jumping in next to you on the couch. You could tell he was still a little delirious from drinking but not enough to turn you away from him, as you usually did when he got completely wasted.

"Y/N, I went to the corner store on the way back and got you the cake you said you really liked," Tendo mumbled, putting his arms around you and pulling you closer. You wanted the cake, sure, but to be truthful, you wanted him more than anything.

"I just wanna fuck," you blurted out and Tendo's head instantly snapped up to look at you, a lazy grin pulling at the edges of his lips.

"Uh? You wanna what?"

You blushed, tugging your knees to your chest but Tendo's hands were already on them, pulling them apart. "I said I wanna fuck," you murmur.

"That's right, baby," said Tendo, settling himself between your thighs as he licked his lips. "I knew what you said, I wanted to hear you say it again."

"I got it, stupid," you told him, curling your fingers around the shoulders of Tendo's shirt and bringing his chest to yours before connecting your lips. The effect was immediate. You simultaneously relaxed and tensed up underneath the weight of his body, completely winded by the effortlessness with which his tongue moved past your lips and pressed to your own.

"You're right, I deserve this," Tendo breathed against your lips, a hand going to your thigh and guiding your leg around his waist. You hadn't said that but didn't care enough to point it out. "I can't call it a treat without wrecking this pretty body of yours." Your heart fluttered with his words and you watched him trail his lips down your chin, jaw, and neck toward the now exposed skin of your chest as he hooked a finger over the collar of your sweater and forced it down.

You shut your eyes, drowning in the anxious ecstasy of what was to come, the outcome of all this; him inside of you, filling you up, and fighting off all your worries with each sway of his hips against yours.

His teeth grazed against your skin and you pressed your lips together, knowing it was going to be followed by a bite and it did. Tendo bit and tugged at your sensitive skin, earning a pained gasp from your lips before smoothing over the sting with his tongue. It hurt but in that good way you never wanted it to stop, not until every inch of your body was covered in marks from him and only him.

Tendo had always liked to take his time. Even now, with you practically squirming and wordlessly begging for him. You could tell by the way he rubbed the seam of his jeans right against the very spot you craved him most, knocking the air out of your lungs and making your hips snap up against his, which caused you both to moan (Tendo's turned into choked laughter). He usually opted to wear sweatpants or, at best, trousers, but the roughness of his jeans really did amplify the feeling and although it made you throb almost everywhere, you were starting to get impatient.

"Jinx," Tendo groaned, dropping his head into the crook of your neck as your fingernails raked through his messy hair.

"Shut up, Tendo, just . . . Fuck . . . Get inside already," you said between shallow breaths. Tendo was already doing that, wedging a hand between both your bodies to unbutton his jeans. But between making jokes of your desperation and dry-humping you right on his couch, Tendo (and you) failed to realize that you had company.

The sound of the door swinging open almost completely shattered your preoccupation with each other. Tendo dragged himself off you and onto his knees while you propped yourself up, slightly embarrassed but more so disappointed when Semi walked into the living room, squinting at the two of you.

"Oh," he said, realizing what he had interrupted with a nod. High Semi was a lot different than this not-very-drunk or just-sober-enough Semi, who was stoic and didn't laugh the awkwardness off like you expected. "S-sorry about that," he stuttered and made to head towards his own room.

Tendo turned back to you with a smile that told you he didn't mind continuing what you two had already started. He didn't mind . . . But that probably didn't mean he wanted to. Neither did you with Semi in the next room. The heavy feeling from earlier took residence in your stomach once more, unwarranted and so quick you felt tears spring to your eyes.

Pushing Tendo off, you ran to his room in order to cry without his prying eyes, kind as they were. But you knew you wouldn't have the room for very long. The five minutes you really were alone, you were quite sure Tendo was trying to give you space or wonder what he'd done wrong. Then the door opened and he stepped in and you buried your head in your hands.

"Y/N, what the fuck is up with you?" He asked, but in a gentle tone before you felt his hand on your back, rubbing soothingly. "Why are you crying, hm? Look at me." Tendo tugged on your forearm and practically forced your head up. You stared at him through tear-blurry vision.

"Why didn't you invite me to come with you and Semi?" You stuttered dumbly and Tendo blinked in surprise.

"I-I didn't think you'd want to come," he answered with a shrug and a look of guilt marred the fond carelessness of his face. "Usually you say no . . . I'm sorry, I should've asked."

You shook your head quickly and realized you were doing exactly what you hated about your parents: avoiding the problem. But how could you not avoid the problem when the problem was questioning his love for you? Maybe you were the immature one, thinking talking about those things was so simple. It wasn't.

So you just said, "Sorry, I've been having a rough week . . . "

Tendo nodded, understanding. "Do you want Semi out of here?"

"W-What? No, no, no," you said quickly, wiping your wet eyes. "He needs somewhere to stay, I-I don't mind. It's mostly just . . . " you braced yourself to finally voice your fear out loud. Tendo's eyes on you, full of concern and attention. "I'm sick of my parents," you ended up saying and then cringed with your whole body.

"They fighting again?" Tendo asked, wrapping an arm around your waist and maneuvering the two of you against the bed frame to lean back. You leaned into his chest and relaxed in the comforting scent of him.

"They haven't checked up on me," you murmured, feeling slightly embarrassed for needing your parents attention this much. Tendo just stroked his fingers through your hair, intently listening. "I didn't tell them I'd be away from home and I usually never am. But they haven't even texted me to ask. I just feel like I'm not wanted there."

"They're probably just lost in their own issues to even think about dealing with you," Tendo said and he seemed to have the simplest answers to the complicated worries in your heart. "Stay here with me, just until they really get worried. Besides you're wanted here all the time."

You lifted your head and smiled. "Thanks Tendo, I-I love you," you mumbled shyly and Tendo grinned, shaking his head in amusement.

"I love you too," he replied without hesitating. The two of you soon fell asleep, Tendo changing out of his jeans first and yelling at you to get in your pajamas, before throwing a shirt at your head. You were too tired to get up now and Tendo knew that but it didn't stop him from trying. He gave up shortly and muttered something about you being a stubborn little bitch before sinking into the mattress next to you and shutting off the lights.

The next week flew by just like that. You were getting quite used to living with Tendo and he seemed to be happy with that. Most days were just busy with school and assignments, the slower days were spent in wondering if Semi would be home now or then to gauge how long the two of you had alone. But in that worry itself, you and Tendo would miss the opportunity Semi seemed to have intentionally been giving you each time. Dinners were nice since the three of you got along very well. Tendo would usually make the jokes, vulgar or downright shocking, causing you to almost choke up your food and Semi to roll his eyes yet smirk all the same.

Semi had found a job as a male receptionist at some package delivering company, which was a grounds for all three of you to celebrate. Tendo explained that they probably only wanted Semi because he was eye-candy for anyone entering the building. You agreed that Semi was very pretty and Tendo pouted at you.

Friday night, the bong was reintroduced and you surrendered to the thought of really forgetting all your stress and just getting high. Which you did. And it was really relieving. So the next day, you decided it couldn't hurt to have another session. Semi had gone off to work and he wouldn't be back till very late, which gave you and Tendo time to smoke a little and fuck a lot.

But neither of you were really in the mood that evening and you could tell by the lack of foreplay Tendo usually invested in before putting it inside. He was out of focus and so were you, lying in his bed and occasionally moaning when he hit the right spot.

And when he'd pulled out so quick, you couldn't help lifting your head in confusion. "T-Tendo, what—" but the question was cut off with warm liquid spraying over your bare chest and splashing onto your mouth, droplets almost hitting your eyes before you shut them.

"Ah shit!" Tendo gasped, giggling breathlessly. "I'm s-sorry about that. I just wanted to cum on your tits."

"I'm gonna get pink-eye!" You complained, wiping your eyes and mouth with the back of your hand.

"Don't be dramatic," he said dismissively, hopping off the bed and disappearing into the closet. You blinked, heavy breaths living your lips and slightly disoriented. But Tendo had really just . . . Done that, without bothering to ask if you'd finished (he never really asked because it was quite obvious you had every time, but not tonight).

Before the worthlessness could settle in, a towel was thrown directly at your face and now you were just . . . Really angry. Your own boyfriend seemed to have used you and discarded you, you thought, furiously wiping yourself down with the towel and watching Tendo from the corner of your eye light up a joint and take a deep drag from it.

You slipped your shirt back over your bare chest and stared down at your lap as he breathed out, smoke filling the air and your nose. You just wanted to turn around and sleep.

"Y/N," said Tendo, prompting you to glance up at him. You shifted your gaze to him and saw that he was dangling a pair of handcuffs in one hand and a collar with a chain attached to it in another. Tendo grinned lazily, the joint hanging from his lips as he tossed both on the bed, you gazing at them in wonder.

"Do you wanna try these?" He asked, setting the joint aside and crawling onto the bed. "I ordered them a while ago, they're cheap as fuck but if we like them — if you like them — we can get something proper."

You licked your lips, excitement rising in your stomach. "I . . . Um . . . Yes! I'd like to try . . ."

"That's my girl," said Tendo eagerly, clicking the collar around your neck with a sly smile. "You look pretty fucking hot, if I'm being honest." He turned your head to the side so you could see yourself in the mirror. You couldn't help but agree with your boyfriend. The presence of the collar on your throat did wonderful things to your conscious.

Then there was a rough tug on the chain, squeezing the collar around your neck, and a whimper tumbled past your lips as Tendo forced you to face him. Tendo's eyes widened in wicked surprise as he stared at you and felt yourself blushing.

"This chain comes in handy then, I bet," he muttered with a smile.

Once your shirt was off and the handcuffs were locked around your wrists, both behind your back, Tendo pushed you to the ground in front of him and swung his feet off the bed. He reached one of his large hands towards you, fingers immediately tangling in your hair as you made quick work of him. The constant yanking on your hair and the choked grunts Tendo made was really adding to the rush of it all. Especially when he pushed your head down and forced himself deeper into your throat.

"Take all of my cock," he hissed out the order, the chain of your collar wrapped around his free hand, tugging at it every now and then when he wanted you to look at him. You accepted every praise that followed, tears forming at the edge of your vision with each thrust. "You look so pretty like this, baby. God, I love face-fucking you . . . You're so good . . . You're the best."

After he'd shuddered and his cock twitched, sending a warm stream of cum down your throat, Tendo didn't stop there. He pulled the chain up, your head rising with it as the collar squeezed your neck. "Let me see," he whispered, gently gripping your jaw as you opened your mouth, feeling the liquid drip down your chin. "Good girl. Now swallow." The instruction was followed by the harsh slap of his palm against your ass, prompting you to obey.

"Ah!" you cried out, biting your lip. "Y-Yes, sir."

Tendo smirked and yanked the chain again, bringing your lips down upon his and the saltiness from earlier was wiped away as he sucked on your lips, grasping your hips and sitting you down on top of him where you could feel his cock pressing right against your entrance.

"Tell me what you want, baby," Tendo groaned as you moved your hips against him, your head buried in his neck along with your lips grazing his warm skin. Your wrists were sore and aching and all you wanted was to latch onto him but Tendo didn't seem to want to take them off just yet.

"Fuck me," you whispered against his ear.

Tendo didn't waste time, moving back so he was lying down on the bed, shirt off and you, on top of him, wanted to touch the tanned skin of his bare chest so bad. He watched your every moment with a dizzying intrigue, allowing you to fuck yourself on his cock while his fingers pressed bruises into your hips.

"Just like that, Y/N," he grunted through a clenched jaw, pushing you all the way down as he lifted his own hips and thrust up into you.

"Tendo!" You gasped, your head falling back, eyes shut tightly as the pain and pleasure shot up your body, releasing breathless moans from the base of your throat. "Fuck . . ."

Tendo grinned. "You ride me so well, Y/N . . . Ugh, fuck!" He pulled the chain towards him, swallowing your moan with the careful, wet kisses of his mouth. "You look so hot on top of me." You could feel the tight knots in your stomach slowly unraveling, the new angle doing mind-shattering things to your insides.

"I-I . . . Tendo . . ." You stuttered, blinking rapidly as the feeling overcame you.

Tendo's hands went to your thighs immediately, throwing you off of him and the sudden feeling of emptiness shocked you. "What the fuck?!" You cried, shaking the hair off your face as your wrists were still faithfully behind you.

"Let me fuck that pussy," Tendo muttered, shifting you onto your hands and knees before sinking into you from behind as your head pressed into the pillow beneath you. "You're so tight . . . I love this pussy . . ." Tendo bent over you, till his chest was pressed to your back, his hand still clamped around the chain of your collar, making sure you were being choked how he liked you.

"Moan for me, Y/N . . ." he whispered, lips and teeth clashing against the skin under your ear, your neck, your shoulder. You should've been embarrassed with the sounds leaving your parted mouth but you really couldn't focus on much besides the feeling of his cock buried deep inside you.

The mindless euphoria and muffled pain of it all drove every thought out of your head, the uncertainty and unease. You wanted to be as close to Tendo as possible and he wanted to be deep inside you. As your vision blurred and you were so close to completely losing it, Tendo pulled out of you again. Your jaw fell open but he'd flipped you around and frantically uncuffed your now throbbing wrists, tossing the handcuffs to the side, before sliding back into you.

"Fuucckkk . . ." He moaned, eyes fluttering but he tried to keep them open to watch your flushed face, your back arching until your breasts were pressed right up against his chest. The sound of profanities leaving his swelling lips was smothered as he sucked on your neck, your arms finally able to loop around his neck, yanking at his hair as he slipped his fingers between your legs. "C-Cum on my cock . . ." Tendo stuttered.

But you'd begged him to come inside and Tendo had to pull his head back to look at you with surprise. After the painful edging and denial, those words were enough to snap every knot in your stomach completely. Tendo had grabbed your chin and forced you to look at him. "I wanna see you when you cum," he managed to choke out as you tried your best to keep your eyes open, focused on his gaze and the way it sent goosebumps all over your sweat-glistening body. Tendo had sped up and groaned a string of curse words as he released inside of you, and you had given to defeat, throwing your head back, mouth open in a silent cry before Tendo's hips slowed down and the room was filled with shuddering breaths and occasional whimpers.

"Holy fuck," Tendo whispered, unclipping the collar from around your neck and examining the red and almost bleeding skin before tossing the item to the side. "I'm so sorry . . . Did it hurt?"

"K-Kinda," you squeaked as he kissed your neck softly. Truthfully, you hadn't noticed it then but the pain was coming back to you in short bursts as you trembled underneath Tendo.

"I should've known considering it was like five bucks," he responded, dropping down next to you. You wrapped your arms around him and rested your head on his chest. Tendo seemed surprised by this as you two normally cleaned yourselves up first before cuddling.

"My parents are falling out of love," you blurted out.

Tendo scoffed, pushing your hair out of your face. "I just fucked you like you were a bitch in heat and the first thing you say is 'my parents are falling out of love' . . . What the fuck am I doing?" he murmured, leaning down and kissing the top of your head. "I'm sorry to hear that, Y/N."

You licked your lips, trailing your fingers over Tendo's bare chest. "I-I'm scared that . . . That you don't love me anymore either."

"Oh . . . This fucking girl, you can't leave her alone with her thoughts for a second," Tendo teased. "I can tell you this, Y/N; sometimes it doesn't work between people and forcing it will just make it worse."

You nodded, shifting into a seated position so you could look at him properly. Tendo smiled at you, the mere action causing your heart to jump into you throat. "You're right . . . I'll have to hope for the best between my parents."

"That being said," Tendo continued, tucking your hair behind your ear gently. "I fucking love you and I don't plan on stopping so you can get that silly thought out of your head." There was a distant sound of the front door opening and when you'd glanced at the clock, you knew Semi was home. He'd announced his arrival and said,

"Keep fucking if you guys are fucking! I don't wanna ruin your relationship!"

Tendo rolled his eyes and hugged you closer, putting his chin on your shoulder. "You were amazing and I'm sorry about before . . ." You giggled. It seemed sort of trivial now. "You're beautiful by the way," Tendo said and you blushed. "Your face and body but also on the inside . . . and I'm not talking about these sweet insides I just ruined . . ."

"I know," You laughed as Tendo tickled your thigh with his fingertips.

"Y/N," said Tendo suddenly and you glanced at him. "D-Do you want to try something new?"

You raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I guess the handcuffs weren't enough, huh? Yeah, let's do something new!" But you weren't expecting Tendo to call for Semi. To your own surprise though, you didn't stop him and even smiled widely when the boy pushed the door open and froze, blush creeping onto his cheeks.

Tendo hadn't said anything further but your heart was pounding furiously again, especially when Semi's eyes shifted from Tendo to meet your own. He opened his mouth to say something but then thought better of it.

A second later, he was tugging at his own hoodie, the only two words that left his lips "fuck it" completely forgotten once the door shut and Tendo dimmed the lights.

#anime #haikyuu #haikyuu smut #anime smut #haikyuu tendou #tendou satori #tendou smut #smut #semi eita #tendou imagine #tendou drabble #tendou oneshot

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philip-ks-dick · 3 years ago

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Philip K. Dick, For Dummies.

I’ve been researching PK.D for a few years now, as he’s my father’s favourite author and I’ve been watching movie and show adaptations of his work for the longest time. I have personally only read the books listed, here’s the order (I think) you should read them in, based on difficulty level and the knowledge you need of the PKD canon to understand the books that follow. This is purely my opinion based on knowledge of the author. by philip-k’s-dick (lol)

Beginner. (These books and stories allow readers to explore Dick’s pet themes and stylistic quirks without falling too far down the rabbit hole)

The Short Stories: Over the course of his life, PKD wrote somewhere in the range of 150 short stories. Naturally, it would be silly of me to dump all of them on you at once, but undeniably, the shorter format allows the big ideas of Dick’s work to come through more clearly, and even the screwier stories conform to relatively coherent shape, making them an excellent jumping off point, especially for an author who wrote almost nonstop throughout his life.

My Favourites:

In The Days of Perky Pat - In this novel, survivors of a global thermonuclear war live in isolated enclaves in California, surviving off what they can scrounge from the wastes and supplies delivered from Mars. The older generation spend their leisure time playing with the eponymous doll in an escapist role-playing game that recalls life before the apocalypse — a way of life that is being quickly forgotten. At the story's climax, a couple from one isolated outpost of humanity plays a game against the dwellers of another outpost (who play the game with a doll similar to Perky Pat dubbed "Connie Companion") in deadly earnest. The survivors' shared enthusiasm for the Perky Pat doll and the creation of her accessories from vital supplies is a sort of mass delusion that prevents meaningful re-building of the shattered society. In stark contrast, the children of the survivors show absolutely no interest in the delusion and have begun adapting to their new life.

(Elements of the story were later incorporated into Dick's novel The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, written in 1964 and published in 1965, in which a Perky Pat simulation game is induced by drugs and miniature models instead. Palmer Eldritch is not a continuation or sequel however.)

What the Dead Men Say - Death is followed by a period of 'half-life', a short amount of time which can be rationed out over long periods in which the dead can be revived—so that, potentially, they can 'live' on for a long time. When attempts to bring back important businessman Louis Sarapis fail, it's clearly more than mere negligence. Sure enough, Sarapis starts speaking from beyond the grave. From outer space, in fact. Yet no-one seems terribly bothered, other than those directly concerned in the plot mechanics. Eventually entire communications networks (phones, TV, radio) are blocked by Sarapis' broadcasts

(Philip's later novel Ubik is a continuation of What the Dead Men Say)

Autofac - Three men wait outside their settlement for an automated delivery truck. Five years earlier, during the Total Global Conflict, a network of hardened automatic factories ("autofacs") had been set up with cybernetic controls that determine what food and consumer goods to manufacture and deliver. Human input had been lost, and the men planned disruption to try to establish communication and take over control. They destroy the delivery, but the truck radios the autofac and unloads an identical replacement, then prevents them from reloading items. They act out being disgusted with the milk delivery and are given a complaints checklist. In a blank space, they write improvised semantic garble—"the product is thoroughly pizzled". The autofac sends a humanoid data collector that communicates on an oral basis, but is not capable of conceptual thought, and they are unable to persuade the network to shut down before it consumes all resources. Their next strategy sets neighbouring autofacs in competition with each other for rare resources and seemingly succeeds, but there is a hidden level

Beyond Lies The Wub - Peterson, a crew member of a spaceship loading up with food animals on Mars, buys an enormous pig-like creature known as a "wub" from a native just before departure. Franco, his captain, is worried about the extra weight but seems more concerned about its taste, as his ship is short of food. However, after takeoff, the crew realizes that the wub is a very intelligent creature, capable of telepathy and maybe even mind control.

Peterson and the wub spend time discussing mythological figures and the travels of Odysseus. Captain Franco, paranoid after an earlier confrontation with the Wub which left him temporarily paralyzed, bursts in and insists on killing and eating the wub. The crew becomes very much opposed to killing the sensitive creature after it makes a plea for understanding, but Franco still makes a meal out of him. At the dinner table, Captain Franco apologises for the "interruption" and resumes the earlier conversation between Peterson and the Wub - which now has apparently taken over the Captain's body

Human Is - Jill Herrick and her husband Lester are in the middle of an argument. Lester deflects his wife’s claim that he is “hideous” with cold indifference. He tells her that he will not allow their child in the house and will have him removed to government custody because he is interfering with his research. Before the distraught Jill can pass this onto their son Gus, Lester gets news that he will be taking a trip to Rexor IV. Despite Jill’s desire to go there and see the planet, Lester insists that he will go alone.

Later Jill tells her brother Frank and she is going to leave Lester. She explains how happy she has been with Lester gone and how he seems to be getting worse every year of their marriage. More cold and more “ruthless,” not to mention the incessant working.

Lester comes home a very different man. He praises Jill’s cooking and expresses disgust with his work on Rexor IV studying toxins. He says he prefers Terra and being home with his wife.

Jill reports these changes to Frank, while Lester is playing in the room with Gus. Frank has Lester brought to a lab for more studies under the guidance of the Federal Clearance agency. Before long they realize that Lester has had his body taken over by a Rexorian.

The Hanging Stranger - The protagonist, Ed Loyce, is a store owner who is disturbed when he sees a stranger hanging from a lamppost, but finds that other people consider the apparent lynching unremarkable.

He finds evidence that alien insects have taken over, manages to get out of town, talks to the police commissioner, who believes him, and after getting all the information about what Ed knows, explains that the body was hung to see if anyone reacted to it, anyone they didn't have control over. He then takes Ed outside and hangs him from a lamppost.

The Commuter - Ed Jacobson is a railway worker at Woking station. His life takes a turn for the worse when his son, Sam, begins experiencing psychotic episodes. When he is selling rail tickets at work, a young woman named Linda asks for a ticket to a destination called Macon Heights that is not listed on any map.

The Minority Report - In a future society, three mutants foresee all crime before it occurs. Plugged into a great machine, these "precogs" allow a division of the police called Precrime to arrest suspects before they can commit any actual crimes. When the head of Precrime, John Anderton, is himself predicted to murder a man whom he has never met, Anderton is convinced a great conspiracy is afoot

Full Books:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter for the San Francisco Police Department, is assigned to "retire" (kill) six androids of the new and highly intelligent Nexus-6 model which have recently escaped from Mars and traveled to Earth. These androids are made of organic matter so similar to a human's that only a posthumous "bone marrow analysis" can independently prove the difference, making them almost impossible to distinguish from real people. Deckard hopes this mission will earn him enough bounty money to buy a live animal to replace his lone electric sheep to comfort his depressed wife Iran. Deckard visits the Rosen Association's headquarters in Seattle to confirm the accuracy of the latest empathy test meant to identify incognito androids. Deckard suspects the test may not be capable of distinguishing the latest Nexus-6 models from genuine human beings, and it appears to give a false positive on his host in Seattle, Rachael Rosen, meaning the police have potentially been executing human beings. The Rosen Association attempts to blackmail Deckard to get him to drop the case, but Deckard retests Rachael and determines that Rachael is, indeed, an android, which she ultimately admits.

Clans of the Alphane Moon - War between Earth and insectoid-dominated Alpha III ended over a decade ago. (According to the novel, "Alphane" refers to the nearest star to our own system, Alpha Centauri). Some years after the end of hostilities, Earth intends to secure its now independent colony in the Alphane system, Alpha III M2. As a former satellite-based global psychiatric institution for colonists on other Alphane system worlds unable to cope with the stresses of colonisation, the inhabitants of Alpha III M2 have lived peacefully for years. But, under the pretence of a medical mission, Earth intends to take their colony back.

Against this background, Chuck Rittersdorf and his wife Mary are separating. Although they think they are going their separate ways, they soon find themselves together again on Alpha III M2. Mary travels there through government work, Chuck sees it as a chance to kill Mary using his remote control simulacrum. Along the way he is guided by his Ganymedean slime mould neighbour Lord Running Clam and Mary finds herself manipulated by the Alphane sympathiser, comedian Bunny Hentman.

The Man in the High Castle - In 1962, 15 years after Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany have won World War II, Robert "Bob" Childan owns an Americana antique shop in San Francisco, California (located in the Japanese-occupied Pacific States of America), which is most commonly frequented by the Japanese, who make a fetish of romanticized American cultural artifacts. Childan is contacted by Nobusuke Tagomi, a high-ranking Japanese trade official, who is seeking a gift to impress a visiting Swedish industrialist named Baynes. Childan's store is stocked in part with counterfeit antiques from the Wyndam-Matson Corporation, a metalworking company. Frank Frink (formerly Fink), a secretly Jewish-American veteran of World War II, has just been fired from the Wyndam-Matson factory, when he agrees to join a former co-worker to begin a handcrafted jewellery business. Meanwhile, Frink's ex-wife, Juliana, works as a judo instructor in Canon City, Colorado (in the neutral buffer zone of Mountain States), where she begins a sexual relationship with an Italian truck driver and ex-soldier, Joe Cinnadella. Throughout the book, many of these characters frequently make important decisions using prophetic messages they interpret from the I Ching, a Chinese cultural import. Many characters are also reading a widely banned yet extremely popular new novel, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which depicts an alternate history in which the Allies won World War II in 1945, a concept that amazes and intrigues its readers.

Frink reveals that the Wyndam-Matson Corporation has been supplying Childan with counterfeit antiques, which works to blackmail Wyndam-Matson for money to finance Frink's new jewelry venture. Tagomi and Baynes meet, but Baynes repeatedly delays any real business as they await an expected third party from Japan. Suddenly, the public receives news of the death of the Chancellor of Germany, Martin Bormann, after a short illness. Childan tentatively, on consignment, takes some of Frink's "authentic" new metalwork and attempts to curry favour with a Japanese client, who surprisingly considers Frink's jewelry immensely spiritually alive. Juliana and Joe take a road trip to Denver, Colorado and Joe impulsively decides they should go on a side-trip to meet the mysterious Hawthorne Abendsen, author of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, who supposedly lives in a guarded fortress-like estate called the "High Castle" in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Soon, Joseph Goebbels is announced as the new German Chancellor.

Intermediate. (These are the books to pick up once you have the basics of what makes a PKD novel down. They’re obtuse enough to hit a little heavier, but don’t provide the full dose of surrealism Dick was capable of serving up. This is also good spot to jump in if you’ve experienced weird fiction before.)

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - The novel is set in a dystopian version of 1988, following a Second Civil War which led to the collapse of the United States' democratic institutions. The National Guard ("nats") and US police force ("pols") reestablished social order through instituting a dictatorship, with a "Director" at the apex, and police marshals and generals as operational commanders in the field. Resistance to the regime is largely confined to university campuses, where radicalized former university students eke out a desperate existence in subterranean kibbutzim. Recreational drug use is widespread, and the age of consent has been lowered to twelve. The black population has almost been rendered extinct. Most commuting is undertaken by personal aircraft, allowing great distances to be covered in little time.

The novel begins with the protagonist, Jason Taverner, a singer, hosting his weekly TV show which has an audience of 30 million viewers. His special guest is his girlfriend Heather Hart, also a singer. Both Hart and Taverner are "Sixes", members of an elite class of genetically engineered humans. While leaving the studio, Taverner is telephoned by a former lover, who asks him to pay her a visit. When Taverner arrives at her apartment, the former lover attacks him by throwing a parasitic life-form at him. Although he manages to remove most of the life-form, parts of it are left inside him. After being rescued by Hart, he is taken to a medical facility.

Waking up the following day in a seedy hotel with no identification, Taverner becomes worried, as failure to produce identification at one of the numerous police checkpoints would lead to imprisonment in a forced labor camp. Through a succession of phone calls made from the hotel to colleagues and friends who now claim not to know him, Taverner establishes that he is no longer recognized by the outside world. He soon manages to bribe the hotel's clerk into taking him to Kathy Nelson, a forger of government documents. However, Kathy reveals that both she and the clerk are police informants, and that the lobby clerk has placed a microscopic tracking device on him. She promises not to turn Taverner over to the police on the condition that he spend the night with her. Although he attempts to escape, Kathy confronts him again after he has successfully passed a police checkpoint using the forged identity cards. Feeling in her debt, he accompanies Kathy to her apartment block, where Inspector McNulty, Kathy's police handler, is waiting. McNulty has located Taverner via the tracking device the hotel lobby clerk placed on him, and instructs Taverner to come with him to the 469th Precinct police station so that further biometric identity checks can be performed.

Time out of Joint - Ragle Gumm lives in the year 1959 in a quiet American suburb. His unusual profession consists of repeatedly winning the cash prize in a local newspaper contest called "Where Will The Little Green Man Be Next?". Gumm's 1959 has some differences from ours: the Tucker car is in production, AM/FM radios are scarce to non-existent, and Marilyn Monroe is a complete unknown. As the novel opens, strange things begin to happen to Gumm. A soft-drink stand disappears, replaced by a small slip of paper with the words "SOFT-DRINK STAND" printed on it in block letters. Intriguing little pieces of the real 1959 turn up: a magazine article on Marilyn Monroe, a telephone book with non-operational exchanges listed and radios hidden away in someone else's house. People with no apparent connection to Gumm, including military pilots using aircraft transceivers, refer to him by name. Few other characters notice these or experience similar anomalies; the sole exception is Gumm's supposed brother-in-law, Victor "Vic" Nielson, in whom he confides. A neighborhood woman, Mrs. Keitelbein, invites him to a civil defense class where he sees a model of a futuristic underground military factory. He has the unshakeable feeling he's been inside that building many times before.

Confusion gradually mounts for Gumm. His neighbor Bill Black knows far more about these events than he admits, and, observing this, begins worrying: "Suppose Ragle [Gumm] is becoming sane again?" In fact, Gumm does become sane, and the deception surrounding him (erected to protect and exploit him) begins to unravel

Ubik - By the year 1992, humanity has colonized the Moon and psychic powers are common. The protagonist, Joe Chip, is a debt-ridden technician working for Runciter Associates, a "prudence organization" employing "inertials"—people with the ability to negate the powers of telepaths and "precogs"—to enforce the privacy of clients. The company is run by Glen Runciter, assisted by his deceased wife Ella who is kept in a state of "half-life", a form of cryonic suspension that allows the deceased limited consciousness and ability to communicate. While consulting with Ella, Runciter discovers that her consciousness is being invaded by another half-lifer named Jory Miller

Difficult. (This section comes with a caveat: within these novels you will encounter numerous hallucinations, drug trips, an entire trilogy about gnostic spirituality and mental illness, and more than a little unabashed nightmare fuel. It’s normal to get tangled up in what goes on in these books. It’s also normal to be weirded out. But with proper grounding, you’ll make it though with your faculties intact. Probably.)

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - The story begins in a future world where global temperatures have risen so high that in most of the world it is unsafe to be outside without special cooling gear during daylight hours. In a desperate bid to preserve humanity and ease population burdens on Earth, the UN has initiated a "draft" for colonizing the nearby planets, where conditions are so horrific and primitive that the unwilling colonists have fallen prey to a form of escapism involving the use of an illegal drug (Can-D) in concert with "layouts." Layouts are physical props intended to simulate a sort of alternative reality where life is easier than either the grim existence of the colonists in their marginal off-world colonies, or even Earth, where global warming has progressed to the point that Antarctica is prime vacation resort territory. The illegal drug Can-D allows people to "share" their experience of the "Perky Pat" (the name of the main female character in the simulated world) layouts. This "sharing" has caused a pseudo-religious cult or series of cults to grow up around the layouts and the use of the drug.

Up to the point where the novel begins, New York City-based Perky Pat (or P.P.) Layouts, Inc., has held a monopoly on this product, as well as on the illegal trade in the drug Can-D which makes the shared hallucinations possible.

The novel opens shortly after Barney Mayerson, P.P. Layouts' top precog, has received a "draft notice" from the UN for involuntary resettlement as a colonist on Mars. Mayerson is sleeping with his assistant, Roni Fugate, but remains conflicted about the divorce, which he himself initiated, from his first wife Emily, a ceramic pot artist. Meanwhile, Emily's second husband tries to sell her pot designs to P.P. Layouts as possible accessories for the Perky Pat virtual worlds—but Barney, recognizing them as Emily's, rejects them out of spite.

A Scanner Darkly - When performing his work as an undercover agent, Arctor goes by the name "Fred" and wears a "scramble suit" that conceals his identity from other officers. Then he is able to sit in a police facility and observe his housemates through "holo-scanners", audio-visual surveillance devices that are placed throughout the house. Arctor's use of the drug causes the two hemispheres of his brain to function independently or "compete". When Arctor sees himself in the videos saved by the scanners, he does not realize that it is him. Through a series of drug and psychological tests, Arctor's superiors at work discover that his addiction has made him incapable of performing his job as a narcotics agent. They do not know his identity because he wears the scramble suit, but when his police supervisor suggests to him that he might be Bob Arctor, he is confused and thinks it cannot be possible.

Donna takes Arctor to "New-Path", a rehabilitation clinic, just as Arctor begins to experience the symptoms of Substance D withdrawal. It is revealed that Donna has been a narcotics agent all along, working as part of a police operation to infiltrate New-Path and determine its funding source. Without his knowledge, Arctor has been selected to penetrate the organization. As part of the rehab program, Arctor is renamed "Bruce" and forced to participate in cruel group-dynamic games, intended to break the will of the patients

(If this one seems difficult to wrap your mind around, that's because its a fictionalized account of real events, and you may need to read about Philip's life at the time to understand the autobiographical nature of the book.)

The VALIS Trilogy

(Fictionalized account of religious experiences in PKD’s life.)

VALIS - In March, 1974, Horselover Fat (the alter-personality of Philip K. Dick) experiences visions of a pink beam of light that he calls Zebra and interprets as a theophany exposing hidden facts about the reality of our universe, and a group of others join him in researching these matters. One of their theories is that there is some kind of alien space probe in orbit around Earth, and that it is aiding them in their quest; it also aided the United States in disclosing the Watergate scandal and the resignation of Richard Nixon in August, 1974. Kevin turns his friends onto a film called Valis that contains obvious references to revelations identical to those that Horselover Fat has experienced, including what appears to be time dysfunction. The film is itself a fictional account of an alternative-universe version of Nixon ("Ferris F. Fremount") and his fall, engineered by a satellite called valis. (The plot of the fictitious film Valis was that of Dick's then-unpublished novel Radio Free Albemuth.) In seeking the film's makers, Kevin, Phil, Fat, and David—now calling themselves the Rhipidon Society—head to an estate owned by popular musician Eric Lampton and his wife Linda. They decide the goal that they have been led toward is Sophia Lampton, who is two-years old and the Messiah or incarnation of Holy Wisdom (Pistis Sophia) anticipated by some variants of Gnostic Christianity. In addition to healing Phil's schizophrenic personality split, she tells them that their conclusions about valis (which Fat had previously termed "Zebra") and reality are correct, and more importantly, that we should worship, not gods, but humanity. She dies two days later due to a laser accident caused by Brent Mini. Undeterred, Fat (who has now resurged) goes on a global search for the next incarnation of Sophia.

Dick also offers a rationalist explanation of his apparent theophany, acknowledging that it might have been visual and auditory hallucinations from either schizophrenia or drug addiction sequelae.

Characters:

Phil (Philip K. Dick): Narrator (first person), science fiction writer, author of Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and Three Stigmata.

Horselover Fat: Narrator (third person), a schizophrenic modality of Phil himself. (Philip in Greek means "fond of horses"; dick is German for "fat".)

Gloria Knudson: Suicidal friend of Fat's who Fat is unable to save.

Kevin: Cynical friend of Fat's whose cat died running across the street, based on K. W. Jeter.

Sherri Solvig: Church-going friend of Fat's, eventually dies from lymphatic cancer.

David: Catholic friend of Fat's, based on Tim Powers.

Eric Lampton: Rock star, screenwriter, actor, a. k. a. "Mother Goose"; a fictionalised version of David Bowie.

Linda Lampton: Actress, wife of Eric Lampton.

Brent Mini: Electronic composer, a fictionalised version of Brian Eno.

Sophia Lampton: Two-year-old child (personalised incarnation of Holy Wisdom within some variants of Gnosticism), said to be the daughter of Linda Lampton and valis and the "Fifth Savior".

The Divine Invasion - After a fatal car accident on Earth, Herb Asher is placed into cryonic suspension as he waits for a spleen replacement. Clinically dead, Herb experiences lucid dreams while in suspended animation and relives the last six years of his life.

In the past, Herb lived as a recluse in an isolated dome on a remote planet in the binary star system, CY30-CY30B. Yah, a local divinity of the planet in exile from Earth, appears to Herb in a vision as a burning flame, and forces him to contact his sick female neighbor, Rybys Rommey, who happens to be terminally ill with multiple sclerosis and pregnant with Yah's child.

With the help of the immortal soul of Elijah, who takes the form of a wild beggar named Elias Tate, Herb agrees to become Rybys's legal husband and father of the unborn "savior". Together they plan to smuggle the six-month pregnant Rybys back to Earth, under the pretext of seeking help for Rybys' medical condition at a medical research facility. After being born in human form, Yah plans to confront the fallen angel Belial, who has ruled the Earth for 2000 years since the fall of Masada in the first century CE. Yah's powers, however, are limited by Belial's dominion on Earth, and the four of them must take extra precautions to avoid being detected by the forces of darkness.

Things do not go as planned. "Big Noodle", Earth's A.I. system, warns the ecclesiastical authorities in the Christian-Islamic church and Scientific Legate about the divine "invasion" and countermeasures are prepared. A number of failed attempts are made to destroy the unborn child, all of them thwarted by Elijah and Yah. After successfully making the interstellar journey back to Earth and narrowly avoiding a forced abortion, Rybys and Herb escape in the nick of time, only to be involved in a fatal taxi crash, probably due to the machinations of Belial. Rybys dies from her injuries sustained in the crash, and her unborn son Emmanuel (Yah in human form) suffers brain damage from the trauma but survives. Herb is critically injured and put into cryonic suspension until a spleen replacement can be found. Baby Emmanuel is placed into a synthetic womb, but Elias Tate manages to sneak Emmanuel out of the hospital before the church is able to kill him.

Six years pass. In a school for special children, Emmanuel meets Zina, a girl who also seems to have similar skills and talents, but acts as a surrogate teacher to Emmanuel. For four years, Zina helps Emmanuel regain his memory (the brain damage caused amnesia) and discover his true identity as Yah, creator of the universe.

When he's ready, Zina shows Emmanuel her own parallel universe. In this peaceful world, organized religion has little influence, Rybys Rommey is still alive and married to Herb Asher, and Belial is only a goat kid living in a petting zoo.

In an act of kindness, Zina and Emmanuel liberate the goat-creature from his cage, momentarily forgetting that the animal is Belial. The goat-creature finds Herb Asher and attempts to retain control of the world by possessing him and convincing him that Yahweh's creation is an ugly thing that should be shown for what it really is. Eventually Herb is saved by Linda Fox, a young singer whom he loves and who is his own personal Savior; she and the goat-creature meet and she kills it, defeating Belial. He finally discovers that this meeting happens over again for everyone in the world, and whether they choose Belial or their Savior decides if they find salvation.

Characters:

Herb Asher: audio engineer

Rybys Rommey: mother of Emmanuel, sick with MS

Yah: Yahweh

Elias Tate: Incarnation of Elijah

Emmanuel (Manny): Yah incarnated in human form

Zina Pallas: Shekhinah

Linda Fox: singer, songwriter, Yetzer Hatov

Belial: Yetzer Hara

Fulton Statler Harms: Chief prelate of the Christian-Islamic Church (C.I.C), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church

Nicholas Bulkowsky: Communist Party Chairman, Procurator maximus of the Scientific Legate

VALIS: agent of Yahweh, disinhibiting stimulus

The Transmigration of Timothy Archer - Set in the late 1960s and 1970s, the story describes the efforts of Episcopal Bishop Timothy Archer, who must cope with the theological and philosophical implications of the newly discovered Gnostic Zadokite scroll fragments. The character of Bishop Archer is loosely based on the controversial, iconoclastic Episcopal Bishop James Pike, who in 1969 died of exposure while exploring the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea in the West Bank.

As the novel opens, it is 1980. On the day that John Lennon is shot and killed, Angel Archer visits the houseboat of Edgar Barefoot, (a guru based on Alan Watts), and reflects on the lives of her deceased relatives. During the sixties, she was married to Jeff Archer, son of the Episcopal Bishop of California Timothy Archer. She introduced Kirsten Lundborg, a friend, to her father-in law, and the two began an affair. Kirsten has a son, Bill, from a previous relationship, who has schizophrenia, although he is knowledgeable as an automobile mechanic. Tim is already being investigated for his allegedly heretical views about the Holy Ghost.

Jeff commits suicide due to his romantic obsession with Kirsten. However, after poltergeist activity, he manifests to Tim and Kirsten at a seance, also attended by Angel. Angel is skeptical about the efficacy of astrology, and believes that the unfolding existential situation of Tim and Kirsten is akin to Friedrich Schiller's German Romanticism era masterpiece, the Wallenstein trilogy (insofar as their credulity reflects the loss of rational belief in contemporary consensual reality).

The three are told that Kirsten and Tim will die. As predicted, Kirsten loses her remission from cancer, and also commits suicide after a barbiturate overdose. Tim travels to Israel to investigate whether or not a psychotropic mushroom was associated with the resurrection, but his car stalls, he becomes disoriented, falls from a cliff, and dies in the desert.

On the houseboat, Angel is reunited with Bill, Kirsten's son who has schizophrenia. He claims to have Tim's reincarnated spirit within him, but is soon institutionalized. Angel agrees to care for Bill, in return for a rare record (Koto Music by Kimio Eto) that Edgar offers her.

The Transmigration of Timothy Archer is one of Dick's most overtly philosophical and intellectual works. While Dick's novels usually employ multiple narrators or an omniscient perspective, this story is told in the first person by a single narrator: Angel Archer, Bishop Archer's daughter-in-law.

Characters:

Angel Archer: Narrator, manager of a Berkeley record store, widow of Jeff Archer.

Timothy Archer: Bishop of California; father of the late Jeff Archer and father-in-law of Angel. Dies in Israel, searching for psychotropic mushroom connected with Zadokite sect. Based on James Albert Pike, Dick's personal friend, who was an American Episcopalian bishop.

Kirsten Lundborg: Timothy Archer's secretary and lover. Dies from barbiturate overdose after loss of remission from cancer.

Bill Lundborg: Kirsten's son who has schizophrenia, and who is obsessed with cars.

Edgar Barefoot: Houseboat guru, radio personality, lecturer. Based on Alan Watts.

Jeff Archer: Son of Timothy Archer, and deceased husband of Angel. A professional student who was romantically obsessed with Kirsten.

Thank you, if you read all of this. it took me six hours today to write this all

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gloryofluv · 3 years ago

Text

Order Up! (Coffee Shop AU) Chapter 3

Well, chugging ahead. This will be my last post for the day. Killed three chapters so I'm a happy gal! This one's just over 3k words so sit back with your favorite caffeinated or non-caffeinated drink and relax! I'm about to spill the Tea.

Chapters:

1 - 2

Alex checked her phone and was scowling. Nothing. Her resume was gorgeous. Why would she not get any answers on job applications? This was just going to reek of failure before the end of the month.

The soft music in the background was some hauntingly beautiful orchestra piece. At one point, Alex put down her phone altogether and listened as they drove through the city. They were driving opposite the house, but actually, this was really relaxing.

“How was your day?” Lucifer finally asked.

Alex smiled over and tilted her head. “It was interesting as usual. I had a customer today that actually asked me out to a dinner tonight as a pity date,” she finished with a snort.

Lucifer groaned. “Pity date.”

“I know,” Alex laughed and sighed. “He’s a bit dopey, but I enjoy most of my customers. That’s part of the reason I wanted to get into communications. We just need to learn to talk to each other. Eventually, the goal is to assist in speech writing for public relations.”

Lucifer’s eyebrow tugged. “Your degree is in communications?”

Alex rocked her head. “Yeah, my dad worked in government and told me that was an excellent degree. I’m minoring in English. Just because I enjoy the written word so much.”

“Do you speak any other languages?” Lucifer asked as they stopped at a light.

“Not well?” She ended that in a question even if it really wasn’t.

Lucifer chuckled and shook his head. “I know three.”

Impressive. Boastful and definitely worthy of the smirk. “French, Spanish, and what?”

“Italian,” Lucifer declared. “I’m slightly offended that you assumed I spoke French and Spanish.”

“Easy guess,” Alex said as she gestured to the radio.

They pulled into a parking lot outside of a park? Alex glanced around, skeptical. However, there was a large crowd, so at least he wasn’t going to kill her. Lucifer breathed and smiled before nodding. “Give me just a moment. I have to give one of my brothers their keys.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Alex nodded.

Lucifer glanced at her once before climbing out of his car. What was he reviewing in that few milliseconds? She watched as he walked out toward the crowd and up to a figure with a foam finger. Alex couldn’t quite see who he was talking to, but Lucifer dug in his pocket and offered something.

It was interesting all around. He paced back to the car and straightened his suit before returning to his seat. Why did he want to drive her all the way out to some sort of sports game? Not that she had any room to complain.

“I was pondering,” Lucifer hummed as he situated the belt and pulled out of park. “Do you have plans with this degree?”

“Eventually. I mean, most places don’t hire green, so it isn’t like I have too many choices. However, I’m optimistic,” Alex rocked her head. She actually wasn’t, nowhere near it.

“That is very accurate. I was extremely fortunate to have Diavolo see potential and fortify such,” Lucifer voiced as they were back on the road.

“I think I’ve earned some questions now,” Alex smirked.

Lucifer pressed his lips together, and it was visible he was trying not to smile. “Oh? What type of questions, Alex?”

“Well, for starters, what’s your favorite food? All I know is you eat a bran muffin in the morning and inject black coffee into your soul,” she said and shifted on the leather seat.

He chuckled and rolled his fingers on the wheel in a pleasant, relaxing movement. “French cuisine. However, I’m not against Japanese or Indian. It all depends on preparation.”

“Champagne appetite,” she snorted with a playful smile.

Lucifer groaned and rolled his eyes. “Please tell me you know how to cook.”

“I do. I cook decently, actually. I make this beautiful salmon with garlic and lemon sauce that is delicious,” Alex nodded.

“Oh, one of my brothers would hold you captive. I’ve made the active decision they shall never meet you,” Lucifer teased and shook his head.

Cute. A bit interesting to say while driving toward the same house area. Likely illogical as well. By his hinted smile, he knew that.

“I’ll just boast about my macaroni upon meeting said brother then,” She laughed.

Lucifer’s laugh was stunning. Can you say that about a laugh? Full, hardy, a deep spin to its edge. Definitely swoon-worthy. Alright, girl, calm the fuck down. Alex shifted and rubbed the side of her neck.

They were turning on their street. “I quite enjoyed our little detour,” Lucifer said.

“Oh, me too. It’s sometimes nice just to take a drive,” Alex declared.

Lucifer stopped next to her car. “Try to have a relaxing two days off.”

“I’ll try,” she beamed and collected her drink. “Thank you so much, again, Lucifer. It means so much to me.”

He nodded, and his lips curled. “It wasn’t trouble. If you need anything else, tell me.”

“I know where you live,” she laughed.

He stiffened and scowled. “Let’s try not to inform my brothers of your knowledge of that, alright? They’re a bit… troublesome,” he settled on.

Oh. A secret? It seems like this man was full of them all of a sudden. Alex swallowed and climbed from the car. She waved with a smile and shut the door. Glancing down at the wheel, she gasped. He didn’t just assess it; he got it fixed?!

“Wait,” she puffed, but he drove off.

She growled and stomped her foot. “Dammit, Lucifer.”

Insert two days of massive failure. For once, Alex was so glad to be back at work. She and Jordan. Thank goodness because she needed some sort of pep. Lucifer was his usual self in the morning, but she knew he wouldn’t mention the car. He seemed to be distracted with some work function happening. She did not judge at all. It was Saturday, and the man was relentless!

That left them plenty of downtime in the morning because no one gets their ass up on a Saturday unless there’s a sports game or event. Cue the morning rush late, and you have a lazy afternoon. Trickles of familiar faces. It gave the pair enough time to catch up on her two days of unfortunate acceptance.

“So, you’re telling me there’s nothing but to sell it?” Jordan questioned.

Alex slowly nodded. “Yep, that’s what he said. He said if I got my degree last year, I might be able to squeak by, but with what I have, it’s not going to work.”

Jordan tapped the counter and squeezed his face into a grimace, causing his eyeliner to look like horror makeup. “Honey, I’m sorry, but this might be the best thing for you.”

“I know. I can turn around and use that on a condo or something smaller. I don’t need a four-bedroom house. It’s just walls and a roof with ghosts,” Alex sighed while shaking her head.

“I’ll tell you what, we’ll start looking for places tomorrow when I’m off, and you get off of work. I’ll help you the entire way, and we’ll get storage for their things if you want. At least you’ll actually feel home when you are home then,” Jordan nodded and patted her shoulder.

The door opened, and Alex beamed. Ah, it had been too long. Jordan huffed and shook his head while busying himself with the machines. Alex bent over the POS screen and smiled.

“Where have you been?” She asked.

The man in front of her looked like some goth or emo burn-out. Add in a large sweater and cynical disposition, and you have Belphegor. He exhaled and rolled his eyes. “Do you remotely understand how burdensome it is to live with suppressive bastards?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No, I do not.”

“It’s infuriating. I spent the last week of my life slaving away because my asshole brother doesn’t think I’m contributing enough,” Belphegor groaned and waved his hand. “I’m exhausted.”

Alex pouted and walked over to the fridge. “I’m sorry about that, Belphie. Are you doing a panini or something else today?”

He twitched his nose. “Panini is fine. Hey, don’t skimp on my vanilla this time, Jordan,” Belphegor growled.

Jordan puffed and nodded. “Yeah, I’m cueing your shots right now, buddy.”

“Don’t call me buddy either. It’s patronizing,” Belphegor grumbled.

“Belphie, don’t get grumpy, come on,” Alex sighed as she put the sandwich in the warmer. “What did we talk about last time?”

“I’m sorry, Jordan,” he said with a set jaw.

“No problem,” Jordan smiled.

Alex walked over and beamed as she punched in his order. “You know, I was stargazing last night because I was thinking of my mother, and I saw a shooting star. It just flew right overhead,” she smiled.

He smiled and leaned closer to her. “What did you wish for?”

“Oh, I wished to be a millionaire or marry a millionaire at least. I wished for one-thousand of the books I love and ever will love. I also wished for world peace, but I doubt that’s going to work,” she laughed.

Belphegor laughed and shifted in his sweater. “And the other two make so much more sense.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” she twitched her nose.

He was grinning and digging in his pocket. “Ya know, if my brothers weren’t such insane fucks, I’d invite you over. However, they are clinical,” he huffed and pulled out his wallet.

“And you aren’t?” Jordan whispered.

Alex shot him a warning glare. “Well, I likely wouldn’t be good company anyway. I’m boring without the green apron, and the offer of caffeine is gone,” she laughed and glanced back to Belphegor.

“You’re suitable. Likely the only real human in this place of zombies and technology,” he grumbled and handed her his credit card.

She completed the transaction and exhaled while handing it back. “We could go on another paradoxical conversation, but you need coffee first.”

Jordan handed her the cup and ice on the side. Belphegor exhaled and nodded at Jordan. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Jordan said with a stiff tone.

Belphegor turned only to wave. “Ah, Beel just got here.”

Enter in exhibit A for handsome specimens that are the sweetest through and through. Alex bounced and waved as the hulking man walked into the cafe. He was in a tank top and basketball shorts with a gym bag in hand. “Beelzebub!” Alex called out.

Oh, what a big smile! He was the sweetest, cutest superhuman to ever come into the cafe. The man was ripped. However, the gentlest of giants she had ever known. Just pure sugar. He was the cure to her sad hangover from the last two days.

“Alex, you look so beautiful today,” Beelzebub smiled as he reached the counter next to Belphegor.

“Thanks, Beel, oh, I’m so happy to see you,” she sighed and pressed herself closer to the POS screen.

He scowled. “Have you been eating?”

“Probably not as well as I could?” she voiced and winced.

He shook his head. “That’s a horrible way to get sick. My coach always says, `A body's fuel is nothing to tamper with.’”

“Too true,” Alex beamed.

“She was just telling me she has a thing for twins,” Belphie teased before sipping his drink.

“Now, that once never left my mouth. Don’t be a liar,” Alex puffed with pink cheeks.

“You’re the weirdest twins I’ve ever seen,” Jordan smiled and leaned over the glass to look at Beel. “I love your workout videos online.”

“Thanks,” Beel smiled and pointed at Jordan. “Asmo has been asking about you again.”

That only increased Jordan’s smile. “Honey, he has my number. He can call me.”

“Wait, they know Asmo?” Alex questioned.

Jordan grinned. “Yeah, they do, sweetie.”

Belphegor snorted and leaned on the counter. “He’s our brother.”

“Man, what a small world! I would have never guessed. All of you look nothing alike!” Alex gasped.

Beel smiled and nodded. “We’re still family, though.”

“Speak for yourself,” Belphie snorted.

The oven dinged, and Alex fetched the panini for Belphegor before taking Beelzebub’s massive food order with a drink she recommended. They lingered at the counter while she worked on the food.

“Ya know, speaking of a small world,” Jordan mused. “Lucifer actually helped Alex with her care this week.”

Belphie groaned and grimaced. “Oh, of course, he would have. Insufferable asshole that he is.”

“That’s actually a really nice thing, Belphie,” Beel sighed. “I’m glad you got help with your car, Alex.”

“You know Lucifer?” Alex asked as she glanced back at them with a blush dusting her cheeks.

“I wish I didn’t,” Belphegor grumbled.

“Don’t! Don’t spoil it. She doesn’t know,” Jordan laughed and waved his hands above the espresso machine.

“Now, why would you mention it and not tell me, Jordan?” Alex groaned as she bagged up two warmed items before placing the next two inside the warmers.

“She doesn’t know?” Beel asked.

Belphegor laughed and hummed. “Interesting. So, why would Lucifer be hiding such a fact? He is a gloater and an impervious bastard.”

Jordan was glowing . “I definitely would be asking that question, Belphie.”

“Now you’re stirring whatever pot this is,” Alex groaned. “I won’t be held responsible for this,” she said while bringing over the first couple of food items.

“You’re not, but after hearing what you told me about him. I’m so very interested, and I bet you Asmodeus would be dying ,” Jordan laughed.

She sighed and smiled up at Beel. “These two are wretched creatures today.”

“Sometimes,” Beel laughed.

“What did she tell you? I might actually like you after this, Jordan,” Belphegor grinned and hunched on the counter.

“Well, to summarize and make it vague. He definitely doesn’t want Alex, sweet, adorable Alex, to go anywhere near his house,” Jordan smiled.

“Because that’s where he keeps his victims. Stored in the basement because he’s a blood-sucking vampire who drinks from the necks of beautiful baristas,” Belphie snickered with a toothy smile.

She snorted and waved, retrieving the last of the food. “Don’t tell such tall tales, Belphie.”

“Wouldn’t he be a werewolf? Wouldn’t that make more sense because he loves Cerberus so much?” Beelzebub questioned.

“Too true, Beel. A neck mauling werewolf who eats the flesh of gorgeous baristas who he takes a fancy for,” Belphie jeered with a laugh.

Alex rolled her eyes as Jordan set down Beel's drink. “You boys are ridiculous, ya know?”

“And a bunch of normies.”

Belphie smirked and waved. “Hi, Levi. You did decide to come out to join us today.”

Jordan gasped and bounced over to the counter as Beel scooped up his food to take it to their table. “Levi-chan! Did you see last night’s epi or what?” He gasped.

Levi walked up and huffed while shaking his head. “It was horrible.”

“I know,” Jordan groaned. “Why didn’t you text me after?”

“I was in mourning,” Levi glared and pressed his hand to his heart. “Kill many zombies, I had.”

Alex beamed and tilted her head. They had an interesting friendship. Jordan was well versed, as much as she was, but in different ways. Anime she was not very on par with. She liked it, but only when she had someone to watch it with.

“Well, I don’t like those types of games so, I understand,” Jordan sighed.

“Levi, what can I get you today?” Alex smiled.

Jordan gasped and waved. “Wait, just wait. I have it, Alex. He has to try this because it reminded me of Queen Ziorekee’s nectar drink description in the Seven Plagues.”

Levi gasped and nodded. “Yes, the nectar that fortifies Jason to fight through the swarm.”

Alex beamed as she moved aside and stood near the three across the counter. “So, zombies vs. aliens again?”

Levi waved his hand and rocked his head. “They released a new DLC, Alex! Have you played yet?”

“No, I haven’t had a chance. My system is giving me trouble. I think I’ll need to get more RAM or something.”

“Be Possible, it might,” Levi nodded.

“Too much porn,” Belphegor snorted.

Alex huffed and waved her hand as Leviathan hid his face. “Stop that.”

“Is there something amusing going on?” That tone could break granite to pieces.

Alex skipped to her register as the others peeled to the side. Leviathan winced and paid swiftly before moving. Obviously, Lucifer used that tone for attention because he certainly got it. Levi moved over to the hand-off counter and glared at Lucifer with slight contempt.

The man shifted his jacket and arched an eyebrow at the barista. “Seems like you’re quite popular today.”

“Oh, yeah, they’re my regulars,” she beamed and went to retrieve his coffee.

Belphegor gasped and leaned on the counter next to Lucifer with a smile. “Oh, the demons from hell rise! Lucifer, aren’t you looking forward to dinner tonight? Beel is cooking your favorite!”

“I am?” Beel questioned with a scowl after he swallowed. “I thought it was Mammon’s turn to cook.”

“Oh, you’re right,” Belphie puffed and slapped his forehead. “Asmo too?”

“No, Belphie, are you okay? Satan’s cooking with Mammon tonight,” Beel grumbled before biting another sandwich.

Alex was stopped at the brewer. Ding. Ding. Ding. Yes, it took her months, but now she got it. All the brother references. Oh my fucking god. How did she not see it? Asmo with his gambling brother. Mammon complained about his brother using all his hair gel. Lucifer with his brother about food. Oh, wow.

She turned around to see Lucifer grimacing. “These are some of my brothers,” he sighed.

Alex bit her lower lip and set down his coffee. “You have a very entertaining family,” she smiled.

Belphegor was nearly rolling with laughter as he set down his cup. Beel looked quite confused at the whole situation. In fact, he actually set down his sandwich and scowled. “You didn’t know we were brothers?”

“No, I had no idea,” she laughed.

Lucifer exhaled and handed her his credit card. “I am not as verbose as some.”

“Including fixing someone’s car this week? What’s that about, hm, Luci-fer?” Belphegor smirked and scooped up his coffee.

Lucifer’s lip twitched as he turned to Belphegor. “We’ll talk about this later. Alex, it’s always a pleasure,” he nodded at her while placing a tip in the jar.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Lucifer. I always look forward to it,” she smiled.

The three brothers bristled; Levi hovering nearby, and the twins. Shots of vicious envy were pointed toward the suited man. He grinned and winked at her. “I always do as well, Alex.”

Oh, spurred by his brothers? What type of dynamic do they all have? The three brothers lingered a little longer before sitting together. By then, her shift was ending. Well, this made work ten times more eventful. Oh, and now it made sense why Lucifer didn’t want his brothers to know where she lived. They all knew about her job and, well, flirted with her!

@otome-scribbles @rsmrymnt-tea

#om! fanfic #obey me fandom #obey me humor #obey me au #coffee shop au #obey me fluff #om! lucifer #om! mammon #om! leviathan #om! satan #om! asmodeus #om! beelzebub #om! belphegor #om! solomon #om! simeon #om! luke #om! diavolo #om! barbatos

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theres-no-protocol-for-this · 4 years ago

Text

A Shared Meal

Mensah cooks dinner, and MB admits that it likes how food smells. This is a sweet little one-shot based on a Discord conversation about MB and cooking.

The kitchen area in Mensah's farmhouse has been created with an extended family in mind.

There was enough space for at least three different people to comfortably move about and room enough in the pantry to feed a dozen human beings. That afternoon, through some miracle of scheduling, the house stood silent.

Mensah was alone in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tangy-smelling hot liquid while pacing and reading reports on her display surface. The doctor was technically on vacation, but that didn't stop her from fussing over whatever work she brought home.

I sat on a couch in the next room over, re-watching Sanctuary Moon episodes in preparation for a live performance that evening. I'd come down to the planet to spend the day with Mensah and see a play, and hadn't been paying attention to the human until her pacing brought her into the living area. A couple of my drones captured her entrance, but I looked up when she approached.

"It's going to be another extended council session when I get back," she said, long fingers wrapped around her mug. Steam slowly rose from the concoction inside. "I understand the necessity, of course, but it's... frustrating."

I checked my logs and then said, "You should eat something."

The human rolled her eyes at me. "Mothering's the last thing I want right now. But... you're not wrong. Come sit in the kitchen?"

I didn't see any reason not to, so I got up and settled on a tall barstool in front of a chest-high stone counter. Mensah's house was largely Murderbot-proof, so I didn't have to worry about destroying the furniture if I sat on it. This isn't always the case, and I appreciated Dr. Mensah's thoughtfulness.

Through a drone, I watched her remove fresh ingredients from a crisper and lay them out on the counter. She pulled out a cutting board and began deftly chopping at vegetables I couldn't name.

"What do you think about all of this?" She gestured at the display surface, now face down on the counter.

I had no opinions on the inner workings of the Preservation Alliance's governing body. As far as SecUnits went, I was a terrible example, and she would've had better luck discussing policy with Three. Unfortunately, it was currently on a trip with its family and out of easy communication range, but I suspected she had talked with it before its departure.

Meanwhile, Mensah chuckled. "Have you even looked at the news?"

"Enough to know that I don't care."

"Fair."

She tossed something onto a hot skillet, and the ingredient sizzled satisfyingly when it encountered the heat. Whatever it was smelled great. I don't eat and have no digestive system — which hasn't always stopped humans from forcing me to consume food — but the smells of human cooking are nonetheless pleasant.

"That's ghee," Mensah told me when she noticed me looking. "It's clarified butter."

The ingredient. Right. I still couldn't care less about its name, but now it had a name. On a whim, I pulled the terms for all of the other ingredients on the counter from the local feed archives. I doubted the conversation would veer toward food since the human knew I didn't eat, but having the names made the process appear less mysterious.

"I've never seen you pay attention to any of us cooking," Mensah admitted while tossing vegetables into the heated pan, followed by more sizzling and delightful smells.

Usually, I didn't hang out in her kitchen while the family cooked or ate dinner, and on those rare occasions when I couldn't avoid it, the process looked boring. Food appeared, humans consumed it, and then seemed more cheerful and relaxed afterward. The side effects were nice.

"It smells good," I admitted.

I liked the smells of humans food courts and cooking areas, especially once I'd returned to Preservation Station with Mensah and could walk around the station without triggering every alarm in the mall.

"Which parts?" Now Mensah was looking curiously at me. Well, she was looking past my right shoulder, but she was good at not making eye contact. I still knew she was intrigued, and I could easily see her expression through the drones' cameras.

"All of it?" This was hard to explain to a human. "I like the way food smells. I just don't want to eat it."

She frowned in that thoughtful way where her brow creased. "Huh. I never knew that. Want me to teach you some recipes?"

"I can look it up."

"It's not the same, SecUnit," Mensah told me. "I've been teaching Amena recently when she's home between semesters. I could show you a few tricks."

Well, that explained the younger Mensah's middle-of-the-night exploits. Maybe. I wanted to remind the doctor that I didn't actually need to eat and would have no practical application for the skill, but before I could, she went on. She peered at my face and judged whatever she found there worthy of further explanation.

"Sometimes, making food isn't about eating at all, if that's what you're thinking," Mensah mused, her gaze on the sizzling vegetables. "Sometimes, it's about community and connection — words you're probably allergic to. But think of it as an experience or an art. It's like going to see a play that's only performed once. No two meals are going to be exactly alike."

That made sense to me. At least here on the farm with ingredients cultivated in the family gardens, freshly-cooked food had distinctive smells and tastes. I imagined that rations all tasted pretty much equally terrible given the sheer number of complaints I'd heard about them over the cycles.

Mensah took a sip of her cooling drink and leaned back against a counter. "I love the smell of coffee. It reminds me of home, honestly. You can't get decent coffee on a station, so when I want the good stuff, I have to come back here."

I sat at the counter, watching Mensah cook with my own two eyes and the companionable silence felt comfortable. I didn't want to stare at a wall for a change, and no one asked me to talk about my feelings.

I still hate planets, but I could get used to moments like this, occasionally. I cropped together a recording of the preparation ritual and sent it to ART, who was scheduled to visit in the next dozen cycles or so. It would get my message sometime before docking at Preservation Station.

Sharing one family with another maybe wasn't so terrible, even if it meant I didn't get through all episodes of Sanctuary Moon I wanted.

#murderbot #dr. mensah #fanfiction #sweet #fluff

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llendrinall · 3 years ago

Note

I'm with you on how terrible we found Fantastic Beasts. Now let me ask, how would you have written/built the Fantastic Beasts storyline?

I have not watched the 3rd movie so it’s possible that they have managed to turn it all around, but to start with I would give some actual connection to the movies beyond the title and characters. Otherwise it just feels like those children books: “X goes to the park”, “X in the supermarket”, where we see the same people in different situations but they are disconnected from each other.

I probably would have gone a different route all together, but suppose Warner has already hired the actors and started building the sets so we must use at least some elements from the movies. In that case I would make a story of discovery and reflection in three parts, with narcissism being the main theme.

First movie

Newt goes to NY with his magical bag. Most of the film is the same, but we get a sense of Newt being less childish (less painfully obvious and thinly surreptitious wand waving around muggles) and a bit more selfish. However, we should like him more for it.

Newt is, to the society of the time, completely mental. Rather than going on hunts and collecting trophies, he is recuing animals! I would emphasize that the animals he keeps have been compromised and can’t be safely returned to their habitats and since conditions and wizarding zoos are deplorable, he keeps them with him. The exception is that thunder bird he has come to release.

And that’s his goal, releasing the thunder bird, which he pursues with extreme focus. He doesn’t care about anything else which is why he is so open to Jacob the Muggle. Newt could be imprisoned* and Jacob would be obliviated into a stupor, but Newt doesn’t care about personal risks so he doesn’t care about the danger he poses to others. He is selfish that way. A generous kind of selfishness, sure, but dangerous.

I’m sorry, but the President of the MACUSA is not a woman nor a POC. It must be a white man surrounded by white men, one of whom might be either Catholic or Jewish and that’s all the diversity you see. Are there POC wizards? Yes. But not in positions of power. There is a bigger emphasis on the separation of wizards and No-Maj, with waaay more surveillance and harsher punishments. Suspicion alone may be enough to break your wand in some cases.

* And that’s how I could believe that POC wizards and witches (WWs from now on because “magicals” sounds weird) aren’t intervening in muggle spaces. They must be suffering similar levels of racism. They are tolerated, maybe they have better prospects that POC muggles, but that’s it. I can’t believe none of them would show some solidarity to the Non-Maj, unless it meant being summarily executed.

(Oh, and there would be this scene in which we see law-abiding and conscientious Tina stalking the house of an African-American muggle family. Nothing is said of it, other that Tina used to work with a muggle-born partner but now she works alone. Keen-eyed viewers will notice some hoodo trinkets in Tina’s flat, and a photograph of Tina with an African American woman, and then we will know).

I don’t remember Credence’s storyline very well, but it doesn’t matter. What is important is that Graves (powerful white man Graves) develops some sort of empathy. He doesn’t want it, but it’s there in his heart now. Maybe something with Newt’s animals. Some “beast” (look at how they say beasts and not animals) should have maimed and eaten Graves, but doesn’t because Newt is there in all his animal-loving glory. Graves gets to see the monster as merely a scared and hurt animal and learns to treat others with some decency and kindness.

That would be a nice classic movie, (prejudiced man gets over himself), but we can’t end it here. I would even allow for Tina’s scene stalking the house to be cut in order to have time for the climax: the moment when Graves realizes his society and his government may not always be right and defies direct orders by helping Credence. As I said, I don’t remember what the deal with Credence was, but Graves fixes it. There will be a personal cost to his career, but losing a promotion is nothing compared to saving a life, which is what he does. No ambiguous explosion or cloud of smoke. Credence is evidently and irrevocably safe at the cost of Graves being demoted.

There is no Gellert Grindelwald whatsoever, except maybe some government secretary mentioning they like that guy from Europe.

Second movie

Set in London rather than Paris. Newt receives the visit from a lovely, lovely, gentleman who, as it turns out, doesn’t think Newt is a fool. The charming gentleman asks Newt about the dragons, specifically the ones in Gringotts and oh, oh, Newt is against it. It’s abominable and unethical. But Newt would rather not think too much about it because, what can he do? He would rather focus on helping those he can and on spreading his thoughts on animal conservation. He is publishing a journal, although he admits it doesn’t do too well. He has twelve subscribers and seven of them openly mock his papers during dinner parties.

The charming gentleman says, but what if Newt could do something about it? What would Newt be willing to do? Would he break the law?

Newt laughs. He is forbidden from leaving the country. He is no stranger to jumping, crossing, tampering or breaking the law.

Marvelous! The charming gentleman reveals that he, like Newt, is unhappy with their society. It is weak and corrupt* and someone must do something about it. They have to fix it.

So the charming gentleman introduces Newt to some other like-minded friends and together they plan a heist to get into Gringotts and release the dragons. It is time to build a society one can feel proud of!

We get the heist, which is clever and delightful. The charming gentleman is brave, smart and powerful with his magic. There is a moment when some of the co-conspirators, and even the charming gentleman himself, get inside some vaults. This is not what they had planned! Not at all. But the charming gentleman assures Newt that he has good reasons.

They get out. And here comes the Nagini moment. Meaning I really, really, really, don’t need to see an Asian woman condemned to whatever that was in the second movie. I don’t need to have beautiful Neville kill a woman who has been turned into a snake and then a Horcrux.

But, do you want an “oh no” moment? Here it comes.

Because of the heist, Gringotts revises their security measures. That poor dragon in Deathly Hallows? The one with scars who had been conditioned to fear a certain sound? Newt’s fault. And the charming gentleman doesn’t care.

We have established in the previous movie that Newt is somewhat selfish and short-sighted. He rejects his society and cares only about his animals which is very nice. Newt is well intentioned, but that is not enough. Not caring about politics is the privilege of those in the elite (and despite Newts’ eccentricities he is very much the elite). The previous movie had Graves’ awakening. The man discovering something about himself in this movie is Newt.

Newt realizes that he must be an active participant in society. Sadly, he only realizes it after he has helped Gellert Grindelwald steal a number of very important artefacts as well as some gold to fund his project to reform Europe.

The epilogue of the movie has Albus Dumbledore visiting Newt, telling him not to be too hard on himself because he, Dumbledore, also fell for Gellert lies. And if Newt wants to do something about it, Dumbledore has some ideas.

* History fans might not realize immediately, but hopefully they will catch on the fact that all of the beautiful arguments from the charming gentleman are about weakness of the state, which is a common fascist trope.

Third movie

In which characters from previous movies are brought back without having to completely destroy their personalities.

Graves is in Europe and he pays a visit to Newt to ask for his help. Graves is using his new found empathy (that he didn’t want) to investigate a series of highly suspicious murders and incidents. The victims were all Latinas so it was dismissed, but Graves thinks there is something.

Two scenes later in comes Tina, who has quitted her job in order to track the murderer of some friend’s friend. An African American child is dead, no it was not the No-Maj, it was someone else, someone who wanted to cover their tracks and leave no witnesses and Tina is going to eat their heart.

Is it possible that Graves and Tina are after the same person? Yes and no. It is two different henchmen but Dumbledore has no trouble going beyond the small picture to see the pattern. He knows Grindelwald always had an interest in powerful artefacts, not just the Deathly Hallows.

Grindelwald has stolen the Macguffin, a powerful artefact belonging to a Latin-American community. With that and the Elder Wand he will be unstoppable. Oh no!

But! Newt realizes there is something missing. The raven is not a symbol of death in all cultures. Grindelwald might not fully understand what he has taken or how to use it.

So Graves and Tina go fight Grindelwald’s organization and be awesome together, delaying Grindelwald’s big coup. Meanwhile, Newt illegally leaves the country, goes back to NY, takes Queenie and deploys her. Because Queenie is nice. She plays the vapid pretty woman, but she is above all nice and if someone can make a hurt and distrustful community open their door to strangers, it is going to be Queenie with the help of Jacob’s bread.

And, indeed! They succeed. The bruja Latina explains about the Macguffin. Grildelwald doesn’t understand what he has stolen. It is not meant to be used like that at all.

They go back to Europe quickly, Newt relays this information to Dumbledore and he steps to his duel with Grindelwald armed with the knowledge and insight that comes from showing some measure of respect to other people for once.

(And if it seems that Dumbledore’s victory rests on other people’s work, well, Dumbledore’s main trait is his ability to earn people’s trust and devotion. But I guess Newt and Queenie could have brought the bruja with them and after a nice chat with Dumbledore she agrees to share their secrets with him, so he has the opportunity to show he is different).

Rather than having a man realize something, this movie is about the consequences of not opening your eyes: Gindelwald’s fall. It would also nicely establish Dumbledore’s best manipulative traits. If we must have het couples, Tina saves Newt’s from some mook and taker a kiss. Graves goes with the pretty Lestrange, I guess, to have a long life of morality sanctioned crimes.

(A TV show. Twelve episodes. Cancelled after the first season. Graves and Lestrange are back in the States helping oppressed communities and dodging the MACUSA and whatever the equivalent of the FBI was back then).

#asks #harry potter #fantastic beasts #alternate universe #textpost

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gravelyhumerus · 4 years ago

Text

Criminal Minds College AU - Chapter 7

Title: “I may just take your breath away”

Relationship: Jemily

Summary:

Hallowe’en chaos.

Slow-burn Jemily college AU where they live across the hall and despite all odds, the universe pushes them together. AKA they’re silly gay babies who pine after each other for months.

Read it on AO3

Tumblr: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, (bonus scene), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Epilogue

After trivia night, Emily Prentiss found her world had shifted slightly.

For the first time in her life, she had a friend group: a consistent presence of not only just Derek and the occasional Hotch, but also Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia and most importantly, Jennifer Jareau.

Emily noticed it most in the dining hall. Most mornings this semester, she would grab coffee and maybe an apple on her way to class. Now, she was invited to breakfast in the caf. And everyone was also invited, so the six of them began eating not only breakfasts together when their schedules lined up, but soon that melded to include dinners and the odd lunch between classes. While Penelope initiated at the beginning, soon this became a routine.

While they were all busy, and driven people, all with full course loads, extracurriculars and miscellaneous commitments, they managed to get the whole team together multiple times that week.

A few times, extra faces joined them. Penelope’s friend from class, Kevin… something, joined for a lunch on Wednesday. He sat shyly as Derek stared him down the entire time. On Thursday, somehow Hotch convinced their Criminology TA, David Rossi, who was part time Masters Student and part time weed dealer, to have lunch with the bribe of them using their guest pass so he could get a free meal. He reluctantly acquiesced, but seemed to enjoy himself. On Friday, the day before Halloween, Emily brought Tara Lewis, the MC from the Trivia night that was two years ahead of her in criminology, they ran into each other in the quad, recognizing each other. This open door policy made these dinners fun, with new faces alongside their team.

This was all new for Emily. Not having friends, that is, because Emily could always muddle along with some friends, and when she was younger she shaped herself easily into whatever the popular kids wanted her to be. No, it was new because it was so easy. The team, as they now called themselves as a shorthand, had fallen together so effortlessly.

Today was Halloween and they had plans at Dave’s student house, the shabby place that she had ran into JJ, Penelope and Spencer all that time ago. Had it only been a month? She felt like she had known them all for lifetimes by now.

It happened that way with Derek last year, the whole living together thing sped up that connection. Intimacy comes fast when you brush your teeth next to someone.

Emily was sitting at her desk, finishing up her makeup. She was aiming for a vampire, which wasn’t hard given her previous fashion aesthetic.

Yes, Emily did have a goth phase. She will admit it. Not to her new friends just yet, and Derek had been sworn to secrecy. She was now a much more toned down goth, more alt than goth, wearing mostly black but significantly less chains and make up.

Tonight, she wore her fishnets, a short black dress and a cape that was already tied around her shoulders. She had put a slightly too pale foundation on her face, down her neck, and was currently working on her eye liner. She carefully created elegant swoops over her lashes, coming to sharp points.

Next, she added a deep red lipstick. Blood red. It was all very spooky.

Finally, she struggled to test out the fake teeth insert that she had ordered online, slipping it over her top teeth. It fit surprisingly well.

“Happy Halloween,” she said to herself, testing out whether or not she had a lisp. She did. She didn’t care. It was perfect.

Emily did a couple of spins in the mirror on the back of the door. Turning off the overhead light, she looked at herself in the glowing light of her string lights.

She was satisfied. She looked like a hot vampire.

She grabbed her tote bag, which was filled with six miscellaneous beers and coolers that she had leftover from the last few weeks, knowing that she hated the cheap hoppy beer that Rossi would have at his party.

Emily was picky about her alcohol.

She glanced out the window, considering taking an extra layer. It was dreary outside, with the sky an eerie green and powerful gusts of wind rattling the window. Emily grabbed her leather jacket.

Hoisting her bag onto her shoulder and draping her coat over her arm, Emily peeked out of her door, looking out into the hall. In both directions were students in costume; she spotted a Frankenstein, a couple of cats and even someone dressed up in an inflatable t-Rex suit.

She made sure her door was locked and then walked down the hall to Derek’s room, who was at the very end of the hall, as he had lucked out and got a massive room with lots of windows, across from the showers.

She opened the door, finding just about all of their friends already there, sneakily drinking out of mugs, cups and water bottles.

Reid was a zombie, wearing tattered, bloody clothes and a full face of makeup that Emily assumed that Penelope did for him. Sitting next to his computer, queueing music for their pre, was Derek, dressed in a baseball jersey and hat, apparently as a baseball player. This was expected, he wasn’t big on Halloween. Hotch was… a devil? He wore all black and simply had devil horns on his head. Low commitment but the spirit was there.

Emily hoisted herself onto Derek’s bed and greeted her friends.

Spencer was sneaking up behind Derek, peeking his head over his shoulder. Derek, at that moment, seemed to be texting, squinting down at his phone.

“I’m going to eat you!” Spencer yelled into Derek’s ear, causing the larger man to jump to his feet, swatting at the boy in his fright.

Emily laughed at her friend’s distress. He really didn’t like Halloween that much.

“Are you ready for a spooktacular evening?” Spence asked, making his voice wobbly as he put on a dramatic effect. He shone an orange, pumpkin patterned flashlight under his chin.

“Of course,” Emily lisped, “In fact, I vant to drink your blood!”

She lunged forward, and Spencer hid from her behind Derek. It was silly but she could tell how much he liked Halloween, he had talked about it all week, and she couldn’t help but adopt a lispy vampire voice to go with her costume. Though the boy was only two year younger than them, his thin frame and wide eyed expression made him seem much younger.

“Your teeth are excellent,” Spencer pointed out, “Very realistic.”

“I don’t get the hype about Halloween,” Derek said, “Disguises? Pass. Horror movies? No thank you.”

“Booooooo,” Emily protested, “Don’t be a buzzkill, Morgan. Let us have a little fun.”

The door opened again, and Penelope, followed by JJ, joined them.

“Is my statuesque god of sculpted chocolate thunder being lame again?”

“He barely dressed up,” Emily complained.

“Neither did Hotch!” Derek said, gesturing to Hotch’s devil horns.

“Hey, at least I bought these at the party store,” Hotch said, “I’m sure both of those are items from your own closet.”

Derek did not confirm or deny this. Emily knew he wore the same get up last year.

“So when should we be there?” JJ asked.

She was dressed as a witch, with an oversized pointy hat perched on top of her head, her blonde hair falling around her shoulders in perfect curls. She wore a purple dress and tall boots to go with her witch look. She and Penelope joined Spencer on the floor, sitting with their backs to Derek’s closet and cracking open a beer for JJ and a fruity cooler for Penelope.

With large wings, glittery make up and an adorable skirt, Penelope was clearly dressed up as a fairy, which was entirely apropos to who she was as a person. In fact, it was not entirely dissimilar from her normal outfits.

“Rossi said to come by eight,” Hotch said, “So in party talk he means nine-thirty earliest.”

“It’s, what?” Derek checked the time on his laptop, “Eight fifteen now, so we can pre here for an hour or so then start walking over.”

“Yeah,” Hotch said, “His house is just off campus.”

“The weather is crazy out,” Penelope said, looking out the window. The trees were swaying and the leaves were blowing everywhere.

“We could take a cab?” Emily offered, “I’d rather avoid getting leaves in my hair tonight.”

There were some nods, then they got back to preing, playing a few rounds of King’s Cup to ensure that all of them were sufficiently drunk before they left.

Morgan put on his new playlist, not “For The Boys (and emily)” this time, but one titled “Team Vibez” that Emily had seen him make during their lecture on Thursday. It had a lot of his normal songs, some top hits, but a few fun pop songs that Emily knew he added for Penelope, and even some classic rock for Hotch.

At this point, Emily was feeling buzzed. She had two cans discarded in the bin, both hosting lipstick prints from her dark red vampire lips.

JJ was currently chatting with Hotch about some student government scandal that was happening at the time. While politics gave Emily the heebie jeebies, she had reluctantly joined the Criminology Academic Society. It would give her a leg up on grad school applications, for one, and so far, even as a low-level member, she found she was actually making a difference for her classmates. This meant that Emily, despite her deepest urges to not touch political scandals with a ten foot pole, knew exactly what they were talking about.

As the two discussed the student politicians—there were some minor accusations of nepotism, embezzlement and coverups by the undergraduate executive—Emily looked at JJ. Her brows were furrowed in concentration and she was gesturing wildly with her hands as she talked about how badly they were handling their crisis communications.

Suddenly, interrupting this discussion, their phones blasted out a siren, followed by a chorus of the same robot voice announcing an emergency alert.

“National Weather Service: TORNADO WARNING in this area until 10:15PM EST,” the robot announced, “Take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.”

They looked at Derek’s three, large windows, and watched as large gusts of wind sent leaves barrelling down the street.

“If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris,” it continued. “Check media.”

Then, their phones went silent and Derek’s music continued unheeded.

“A tornado?!” Penelope said, “Here?”

The window rattled. Derek stood up and hesitantly moved away from it.

Penelope grabbed Derek’s computer, her hands moving in a flurry.

“Ok so,” she began, “from what I can gather from the good old Internet, we’re in a region of extreme winds and the meteorologists are thinking that funnel clouds and tornados are possible this evening.”

“So much for Halloween,” Spencer whined.

“Party is definitely off,” Hotch said. “We should probably take shelter. Is there a basement here?”

“There’s the laundry room?” Emily said.

Adrenaline started pulsing through her veins. She’d been through some severe weather before in her life but never a tornado, nor did she expect one. They were in the north east, nowhere near tornado Alley.

They all stood, making a move for the basement, when the lights flickered once, twice, then shut off entirely. Rain begin to fall down, hard onto the windows, and the boom of thunder filled their ears.

“Shit,” Emily said. “Anyone have a candle?”

---

Ten minutes later, the six of them were seated in a circle, on the strange carpeted floor of the laundry room, with the severe weather making the wind howl outside. Between JJ’s two candles, which were very against the rules, and Derek’s laptop screen, they had enough ambient light to see, but it was all very spooky.

The room smelled damp and earthy, with a strange combination of laundry soaps and dryer sheets. They had to move a spare sock to form a circle around the candle. It looked very much like a séance, so that did fit the Halloween spirit.

“Well,” Hotch said, “At least this is festive.”

Derek was still queuing his music, filling the silence with his DJ skills.

“Aren’t you worried about your battery life?” JJ asked, “What if the power doesn’t come on in the morning.”

“Then I have a great excuse not to finish my essay,” Derek said with a shrug.

“Fair point.”

“Anyways,” Derek continued, “No sense giving up on our party. We have drinks, we have music and thanks to JJ we have illegal candles.”

“They’re not illegal!” She protested, “Simply very against res rules! I like lighting a candle while I study.”

“It’s lucky that there was no one left in res because of Halloween,” Emily said. “Or we would've had a bunch of party crashers.”

“This is better,” Penelope, “Team bonding!”

“What should we play?” Hotch said, “we don’t really have much to work with.”

“This is all very high school,” Penelope said, “A couple of kids, in a basement, sitting in a circle on the floor…”

“With a tornado tearing through our city…” Emily quipped.

“Statistically speaking for this region we are more likely to experience dangerous winds rather than an actual tornado. Worst case is that fallen tree branches hit power lines, or fall onto houses or cars.”

“So you’re saying that we’re in the worst case scenario right now?” Hotch said.

“Yup.”

Hotch frowned.

“How about we play truth or dare?” Penelope changed the subject.

“I’m down,” Emily said, surprising herself. “If everyone else is.”

“I’ve never played!” Spencer said.

“Never?” JJ asked. “Not at any sleepovers.”

“I didn’t get invited to many sleepovers.”

“Neither did I,” Emily admitted, “Some parties I went to played it too.”

JJ looked at her, there was a brief look of sympathy, and then understanding on her face. Emily made note of that.

“I guess we’re playing,” Hotch murmured.

“Derek,” Penelope purred, “Mon cher, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” he said defiantly, bracing himself with a swig of whatever was in his water bottle.

“Who is the prettiest fairy in the basement?”

“You, of course,” he replied with a wink.

“Gross!” Emily exclaimed, “Truth or dare is not for flirting. Hotch: truth or dare?”

“Dare,” he said with a quirk of his eyebrow.

“Show us the… most embarrassing photo of you on your phone.”

He frowned.

“I don’t take many photos.”

“Try,” Emily urged with a laugh.

He fumbled in his pockets, grabbing his phone and scrolling through his photo album for a few minutes.

“It’s from high school,” Hotch said with a sigh. “I was in a play.”

He held up a photo of him in a pirates outfit, he looked smaller, younger than he did now. His hair was shaggy and his face rounder. He was pointing the sword at the camera.

“Who’s the girl?” JJ asked.

“My girlfriend Hayley,” Hotch said, “we’re long distance now. I joined the play to get close to her and it seems to have worked.”

“That’s not embarrassing,” Penelope said, “that’s adorable. Try again.”

“Oh I have one!” Emily said, pulling up her Snapchat memories. She had a photo of him conked out in a lecture last year. His mouth was open and his head conked back, fast asleep in a dimly lit lecture hall. Emily had taken a series of these photos before waking him up.

“Now that’s what i'm talking about,” Derek said.

“How can you fall asleep during lecture?” Spencer asked in horror.

Hotch shrugged.

“I was tired, we had a game the night before,” Hotch said. “Morgan: Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“I don’t know any dares,” Hotch looked around for help.

“He could play the tinder game?” Emily said.

“What tinder game?”

“Oh that’s a good one,” JJ said, “Derek opens tinder and we randomly tell him which way to swipe and see who he matches with.”

Derek groaned. Opening the app and placing it down onto the carpet.

“Right!” JJ said to start.

A match.

“Left?” Hotch said, it came out more like a question.

“Right,” Emily said. Another match.

Left, right, left, right. New message from a recent match, left, right, right, right, right. Derek looked on in horror.

“Ok I think he’s had enough,” Emily said with a laugh.

“Derek it’s your turn,” Penelope said.

Derek sighs in relief.

“Uhhh, Pretty Boy,” he turned to Reid. Thinking for a moment. “Have you ever smoked before?”

“Smoked what? Cannabis, tobacco? Something else. Be specific.”

Emily’s jaw dropped.

“I dunno man,” Derek said, “I was talking about weed but go off.”

“I have.”

“How?” JJ said, “You’re like sixteen! I haven’t even smoked weed.”

“Me neither,” Penelope said, sounding outright disappointed.

“I believe it,” Hotch said. “He has a Juul.”

“Seventeen now,” Spencer said. “Kids in my first degree found it funny when I performed actions that they deemed mature for my young age.

“What?” Penelope said. “But you were sixteen last week.”

“It was my birthday on Wednesday,” he said.

“And we missed it?” JJ asked.

Emily decided not to inform them that her birthday had been a few weeks back as well.

“It’s no big deal,” Spencer said, “I don’t really do birthdays.”

“Well I do birthdays!” Penelope said, “and you’re getting one.”

Emily could see the gears turning in Penelope’s head.

“Wait you haven’t smoked weed?” Emily said. She didn’t mean to sound so surprised, but hell, it was college.

“I’ve never been offered,” Penelope said with a shrug.

“You have a Juul, Spence?” JJ said.

He shrugged.

“Anyways,” Derek said with a laugh. “Reid it’s your turn to ask.”

And the game continued roughly the same for a few more rounds, with some truths, some dares, a lot of drinking and a fair amount of laughter.

Emily learned that JJ likes some angry rock music when she’s upset, that Penelope has committed several federal crimes, that Reid used to coach basketball in high school, that Derek has been posing nude for art classes on campus for extra cash, and that Hotch has never successfully completed a word search in his life.

The dares were limited, because frankly they were basically hiding out in a basement during what might actually be a tornado. Emily was dared to do an impression of Hotch, which wasn’t good and involved a lot of eyebrows and frowning. After, JJ was forced to leave her snapchat at Garcia’s mercy for the entire night. Other dares involved dancing, attempting gymnastics, and seeing whether or not Reid fit into the dryer. He did.

The game finally had played out when it was Hotch’s turn again to ask.

“JJ, what’s your greatest fear?” Hotch asked.

“Mr. Serious over here,” Derek said with a whistle.

“Probably the woods,” JJ replied.

“Why?” Spencer asked, tilting his head.

JJ grabbed a candle, holding it under her chin much like Reid did earlier.

“I used to be a camp counselor, when I was a teenager. In the woods up in Vermont.”

She leaned forward. Emily didn’t know she worked at a camp. It made sense. She pictured her in a camp t-shirt making a bracelet. It suited her.

“I had the night shift. I tucked the girls in, turned off the lights. The typical drill. Everything seemed fine; all the kids were asleep. You know, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”

Another dramatic pause, both Spencer and Derek had leaned in, invested in the story.

“Until I noticed there was some blood, on the hallway floor. So, I followed the blood trail out to the camp director’s cabin, walked up to his bed and he was just lying there, underneath his covers. Dead!”

Penelope gasped. The room was silent.

“Someone stabbed him. I ran out of there so fast, out the door, down the hall. I just remember it… being really dark. Once I got to the door, there was another counselor there. I guess she heard me scream.”

JJ set the candle down, looking at the flame flicker. This couldn’t be real, Emily thought, this had to be a joke.

“They caught the caretaker on his way to town, I guess he still had the knife on him.”

“Anyway, I guess that’s probably when I decided I didn’t like the woods.”

“You’re serious?!” Derek demanded.

“No!” JJ said with a laugh. “You bought that! I’m kidding!”

“So are you afraid of the woods?” Emily asked.

“Yeah,” JJ said, “They’re spooky I don’t know.”

They all laughed at that.

Emily glanced at her phone; they had been down here for almost two hours. According to Penelope’s intermittent checks on the status of the extreme weather, most of the city was experiencing black outs, but there was no sign of an actual tornado. They were still supposed to take shelter for the next hour or so, just in case.

In this time, Emily was close to five drinks in, with only one left in the basement. A growing pile of empties had built up around them, and Hotch had pulled out a small bottle of whiskey in addition to his beer, passing it around the circle. Having recently turned 17, the group had officially decided to give Spencer a beer, which he nursed slowly, wincing at the bitter taste.

“Emily,” JJ turned to her and looked mischievous. “Truth or dare?”

She felt her heart flutter.

“Truth.”

“Hmmm…” JJ said, “Where was the weirdest place you’ve ever had sex?”

Emily found herself blushing at the memory.

“Oh god,” Emily buried her face in her hands. “IHOP parking lot.”

“What?”

Emily nodded, downing the last of her beer.

“No further questions,” she proclaimed as she opened her next drink.

“I think that should conclude Truth or Dare,” Penelope said, “It’s time for another sleepover classic, since some of you are sleepover virgins.”

She grabbed Derek’s water bottle, plopping it down onto the carpet and spun it.

“Spin the bottle!”

Emily went pale. What was Penelope doing? She stared into her drunk, not daring to look at anyone else.

“That doesn’t seem very sanitary,” Spencer said.

“Boo,” Penelope, “You’re no fun. It’s a classic! And we’re all friends, it’ll be fun. Hotch you spin first.”

He looked horrified, but took the bottle. There was no getting in the way of Penelope Garcia’s will.

“The rules are simply: kiss or you have to finish your drink?,” Penelope said, “Got it?

Hotch nodded, he spun the bottle. It went around the circle, once, twice, three times, then landed clearly on himself.

“How do I kiss myself?” he said, deadpan.

“Drink!” Emily told him. He downed his last beer.

Derek spun next, rubbing his hands together nervously as it went around and around. It landed on Penelope.

“Come here, chocolate thunder!”

Derek took his baseball cap off, turning it backwards. Penelope pulled his shirt towards her, tugging on him as their lips met. They both closed their eyes, she could hear JJ giggle at the sight.

“Was that the only reason we’re playing this?” Spencer asked, “So that you could kiss Morgan?”

“Maybe?” Penelope, “What’s it to you, boy-genius!”

He put his hands up in surrender, it was his turn.

He spun the bottle awkwardly, so that it rocked back and forth in addition to spinning. It went around once before landing on JJ.

Emily wasn’t sure what to think about that. On one hand, he was just a kid and the kiss wouldn't be anything, but on the other hand, Emily was jealous that she didn’t get a kiss.

“Come here, Spence!” JJ said, making a grabbing motion at the boy and laughing.

He leaned in with his eyes closed, Emily wouldn’t be surprised if he told them he hadn’t done even this before. JJ put a hand on his face, turned it gently, and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Derek clapped him on the back and made a comment about it being ‘pretty boy’s first kiss,’ and Reid simply sat and blushed as he busied himself with drinking some of his beer.

Emily’s turn. She tried not to cross her fingers and pray for JJ, but it happened anyways. It landed on Derek. Emily sighed dramatically.

“Ewwww,” Emily mock protested.

“Come on, princess,” Derek jeered, “You know you want some of this!”

He lifted his t-shirt up and rubbed his hands down his abs.

“Put that away sir!” she covered her eyes.

“Oh come here,” she said, leaning in. They kissed on the lips with a loud ‘mwah!’ noise.

“That was cute,” Hotch commented.

Emily fake gagged, while Morgan tried to wipe her red lipstick off him.

Last was JJ in the circle. She spun it casually. Emily tried to read her facial expression, wondering if JJ, too, wanted it to land on Emily.

See, Emily was starting to believe that JJ liked her back. She was single, and for all Emily knew, she was straight, but the more Emily got to know her, she got queer vibes. She played soccer! Her nails were short and-

Emily couldn’t think of any other things that moment, as she was currently freaking out about the spin the bottle situation that was presently unfolding.

The moment in the bathroom, Emily thought, that was something! The way she looked at Emily… she was sure that she felt JJ’s eyes on her linger.

The bottle landed on Emily. They had to kiss. It was part of the game.

Holy shit.

Penelope squealed and Emily could feel the entire room's eyes on her, except JJ whose eyes were on the ground.

Emily could hear her heartbeat. She desperately wanted to kiss JJ but did she want to under these circumstances? For a dare?

JJ looked at her. Blue eyes staring into brown. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears. She found herself leaning forward, only slightly. JJ did the same. Her lips parted, her eyes hungry.

Emily shifted forward, she sat with her legs tucked under her, bracing herself with her arms. JJ was cross legged, her arms free to grab at her face. JJ’s hands tugged her forward.

Their lips met.

It was uncertain, chaste, soft. Then, JJ’s hands pulled her closer. They were pressed together, heads tilting so that their noses didn’t bump.

Jennifer Jareau was kissing her. They were kissing!

Emily’s brain short circuited. JJ filled her senses; the blonde’s vanilla perfume and soft lips and the taste of alcohol on her tongue.

Oh god, her tongue.

Emily did not want it to end. Their mouths opened and their tongues slid against each other, feeling so perfect and sending Emily’s blood racing away from her face and noticeably south.

JJ was incredibly hot and Emily desperately wanted to do more than kiss her. Or kiss her like this forever. Her ams were caressing her cheek and tangled in Emily’s hair, pulling her closer.

The lights flickered on; they had power, again. JJ pulled away from her, sharply.

Emily sat back, sitting up straight. The room was luckily too distracted by the lights to notice how out of breath Emily was. Or that they probably shouldn’t have passionately made out on a dare.

JJ wouldn’t meet her eye, but Emily could see her own lipstick on the other girl’s lips. Emily blinked at the bright light, started by the sudden return of the electricity after she had become accustomed to the dim light of the candle.

“What impressive timing,” Spencer murmured.

Taking the lights as a good sign, Penelope checked on the emergency alert. It was over and they were safe to go back upstairs. She found out that a few downed trees were the cause of the outage and there was never an actual tornado. No one was hurt but there was a bit of property damage throughout the city.

Without the atmosphere of the candle light, and the likelihood of a RA doing a check of the building, they decided that that was the end of their party. They gathered up their empties, and blew out the candles.

As they finished up cleaning, all making sure not to leave any trace of their illicit affairs, Emily tried to quell her racing heart and blushing face, completely unable to look anyone in the eye.

The door opened, their RA was there. Erin Strauss. She was a hardass.

“What are you all doing down here?” she demanded.

They all stood, stock still, jaws dropped, smelling of alcohol and clutching clinking tote bags.

“Erin,” Emily said, trying to sound as sober as possible despite the five plus drinks in her system, “We were simply following the directions on the emergency alert.”

“Yes! It said to seek shelter from the storm and the basement seemed the best for that,” Penelope said.

“Uhuh,” Erin said, “What’s in the bag?”

The bag clinked.

“Oh just some garbage,” Emily said, lying through her teeth. “We had some snacks.”

“Sure,” Erin said, not believing them.

Emily tried not to sway, but did not feel steady on her feet. She wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or her recent kiss with JJ.

For a second, Emily was sure that their RA would bust their asses, but the girl simply sighed and told them to go to bed, muttering about how dealing with non-existent tornadoes wasn't part of her job.

The six of them scurried upstairs, all freaked out about their near-miss with a write-up.

Reid disappeared up to his room, then JJ and Penelope walked down the hall to their’s. Emily slipped into Derek’s avoiding Erin Strauss’ watchful eye, helping Derek steady a very drunk Hotch.

Hotch, who had probably had a little too much of that whiskey, stumbled into Derek’s room and decided to sleep on the floor. Emily placed a water bottle next to him, and placed him in recovery position, glad for the distraction from the blush that refused to leave her face or the lingering taste of JJ on her lips.

She walked slowly down the hall back to her own room, the events of that evening playing back in her mind. She threw herself onto her bed, dazed by her situation.

Emily fell asleep with vampire make up still on her face that night.

#criminal minds #cm #criminal minds tv #jemily #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #gravelyhumerus cm college au #prentiss x jj #jemily cm #fanfiction #fanfic #criminal minds fic #my post #my writing #this is such a chaotic chapter!!!#enjoy!!!!

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secretshinigami · 4 years ago

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routine and soft eyes

Author: @hazblogs For: @beyondplusultra Pairings/Characters: nearmellomatt, mention of lawlight Rating/Warnings: T, mentions of Mello’s scar Prompt: Wammy House kids sleepover (A, B, L can be included, can be AU) Author’s notes: I had so much fun with this !!! soft bois…. thank you to anyone who reads it !!

Mello is positively fuming. Someone (who shall not be named, though if you want to know it starts with “N” and ends with “-ate River”) just got on top of Forensic Science and Investigative Skills and History of Crime and the Justice System. Those are Mello’s topics. They’re the best at these and they always have been (in the two years they’ve studied here. But that’s long enough, right ?), so the fact that Mister Nobody just came in and stole their turf… That’s infuriating. To top it all off, the dean did them dirty and assigned someone to the second bed in their room, knowing full well that they need that second bed for Matt. This week is just a pile of flaming shit.

As they swing the door open they are greeted by the beeping sounds usually coming from Matt’s bed, a comforting electronic melody. Matt doesn’t even turn around to raise his middle finger to protest against how loud Mello is, but that’s also common practice around here, so no worries.

“Heard you got your ass beat,” Matt says a while later, Mello’s hand carding through his strawberry-green hair. “By the newbie no less. How’re you taking it ?”

“Matt, my hand is dangerously close to your eyes and you need those to play on that stupid console. Better not risk it.”

“Like you’d ever hurt me,” Matt grumbles, and the certainty with which he speaks makes their heart pulse just a little faster. Mello is hopelessly in love, aren’t they ?

The rest of the evening is quiet save for that same musical background, a welcome white noise as Mello finishes their essay for Writing Comedy. The teacher seems to have some trouble with their rather macabre humour so they try to tone it down for once - rather unsuccessfully.

“Also heard you’ll have a roommate,” Matt continues a few hours later as they prepare for bed - gotta put some moisturiser on that scar like a damsel doing her skincare routine, the doctor said, “or you’ll experience how actually painful it can be”. Talk about being threatening…

“I heard. I can kick them out.” Mello would do it. Without remorse, even.

“I can sleep in your bed too,” Matt offers. “But only if you promise not to kick me out from under the covers every single night.”

“Okay, first of all, fuck off, and secondly, why the hell would I want someone else to room with me ? You’re already here. You’ve always been here.”

“And I always will be, Mels. Just… I think it’s time you get out of your shell a little bit, you know ? You can’t keep pretending that talking to me twice every day and ignoring Linda a couple times a week is enough friendly interaction for the little pea inside your coconut.” Mello turns away from the mirror, moisturiser in hand, and sends a glare to Matt who sighs and raises his hands in defeat. “Don’t say I didn’t try ! Think about it, okay, Mello ?”

They do think about it. The whole night. They don’t sleep - it’s not because Matt snores but that’s the excuse they’ll use. Ever since the accident and the scar, people have usually been too impressed - or scared - by them to even consider starting a casual conversation. Matt was there even before, and he probably always will be, Linda is a weirdo who wants to draw them with a ponytail, and… Well, that’s it. Mello lives for schoolwork, to be the best and hope to right some of the wrongs in this world.

“Yo, Mihael,” the dean says when he sees them in front of his office the following morning. Lawliet is a TA at their university, still haunting the dorms. He has a creepy smile under his stupid raccoon eyes and he keeps using Mello’s birthname, like it makes any more sense to call them with that than to call them “xXx_sexy_blondie_xXx”, or however you pronounce that out loud.

“Lawliet. I saw you assigned me a roommate.”

“I did,” he smiles still, like there’s a joke Mello doesn’t get.

“Why ?” Mello would actually like to know - Lawliet never does anything at random.

“You’ll see when he arrives later today,” is the cryptic answer, and Mello sneers at their stupid fucking dean as they leave for their 8am lecture.

Because yes, multiple things are out to get their skin - though they won’t be deterred.

The day goes by in a flash, Screenwriting and Poetry being two of their most interesting classes, and by the time they’ve finished their Crime Prevision and Prevention homework at the library, the sun is well on its way down. Mello walks slowly to the dorms, enjoying the warm air - it’s still only September and winter hasn’t come yet. The music blasting from their headphones is a perfect background to the chill atmosphere, a few bird silhouettes dark against the wonderfully peach clouds. In a few minutes they’ll kiss Matt and they’ll eat a bite, and they’ll sleep knowing they’re safe now.

When they arrive in front of their room, a few cardboard boxes occupy the entrance. Shit fuck hell, they’d forgotten the roommate arrived today. All they can see from where they’re blocked from entering is a white blob of hair on top of baggy clothes, perched on the desk and looking at whatever Matt is playing.

“Uh, I’m supposed to be able to enter my own room,” Mello kind of yells. Only kind of. “Would you please not be a giant stupid bother before I even get your name ?”

“Sorry,” the snowball says, not looking sorry at all. “I’m Nate River.”

“But you can call him Near ! He plays retro games, which isn’t… let’s say it’s not my strong point, but I’m sure it’ll go well, we’re three whole weirdos with weirdo nicknames !”

Mello blinks. Near is still here. They blink again. Near is still here, looking a little like a frog with his lopsided smile, a hand playing with one of his curls. Mello blinks a third time and doesn’t expect Near to have packed his things and go, but that was a close call.

“Are you fucking kidding me,” they mutter. “Lawliet is gonna get killed.”

“You actually know enough about criminology to not be caught, so go you.” Near is smirking. Mello wants to cry. “But I would advise against it, because he’s dating that twink Light Yagami, the alumni who came last week to give the presentation about the War on Drugs and its consequences. He’s a police lieutenant now.”

“Called it !” Matt raises a fist in victory, taking five years from Mello’s lifespan. “Anyway, now that you’re here, please do help us with the last boxes. We’ve been setting up Near’s compy and it’s revoltingly difficult.”

“I will not- how can you ask me to- I’m gonna commit arson and this time I promise I’ll succeed !”

“Dramatic bitch,” Matt says jovially. “Just come in and drop your stuff, apparently someone from the ADA thing comes tomorrow to make sure the room is accessible with a crutch and to help Near settle in.”

Mello just now notices that Near isn’t fully standing up - he’s propped on the desk, a mechanical knee peeking through the bottom of his shorts. This changes nothing - though Mello feels the both grim and hopeful sense of community that disabled people get when they meet. Their ear still works wonky and their eye ? Not the sharpest either. Without talking about all the skin damage, the phantom pain, the- hell no, they won’t get into “reflective mode” without having eaten dinner first.

Reluctantly, Mello spends the rest of the evening avoiding Near as Matt and them help him settle in, surprised by the small amount of belongings he actually has - most of the boxes he brought are board games and hundreds of little kapla sticks. Is Near planning to recreate the Golden Bridge ? He looks like a nerd, maybe it’ll be the Death Star.

Routines are a persistent thing, and before they know it, Near has managed to get a small space - small, they insist - in Mello’s well-oiled machinery. He eats breakfast with Matt, a meal that Mello forgoes entirely, and he goes on unfortunate walks to his PT appointments, because he’s out of money from whatever government organism gives benefits to disabled people and can’t afford a cab. Mello thinks they should get into it a little more, maybe call their case worker, because ramen tastes worse and worse when you have it for every meal of the week. And then Near and Matt start talking about something or another, especially topics that annoy Mello, or Near gets a little too close to them while they both work on their assignments at their desk, his elbow barely brushing Mello’s side. It makes them shiver, but they will ignore that, thank you very much.

Another routine - bedtime - has gotten a little different. One single bed is enough for “one person and a half”, according to Matt, so the obvious solution to them being three in a two single beds room is to push the beds together.

“And now you have a perfect three people beddery !” Matt triumphantly declared. “Mello, you sleep in the middle.”

“Why am I in the middle ?” they protested. “It’s the least comfortable !”

“Oh well, we can take turns,” Near had snarked, knowing full well that the first one of them to sleep in the middle would have to accept defeat.

Mello does end up in the middle, Matt cuddled against their left side where the burn is, and Near an ever-closer presence against their right arm. It’s not as uncomfortable as they expected. Near doesn’t snore and he smells like minty toothpaste, a strangely comforting scent that lulls Mello to sleep way more easily than the five thousand melatonin pills they take before going to bed.

Oh well, maybe Lawliet can live a little longer. His boyfriend - Matt saw them kissing through the peephole, it’s official now - won’t have any (more) reasons to put Mello behind bars.

Near gets on top of International Law and keeps wearing strangely baggy clothes everywhere - or well, everywhere but in the dorms. Mello has time to get used to that mechanical knee, even asking a few questions about phantom pains on the days Matt is away and the itching gets unmanageable. Near is quiet like snow but they’re nothing alike in warmth, grey eyes like molten metal setting on Mello’s face and crinkling in a smile.

And it works wonders. One time they get a bad mark (for their standards) and they even study with Near for extra credit, a presentation about the death penalty that lasts about three quarters of the two hours class. The teacher gives them both full marks and Matt celebrates by crushing them both against his chest, the smell of motor oil and mint so comforting that Mello closes his eyes, just for a little while.

It’s winter before they have time to think about it, and finals go by in a blur of “no sleep, no food, no distractions”. They even manage to end up at the nurse’s office when they faint during the Criminology Theory exam, forced to drink sugar water until the world stops exploding in a million tiny stars when they move their head.

Mello thinks that surviving their last winter exam session ever - they should be able to find a job with a double Master’s degree in Criminology and Creative writing, right ? - deserves a celebratory nap and they sprawl on the bed as soon as they’re back from the last stupid oral presentation they have to do about stupid Foundations of Criminal Justice. Near is not in the room - which is weird, because he finished five minutes and thirty six seconds before them - and Matt is away for the day to try and get his internship at the garage, so they have the full three-person bed, and they fully intend to enjoy the luxury.

They enjoy it so much that they fall asleep, only noticing that time has passed because before they blinked, it was day, and it is now very much nighttime. Light giggles fill the room along with the muted light from Near’s bedside lamp, and Mello takes the time to relish in the quiet atmosphere. Hushed conversation rises from near the desk, giggles and the smell of hot chocolate both making Mello sit up at last.

“Lookit you ! Sleeping beauty arises. Though I haven’t kissed you yet,” Matt smiles, and he climbs on the bed to press his lips against Mello’s. “Love you,” he whispers as he pulls away and goes back to slump on Near’s shoulder.

At first, Near felt like an intruder each time Matt kissed them, but he’s become so embedded in their life that Mello doesn’t feel any awkwardness anymore - to the point where not including him has become the cause of their inner turmoil.

Because yeah, uh, there’s that. Near in a tank top and booty shorts, prosthetic being painted on by a very enthusiastic Matt, has become the new image they conjure up each time the need to strangle someone arises. And poof, instant peace. Discreet touches, Near sleeping fully cuddled against their right side now, Matt nosing through Near’s hair just after he’s washed it because his strawberry shampoo smells divine, Mello even going as far as ruffling Near’s hair without warning, just to see his little nose scrunch up… All that has become routine too, and suddenly the change is too big to go by unmentioned.

They’ve managed to hold on to their feelings until then but as Matt starts talking again, Near’s smile is a little too tight - though his eyes sparkle, it’s like… something’s missing.

“Emergency mee-ee-ting,” they yawn, the skin around their left eye crinkling up painfully. Near notices and doesn’t even ask before grabbing the petroleum jelly tube and throwing it rather inaccurately at their face. See, that’s what they were talking about, Near has just become… there, in the way Matt is there even when he’s asleep in another part of the universe where Mello can only hope to ever go to. “We gotta talk shit out.”

“Are you over your gay crisis yet ?” Matt asks, eyes calm and open, sipping hot chocolate with noisy slurps that Mello doesn’t bother mentioning anymore. His green hair looks more and more red as time passes, which is a strange feat of hair dye conspiracy. “Can we go back to playing ?”

“I haven’t even talked !” Mello protests. “I just really think it’s necessary to mention that…”

They don’t know how to continue that sentence. Near is looking at them with something strangely akin to hope, and Matt still has that infuriating openness about him like he just knows Mello so well he doesn’t need to be told what they feel.

Near doesn’t, though, and he matters enough to Mello now for them to want to include him in the little bubble as well.

“I just think it’d be cool if we shared the secret chocolate stash with Near,” is what comes out of their mouth.

Well done caporal, please die of shame now.

“Mels, wow, that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said !” Matt’s voice drips with amusement - devoid of any mean spirit, they should add, because Matt is the one thing Mello knows is good in this world. And well, maybe there’s a second one they’ve stumbled on, and they want Near to know that he means a lot to them too.

“I mean it !” Mello whines. “He’s one of us now. I think we can share.”

“Mello. Please realise that I’ve been flirting with you this entire time,” comes Near’s deadpan answer. “The time I told you I wanted to braid your hair ? The time I made you sleep and finished the presentation alone because you’d gotten the flu and I hate being sneezed on ? The fact that Matt literally sits in my lap half the time, and only half because the other is spent on your lap ?”

“Okay, first of all, fuck off with me getting the flu.”

“You’re avoiding my question.” Near looks stubborn, and it’s a good look on him.

When did Mello start to think Near looks good ? “I, uh. I may be slightly romantically obtuse. Has Matt told you the time when-”

“-he kissed you and you thought he wanted to practice smooches for his secret best friend, because of course you wouldn’t be his best friend ?”

Utterly mortified, Mello can feel their cheeks become bright red. “Well, uh. Enough mushiness for tonight. Just pass me the chocolate, Matt, I’m starving.”

Matt giggles and throws a Kinder Egg at their face. Near munches on the leftover shell while Mello assembles the toy, and it’s peaceful - and happy, too, so when Mello raises a hand to their scar they smile still, in spite of their involuntary shiver.

#fanfiction #death note #submission #nearlymellodramattic #nearmattmello #lawlight mention #near #matt #mello #hazblogs #beyondplusultra #Mello's Birthday Mayhem 2020

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welcometophu · 3 years ago

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The Meaning of Home, Chapter 2

The Meaning of Home Chapter 2

Tags for all Welcome to PHU novels will be available at the PHU tag list on Pillowfort. This list is under construction as of Sept. 5, 2021.

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Pawel spends much of Monday lounging around the house. He gets up to help get Conor and Emma on the bus, so his dad can leave on time for work. After meeting the bus in his pajamas, he walks back to Dad’s house and lies down on the couch. He doesn’t really need a blanket, but he pulls it up to his nose anyway for the comfort factor and spends the day dozing and streaming old movies on his dad’s TV.

He never makes it as far as thinking about cooking anything for dinner, so he treats Dad and Conor to a night out. It eats up more time than he’d like, and it means Conor needs to scramble to finish the last of his homework once they’re home, but it’s nice to spend an hour letting someone else do the cooking.

Later that evening, after Conor goes to bed, Pawel and Dad spend the next couple of hours finally talking through everything that’s happened. Pawel doesn’t want to leave things out, but there are a few things he avoids for Dad’s safety, like the government involvement, and one thing he just doesn’t know how to explain.

He hasn’t seen Chelsea in a while. She’s relearning how to work within the world without draining souls to stay alive. He highly doubts she’s planning on stopping by his father’s for a visit, and even if she did, Dad never got to meet her as anything other than one of Pawel’s friends a decade ago.

Yeah. That is a complicated mess that he has no desire to go into detail about.

They go to bed late, but Pawel still wakes early on Tuesday to get his own kid on the bus. He figures it’s the least he can do, letting Dad get to work on time on a regular basis again.

Alone in the house again, Pawel feels refreshed and awake.

And bored.

He puts the phone on speaker as he putters around the kitchen, pressing to dial the number for Pels. She picks up after two rings, her voice gravelly and low. “What? Did we burn your house down?”

“I’m assuming you would have called me, rather than the other way around, if you burned my house down. Since you’re the one staying there.” Pawel rifles through his father’s cabinets until he finds a slow cooker. It’s dusty, but he’s pretty sure it’ll be functional. There should be enough ingredients for chili around.

He looks into a cabinet, and nearly bare shelves stare back at him.

Okay, maybe not.

“What?” Pels asks again. “You woke me up. Are you looking for my mom? I thought you had her number.”

Pawel finds tomatoes and beans, and starts emptying them into the slow cooker. “I do. I thought she’d be at work, so I called you instead.”

“It’s too early and—Dad, Dad, no, I’ll talk to him. Give me back my phone.”

“Hello, Ammon.” Pawel might not be able to hear Pels’s father, but he’s well aware by now that the ghost can hear him.

“He’s leaving, and I’m not putting this on speaker,” Pels mutters. “I thought he was going to start spending more time with Mom now, after the whole unbinding ceremony last weekend, but apparently she told him not to follow her to work.”

“Can she see him now?” That would be an interesting development. Pawel sets the empty can on the counter and reaches for a pad of sticky notes so he can scribble a reminder to himself to look into more detailed information about the ritual that the Burlington community performed for Pels and her mother in order to remove the bindings from their Talents.

“I think so. I mean, I’m pretty sure she can, but we’re not really talking about it. But seriously. Did you call for a reason? Cheyenne’s got these final projects to finish up since she left school a couple weeks early, so she’s not bothering me. Dad wasn’t bothering me. I was sleeping.” Pels grumbles under her breath.

“I just wanted to see how things were going.” Pawel peels off the sticky note and tapes it to the fridge, where he might see it later. Another search of the cabinets turns up chili powder and a few other seasonings. “Now that you’ve had a chance to settle into the house.”

“We’re fine. We’re figuring out how to be a family again without Peter.” Pels hesitates. “I’m learning how to see the world a whole different way now that I can see everything my Talent lets me see. Shane and Jess and I are talking a lot, and I’m going to figure this Mage thing out. So… thanks. For everything. Including letting us stay in your house while you’re gone.”

Pawel shakes some cocoa powder into the slow cooker, before adding a handful of dried onion. “Someone’s got to water the plants.”

“The plants were already dead when we got here.”

He laughs at Pels’s dry words. She’s not wrong. Pawel was gone for a month; everything went to hell, while his son went to stay with his dad.

Which, yeah. That brings him right back around to where he is now.

Pawel stares at the slow cooker. “If you need anything, you’ve got my number.”

“I’ll tell Mom to check in with you periodically. Oh and—” Pels hesitates before asking, “Cheyenne wants to know if it’s okay if she uses your backyard to practice flying?”

Pawel thinks of the time they used Alaric’s dragon to summon a Shadow in that same backyard. “That would not be the strangest thing the neighbors could have witnessed. But she should try not to break anything, including herself.”

“I think we can do that. Gotta go. Dad says there’s someone at the door.”

The line goes abruptly silent, and Pawel looks down at the screen of his phone as the connection is lost. “Okay, then.” He gives the vegetarian chili a quick stir, then puts the lid on, plugs it in, and switches the appliance on to cook on low. “That’s set, at least.”

He feels a little better, knowing that his home is in good hands, or at least, it’s not burning down. It sat empty for a month before; having someone live there for the summer should be better.

As long as none of the newly powered Mages set the place on fire.

Fire.

That reminds him.

Pawel checks one more time to ensure that the slow cooker is on and set to low, then heads back to the living room to dig out his laptop. He starts it up and finds the tab he’d left open for the outdoor music festivals, with a list of dates.

That’s what he thought: the festival that Rory and Thorne’s band, Phoenix Rising, is touring with will be in Buffalo this weekend.

Pawel buys four tickets. He figures Dad will come with them, and Conor will want to bring a friend. Probably Alan. And if Dad doesn’t want to go, Alan’s mom, Emily, might join them instead. He’s not worried if the tickets don’t all get used; he just wants options.

Conor will be pleased by the surprise, anyway.

He closes the laptop and looks back to the kitchen.

How the hell does his dad live like that, anyway? And what has Conor been eating?

No, he saw the answer to that this morning. Toaster pastries and cereal, and Pawel’s pretty sure that the last of the eggs were finished off as well.

Fine.

If Pawel’s going to be here all summer, squeezed into his dad’s small space, the least he can do is lay in supplies.

Pawel spends the day scouring the cabinets, making a long list of everything from prepared garlic and ginger for easy seasoning, to pantry staples like pasta, to critical items like various forms of protein for the freezer. His dad has a standing freezer in the garage, and even that seems woefully empty.

He loses time going through the sites online for each local grocery store, poring over the ads to determine which store will have the best value for this shopping trip. He types up the list to rearrange it by food type, so that as soon as Conor’s home they can head out and maybe they’ll be organized enough to get the trip done quickly.

“Dad!” The door bangs open. “What’s for dinner? I’m starving and something smells really good.”

“It’s not dinner time.” Pawel folds up the printout of the list and shoves it in his pocket. “We’re going shopping. Grab a snack.” His own stomach growls and he’s not sure how he made it from early morning to half past three without a meal. “I think I saw a box of granola bars.”

Conor lifts the lid to the slow cooker, inhaling deeply, while Pawel finds the last two granola bars. He tosses one to his son.

“Let’s get some food.”

“Can we get meat for the chili? That looked like it was all beans,” Conor grumbles. He buckles his belt, then directs Pawel to the grocery store.

Pawel already knows how to get there, but he’s not going to tell Conor that. Not when Conor seems comfortable in this place and is enjoying showing off that comfort level. He stays silent while Conor points out the entrance to the parking lot, then finds them a space close to the door.

Conor grabs a cart from the corral and pushes it into the store. “Emma’s Papa picks her up after school, so she doesn’t have to take the bus. She said they’re doing stuff today, so she couldn’t come over. I thought we could work on our—Emma!!”

Pawel catches the cart, stopping it from rolling when Conor takes off into the produce section. Emma’s answering shout is sharp and loud as Conor skids to a stop near a display laden with peaches. Pawel pushes the cart there, half an ear listening to the kids talking as if they weren’t together a half hour ago in school.

“Dad!” Conor waves at him, so Pawel picks up the pace.

He’s not sure who Emma is with. She stands next to an almost empty cart, except for a bag of peaches sitting in the seat. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of an adult.

“Emma’s shopping.”

Emma rolls her eyes, pushing braids back over her shoulder. “Obviously,” she says quietly. “Jennie had to pee. He’ll be back soon. She forgot to go before we left school.”

“Does your Papa have two carts? We can help you,” Conor offers. “You and me can do one cart, and Dad can do ours, and your Papa can do the other one.”

“You can call me Leo. I don’t think your dad would like it if you started calling me Papa like the rest of the kids.”

Pawel knows that voice.

He hasn’t heard the voice in a very long time, but there are certain phrases still etched in the deep recesses of his memory.

He exhales, and very deliberately makes himself look at the man who has joined him.

He looks good. Older, yeah. It’s been more than ten years since Leo graduated and left town for college. Apparently he’s back now, and from the police uniform, this would be Emma’s foster father that works for Pawel’s dad. He has the name ‘L. Papa’ embroidered on his uniform, just above the pocket, and his badge is still visible. Leo stands with one hand on the handle of the cart and reaches without looking to take a package of donuts out of the hands of the small girl sitting in the basket of the cart.

When he smiles, Pawel’s heart twists.

“I was glad to hear you reappeared,” Leo says quietly. His voice is a warm, low tenor, as careful and even as Pawel remembers.

“You’re fostering a Weather Witch.” It’s maybe not the best reply. Pawel refuses to wince when Conor snickers.

“I told you he’s single-minded sometimes,” Conor whispers loudly to Emma. “He’ll help find your parents. I know your Papa’s a police officer, but Dad’s a Mage.”

Emma’s brown eyes are furrowed and dark. Her lips purse, but she doesn’t say anything.

Leo takes two sheets of paper from his pocket, then hands one to Emma. “You know which cereals the boys like best. Pick one for yourself and Jennie that they won’t eat before you get a chance. Since you’re the one with me, you get to pick the pasta. I know it says twenty boxes of mac & cheese, but we only need ten. We’ll be shopping again next week.”

Emma takes the list and reads it over solemnly. “Nevaeh said we need more tuna, but it’s not on the list. I’ll get that, too. C’mon, Conor. There were some cookies on sale. Help me pick out ones that the boys won’t eat before we can.”

“Popcorn,” Conor replies. “Remember, we used the last of it last weekend? Did that get on your list?”

They roll away with the almost-empty cart before Pawel can protest.

The small girl in Leo’s cart has the box of donuts in her hands again. She opens the plastic carefully and takes one out.

“Jennie,” Leo says softly.

“I need sugar to sparkle,” she whispers around a mouthful of chocolate cream.

Speechless feels so strange. Pawel can’t remember the last time his tongue has been this tangled. “I—” He tries to break his own silence, and fails miserably.

“Things get chaotic with five kids in the house,” Leo says. When he smiles again, his pale green eyes crinkle around the corners with tiny lines that definitely weren’t there before. They match the faint hints of salt in his dark hair. “Conor’s got a lot of energy. He probably keeps you on your toes.”

“Dad says I’ve been cursed with a kid that’s just like I was,” Pawel says. He pushes his hand through his hair, trying to figure out how to recover his balance. “He didn’t tell me you were one of Emma’s foster fathers. Just that she had two of them. Foster fathers. And two missing parents.”

Meeting his ex-boyfriend shouldn’t be this unsettling.

Pawel blames it on the fact that he’s probably still in a sleep deficit—two weeks is not enough time to catch up on missing sleep for several months.

“There’s a local teacher who works with a group that finds placements for Talented kids who need Talented families to stay with.” Leo has the second page of his list in his hand, and he refers to it while picking out produce.

Right. Shopping.

Pawel looks at his own list and tries to focus on that to give himself a little distance and wrangle his brain back into working order. Salad. They definitely need things for salad. And fresh vegetables for roasting wouldn’t be bad.

“Alice asked Colt if he knew anyone who might be able to take on kids about four years ago, and when he said we would, she put us in touch with Lucy and Rowan, and that’s how we got Matt, our first foster kid.”

Leo’s voice rolls over Pawel, dropping tidbits of information that he struggles to grab onto.

“Matt’s not bad,” Jennie says around a mouthful of donut. “Sometimes.”

Pawel latches onto the names, his fingers closing around a broccoli crown and holding it a little too tightly. He fumbles with the plastic bag. “Lucy and Rowan? And… Colt?” He had to have heard those wrong.

He manages to get the bag open and shoves two broccoli crowns into it, dropping them in the basket of his cart.

Leo is silent.

When Pawel looks at him, Leo stands with his fingers wrapped around the handle of the cart, his grip tight. “Colt Harrison,” he says. “My husband. You—”

“Dated him in high school, yeah.” Pawel finishes Leo’s sentence for him.

That’s… too much information. Pawel is struggling to assimilate it.

“Dad did not mention that,” he mutters.

“This doesn’t have to be weird.” Leo grabs the container of donuts and moves it to another area of the cart. Jennie could still get to it, but she pouts instead, slouching down in one corner of the basket, her lower lip sticking out and flecked with chocolate. “Colt and I met when he was interning at the law office where he works now. We’ve been married about three years. We didn’t even know each other back in high school.”

“It doesn’t have to be weird,” Pawel echoes. He’s right, of course. It shouldn’t be weird. It’s not weird at all. People meet. They fall in love. They get married. They have kids. Sometimes there’s a small world effect and it turns out that they may have already been connected beforehand.

That’s all Pawel is in this; an ancient history connection.

“Your dad talks about you all the time,” Leo says. He pulls a napkin from his pocket and cleans Jennie’s fingers. “Try not to touch anything else,” he admonishes gently before tucking the dirty napkin back in his pocket.

He’s so careful with her. Pawel remembers when Leo used to take care of his younger siblings. It only makes sense that he’d be good with kids now. As big and scruffy and rough looking as he is, he’s gentle, too.

“I need to—” Pawel holds up the list, showing just how long it is. “Dad’s cupboards are empty. I’m not sure what he and Conor have been eating, and I get the feeling that it’s takeout so I really don’t want to know. I need to stock up.”

“So do we. Matt’s eleven and Clan, and Duke’s fourteen. We go through a lot of food in our house.” Leo heads toward the back of the store. “Come on. We’ll catch up with the kids if we get moving.”

Pawel exhales and trails behind Leo. Jennie peeks around him, her thumb in her mouth as she looks at Pawel. Small brown brows furrow deeply before she turns away and curls up.

Her snores are adorable little rasps of sound. He can’t think how she’s sleeping through the rattle and squeak of the cart she rides in. Still, she’s silent as they work their way through the aisles, collecting items from their respective lists.

They turn down one aisle and spot Conor and Emma from a distance. Conor has sparks around his hand while Emma reaches for something falling from the shelves.

Pawel coughs, and Conor turns to give him an innocent look.

Wait. That reminds him.

“You’re taking in Talented kids,” Pawel says slowly. “So you or Colt must be—”

“We both are,” Leo says, glancing at him sideways. “I grew up Clan. Colt’s Emergent, but that’s his story to tell. I heard about you being a Mage from your dad. He’s proud of everything you’ve done at PHU.”

Pawel waves that away. “Youngest dean. Newest department. Only real expert on Talent as a whole because I’m the only person who’s bothered to go down the rabbit hole far enough to study it formally.”

“It’s still impressive.” Leo huffs.

“I just… I never knew.” Pawel thinks back and tries to catalog Leo’s family based on what he knows of Clan. He didn’t interview them for his thesis; they weren’t on his radar as a large Clan community. They grew up as a part of the town.

“You weren’t meant to.” Leo dips into his pocket and hands the napkin back to Jennie, who has somehow woken from her nap and polished off a second donut while they weren’t paying attention. “That was before the Emergence. We took a lot of care to be able to live here without anyone knowing.”

“But your community—”

“Widespread and buried within this town and the surrounding ones. We never really wanted to withdraw from the rest of the world. Which is what makes us good candidates for fostering. We don’t have those same prejudices that some might have.” Leo drops a hand to the top of Jennie’s head, and she looks up at him, smiling brightly.

There are, indeed, sparkles all around her, the air shimmering with her contentment and happiness.

“Conor wants me to help find Emma’s parents,” Pawel says quietly. “At the same time, I’m not sure if he really wants me to get involved, after everything that happened this last year. What do you—”

“I think they’re dead,” Leo says quietly. His hand still rests atop Jennie’s head, but his gaze is fixed on Emma. “I can tell you what little we know, but everything points to them being dead. The question is what happened to their bodies.”

Unfortunately, Pawel’s had experience with issues like that and can think of at least one scenario.

Which might mean they’re not dead.

They also might not be prepared to be parents anymore, either.

Leo pitches his voice louder. “You should come over for dinner some night.”

Both Conor and Emma turn to look at them. Emma grips the side of the cart, stepping up and holding on while Conor gives it a good push before jumping up himself. It sends them racing towards Leo and Pawel, until Pawel puts up a hand, throwing out a gentle cushion of magic to stop them before they crash.

“Yes!” Conor yells. “Dinner!”

“You could come over and meet everyone. If you want to.” Emma’s gaze drifts away, like she really doesn’t care about the answer.

“They’re like my second family. Third, maybe, because of Alan, but my second one here,” Conor insists. “And Emma’s dads are really nice.”

“They aren’t my dads.”

“I’m sure Colt would love to see you, too,” Leo adds.

Thanks for the gut punch.

“He says yes,” Conor says quickly. “Right dad? You say yes.”

What else is he supposed to do?

“Yes.” Pawel fishes out his phone, unlocking it and staring down. He doesn’t resist when Leo slips it from his fingers, opening up his text app and sending something.

Leo places the phone back in Pawel’s hands. “The first number is mine, the second is Colt’s. In case you don’t still have them.”

“I fried my phone and lost everything,” Pawel admits. “Back when I Emerged. So. Thank you.”

“It’s good to see you.” Leo’s touch is heavy and warm where he claps his hand against Pawel’s shoulder, then squeezes.

Pawel could hug him, but he thinks that might be awkward. He’s never had this situation. He has three exes—two of them he hasn’t seen since they broke up, and the other one is Chelsea. Which is just complicated.

“Yeah, you too.” He watches as Leo walks away, Emma pushing the second cart beside him. Pawel wonders just how distracted Leo must feel since Jennie looks like she’s grabbing her third donut.

Or maybe that’s just how it is. Maybe he spoils his kids with plenty of sugar.

It’s not like Pawel knows anything about how Leo’s life is now.

Conor tugs sharply at Pawel’s shirt. “Dad. When are we going to dinner over at Emma’s house?”

Pawel looks down at his phone, at the new conversation sitting there. All it says is, this is Pawel.

He locks his phone and shoves it in his pocket. “I don’t know yet, but not tonight. Let’s go find that meat you wanted for the chili. Chicken might be good. We could sauté it up quickly and add it so it’ll get a couple hours in the slow cooker with the rest. Or we could cook it up with spices and add it afterwards.”

“You’re just saying that because chicken is healthy,” Conor grumbles. “I got more toaster pastries. Dziadziu lets me eat them.”

“I let you eat them, too, just possibly not in the same quantities,” Pawel protests. It’s not an argument he’s going to have right now, anyway.

He’s going to focus on finishing up the shopping, and finishing cooking dinner.

He’s going to focus on anything other than the fact that somehow both of the boys he dated in high school grew up to meet each other and end up married.

Yeah, he’s going to do his damnedest to focus on anything but that.

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#welcome to phu #welcometophu #the meaning of home

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yerrrabitch · 4 years ago

Text

A Ride Home

Y/N - Your Name

Y/B/N - Your Boyfriend’s Name

Y/UNI/N - Your University Name

Y/M - Your Major

C/Y - Current Year

It was a normal night. Well as normal as it could be. You and your boyfriend had a fight earlier in the car because your shirt hung “too low”. It wasn’t your fault that your breast spilled out of your shirt the way they did. However, Y/B/N hated that. He actually hated every time you wore clothes that showed any skin. It was suffocating. You compromised and wore his alumni sweater.

“Y/N!” a blonde from your 8AM yelled, ”Come dance with me!”

You put your red cup down and took her up on her offer. It wasn’t like you were doing anything but brooding anyway. Y/B/N had went into the house with some friends and you were in the backyard waiting. You hated this part. You’d come out with him every weekend to appease him. Truth was your feet, back and head hurt and you craved nothing more than your bed and the feeling of your fan blowing against your cheeks in the moonlight. But, like every weekend Y/B/N would make you feel bad for wanting rest. You went to school full time and worked part time at a local diner so that you could afford to stay in your apartment. He had graduated during your sophomore year and was living his best life while owning his own bar.

It wasn't like you hated being out; you were just tired. He didn't understand that. Despite hating your hours and your dedication to work and school, he never offered to help with your bills or spend the night in. It’s not like you’d accept anyway but, the thought that he would consider would’ve been nice.

“Y/N!”, she yelled while latching on to your arm. She had grown tired of waiting for you to come to her. She threw her head back and laughed as she grinded on you to the beat of a popular pop song. You could smell the alcohol on her breath and began to laugh. This was actually fun. You two began to dance together more provocatively and you hated being out less.

Two songs later and you needed a break. You both decided to get something to eat inside. You took off the sweater and put it on the counter. The house owner, Ralph, had laid out all kinds of cheap food. You gravitated towards the fruit while she dove at the pizza. You looked at your phone and saw it was 12:08 AM.

You had to be at work at 7 AM.

Y/B/N knew this and was still doing God knows what in the house. Irritation set in and you immediately felt your mood sour. You considered ordering an UBER and going home on your own. No. He brought me here, he needs to bring me home.

You called his phone twice and then sent him a text message.

Y/N: Hey, it’s late and I have work tomorrow.

Seen 12:15 AM

“You good, ma?” A tall man asked.

You didn't recognize him. He must be from out of town.

“I’m fine, thank you”

“You don't look fine.” He said eyeing you and the way you shifted from one foot to the other, “you need a fix or sum?”

You couldn't help the laughter that shot out of your mouth and filled the kitchen. He cracked a wide smile at you. He’s fine.

“No, I’m actually waiting for someone to come downstairs. I need to leave.”

“Who?” He asked raising an eyebrow, while leaning against the table and staring into your eyes.

“My boyfriend.” You deadpanned

“Yikes.”

“What?”

“If I was your boyfriend, I would've never left you alone.”

There’s no reason he shouldn't be answering his phone. Let me see where he is. You moved around the table and the man in front of you to find Y/B/N.

“Ma, let me take you home”

You stared at him for a minute.

“I need to find my boyfriend.” You said, putting an emphasis on the boyfriend part.

“If he’s in this house, right now. You’re single.”

You stop in your tracks and you feel tears well up in your soft, brown eyes. It had to be the liquor, you aren't sensitive.

“Excuse me”, your voice completely icy and your hands shaky. The blonde grabbed her pizza and went back outside, glad to escape whatever was happening in there.

“They're up there playing a stripping game. When I left nobody had pants on so if he's there now I can't imagine.”

You turned on your heel and flew up the stairs and followed the sound of the crappy 2008 hits into a game room. There he was, sprawled out beneath a girl while she sucked on his left nipple. You cleared your throat and everyone in the room paused, knowing who you were.

He opened his eyes after a second and jumped up in realization. His face morphed from fright to anger.

“Where’s the sweater?”

The nerve and audacity of this man. You caught him with a bitch sucking on his tiddy and he had the balls to ask you about what you were wearing? You started to laugh. You were borderline hysterical at this point.

“Die.”

You turn back around and go down the stairs opening your phone. You could handle that in the morning but, right now you needed to go home and go to sleep.

You sighed loudly and pulled your hair up into a bun. You didn't care that it'd have to stay like that until next wash day. You were overheating and irritated.

A low whistle broke you out of your blank stare into the street. You looked up and it was the man from the kitchen.

“Are you okay?” He asked, while sitting next to you on the steps.

“I will be. Once I get home and shower this off of me.”

“I can take you if you want.”

“It’s ok. I don't want to bother-”

“I offered. It’s not a bother if I offer.”

You eyed him weirdly. Why did this man have an interest in you?

“Ok but, windows have to be down the whole way there and you have to drive with one hand out the window” You stated firmly.

He chuckled.

“Ok shorty. I’ll do whatever you say”

*******

He drove a C/Y Acura with red interior. The car was well kept; it still smelled like a new car. You stared at the inside, instantly falling in love with the car and the way it felt.

“It’s just a car.” Your eyes snapped to his, warmth spreading across your neck.

“Sorry, it’s beautiful though”

“It was a gift.” He said while checking his shoulder and pulling away from the curb. A gift? Who’s he friends with? “From my aunt and cousin.”

“Cool. Usually I get books or dinners.” He cracked a smile.

“They’re overcompensating. They weren't around when they could've been.” He stopped at a light. The red illuminated his face and made his teeth look even whiter, if possible. You noticed for the first time that he had gold bottoms in. His long eyelashes brushed against his brown cheek as he cut his eye at you to gauge your reaction.

“Shorty.”

“Yes,” you said blinking out of your trance. He was delicious.

“I asked you which way”, he said smirking at you. He knew that you liked what you saw.

“Keep going straight.” You turned to the road, you wanted to keep an eye on your surroundings not only him.

“So why’re you in a rush to get home?”

“I have to work in a few hours.”

He raised an eyebrow at you. An action that turned you on more.

“You knew you had to work and you still came out? You’re wild.”

“I thought I would have left hours ago to be honest. Y/B/N and I got into a fight and I was distracting myself downstairs.”

“I saw you at like 9. You were nursing one cup man.” You felt stupid. You should've left after the argument. Matter of fact, you shouldn't have came.

“Did I ask you?”

“Look, it is what it is. I’m just saying I don't think you came here for you.”

He was right. Your entire relationship with Y/B/N wasn't for you. It started off to appease him and stop his antics. He had been following you around campus trying to get your number for weeks after spotting you in the cafe. You stayed with him because you found comfort in routine. Fuck him. You were tired.

“That doesn't matter.” You said closing the issue off from him.

“Ok. So tell me about something that does”

“Huh?”

“Tell me about yourself.” You left out a small laugh. He wanted to get to know you right after you walked in on God knows what with your ex.

“I just walked in on my ex cheating on me. Man let me be single for a second.”

“All I asked was for an introduction.” He cut his eye at you. You felt bad. All he wanted was conversation and you assumed he wanted you. I’m such a bitch.

“I’m a senior at Y/UNI/N and I am a Y/M.” You said quietly.

“All you do is study? I go there too.”

“I’ve never seen you around.”

“You’re too busy trying to help the world,” He smiled. “It’s admirable though.”

“Not the whole world. Only the brown part.”

He let out a earthquaking laugh that warmed every fiber of your being.

“I respect that. But, why?”

“I grew up with only my mom around. And I saw how it was for her, a single women, to help feed and raise my sister and I. Turn right at this light. I want to help women like that get the tools they need to succeed. It shouldn't be that hard to live a basic life.” You reminisced about all the late nights and early mornings your mom had just to make sure you kept food on the table. “I’m trying to get an internship with this youth outreach program this summer so I can get more roots in the area.”

“I can get you an internship but, it won't be around here”

You stared at him like he had three heads while he passed your street. You quickly told him to take the other way to your apartment to avoid the embarrassment.

“What do you mean?”

“My cousin built this outreach center in Oakland. I work there when I’m not in school so I can help my community. If you want I can connect y’all.”

You damn near jumped into this mans lap.

“Of course I want to! Thank you so much!”

“I’m gonna need your number then, sweetheart.”

He pulled into a parking space in front of your building and passed you his phone. You saved yourself and handed it back to him.

“What about you?”

“I want to help black people worldwide loosen the chains of their white oppressors.”

“Any progress?”

“I’m actually making a lot in Oakland right now. I think it’s important to help each other and lean less on the white man and his government. Only then can we truly break free from them.” His eyes were fiery as he explained his goal. His passion oozed out of him and captivated you.

“That sounds like a few generation long project.” You mused. You wanted to help.

“That’s fine. As long as I help my people. I don't care how long it takes.”

You wished you had met him instead of Y/B/N. This man had humor, looks, and layers and you'd just met him. All Y/B/N had was a strong name.

“You're passionate about this.”

“You should understand.”

“I do.” You looked at his arm still hanging out of the window. “Sorry about that. I just have to make sure you won't kidnap me.”

“Girl, if I wanted to kidnap you a few windows and an arm out the window wouldn't have stopped me.”

“Sir. Please.” You laughed.

“You should buy a taser. Those are more effective.”

“I’ll think about it.” You said while opening the door and climbing out.

“I could've gotten that for you.”

“After all you've done for me tonight?” You shook your head, “Thank you for the ride...” You didn't know this mans name.

“So this is dumb but, what’s your name?”

“Erik. What’s yours, bright eyes”

“Y/N.”

“Well go inside Y/N. You need rest.” He pointed at the clock in his car. It read 1:45 AM. Damn. You would've traded anything to keep talking to him. “Don’t make that face. I know you’ll miss me but, don't worry you'll see me soon enough.”

#erik x reader #erik stevens #black panther #erik killmonger #erik kilmonger x reader #college au

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greyfongschemmenti · 4 years ago

Text

In These Arms | Chapter 9: Conflict Resolution

Summary:

After Lin and Su's fight there is hope of some resolution.

The fire crackles as you poke the wood to keep it going “So want to explain to us what we’re doing here?” Bolin asks as he huddles close to Opal rubbing his arms. “I told you to wear a sweater, Bolin” Mako looks at his brother and shakes his head “I didn’t think it would get this cold at night”.

“Here you can share this blanket with me” Opal offers, and Bolin looks at her with heart eyes and blushes a bit “Thanks”.

“Alright, so it’s come to my attention that you all want to know about me?” you speak up as you stand, and earthbend a column to use as a stool for you to sit on, overlooking the rest of the group.

“I think the only one that knows you well is Asami” Mako points over at her and she looks over from beside Korra “Yeah, but even then maybe I don’t know everything?” She looks unsure.

“Oh! I know! You come from a gang of pirates?” Bolin asks,

“No Bolin” you look annoyed

“Are you Su’s long lost daughter?!”

“Yes” you deadpan and Bolin’s jaw drops before you scoff “Bolin, no! That makes no sense.” you turn to him as Opal playfully taps him on the shoulder.

“Just like you and Mako. I am from Ba Sing Se, the lower ring to be exact. I had a waterbender mom from the Southern Water Tribe, and an earthbender dad. So then there’s me, an awesome earth and metal bender, my sister who is a waterbending healer who works with Master Katara—”

“That’s who you were talking to at the healing hut!” Korra interrupts and Asami puts her hand on her arm to stop her “Shhhh let her finish” Korra quiets down.

“Yes, that’s who I was talking to. Couldn’t really introduce you guys to her considering we were worried about Jinora and about to fight UnaVaatu”

“Yeah…” everyone relents in unison thinking back to that event - Opal looks confused and Bolin starts explaining the whole Harmonic Convergence fight to her but it’s just confusing her more and you keep on telling your story “Anyways, I also have a firebending sister who works for the Fire Nation government as an architect”.

“Wait… earthbender, waterbender, and firebender? Why did your parents stop? They might have made an airbender” Bolin comments and gets nudged by both Korra and Mako as you all laugh “I don’t think so” you finish laughing.

“So what happened after?” Asami looks up at you and your eyes sadden. You explain the story of your parents’ demise and your decision to leave the place you once called home. “Traveled the world, met many interesting characters along the way. Spent a summer in a sand bending commune. “

“Mom did that!” Opal commented and you nod smiling “Yeah, we bonded over that. Though I did not join a circus like she did. I’ve never been a fan of watching animals do tricks for money. Let alone work alongside that”

“I get that. I rescued Pabu from becoming pythonaconda food—” Bolin looks down sad as Pabu curls up on Bolin’s lap

“Um, you mean when I rescued you and Pabu from that pythonaconda” Mako corrected his brother,

“Right” Bolin smiles sheepishly.

“Ok keep going” Asami helps you keep telling the story through all the interruptions and you thank her, “After traveling the world for a couple of years, I found myself in Republic City where I found a nice elderly lady who took me in until I met Asami at a market after she broke my clock”.

“Hey that was by accident!” Asami interjects and you laugh “Yeah yeah, you say so…but since then Asami and I became friends and soon Asami welcomed me into her home and offered me a place to stay. Hiroshi gave me a job after I’d share some concept art ideas on his satomobile and racers. After my contract was done I wanted to keep adventuring, so I left Future Industries after hearing about Zaofu”.

“You left a good job and stable income for an unknown adventure?!” Mako look at you in disbelief

“Yeah, I had some savings at that point. Money isn’t something I take for granted, it obviously helps with feeding and clothing yourself. A roof over your head, but when you’re on your deathbed are you going to lay there feeling grateful you had a job or think back on the awesome moments you had in your life? The crazy adventures you took around the world?” you look at him and Mako stays quiet looking away.

“Yeah bro, no one wants stability. We had a crazy life, living on the streets, becoming pro-benders, me a mover star, you a cop” he puts his arm around his brother as Mako shrugs him off “Detective”,

“Yeah, specifics sorry detective .” He puts his hands up in the air as he fake bows to Mako

The girls laugh quietly as you keep going “I found a host family in Zaofu for the first year, then I met little Wei and Wing out in the market with Su. They must’ve been like 6 or 8 at the time and I was 18-19, they were playing around with this metal ball. I think it was Wing who threw the ball too far and it landed beside my foot while I was sketching, and I passed it back to him. Wei came soon after and made some silly remark about my drawing and said that their older brother, Huan, draws too. They asked if I wanted to play, and told them I didn’t metalbend. Before long they were tugging me along to meet Su at the farmer’s market and the rest is history” you looked at Opal and smiled as she laughed reminiscing, “Oh man, when Wei, Wing, and mom came home that day the twins were jumping up and down as if mom had brought home a pet. We were all surprised to find you standing there nervously in the foyer” she laughed, and you joined her “I didn’t know any of you. I just met two twin boys and next thing I know I’m being offered dinner at this massive house”,

“Anyway, after about a year or two of living in Zaofu, Su offered to teach me everything she knew about metalbending and even some earthbending tricks—I think I picked up a bit on the whole seismic sense thing —” you lean over at Opal and gave her a wink “But it’s not perfect. It needs some work…anyways I was visiting the house daily at that point, so Su and Baatar Sr pulled me aside and offered me a place to stay. Once I got the hang of metalbending I applied for the security force with Kuvira.”

“Kuvira?” Team Avatar questions and you and Opal share a look “Yeah she’s another kid that stays here in the Beifong mansion. She likes to keep to herself… focused on the security force, the dance troupe. You’ve probably seen her around. She’s Opal’s adopted sister” you point at Opal as the rest of the group looks over at her.

“How come we didn’t see her when we first arrived?” Asami asked,

“Or at dinner?” Korra chimed in “Or breakfast?” Bolin added to the list of questions. Opal shrugs and “Like y/n said. Kuvira tends to stay to herself. She’s dedicated to the security force so she’s up before any of us are and eats breakfast really early and doesn’t come home until late.”

Everyone pauses to take in this new branch of the family tree.

“That’s Kuvira…. But after being on the Zaofu guard. I decided to venture on into greener pastures and wanted to come back to the Republic.” You smile

“Yeah, but you left after your birthday” Opal frowns “New me, new life” you plainly stated even though there was more to the reason why you left. “I wasn’t leaving because I didn’t like Zaofu anymore. I just felt a new change of pace”.

“What, that you weren’t done growing as a person?” Opal asked.

“Precisely” you nod and smile as you remember back to your last conversation with the airbender,

“As fate would have it I joined the police force, then surprisingly during that same week a certain Avatar came in causing mayhem in the city. Since then it’s been ups and downs and full of crazy adventures, and here we are now. That’s my story”.

“Wow” Korra looks out to the fire.

“Are you sure you’re 28?” Bolin raises an eyebrow,

“Yeah you sound like Bumi” Asami comments,

“…or even Kya,” Korra adds onto Asami’s comment.

You laugh before stopping abruptly and look at them with a serious face “I’m actually 49”.

They all drop their jaws “No way!?” only Mako seems to look past your attempt “She’s joking” and you burst out laughing “You’re no fun Mako, but yes I’m 28”.

The rest of the group continues on joking and talking around the fire as Su walks up and grabs your attention. “I’ll be back” you politely dismiss yourself from the group and head over to Su “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s been about 8 hours, figured we should go do the thing”,

“You were serious?!” you look at Su surprised.

“Of course I am. We fight, we make up. This is all part of the healing process, right? Come on help me. Lin is heavy” Su huffs as she starts walking away.

You sigh and shake your head wondering if this is a good idea, but you jog up behind her and head to Lin’s room. You help Su undress Lin and as she lifts her tank up your body starts to fill with fear as you realize that Su is going to see the love marks on her older sister’s body. Just focus on taking her shoes off while Su undresses her. You start working the boots off of Lin when you hear Su start to speak

“Gosh she has so many bruises…” she comments, putting the clothes aside on the bed and you blush a little, not looking over “Most likely from the fight… I’ll go get a towel to wrap her around” you lift her up together and carry her over to the tub so Su can wash her. You ask Su “Is it really necessary for me to stay? I can just wait out into the living area” Su insists “Yes, i can’t lift her, what if i need help?”. You sigh then nod as you continue looking out the door while stealing glances of the two sisters.

“Some of these bruises look days old...”

You bite your lip and turn your face away - “She has a dangerous job. Fighting with triads and criminals trying to run from the scene, bruises are an everyday occurrence.”

“Didn’t realize hickies were an everyday occurrence in that dangerous job” Su smirks. You gulp “Huh...well would you look at that” you grin “I guess you were wrong about Lin being alone” you quipped,

“Wonder who it is”

“Only the spirits know.” you shrug as you rest your chin on your knees looking away.

“She never mentioned anything?” Su keeps pressing and you roll your eyes,

“She never mentioned you. What makes you think she’ll mention the person responsible for those marks?”

A long silence settles in the room before Su starts to reminisce and talks softly -

“I remember when Lin would give me baths. Though I would be awake..” she comments while you sit on the counter facing away.

“What else do you remember about her?” You ask as you bring your knees up to your chest.

“Toph would be too busy at work so Lin would sometimes cook me meals when I came home from school or bring takeout. She helped me with my homework. One time when we were really little, we were playing around and I fell and scraped my knee. It was the first time I saw Lin that worried. She picked me up and carried me back to the house for Mom to bandage me up. Toph dismissed it and told us to be careful next time but Lin kept a close watch after that….” Su trails off and you hear quiet sobs coming from her and you turn to look before turning away again “I feel like I should give you some privacy” you start to scoot off the counter “Just call me when you’re ready to help her out” you say to her gently as you head out the bathroom to wait in the living area. After half an hour you hear Su’s voice calling out to you and you rush over “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m done. Help me get her out the tub so I can dry her” you walk over and grab the same towel you used before and carefully pick her up. Carrying her over to the bed, Su dries Lin’s body while you get some clothes provided by the Zaofu dresser and you help her put them on Lin.

“You don’t seem a bit disgusted to see Lin” Su remarks as you finish putting a sleeve on Lin’s arm “Like you said, we all have the same body parts. I had to do my share of dressing my sisters”.

“When they were older?’

“The last time was when I was 24 - when I went to visit my sister. She actually saw me naked. Hypothermia remember?” you smirk as you step back.

“Ah yes, I remember that story. You came back slightly under the weather” she laughed.

“Alright well she should be more comfortable now. Best to let her sleep for the rest of the night” Su turns to you and you grab the towels and set them in a hamper “Good idea” Su stops you and you look at her confused “You care for Lin, don’t you?”

“Yeah, of course…. since working together at the force we’ve developed a certain level of trust and a friendship of sorts. It’s kind of what happens when you’re off catching bad guys” you rub the back of your neck as a slight blush appears on your cheek.

“Are you feeling okay?” Su puts away Lin’s tank and sweats up as she looks at you

“Yeah, I think I’m just feeling tired…I should head to bed” you fake a yawn and start to head out.

“I see the way you look at her.... “ Su talks and you stop right at the door frame looking ahead as your eyes widen while she continues talking “...The way you rushed to her side when she fainted. Your eyes were full of concern and you refused anyone’s help to carry her. The way you spoke about her earlier….sounds like someone has a crush on my sister.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Su” you scoff and shake your head as you rub the back of your neck taking another step forward as Su walks after you putting a hand on your shoulder turning you around “You don’t think I caught on your little ticks? The way you rub your neck when you’re worried or nervous?” She purses her lips as she folds her arms “There’s something more between the two of you than you’re letting on, isn’t there. She’s more than 20 years older than you?”

“Her age means nothing to me, Su.” you walk backwards out of the bedroom away from Lin to let her rest “...Iris is 5 years older than me. If anything, her being older is a plus.” blurt out then bite your tongue trying to quiet down “shit” you mutter under your breath as you hang your head low as you run your hand to the back of your head. You keep your face turned from Su as your body tenses up. “You didn’t answer the question, y/n… are you and Lin more than friends?” Your throat closes up as you try to find a way to divert this conversation while you grip onto the armchair. Your cover is blown, “I--” your eyes well up as the worry you have on Lin starts to surface then you finally breathe out “...yes”. You turn to face Su “There’s something more, but that’s all I’m going to say. I’d rather keep whatever privacy we have left. For Lin’s sake and mine, private.”

“So those marks are...yours I presume?” Su fold her arms as she looks at you

“You really want to know?” you raise a brow as you can’t help but let out a laugh

“No, don’t answer that. As much as I love my sister. Her sex life isn’t one I would like to know about. Treat her right”

You smirk and chuckle a bit before getting serious “I care about your sister, Su. A lot. I would never hurt or quit on her.” you look over at Lin and your eyes soften, then you turn to look at Su with a determined face. “Lin is strong and more than capable of defending herself, but I have no problem stepping in on her behalf when necessary.”

“I know you will. My sister deserves some good in her life…. Thanks again, y/n, at least Lin has you in the city” she gives you a smile and you smile back “Yeah, I guess you’re right. No problem, that’s what family is for, right?” you close your mouth then open back up as you think of something “As much as I know you would love to rub it in Lin’s face. Please don’t mention any of this to Lin…. unless you want to lose her. Please, I can’t stress this enough for Raava sake please just wait until she tells you herself.”

“Well I can poke her about it. Get some kind of ruse out of her” Su smirks and you roll your eyes “Always gotta tease her, don't you?” you smirk back before shaking your head. “Alright I should get ready for bed. Both of us do”

After an hour or so you sneak back into Lin’s room and crawl in bed to lay beside her. She’s still sleeping deeply, just how you and Su left her and you watch her until you doze off. Sometime in the middle of the night Lin stirs and wakes up “What…where am I?” she looks around and notices you next to her, she shakes your shoulder - “Hmm…Lin?” you wake up and rub your eyes “You’re awake” you sit up as Lin looks around the room then down at her new clothes “What time is it?”

“Um, I don’t know it’s probably sometime in the early morning. Maybe two? You’ve been asleep for about 9 hours now” You squint looking out the window before glancing back at her. “What the flameo am I wearing” she tugs on her collar and you laugh softly as you wrap your arms around her and close your eyes “It’s the Zaofu robes. Su put them on you” you murmur as you doze off,

“Su?!” she looks down and shakes you awake again you groan out “baby….yes, Su''

“How?” she pressures you to keep talking

you open your eyes and try to wake up, sitting up beside her “Uh…well…after you fainted I brought you back to your room. I had to tell Su about your session, so she called the acupuncturist to find out what caused your fainting spell. Said he’s never had a case where someone’s chi was so ‘powerfully blocked’ - his words” you smile as you lean your head back on the headboard. “He mentioned he told you to take it easy and rest but in true Beifong fashion you decided to fight Su instead. You overworked your already tired body and when you sparred you drained your energy even more which caused your current state. I was so worried…” you turn your face to look at her as you pout lacing your hand with hers.

Lin was looking down then looked over at you “Ok…but how does that explain the clothes?”

You bite your lip to hide your smile “All of that and you’re stuck on the robes” you laugh, then sigh rubbing your face before continuing on “We let you rest for a while before Su asked me to help her give you a bath”

“What?! You and Su bathed me?”

“No…. Su bathed you, I just helped undress you. I’ve at least had experience in that department” you chuckle, and Lin smacks your chest “Lin!” you rubbed your chest pretending to wince “It was either me or Opal to help your sister. Considering your last interaction with your niece it was better not to scar the poor girl.”

“You’re right”

“Yeah… while Su was bathing you she…”

“What, she did something to me, didn’t she. That little brat” Lin starts checking herself around for any marks

“No, no. She was talking about all the stuff you did for her when you two were younger. You bathing her, helping her with her homework, the first time Su scraped her knee and you got worried.”

“I wasn’t worried” she rebuffed

“Really, it seemed to me you got scared and carried your little sister all the way home all for a scraped knee. It was sweet, you’re a good caring sister” you smile.

“Su let you stay here?” Lin seems to still be disoriented as you shake your head yawning

“No, I snuck in after everyone went to bed” you yawned again .

“You say it’s two in the morning?”

“Yeah, so sleep?” you scoot down and lay back down on the bed and Lin lays back down as well, wrapping her arms around you.

“Did I really worry you?” she whispers, and you nod “I was. we all were, especially Opal and the twins, We’ve all taken turns checking up on you. Despite the initial introduction, your niece and nephews sure do care about their Aunt Lin…but I’m glad you’re awake. You’re feeling better?” you whisper to her as you stroke the hand that’s resting on your middle,

“Kind of, I still feel out of it” she murmurs against your shoulder while her thumbs stroke your stomach.

“Let’s sleep then, and if you’re not feeling the robe you’re more than welcome to... take it off…” You smirk, rubbing your legs against hers. “You would like that, wouldn’t you?” she smirks whispering in your ear as you bite your lip “Whatever makes you comfortable, baby” you turn half your body over to her and she props herself up over you, rubbing your waist and looking into your eyes before leaning down and kissing your lips. Lin arches your back, running her hand up and down your side as you cup her cheek deepening the kiss. She runs her hand down your side as then slides it up your shirt brushing her hand on your bare skin “Take this off” she growls against your lips. You pull the tank top off without question, tossing it aside. You remember Lin’s current state and pull back a bit “Wait…are you sure?” looking into her eyes as you stroke her cheek gently with your thumb as Lin nods “Yes, I want to feel good after what happened” she softly speaks as you nod understanding then lean in to kiss her, gently biting her lip. Lin groans as you pull on her lip before she tugs back and plants kisses down your body - leaving love bites on your chest and abdomen while her hand wanders down between your legs causing you to moan and grip the sheets. Lin’s mouth works down your body before she groans out softly in pain, “Lin?”

“I’m fine, dear” Lin carries on but sucks air through her teeth and leans up getting aggravated at herself “Fuck”,

“It’s okay, we can stop” you sit up and watch Lin refuse as she crawls beside you “No, I want to keep going”.

You look at her and notice how upset she’s getting, so you lean over and kiss her cheek, “Okay, let me take control then” you whisper as you grab onto Lin’s waist lifting her robe up while you lay her down onto the bed, getting between her legs. Your lips move down her jaw then to her neck before trailing up behind her ear “Doctor’s orders say to make you comfortable. Let me take care of you tonight baby�� you whisper in her ear as Lin bites her lip and nods. You tug on her robes “Can you take this off?” Lin grabs hold of the edge and pulls it off, tossing it aside before pulling your face close to hers and into a deep searing kiss. Her legs wrapping around your waist as you grip the back of her thigh then up her ass as you grind against her. You run your hand down along her body during the kiss as you curl your finger around the side of her panties, “can I take this off?” you whisper against her lips as she unwraps her legs and you slide them down her legs. You lightly brush your fingers along her inner thighs, Lin moaning affirmatively at your touches. Kissing down her body as she arches her back, your circle your tongue around her nipples and tug it between your teeth. Lin moans as she runs her fingers in your hair before you move down lower. Gently kissing biting on her abdomen and pelvis before moving her legs over your shoulders. your tongue slowly teases her sweet folds as she grips your hair and tugs on it causing you to move your lips to groan against her clit. The vibrations arousing her further as she moans arching her back more you. Moving back down and worked her picking up the pace as she pants "please, y/n".

you look up at her and notice Lin's eyes pleading to you as she closes her eyes tilting her head back "fuck". you lean up as you bring your body over hers as you reach her lips. Lin taking your lips eagerly keeping each other hips close grinding against one another "please" she mutters, y our fingers slide down and touch her core and you smile against her lips. You slowly kiss down her jaw then right under her neck, finding a sensitive spot as she lets another moan escape. You let a groan out against her neck then whisper affirmations of your love in her ear. Her hand slides up into your hair while the other grips on your ass while your two fingers work in and out of her core. Her hips roll against your fingers and she’s panting hard now as she twists her hands in your hair, biting your shoulder as she clings to your body muffling her moans “Don’t stop”. You keep stroking your fingers curling them inside her as your thumb circles her clit, causing her to tilt her head back sinking her nails into your neck as she reaches her climax. You were careful not to hurt Lin and gave her body your undivided attention. Once she cools down you slowly remove your fingers and look at her while you taste suck on them, "delicious" you smirk. Lin looks flushed as she catches her breath move beside her as you get out of bed to wash up. washing your hands and brushing your teeth before coming back to bed, laying beside Lin leaning over to give her three kisses.

“Sorry I couldn't reciprocate” Lin murmurs, holding you in her arms as she kisses your shoulder softly.

“It’s okay, love. You’re not fully recovered yet. It was still wonderful”,

“If you say so” Lin rests her face into your neck -

“It was. Every time with you is amazing” you look over your shoulder at her and give her a kiss. Turning back around, you rub the arm Lin has draped around your stomach. “You let out your feelings in that spar now you can start building something with your family. At least start with one and work from there.” you rub her arm and feel her voice mumbling against your neck “I don’t know…I-”

“-Don’t decide right now. Sleep on it, ok?”

Lin stays quiet and you bring her hand up to give it a kiss then stroke your thumb over her hand it soothes you and her to sleep, giving her head a kiss.

You squint your eyes as the sunlight comes peeking through the curtains, causing you to rub your eyes. Looking around the room you see Lin still knocked out asleep. Pulling the sheets up to cover her up a bit you kiss her lips as part of your morning routine and get up. Ruffling your hair, you start searching for your clothes, it was going to be a challenge with the mess of pillows, comforter, and clothes all over the floor. Whatever pieces you find, you start putting on and tidying up the room a bit. Once you find the rest you slip on your boots and set Lin’s robes beside her on the bed then kiss her forehead before slipping out her room and sneaking back into yours to get ready for breakfast.

“Morning y/n” Su welcomes you as you drink some mango juice “Morning, Su. How’d you sleep?”

“Well, all things considered. What about you?” She looks over while Chef sets down a plate in front of her and she thanks him. “Pretty good. After all the events yesterday it was no challenge to doze off” you smile as you eat some fruit. “Have you checked in on Lin?” you ask Su as she eats some of her breakfast, she shakes her head “No, I wanted to wait to see if she’ll wake up for breakfast. Did you?”

“No, I figured it would be best not to bother her if she was still resting.”

Slowly, Team Avatar and the rest of the Beifong family joins for breakfast and everyone enjoys the food while checking the door for any sign of Lin. Once breakfast was over everyone separated to go about their day.

“Hey y/n! I was wondering if you wanted to spar for a bit” Asami stops you as were heading out and you smile “Yeah, I could use a spar. You’re not going to try to kill me like Su and Lin yesterday, right?”

Asami laughed and shook her head “No, I won’t do that. I just feel like I need to keep up on my combat skills. Korra almost took me down even with all the protective gear and pads.” You laugh and walk Asami over to the pavilion “Wow okay, yeah sure come on. We can’t let Korra be the only tough girl”

You and Asami face each other and you take your tunic off and set it on the steps as you both wrap your forearms and put on the gloves, getting into a fighting stance. “Are you ready?” you bring your fists up to your face as Asami does the same. “Oh yeah, give me your best shot, Cap” Asami smirks as you playfully glare at her before charging and taking the first swing. Asami easily dodges and knees your side causing you to groan out “Nice contact” you shake it off before getting back into position. Asami looks for any openings and takes a jab then tries for an uppercut. You bob and weave around her attacks before taking a jab at her hip and throwing your leg behind her, causing her to fall back on the ground. Asami groans and holds onto her back making you stop and rush over “Oh man, ‘Sami are you okay?” she shakes her hand “Help me up”,

“Yeah sure” you grab her hand and her pained looks quickly changes into a smirk as she grips your hand then grabs the edge of your pants and flips you over. Landing hard on your side and you groan out and hold on your side letting out a pained out laugh “Nice, I should have known”.

“You always fall for it” Asami laughs and jumps back up and takes a couple swings at the air. You wipe your mouth as you push yourself up and get back into a fighting stance and launch at her.

“Woah, what’s going on?!” Korra rushes over and stands between the two of you putting her hands up on both your chests. You and Asami exchange confused glances “What?”.

“First Su and Lin and now you and Asami are fighting? What is up with this place?” Korra huffs while you and Asami laugh “We’re not fighting, Asami wanted to train so she asked me to spar with her” you explain to Korra and you notice her flush with embarrassment. “Oh…”

“Yeah, oh… I’d rather fix my problems with words not fists” you laugh as you pull the gloves off and shake your head.

“I can’t believe you thought we would fight each other, Korra” Asami laughs as she walks up to the Avatar,

“I did think it was weird to see you two fighting but after yesterday, anything is possible.” Korra rubs the back of her neck as she winces “Sorry”.

You smile and grab your tunic as you start to button it up “Don’t worry about it. Asami just wanted to train so she could help you better during your workouts” you mention as you tuck your tunic in your pants not noticing the slight blush appearing on Asami’s cheeks. “I just want to help Korra in any way I can,” she quickly explains her intentions to Korra.

“Oh…that’s nice of you, Asami” Korra smiles before changing the subject “So any sign of Beifong?” she looks at the both of you and she receives a “No” from both Asami and you.

“Haven’t seen her, she hasn’t made an appearance anywhere?” you ask Korra and she frowns getting concerned “No, maybe we should check up on her. It’s getting pretty late isn’t it? She’s been sleeping for like a whole day” she over exaggerates and you laugh “I think it’s only been like fifteen hours Korra”

“Still that’s a long time! Who sleeps that long?!” Korra sits down on the steps and rests her elbows on her lap.

“Chief has a stressful job, think of it like she’s sort of on a mini vacation. Catching up on years of missed sleep” You sit beside Korra and try cheer her up “Maybe, I should go check up on her”

“Sure if it’ll ease your worries…. But be prepared - I sure wouldn’t poke a sleeping dragon” you smile as you stand up and dust your pants off.

“You’re right…. You guys want to come with me?” Korra looks at the both of you

“Not putting myself in that situation.” Asami throws her hands up before sliding them in her back pockets as she walks away. “Ok, what about you, y/n?” you suck in the air through your teeth as you rub the back of your neck “Yeah, it’s best if I don’t… don’t want to get burned” you smirk before dragging out a sigh “Maybe I should ask Bolin and Mako…” she mutters and you laugh “Sure, go ahead and do that. Good luck Avatar” patting Korra’s shoulder before jogging after Asami “Hey wait up ‘Sami!”

“I’ll be right back, Asami. I’m gonna grab a snack” you jog inside the estate and enter the dining room. Luckily the fruit bowl was still there and you grabbed an apple. Bouncing it off your forearm you take a bite as you walk out of the dining room - almost running into Lin, “Hey you’re up!” You smile as you chew on the piece of fruit in your mouth. Lin looks the most relaxed you’ve ever seen and gives you a kiss “Good morning, honey. Mmm honey crisp?” she smiles brightly wiping the lipstick off your lips with her thumb then grabs your apple and takes a bite “Mmm so good” she moans and your jaw drops almost dropping the piece of fruit in your mouth. Watching her walk toward a chair taking another bite of your apple. You catch yourself and clear your throat with a blush appearing on your cheeks “Uh--yeah, I was just grabbing a snack—wait”. You pointed at the fruit bowl then out the door then just realized what happened. Lin moaned again, munching away hungrily, granted she hasn’t eaten in practically a day. She also kissed you in the middle of the dining room. In broad daylight.

“Y/n, you okay?” Lin’s voice even sounds softer and you just smile and nod while staring at her. “Yeah, all good. Just happy you’re up and about”.

“I know I missed breakfast, but I was hoping I could get something to eat” Lin spoke so politely that you choke on the bite you forgot you had in your mouth. Walking towards the kitchen behind Lin you put your hand on the door and start pushing

“I’ll ask Chef to make you something. Keep munching on the apple, babe” you cough, trying to control yourself as you step out to get Chef. You kindly ask him to prepare Lin breakfast since she has been out of sorts. You walk back into the dining room and stand beside Lin, “Chef’s whipping something up for you. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Thank you, dear”

“You—I—no problem...dear” you raise your eyebrow, slightly confused and flustered by this weird interaction you’re having, but you love it. You smile widely at how Lin is acting, “I should head back, before people wonder where I’ve gone” you whisper as Lin gives you a understanding nod. You’re not really sure what to do but you look around to see if the coast is clear. You give Lin a light smooch, and she pecks your lips in return. Looking down you take a bite out of the apple before giving it back to Lin to finish then give her the three kisses on her lips as she holds your chin, “Go” Lin whispers smiling wide and you nod. Head towards the door before looking back at her and give her a cheeky smile before heading back to Asami.

Scratching the back of your head trying to grasp what just happened. Lin did get more than enough sleep, got her Chi unblocked, sort of started to fix her relationship with Su, and she got laid last night. Maybe she’s high off serotonin ? You think as you remember Lin took your Apple and you chuckle a bit chewing on the bite you have in your mouth. As you reach Asami, the others come running and pant, catching their breaths. “Woah what happened?” you looked at them surprised,

“Did you guys get chased out by the sleeping dragon?” Asami smirks, asking them as she lowers her sunglasses. Bolin points a finger up to give them a moment before he pants out “No…worse”

You glance at Asami “What’s worse?” you take a seat down beside her on a patch of grass as Pabu runs over to Bolin.

“Chief—She—” Mako looks like he is in a state of shock,

“Okay can someone form a full sentence?” you look at the three as Korra glances up at the both of you “She smiled!”

You cover your mouth to hide your smile as you swallow your food. You look at the three bewildered teens as you fight the urge to laugh and croaked “She what?”

“She smiled!” Bolin finally composes himself and waves his hands towards you and Asami.

“Is that bad?” Asami looks confused, turning her head back and forth between you and the other three as she notices you trying not to laugh, and a smile creeps up on her face.

“Have you ever seen Lin smile?!” Korra asks the group and everyone looks around,

“I mean yeah, that one time she promoted Mako” you point out.

“She only curled her lips - that wasn’t really a smile” Mako rebutted, and you think of another moment “Well...um… oh! When you got her bending back!” Bolin looked over at Korra “I mean she was thankful and grateful for that, but I don’t think she ever smiled. At Least I don’t remember I was in the Avatar State” Korra also tries thinking of a moment as she rubs her neck “I mean I ran into her in the dining room and she smiled at me. It was nice” you refrain from explaining as you look at the teens. “But before today?” Bolin responds and you shake your head looking down smiling.

Asami stands up folding her arms “You mean to tell me that Beifong has never smiled before today and we missed it?!” Asami looks over at you and you give her a nod before shaking your head “I’m sure Lin smiles” You smirk and lay back on the grass putting your arms behind your head. “Well what’d you expect, she had a good night’s rest. Anyone would be happy after sleeping for that long” What I did to Lin last night could’ve also helped her too.

“Do you think Beifong will be nicer now?” Korra looks around and everyone shrugs.

“This is new territory we’ve never encountered before.” Mako comments,

“So this is either a good thing or a scary thing” Bolin’s eyes widen and he looks around “Um maybe I should find Opal. Make sure she’s okay” he speaks nervously as he waves bye to everyone and runs off.

“What are you smirking about over there, y/n?” Mako calls out to you, snapping you out of your thoughts about last night and look at him and the girls,

“Oh you guys are still here? I don’t see what the big deal is, so Beifong smiled. Big whoop. Was it nice?” you sit up

“Actually yeah, it was nice.” Korra is looking bewildered again thinking back at how happy and relaxed Lin looked as she walked out of her room, then her eyes widen remembering -

“Oh and that wasn’t the worst part, She wasn’t wearing her armor - she was in Zaofu robes!”

“Oh yeah, I almost didn’t recognize her when I fell,” Mako relented.

And you furrow your eyebrows “You fell?”

“I knocked and there was no answer, so I was leaning against the door to listen for any noise inside the room -to see if she was in there, but then she opened the door and I fell in,” Mako quickly explained before getting flustered by his fall.

“Huh, well that’s good, means she’s relaxed, right?” Asami asks before looking at you and you give her a slow nod.

“Since she seems to be in a good mood maybe it’s best we stay clear from her. You don’t want to tick her off again” you stand up and dust yourself off before walking away “Where are you going?” Korra calls out to you

“All this talk about sleep got me feeling like I could use a nap. Maybe I’ll be in smiling mood”

“Ha-ha very funny”

You smirk as you wave goodbye before sliding a hand in your pocket, returning to your room.

Lin looks up at the large statue of Toph silently contemplating on how nice it feels to reconnect with her sister again. Maybe I should talk to mom and work on that mess too, she thinks when she senses someone approaching up behind her. “Opal has decided to go to the Northern Air Temple. I’m guessing you and y/n had something to do with her decision.”

Lin turned to face her sister as she softly spoke “Well, I was just-”

Su smiles at her sister “it’s okay. I’m glad she was honest with me. I want her to do what makes her happy” She looks down “Mom gave us too much freedom, but I feel like I’ve made the mistake of giving Opal too little. I think it’s time I let her choose her own way.” she closes her eyes for a moment before opening them “I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time when we were younger. I can’t imagine what my life would’ve been like if Mom hadn’t sent me away, If I had stayed in the city.”

Lin looks at her sister and answers dryly “You’d probably be in prison”

Su chuckles “You’re probably right. Mako told me that you’re an amazing Police Chief and y/n strongly agrees. Republic City is lucky to have you. I know Mom is proud.”

Lin looks down for a short while then turns back to look at the statue of Toph as Su steps forward to stand beside Lin and they both look up at it.

“Can we move on now? I’d love for you to be a part of my life again. There’s plenty of space for you in the house, and the kids would love having their aunt around.”

Lin turns to face her sister again. “I do need a co-director for my new dance performance.”

Lin’s eyes widen as she raises her hands “Woah. Slow down” Lin smiles half amused and half in disbelief at Su’s mention of the dance company. “How about for now, I just promise not to show up at your house and attack you again.”

“Deal” su extends a hand out and Lin returns the gesture ending in a handshake. Lin looks genuinely relieved and happy to have reconnected with her sister.

As Su guides Lin back to the house “So you and y/n, huh?” she gives Lin a smirk causing Lin to look at her confused “What about me and y/n?”

“Nothing just you two seem….close”

Lin narrows her eyes trying to understand where Su is something from “How so?”

Su smiles smugly “I don’t know, but the way y/n rushed to your side when you fainted. She was concerned for you, refusing to let anyone else help. The way she talks about you just seems….like there is something more”

“For me?” Lin raised her brow

“y/n gave me a good talking to. That’s all I’m saying.” she folded her arms causing Lin to look away gruffly, “We’re colleagues. We look after each other as comrades in the force.”

Su scoffs and nudges her older sister patting her shoulder as she continues walking “Okay, Lin”

“What?” Lin grabs her wrists to stop her as Su turns to her,

“Nothing, you’re just colleagues, comrades.” she waves her hands dismissively “I’m glad someone is watching over you, Lin. y/n is a good person, she’s patient and caring. Though she can be stubborn and reckless. Her and the twins together equals pure chaos sometimes.” Su chuckles and Lin’s lips curl up into a small smile. “During her time at the house I’ve learned that once you’re in her life she doesn’t let you go, it takes a lot for her to drop a person from her life. She treats the kids like her own family and I know they love her.”

“That’s nice to know. But why are you telling me this?” Lin says wryly. Lin tries not to look nervous, hoping that her relationship isn’t blown. Lin isn’t ready to have this kind of talk with her sister about her love life. Even though she cares and really likes you more than she can admit to herself, she likes the fact that you and her are private.

“Figured you should know about them from my perspective and experience while they were here” “Uhh thanks” Lin blushes slightly as she folds her arms “I should get going...” she pointed towards the courtyard to her room

A pounding knock wakes you up and you groggily get out of bed rubbing your head as you grab your tunic and slide it on over your head before opening the door, “Yeah?” rubbing your eyes

“Try to contain your excitement” Lin says dryly as she folds her arms, your eyes widen and look over her shoulder before looking back at her.

“I see your little high cooled down?” you smirk back as you open the door more to let her in. Lin rolls her eyes and pushes past the door and closes it behind you “I think we should talk…”

You get nervous and start panicking, tapping your fingers together “Uh… how about no? I just woke up from a nap. We still have dinner to look forward to” your cheeks blush

“Don’t worry it’s not bad” she chuckles, and you lighten up “Oh well you could’ve said that. I had to initiate my escape plan.” You chuckle walking over to sit beside her.

“So…what’d you want to talk about?” your lips twitches as you fumble around your palms

“Su and I talked. She told me everything…”

“Oh… “ you look down as you fidget your fingers “what about... exactly?” you narrow your eyes a bit as you scratch the back of your ear trying not to sound nervous.

“She told me you talk to her…while I was out cold”

You sigh “I’m sorry...I know I shouldn’t have meddled but—” Lin interrupts you

“--I promised not to show up at her house and attack her again. So it’s progress” you close your lips as you take in the news and smile “That’s great, Lin! I’m happy for you two. So you’re not upset with me? I know I said some harsh things to Su…”

“It’s okay. I—thank you” Lin reaches over and rests her hand over yours giving you a smile. you look down and hold her hand,intertwining your fingers. “For taking my side. Choosing me instead of Su”

You scoot closer to her as you press your forehead against hers as you whisper “Of course, I told you I would rescue you from Su. I’ll always have your back. I choose you every time” You lean back a bit as you share a kiss then look down and smile

“What?” Lin cocks an eyebrow at you,

“You know it’s weird..” you rub under your nose as you stifle a laugh

“What is?”

“You know that whole meeting the family step when you get serious in a relationship…”

“No…Tenzin and I already knew each other’s family….”

“Oh…right. Well...” you scratch behind your ear “I already know your family. Lived with them. They all love and accept me. So it’s funny now that I’ve been witnessing you meet your own family for the first time” you chuckle as you look down biting your lip

“Heh…well at least I don’t have to do that part then. It saves me the hassle” Lin shrugs

“I mean there’s still the whole telling them about us thing” you look at Lin and she glances over at you her eyes slightly widening “Do we have to?”

“Or… we can have them figure it out on their own?” you smile as you lean in close to her

“Better” she smirks as she leans into you and presses her lips on yours parting her lips as you kiss her.

“Speaking of - Su...sort of suspects” you whisper and Lin leans back surprised “Su?!”

“Yeah, but it’s just suspicion. Don’t start having one of your worry fits” you cup her cheek and rub her jaw to try and calm her down. Lin groans softly and looks down resting her forehead against yours.

“I’m really happy for you, Lin” you whisper again “About Su suspecting? I’m not happy with that” she mumbles and you chuckle a bit “No, about you back on your feet. You and Su reconciling. It’s nice” you give her a soft smile as you tuck some hair behind her ear as your thumb brushes along her cheek. Lin sighs happily, “Honestly, for the first time in a while I’m genuinely happy and relieved.” She whispers back

“That’s good, babe. I’m glad I’m here to share this happy moment with you” you smile as you stroke her cheek. Lin looks up at you and smiles, giving you a soft kiss.

You return her kiss then plant another and another until you’re kissing her fully, tongue and all, putting your hands on her waist and tugging her toward you as you kiss her neck. Lin bites her lip as she sighs “Have you ever slept in your room before?”

“The nap I woke up from was the first time. I’ve been elsewhere other nights” you mumble on her neck in between kisses.

“I wonder where…” she softly moans

“Yeah…” you trail kisses back up her neck until you connect back to her lips.

She kisses you deeply until she laughs softly against your lips and extricates herself from your grip “Ok, enough” you smile against her lips and let go “Okay, fine” you laugh, compose yourself and scoot up on the couch “I should actually get ready for dinner, will you be joining?” you look over at Lin and she leans back in the couch “Yeah, all i’ve had was some kale drink Su’s Chef prepared”

“What was in it?” you eyebrows furrow slightly curious,

“A drink made of kale, coconut water, and walnuts”

“Coconut water? I’ll pass” you make a disgusted face and shake it off.

“It wasn’t that bad.” Lin smiles and chuckles slightly at your disgust.

“Chef is always creating weird concoctions.” you laugh as you get up and head toward your room “You’re more than welcomed to stay while I get dressed”

“I should be heading out - before anyone wonders where I am.” Lin gets up and heads towards the door.

“Right… yeah” you head out the bedroom and walk Lin to the door “I’ll see you at dinner then” you smile

“Yeah” Lin’s lips twitch up and you hover your hand over the door handle and before opening it, sharing a short sweet kiss until it turns into a slow, deep one, your other hand on the small of her back. Enjoying her taste, you fall into a trance as she grazes her nails down along your jaw before she pulls back “I’ll see you at dinner” she smirks against your lips waking you up from that trance and opens the door “Yes, dinner.”

“I would like to say a few words before we eat - I have an announcement actually” Opal stands as she grabs her cup “First, I just want to say that I’m so relieved that Aunt Lin is awake and doing better. Secondly, after talking with Aunt Lin, y/n, and with mom and dad… I’ve made the decision to join the other airbenders at the Northern Air Temple”

You give Opal a warm smile as you turn to look at Wei and Wing who look conflicted on the news, “You’re leaving us?!”

Su looks at her youngest children “Opal isn’t leaving, she’s making her own way in the world. This is a great opportunity for her to study under Tenzin and get to know other airbenders.”

“I think it’s wonderful Opal! You’ve made the right decision” you smile brightly as you stand up from your seat and bring your cup up in the air “Let’s cheer on Opal in her new path!” Everyone brings their cups up and gives a cheer to Opal.

“An airbending Beifong. That’s great...” you mutter then laugh out loud after taking a sip. Everyone glances over at your direction confused “What’s funny?” Wei and Wing ask in unison. You shake your head “Sorry, I just had a thought” you quiet down. “Care to share?” Su asks, curious about your laughter and once you compose yourself you take a breath “ I was connecting Opal’s airbending to her last name. Opal is the physical representation of the Beifong symbol. A flying boar.” you explain and Lin turns to Su “Huh, well how about that...”

“A flying boar in the family. Who would’ve thought” Su looks to Lin and they chuckle at the thought followed by the laughs from the rest of the family.

After dinner you finish congratulating Opal once again on her decision and catch Lin walking out the mansion and heading towards the grounds out of the corner of your eye. You dismiss yourself from the living area, dipping out the house as you look around for Lin. After a couple of minutes searching you find her near the maze you took her on the first day here, “Looking for a quiet place?” you have your hands in your pockets as you stop a couple steps behind her. “It was getting to be a bit”

“- too much?” you finish her sentence as she walks into the maze and you curl your lip a bit as you follow her. Lin looks lost as she takes a wrong turn and you chuckle “Over here” you speak up and point in the right direction taking the lead to the center. You walk over and sit at your usual spot on the grass and lay down looking up at the stars. Lin sits at the bench and neither one of you say anything until you sense her getting back up to walk over and sit beside you. “You’re right, no one comes here.” Lin continues to sit as you look for constellations ``Yeah, I think the only person who would come here is Huan but it’s too dark for him right now. He wouldn’t be able to sketch.” “The artist kid. He knows to keep his distance” Lin rubs the bridge of her nose as she looks up at the sky “What are you looking at anyways?”

“The stars, Lin, obviously” you chuckle as you prop yourself up as Lin deadpans you a look “I know but what’s there to see it’s just balls of light” she waves up at the sky.

“It looks nice. Sometimes you get to see constellations if you know what to look for”

“And you do?”

“No” you snort a laugh as Lin rolls her eyes looking away. You look down at your fingers before speaking again “I’m glad you spoke to Opal. Seems your talk to her gave her the push she needed to convince Su to let her leave Zaofu.”

“It was nothing”

“Maybe to you, but to Opal, I’m sure it was a major thing. You had your first Aunt/Niece moment. I’m proud of you, Lin” you smile looking up at her and she looks over at you when you mention you being proud of her.

“What?”

“I’m proud of you. You passed your first job of being an Aunt.”

“It’s a job?”

You chuckle “You basically get to be the second line to give advice and encourage the kids to do what’s best for them when your sister fails to do so or if they don’t like what she said.”

“Yeah, I’m not ready for this”

“Hey, at least you’ll get to be the cool aunt when the kids get annoyed with Su”

“Cool aunt, yeah right” Lin scoffs

“Imagine if the kids like you better than Su. That would kill her” you laugh,

“She would be hysterical” Lin chuckles and you look at her.

“It’s a slow process but this is a step in the right direction” you lean over and kiss her shoulder then add another on her cheek Lin turns at the last second and you catch the corner of her lips. She parts her lips and searches for your lips to capture your lips on hers. The kiss starts off slow and sweet - your hand cupping her cheek while Lin rests her hand on your hip. You pull back a bit to give her a few soft kisses before both of you slowly pull back.

“I’m going to head to bed. Some of us didn’t sleep for 16 hours” you quip as you try to get up when Lin kicks you down and you fall back.

“Oof, what the flameo Lin” you laugh and get up

“You tripped. Your agility is slacking, Captain”

“My agility? Okay, tomorrow you, me, and the twins. We’re going to have a two v two game of power disc. I’ll show you that my agility is up to par” you dust your hands off and stand up,

“Deal, I’ll murder you three”

“You’re all bark and no bite baby.” you smirk and she grabs your collar pulling your face close to hers “I think I’ve proven that I do in fact...bite” she puts on a sultry voice as she tugs on your lips with her teeth. You blink as your mind goes blank getting flustered “I….Uh...right. You coming?” you clear your throat as Lin smirks seeing you get flustered. You stand up sliding a hand in your pocket as you look down at her offering her a hand as she stays seated.

“No, I’m well rested I think I’ll have some time alone”

“Okay” you lean back down and give Lin a kiss “Goodnight, honey” you whisper,

“Goodnight, dear” she whispers and you smile against her lips and kiss her once and twice again. Standing up you earthbend yourself a column to lift yourself over the maze bushes. Hearing Lin’s voice ringing in your head about her bite, biting your lip. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

#TLOK3InTheseArms #linbeifongxreader #linbeifong x reader #lin x reader #linxreader #fyrefics

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